It's Been A Minute With Sam Sanders

We need to talk about the memes your tax dollars paid for. What is the federal government trying to communicate with them?The social media accounts of the White House and the Department of Homeland Security have been chock-full of memes: memes that mock people being deported, memes that are aimed at recruiting new ICE agents, even a meme that seemingly references a book by a white supremacist. To get into who these memes are speaking to and what story they’re trying to tell, Brittany sits down with NPR correspondent Shannon Bond and Joan Donovan, assistant professor of journalism and emerging media studies at Boston University and founder of the Critical Internet Studies Institute.For handpicked podcast recommendations every week, subscribe to NPR’s Pod Club newsletter at npr.org/podclub.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Has online hate ever been this cruel?Brendan Abernathy is a singer-songwriter who went viral earlier this year for an earnest performance of his song "married in a year." The backlash was immediate, and one word popped up over and over again in the comments: "cringe."Brittany and Ramtin Arablouei, co-host of NPR's Throughline, get into the rise of cringe culture: where it comes from, how it's hurting us, and how leaning into cringe is good for art. And Ramtin talks with Brendan about how to cope with the criticism, and Brendan debuts a new song about his experience. Brendan's new album is out September 26th.For handpicked podcast recommendations every week, subscribe to NPR’s Pod Club newsletter at npr.org/podclub.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Sex sells. So does outrage. That's why these sex workers are making rage bait. In the past few months, UK and Australian-based OnlyFans creators like Bonnie Blue and Annie Knight made headlines for their extreme sex stunts, most notably for sleeping with over 100 men in one day. But in addition to these stunts, they also appear on controversial podcasts to gain traction, or do day in the life vlogs - much like your average everyday influencer. And they're making bank. So how did we get to this point? Brittany wanted to know more, and find out why this matters for those of us who don't consume this content. So, she sat down with New York Magazine writer Rebecca Jennings and writer and author Charlotte Shane to discuss the blurry lines of sex work, influencing, and rage bait. For handpicked podcast recommendations every week, subscribe to NPR’s Pod Club newsletter at npr.org/podclub.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Are you scared of being cheated on? You're not alone.There are apps and social media groups dedicated to outing a cheater. But is our paranoia about cheating actually hurting our relationships? And on top of that, definitions of "cheating" vary widely. How do you decide for yourself what really counts as cheating? And what's really fueling our fear of being cheated on?Brittany is joined by Kathryn Jezer-Morton, writer of the Brooding column from The Cut, and Shannon Keating, freelance culture journalist, to answer these questions and get to the bottom of why fear of infidelity haunts our culture and our dating lives.For handpicked podcast recommendations every week, subscribe to NPR’s Pod Club newsletter at npr.org/podclub. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Tyler Perry is many things, but is he someone we should aspire to be?Entertainment mogul Tyler Perry has built a media empire that has spanned theater, film, and television. And he’s recently been accused by an employee of sexual harassment. Brittany is joined by entertainment journalist and author Tre'vell Anderson and SUNY Purchase theater and performance professor William Bryant Miles to dive head-first into the Madea-verse, asking how Tyler Perry became such a media powerhouse, and whether these allegations of wrongdoing threaten to topple the fraught media empire he has built. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Jubilee has become one of the go-to open forums for debate in the digital age. Videos like: "Flat Earthers vs Scientists," "1 Conservative vs. 20 Feminists," and, "What Makes a Real Man?" are just some of the few topics they cover. It's what caused The Atlantic staff writer Spencer Kornhaber to write his article, "Jubilee is Like Gen-Z's 'Jerry Springer Show'". But their most recent video, "1 Progressive vs 20 Far-Right Conservatives," has gone viral for what some feel is a dangerous platforming of fascist ideals. Brittany is joined by The Atlantic staff writer Spencer Kornhaber to get into the state of public discourse, and how traditional media may led us to this moment.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Finding it hard to concentrate? Are you glued to social media for longer than you’d like? Well, maybe it’s not you… maybe it’s the phones. Brittany is joined by Magdalene Taylor, writer, cultural critic and senior editor at Playboy, and Fio Geiran, producer at TED Radio Hour and a writer of their Body Electric newsletter, to discuss this phrase: “it’s the phones.” They get into the effects that smartphones have on our brains and our culture, why some people are returning to “dumbphones,” and why it might take more than willpower to manage our relationships with our phones.Click here to check out the Body Electric newsletter.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Have you ever stayed in a relationship, because you felt like it would be too hard to find another partner? This episode is for you.Let this be a lesson for us all. Divorce is on the decline except for one key demographic: people over 50. So, in a world where many of us say it's harder to find friends or new relationships later in life, why are people 50 and up more likely to break up? Brittany is joined by Texas Tech University professor Dana Weiser and University of British Columbia professor Rosie Strout. Together they come out the other side with a message for all of us: it's never too late to write a new love story.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Are you hungry? Brittany has some irresistable recommendations. In this episode, Brittany steps out to find the best American recipes: peanut butter egg rolls and the juiciest fried green tomatoes. Along the way she uncovers the stories of these dishes - ones that could have only come from the Midwest and the South.This is... Food for Thought. And for the past few weeks, Brittany has been looking at the way food and dining shape our communities and culture. And for the last episode in the series, Brittany chats with Chicago Tribune restaurant critic Louisa Kung Liu Chu and food writer and cookbook author Nicole Taylor about summer staples that taste like home.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Not to be dramatic, but would you die for Hasan Piker?For some of you, Hasan Piker needs no introduction. He is one of the leading voices in progressive political content online, boasting a massive 2.9 million followers on Twitch alone. He's polarizing, charismatic, and (kind of) a bro. And his fans love him. Just take this Instagram comment for example: "Not to be dramatic, but I'd die for this man lol."With all the discourse about young men flocking to the political right because of online commentators like Joe Rogan and Theo Von, some have started asking if Piker is the Joe Rogan of the left? A fan on TikTok did refer to Piker as "the himbo gateway drug to leftist thought."In this special episode, Brittany sits down with Hasan to get some perspective on what's going on with young men, and to find out what Hasan sees that the rest of us are missing.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Many people feel that finding a lifelong partner can require a good bit of luck...but can the same be said for lifelong healthcare? Brittany is joined by Maris Kreizman, author of I Want to Burn This Place Down: Essays, to understand the precarious relationship between finding love and finding consistent health insurance. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

What are you looking for when you're picking a place to eat? And how do you find it? Michelin stars or TikTok?You've heard them referenced on The Bear and maybe even looked out for them when deciding your next meal: Michelin stars. The prestigious one to three star rating system awarded to the best of the best in dining. But Americans are expected to spend 7% less on eating out this summer, and as menu prices increase, Brittany wonders: what really gets people into a restaurant these days?This is... Food for Thought. And for the next few weeks, we're looking at the way food and dining shape our communities and culture. Brittany talks with reporter and video host for The Times' Food section and New York Times Cooking, Priya Krishna, and Eater correspondent Jaya Saxena, to find out.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Whether it's the Coldplay kiss cam or screenshots of dating profiles, it feels like any one of our private lives could inadvertently go public any minute now.A Coldplay concert kiss cam video went viral when one couple featured jumped away from each other and hid their faces. The internet quickly identified the concertgoers, and it turned the couple's life upside-down. It makes you think, though... could this happen to me, too?Brittany talks with Kate Wagner, architecture critic at The Nation, to discuss what this viral moment says about our eroding privacy in both public and private life, and how we've internalized casual surveillance. Do we all carry Coldyplay kiss cams in the form of our phones?Read Kate's article in Lux Magazine about why internet surveillance is killing eroticism here.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

For the first time, multiple Christian musicians are charting on the Billboard Hot 100 at the same time — and staying there for weeks. Has the mainstream found God?Brittany talks with University of Michigan-Dearborn Professor Emerita Dr. Deborah Smith Pollard and Christianity Today reporter Kelsey Kramer McGinnis to understand the multi-billion dollar machine behind the Christian Contemporary Music genre — who gets shut out, and why this holy conquering on the charts has the potential to impact your listening habits. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

What comes to mind when you think of third spaces? A place to be in community that's not a bar or a club? Try a diner...For New York Times writer and author, Erik Piepenburg, diners were and still are institutions for the LGBTQ+ community. In his book, Dining Out: First Dates, Defiant Nights, and Last Call Disco Fries at America's Gay Restaurants, Erik goes on a culinary tour of America to uncover why they've become such unique spaces. This is... Food for Thought. And for the next few weeks, we're looking at the way food and dining shape our communities and culture. Today, Erik joins Brittany to dive into the golden age of gay restaurants and how diners have been unsung staples of gay placemaking.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

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What's the difference between "good" work and "bad" work? And how do we talk about the rise in plastic surgery without dehumanizing people for their choices? Rates of plastic surgery are increasing, and minimally invasive procedures like filler and Botox are even more popular. It's also evident on social media that people (including plastic surgeons) are very comfortable speculating and commenting on other people's modifications, what procedures they might've had... and if they look busted.Guest host B.A. Parker discusses the thorniness of beauty culture with Jessica DeFino, a beauty reporter, advice columnist at The Guardian, and writer of "The Review of Beauty" Substack, and Joan Summers, entertainment editor at Paper and co-host of the Eating for Free podcast.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Data from Gallup and the Bureau of Labor Statistics show that Americans are reading fewer books and spending less time reading than ever. There's been reporting on college kids struggling to finish longer texts. And earlier this year, in a viral post, one user lamented their loss of concentration for reading, which led to a larger online discourse about how to approach books again. Brittany revisits her convo with Elaine Castillo, author of the book How to Read Now, and Abdullah Shihipar, Research Associate at the People, Place and Health collective at Brown University, to get into why reading books is on the decline, the battle for our attention, and what people can do to get their reading grooves back.This episode originally published February 3, 2025.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Anti-intellectualism is on the rise. And by "anti-intellectualism" we mean the backlash to scholars in fields like the humanities.According to two intellectuals, Dr. Ally Louks and Jason Stanley, the humanities help us better connect to other humans. According to a lot of online haters, they're worthless. In November 2024, Dr. Louks recently posted her Cambridge University dissertation online and was piled on by a loud group of right-wing anti-intellectuals. Today, Brittany revisits her convo with Dr. Louks, and Jason Stanley, a professor of Philosophy at Yale University. They investigate the backlash to Dr. Louks, higher education at large, and why "anti-intellectualism" is prevalent in Republican politics. For more, read Jason Stanley's book Erasing History: How Fascists Rewrite the Past to Control the Future. This episode originally published January 27, 2025.Support public media and receive ad-free listening & bonus. Join NPR+ today.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoice

Gen Z is having less sex than previous generations. But why? Well, let's be real. There are a lot of very legitimate reasons why young people are afraid of sex right now, many having to do with recent massive political and cultural changes.Brittany gets into why Gen Z-ers are having less sex with Tobias Hess, contributing writer at Paper magazine and writer of the Gen Zero Substack, and Carter Sherman, reproductive health and justice reporter at The Guardian and author of The Second Coming: Sex and the Next Generation's Fight Over Its Future.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy