
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.)
In 1993, Thompson founded The Onion's entertainment section, The A.V. Club, which he edited until December 2004. In the years since, he has provided music-themed commentaries for NPR programs such as Weekend Edition, All Things Considered and Morning Edition, on which he earned the distinction of becoming the first member of the NPR Music staff ever to sing on an NPR newsmagazine. (Later, the magic of AutoTune transformed him from a 12th-rate David Archuleta into a fourth-rate Cher.) Thompson's entertainment writing has also run in Paste magazine, The Washington Post and The London Guardian.
During his tenure at The Onion, Thompson edited the 2002 book The Tenacity Of The Cockroach: Conversations With Entertainment's Most Enduring Outsiders (Crown) and copy-edited six best-selling comedy books. While there, he also coached The Onion's softball team to a sizzling 21-42 record, and was once outscored 72-0 in a span of 10 innings. Later in life, Thompson redeemed himself by teaming up with the small gaggle of fleet-footed twentysomethings who won the 2008 NPR Relay Race, a triumph he documents in a hard-hitting essay for the book This Is NPR: The First Forty Years (Chronicle).
A 1994 graduate of the University of Wisconsin, Thompson now lives in Silver Spring, Md., with his girlfriend, his daughter, their three cats and a room full of vintage arcade machines. (He also has a large adult son who has headed off to college but still calls once in a while.) Thompson's hobbies include watching reality television without shame, eating Pringles until his hand has involuntarily twisted itself into a gnarled claw, using the size of his Twitter following to assess his self-worth, touting the immutable moral superiority of the Green Bay Packers (who returned the favor by making a 22-minute documentary about his life) and maintaining a fierce rivalry with all Midwestern states other than Wisconsin.
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It's been nearly 30 years since Toy Story kicked off a historic run of animated films. So now seemed like a good time to discuss the best of the best — YOUR picks for the greatest Pixar films of all time. Thousands of you voted, and we've got the results. To see our listener's full ranking of Pixar film, check out the list 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
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Disney has been remaking its animated classics for years to great financial success – Lilo & Stitch has been dominating the box office for weeks now. So it's no surprise that DreamWorks is now getting in on the action with a remake of How to Train Your Dragon. It's full of epic battles, majestic countrysides and, of course, dragons galore. Follow Pop Culture Happy Hour on Letterboxd at letterboxd.com/nprpopculture
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Taylor Swift has purchased the rights to the master recordings of her early albums, giving her control over all her music.
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The movie ends, and the credits roll. That used to be your cue to start heading to the parking lot to debrief with your friends. That was before the era of the post-credits scene, which often teases the next installment, or offers one last joke or thrill that you'll miss if you don't stick around. But is it really worth it to stick around? Today we're talking about the state of the post-credits scene, including Sinners, Pixar and Marvel movies, and more.
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DeBÍ TiRAR Más FOTos de Bad Bunny y 111XPANTIA de Fuerza Regida mantienen los puestos número 1 y número 2 en el Billboard 200 de esta semana, lo que convierte a esta en la primera semana en la historia con álbumes en español en los dos primeros lugares de la lista.
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In our latest installment of Cineplexity, NPR staffers discuss how much horror is too much for kids to watch in movies.
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This week, his life as a singer and his life as an actor have dovetailed, as Jack Black has just set an all-time record on the Billboard Hot 100. He's recorded the shortest song ever to hit the chart.
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We talk about the songs that got us through the early days of parenting.
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Albums that are 2 or 3 years old are somehow shooting up on the charts. But why?
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Some big names in music have special album releases tied to today, Record Store Day. We highlight a few - and take a listen.