Blatant Plug: I LOVE the NPR podcast Pop Culture Happy Hour!
I know that there is a risk of sounding pompous or hipster, but I do not care! To quote a segment from the show: Pop Culture Happy Hour is something that is making me happy this week – and really every week when it shows up in my iTunes. This morning when I was dropping Rene off I saw that I had a new episode and I felt as my face rose into a huge smile and I couldn’t click fast enough to start it.
Let me tell you a bit about the show as I see it:
It’s a round table conversation show – with real conversation, not just talking points. Your hosts are writers and editors from sections of the NPR studio that deal in pop culture specifically Linda Holmes of the NPR Monkey See Blog, Stephen Thompson from NPR Music, NPR.org arts editor Trey Graham, and comics blogger Glen Weldon. They are friends and colleagues that genuinely enjoy talking to each other and make you feel, as a listener, like you are as much a participant even though you can’t actually add to the conversation. They talk about current television, movies, books, music, whatever but also aren’t afraid to dip into pop culture’s back catalog and pull out the more obscure references and gems. There have been a few times when an old show or reference has sent me to my own archive and the internet to hunt down and see for myself what all the hubbub is about and they have also opened my eyes to the possibility of reading The Hunger Games books (thank you StephenReadsABook@gmail.com).
At the risk of sounding like a complete drooling fanboy, the biggest reason that I listen is because this show reminds me of the conversations that I enjoy having with my own circle of friends. Replace Linda, Stephen, Trey and Glen with Rene, Dean, Zeke and myself and the conversations drift into the same places – except I can rely on a weekly dose from PCHH and it can be hard to get all of your friends into the same place at the same time.
I’ve included a link HERE!
Check it out, I think you’ll like it. Or if you don’t let me know why in the comments. Each show is about 45 minutes long – but it goes by fast!
See you tomorrow!