Kat Chow
NPR
New York, United States
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On Lohan! On Ferrell! On Food Network hosts! It's Christmas movie time
It's that time of year again, when many cable outlets and streaming services put on their holiday best. That's right, it's holiday movie season, and we're diving in. From the splashy musical Spirited featuring Will Ferrell and Ryan Reynolds to a big comeback for Lindsay Lohan, we're dipping a toe in some of the highest-profile movies of this season. → Read More
'The Bear' has got the beef (and the heart)
If you've ever worked in a restaurant, you likely understand how intense it can be — it's fast-paced and you're constantly in close proximity with your colleagues. The excellent new FX on Hulu series The Bear understands this environment well. The dramedy stars Jeremy Allen White as Carmy, a fine dining chef who takes over his family's beloved, but troubled Italian beef sandwich shop following… → Read More
Secrets and lies and 'Conversations with Friends'
Irish writer Sally Rooney's book Normal People was adapted into a Hulu series in 2020. Now, her first novel Conversations with Friends gets its own Hulu adaptation. It tells the story of two college friends and exes (Alison Oliver and Sasha Lane) who meet a married couple (Joe Alwyn and Jemima Kirke) and get very deeply entangled with them, which makes everything very complicated. → Read More
What's making us happy: A guide for your weekend reading, listening and viewing
Each week, the guests and hosts on NPR's Pop Culture Happy Hour share what's bringing them joy. This week: BTS, Sandra Oh and meditations on humor. → Read More
'Turning Red' paints teenage feelings in rich, vibrant colors
Pixar is back with another movie aiming to hit you in all the feels: Turning Red. It's about a charismatic 13-year-old girl named Meilin (Rosalie Chiang) who discovers that whenever she gets too excited about anything, she now turns into a giant red panda. Directed by Domee Shi, the film features the voice talent of Sandra Oh, as well as some fun nods to the early 2000s boy band era. The film is… → Read More
'Somebody Somewhere' is low-key, and low-key wonderful
The funny, tender-hearted HBO series Somebody Somewhere is a semi-autobiographical story starring comedian and cabaret performer Bridget Everett. She plays a woman who long ago gave up on her dream of being a singer and moved back to her hometown in Kansas to care for her beloved sister. After her sister dies, she reconnects with a high school classmate (Jeff Hiller) who urges her to sign again.… → Read More
'Drive My Car' is more than worth the travel time
The moody, introspective film Drive My Car is one of the best-reviewed films of the last year. It's about a widowed theater director who grows closer to the young woman hired to drive him to and from rehearsals. Directed by Ryûsuke Hamaguchi and based on a short story by Haruki Murakami, the film has already racked up a number of critics awards, and it's Japan's entry for this year's best… → Read More
The ins and out of Peloton culture
What do Dancing With The Stars, the Sex and the City spinoff, and one of the most viral ads of 2019 have in common? They represent some of the many pop culture touchpoints of the ubiquitous fitness brand Peloton. We talk about the Peloton universe, including it's star-making stable of instructors complicated relationship with the wellness industry. → Read More
Three Great Nonfiction Audiobooks
Sometimes you want someone to tell you a story. Sometimes, you want it to be a true story. Today, we're bringing you three nonfiction audiobook recommendations, from memoirs to deep histories of special places. → Read More
We Pack Our Knives And Go Deep On 'Top Chef'
Eighteen seasons of Top Chef, and we still get a thrill every time we hear "hands up, utensils down." The show has traveled to classic food cities like New York, Los Angeles and Chicago, but this season, Top Chef filmed within a COVID-19 bubble in Portland, Oregon. Controversial winners, heartbreaking losses, food that looks good enough to eat and the foolishness of even attempting risotto —… → Read More
'Bling Empire' Is Seriously Wealthy
Reality television has long had a fascination with some factions of the extremely rich. Bling Empire shifts the focus a little bit, to a group of Asian-Americans in and around Los Angeles. Executive produced by Jeff Jenkins, who also worked on Keeping Up with the Kardashians, Bling Empire definitely shares a lot of that DNA while asking where the show falls on the scale of Asian-American… → Read More
Checking In With HGTV And Home Makeover Shows
Whether you live in a big house or a tiny apartment, on a beach or in a bustling city, television is full of opportunities for you to ruminate on your living space. And nowhere is that impulse more prevalent than on HGTV. One of basic cable's most basic networks, HGTV has been handing out advice and house-envy for a long time. We're revisiting our discussion of HGTV and home makeover shows. → Read More
2020 Election Day Distractions
Election Day is stressful. It's full of news that might or might not mean anything. The stakes are high, and the consequences are serious. And whatever you do from that point forward, first, you have to get through today. So we want to offer you some ideas for things you can use purely to manage Election Day itself. To stay away from the incremental updates and the high anxiety until you… → Read More
'Taste The Nation': Padma Lakshmi Explores The American Palate
Food media has become one of the many arenas in which debates about inclusivity and justice have taken center stage in recent months. And now, into this troubled world comes Taste The Nation. Hosted by Top Chef's Padma Lakshmi, the marvelous Hulu series visits immigrant and indigenous communities around the United States to explore food. Taste The Nation puts everything from chop suey to pad… → Read More
'The King Of Staten Island': Outer Borough, Inner Mess
In The King Of Staten Island, comedian Pete Davidson plays a wayward stoner whose life isn't going anywhere. He still lives with his mom, he doesn't have a job, and his plans for his life involve a vague — and foolish — plan to open "a tattoo restaurant." The film is directed by Judd Apatow, who also made Knocked Up, The 40-Year-Old Virgin, and Trainwreck. Apatow's movies often involve a… → Read More
'Unbelievable' Is A Searing Drama About Violence And Justice
The Netflix series Unbelievable brings together a group of actresses including Kaitlyn Dever, Toni Collette, Merritt Wever, Dale Dickey and Danielle MacDonald. It's based on a true story about a young woman named Marie who was sexually assaulted and pressured by the police into recanting her story. Based on reporting from ProPublica and the Marshall Project, the series follows Marie, but also… → Read More
Going Home With Ocean Vuong
He’s best known as an award-winning young poet, and he’s now getting attention for his novel, On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous. But I first knew him as a talented writer a couple of years ahead of me in high school. → Read More
'Tidying Up With Marie Kondo' Is A Spark Of Joy
If you've noticed your friends have been a little more "tidy" than usual, or your thrift store a bit better stocked, it might be because of Netflix. The streaming series Tidying Up With Marie Kondo has spurred an organizational renaissance. Or at least a conversation about one. → Read More
Our Pop Culture Resolutions and Predictions
Today, we look back on our 2018 resolutions to see how we fared, and make some new ones for the year to come. We also make our fearless pop culture predictions for the next 12 months, and see how last year's predictions panned out. → Read More
Code Switch's 2018 Book Guide
We checked in with authors, poets and great literary minds to see what books they think everyone should read this holiday season. → Read More