Glen Weldon
Glen Weldon is a host of NPR's Pop Culture Happy Hour podcast. He reviews books, movies, comics and more for the NPR Arts Desk.
Over the course of his career, he has spent time as a theater critic, a science writer, an oral historian, a writing teacher, a bookstore clerk, a PR flack, a completely inept marine biologist and a slightly better-ept competitive swimmer.
Weldon is the author of two cultural histories: Superman: The Unauthorized Biography and The Caped Crusade: Batman and the Rise of Nerd Culture. He has written for The New York Times, The Washington Post, The New Republic, The Atlantic, Slate, McSweeney's and more; his fiction has appeared in several anthologies and other publications. He is the recipient of an NEA Arts Journalism Fellowship, an Amtrak Writers' Residency, a Ragdale Writing Fellowship and a Pew Fellowship in the Arts for Fiction.
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Creators of the HBO Max series Harley Quinn said executives blocked a scene where Batman performs oral sex on Catwoman, sparking a social media conversation about censorship of female pleasure. -
After taking a year off, the Eurovision Song Contest is back, and for the first time a major streaming service — Peacock — is carrying it live in the U.S. Here's what to look for. -
The jokes come fast and furious in this Hulu series about a D-list supervillain (voiced by co-creator Patton Oswalt) struggling to keep it together. -
Two women attempt to reconcile their respective approaches to comedy in HBO Max's smart, sharp (but not too sharp), warm (but not too warm) series. -
There are lots of familiar trappings in Netflix's latest "realistic superheroes" series, but the way it grapples with the moral code at the heart of the superhero genre sets it apart. -
A very funny machine uprising forces an estranged daughter (Abbi Jacobson) and father (Danny McBride) to save the world — and rebuild their relationship. -
Netflix's new fantasy series contains many familiar elements, but a twisty, fast-moving plot and smart storytelling decisions make it a satisfying, eminently bingeable meal. -
A surfeit of characters, ideas, themes — and familiar writerly tics — obscures the storytelling in the opening episodes of HBO's new series about Victorian women granted special powers. -
We asked PCHH listeners to vote for the best Muppet. Nearly 20,000 votes later, here's your top 25, with accompanying commentary by Linda, Stephen, Aisha and Glen. -
A stellar voice cast helps ground this fantastical tale of a fledgling superhero's first forays into a job where the stakes — and the violence — are all too real.
