Great Pop Culture Debate

Stephen King is one of the most prolific and successful writers in contemporary publishing. His 1974 debut novel, Carrie , announced him as an exciting new voice in horror, and since then he has written thrillers, science-fiction, fantasy, crime dramas, and nonfiction. As of 2026, Stephen King has published 67 novels or novellas, and more than 200 short stories, many of which have been adapted to...

Stephani Germanotta — the artist better known as Lady Gaga — exploded onto the music scene in 2008 with a bold aesthetic, banger tracks, and brash persona. Almost instantly she became one of the most definitive video artists of the 21st Century, and in the nearly 20 years since, has become a critical and commercial smash in music, television, and film, and an essential figure in contemporary pop c...

Cooking shows have existed for decades, and cooking competitions have been on Food Network since the 1990s. But Bravo found the perfect recipe for success when it launched “Top Chef” in 2006. Borrowing from the reality competition format of “American Idol,” “Project Runway,” and “America’s Next Top Model” and timed brilliantly to coincide with the rise of the celebrity chef, “Top Chef” has served...

The 2010s were a transformation decade for television. By 2013 Netflix had introduced the concepts of streaming and binge-watching, and within a few years Hulu, Apple TV, Prime Video, and other streamers would also get into the original programming game. These new services green lit high-concept, expensive projects, leading to an entertainment arms race for cutting-edge creators and big stars. Leg...

In the fall of 2002, Kelly Clarkson became an overnight sensation after she won the first season of Fox’s televised singing competition, “American Idol.” A brilliant blend of vocal powerhouse and charming, relatable personality, Clarkson took that reality-TV lightning bolt and turned it into an astonishingly successful career. In addition to being one of the definitive figures in 2000s popular mus...

We're taking one more short break from new episodes this week, but don't worry—we'd never leave you feeling like you've been left outside the crayon box. Instead, we're pulling a Hot Take from our Best Crayola Crayon Color episode from Season 2! In this clip, our panelists are going head-to-head over two shades that are blue...but definitely aren't the same blue. In one corner, it's Cerulean Blue,...

We're taking another short break from a new episode this week, but we're pulling a Hot Take from our Best Tim Burton Film episode from Season 4! In this clip, our panelists are going head-to-head over two very different entries in the Burtonverse: 1985's Pee-Wee's Big Adventure versus 2010's Alice in Wonderland . In one corner, we've got Pee-Wee Herman on a quest to recover his beloved bicycle, co...

We're taking a break from a new episode this week, but don't worry, we'd never leave you hanging like a boy toy at the altar. Instead, we're pulling a Hot Take from our Best Madonna Music Video episode from Season 9! In this clip, our panelists go head-to-head over two of Madge's most iconic videos: In one corner, we've got "Like a Prayer," complete with religious imagery, burning crosses, stigmat...

DC Comics introduced the Legion of Super-Heroes in 1958’s Adventure Comics #247. What initially started out as a trio of super-powered alien teens from the 30th Century quickly expanded into a dozens of members having wild, retro-futuristic adventures across the galaxy. The property would have huge bursts of popularity every decade from the 1960s through the early 2000s, as well as devastating lul...

Hey Great Pop Culture Debate audience! We're taking a short break from new episodes this week, but don't worry—we'd never treat you like fashion roadkill. Instead, we're pulling a Hot Take from our Best Project Runway Design episode from Season 7. In this clip, our panelists are debating two unforgettable creations that prove fashion can be wearable art. In one corner, it's Christian Siriano and C...

If you were lucky enough, or privileged enough, to experience summer camp as a kid or teenager, the experience likely made a lasting impression on you. Sleepaway camps have certainly inspired filmmakers over the years, as the rustic settings and wide-eyed young people experiencing their first taste of freedom have proven fertile creative ground for numerous genres, from coming-of-age films to come...

We're taking a short break from brand-new episodes this week, but we couldn't leave you hanging like an umbrella in a hurricane. Instead, we're bringing you a Hot Take from our Best One-Hit Wonder Song episode. In this clip, our panel squares off over two iconic songs that prove sometimes you only need one massive hit to make music history: "It's Raining Men" by The Weather Girls and "Relax" by Fr...

“Yacht rock” as a term dates to the early 2000s, but the music it describes lives squarely in the late 1970s and early 80s. We’re talking the smooth sounds of summer, a little bit jazz, a touch of funk, a generous dollop of soulful crooning, all undercut by rock instrumentation by some of the grooviest white guys in the biz. You don’t have to be on a boat to enjoy yacht rock. It’s the perfect summ...

We're breaking again from new episodes this week, but don't worry, we'd never leave our fellow mutants stranded without a Cerebro signal to follow. Instead, we're dusting off a Hot Take from our Best X-Men Team Line-Up episode, originally released on May 13, 2025 as part of our Season 11. This argument features a very special guest, AJ LoCascio , the voice of Gambit in X-Men '97 on Disney+, joinin...

Heists have been a part of cinema since at least 1903, when The Great Train Robbery became one of the most successful movies of its time. There’s something intrinsically compelling about people stealing things – the thrill of transgression, the desperation that leads to the act, the anxiety of getting caught. Heist films have changed tremendously over the intervening 120-plus years, but the best o...

We’re taking a short break from new episodes this week, but we didn’t want to leave you without a little something to listen to. Instead, we’re bringing you a Hot Take from our Season 4 Best Disco Song episode, initially released in September 2021. In this clip, panelists Eric Rezsnyak, Karissa Kloss, Gary Jackson and Derek Mekita square off over two dance floor classics: ABBA's "Dancing Queen" an...

While women have been featured in comedy films since the beginning of the motion picture, around the 1980s, studios seemed to realize: women are funny, and women can be big business. Over the past four decades, some of the sharpest, wittiest, most bonkers films have been centered on – and in some cases created by – women. We want to celebrate these funny ladies, so join the Great Pop Culture Debat...

Science fiction has been part of television since at least the 1950s, when “Lost in Space” and “Star Trek” gave us charmingly quaint visions of what the future could look like. By the dawn of the 21st Century, technology had caught up to creators' visions, leading to a Golden Age of genre television. Series celebrated by critics and embraced by audiences with their mind-blowing imagination and, at...

Stevland Hardaway Morris – better known to the world as Stevie Wonder – signed his first record deal at age 11, and scored his first Billboard No. 1 by age 13. He transitioned from child musical prodigy in the 1960s to one of the most influential artists of the 1970s and 80s, bringing jazz, r’n’b, reggae, and funk into the mainstream, and having a major hand in bringing synthesizer sounds into mai...

It’s the year 2026, and while the LGBTQ community is under attack politically and socially, we remain blessed when it comes to queer representation on our TV screens – at least for the time being. Even 20 years ago, we couldn’t have conceived of how accepting the small screen would become, with gays, lesbians, bi, and trans folx appearing not only in series created specifically for them, but hes,...

The Looney Tunes animated anthology series premiered in 1930, and in its nearly 100 years has become a pop-culture juggernaut, conquering movie theaters, television, video games, theme parks, and more. The franchise launched entertainment icons like Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, Porky Pig, and others that have entertained generations, won a slew of accolades including five Academy Awards, and has genera...

Australian Kylie Minogue has released 17 studio albums, nearly 100 singles, and sold more than 80 million records worldwide. And yet, most Americans remain largely unaware of this international princess of Pop. While Kylie has had numerous breakthroughs in all of the last five decades, her 2023 dance-pop track “Padam Padam” became one of the biggest hits in her nearly 40-year career, proving that...

It is not hyperbole to say that Stephen Sondheim was among the most important creative voices in 20th Century American musical theater. From the 1950s through to the 2020s, he wrote the lyrics, music, or both for some of the most critically and commercially successful shows of our lifetimes. Sondheim’s shows are beloved not only for their incredibly catchy songs, but also for their insightful stor...

While films had been made to promote music dating back to at least the 1960s, the music video became a fixture of pop culture in the 1980s. Accelerated by the birth of MTV, MuchMusic, and VH1, music videos in the 80s experienced extraordinary growth in both popularity and artistic creativity. The decade would produce countless iconic music videos, giving renowned artists a second shot at relevancy...

Alfred Hitchcock was the so-called Master of Suspense. From the 1930s through the 1960s, he directed dozens of films – mostly in the murder-mystery, psychological horror, or spy drama genres – and worked with some of Hollywood’s biggest stars to create masterpieces that continue to feel relevant more than half a century later. While his personal life and professional ethics are fraught with contro...