Pop Culture Happy Hour

Obsession and What’s Making Us Happy

15 May 2026

Contributed by Lukas

The new film Obsession has a familiar setup: A guy makes a wish, wish comes true, and things go bad. But what sets this twisted little movie apart is ...

Shrek

14 May 2026

Contributed by Lukas

Shrek launched a Dreamworks franchise, won an Oscar, spawned a stage musical, and greatly extended the cultural life of the band Smash Mouth. And it a...

Fun movies we missed

12 May 2026

Contributed by Lukas

One basic truth of the streaming era is that streaming movies come at you fast. So we’re recommending three fun movies that we haven't covered on th...

The Sheep Detectives

11 May 2026

Contributed by Lukas

In the charming new movie The Sheep Detectives, a shepherd (Hugh Jackman) is murdered and the sheep who adored him are determined to solve the crime. ...

Mortal Kombat II and What’s Making Us Happy

08 May 2026

Contributed by Lukas

Mortal Kombat II brings back more of the unforgettable characters you might have grown up eviscerating. Based on the ultra-violent video game franchis...

Lord of the Flies

07 May 2026

Contributed by Lukas

You probably read the Lord of the Flies in high school — and now you can watch it on Netflix. It follows a bunch of British schoolboys who get stran...

The best Survivor seasons, ranked

06 May 2026

Contributed by Lukas

Survivor changed the landscape of reality television. Over 50 seasons, the competition has riveted audiences with its complex social strategy, ever-sh...

Hokum

04 May 2026

Contributed by Lukas

In the satisfying new horror movie Hokum, Adam Scott plays a misanthropic writer who takes his parents' ashes to the lonely Irish inn where they honey...

The Devil Wears Prada 2 and What’s Making Us Happy

01 May 2026

Contributed by Lukas

The Devil Wears Prada 2 reunites Anne Hathaway, Meryl Streep, Emily Blunt and Stanley Tucci 20 years after the beloved original film. The sequel finds...

Summer Guide

30 Apr 2026

Contributed by Lukas

It’s getting warm outside and the sun is shining, which means it’s time to look ahead to what you should be watching and listening to this summer....

Margo's Got Money Troubles

28 Apr 2026

Contributed by Lukas

The great new Apple TV series Margo's Got Money Troubles boasts an impressive cast: Elle Fanning, Michelle Pfeiffer, Nick Offerman, Nicole Kidman--the...

Mother Mary

27 Apr 2026

Contributed by Lukas

The surreal movie Mother Mary stars Anne Hathaway as a Gaga-esque pop star facing an existential crisis. She turns to her former costume designer and ...

Michael and What's Making Us Happy

24 Apr 2026

Contributed by Lukas

Michael Jackson was one of the biggest pop stars on the planet, so it’s only natural that he’s the subject of a glossy, big-budget biopic. In Mich...

The many narratives of Michael Jackson

23 Apr 2026

Contributed by Lukas

Michael Jackson remains one of the most influential and celebrated musicians in modern history, yet his legacy continues to inspire both intense criti...

Watch This: The Christophers

21 Apr 2026

Contributed by Lukas

In the terrific new film The Christophers, an art restorer with a background in forgery (Michaela Coel) takes a job as an assistant to a once-famous a...

Beef

20 Apr 2026

Contributed by Lukas

The Netflix Beef returns for season two with an all new cast. This time the beef involves two couples: Carey Mulligan and Oscar Isaac face off against...

Normal and What’s Making Us Happy

17 Apr 2026

Contributed by Lukas

Bob Odenkirk has pivoted from sketch comedy to dramatic acting and, most recently, to late-middle-aged action star. In the new film Normal, he plays a...

We Watch Classic Movies For The First Time

16 Apr 2026

Contributed by Lukas

We've all been there. A major movie is mentioned, you shrug, sheepishly, and someone says, "I can't believe you've never seen that!" Today, in this en...

Great TV We Missed

14 Apr 2026

Contributed by Lukas

There’s a lot of TV worth recommending out there. So today we’re spotlighting some television we didn’t have time to talk about earlier this yea...

Big Mistakes

13 Apr 2026

Contributed by Lukas

Dan Levy co-created and starred in the beloved Schitt’s Creek. And now he’s back with a new comedy on Netflix that’s got a very different vibe. ...

You, Me & Tuscany and What’s Making Us Happy

10 Apr 2026

Contributed by Lukas

“She came for the pasta, and got lost in the sauce.” That’s the brilliant tagline for the zesty new rom-com You, Me, & Tuscany. Halle Bailey sta...

How We Handle Spoilers

09 Apr 2026

Contributed by Lukas

We’ve all been there: Maybe somebody tells you too much about the twist ending of a movie, or they tell you who dies at the end. In other words, you...

The Pitt

08 Apr 2026

Contributed by Lukas

In HBO Max's The Pitt, an ER full of doctors, nurses and staff are put through tense, high-stakes shifts. The first season was a critical success and ...

The Drama: Spoiler Episode

06 Apr 2026

Contributed by Lukas

The Drama is a dark and twisty comedy starring Zendaya and Robert Pattinson as a storybook couple preparing for their upcoming wedding. But just days ...

The Drama and What’s Making Us Happy

03 Apr 2026

Contributed by Lukas

In the dark comedy The Drama, Zendaya and Robert Pattinson are getting married, but maybe they shouldn’t? The stars play a couple in full-on prep mo...

The Super Mario Galaxy Movie

02 Apr 2026

Contributed by Lukas

The Super Mario Galaxy Movie is the ultimate piece of Nintendo fan service. Mario (Chris Pratt), Luigi (Charlie Day), Princess Peach (Anya Taylor-Joy)...

The Comeback

01 Apr 2026

Contributed by Lukas

Lisa Kudrow is back in HBO’s beloved comedy The Comeback. It’s been more than a decade since we last saw sitcom star Valerie Cherish, and her pres...

Hannah Montana

31 Mar 2026

Contributed by Lukas

This year marks 20 years since Hannah Montana premiered on the Disney Channel. The show made a global phenomenon of star Miley Cyrus and her pop-star ...

Bait and What’s Making Us Happy

27 Mar 2026

Contributed by Lukas

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 ...

BTS Arirang

25 Mar 2026

Contributed by Lukas

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 so...

The Reality TV Show We’d Actually Win

24 Mar 2026

Contributed by Lukas

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...

Ready or Not 2: Here I Come

23 Mar 2026

Contributed by Lukas

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 t...

Project Hail Mary and What’s Making Us Happy

20 Mar 2026

Contributed by Lukas

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 Proje...

Rooster

18 Mar 2026

Contributed by Lukas

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 (Ch...

Scarpetta

17 Mar 2026

Contributed by Lukas

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...

Our 2026 Oscars Recap

16 Mar 2026

Contributed by Lukas

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...

2026 Oscars Guide and What's Making Us Happy

13 Mar 2026

Contributed by Lukas

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’...

What Makes A Great Cast?

12 Mar 2026

Contributed by Lukas

This year, there's finally an Oscar being awarded for casting. The nominees are the casting directors for Sinners, Hamnet, Marty Supreme, One Battle A...

Harry Styles Kiss All The Time. Disco, Occasionally.

11 Mar 2026

Contributed by Lukas

Harry Styles just released his new album Kiss All The Time. Disco, Occasionally. It’s his fourth solo album since leaving the boy band One Direction...

Hoppers

09 Mar 2026

Contributed by Lukas

In Disney and Pixar’s delightful new film Hoppers, a young woman (Piper Curda) learns a beloved glade is under threat from the town’s slimy mayor ...

The Bride! and What's Making Us Happy

06 Mar 2026

Contributed by Lukas

The Bride! goes way beyond a simple tale of literature’s most famous reanimated corpses. Directed by Maggie Gyllenhaal and starring Jessie Buckley a...

Love Story

04 Mar 2026

Contributed by Lukas

John F. Kennedy Jr. was an object of public fixation his entire life, and he’s now the subject of the FX series Love Story. It focuses on Kennedy’...

The Fall and Rise of Reggie Dinkins

03 Mar 2026

Contributed by Lukas

The new comedy series The Fall and Rise of Reggie Dinkins stars Tracy Morgan as a disgraced former football star and Daniel Radcliffe as a documentary...

Industry

02 Mar 2026

Contributed by Lukas

HBO’s addictive drama Industry has never been afraid to wade in the muck, and the fourth season and finale was especially messy. The paths of frenem...

Scream 7 and What's Making Us Happy

27 Feb 2026

Contributed by Lukas

The OG Scream Queen Neve Campbell returns. Scream 7 re-centers the franchise back on Sidney Prescott. She has a new life, a family, and lots of bagga...

Our Favorite Movies On Tubi

26 Feb 2026

Contributed by Lukas

The streaming service Tubi has become a repository for a wild assortment of movies, TV shows, and original properties. They’re all free to watch, pr...

The Traitors

25 Feb 2026

Contributed by Lukas

The Peacock reality show The Traitors has become weekly appointment television, as the always impeccably dressed Alan Cumming presides over an unfrien...

Paradise

23 Feb 2026

Contributed by Lukas

In Hulu's twisty drama series Paradise, Sterling K. Brown plays a Secret Service agent caught up in a web of intrigue after the president of the Unite...

Winter Olympics and What’s Making Us Happy

20 Feb 2026

Contributed by Lukas

The Winter Olympics are well underway, and we’ve got thoughts from an avid Olympics watcher and a reporter who’s covering the games in Italy. Whet...

America’s Next Top Model

19 Feb 2026

Contributed by Lukas

America’s Next Top Model has been rewatched in the years since its 2003 premiere, and its handling of race, body image, and other issues has been l...

How To Get To Heaven From Belfast

17 Feb 2026

Contributed by Lukas

Netflix’s How To Get To Heaven From Belfast is the new series from the creator of the beloved show Derry Girls. It follows three very messy longtime...

Pillion

16 Feb 2026

Contributed by Lukas

In Pillion, a.k.a. the “gay BDSM biker movie,” a meek young man named Colin (Harry Melling) meets a handsome, broody biker played by Alexander Ska...

“Wuthering Heights” and What’s Making Us Happy

13 Feb 2026

Contributed by Lukas

In the new film “Wuthering Heights,” Margot Robbie stars as headstrong and horny Cathy, and Jacob Elordi as brooding and horny Heathcliff. Their l...

Best Book to Movie Adaptations

12 Feb 2026

Contributed by Lukas

What’s your favorite movie that started life as a book? And what makes for a great book to film adaptation, anyway? We’ve got some examples of bel...

The Pop Culture Hill I’ll Die On

10 Feb 2026

Contributed by Lukas

We've all got that one argument we're always making: that non-negotiable stance, that immutable truth we're sticking to no matter what. Today, we're r...

Bad Bunny Super Bowl Halftime Show

09 Feb 2026

Contributed by Lukas

At the Super Bowl halftime show, Bad Bunny put on an endlessly rewatchable performance. It featured Lady Gaga, Ricky Martin, and a real wedding. But i...

Charli xcx, The Moment And What’s Making Us Happy

06 Feb 2026

Contributed by Lukas

Remember Brat Summer? Charli xcx has turned the aftermath of her mainstream success into a movie called The Moment. It’s a hyperpop faux documentar...

Wonder Man

04 Feb 2026

Contributed by Lukas

Marvel’s new Disney+ series Wonder Man is a sensible buddy comedy where Yahya Abdul-Mateen II plays a down-on-his-luck actor (with incredible superp...

2026 Sundance Film Festival: Best Movies

03 Feb 2026

Contributed by Lukas

We watched a ton of movies and we’re recommending some of the best things we saw at this year’s Sundance Film Festival. This includes a thrilling ...

2026 Grammys Recap

02 Feb 2026

Contributed by Lukas

This year’s Grammy Awards featured historic wins for Bad Bunny and Kendrick Lamar, performances from Lady Gaga and Justin Bieber, and occasional cha...

Send Help and What’s Making Us Happy

30 Jan 2026

Contributed by Lukas

In the new comic horror film Send Help, Rachel McAdams finds out the answer to the age-old hypothetical, “what if you were stranded on a desert isla...

Star Trek: Starfleet Academy

29 Jan 2026

Contributed by Lukas

Star Trek fans are finally getting something they’ve wanted for a long time, and it doesn’t disappoint. The new series Star Trek: Starfleet Academ...

The Beauty

27 Jan 2026

Contributed by Lukas

The Beauty stars familiar faces from the Ryan Murphy universe, including Evan Peters, as well as new collaborators like Ashton Kutcher. In the show, a...

A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms

26 Jan 2026

Contributed by Lukas

The HBO series A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms may be set in the same fantasy world as Game of Thrones and House of the Dragon, but it’s a small, gro...

‘One Battle After Another’ is revolutionary — and revelatory

23 Jan 2026

Contributed by Lukas

One Battle After Another earned 13 Oscar nominations - including best picture, best director and a lead actor nomination for Leonardo DiCaprio. In the...

2026 Oscar Nominations

22 Jan 2026

Contributed by Lukas

This year’s Oscars nominations are here, and we’re unpacking record-breaking nominations for Sinners, plus nominations for One Battle After Anothe...

Watch This: It Was Just An Accident

21 Jan 2026

Contributed by Lukas

The Iranian film It Was Just an Accident enters Oscars season with the wind at its back. It won the top prize at Cannes, a raft of other awards and ha...

The Rip

20 Jan 2026

Contributed by Lukas

Matt Damon and Ben Affleck share the screen again in new Netflix film, The Rip. Similar to the pulpy, midbudget cop movies we used to get, The Rip is ...

28 Years Later: The Bone Temple and What’s Making Us Happy

16 Jan 2026

Contributed by Lukas

28 Years Later: The Bone Temple picks up where 28 Years Later left off – in a world of zombie-like infecteds and vigilantes that turn out to be a...

Agatha Christie’s Seven Dials

15 Jan 2026

Contributed by Lukas

The new Netflix series Agatha Christie’s Seven Dials centers on lesser known mystery solving protagonist Lady Eileen Brent (Mia McKenna-Bruce). It’...

Hijack

14 Jan 2026

Contributed by Lukas

Idris Elba is in full action hero mode in the Apple TV series Hijack. He stars as a corporate business negotiator onboard an airplane that is taken ho...

Our Dream TV Crossovers

13 Jan 2026

Contributed by Lukas

There have been many TV crossovers over the years, but it’s a tricky balance to get right — for every mashup that feels organic, there are plenty ...

People We Meet On Vacation and What's Making Us Happy

09 Jan 2026

Contributed by Lukas

The new Netflix rom-com People We Meet On Vacation is about best friends Poppy (Emily Bader) and Alex (Tom Blyth) who have gone on annual trips togeth...

Sabrina Carpenter and the Embarrassing Truth of Dating Men

08 Jan 2026

Contributed by Lukas

What's it like to date a man? Ask Sabrina Carpenter, Olivia Dean, or your friends, and you might hear it's a struggle. Today we’re bringing you an e...

No Other Choice

07 Jan 2026

Contributed by Lukas

No Other Choice is a new bleak comedy about a man (Lee Byung-hun) at a crossroads. After losing his job at a paper company, he resorts to desperate, u...

Stranger Things

06 Jan 2026

Contributed by Lukas

After five seasons and almost ten years, the saga of Netflix’s Stranger Things has reached its end. In a two-hour finale, we found out what happened...

2026 Resolutions and What’s Making Us Happy

02 Jan 2026

Contributed by Lukas

Hope springs eternal, and that is nowhere more true than in the realm of New Year’s Resolutions. Today, we give ourselves goals for 2026. And becaus...

2026 Pop Culture Predictions

31 Dec 2025

Contributed by Lukas

What does 2026 have in store for pop culture? Today, we’re back for another year of pop culture predictions. We’ll touch on A.I., the future of Ru...

2025 Best Video Games

30 Dec 2025

Contributed by Lukas

If you’re anything like us, you spend a fair amount of your screen time playing video games. Whether you like combat, horror, or peacefully going ov...

2025 Books We Love

29 Dec 2025

Contributed by Lukas

NPR’s Books We Love is a roundup of the best books from the past year, sorted and tagged to help you find exactly what you’re looking for. This ye...

Anaconda

26 Dec 2025

Contributed by Lukas

The new Anaconda movie is a meta reimaging in which Jack Black and Paul Rudd play aspiring filmmakers who attempt to make… a meta reimagining of Ana...

Marty Supreme and What’s Making Us Happy

24 Dec 2025

Contributed by Lukas

The new movie Marty Supreme asks, can Timothée Chalamet play a supremely annoying character and still keep us interested from beginning to end? He st...

Best Christmas Gift I Ever Received

23 Dec 2025

Contributed by Lukas

What's the best Christmas gift you ever received? You probably didn't have to think about it; you knew it in your bones. Today, in this encore episode...

The Housemaid

22 Dec 2025

Contributed by Lukas

The twisty thriller The Housemaid stars Sydney Sweeney as a newly hired live-in housekeeper to Amanda Seyfried’s wealthy housewife. Both women have ...

Avatar: Fire And Ash and What’s Making Us Happy

19 Dec 2025

Contributed by Lukas

In Avatar: Fire and Ash, James Cameron’s saga continues in a visually stunning movie full of epic battles, uneasy alliances, human assimilation, and...

Heated Rivalry

18 Dec 2025

Contributed by Lukas

The new show Heated Rivalry is a very sexy and very queer hockey romance streaming on HBO Max–and it’s a phenomenon. It follows archrival players ...

Fallout

17 Dec 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Fallout is based on a hugely successful video game series known for blending a sardonic, very dark comedic sensibility, and violence. The series is se...

Great Movies We Missed

16 Dec 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Every year, we like to take a moment to look back and spotlight a few favorite films we didn’t have time to talk about. Today, we're making recommen...

Mailbag: The Movies We Walked Out Of

14 Dec 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Aisha and Stephen answer a mailbag question! Send in your own questions at [email protected], and we may answer it in a future bonus episode.This usually w...

Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery And What’s Making Us Happy

12 Dec 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Netflix’s Wake Up Dead Man is the third installment in the Knives Out franchise. Daniel Craig returns as detective Benoit Blanc -- with a cast of su...

Jay Kelly

10 Dec 2025

Contributed by Lukas

In Netflix’s Jay Kelly, George Clooney plays the aging movie star Jay Kelly. His longtime manager (Adam Sander) and publicist (Laura Dern) struggle ...

The Worst Christmas Movies

09 Dec 2025

Contributed by Lukas

‘Tis the season you’ll find plenty of good holiday movies – films that can be counted upon to deliver warmth and cheer. And bad holiday movies? ...

The Abandons

08 Dec 2025

Contributed by Lukas

In Netflix’s The Abandons, Gillian Anderson and Lena Headey play two steely matriarchs that face off on the American frontier. But don’t let the s...

Five Nights at Freddy’s 2 and What’s Making Us Happy

05 Dec 2025

Contributed by Lukas

In the new film Five Nights at Freddy’s 2, Josh Hutcherson returns as the protagonist trying to survive in a haunted children’s restaurant called ...

2025 Pop Culture Favorites

04 Dec 2025

Contributed by Lukas

It’s been a great year for TV, movies, and music. And we are highlighting some of the best, including KPop Demon Hunters, Sinners, and Severance. We...

Rereading Pride & Prejudice

02 Dec 2025

Contributed by Lukas

This year, readers around the world are celebrating Jane Austen’s 250th birthday. Today we’ve got an episode of NPR’s Books We’ve Loved where ...

Hamnet

01 Dec 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Hamnet tells the fictionalized account of the lives of William Shakespeare and his wife, played by Paul Mescal and Jessie Buckley. They fall in love, ...

All’s Fair And What’s Making Us Happy

28 Nov 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Ryan Murphy’s latest show All’s Fair centers on an all-female law firm led by Kim Kardashian, Naomi Watts, and Niecy Nash-Betts. The high-powered ...

Zootopia 2

26 Nov 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Disney’s Zootopia grossed over a billion dollars worldwide. Now our heroes return in the sequel Zootopia 2. Judy Hopps (Ginnifer Goodwin) and Nick W...

Sentimental Value

25 Nov 2025

Contributed by Lukas

The new movie Sentimental Value is one of the great films about absentee dads who reappear in their kids’ lives. Stellan Skarsgård plays a renowned...