NPR: Pop Culture Happy Hour Podcast

This week on Pop Culture Happy Hour, NPR Monkey See's Linda Holmes, Stephen Thompson, Trey Graham and Glen Weldon talk about NBC's '30 Rock,' which just had its series finale. They'll discuss what the show did particularly well, including being meta — how a comedy show on NBC about a comedy show on NBC worked. They'll also drum up other examples of metacommentary done well and not so well in TV, film and theater. Finally, they take on listener questions ab...

This week on Pop Culture Happy Hour, NPR Monkey See's Linda Holmes, Stephen Thompson, Trey Graham and Glen Weldon talk about Noel Murray's A.V. Club piece on nerds and autism in pop culture. They'll discuss TV shows and movies that feature autistic characters, some more openly than others. They'll discuss the changing perception of nerds and their rising cool factor. Fina...

This week on Pop Culture Happy Hour, NPR Monkey See's Linda Holmes, Stephen Thompson and Glen Weldon are joined by NPR movie critic Bob Mondello to talk about movies and awards season. They discuss the Golden Globes, how much they loved hosts Tina Fey and Amy Poehler and which wins surprised them. They also talk about Jodie Foster's so-called "coming out" speech and how people are reacting to it. Finally, they move on to the Oscars. Which films and actors do they wi...

This week on Pop Culture Happy Hour, NPR Monkey See's Linda Holmes, Stephen Thompson, Trey Graham and Glen Weldon talk Downton Abbey. Along with special guest Barrie Hardymon, they talk about the first episode of the new season, and what does and doesn't work about the show overall. Next, they talk pop culture redemption. How does an actor move on from a former role or win the audience back after a bad personal decision? ...

This week on Pop Culture Happy Hour, NPR Monkey See's Linda Holmes, Stephen Thompson, Trey Graham and Glen Weldon talk about their pop culture resolutions for the New Year. They also go back and face last year's resolutions. Who followed through on their goals? Next, they make predictions for pop culture in 2013. Will television be as violent? And which movies will win major Oscars?

This week, in addition to our regular Pop Culture Happy Hour, NPR Monkey See's Linda Holmes, Stephen Thompson, Trey Graham and Glen Weldon answer questions from audience members at Pop Culture Happy Hour's first ever live show. This was recorded at NPR's Sale-a-bration on December 15, 2012. 

This week on Pop Culture Happy Hour, NPR Monkey See's Linda Holmes, Stephen Thompson, Trey Graham and Glen Weldon talk about their favorite moments and performances of 2012 in their very first live show. This episode was recorded at NPR's Sale-a-bration on December 15, 2012. Linda also offers up one of her famous quizzes on the year in pop culture, along with audience participation. All that, plus What's Making Us Hap...

This week on Pop Culture Happy Hour, NPR Monkey See's Linda Holmes, Stephen Thompson, Trey Graham and Glen Weldon ponder talk about 'The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey.'  How did it compare to the other 'Lord of the Ring' movies and did its plot sustain its length? They also discuss the more technical aspects of the 'The Hobbit': how did it look on screen? Next, they discuss the issue of sentimentality versus convenie...

This week on Pop Culture Happy Hour, NPR Monkey See's Linda Holmes, Stephen Thompson, Trey Graham and Glen Weldon ponder a question that seems to come up over and over again: Is culture really worse than it's ever been? And if it isn't, why do people keep saying it is? Also, a gift guide and a little more guidance on this weekend's live event at NPR headquarters. All that, plus W...

This week on Pop Culture Happy Hour, NPR Monkey See's Linda Holmes, Stephen Thompson, Trey Graham and Glen Weldon talk about people who have had great second acts. Favorites include former Star Trek star Wil Wheaton and writer Quinn Cummings. Also, people we'd like to party with — or rather, would like to party with if we were "party with people" kinds of people. ...