It's Been a Minute

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/adchoices NPR 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/adchoices NPR 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/adchoices NPR 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/adchoices NPR 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/adchoices NPR 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/adchoices NPR 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/adchoices NPR 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/adchoices NPR 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/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy

Who will win today's cage match? Welcome to The Smackdown! For the last few weeks 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. This episode Brittany lands in Tulsa, Oklahoma, and debates with KOSU's Jacob Littlebear and Kuma Roberts, co-hosts of Focus: Black Oklahoma. There will be winners. There will be losers. There will be surprises. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy

Following the false allegations against the Haitian immigrants in Springfield, Ohio, the city received over 30 bomb threats, saw school closures and even the cancellation of a celebration for diversity in arts and culture. Host Brittany Luse talks to NPR Immigration correspondent Jasmine Garsd about what she's learned from her reporting in the region and how all this could tie into a larger Midwest identity crisis. Then, Brittany is joined by Danzy Senna, author of Colored Television, to talk about how she's seen biracial representation change over the last three decades, and what it means to be in the "Not Like Us" era. They dig into her latest novel and its perspective on racial profiteering. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy

Who will win today's cage match? Welcome to The Smackdown! For the next several weeks Brittany is hosting debates in cities and regions across the United States to find out who and what are the most influential things from those places. This episode Brittany lands in Miami, Florida, and debates with WLRN reporter Wilkine Brutus and The Miami Herald's C. Isaiah Smalls II. There will be winners. There will be losers. There will be surprises. This discussion features excerpts from the NPR Music's Louder Than A Riot. Hear more from Sidney Madden's interview with Trina here. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy

On Monday, the embattled rap mogul Sean 'Diddy' Combs was arrested and charged with sex trafficking and racketeering. He's been denied bail twice, and is facing a sentence of 15 years to life in prison. Host Brittany Luse is joined by NPR Music editor Sidney Madden and legal affairs reporter Meghann Cuniff to understand what this indictment means for Combs and if this could be the beginning of a #MeToo movement in hip-hop. Then, Brittany is joined by Tony Tulathimutte, author of Rejection, to talk about a rising culture around rejection, his book and why online life can enable rejections to curdle inside us. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy

Who will win today's cage match? Welcome to The Smackdown! For the next several weeks Brittany is hosting debates in cities and regions across the United States to find out who and what are the most influential things from those places. This episode Brittany lands in New Orleans, Louisiana, and debates with Gulf States Newsroom health equity reporter Drew Hawkins and writer & editor Ko Bragg. There will be winners. There will be losers. There will be surprises. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy

Podcast and social media influencers have become important campaign stops for political hopefuls. But what kind of voters are the candidates courting? And what does the popularity of these interviews say about the growing political power of the influencer? Brittany is joined by Slate staff writer Luke Winkie for NBC News tech and culture reporter Kat Tenbarge to find out. But first, what can we learn about the political candidates through their clothes? After the presidential debate, Brittany sat down with Washington Post fashion writer Rachel Tashjian and New York Times chief fashion critic Vanessa Friedman to talk about the fashion choices of the front runners and how power dressing has changed. They also play a Taylor Swift trivia game. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy

Who will win today's cage match? Welcome to The Smackdown! For the next several weeks Brittany is hosting debates in cities and regions across the United States to find out who and what are the most influential things from those places. This episode Brittany lands in Birmingham, Alabama, and debates with Gulf States Newsroom sports & culture reporter Joseph King and AL.com culture reporter Cody Short. There will be winners. There will be losers. There will be surprises. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy

It's September, which means millions of young learners across the country are dusting off their backpacks and heading back to school. But a new study from Gallup and The Walton Family Foundation has shown that students are less engaged, and feel less challenged than last year, and about half of them have no plans to get a Bachelor's degree right after high school. Host Brittany Luse is joined by Karin Klein, education reporter and author of Rethinking College: A Guide to Thriving Without a Degree, and NPR Education Desk correspondent and Senior Editor Cory Turner to parse through what has next generation feeling despondent and if we need to rethink the purpose of high school. Then, Brittany is on the housing hunt, but she's found that even outside major urban areas, small cities across the country are rapidly gentrifying. Richard E. Ocejo, author of Sixty Miles Upriver: Gentrification and Race in a Small American City, joins Brittany to look at what happens when big city gentrifiers move to town and how some of them have rebranded gentrification. Want to be featured on IBAM? Record a voice memo responding to Brittany's question at the end of the episode and send it to ibam@npr.org. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy

Who will win today's cage match? Welcome to The Smackdown! For the next several weeks Brittany is hosting debates in cities and regions across the United States to find out who and what are the most influential things from those places. This episode Brittany lands in Concord, New Hampshire, the Granite State, and debates with New Hampshire Public Radio reporters Hannah McCarthy and Nick Capodice, the hosts of the excellent podcast Civics 101. There will be winners. There will be losers. There will be surprises. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy

After Chappell Roan posted about how some fans have been making her feel unsafe, there's been speculation around whether the singer is really 'cut out to be a pop star.' But are the critiques fair? Brittany sits down with Kelsey McKinney, who wrote about the controversy for Defector, and Dr. Mel Stanfill, author of Fandom is Ugly. They discuss modern fandom, how Chappell Roan framed it as a conversation about gender and what people misunderstand about celebrity. Then, Brittany looks at the how charity is changing. Traditional charitable giving is down in the US and some non-profits have declared that we're in the middle of a "generosity crisis." At the same time, a new genre of online viral videos has emerged: feel-good 'charity' content. And nobody does it bigger than MrBeast. Brittany is joined by journalist Max Read to understand the MrBeast phenomenon and break down the generational divides these videos reveal. Want to be featured on IBAM? Record a voice memo responding to Brittany's question at the end of the episode and send it to ibam@npr.org. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy

It's been 21 years since Starbucks debuted the first pumpkin spice latte in 2003. Since then, it's become a cultural phenomenon greater than itself: it's shorthand for fall, for basicness, for femininity, and even for white culture. In this episode from last year, we explore why the PSL became so powerful — and how food trends garner so much meaning. Host Brittany Luse chatted with Suzy Badaracco, food trend forecaster and founder of Culinary Tides, to discuss the $500 million dollar industry, and how little miss pumpkin spice has held on to her cultural power. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy