It's Been a Minute

In this special episode from our friends at the Broken Record podcast, we will hear producer Rick Rubin's conversation with hip-hop legend Nas. Rick talks to Nas about his earliest experiences with rap in the Queensbridge housing projects where he grew up, how recording King's Disease with Kanye West in Wyoming almost took him out of his zone, and how early beef with Jay-Z made them both stronger...

Guest host Jasmine Garsd talks to Kristen Warner, an associate professor at the University of Alabama, about Bridgerton's diversity problem. They discuss color blind v. color-conscious casting, how race factors into historical narratives and why any representation isn't always good representation. Then, Jasmine catches up with host Ceci Bastida and creator Núria Net about their new podcast, Punk I...

In this special new episode of It's Been a Minute , we share a conversation Sam Sanders recorded about one of his favorite things: reality TV. He's joined by Danielle Lindemann , author of True Story: What Reality TV Says About Us, to discuss the genre's origins in Real World and Survivor , how reality TV influences our culture, and why we should all take the genre more seriously. You can follow u...

You may see it in the news or on social media. You may be feeling different in your relationships or with your job. The "vibe" has shifted. Our guest host Jasmine Garsd is joined by Elamin Abdelmahmoud, culture writer for BuzzFeed News and host of CBC's pop culture podcast Pop Chat , to learn more about this vibe shift and why we all may be feeling a little off right now. Plus, a chat with Dylan M...

Elise Hu chats with Soo Hugh , writer and showrunner of the much anticipated series Pachinko , based on the 2017 novel by Min Jin Lee . It's the epic story of a family through four generations across the 20th century, all about their lives as Zainichi Koreans in Japan. In this chat, Hugh talks about what it was like to bring the beloved book to screen, what she's is doing to support Asian American...

A trimmed telecast? A crowd-sourced award? DJ Khaled as a presenter? The Oscars are back like you've never seen them before. Guest host Elise Hu is joined by Pop Culture Happy Hour host and reporter Aisha Harris and NPR film critic Bob Mondello to talk about these new changes and their top picks for who's taking home the big awards of the night. Then, they play a game of Who Said That. You can fol...

A school crush once told Julissa Arce that she sounded "like a white girl." At the time, Arce believed that was exactly what she wanted. But over the years, even after perfecting "accent-less" English, graduating from college, getting a job at Goldman Sachs, and becoming an American citizen, Arce still felt like she didn't belong. Instead of just trying to fit in as the solution, Arce began to que...

It's been one year since the Atlanta-area spa shootings that claimed eight lives, six of whom were Asian women. Guest host Elise Hu reflects on the event with Nicole Chung , author of the memoir All You Can Ever Know and a contributing writer for The Atlantic. They discuss their own experiences and the unprecedented violence that Asian Americans—especially Asian American women—are facing. Plus, ar...

Our friends at Wait Wait ... Don't Tell Me! have a new show out with host Emma Choi. It's called Everyone & Their Mom. For her first episode , Emma is joined by comedian Josh Gondelman to discuss a saucy situation. Celebrity chef Roy Choi also joins to troubleshoot a kimchi recipe with Emma's grandma. Emma then settles an age old debate: heels or rollerblades? See pcm.adswizz.com for information a...

It's Been A Minute is sticking around, but before our beloved Sam Sanders takes flight we've got news to cover! In Sam's last episode as host, he's joined by NPR Weekend Edition Sunday host Ayesha Rascoe and NPR Congressional Correspondent Susan Davis to talk about the latest in politics news from gas prices to Ukraine to the upcoming US midterms. He then plays a special game of Who Said That? wit...

With more extreme antisemitic attacks on the rise and more antisemitic rhetoric in the mainstream, antisemitism has become an increasingly pressing issue in the US. But at the same time, the conversation around antisemitism is getting more fraught. Sam talks with Dov Waxman , professor and director for the UCLA Y&S Nazarian Center for Israel Studies, about what people are getting wrong about antis...

In the wake of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, global powers have put the pressure on with sanctions upon sanctions. But what does that even mean? Class is in session as Sam attends Sanctions 101 with Cardiff Garcia , host of The New Bazaar , and Stacey Vanek Smith , co-host of The Indicator. They talk about how economic sanctions are supposed to work and whether they can be effective enough to chan...

It's our 500th episode and what better way to celebrate than with Johnny Knoxville's first appearance on NPR? We couldn't think of a better milestone. In this episode, Sam and Johnny chat about his latest Jackass endeavor with Jackass Forever while also looking back at the reality show that started it all — and how its very first stunt actually shut down production. They also discuss Jackass ' que...

Before George Floyd and Michael Brown, there was Trayvon Martin. And this weekend marks ten years since the watershed moment that planted the seed for the Black Lives Matter movement we know today. A decade later, Sam is joined by Nailah Summers-Polite , co-director of the Dream Defenders, and Georgetown law professor, Paul Butler to discuss their feelings ten years ago and how their activism has...

In this episode from our friends at NPR's newest podcast The Limits , host Jay Williams chats with Gabrielle Union — actress, activist, producer, entrepreneur and author of the books We're Going to Need More Wine: Stories That Are Funny, Complicated, and True and You Got Anything Stronger? Gabrielle talks to Jay about why "balance" is a myth, her journey with surrogacy and how she she overcame a t...

What is the metaverse? How do you get to it? Why does it seem to dominate headlines every week? Is it possibly a sign of our dystopian future? Sam learns all about the metaverse and more with NPR technology correspondent Shannon Bond and NPR tech reporter Bobby Allyn . They define the metaverse, explain why companies are so eager to jump into it, and whether or not we should worry about it. You ca...

Streaming has totally changed the face of TV, but in all its abundance, who gets to make a show, and which shows live to see another season? Sam chats with TV writer and producer Gloria Calderón Kellett ( One Day at a Time , With Love ), who has long grappled with this question. They talk about what it takes to make something for your people in the industry right now, what she's doing to claim spa...

Victoria Walker , former The Points Guy senior travel reporter, didn't think much about tweeting her salary when she quit her job and offering advice for anyone interested in applying. But the tweet went viral and sparked a wider conversation about pay transparency. Sam asks Victoria why she did it and talks with Wall Street Journal workplace reporter Lauren Weber about why pay transparency matter...

China has held a soft power over Hollywood for the last few decades. Examples range from the cosmetic, like the way Chinese police heroically restore order in films like The 355 . It can also be more overt, like China blocking the release of Chloé Zhao's film Eternals in the country. Sam and Erich Schwartzel talk about how and why China has influenced the American film industry and more reporting...

It's hard to believe the Winter Olympics have begun in Beijing, our second COVID Games. Sam talks to NPR correspondent Emily Feng about the political implications of this year's Olympics, the crackdowns on activists, and diplomatic boycotts. Then, Sam talks to Hiwote Getaneh and Jesse Baker, producers of the podcast This Is Dating , a show about first dates. They talk about what the show taught th...

There were two big music festivals happening in the summer of 1969. While one defined an entire generation of culture and music... the other remained obscure — the only recorded footage placed in a basement that was said to have sat, unpublished, for decades. That is, until Questlove's first documentary Summer of Soul came out last year . In this episode, Sam chats with Questlove about the recent...

Sam sits down to chat, sing, improv and of course play Who Said That with actors Ben Schwartz and Sam Richardson , stars of the new murder mystery The Afterparty on Apple TV+. Then, Sam revisits his 2021 conversation with Devon Price , author of Laziness Does Not Exist , where they discuss the lie of laziness and what it means for productivity. You can follow us on Twitter @NPRItsBeenAMin and emai...

Sam chats with author Wajahat Ali about his new book, Go Back To Where You Came From: And Other Helpful Recommendations on Becoming American. The book points out just how hilarious, untenable, and difficult becoming American can actually be. Throughout the book, Ali uses his own story to offer strategies to make America more welcoming and compassionate. You can follow us on Twitter @NPRItsBeenAMin...

André Leon Talley became a major part of the global fashion zeitgeist while navigating being one of the few, if not the only, Black, queer man at his level. Sam is joined by author and poet Saeed Jones and Zach Stafford, host of the podcast In the Deep , to remember the late fashion editor and celebrate Talley's legacy. Read Saeed Jones' essay on André Leon Talley here and Zach Stafford's essay he...

Sam revisits his 2021 conversation with Sarah Schulman about ACT UP. The organization united a diverse, non-partisan group of individuals committed to direct action to end the AIDS crisis. In Schulman's book, Let The Record Show: A Political History of ACT UP New York, 1987-1993 , she draws from nearly 200 interviews with ACT UP members to document the movement's history and explore how the group'...