David F. Walker, author of the upcoming "The Black Panther Party: A Graphic Novel," talks more about the research he's done for his book and I have my full interview with a member of the San Diego Original Black Panther Party, Henry Lee Wallace V. So I stray off the film path for this bonus or perhaps it's better titled a companion podcast to Black Films That Matter. Walker talks about the Black Panthers and their legacy while Wallace recounts how he joined the party as a teenager and now serves as chairman of the reactivated San Diego Black Panther Party. A little history rather than cinema for a change of pace. Check out the companion Black Films that Matter Podcast: https://www.kpbs.org/podcasts/cinema-junkie/2020/jul/03/black-films-matter/

David F. Walker (writer of "Shaft" and "Luke Cage" comics, and graphic novels on Frederick Douglas and The Black Panther Party) picks some Black films that matter to provide context for today's protests. We discuss the controversial 1973 film "The Spook Who Sat By The Door" that United Artists pulled from release; Melvin Van Peebles' "The Watermelon Man" in which Godfrey Cambridge plays a white man who wakes up Black one morning; "Cornbread, Earl and Me" about an innocent Black kid shot dead by police; and more. We explore why these films are still relevant and how that provide insight into race in America. WARNING: Contains explicit language and language that may be offensive.

This month and into July Shudder is hosting the Etheria Film Festival, a showcase of genre shorts by women filmmakers, and a Queer Horror Collection featuring the new documentary "Scream Queen! My Nightmare on Elm Street." I will highlight the best of Etheria and then speak with filmmakers Tyler Jensen and Roman Chimienti about making "Scream Queen!" and finally speak with Mark Patton (Jesse in "Nightmare on Elm Street 2") about how being in a film labeled "the gayest horror film ever made" impacted the career of a young actor in 1985 Hollywood when the AIDS pandemic was at its height. So join me as we go from the final girls of Etheria to the final boy of Elm Street. WARNING: Contains explicit language.

Matt Berry has given us a gallery of hilarious characters from the buffoonish Douglas Reynholm in "The IT Crowd" to full of himself actor Steven Toast in "Toast of London" to the Staten Island vampire Laszlo Cravensworth in "What We Do In The Shadows," which has its season finale on June 10, 2020. I had the pleasure of speaking with Berry about his career including such cult classics as "Snuff Box" and "Garth Marenghi's Darkplace." Plus I get to play some of his music. WARNING: This podcast contains explicit language and adult humor... because it contains Matt Berry.

Cinema Junkie has been exploring escapist films to distract you from our current coronavirus pandemic but as parts of the country and some businesses start to reopen I decided it was time to explore some unconventional pandemic films that raise issues beyond just the virus itself. I will be speaking with neuroscientist and emotion researcher Eric Leonardis who has been spending his quarantined time at home watching pandemic films but he has an interesting take on these movies because he wants to see how emotions like panic and fear can spread as readily as a virus and how words can be as dangerous as germs. We will consider silents to contemporary films as well as films from China, Cambodia, South Korea and the U.S. So wash your hands, put on a mask, and defy being infected by these pandemic movies.

Write, blogger, and classic film enthusiast Will McKinley will be your guide to becoming a more adventuresome digital explorer as you navigate the quarantine landscape. He suggest skip the entertainment fast food and pick more nourishing options from the digital buffet. We'll discuss everything from free services to boutique streaming services to bulking up on physical media. There really are so many choices!

April was to have been the month we got Bond 25, "No Time To Die" but the film has been postponed to November because of the current pandemic. So here's a discussion about the best and most outrageous Bond rip off spy films that provide perfect escapist fare while sheltering at home. To help guide us through this fun terrain is #Bond_age espionage aficionado James Patrick. We also pay tribute to Honor Blackman, Pussy Galore of "Goldfinger," who died earlier this month.

Cinema Junkie offers up some quarantine viewing options that provide escapism. First up, TCM Classic Film Festival had to cancel its Hollywood event but has moved it to its TCM cable channel for a Home Edition that anyone can enjoy while sheltering at home. Charles Tabesh, senior vice president in charge of programming at Turner Classic Movies, previews the festival. The Nora Fiore, author of the Nitrate Diva blog, highlights the best screwball comedies to take your mind off the coronavirus pandemic. She suggests some well-known classics as well as under-appreciated gems. Plus enjoy a rendition of "The Good Ship Lollipop" that will delight and surprise you.

UC San Diego professor Joel Wertheim uses the 2011 Steven Soderbergh film "Contagion" to teach a class every fall in epidemiology because it is so accurate in depicting a global pandemic. I talk to Wertheim about viruses and what we might be able learn from pop culture about dealing with the current coronavirus pandemic.

I became a fan of Benh Zeitlin after his first film "Beasts of the Southern Wild." Now almost eight years later he has a second film that once again captures the wonder of childhood through a young girl's eyes. For "Wendy" he has reimagined "Peter Pan" from her point of view and place the idea of motherhood front and center. I speak to him about shooting on 16mm, working with non-professional child actors, and keeping reality as part of the magical world he creates.