It's Been a Minute

Who gets to have a safe pregnancy? Across the internet, women are sharing their experiences with the physical and emotional difficulties of pregnancy. But for Black women, the complications, negative health outcomes, and even death are more common. Today, Brittany is joined by Dr. Khiara Bridges , Earl Warren professor of public law at UC Berkeley School of Law and author of Expecting Inequity: Ho...

Who gets to Kill Bill ?  As in, who’s allowed to seek revenge when they've been wronged by a man? That was the question at the top of Brittany’s mind after seeing Alesha Harris’ Is God Is , a film following twin sisters on a quest to kill their abusive father. The film has been a surprise hit, but there’s a subsection of men who felt this portrayal of a ‘bad’ Black man was in poor taste.  That mad...

Are you ready for a whirlwind summer romance? Making plans to capitalize on summer can get overwhelming - from finding the right spot to hang or feeling comfortable in your clothes in the sweltering summer heat. So what does it mean to approach summer with a romantic joie de vivre?  Brittany is joined by Carly Olson , freelance journalist covering architecture and business, and Garrett Schlichte ,...

It's hot, school’s out, put your PTO in - summer’s here! That means Brittany’s back for It’s Been a Minute’s annual summer books episode! This time around authors Sasha Bonét ( The Waterbearers ) and Cindy Pham ( The Secret World of Briar Rose ) join the show to give their summer reading recommendations. From wanderlust to first time love - there’s something for everyone.  Want more summer book re...

Left-behind dog poop is annoying. But it’s also a sign of anti-sociality. Spotting unidentified poop outside is an unfortunate and unavoidable part of being alive, but in some cities, there’s a scourge being left behind by some people’s four-legged friends. Manuela L ó pez-Restrepo , writer and producer at All Things Considered , couldn’t stop noticing it – and she wondered if it might be a sign o...

We love a pop princess, but what about the pop peasants? These are the pop music artists who might have some mainstream success and fame, but they're not exactly household names. Fans on the internet have created a metaphorical space for these pop almost-stars...the Khia Asylum. But how can artists break out of this pop star purgatory?  And what does a fictional mental institution say about the wa...

What happens when GLP-1s interact with eating disorders? About 1 in 8 US adults are currently taking a GLP-1. They’ve been described by a lot of people as a miracle drug – they treat high blood sugar and diabetes, and have also shown promise as a treatment for addiction and metabolic conditions like PMOS, formerly known as PCOS. And a lot of Americans are taking it for one reason: weight loss. But...

How much time should moms spend with their kids? What if it's quality over quantity? CEO and co-founder Emma Grede set social media on fire when she described herself as a “max three-hour mum” and said that she would rather focus on creating “high-impact, core memories” with her children. The founding partner of Kim Kardashian’s SKIMS also said that remote work is ‘career suicide’ for women. The i...

Is the American empire in decline? The Trump administration's recent military actions have had certain observers asking... are we going full empire? But Daniel Immerwahr , a historian and the author of How to Hide an Empire, argues that the U.S. has engaged in empire building for hundreds of years — we've just been sneakier about it than other countries. In this episode from our friends at Code Sw...

What happens when you can't recognize your mom anymore? For Linli, the protagonist of the book New Skin , this is her reality: her mom Fanny has gone through so many back-alley plastic surgery procedures, Fanny’s face barely looks human anymore. When Fanny gets the opportunity to go on a reality TV show for the chance to fix her botched face, she jumps at it – and Linli tags along. But what happen...

Are psychedelics the next big thing? Psychedelics include the drugs LSD, magic mushrooms, peyote, and often ketamine and MDMA too, among others. And some of these drugs have a history of spiritual practice spanning millennia. Then many of these drugs became synonymous with hippies and 60s and 70s counterculture.  But now, psychedelics have new cheerleaders: tech bros and CEOs. So why the rebrand?...

Defectors from the ‘New Right’ say that sexism is a feature, not a bug of modern-day conservatism. New York Magazine’s Sam Adler-Bell published The Young Women Leaving the New Right , detailing the experiences of conservative women who say that rampant misogyny within the space is pushing them out of a community they helped build. From demanding that women stay home and out of public life to advoc...

Are you a “high agency” person? The tech world has been buzzing about the benefits of being a “high agency” person: someone who doesn’t wait for permission to pursue their own agendas. And that idea has been trickling out into the wider culture - for instance, posts that say things like “you can just do things,” or “when you remember you have free will.” High agency's wider appeal speaks to some o...

How does it feel to be called hostile? What about barren? Inhospitable? Geriatric? These are all words women over the age of 35 have heard in doctor's offices for decades to describe their reproductive health as they explore options for childbirth. The terminology has been changing, but for some, not quickly enough.  When the culture is pushing for more humane ways to talk about women's bodies, ho...

Is social media giving you analysis paralysis? You’re not alone. In his new book, ‘ Minor Black Figures ,’ novelist Brandon Taylor explores this vicious cycle and what it does to our self-worth. His characters are artists hyperaware of how social media can make or break their careers - and how it affects the art they make too. In this episode, Brandon joins Brittany to talk through what it means t...

Political podcasting is said to be a men's game (and predominantly conservative). But two women stood up and said "I've had it!" Now they are revolutionizing political commentary in America. The hosts of the ‘ I’ve Had It’ podcast : Jennifer Welch, a lifelong atheist, and Angie “Pumps” Sullivan, a former evangelical conservative, started their podcast to air petty grievances. But, as American poli...

Can AI really do everything by itself? AI has impressed a lot of people with its output. But even though it’s sold as an autonomous, inhuman tool, there’s a lot of human work that goes into it. While that work does happen in the US, many AI laborers also live overseas – and get paid less to do it. Everything that goes into making AI function – from the data it feeds on to the labor that trains it...

The Kennedys are the first family that comes to mind when Americans consider homegrown, pseudo-royal dynasties. From Joe to John and Jackie, they have been elevated to a mythical cultural status. But is it possible that they share more in common with another prominent American family, the Kardashians? Today, Brittany is joined by MJ Corey, author of Dekonstructing the Kardashians: A New Media Mani...

Many millennials either are already in their 40s or are staring them down. Are they having a midlife crisis? As this generation enters midlife, their lives look really different from their parents' lives: Millennials are  more educated  and have a  higher median net worth , but the generation is also  more unequal  than previous generations, has  higher debt  and has lower rates of  homeownership...

The MET Gala 2026 was eclipsed by its own sponsors, making the event feel out of touch and out of fashion. Beyoncé made her first MET Gala appearance in ten years. Rihanna showed up (very late). And there were many incredible fashion moments: from Emma Chamberlain to Nicole Kidman to Lena Dunham. But the whole affair was overshadowed by the sponsorship of Jeff and Lauren Sánchez Bezos. Plus, other...

The MET Gala 2026 is already off to a controversial start, and no one has even shown up yet. That's because Anna Wintour has been buddying up with a certain billionaire, Jeff Bezos, and his wife, Lauren Sánchez Bezos. The couple are the lead sponsors of this year's gala. To be clear, the wealthiest people have always been involved with fashion's biggest night, but this year some folks feels its mo...

The Jackson family and estate have joined forces to give us another biopic of Michael Jackson's life. Michael doesn't tell us anything new about the King of Pop, but it has had the biggest opening weekend of a music biopic ever. From Whitney Houston to Freddie Mercury, why do these posthumous biopics always seem to fall flat, and what do decades of Jackson family drama say about how we reckon with...

The slur disappeared but is once again popular to use on and offline. What's up with that? Over the past few years, the R-word — a term for disabled people that otherwise left the cultural lexicon — has been popping up more and more. It is the rare slur that goes out of vogue and makes a resurgence, particularly among young men. Its return may also have larger implications that affect policy, cult...

Is the American fashion industry making a conservative turn? Despite her modeling past, fashion-obsessed First Lady Melania Trump has not graced the cover of Vogue during President Trump’s tenure. And that’s not necessarily surprising– Anna Wintour, the global editorial director of American Vogue, is a longtime advocate for the Democrats. But there’s definitely been a shift. That’s why it’s been s...

Is polyamory about more than just how many partners you have? According to a YouGov survey from 2023, on a scale of zero being completely monogamous and six being completely non-monogamous, one third of Americans put their answer somewhere above zero. And there are a lot of different types of non-monogamy, but one of those types – polyamory – has been in the discourse as of late. The polyamory tha...