Home Podcasts Pop Culture Happy Hour
Pop Culture Happy Hour

Pop Culture Happy Hour

NPR 300 Episodes Oct 14, 2026

Pop Culture Happy Hour is a podcast from NPR that helps you keep up with the latest in pop culture. Hosts Linda Holmes, Aisha Harris, Stephen Thompson, and Glen Weldon discuss binge-worthy TV shows, movies, music, and video games four episodes a week. The show covers everything from lowbrow reality TV to Oscar-winning films, offering reviews, recommendations, and recaps. It aims to be your go-to source for pop culture conversation with a cheerful tone.

Episodes

Other Mommy
Other Mommy Oct 14, 2026 894 The trailer for the movie Other Mommy went viral when it dropped a few months ago. It dominated the box office this weekend, but was panned by critics. But is it really one of the worst movies of the year? It’s about a 7-year-old girl who is visited by a mysterious entity who takes the form of her mother, played by Jessica Chastain. It’s a lean, intense horror film full of dark family secrets and
Carrie
Carrie Oct 12, 2026 1087 The new series Carrie updates the Stephen King book for the digital age, and plays with what we think we know in some surprising ways. Streaming on Prime Video, it follows a young Carrie who has led a sheltered life with her overbearing mother. But as Carrie enters high school, she has a rough go of it. The signposts are familiar – the showers, the prayer closet, the prom, the pig’s blood – but sh
The Social Reckoning and What’s Making Us Happy
The Social Reckoning and What’s Making Us Happy Oct 9, 2026 1584 Don’t call it a sequel: The Social Reckoning is a companion piece to The Social Network. While the first movie chronicled the invention of Facebook, this one focuses on where Facebook is now. Jeremy Allen White stars as a crusading reporter alongside Mikey Madison, a Facebook insider with damning information about the business’ practices. The film also features Jeremy Strong as Mark Zuckerberg. Wr
East of Eden
East of Eden Oct 7, 2026 1370 A new series on Netflix is taking a bold crack at the American classic. Maybe you read John Steinbeck’s East of Eden in school. Or maybe you’ve seen the very loosely-adapted film starring James Dean. Anchored by a fantastic Florence Pugh performance, this new adaptation follows multiple generations of the Trask family. The series is an epic retelling of their story that offers a fresh perspective
Your Mother Your Mother Your Mother
Your Mother Your Mother Your Mother Oct 6, 2026 1529 Mahershala Ali’s new movie isn’t the Blade reboot, but it’s still worth your time. Your Mother Your Mother Your Mother follows a newly widowed hitman who wants out of the game. He's also a devout Muslim, and after his wife’s death, he is forced to adjust to being a single dad to three kids, while trying to balance his work and faith. But his boss (Laith Nakli) has other plans for him.If you’re loo
Verity
Verity Oct 5, 2026 1411 Verity stars Dakota Johnson as a struggling novelist who gets an unusual assignment. She's been asked to ghostwrite the final books by a superstar writer, played by Anne Hathaway. It’s an erotic thriller about marriage, manipulators, and (of course) murder. Based on Colleen Hoover’s bestselling novel, Verity is a story of deceit that wants you to keep guessing until the very end, and maybe even af
Digger and What’s Making Us Happy
Digger and What’s Making Us Happy Oct 2, 2026 1325 Digger is a loud, surprising, audacious, and sure-to-be-polarizing entry in this year’s Oscars race. The film stars Tom Cruise as a powerful oil baron who’s helped unleash an existential threat on the world — but that’s only the beginning. The looming devastation attracts the attention of the president (John Goodman) and a well-intentioned scientist (Riz Ahmed). The film takes some pretty big narr
A Different World
A Different World Sep 30, 2026 1704 The TV series A Different World has loomed large in the culture since ending in the ‘90s, and now school is back in session in a new sequel series on Netflix. The show welcomes a new generation of students to the fictional HBCU Hillman College, and brings back notable alumni like Whitley Gilbert (Jasmine Guy) and Dwayne Wayne (Kadeem Hardison). And while the world is a lot different than it was 30
Forgotten Island
Forgotten Island Sep 29, 2026 856 Forgotten Island is a wonderful new animated feature from the team that brought you Kung Fu Panda 2 and Puss In Boots: The Last Wish. We’re introduced to childhood friends Jo (H.E.R.) and Raissa (Liza Soberano). One is a free spirit, the other an aspiring scientist, and they’re both getting ready to go their separate ways. But during their last night together, they’re transported to a magical isla
The Love Hypothesis
The Love Hypothesis Sep 28, 2026 1560 The Love Hypothesis brings the beloved trope of fake dating to the world of science and academia – but does it bring a fresh take to the bestselling book by Ali Hazelwood? The new Prime Video movie follows Stanford graduate student Olive (Lili Reinhart). Her best friend Anh (Rachel Marsh) is holding back from pursuing a guy because she thinks Olive is interested in him. Olive wants Anh to follow h
Primetime and What's Making Us Happy
Primetime and What's Making Us Happy Sep 25, 2026 1438 The new docudrama Primetime is a weird and highly fictionalized account of the meteoric rise of To Catch a Predator. Robert Pattinson plays host Chris Hansen, who is struggling to get bigger ratings. Hansen and his team work with local law enforcement to drag the accused sexual abusers of minors before the camera and arrest them. But does director Lance Oppenheim’s highly stylized approach work, o
Jay-Z
Jay-Z Sep 24, 2026 1578 Jay-Z has been everywhere lately. It’s been 30 years since his acclaimed debut Reasonable Doubt, and he celebrated with a series of concerts at Yankee Stadium. And now there’s the HBO docuseries, JAŸ-Z In 8, in which Jay-Z dissects his catalog with producer Rick Rubin. The series hopes to further cement his legacy as one of the most revered lyricists of our time. But Jay-Z (or JAŸ-Z, as he’s style

Recommended