Is the lack of sunlight in the winter months really getting to you? Do you find yourself fighting tooth and nail to keep up with life's demands every winter? You may be dealing with seasonal affective disorder, or SAD. Brittany has developed her own morning routine to combat this type of depression. Today, she's joined by Dr. Norman E. Rosenthal, psychiatrist and scientist who first described seasonal affective disorder in the 1980s, to get feedback on her SAD routine, and learn about how we all can think differently about the rough winter months.Support Public Media. Join NPR Plus.Follow Brittany Luse on Instagram: @bmluseFor handpicked podcast recommendations every week, subscribe to NPR’s Pod Club newsletter at npr.org/podclub.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

What's in and what's out in 2026? Let's set the stage for what to watch out for in the new year.As you fill out your own bingo card for what will or will not happen in 2026, join Brittany, NPR's tech correspondent Bobby Allyn, and NPR's political correspondent Danielle Kurtzleben. They are laying out the puzzle pieces of 2026 - from the politics of masculinity to the bubble of artificial intelligence to the end of Queen Bee - and piecing them together, so you know what to set your sights on for the next calendar year. Support Public Media. Join NPR Plus.Follow Brittany Luse on Instagram: @bmluseFor handpicked podcast recommendations every week, subscribe to NPR’s Pod Club newsletter at npr.org/podclub.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

From CBD leggings to Soulcycle, wellness is reshaping our relationships to our bodies and souls. But what even is "wellness?" Well, for one, it's a global industry worth 6 trillion dollars. And it encompasses all kinds of things – including spirituality: from the spirituality of wellness practices like yoga and reiki, to treating wellness itself like a religion. As spirituality, self-care, and capitalism swirl together, what is missing from the story?Brittany is joined by Alyssa Bereznak, GQ's Wellness Director, and Rina Raphael, author of the book The Gospel of Wellness: Gyms, Gurus, Goop, and the False Promise of Self-Care, to get into what people get out of a wellness-based spiritualism and consumerism.This episode originally aired on March 17, 2025.Support Public Media. Join NPR Plus.Follow Brittany Luse on Instagram: @bmluseFor handpicked podcast recommendations every week, subscribe to NPR’s Pod Club newsletter at npr.org/podclub.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

If society privileges "thin" people, should you aspire to conform? And at what cost?Last year, online influencer Slim Kim went viral for a TikTok where she said she loves "being skinny." It sparked a debate that continued throughout 2025: how do we talk about bodies without falling into "body fascism." And with drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy flooding the market, how are the ways we talk about bodies shifting and changing?Brittany is joined by authors Emma Specter and Kate Manne to find out: what's so wrong with loving being skinny?This episode originally aired on December 6, 2024.Support Public Media. Join NPR Plus.Follow Brittany Luse on Instagram: @bmluseFor handpicked podcast recommendations every week, subscribe to NPR’s Pod Club newsletter at npr.org/podclub.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

If you want something badly enough, should you have it?Today, Brittany is investigating so-called "manifestation." It's this popular belief that if you want something badly enough, it'll come to you. But here's the thing: our relationship to the internet and algorithms is creating a feedback loop that actually makes our own dreams seem more...possible? But where's the line between dreams, reality, and the internet? Brittany calls on Tara Isabella Burton, an author and journalist, and New York Magazine's Rebecca Jennings to get to the bottom of this trend: the appeal of manifestation, its symbiotic relationship with the internet, and why it might make us less aware of our humanity.This episode originally aired on March 31, 2025.Support Public Media. Join NPR Plus.Follow Brittany Luse on Instagram: @bmluseFor handpicked podcast recommendations every week, subscribe to NPR’s Pod Club newsletter at npr.org/podclub.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Christianity showed up in the mainstream in unexpected ways this year. Are we in a revival?Take a look at this year's Billboard charts. For the first time, multiple Christian musicians charted on the Billboard Hot 100 at the same time — and stayed there for weeks. And some of the biggest hits of the year - like Alex Warren's "Ordinary" - pull from Contemporary Christian Music sounds. Plus, Trump says he wants to defend Christians. In the episode, Brittany talks with Christianity Today reporter Kelsey Kramer McGinnis to understand the multi-billion dollar machine behind the Christian Contemporary Music genre and how this behind-the-scenes system impacts what music you hear.This episode originally aired on July 23, 2025.Support Public Media. Join NPR Plus.Follow Brittany Luse on Instagram: @bmluseFor handpicked podcast recommendations every week, subscribe to NPR’s Pod Club newsletter at npr.org/podclub.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Why are Mormons so popular, you ask? Because it's part of their faith.From Hulu's The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives to your favorite homemaking TikTok influencers, the women of the Church of Latter Day Saints have been gaining massive audiences for over a decade. Brittany is joined by Jana Riess, senior columnist at Religious News Service and author of The Next Mormons: How Millennials are Changing the LDS Church to discuss how Mormon culture provides some of TikTok's most powerful influencers with heavenly tools for viral success.This episode originally aired on November 12, 2024.Support Public Media. Join NPR Plus.Follow Brittany Luse on Instagram: @bmluseFor handpicked podcast recommendations every week, subscribe to NPR’s Pod Club newsletter at npr.org/podclub.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

What's it like to date a man? Ask pop stars or your friends, and you might hear it's a struggle.From Sabrina Carpenter to Summer Walker, some of the biggest female artists on the charts today…are absolutely through with men. It’s a sentiment that has a name: heteropessimism. Coined in 2019 by the writer Asa Seresin, the term encapsulates the embarrassment, disaffection and fatigue that comes from being heterosexual. “Men are trash” music that reflects these feelings isn’t new, but NPR Music editor Hazel Cills says it’s making a comeback. So what makes this time different? And what can we learn from this moment's heteropessimism about the realities of dating men today?(0:00) How Heteropessimism went mainstream(4:21) What makes this "Men are trash" moment different than the past?(7:55) What do women want from their relationships?(14:59) How long will we be in the "men are trash" era?Support Public Media. Join NPR Plus.Follow Brittany Luse on Instagram: @bmluseFor handpicked podcast recommendations every week, subscribe to NPR’s Pod Club newsletter at npr.org/podclub.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

There’s been a lot of discourse about what “6 7” means, but what actually makes it meaningful?The “6 7" meme was everywhere this year, online and off. Scrolling through TikTok? You probably encountered it. Sitting in math class? Your teacher probably dreaded everyone shouting out the numbers when they came up in class. NPR intern Sanidhya Sharma investigated the phenomenon by going to schools and sitting down with experts. He's here now to report back to Brittany and get into why some memes aren't for everyone.Support Public Media. Join NPR Plus.Follow Brittany Luse on Instagram: @bmluseFor handpicked podcast recommendations every week, subscribe to NPR’s Pod Club newsletter at npr.org/podclub.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Welcome to the third annual IBAMMYs Culture Awards Show, where we reflect and honor the best and worst cultural moments of the year.Brittany is joined by Sam Sanders, host of KCRW's The Sam Sanders Show, and Tre'vell Anderson, host of The Seated podcast. All three nominated a person or moment for each of the four categories. NPR's Culture Committee then voted on a winner. Today, we reveal the winners and losers of 2025 and run through the moments we want to remember or forget.This year's categories & nominees are:Word of the Year:"Slop""Clock it""Labubu"Villain of the Year:Sydney SweeneyGlinda the Good WitchBillionairesThe Candle in the Dark:PinkPantheressOne of Them DaysLinikerNot-on-My-Bingo Card:KPop Demon HuntersYolanda AdamsKaty PerryWho will win?(0:00) How will you look back on 2025?(2:30) The Word of the Year: Slop, Clock It, or Labubu?(7:51) Villain of the Year: Sydney Sweeney, Billionaires, Wicked Glinda?(18:07) What brought you joy this year?(23:23) Not-on-my-Bingo Card: Kpop Demon Hunters, Yolanda Adams, Katy PerrySupport Public Media. Join NPR Plus.Follow Brittany Luse on Instagram: @bmluseFor handpicked podcast recommendations every week, subscribe to NPR’s Pod Club newsletter at npr.org/podclub.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy