This week, the statues have proliferatedwe lost a great actorAnd being animated had no protection against incarceration.

Here’s what NPR Pop Culture Happy Hour the crew was attentive – and what you should check out this weekend.

Rake the leaves

I love raking leaves more than I can say. We have a dogwood tree in the front yard that recently released all of its leaves. They come down in reds, yellows and greens. I remember going around elementary school and picking up a pretty piece of paper and taking it to school to put in a book or on a page, and I loved it. I love the smell of falling leaves. In two weeks I know I’m going to hate it, but right now I’m enjoying it. It’s paradise. —Bob Mondello

“Songs from a Lost World” by The Cure

Whenever a band takes a long break from recording, say 16 years, I don’t expect the next album to be one of the highlights of an artist’s career. But I love The Cure’s new album, Songs from a Lost World. This is a richly produced, very cohesive and cohesive collection of songs. Lyrically, it’s very dark. This is, after all, The Cure, who are a band known for injecting a bit of gloom into their songs. But it’s also very beautiful. The song “Alone” for example, it is not full of enthusiasm but is lifted by the beauty of the arrangements so that it is not oppressive.

When I interviewed Robert Smith of The Cure for Morning editionI asked him if he had thought about what he wanted his final musical statement to be and he replied, “Damn! It’s a bit dark, isn’t it? It felt like a real endorsement to see Robert Smith think something I asked him was dark.

Lawn mowing simulator

We have a big election next week. There’s a lot going on in the world. The main thing that comforts me right now is play video games on my PlayStation 5, including one called Lawn mowing simulator.

I enjoy an imaginary lawn where I sit on a lawn mower and drive it while mowing the lawn. It’s very satisfying. Sometimes I’m very efficient and try to get the job done and earn my money and bonus for doing it in a normal time frame. Other times I just drive around and make little circles with the lawn mower and create pretty patterns on the lawn. This gives me a lot of comfort as I try to maintain my balance in these tense times. -Linda Holmes

More recommendations from the Pop Culture Happy Hour newsletter

by Linda Holmes

The second season of The diplomat has arrived. I I really loved the first seasonand this one is very good too – although at six episodes it’s shorter than I would have liked. Like the third season of The bearit feels less like a season and more like half of a two-part season. But Keri Russell remains excellent, and the addition of Allison Janney is a masterstroke. And discover that of Eric Deggans review of the new season.

Did you play Astrobot? I have. (Just ask all my other responsibilities how neglected they feel.) A platform game for the PlayStation 5, it lets you become an adorable little robot who runs through different levels, punching, jumping, and shooting at objects, and so on. ‘East savagely amusing. If you’ve played Mario games on a Nintendo device, Astro Bot’s aesthetic (which has appeared in a few previous games featuring the same robot) will remind you of those, but it has a vigor and kick. foot which are specific to it.

Rachel Martin is such a good interviewer, and Seth Meyers is someone I have admired for a long time. So I was delighted to see him on Joker talk about all kinds of things. In one part of the conversation, he basically says that he had more ambition than talent when it came to acting in films – which is the kind of thing you don’t hear that often from successful people.

Dhanika Pineda adapted the Pop Culture Happy Hour segment “What’s Making Us Happy” for the web. If you like these suggestions, consider subscribe to our newsletter to get recommendations every week. And listen to Pop Culture Happy Hour on Apple Podcasts And Spotify.

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