It's Been a Minute

It's Been a Minute

Has it been a minute since you heard a thought-provoking conversation about culture? Brittany Luse wants to help. Each week, she takes the things everyone's talking about and, in conversation with her favorite creators, tastemakers, and experts, gives you new ways to think about them. Beyond the obvious takes. Because culture doesn't happen by accident. If you can't get enough, try It's Been a Minute Plus. Your subscription supports the show and unlocks a sponsor-free feed. Learn more at plus.npr.org/itsbeenaminute

Episodes

Zohran Mamdani's primary win and the Democrats' Tea Party moment

June 27, 2025 • 19 mins
New York State Assemblymember Zohran Mamdani pulled off an astonishing upset this week. In the New York City Democratic mayoral primary, he beat out the long-favored winner, former Governor Andrew Cuomo, who conceded the race only hours after the polls closed. The two candidates were of the same party, but held very different positions within it: Cuomo is older, spent more than a decade as Governor and positioned himself as a law-a...
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Why are people freaking out about the birth rate?

June 25, 2025 • 24 mins
There's one little statistic that seems to have gained a lot of attention recently: the birth rate. With pro-natalist ideas showing up in our culture and politics, Brittany wanted to know: why are people freaking out? Who's trying to solve the population equation, and how? Brittany is joined by Kelsey Piper, senior writer at Vox, and Gideon Lewis-Kraus, staff writer at The New Yorker, to get into how the birth rate touches every pa...
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Is this a medical marvel or horror movie? You tell me.

June 23, 2025 • 15 mins
Adriana Smith's pregnancy became an ethical and legal quandary. After being declared brain dead, a Georgia hospital kept her on life support without her family's consent because of the state's abortion laws. Now that the baby has been delivered and Smith taken off life support, Brittany wonders: how has the conservative effort to see fetuses as people overshadowed the lives of the mothers who birth them?

This is... Your Bo...
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Welcome to midlife, Millennials. Are you in crisis?

June 20, 2025 • 17 mins
Many Millennials are either already in their 40's, or they're staring them down. Are they having a midlife crisis?

As this generation enters midlife, their lives look really different from their parents' lives: Millennials are more educated and have a higher median net worth, but the generation is also more unequal than previous generations, has higher debt, and lower rates of homeownership and marriage. How does that all ...
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Sexy & Spiteful: the best books to read this summer

June 18, 2025 • 18 mins
It's summer! Which means Brittany is going to be... 1) outside, 2) chilling, and 3) reading. So it's once again time for It's Been a Minute's annual summer books episode!

Celebrated romance authors Bolu Babalola and Emily Henry return to the show to discuss their summer reading recommendations, ranging from spiteful and salacious to sweet and spicy.

Books discussed in the episode:
Sweet Heat by Bolu Babalola
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Don't let them politicize your menstrual cycle. Period.

June 16, 2025 • 20 mins
In a country where birth control access is in jeopardy and women's medical needs have been historically overlooked, how do social media trends like #lutealphase and "cycle syncing" complicate the narrative?

This is... Your Body, Whose Choice?

And for the next few weeks, we're looking at the cultural, legal, and ideological frameworks shaping reproductive health in America...and what this means for the near and fa...
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L.A. was first. Now it's your move, America.

June 13, 2025 • 16 mins
Protests have spread across the country after dozens of workers were swept up in an ICE raid in Los Angeles last week, but the support for the protesters is far from universal.

In this bonus episode, Brittany is joined by NPR Immigration Correspondent Sergio Martínez-Beltrán and author of A Protest History of the United States, Gloria J. Browne-Marshall, to discuss what's happening on the ground, and how Americans underst...
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Want to date a rich man? It's harder than you think.

June 12, 2025 • 17 mins
You may have heard that super viral song on TikTok called "Looking for a man in finance," and yeah, it's fun. But does it speak to people's broader desires to find someone who's more than comfortable financially?

Host Brittany Luse is joined by Wailin Wong, co-host of NPR's The Indicator, and Reema Khrais, host of Marketplace's This Is Uncomfortable. They discuss what people are really looking for from a man in finance... ...
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Oh no...I got "The Ick." What do I do now?

June 11, 2025 • 16 mins
So you got 'The Ick?' That feeling of disgust when your date does something that you just can't look past. You think it's about them, but is 'The Ick' actually about you?

Brittany is joined by B.A. Parker, co-host of NPR's Code Switch, Corey Antonio Rose, a producer for It's Been A Minute, and Josh Rottman, associate professor of psychology and a disgust expert. They discuss what 'The Ick' is and what it's really about.
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How to win (or lose) a break up on social media

June 9, 2025 • 17 mins
A lot of us have seen how explosive breakup stories have been on social media. From Reesa Teesa's "Who TF did I marry..." to Spritely's breakup song, these posts have been drawing gasps and gaining traction. But is it harmless fun, or an invasion of privacy? When do your personal stories belong on social media and when do they not?

To find out, Brittany is joined by Molly McPherson, crisis PR expert, and Rebecca Jennings, ...
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The Pride month vibes are off, but there's still hope.

June 6, 2025 • 17 mins
Is it just us, or are the Pride month vibes a little off this year?

Between targeted censorship, legislative attacks on LGBTQ+ health care, and a financial pullout from many corporations, queer people and their allies are celebrating with heavier hearts this year. But perhaps it's a moment to reconsider what "pride" is really for?

This week, Brittany is joined by culture journalist Tre'vell Anderson, and author a...
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"White genocide" isn't a thing. Trump disagrees.

June 4, 2025 • 17 mins
You may have heard that the U.S. gained 59 new residents last month from South Africa - and that more came this past weekend. They're all white Afrikaners: a white minority group descended from European colonists. Trump has given some of these white Afrikaners refugee status because he claims a "white genocide" is happening against them in South Africa. This claim is untrue. So where is it coming from?

And why might this ...
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Canada hates us, but it's not all Trump's fault.

June 2, 2025 • 19 mins
The stereotype is that Canadians are kind, but they by and large do not take kindly to President Trump's idea of making Canada our 51st state. As of April, two-thirds of Canadians considered the U.S. to be "unfriendly" or an "enemy," and 61% say they have started boycotting American companies. However, Canadian dislike and distrust of the U.S. is not new. Canadian views of the U.S. have trended down for decades, from a high of 81% ...
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Age gaps & wage gaps: unpacking our Belichick-Hudson obsession

May 30, 2025 • 15 mins
After 8 trips to the Super Bowl, 73 year-old former NFL coach Bill Belichick is ready to start a new phase in his career: mentor, college football coach, and now doting boyfriend to 24-year-old Jordon Hudson. But as Hudson also takes an increasingly important role in Belichick's professional life, people are speculating about the motivations behind their union. Why do we care?

Brittany is joined by arts and entertainment ...
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Can doctors test embryos for autism? And should they?

May 28, 2025 • 23 mins
A newly available kind of genetic testing, called polygenic embryo screening, promises to screen for conditions that can include cancer, obesity, autism, bipolar disorder, even celiac disease. These conditions are informed by many genetic variants and environmental factors - so companies like Orchid and Heliospect assign risk scores to each embryo for a given condition. These tests are expensive, only available through IVF, and som...
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Brittany needs a couch. Should she buy now, pay later?

May 26, 2025 • 19 mins
Brittany keeps looking at a new couch online, and every time she goes to buy it she sees an option to "Buy Now, Pay Later," which made her wonder...should she? Here's what she found:

Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) loans have become one of the go-to ways to get access to credit fast. Companies like Klarna, Affirm, and Afterpay make buying big purchases relatively easy by allowing people to pay in installments over time. But some...
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Why can't we (or Ms. Rachel) talk about Gaza's children dying?

May 23, 2025 • 17 mins
Children's educator and YouTube star Ms. Rachel has used her social media to advocate for the safety of children all over the world - but when she used her platform to call attention to the plight of children in Gaza, she was accused of being paid by Hamas.

This week, Brittany is joined by Defector managing editor Samer Kalaf and The Guardian's data editor Mona Chalabi to unpack why it's suddenly so controversial to advoc...
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Pop culture has a "bean soup problem."

May 21, 2025 • 18 mins
Online discourse has become a fun part of enjoying and dissecting big pop culture events. But after seeing all the commentary around Ryan Coogler's Sinners - one of the biggest cultural juggernauts of the year - Brittany has one question: are we in a media literacy crisis?

Difference of opinion is one thing, but it feels like some viewers are missing important clues or misreading the film entirely - and it doesn't stop w...
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Get rich or die trying: how sports betting is changing our love of the game

May 19, 2025 • 16 mins
It's been seven years since the Supreme Court legalized sports betting outside of Nevada. For some, it's a hobby that spices up a game, but for others it's become a side hustle or investing strategy. And in a time where 60% of U.S. households don't earn enough to afford basic costs of living... that can be a problem.

This... is Money Troubles. And for the next few weeks, we're looking into the ways everyday people are tryi...
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Diddy, Cassie, & the anatomy of "mutual abuse"

May 16, 2025 • 16 mins
The highly anticipated federal trial against Sean "Diddy" Combs has begun. The hip-hop mogul is facing charges of racketeering and sex trafficking, and could be sentenced to life in prison if found guilty. So why is his attorney, Marc Agnifilo, telling the court they're going to "take the position that there was mutual violence" in his relationship with the singer Cassie Ventura?

Brittany is joined by author Beverly Gooden...
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