It's Been a Minute

In this conversation from April 2022 , former guest host Juana Summers sits down with author Danyel Smith to chat about her book, Shine Bright: A Very Personal History of Black Women in Pop . They talk all about Black women in music — like Gladys Knight, Mahalia Jackson and Whitney Houston — whose true genius and contributions have not yet been fully recognized. You can follow us on Twitter @NPRIt...

For the last two weeks, rapper Tory Lanez has been on trial for allegedly shooting Grammy winner Megan Thee Stallion. Since Megan went public with the allegations in August 2020, she's faced significant backlash – on social media, on popular gossip blogs and also from her peers in the hip-hop community. Megan was shot, and yet it somehow feels like she's been the one on trial. This week, NPR's 'Lo...

It's been almost two decades since the star-studded romantic comedy premiered, but Love Actually is still a holiday staple that plays in both movie theaters and living rooms across the country. Since the film is here to stay, we feel it's about time to see how it holds up. Host Brittany Luse chats with NPR Weekend Edition 's Ayesha Rascoe , who saw the film for the first time this year. They also...

Donna Tartt's The Secret History turned 30 this year. Since the book's release, the novel has sold millions of copies and become a classic - the blueprint for a cluster of aesthetic and literary works under the label "dark academia." Host Brittany Luse and culture writer Alice Vincent examine the novel's long shelf life and why it's still relevent to young people today. Then she sits down with aut...

#BlackLivesMatter. #OscarsSoWhite. #Zola. These huge cultural moments come from one of the most chaotic, beloved, and influential communities online: Black Twitter. But with Elon Musk at the helm, the future of the community is in question. What's next for the digital public square and by extension Black Twitter? Host Brittany Luse sits down with Jason Parham , senior writer at WIRED, to discuss w...

When the world never stops questioning you, do you refuse to answer... or do you play along to get what you want? These questions are at the heart of Framing Agnes , an award-winning documentary about the legacy of a young trans woman in the 1950s who was forced to choose between access and honesty. The film uses the format of a talk show to re-enact interviews with the eponymous Agnes and five ot...

Think of the top women rappers of our time: Cardi B. Megan Thee Stallion. Nicki Minaj. They all showcase a signature style that involves multicolored wigs, skyscraping heels and designer logos on everything. But that blend of high fashion, femininity and attitude began before any of them, pioneered in the 1990s by the original queen bee: Lil' Kim. Ahead of its time, Kim's ingenuity – and her place...

Recently, host Brittany Luse has found herself curious about motherhood. As she's thought about the kind of mom she might be, she looked for models in film and TV – and found that there's little room for mothers, and Black moms in particular, to be anything but excellent. From Brittany's previous podcast, For Colored Nerds , a discussion with Eric Eddings about motherhood and misbehaving, and why...

From our friends at Pop Culture Happy Hour , a deep dive on The Godfather – and why the classic film was not universally loved by the Italian-American community that it portrayed. This episode is part one of the new three-part podcast series Screening Ourselves , which is all about the complicated relationships between on-screen characters and the people they aim to represent. See pcm.adswizz.com...

There's nothing like the holidays for family drama. And in today's episode, Brittany Luse sits down with two actors who portray a classic brother-against-brother dynamic in the Pulitzer-winning play Topdog/Underdog , which recently returned to Broadway. Corey Hawkins and Yahya Abdul-Mateen II talk sibling rivalries, the American dream and why their two-man show is not just an exploration of race....

According to the CDC , out of all the American adults who have had COVID — and that's a lot of us — one in five went on to develop long COVID symptoms. While so many are struggling with this new disease, it can be hard for people to know how to take care of themselves. The Long COVID Survival Guide aims to give people struggling with long COVID practical solutions and emotional support to manage t...

They call him a 21st-century god of soccer. One of the all time greats. A king. But Lionel Messi's crown is still missing one big jewel: a World Cup trophy for his home country, Argentina. In this episode, host Brittany Luse explores Messi's long road to a World Cup victory with Jasmine Garsd , host of NPR's new podcast The Last Cup . Along the way, they go into how immigration, race and class coi...

Brittany Luse watches a lot of TV, but there's one show she's always caught up on — Abbott Elementary . This workplace comedy follows a group of teachers at a Philadelphia public elementary school. The show is sweet and roaringly funny, but it also touches on national issues such as underfunding and teacher retention. Currently in its second season, the writers room is led by the great Quinta Brun...

It's a big week in Black cinema as Black Panther: Wakanda Forever hit theaters Friday . But on the same day, another film dropped that may be just as powerful in its message about Black moviemaking. Is This Black Enough For You? pays homage to the decades of creativity that made the celebrated Marvel movie possible – and deeply influenced cinema as we know it. Host Brittany Luse sits down with Elv...

It's Election Day, and Brittany's focusing on those long lines at the polls. For years there's been a lot of talk about voter disenfranchisement - especially for Black and Brown voters who wait for hours to cast a ballot. But Brittany's guest thinks of those lines differently. Sami Schalk is the author of Black Disability Politics . She argues that by focusing on the intersection of disability and...

The Kardashians. Whether you're into them or not, one thing is true: You can't avoid them. When they're not releasing new episodes of their long-running reality TV show, they're making headlines about Halloween costume reveals or ex-husbands who go on anti-Semitic rants. Because somehow, over the past decade, the Kardashian family went from Hollywood D-listers to American institution. Host Brittan...

If you ask people to describe Christine Baranski, one word rises to the top: sophisticated. That's no accident; the actress has spent a lifetime refining her image and her craft. For the past 13 years, Baranski has played Diane Lockhart, a savvy and assertive attorney on the CBS television series The Good Wife and its spin-off The Good Fight . And just like her character, Baranski is a trailblazer...

Spooky season is upon us, so we decided to sink our teeth into the world of vampires. Host Brittany Luse kicks off the conversation with Kendra R. Parker, who teaches a class at Georgia Southern University about Black vampires in film and literature. They talk about the racial and sexual politics of vampire narratives and why humans continue to find vampire stories compelling. Then Brittany sits d...

Every fall, with the same regularity as birds flying south, Spirit Halloween materializes in locations across the country. The superstore sells all manner of trappings for spooky season, including costumes, props and décor. It boasts about 1,400 pop-ups nationwide, and often takes over temporary leases in malls where a big-box retailer struggled to stay open. This penchant for swooping in on faili...

The It's Been a Minute team gives you a sneak peek at the event of the season: BravoCon, where our producer met his favorite housewife, and the Salt Lake City stars spill the tea to host Brittany Luse . Then, Brittany sits down with Julio Torres, a comedian, actor, writer and creator of HBO's Los Espookys . They discuss the influences behind his unique world-building. Finally, if you're a Taylor S...

Maitreyi Ramakrishnan has big dreams. The 20-year-old gained full celebrity status with her breakout role as Devi Vishwakumar in the Netflix teen hit Never Have I Ever. But now that filming has wrapped for the show's four seasons, Ramakrishnan is looking ahead. Host Brittany Luse gets Ramakrishnan dishing on everything from cosplay to car chases. They also talk about Ramakrishnan's wildest dream r...

The saga around Elon Musk's deal to buy Twitter has been just that: a months-long soap opera involving lawsuits and subpoenas, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, even a town hall. But why does Musk — one of the world's richest and arguably most influential men — want with a social media platform? Host Brittany Luse dives into the dreams and myths surrounding Elon Musk with Jill Lepore, a...

When our host Brittany Luse first heard of The Woman King – a film about an all-women warrior unit defending the West African kingdom of Dahomey during the years of the Atlantic slave trade – the idea made her nervous. Hollywood's record with Black historical dramas is pretty checkered. But then she saw it. In this episode, Brittany breaks down the film's significance and the task of approaching h...

Stacey Abrams wants to make history again. After losing the Georgia governor's race to Brian Kemp back in 2018, Abrams — the first Black woman to be a major party's gubernatorial candidate — spent four years coalition building across the state. Now she's back, armed with a national reputation, the experience of running for statewide office and a fresh determination to defend her state from voter s...

NPR is proud to present Brittany Luse as the new host for It's Been A Minute. Whether you're a long time listener or you're just finding the show, you know that culture doesn't happen by accident. Find out why with Brittany every Tuesday and Friday starting October 7. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponso...