This week, queens kept resigning, a story that seemed to be over wasn't over, and a big movie came to Cannes — and Cannes delivered the controversy.
Here's what NPR's Pop Culture Happy Hour crew was paying attention to — and what you should check out this weekend.
Sophie Truax's puppets and songs on TikTok
@sophietruax This is how I am coping
♬ original sound-Sophie Truax
What's making me happy this week is the resurgence of puppets on TikTok, and one account in particular: Singer-songwriter Sophie Truax who you can find @sophietruax. They create these puppets that are kind of like the characters in their songs — so they have one for themself that has a septum ring and wears bolo ties. They have some for their exes which are these hipster- looking puppets with beanies and cigarettes. The whole thing is hilarious. They posted this video of them doing puppet ventriloquism of Sabrina Carpenter's "Espresso." It's really been getting me through the week. — Isabella Gomez Sarmiento
Tyler Joseph Ellis' Instagram videos
Tyler Joseph Ellis is an actor who does recurring bits on TikTok and Instagram about catty, judgmental theater people. And as a former theater kid, this is right in my wheelhouse. It is very niche. One of my favorite bits is "POV: You approach the senior theater kids." In one he plays a senior theater kid making fun of a freshman theater kid for saying Beauty and the Beast is their favorite musical. It just tickles my soul because I've been there. I love it. — Aisha Harris
The latest Tiny Desk Contest winner, The Philharmonik
This week we announced the winner of our 10th annual Tiny Desk contest is The Philharmonik, an artist from Sacramento, Calif. Their song, "What's It All Mean?" is completely timeless. It would have made a great Stevie Wonder song. It would have made a great '90s neo-soul song. It makes a great song in 2024. In the video they submitted, they perform this song not just in front of a desk, but in an office full of desks. This is a beautiful song and it's made by somebody who really thought about the Tiny Desk in clever ways. I'm just delighted by it. Look for their Tiny Desk concert in the days to come. — Stephen Thompson
More recommendations from the Pop Culture Happy Hour newsletter
by Linda Holmes
Far be it from me to tell you what shows to watch (wait, I do that all the time), but you should know there was an announcement this week of a new host of The Mole, and if you listen to PCHH – or NPR – you might find the name familiar.
Former Random House copy chief Benjamin Dreyer is always worth listening to, but this week, he uncorked a particularly good column at the Washington Post about why "salacious" doesn't mean what a lot of people assume it does – and neither do a lot of other words.
Who doesn't love the dogs of the Westminster Dog Show? Take a peek at some of this year's contenders in a terrific and photo-heavy piece at Vogue.
Beth Novey adapted the Pop Culture Happy Hour segment "What's Making Us Happy" for the Web. If you like these suggestions, consider signing up for our newsletterto get recommendations every week. And listen to Pop Culture Happy Hour on Apple Podcastsand Spotify.
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