Linda Holmes (writer)


Linda Holmes is an American author, cultural critic, and podcaster. She currently writes for NPR and hosts their podcast Pop Culture Happy Hour with Stephen Thompson and Glen Weldon. She also edits the PCHH blog, which was originally called Monkey See. Holmes has moderated live events and conducted live interviews with entertainment professionals such as Shonda Rhimes, Ron Howard, Connie Britton, Trevor Noah, B. J. Novak and Judy Blume. In 2019, Holmes published her first novel, Evvie Drake Starts Over, which earned a starred Kirkus Reviews review and was selected by The Today Show as a summer book club pick.

Life

Originally from Wilmington, Delaware, Holmes attended Oberlin College from 1989 to 1993. While there, she took a class on constitutional law that inspired her to go to law school. She enrolled at Lewis & Clark Law School in Portland, Oregon, graduating in 1997 and practicing law in Minnesota until 2007.
While working for the Minnesota legislature, she began writing about television and film in her free time for sites like Television Without Pity, Vulture.com and MSNBC. In 2007, Holmes left her legal job and moved to New York City to dedicate her time to writing criticism. One year later, she was hired to cover pop culture for NPR.

Works