Toy Story 5 and What's Making Us Happy

Summary

Pop Culture Happy Hour – "Toy Story 5 and What’s Making Us Happy"

Date: June 19, 2026
Hosts: Aisha Harris, Stephen Thompson
Guest: Regina Barber

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Episode Overview

This episode dives into Pixar’s Toy Story 5, exploring its fresh approach to the franchise’s themes and how it reflects anxieties over technology in childhood. The hosts and guest Regina Barber dissect the film’s metaphors, emotional impact, humor, and new characters, offering both appreciation and critique. The latter segment highlights “What’s Making Us Happy,” where the team shares current pop culture recommendations across music and TV.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

The Premise of Toy Story 5

• Bonnie & Tech: The film centers on Bonnie’s increasing attachment to her tablet, the “Lily Pad” (voiced by Greta Lee), and the resulting sense of abandonment felt by classic toy characters Jessie, Buzz, and the rest of the gang.
• Parenthood & Obsolescence as Metaphor: The ongoing Toy Story narrative about obsolescence is deepened here, focusing on the collision between analog (classic toys) and digital worlds.
• New Characters: Introduction of quirky characters like a potty-training gadget (voiced by Conan O'Brien) and a digital camera, expanding the franchise’s universe.

"In the fifth installment of the Toy Story franchise, playtime is so over and screen time is in... It's dun dun, dun—tech."
— Aisha Harris (00:19)

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Emotional and Thematic Analysis

Franchise Longevity & Emotional Resonance

• Five Films In: Stephen acknowledges the diminishing returns that often come with franchise sequels but believes Toy Story 5 remains moving and enjoyable. He highlights the franchise’s “very sturdy metaphor” and its capacity to speak through childhood’s existential crises, now reframed as commentary on parenthood and technological obsolescence.
• Film Clutter: Stephen thinks the numerous characters make the film a bit “cluttered,” and recent characters from Toy Story 4 are sidelined for new additions.
• Ranking Debate: Regina boldly compares Toy Story 5 to Toy Story 3 in quality, even as she shares her distaste for the depiction of Bonnie’s new “mean girl” friends.

“Obsolescence is a really, really key ache that runs through these films.”
— Stephen Thompson (03:32)

• Nostalgic & Universal Appeal: Aisha and Regina share firsthand experiences of being bullied for being “childish,” finding relatability in the film’s portrayal of social pressures to grow up and abandon imaginative play.

“[It] reminded me of being five or six years old...I got teased for that because I was still into Barney. All the first graders were not … the way, ‘Oh, you still play with toys’. It hit me.”
— Aisha Harris (08:59)

• Animation Praise: The team praises the vivid visualization of Bonnie’s imaginative play, describing “pastel chalk” and “energy” in the animation.

Tech Angst: Is Toy Story 5 Too Late?

• Relevance of Tablet Anxiety: The hosts question whether themes about screen time have become somewhat dated, as tech is fully ingrained in childhood now.
• Nuanced Take: Regina argues the movie is surprisingly nuanced, integrating both the benefits and pitfalls of technology, rather than demonizing it outright.

“It straddles the line of like, where is tech useful and where does it suck you in?”
— Regina Barber (12:17)

Themes of Starting Over & Friendship

• Jessie's Arc: Aisha points out that Jessie’s story expresses deeper feelings of burnout, relevance, and starting over—resonating with anyone struggling with repeated disappointment in relationships or life.

“I can't love another kid just to find out I never really matter.”
— Jesse’s line, discussed around (15:32)

• Buzz-Jessie B Plot: Mixed reactions to a subplot about Buzz possibly wanting to marry Jessie, and the film’s nods to classic Disney movies (e.g., a Bambi-referential sequence). Some see it as cute and theatrical; others as overtly self-referential.

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Regina: “I was actually sitting next to Steven and I was like, yes, just clapping like a trained seal.” (04:48)
• Stephen: “All of these movies are built around metaphor. But it had never really been quite so clear to me how much the Toy Story movies are metaphors, not for childhood, but for parenthood…” (03:19)
• Stephen: “Do I have quibbles along the way? Did I need a B plot about Buzz wanting to marry Jessie? ...No.” (13:54)
• Regina: “My partner even thought it was better than three because like I said, I'm judgey and I...I thought it was really tight.” (05:46)
• Regina: “But we walked away also thinking, did that movie just shame just a ton of kids that are screen kids? ...So what? It shamed me. I stopped looking at my phone that day a lot more.” (06:51)
• Stephen: “As you said, there are always new children being born and there are always new forces encroaching on and trying to shrink our childhood. And that is absolutely universal.” (13:20)

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Taylor Swift's Toy Story Song

• The credits feature “I Knew You” by Taylor Swift.
• The team found the song forgettable—a missed opportunity compared to iconic previous entries (“You’ve Got a Friend in Me,” “When She Loved Me”), especially as the song only plays over the credits without being integrated into the movie’s emotional narrative.

“I was lightly shocked when this song just like rolled harmlessly over the closing credits and wasn’t integrated into the film at all.”
— Stephen Thompson (17:45)

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Final Verdict

• All the hosts ultimately recommend Toy Story 5:
  • “Delightful,” “cute,” and “creative even when retreading themes.”
  • Best seen in theaters for its gorgeous animation.

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• 00:19 – Episode opens: Toy Story 5’s premise and tech anxieties
• 02:45–04:48 – Initial impressions, metaphors of parenthood & obsolescence
• 05:46–07:04 – Rankings, bullying themes, and character specifics
• 08:58–10:44 – Relating to being teased for liking “juvenile” things
• 12:17–13:20 – Is the movie’s caution about tech too late?
• 15:32 – Jessie’s existential struggle and starting over
• 16:20–18:13 – Taylor Swift song discussion and critique
• 18:53–25:41 – “What’s Making Us Happy” segment

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What’s Making Us Happy This Week

Regina Barber

• Bon Appétit, You Majesty: A time-traveling K-drama chef; “ridiculous, funny, and super bloody” (20:22).
• Haikyuu: A volleyball anime—compelling and binge-worthy. Both on Netflix.

Stephen Thompson

• Tierra Whack – Wax Museum (mixtape): A visual and sonic whirlwind from Philly’s endlessly creative rapper/singer. Praised for “wild technicolor geyser of ideas” (21:27–23:24).

Aisha Harris

• Underscores – you’d (album): Bay Area hyperpop/EDM album—sonically dynamic and headphone-friendly, with standout tracks like “Music Love Field” and “the piece” (23:27–25:15).

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Concluding Thoughts

The Pop Culture Happy Hour team and guest Regina Barber agree that Toy Story 5 manages to reignite the franchise’s signature blend of imagination, nostalgia, and emotional resonance—even as it grapples (sometimes clumsily) with the realities of childhood in an age ruled by screens. Whether you’re a longtime fan or a parent wrestling with the digital age, the film’s heart and inventive animation are likely to win you over.

Memorable moment:

“We all enjoyed Toy Story 5 because we did. We need this. We need it.”
— Aisha Harris (25:41)

Transcript

[Announcer]

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[Aisha Harris]

In the fifth installment of the Toy Story franchise, playtime is so over and screen time is in. Jesse, Buzz and the rest of the crew face yet another existential crisis. But this threat is not the arrival of a shiny space Ranger or a kid going off to college. Nope. It's dun dun, dun tech.

[Stephen Thompson]

And with that comes the introduction of new and colorful characters voiced by the likes of Greta Lee and Conan o'. Brien. Can analog and digital coexist? We'll see. I'm Stephen Thompson.

[Aisha Harris]

And I'm Aisha Harris. Joining us today on NPR's Pop Culture Happy Hour is Regina Barber. She's a host and reporter for NPR science podcast Short Wave. Hey, Regina.

[Regina Barber]

Oh, my gosh. I'm the only non pop Culture Happy hour person here. I am so honored and I'm so glad that I am your animation person, basically.

[Stephen Thompson]

Aw, you're more than just our animation person, Regina.

[Aisha Harris]

Oh, yes, you've got a friend in us. Yes, yes. You've got a friend in us. Yeah. Well, In Toy Story 5, we are revisiting all of our friends. And at the start of the movie, much of the gang are still together, including Cowgirl, Jessie and Space Ranger Buzz Lightyear, voiced by Joan Cusack and Tim Alle. Now they're happily fulfilling their playtime duties with their 8 year old kid Bonnie, who's voiced by Scarlet Spears. That is, until Bonnie is given a tablet called Lily Pad and remains glued zombified to its screen. Lily Pad is voiced by Greta Lee. Jesse instantly becomes a very vocal opponent to everything tech and won't accept this sudden abandonment without a fight. But a series of events separates her from Bonnie and the rest of the forgotten toys. It's going to take a lot to get Jessie back where she belongs, with, of course, some help from Buzz and Wood by Tom Hanks. But she's also gonna need to begrudgingly work with some new smart toys she meets along the way, including a quirky potty training gadget. Didn't even know that those existed, but that's cool. And a bubbly digital camera. Toy Story 5 is in theaters now. And Steven, I'm gonna start with you, bud. We did, and our listeners helped us rank the Pixar movies last year. And I'm not gonna ask you to put this toy story 5 like, I'll give you a little more time to think about where you might rank this overall in the Pixar oeuvre. But I am curious. Did you at least have a good time at Toy Story 5? Does it still feel, if not fresh, at least still delightful to engage with?

[Stephen Thompson]

I think so. I enjoyed myself enormously. I fully laughed, fully cried, had a great time. I think it's really interesting when we talk about the fifth installment in a franchise. You start to get into this mindset of where does it rank not only among other Pixar movies, but among other Toy Story movies. And I think if you were to rank particularly 4 and 5, the ones that kind of come after that initial trilogy, it's really easy to sort of view them as less than instead of just viewing them as pleasurable viewing experiences. Because is it the best Toy Story movie? Of course it's not. It's the fifth one. But it still is working with a very, very, very sturdy metaphor and still working off of just sort of like the many challenges and existential crises of childhood. And one thing that really occurred watching this film, kind of even in comparison to the other Toy Story movies, all of these movies are built around metaphor. But it had never really been quite so clear to me how much the Toy Story movies are metaphors, not for childhood, but for parenthood, and how often these films are fixated on obsolescence, going all the way back to Toy Story 2. Obsolescence is a really, really key ache that runs through these films. It's interesting. You know, part of it is like, as you get older, you're gonna kind of have different relationships with these films and kind of view them from different perspectives. This film in particular, I found it a little cluttered. We've now added so many characters that trying to juggle them all is a fool's errand. And so many of the characters introduced in Toy Story 4 are almost completely sidelined here, in part, to make room. And so I have a bunch of quibbles with some of the B plots and some of the clutter in this, but I found its central story very moving, and I was entertained throughout.

[Aisha Harris]

Yeah. Not to mention, like, 100 more buzz lightyears.

[Stephen Thompson]

So many more Buzz Lightyears.

[Regina Barber]

I was, like, clapping in the theater. I was actually sitting next to Steven and I was like, yes, just clapping

[Stephen Thompson]

like a trained seal.

[Producer/Support Announcer]

That's right.

[Aisha Harris]

I love the point you make, Stephen, about parenthood and the metaphors that are coursing through this series. I would even say that I would argue that the first Toy Story is also about obsolescence because it's Woody. It's Woody. Feeling as though. Here comes Buzz Lightyear.

[Stephen Thompson]

He's an old fashioned cowboy with a pull cord.

[Regina Barber]

It's almost as if these stories make an arc, you know?

[Aisha Harris]

Yes. Well, Regina, please, I know you loved the mini Buzzes. What do you think of the whole movie?

[Announcer]

Yeah.

[Regina Barber]

I'm gonna go in the absolute opposite direction as Steven and just be like super judgy. And I am going to actually rank them and I'm gonna be less meaningful because those kids, those mean girls, were dumb and I did not like them. I had like PTSD from when, like my daughter had like bullies, you know,

[Aisha Harris]

the quote unquote friends. They're really frenemies of Bonnie who we see in the movie.

[Regina Barber]

Yeah, yeah, Right, right. And I actually thought that this movie, Toy Story 5, was equivalent to Toy Story 3. Cause I had watched them all again recently and I was like, wow, this is, I think, just as good. My partner was like, he even thought it was better than three because like I said, I'm judgey and I.

[Aisha Harris]

We rank okay. Yeah, let's not get too wild here.

[Regina Barber]

I thought it was really tight. Unlike Steven. I didn't think it was too. I didn't know it was Conan o' Brien until the very end. And I was like, this is amazing.

[Aisha Harris]

As the potty training smarty pants is his name. The potty training gadget thingy.

[Regina Barber]

It's the role he was born to play, you know. And there was a scene in the movie where his character is like, they're playing make believe and his character has like fake hair. And I'm like, that kind of looks like Conan o'. Brien. And then at the end, I was like, oh, yes. But I like the idea of, you know, these kids finding a friend and what a real friend is. But we walked away also thinking, did that movie just shame just a ton of kids that are screen kids? And I was like,

[Aisha Harris]

so what? It shamed me.

[Regina Barber]

I stopped looking at my phone that day a lot more.

[Stephen Thompson]

So, I mean, I mean, these whole movies are centered on the anthropomorphization of objects. And if you are a neurotic, anxious person. I was a very neurotic and anxious child. Am a neurotic and anxious adult. To feel guilt about the way you handle your toys is a byproduct of this franchise.

[Regina Barber]

Yeah, I pulled out my childhood teddy bear that night, like, literally. But, Aisha, how did you feel?

[Aisha Harris]

Well, look, I am on record, I think, as like being very skeptical of sequels. I do think that three was a perfect Number it ended perfectly. And I'm not sure we needed four.

[Regina Barber]

Same.

[Aisha Harris]

I can confidently say I would rank four as the least of the Toy Stories, in my opinion.

[Regina Barber]

Same.

[Stephen Thompson]

I like four a lot, but go ahead.

[Aisha Harris]

I really enjoyed myself with this. Like, one of my notes at the end of it was just, like, cute. It's very cute. And I don't mean that in a shady way. I mean that in, like, I was delighted. I had a good time given that, like, I don't think any of the Toy Story movies, even four, which I'm not very high on, like, it's Toy Story. And so far, I think they've proven that even if they keep returning to this, well, they are gonna find at least some creative ways into. And as you kind of alluded to Regina, like, what I liked about this is that, yes, it's about tech taking over kids and playtime and interrupting playtime in a way that is maybe a little concerning. What I also appreciated about it is the way that it also is not too. Like, part of the other underlying thing that's happening here is not just that tech has taken over and Bonnie is obsessed with it, but it's also the idea that she's having trouble making friends because she is still imaginative and wants to play with toys. And that's the bullying, right, that comes out.

[Regina Barber]

Yeah.

[Aisha Harris]

She's, like, invited to a sleepover. And the girls all have their lily pads. Yeah, she has her lily pad, too, voiced by Greta Lee. But then she also brings Jesse and Bullseye the horse. Jesse's horse. And the way that one of the girls says to her, oh, you still play with toys.

[Regina Barber]

Yeah.

[Aisha Harris]

It reminded me of being five or six years old. I was in kindergarten, and then I moved, like, midway through the year, I moved up to first grade. In between all of that, like, all the transition, whatever, I was still into Barney. Yes. This was the early 90s. Barney was the thing. I was still into Barney. And I got teased for that because I was still into Barney. All the first graders were not. And I was like, no, I'm still in kindergarten, at least emotionally, if not, you know, academically. And the way, oh, you still play with toys. It hit me. And that is the thing about these movies, right? That is the thing about Toy Story is that they're gonna get you. I'm not a parent, but they are gonna get you regardless of where you sit on somewhere.

[Stephen Thompson]

They'll hit your kid self. They'll hit your adult self. They'll hit your anti self. They'll find a way in Yeah.

[Aisha Harris]

I really just adored those moments and appreciated how. Yes. Is it a cash grab? Yes. Is it playing very hard on nostalgia? But also, the creators of this have found a purpose in a way, even if it is rehashing a lot of the same themes that we've seen over and over again.

[Regina Barber]

I wanna echo what you said, Aisha. I was made fun of in middle school for the Animated Series, so this was in the 90s as well. But they were like, you still watch cartoons? And I was like, 12. 1. This is a very good cartoon. Like, okay. But, yeah, no, I mean, it's the same thing of this bullying for, like, kids. And it's so funny because they're like, these kids are a little different. What they actually mean is that these kids are actually creative and not boring. And I was just like, I love how this makes, like, kids who don't have imaginations feel like maybe they should.

[Aisha Harris]

Yes. Yes. Especially the playtime scenes where we're inside Bonnie's head. The animators deliberately.

[Regina Barber]

They're so good.

[Aisha Harris]

The way it's animated is so beautiful.

[Stephen Thompson]

They do such a gorgeous job.

[Regina Barber]

I love it.

[Aisha Harris]

This sort of pastel chalk looking. And so those moments are just really vividly rendered. Yeah.

[Stephen Thompson]

And there's such energy to the animation in those scenes. That does a great job making play. Kind of imaginative playtime seem way more fun than it actually is.

[Regina Barber]

Do you know, it was kind of reminiscent of Princess and the Frog when she has that scene where she's thinking about her restaurant and it's kind of like art deco and it's like, brighter, almost there.

[Aisha Harris]

Yes. The song. Yes.

[Regina Barber]

It was kind of like that. And I really liked that.

[Aisha Harris]

Yeah. Yeah. I do want to ask, though, I both loved this, but then I also kept wondering, was this movie too late?

[Regina Barber]

I was also thinking that, is it

[Aisha Harris]

too late to save the children?

[Stephen Thompson]

I'm really glad that you asked this question, because I did. Even watching the commercials, I had this feeling of like, are we railing against the LeapPad learning system?

[Regina Barber]

That was like, my kid, she's 17.

[Announcer]

Yeah.

[Regina Barber]

She had a little keyboard.

[Stephen Thompson]

They had different devices, and our kids had the LeapPad learning system. It's like, I'm DJ Leap. And I was like, oh, God, I feel like these movies could have made it clearer. Annoying. Some of this tech is for the parents who I think are well represented as like, well meaning and kind of trying to do right by their kid and help their kid hold on to childhood. I definitely had these feelings of, like, this film should be against AI, not tablets was kind of the Feeling I had is that it's a little bit behind.

[Regina Barber]

It wasn't totally against tablets. I do want to just like push back a little that I was surprised on how it was nuanced. It was like, hey, this is a good device to help connect with people, with people you do want to connect to. It straddles the line of like, where is tech useful and where does it suck you in? And all those scenes where the kids are looking at the screens in the blue light. I think that's still very, very apartment right now.

[Aisha Harris]

Yeah, it's apt. It just feels also a little like, not that it's too late, because there's always gonna be new children in the world, I hope. Even when I was a kid, like, I remember I did have like a toy, at least one toy that was like a teaching toy. Like it had. It was a robot. It was the 60s version idea of what a robot might look like.

[Regina Barber]

I love that.

[Aisha Harris]

And then by the time I was 11, I had a Tamagotchi. So like, it does feel as though the obsolescence again. I don't know how many more existential crises these toys can have.

[Stephen Thompson]

I think limitless. It's about childhood and parenthood, and those are completely universal things. As you said, there are always new children being born and there are always new forces encroaching on and trying to shrink our childhood. And that is absolutely universal. That was true even in the before times. When I grew up in the land

[Regina Barber]

before time 25, we played with Triceratops.

[Stephen Thompson]

Not plastic dinosaurs, but actual dinosaurs, real ones.

[Regina Barber]

You rode them at Arlo and the

[Stephen Thompson]

other kids Row is like, ride the dinosaur. And it's like, no, I'm still too small. I definitely felt watching this more than I did with four. I felt watching this like, oh, there's room for more sequels.

[Regina Barber]

I thought that too.

[Stephen Thompson]

To me, I'm just like, bring em on, give me more of them. Do I have quibbles along the way? Did I need a B plot about Buzz wanting to marry Jesse?

[Regina Barber]

Yes.

[Stephen Thompson]

No. No.

[Regina Barber]

I thought it was cute. I like the buzzes.

[Aisha Harris]

I mean, it was cute. I mean, it was funny a little bit, but I don't know if I needed the full on Bambi sequence with the multiple Buzz Lightyears in the woods where you hear Love. Like the instrumental of Love is a song from Bambi, but then it turns into the ominous man theme when a family is.

[Regina Barber]

It was theatrical.

[Aisha Harris]

Well, it was theatrical, but it also felt like it was leaning a little too hard into. Let's reference other Disney movies.

[Regina Barber]

Oh, I hadn't even thought of that.

[Aisha Harris]

And it's not that they haven't referenced them in the past, but they were usually a little more subtle. Like, it might be, like, you might see a flash of a toy or

[Regina Barber]

a keychain or something.

[Aisha Harris]

A keychain or something that's referencing a Disney movie or another Pixar movie. It did feel as though this is where we're coming up on, like, okay, we're a franchise now, so, like, we have to be a little bit more self referential. I will say the one thing that kind of, like, became clear to me just to, like, go back really briefly to this idea of, like, the children and parents. There's also a moment where Jesse is just really kind of despondent and, like, almost about to give up because that always. That's what's gonna happen. Before they save the day again, all is lost. But she says something along the lines of like, I can't keep doing this. Like, I can't love another kid just to find out I never really matter. And then I was like, this is not just a metaphor for childhood and parenthood. It's also a metaphor for, like, anyone who' who is having a really sucky time at trying to find a romantic partner or trying to find friends.

[Stephen Thompson]

And like, oh, God, do I have to start over?

[Regina Barber]

Yeah, yeah.

[Aisha Harris]

The whole starting over part. And again, I don't know how many more times I need to see them keep learning how to start over at the same time if we're gonna keep doing it. I think these same creative impulses, they are finding interesting ways into it. And I do think that, like, the choice to focus so much on Jesse and kind of let Buzz and Woody kind of take a backseat was kind of exciting. Like, Joan Cusack is, so she's just really good in this role.

[Stephen Thompson]

There's also a very funny visual gag about Woody.

[Aisha Harris]

Yes, yes.

[Stephen Thompson]

I think is so funny.

[Aisha Harris]

Yeah, yeah.

[Stephen Thompson]

Before we leave this conversation, though, Aisha, I don't know if you were gonna ask, but I do think we need to discuss the song.

[Regina Barber]

Oh, the Taylor Swift song. I remembered I loved you came back Back when it mattered I saw you standing there in the light of the window Wearing that same smile man, it's been a while But I knew it.

[Aisha Harris]

I knew you. I heard it during the credits and then I instantly forgot about it.

[Regina Barber]

I'm gonna plus one that, Aisha.

[Aisha Harris]

But let's be real. The Toy Story franchise. You've Got a Friend In Me, obviously a classic.

[Stephen Thompson]

When she Loved Me is one of the best movie songs ever.

[Aisha Harris]

When she Loved Me is a banger. And we get a little bit of that in this movie too. We hear that this movie is just

[Stephen Thompson]

a movie length extens of that song.

[Aisha Harris]

Yes, it is, because Emily, Jesse's owner, is very much looming over this entire movie. But Steven, tell us, what do we think of the Taylor Swift song? What is it called again? I forget.

[Stephen Thompson]

I knew it. I knew you. It's fine. I was a little surprised going in because there had been a lot of discussion about how the song might be integrated into the film in the past. A lot of the Toy Story songs are integrated into the film. You've Got a Friend in Me as part of kind of a montage. When you think about When She Loved Me, like that is central to Toy Story 2. That is the central, poignant, most poignant moment in Toy Story 2. I can't let you throw yourself away from Toy Story 4. Oscar nominated Randy Newman's song about Forky constantly throwing himself away. That's integrated into the film.

[Aisha Harris]

It's cute. It's cute.

[Stephen Thompson]

I was lightly shocked when this song just like rolled harmlessly over the closing credits and wasn't integrated into into the film at all.

[Regina Barber]

Like a tumbleweed.

[Stephen Thompson]

And to me, that made the song seem slighter. And I had listened to the song a few times in kind of the run up to seeing the film. Just cause I'm in the world and I'm like, this is nice. But I wanted to see it kind of gather a little bit of kind of narrative heft. And this movie does not let it do that.

[Aisha Harris]

It also seems strange given it's Taylor Swift and she is like a walking autobiographer when she is writing songs.

[Stephen Thompson]

So she's nothing if not full of lore.

[Aisha Harris]

Yeah. So it does seem a little strange that this would be one of those songs that just plays at the end. And it does kind of make it feel more just like, okay, this is her shot at getting an Oscar nomination and eventually getting an egot. That's why someone like Taylor Swift does these movies.

[Producer/Support Announcer]

True.

[Aisha Harris]

But we really like Toy Story 5 as a whole. You should definitely go check it out. And ideally in the theaters because it looks gorgeous and you will have a good time. And up next, what's making us happy this week?

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[Aisha Harris]

And now it's time for our favorite segment of this week and every week. What's making us happy? Regina, we're gonna kick it off with you.

[Regina Barber]

Yeah. And I am going to break the rules and always talk about two. I am so sorry. I watched my first K drama ever. It's called Bon Appetit, you, Majesty. And it's on Netflix. And it's about a chef that goes back in time to the 1500s in Korea. And it is ridiculous and like, funny and also super bloody. I loved it.

[Aisha Harris]

Super bloody. Okay, Y. Keep going.

[Regina Barber]

And it's like, you know, great food. And my daughter, my 17 year old daughter is making me watch an anime called Haikyuu. And it's about volleyball. That's all it's about. These kids are failing school because all they care about is volleyball. And it is incredibly compelling. And I had no idea you could do this.

[Aisha Harris]

Wow.

[Regina Barber]

It's also on Netflix.

[Aisha Harris]

Okay, so that is Bon Appetit, you, Majesty. The K drama. And then what is the other one?

[Regina Barber]

Haikyuu, the anime on Netflix. It's about volleyball. That's it.

[Stephen Thompson]

Volleyball, anime.

[Regina Barber]

All right.

[Aisha Harris]

And they're both on Netflix.

[Regina Barber]

They are.

[Aisha Harris]

All right. Thank you, Regina, for that. Stephen, what is making you happy this week?

[Stephen Thompson]

What is making me happy this week is the new mixtape from the wonderful Philly rapper and singer Tierra Whack, announced just like a couple weeks ago out for Juneteenth. If you don't know Tierra Whack, just endless, endless wellspring of weird ideas. I fell in love with Tierra Whack when she put out this kind of quote unquote album called Wack World, which was a 15 minute album, 15 one minute songs and you just got a sense of just ideas just springing out of every second of her music. She's kind of gone on to perform what I think is one of the all time great tiny desk concerts which includes a cameo appearance by the Philly Phanatic.

[Aisha Harris]

What y Her music is best accompanied

[Stephen Thompson]

by her videos which are just like wildly inventive and fun to look at, just full of bright colors and wild imagery. This new mixtape will also be accompanied by videos. I have not seen them yet, I've only heard the songs and I will say I'm sure the videos will only add to just the wild Technicolor geyser of ideas that is her new ep. Let's actually hear a little bit of the song Wiggity whack say my name

[Regina Barber]

with enthusiasm I got kids though I refuse to have them I stop flexing to produce the spasms Bigger than you imagine Going tit for tat I bet I booby trap em Life's a game there must be played the elevator was crowded so my success delayed no excuse

[Stephen Thompson]

you just hear that like warped arrangement kind of wobbling underneath her very 90s, she continues to just be a a wonderful, wonderful font of creativity and I'm just delighted that she's got this new record out for Juneteenth. That's Tierra Whack. Her new mixtape is called Wax Museum.

[Aisha Harris]

Love it. Thank you so much, Stephen.

[Stephen Thompson]

That's awesome.

[Aisha Harris]

Well, I'm gonna keep it in the musical realm. Underscores is an artist who's new to me because musically speaking, I tend to be late to everything except Charli xcx. I was on that bandwagon way before everyone else. But Underscores has a new album. A ish album came out a few months ago called you'd and I am just obsessed with this. This is like drill hyper pop EDM songs that zig and zag and start in one place sonically and then evolve into like a different movement by the end of it. It's the type of music that I want to actually listen mostly to in my headphones because you want to hear the many harmonies and the stacked vocals in this empty space that like punctuates some of these songs. Some of my favorites on this album are Music Love Field, which sounds kind of like a spiritual successor to, I think to like Janet's Velvet Rope album. It could have been on like the Velvet rope in the 90s do it, which is really kind of Timbaland and Justin during, like the feature Sex Love Sounds era. But I think my favorite at this moment is probably the Peace. That's P, E, A, C E. And it's just kind of like this song about an unhealthy attachment to another person as told through, like, sharing a smoke with them. And let's actually hear just a little bit of that song. Ah, yeah. I love the emptiness and the chopped harmonies and the spareness and all of that.

[Stephen Thompson]

You just listened to that sample and my pupils are darting all over the place.

[Aisha Harris]

I know.

[Regina Barber]

That's good. What was the name again?

[Aisha Harris]

The name is Underscores. That's the artist and she's actually from the Bay Area. But that song was the piece and the album is U. It's just the letter U. Very Prince. Like so. Yes. That is what is making me happy this week. And that brings us to the end of our show. Regina Barber, Stephen Thompson, thanks so much for being here. I love that we all enjoyed Toy Story 5 because we did.

[Producer/Support Announcer]

Yeah.

[Aisha Harris]

We need this. We need it.

[Regina Barber]

Thank you.

[Aisha Harris]

This episode was produced by Hafsa Fathoma, Liz Metzger, and Mike Katsif and edited by our showrunner, Jessica Reedy. Hello. Kamin provides our theme music. And thank you for listening to Pop Culture Happy Hour from npr. I'm Aisha Harris, and we'll see you all next week.

[Producer/Support Announcer]

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