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Friday

What's making us happy: A guide to your weekend viewing, listening and reading

Ralph Fiennes and Anya Taylor-Joy in the film The Menu. Eric Zachanowich/Searchlight Pictures hide caption

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Eric Zachanowich/Searchlight Pictures

What's Making Us Happy: Recommendations From 'Pop Culture Happy Hour'

What's making us happy: A guide to your weekend viewing, listening and reading

Each week, the guests and hosts on NPR's Pop Culture Happy Hour share what's bringing them joy. This week: The Menu, dancer Kim Hale, "Girlfriend" by Matthew Sweet, Drink Masters and more.

Who is Andrew Tate? Your guide to the self-styled misogynist influencer

Andrew Tate and Tristan Tate are escorted by police officers outside the headquarters of the Directorate for Investigating Organized Crime and Terrorism in Bucharest, Romania, on Thursday. Inquam Photos/Octav Ganea/Reuters hide caption

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Inquam Photos/Octav Ganea/Reuters

World

Who is Andrew Tate? Your guide to the self-styled misogynist influencer

Tate, a highly controversial social media celebrity, started his week as the butt of a joke by Greta Thunberg and ended it by reportedly getting arrested in Romania. Here's what you need to know.

Serving house music history with Honey Dijon
NPR

It's Been a Minute

Serving house music history with Honey Dijon

2022 was a banner year for Honey Dijon. She co-produced two of the fiercest tracks on Beyoncé's latest record, 'Renaissance,' and she released her own studio album this fall, called 'Black Girl Magic.' But Honey – one of the only Black trans DJs playing the biggest clubs in the world – has been a mainstay on dance floors for decades. And she's become a historian, and champion, of the Black musical traditions that house music draws from. In this episode, Honey talks to host Brittany Luse about using music to create spaces of liberation and paving the way for future generations to do the same.

Serving house music history with Honey Dijon

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Our 2023 Pop Culture Resolutions
Nora Carol Photography/Getty Images

Pop Culture Happy Hour

Our 2023 Pop Culture Resolutions

A lot of people make resolutions in January, and we are no different. Today, we put our stakes in the ground and make our 2023 pop culture resolutions. We also check in on what we resolved to do in 2022, and whether we did it perfectly, imperfectly, or perhaps not at all.

Our 2023 Pop Culture Resolutions

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Thursday

Vivienne Westwood, influential punk fashion maverick, dies at 81

British fashion designer Vivienne Westwood waves to the audience after presenting her fashion collection at Milan Fashion Week in 2012. Westwood, an influential fashion maverick who played a key role in the punk movement, died Thursday at 81. Luca Bruno/AP hide caption

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Luca Bruno/AP

Obituaries

Vivienne Westwood, influential punk fashion maverick, dies at 81

Westwood's fashion career began in the 1970s with the punk explosion, when her radical approach to urban street style took the world by storm.

Our 2023 Pop Culture Predictions

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Getty Images

Pop Culture Happy Hour

Our 2023 Pop Culture Predictions

It's that time of year again, time for hopes and fears and accountability. What's to come in the new year? We can only guess, and guess we will! Plus, we'll look back at what we thought was coming on the pop culture front in 2022 and we'll see how things turned out.

Our 2023 Pop Culture Predictions

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Wednesday

The Shiba Inu behind the famous 'doge' meme is sick with cancer, its owner says

The logo for the cryptocurrency Dogecoin, pictured here in a 2021 screenshot, is one of countless places where an image of the dog Kabosu appears. Her owner says the Shiba Inu is sick with cancer. Richard Drew/AP hide caption

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Richard Drew/AP

The Shiba Inu behind the famous 'doge' meme is sick with cancer, its owner says

The 17-year-old pooch, Kabosu, reached global recognition after social media users turned her face into a viral meme and cryptocurrency branding. Her owner says she's in a "very dangerous condition."

Cumbia: The musical backbone of Latin America

Los Gaiteros De San Jacinto on the cover of its 2006 album Un Fuego de Sangre Pura. Jorge Mario Múnera/Courtesy of Smithsonian Folkways hide caption

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Jorge Mario Múnera/Courtesy of Smithsonian Folkways

Code Switch

Cumbia: The musical backbone of Latin America

Whether you're from Ushuaia or East Los Angeles, you've likely heard cumbia blaring from a stereo. From our play friends at NPR's Alt.Latino, Jasmine Garsd and Felix Contreras talk about their common love of the musical backbone of Latin America.

Cumbia: The musical backbone of Latin America

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Whitney Houston's voice is the best part of 'I Wanna Dance With Somebody'

Naomi Ackie as Whitney Houston in Whitney Houston: I Wanna Dance With Somebody. Emily Aragones/Tristar/Sony Pictures hide caption

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Emily Aragones/Tristar/Sony Pictures

Review

Pop Culture Happy Hour

Whitney Houston's voice is the best part of 'I Wanna Dance With Somebody'

The new film Whitney Houston: I Wanna Dance With Somebody stars Naomi Ackie, and traces the pop superstar's rise in the 1980s and 90s as she breaks records and becomes an icon. The film also follows the singer's tragic downfall as drug abuse and other setbacks take their toll on her life. Directed by Kasi Lemmons and written by Anthony McCarten, the movie is in theaters now.

Whitney Houston's voice is the best part of 'I Wanna Dance With Somebody'

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Tuesday

How Hollywood gets wildfires all wrong — much to the frustration of firefighters

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Bettina Strauss/CBS

Culture

How Hollywood gets wildfires all wrong — much to the frustration of firefighters

In a time of accelerated climate change, there's a big disconnect between the portrayal of fires on-screen and the reality of the brave people who fight them in real life.

How Hollywood gets wildfires all wrong — much to the frustration of firefighters

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50 wonderful things from 2022

Clockwise from top left: The Gilded Age, Fire Island, Mood, The Flight Attendant, Heartstopper and Everything Everywhere All at Once. Alison Cohen Rosa/HBO, Jeong Park/Searchlight Pictures, Natalie Seery/BBC Studios/Bonafi, Jennifer Rose Clasen/HBO Max, Netflix, A24 hide caption

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Alison Cohen Rosa/HBO, Jeong Park/Searchlight Pictures, Natalie Seery/BBC Studios/Bonafi, Jennifer Rose Clasen/HBO Max, Netflix, A24

50 Wonderful Things

50 wonderful things from 2022

Pop culture critic Linda Holmes has been making annual lists of wonderful things since 2010. The recommendations this year are big and small, inspirational and silly, very popular and totally obscure.

We Spoil 'Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery'

Daniel Craig as Detective Benoit in 'Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery.' Netflix hide caption

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Netflix

Review

Pop Culture Happy Hour

We Spoil 'Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery'

There are many secrets at the heart of the comedy mystery Glass Onion, just as there were in its predecessor Knives Out. Who lives, who dies, whodunit, and what's the truth behind the glamorous glass onion itself? Rian Johnson's latest film to feature detective Benoit Blanc is now on Netflix, and we're ready to get into the nitty-gritty and spoil the heck out of Glass Onion.

We Spoil 'Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery'

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Danyel Smith gives Black women in pop their flowers in 'Shine Bright'
Frederic Reglain/Gamma-Rapho via Getty Images; CBS Photo Archive/Getty Images; Drew Allyn; Gladys Knight

It's Been a Minute

Danyel Smith gives Black women in pop their flowers in 'Shine Bright'

In this conversation from April 2022, former guest host Juana Summers sits down with author Danyel Smith to chat about her book, Shine Bright: A Very Personal History of Black Women in Pop. They talk all about Black women in music — like Gladys Knight, Mahalia Jackson and Whitney Houston — whose true genius and contributions have not yet been fully recognized.

Danyel Smith gives Black women in pop their flowers in 'Shine Bright'

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Monday

Are the Kardashians America's family?

Are the Kardashians America's family? Hulu; Paul J. Connell/The Boston Globe via Getty Images; Jim Watson/AFP via Getty Images; Jennifer S. Altman/Washington Post via Getty Images; Photo Illustration by Kaz Fantone/NPR hide caption

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Hulu; Paul J. Connell/The Boston Globe via Getty Images; Jim Watson/AFP via Getty Images; Jennifer S. Altman/Washington Post via Getty Images; Photo Illustration by Kaz Fantone/NPR

Pop Culture Happy Hour

Are the Kardashians America's family?

The Pop Culture Happy Hour team is off today, so we're bringing you an episode of NPR's It's Been A Minute. In this episode about the Kardashians, host Brittany Luse unpacks how the Kardashian family went from Hollywood D-listers to an American institution. The episode also includes a look at the celebrity skincare syndicate: what are all these people trying to sell us, and what are they buying?

Are the Kardashians America's family?

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Saturday

How Anitta, the 'Girl from Rio,' went global

Anitta performs at the Village Festival in Rio de Janeiro on Dec. 4. Marco Storel for NPR hide caption

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Marco Storel for NPR

Music Features

How Anitta, the 'Girl from Rio,' went global

NPR catches up with Anitta, the most popular singer to come out of Brazil in years, who's up for a Grammy for Best New Artist.

How Anitta, the 'Girl from Rio,' went global

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