The movie Didi is a vibrant coming-of-age dramedy and was a Sundance film festival favorite. It stars Izaac Wang as a 13-year-old just trying to survive the awkwardness of puberty as a Taiwanese-American kid living in the Bay Area. He's got a crush to impress, complicated friendships to navigate, and family members who are sooooo embarrassing. Didi was directed by Sean Wang, who earned an Oscar nomination earlier this year for his documentary short Nai Nai & Wai Po . Subscribe to Pop Culture Hap...
Aug 15, 2024•15 min•Ep. 1911
We've got dirty words on the brain, and we're chatting about the use and functions of profanity in entertainment. In this encore episode from 2013, we cover everything from Anchorman to South Park to Shakespeare. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy
Aug 14, 2024•16 min•Ep. 1910
In the new, stylishly odd horror film Cuckoo , Hunter Schafer plays an American teenager who reluctantly moves with her family to a mysterious resort in the German Alps. Her rebellious spirit clashes with the resort's creepy proprietor, played by Dan Stevens. When weird stuff starts happening, long-buried family secrets come to light and the resort's true nature stands revealed. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy...
Aug 12, 2024•16 min•Ep. 1909
The 2016 Colleen Hoover novel It Ends With Us was a massive bestseller. And now that book is a movie. Blake Lively stars as Lily Bloom, a woman who falls for a hot neurosurgeon played by Justin Baldoni — who also directs the film. But their relationship is complicated by the return of her old flame (Brandon Sklenar). She also has to reckon with her feelings about her abusive father and the mother who stayed with him. Subscribe to Pop Culture Happy Hour Plus at plus.npr.org/happyhour Learn more a...
Aug 09, 2024•28 min•Ep. 1908
It's summer, and whether you're taking a trip – or simply staying out of the heat with the AC running – there's nothing like relaxing with a good audiobook. So in this encore episode, we are recommending three of our favorite fiction audiobooks. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy
Aug 08, 2024•7 min•Ep. 1907
There is nothing better for the summer doldrums than a blast of Olympic glory. For a couple of weeks this summer, athletes are showing us how they flip, run, swim, climb, and paddle and even breakdance to prove they are the best in the world. We're checking in with the 2024 Olympics, including wins for gymnast Simone Biles, swimmer Katie Ledecky, and sprinter Noah Lyles. Subscribe to Pop Culture Happy Hour Plus at plus.npr.org/happyhour Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.co...
Aug 06, 2024•24 min•Ep. 1906
The moving drama Sing Sing stars Colman Domingo as the leader of a tight-knit theatre ensemble within one of the most notorious maximum-security prisons in the United States. Most of the cast are alumni of the actual program who had input on the filmmaking process. The movie showcases the ups and downs of putting on a show without being overly sentimental or cliché. Subscribe to Pop Culture Happy Hour Plus at plus.npr.org/happyhour Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adc...
Aug 05, 2024•17 min•Ep. 1905
M. Night Shyamalan's new thriller Trap stars Josh Hartnett as a father attending a pop concert with his teenage daughter. But all is not as it appears. It quickly turns out that the entire concert is surrounded by police who are trying to catch a dangerous serial killer in the most difficult way possible. There is a lot going on in this bonkers movie: lots of pop songs, and lots of strange decision-making. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy...
Aug 02, 2024•25 min•Ep. 1904
The second season of HBO's House of the Dragon is almost over. The war between two rival factions of the Targaryen dynasty is fully underway, complete with stealth missions, palace intrigue, battle scenes and hot dragon-on-dragon action. But now that the Dance of the Dragons is in full swing, has the Game of Thrones prequel finally hit its stride? Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy...
Aug 01, 2024•23 min•Ep. 1903
The dryly funny new Apple TV+ series Time Bandits reimagines the 1981 Terry Gilliam film of the same name. A squad of inept thieves — including their sort-of leader, played by Lisa Kudrow — have stolen a map of the universe. They use it to jump through portals to various time periods to steal stuff. One jump takes them into the bedroom of a British kid (Kal-El Tuck), who tags along as they're chased by Taika Waititi's Supreme Being and Jemaine Clement's Pure Evil. Learn more about sponsor messag...
Jul 31, 2024•22 min•Ep. 1902
Trying to declare the "official" song of the summer isn't a new sport. But this year feels like the first in a while where the field's been so crowded from the domination of pop girls like Charli XCX, Sabrina Carpenter, and Chappell Roan to country twang with Post Malone, Morgan Wallen, and Shaboozey. Today, we discussing the songs and artists who seem to be everywhere this summer, and why they are so catchy and inescapable. Subscribe to Pop Culture Happy Hour Plus at plus.npr.org/happyhour Lear...
Jul 30, 2024•27 min•Ep. 1901
In the highly meta Deadpool & Wolverine , Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman finally meet up for their own big movie. Deadpool is still smarmy, Wolverine is still tragic, and they have to get together to save the world. Along the way, Deadpool continues his usual routine of endless wisecracking. The movie is jam-packed with fan service and Easter eggs. But how will casual Marvel fans like the movie? Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy...
Jul 26, 2024•24 min•Ep. 1900
In Netflix's weirdly compelling dark comedy The Decameron , the bubonic plague is ravaging Florence in 1348. A group of rich nobles and their servants decide to retreat to a picturesque villa in the country to wait it all out. The large ensemble includes Tony Hale and Zosia Mamet. Every character is hiding something, and those secrets get revealed — and more than a few uglies get bumped. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy...
Jul 25, 2024•18 min•Ep. 1899
What makes a good karaoke song? In this encore episode, we're suggesting three great songs to sing at karaoke night. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy
Jul 23, 2024•10 min•Ep. 1898
In the new Apple TV+ series Sunny , Rashida Jones stars as a woman living in Kyoto, whose husband and young son go missing in a plane crash. To help console her, her husband's electronics company gives her a robot companion. The show is an interesting mix of styles and genres – it's a buddy comedy, a crime thriller and a drama about loss. But at the center of it all is the mystery of what happened to her husband and son – and why. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adch...
Jul 22, 2024•15 min•Ep. 1897
Twiste r was one of the biggest disaster movies of the '90s. Now, it's finally got a sequel — one with an all-new cast, state-of-the-art effects, and a whole lot of tornadoes. The new film stars Glen Powell and Daisy Edgar-Jones as rival storm-chasers who have a habit of running into tornadoes while everyone else is fleeing. Twisters was directed by Lee Isaac Chung, who also directed the Oscar-nominated Minari . Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy P...
Jul 19, 2024•27 min•Ep. 1896
The nominations the Emmy Awards were just announced, and it was a good day for The Bear , which set a new record in the comedy category. And plenty of our favorites also got Emmy nods, including Mr. and Mrs. Smith, Shōgun , Reservation Dogs and What We Do in the Shadows . We'll help you unpack this year's the notable nominees and snubs. Subscribe to Pop Culture Happy Hour Plus at plus.npr.org/happyhour Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy...
Jul 17, 2024•25 min•Ep. 1895
The best-selling card game Exploding Kittens has been adapted into a new Netflix animated series. It does plenty of its own world-building: God (Tom Ellis) and the devil (Sasheer Zamata) are sent to earth, where they take the form of talking cats — and meddle in the lives of a struggling family. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy...
Jul 16, 2024•16 min•Ep. 1894
They're calling it the scariest movie of the year. The new horror film Longlegs follows FBI special agent Lee Harker (Mika Monroe) tracking a serial killer in the 1990s. If that sounds like familiar ground, consider this – the clues she follows hint at the involvement of the occult in general and Satanism in particular. And the killer in question: Nicolas Cage, uncaged. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy...
Jul 15, 2024•14 min•Ep. 1893
The cheeky new romantic dramedy Fly Me to the Moon stars Scarlett Johansson as a NASA publicist at the height of the space race. She must stage a top-secret fake version of the moon landing as backup, just in case the real attempt fails. No one else at NASA can know about it — especially the upstanding launch director, played by Channing Tatum. The pair clash (and flirt) as they prepare for Apollo 11 to launch. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Po...
Jul 12, 2024•18 min•Ep. 1892
Sports aren't just games. They're intertwined with epic stories about struggle, human behavior, historic greatness and grand emotions. In other words, sports make for great documentaries. And if you're looking for some good ones, we've got recommendations: Winning Time: Reggie Miller vs. The New York Knicks , The Armstrong Lie , and Athlete A . Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy...
Jul 11, 2024•10 min•Ep. 1891
Despicable Me 4 is the latest film in an animation franchise that made household names of reformed supervillain Gru (Steve Carrell) and his army of nattering Minions. The franchise has grossed billions of dollars, and the latest movie topped the weekend box office. But are these films growing up with their audience, or continuing to cater to young kids? And does that matter? Subscribe to Pop Culture Happy Hour Plus at plus.npr.org/happyhour Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoice...
Jul 10, 2024•17 min•Ep. 1890
It's summer, so we're talking all about road trips. Should you blast music that's familiar or unfamiliar? What makes for a good road trip audiobook? What are some road trip games we hate? Pop Culture Happy Hour talked all about how to entertain and amuse ourselves in the car way back in 2012. Today, in this encore episode, we're revisiting that conversation. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy...
Jul 08, 2024•12 min•Ep. 1889
The new movie MaXXXine stars Mia Goth as an adult-film actress who gets her big break in Hollywood, only to be revisited by horrors from her past. Set in 1985 Los Angeles, it's the final film in director Ti West's beloved horror trilogy that began with the movie X. MaXXXine also features performances from Kevin Bacon, Elizabeth Debicki, and Giancarlo Esposito. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy...
Jul 05, 2024•21 min•Ep. 1888
The Pop Culture Happy Hour team is off today, so we're bringing you an episode of the NPR podcast Wild Card with Rachel Martin . This episode is an interview with Bowen Yang. He is the first Chinese American cast member on SNL, the co-host the podcast Las Culturistas , and he starred in the rom-com Fire Island. He talks to Rachel about living too much in the present, hard truths from Tina Fey, and why the afterlife should have a rollercoaster. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastcho...
Jul 04, 2024•28 min•Ep. 1887
A lot has happened to rapper Megan Thee Stallion over the last couple of years including a highly publicized trial after being shot by a former friend, a messy breakup, and a feud with artist Nicki Minaj. She confronts all of that and more on her boastful and vulnerable new album Megan. But she also has fun on playful tracks like 'Down Stairs DJ' and 'Otaku Hot Girl' that are odes to self-pleasure and her anime nerddom. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR P...
Jul 03, 2024•20 min•Ep. 1886
The Bear just returned for its third season and it's still one of the most stressful and most interesting shows on TV. Carmy (Jeremy Allen White) and Sydney (Ayo Edebiri) are launching their new fine dining restaurant, but he's estranged from some of the people who are closest to him just as he sneaks up on a new level of success. The series is streaming now on Hulu. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy...
Jul 02, 2024•25 min•Ep. 1885
In the post-apocalyptic world of A Quiet Place , aliens kill anyone who makes a sound, forcing humans into a near-silent existence. The new movie A Quiet Place: Day One takes us back to the beginning, but this time through the eyes of a terminally ill cancer patient played by the excellent Lupita Nyong'o. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy...
Jul 01, 2024•17 min•Ep. 1884
Kinds of Kindness is a weird, dark, and bleak film. It's directed by Yorgos Lanthimos ( Poor Things ) and it re-teams him with Emma Stone and Willem Dafoe, along with Jesse Plemons. Each actor plays different characters in three different stories — which all involve someone going to extreme measures to regain something they've lost. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy...
Jun 28, 2024•23 min•Ep. 1883
The new film Fancy Dance offers something all-too-rare on screen: contemporary Indigenous perspectives, front and center. Lily Gladstone plays a woman trying to keep it together under stressful circumstances. Her sister's gone missing, and she steps in to look after her young niece (Isabel Deroy-Olson). The pair take what turns out to be a rocky road trip and a unique bonding experience. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy...
Jun 27, 2024•17 min•Ep. 1882
