October 30, 2026
Rapper and business mogul Jay–Z has been booking the musical acts for the Super Bowl Halftime Show for seven years. Next year, he’s booked himself to headline the pinnacle showcase of the NFL. We take a look at how this is playing out with fans, especially after announcing the move during the 10-year anniversary of former NFL player and activist Colin Kaepernick’s kneeling protest.
Plus, there’s more, romantasy fans around the world celebrate the launch of Sarah J. Maas’ “A Court of Splintered Harmony,” artificial intelligence research company Anthropic is sued for allegedly using Elvis songs to train its AI agents and British singer Raye wins a major award for her genre-bending album.
It’s our pop culture news roundtable!
- Michael Jeffries, a professor of American studies at Wellesley College and the author of four books about race, culture and politics.
- Angelika Beener, award-winning journalist, DJ, producer and host of the podcast, “Milestones: Celebrating the Culture,” from New Jersey’s WBGO.
Stories/topics featured in this week’s roundtable
- NPR/AP: Jay-Z picks himself to headline the Super Bowl halftime show in Southern California
- BBC: ‘I love to escape into a fantasyland of fairies’: Fans rejoice as new ‘romantasy’ book hits shelves
- NBC: Singer Raye wins Mercury Prize for ‘This Music May Contain Hope’
- Billboard: Anthropic Sued For Stealing Elvis Presley Music to Train AI: ‘Deeply Protective of These Iconic Songs’
- Wired: This AI Radio Host Speaks Spanish and Backs Immigrants. It’s Winning Over Listeners
- Today: Constance Wu Shares New Details About ‘Crazy Rich Asians’ TV Show Sequel
- Good Morning America: New ‘Glee’ season coming to Disney+ and Hulu
