It's Been a Minute

Learn to code, they said! And then the layoffs started happening...

The tech industry is hemorrhaging jobs. According to one estimate, there have been over 700,000 tech workers laid off since 2022. But there was once a time when “learn to code” was the advice de rigueur for laid-off workers, and a lot of resources went into teaching kids computer science. So if a cushy position in tech isn’t a “good” job anymore… what is? Brittany discusses this with Rya Jetha, tech culture reporter for the San Francisco Standard, and Natasha Singer, technology reporter for The New York Times and author of the upcoming book Coding Kids: Big Tech's Battle to Remake Public Schools.

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Bad Bunny's Super Bowl performance had a clear message for his fans and his haters. 

The pop star's show was a colorful and vibrant vision of Puerto Rican culture and heritage, from a real life wedding to boxing matches - and even a surprise cameo from Ricky Martin. Against a backdrop of widespread immigration crackdowns and targeted rhetoric, Bad Bunny centered joy as an act of resistance - and as a space for all people in North and South America to unite. 

Brittany is joined by Pop Culture Happy Hour cohost Stephen Thompson, music and entertainment critic Reanna Cruz, and Alana Casanova-Burgess, host of La Brega podcast, to understand the version of America that Bad Bunny wants us to live in.

(0:00) Bad Bunny's performance was one of the all time greats
(03:04) The key moments: the parade of nations to Ricky Martin & Lady Gaga
(08:11) The story and world that Bad Bunny was building
(12:33) Weddings and joy as acts of resistance
(16:14) The Grammy, Liam Conejo Ramos, and what the moment meant
(23:57) Bad Bunny's radical politics vs. the NFL's politics

For more on Bad Bunny, check out this deep dive into his latest album: Bad Bunny & the battle for Puerto Rico

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Is Melania Trump's new film a documentary? Fan service? Or propaganda?

The Amazon funded $40 million-$75 million film, follows the first lady as she prepares for her husband's second inauguration. But, it's finely manicured editing and it's fabricated storylines obscure reality - much like the Trump administration's broader media strategy. So what's the point?

Brittany sits down with NPR Senior Arts Critic Bob Mondello, and Vulture Movie Critic Alison Willmore. They examine the wardrobe changes, opulent decor, and even Amazon’s financial support of the movie and break down what this film tells us – and doesn’t tell us – about the first lady.

(00:00) The Melania Documentary Review: Airless, High Heels, Shiny
(03:07) Melania Trump is staging the scenes of her life
(06:06) Melania is in control - and rewriting history
(13:10) Is Trump's documentary propaganda or fan service?
(17:34) Amazon, Jeff Bezos, and the Trump family business

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So-called "swoletariats" are exercising for the resistance.

There’s a lot of fitness content in conservative manosphere circles – that’s not new – but now, there are also fitness influencers who call themselves the “swoletariat.” That’s a combination of the word “swole,” meaning buff, and “proletariat,” meaning the working class — the swoletariat are people whose fitness regimens connect to leftist politics. NPR's Life Kit producer Margaret Cirino shares her reporting with Brittany on the history of leftist fitness – and why she’s seeing the swoletariat picking up steam on social media.

Want to know more about fitness and health? Check out these episodes:
The difference between losing weight & being "healthy"
Beware the Wellness Industrial Complex!
The privilege of being "skinny"

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America’s workers are tired – here’s why.

Do you feel like you can never get off the grind? From gig laborers to salaried workers, a lot of people are keeping their noses to the grindstone in order to remain afloat, avoid job loss, and stay one step ahead of market fluctuations. But this culture of overwork isn’t new – according to Erik Baker, Harvard lecturer and author of Make Your Own Job: How the Entrepreneurial Work Ethic Exhausted America, the grindset has been intentionally promoted and structurally enforced over decades. Brittany sits down with Erik to discuss how we got here – and how we can untangle the culture from these working conditions.

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