Episodes

  • Breaking down the Jennifer Lopez Wedding Industrial Complex Canon

    Breaking down the Jennifer Lopez Wedding Industrial Complex Canon
    Mar 24 2023
    It's basically spring - which means wedding season is starting to rev up. And no one does weddings quite like Jennifer Lopez - both on-screen and off. Host Brittany Luse is joined by New York Magazine features writer Rachel Handler to break down J.Lo's wedding planning movies (the Jennifer Lopez Wedding Industrial Complex Canon), how they add to J.Lo's brand, and what they say about our investment in the real-life wedding industrial complex.
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    29 mins
  • Surviving long COVID three years into the pandemic

    Surviving long COVID three years into the pandemic
    Mar 21 2023
    It's been three years since the World Health Organization declared COVID-19 a global pandemic. And according to the CDC, out of all the American adults who have had COVID — and that's a lot of us — one in five went on to develop long COVID symptoms. While so many are struggling with this new disease, it can be hard for people to know what to do to take care of themselves. The Long COVID Survival Guide aims to give people struggling with long COVID practical solutions and emotional support to manage their illness.

    In this conversation from November 2022, host Brittany Luse talks to Fiona Lowenstein, editor of the guide, and Karla Monterroso, one of the contributors, about the difficulty of getting diagnosed, navigating long COVID and creating long-term collective care.
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    21 mins
  • The Grim Reaper of retail: Spirit Halloween

    The Grim Reaper of retail: Spirit Halloween
    Oct 25 2022
    Every fall, with the same regularity as birds flying south, Spirit Halloween materializes in locations across the country. The superstore sells all manner of trappings for spooky season, including costumes, props and décor. It boasts about 1,400 pop-ups nationwide, and often takes over temporary leases in malls where a big-box retailer struggled to stay open. This penchant for swooping in on failing businesses has led many consumers to see the company as a kind of Grim Reaper of retail – and turned the store into an internet meme.

    This week, host Brittany Luse sits down with Planet Money's Kenny Malone to dive into the origin story of Spirit Halloween, and what the store's success says about the economy and the future of retail.

    You can follow us on Twitter @NPRItsBeenAMin or email us at ibam@npr.org.
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    21 mins
  • Taylor Swift loves main character energy; Julio Torres hates it

    Taylor Swift loves main character energy; Julio Torres hates it
    Oct 21 2022
    The It's Been a Minute team gives you a sneak peek at the event of the season: BravoCon, where our producer met his favorite housewife, and the Salt Lake City stars spill the tea to host Brittany Luse.

    Then, Brittany sits down with Julio Torres, a comedian, actor, writer and creator of HBO's Los Espookys. They discuss the influences behind his unique world-building.

    Finally, if you're a Taylor Swift fan, this was a pretty big week, with Swift releasing her 10th studio album, Midnights. It seems that Swift is as big as ever. What is it about her and her music that's so enduring? Brittany sat sat down with an avid Swiftie and Rolling Stone writer, Brittany Spanos – who also teaches a class on Swift. They talk about the artist's evolution and how she's navigated the music industry through the years.
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    35 mins
  • Maitreyi Ramakrishnan tells those racist trolls to chill; Princess Peach can be Brown

    Maitreyi Ramakrishnan tells those racist trolls to chill; Princess Peach can be Brown
    Oct 18 2022
    Maitreyi Ramakrishnan has big dreams. The 20-year-old gained full celebrity status with her breakout role as Devi Vishwakumar in the Netflix teen hit Never Have I Ever. But now that filming has wrapped for the show's four seasons, Ramakrishnan is looking ahead.

    Host Brittany Luse gets Ramakrishnan dishing on everything from cosplay to car chases. They also talk about Ramakrishnan's wildest dream role, how to deal with haters and why she hopes this is just the beginning – for her, and for other nerdy brown girls who want to make it in Hollywood.
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    17 mins
  • Crafting the narrative of Elon Musk

    Crafting the narrative of Elon Musk
    Oct 14 2022
    The saga around Elon Musk's deal to buy Twitter has been just that: a months-long soap opera involving lawsuits and subpoenas, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, even a town hall. But why does Musk — one of the world's richest and arguably most influential men — want with a social media platform?

    Host Brittany Luse dives into the dreams and myths surrounding Elon Musk with Jill Lepore, a political historian and host of the podcast Elon Musk: The Evening Rocket. They look back at his science fiction and fantasy influences and ask where his vision could lead.

    Then, Brittany brings on senior producer Barton Girdwood to play a brand new game called, Sounds Fake, But OK.

    You can follow us on Twitter @NPRITsBeenaMin and email us at ibam@npr.org.
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    25 mins
  • 'The Woman King' and when movies aren't history lessons

    'The Woman King' and when movies aren't history lessons
    Oct 12 2022
    When our host Brittany Luse first heard of The Woman King – a film about an all-women warrior unit defending the West African kingdom of Dahomey during the years of the Atlantic slave trade – the idea made her nervous. Hollywood's record with Black historical dramas is pretty checkered. But then she saw it.

    In this episode, Brittany breaks down the film's significance and the task of approaching historical representations in fiction. She sat down with actor Sheila Atim – who plays the warrior Amenza – to talk about the physical trainings, the joys of making a movie with actors from across the diaspora and how Atim has played characters on different sides of the Atlantic slave trade. Then Brittany is joined by Maya Cade, creator and curator of Black Film Archive, and culture critic Shamira Ibrahim. They discuss how to square historical accuracy with a satisfying Hollywood narrative.
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    29 mins