It's Been a Minute

By NPR

What's It's Been a Minute about?

Has it been a minute since you heard a thought-provoking conversation about culture? Brittany Luse wants to help. Each week, she takes the things everyone's talking about and, in conversation with her favorite creators, tastemakers, and experts, gives you new ways to think about them. Beyond the obvious takes. Because culture doesn't happen by accident.

If you can't get enough, try It's Been a Minute Plus. Your subscription supports the show and unlocks a sponsor-free feed. Learn more at plus.npr.org/itsbeenaminute

4.8

7,786 ratings

Download our free app to listen on your phone

LAST EPISODE

All The Only Ones: I can't ...

11.28.2023

This week we're bringing you a special episode from the Embedded series 'All the Only Ones.' The series looks at the history of trans youth next to the realities experienced by trans youth today. In this episode, we meet Parker, ...

It's Been a Minute episodes:

11.28.2023 All The Only Ones: I can't wait This week we're bringing you a special episode from the Embedded series 'All the Only Ones.' The series looks at the history of trans youth next to the realities experienced by trans youth today. In this episode, we meet Parker, ...
11.24.2023 Defending the Disney Adult; plus, what it takes to stand up for Black trans people Disney recently celebrated its 100th birthday, so we're exploring a fandom that's kept the magic alive while also generating lots of online hate: Disney Adults. To break the phenomenon down, Brittany Luse chats with Rolling Stone senior writer and self-proclaimed ...
11.21.2023 How gratitude improves your relationships and your future For the millions of Americans that celebrate Thanksgiving, it's a time when a lot of us reflect on the things and the people in our lives that we appreciate. But according to Dr. Laurie Santos, psychology professor at Yale and ...
11.17.2023 The return of Andre 3000; plus, 'Rap Sh!t' puts the music industry on blast As many male rappers seem to become more depressed or vindictive in their lyrics, the women of rap appear to be having all the fun. One show that captures this moment is Rap Sh!t on Max. Brittany sits down with ...
11.14.2023 Pressing pause on 'Killers Of The Flower Moon' and rethinking Scorsese's latest Martin Scorsese's Killers of the Flower Moon is everything an Oscar contender might be - long, epic, morally complicated and expensive. Yet, while many movie-goers left theaters moved, others called the film a problematic disaster. Today on the show, we ...
11.10.2023 Barbra Streisand says she's not a diva - she's a director The season of the celebrity memoir is upon us. In just the past few months Britney Spears, Jada Pinkett Smith, Kerry Washington, and more have showered us with bombshells and revelations about their origin stories and private lives. Despite those ...
11.07.2023 What restaurant trends tell us about the economy and culture The restaurant industry has been making headlines lately. Fine dining heavyweights are shuttering: Noma announced it would be closing in 2024 and NYC staple Momofuku Ko closed this past weekend. Then, there's the unintentional chaos caused by a popular Tiktok ...
11.03.2023 "The Gilded Age" and the trouble with American period pieces The Gilded Age delighted audiences with its lavish sets, decadent costumes and social sniping when it debuted. Lucky for us, the period drama just returned to HBO Max with a second season. But if we look a little closer at ...
10.31.2023 What makes 'The Real Housewives' so addictive? (Classic) It's a big week for fans of reality TV - it's Bravocon 2023. This year it's in Las Vegas – and while we couldn't make it to Vegas, we're revisiting what we learned from last year's Bravocon in New York. ...
10.27.2023 It's Britney, bestseller! Britney Spears just released one of the most hotly anticipated celebrity memoirs of the year, The Woman In Me. The book details her meteoric rise to fame, her family history, and her 13 year-long conservatorship. This week, host Britney Luse ...
10.24.2023 The new "final girl" in horror; plus, who's afraid of a horny hag? Halloween is upon us — and it's the season for horror movies. Host Brittany Luse is a HUGE horror girlie, but loving horror also means critiquing it. Today, we're breaking down two major figures in horror: the final girl and ...
10.20.2023 Misinformation & uninformed comments are clogging war coverage; plus, Tupac's legacy A warning: This episode contains explicit language and mentions of rape. For the past two weeks, social media has been flooded with coverage and commentary on the conflict between Israel and Hamas. And while the news updates have been devastating, ...
10.17.2023 Code Switch: Baltimore teens are fighting for environmental justice — and winning From our friends at Code Switch, we present a story about one group of student activists in Baltimore and how their efforts to make their neighborhood healthier has them facing big coal — and actually making gains.
10.13.2023 Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce are 100% in a PR relationship. Here's how we know. Taylor Swift and her maybe boyfriend, Kansas Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce, have been inescapable the past few weeks. The pop superstar has been showing up at Chiefs games, and the NFL has been playing it up - all to ...
10.10.2023 In defense of bad movie accents We can all think of a bad movie accent. There's Lady Gaga in House of Gucci, Brad Pitt in Meet Joe Black, or Emma Watson in The Bling Ring. A bad accent takes you out of a movie, right? Well, ...
10.06.2023 It's Fat Bear Week - but our fascination with bears is timeless Every year, the Katmai National Park in Alaska puts on a March Madness-style bracket of all the fattest bears in their park. It's a celebration of fatness, because a fat bear ahead of hibernation means a healthy bear come spring. ...
10.03.2023 Jordan Peele presents a 'new' Black horror This week, host Brittany Luse kicks off spooky season by sitting down with the current champion of Black horror, Jordan Peele. In his most recent project, he's taken his talents from the screen to the page as the editor of ...
09.29.2023 Hasan Minhaj and the limits of representation A recent New Yorker piece on Hasan Minhaj found that some crucial bits of his stand-up act didn't stand up to fact-checking. Stretching the truth in comedy is par for the course, but how does that work for a figure ...
09.26.2023 How Bethann Hardison changed the face of fashion - and why that matters Bethann Hardison is the fashion icon behind so many fashion icons: she worked as a modeling agent in the era of the supermodel – brokering the careers of stars like Kimora Lee Simmons and Tyson Beckford. And when models of ...
09.22.2023 The WNBA's coming out story; plus, the dangers of sports betting This year, the WNBA had its most-watched regular season in 21 years, but what went into creating this new moment of visibility for the league? Host Brittany Luse is joined by Katie Barnes, author of Fair Play: How Sports Shape ...
09.19.2023 The year concert etiquette went to trash and why Every couple of weeks there's a new story of a fan at a concert misbehaving. One fan threw ashes at Pink, another hit Drake with a cellphone, Miranda Lambert stopped her show when fans took selfies with flash photography. Extreme ...
09.15.2023 Is capitalism in its flop era? In 2017, Today, Explained co-host Noel King says she started getting a vibe: young people were discussing and dissecting capitalism. She began noticing the word in pop culture and cultural reporting — but found her own tribe of economics reporters ...
09.12.2023 Rock and roll's pioneer is a queer, Southern Black man When you think of rockstar royalty, a queer, Southern Black man normally doesn't come to mind. But director Lisa Cortés wants us all to reconsider that thought. Her documentary, Little Richard: I Am Everything, takes viewers through the life and ...
09.08.2023 The Photo of the Year; plus, whose RICO is it anyway? When former President Donald Trump's mugshot was released, pundits immediately searched for meaning. Was it defiant? Was it embarrassing? Turns out what we see in that image could change over time. Brittany Luse is joined by Vanessa Friedman, senior fashion ...
09.05.2023 20 years of pumpkin spice power It's been 20 years since Starbucks debuted the first pumpkin spice latte in 2003. Since then, it's become a cultural phenomenon greater than itself: it's shorthand for fall, for basicness, for femininity, and even for white culture. Why did the ...
09.02.2023 Luther Vandross and Samara Joy sing across generations Music is all about pushing the envelope, and no one knew that more than Luther Vandross. His rendition of "A House is Not a Home" is so beloved, many fans don't even know it's a cover. His sound also laid ...
08.29.2023 'All The Things She Said': queer anthem or problematic queerbait? In September 2002, the Russian pop duo t.A.T.u. released their smash single "All The Things She Said." The song is a grungy euro-dance track, and the video features the lead singers Lena Katina and Julia Volkova dressed in schoolgirl uniforms ...
08.25.2023 Skincare is dewy diet culture; plus, how to have the "Fat Talk" In this conversation from November 2022, host Brittany Luse chats with beauty reporter Jessica Defino about the increase in celebrity skincare lines and why the the way we talk about skin is regressive. Plus, Brittany revisits her chat with "Fat ...
08.22.2023 Why we don't trust the 'vanilla girl' This week is all about beauty and diet trends. In this first interview from March, host Brittany Luse chats with Forbes staff writer Steffi Cao to discuss her essay, "white women want their power back: on bbls and balletcore, and ...
08.19.2023 'Abbott Elementary' and 'Succession' take on love and grief This week, we're looking at some of the best TV of the year. Brittany Luse revisits her November 2022 conversation with Abbott Elementary writers Brittani Nichols and Joya McCrory. They talk about creating a world that feels both authentic and ...
08.15.2023 Why aren't there more union stories onscreen? In this conversation from March, Brittany Luse is joined by Chicago Tribune TV and film critic Nina Metz to chat about why there are so many shows and movies about rich jerks — Succession, White Lotus and Billions, to name ...
08.11.2023 Getting lit for hip-hop's 50th birthday On August 11, 1973, hip-hop was born at a house party in the Bronx. 50 years later the genre has been reshaped in the image of cities and regions around the world. Brittany Luse and NPR Music's Sheldon Pearce take ...
08.08.2023 How pop culture framed the crack epidemic The crack epidemic has had seismic impact on American culture, from music to TV and film. This week, Brittany Luse talks to Donovan X. Ramsey, author of When Crack Was King: A People's History of a Misunderstood Era, about why ...
08.04.2023 The tension behind tipping; plus, the anger over box braids Over the past few years, tipping expectations have changed: we're asked to tip in restaurants and coffee shops, yes, but also at bodegas, farm stands, even unmanned grab-and-go kiosks. And while the pandemic increased tips, inflation and a return to ...
08.01.2023 How racism became a marketing tool for country music The top three songs in America right now are country tracks, and the top two hits are by artists facing allegations of racism. At the top of the charts is Jason Aldean: he shot to number one after releasing his ...
07.28.2023 Viral dating screenshots and the absurdity of 'And Just Like That' Screenshots of dating apps are making the rounds online and what feels like mundane exchanges are generating lots of ire and discourse. As these screenshots become more common in our feeds, how does it impact the search for love? And ...
07.25.2023 Lil' Kim's fashion legacy is undeniable Think of the top women rappers of our time: Cardi B, Megan Thee Stallion, Nicki Minaj. They all showcase signature styles that include multicolored wigs, skyscraping heels and designer logos on everything. But that blend of high fashion, femininity and ...
07.21.2023 The spectacular femininity of bimbos and 'Barbie' The Barbie movie has arrived and we seem to be reaching peak Barbie-mania. But, Barbie's brand of hyperfeminine fun has been on the rise for years — especially online among left leaning femmes who call themselves bimbos and have been ...
07.19.2023 Twitter vs. Threads, and why influencers could be the ultimate winners In the wake of user dissatisfaction with Twitter, a crop of hungry new apps have sprung up to replace it. This week on It's Been A Minute, host Brittany Luse is joined by Washington Post reporter Taylor Lorenz to unravel ...
07.14.2023 Where's the song of the summer? Plus, the making of Beyoncé's 'Crazy in Love' It's been 20 years since Beyoncé's single Crazy in Love poured out of every radio, car speaker and club for a whole summer — setting her up to be the solo star she is today. Host Brittany Luse revisits that ...
07.11.2023 Ashley Park on Joy Ride, getting raunchy, and a letter to Cardi B Joy Ride, the ensemble R-rated comedy of the summer, has burst onto the scene with raunchiness, heart, and an unapologetic attitude. The film follows Audrey, played by Ashley Park, who goes to China for a work trip and, along with ...
07.07.2023 A rare battle at the Supreme Court; plus, Asian Americans and affirmative action Years before their appointments to the highest court in the land, Supreme Court Justices Sonia Sotomayor and Clarence Thomas both walked the hallowed halls of Yale Law School as beneficiaries of affirmative action policies. After handing down the ruling on ...
07.04.2023 Pop Culture Happy Hour: why is 'Scandoval' such a big deal for 'Vanderpump Rules'? Bravo's hit reality show Vanderpump Rules has become infamous due to a much-discussed affair between two members of its cast. The whole thing has been nicknamed "Scandoval" and has led to record-breaking ratings, countless memes, and even a joke at ...
07.01.2023 You can't even hate watch 'The Idol'; Plus, LIVE with Aubrey Gordon HBO's 'The Idol' has been riddled with controversy, and with the show coming to an end, host Brittany Luse and NPR's Hazel Cills had a lot to say about the series portrayal of female pop stars, along with the more ...
06.27.2023 'Never Have I Ever' is over, but Maitreyi Ramakrishnan is just getting started Maitreyi Ramakrishnan has big dreams. The 21-year-old gained full celebrity status with her breakout role as Devi Vishwakumar in the Mindy Kaling-produced hit Never Have I Ever. The final season just dropped on Netflix so we're revisiting our 2022 conversation ...
06.23.2023 Why we all need a himbo with 'The Other Two's Josh Segarra Today, we consider the himbo — sweet hotties who are maybe a little naive about the world, but are always having a good time. One of the greatest himbos of our age is Lance Arroyo on Max's comedy The Other ...
06.20.2023 Dominique Fishback is the actress with a thousand faces Dominique Fishback is starring in one of the biggest summer movies, Transformers: Rise of the Beasts, but her star has long been on the rise through roles in Judas and the Black Messiah, Swarm, and The Deuce. This week, Dominique ...
06.16.2023 Are children a marginalized group? There's been a common theme swirling throughout the culture wars: from gun policy, to drag bans, to talking about race - the innocence of children is always at the center of discussion. This week, we're exploring the ideas and systems ...
06.13.2023 It's time to have the 'Fat Talk' with our kids — and ourselves Virginia Sole-Smith is an author, writer and host of the podcast Burnt Toast — and her work focuses on our relationship to food and fat. Her latest book, Fat Talk: Parenting in the Age of Diet Culture is based on ...
06.09.2023 Emily King's heartbreak on 'Special Occasion' Grammy-nominated singer Emily King is a master architect of love songs: her dreamy pop-infused music has provided the soundtrack to many romances. This week, she's opening up about how she baked a fresh heartbreak into the sound of her latest ...

Older episodes

It's Been a Minute

What's It's Been a Minute about?

Download our free app to listen on your phone

It's Been a Minute episodes:

All The Only Ones: I can't wait

Defending the Disney Adult; plus, what it takes to stand up for Black trans people

How gratitude improves your relationships and your future

The return of Andre 3000; plus, 'Rap Sh!t' puts the music industry on blast

Pressing pause on 'Killers Of The Flower Moon' and rethinking Scorsese's latest

Barbra Streisand says she's not a diva - she's a director

What restaurant trends tell us about the economy and culture

"The Gilded Age" and the trouble with American period pieces

What makes 'The Real Housewives' so addictive? (Classic)

It's Britney, bestseller!

The new "final girl" in horror; plus, who's afraid of a horny hag?

Misinformation & uninformed comments are clogging war coverage; plus, Tupac's legacy

Code Switch: Baltimore teens are fighting for environmental justice — and winning

Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce are 100% in a PR relationship. Here's how we know.

In defense of bad movie accents

It's Fat Bear Week - but our fascination with bears is timeless

Jordan Peele presents a 'new' Black horror

Hasan Minhaj and the limits of representation

How Bethann Hardison changed the face of fashion - and why that matters

The WNBA's coming out story; plus, the dangers of sports betting

The year concert etiquette went to trash and why

Is capitalism in its flop era?

Rock and roll's pioneer is a queer, Southern Black man

The Photo of the Year; plus, whose RICO is it anyway?

20 years of pumpkin spice power

Luther Vandross and Samara Joy sing across generations

'All The Things She Said': queer anthem or problematic queerbait?

Skincare is dewy diet culture; plus, how to have the "Fat Talk"

Why we don't trust the 'vanilla girl'

'Abbott Elementary' and 'Succession' take on love and grief

Why aren't there more union stories onscreen?

Getting lit for hip-hop's 50th birthday

How pop culture framed the crack epidemic

The tension behind tipping; plus, the anger over box braids

How racism became a marketing tool for country music

Viral dating screenshots and the absurdity of 'And Just Like That'

Lil' Kim's fashion legacy is undeniable

The spectacular femininity of bimbos and 'Barbie'

Twitter vs. Threads, and why influencers could be the ultimate winners

Where's the song of the summer? Plus, the making of Beyoncé's 'Crazy in Love'

Ashley Park on Joy Ride, getting raunchy, and a letter to Cardi B

A rare battle at the Supreme Court; plus, Asian Americans and affirmative action

Pop Culture Happy Hour: why is 'Scandoval' such a big deal for 'Vanderpump Rules'?

You can't even hate watch 'The Idol'; Plus, LIVE with Aubrey Gordon

'Never Have I Ever' is over, but Maitreyi Ramakrishnan is just getting started

Why we all need a himbo with 'The Other Two's Josh Segarra

Dominique Fishback is the actress with a thousand faces

Are children a marginalized group?

It's time to have the 'Fat Talk' with our kids — and ourselves

Emily King's heartbreak on 'Special Occasion'

Other shows like It's Been a Minute: