When the new Apple TV+ series is about Rose Byrne's Sheila, it's a strong examination of hunger and desire. When it wanders off into anything else, it gets dull in a hurry.

Physical

Get obsessed with us. Five days a week, Pop Culture Happy Hour serves you recommendations and commentary on the buzziest movies, TV, music, books, videogames and more. Join arts journalists Linda Holmes, Glen Weldon, Stephen Thompson, and Aisha Harris - plus a rotating cast of guest pop culture aficionados. The Happy Hour team leaves room at the table for exploring a range of reactions and opinions on every bit of the pop universe. From lowbrow to highbrow to the stuff in between, they take it all with a shot of cheer.

Make your happy hour even happier with Pop Culture Happy Hour Plus! Your subscription supports the podcast and unlocks a sponsor-free feed. Learn more at plus.npr.org/happyhour

Arts

Literature

Performing Arts

Design

Food

Fashion & Beauty

Visual Arts

TV & Film

Music

News

Books

Film Reviews

Music Commentary

Entertainment News

TV Reviews

After Shows

For millions of kids, the popular 1990s X-Men animated series served as a gateway drug into the world of the X-Men and comics in general. Now, the new Disney+ series X-Men '97 picks up right where the original ended. But changes are also taking place: secrets get revealed, the team roster gets shuffled, and characters meet shocking fates. What hasn't changed is everything fans expect from the X-Men: big fights, big powers, and lots of mutant melodrama.

Subscribe to Pop Culture Happy Hour Plus at plus.npr.org/happyhour 

Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices

NPR Privacy Policy

X-Men '97

NPR's Books We Love is a roundup of favorite books of the year, sorted and tagged to help you find exactly what you're looking for. From the meet cutes to the happy endings and through all the ups and downs in between, we're recommending great books for people who love love and romance.

Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices

NPR Privacy Policy

Books We Love: Love And Romance

The new film Civil War depicts a contemporary America torn apart by a military conflict between the federal government and an alliance of secessionist states. Directed by Alex Garland (Ex Machina), the film follows a small band of journalists led by Kirsten Dunst's jaded war photographer. They embark on a harrowing journey to the heart of the conflict, encountering brutality and bloodshed along the way.

Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices

NPR Privacy Policy

Civil War And What's Making Us Happy

The new Apple TV+ documentary Girls State asks: how would high school girls do things if they were in charge? The film is a follow-up to 2020's Boys State, and this time, follows an annual high school program that gives hundreds of girls a chance to create a mock government, complete with elections and a Supreme Court. It was made during the 2022 session, which ended days before the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, and the case is very much on the minds of the girls in the program.

Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices

NPR Privacy Policy

Girls State

The sweeping historical epic has roared back with Shōgun. The FX miniseries takes place beginning in 1600, in a fictionalized but historically inspired feudal Japan, where the previous ruler has died with an heir not yet old enough to be in power, and everything has become chaotic. Shōgun has war, power struggles, violence, impossible love, beautiful naked people, and thorny questions about whose story it really is.

Subscribe to Pop Culture Happy Hour Plus at plus.npr.org/happyhour

Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices

NPR Privacy Policy

Physical

Download our free app to listen on your phone