Pop Culture Happy Hour

NPR

Pop Culture Happy Hour is a lively chat about books, movies, music, television, comics and pretty much anything else that strikes a nerve, all in a weekly roundtable from NPR. Features "Monkey See" blogger Linda Holmes and an occasionally rowdy cast of characters. Join the club at NPR.org/pchh.

Pop Culture Happy Hour is a lively chat about books, movies, music, television, comics and pretty much anything else that strikes a nerve, all in a weekly roundtable from NPR. Features "Monkey See" blogger Linda Holmes and an occasionally rowdy cast of characters. Join the club at NPR.org/pchh.

More Information

Location:

Washington, DC

Genres:

Media & Entertainment Podcasts

Arts & Entertainment News

Entertainment

Public Radio

Networks:

NPR

Description:

Twitter:

@NPR

Language:

English

Contact:

635 Massachusetts Avenue NW Washington, DC 20001 (202) 513-3232

Website:

http://www.npr.org/blogs/monkeysee/129472378/pop-culture-happy-hour/

Episodes

Jurassic World, Jurassic Park and What's Making Us Happy

6/22/2018

Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom takes a bizarre but not unwelcome left turn. How does it compare to 2015's mediocre but hugely successful revival and the original 1993 film? Guest: Chris Klimek.

Duration:00:25:04

The Great Big Stand-Up Roundup

6/20/2018

You can find new stand-up specials just about every week. In fact, you can find so many that it's hard to keep track of them all. So we spent this episode recommending eight standout specials. Guest: Pop Culture Happy Hour producer emeritus and Ask Me Another producer Mike Katzif.

Duration:00:24:39

Incredibles 2 and What's Making Us Happy

6/15/2018

The action of this animated sequel, which picks up where The Incredibles ended 14 years ago, is fresh and inventive, but the laughs aren't. Guest: NPR Code Switch host Gene Demby.

Duration:00:28:00

The Tony Awards and Remembering Anthony Bourdain

6/11/2018

The Tony Awards paid off for The Band's Visit, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, the Angels in America revival and a scrappy theater kid named Bruce Springsteen. Also we remember chef and television host Anthony Bourdain, who died last week.

Duration:00:24:50

Ocean's 8 and What's Making Us Happy

6/8/2018

Ocean's 8 great cast and some clever commentary about women and Hollywood make it a whole lot of fun. Guest: Bim Adewunmi, senior culture writer at Buzzfeed and co-host of the Thirst Aid Kit podcast.

Duration:00:26:18

The Paddington Movies

6/6/2018

At last, we take a deep, overdue dive into the sweet, tangy jars of emotional marmalade that are the Paddington films. Guests: writer Chris Klimek and librarian Margaret Willison.

Duration:00:16:48

Law & Order and What's Making Us Happy

6/1/2018

We talk about one of the most durable franchises in television history. Guests: Librarian Margaret H. Willison and Sarah D. Bunting, the East Coast Editor of Previously.TV

Duration:00:21:34

'Cobra Kai' Is A Surprisingly Good 'Karate Kid' Reboot

5/30/2018

Johnny Lawrence and Daniel LaRusso are still at it in Cobra Kai, a surprisingly interesting look at what happens later to people who peak — or crash — in high school. Guests: All Things Considered Host Audie Cornish and NPR TV Critic Eric Deggans.

Duration:00:23:24

Solo: A Star Wars Story and What's Making Us Happy

5/25/2018

The odds of successfully telling the origin story of the Star Wars trilogy's lovable rogue are approximately 3,720 to 1. After a sluggish start, Solo: A Star Wars Story beats those odds. Guest: NPR Music's Daoud Tyler-Ameen.

Duration:00:23:59

The Royal Wedding

5/19/2018

Normally, royal weddings are like the Oscars: a lot of pomp, but no real surprises. But when Prince Harry married Meghan Markle, the audience sat up and took notice. Guests: Weekend Edition Editor Barrie Hardymon and Librarian Margaret Willison.

Duration:00:20:33

Deadpool 2 and What's Making Us Happy

5/18/2018

Ryan Reynolds once again assumes the role of a deadly mercenary who makes many references to various pop culture properties while disemboweling folk a lot. Guests: Writer Chris Klimek and Daisy Rosario of NPR Member Station WAMU.

Duration:00:24:43

The Half-Hour Drama Flourishes With 'Vida'

5/16/2018

The new Starz half-hour drama tells the story of two young women who learn a lot about their mother when they go home to deal with the consequences of her death. Guest: Daisy Rosario of NPR Member Station WAMU.

Duration:00:17:35

Tully and What's Making Us Happy

5/11/2018

Written by Diablo Cody and directed by Jason Reitman, the film stars Charlize Theron in an often brutal look at the emotional and physical tolls of parenthood. Guest: Weekend Edition Editor Barrie Hardymon.

Duration:00:26:02

Killing Eve

5/9/2018

BBC America's cat-and-mouse spy show is a classic genre piece executed very well. We talk about its tension and its great lead performance from Sandra Oh on this week's episode. Guest: Code Switch's Kat Chow

Duration:00:16:56

A Quiet Place and What's Making Us Happy

5/4/2018

The shush-iest film to become a hit in quite some time gets some overdue attention from the panel on this episode. Guest: Writer Meryl Williams.

Duration:00:24:50

Leaving 'Hamilton' And 'Failing Up' With Leslie Odom Jr.

5/2/2018

Broadway's original Aaron Burr sits down with host Linda Holmes to talk about his new book, how it feels to hear ugly things about your career, and what he wants to do now that he couldn't before.

Duration:00:19:36

Avengers: Infinity War and What's Making Us Happy

4/27/2018

The Avengers try to keep a space-tyrant from performing cosmic genocide. The film doubles down on character interactions both familiar and unfamiliar. Guest: Code Switch co-host Gene Demby.

Duration:00:26:33

Scandal

4/23/2018

After seven seasons, Shonda Rhimes' roller-coaster of a drama screeches to a final halt as Olivia Pope and the team try to get out of one last scrape and Olivia tries to make it to Vermont. Guests: All Things Considered host Audie Cornish, NPR TV Critic Eric Deggans, and NPR Music's Sidney Madden.

Duration:00:24:08

Summer Movie Preview and What's Making Us Happy

4/20/2018

The panel predicsts the hits and flops, tell you what they're looking forward to, and help you spend that ticket money wisely. Guest: Aisha Harris, host of Slate's Represent podcast.

Duration:00:41:40

Pop Culture Dichotomies

4/18/2018

Star Trek vs. Star Wars? The Beatles vs. The Rolling Stones? Gale vs. Peeta? Batman vs. Superman? The gang breaks down their favorite pop culture dichotomies. Guest: NPR Books editor Petra Mayer. (This segment originally aired on November 14, 2014.)

Duration:00:15:54