In Mission Impossible, the final reckoning, Tom Cruise has to save the world again.

But this time, as the movie stresses repeatedly, the stakes are really, really high.

Higher than the buildings Tom sprints across or the planes he fights bad guys on.

Higher than ever before.

There's an AI that wants to destroy humanity.

And Tom and his allies try to pull off the feet of all our lifetimes.

Will he?

Does it even matter?

It's Tom Cruise doing Tom Cruise things in London, the Bering Sea, and beyond.

I'm Linda Holmes. And I'm Ayesha Harris. And today we're talking about Mission Impossible,

the final reckoning on Pop Culture Happy Hour from NPR.

Joining us today is Waylon Wong. She's the co-host of NPR's Daily Economics podcast,

The Indicator from Planet Money.

Hello, Whelan. Hello, hello. And also with us is writer Chris Clemick. Hey, Chris. Hey, Aisha, I just want to say

briefly to everyone listening, thank you for allowing us to entertain you and for listening to this

podcast the way it was meant to be experienced in your ears. Thank you, Mr. Cruz. Thank you. Thank you.

I love it. So look, unlike Marvel movies, the Mission Impossible franchise isn't steeped in

some deep lore and crucial plot points you need to follow from movie to movie. It's all about

the set pieces and the stunts. So if you haven't recently revisited the previous installments

before watching

the final reckoning, like I did not, you're in luck. A good chunk of this film includes

flashbacks and exposition that will remind you that Ethan Hunt, the star agent of the Impossible

...