Accessibility links
Television Television

Television

It's Been a Minute with Sam Sanders

Bowen Yang's Rules of Culture

Bowen Yang often plays delightfully weird characters on SNL. But recently he appeared as himself on the show to address the uptick of Asian American violence in the U.S. Sam revisits his conversation from last fall with the comedian, who discusses becoming the first Chinese American cast member on Saturday Night Live, what it was like to do the show during a pandemic, and why Adele Dazeem is the number one moment in the history of culture.

Bowen Yang's Rules of Culture

Listen · 30:09
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/986561246/986646611" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
'Queen Sugar' Is Tender and Timely

Queen Sugar focuses on the Bordelon siblings - Ralph Angel (Kofi Siriboe), Nova (Rutina Wesley) and Charley (Dawn-Lyen Gardner) - a black family in rural Louisiana. Skip Bolen/Courtesy of OWN hide caption

toggle caption
Skip Bolen/Courtesy of OWN

Review

Pop Culture Happy Hour

'Queen Sugar' Is Tender and Timely

Queen Sugar is a sprawling melodrama following the Bordelons, a tight-knit, multi-generational black family in rural Louisiana. Created by Ava DuVernay, the series has been politically topical from the beginning, and its fifth season is timelier than ever, dealing with the coronavirus pandemic and the death of George Floyd.

'Queen Sugar' Is Tender and Timely

Listen · 14:52
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/986486428/986499341" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript
Viola Davis' Essential Performances

Viola Davis wins best supporting actress at the 89th Annual Academy Awards in 2017. Frazer Harrison/Getty Images hide caption

toggle caption
Frazer Harrison/Getty Images

Review

Pop Culture Happy Hour

Viola Davis' Essential Performances

Viola Davis' name is rarely far from awards season chatter, and this year is no different — the highly decorated performer received her fourth Oscar nomination for her role in Ma Rainey's Black Bottom, and could become the first Black woman to nab two acting Oscars. As awards season kicks off, Pop Culture Happy Hour revisits great performers and a few of their essential performances. Today, we're spotlighting Viola Davis, from her first Oscar-nominated role in Doubt to her standing as a powerful force of nature in Hollywood.

Viola Davis' Essential Performances

Listen · 19:45
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/985719934/985732028" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript
Opinion: Remembering The Late Comedy Writer Anne Beatts

Anne Beatts attends the Live From New York! documentary's Los Angeles premiere after-party on June 10, 2015. Stefanie Keenan/Getty Images hide caption

toggle caption
Stefanie Keenan/Getty Images

Opinion

Simon Says

Opinion: Remembering The Late Comedy Writer Anne Beatts

NPR's Scott Simon remembers comedy writer Anne Beatts, who died this week at the age of 74. She worked in male-dominated writers' rooms at Saturday Night Live and National Lampoon magazine.

Opinion: Remembering The Late Comedy Writer Anne Beatts

Listen · 2:41
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/985984013/986042516" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript
Is 'The Great Pottery Throw Down' The Most Relaxing Show On TV?

Judges Rich Miller and Keith Brymer Jones with contestant Jodie Neale in the fourth season of The Great Pottery Thrown Down. Love Productions/HBO Max hide caption

toggle caption
Love Productions/HBO Max

Review

Pop Culture Happy Hour

Is 'The Great Pottery Throw Down' The Most Relaxing Show On TV?

The Great Pottery Throw Down is one of the gentlest, kindest and warmest competitive reality shows you will ever see (even when things literally explode). The UK series is now streaming on HBO Max. The dishes, the bowls, the handles, the crying — it's all right there to help you relax at the end of even the longest day. Plus, we take a moment to remember rapper DMX, who died today at 50.

Is 'The Great Pottery Throw Down' The Most Relaxing Show On TV?

Listen · 21:31
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/985411297/985418518" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript
'Bad Trip'? More Like Awesome Trip!

Eric Andre and Lil Rel Howery go on an outrageous adventure in the Netflix movie Bad Trip. NETFLIX hide caption

toggle caption
NETFLIX

Review

Pop Culture Happy Hour

'Bad Trip'? More Like Awesome Trip!

In the Netflix movie Bad Trip, Eric Andre and Lil Rel Howery play best friends who take a road trip from Florida to New York City. The twist in Bad Trip is that each scene is also an elaborate prank, blending fiction and reality - with the mayhem taking place as real unsuspecting strangers look on.

'Bad Trip'? More Like Awesome Trip!

Listen · 12:09
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/985025622/985061596" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript
Frances McDormand's Essential Performances

Frances McDormand smiles on the red carpet at Rome Film Fest 2019. Mondadori Portfolio/Mondadori Portfolio via Getty Images hide caption

toggle caption
Mondadori Portfolio/Mondadori Portfolio via Getty Images

Review

Pop Culture Happy Hour

Frances McDormand's Essential Performances

Over the course of her long, varied and distinguished career, actor Frances McDormand has won two Oscars - and her performance in Nomadland this year could win her a third. Pop Culture Happy Hour explores some of the great work she's done.

Frances McDormand's Essential Performances

Listen · 16:55
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/984733567/984770677" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript
Top 10 Muppets, As Voted By Listeners

Kermit the Frog and Miss Piggy arrive in style at the El Capitan Theatre in Hollywood for the 2014 premiere of Disney's Muppets Most Wanted. Frank Trapper/Corbis via Getty Images hide caption

toggle caption
Frank Trapper/Corbis via Getty Images

Review

Pop Culture Happy Hour

Top 10 Muppets, As Voted By Listeners

When we asked our listeners to tell us which Muppets were their favorites, we knew you'd all come through. More than 6,000 people cast over 18,000 votes, and those votes have been tallied. This is the PCHH audience's definitive ranking of the best Muppets.

Top 10 Muppets, As Voted By Listeners

Listen · 25:19
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/983488978/983566979" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript
Our Favorite Muppets

Miss Piggy stars in Muppets Now on Disney Plus. Courtesy of Disney Plus hide caption

toggle caption
Courtesy of Disney Plus

Pop Culture Happy Hour

Our Favorite Muppets

When The Muppet Show arrived on Disney Plus in February, it got us talking: who are our favorite Muppets? And which Muppet do we most identify with? Today, we're discussing all things Muppets and finding out where we fit in Jim Henson's felt universe.

Our Favorite Muppets

Listen · 23:24
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/982279931/983079819" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript
Filmmakers Call Out PBS For A Lack Of Diversity, Over-Reliance On Ken Burns

Ken Burns speaks during the PBS segment of the Summer 2019 Television Critics Association Press Tour. Amy Sussman/Getty Images hide caption

toggle caption
Amy Sussman/Getty Images

Filmmakers Call Out PBS For A Lack Of Diversity, Over-Reliance On Ken Burns

A group of documentarians have signed a letter to PBS expressing concerns that white stars like Ken Burns get too much airtime and resources, while filmmakers of color struggle to build careers.

Filmmakers Call Out PBS For A Lack Of Diversity, Over-Reliance On Ken Burns

Listen · 3:12
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/982706363/982953874" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript
Ken Burns' 'Hemingway' Docuseries Dives Into The Writer's Complicated Life

Ken Burns' three-part documentary about American writer Ernest Hemingway (shown above) premieres on PBS April 5. Bettmann Archive/Getty Images hide caption

toggle caption
Bettmann Archive/Getty Images

Review

TV Reviews

Ken Burns' 'Hemingway' Docuseries Dives Into The Writer's Complicated Life

Fresh Air

A three-part PBS documentary probes deeply into Ernest Hemingway's life and his writings. Among those featured are each of his four wives, who shed light on the author's troubled personal life.

Ken Burns' 'Hemingway' Docuseries Dives Into The Writer's Complicated Life

Listen · 7:00
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/982637327/982751147" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript
'Lovecraft Country' Creator Aims To Reclaim The Horror Genre For People Of Color

Jurnee Smollett, Jonathan Majors and Courtney B. Vance star in HBO's Lovecraft Country. HBO hide caption

toggle caption
HBO

'Lovecraft Country' Creator Aims To Reclaim The Horror Genre For People Of Color

Fresh Air

"Horror, which is my favorite genre, works best for me when there's a metaphor," Misha Green says. Her HBO series mixes the real horrors of the Black experience in the '50s with supernatural terrors.

'Lovecraft Country' Creator Aims To Reclaim The Horror Genre For People Of Color

Listen · 37:05
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/982668346/982750956" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript
In 'The Falcon And The Winter Soldier,' Sam And Bucky Are Vib(ranium)ing

Falcon (Anthony Mackie) and Winter Soldier (Sebastian Stan) reluctantly participate in a therapy session together, while their therapist (Amy Aquino) looks on. Marvel Studios hide caption

toggle caption
Marvel Studios

Review

Pop Culture Happy Hour

In 'The Falcon And The Winter Soldier,' Sam And Bucky Are Vib(ranium)ing

As the Marvel Cinematic Universe continues its march across Disney Plus, it needs a buddy show, specifically The Falcon And The Winter Soldier. Both old allies of Captain America, the two find themselves up against villains, a therapist and sometimes each other.

In 'The Falcon And The Winter Soldier,' Sam And Bucky Are Vib(ranium)ing

Listen · 13:40
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/982352708/982423230" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript
Tina Turner's Life Explored In New Documentary

Tina Turner and her children, photographed in 1967. Courtesy of HBO hide caption

toggle caption
Courtesy of HBO

Review

TV Reviews

Tina Turner's Life Explored In New Documentary

HBO's documentary on Tina Turner is presented as the 81-year-old singer's final word on her expansive life and career — a history she finds difficult to talk about.

Tina Turner's Life Explored In New Documentary

Listen · 3:47
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/979683306/979683307" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript
Dominion Voting Systems Files $1.6 Billion Defamation Lawsuit Against Fox News

A lawsuit from Dominion Voting Systems highlights election claims that Trump attorney Sidney Powell made on Lou Dobbs' Fox Business program. The suit includes a photo of one appearance that bore the on-screen headline, "The Battle for the White House: Concerns Raised about Dominion Voting Systems." Screenshot by NPR hide caption

toggle caption
Screenshot by NPR

Media

Dominion Voting Systems Files $1.6 Billion Defamation Lawsuit Against Fox News

"Fox sold a false story of election fraud in order to serve its own commercial purposes, severely injuring Dominion in the process," the voting machine company's lawsuit said.

'Invincible' Is Packed With Pulpy, Visceral Thrills — And Lots Of Pulpy Viscera

Young Mark Grayson (voiced by Steven Yeun) follows in his father's footsteps and adopts the heroic identity of Invincible in the Amazon Prime animated series. Amazon Prime Video hide caption

toggle caption
Amazon Prime Video

Review

Pop Culture Happy Hour

'Invincible' Is Packed With Pulpy, Visceral Thrills — And Lots Of Pulpy Viscera

A stellar voice cast helps ground this fantastical tale of a fledgling superhero's first forays into a job where the stakes — and the violence — are all too real.

Browse archive or search npr.org