It's Been a Minute

Beyoncé's new album is here! Guest host Anna Sale chats with Dan Runcie, founder of the hip hop site Trapital, and Joey Guerra, music critic for the Houston Chronicle. They talk about Renaissance, what Beyoncé means to us and how this album meets the moment. Also, It's Been a Minute producer Liam McBain talks to culture writer Crispin Long about their shared obsession with reality dating shows. They discuss how these shows lay bare our society's obsession with marriage, and why reality dating drama is so compelling — even to folks who don't buy into the fixation on finding "the one."— Read Crispin's Astra Magazine essay on reality dating shows: "Heterosexual Vortex"You can follow us on Twitter @NPRItsBeenAMin and email us at ibam@npr.org.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

In this episode from our friends at The Limits with Jay Williams, host Jay Williams speaks with Colman Domingo, the ultimate character actor, known for stealing scenes in films like Ma Rainey's Black Bottom, Selma and If Beale Street Could Talk. He embodies every character he takes on, most recently earning an Emmy nod for his role as father-figure Ali to Zendaya's Rue on HBO's Euphoria.You can follow us on Twitter @NPRItsBeenAMin and email us at ibam@npr.org.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

These days, following the news can be utterly demoralizing. How do we deal? Guest host Anna Sale talks to Amanda Ripley, journalist and anchor of the Slate podcast How To!, about strategies for staying informed without stressing out (too much). Then, Anna chats with author, educator and producer Tananarive Due about the history of the Black horror genre ahead of the release of Jordan Peele's Nope. They talk about how horror can be a way to process trauma, how marginalized creators can — but don't always — reclaim old movie tropes and where Black horror is today.Finally, Anna plays Who Said That with It's Been a Minute guest hosts pf the past, present and future: Julia Furlan, executive producer of the podcast Death, Sex & Money, and WNYC's Tracie Hunte. — Read Amanda Ripley's opinion piece: "I stopped reading the news. Is the problem me — or the product?"You can follow us on Twitter @NPRItsBeenAMin and email us at ibam@npr.org.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

From guest host Anna Sale's other podcast Death, Sex & Money, we bring you this story about Mary Gundel, whose journey from manager to labor activist starts out on TikTok, during a bad day at work, and ends with her losing her job —but finding her power.You can follow us on Twitter @NPRItsBeenAMin and email us at ibam@npr.org.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Starting July 16, anyone in the US experiencing emotional distress or a mental health crisis can call the phone number 988 and reach a crisis counselor. Guest host Anna Sale talks to Hannah Wesolowski, chief advocacy officer of the National Alliance on Mental Illness, about bringing local call centers into this network, what challenges they're facing and how it will reshape how we view mental health resourcing. Then Anna talks to Pop Culture Happy Hour host Aisha Harris about why so many biopics get produced and what makes a good one. Antonia Cereijido, executive producer at LAist Studios, joins Anna and Aisha to play Who Said That.You can follow us on Twitter @NPRItsBeenAMin and email us at ibam@npr.org.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

In 2017, author Erika L. Sánchez was making her dreams come true, her young adult novel I'm Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter earning critical acclaim. But even as she rose to fame, Sánchez found herself struggling with her mental health. Her new memoir, Crying in the Bathroom, captures the tension between her public success and her private suffering — and more. Sánchez talks with guest host Anna Sale about sharing some of her darkest moments with readers, caring for her mental health and what she's learned from her personal role model — Lisa Simpson.If you or someone you know may be considering suicide, contact the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255 or the Crisis Text Line by texting HOME to 741741.You can follow us on Twitter @NPRItsBeenAMin and email us at ibam@npr.org.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

They're short, sexy and on-trend: Hoochie daddy shorts are all the rage for cisgender straight men this summer. And this week, they are the center of a conversation between guest host Anna Sale and writer and poet Danez Smith about sex, gender and freedom. What do higher hemlines on men reveal about the gender anxiety rippling through America today? Also, Anna speaks with Wired editor Alan Henry about his new book Seen, Heard, and Paid: The New Work Rules for the Marginalized. They discuss how employees of marginalized identities can navigate workplace dynamics, and focus on work that can advance their careers.You can follow us on Twitter @NPRItsBeenAMin and email us at ibam@npr.org.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

How do freedom and rights intersect with sex, pleasure and the self? It's a question the U.S. is facing in the wake of the Supreme Court's recent decision to overturn Roe v. Wade — and a central theme in writer Davey Davis's new novel. In X, Davis relocates the conflict over these ideas from courts and abortion clinics to queer clubs and BDSM dungeons in a more dystopic version of our present.In this episode, guest host Anna Sale talks to Davis about why sadism is romantic, how bureaucracy can become a tool of oppression and why bad behavior doesn't make us less human.You can follow us on Twitter @NPRItsBeenAMin and email us at ibam@npr.org.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

The Supreme Court gutted abortion rights by overturning Roe v. Wade. For those who have been in the trenches of the reproductive justice movement — people who saw this coming — is there anything left to feel hopeful about? Guest host B.A. Parker chats with four young organizers about their stories and their plans for the future.Plus, Parker talks with cultural critic and writer Clarkisha Kent about navigating body positivity discourse as Black women and how the movement has strayed from its more radical origins in fat liberation. Kent's forthcoming book Fat Off, Fat On: A Big Bitch Manifesto comes out in 2023.You can follow us on Twitter @NPRItsBeenAMin and email us at ibam@npr.org.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Family conflict is a cinema staple. But recently Hollywood has come out with a slew of stories about parents and children confronting gaps in culture, generation and identity — from animated films like Encanto and Turning Red, to the recent miniseries Ms. Marvel and the indie hit Everything Everywhere All at Once. Vox entertainment critic Emily St. James calls the subgenre the "millennial parent apology fantasy." She shares with guest host B.A. Parker how the form came to be, what its limits are and how it could pave the way for new perspectives about trauma and family.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy