America turns 250 this year. So for this special birthday, we discuss our picks for what pieces of pop culture best depict the American dream, including The Wire, Apollo 13, Grey Gardens, and the spiritual successor to Tracy Chapman’s “Fast Car.” If you like want more episodes like this one, check out:<a href="https://www.npr.org/2026/04/09/nx-s1-5776802/how-we-handle-spoilers"target="_blank" >How we handle spoilers</a><a href="https://www.npr.org/2025/08/19/nx-s1-5506094/our-15th-anniversary-time-capsule"target="_blank" >Our 15th anniversary time capsule</a><a href="https://www.npr.org/2025/07/09/1255376152/we-rewatch-the-movies-we-loved-as-teens"target="_blank" >We rewatch the movies we loved as teens</a><a href="https://www.npr.org/2025/04/10/1243870140/pop-culture-that-changed-our-minds"target="_blank" >Pop culture that changed our minds</a> Connect with Pop Culture Happy Hour:<a href="https://letterboxd.com/nprpopculture/"target="_blank" >Letterboxd</a> / <a href="https://www.facebook.com/pchh"target="_blank" >Facebook</a><a href="https://www.npr.org/newsletter/pop-culture"target="_blank" >Our weekly newsletter</a><a href="https://plus.npr.org/happy"target="_blank" >Support Pop Culture Happy Hour+</a> See <a href="https://pcm.adswizz.com">pcm.adswizz.com</a> for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences. <a href="https://www.npr.org/about-npr/179878450/privacy-policy">NPR Privacy Policy</a>

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