Brittany Luse and guests unpack how prediction markets, dating money talk, and identity politics shape daily life.
It's Been a Minute treats pop culture as evidence, not escape. Recent episodes move from Trump administration evangelical politics and prediction markets to AI fatigue, celebrity worship, ADHD content, reality TV crisis, and the social performance of not caring.
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It's Been a Minute is an NPR culture show built around single-topic interview and panel episodes, typically 20 to 40 minutes long, hosted by Brittany Luse. Most episodes feature Luse in conversation with one or two guests — often NPR correspondents (such as Bobby Allen), academics and authors (such as Jeffrey McCune and Kai Wright), or NPR colleagues from shows like LifeKit (Margaret Serino). Recurring subject areas include personal finance and relationships, food and convenience culture, race and Black queer identity, celebrity and fame, political independents, and the intersection of religion with immigration and government policy. Episodes tend to open with a cultural hook — a trend, a phrase, or a news event — before moving into a more analytical discussion grounded in reporting, survey data, or academic research. The tone throughout is described as educational and conversational rather than comedic or debate-driven, even when the subject matter (prediction markets, evangelical politics, sexuality) is contested. Panels of two or more voices appear regularly alongside one-on-one interviews. The show draws on other NPR programs and reporters as sources and occasionally cross-promotes them. Listeners interested in how broader social and political trends show up in daily life — dating, spending, faith, fandom — are the core audience. Production centers on a single host guiding expert or journalist guests through a specific cultural question each episode, rather than news-of-the-day recap or long-form narrative storytelling.
Made for: Listeners who want NPR-style analysis of pop culture, personal finance, and identity politics explained through single-topic conversations with journalists and academics.
What sets it apart: Combines lighter cultural subjects like celebrity worship and food delivery with serious reporting on race, sexuality, and religion within the same interview format, rather than sticking to one lane.
Want in on a secret? Your likes and dislikes didn't develop by accident. There are subtle and not-so-subtle forces around you, shaping what you think, how you act, and even who you think you are. Brittany Luse is here to break the spell and help you feel wiser in a society that makes things blurry.THE BEST POP CULTURE PODCAST AWARD WINNER AT THE 2025 SIGNAL AWARDSIt’s Been A Minute with Brittany Luse is the best podcast for understanding what’s going on in culture right now, and helps you consume it smarter. From how politics influences pop culture to how...
Based on 6 episodes we listened to · September 2026
Brittany Luse turns pop culture conversation into clear-eyed inquiry about power, labor, identity, money, and the institutions shaping public taste.
Brittany Luse takes pieces of pop culture that invite quick reactions and slows them down until their social machinery becomes visible. Conversations move from reality television and network responsibility to marriage economics, celebrity worship, fan fiction, and mixed Asian…
Reality TV mess becomes a question about who's exploiting whom, just as you settle on a villain.
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Short reviews from the PlayNext desk, based on the episodes we processed.
A pointed look at immigration enforcement, evangelical politics, and the public use of scripture.
Brittany Luce turns immigration enforcement into a question about who gets to speak for Christianity in public life. The episode pairs reports of DHS and ICE operations with conservative white evangelical claims of embattlement, then asks how that language holds up when many…
A clear, uneasy look at how prediction markets are turning more of public life into something to bet on.
It's Been a Minute gives the casino-ification of everyday life a crisp, uneasy frame, following prediction markets as they move from sports betting's shadow into wagers on speeches, reality TV phrases, creator videos, and even darker questions around death and catastrophe.
A thoughtful conversation about celebrity, Hollywood labor, and why stardom still pulls people together.
Celebrity is treated less as gossip than as a social habit in this episode, with Brittany Luce and Christiana Mbakwe-Medina sorting through the difference between fame, celebrity, and stardom.
A sharp workplace culture read on why AI can feel less like help than one more thing to manage.
AI brain fry comes through as a workplace mood before it becomes a tech term: the tired, anxious feeling of using, supervising, and second-guessing tools that were supposed to make labor easier.
A sharp, humane read on numbness as both internet aesthetic and coping strategy.
Care fatigue gets treated here as cultural style and emotional self-protection: the blank pout, the brag about not following the news, the beauty-world pose of being untouched by everything.
A sharp look at reality TV's shrinking map, where scandal, video evidence, and audience appetite collide.
Reality TV's crisis becomes a question of appetite: what happens when networks under pressure for attention cast around public controversy, then pull back once the controversy becomes harder to contain.
A sharp, conversational look at how AI turns ordinary relationships and creative choices into cultural fault lines.
It's Been a Minute turns AI anxiety into something intimate and awkward: a coffee shop crush curdled by premium ChatGPT, a friendship strained over an AI-made logo, and the uneasy feeling that a tool can start to behave like a co-worker.
A funny, sharp early-2026 culture audit that lets the rankings carry some real friction.
Brittany Luce turns early 2026 pop culture into a brisk boardroom check-in, with Matthew Lawson and Joan Summers weighing the year's wins, setbacks, MVPs, and forecasts through a knowingly silly corporate frame.
Ira Glass frames weekly theme-driven segments spanning family secrets to Portland's protest conflict.
Shankar Vedantam unpacks the psychology behind relationships, careers, and money through researcher interviews.
David McRaney interviews researchers on cognitive bias, motivated reasoning, and why minds change.
Ryan Holiday pairs daily Stoic lessons with long-form guest conversations at his Texas bookstore.
NHPR's Jason Moon investigates the Bear Brook barrel murders and a New Hampshire wrongful-conviction case.
Russ Roberts interviews authors and economists on ideas from classical liberalism to AI.
DHS meets God, somehow.
Bobby Allen says prediction markets now let people wager on the Super Bowl, Mr.
Celebrity gets sorted into categories here, but the bit has teeth.
AI brain fry starts as a joke.
Do you care, or are you over it?
Brittany Luse explores the trend of viral ADHD self-diagnosis on social media, questioning how to distinguish personal identity from diagnosable conditions with experts.
Reality TV sounds unstable.
A coffee-shop crush goes sideways fast.
Q1 2026 gets called to order.
Waysian gets the mic here.
Brittany Luse interviews Chelsea Fagan about how romantic pursuits and trends like 'girl math' reflect class insecurities.
Fanfiction.net is the doorway.
Brittany Luse and guests discuss the concept of taste, how it's shaped by personal and societal influences, and the rise of AI as a tastemaker.
Brittany Luse discusses the renewed fascination with Carolyn Bessette's style and the ethical implications of exploiting a private figure's legacy.
Brittany Luse interviews Sarah McCammon and Emma Gannon about the declining birth rate and the choice to be child-free, exploring societal pressures and personal fulfillment.
Brittany Luse discusses the Trump administration's promotion of whole milk and its cultural implications.
Media deals can feel like homework.
Brittany Luse discusses the rise and fall of the T app, a surveillance tool for detecting partner cheating, and explores broader issues of distrust in relationships.
Brittany Luse interviews Jessica DeFino about the intersection of beauty culture and power, touching on the Epstein files.
Brittany Luse discusses the rise of wearable health trackers, their benefits, and their promotion by influential figures like Robert F.
Brittany Luse discusses the alleged men's crisis and contrasts it with women's mental health struggles, interviewing Faith Hill and Meg Jay.
This episode analyzes the Best Picture race between 'Sinners' and 'One Battle After Another', exploring how their themes and fan debates reflect broader cultural conversations about race and representation in Hollywood.
This episode explores the concept of 'pathetic men' in dating culture, featuring writer Josh Laura discussing how emotional manipulation and ineffectuality are being framed as lovable traits in 2026.
Brittany Luse discusses time travel fantasies and contrasts past and present health trends.
A discussion on the legacy of Reverend Jesse Jackson and the evolution of civil rights leadership in America.
Independent is the word under the microscope.
Love is not the whole spreadsheet.
Brittany Luse and Manuela Lopez Restrepo discuss the challenges and frustrations of modern dating, particularly the experience of being off dating apps.
The down low gets a hard reset.
Food delivery starts looking less like convenience.
Brittany Luse discusses the rise of romantasy books and their cultural implications, including critiques of reinforcing patriarchy.
This episode examines the disconnect between positive macroeconomic indicators and the difficult reality for job seekers, including the impact of AI on hiring.
Brittany Luse explores how people think about sexual health and safer sex in the new year, including PrEP and consent.
This episode discusses Terry McMillan's iconic novel 'Waiting to Exhale', focusing on its portrayal of four Black women friends in their 30s navigating love, relationships, and life.
Brittany Luse interviews Abena Clayton about the killing of Renee Good by ICE agents and the conflicting narratives surrounding the incident.
Brittany Luse explores the rise of biohacking in Silicon Valley and its cultural implications, including unregulated injectables and identity shifts.
Brittany Luse and NPR correspondents discuss what's in and out for 2026, covering personal habits and cultural trends.
This NPR podcast episode explores how to manifest your reality, discussing the relationship between the internet and manifesting while addressing challenges faced by public media in 2025.
Brittany Luse and intern Sanithya Sharma discuss the viral '6-7' meme that has taken over classrooms and social media.