Let's See Each Other Soon

Plus: The 'Insecure' finale, 2021 pop culture reflections, and 2022 predictions

View this email online by Linda Holmes Welcome! It was the week when Broadway continued to have trouble in and out of River City. (Get well soon.) It was the week when we lost one of film and television's most interesting directors. And it was the week when we prepared for the chatter around an anticipated reunion. Let's get to it.  Opening Argument: Let's See Each Other Soon In October, I interviewed Sutton Foster about her memoir Hooked: How Crafting Saved My Life. (I recommend it!) At the time, she was eager to get into rehearsals for the COVID-delayed Broadway revival of The Music Man she was going to star in with Hugh Jackman. (You can listen to this conversation on the Sixth & I podcast.) Eventually, I started to see rehearsal footage on her Instagram, then they were in the theater, then they were in previews, then she bowed out with COVID, then Jackman did, and then they canceled performances through early January.  This has been, for me, a nutshell version of the cycles of hope and disappointment that have, even when severe illness is blessedly avoided, marked the last two years. She wanted this so much, and I wanted to see it so much -- I teased her that I was going to get tickets and stand up in the middle of the show and yell "D.C.!" so she would know it was me -- and she got ... part of the way there. And hopefully, she'll get more of the way there in 2022, even though other Broadway productions have closed for good.  What has changed the most this year is that I have stopped trying to predict what the future is going to look like. I believe I will travel regularly and worry-free again, probably before too long, but I don't know for sure when that will be. I visit with my family and friends now without much worry -- okay, I'm taking a couple weeks off during the worst of Omicron, but in general -- and I'm so grateful for that. But I don't know for sure what this is all going to look like, including what it's going to look like for live theater, which is something Sutton Foster loves, and for live events like talking to Sutton Foster, which are something I love. I don't know. I don't know.  And that precarity has, I suppose, made me even more grateful for what is not lost to me: a great book, a new show, a movie I wasn't expecting to like, a series that is full of surprises, a TikTok creator who has a new idea for what that platform can do, a person who does especially enjoyable cooking videos or hair care videos or whatever. And the ability to share: to share and share and share, which is the great privilege of this job. Oh, please read this. Oh, don't miss this movie. Take this, use this, try this, enjoy this, get mad about this, learn from this, cry over this ... share this again and again. The benevolent chain letter, the mirror image of The Ring -- what you see and receive is yours to keep, but you should try to give it to someone else in turn.  I am uninterested in universal arguments about how safe it is to do what; they are hopelessly clouded by individual circumstances, anxieties, losses, experiences, obligations, and especially resources. What I hope for all of us is that we all reach a point where our informed risk calculations put us in rooms together, cheering and screaming and laughing at each other's jokes, not asking ourselves or others to risk their well-being to keep the doors open. I believe we are close. I don't know. But I believe. I believe, I believe, that we are close.  Let's see each other soon. Newsletter continues after sponsor message We Recommend: First! We are very excited that there’s a new way to support the show! It’s called Pop Culture Happy Hour+, and it means you’ll get the same episodes, but via a sponsorship-free feed. (Of course, if you prefer or your circumstances dictate, you can absolutely continue listening the same as before in the regular feed with sponsorships — nothing will change for you!) If you’re interested, check out your options and figure out a plan that works for you at plus.npr.org/happy.  The feature debut of director Maggie Gyllenhaal, The Lost Daughter, comes to Netflix this weekend. We'll be covering it on the show soon, and the cast -- including Olivia Colman, Jessie Buckley, and Ed Harris -- is only one of the reasons it's well worth your time.  I have been enormously enjoying Susan Orlean's On Animals on audiobook. It collects pieces she's written about animals who work, who provide company, who are loved, who are valued, who need help, who need medicine -- it's a book full of dogs and donkeys, mules and bunnies.  It's a pretty quiet time in debuts of new stuff, just because so many people are taking a big deep breath over the holidays. (I hope you are able to, at least a little.) So if you're looking for a New Year's Eve or New Year's Day watch, maybe check out something you missed this year. You've seen lots of picks from the PCHH team; there are plenty of lists out there to give you a place to start. The folks at Vulture are great!  What We Did This Week! Merie W Wallace/HBO On Monday, Aisha talked to Brittany Luse and Eric Eddings from For Colored Nerds and critic Cate Young about the end of Insecure. Aisha also wrote an appreciation of Insecure and of the fact that the romantic "will they or won't they" plots were never the show's true magic. On Tuesday, Stephen and our pal Danielle Kurtzleben dove into Don't Look Up.  On Wednesday, we shared the first part of our annual predictions/resolutions cycle by looking back at last year's guessing game and trying to find a crystal ball. And on Thursday, Aisha, Glen, Stephen and I reflected on our pop culture resolutions from this year and set our intentions for the one ahead.   As I've done for a good number of years now, I rounded up a list of 50 wonderful things, large and small, from the year in pop culture.  What's Making Us Happy: Every week on the show, we talk about some other things out in the world that have been giving us joy lately. Here they are: What's making Glen happy: The trailer for the upcoming film The Northman What's making Stephen happy: Making a Spotify playlist of 90s rock for his daughter, and Turnstile’s new album Glow On What's making Aisha happy: An excerpt from an Elmo song on Sesame Street What's making Linda happy:  The School for Good Mothers by Jessamine Chan Stream your local NPR station. Visit NPR.org to find your local station stream. Subscribe to Pop Culture Happy Hour+. Your support helps make our show possible and unlocks access to our sponsor-free episodes. What do you think of today's email? We'd love to hear your thoughts, questions and feedback: pchh@npr.org Enjoying this newsletter? Forward to a friend! They can sign up here. Looking for more great content? Check out all of our newsletter offerings — including Music, Books, Daily News and more! You received this message because you're subscribed to Pop Culture Happy Hour emails. 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