Escape Hatch (formerly Dune Pod)

We welcome one of our heroes, The New Yorker’s hard hitting political journalist, Isaac Chotiner. We discuss Sylvester Stallone’s 1985’s revenge fantasy classic, Rambo: First Blood Part II. Did you know it was written by James Cameron? Hear all about this and our take on the implications of late stage American hegemony in this episode.

Chapters

• Introduction (00:00:00)
• Hatch News (00:22:19)
• Rambo - First Blood Part II Roundtable (00:24:56)
• Your Letters (01:16:12)

Notes and Links

• Check out Escape Hatch Merch! Our all new collection of swag is available now and every order includes a free Cameo style shoutout from Haitch or Jason. Browse our collection now.
• Join the Escape Hatch Discord Server! Hang out with Haitch, Jason, and other friends of the pod. Check out the invite here.
• Escape Hatch is a TAPEDECK Podcasts Jawn! Escape Hatch is a member of TAPEDECK Podcasts, alongside: 70mm (a podcast for film lovers), Bat & Spider (low rent horror and exploitation films), The Letterboxd Show (Official Podcast from Letterboxd), Cinenauts (exploring the Criterion Collection), Lost Light (Transformers, wrestling, and more), and Will Run For (obsessed with running). Check these pods out!.
• See the movies we’ve watched and are going to watch on Letterboxd
• Escape Hatch’s Breaking Dune News Twitter list
• Rate and review the podcast to help others discover it, and let us know what you think of the show at [email protected] or leave us a voicemail at +1-415-534-5211.
• Follow @escapehatchpod on Bluesky,Instagram, and TikTok.
• Music by Scott Fritz and Who’z the Boss Music.
• Cover art by ctcher.
• Edited and produced by Haitch.
• Escape Hatch is a production of Haitch Industries.

Jason is on assignment, but have no fear! Taking Seat 1 this week is a legend, the co-host of House of R and author of MCU: The Reign of Marvel Studios, Joanna Robinson(!!) For her powerhouse return, we continue the journey we started last year and cover Peter Jackson’s The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers.

Chapters

• Introduction (00:00:00)
• Hatch News (00:18:28)
• The Two Towers Roundtable (00:24:49)
• Your Letters (01:23:11)

Notes and Links

• Check out Escape Hatch Merch! Our all new collection of swag is available now and every order includes a free Cameo style shoutout from Haitch or Jason. Browse our collection now.
• Join the Escape Hatch Discord Server! Hang out with Haitch, Jason, and other friends of the pod. Check out the invite here.
• Escape Hatch is a TAPEDECK Podcasts Jawn! Escape Hatch is a member of TAPEDECK Podcasts, alongside: 70mm (a podcast for film lovers), Bat & Spider (low rent horror and exploitation films), The Letterboxd Show (Official Podcast from Letterboxd), Cinenauts (exploring the Criterion Collection), Lost Light (Transformers, wrestling, and more), and Will Run For (obsessed with running). Check these pods out!.
• See the movies we’ve watched and are going to watch on Letterboxd
• Escape Hatch’s Breaking Dune News Twitter list
• Rate and review the podcast to help others discover it, and let us know what you think of the show at [email protected] or leave us a voicemail at +1-415-534-5211.
• Follow @escapehatchpod on Bluesky,Instagram, and TikTok.
• Music by Scott Fritz and Who’z the Boss Music.
• Cover art by ctcher.
• Edited and produced by Haitch.
• Escape Hatch is a production of Haitch Industries.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING! We kick off the holidays by revisiting our journey with the greatest living podcaster, co-host of The Ringer’s House of R, Joanna Robinson! She joined us last year for The Lord of the RIngs: The Fellowship of the Ring and it instantly became an all time episode. Before that, Jason and I reflect on our Meetup 2025 hangover, and share turkey prep horror stories! And get ready for Jo’s return next week for The Two Towers!!

Chapters

• Introduction (00:00:00)
• Hatch News (00:09:44)
• The Running Man Roundtable (00:15:55)
• Your Letters (00:46:57)

Notes and Links

• Check out Escape Hatch Merch! Our all new collection of swag is available now and every order includes a free Cameo style shoutout from Haitch or Jason. Browse our collection now.
• Join the Escape Hatch Discord Server! Hang out with Haitch, Jason, and other friends of the pod. Check out the invite here.
• Escape Hatch is a TAPEDECK Podcasts Jawn! Escape Hatch is a member of TAPEDECK Podcasts, alongside: 70mm (a podcast for film lovers), Bat & Spider (low rent horror and exploitation films), The Letterboxd Show (Official Podcast from Letterboxd), Cinenauts (exploring the Criterion Collection), Lost Light (Transformers, wrestling, and more), and Will Run For (obsessed with running). Check these pods out!.
• See the movies we’ve watched and are going to watch on Letterboxd
• Escape Hatch’s Breaking Dune News Twitter list
• Rate and review the podcast to help others discover it, and let us know what you think of the show at [email protected] or leave us a voicemail at +1-415-534-5211.
• Follow @escapehatchpod on Bluesky,Instagram, and TikTok.
• Music by Scott Fritz and Who’z the Boss Music.
• Cover art by ctcher.
• Edited and produced by Haitch.
• Escape Hatch is a production of Haitch Industries.

Meetup 2025! Folks flew in from all over the country and we spent a weekend in San Francisco making memories: we saw The Running Man in IMAX, and filmed a LIVE podcast (featuring live performances by many of your favorite voicemailers!) So, DON’T LISTEN TO THIS EPISODE, WATCH IT INSTEAD! I learned to video edit for you.

Chapters

• Introduction (00:00:00)
• Hatch News (00:09:44)
• The Running Man Roundtable (00:15:55)
• Your Letters (00:46:57)

Notes and Links

• Check out Escape Hatch Merch! Our all new collection of swag is available now and every order includes a free Cameo style shoutout from Haitch or Jason. Browse our collection now.
• Join the Escape Hatch Discord Server! Hang out with Haitch, Jason, and other friends of the pod. Check out the invite here.
• Escape Hatch is a TAPEDECK Podcasts Jawn! Escape Hatch is a member of TAPEDECK Podcasts, alongside: 70mm (a podcast for film lovers), Bat & Spider (low rent horror and exploitation films), The Letterboxd Show (Official Podcast from Letterboxd), Cinenauts (exploring the Criterion Collection), Lost Light (Transformers, wrestling, and more), and Will Run For (obsessed with running). Check these pods out!.
• See the movies we’ve watched and are going to watch on Letterboxd
• Escape Hatch’s Breaking Dune News Twitter list
• Rate and review the podcast to help others discover it, and let us know what you think of the show at [email protected] or leave us a voicemail at +1-415-534-5211.
• Follow @escapehatchpod on Bluesky,Instagram, and TikTok.
• Music by Scott Fritz and Who’z the Boss Music.
• Cover art by ctcher.
• Edited and produced by Haitch.
• Escape Hatch is a production of Haitch Industries.

Jesus wept. It’s the dramatic return of our Scream Queen, Sr. Editor of Fangoria Magazine, Meredith Borders. Meredith is hot off the massive Kickstarter launch of her brand new book, First in Fright: The FANGORIA Compendium! She guides us as we unlock the puzzle box to open up one of her favorite horror films of all time, Hellraiser!

Chapters

• Introduction (00:00:00)
• Hatch News (00:17:46)
• Hellraiser Roundtable (00:38:13)
• Your Letters (01:33:56)

Notes and Links

• Check out Escape Hatch Merch! Our all new collection of swag is available now and every order includes a free Cameo style shoutout from Haitch or Jason. Browse our collection now.
• Join the Escape Hatch Discord Server! Hang out with Haitch, Jason, and other friends of the pod. Check out the invite here.
• Escape Hatch is a TAPEDECK Podcasts Jawn! Escape Hatch is a member of TAPEDECK Podcasts, alongside: 70mm (a podcast for film lovers), Bat & Spider (low rent horror and exploitation films), The Letterboxd Show (Official Podcast from Letterboxd), Cinenauts (exploring the Criterion Collection), Lost Light (Transformers, wrestling, and more), and Will Run For (obsessed with running). Check these pods out!.
• See the movies we’ve watched and are going to watch on Letterboxd
• Escape Hatch’s Breaking Dune News Twitter list
• Rate and review the podcast to help others discover it, and let us know what you think of the show at [email protected] or leave us a voicemail at +1-415-534-5211.
• Follow @escapehatchpod on Bluesky,Instagram, and TikTok.
• Music by Scott Fritz and Who’z the Boss Music.
• Cover art by ctcher.
• Edited and produced by Haitch.
• Escape Hatch is a production of Haitch Industries.

We recorded this on Election Day 2025, and Jason is FIRED UP about Ezra Klein’s latest essay on how we beat Trump! He goes off on a cogent screed on what Ezra is getting wrong as we start the march to 2026 and 2028. Then, we’re joined by one of the stars of our voicemail segment, our very own Truthsayer, Birria! We discuss Wes Anderson’s breakthrough hit, shot at the very prep school where Birria (and Wes Anderson himself!) went to high school, Rushmore.

Chapters

• Introduction (00:00:00)
• Hatch News (00:27:27)
• Rushmore Roundtable (00:32:38)
• Your Letters (01:30:23)

Notes and Links

• Check out Escape Hatch Merch! Our all new collection of swag is available now and every order includes a free Cameo style shoutout from Haitch or Jason. Browse our collection now.
• Join the Escape Hatch Discord Server! Hang out with Haitch, Jason, and other friends of the pod. Check out the invite here.
• Escape Hatch is a TAPEDECK Podcasts Jawn! Escape Hatch is a member of TAPEDECK Podcasts, alongside: 70mm (a podcast for film lovers), Bat & Spider (low rent horror and exploitation films), The Letterboxd Show (Official Podcast from Letterboxd), Cinenauts (exploring the Criterion Collection), Lost Light (Transformers, wrestling, and more), and Will Run For (obsessed with running). Check these pods out!.
• See the movies we’ve watched and are going to watch on Letterboxd
• Escape Hatch’s Breaking Dune News Twitter list
• Rate and review the podcast to help others discover it, and let us know what you think of the show at [email protected] or leave us a voicemail at +1-415-534-5211.
• Follow @escapehatchpod on Bluesky,Instagram, and TikTok.
• Music by Scott Fritz and Who’z the Boss Music.
• Cover art by ctcher.
• Edited and produced by Haitch.
• Escape Hatch is a production of Haitch Industries.

OK! So who wants to hear us talk about gooning?!

Also, it’s the return of the co-hosts of the movie prop podcast, The Stuff Dreams Are Made Of, show-runner of House of the Dragon Ryan Condal and the showrunner of Veep, Dave Mandel! We continue our Classic Hollywood journey with the movie that invented the film noir genre, Humphrey Bogart’s, The Maltese Falcon.

Chapters

• Introduction (00:00:00)
• Hatch News (00:19:44)
• Ryan Condal and Dave Mandel Interview (00:28:57)
• The Maltese Falcon Roundtable (00:41:57)
• Your Letters (01:50:10)

Notes and Links

• Check out Escape Hatch Merch! Our all new collection of swag is available now and every order includes a free Cameo style shoutout from Haitch or Jason. Browse our collection now.
• Join the Escape Hatch Discord Server! Hang out with Haitch, Jason, and other friends of the pod. Check out the invite here.
• Escape Hatch is a TAPEDECK Podcasts Jawn! Escape Hatch is a member of TAPEDECK Podcasts, alongside: 70mm (a podcast for film lovers), Bat & Spider (low rent horror and exploitation films), The Letterboxd Show (Official Podcast from Letterboxd), Cinenauts (exploring the Criterion Collection), Lost Light (Transformers, wrestling, and more), and Will Run For (obsessed with running). Check these pods out!.
• See the movies we’ve watched and are going to watch on Letterboxd
• Escape Hatch’s Breaking Dune News Twitter list
• Rate and review the podcast to help others discover it, and let us know what you think of the show at [email protected] or leave us a voicemail at +1-415-534-5211.
• Follow @escapehatchpod on Bluesky,Instagram, and TikTok.
• Music by Scott Fritz and Who’z the Boss Music.
• Cover art by ctcher.
• Edited and produced by Haitch.
• Escape Hatch is a production of Haitch Industries.

We liquidated all of the assets on our balance sheet based on this movie into our microphones for your listening pleasure. In honor of our movie this week, the 2011 financial meltdown classic starring Jeremy Irons, we also had a fun late stage capitalism discussion around the most recent near apocalyptic financial meltdowns and the impending AI bubble pop! We’re joined by the co-host of the tech media podcast Channels, Peter Kafka. We finally tackle the 2011 financial meltdown classic, Margin Call.

Chapters

• Introduction (00:00:00)
• Hatch News (00:30:45)
• Margin Call Roundtable (00:37:32)
• Your Letters (01:38:07)

Notes and Links

• Check out Escape Hatch Merch! Our all new collection of swag is available now and every order includes a free Cameo style shoutout from Haitch or Jason. Browse our collection now.
• Join the Escape Hatch Discord Server! Hang out with Haitch, Jason, and other friends of the pod. Check out the invite here.
• Escape Hatch is a TAPEDECK Podcasts Jawn! Escape Hatch is a member of TAPEDECK Podcasts, alongside: 70mm (a podcast for film lovers), Bat & Spider (low rent horror and exploitation films), The Letterboxd Show (Official Podcast from Letterboxd), Cinenauts (exploring the Criterion Collection), Lost Light (Transformers, wrestling, and more), and Will Run For (obsessed with running). Check these pods out!.
• See the movies we’ve watched and are going to watch on Letterboxd
• Escape Hatch’s Breaking Dune News Twitter list
• Rate and review the podcast to help others discover it, and let us know what you think of the show at [email protected] or leave us a voicemail at +1-415-534-5211.
• Follow @escapehatchpod on Bluesky,Instagram, and TikTok.
• Music by Scott Fritz and Who’z the Boss Music.
• Cover art by ctcher.
• Edited and produced by Haitch.
• Escape Hatch is a production of Haitch Industries.

Look, this seemed like a good idea. We just forgot how problematic this movie is. BUT, it’s always a great time when the co-host of the X-Ray Vision podcast, the incomparable Rosie Knight joins us! Come along and feel the yearning with us, for Twilight: New Moon!

Chapters

• Introduction (00:00:00)
• Hatch News (00:23:00)
• The Birdcage Roundtable (00:37:24)
• Your Letters (01:41:32)

Notes and Links

• Check out Escape Hatch Merch! Our all new collection of swag is available now and every order includes a free Cameo style shoutout from Haitch or Jason. Browse our collection now.
• Join the Escape Hatch Discord Server! Hang out with Haitch, Jason, and other friends of the pod. Check out the invite here.
• Escape Hatch is a TAPEDECK Podcasts Jawn! Escape Hatch is a member of TAPEDECK Podcasts, alongside: 70mm (a podcast for film lovers), Bat & Spider (low rent horror and exploitation films), The Letterboxd Show (Official Podcast from Letterboxd), Cinenauts (exploring the Criterion Collection), Lost Light (Transformers, wrestling, and more), and Will Run For (obsessed with running). Check these pods out!.
• See the movies we’ve watched and are going to watch on Letterboxd
• Escape Hatch’s Breaking Dune News Twitter list
• Rate and review the podcast to help others discover it, and let us know what you think of the show at [email protected] or leave us a voicemail at +1-415-534-5211.
• Follow @escapehatchpod on Bluesky,Instagram, and TikTok.
• Music by Scott Fritz and Who’z the Boss Music.
• Cover art by ctcher.
• Edited and produced by Haitch.
• Escape Hatch is a production of Haitch Industries.

Welp, I guess now sitting members of Congress are coming on the pod. We’re joined by the trailblazing, first ever trans representative, Congresswoman Sarah McBride. She talks about the shutdown and how we build a coalition to fight back against this hostile administration. Then we tackle the blockbuster film that changed the conversation around what was allowed for gay characters in popular culture, Robin Williams and Nathan Lane’s The Birdcage!

Chapters

• Introduction (00:00:00)
• Hatch News (00:07:48)
• Interview with Congresswoman Sarah McBride (00:11:308)
• The Birdcage Roundtable (00:35:09)
• Your Letters (01:23:38)

Notes and Links

• Check out Escape Hatch Merch! Our all new collection of swag is available now and every order includes a free Cameo style shoutout from Haitch or Jason. Browse our collection now.
• Join the Escape Hatch Discord Server! Hang out with Haitch, Jason, and other friends of the pod. Check out the invite here.
• Escape Hatch is a TAPEDECK Podcasts Jawn! Escape Hatch is a member of TAPEDECK Podcasts, alongside: 70mm (a podcast for film lovers), Bat & Spider (low rent horror and exploitation films), The Letterboxd Show (Official Podcast from Letterboxd), Cinenauts (exploring the Criterion Collection), Lost Light (Transformers, wrestling, and more), and Will Run For (obsessed with running). Check these pods out!.
• See the movies we’ve watched and are going to watch on Letterboxd
• Escape Hatch’s Breaking Dune News Twitter list
• Rate and review the podcast to help others discover it, and let us know what you think of the show at [email protected] or leave us a voicemail at +1-415-534-5211.
• Follow @escapehatchpod on Bluesky,Instagram, and TikTok.
• Music by Scott Fritz and Who’z the Boss Music.
• Cover art by ctcher.
• Edited and produced by Haitch.
• Escape Hatch is a production of Haitch Industries.