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Pop culture in high spirits
Simone Biles at the Tokyo Olympic Games.

Simone Biles is the most decorated gymnast in history. But she withdrew from the last summer Olympic Games in Tokyo, a journey that is chronicled in the new Netflix series Simone Biles Rising. Laurence Griffiths/Getty Images hide caption

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Laurence Griffiths/Getty Images

Simone Biles reminds us: You never know what Olympic athletes are going through

Simone Biles is the most decorated gymnast in history. But she withdrew from the last summer Olympic Games due to mental health struggles. Her journey is chronicled in the new Netflix series Simone Biles Rising.

'Deadpool & Wolverine' is a feast of inside jokes

Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman in Marvel's Deadpool & Wolverine. Jay Maidment/20th Century Studios/Marvel hide caption

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Jay Maidment/20th Century Studios/Marvel

Review

Pop Culture Happy Hour

'Deadpool & Wolverine' is a feast of inside jokes

In the highly meta Deadpool & Wolverine, Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman finally meet up for their own big movie. Deadpool is still smarmy, Wolverine is still tragic, and they have to get together to save the world. Along the way, Deadpool continues his usual routine of endless wisecracking. The movie is jam-packed with fan service and Easter eggs. But how will casual Marvel fans like the movie?

'Deadpool & Wolverine' is a feast of inside jokes

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In 'The Decameron,' the Black Death makes for black comedy

Zosia Mamet and Saoirse-Monica Jackson in The Decameron. Giulia Parmigiani/Netflix hide caption

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Giulia Parmigiani/Netflix

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Pop Culture Happy Hour

In 'The Decameron,' the Black Death makes for black comedy

In Netflix's weirdly compelling dark comedy The Decameron, the bubonic plague is ravaging Florence in 1348. A group of rich nobles and their servants decide to retreat to a picturesque villa in the country to wait it all out. The large ensemble includes Tony Hale and Zosia Mamet. Every character is hiding something, and those secrets get revealed — and more than a few uglies get bumped.

In 'The Decameron,' the Black Death makes for black comedy

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Three great karaoke songs

Celine Dion's "It's All Coming Back To Me Now" is one of the perfect communal karaoke songs. Robert Laberge/AFP via Getty Images hide caption

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Robert Laberge/AFP via Getty Images

Pop Culture Happy Hour

Three great karaoke songs

What makes a good karaoke song? In this encore episode, we're suggesting three great songs to sing at karaoke night.

Three great karaoke songs

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DiJonai Carrington of the Connecticut Sun reacts during a game against the Indiana Fever on June 10 in Uncasville, Conn.

DiJonai Carrington of the Connecticut Sun reacts during a game against the Indiana Fever on June 10, 2024 in Uncasville, Conn. Brian Fluharty/Getty Images hide caption

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Brian Fluharty/Getty Images

What's Making Us Happy: Recommendations From 'Pop Culture Happy Hour'

What's Making Us Happy: A guide to your weekend viewing and reading

Each week, guests and hosts on NPR's Pop Culture Happy Hour share what's bringing them joy. This week: Watching the WNBA, celebrities throwing first pitches, the novel The God of the Woods, and the Criterion sale at Barnes & Noble.

'Twisters' has us spiraling

Glen Powell in Twisters. Melinda Sue Gordon/Universal hide caption

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Melinda Sue Gordon/Universal

Review

Pop Culture Happy Hour

'Twisters' has us spiraling

Twister was one of the biggest disaster movies of the '90s. Now, it's finally got a sequel — one with an all-new cast, state-of-the-art effects, and a whole lot of tornadoes. The new film stars Glen Powell and Daisy Edgar-Jones as rival storm-chasers who have a habit of running into tornadoes while everyone else is fleeing. Twisters was directed by Lee Isaac Chung, who also directed the Oscar-nominated Minari.

'Twisters' has us spiraling

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We unpack the 2024 Emmy nominations

Jeremy Allen White in The Bear. FX hide caption

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FX

Pop Culture Happy Hour

We unpack the 2024 Emmy nominations

The nominations the Emmy Awards were just announced, and it was a good day for The Bear, which set a new record in the comedy category. And plenty of our favorites also got Emmy nods, including Mr. and Mrs. Smith, Shōgun, Reservation Dogs and What We Do in the Shadows. We'll help you unpack this year's the notable nominees and snubs.

We unpack the 2024 Emmy nominations

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'Exploding Kittens' turns a simple card game into a wild cartoon

Tom Ellis as Godcat and Ally Maki as Greta in Netflix's Exploding Kittens. Netflix hide caption

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Netflix

Review

Pop Culture Happy Hour

'Exploding Kittens' turns a simple card game into a wild cartoon

The best-selling card game Exploding Kittens has been adapted into a new Netflix animated series. It does plenty of its own world-building: God (Tom Ellis) and the devil (Sasheer Zamata) are sent to earth, where they take the form of talking cats — and meddle in the lives of a struggling family.

'Exploding Kittens' turns a simple card game into a wild cartoon

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'Longlegs' is a (satanic) panic

Maika Monroe in a scene from Longlegs. Neon hide caption

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Neon

Review

Pop Culture Happy Hour

'Longlegs' is a (satanic) panic

They're calling it the scariest movie of the year. The new horror film Longlegs follows FBI special agent Lee Harker (Mika Monroe) tracking a serial killer in the 1990s. If that sounds like familiar ground, consider this – the clues she follows hint at the involvement of the occult in general and Satanism in particular. And the killer in question: Nicolas Cage, uncaged.

'Longlegs' is a (satanic) panic

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'Fly Me to the Moon' soft launches Scarlett Johansson and Channing Tatum

Channing Tatum in Fly Me to the Moon. Apple TV+ hide caption

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Apple TV+

Review

Pop Culture Happy Hour

'Fly Me to the Moon' soft launches Scarlett Johansson and Channing Tatum

The cheeky new romantic dramedy Fly Me to the Moon stars Scarlett Johansson as a NASA publicist at the height of the space race. She must stage a top-secret fake version of the moon landing as backup, just in case the real attempt fails. No one else at NASA can know about it — especially the upstanding launch director, played by Channing Tatum. The pair clash (and flirt) as they prepare for Apollo 11 to launch.

'Fly Me to the Moon' soft launches Scarlett Johansson and Channing Tatum

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We recommend three great sports documentaries

Lance Armstrong celebrates during the Tour de France in 2004. He is the subject of the documentary The Armstrong Lie. Doug Pensinger/Getty Images hide caption

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Doug Pensinger/Getty Images

Review

Pop Culture Happy Hour

We recommend three great sports documentaries

Sports aren't just games. They're intertwined with epic stories about struggle, human behavior, historic greatness and grand emotions. In other words, sports make for great documentaries. And if you're looking for some good ones, we've got recommendations: Winning Time: Reggie Miller vs. The New York Knicks, The Armstrong Lie, and Athlete A.

We recommend three great sports documentaries

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'Despicable Me 4' serves up 90 minutes of bankable mayhem

Steve Carell voices Gru in Despicable Me 4. Universal Pictures hide caption

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Universal Pictures

Review

Pop Culture Happy Hour

'Despicable Me 4' serves up 90 minutes of bankable mayhem

Despicable Me 4 is the latest film in an animation franchise that made household names of reformed supervillain Gru (Steve Carrell) and his army of nattering Minions. The franchise has grossed billions of dollars, and the latest movie topped the weekend box office. But are these films growing up with their audience, or continuing to cater to young kids? And does that matter?

'Despicable Me 4' serves up 90 minutes of bankable mayhem

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How we entertain and amuse ourselves on a road trip
Kiran Ridley/Getty Images

Pop Culture Happy Hour

How we entertain and amuse ourselves on a road trip

It's summer, so we're talking all about road trips. Should you blast music that's familiar or unfamiliar? What makes for a good road trip audiobook? What are some road trip games we hate? Pop Culture Happy Hour talked all about how to entertain and amuse ourselves in the car way back in 2012. Today, in this encore episode, we're revisiting that conversation.

How we entertain and amuse ourselves on a road trip

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