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'Time Bandits' maps contemporary vibes over a cult classic

Lisa Kudrow as Penelope in Time Bandits. Apple TV+ hide caption

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Apple TV+

Review

Pop Culture Happy Hour

'Time Bandits' maps contemporary vibes over a cult classic

The dryly funny new Apple TV+ series Time Bandits reimagines the 1981 Terry Gilliam film of the same name. A squad of inept thieves — including their sort-of leader, played by Lisa Kudrow — have stolen a map of the universe. They use it to jump through portals to various time periods to steal stuff. One jump takes them into the bedroom of a British kid (Kal-El Tuck), who tags along as they're chased by Taika Waititi's Supreme Being and Jemaine Clement's Pure Evil.

'Time Bandits' maps contemporary vibes over a cult classic

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In a Google ad during the Olympics, a dad uses AI tool Gemini to write a letter from his daughter to star hurdler Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone.

In a Google ad during the Olympics, a dad uses AI tool Gemini to write a letter from his daughter to star hurdler Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone. Screenshot by NPR/YouTube hide caption

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Screenshot by NPR/YouTube

Analysis

2024 Paris Olympics

The antithesis of the Olympics: Using AI to write a fan letter

In one of Google’s Olympics ads, a dad uses AI tool Gemini to craft a fan letter from his daughter to an Olympian. But it’s the wrong approach to express admiration in a star athlete – and to instill confidence in a burgeoning one.

Robert Downey Jr. onstage at the Marvel Studios panel during Comic-Con in San Diego over the weekend.

Robert Downey Jr. onstage at the Marvel Studios panel during Comic-Con in San Diego over the weekend. Matt Winkelmeyer/Getty Images hide caption

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Matt Winkelmeyer/Getty Images

Pop Culture Happy Hour

A puzzling match made in the Marvel Cinematic Universe: Robert Downey Jr. as Dr. Doom

The one-time Tony Stark will soon play Marvel Comics villain Doctor Doom. The news has our pop culture critic asking: Can you imagine Robert Downey Jr. saying these Doctor Doom lines?

Robert Downey Jr. as Dr. Doom

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We're talking songs of the (Brat) summer

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Harley Weir/Courtesy of the artist

Pop Culture Happy Hour

We're talking songs of the (Brat) summer

Trying to declare the "official" song of the summer isn't a new sport. But this year feels like the first in a while where the field's been so crowded from the domination of pop girls like Charli XCX, Sabrina Carpenter, and Chappell Roan to country twang with Post Malone, Morgan Wallen, and Shaboozey. Today, we discussing the songs and artists who seem to be everywhere this summer, and why they are so catchy and inescapable.

We're talking songs of the (Brat) summer

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Edith Bouvier Beale at her home

Edith Bouvier Beale at her home "Grey Gardens" in January 1972 in New York. A 1975 documentary by that name explores the reclusive lives of Beale and her mother, living in their dilapidated house with over 50 cats. Tom Wargacki/WireImage hide caption

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Tom Wargacki/WireImage

JD Vance went viral for ‘cat lady’ comments. The centuries-old trope has a long tail

Vance lamented the country being run by "a bunch of childless cat ladies," including Vice President Harris. The trope has dogged women since the Middle Ages.

Nikki Glaser's new Emmy-nominated HBO comedy special is Someday You'll Die.

Nikki Glaser's new Emmy-nominated HBO comedy special is Someday You'll Die. Jennifer Clasen/HBO
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Jennifer Clasen/HBO

Television

After a roast, comic Nikki Glaser says she needs to cleanse her brain

Glaser made headlines for her roast of Tom Brady. "I don't love people getting offended," she says of her comedy. "All I want is people to like me." Glaser's new HBO special is Someday You'll Die.

After a roast, comic Nikki Glaser says she needs to cleanse her brain

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Prince on the custom motorcycle featured in Purple Rain.

Prince on the custom motorcycle featured in Purple Rain. Cinematic/Alamy hide caption

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Cinematic/Alamy

Movies

40 years after 'Purple Rain,' Prince’s band remembers how the movie came together

Before social media, the film Purple Rain gave audiences a peek into Prince’s musical life. Band members say the true genesis of the title song was much less combative than the version presented in the film.

Prince's band The Revolution talks about the legacy of 'Purple Rain' after 40 years

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'Deadpool & Wolverine' is a feast of inside jokes

Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman in Marvel's Deadpool & Wolverine. Jay Maidment/20th Century Studios/Marvel hide caption

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Jay Maidment/20th Century Studios/Marvel

Review

Pop Culture Happy Hour

'Deadpool & Wolverine' is a feast of inside jokes

In the highly meta Deadpool & Wolverine, Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman finally meet up for their own big movie. Deadpool is still smarmy, Wolverine is still tragic, and they have to get together to save the world. Along the way, Deadpool continues his usual routine of endless wisecracking. The movie is jam-packed with fan service and Easter eggs. But how will casual Marvel fans like the movie?

'Deadpool & Wolverine' is a feast of inside jokes

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In 'The Decameron,' the Black Death makes for black comedy

Zosia Mamet and Saoirse-Monica Jackson in The Decameron. Giulia Parmigiani/Netflix hide caption

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Giulia Parmigiani/Netflix

Review

Pop Culture Happy Hour

In 'The Decameron,' the Black Death makes for black comedy

In Netflix's weirdly compelling dark comedy The Decameron, the bubonic plague is ravaging Florence in 1348. A group of rich nobles and their servants decide to retreat to a picturesque villa in the country to wait it all out. The large ensemble includes Tony Hale and Zosia Mamet. Every character is hiding something, and those secrets get revealed — and more than a few uglies get bumped.

In 'The Decameron,' the Black Death makes for black comedy

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A view of the Olympic rings beneath the Eiffel Tower, lit up at night.

Tens of thousands of athletes, spectators and journalists are descending on Paris to cover the Olympic Games. Many more will be watching from home. Michael Reaves/Getty Images hide caption

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Michael Reaves/Getty Images

2024 Paris Olympics

Your guide to keeping up with the Paris Olympics

The 2024 Olympics kick off in Paris with a splashy opening ceremony on Friday and will run through Aug. 11. Here's how to keep up with the action, from primetime viewing to occasional scrolling.

'Cats: The Jellicle Ball' gets 10s across the board

Chasity Moore as Grizabella in 'Cats: The Jellicle Ball' Matthew Murphy hide caption

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Matthew Murphy

It's Been a Minute

'Cats: The Jellicle Ball' gets 10s across the board

In the latest revival of Andrew Lloyd Webber's Cats, there are no singing cats. The actors have basically ditched the furry ears and velvet tails and reimagined the characters as competitors in the ballroom scene, vying for trophies and a new chance at life. This week, host Brittany Luse talks to Cats: The Jellicle Ball star Chasity Moore and co-director Zhailon Levingston about ballroom, spectacles and memories.

'Cats: The Jellicle Ball' gets 10s across the board

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Vice President Kamala Harris appears in the Indian Treaty Room of the Eisenhower Executive Office Building on the White House complex in Washington on Feb. 27, 2024, left, and actor Maya Rudolph appears at the season two photo call for

Social media is crying out for comedian Maya Rudolph (right) to bring her Kamala Harris impression back to SNL. AP/AP hide caption

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AP/AP

Hey SNL, we're ready for Maya's Kamala

Social media is crying out with calls for Saturday Night Live veteran Maya Rudolph to bring back her Kamala Harris impression.

MAYA RUDOLPH'S KAMALA

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Three great karaoke songs

Celine Dion's "It's All Coming Back To Me Now" is one of the perfect communal karaoke songs. Robert Laberge/AFP via Getty Images hide caption

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Robert Laberge/AFP via Getty Images

Pop Culture Happy Hour

Three great karaoke songs

What makes a good karaoke song? In this encore episode, we're suggesting three great songs to sing at karaoke night.

Three great karaoke songs

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'Sunny' is a robot buddy comedy about loss

Rashida Jones in Sunny. Apple TV+ hide caption

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Apple TV+

Review

Pop Culture Happy Hour

'Sunny' is a robot buddy comedy about loss

In the new Apple TV+ series Sunny, Rashida Jones stars as a woman living in Kyoto, whose husband and young son go missing in a plane crash. To help console her, her husband's electronics company gives her a robot companion. The show is an interesting mix of styles and genres – it's a buddy comedy, a crime thriller and a drama about loss. But at the center of it all is the mystery of what happened to her husband and son – and why.

'Sunny' is a robot buddy comedy about loss

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DiJonai Carrington of the Connecticut Sun reacts during a game against the Indiana Fever on June 10 in Uncasville, Conn.

DiJonai Carrington of the Connecticut Sun reacts during a game against the Indiana Fever on June 10, 2024 in Uncasville, Conn. Brian Fluharty/Getty Images hide caption

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What's Making Us Happy: Recommendations From 'Pop Culture Happy Hour'

What's Making Us Happy: A guide to your weekend viewing and reading

Each week, guests and hosts on NPR's Pop Culture Happy Hour share what's bringing them joy. This week: Watching the WNBA, celebrities throwing first pitches, the novel The God of the Woods, and the Criterion sale at Barnes & Noble.

'Twisters' has us spiraling

Glen Powell in Twisters. Melinda Sue Gordon/Universal hide caption

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Melinda Sue Gordon/Universal

Review

Pop Culture Happy Hour

'Twisters' has us spiraling

Twister was one of the biggest disaster movies of the '90s. Now, it's finally got a sequel — one with an all-new cast, state-of-the-art effects, and a whole lot of tornadoes. The new film stars Glen Powell and Daisy Edgar-Jones as rival storm-chasers who have a habit of running into tornadoes while everyone else is fleeing. Twisters was directed by Lee Isaac Chung, who also directed the Oscar-nominated Minari.

'Twisters' has us spiraling

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LeVar Burton has portrayed the Black experience "from our enslavement to the stars"

LeVar Burton on Wild Card Etienne Laurent/Getty Images hide caption

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Etienne Laurent/Getty Images

Wild Card with Rachel Martin

LeVar Burton has portrayed the Black experience "from our enslavement to the stars"

LeVar Burton has three roles he'll forever be known for: Kunta Kinte on the TV series Roots, Geordi La Forge on Star Trek: The Next Generation and host of Reading Rainbow. Those roles have had profound impacts on people and he now understands, as he puts it, "my job is to be LeVar Burton." He talks to Rachel about the tension of that job, his changing definitions of success and learning to embrace the chaos.

LeVar Burton has portrayed the Black experience "from our enslavement to the stars"

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