Each week, the guests and hosts on NPR's Pop Culture Happy Hour share what's bringing them joy. This week: The Valet on Hulu, watching wrestling, and a playlist crafted for the perfect summer vibe.

Each week, the guests and hosts on NPR's Pop Culture Happy Hour share what's bringing them joy. This week: The Valet on Hulu, watching wrestling, and a playlist crafted for the perfect summer vibe.

Eddie Muller's book, Dark City, chronicles film noir from the '40s and '50s. He says the genre draws on a "very dark vision of existence." Originally broadcast Oct. 21, 2022.

From light romance and short fiction to thrillers, here's a list of books that are perfect companions as you retreat to the beach or pool to catch a break from the summer heat.

From Lahore's red-light district and the streets of Mexico to a fantastical underwater land of Korean fable, here are some picks that can immerse you in worlds wholly unlike your own.

Books We Love is back early this year; for 2022, we're launching the first-ever summer edition, complete with 160+ recommendations from NPR staff and trusted critics.

Set in the future, Johnson's new satirical novel, Invisible Things, takes place on one of Jupiter's many moons, where humans have created an artificial ecosystem designed to replicate life on Earth.

Davey Davis' book is far from an ordinary love story — it's a shocking and moving novel about what it means to be an outsider in a world that's crumbling around you.

John Vercher trained in mixed martial arts as a young man. His novel, After the Lights Go Out, centers on a veteran MMA fighter who struggles to remember everyday things.

A new book dives deep into the fascinating criminal world of tree theft and efforts to combat it.

Ottessa Moshfegh's Lapvona follows the life of Marek, a 13-year-old peasant boy who lives in a cruel world of sadism and stink, cannibalism and self-flagellation.

Keefe recognizes that we're all unreliable narrators of our own lives, and writes about his subjects with a keen sense of understanding.

Authors say readers are exploiting Amazon's seven-day return policy by using Amazon like a library and returning books after reading them.

T.J. Newman began writing the hijack thriller Falling while she was a flight attendant. She'd jot down ideas on paper napkins in the quiet moments on red-eye flights. Originally broadcast July 2021.

It's a testament to Hilary Mantel's brilliance as an author that even though the moments in these stories are subtle, the book somehow feels epic in its own way.