It's Election Day, but instead of focusing on politics, we decided to do something a little lighter for the occasion: we're looking at this year's hot mom rom-com boom. Host Brittany Luse is joined by New York Magazine features writer Rachel Handler to get a little deeper into three movies from this genre: A Family Affair, The Idea of You, and Between the Temples. They discuss how hot moms on screen have changed, but why movies like these often still feel behind the times.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

The 2024 presidential candidates are making their closing arguments. While VP Harris is focused on the economy and abortion rights, Donald Trump has doubled down on anti-immigrant and anti-trans attack ads. This week, Brittany invites Translash's Imara Jones and NPR immigration correspondent Sergio Martínez-Beltrán to understand what deeper fears these attack ads are stoking. Then, Brittany is joined by Code Switch's Gene Demby to explore the roots of a corner of the conservative internet that may have surprising effects on the election: The Black Manosphere.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

For the third and final installment of our Trilogy of Terror series, host Brittany Luse turns her attention to the ultimate taboo: cannibalism. Cannibalism stories have gotten big recently: it's in The Last of Us, Society of the Snow and Yellowjackets. She's joined by NPR Arts Desk reporter Neda Ulaby to dig deeper into three cannibalism films. They break down how versatile the trope is, what it says about how we consume – and how we love.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

The same songs are sitting at the top of the music charts longer than ever, and that has Brittany Luse wondering, are our listening habits stuck in a doom loop? Brittany chats with NPR music editor Stephen Thompson to get to the bottom of the top of the charts. Plus, when a daughter or sister disappears how does a family move on without closure? Host Brittany Luse is joined by Fresh Air co-host Tonya Mosley and and her nephew Antonio Wiley to talk about their new kind of true crime podcast, She Has A Name.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Kylie Minogue is having a capital-M moment, and Brittany sits down in studio with the pop star to talk about how to keep reaching new heights in a career full of peaks. Hot off her Vegas Residency, Kylie just dropped her new album Tension II and is gearing up for a world tour. The legend shares her tips for staying on top for three decades, and Brittany asks what's the secret for turning underground dance music in pristine pop bangers.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Extreme weather is becoming more frequent. Now some towns that were touted as "safe" are seeing hurricanes, floods or heat waves. This week, host Brittany Luse is joined by NPR climate solutions reporter Julia Simon and NPR culture reporter Chloe Veltman to understand misconceptions around "climate havens" and what it means to preserve culture in the face of the climate crisis.Then, Brittany continues her Trilogy of Terror series with an unexpected horror trope: scary service workers. She invites Bowdoin College English professor Aviva Briefel and Slate writer Joshua Rivera to break down how the maids, murderers, and motel workers in horror reveal different cultural anxieties about eating the rich.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Sasha Colby is your favorite drag queen's favorite drag queen. That's because she's one of the most decorated and influential drag queens working today - she's Chappell Roan's inspiration, a Miss Continental winner and a RuPaul's Drag Race winner.Sasha Colby joins Brittany following her 'STRIPPED' world tour to dish about her career, the mainstreaming of drag, and what it takes to persevere through drag's rhinestone trenches.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

In anticipation of more pro-Palestinian protests, many college administrators rolled out new rules this fall that include getting pre-approval for posting flyers or hosting demonstrations. Brittany is joined by UC Irvine sociology professor David S. Meyer, who studies social movements and public policy, and Chronicle of Higher Education reporter Kate Hidalgo Bellows. They discuss the changes on campuses and how they tie into debates over free speech. Then, Brittany kicks off a new series exploring horror tropes. It's called The Trilogy of Terror. First up: Beelzebub. Brittany invites Travis Stevens and Klaus Yoder, historians and co-hosts of the podcast Seven Heads, Ten Horns: The History of the Devil, to talk about the symbology of the devil and how representations of him in horror movies have changed over time.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Who will win today's cage match?For the past two months Brittany has been hosting debates in cities and regions across the United States to find out who and what are the most influential things from those places. Today, she ends her tour in her hometown. It's a homecoming of sorts. Beyoncé style. For the last episode in the series, Brittany lands in Detroit, Michigan, and debates with Tia Graham, co-host of WDET's CultureShift and Cary Junior II, producer for WDET's Created Equal. There will be winners. There will be losers. There will be surprises.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Tuesday night, JD Vance and Tim Walz faced off in their first debate. Host Brittany Luse is joined by NPR's national race and identity correspondent Sandhya Dirks and political correspondent Danielle Kurtzleben to discuss how the candidates display competing brands of white masculinity.Then, Fat Bear Week is back! The annual March Madness-style bracket of the fattest bears in Alaska's Katmai National Park is in full swing after a rocky start. In honor of Fat Bear Week, Brittany revisits a journey through time to unpack what bears mean to us — and why they're family, friend and foe all at once.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy