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Pop Culture Happy Hour: In One Year And Out The Other

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Every year at this time, we at Pop Culture Happy Hour sit down to make some resolutions and predictions for the coming year. And, of course, we engage in the sometimes painful exercise of seeing how last year's resolutions and predictions turned out.

Well.

There is a moment in this episode in which Glen Weldon says, with his trademark blend of dismay and amusement, "I'm picking a theme ... of failure." And indeed, as we look back on the things we wanted to happen, meant to happen, intended to happen, we are forced to confront the ugliest sibling of aspiration, which is inertia.

I must inform you, the other people on the panel had several of their predictions pan out to at least some degree, while I valiantly stuck to the theme I thought we had settled on for this show, which was failing pretty much completely. Never let it be said that I cannot commit to a bit, even if it is a bit called, "I Said That? ...Huh."

Fortunately, there is time in this sea of misery (especially mine) for a discussion of what's making us happy this week. For me, it's a cool new podcast I enjoyed a great deal, and you might also.

Copyright 2021 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

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.