The sci-fi series Black Mirror has always been about changing technology and its usually dark implications for the future. Its latest episode, Bandersnatch, is itself the result of new technology developed at Netflix. As you watch it, you make your own on-screen choices that determine which of several possible endings you reach.

Black Mirror: Bandersnatch and What's Making Us Happy

Get obsessed with us. Five days a week, Pop Culture Happy Hour serves you recommendations and commentary on the buzziest movies, TV, music, books, videogames and more. Join arts journalists Linda Holmes, Glen Weldon, Stephen Thompson, and Aisha Harris - plus a rotating cast of guest pop culture aficionados. The Happy Hour team leaves room at the table for exploring a range of reactions and opinions on every bit of the pop universe. From lowbrow to highbrow to the stuff in between, they take it all with a shot of cheer.

Make your happy hour even happier with Pop Culture Happy Hour Plus! Your subscription supports the podcast and unlocks a sponsor-free feed. Learn more at plus.npr.org/happyhour

Arts

Literature

Performing Arts

Design

Food

Fashion & Beauty

Visual Arts

TV & Film

Music

News

Books

Film Reviews

Music Commentary

Entertainment News

TV Reviews

After Shows

The new show Fallout is based on a hugely successful video game series known for its sardonic, very dark comedic sensibility, and its violence. It's set in the game's post-apocalyptic world – an America divided into factions wrestling for control of an irradiated wasteland. When the hopeful Lucy (Ella Purnell) steps out of the comfortable life she's known in an underground vault, the world she's confronted with is harsh, brutal, merciless – and kinda funny.

Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices

NPR Privacy Policy

Fallout And What's Making Us Happy

Hot Ones is the YouTube show where famous people answer questions while eating increasingly hot chicken wings. Hosted by Sean Evans, the series is a phenomenon. And Conan O'Brien is its most recent high achiever, and possibly the best guest ever. What exactly makes a good Hot Ones guest?

Subscribe to Pop Culture Happy Hour Plus at plus.npr.org/happyhour 

Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices

NPR Privacy Policy

Hot Ones And Conan O'Brien

For millions of kids, the popular 1990s X-Men animated series served as a gateway drug into the world of the X-Men and comics in general. Now, the new Disney+ series X-Men '97 picks up right where the original ended. But changes are also taking place: secrets get revealed, the team roster gets shuffled, and characters meet shocking fates. What hasn't changed is everything fans expect from the X-Men: big fights, big powers, and lots of mutant melodrama.

Subscribe to Pop Culture Happy Hour Plus at plus.npr.org/happyhour 

Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices

NPR Privacy Policy

X-Men '97

NPR's Books We Love is a roundup of favorite books of the year, sorted and tagged to help you find exactly what you're looking for. From the meet cutes to the happy endings and through all the ups and downs in between, we're recommending great books for people who love love and romance.

Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices

NPR Privacy Policy

Books We Love: Love And Romance

The new film Civil War depicts a contemporary America torn apart by a military conflict between the federal government and an alliance of secessionist states. Directed by Alex Garland (Ex Machina), the film follows a small band of journalists led by Kirsten Dunst's jaded war photographer. They embark on a harrowing journey to the heart of the conflict, encountering brutality and bloodshed along the way.

Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices

NPR Privacy Policy

Black Mirror: Bandersnatch and What's Making Us Happy

Download our free app to listen on your phone