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It's Been a Minute

Want in on a secret? Your likes and dislikes didn't develop by accident. There are subtle and not-so-subtle forces around you, shaping what you think, how you act, and even who you think you are. Brittany Luse is here to break the spell and help you feel wiser in a society that makes things blurry.

THE BEST POP CULTURE PODCAST AWARD WINNER AT THE 2025 SIGNAL AWARDS

It’s Been A Minute with Brittany Luse is the best podcast for understanding what’s going on in culture right now, and helps you consume it smarter. From how politics influences pop culture to how identity influences tech or health, Brittany makes the picture clearer for you every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.It’s Been A Minute reaches millions of people every week. Join the community and conversation today.

If you can't get enough, try It's Been a Minute Plus. Your subscription supports the show and unlocks a sponsor-free feed. Learn more at plus.npr.org/itsbeenaminute
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Episodes

Weekly Wrap: "No, You Can't."

It's Sam's first show in LA, and it's Oscar weekend. Variety/Access Live contributor Audrey Cleo (@audreycleo) and Wall Street Journal reporter Erich Schwartzel (@erichschwartzel) join Sam to talk about the Academy Awards, the state of the film industry, and more news and culture of the week. Plus a call to a listener in Oakland, CA, and the best things that happened to our listeners all week. Email the show at samsanders@npr.org or tweet @NPRItsBeenaMin with feels. See pcm.adswizz.com for infor...

Mar 02, 201842 min

'Black Panther' with Glen Weldon and Evan Narcisse

Sam talks about the success of Black Panther and where Hollywood goes next with writer Glen Weldon (@ghweldon) from NPR's Pop Culture Happy Hour and Evan Narcisse (@EvNarc), who's writing Rise of the Black Panther for Marvel Comics. Email the show at samsanders@npr.org or tweet @NPRItsBeenaMin with feels. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences. NPR Privacy Policy...

Feb 27, 201836 min

Weekly Wrap LIVE: "Kids Will Lead."

The Parkland shooting, a wrap on the 2018 Olympic Games, and the mood at the Conservative Political Action Conference. Sam looks back at the week's news and more with PBS White House Correspondent Yamiche Alcindor (@Yamiche) and VICE News correspondent Evan McMorris-Santoro. (@EvanMcS). Email the show at samsanders@npr.org or tweet @NPRItsBeenaMin with feels. And PS — thanks for all the dog pics! Keep 'em coming. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data f...

Feb 23, 201848 min

Journalist Ann Curry On Dramatic Reunions, #MeToo, and 'Today'

Ann Curry, journalist and former host of Today on NBC , hosts a new PBS series called We'll Meet Again, documenting dramatic reunions of people whose lives crossed at pivotal moments. She talks to Sam about the series, the MeToo movement, and the reunion story in her own life. Email the show at samsanders@npr.org or tweet @NPRItsBeenAMin with your feedback. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship pre...

Feb 20, 201834 min

Weekly Wrap: "All Over Again."

Music from Black Panther , the Pyeongchang Olympics, and a new champion show-dog. Sam looks back at the week's news and more with NPR International Correspondent Elise Hu (@elisewho) and NPR editor Barrie Hardymon (@bhardymon). Plus music from Nick Hakim (@nick_hakim). Email the show at samsanders@npr.org or tweet @NPRItsBeenaMin with feels. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences. NPR Pr...

Feb 16, 201853 min

'Love and Marriage in Mumbai'

In honor of Valentine's Day this week, a look at what happens AFTER you get married. Sam talks to PBS reporter and author Liz Flock about her new book, The Heart is a Shifting Sea: Love and Marriage in Mumbai. Liz spent about 10 years following three Indian couples in both love and arranged marriages. In a country that is rapidly changing, how do those changes impact marriage? Email the show at samsanders@npr.org or tweet @NPRItsBeenAMin with your feedback. See pcm.adswizz.com for information ab...

Feb 13, 201839 min

Weekly Wrap: "Hey, Big Spender."

Space Jam, another government shutdown, military parades, and stock shock. Sam looks back at the week's news and more with New York Times reporter Sopan Deb (@SopanDeb) and comedian and Fake the Nation host Negin Farsad (@NeginFarsad). Email the show at samsanders@npr.org or tweet @NPRItsBeenaMin with feels. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences. NPR Privacy Policy...

Feb 09, 201850 min

Congressman Beto O'Rourke

Beto O'Rourke (@BetoORourke) is a rising star in the Democratic party hoping to unseat Republican Senator Ted Cruz, which would make him the first Democrat to win statewide office in Texas since 1994. And he's trying to do it without party consultants, pollsters, and PAC money. O'Rourke talks to Sam about Texas politics, immigration policy, campaigning, how he got into public service, the President's State of the Union address, and Kit-Kats. Email the show at samsanders@npr.org or tweet @NPRItsB...

Feb 06, 201841 min

Weekly Wrap: "Did It Matter?"

Grammys Gonna Grammy, the State of the Union, and the state of pro football on Super Bowl weekend. Sam looks back at the week's news and more with NPR reporter Vanessa Romo (@vanromo) and Stephen Thompson (@idislikestephen) of NPR Music and Pop Culture Happy Hour. Email the show at samsanders@npr.org or tweet @NPRItsBeenaMin with feels. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences. NPR Privacy...

Feb 02, 201847 min

Carrie Brownstein On The 'Portlandia' Final Season

Carrie Brownstein was a member of indie rock band Sleater-Kinney for years before starring in and co-executive producing Portlandia . But the award-winning IFC show is taking its final bow this spring. Carrie chats with Sam about working with co-star Fred Armisen, the show's satirizing of liberals, and being a riot grrrl. Email the show at samsanders@npr.org or tweet @NPRItsBeenAMin with your feedback. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsors...

Jan 30, 201839 min

Weekly Wrap: "The Whole Map."

Laurel Wamsley (@laurelwamsley), reporter for NPR's breaking news blog The Two-Way, and NPR Business Reporter Alina Selyukh (@alinaselyukh) join Sam to talk about the week that was, from the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, to the fallout over the abuse of female gymnasts by Larry Nassar. Also a phone call to a listener in San Francisco, and a look at the relationship between President Trump and big tech. It's all capped off with the best things that happened to listeners all week. Em...

Jan 26, 201845 min

#MeToo in Politics: Then and Now

Sam talks with NPR legal affairs correspondent Nina Totenberg and PBS White House Correspondent Yamiche Alcindor about sexual assault and harassment in politics and #MeToo now and in the 1990s, when Nina broke the Anita Hill story. Email the show at samsanders@npr.org or tweet @NPRItsBeenAMin with your feedback. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences. NPR Privacy Policy...

Jan 23, 201842 min

Weekly Wrap: "War of Worlds."

Recode Senior Editor Tony Romm (@TonyRomm) and CNN Politics Senior Writer Juana Summers (@jmsummers) join Sam to talk about the week that was: Hawaii's ballistic missile alert, the government shutdown, a renewed debate over net neutrality, and a report on White House staff turnover. Also three things you're not hearing about Puerto Rico and a call to a listener in Anchorage, Alaska. It's all capped off with the best things that happened to listeners all week. Email the show at samsanders@npr.org...

Jan 19, 201842 min

New Yorker Editor Kevin Young on 'Hoaxes, Post-Facts, and Fake News'

Young, poetry editor of The New Yorker, has written a book about 'fake news' before President Trump co-opted the term. It's called "Bunk: The Rise of Hoaxes, Humbug, Plagiarists, Phonies, Post-Facts, and Fake News." He talks to Sam about the book, as well as Prince, why hoaxes are so tied up with race, Donald Trump and P.T. Barnum, editing poetry at The New Yorker, black twitter, and growing up in Nebraska. Email the show at samsanders@npr.org or tweet @NPRItsBeenAMin with your feedback. Follow ...

Jan 16, 201837 min

Weekly Wrap: "Forests And Trees."

Washington Post reporter Dan Zak (@MrDanZak) and New York Times White House correspondent Katie Rogers (@katierogers) join Sam to talk about the week that was: the President's vulgar language, a 200-page report on Russia's hacking of the 2016 election, and how the Trump administration might change US policy on nuclear weapons, plus a call to a listener from El Salvador about her temporary protected status and the best things that happened to our listeners all week. Email the show at samsanders@n...

Jan 12, 201848 min

'Bachelor' Producer Elan Gale Thinks 'You're Not That Great'

"You're Not That Great" is a self-up send-up by Gale, Executive Producer of The Bachelor and The Bachelorette. He talks to Sam about the book, The Bachelor , Christian rock, embracing negative emotions, and his struggle with addiction. Email the show at samsanders@npr.org or tweet @NPRItsBeenAMin with your feedback. Follow Sam on Twitter @samsanders and producers Brent Baughman @brentbaughman and Anjuli Sastry @AnjuliSastry. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of per...

Jan 09, 201849 min

Weekly Wrap: "Resolve To Unplug."

NPR's All Things Considered and Embedded host Kelly McEvers (@kellymcevers) and Codeswitch reporter Karen Grigsby Bates (@karenbates), join Sam to talk about the rift between President Trump and Steve Bannon and a look on what's ahead for immigration in 2018. All that plus a call to a listener in Virginia Beach and the best things that happened to our listeners all week. Email the show at samsanders@npr.org or tweet @NPRItsBeenAMin with your feedback. Follow Sam on Twitter @samsanders and produc...

Jan 05, 201843 min

Congressman Will Hurd on Party Divisions, the GOP, and 2018

Texas Republican Will Hurd represents the 23rd district — a sprawling, diverse district bigger than dozens of states — which Hillary Clinton won in 2016. Sam talks to Congressman Hurd about tax cuts, health care, San Antonio, working for the CIA, and what 2018 might hold for the GOP. Email the show at samsanders@npr.org or tweet @NPRItsBeenAMin with your feedback. Follow Sam on Twitter @samsanders and producers Brent Baughman @brentbaughman and Anjuli Sastry @AnjuliSastry. See pcm.adswizz.com fo...

Jan 02, 201837 min

A Special Year-End Edition

Pop Culture Happy Hour host Linda Holmes (@nprmonkeysee), NPR congressional correspondent Susan Davis (@DaviSusan), and R. Eric Thomas (@oureric), playwright and 'person on the internet' join Sam to talk about the year that was. Plus year-end music highlights with Radio Menea host Verónica Flores (@veroconplatanos) and NPR Music's Rodney Carmichael (@rodneyology). Email the show at samsanders@npr.org or tweet @NPRItsBeenAMin with your feedback. Follow Sam on Twitter @samsanders and producers Bre...

Dec 29, 20171 hr 2 min

Stuart Murdoch and Sarah Martin of Belle And Sebastian

The indie band Belle and Sebastian is out with a trio of EPs called "How To Solve Our Human Problems." Members Stuart Murdoch and Sarah Martin talk to Sam about the new music, the songwriting process, life on the road, and why they still clean their own studio after 20 years. Email the show at samsanders@npr.org or tweet @NPRItsBeenAMin with your feedback. Follow Sam on Twitter @samsanders and producers Brent Baughman @brentbaughman and Anjuli Sastry @AnjuliSastry. See pcm.adswizz.com for inform...

Dec 26, 201725 min

Weekly Wrap: "They're Not Done."

NPR reporter Camila Domonoske (@camilareads) and Lauren Ober (@OberandOut), host of WAMU's The Big Listen, join Sam to talk about the week that was. With the holiday weekend upon us, the GOP got their tax bill but the future of CHIP and DACA is unclear — plus a call to a politically divided couple in Connecticut and a very special edition of the best things that happened to our listeners all week. Email the show at samsanders@npr.org or tweet @NPRItsBeenAMin with your feedback. Follow Sam on Twi...

Dec 22, 201743 min

'The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel' Star Rachel Brosnahan

You might know actress Rachel Brosnahan from her supporting role on Netflix's House of Cards a few years back. Now she's back as the fast-talking 1950s housewife Midge Maisel on the new Amazon show, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, from Gilmore Girls creator Amy Sherman-Palladino. The role earned her a Golden Globe nomination for best actress in a TV comedy. She and Sam discuss what the show says about women, especially in light of the #MeToo movement, and much more. Email the show at samsanders@npr.o...

Dec 19, 201742 min

Weekly Wrap: "Tell It All."

Bloomberg retail reporter Sarah Halzack (@sarahhalzack) and Derek Thompson (@DKThomp), writer and senior editor at The Atlantic, join Sam to talk about the week that was: Disney acquiring Fox, net neutrality, #MeToo, and the Alabama Senate race. Plus a call to a listener finishing up her first semester of college, a look at why the economy seems to be doing so well, and the best things that happened to our listeners all week. Email the show at samsanders@npr.org or tweet @NPRItsBeenAMin with you...

Dec 15, 201747 min

Matt Bellassai on Viral Fame, Internet Culture, and Why 'Everything Is Awful'

Professional pessimist Matt Bellassai (@MattBellassai) launched a comedy career doing viral videos for Buzzfeed. Now he's got a new book and performs live across the country. He and Sam talk about the book, Everything Is Awful , and about how his video series became a hit, being an awkward kid, how he came out in college, embracing his sexuality as a part of his identity, and when the Internet used to be better. Email the show at samsanders@npr.org or tweet @NPRItsBeenAMin with your feedback. Fo...

Dec 12, 201736 min

Weekly Wrap: "Up In Smoke."

Sarah Kliff (@sarahkliff), Vox senior policy correspondent and host of the Vox podcast 'The Impact,' and NPR film critic Bob Mondello (@Bob_Mondello) join Sam to talk about the week that was: raging wildfires in southern California, the resignation of Sen. Al Franken, and TIME Magazine naming "The Silence Breakers" people of the year – along with a call to a longtime listener in Alabama. They also discuss the health care implications of the GOP tax plan. It's all capped off with the best things ...

Dec 08, 201743 min

Journalist Dan Rather on Trump, Patriotism, and 'What Unites Us'

Veteran journalist Dan Rather thinks the U.S. is facing an 'existential crisis,' but one the country can survive. His new book is called What Unites Us: Reflections on Patriotism . Sam and Dan talked in front of an audience at the Brooklyn Academy of Music last month. Email the show at samsanders@npr.org or tweet @NPRItsBeenAMin with your feedback. Follow Sam on Twitter @samsanders and producers Brent Baughman @brentbaughman and Anjuli Sastry @AnjuliSastry. See pcm.adswizz.com for information ab...

Dec 05, 201745 min

Weekly Wrap: "Keep It Coming."

Sam is joined by Jody Avirgan (@jodyavirgan) from 538 Politics and ESPN's '30 for 30' podcast series, along with Brittany Luse (@bmluse), co-host of Gimlet Media's 'The Nod,' to talk about the week that was: Michael Flynn, Republican progress on taxes, net neutrality, even more sexual assault firings, along with a call to a listener currently in Puerto Rico. It's all capped off with the best things that happened to listeners all week. Email the show at samsanders@npr.org or tweet @NPRItsBeenAMin...

Dec 01, 201753 min

From 'Black-ish,' Jenifer Lewis: 'The Mother of Black Hollywood'

In her new memoir, "The Mother of Black Hollywood," Jenifer Lewis chronicles a career that has spanned decades, from Broadway to the hit ABC show Black-ish . Along the way, she played fictional moms to Tupac Shakur, Taraji P. Henson, and Whitney Houston. Jenifer talks to Sam about her long career, struggling with addiction and bipolar disorder, growing up in Missouri, and lying her way into the DNC in 2008. Email the show at samsanders@npr.org or tweet @NPRItsBeenAMin with your feedback. Follow ...

Nov 28, 201735 min

A Thanksgiving Special

Dan Pashman, host of the Sporkful (@TheSporkful), and a surprise special guest join the show — and three listeners share Thanksgiving horror stories. Then, as always, the best things that happened to our listeners all week. We're back with a deep dive on Tuesday, and our regular wrap on the week next Friday. As always, you can reach the show at samsanders@npr.org or @NPRItsBeenAMin. Tweet at Sam @samsanders and producers Brent Baughman @brentbaughman and Anjuli Sastry @AnjuliSastry. See pcm.adsw...

Nov 23, 201729 min

Bill Nye On Fame, Family, and How He Became The 'Science Guy'

The one and only Bill Nye the Science Guy (@BillNye) is the subject of a new documentary all about his life. He talks to Sam about the film, how he thinks fame has changed his brain, a troubling degenerative disease that afflicts his family, and his advocacy of climate science. Email the show at samsanders@npr.org or tweet @NPRItsBeenAMin with your feedback. Follow Sam on Twitter @samsanders and producers Brent Baughman @brentbaughman and Anjuli Sastry @AnjuliSastry. See pcm.adswizz.com for info...

Nov 21, 201724 min
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