Accessibility links
Pop Culture News and commentary on popular culture trends. Download the Pop Culture podcast.

Pop Culture

Culture

Encore: The lasting legacy of Bob Ross

This week marks the 40th anniversary of The Joy of Painting. We revisit a story about a wildly popular Bob Ross solo exhibition in Virginia. The late PBS painter's popularity continues to soar.

Encore: The lasting legacy of Bob Ross

Listen · 7:55
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1149135815/1149135818" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript
Curls and courage with Michaela Angela Davis and Rep. Cori Bush
Mike Harrington/Getty Images; Hulu; Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images; Gilbert Flores/Variety via Getty Images

It's Been a Minute

Curls and courage with Michaela Angela Davis and Rep. Cori Bush

For Black women, hair is about so much more than beauty. It can affect how they're treated and what opportunities are available to them. It's tied to history, identity and politics. And though many Black women and girls now embrace their natural curls, Black hair is still a site of discrimination. In this episode, Brittany Luse talks to two women fighting to change that: Rep. Cori Bush (D-Mo.), who has been pushing for a federal law against race-based hair discrimination, and Michaela Angela Davis, whose docuseries "The Hair Tales" is meant to inspire Black women to celebrate their crowning glories.

Curls and courage with Michaela Angela Davis and Rep. Cori Bush

Listen · 29:01
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1148394231/1149064847" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
Does 'Plane' take off, or just sit on the runway?

Gerard Butler and Mike Colter star in Plane. Kenneth Rexach/Lionsgate hide caption

toggle caption
Kenneth Rexach/Lionsgate

Review

Pop Culture Happy Hour

Does 'Plane' take off, or just sit on the runway?

What do you need to know about the movie Plane? Well, there's a plane. Specifically, there's a plane that goes down when it's struck by lightning and ends up on the worst possible island. It's then up to a captain, played by Gerard Butler, and his passengers to survive.

Does 'Plane' take off, or just sit on the runway?

Listen · 21:25
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1147805675/1148681821" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript
The rom-com 'Smiley' asks if a gym rat and nerd can find love

Carlos Cuevas as Alex and Miki Esparbé as Bruno in Smiley Netflix hide caption

toggle caption
Netflix

Review

Pop Culture Happy Hour

The rom-com 'Smiley' asks if a gym rat and nerd can find love

If you're looking for a charming romantic comedy, consider checking out the Netflix series Smiley. Set in Barcelona, it follows Alex and Bruno, two very different men who meet and experience an overwhelming attraction that they then, as they must, struggle with enormously. Can these two ever find happiness?

The rom-com 'Smiley' asks if a gym rat and nerd can find love

Listen · 18:55
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1148227074/1148470366" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript
Do Not Pass Go (2022)
Mark Lennihan/AP

Throughline

Do Not Pass Go (2022)

There's more to Monopoly than you might think. It's one of the best-selling board games in history — despite huge economic instability, sales actually went up during the pandemic — and it's been an iconic part of American life at other pivotal moments: a cheap pastime during the Great Depression; a reminder of home for soldiers during WWII; and an American export during its rise as a global superpower. It endured even as it reflected some of the ongoing inequities in American society, from segregation and redlining, to capitalism run rampant. That's because Monopoly is also built on powerful American lore – the idea that anyone, with just a little bit of cash, can rise from rags to riches. Writer Mary Pilon, the author of The Monopolists: Obsession, Fury, and the Scandal Behind the World's Favorite Board Game, describes Monopoly as "the Great American Dream in a board game – or, nightmare."This week: how a critique of capitalism grew from a seed of an idea in a rebellious young woman's mind into a game legendary for its celebration of wealth at all costs. And behind that legend — there's a lie.

Do Not Pass Go (2022)

Listen · 51:25
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1143650089/1144799522" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
This graphic novel imagines what would happen if you could buy and sell wishes

An self-portrait of Deena Mohamed, author of the graphic novel Shubeik Lubeik — a fantasy story of making wishes in modern-day Egypt. Deena Mohamed hide caption

toggle caption
Deena Mohamed

Goats and Soda

This graphic novel imagines what would happen if you could buy and sell wishes

Artist and author Deena Mohamed created a graphic novel about how wishes would — or wouldn't — work in modern-day Egypt. Her much-praised book is now out in English. It's ... a wish come true!

In 'M3GAN,' a high-tech doll gets programmed to k1ll

Violet McGraw and Allison Williams star in M3GAN. Geoffrey Short/Universal Pictures hide caption

toggle caption
Geoffrey Short/Universal Pictures

Review

Pop Culture Happy Hour

In 'M3GAN,' a high-tech doll gets programmed to k1ll

In the new movie M3GAN, an orphaned 8-year-old girl is given a lifelike interactive doll. The doll in question was designed by roboticist Gemma (Allison Williams) and is programmed with artificial intelligence that allows her to learn, evolve and possibly commit murder. The movie is a cautionary tale about AI, a killer-doll flick, and the source of some truly creepy memes.

In 'M3GAN,' a high-tech doll gets programmed to k1ll

Listen · 14:52
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1147805698/1148167567" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript
'Ginny And Georgia' has a lot going on

Antonia Gentry as Ginny and Brianne Howey as Georgia in Netflix's Ginny & Georgia. Netflix hide caption

toggle caption
Netflix

Review

Pop Culture Happy Hour

'Ginny And Georgia' has a lot going on

The Netflix series Ginny & Georgia follows a young single mom, her teenage daughter, and their efforts to create a life for themselves in the suburbs of Massachusetts. It's got high school standbys like new friendships and first sexual experiences, but it's also got adult soap standbys like secret pasts and shady figures. The series recently returned for a second season, so in this encore episode, we revisit our conversation about the first season.

'Ginny And Georgia' has a lot going on

Listen · 15:44
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1146651761/1147797892" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
Tarnished Golden Globes attempt a comeback, after years of controversy

A view of the stage during the 79th Annual Golden Globe Awards at The Beverly Hilton on Jan. 09, 2022, in Beverly Hills, Calif. Emma McIntyre/Getty Images for Hollywood Foreign Press Association hide caption

toggle caption
Emma McIntyre/Getty Images for Hollywood Foreign Press Association

Culture

Tarnished Golden Globes attempt a comeback, after years of controversy

On Tuesday, the 80-year-old Hollywood Foreign Press Association will hand out awards at a lavish party emceed by Jerrod Carmichael. Studios, networks, stars and publicists boycotted the 2022 ceremony.

Tarnished Golden Globes attempt a comeback, after years of controversy

Listen · 3:48
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1147440285/1147909195" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript
2022 Books We Love: Realistic Fiction
Kaz Fantone/NPR

Review

Pop Culture Happy Hour

2022 Books We Love: Realistic Fiction

NPR's Books We Love is full of stories. The feature rounds up fiction and nonfiction of many different kinds, and it gives you lots of ways to find what you might love, too. Today, we're diving into the category of realistic fiction – the stories that may not be literally true, but they feel true to the world that people encounter when they walk out the door.

2022 Books We Love: Realistic Fiction

Listen · 13:00
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1146018558/1147404261" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript
Bidding a fond farewell to Eastbay, the sneakerhead's catalogue

Nike was just one of the brands featured in the Eastbay catalog, which is now ending. In its heyday, Eastbay was the place to check out the latest sneakers and sports apparel. Chris O'Meara/AP hide caption

toggle caption
Chris O'Meara/AP

Perspective

Bidding a fond farewell to Eastbay, the sneakerhead's catalogue

As Foot Locker prepares to wind down the Eastbay brand and close the catalog, producer Gus Contreras remembers his love for the retailer's shoe catalogs growing up in the 1990s.

Bidding a fond farewell to Eastbay, the sneakerhead's catalogue

Listen · 3:44
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1147411569/1147520159" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
What's making us happy: A guide to your weekend reading and viewing.

Joseph Gordon-Levitt as Brendan and Nora Zehetner as Laura in Brick. kpa Publicity Stills/Alamy Stock Photo hide caption

toggle caption
kpa Publicity Stills/Alamy Stock Photo

What's Making Us Happy: Recommendations From 'Pop Culture Happy Hour'

What's making us happy: A guide to your weekend reading and viewing.

Each week, the guests and hosts on NPR's Pop Culture Happy Hour share what's bringing them joy. This week: Babel or The Necessity of Violence, Sultana's Dream, La última copa/The Last Cup, and Brick.

'Women Talking' is exactly that — and so much more

Rooney Mara, Claire Foy, Judith Ivey, Sheila McCarthy, Michelle McLeod, and Jessie Buckley in a scene from Women Talking. Michael Gibson/Michael Gibson hide caption

toggle caption
Michael Gibson/Michael Gibson

Review

Pop Culture Happy Hour

'Women Talking' is exactly that — and so much more

In the excellent new film Women Talking, a group of Mennonite women gather to discuss the abuse they've suffered at the hands of their men. They settle upon two possible solutions: stay and fight – or leave the only world they've ever known. Written and directed by the acclaimed filmmaker Sarah Polley, the movie has a powerhouse cast that includes Rooney Mara, Claire Foy, and Jessie Buckley.

'Women Talking' is exactly that — and so much more

Listen · 23:21
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1144518561/1147067932" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript
Browse archive or search npr.org