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Pop Culture Happy Hour Get obsessed with us. Four days a week, Pop Culture Happy Hour serves you recommendations and commentary on the buzziest movies, TV, music, books, videogames and more. Join arts journalists Linda Holmes, Glen Weldon, Stephen Thompson, and Aisha Harris - plus a rotating cast of guest pop culture aficionados. The Happy Hour team leaves room at the table for exploring a range of reactions and opinions on every bit of the pop universe. From lowbrow to highbrow to the stuff in between, they take it all with a shot of cheer.

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
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Pop Culture Happy Hour

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Get obsessed with us. Four days a week, Pop Culture Happy Hour serves you recommendations and commentary on the buzziest movies, TV, music, books, videogames and more. Join arts journalists Linda Holmes, Glen Weldon, Stephen Thompson, and Aisha Harris - plus a rotating cast of guest pop culture aficionados. The Happy Hour team leaves room at the table for exploring a range of reactions and opinions on every bit of the pop universe. From lowbrow to highbrow to the stuff in between, they take it all with a shot of cheer.

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

Most Recent Episodes

Guz Khan and Riz Ahmed in Bait.

Guz Khan and Riz Ahmed in Bait. Amazon MGM Studios hide caption

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Amazon MGM Studios

Why yes, we'll take Riz Ahmed's 'Bait'

In the whimsical Prime Video comedy series Bait, the great Riz Ahmed plays Shah, an actor in the middle of a career downturn who lands an audition to be the next James Bond. But when this leaks to the public, the social media reactions to the possibility of a brown 007 are unhinged. And one particularly disturbing response shakes Shah’s confidence and sends his personal life into a tailspin.

Why yes, we'll take Riz Ahmed's 'Bait'

Listen · 24:21
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BTS in BTS The Comeback Live.

BTS in BTS The Comeback Live. BIGHIT Music and Netflix hide caption

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BIGHIT Music and Netflix

On 'Arirang,' BTS nods to K-pop's past, present and future

BTS, one of the biggest groups in K-pop, is back. Arirang is the group’s first full-length album following a hiatus in which the members released solo projects and served in South Korea’s military. It’s a brash, catchy comeback, with a mix of hip-hop, pop, and R&B. And like their previous hits, Arirang is bound to make a mark on the Billboard charts. 

BTS ARIRANG

Listen · 23:35
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Nicole Byer in Season 5 of Nailed It.

Nicole Byer in Season 5 of Nailed It. Netflix hide caption

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Netflix

The reality TV shows we'd actually win

Part of the fun of reality TV is putting yourself in the shoes of the people you're watching. Maybe you'd make a great Real Housewife. Maybe you could win The Amazing Race. In this encore episode, we're not here to make friends. But we are here to pick the reality shows that we think could thrive on.

The Reality TV Show We’d Actually Win

Listen · 16:25
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Samara Weaving in Ready or Not 2: Here I Come.

Samara Weaving in Ready or Not 2: Here I Come. Pief Weyman/Searchlight Pictures hide caption

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Pief Weyman/Searchlight Pictures

'Ready or Not 2' is a satanic and manic thrill

The cheeky horror comedy Ready Or Not starred Samara Weaving as a bride who’s forced to partake in her new family’s game of hide and seek, which turns quite deadly. Ready or Not 2: Here I Come picks up right where the previous story left off, but this time with more lore, more gore, and more stars like Elijah Wood, Sarah Michelle Gellar and Kathryn Newton.

Pop Culture Happy Hour-03.23.2026

Listen · 16:41
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Ryan Gosling in Project Hail Mary.

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Jonathan Olley/Amazon MGM Studios

Ryan Gosling gets serious (and very funny) about saving the planet in ‘Project Hail Mary’

Ryan Gosling has teamed up with Phil Lord and Christopher Miller (The Lego Movie and Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse) for the new sci-fi movie Project Hail Mary. It’s based on a novel by Andy Weir (The Martian), and tells the story of a molecular biologist who winds up on a one-way mission into space to save Earth’s population. If that all sounds incredibly bleak, fear not: you can expect quirk, charm, and a cutesy alien creature.

Project Hail Mary and What’s Making Us Happy

Listen · 27:03
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Steve Carrell in Rooster.

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HBO Max

In ‘Rooster,’ Steve Carell makes some college admissions

Steve Carell is a writer of pulpy crime novels and a hapless new writing teacher at a small college in the HBO comedy series Rooster. His daughter (Charly Clive) is also a teacher, and she’s the subject of campus gossip because her husband just dumped her for a student. The show’s got a great cast, including Danielle Deadwyler and John C. McGinley, and one of its creators is Bill Lawrence of Scrubs, Shrinking and Ted Lasso.

Rooster

Listen · 19:12
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Nicole Kidman in Scarpetta.

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Connie Chornuk/Prime Amazon MGM Studios

Nicole Kidman’s ‘Scarpetta’ is an overstuffed crime story

In the Prime Video series Scarpetta, Nicole Kidman plays a tough, smart medical examiner whose latest murder case is entangled with a much earlier one. The show's got a big cast including Jamie Lee Curtis, Bobby Cannavale and Ariana DeBose. Scarpetta is based on a series of successful crime novels by Patricia Cornwell.

Scarpetta

Listen · 22:40
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Michael B. Jordan won an Oscar for actor in a leading role for playing twins in Sinners.

Michael B. Jordan won an Oscar for actor in a leading role for playing twins in Sinners. Etienne Laurent/The Academy hide caption

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Etienne Laurent/The Academy

Our 2026 Oscars Recap

At the Oscars, One Battle After Another took home six awards including best picture, Michael B. Jordan won for lead actor in Sinners, and the telecast had plenty of jokes at Timothée Chalamet’s expense. We’re recapping the highs and lows of the 2026 Oscars.

Our 2026 Oscars Recap

Listen · 31:21
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Who was snubbed for best casting Oscar? (Pop Culture Happy Hour+)

Stephen and Glen discuss the movies that listeners thought were snubbed for the first Oscar for casting. Listen to our episode on the movies that were nominated: https://n.pr/4sIcHQN

Who was snubbed for best casting Oscar? (Pop Culture Happy Hour+)

Oscars statue at the 96th Academy Awards on March 10, 2024.

Oscars statue at the 96th Academy Awards on March 10, 2024. Frederic J. Brown/AFP via Getty Images hide caption

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Frederic J. Brown/AFP via Getty Images

2026 Oscars Guide: Who will win and who should win

We've watched all the nominees in the major categories for the Oscars including Sinners, One Battle After Another, Hamnet, and Marty Supreme. So we’ve got opinions about what will win and what should win. (And yes, we’ll talk about Timothée Chalamet.)

2026 Oscars Guide: Who will win and who should win

Listen · 52:28
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