Current:Home > reviewsWhat's making us happy: A guide to your weekend viewing -GrowthSphere Strategies
What's making us happy: A guide to your weekend viewing
View
Date:2025-04-16 12:48:52
This week, the math was still not mathing, the opera lived to cause arguments another day, and Jake Gyllenhaal looked ... really different
Here's what the NPR's Pop Culture Happy Hour crew was paying attention to — and what you should check out this weekend.
Ventriloquist Megan Piphus
Megan Piphus is – believe it or not — Sesame Street's first Black female puppeteer. She's been on the show since 2021, and she voices the Muppet Gabrielle. I've been following her on Instagram and I just think she's so delightful.
In addition to being on Sesame Street, where she did a whole segment on Wash Day for Black kids with natural hair, she was on America's Got Talent belting out "My Heart Will Go On" without moving her mouth which is amazing. She has a lot of little side projects going on. Check her out on Instagram or on Sesame Street. — Aisha Harris
Tenet
I have been having so much fun watching the Christopher Nolan movie Tenet over, and over, and over again. In addition to enjoying the story, I bought the Blu-ray, so I was able to watch some of the behind-the-scenes featurettes. There's a scene in the movie where one of the cars like un-flips over. They built a car that un-flips over. Movies are awesome: A bunch of people who have skills got together and made a thing — and it was pretty, and fun, and they told me a story. How is that not incredible? — Cate Young
Taking part in Season 3 of Virtual Big Brother
I am part of the Big Brother hive – I really enjoy watching the show. And over the weekend I had the opportunity to participate in a Virtual Big Brother in which TV writer James Rogers III basically stages his own version of Big Brother. He casts contestants from across the Internet and he hosts and quizzes those contestants on different trivia moments. And ... I won! It was wonderful. — Tre'vell Anderson
Rediscovering family decorations
For a long time I could not find motivation to get out my Christmas decorations because I live by myself. But this year I got out my Christmas stuff just to be enjoyed by me and the dog, including a ceramic Christmas tree that my grandmother made ... maybe in the '70s? I shared a picture of this on Instagram and Bluesky and the number of people who said "my family has this exact thing" made me really happy. — Linda Holmes
More recommendations from the Pop Culture Happy Hour newsletter
by Linda Holmes
The first game I sat down to play on my new PS5 was Spider-Man 2, which came out in October. This is wildly current compared to what I normally do gaming-wise; my PS4 and I were still picking our way through Lego Marvel Super Heroes 2 (from the olden days, 2017). So far, so good. It's entertaining, it's got a solid story, it looks great, and I can function pretty well in the early going when it comes to fights. Look, if you're not somebody who's done it for most of your life, keeping track of eight buttons long enough to reach the point where muscle memory can guide you is quite difficult. But this game has enough hand-holding for me, and it lets me fail (and fail and fail) and just keep learning. And that's what you want.
If you follow film festivals and the like, you don't need me to recommend the film Anatomy of a Fall, now available for rent or purchase on demand. Sandra Hüller stars as a woman whose husband has come to a bad end, and who finds suspicion falling on herself. It does invite you to guess at her guilt or innocence, but more than that, it examines the decline of her marriage (including in flashbacks) and considers the effects on her son.
All episodes of FX's A Murder at the End of the World are now streaming on Hulu. It's a tricky, twisty mystery about a death that takes place at a secretive tech billionaire's remote, wintry hideaway during an exclusive, invite-only conference. I had mixed feelings about the way the story wrapped up — I've seen both positive and negative reviews of that element of it from critics — but if you like moody, icy, Nordic-feeling mysteries that are slow and deliberative, it's well worth your time.
Beth Novey adapted the Pop Culture Happy Hour segment "What's Making Us Happy" for the Web. If you like these suggestions, consider signing up for our newsletter to get recommendations every week. And listen to Pop Culture Happy Hour on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.
veryGood! (491)
Related
- Spooky or not? Some Choa Chu Kang residents say community garden resembles cemetery
- Rachel Zegler Says Snow White's Name Is Not Based on Skin Color in New Disney Movie
- Hailey Bieber's Fall Essentials Include Precious Nod to Baby Jack
- Virginia House candidates debate abortion and affordability as congressional election nears
- Whoopi Goldberg is delightfully vile as Miss Hannigan in ‘Annie’ stage return
- Why Olivia Munn's New Photo of Her and John Mulaney's Baby Girl Marks a Milestone in Her Health Journey
- Republican Liz Cheney to join Kamala Harris at Wisconsin campaign stop
- Things to know about the investigations into the deadly wildfire that destroyed a Maui town
- Federal court filings allege official committed perjury in lawsuit tied to Louisiana grain terminal
- Mormon faith pushes ahead with global temple building boom despite cool reception in Las Vegas
Ranking
- As Trump Enters Office, a Ripe Oil and Gas Target Appears: An Alabama National Forest
- 'A Different Man' review: Sebastian Stan stuns in darkly funny take on identity
- Terence Crawford cites the danger of Octagon in nixing two-fight deal with Conor McGregor
- Simone Biles’ post-Olympic tour is helping give men’s gymnastics a post-Olympic boost
- Sam Taylor
- Raiders' Antonio Pierce dodges Davante Adams trade questions amid rumors
- Raiders' Antonio Pierce dodges Davante Adams trade questions amid rumors
- Mormon faith pushes ahead with global temple building boom despite cool reception in Las Vegas
Recommendation
Louvre will undergo expansion and restoration project, Macron says
Spider lovers scurry to Colorado town in search of mating tarantulas and community
Teacher still missing after Helene floods pushed entire home into North Carolina river
Bank of America customers report account outages, some seeing balances of $0
'Survivor' 47 finale, part one recap: 2 players were sent home. Who's left in the game?
Jax Taylor Admits He Made Errors in Brittany Cartwright Divorce Filing
A 6-year-old girl was kidnapped in Arkansas in 1995. Police just named their prime suspect
Reid Airport expansion plans call for more passenger gates, could reduce delays