• Get the App
  • Moon FM - The Ultimate Podcast App
  • Get the App
Pop Culture Happy Hour

Pop Culture Happy Hour

NPR

Trying to keep up with the latest in pop culture? We’ve got you covered. The Pop Culture Happy Hour podcast helps you find the best new binge-worthy tv shows, movies, music, and videogames.

Join hosts Linda Holmes, Aisha Harris, Stephen Thompson, and Glen Weldon four episodes a week - plus a rotating cast of guest pop culture enthusiasts. It’s your fix for reviews, recommendations, and recaps of the pop culture everyone is talking about. From lowbrow reality TV to Oscar-winning movies to the stuff in between, we take it all with a shot of cheer. On the Pop Culture Happy Hour podcast, we watch everything so that you never miss anything.

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

  • 14 minutes 16 seconds
    Forgotten Island
    Forgotten Island is a wonderful new animated feature from the team that brought you Kung Fu Panda 2 and Puss In Boots: The Last Wish. We’re introduced to childhood friends Jo (H.E.R.) and Raissa (Liza Soberano). One is a free spirit, the other an aspiring scientist, and they’re both getting ready to go their separate ways. But during their last night together, they’re transported to a magical island. The film is full of mythological creatures and fantastical settings, but it’s also rooted in friendship and memory.

    If you’re looking for more animated epics, check out these episodes:
    Nature needs a little help in the inventive Pixar movie ‘Hoppers’
    'The Wild Robot' is grand and gorgeous, with big feelings
    'The Super Mario Galaxy Movie' remembers every Nintendo moment ever

    Connect with Pop Culture Happy Hour:
    Letterboxd / Facebook
    Our weekly newsletter
    Support public media with NPR+ and enjoy perks for over 25 podcasts like this one. This show’s perks include bonus episodes and sponsor-free listening. Learn more at plus.npr.org.

    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
    29 September 2026, 7:00 am
  • 26 minutes
    The Love Hypothesis
    The Love Hypothesis brings the beloved trope of fake dating to the world of science and academia – but does it bring a fresh take to the bestselling book by Ali Hazelwood? The new Prime Video movie follows Stanford graduate student Olive (Lili Reinhart). Her best friend Anh (Rachel Marsh) is holding back from pursuing a guy because she thinks Olive is interested in him. Olive wants Anh to follow her heart, so she lands in a fake-dating situation with a notoriously harsh post-doc Adam (Tom Bateman), who for reasons of his own agrees to be her pretend boyfriend. 

    If you’re looking for more romantic comedies, check out these episodes:
    Olivia Wilde is a problematic dom in 'I Want Your Sex'
    ‘Office Romance’ stars J.Lo as a CEO with a bad case of Brett Goldstein
    ‘You, Me & Tuscany' has got us lost in the pasta sauce

    Connect with Pop Culture Happy Hour:
    Letterboxd / Facebook
    Our weekly newsletter
    Support public media with NPR+ and enjoy perks for over 25 podcasts like this one. This show’s perks include bonus episodes and sponsor-free listening. Learn more at plus.npr.org.

    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
    28 September 2026, 7:00 am
  • 23 minutes 58 seconds
    Primetime and What's Making Us Happy
    The new docudrama Primetime is a weird and highly fictionalized account of the meteoric rise of To Catch a Predator. Robert Pattinson plays host Chris Hansen, who is struggling to get bigger ratings. Hansen and his team work with local law enforcement to drag the accused sexual abusers of minors before the camera and arrest them. But does director Lance Oppenheim’s highly stylized approach work, or leave viewers feeling empty? 

    If you’re looking for more dramas loosely inspired by real people, check out:
    ‘Tony’ is a biopic that cooks
    In 'Marty Supreme,' Timothée Chalamet is good at being supremely annoying
    ‘Blue Moon’ will bewitch, bother and bewilder you

    Connect with Pop Culture Happy Hour:
    Letterboxd / Facebook
    Our weekly newsletter
    Support public media with NPR+ and enjoy perks for over 25 podcasts like this one. This show’s perks include bonus episodes and sponsor-free listening. Learn more at plus.npr.org.

    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
    25 September 2026, 7:00 am
  • 26 minutes 18 seconds
    Jay-Z
    Jay-Z has been everywhere lately. It’s been 30 years since his acclaimed debut Reasonable Doubt, and he celebrated with a series of concerts at Yankee Stadium. And now there’s the HBO docuseries, JAŸ-Z In 8, in which Jay-Z dissects his catalog with producer Rick Rubin. The series hopes to further cement his legacy as one of the most revered lyricists of our time. But Jay-Z (or JAŸ-Z, as he’s styled it lately.) has always been a polarizing figure, both in his personal life and as a business mogul. So what does this series accomplish?

    Looking for more episodes about music? Check out these:
    Ariana Grande stares down the public eye in 'Petal'
    It's time to talk about how y'all act at music festivals
    Most overused songs in movies

    Connect with Pop Culture Happy Hour:
    Letterboxd / Facebook
    Our weekly newsletter
    Support public media with NPR+ and enjoy perks for over 25 podcasts like this one. This show’s perks include bonus episodes and sponsor-free listening. Learn more at plus.npr.org.

    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
    24 September 2026, 7:00 am
  • 32 minutes 38 seconds
    Fall Guide
    This fall, there’s a lot of movies and TV on tap for you to see. And we're as excited for all of it to arrive as you are. So we’ve got a guide to what’s worth keeping on your radar, including Wicker, Wildwood, Wild Horse Nine, Your Mother Your Mother Your Mother and Avatar: Seven Havens.

    Looking for more buzzy movie recommendations? Check out these episodes:
    ‘Resident Evil' is a grisly, funny fight to survive
    ‘Coyote vs. Acme’ is as looney as it needs to be 
    ‘The End Of Oak Street’ is a prehistoric good time

    Connect with Pop Culture Happy Hour:
    Letterboxd / Facebook
    Our weekly newsletter
    Support public media with NPR+ and enjoy perks for over 25 podcasts like this one. This show’s perks include bonus episodes and sponsor-free listening. Learn more at plus.npr.org.

    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
    23 September 2026, 7:00 am
  • 22 minutes 3 seconds
    Great documentaries you don’t want to miss
    We talk a lot about movies and TV shows, but new documentary films sometimes can sometimes get lost in the shuffle. So today we’re highlighting some new documentaries that are worth your time and you don’t want to miss – including Remake, The History of Concrete, Black Zombie, The Oldest Person in the World, and You Had to Be There.

    Looking for more films that might have flown under your radar? Check out these episodes:

    Great movies you may have missed

    Fun movies you may have missed

    Our favorite movies on Tubi

    Connect with Pop Culture Happy Hour:
    Letterboxd / Facebook
    Our weekly newsletter
    Support public media with NPR+ and enjoy perks for over 25 podcasts like this one. This show’s perks include bonus episodes and sponsor-free listening. Learn more at plus.npr.org.

    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
    21 September 2026, 7:00 am
  • 21 minutes 46 seconds
    Resident Evil and What's Making Us Happy
    The new Resident Evil movie is wild, scary, inventive, fast-paced, and funny. That’s because the videogame-turned-film franchise got a reboot courtesy of director Zach Cregger (Weapons and Barbarian). Austin Abrams plays a medical courier tasked with transporting an important medical MacGuffin, and his journey goes haywire almost immediately as gnarly perils pile up. But does the movie’s blend of horror and comedy work for newcomers and longtime fans?

    Looking for more gore? Check out these episodes:

    In ‘Weapons’, the kids aren't at all right, not in the slightest, nope
    'Ready or Not 2' is a satanic and manic thrill

    In '28 Years Later: The Bone Temple,' the zombies aren’t the worst villains


    Connect with Pop Culture Happy Hour:
    Letterboxd / Facebook
    Our weekly newsletter
    Support public media with NPR+ and enjoy perks for over 25 podcasts like this one. This show’s perks include bonus episodes and sponsor-free listening. Learn more at plus.npr.org.

    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
    18 September 2026, 7:00 am
  • 17 minutes 39 seconds
    Last Seen
    The new Apple TV series Last Seen is a compelling thriller. It stars Patrick Brammall (Colin from Accounts) as an emergency dispatcher named who gets a call one night from a girl he thinks might be his long-missing daughter. The show follows him as he becomes obsessed with finding the truth, even at the cost of his own stability and sobriety. It also tackles some thorny questions about who stands to gain and lose from solving this case.

    Looking for other compelling thrillers? Check these out:

    Emmy Rossum tracks down a female serial killer in 'Furious' 

    TV heavy-hitters get dark in 'The Beast In Me'

    Connect with Pop Culture Happy Hour:
    Letterboxd / Facebook
    Our weekly newsletter
    Support public media with NPR+ and enjoy perks for over 25 podcasts like this one. This show’s perks include bonus episodes and sponsor-free listening. Learn more at plus.npr.org.

    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
    17 September 2026, 7:00 am
  • 17 minutes 37 seconds
    Crew Girl
    The Netflix TV show Crew Girl follows in the footsteps of successful coming-of-age dramas like Sterling Point and The Summer I Turned Pretty. It follows Teagan, an ambitious high school rower (Miku Martineau) trying to fit in on the boys’ crew team at a fancy prep school. The show’s got a plucky fish out of water, a love triangle with two very different boys (Kyle Clark and Sam Braun), and a dreamy sunlit setting. But does Crew Girl sink, swim, or row?

    Looking for more teen coming-of-age stories? Check out these episodes:

    You’ll want more time in ‘Sterling Point’

    ‘The Summer I Turned Pretty’ has drama, romance and the music of Taylor Swift

    The delightful 'My Old Ass' seeks wisdom from hindsight

    Connect with Pop Culture Happy Hour:
    Letterboxd / Facebook
    Our weekly newsletter
    Support public media with NPR+ and enjoy perks for over 25 podcasts like this one. This show’s perks include bonus episodes and sponsor-free listening. Learn more at plus.npr.org.

    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
    16 September 2026, 7:00 am
  • 24 minutes 7 seconds
    2026 Emmys recap
    This year’s Emmys were a big night for shows we really love, including Widow’s Bay, The Pitt and Pluribus. Actors Jean Smart and Matthew Rhys picked up wins, and Rhys made some history. And we’ll explain why we love Mariska Hargitay, who proved to be a game yet corny host.
    Connect with Pop Culture Happy Hour:
    Letterboxd / Facebook
    Our weekly newsletter
    Support public media with NPR+ and enjoy perks for over 25 podcasts like this one. This show’s perks include bonus episodes and sponsor-free listening. Learn more at plus.npr.org.

    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
    15 September 2026, 9:17 am
  • 29 minutes 3 seconds
    Practical Magic 2 and What’s Making Us Happy
    In Practical Magic 2, Sandra Bullock and Nicole Kidman return as witch sisters doomed by a family curse that means any man they love will die. They embark on a new chapter where the next generation is discovering the dangers of being born into this family. It’s been over 25 years since the original film. But will practical moviegoers be swept up in the magic twice?

    If you are gearing up for the witchy spooky season, check out these episode:
    In ‘Obsession,’ love hurts. It really, really, really hurts.
    Adam Scott checks in to a haunted inn in ‘Hokum’'
    Wicked: For Good' will bring you to tears
    The scary movies and books that still haunt us

    Connect with Pop Culture Happy Hour:
    Letterboxd / Facebook
    Our weekly newsletter
    Support public media with NPR+ and enjoy perks for over 25 podcasts like this one. This show’s perks include bonus episodes and sponsor-free listening. Learn more at plus.npr.org.

    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
    11 September 2026, 7:00 am
  • More Episodes? Get the App

Discover

  • Featured
  • Top Charts
  • Popular

More

  • Get the App
  • News
  • Setting
  • Privacy Policy
  • Submit Your Podcast

Contact

  • [email protected]
  • Twitter
Your feedback is valuable to us. Should you encounter any bugs, glitches, lack of functionality or other problems, please email us at [email protected] or join where you can talk directly to the dev team.
© MoonFM 2026. All rights reserved.