NPR The Best of Pop Culture Happy Hour

Written by NPR

Narrated by Linda Holmes, Stephen Thompson and Glen Weldon

An energetic, fun-filled round table from NPR exploring the many ways entertainment intersects with day-to-day life. NPR's popular podcast features spirited roundtable discussions covering a wild and unpredictable landscape of pop culture subject matter, from the phenomenon of the fiasco (the result of ambition that exceeds competency) to ldquo;Pop Culture Carbon Datingrdquo; (why some cultural markers age well and others not at all). Hosts Linda Holmes, Stephen Thompson and Glen Weldon are joined by a parade of insightful commentators, each lending hilarious perspective and pop culture expertise to conversations that will deepen your appreciation for the modern cultural landscape-and leave you smiling. Featuring: bull; Pop Culture Debuts with Ari Shapiro bull; Public Radio Voices with Gene Demby and Tanya Ballard Brown bull; Nudity with Maggie Thompson bull; The Art of the Mixtape with Audie Cornish bull; Outtakes and Bloopers with Guy Raz bull; Movie Trailers with Bob Mondello bull; Profanity with Trey Graham bull; Fiascos with Gene Demby bull; Hollywood in the White House with Ari Shapiro bull; Pop Culture Carbon Dating with Audie Cornish

• Language: English
• Publisher: Highbridge Company
• Release date: Aug 4, 2015
• ISBN: 9781622318704

Reviews for NPR The Best of Pop Culture Happy Hour

[tygress-1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Disclosures: I received this audiobook through LibraryThing Early Reviewers, and Linda Holmes is someone I know personally - we were coworkers in the early 2000s.That said, this is a favorite podcast of mine, but I haven't listened to it since the beginning. It was great to hear a sampling of the "best of" and have many laughs with some of my favorite Internet people. The discussion is always smart and fun, even when the topic of conversation isn't something I'd normally seek out. I often wish I could sit at the table with the group and join in, and these selections are no exception.

[jrbeach · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

Years ago I used to listen to the Faith Middleton show, but I haven't faithfully listened to the radio in a long time. I thought this CD would be a way back to that habit. I was wrong. I think you have to be familiar with this show, and I know you have to be much more current with pop culture to enjoy this CD. Not being familiar with much of what was being discussed, I felt most of the segments ran on too long. I'm sure followers of the show would disagree, but I really feel this is a compilation for fans and not for anyone new to the show (and not super up to date with "pop culture".

[andrea58_1 · Rating: 1 out of 5 stars]

I love NPR, storyline, fresh air, this American life and more. I was unfamiliar with pop culture happy hour. I wish I could say I enjoyed it, but I didn't. I found the speakers to be more interested in themselves than the topic. I think they think they are funnier than they are. There was nothing really new or enlightening. It just became boring after a while. Clearly not my cup of tea. I expected more.

[duffdaddy-1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I really enjoyed this two-disc "best of" featuring some of the Pop Culture Happy Hour shows. I like the random topics they picked to discuss and the friendy banter between the hosts. My only complaint is that the cds felt short...probably because they were so good. I'm going to definiltely look for the podcasts to here more. Great stuff...thank you Early Reviewer program and NPR!

[meganelizabeth-1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I'm already a big fan of this show, and this compilation was so much fun to listen to and catch up on earlier episodes I had missed, and hear some great segments I had forgotten for the second time. Highly recommended for fans and newbies alike!

[ecataldi-1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I'm a big fan of NPR so I was more than thrilled to listen to the best podcasts from pop culture happy hour. It included favorite discussions such as: nudity, profanity, the art of the mix-tape, bloopers, movie trailers, and fiascoes. The discussions are hilarious, thoughtful and always classy. It was a delight getting to listen to this two disc set this week on my way to and from work. I hope they release more sets like this! A great introduction for someone new to NPR and a must have for a fan of it!

[greeneyed_ives · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

So I should preface by saying that I am big fan of Pop Culture Happy Hour, having listened to their podcast on many a long commute. Pop culture is something I'm oddly fascinated by and I love hearing intelligent people discuss it every week in new and interesting ways. On the audio book The Best of Pop Culture Happy Hour, the main hosts Linda Holmes and Stephen Thompson introduce 12 segments which highlight some of the best conversations from the podcast. Set in a round table format, the three main contributors (Linda, Stephen, and Glen Wheldon) are joined by a rotating guest such as Ari Shapiro and Audie Cornish. They discuss a general theme, such as nudity or fiascoes, in the context of movies, books, and other pop culture medium. Overall, I think the audio book is an excellent introduction to the podcast. Listeners can get a real feel of the program and how different guests can bring different perspectives of pop culture. Most of the segments have some humorous bits and the rapport of the hosts is very evident. I think my only wish, as a long time listener, was that the audio book didn't really cover any earlier content. Most of the segments are from the last two years, which is fine for the new listener, but long time fans might have appreciated a deeper cut or two. Otherwise, strongly recommended to the pop culture aficionado in your life who might not have jumped on the podcast bandwagon yet.

[buildalife · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Loved this! I'm a big NPR fan but have somehow missed this gem of a show. I received the two cd set through the Early Reviewer program and highly enjoyed the listen. It's perfect commute entertainment--kind of like sitting around the table with friends and going off on those weird tangents of live. The segment on how to talk on NPR was especially intriguing. But then, I liked all of them and will probably listen to the set several times before passing it along to friends. Unlike many cds, these I'll want back!

[wdwilson3 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This collection of excerpts from the Pop Culture podcast sometimes made me laugh and sometimes left me cold. The participants are so immersed in popular movies, music, social media, and television to the extent that some of their allusions mean very little to me, which, of course, didn't enlighten or amuse me. At nearly 70, I think I'm about 30 years older than the target demographic for the show. Nonetheless, it exposed me to a podcast that I didn't know existed and will check out further. Maybe they have some remedial courses for old-timers.I received a copy of this 2-CD set free, in exchange for my review.

[mgnm-1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I enjoyed this thoroughly! I've read the Pop Culture Happy Hour blog in the past now and again, but have never listened to podcast. As they mention in the introduction, they wanted the podcasts to be like casual conversations, as though you're sitting with friends in the living room. I think they succeeded admirably, so much so that even though there is much about pop culture that I'm completely indifferent to, I found the conversations very interesting and am now inspired to become a regular listener.

[jgoto_4 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I am an NPR fan and often listen to podcasts of This American Life or Fresh Air. I walk away from those smiling, having learned something interesting or laughed aloud at some of the content. I had never listened to Pop Culture Happy Hour, but requested this podcast compilation from Librarything's Early Reviewer Program assuming it would be equally entertaining, espicially with "the best of" included in the title. Unfortunately, I found that the CDs fell far short of my expectations. In each episode there are a group of several cast members sitting around laughing and discussing various topics. I felt like I was at a party, eavesdropping on a group of friends talking about something completely unrelated (and uninteresting) to me. Although the cast seemed to find things hilarious, there really wasn't much that I understood to be funny happening. A couple of the episodes did mildly strike my interest, such as Hollywood portrayals of the White House. Maybe my interest was aroused because of the descriptions of the "non-Hollywood" White House, which was new information to me. Another topic that I thought would be appealing concerned the neutral quality of the voices of public radio hosts, which seem to have no accents or ethnicity. Ironically, in the segment, some of the cast spoke in their more natural voices, but one cast member spoke so fast and swallowed his words so that I couldn't really understand what he was saying. The result? This may be someone else's cup of tea, but I'll stick to This American Life.