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Pop Culture Happy Hour Get obsessed with us. Five 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. Five 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

'Extraordinary' isn't about superpowers. No, really.

Sofia Oxenham and Máiréad Tyers star in Extraordinary. Natalie Seery/Disney+ hide caption

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Natalie Seery/Disney+

'Extraordinary' isn't about superpowers. No, really.

The very funny Hulu comedy Extraordinary is about a smart but directionless young woman named Jen who lives in London and doesn't feel great about herself. She hurls herself into a lot of hilariously bad choices and that's a familiar comedy premise. But there's more to Extraordinary because in the world of the series, Jen is the only one she knows who does not possess superpowers. Subscribe to Pop Culture Happy Hour Plus at plus.npr.org

'Extraordinary' isn't about superpowers. No, really.

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We royally wade into the Harry and Meghan discourse

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle were engaged in 2017 Chris Jackson/Getty Images hide caption

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Chris Jackson/Getty Images

We royally wade into the Harry and Meghan discourse

It was a game changer when Prince Harry and Meghan Markle stepped down as senior members of the royal family. Since then, they've given interviews, secured lucrative multimedia deals, and launched several personal projects — Harry recently published the highly anticipated memoir Spare. And they've done it all while bringing long-overdue conversations about race and the royal family's legacy to the forefront. So how, exactly, do we process all of this?

We royally wade into the Harry and Meghan discourse

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Highlights from the 2023 Sundance Film Festival

Priya Kansara stars in Polite Society, directed and written by Nida Manzoor. Parisa Taghizadeh/Courtesy of Sundance Institute hide caption

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Parisa Taghizadeh/Courtesy of Sundance Institute

Highlights from the 2023 Sundance Film Festival

Over 100 feature films played at this year's Sundance Film Festival. There were deeply personal stories told by emerging filmmakers, buzzy narratives ripped from the headlines, and so much more. And we've picked a few favorites we think are worth keeping on your radar in the coming year.

Highlights from the 2023 Sundance Film Festival

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Beyoncé's Grammy-nominated 'Renaissance' is a thotty and ethereal work of art

Beyonce's Renaissance is the singer's seventh studio album. Parkwood Entertainment hide caption

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Parkwood Entertainment

Beyoncé's Grammy-nominated 'Renaissance' is a thotty and ethereal work of art

Beyoncé's Renaissance is a joyful, sonic immersion made for dance floors of all kinds. The album earned nine Grammy nominations, and during this Sunday's telecast, Beyoncé could win her first-ever, much overdue award for album of the year.

Beyoncé's Grammy-nominated 'Renaissance' is a thotty and ethereal work of art

Listen · 22:36
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A silly 'Shotgun Wedding' sends J.Lo on an adventure

Jennifer Lopez and Josh Duhamel star in the new Amazon Prime movie Shotgun Wedding. Ana Carballosa/Lionsgate hide caption

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Ana Carballosa/Lionsgate

A silly 'Shotgun Wedding' sends J.Lo on an adventure

The Amazon Prime action comedy Shotgun Wedding delivers on its title in the sense that it's got a wedding, and it's got lots of guns. The film stars Jennifer Lopez and Josh Duhamel as a couple whose wedding day at a beautiful resort is interrupted by pirates who take their guests hostage. Will they save the guests? Will they save themselves? Will they ever actually get married? And just how great will J.Lo look the entire time?

A silly 'Shotgun Wedding' sends J.Lo on an adventure

Listen · 21:26
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Oscar nominee Michelle Yeoh shines in 'Everything Everywhere All At Once'

Stephanie Hsu, Michelle Yeoh, and Ke Huy Quan all earned acting Oscar nominations for their work in Everything Everywhere All At Once. Allyson Riggs/A24 hide caption

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Allyson Riggs/A24

Oscar nominee Michelle Yeoh shines in 'Everything Everywhere All At Once'

Everything Everywhere All At Once is a zany and profound sci-fi action comedy set in multiple dimensions. It stars Michelle Yeoh as a businesswoman whose world is turned upside down the day her family attempts to file their taxes. The film earned 11 Oscar nominations, including best picture, director, and a lead actress for nomination Yeoh. So we thought this would be the perfect time to revisit our conversation about one of our favorite movies of the past year.

Oscar nominee Michelle Yeoh shines in 'Everything Everywhere All At Once'

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We break down the 2023 Oscar Nominations

Michelle Yeoh received a best actress Oscar nomination for Everything Everywhere All At Once. A24 hide caption

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A24

We break down the 2023 Oscar Nominations

Nominations for this year's Oscars dropped today, and it's a big year for Everything Everywhere All At Once, The Banshees Of Inisherin, and All Quiet On The Western Front. We run down the nominees in the major categories, plus talk about some surprises and snubs. Subscribe to Pop Culture Happy Hour Plus at plus.npr.org/happyhour

We break down the 2023 Oscar Nominations

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Has 'Cheers' aged like fine wine? Or has it gone bitter?

Shelley Long and Ted Danson in Cheers. Alamy Stock Photo hide caption

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Alamy Stock Photo

Has 'Cheers' aged like fine wine? Or has it gone bitter?

Cheers is one of the most celebrated TV sitcoms of all time. Set in a Boston bar, the show won major awards and turned stars like Ted Danson, Shelley Long, and Rhea Perlman into household names. Cheers ended its run 30 years ago this spring, so we thought this would be a good time to revisit the series and answer your questions.

Has 'Cheers' aged like fine wine? Or has it gone bitter?

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Jinkies! 'Velma' needs to get a clue

Mindy Kaling voices the iconic character in the new HBO Max animated series Velma. HBO Max hide caption

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HBO Max

Jinkies! 'Velma' needs to get a clue

The adult animated series Velma chronicles the origin story of the bespectacled brains of the original Scooby Gang. We meet Velma, Fred, Daphne and Shaggy in high school, as Velma struggles with mean girls, a neglectful father, a missing mother, patriarchal beauty standards, same-sex attraction and a serial killer. Velma is voiced by Mindy Kaling, and the rest of the show's voice cast includes Sam Richardson, Constance Wu, and Glenn Howerton.

Jinkies! 'Velma' needs to get a clue

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'Missing' is the latest thriller to unfold on phones and laptops

Storm Reid stars as June in Missing. Courtesy of Screen Gems hide caption

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Courtesy of Screen Gems

'Missing' is the latest thriller to unfold on phones and laptops

The new movie Missing is about our connected world. The social media, the surveillance cameras, the news footage, the video chats — the many, many things we can see from our screens. In this sequel to the 2018 thriller Searching, Storm Reid plays a young woman whose mother leaves on a trip with her boyfriend and seems to just vanish. Desperate to solve the mystery, Reid uses technology to figure out what's going on and save her mother's life.

'Missing' is the latest thriller to unfold on phones and laptops

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