Category: Arts & Entertainment

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.

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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.

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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.

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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)

What do cooking and a nightly TV show have in common? Both require “a little care, a little love and a little imagination,” says Stephen Colbert. He and his wife Evie Colbert have written a cookbook.

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These true stories range from a “meow-moir” of a Siberian cat to an exploration of what U.S. presidents do after the White House. Check out these nonfiction reads recommended by NPR staff and critics.