Lifestyle
What's Making Us Happy: A guide to your weekend snacking, viewing and listening
Bridget Everett as Sam in Somebody Somewhere
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This week, live-action remakes kept coming, labor conditions might be changing in reality TV and an iconic poet left us.
Here’s what NPR’s Pop Culture Happy Hour crew was paying attention to — and what you should check out this weekend.
A tried-and-true Bourbon Ball recipe
When I was a kid, I always made Bourbon Balls with my mom at this time of year. I still have the recipe that she had in her little box of cards. I made Bourbon Balls the other day — they are just amazing. They’re delicious, brownie-like things and I make way too many every year.
What I remember most about them was two weeks later, when we finally ate them, me at 5 or 6-years-old would have a little bit of one then make a terrible face because it tasted like alcohol and then pretend to be drunk for the next five minutes. And everybody at whatever party would just think that was adorable. That’s what I’m going for. — Bob Mondello
Bob’s Mom’s recipe for Bourbon Balls
Ingredients
2 cups vanilla wafer crumbs (rolled fine)
1 cup chopped pecans or walnuts
1 cup powdered sugar (and extra to roll balls in)
2 teaspoons cocoa
2 teaspoons corn syrup
1/3 cup bourbon (or rum, or brandy)
Directions
- Mix all ingredients well.
- Form into 1-inch balls.
- Roll into the extra powdered sugar.
- Store in an air-tight container for at least one week before serving (the hardest part).
Somebody Somewhere
YouTube
I’m obsessed with Somebody Somewhere on Max. It took me a minute to get into, I remember watching the first season and the first episode thinking this moves really slow, but for some reason it just clicked for me recently. I’ve binged it and I’m so sad that it’s in its third and final season. Bridget Everett and that entire cast is absolutely incredible and it’s actually become a comfort show for me. It’s this exploration of being an outsider in a small rural town. And as someone who grew up in the South and in a small, suburban, rural town, it really hits in all the best ways. — Ryan Mitchell
The Amazing Race
YouTube
I recently started a rewatch of The Amazing Race on Paramount+. A throwback from another time. We were in a different world back then. It is so beautiful just to see regular people traversing the world and conquering their fears. I find it quite entertaining and calming. So check it out. — Tre’vell Anderson
A Christmas Carol: A Signature Performance by Tim Curry
I’ve been listening to the great Tim Curry reading a story that has been co-opted by Big Christmas for far too long: A Christmas Carol. It’s sappy, sentimental, treacly. Yes. That’s why you need Tim Curry in the mix. He cuts through the treacle. He does not milk the sentiment. What he leans into is the language and the voice of the narration, it’s my favorite thing. I just started my annual listening and I always forget how much funny throat clearing there is in those opening pages where Dickens is like: Why is it dead as a doornail and not dead as a coffin nail? And he goes into this tangent about Hamlet’s father’s ghost. It’s just the best. — Glen Weldon
More recommendations from the Pop Culture Happy Hour newsletter
by Linda Holmes
I enjoyed Kelsey McKinney’s piece at Defector about the challenges of writing a book and the things that can’t be replicated by robots.
The Netflix action movie Carry-On wants very badly to be Die Hard (as Sam Adams has noted in Slate), and it is very much not Die Hard. It’s not as witty, and I don’t think I’m shocking anyone by saying that Jason Bateman is not Alan Rickman. However! With that said, it’s an entertaining and silly little diversion, nicely shot and choreographed, and featuring another good supporting performance from the terrific Danielle Deadwyler. Worth your time on a weekend evening or afternoon.
The funniest thing I read this week was Kathryn VanArendonk at Vulture, talking about what Taylor Sheridan is currently doing with Yellowstone. Truly, it is much weirder than whatever you’re thinking if you don’t watch.
I hope you’ll spend some time with the list of best TV and movies of 2024 that was assembled by some NPR critics: me, Glen, Aisha, Bob Mondello and Eric Deggans. Lots to love.
Dhanika Pineda adapted the Pop Culture Happy Hour segment “What’s Making Us Happy” for the Web. If you like these suggestions, consider signing up for our newsletter to get recommendations every week. And listen to Pop Culture Happy Hour on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.
Ariana Grande arrives at the 83rd Golden Globes on Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026, at the Beverly Hilton in Beverly Hills, Calif.
Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP
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Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP
The brightest stars in TV and film kicked off the 83rd annual Golden Globes tonight in Beverly Hills, Calif. with Ariana Grande, Noah Wyle, Teyana Taylor and George Clooney are just some the names who walked the red carpet. This year’s ceremony was hosted by comedian Nikki Glaser.
Here’s a glimpse of what some of the attendees are wearing tonight.
Michael B. Jordan
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Ryan Coogler and Zinzi Evans
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Jean Smart
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Teyana Taylor
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Jenna Ortega
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Owen Cooper
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Sara Wells and Noah Wyle
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Claire Danes
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Stellan Skarsgård and Megan Everett-Skarsgard
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Amy Poehler
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EJAE
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Amanda Anka and Jason Bateman
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Paul Mescal
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Adam Brody and Leighton Meester
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Laufey
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Kirsten Dunst and Jesse Plemons
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Chris Olsen
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Lisa Ann Walter
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Macaulay Culkin and Brenda Song
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Jacob Elordi
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Selena Gomez and Benny Blanco
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Ryan Destiny
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Jennifer Garner
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Rose Byrne
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Kate Hudson
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Snoop Dogg
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Timothée Chalamet
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Miley Cyrus
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George Clooney and Amal Clooney
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Leonardo DiCaprio
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Michel Martin
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Steve Inskeep
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Leila Fadel
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A Martinez
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Ben Falcone and Melissa McCarthy
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Amanda Seyfried
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William Stanford Davis
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Tessa Thompson
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Kathy Bates
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Dax Shepard and Kristen Bell
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Skylar Diggins
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Monica Padman
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Adam Scott and Naomi Scott
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Jayme Lawson
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Maya Rudolph and Paul Thomas Anderson
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Emma Stone
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Natasha Lyonne and Clea DuVall
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Nischelle Turner
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Brett Goldstein
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Parker Posey
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Vince Gilligan
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Chloé Zhao
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Mark Ruffalo and Sunrise Coigney
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Hannah Einbinder
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Sheryl Lee Ralph
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Keegan-Michael Key and Elle Key
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Justin Sylvester
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Judd Apatow and Lesley Mann
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Keltie Knight
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Sarah Snook
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Glen Powell
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Piper Curda
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Justine Lupe
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Helen Hoehne
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Natasha Rothwell
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Ashton Kutcher and Mila Kunis
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Minnie Driver
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Orlando Bloom
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Hudson Williams
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Connor Storrie
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Erin Doherty
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Wanda Sykes
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Nikki Glaser
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Julia Roberts
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Emily Blunt
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Chris Perfetti
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Rhea Seehorn
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Dakota Fanning
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Queen Latifah
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2026 Golden Globes
Nikki Glaser Shouts Out Rob Reiner …
Dons ‘Spinal Tap’ Hat at Close of Show
Published
Rob Reiner wasn’t forgotten at this year’s Golden Globe awards … because host Nikki Glaser paid tribute to him just weeks after his murder.
Here’s the deal … during the sign-off for the awards show, Nikki came onstage wearing a black and white “Spinal Tap” hat — the band which serves as the subject of Reiner’s iconic 1984 mockumentary of the same name.
Worth noting … the Golden Globes do not typically air an in memoriam — so this was the only time Reiner was mentioned at the show.
As you know … Rob and his wife Michele Singer Reiner were found dead in their Los Angeles home last month. Their son Nick Reiner has been arrested for murder in connection to the case.
TMZ.com
Nick’s arraignment was scheduled for last week … but, his lawyer Alan Jackson dropped out of the case — leaving Nick with a public defender and new arraignment date set for late February.
Jackson told a gaggle of reporters outside the courthouse that Nick’s not guilty … but, he simply can’t defend him. He did not provide a reason for his withdrawal.
Our new documentary “TMZ Investigates The Reiner Murders: What Really Happened” dives into Rob and Michele’s grisly deaths … as well as Nick’s history of mental health issues and even how his weight gain set him on a dangerous path.
“TMZ Investigates The Reiner Murders: What Really Happened” is now streaming on Hulu.
On-air challenge
Today’s puzzle is called “Pet Theory.” Every answer is a familiar two-word phrase or name in which the first word start starts PE- and the second word starts T-. (Ex. What walkways at intersections carry –> PEDESTRIAN TRAFFIC)
1. Chart that lists all the chemical elements
2. Place for a partridge in “The 12 Days of Christmas”
3. Male voyeur
4. What a coach gives a team during halftime in the locker room
5. Set of questions designed to reveal your traits
6. Something combatants sign to end a war
7. Someone who works with you one-on-one with physical exercises
8. Member of the Who
9. Incisors, canines, and premolars that grow in after you’re a baby
10. Nadia Comaneci was the first gymnast to score this at the Olympics
11. What holds the fuel in a British car
Last week’s challenge
Last week’s challenge was a numerical one from Ed Pegg Jr., who runs the website mathpuzzle.com. Take the nine digits — 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9. You can group some of them and add arithmetic operations to get 2011 like this: 1 + 23 ÷ 4 x 5 x 67 – 8 + 9. If you do these operations in order from left to right, you get 2011. Well, 2011 was 15 years ago. Can you group some of the digits and add arithmetic symbols in a different way to make 2026? The digits from 1 to 9 need to stay in that order. I know of two different solutions, but you need to find only one of them.
Challenge answer
12 × 34 × 5 – 6 – 7 + 8 – 9 [or] 1 + 2 + 345 × 6 – 7 × 8 + 9
Winner
Daniel Abramson of Albuquerque, N.M.
This week’s challenge
This week’s challenge comes from listener Ward Hartenstein. Think of a well-known couple whose names are often said in the order of _____ & _____. Seven letters in the names in total. Combine those two names, change an E to an S, and rearrange the result to name another famous duo who are widely known as _____ & _____.
If you know the answer to the challenge, submit it below by Thursday, January 15 at 3 p.m. ET. Listeners whose answers are selected win a chance to play the on-air puzzle.
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Broncos healthy compared to Bills
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