Curated by Chance

Episode 67: Sisyphean Endeavor

This week’s prompts: Automatic, Peach, 88

Neal and Lauren brave snow, slush, and Sisyphean car scraping for a cozy winter episode filled with musicals, surrealism, and just the right amount of existential dread.

Neal kicks things off by greasing the wheels of nostalgia with Grease (1978) — the leather-clad, pop-perfect, Chicago-born musical that became a worldwide phenomenon. He dives into the scrappy origins of the stage show at Kingston Mines, its wild Broadway success, and the unlikely road to Hollywood superstardom. You’ll learn how Travolta stole a solo, how Olivia Newton-John got sewn into her pants, and why half the cast was pushing thirty while pretending to be in homeroom. From the palm-tree fights to the palm-sweat dance scenes, Neal proves that Grease remains the slickest high school fantasy ever committed to film.

Meanwhile, Lauren spotlights British surrealist Eithel Colquhoun, a painter, writer, and practicing occultist who turned the mystical and macabre into fine art. She explores Colquhoun’s lifelong obsession with alchemy, magic, and androgyny; her expulsion from the British Surrealist Group for being “too into the occult”; and the recent Tate St. Ives retrospective that finally gave her due. From her saturated pastels and coral-toned dreamscapes to her fascination with the body as landscape, Colquhoun emerges as a forgotten visionary who painted femininity as both spiritual and subversive.

PLUS:

Next week’s prompts: Charcoal, Record, 1265, Story

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Episode 66: One Night at Pita Pit

This week’s prompts: Bear, Five, German

Lauren takes us deep into the strange and hypnotic world of Grizzly Man (2005), Werner Herzog’s haunting documentary about Timothy Treadwell, the self-proclaimed bear protector who lived — and died — among Alaska’s brown bears. She explores Herzog’s icy narration, the infamous unseen audio tape, and the way the director blurs the line between empathy and existential dread. Along the way, we get side trips through Burden of Dreams, My Best Fiend, and a Herzog TikTok rabbit hole that proves the director might just be one long performance piece.

Meanwhile, Neal celebrates the strange majesty of German cinema — from the Expressionist shadows of The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari to Karl Freund, the cinematographer who quite literally unchained the camera and later revolutionized sitcoms with I Love Lucy. He traces how Weimar–era innovations birthed horror classics like Dracula and The Mummy, and why every three-camera comedy owes a debt to one very determined German technician.

PLUS:
🐻 The doomed devotion of Grizzly Man
🎥 When Herzog promised to eat his shoe — and did
🧛 How Nosferatu inspired Hollywood horror
📺 The German who lit I Love Lucy (and every sitcom since)
💀 Werner Herzog: philosopher, filmmaker, and accidental meme lord

Next week’s prompts: Automatic, Peach, 88

Join our Patreon (New Tiers):

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Check Out Lauren’s Substack:
👉 https://ltlikesthis.substack.com/

Join The Curated By Chance Music League (Round 4 Sign Up):
👉 https://app.musicleague.com/l/6704df400ff1429186ef8bb85e56a488/

Follow the show and its creators on Instagram:
🎧 The Show – @curatedbychance
🎨 Lauren – @paisleylo
🎬 Neal – @nealefischer

📧 E-mail us: [email protected]

Hear Neal each week on Triviality Podcast – Subscribe now!
Listen to Lauren on Miss Information Podcast – Subscribe now!

📘 Order Neal’s newest book Law & Order: SVU – Confidential:
👉 https://geni.us/HPgeZ

And for more Neal in your life:
🌐 www.linktr.ee/nealefischer

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Episode 65: Inherent Vice... but not the movie

Prompts: 1220, Sage, Newspaper

We’re back to our regularly scheduled programming! After a mini panic involving corrupted files and cloud sleuthing, Neal and Lauren are reunited in glorious audio form. Thank you, Riverside, and thank you, listeners, for your patience!

In this episode, Neal grabs the morning edition and dives deep into His Girl Friday (1940) — Howard Hawks’s screwball masterpiece that forever changed Hollywood dialogue. You’ll hear about Cary Grant’s rapid-fire wit, Rosalind Russell’s secret joke writer, the gender-flipped origin story from The Front Page, and why the movie’s 191-page script clocks in at over 300 words a minute. Neal breaks down Hawks’s deceptively simple directing style, the film’s public-domain afterlife, and how His Girl Friday helped shape everything from Gilmore Girls to Aaron Sorkin.

Then Lauren turns the page to fine art and unpacks the life and legacy of Jasper Johns — the still-living legend of postwar American art. From flags and targets to encaustic wax and found newspapers, she traces how Johns blurred the line between abstraction and realism, pioneered “things the mind already knows,” and shared a creative (and romantic) spark with Robert Rauschenberg. Expect lessons in preservation, a crash course in art movements, and the revelation that Johns plans to turn his Connecticut estate into a creative haven after his death.

Also this week:
📬 A new patron joins the Curated by Chance family.
📚 Book Club updates (and a few reader confessions).
🪶 A porch-side dad review!

Join us on Patreon to help the show!: www.patreon.com/curatedbychance

Next week’s prompts have been drawn: Bear, 5, and German.

What could possibly go wrong?

Check Out Lauren’s Substack:
👉 https://ltlikesthis.substack.com/

Join The Curated by Chance Music League (Round 4 Sign Up):
👉 https://app.musicleague.com/l/6704df400ff1429186ef8bb85e56a488/

Follow the show and its creators on Instagram:
🎧 The Show – @curatedbychance
🎨 Lauren – @paisleylo
🎬 Neal – @nealefischer

📧 E-mail us: [email protected]

Hear Neal each week on Triviality Podcast – subscribe now!
Listen to Lauren on Miss Information Podcast – subscribe now!

📘 Pickup Neal's newest book Law & Order: SVU – Confidential (out October 14):
👉 https://geni.us/HPgeZ

🌐 For more Neal in your life: www.linktr.ee/nealefischer

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Episode 64: It Go Up

Prompts: Crimson, 1514, Scream

Part two of our first-ever split episode experiment! Last week, Lauren took us deep into Raphael, the Renaissance bromance, and a corrupted file fiasco. This week, Neal takes the mic to resurrect horror—literally.

Neal dives into Scream (1996), the Wes Craven–directed, Kevin Williamson–penned meta-slasher that saved an entire genre. From the true-crime story that inspired it to the 12-year-old who convinced Craven to direct, this one’s packed with the behind-the-scenes chaos that made Scream a cult legend. You’ll hear how Drew Barrymore changed horror history, how the Weinsteins nearly fired Wes Craven over the dailies, and how a random Halloween store mask became Ghostface.

Plus:
🎬 The voice actor who turned “What’s your favorite scary movie?” into an icon
📺 Why Scream led to Dawson’s Creek
💀 The NC-17 fight, the infamous Santa Rosa school board snub, and why “Faster, better, more blood” became the mantra on set

Lauren gets her dad’s porch-side review (spoiler: “No likey”), and the curators debate couple costumes, haunted house plans, and the perfect fall shower window breeze.

Let us know if you’re liking our new “one topic per curator” format—it’s an experiment, but we’re here for it!

Join us on Patreon:

www.patreon.com/curatedbychance

Check Out Lauren’s Substack:
👉 ltlikesthis.substack.com

Join The Curated By Chance Music League (Round 4 Sign Up):
👉 https://app.musicleague.com/l/6704df400ff1429186ef8bb85e56a488/

Follow the show and its creators on Instagram:
🎧 The Show – @curatedbychance
🎨 Lauren – @paisleylo
🎬 Neal – @nealefischer

📧 E-mail us: [email protected]

Hear Neal each week on Triviality Podcast – Subscribe now!
Listen to Lauren on Miss Information Podcast – Subscribe now!

📘 Purchase Neal’s newest book Law & Order: SVU – Confidential (out October 14):
👉 https://geni.us/HPgeZ

And for more Neal in your life:
🌐 www.linktr.ee/nealefischer

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Episode 63: Warrior Pope

Prompts: Crimson, 1514, Scream

First of all curators, thank you for your patience! We recorded a great episode and ALL our files were corrupted! We lost basically 90 minutes of great content. We dug deep, and were able to get a backup of a backup of a backup from our recording program. It might be slightly lesser quality, but it's preserved!

In this episode, Lauren tackles one of the holy trinity of renaissance painters, Raphael, and some of his artworks and relationship with Michelangelo! It truly sounds like they could have had a buddy cop movie relationship. Then...

Surprise! Since Lauren gave us a really interesting and exhaustive look at Raphael, and the file conundrum, we decided to split our topics into two episodes. So you'll hear Neal talk about his topic, in-depth, next week.

Let us know how you like this format. I.e. one of us talks about a topic for the 45-60 minutes which might open up some more conversational aspects. It's an experiment and we're here for it! Have no fear, next week is Neal's topic, and then we'll go back to regularly scheduled programming unless you like this format and we can experiment more! Huzzah!

Join us on Patreon (New Tiers!)

https://www.patreon.com/curatedbychance

Check Out Lauren’s Substack:👉 ⁠https://ltlikesthis.substack.com/⁠

Join The Curated By Chance Music League (Round 4 Sign Up):👉 ⁠https://app.musicleague.com/l/6704df400ff1429186ef8bb85e56a488/⁠

Follow the show and its creators on Instagram:🎧 The Show – ⁠@curatedbychance⁠🎨 Lauren – ⁠@paisleylo⁠🎬 Neal – ⁠@nealefischer⁠

📧 E-mail us: ⁠[email protected]⁠

Hear Neal each week on Triviality Podcast – Subscribe now!Listen to Lauren on Miss Information Podcast – Subscribe now!

📘 Purchase Neal’s newest book Law & Order: SVU – Confidential (out October 14):👉 ⁠https://geni.us/HPgeZ⁠

And for more Neal in your life:🌐 ⁠www.linktr.ee/nealefischer

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Episode 62: Dad Reviews from the Porch

This week’s prompts: Justice, 79, Platinum

It’s the Curated by Chance new year, and Neal and Lauren celebrate their “paper” anniversary with horses, hats, and ghost directors. Neal saddles up for Tombstone (1993), the cult Western classic that survived chaos, cast shakeups, and a ghost director—literally. He dives into Kurt Russell’s secret takeover, Val Kilmer’s ice-cold commitment as Doc Holliday, and how Tombstone beat Kevin Costner’s rival Wyatt Earp to the draw. You’ll learn about on-set meltdowns, 134-degree wool suits, and why even Bob Dylan couldn’t stop quoting the film.

Meanwhile, Lauren unpacks the sugar-coated genius (and controversy) of artist Kara Walker’s 2014 installation A Subtlety, a massive sphinx made of sugar inside Brooklyn’s Domino Sugar Factory. From its towering form and commentary on race and labor to its uneasy reception among largely white audiences, Lauren explores how Walker uses beauty, history, and shock to confront viewers with America’s racist past. Plus: an accidental detour into equine photography, museum insight, and how an artist can lose control of their own work once it’s released into the world.

PLUS:
🤠 The twin-film showdown of Tombstone vs. Wyatt Earp
🍬 Kara Walker’s sugar sphinx and the art world’s sticky double standards
🐴 The accidental discovery of horse photographer Carol Walker
🩸 Val Kilmer’s bed of ice and the hottest costumes in Western history

Join us on Patreon (Stickers, Book Clubs, Film Clubs, Oh My!) https://www.patreon.com/curatedbychance

Next week’s prompts: Crimson, 1514, Scream

Check Out Lauren’s Substack:
https://ltlikesthis.substack.com/

Join The Curated By Chance Music League (Round 4 Sign Up):
https://app.musicleague.com/l/6704df400ff1429186ef8bb85e56a488/

Follow the show and its creators on Instagram:
The Show – @curatedbychance
Lauren – @paisleylo
Neal – @nealefischer

E-mail us: [email protected]

Hear Neal each week on Triviality Podcast. Subscribe now!

Listen to Lauren on Miss Information Podcast! Subscribe now!

Pre-Order Neal’s newest book Law & Order: SVU – Confidential (out October 14):
https://geni.us/HPgeZ

And for more Neal in your life:
www.linktr.ee/nealefischer

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Episode 61: Dave Bautista in a Wig

This week’s prompts: Dice, Aubergine, 150

Lauren returns from France with baguette-fueled stories of business class decadence, wine-fueled tears at the Musée d’Orsay, and a new appreciation for Patrick, the most patient flight attendant in the skies. Somewhere between Bridgemix, focaccia, and a Luther Vandross doc, she finds time to catch The Last Showgirl (2024). Pamela Anderson trades Baywatch red for rhinestones and vulnerability in Gia Coppola’s indie portrait of a Vegas showgirl past her prime, with scene-stealing turns from Jamie Lee Curtis and Dave Bautista (in a wig, no less). Lauren unpacks the film’s vérité style, its bittersweet beats, and how Anderson nearly missed the role thanks to her own agent.

Meanwhile, Neal heads to Reno (cinematically) with Hard Eight (1996), Paul Thomas Anderson’s little-seen debut. From Sundance labs to studio battles over the title (Sydney vs. Hard Eight), Neal dives into how PTA fought for his cut, drew powerhouse performances from Philip Baker Hall, John C. Reilly, Gwyneth Paltrow, and Samuel L. Jackson, and laid the groundwork for Boogie Nights and beyond. It’s a story of craps, character studies, and a director learning how to lose battles but win the war.

PLUS:
🍷 Lauren’s business-class champagne strategy (spoiler: drink it all)
🎭 Pamela Anderson’s comeback and Jamie Lee Curtis going full frosty-lipstick brassy
🎲 Casino scams, improvised Philip Seymour Hoffman, and PTA vs. the studios
📼 Why The Last Showgirl is Pamela’s The Wrestler

Next week’s prompts: Justice, 79, Platinum

Support the show on Patreon: www.patreon.com/curatedbychance

Check Out Lauren’s Substack:
https://ltlikesthis.substack.com/

Join The Curated By Chance Music League (Round 4 Sign Up):
https://app.musicleague.com/l/6704df400ff1429186ef8bb85e56a488/

Follow the show and its creators on Instagram:
The Show - @curatedbychance
Lauren - @paisleylo
Neal - @nealefischer

E-mail us: [email protected]

Hear Neal each week on Triviality Podcast. Subscribe now!

Listen to Lauren on Miss Information Podcast! Subscribe now!

Pre-Order Neal’s newest book on Law & Order: SVU coming out October 14th:
https://geni.us/HPgeZ

And for more Neal in your life:
www.linktr.ee/nealefischer

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Episode 60: Où sont les toilettes? (AD-FREE)

This week’s prompts: Worm, White, 22

Lauren over-caffeinates and contemplates French survival phrases, while Neal unpacks Cold War musicals and desert planets. Together, it’s part history lesson, part space opera geek-out.

First, Neal dives into Chess (1986), the Cold War musical born from Tim Rice and the songwriters of ABBA. From concept album origins to a notorious Broadway flop, Neal traces how a story of spies, romance, and rival grandmasters gave us both “One Night in Bangkok” and one of theater’s most beloved cult scores. You’ll hear about Michael Bennett’s abandoned vision, Trevor Nunn’s rewrites, Frank Rich’s brutal review, and why Josh Groban and Idina Menzel helped rescue Chess in concert form. Plus: the upcoming Broadway revival with Aaron Tveit, Lea Michele, and Danny Strong’s new book.

Then, Lauren goes full space nerd with Dune (2021/2024), Denis Villeneuve’s sweeping adaptation of Frank Herbert’s saga. From Timothée Chalamet’s brooding Paul to Zendaya’s scene-stealing Chani, Lauren breaks down Bene Gesserit politics, spice-addled blue eyes, sandworm rides, and Stellan Skarsgård’s terrifying Baron Harkonnen. She also explains why Austin Butler’s eyebrow-free Feyd-Rautha might haunt your dreams, and how Villeneuve used infrared cinematography to make Giedi Prime look like a silver gelatin nightmare.

PLUS:
♟️ How Tim Rice swapped the Cuban Missile Crisis for a chessboard musical
🎶 “One Night in Bangkok” climbing to #3 on the Billboard charts
🌌 Zendaya > Timmy: Chani finally gets her due
🪱 Sandworms, spice, and the practical goo bath you won’t forget

Next week’s prompts: Dice, Aubergine, 150

Support us on Patreon (New Tiers!)

www.patreon.com/curatedbychance

Check Out Lauren’s Substack:
https://ltlikesthis.substack.com/

Look out for another round of Music League next week!

Follow the show and its creators on Instagram:
The Show - @curatedbychance
Lauren - @paisleylo
Neal - @nealefischer

E-mail us: [email protected]

Hear Neal each week on Triviality Podcast. Subscribe now!

Listen to Lauren on Miss Information Podcast! Subscribe now!

Pre-Order Neal’s newest book on Law & Order: SVU coming out October 14th below:
https://geni.us/HPgeZ

And for more Neal in your life, click here:
www.linktr.ee/nealefischer

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Episode 59: We All Should Be as Horny as Sabrina Carpenter

This week’s prompts: Reckless, Silver, Hobby, 393

Lauren paints outside the lines with an American icon, while Neal curates four films that span from gritty New York streets to a Bronx stoop. Together, it’s an embarrassment of riches — with a side of erotic bike dancing.

First, Lauren dives into the messy brilliance of Jackson Pollock, the volatile pioneer of Abstract Expressionism. From his drip technique and Jungian therapy to CIA-backed exhibitions and fractal analysis, Pollock was as reckless as he was revolutionary. Along the way, Lauren restores credit to overlooked influences like Janet Sobel and Lee Krasner, and explains why Pollock’s chaotic canvases weren’t random splatters but nature itself, repeating in fractal form.

Then, Neal takes on all four prompts with a film for each:

Reckless → Kids (1995), Larry Clark’s raw indie debut that shocked audiences with its unflinching portrait of New York teens and launched Rosario Dawson’s career.

Silver → Quicksilver (1986), Kevin Bacon’s flop-turned-cult curiosity about a stockbroker-turned-bike-messenger, complete with surreal bike dance sequences and a soundtrack by Roger Daltrey, Genesis’ Tony Banks, and Rod Stewart.

Hobby → Scrapper (2023), Charlotte Regan’s magical realist gem about a father-daughter bond, pastel dreams, and a scrapyard fort in East London.

393 → A Bronx Tale (1993), Robert De Niro’s heartfelt directorial debut based on Chazz Palminteri’s one-man play, balancing loyalty, family, and mob life in 1960s New York.

PLUS:
🎨 Fractals, drip paintings, and the Pollock-Shepard CIA connection
🚲 Kevin Bacon’s subway poster scavenger hunt (and his bike’s cameo in Brooklyn)
📺 Scrapper’s blend of realism and whimsy that wowed Sundance
🕶 “Now yous can’t leave”: the most famous barroom lock-in in cinema

Next week’s prompts: Worm, White, 22

Help Support The Show on Patreon (New Tiers!)

www.Patreon.com/curatedbychance

Check Out Lauren’s Substack:
https://ltlikesthis.substack.com/

Music League starting up again soon!

Follow the show and its creators on Instagram:
The Show - @curatedbychance
Lauren - @paisleylo
Neal - @nealefischer

E-mail us: [email protected]

Hear Neal each week on Triviality Podcast. Subscribe now!

Listen to Lauren on Miss Information Podcast! Subscribe now!

Pre-Order Neal’s newest book on Law & Order: SVU coming out October 14th below:
https://geni.us/HPgeZ

And for more Neal in your life, click here:
www.linktr.ee/nealefischer

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Episode 58: Neal's Secret Pop Girlies

This week’s prompts: 96, Sphinx, Olive

Neal waves the flag for blockbusters, while Lauren summons a Sphinx of her own. Along the way, there’s a detour into pop girlies, concert confessions, and 23 cats.

First, Neal revisits Roland Emmerich’s Independence Day (1996), the mega-hit that turned Will Smith into a global star and made us all salute Bill Pullman. From script origins on a Mexican vacation to Fox nearly calling it Doomsday, Neal traces how a scrappy “what if” became a $817 million juggernaut. You’ll hear about Will Smith’s casting fight, Vivica A. Fox’s six auditions, Randy Quaid’s crop-duster redo, and why the White House model only got one glorious explosion. Plus: the Shakespearean roots of that iconic speech, Goldblum improv, KY jelly aliens, and Neal’s very own Bill Pullman connection.

Then, Lauren spotlights Leonor Fini, the Argentine-Italian artist, rebel, and self-described Sphinx who defied surrealism’s boys’ club. Raised in disguise, exiled from Catholic schools, and fiercely independent, Fini blurred the line between painter, costume designer, and living artwork. Her haunting portraits, gender-bending sphinxes, and polyamorous household (with two men and 23 cats) cemented her reputation as one of Europe’s most uncompromising 20th-century artists. She refused labels, scorned Breton, dressed as a cardinal, and made art that still electrifies auction houses today.

PLUS:

Next week’s prompts: Reckless, Silver, Hobby, 393

Help Support The Show On Patreon! (New Tiers!)

www.patreon.com/curatedbychance

Check Out Lauren’s Substack

https://ltlikesthis.substack.com/ 

Join The Curated By Chance Music League (new round coming next week)

Follow the show and its creators on Instagram:

E-mail us: [email protected]

Hear Neal each week on Triviality Podcast. Subscribe now!

Listen to Lauren on Miss Information Podcast! Subscribe now!

Pre-Order Neal’s newest book on Law & Order: SVU coming out October 14th below: 

https://geni.us/HPgeZ

And for more Neal in your life, click here:

www.linktr.ee/nealefischer

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices