Squid Game
Pop Culture Happy Hour
NPR
4.5 • 11.6K Ratings
🗓️ 2 July 2025
⏱️ 14 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Support for NPR and the following message comes from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. |
| 0:05.4 | RWJF is a national philanthropy working toward a future where health is no longer a privilege but a right. |
| 0:12.1 | Learn more at RWJF.org. |
| 0:19.9 | Netflix's Korean drama Squid Game became a worldwide phenomenon, |
| 0:25.0 | winning six Emmys and inspiring countless Halloween costumes. |
| 0:29.0 | Now the series has reached its finale, and we've got thoughts. |
| 0:32.8 | I'm Stephen Thompson. |
| 0:33.6 | Today we are talking about Squid Game on Pop Culture Happy Hour from NPR. |
| 0:42.3 | Support for NPR and the following message comes from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. |
| 0:47.7 | RWJF is a national philanthropy working toward a future where health is no longer a privilege but a right. |
| 0:54.4 | Learn more at RWJF.org. |
| 1:00.3 | Joining me today is Jayhawk Kim. |
| 1:02.1 | She's a syndicated columnist whose work runs in the Chicago Tribune. |
| 1:05.2 | Welcome, Jayhawk. |
| 1:05.9 | Hi, Stephen. I'm so happy to be here and talk about this. |
| 1:09.6 | I am so happy to have you. |
| 1:11.5 | We have so much to get into. |
| 1:12.9 | So when Squid Game dropped in 2021, it told what felt like a complete story. |
| 1:19.6 | Li Zheng Jeh plays Sung-Gi-Hun, a gambling addict who's fallen deep into debt. |
| 1:24.8 | Soon he's recruited to participate in a competition in which 456 desperate |
| 1:30.0 | people play children's games with life and death stakes. As the losers die in violent and |
| 1:35.8 | bloody fashion, we learn more about the players and about a system that exploits their desperation |
... |
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