Blogs

Your one-stop guide to the year in arts and culture, from binge-worthy shows to hundreds of books recommended by NPR staff and a playlist of the 124 best songs of 2024.

Each week, guests and hosts on NPR’s Pop Culture Happy Hour share what’s bringing them joy. This week: Bourbon Balls, Somebody Somewhere, The Amazing Race and Tim Curry’s performance of A Christmas Carol.

(Image credit: Sandy Morris)

Paula Abdul and former American Idol producer Nigel Lythgoe have agreed to settle a lawsuit in which she alleged he sexually assaulted her in the early 2000s when she was a judge on the show.

(Image credit: Chris Pizzello)

For better or — mostly — worse, Hollywood has helped shape the public’s image of the health insurance industry in films ranging from John Grisham’s The Rainmaker to the Oscar-winning As Good as It Gets.

The British actor and singer played abolitionist Harriet Tubman in Harriet, and Aretha Franklin in Genius: Aretha. Now she’s defying gravity as Elphaba in Wicked. Originally broadcast Oct. 18, 2021.

Rock critic Ken Tucker picks his favorite new Christmas songs, including “Christmas Time Rhyme,” by Ben Folds; “Glow,” by Little Big Town; and “Maybe this Christmas,” by Jason Kelce and Stevie Nicks.

Inspired by the real-life theft of $18 million worth of government-stored maple syrup, Amazon Prime’s six-episode series is loaded with wonderful characters, performances, music and surprises.

RaMell Ross’ adaptation of Colson Whitehead’s Pulitzer Prize-winning novel is an ambitious, immersive experience.

(Image credit: Orion Pictures)

Director Tim Fehlbaum’s new film September 5 is centered on how the 1972 Munich Olympics massacre changed the way media outlets cover major global stories, especially those involving acts of terror.

(Image credit: Courtesy of Paramount Pictures)