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Our 15th anniversary time capsule

NPR | By Stephen Thompson,

Linda Holmes, Aisha Harris, Glen Weldon, Liz Metzger, Mike Katzif, Jessica Reedy

Published August 19, 2025 at 9:40 AM EDT

Beyoncé performs during the first weekend of the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival in 2018.

We launched Pop Culture Happy Hour 15 years ago this summer, and we had a lot of pent-up hot takes. To celebrate this milestone, today we're breaking open a time capsule to revisit some of our memorable early moments and see how they've held up.

To access bonus episodes and sponsor-free listening for Pop Culture Happy Hour, subscribe to Pop Culture Happy Hour+ at plus.npr.org/happy.

Copyright 2025 NPR

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Stephen Thompson

Stephen Thompson is a host, writer and reviewer for NPR Music and Pop Culture Happy Hour. He appears frequently on All Songs Considered and NPR newsmagazines.

See stories by Stephen Thompson

Linda Holmes

Linda Holmes is a pop culture correspondent for NPR and the host of Pop Culture Happy Hour.

See stories by Linda Holmes

Aisha Harris

Aisha Harris is a critic and host of Pop Culture Happy Hour and author of Wannabe: Reckonings With the Pop Culture That Shapes Me.

See stories by Aisha Harris

Glen Weldon

Glen Weldon is a host of NPR's Pop Culture Happy Hour podcast. He reviews books, movies, comics and more for the NPR Arts Desk.

See stories by Glen Weldon

Liz Metzger

[Copyright 2024 NPR]

Mike Katzif

[Copyright 2024 NPR]

Jessica Reedy

[Copyright 2024 NPR]

See stories by Jessica Reedy

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