This week, we've got little kids, loser dogs, the Super Bowl, '90s power ballads and too much government.

From the football field to the halftime stage, here's what to know about the storylines and stakes before Super Bowl 59 kicks off on Sunday.

(Image credit: Chris Graythen)

To close out 2024, Brittany and friends are running through the best and worst pop culture moments of the past 365 days. Along with NPR's Weekend Edition host Ayesha Rascoe and Code Switch co-host B.A. Parker, the three declare winners and losers in the following categories:

WORD OF THE YEAR
"Crash Out"
"Cutesy"
"Hawk Tuah"

THE LOUDEST GASP HEARD AROUND THE WORLD
Katt Williams on Club Shay Shay
Kendrick Lamar & Drake's Rap Beef
The response to the Trump assassination attempt

VILLAIN OF THE YEAR
Life
Willful Ignorance
Dr. Rachel Gunn (AKA Raygun)

BIGGEST FLOP OF THE YEAR
Tesla's Cybertrucks
Drake
Megalopolis

THE "WHO'S THIS DIVA?" AWARD
The extra special award for the diva you did not know before 2024 but whose name lives rent free in your head now.

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Drake and Kendrick have been trading diss tracks for weeks, and it's gotten darker and darker with each track. Drake accuses Kendrick of beating women, and Kendrick accuses Drake of abusing minors. It's a spectacle, but who are the pawns? Brittany chats with NPR Music's Sidney Madden and writer Tirhakah Love about the collateral damage in this rap beef.

Then, Brittany turns to Holding It Together a new book that describes how America has avoided building a social safety net and instead relies on women to provide the services that could be universal to all. Author Jessica Calarco joins the show to dive into the book and take a look at the cultural forces that keep women holding it all together.

(Image credit: Frazer Harrison; Wang Zhao/AFP)

Poet Kwame Alexander's latest community poem is inspired by kids' definitions of love, touching on everything from ephemeral connections and puppy kisses to the circle of life and Kendrick Lamar.

We gon' be alright with Sam and these two guests this week: Morning Edition and Up First host Steve Inskeep and CNN Politics Senior Writer Juana Summers. The real Puerto Rico death toll, insulin prices, and baked beans, plus trade talk with Soumaya Keynes of The Economist. Email the show at samsanders@npr.org and tweet @NPRItsBeenAMin with feels.

(Image credit: Hannah Foslien)

The Pulitzer Prize for Kendrick Lamar's DAMN. represents a shifting tide in rap's cultural status. But a juror who helped select the prize says it means as much for an institution like the Pulitzers.

(Image credit: Dimitrios Kambouris)

Lamar joins the staffs of The New York Times and The Washington Post as this year's prize winners. See the list of winners and watch Monday's announcement ceremony here.

(Image credit: Daniel Leal-Olivas)

The third official single from the Black Panther soundtrack finds the Compton rapper and Toronto crooner collaborating again.

(Image credit: Rich Fury)

The TDE-curated 'Black Panther' soundtrack includes The Weeknd, Travis Scott, Future, Vince Staples and more.