Pop Culture Happy Hour

This week on Pop Culture Happy Hour, NPR Monkey See's Linda Holmes, Stephen Thompson, Glen Weldon and Trey Graham briefly break down the Oscars telecast from Meryl Streep and The Artist's big wins to host Billy Crystal. Then move on to the big topic of the week — the things for which they were late to the table: The Shield, Futurama, The Godfather and much more. All that plus What's Making Us Happy. 

This Week on Culturetopia:  Pianist Robert Glasper; New Orleans funk band Galactic; drummer Shannon Powell; the mysteries of natural rhythm; parsing Rhianna and Chris Brown's latest collaborations.

This week on Pop Culture Happy Hour, NPR film critic Bob Mondello joins the PCHH roundtable of Linda Holmes, Trey Graham, Stephen Thompson and Glen Weldon for a rousing conversation about Oscars. From The Artist and Tree of Life to Midnight In Paris and The Help, everyone talks about their favorites, their least favorites and what films they expect to win. Then, a brief round of "What's Making Us Happy."

This Week on Culturetopia: Brad Pitt discusses starring in two Best Picture nominees the backstage lobbying for gold statuettes; Best Supporting Actor nominee Demian Bichir on his stardom in Mexico and anonymity here; critic Bob Mondello peers into a Matrix-like future.

This week on Pop Culture Happy Hour, NPR Monkey See's Linda Holmes along with Glen Weldon, Trey Graham and Stephen Thompson revisit the Grammys: What worked? What did not? And how did the telecast reflect the tragic news of Whitney Houston's death? Then, pop culture to enjoy at the end of a rotten day. All that, plus What's Making Us Happy this week.

This Week in Culturetopia: George Clooney; Chilean rapper Ana Tijoux; the new animated film "Chico and Rita"; a new play about colonialism called "The Convert"; modern artist Elizabeth Catlett.

This week on Pop Culture Happy Hour, NPR Monkey See's Linda Holmes joins Trey Graham, Stephen Thompson and Glen Weldon to touch on the Super Bowl, Madonna, Watchmen, Scarlett O'Hara, and ... well, just about everything. Plus: the glorious return of a mom we all enjoy. All that, plus What's Making Us Happy this week.

This Week on Culturetopia: the queen who brought drag culture to the mainstream; the first movie to win a best picture Oscar; the director with not one but three new horror movies this year; the lost speech by Malcolm X; and the man who brought something radical to television: positive pictures of African-American teenagers

This week on Pop Culture Happy Hour, NPR Monkey See's Linda Holmes is joined by Stephen Thompson, Glen Weldon and Trey Graham for a discussion about the ups and downs of NBC's new musical drama Smash. Then a chat with NPR.org's new books editor about high literature, low literature, and how people read. All that plus What's Making Us Happy this week.

This Week On Culturetopia: author Penelope Lively; the new NBC theater-nerd show “Smash”; Key and Peele on Comedy Central; filesharing in Megaupload’s wake; the classic children’s book “The Snowy Day.

This week on Pop Culture Happy Hour, NPR Monkey See's Linda Holmes joins Stephen Thompson, Glen Weldon and Trey Graham to discuss the Oscar nominees, from satisfying to baffling. We also come out firmly in support of a few things that you might think don't need the support. Plus, What's Making Us Happy this week.

This Week on Culturetopia: Actor Christian Bale talks about "The Flowers of War"; the screenwriter for "Red Tails" discusses the Tuskagee Airmen; publishers and booksellers decry Amazon's predatory pricing; how much it costs to produce a hit single; the Cultural Revolution cookbook

This week on Pop Culture Happy Hour, NPR Monkey See's Linda Holmes joins Trey Graham, Glen Weldon and Stephen Thompson for a long discussion about the Golden Globes, including Ricky Gervais' hosting duties. Then a look at Spin Magazine's decision to review music on Twitter whether criticism is just as good if you do it in 140 characters.

This Week on Culturetopia: Top TV picks for January; cable sport’s big money; “excessive entertainment” purged from Chinese TV; producer Mara Brock Akil; Real Housewives and the "botox tax."

This week on Pop Culture Happy Hour, NPR Monkey See's Linda Holmes, Trey Graham, Glen Weldon and Stephen Thompson look at PBS and where they might go after the successes of Downton Abbey and Sherlock. Then, who might be rediscovered any day now? These topics, plus What's Making Us Happy this week.