Linda Holmes
Linda Holmes is a pop culture correspondent for NPR and the host of Pop Culture Happy Hour. She began her professional life as an attorney. In time, however, her affection for writing, popular culture, and the online universe eclipsed her legal ambitions. She shoved her law degree in the back of the closet, gave its living room space to DVD sets of The Wire, and never looked back.
Holmes was a writer and editor at Television Without Pity, where she recapped several hundred hours of programming — including both High School Musical movies, for which she did not receive hazard pay. Her first novel, Evvie Drake Starts Over, was published in the summer of 2019.
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The story is fundamentally hopeful, just like Andy Weir's The Martian. -
It's thrilling to see the Academy recognize a weird, funny, scary performance like Amy Madigan's in Weapons. Here's what NPR critic Linda Holmes thought of the awards. -
NPR critics share their hopes and predictions for the 2026 Academy Awards, which air on Sunday. -
Sit down with pop culture critic Linda Holmes as she watches the 2026 Winter Games. She is exhausted by cross-country, says "ow ow ow" during moguls, and makes the case, once and for all, for curling. -
The first season of The Pitt was about acute problems. The second is about chronic ones. -
Up First Winter Games brings you the latest news and culture from the 2026 Milan Cortina Olympics. -
Sinners landed a record number of nods, while Avatar: Fire and Ash and Wicked: For Good fell short of their franchise predecessors. -
Between the final battle and some key needle drops, there was a little too much talking. -
Each year, critic Linda Holmes looks back on the year and compiles a list of the things that brought her joy. -
Whether you plan to head out to the theater or binge from the couch, our critics have gathered together their favorite films and TV shows of 2025.
