Pop Culture Happy Hour

Trying to keep up with the latest in pop culture? We’ve got you covered. The Pop Culture Happy Hour podcast helps you find the best new binge-worthy tv shows, movies, music, and videogames.

Join hosts Linda Holmes, Aisha Harris, Stephen Thompson, and Glen Weldon four episodes a week - plus a rotating cast of guest pop culture enthusiasts. It’s your fix for reviews, recommendations, and recaps of the pop culture everyone is talking about. From lowbrow reality TV to Oscar-winning movies to the stuff in between, we take it all with a shot of cheer. On the Pop Culture Happy Hour podcast, we watch everything so that you never miss anything.

Make your happy hour even happier with Pop Culture Happy Hour Plus! Your subscription supports the podcast and unlocks a sponsor-free feed. Learn more at plus.npr.org/happyhour

Last refreshed: June 26th, 2026 at 7:12 AM

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Episodes

One Of Them Days

Keke Palmer is one of Hollywood's most charismatic leads, and SZA is one of the world's biggest pop stars. Now, they've teamed up for the raunchy buddy comedy One of Them Days . The movie is about two best friends in L.A., who endure a wild series of misadventures as they try to make rent over the course of one very eventful day. It's rowdy and profane, but it's also got something to say about gentrification, predatory businesses, and other factors that make it hard to survive and advance in Ame...

Jan 22, 2025•18 min•Ep. 2002

The Brutalist And What's Making Us Happy

The new movie The Brutalist is earning a lot of Oscar buzz. Adrien Brody plays a fictional Hungarian architect who settles in America after his family is torn apart during World War II. It's a three-and-a-half-hour epic with much to say about assimilation, wealth, and the creative process. Follow Pop Culture Happy Hour on Letterboxd at letterboxd.com/nprpopculture See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsors...

Jan 21, 2025•26 min•Ep. 2002

Wolf Man And What's Making Us Happy

Everything old is new again, it seems, and there's no reason that wouldn't apply to werewolves. We now have a chance to enjoy a new Wolf Man starring Christopher Abbott and Julia Garner. Directed by Leigh Whannell ( The Invisible Man ), it maintains that sometimes the monster is inside you all along. Plus, we take a minute to remember director David Lynch. Follow Pop Culture Happy Hour on Letterboxd at letterboxd.com/nprpopculture See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use ...

Jan 17, 2025•27 min•Ep. 2001

XO, Kitty

The Netflix series XO, Kitty is a spinoff of the hit YA book and movie franchise, To All the Boys I've Loved Before. The show follows the messy adventures of teenage matchmaker Kitty Song Covey (Anna Cathcart), who moves across the globe to be with her long-distance boyfriend in Korea. The show is a mash-up of genres, including rom-coms, Korean dramas, and coming-of-age tales. XO, Kitty just returned for a second season, so in this encore episode, we're revisiting our conversation about the seri...

Jan 16, 2025•16 min•Ep. 2000

American Primeval

In Netflix's gritty, brutal Western series American Primeval , Betty Gilpin plays a woman determined to get herself and her son across the frontier. But along the way, they find themselves caught up in a brewing war between the federal government and a violent Mormon militia. A gruff guide (Taylor Kitsch) might be of some help, but the land is rife with violent factions with competing claims to the blood-soaked soil. Subscribe to Pop Culture Happy Hour Plus at plus.npr.org/happyhour See pcm.adsw...

Jan 15, 2025•19 min•Ep. 1999

The Best One-Hit Wonders

Some bands are The Beatles and some singers are Beyoncé: Smash after smash, their legend grows. And some artists aren't. For any one of a bunch of reasons — commercial, artistic and mysterious — some artists have one big hit song, but they don't have others. But what makes for a great one-hit wonder? Today we're debating: what is the best one-hit wonder of all time. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponso...

Jan 14, 2025•20 min•Ep. 1998

The Last Showgirl And What's Making Us Happy

In the new movie The Last Showgirl, a woman finds herself with few options as she approaches the end of her long career as a dancer in Las Vegas. The film marks a new chapter in the star-crossed acting career of Pamela Anderson. Directed by Gia Coppola, it tells a story about aging, parenthood, the underbelly of show business, and what happens when the world no longer buys what you're selling. Follow Pop Culture Happy Hour on Letterboxd at letterboxd.com/nprpopculture See pcm.adswizz.com for inf...

Jan 10, 2025•25 min•Ep. 1997

Hot Moms In Film

In the past year, there have been a lot of movies that feature older women falling in love with much younger men. There's The Idea Of You , A Family Affair , Lonely Planet , and Babygirl , just to name a few. But why now? Today we're bringing you an episode of the NPR podcast It's Been A Minute . In this episode, host Brittany Luse sits down with New York Magazine features writer Rachel Handler to unpack what these films say about Hollywood's changing attitudes towards older women and why the ca...

Jan 09, 2025•17 min•Ep. 1996

Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl

Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl is the latest film in the beloved stop-motion animation series. This time, clueless inventor Wallace and his long-suffering pooch Gromit are dealing with Wallace's latest invention, a robotic garden gnome. But when an old enemy gets involved, they must face down an army of evil robots and expose the criminal mastermind behind it all. Subscribe to Pop Culture Happy Hour Plus at plus.npr.org/happyhour Follow Pop Culture Happy Hour on Letterboxd at letterbo...

Jan 08, 2025•16 min•Ep. 1995

Great Movies We Missed

The Pop Culture Happy Hour panel and guests Bob Mondo and Walter Chow recommend great films from 2024 that they didn't get a chance to cover previously. The discussion includes a tense neo-noir, an urgent Iranian political drama, a chaotic Romanian satire on modern life, and a subtle, powerful coming-of-age story.

Jan 06, 2025•18 min•Ep. 1994

Nickel Boys

Adapted from the Pulitzer prize-winner novel from Colson Whitehead, Nickel Boys tells the story of two Black boys who form an unshakeable bond at a segregated reform school in the Jim Crow South. It's quite ambitious and unlike other prestigious book to film adaptations you've probably seen — most of it unfolds in the first-person perspective. Follow Pop Culture Happy Hour on Letterboxd at letterboxd.com/nprpopculture See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal d...

Jan 03, 2025•29 min•Ep. 1993

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