The vice president, an avid Beyoncé fan, received a rare clearance to use the superstar's music before delivering a speech at her campaign headquarters in Delaware.
This week, Brittany Luse sits down with playwright Jocelyn Bioh, whose new play, Jaja's African Hair Braiding, is up for five Tony Award nominations, including Best Play. The two discuss Bioh's unique approach to comedy, what it took to bring a hair affair to Broadway, and how to find humor in dark situations.
Want to be featured on the show? Record your response to Brittany's question at the end of 'Hey Brittany' via voice memo and send it to ibam@npr.org.
Cowboy Carter has spurred plenty of discussion for being a groundbreaking country album. But for one critic, it calls to mind a cult favorite '70s psych-rock concept album.
Grab your cowboy hat, and saddle up that horse, because Beyoncé's highly anticipated album, Cowboy Carter is here. So far, the album has spurred praise, criticism, and questions about what the actual goal of this project is and how it fits into the Renaissance trilogy. To get into all of that, Brittany joined NPR's Pop Culture Happy Hour to discuss whether this foray into country is an exercise in experimentation or industry validation.
In "Texas Hold 'Em," the singer is accompanied by a banjo. It's often thought of as a quintessential Americana instrument. But the history of the banjo tells a different story.
The Houston-bred artist's new album uses country as a trapdoor into a sweeping genre expression. By adopting the role of the outlaw, she's free to toss all rules into the trash heap.
Throw on those boots with the spurs, grab your cowboy hat, and saddle up that horse, because Beyoncé's highly anticipated album, Cowboy Carter is here. Cowboy Carter is a country-fied album, full of legendary guests like Dolly Parton and Linda Martell, and duets with stars like Post Malone and Miley Cyrus — all tied together with the unbridled swagger of Queen Bey. But is Beyoncé knocking down the doors of the country establishment, or looking for validation?
A fan of both The Beatles and Beyoncé, 82-year-old Melba Pattillo Beals says the song is more special to her than ever. She is one of the Black students who helped desegregate U.S. public schools.
Is the much-hyped sequel to Renaissance a country album? In many ways, yes — but it's also a sprawling collage of disparate references, while remaining a Beyoncé album at its heart.
The Carters have it all — wealth, influence, critical cred — but they've never stopped chasing the approval of exclusive institutions like the Grammys. At this point, who are they fighting for?
With less than 10 days until the release of her new album, Cowboy Carter, the multiple Grammy award-winning singer-songwriter discusses the moment that inspired her to delve into country music.
Brittany feels like we've entered a new phase of celebrity oligarchy; new celebrity business enterprises are popping up daily, and we can't seem to get away from it all. But is this new? Brittany invites culture journalists Bobby Finger and Lindsey Weber to discuss how the notion of celebrity is changing, and what it means for us.
Then, we turn to Hayao Miyazaki, the legendary animator-director whose latest film, The Boy and the Heron, is a frontrunner at this year's Academy Awards. Brittany is joined by Jessica Neibel, Senior Exhibitions Curator at the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures, to unpack the life lessons Miyazaki's films offer, from the unreliability of adults to the messages of resilience rooted in Miyazaki's own postwar childhood.
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