It's Been a Minute

According to Pew Research Center, 79% of New Year's resolutions are about one thing: health. It's Been a Minute is kicking off 2025 with a little series called "new year, new me." We're getting into some of the big questions and cultural confusion around our health and wellness. Today – we're getting into the macronutrient du jour: protein. High protein recipes are all the rage on Instagram, and producers are putting it in everything from pancakes to ice cream. We all need to eat protein, but how much is enough? Brittany Luse is joined by Vox senior reporter Kenny Torrella and freelance food writer Samantha Maxwell to discuss America's protein kick - and how protein is getting politicized by MAHA (Make America Healthy Again). Support public media and receive ad-free listening & bonus. Join NPR+ today. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy

Five years ago progressive Democrats seemed to be on the rise. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez had just ousted a moderate Democrat, and Senator Bernie Sanders looked like he could win the party's nomination. Now, two members of the progressive group known as "The Squad" have lost their re-election bids. This week, Brittany sits down with one of them, former congressional representative, Cori Bush of Missouri. They get into what the progressive politics are in 2025 and what the future holds for Democrats and identity politics. Support public media and receive ad-free listening & bonus content by joining NPR+ today. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy

According to Pew – 79% of New Year's resolutions are about one thing: health. It's Been a Minute is kicking off 2025 with a little series called "new year, new me." We're getting into some of the big questions and cultural confusion around our health and wellness. This week – many Americans are starting out the year by cutting out alcohol and going "dry." But overall, alcohol is getting less popular in general: according to Gallup, the amount of Americans that drink is down to 58% – the lowest number since 1996. And 41% of Americans who do drink say they want to drink less. Is alcohol on its way out? And what would it mean to live in a more sober culture? Brittany Luse is joined by writer and journalist Ana Marie Cox to get into how people are disentangling alcohol from their lives, and the lessons she's learned as a recovering alcoholic. Interested in trying out dry January? Our friends at NPR's Life Kit have a newsletter just for the sober-curious. Sign up here. Support public media and receive ad-free listening & bonus content by joining NPR+ today. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy

Brittany has some predictions for the big trends to watch for in 2025. First, social media is OUT. Not that people will stop using social platforms, but rather, Brittany thinks what they mean to us will continue shifting. Second, politicizing food is IN. Brittany thinks food will increasingly become a marker of political identity. You are what you eat? No, what you eat is a sign of what you believe. Plus, a lightning round of Ins & Outs Is the club in or out in 2025? How about wide-legged pants? Let Brittany know your thoughts in the comments. Support public media and receive ad-free listening & bonus content by joining NPR+ today: https://plus.npr.org/ Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy

Happy New Year! Pop champagne, kiss a loved one, and turn on the rom-com that made New Year's Eve a backdrop of your fall inspo Pinterest board: When Harry Met Sally. But don't stop there. Ilana Kaplan, author of Nora Ephron at the Movies, joins the show to put a spotlight on the woman that helped usher in the golden era of rom-coms and influenced the return of rom-coms. Support public media and receive ad-free listening & bonus content by joining NPR+ today: https://plus.npr.org/ Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy

From HBO's Industry to FX's The Bear, 2024 was full of TV characters working out their "daddy issues" the tough way...by committing patricide. This week Brittany is joined by Vulture's TV critic Roxana Hadadi and The New Yorker's Inkoo Kang to compare and contrast a new generation of daddy killers. Why do we enjoy seeing screen dads offed? And what does that say about our own anxieties about patriarchy? Support public media and receive ad-free listening & bonus content by joining NPR+ today: https://plus.npr.org/ Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy

To close out 2024, Brittany and friends are running through the best and worst pop culture moments of the past 365 days. Along with NPR's Weekend Edition host Ayesha Rascoe and Code Switch co-host B.A. Parker, the three declare winners and losers in the following categories: WORD OF THE YEAR "Crash Out" "Cutesy" "Hawk Tuah" THE LOUDEST GASP HEARD AROUND THE WORLD Katt Williams on Club Shay Shay Kendrick Lamar & Drake's Rap Beef The response to the Trump assassination attempt VILLAIN OF THE YEAR Life Willful Ignorance Dr. Rachel Gunn (AKA Raygun) BIGGEST FLOP OF THE YEAR Tesla's Cybertrucks Drake Megalopolis THE "WHO'S THIS DIVA?" AWARD The extra special award for the diva you did not know before 2024 but whose name lives rent free in your head now. Support public media and receive ad-free listening & bonus content by joining NPR+ today: https://plus.npr.org/ Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy

PEOPLE Magazine has done it again. Last month they revealed this year's "Sexiest Man Alive"...John Krasinski. And, Brittany and the hosts of the Who Weekly podcast, Bobby Finger and Lindsey Weber, are not satisfied. The three of them get into the disconnect between who Hollywood thinks is hot versus who the internet is thirsting after. All with the mission of answering: what makes someone sexy in our year 2024? Support public media and receive ad-free listening & bonus content by joining NPR+ today: https://plus.npr.org/ Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy

From the drones over New Jersey, to the surveillance cameras that captured Luigi Mangione, to even TikTok - our movements, our likeness, even our shopping habits can be tracked. But how did we get to this point? Host Brittany Luse sits down with NPR Cybersecurity Correspondent Jenna McLaughlin and the Brennan Center for Justice's Faiza Patel to get into just how much of our daily lives are up for grabs. Then, Brittany turns the page to the best books of 2024. She is joined by NPR Arts Desk reporter Andrew Limbong and Traci Thomas, host of The Stacks podcast to rank the good, the bad, and the "I just can't put it down." Support public media and receive ad-free listening & bonus content by joining NPR+ today: https://plus.npr.org/ Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy

It's the holiday season. The time of year when many of us go back home to see our families. But this year, a lot of people aren't going home, and maybe haven't been back in a long time. 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? Host Brittany Luse sits down with culture journalist Kui Mwai and Whitney Goodman, licensed marriage and family therapist and the host of the Calling Home podcast, to find out. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy

Luigi Mangione is alleged to have shot and killed United Healthcare CEO Brian Thompson, and even before he was identified, the reaction to the shooter was far different than other instances of gun violence. Today on It's Been A Minute, guest host Gene Demby talks with The Guardian's Abené Clayton about why Mangione is being praised by some, and why his alleged actions won't do much to fix the healthcare industry. And later on the show, a conversation with Dr. Laurie Santos, psychology professor at Yale and host of the podcast, The Happiness Lab, on the surprising science of how gratitude can affect our brains. Support public media and receive ad-free listening & bonus content by joining NPR+ today: https://plus.npr.org/ Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy

It's cuffing season: the time of year where the weather cools down and folks look for a warm body to cuddle up with. But we're getting into some of the less warm and fuzzy aspects of dating. For the next couple of weeks, we're kicking off cuffing season with some of the big questions about dating in our culture right now. This week – so you got 'The Ick?' That feeling of disgust when someone your dating does this one thing that you just can't look past. You think it's about them, but is The Ick actually about you? Brittany is joined by B.A. Parker, co-host of NPR's Code Switch, Corey Antonio Rose, a producer for It's Been A Minute, and Josh Rottman, associate professor of psychology and a disgust expert. They discuss what The Ick is and what it's really about. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy

When TikTok user, Slim Kim, posted a video expressing how much she loves 'being skinny,' she set off a wave of internet discourse. What's the line between loving your body and dog-whistling fatphobia? This week, host Brittany Luse is joined by authors Emma Specter and Kate Manne to find out: what's so wrong with loving being skinny? Then, Brittany takes goes on a field trip to the Anime NYC convention. She and IBAM producer Alexis Williams venture out to find out how generations of Black folks have found comfort, confidence, and fandom in the genre. Support public media and receive ad-free listening & bonus content by joining NPR+ today: https://plus.npr.org/ Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy

It's cuffing season: the time of year where the weather cools down and folks look for a warm body to cuddle up with. But we're getting into some of the less warm and fuzzy aspects of dating. This week – a lot of us have seen how explosive breakup stories have been on social media. From Reesa Teesa's "Who TF did I marry..." to Spritely's breakup song, these posts have been drawing gasps and gaining traction. But is it harmless fun, or an invasion of privacy? To find out, Brittany is joined by Molly McPherson, crisis PR expert, and Rebecca Jennings, senior correspondent at Vox. They get into what people actually get out of breakup posting - and discuss their theories of poster's etiquette. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy

It's cuffing season: the time of year where the weather cools down and folks look for a warm body to cuddle up with. But we're getting into some of the less warm and fuzzy aspects of dating. For the next few weeks, we're kicking off cuffing season with some of the big questions about dating in our culture right now. This week – the song "Looking for a Man in Finance" went super viral on TikTok this year, and yeah, it's fun. But does it speak to people's broader desires to find someone who's more than comfortable financially? Host Brittany Luse is joined by Wailin Wong, co-host of NPR's The Indicator, and Reema Khrais, host of Marketplace's This Is Uncomfortable. They discuss what people are really looking for from a man in finance... and whether dating up in class is even possible. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy

Our culture loves to celebrate adoption stories - and a lot of state governments put millions into promoting it. But adoptees and birth parents are opening up online about "coming out of the fog" - a term for becoming more openly critical of adoption, or facing the grief within their adoption stories. November is National Adoption Month, and Brittany Luse takes a closer look at how adoption functions in our culture by examining the supply side of adoption - the birth parents. She's joined by Gretchen Sisson, the author of Relinquished: the Politics of Adoption and the Privilege of American Motherhood. They dive deep into the stories told about birth parents, and how our culture decides who deserves to be a parent. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy

Are UFOs real? Maybe, but that's not the point. From Congressional hearings on UFOs to the claims of RFK Jr., conspiracies have gone from fringe to mainstream political talking points. Authors Kelly Weill and Mike Rothschild join the show to explain why. Then, PEOPLE Magazine released this year's Sexiest Man Alive... and it was certainly a choice! But it got Brittany thinking: what makes someone sexy in the year 2024, and who decides what's hot? The hosts of Who Weekly, Bobby Finger and Lindsey Weber, join the show to get into it. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy

The boys are not alright. They are falling behind in education and employment, and many have responded by leaning into the politics of the aggrieved. For decades, these major cultural developments have laid the groundwork for Donald Trump's re-election. Today Brittany talks with Hanna Rosin. Fifteen years ago she started researching what was going on with men. Her groundbreaking book The End of Men was one of the first to note this societal shift for men. Over a decade later, her assessment is more accurate than ever. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy

Baby fever just isn't spreading like it used to. The United States fertility rate hit an all-time low last year, and some of our biggest musicians, like Charli XCX and Tyler the Creator, are working their parenting anxieties out in their club bangers. This week, host Brittany Luse invites Anastasia Berg, co-author of What are Children For?, to explore the unique way millennials are confronting the age old question of whether or not to have a child. Then, in the wake of media layoffs, there's still a hunger for food coverage. Enter TikTok star and former MMA fighter Keith Lee, whose reviews of local eats have gained him over 16 million followers. Critics of Lee say he's diluting the art of culinary criticism, but fans can't get enough of his casual style. Brittany turns to Detroit Free Press restaurant and dining critic Lyndsay C. Green, and New York Times food writer Korsha Wilson to grapple with the #KeithLee Effect. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy

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 mass audiences via social media for over a decade. This week, 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 success. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy