Cassandra Explains It All

We have to talk about what is happening in the Aaron Carter universe. Some of you may only remember him as a child star "heart throb" and younger brother of Backstreet boy Nick Carter or maybe your more familiar with his recent alarming interviews and Instagram lives. Either way there is something very fascinating happening with the para social relationships within his community and the systematic abuse of child stars that is worth looking at. This isn't a deep dive episode, but I do want to do a quick update about the current affairs at the LMG mansion and the recent alleged assault of his child's mother Melanie Martin.  Trigger warning for SA/DV

My older brother Kyle and fellow podcaster (Behind the Bots) joins me to talk at length about Pump Up the Volume or as I would prefer it to be called, Talk Hard. Mark (Christian Slater) runs a pirate radio station and causes an uproar when he speaks his mind and enthralls fellow teens. We get into an array of subject like River Phoenix and his tragic death, the broken school systems of the US and Canada but most notably for me was towards the end when we discussed Bob Saget, as we had recorded this many months ago before his passing. I hope you all love this episode as much as I loved recording it. And remember kids, TALK HARD! 

Today Scott Barber (director of The Orange Years doc) is back for a very fun review of Salute Your Shorts! It was such a treat to have a nostalgia expert join me for this review and get an insider's look at camp Anawanna! For me this is one of the most memorable episodes of the series and we even get to talk about censorship and licensing issues that surround Nickelodeon, and Paramount and Viacom at large. We cover Season 1 Episode 7 The Radio Call in Contest. Sponge discovers a radio trivia contest hosted by DJ Giant Jim, but may need his friends' help to win the $1000 prize. Sponge discovers a radio trivia contest hosted by DJ Giant Jim, but may need his friends' help to win the $1000 prize.

Ali (Notable Nostalgia/ Dungeons and Decades) is back to talk cults with me! In this very special episode Shawn joins a cult. Corey and the others try to snap him out of it. But it's not until Jonathan's in the hospital that Shawn sees clearly. Most importantly we take the time to break down Christy Carlson Romano's infamous cult YouTube video. We ask the important questions like what ever happened to Mr. Turner, do we even care, is the Centre Cult so bad, when will Mr. Feeny die and probably most importantly WHERE CAN WE FIND PETE AND PETE VALETINES DAY CARDS? 

Max from Measuring Flicks is back to chat with me about Disney's So weird! This is probably my favorite Disney show of all time? If anything, So Weird is fascinating as a children's program and I'm still learning about the rich writing staff and of course seedy history of the all-star cast. How does Danny Masterson play into this? Let's find out! So Weird Season 1 Episode 7 Jack befriends a beautiful girl, Gabe, who is concealing her leukemia from everyone except her dad and a guardian angel.

The man the myth the legend Zach Heltzel joins me on this New Year's Eve to talk about the best DCOM of all time, Brink! We get into the roots of this tale that is actually based on a book called Hans Brinker OR the Silver Skates that was later developed into several plays and movies. For some reason we talk a lot about evolution and Kirk Cameron, capitalistic dread, transphobia, racism, and of course wonder if show business is ethical in any way. We had fun reviewing this epic DCOM and I hope you all love and remember it as much as I do! 

Ryan and I are back to ask a lot of important questions. For example, why Stephanie Meyer insists on representing indigenous people as abusive monsters, and why was society obsessed with Dark Knights and New Moons in 2009 and what is with the insane turnover rate for the Twilight staff? Edward leaves Bella after an attack that nearly claimed her life, and, in her depression, she falls into yet another difficult relationship - this time with her close friend, Jacob Black.

Blake joins me to talk about sigil magic, Calvinism, mandatory minimums. We also at some point talk about The Santa Clause as it is a classic Christmas film starring the Dennys ash tray. We somehow have to wonder if Tim Allen was placed in the witness protection program and what exactly does Nom Chomsky have to do with any of this? Lets find out! When a man inadvertently makes Santa fall off of his roof on Christmas Eve, he finds himself magically recruited to take his place

Will from Men On Film runs control on this episode where we talk about the 1999 movie Go! William taking the lead turns out to be a good thing as Ryan is zooted and i'm making baseless claims about Suri Cruise and the Illuminati, what else is new? Katie Holmes appearing in two separate projects dealing with rave culture is something I find fascinating, and we talk a bit about Dawsons Creek as well. This was also Melissa Mcarthy's break out role, anyways Merry X mas ;p "Told from three perspectives, a story of a bunch of young Californians trying to get some cash, do and deal some drugs, score money and sex in Las Vegas, and generally experience the rush of life. "

My friend Brian joins me this Macaulay season to talk about one the most monumental Christmas films of all time, 1990's Home Alone! It is Christmas time and the McCallister family is preparing for a vacation in Paris, France. But the youngest in the family, Kevin (Macaulay Culkin), got into a scuffle with his older brother Buzz (Devin Ratray) and was sent to his room, which is on the third floor of his house. Then, the next morning, while the rest of the family was in a rush to make it to the airport on time, they completely forgot about Kevin, who now has the house all to himself. Being home alone was fun for Kevin, having a pizza all to himself, jumping on his parents' bed, and making a mess. Then, Kevin discovers about two burglars, Harry (Joe Pesci) and Marv (Daniel Stern), about to rob his house on Christmas Eve. Kevin acts quickly by wiring his own house with makeshift booby traps to stop the burglars and to bring them to justice.—John Wiggins