It's Been a Minute

They're short, sexy and on-trend: Hoochie daddy shorts are all the rage for cisgender straight men this summer. And this week, they are the center of a conversation between guest host Anna Sale and writer and poet Danez Smith about sex, gender and freedom. What do higher hemlines on men reveal about the gender anxiety rippling through America today? Also, Anna speaks with Wired editor Alan Henry a...

How do freedom and rights intersect with sex, pleasure and the self? It's a question the U.S. is facing in the wake of the Supreme Court's recent decision to overturn Roe v. Wade — and a central theme in writer Davey Davis's new novel. In X, Davis relocates the conflict over these ideas from courts and abortion clinics to queer clubs and BDSM dungeons in a more dystopic version of our present. In...

The Supreme Court gutted abortion rights by overturning Roe v. Wade . For those who have been in the trenches of the reproductive justice movement — people who saw this coming — is there anything left to feel hopeful about? Guest host B.A. Parker chats with four young organizers about their stories and their plans for the future. Plus, Parker talks with cultural critic and writer Clarkisha Kent ab...

Family conflict is a cinema staple. But recently Hollywood has come out with a slew of stories about parents and children confronting gaps in culture, generation and identity — from animated films like Encanto and Turning Red, to the recent miniseries Ms. Marvel and the indie hit Everything Everywhere All at Once . Vox entertainment critic Emily St. James calls the subgenre the "millennial parent...

In a matter of days Beyoncé and Drake both released music that draws deeply on 90s era house music. Neither of them are queer, but the they're borrowing from a genre that has been liberating for Black & Latino queer people from the 70s to today. In this episode our June guest host B.A. Parker welcomes Back Issue 's co-host Josh Gwynn to chat about house music's roots and the genre's resurgence. Al...

Fangirls often don't get taken seriously in pop culture. But in her new book, Everything I Need, I Get From You: How Fangirls Created the Internet as We Know It , culture reporter Kaitlyn Tiffany explores just how much fangirls have shaped online life. She talks with guest host B.A. Parker about how fans used Tumblr to transform internet culture, how being a One Direction fan enriched her own life...

When singer-songwriter Kate Bush released "Running Up That Hill" in 1985, it peaked at number 30 on the Hot 100. Now it's soared into the top ten, thanks to the newest season of Stranger Things. Guest host B.A. Parker talks to Stereogum writers Rachel Brodsky and Chris Deville about why old music seems to be getting more love than new music these days — and how even new music seems retro. Plus, ac...

We don't often think of Hawaii and the Korean peninsula as having any kind of shared history. But author Joseph Han disagrees — and he makes the case in his debut novel Nuclear Family. In this episode, Han and guest host B.A. Parker discuss the book and Han's experience as a Korean immigrant in Hawaii. And they unpack the long effects of U.S. imperialism and military presence in both places. Along...

These days, it seems everyone wants to be an influencer. But as content creators realize that it's a demanding, often short-lived career, they're forcing us to think hard about the future of an industry that's still on the rise. Guest host B.A. Parker speaks with Rebecca Jennings, senior correspondent at Vox , who reported on how influencer burnout is a microcosm of our changing relationship with...

The first time Joel Kim Booster vacationed on New York's Fire Island with his friend, comedian Bowen Yang, he brought with him Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice as a beach read. Over the years, he'd often joke with friends about making a gay version of the novel. Today Booster is the writer and star of Hulu's Fire Island , a queer, Asian romcom based on Austen's classic, set in the titular gay vac...

Once again, Americans are asking how to end mass shootings. With consensus on gun laws unlikely, some are turning to Hollywood to help change the narrative. Can those who control the levers of culture shift the public's relationship with guns? Guest host Elise Hu speaks with former video game creative and now TV writer Nadra Widatalla about a world where on-screen heroes don't rely on guns. Plus,...

Name a Black musician from the 1970s and chances are Bruce Talamon has photographed them. The Jackson 5. Aretha Franklin. Marvin Gaye. Donna Summer. Bob Marley. The list goes on. For the final episode of our summer music series, former host Sam Sanders talks to Talamon about his incredible collection of photographs and what it was like to capture intimate moments with such iconic artists. You can...

In this episode from our friends at Life Kit , guest host Elise Hu teaches us how to make the most of our time off. Joined by travel writer Torre deRoche and artist Jenny Odell, they go beyond travel tips and investigate why we travel and share what travel means to them. You can follow us on Twitter @NPRItsBeenAMin and email us at ibam@npr.org . See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collec...

Singer Phoebe Bridgers had a huge year in 2020. She was nominated for four Grammys for her work on her album Punisher. The album was released to wide critical acclaim. But like the rest of us, Bridgers was stuck at home. So what's that really like for a musician? In the latest episode of our summer music series, we revisit Sam Sanders' conversation with Phoebe from 2020. They talk about her love/h...

In this special episode from our friends at Pop Culture Happy Hour , guest host Aisha Harris talks with journalists Tre'vell Anderson and Jarrett Hill about stand-up comedian Jerrod Carmichael's new HBO special Rothaniel where Carmichael comes out publicly as gay for the first time and talks about secrets that have haunted his family for multiple generations. See pcm.adswizz.com for information ab...

In this encore episode from 2018, former host Sam Sanders speaks with singer-songwriter Syd about her work with the hip-hop collective Odd Future and now with her own group – The Internet. The two discuss how she produced The Internet's fourth album, Hive Mind , and how she incorporates songwriting her sexuality. You can follow us on Twitter @NPRItsBeenAMin and email us at ibam@npr.org . See pcm.a...

With the anticipated repeal of Roe v. Wade, it's unclear how Americans will access abortion and other reproductive care. Will tech platforms continue to provide the same information about services in states where the procedure is outlawed? And what risk does your digital footprint create, if you seek information about abortion or other reproductive health care? Guest host Elise Hu talks it out wit...

Yebba had a huge year in 2016. The singer and songwriter's career was taking off. But 2016 was also the year that something awful happened: Yebba's mother died by suicide. And that changed everything in her life. In this encore chat from 2021, former host Sam Sanders and Yebba discuss the emotional toll it took to make her recent album Dawn , growing up in the church, and shedding old beliefs whil...

Protests erupted across the nation this week in the wake of a leaked Supreme Court brief suggesting the landmark "Roe v. Wade" abortion ruling will be overturned. The decision could endanger people seeking medical care and set a precedent for challenging other reproductive rights. Guest host Elise Hu discusses patients' concerns with health and gender reporter Shefali Luthra of "The 19th" and Dr....

Attention to all the music lovers out there! All month, we're revisiting our best music episodes from It's Been a Minute . In this episode from February 2020, former host Sam Sanders is joined by Nate Sloan and Charlie Harding , co-hosts of the podcast Switched On Pop . They break down what makes a song: why certain pop songs become ear worms and what their form and structure mean for the future o...

Legislation targeting transgender Americans and trans children has increased sharply in the last year. Guest host Ari Shapiro speaks with the Florida mother of a trans daughter about how their family is coping with that state's new, more restrictive policies. Then, Ari discusses how this wave of law-making differs from so-called "moral panics" of past decades — and why that matters — with historia...

Guest host Juana Summers speaks with co-authors Liz Fosslien and Mollie West Duffy about their new book, Big Feelings: How to Be Okay When Things Are Not Okay . In the book, Liz and Mollie explore seven emotions that they found particularly difficult to overcome — uncertainty, anger, burnout, comparison, perfectionism, despair and grief. With hopes to normalize conversations on these "big feelings...

With travel mask mandates dropping, increasing cases, and more COVID variants, precaution exhaustion is real, but the pandemic is far from over. Guest host Juana Summers talks with science writer Katherine J. Wu of The Atlantic about how the U.S. has moved from a collective approach to an individual-focused mindset in its handling of the pandemic. Then, Juana is joined by Kellie Carter Jackson and...

Guest host Juana Summers talks with Danyel Smith about her new memoir, Shine Bright: A Personal History of Black Women in Pop . As a previous editor-in-chief for both Billboard and Vibe magazines, host of the Black Girl Songbook podcast, and longtime music reporter, Danyel uses her expertise to spotlight the stories of pop powerhouses like Gladys Knight, Mahalia Jackson, Whitney Houston, and more....

From homemade candles to jewelry, leather goods to cloth masks, online marketplace Etsy has been a haven for makers looking to sell their goods and build small businesses for themselves. But with fees increasing, some sellers are frustrated and have gone on strike. Guest host Juana Summers is joined by Wall Street Journal reporter Charity Scott to learn more about how sellers feel and what it mean...