It's Been a Minute

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 funny to American teachers. Then, Linda Holmes of NPR's Pop Culture Happy Hour stops by to chat about the television episode that had our group chats in a chokehold, and how it eloquently captured the way we experience death and grief in real life.

Note: all interviews were conducted before the 2023 Hollywood writers' and actors' strikes.

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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 a few — and why we're experiencing a dearth of stories about workers.

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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 a tour of those regions and look at where hip-hop might go in the next 50 years.

Plus, Brittany is joined by KQED's Pendarvis Harshaw to do a deep dive into a hip-hop scene from the Bay Area known as hyphy. It was loud. It was silly. But underneath all that partying, the hyphy movement also helped a community grieve.

To see more of Pendarvis Harshaw's coverage you can check out KQED's year-long exploration of Bay Area hip-hop history. To dig into NPR's series on the regional sounds of hip-hop, you can check out All Rap is Local.

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This episode has been updated to include a listener question and the credits.

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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 pop culture can't let go of the "crack fiend" or the drug dealing anti-hero. They discuss how both those tropes miss some very big marks, where the stereotypes originated and who tried to set the record straight.

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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 normal may put downward pressure on them again. Now, it seems none of us can agree on what the minimum should be. Host Brittany Luse chats with Ramtin Arablouei, co-host of the NPR history podcast Throughline, about the long and fraught history of tipping in the US, and what shifts in tipping may say about where we are today.

And later — we explore hair braiding gone wrong. Online, women looking to get box braids have gone viral with their complaints about confusing pricing structures, minimal care, and poor customer service. Brittany Luse chats with public historian and YouTuber Jouelzy to get an overview of the tension. Then, Jessica Poitras, legislative counsel for the Institute of Justice, joins the show to talk about the legal roadblocks many hair braiders face in setting up their businesses. And later, Brittany is joined by stylist Tyré Rimple to discuss the hidden costs behind braiding.

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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 music video "Try That In A Small Town," which included montages critical of the Black Lives Matter protests and showed Aldean singing in front of a courthouse where a Black teen was lynched. Morgan Wallen has the number two hit, and his popularity rose after being cancelled for using the N-word.

But this is not unprecedented for the genre. Brittany sits down with historian Amanda Martinez to talk about country music's history of marketing itself in opposition of Blackness for financial gain.

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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 what happens when people use the apps to swipe for content? We talk to Rolling Stone culture reporter Miles Klee about modern dating expectations and if the apps have changed them.

Then, Vox senior correspondent Alex Abad-Santos talks with host Brittany Luse about dating on television. Sex and the City was one of the most culturally important shows to air on television: it showed the aspirational lives of four single women in their thirties and forties. Now that we have the sequel series And Just Like That, Alex and Brittany sift through its nonsense to ask: what important things does the show have to say about women in their fifties and beyond?

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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 attitude began before any of them joined the game. It was pioneered in the 1990s by the original queen bee: Lil' Kim. Ahead of her time, Kim's ingenuity – and her cementing of the relationship between fashion and hip-hop – has not always been recognized. Host Brittany Luse and fashion journalist Scarlett Newman make the case for why it's time Lil' Kim gets the credit she deserves.

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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 giving the term a new meaning.

Host Brittany Luse and Hannah McCann, a lecturer at the University of Melbourne who specializes in critical femininity studies, explore how both Barbie and real-life bimbos are criticized for being bad role models, and yet this carefree, maximalist, feminine style may actually be a little subversive.

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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 Meta's newest app: Threads. They also discuss the latest changes in the the social media landscape, our power to shape it and why influencers could ultimately come out on top.

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