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Nobody can predict what the future holds, but that doesn't stop us from trying. Trying, that is, to predict what will happen in the world of pop culture in 2025. We do it every year, so we'll look back on our predictions for 2024 and see how things turned out. <br><br><a href="https://plus.npr.org/"><em>Subscribe to NPR Plus at plus.npr.org</em></a><em> or make a gift at </em><a href="https://www.npr.org/donations/support"><em>donate.npr.org</em></a><em>.</em>

From HBO's Industry to FX's The Bear, 2024 was full of TV characters working out their "daddy issues" the tough way...by committing patricide. This week Brittany is joined by Vulture's TV critic <a href="https://www.vulture.com/author/roxana-hadadi/">Roxana Hadadi</a> and The New Yorker's <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/contributors/inkoo-kang">Inkoo Kang</a> to compare and contrast a new generation of daddy killers. Why do we enjoy seeing screen dads offed? And what does that say about our own anxieties about patriarchy?<br><br>Support public media and receive ad-free listening & bonus content by joining NPR+ today: <a href="https://plus.npr.org/">https://plus.npr.org/ </a>

A Complete Unknown isn't a traditional biopic. Instead of covering Bob Dylan's life story from birth to old age, it covers the period shortly after his arrival in New York City, as he first begins to fall in with the city's folk music scene. Timothée Chalamet plays Dylan — and does all his own singing. We see Dylan become a superstar, as well as his famous set at the 1965 Newport Folk Festival —where he and his band plugged in for an electrified set that's often viewed as a cultural turning point in America. <br><br><a href="https://letterboxd.com/nprpopculture/"><em>Follow Pop Culture Happy Hour on Letterboxd at letterboxd.com/nprpopculture</em></a><a href="https://plus.npr.org/happy">.</a> <br><br><a href="https://plus.npr.org/"><em>Subscribe to NPR Plus at plus.npr.org</em></a><em> or make a gift at </em><a href="https://www.npr.org/donations/support"><em>donate.npr.org.</em></a>

To close out 2024, Brittany and friends are running through the best and worst pop culture moments of the past 365 days. Along with NPR's Weekend Edition host <a href="https://www.npr.org/people/599484393/ayesha-rascoe">Ayesha Rascoe</a> and Code Switch co-host <a href="https://www.npr.org/people/1114056142/b-a-parker">B.A. Parker</a>, the three declare winners and losers in the following categories:<br><br><strong>WORD OF THE YEAR<br></strong>"Crash Out"<br>"Cutesy"<br>"Hawk Tuah"<br><br><strong>THE LOUDEST GASP HEARD AROUND THE WORLD<br></strong>Katt Williams on Club Shay Shay<br>Kendrick Lamar & Drake's Rap Beef<br>The response to the Trump assassination attempt<br><br><strong>VILLAIN OF THE YEAR<br></strong>Life<br>Willful Ignorance<br>Dr. Rachel Gunn (AKA Raygun)<br><br><strong>BIGGEST FLOP OF THE YEAR<br></strong>Tesla's Cybertrucks<strong><br></strong>Drake<br>Megalopolis<br><br><strong>THE "WHO'S THIS DIVA?" AWARD<br></strong>The extra special award for the diva you did not know before 2024 but whose name lives rent free in your head now.<br><br>Support public media and receive ad-free listening & bonus content by joining NPR+ today: <a href="https://plus.npr.org/">https://plus.npr.org/</a>

Netflix says more than 200 countries tuned into the "Beyoncé Bowl" and its two NFL games. We may just be starting to learn what that ultimately means for the future of television and sports media.

Pop culture critic Linda Holmes has been making this annual list since 2010. Big, small, inspirational, silly — what these items have in common is that they are all wonderful and brought her joy.

The copyrights of thousands of 20th-century films, books, compositions and sound recordings expire on Jan. 1, making them free for anyone to share and adapt. Here are some of the highlights.

In the new movie <em>Babygirl</em>, Nicole Kidman plays a high-powered CEO who has an affair her mysterious intern (Harris Dickinson). Their affair gets complicated by the many power dynamics involved — not just in the office, but also in a sexual relationship defined by dominance and submission.<br><br><a href="https://letterboxd.com/nprpopculture/"><em>Follow Pop Culture Happy Hour on Letterboxd at letterboxd.com/nprpopculture</em></a><a href="https://plus.npr.org/happy">.</a><br><br><a href="https://plus.npr.org/"><em>Subscribe to NPR Plus at plus.npr.org</em></a><em> or make a gift at </em><a href="https://www.npr.org/donations/support"><em>donate.npr.org</em></a><em>.</em>

What makes a movie a Christmas movie?<br><br>When the movie Die Hard was released on Blu Ray a few years back, the studio called it "the greatest Christmas story ever told!" <br><br>It does take place at an office Christmas party, but is that fact enough to make it a Christmas movie? <br><br>What about "Elf," "It's a Wonderful Life" or "Eyes Wide Shut" are those Christmas movies? Yes, right? NPR producer Marc Rivers says, "not so fast."<br><br>Just what makes any Christmas movie a true Christmas movie?<br><br>For sponsor-free episodes of <em>Consider This,</em> sign up for C<em>onsider This+</em> via Apple Podcasts or at <a href="http://plus.npr.org/">plus.npr.org</a>.<br><br>Email us at <a href="mailto:considerthis@npr.org">considerthis@npr.org</a>.

<em>Nosferatu </em>is a Dracula story with a twist. It stars Lily Rose-Depp as a new bride stalked by an evil bloodsucking creature of the night who brings death and terror in its wake. A handful of stalwart men – including her husband, played by Nicholas Hoult – attempt to defend Rose-Depp's virtue and defeat the undead scourge. <br><br><a href="https://letterboxd.com/nprpopculture/"><em>Follow Pop Culture Happy Hour on Letterboxd at letterboxd.com/nprpopculture</em>.</a>

Whether you play it on loop or whether it drives you crazy, there's no question Mariah Carey's "All I Want for Christmas is You," song has become a permanent fixture of the Christmas song canon. <br><br>But the holiday song canon is big, and a number of other pop artists have made their own Yuletide jingles since 1994 including John Legend, Justin Bieber and Taylor Swift.<br><br>But not even the woman who shattered records with her Eras tour has given us a holiday song that has had staying power worthy of The Canon.<br><br>For 30 years Mariah Carey's "All I Want for Christmas is You" has dominated the holiday music charts. NPR's Stephen Thompson explains what makes it a lasting hit?<br><br>For sponsor-free episodes of <em>Consider This,</em> sign up for C<em>onsider This+</em> via Apple Podcasts or at <a href="http://plus.npr.org/">plus.npr.org</a>.<br><br>Email us at <a href="mailto:considerthis@npr.org">considerthis@npr.org</a>.

Hasan Minhaj, Ronny Chieng, Mike Birbiglia, Hannah Einbinder and Michelle Buteau all delivered specials that cracked us up this year.