It's Been a Minute

Brittany Luse watches a lot of TV, but there's one show she's always caught up on — Abbott Elementary. This workplace comedy follows a group of teachers at a Philadelphia public elementary school. The show is sweet and roaringly funny, but it also touches on national issues such as underfunding and teacher retention.

Currently in its second season, the writers room is led by the great Quinta Brunson. Today, Brittany is joined by two of her talented writers, Brittani Nichols and Joya McCrory. They talk about creating a world that feels both authentic and funny to American teachers.

See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences.

NPR Privacy Policy

It's a big week in Black cinema as Black Panther: Wakanda Forever hit theaters Friday. But on the same day, another film dropped that may be just as powerful in its message about Black moviemaking. Is This Black Enough For You? pays homage to the decades of creativity that made the celebrated Marvel movie possible – and deeply influenced cinema as we know it.

Host Brittany Luse sits down with Elvis Mitchell, the longtime film critic who directed the documentary. They dig into the ingenuity of Black filmmakers through the 1960s and '70s, the overlooked contributions of Blaxploitation films and the one Black classic that led to the demise of an era.

Then, Brittany talks about a different kind of homage with Bashir Salahuddin and Diallo Riddle – the brains behind the sitcom South Side and the variety show send-up Sherman's Showcase. The comedy duo reveal why writing jokes around specific references can appeal to all kinds of audiences, and how parody can be a form of love.

You can follow us on Twitter @npritsbeenamin and email us at [email protected].

See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences.

NPR Privacy Policy

It's Election Day, and Brittany's focusing on those long lines at the polls. For years there's been a lot of talk about voter disenfranchisement - especially for Black and Brown voters who wait for hours to cast a ballot. But Brittany's guest thinks of those lines differently.

Sami Schalk is the author of Black Disability Politics. She argues that by focusing on the intersection of disability and Black liberation you can find creative ways to address systemic oppression. Long lines are just one example of where Black and disabled oppression meet.

You can find Sami's book here.

Follow us on Twitter @NPRItsBeenAMin or email us at [email protected].

See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences.

NPR Privacy Policy

The Kardashians. Whether you're into them or not, one thing is true: You can't avoid them. When they're not releasing new episodes of their long-running reality TV show, they're making headlines about Halloween costume reveals or ex-husbands who go on anti-Semitic rants. Because somehow, over the past decade, the Kardashian family went from Hollywood D-listers to American institution.

Host Brittany Luse unpacks that journey with MJ Corey, known by her social handle Kardashian Kolloquium. Corey, who also runs a newsletter where she applies media theory to the Kardashians' antics, breaks down their rise to the heights of American society and power – and how they got there using beauty, traditional milestones and a media playbook that might look similar to another first family.

You can follow us on Twitter @npritsbeenamin and email us at [email protected].

See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences.

NPR Privacy Policy

If you ask people to describe Christine Baranski, one word rises to the top: sophisticated. That's no accident; the actress has spent a lifetime refining her image and her craft.

For the past 13 years, Baranski has played Diane Lockhart, a savvy and assertive attorney on the CBS television series The Good Wife and its spin-off The Good Fight. And just like her character, Baranski is a trailblazer herself. With women making up only 3% of major TV characters 60 and over, she's carved out a path for other actresses to follow.

In this episode, host Brittany Luse talks with Baranski about The Good Fight for women in Hollywood.

Follow us on Twitter @NPRItsBeenAMin or email us at [email protected].

See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences.

NPR Privacy Policy

Spooky season is upon us, so we decided to sink our teeth into the world of vampires. Host Brittany Luse kicks off the conversation with Kendra R. Parker, who teaches a class at Georgia Southern University about Black vampires in film and literature. They talk about the racial and sexual politics of vampire narratives and why humans continue to find vampire stories compelling.

Then Brittany sits down with Jacob Anderson, star of the AMC reboot of Interview with the Vampire. The two get into the shaky ethics of vampirism and the trauma of immortality.

Follow us on Twitter @NPRItsBeenAMin or email us at [email protected].

See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences.

NPR Privacy Policy

Every fall, with the same regularity as birds flying south, Spirit Halloween materializes in locations across the country. The superstore sells all manner of trappings for spooky season, including costumes, props and décor. It boasts about 1,400 pop-ups nationwide, and often takes over temporary leases in malls where a big-box retailer struggled to stay open. This penchant for swooping in on failing businesses has led many consumers to see the company as a kind of Grim Reaper of retail – and turned the store into an internet meme.

This week, host Brittany Luse sits down with Planet Money's Kenny Malone to dive into the origin story of Spirit Halloween, and what the store's success says about the economy and the future of retail.

You can follow us on Twitter @NPRItsBeenAMin or email us at [email protected].

See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences.

NPR Privacy Policy

The It's Been a Minute team gives you a sneak peek at the event of the season: BravoCon, where our producer met his favorite housewife, and the Salt Lake City stars spill the tea to host Brittany Luse.

Then, Brittany sits down with Julio Torres, a comedian, actor, writer and creator of HBO's Los Espookys. They discuss the influences behind his unique world-building.

Finally, if you're a Taylor Swift fan, this was a pretty big week, with Swift releasing her 10th studio album, Midnights. It seems that Swift is as big as ever. What is it about her and her music that's so enduring? Brittany sat sat down with an avid Swiftie and Rolling Stone writer, Brittany Spanos – who also teaches a class on Swift. They talk about the artist's evolution and how she's navigated the music industry through the years.

See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences.

NPR Privacy Policy

Maitreyi Ramakrishnan has big dreams. The 20-year-old gained full celebrity status with her breakout role as Devi Vishwakumar in the Netflix teen hit Never Have I Ever. But now that filming has wrapped for the show's four seasons, Ramakrishnan is looking ahead. Host Brittany Luse gets Ramakrishnan dishing on everything from cosplay to car chases. They also talk about Ramakrishnan's wildest dream role, how to deal with haters and why she hopes this is just the beginning – for her, and for other nerdy brown girls who want to make it in Hollywood.

See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences.

NPR Privacy Policy

The saga around Elon Musk's deal to buy Twitter has been just that: a months-long soap opera involving lawsuits and subpoenas, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, even a town hall. But why does Musk — one of the world's richest and arguably most influential men — want with a social media platform?

Host Brittany Luse dives into the dreams and myths surrounding Elon Musk with Jill Lepore, a political historian and host of the podcast Elon Musk: The Evening Rocket. They look back at his science fiction and fantasy influences and ask where his vision could lead.

Then, Brittany brings on senior producer Barton Girdwood to play a brand new game called, Sounds Fake, But OK.

You can follow us on Twitter @NPRITsBeenaMin and email us at [email protected].

See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences.

NPR Privacy Policy