I’ll admit, my podcast listening habits these days are like a rollercoaster. Some weeks I listen to barely anything, other weeks I am re-subscribing to shows and listening non-stop. It’s an adventure. One show that has been with me for a while, though, is NPR’s Pop Culture Happy Hour. I’m a little way behind on it, but actually that works in my favour, because I’m also quite far behind on the culture they are covering.

Each show looks at a specific piece of culture, usually a new film or TV show, but occasionally dipping into award shows or music or other relevant events. Three main anchors welcome a fourth rotating guest to review the media in question and the resulting conversations are often fascinating. They can veer from a simple ‘I like this, I don’t like this’ to a deep discussion about race, gender, stereotypes, breaking down walls, the very world we live in these days and seamlessly flit between the serious and the fun.

I really like this show because although there are many outlets out there that cover the media we like to consume, there’s something about these conversations that really suck you in and make you listen. They seem like they’re really discussing how the culture impacts the world we’re living in, or reflects it back to audiences, but without getting bogged down in heavy exposition.

The section of NPF that releases the podcast says:

Monkey See is all about pop culture, aspiring to be both a friend to the geek and a translator for the confused.

I think that’s a really hard balance to strike, but Linda Holmes and her team do an impeccable job.