Have you ever wanted to spend a whole podcast episode listening to two nerds get down and dirty with their (arguably) favorite franchise? Have I got the show for you!

Interviews referenced:

https://www.newyorker.com/culture/the-new-yorker-interview/the-fallen-worlds-of-philip-pullman

https://www.ttbook.org/interview/his-dark-materials-author-philip-pullman-consciousness-all-things

https://highprofiles.info/interview/philip-pullman/

Well, friends, we did it. At episode 40, Maren and Martha talk about the final movie in the trilogy that, if not STARTED it all, definitely contributed to the inspiration for this very podcast. We're talking the final adventures of Lara Jean Covey and Peter Kovinsky in To All the Boys: Always and Forever (2021, dir. Michael Fimognari).

We continue our exploration of food and comfort and why we just love to watch people cook so much. In this nonfiction episode, we're talking about the Netflix original series, Chef's Table and Salt Fat Acid Heat.

Sorry this is so late, friends! Blame the world! Maren and Martha take a look at a newish Netflix original, Love, Guaranteed (2020, dir. Mark Steven Johnson). It's nice to see Rachel Leigh Cook working! Maybe not in this so much, though. Warning: we do not say nearly as much about Cook's amazing wardrobe as we should have.

Will Pete ever stop letting Martha get away with fully self-indulgent episodes? Not as long as the homework is this fun. We start a discussion on our culture love affair with food and cooking by looking at two cartoons that celebrate food in all its glory: the 2007 Pixar film Ratatouille (dir. Brad Bird and JenPinkava) and the 2015 anime series Food Wars! Shokugeki no Soma (dir. Yoshitomo Yonetani).

Today's discussion is THE PROM, the 2020 Netflix musical helmed by Ryan Murphy. Is Murphy's highest and best use directing teens in large scale dance numbers? There's no way to be sure.

Everything sucks, so why not talk politics? Pete and Martha can't help themselves, and examine the good, bad and the ugly of pop culture portrayals of politics.

Homework for the episode: Wag the Dog (dir. Barry Levinson, 1997); The West Wing, episodes 2.4 ("The Midterms," 2000), 4.6 ("Game On," 2002), 7.17 ("Election Day: Part II," 2006).

It's the end of the holiday season, so for a last hoorah Martha and Maren check out the 2020 Netflix original, Holidate (dir. John Whitesell; starring Emma Roberts, Luke Bracey, and others).

It's that time of year - time to look back at this trashfire year and focus on the stuff that brought us joy. Martha and Pete each bring 10 things to the table to share and discuss.

Martha and Maren do something a little different for this ep and discuss the Netflix mini series, Dash & Lily. Released in 2020, starring Austin Abrams and Midori Francis, and periodically directed by Fred Savage, does this show kindle our festive impulses or leave us cold? Tune in to find out...