It's Been a Minute with Sam Sanders

How do romantic tropes and fantasies impact how you understand politics?You might be a fan of Romantic Fantasy, or as the internet calls it: Romantasy. Even if you're not, you would recognize the tradwives or fascism. Romantasies combine supernatural characters and plotlines with the rush of a whirlwind romance novel, and, in this episode, we're exploring how the politics of some of these books have an effect on politics in the real world.Brittany is joined by Netta Baker,  Advanced Instructor of English at Virginia Tech, and Princess Weekes, video essayist and online pop culture critic. They get into how this genre demolishes misogyny while reinforcing conservative politics.Support Public Media. Join NPR Plus.Follow Brittany Luse on Instagram: @bmluseFor handpicked podcast recommendations every week, subscribe to NPR's Pod Club newsletter at npr.org/podclub.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Job seekers are sending out hundreds of applications. Here's why they're not hearing back.The unemployment rate has been climbing over the past few years, but historically, it isn't that high… Even so, some people have been talking about having a really, really rough time finding work. Brittany is joined by Wailin Wong, co-host of NPR's Indicator podcast, and Nitish Pahwa, staff writer for business and tech at Slate, to get into why the decent macroeconomic numbers aren't adding up for job seekers and why the market might be stuck in an “AI doom loop.”Support Public Media. Join NPR Plus.Follow Brittany on Instagram: @bmluseFor handpicked podcast recommendations every week, subscribe to NPR's Pod Club newsletter at npr.org/podclub.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

He's mysterious and aspirational, but is he even real? Or is he just a reflection of all of our society?The ‘finance bro' has become a pretty ubiquitous figure in the American zeitgeist. From American Psycho and Mad Men to the tech bros of Silicon Valley, he's taken many forms. And these days he has flipped genders in the hit HBO series Industry. But what makes the finance bro mythology so compelling? And why do we sign up to watch him again and again?To find out, Brittany is joined by chief correspondent at Business Insider and host of Channels, Peter Kafka and Roxana Hadadi, TV critic for Vulture and New York Magazine.Support Public Media. Join NPR Plus.Follow Brittany Luse on Instagram: @bmluseFor handpicked podcast recommendations every week, subscribe to NPR's Pod Club newsletter at npr.org/podclub.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

What does it mean to feel safe during sex these days?From feeling comfortable with your partner to access to public health and medication, "safety" comes up a lot in sex. But, having the tools you need to feel confident in your own sexual health is an essential part of the pursuit of pleasure. Today, Brittany is joined by Dr. Leisha McKinley-Beach, founder and CEO of the Black Public Health Academy, and Dr. Jasmine Abrams, a research scientist at the Yale School of Public Health, to give us a New Year's booster on how to live our best sex lives — and explore how to feel safer in bed. Support Public Media. Join NPR Plus.Follow Brittany Luse on Instagram: @bmluseFor handpicked podcast recommendations every week, subscribe to NPR's Pod Club newsletter at npr.org/podclub.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

We're taking a trip back to the 90s and exploring the lives of single Black women and how their stories still show up in media 30 years later. This episode comes from NPR's Books We've Loved podcast series. Brittany joined hosts Andrew Limbong and B.A. Parker to revisit Terry McMillan's classic novel, Waiting to Exhale. The three get into how the book was a blueprint for Sex & The City and how it depicts the complexity of Black women's lives - and echoes the lives of Black women today.Support Public Media. Join NPR Plus.Follow Brittany on Instagram: @bmluseFor handpicked podcast recommendations every week, subscribe to NPR's Pod Club newsletter at npr.org/podclub.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

What are we missing something in the conversation around obesity and GLP-1s? Oprah Winfrey's new book, Enough, co-authored by endocrinologist Dr. Ania Jastreboff is one of many new narratives attempting to reframe how we think about obesity and diet culture. But host Brittany Luse thinks we're just scratching the surface. She's joined by Dr. Kellie Carter Jackson, Chair of the Africana Studies Department at Wellesley College and co-host of the podcast This Day, and Dr. Mara Gordon, family physician and NPR's Real Talk with a Doc columnist to unpack fatphobia, the GLP-1 craze, and what it really means to be ‘healthy.'Support Public Media. Join NPR Plus.Follow Brittany on Instagram: @bmluseFor handpicked podcast recommendations every week, subscribe to NPR's Pod Club newsletter at npr.org/podclub.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

There's a new sound of protest going viral on TikTok. What is being said, and how much impact could it have?We're just two weeks into January, but this year has already been eventful. There's Trump's incursion into Venezuela, and last week's ICE shooting in Minneapolis, which led to protests all across the country over the weekend. And these protests on the street are connected to some of the music we're hearing online: artists like Jensen McRae and Jesse Welles are responding to current events with their own musical takes on the news with bitesize songs on TikTok. But why is folk protest music having revival, and who is listening? Brittany sits down with NPR Music reporter Isabella Gomez Sarmiento to get into why this folk-y protest music hasn't been popular in decades – and why it's going viral now. You can read Isabella's story here.Support Public Media. Join NPR Plus.Follow Brittany on Instagram: @bmluseFor handpicked podcast recommendations every week, subscribe to NPR's Pod Club newsletter at npr.org/podclub.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Renee Good, a 37-year-old Minnesotan mother, is just one of several victims of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) violence in recent months. But her death marks a turning point in the discourse around state violence. How will her name and story be used by politicians and protestors? And how does her story line up with other moments of government violence throughout American history?Brittany is joined by Abené Clayton, the lead reporter for the Guns and Lies in America series at The Guardian. Brittany and Abené unpack the importance of this moment, how Good's death compares to other deaths at the hands of the federal government, and how the narrative around her death is already messier than it should be.Support Public Media. Join NPR Plus.Follow Brittany on Instagram: @bmluseFor handpicked podcast recommendations every week, subscribe to NPR's Pod Club newsletter at npr.org/podclub.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Ozempic and other GLP-1s have changed how we think of our bodies. Now, some are searching for other quick fixes for their body - far beyond weight loss.In some Silicon Valley circles, 'Chinese peptides' are taking so-called biohacking to the next level. These unregulated injectables promise to help people who struggle with sleep, losing weight, or even making eye contact. One person even said they were searching for the "Ozempic for autism." Sound ethically dubious? Brittany thought so, too.To get into it all, Brittany is joined by independent journalist Jasmine Sun, who writes about Silicon Valley culture; and, Karen Maschke, editor-in-chief of Ethics and Human Research. Jasmine and Karen break down the peptide subculture of Silicon Valley and what it means to be human in rapidly self-optimizing world.Support Public Media. Join NPR Plus. Follow Brittany on Instagram: @bmluse For handpicked podcast recommendations every week, subscribe to NPR's Pod Club newsletter at npr.org/podclub.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Young women, more than any other group, say they would leave America. Their list of reasons is long and plentiful. Have you ever thought about leaving the US, and starting over somewhere else? Maybe living the hygge lifestyle in Denmark, or soaking up the sun in Costa Rica? According to Gallup – a surprising number of women are considering it. In a poll released in November, 40% of women between the ages of 18 and 44 said they'd move to another country permanently if they had the chance. That's four times higher than it was a decade ago – and this sentiment among women is unique to the US. But what's behind young women's willingness to imagine life elsewhere? And what does that say about the future of this country? Brittany breaks it all down with Constance Grady, senior correspondent for Vox's culture team who covers gender, and Scaachi Koul, senior writer at Slate and co-host of the BBC podcast Where to be a Woman.Support Public Media. Join NPR Plus.Follow Brittany Luse on Instagram: @bmluseFor handpicked podcast recommendations every week, subscribe to NPR's Pod Club newsletter at npr.org/podclub.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Is the lack of sunlight in the winter months really getting to you? Do you find yourself fighting tooth and nail to keep up with life's demands every winter? You may be dealing with Seasonal Affective Disorder, or SAD. Brittany has developed her own morning routine to combat this type of depression. Today, she's joined by Dr. Norman E. Rosenthal, psychiatrist and scientist who first described seasonal affective disorder in the 1980s, to get feedback on her SAD routine, and learn about how we all can think differently about the rough winter months.Support Public Media. Join NPR Plus.Follow Brittany Luse on Instagram: @bmluseFor handpicked podcast recommendations every week, subscribe to NPR's Pod Club newsletter at npr.org/podclub.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

What's in and what's out in 2026? Let's set the stage for what to watch out for in the new year.As you fill out your own bingo card for what will or will not happen in 2026, join Brittany, NPR's tech correspondent Bobby Allyn, and NPR's political correspondent Danielle Kurtzleben. They are laying out the puzzle pieces of 2026 - from the politics of masculinity to the bubble of artificial intelligence to the end of Queen Bee - and piecing them together, so you know what to set your sights on for the next calendar year.  Support Public Media. Join NPR Plus.Follow Brittany Luse on Instagram: @bmluseFor handpicked podcast recommendations every week, subscribe to NPR's Pod Club newsletter at npr.org/podclub.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

From CBD leggings to Soulcycle, wellness is reshaping our relationships to our bodies and souls. But what even is "wellness?" Well, for one, it's a global industry worth 6 trillion dollars. And it encompasses all kinds of things – including spirituality: from the spirituality of wellness practices like yoga and reiki, to treating wellness itself like a religion. As spirituality, self-care, and capitalism swirl together, what is missing from the story?Brittany is joined by Alyssa Bereznak, GQ's Wellness Director, and Rina Raphael, author of the book The Gospel of Wellness: Gyms, Gurus, Goop, and the False Promise of Self-Care, to get into what people get out of a wellness-based spiritualism and consumerism.This episode originally aired on March 17, 2025.Support Public Media. Join NPR Plus.Follow Brittany Luse on Instagram: @bmluseFor handpicked podcast recommendations every week, subscribe to NPR's Pod Club newsletter at npr.org/podclub.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

If society privileges "thin" people, should you aspire to conform? And at what cost?Last year, online influencer Slim Kim went viral for a TikTok where she said she loves "being skinny." It sparked a debate that continued throughout 2025: how do we talk about bodies without falling into "body fascism." And with drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy flooding the market, how are the ways we talk about bodies shifting and changing?Brittany is joined by authors Emma Specter and Kate Manne to find out: what's so wrong with loving being skinny?This episode originally aired on December 6, 2024.Support Public Media. Join NPR Plus.Follow Brittany Luse on Instagram: @bmluseFor handpicked podcast recommendations every week, subscribe to NPR's Pod Club newsletter at npr.org/podclub.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

If you want something badly enough, should you have it?Today, Brittany is investigating so-called "manifestation." It's this popular belief that if you want something badly enough, it'll come to you. But here's the thing: our relationship to the internet and algorithms is creating a feedback loop that actually makes our own dreams seem more...possible? But where's the line between dreams, reality, and the internet? Brittany calls on Tara Isabella Burton, an author and journalist, and New York Magazine's Rebecca Jennings to get to the bottom of this trend: the appeal of manifestation, its symbiotic relationship with the internet, and why it might make us less aware of our humanity.This episode originally aired on March 31, 2025.Support Public Media. Join NPR Plus.Follow Brittany Luse on Instagram: @bmluseFor handpicked podcast recommendations every week, subscribe to NPR's Pod Club newsletter at npr.org/podclub.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Christianity showed up in the mainstream in unexpected ways this year. Are we in a revival?Take a look at this year's Billboard charts. For the first time, multiple Christian musicians charted on the Billboard Hot 100 at the same time — and stayed there for weeks. And some of the biggest hits of the year - like Alex Warren's "Ordinary" - pull from Contemporary Christian Music sounds. Plus, Trump says he wants to defend Christians. In the episode, Brittany talks with Christianity Today reporter Kelsey Kramer McGinnis to understand the multi-billion dollar machine behind the Christian Contemporary Music genre and how this behind-the-scenes system impacts what music you hear.This episode originally aired on July 23, 2025.Support Public Media. Join NPR Plus.Follow Brittany Luse on Instagram: @bmluseFor handpicked podcast recommendations every week, subscribe to NPR's Pod Club newsletter at npr.org/podclub.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Why are Mormons so popular, you ask? Because it's part of their faith.From Hulu's The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives to your favorite homemaking TikTok influencers, the women of the Church of Latter Day Saints have been gaining massive audiences for over a decade. Brittany is joined by Jana Riess, senior columnist at Religious News Service and author of The Next Mormons: How Millennials are Changing the LDS Church to discuss how Mormon culture provides some of TikTok's most powerful influencers with heavenly tools for viral success.This episode originally aired on November 12, 2024.Support Public Media. Join NPR Plus.Follow Brittany Luse on Instagram: @bmluseFor handpicked podcast recommendations every week, subscribe to NPR's Pod Club newsletter at npr.org/podclub.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

What's it like to date a man? Ask pop stars or your friends, and you might hear it's a struggle.From Sabrina Carpenter to Summer Walker, some of the biggest female artists on the charts today…are absolutely through with men. It's a sentiment that has a name: heteropessimism. Coined in 2019 by the writer Asa Seresin, the term encapsulates the embarrassment, disaffection and fatigue that comes from being heterosexual. “Men are trash” music that reflects these feelings isn't new, but NPR Music editor Hazel Cills says it's making a comeback. So what makes this time different? And what can we learn from this moment's heteropessimism about the realities of dating men today?Support Public Media. Join NPR Plus.Follow Brittany Luse on Instagram: @bmluseFor handpicked podcast recommendations every week, subscribe to NPR's Pod Club newsletter at npr.org/podclub.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

There's been a lot of discourse about what “6 7” means, but what actually makes it meaningful?The “6 7" meme was everywhere this year, online and off. Scrolling through TikTok? You probably encountered it. Sitting in math class? Your teacher probably dreaded everyone shouting out the numbers when they came up in class. NPR intern Sanidhya Sharma investigated the phenomenon by going to schools and sitting down with experts. He's here now to report back to Brittany and get into why some memes aren't for everyone.Support Public Media. Join NPR Plus.Follow Brittany Luse on Instagram: @bmluseFor handpicked podcast recommendations every week, subscribe to NPR's Pod Club newsletter at npr.org/podclub.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Welcome to the third annual IBAMMYs Culture Awards Show, where we reflect and honor the best and worst cultural moments of the year.Brittany is joined by Sam Sanders, host of KCRW's The Sam Sanders Show, and Tre'vell Anderson, host of The Seated podcast. All three nominated a person or moment for each of the four categories. NPR's Culture Committee then voted on a winner. Today, we reveal the winners and losers of 2025 and run through the moments we want to remember or forget.This year's categories & nominees are:Word of the Year:"Slop""Clock it""Labubu"Villain of the Year:Sydney SweeneyGlinda the Good WitchBillionairesThe Candle in the Dark:PinkPantheressOne of Them DaysLinikerNot-on-My-Bingo Card:KPop Demon HuntersYolanda AdamsKaty PerryWho will win?(0:00) How will you look back on 2025?(2:30) The Word of the Year: Slop, Clock It, or Labubu?(7:51) Villain of the Year: Sydney Sweeney, Billionaires, Wicked Glinda?(18:07) What brought you joy this year?(23:23) Not-on-my-Bingo Card: Kpop Demon Hunters, Yolanda Adams, Katy PerrySupport Public Media. Join NPR Plus.Follow Brittany Luse on Instagram: @bmluseFor handpicked podcast recommendations every week, subscribe to NPR's Pod Club newsletter at npr.org/podclub.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Heated Rivalry - the hit HBO Max series - has it all: scintillating romance, hot guys, sports (kind of), and, most importantly, portrayals of gay love and sex that don't hold back. Steamy, sensual TV shows aren't new, but the Canadian series has captured the public's attention in a way that a show hasn't in a while. So, what's behind its cultural resonance? What does it mean that this gay romance was written by a woman? And why are straight women and gay men equally into the sex scenes?Michel Ghanem, TV critic and columnist of “Appointment Viewing” for The Cut, and Glen Weldon, co-host of NPR's Pop Culture Happy Hour, join the show to get into why we're all waiting for every new episode with bated breath. Support Public Media. Join NPR Plus.Follow Brittany Luse on Instagram: @bmluseFor handpicked podcast recommendations every week, subscribe to NPR's Pod Club newsletter at npr.org/podclub.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Are we spending too much on other people's weddings?Going to a friend's weddings can be so fun and meaningful… but it can also really hurt your wallet. A survey by LendingTree found that 31% of people who had been to a wedding in the past five years had accrued debt to attend. So what's driving up the cost of weddings for guests? And what makes it so hard to say no to these expenses?Brittany breaks it down with Allyson Rees, senior analyst at trend forecasting firm WGSN, and Annie Joy Williams, assistant editor at The Atlantic.Support Public Media. Join NPR Plus.Follow Brittany Luse on Instagram: @bmluseFor handpicked podcast recommendations every week, subscribe to NPR's Pod Club newsletter at npr.org/podclub.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

More women than ever are choosing to raise their children by their self. Is it time to hit reset on what we mean by "family" in America?America has some deeply held prejudices toward single moms, but some studies show that 40% of babies in the U.S. are born to unmarried women. In this episode Brittany looks into the joy and challenges these women face - from freedom and agency to affordability and loneliness.Brittany is joined by Pallavi Gogoi, NPR's Chief Business Editor, and Danielle Elliot, writer and a single mother. You can read Pallavi's reporting here.Support Public Media. Join NPR Plus.Follow Brittany Luse on Instagram: @bmluseFor handpicked podcast recommendations every week, subscribe to NPR's Pod Club newsletter at npr.org/podclub.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Some say we're entering the Woke 2.0 era. Is that real or imagined? From declining Target sales to Mamdani's election, some folks online are feeling a vibe shift. Is that feeling...woke? And if so, does that mean woke is back in style? To answer those questions - and to dissect whether or not woke ever left - Brittany is joined by Constance Grady, senior correspondent at Vox, and Tyler Austin Harper, staff writer at The Atlantic and co-host of the podcast, Time to Say Goodbye. Vote for It's Been a Minute in the NPR Pod Club Awards!Support Public Media. Join NPR Plus.Follow Brittany Luse on Instagram: @bmluseLearn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Is location tracking building relationships? Or ruining them?Four in ten U.S. adults share their locations with at least one person. But while it's convenient – is it a violation of privacy? And who really needs to know where you are? We're getting into how location sharing became a norm, the pros and cons, and how to turn it off without making things weird.Brittany breaks it all down with Gina Cherelus, New York Times styles reporter and writer of their Third Wheel dating column, and Tatum Hunter, internet culture reporter at The Washington Post.Support Public Media. Join NPR Plus.Follow Brittany Luse on Instagram: @bmluseFor handpicked podcast recommendations every week, subscribe to NPR's Pod Club newsletter at npr.org/podclub.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

What does it mean to be an independent adult?More young adults live with their parents than in the past, and are also delaying the traditional markers of independent adulthood like marriage and childbirth. Roughly nine-in-ten parents say it's extremely or very important to them that their children be financially independent when they are adults, but are our cultural notions of financial independence changing? And are today's young adults prepared to handle the emotional challenges of adult life? To find out, Brittany is joined by Nancy Hill, Professor of Education and Developmental Psychologist at Harvard University, and Kathryn Jezer-Morton, writer for New York Magazine and The Cut.(0:00) What does it mean to be an adult?(4:46) Is Gen-Z "failing to launch" into adulthood?(10:32) The myths of unpaid duesSupport Public Media. Join NPR Plus.Follow Brittany Luse on Instagram: @bmluseFor handpicked podcast recommendations every week, subscribe to NPR's Pod Club newsletter at npr.org/podclub.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

It's an incredibly painful thing to do, so why are some kids cutting their parents out of their lives?27% of Americans are estranged from at least one family member, and the term "no contact" is increasingly being used to describe estrangement between adult children and their parents. But is estrangement happening more often, or are we just more open to talking about it? And is our culture around family shifting? Brittany sits down with journalist Kui Mwai and Whitney Goodman, licensed marriage and family therapist and the host of the Calling Home podcast, to find out.This episode originally aired on December 17, 2024.Follow Brittany Luse on Instagram: @bmluseFor handpicked podcast recommendations every week, subscribe to NPR's Pod Club newsletter at npr.org/podclub.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Fighting with your family doesn't have to be a holiday tradition.The majority of Americans will celebrate Thanksgiving tomorrow. And while it's meant to be a time of family togetherness… sometimes, this holiday can make you never want to see your family again. To go or not to go? To fight or not to fight? Well, our friends at NPR's Life Kit have tips for how to answer these questions. Marielle Segarra, host of Life Kit, speaks with experts and identifies 12 strategies to keep your family dinner peaceful this year.Follow Brittany Luse on Instagram: @bmluseFor handpicked podcast recommendations every week, subscribe to NPR's Pod Club newsletter at npr.org/podclub.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Can you afford to pay two rents?Families across the country are asking that same question when it comes to childcare, as the yearly costs for daycare are becoming comparable to a year's rent in many places. How did childcare become so expensive, and how might everyone benefit if the government provided more support to parents? Professor of Sociology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison Jessica Calarco, and Senior Fellow at the Think Tank Capita Elliot Haspel are here to help Brittany find out. Follow Brittany Luse on Instagram: @bmluseFor handpicked podcast recommendations every week, subscribe to NPR's Pod Club newsletter at npr.org/podclub.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

When the dream of buying a home seems unattainable, is it time to find a new dream? Or is there another option on the table?Bill Pulte, the director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, or the FHFA, said the administration is “working on” a plan to introduce 50 year mortgage terms for homebuyers. But some Americans have already been working on their own plans towards homeownership… and it's not the ‘nuclear family' route. Brittany is joined by NPR chief economics correspondent Scott Horsley and NPR producer & author of The Other Significant Others: Reimaging Life with Friendship at the Center, Rhaina Cohen to get into the cult of homeownership in America. Together they search for a new outlook of what ‘adulthood' looks like.Follow Brittany Luse on Instagram: @bmluseFor handpicked podcast recommendations every week, subscribe to NPR's Pod Club newsletter at npr.org/podclub.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

What's the difference between feeling unsafe and being unsafe?According to Gallup, about half of Americans see crime as being extremely or very serious. And there are a lot of very real threats out there to people's safety, but there's also a lot of fearful rhetoric that's more unfounded. While immigrants are less likely to commit crimes than U.S.-born citizens, and trans people are unlikely to commit mass shootings, fear of these groups is being weaponized against them. So how can we disentangle being unsafe and feeling unsafe – and better protect ourselves and each other? Brittany gets into it with Nicole Lewis, engagement editor at The Marshall Project, and Lex McMenamin, writer and editor.Follow Brittany Luse on Instagram: @bmluseFor handpicked podcast recommendations every week, subscribe to NPR's Pod Club newsletter at npr.org/podclub.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Have you talked to a parent recently? Are they...okay?From textbook bans to health food trends, there's a whole culture of fear and political propaganda that preys on new parents, convincing them that just buying this or just voting for that will keep their children safe. But how do you know if something is a moral panic or a legitimate concern?Brittany is joined by Karen Leick, author of Parents, Media and Panic through the Years, and Cynthia Wang, Clinical Professor of Management and Organizations at Northwestern University to sift through the differences.Follow Brittany Luse on Instagram: @bmluseFor handpicked podcast recommendations every week, subscribe to NPR's Pod Club newsletter at npr.org/podclub.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

No disrespect, but...when President Trump threw a Great Gatsby-themed party for Halloween, it kind of missed the point of the book. And, it's not just Trump. A quick search online, and you'll see a lot of people increasingly misinterpreting other famous books. Are people just bad at reading? Are we just laying our own biases on top of classic texts? Or is something else going on?Andrew Limbong, host of NPR's Book of the Day, and writer-critic Princess Weekes join Brittany to dissect novel interpretations of literary fiction. They look at what these re-interpretations say about our current moment: from what we want from a book to how books lose meaning online.(0:00) Why 'The Great Gatsby' gets misread(6:07) How 'Lord of the Rings' became a Christian Nationalist text(12:46) Literary Interpretation vs. Media Literacy(16:34) The rise of BookTok(19:28) The consequence of missing the point of a bookFollow Brittany Luse on Instagram: @bmluseFor handpicked podcast recommendations every week, subscribe to NPR's Pod Club newsletter at npr.org/podclub.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Have you picked up a couple weights recently? Started walking, or jogging, or doing pilates? So have a lot of other people. You see the fitness Instagram accounts and gym tips all over TikTok, but how does exercise culture fit into our broader culture? And how does more enthusiasm for exercise square with the focus on fitness in our politics? Brittany gets into it with  Jonquilyn Hill, host of Vox's Explain it to Me podcast, and Shelly McKenzie, author of Getting Physical: the Rise of Fitness Culture in America.Follow Brittany Luse on Instagram: @bmluseFor handpicked podcast recommendations every week, subscribe to NPR's Pod Club newsletter at npr.org/podclub.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

The word "fascism" is being thrown around a lot right now. Does it capture our current cultural and political moment?Nearly 50% of Americans have associated President Trump with "fascism." Trump himself has used the word against his own opponents. Others have used the word to denounce skinny-tok as "body fascism." But why are Americans so willing to use the word? And is its ubiquity making it lose its meaning? In this episode, Brittany is joined by Nicholas Ensley Mitchell, a professor of education and policy at the University of Kansas. He explains how Black Americans mapped the blueprint for fighting fascism in America, and questions whether the word "fascism" fits our current moment.Follow Brittany Luse on Instagram: @bmluseFor handpicked podcast recommendations every week, subscribe to NPR's Pod Club newsletter at npr.org/podclub.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Spanish artist and musical chameleon Rosalía released her latest album, Lux, today. The single, "Berghain," seems like a return to form. Operatic vocals, grand instrumentals, beautiful visuals -- the album is primed for critical praise. But for those who are hyperaware of Rosalia's transformations -- from flamenco songstress to Afro-Caribbean queen -- they have other questions about this evolution. Brittany is joined by writer-critics Bilal Qureshi and Michelle Santiago Cortés to unpack Rosalía's “church girl era,” and the complicated nuances of Latinidad in music.Follow Brittany Luse on Instagram: @bmluseFor handpicked podcast recommendations every week, subscribe to NPR's Pod Club newsletter at npr.org/podclub.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Does your phone feel like a blessing or a burden? Either way, there's probably a lot you can learn from new phone bans. Many K-12 students are going phone-free - but not by choice. In over half the country, there are now restrictions on cellphone possession and use in class. The goal is to increase student focus and enhance learning...but when you think about school shootings, phones have been a big part of parents' safety plans for their kids. So are phone bans the best solution? And what do these policies teach all of us about the role phones play in our lives?Brittany is joined by David Figlio, professor of economics at the University of Rochester, and Kathy Do, Assistant Project Scientist at University of California Los Angeles to find out.Follow Brittany Luse on Instagram: @bmluseFor handpicked podcast recommendations every week, subscribe to NPR's Pod Club newsletter at npr.org/podclub.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

What does ‘socialism' mean to a generation that grew up with COVID… not the Cold War? How have the compounding effects of college protests, financial insecurity, and student loan debt shaped a culture? This is… The ABCs of the Culture Wars. For the next few weeks, Brittany breaks down the history, subtext, and evolving meanings of the buzzwords you hear all over the news and social media. Today we're talking about the S-word: Socialism. And why the word has gained new meaning for a younger generation looking for relief. Brittany is joined by Axios senior politics reporter Holly Otterbein and head of Teen Vogue's politics section, Lex McMenamin.Follow Brittany Luse on Instagram: @bmluseFor handpicked podcast recommendations every week, subscribe to NPR's Pod Club newsletter at npr.org/podclub.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Is hunger in America a choice?This week, over 40 million people worried about losing their SNAP benefits due to the government shutdown. But with Thanksgiving just around the corner, who's hurt most by hunger? And why do some believe that if you're hungry, it's your fault? Brittany gets into it with Poonam Gupta, research associate at the Urban Institute, and Maggie Dickinson, associate professor at Queens College and author of Feeding the Crisis: Care and Abandonment and America's Food Safety Net. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

For longtime fans of this show, here's a name you know: Sam Sanders. Before Brittany, Sam was the host of It's Been A Minute, and recently Brittany ran into Sam at an event. The two got to talking and came up with an an idea...what if Brittany came on Sam's new show, KCRW's The Sam Sanders Show? And then...what if they brought all of you longtime IBAM fans the podcast multiverse event of the season to this feed?!That's how we got here. In this special bonus episode, Sam, Brittany, and Tre'vell Anderson rank the best spooky season films of all time and talk through their pop culture hot takes. Follow Brittany Luse on Instagram: @bmluseFor handpicked podcast recommendations every week, subscribe to NPR's Pod Club newsletter at npr.org/podclub.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

What can we all learn from stories of men trying to find friends...and failing?Men in real life - and in the movies - are trying to figure out how to be friends. There's been a lot of talk alleging lonely men are the cause of cultural tensions, and Hollywood has caught on (despite a similar number of women saying they are lonely, too!). Several films this year depict how society leads men into fraught, messy friendships. So, what can we all learn from toxic (or good!) friendships between men?Brittany is joined by NPR arts and culture reporter Neda Ulaby and IndieWire awards editor Marcus Jones to dig into it.Follow Brittany Luse on Instagram: @bmluseFor handpicked podcast recommendations every week, subscribe to NPR's Pod Club newsletter at npr.org/podclub. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Is it a bad thing to be a "capitalist?" Why is the word being used as a diss?And how do Americans' shifting attitudes towards it show up in your discourse and your favorite movies?This is… The ABCs of the Culture Wars. For the next few weeks, Brittany breaks down the history, subtext, and evolving meanings of the buzzwords you hear all over the news and social media. Today we're talking about the C-word: Capitalism. And why the word is increasingly divisive in politics and culture.Brittany is joined by NPR political correspondent Danielle Kurtzleben and writer & editor Morgan Jerkins.Follow Brittany Luse on Instagram: @bmluseFor handpicked podcast recommendations every week, subscribe to NPR's Pod Club newsletter at npr.org/podclub.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy