A Moment of Gratitude

Plus: 'Knives Out,' the Mister Rogers movie and what's making us happy by Linda Holmes Welcome! It is a holiday week and a somewhat abbreviated newsletter, but it was still the week when we [met the R2-D2 Instant Pot]( and learned that Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson and Danny DeVito [crashed a wedding together]( so it’s not like nothing happened. Let's get to it. Opening Argument Well, heck. It’s Thanksgiving week, and what better time to pause and think about some of the things I’m thankful for? I mean, other than my family and all the other personal things — those things, I will share over some turkey and television, the way it’s meant to be. I’m thankful for the rest of the PCHH team, of course — you know that. My co-panelists, our producers, our fourth chairs, everyone at NPR that supports the show and keeps it running (which is a lot of people). I’m thankful for people who find a few bucks to support their local public radio stations, without whom my entire life would have been different. ([Try it, won’t you?]( I’m thankful for all the writers and critics who notice things in pieces of culture that I couldn’t or just didn’t, who make me smarter and keep me sharp. I’m thankful for everyone who pays to support the things they love so that people who genuinely can’t afford to pay right now can have access. I’m thankful for everyone I’ve never heard of whose work on projects that bring me joy may be unnoticed, but is not unimportant. I’m thankful for the times when I have been able to curl up on the couch with my dog on a hard day and use someone’s art to escape to somewhere else, just briefly, just long enough to breathe. I’m thankful for events like the Toronto International Film Festival, where I swim in opportunities to absorb other people’s hard work, even when it’s not entirely successful. I’m thankful for artists who have ethics about their work and the workplaces they create and run, who take care of people they work with — especially people who have less pull than they do. I’m thankful for people who brave the worst parts of online discourse to say what they know needs saying, and I hope this will one day be unnecessary. I’m thankful for readers who both challenge and forgive writers, and who know that to err is [regrettably] human, to correct is [absolutely] essential, and to allow for good-faith imperfections is [truly] generous. And I’m thankful, of course, for the people who make art, and the people who read about art, and the people who have allowed me to do this job for another year. We Recommend There’s a lot of content hibernation over Thanksgiving, unless you’re talking about the really big stuff, like The Irishman on Netflix (coming soon to PCHH) or Knives Out in theaters (in your feeds now). But maybe that makes it a good time to do some rediscovering. I recently started rewatching the very early seasons of Grey’s Anatomy, and aside from the fact that everyone looks like an absolute adorable baby, it’s striking how really good some of that early stuff was, and easy to understand how the show became so beloved. (Derek Shepherd, however, is still a jerk.) Have you not seen Paul Feig’s Spy? Has it been at least six months since you saw Paul Feig’s Spy? Do you have a family that’s OK with [raucous weird comedy]( and likes it very well-executed? Seek out Paul Feig’s Spy! We’ll be reviewing Greta Gerwig’s adaptation of Little Women in the coming weeks, so why not take this opportunity to revisit either the book or one of the previous film adaptations? What We Did This Week [Knives Out cast]( Claire Folger/Lionsgate I wrote about Knives Out, [one of my favorite movies of the year](. We also covered Knives Out on [our Wednesday podcast episode]( with our buddy and one of our favorite mystery aficionados, Margaret Willison. [I reviewed the new Netflix series]( Merry Happy Whatever, about which let me just say: Oof. [Our Friday episode]( is about the charming film A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood, which we reviewed with pal Chris Klimek. What's Making Us Happy Every week on the show, we talk about some other things out in the world that have been giving us joy lately. Here they are: - Stephen: [The Karate Kid]( - Glen: The Crown, [The Official Podcast]( - Chris: [Making an annual Christmas mix]( - Linda: Wired’s [Technique Critique video series]( What do you think of today's email? We'd love to hear your thoughts, questions and feedback: [pchh@npr.org](mailto:pchh@npr.org?subject=Newsletter%20Feedback) Enjoying this newsletter? Forward to a friend! They can [sign up here](. Looking for more great content? [Check out all of our newsletter offerings]( — including Music, Books, Daily News and more! You received this message because you're subscribed to Pop Culture Happy Hour emails. This email was sent by National Public Radio, Inc., 1111 North Capitol Street NE, Washington, DC 20002 [Unsubscribe]( | [Privacy Policy](