Live television is all about high risk, high reward. Whether it's musical performances, awards ceremonies, sports events, or comedy shows, there's an electric charge to watching something as it's happening. Today, we're debating the greatest moments of live television in pop culture - including a viral news blooper, John Travolta's "Adele Dazeem" flub at the Oscars, Kanye stating "George Bush doesn't care about Black people", and The Beatles making their debut on The Ed Sullivan Show . Learn mor...
Mar 10, 2025•21 min•Ep 2029•Transcript available on Metacast Mickey 17 is writer-director Bong Joon Ho's follow-up to the Oscar-winning film Parasite . In the sharply satirical sci-fi film, Robert Pattinson is a manual laborer on a spaceship who just keeps dying. But then he gets reprinted – his memories get downloaded into a new body. What could go wrong? The film also stars Mark Ruffalo, Toni Collette, and Naomi Ackie. Follow Pop Culture Happy Hour on Letterboxd at letterboxd.com/nprpopculture . To access bonus episodes and sponsor-free listening for Po...
Mar 07, 2025•25 min•Ep 2028•Transcript available on Metacast What is it about a show that turns you into a bitter-ender, that keeps you dutifully watching every last episode, long after the train has jumped the tracks? Even when you know it's not good, but, for you anyway, it's just good enough to muddle through, all the way to the finale? Today, we're revisiting our conversation about terrible but bingeable TV shows Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy...
Mar 06, 2025•23 min•Ep 2027•Transcript available on Metacast Perhaps you've heard that Saturday Night Live is celebrating its 50th anniversary — they've mentioned it once or twice. From Lazy Sunday to Domingo to a ton of iconic musical performances, SNL 's had a long and fascinating relationship with music. Today, we're talking about some of our favorite SNL musical moments. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy...
Mar 05, 2025•19 min•Ep 2026•Transcript available on Metacast This year's Oscars was a big night for Sean Baker's Anora , including wins for best picture and director. The film's star Mikey Madison scored one of the night's few upsets, winning best actress. Adrien Brody, Kieran Culkin and Zoe Saldaña also took home acting wins. We also recap the hilarious bits from host Conan O'Brien, the long and discursive speeches, and show stopping musical numbers. To access bonus episodes and sponsor-free listening for Pop Culture Happy Hour, subscribe to Pop Culture ...
Mar 03, 2025•26 min•Ep 2025•Transcript available on Metacast This year's Oscar nominees include Wicked , The Substance , Emilia Perez , and Conclave . And we watched all the nominated movies so you don't have to. We're making some bold predictions for who will win, plus vouching for who should take home those shiny gold statues. To access bonus episodes and sponsor-free listening for Pop Culture Happy Hour, subscribe to Pop Culture Happy Hour+ at plus.npr.org/happy. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy...
Feb 28, 2025•52 min•Ep 2024•Transcript available on Metacast In Hulu's twisty drama series Paradise , Sterling K. Brown plays a Secret Service agent caught up in a web of intrigue after the president of the United States (James Marsden) is assassinated, with no suspect in sight. But at the end of the first episode, we learn this show is about way more than the murder of the head of state. Paradise was created by Dan Fogelman, who created the hit show This Is Us. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy...
Feb 27, 2025•20 min•Ep 2023•Transcript available on Metacast The Netflix series Zero Day begins with a terrifying moment in which everything in the United States goes briefly offline. Thousands of people die, and even after everything is restored, a widespread panic leads to a government investigation of who did it. With a cast headed by Robert De Niro and Angela Bassett, the show hopes to be a paranoid political thriller for our times. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy...
Feb 25, 2025•15 min•Ep 2022•Transcript available on Metacast The standard line for awards season goes: "It's an honor just to be nominated." But when it comes to the Oscars, there's quite a long list of great performers who have never received this honor. Today, we're talking about some of our favorites who should have at least one Oscar on their mantle — including Pam Grier, John Goodman, Oscar Isaac, and Regina Hall. Subscribe to Pop Culture Happy Hour Plus at plus.npr.org/happyhour Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices ...
Feb 24, 2025•23 min•Ep 2021•Transcript available on Metacast In the new horror-comedy The Monkey , Theo James plays a pair of identical twin brothers who get saddled with a cursed wind-up toy monkey that causes people around them to die freakish, gory deaths. It's based on a Stephen King short story, and directed by Osgood Perkins, who made last year's Longlegs . Follow Pop Culture Happy Hour on Letterboxd at letterboxd.com/nprpopculture Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy...
Feb 21, 2025•22 min•Ep 2020•Transcript available on Metacast For more than 20 years on screen, Bridget Jones has been making her way through dating, working, having a baby, and even ending up in jail. Now in the fourth film, Bridget Jones: Mad About The Boy , Bridget (Renée Zellweger) is dealing with a whole new phase of life, and a new pair of possible love interests. In the run-up to the Oscars, Pop Culture Happy Hour is watching all 10 best picture nominees – and you're invited to join us! Sign up for the NPR Movie Club newsletter series and tell us wh...
Feb 19, 2025•17 min•Ep 2019•Transcript available on Metacast The Peacock reality show The Traitors continues to be a delightful mix of treachery, foolishness, and Alan Cumming's outfits. In the United States, the cast is made up exclusively of so-called celebrities. So today on the show we're fantasy casting who we think should be on the next season of The Traitors . In the run-up to the Oscars, Pop Culture Happy Hour is watching all 10 best picture nominees – and you're invited to join us! Sign up for the NPR Movie Club newsletter series and tell us what...
Feb 18, 2025•22 min•Ep 2018•Transcript available on Metacast In the new movie Paddington In Peru, Paddington Bear and the Brown family fly across the globe, into the wilds of Peru, in search of Paddington's Aunt Lucy. Along the way, they meet a not-remotely-suspicious singing nun (Olivia Colman) and a boat captain (Antonio Banderas). The adventure that follows involves lost treasure and narrow escapes — and leads to new revelations about Paddington's past, and a new appreciation for what it means to be home. In the run-up to the Oscars, Pop Culture Happy ...
Feb 17, 2025•18 min•Ep 2017•Transcript available on Metacast Anthony Mackie is the new Captain America, and he's finally got his own movie. In Captain America: Brave New World , Cap finds himself battling President Thaddeus Ross (Harrison Ford) who is hiding quite a few secrets. In the run-up to the Oscars, Pop Culture Happy Hour is watching all 10 best picture nominees – and you're invited to join us! Sign up for the NPR Movie Club newsletter series and tell us what you thought of the movies you watched this week. Learn more about sponsor message choices...
Feb 14, 2025•26 min•Ep 2016•Transcript available on Metacast The Substance is a bloody, campy, fiercely feminist body horror film. Demi Moore plays a TV aerobics instructor who learns of a mysterious drug that causes another younger, entirely separate version of herself (Margaret Qualley) to splurt out of her back and assume her consciousness. The movie has earned Moore her first Oscar nomination, and she's the frontrunner in this year's best actress race. So we thought it would be the perfect time to revisit our conversation about the movie. In the run-u...
Feb 13, 2025•18 min•Ep 2015•Transcript available on Metacast In the age of streaming content and "Prestige TV" it's easy to forget that old school TV networks are still out here, pumping out television shows. ABC, CBS, Fox, and NBC have launched new series that adopt familiar formats – cop shows, lawyer shows, doctor shows – but each has something special to recommend it. So we're talking about St. Denis Medical, Doc, Doctor Odyssey, Matlock and High Potential. Subscribe to Pop Culture Happy Hour Plus at plus.npr.org/happyhour Learn more about sponsor mes...
Feb 11, 2025•23 min•Ep 2014•Transcript available on Metacast At this year's Super Bowl, the Philadelphia Eagles beat the Kansas City Chiefs 40-22. During the halftime show, Kendrick Lamar performed his Grammy-winning diss track "Not Like Us," and brought out special guests Samuel L. Jackson, Serena Williams, and SZA. And we watched plenty of commercials featuring celebrities. Subscribe to Pop Culture Happy Hour Plus at plus.npr.org/happyhour Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy...
Feb 10, 2025•17 min•Ep 2013•Transcript available on Metacast In the new action movie Love Hurts , Oscar-winner Ke Huy Quan stars as a real estate agent who has remade his life after leaving the employ of his terrifying gangster brother. But when a beautiful and mysterious former associate (Ariana DeBose) returns into his life, everything goes haywire. The movie has hand fighting and a touch of romance--just in time for Valentine's Day. Follow Pop Culture Happy Hour on Letterboxd at letterboxd.com/nprpopculture Learn more about sponsor message choices: pod...
Feb 07, 2025•21 min•Ep 2012•Transcript available on Metacast In the raunchy movie You're Cordially Invited , Will Ferrell and Reese Witherspoon face a mortifying conundrum: Their families' destination weddings have been double-booked for the same weekend. They reluctantly agree to share the venue, but, unsurprisingly, nothing goes smoothly as planned. Directed by Nicholas Stoller ( Forgetting Sarah Marshall and Neighbors), the movie feels like a familiar throwback to the 2000s. Follow Pop Culture Happy Hour on Letterboxd at letterboxd.com/nprpopculture Le...
Feb 05, 2025•17 min•Ep 2011•Transcript available on Metacast We watched many films at this year's Sundance Film Festival. Today, we're recommending some of the best things we saw, including a thrilling debut from a writer on The Bear , a timely doc about the wave of book bans across America, and a bizarro horror comedy starring Alison Brie and Dave Franco. For a complete list of the movies we loved at Sundance, Pop Culture Happy Hour on Letterboxd Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy...
Feb 04, 2025•21 min•Ep 2010•Transcript available on Metacast This year's Grammys was a huge night for Beyoncé, who finally won album of the year for Cowboy Carter . Kendrick Lamar picked up record and song of the year for "Not Like Us." And Chappell Roan edged out a crowded field to win best new artist. Subscribe to Pop Culture Happy Hour Plus at plus.npr.org/happyhour Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy...
Feb 03, 2025•26 min•Ep 2009•Transcript available on Metacast In the smart, twisty thriller-comedy Companion , three young couples gather at a swanky lake house for the weekend. One of the couples is not like the others – that's because the girlfriend (Sophie Thatcher) turns out to be a companion robot, built to satisfy the boyfriend's (Jack Quaid) every fantasy. Inevitably, things go wrong, which sets off a chain of twists and revelations that comes with a body count. Follow Pop Culture Happy Hour on Letterboxd at letterboxd.com/nprpopculture Learn more a...
Jan 31, 2025•18 min•Ep 2008•Transcript available on Metacast The excellent Netflix series Mo is about a man who figures out how to get by: how to find work as someone who can't work legally, how to navigate the asylum process as a Palestinian refugee in Texas, and how to care for the people he loves. The show's star and co-creator is the standup Mo Amer. The story dives into immigration, identity, and a family as they work to map out a secure future. Mo just returned for a second season, so in this encore episode, we revisit our conversation about the ser...
Jan 30, 2025•19 min•Ep 2007•Transcript available on Metacast In the new Steven Soderbergh film Presence , a family moves into an old house, and weird stuff starts happening. But what's different about this haunted house story is that the movie told from the point of view of the ghost. We only get glimpses of the family, but gradually we start to piece together their brittle dynamic. Follow Pop Culture Happy Hour on Letterboxd at letterboxd.com/nprpopculture Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy...
Jan 28, 2025•20 min•Ep 2006•Transcript available on Metacast The Max hospital drama The Pitt stars ER veteran Noah Wyle. It takes some elements that are common to the medical genre and mixes them with some very contemporary thinking about health care and an inventive structure. Each episode follows one hour in the ER over the course of a very long day – so the layout is less Grey's Anatomy and more 24 . Subscribe to Pop Culture Happy Hour Plus at plus.npr.org/happyhour Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Poli...
Jan 27, 2025•19 min•Ep 2005•Transcript available on Metacast An FBI agent working in a lonely, secret office in the White House basement gets a phone call. A woman needs help, right away. That's the beginning of The Night Agent , a Netflix spy thriller series full of action and intrigue. Created by The Shield 's Shawn Ryan, the series follows Peter and Rose — the agent and the tech expert he's protecting — as they try to uncover a conspiracy that goes right to the heart of the government. The show just returned for a second season, so today we're revisiti...
Jan 24, 2025•14 min•Ep 2004•Transcript available on Metacast This year's Oscar nominations are out, and if you liked Emilia Pérez , Anora , Wicked , The Brutalist , and A Complete Unknown , then you're in luck. As always, there's an eclectic mix of heavy favorites, left-field surprises, and the dreaded snubs. We give a broad sense of this year's major storylines, while also lamenting a few decisions we found baffling. Subscribe to Pop Culture Happy Hour Plus at plus.npr.org/happyhour Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices N...
Jan 23, 2025•26 min•Ep 2003•Transcript available on Metacast 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•Transcript available on Metacast 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 Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy...
Jan 21, 2025•26 min•Ep 2002•Transcript available on Metacast 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 Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adch...
Jan 17, 2025•27 min•Ep 2001•Transcript available on Metacast 
