I was perusing podcasts late last year, and found Pop Culture Happy Hour. My interest was immediately piqued. It’s an NPR podcast featuring NPR employees discussing the wide spanning miscellany of pop culture, so I assumed the discussions would be interesting and smart.  It’s hosted by Linda Holmes, who used to write for Television Without Pity (RIP), and I will follow the writers of that site anywhere (and its creators to previously.tv!)

So I gave it a listen, and am so glad I did. The discussions are even smarter than I’d hoped, and I appreciate the thought-provoking analysis (even if they sometimes go over a little over my head and make me do homework so that I can keep up.) I’ve added countless books to my TBR list thanks to recommendations, and countless songs to my Spotify playlist thanks to Stephen Thompson’s boundless enthusiasm for music. I’ve been introduced to movies, books and shows that I probably never would have considered, the most recent being Saga based on the unanimous proclamation that it’s worth reading.

So if you’re a fan of pop culture and great discussions, you should definitely check out Pop Culture Happy Hour. New episodes are posted every Friday and small batch episodes are posted throughout the week.

And if you’re so inclined, you should check out NPR’s Monkey See blog, where Linda and various contributors write about all things pop culture.