‘Jaws’ is still stuck in our teeth, 50 years later

By Glen Weldon,

Linda Holmes, Stephen Thompson, Chris Klimek, Liz Metzger, Janae Morris, Mike Katzif, Jessica Reedy

Published August 28, 2025 at 9:50 AM EDT

Steven Spielberg's Jaws turns 50 this year. It's been called the perfect movie, the first blockbuster, and the film that changed why we go to the movies. As it returns to theaters, we head back into the water to revisit the classic creature feature with fresh eyes – lifeless eyes, black eyes, like a doll's eyes.

Follow Pop Culture Happy Hour on Letterboxd at letterboxd.com/nprpopculture

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

Tags

NPR Podcasts

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

Linda Holmes

Linda Holmes is a pop culture correspondent for NPR and the host of Pop Culture Happy Hour. She began her professional life as an attorney. In time, however, her affection for writing, popular culture, and the online universe eclipsed her legal ambitions. She shoved her law degree in the back of the closet, gave its living room space to DVD sets of The Wire, and never looked back.

See stories by Linda Holmes

Stephen Thompson

Stephen Thompson is a writer, editor and reviewer for NPR Music, where he speaks into any microphone that will have him and appears as a frequent panelist on All Songs Considered. Since 2010, Thompson has been a fixture on the NPR roundtable podcast Pop Culture Happy Hour, which he created and developed with NPR correspondent Linda Holmes. In 2008, he and Bob Boilen created the NPR Music video series Tiny Desk Concerts, in which musicians perform at Boilen's desk. (To be more specific, Thompson had the idea, which took seconds, while Boilen created the series, which took years. Thompson will insist upon equal billing until the day he dies.)

See stories by Stephen Thompson

Chris Klimek

See stories by Chris Klimek

Liz Metzger

Janae Morris

Mike Katzif

Jessica Reedy

See stories by Jessica Reedy