Pop culture happy hour: 'glow' and lena waithe

This week's episode of _Pop Culture Happy Hour_ coincides exactly with Netflix's release of _GLOW_, a 10-episode TV series starring Alison Brie, Betty Gilpin and Marc Maron.

Presenting a fictionalized history of the late-'80s syndicated TV show _GLOW: Gorgeous Ladies Of Wrestling_, _GLOW_ carries the formidable DNA of executive producer Jenji Kohan (

_Orange Is The New Black_, _Weeds_) and producers Liz Flahive ( _Nurse Jackie_, _Homeland_) and Carly Mensch ( _Orange Is The New Black_, _Weeds_, _Nurse Jackie_). For this discussion, Kat

Chow joins Linda Holmes, Glen Weldon and me to tackle _GLOW_ — its unusual concept, the degree to which its stars either play against type (Brie) or don't (Maron), and its commitment to

character development. Some of us found it more uneven than others — and one or two of us questioned the degree to which it earns its commentary on racial stereotypes — but we all expect

big things, buzz-wise. (For those looking to learn more about the real women on whom _GLOW_ is based, a 2012 documentary called _GLOW: The Story Of The Gorgeous Ladies Of Wrestling_ is

_also_ on Netflix.) Then, we take a hard left turn (albeit sticking with Netflix) and bring you Linda's June 15 interview with Lena Waithe. Waithe, who plays Denise on Aziz Ansari and

Alan Yang's _Master Of None_, appeared on stage with us as part of _Pop Culture Happy Hour_'s live appearance at Largo at the Coronet in Los Angeles. Together, the two discuss

Waithe's work on _Master Of None_ — including her instant-classic coming-out episode "Thanksgiving," which Waithe describes as "really black, very female, very specific

and gay as hell" — and how it's mapped out over her own life. Waithe also explains how working as a writer and producer has made her a better actor, and gives us a few hints about

what to expect from _The Chi_, the forthcoming Showtime drama series she created. (Hint: Expect more of the radical empathy that's helped make _Master Of None_ a major standout.) _[For

more on Lena Waithe, look for the debut episode of_ It's Been A Minute _, the new NPR podcast hosted by our pal Sam Sanders.]_ Finally, as always, we close with What's Making Us

Happy this week. I'm having fun playing a new Nintendo Switch game with my kids — in part because it's too new for them to have fully learned how to beat the hell out of me. Glen

loves an ambitious new audiobook by one of his favorite authors. Kat rightly praises a terrific new album (don't miss this Code Switch discussion), as well as a bird-themed book. And

Linda loves _two_ new books, one of which she describes as "devastating" and one of which she... doesn't. As always, find us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter: the show,

Linda, me, Glen, Kat, producer Jessica, guest producer Thomas, and producer emeritus and pal for life Mike. Copyright 2020 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.