Great Pop Culture Debate

We’re off this week to ring in the new year, but we still wanted to drop something on your feed. Check out THIS Hot Take argument from our Season 7 episode, 100th Episode Spectacular, in which host Eric Rezsnyak and panelist Kate Racculia revisit some of our earlier, controversial decisions.

Want to hear more from this episode (originally released in September 4, 2023)? ⁠Click here to listen to the full episode.

While you're at it, check out our Best of 2025 lists for our panelists' favorite pop-culture debuts in 2025.⁠

For more episodes, blogs, Top 10s, and more, ⁠⁠⁠visit our website by clicking here. ⁠⁠⁠Make sure to ⁠⁠⁠SUBSCRIBE to the show⁠⁠⁠ so you don't miss any upcoming episode.

NEW EPISODES COMING JANUARY 6, 2026!

CREDITS:

Editor: Bob Erlenback

Intro/Outro Music: "Dance to My Tune" by Marc Torch

#disney #disneymovie #animation #pixar #toystory #fantasia #podcast #podcastclips

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While we’re nestled snug in our beds for the Christmas holiday this week, we didn’t want to leave your podcast queue as empty as Santa’s cookie plate. So we’ve joined our friends at one of our sister podcasts, Podcasters Assemble to stuff an episode of their show down your chimney — and trust us, it definitely works for this holly-jolly occasion!

That's right, this week we’re filling your stockings with a crossover delight and instead of debating, we’re simply fa-la-la-la-falling in love with and discussing a true multi-holiday masterpiece: Tim Burton’s The Nightmare Before Christmas. We are here to praise, celebrate, and geek out over the stop-motion classic that bridges the gap between Halloween chills and Christmas thrills.

If you sleigh through this episode and want more, be sure to check out the archives from both Great Pop Culture Debate and Podcasters Assembled wherever you get your podcasts. ’Tis the season for binge-listening, after all!

If you want to keep the GPCD cheer going all year, follow us on Bluesky @gpcd.bsky.social, Instagram @greatpopculturedebate, and subscribe to our YouTube channel @greatpopculturedebate.

And be sure to show some love to our friends at Podcasters Assemble — find them on Bluesky @podcastersassemble.bsky.social and on Instagram at @castersassemble.

Feeling extra jolly? Support us on Patreon @greatpopculturedebate — it helps keep the debates merry and bright! 

We’ll be back soon with more debates, more delights, and plenty more pop-culture cheer. Until then, stay merry, stay bright, and may your days be filled with cookies, cozy vibes, and killer content. Happy holidays from all of us at GPCD!

CREDITS:

"Nightmare Before Christmas" episode courtesy Podcasters Assemble

Editor: Bob Erlenback

Intro/Outro Music: "Dance to My Tune" by Marc Torch

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We’re taking a short break from new episodes this week, but we still wanted to spread a little holiday cheer. Did you know our podcast has more than a dozen Christmas-related episodes in our Holidays Collection? Check out THIS Hot Take argument from our Season 2 episode, Best Holiday Pop Song (1980-2020).

Want to hear more form this episode (originally released in December 3, 2020)? ⁠Click here to listen to the full episode.⁠

For more episodes, blogs, Top 10s, and more, ⁠⁠⁠visit our website by clicking here. ⁠⁠⁠Make sure to ⁠⁠⁠SUBSCRIBE to the show⁠⁠⁠ so you don't miss any upcoming episode.

CREDITS:

Editor: Bob Erlenback

Intro/Outro Music: "Dance to My Tune" by Marc Torch

#christmasmusic #holidaymusic #christmaspop #popsongs #christmassongs #christmaswrapping #glee #weneedalittlechristmas #thewaitresses

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While Christmas is typically the time to snuggle up with friends and family to watch beloved the same corny, nostalgic favorites we return to every year, for filmmakers the holiday season is a surprisingly fertile ground for a very different form of entertainment: horror films. There are literally dozen of Christmas horror films currently in existence, and seemingly more every year. They use the Christmas festivities as a counterpoint for the bloody work of serial killers, monsters, or legendary figures from folklore. Forget Season’s Greetings and a Cup of Good Cheer; for these movies, it’s all about Season’s Beatings and a Cup of Good FEAR. So join the Great Pop Culture Debate for a very different holiday special as it explores the Best Holiday Horror Films.

Movies discussed: Black Christmas (1974); Silent Night, Deadly Night; Rare Exports; Silent Night (2021); Violent Night; Christmas, Bloody Christmas; Terrifier 3; Better Watch Out; Gremlins; P2; Jack Frost (1997); Black Christmas (2006); Krampus; It’s a Wonderful Knife; A Christmas Horror Story; Anna and the Apocalypse

Join host Eric Rezsnyak and GPCD panelists Karissa Kloss, Michael Schwarz, and Zack Derby as they discuss and debate 16 brutal holiday horror films. NOTE: This episode is not intended for children.

Want to watch the episode instead? As of Season 12, we now have full video episodes up on YouTube. Subscribe to our channel for even more original, exclusive episodes!

Episode Credits

Host: Eric Rezsnyak

Panelists: Karissa Kloss, Michael Schwarz, Zack Derby

Producer: Bob Erlenback

Editor: Bob Erlenback

Theme Music: “Dance to My Tune” by Marc Torch

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Great Pop Culture Debate host Eric Rezsnyak explains how we created the bracket for our 2025 Holiday Special devoted to the best Christmas horror film -- this one is NOT for the kids! -- and walks you through the Round 1 match-ups. The main episode will release on Tuesday, December 9, wherever you listen to podcasts.

And if you love pop culture, ⁠⁠⁠sign up for our weekly newsletter⁠⁠⁠ to keep up on all the new movies, music, and TV shows dropping every week!

CREDITS:

Intro/outro music: "Dance to My Tune" by Marc Torch

IG: https://www.instagram.com/greatpopculturedebate/

Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/gpcd.bsky.social

Website: https://www.greatpopculturedebate.com/

Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/greatpopculturedebate

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Christmas carols are, likely, some of the earliest songs most Americans learn, and at the same time, are probably among the earliest music still performed in popular American culture. Many of the familiar songs of the season date back hundreds of years, and the origins and lyrics of the songs have been lost or changed over time. We sing along every year, tapping into those familiar nostalgic feelings. But do we really know where these festive songs came from, or what they’re actually about? Gather ye kith and kin around the hearth – or the modern equivalent, the Bluetooth speaker – as the Great Pop Culture Debate explores the history of holiday staples and attempts to name the Best Traditional Christmas Carol.

Songs discussed: “O Come, O Come Emmanuel,” “O Tannenbaum/O Christmas Tree,” “Hark! The Herald Angels Sing,” “Away in a Manger,” “Carol of the Bells,” “The Twelve Days of Christmas,” “Here We Come A-Wassailing,” “Jingle Bells,” “God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen,” “The First Noel,” “Silent Night,” “Do You Hear What I Hear?” “Angels We Have Heard on High,” “Little Drummer Boy,” “We Wish You a Merry Christmas,” “Joy to the World”

Join host Eric Rezsnyak and GPCD panelists Trey Radu-Blackburn and Zack Derby as they discuss and debate 16 of the most recognizable holiday carols of all time.

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Great Pop Culture Debate host Eric Rezsnyak explains how we created the bracket for our 2025 Holiday Special devoted to the best traditional Christmas carol, and walks you through the Round 1 match-ups. The main episode will release on Tuesday, December 2, wherever you listen to podcasts.

And if you love pop culture, ⁠⁠⁠sign up for our weekly newsletter⁠⁠⁠ to keep up on all the new movies, music, and TV shows dropping every week!

CREDITS:

Intro/outro music: "Dance to My Tune" by Marc Torch

IG: https://www.instagram.com/greatpopculturedebate/

Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/gpcd.bsky.social

Website: https://www.greatpopculturedebate.com/

Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/greatpopculturedebate

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Nintendo reignited the home video-game market with the Nintendo Entertainment System in the 1980s, but by the early 90s the Japanese game company found itself in an unexpected position: Player 2. The 1989 arrival of both Sega Genesis and Turbo Graphx 16 – more powerful machines, with aggressive marketing campaigns positioning themselves as the “radical” upstarts – officially kicked off the first wave of the console wars. Nintendo would answer with 1991’s Super Nintendo, a sleek machine that would eventually be home to a slate of eye-popping games. Jumping from 8 bits to 16 encouraged developers to push the bounds of creativity. While the system would be unseated by the N64 after a mere five years, the SNES library features what are considered to be among the best entries in the company’s line-up of original IP. So get ready to play with SUPER power as the Great Pop Culture Debate looks back at the Best Super Nintendo Game.

Games discussed: Super Mario World, Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past, Chrono Trigger, Super Metroid, Final Fantasy III (Final Fantasy VI), Donkey Kong Country, Super Mario Kart, Mega Man X, Super Mario RPG, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles IV: Turtles in Time, Street Fighter II Turbo, Donkey Kong Country 2, Final Fantasy II (Final Fantasy IV), Secret of Mana, Super Mario World 2: Yoshi’s Island, Super Castlevania IV

Join host Eric Rezsnyak, GPCD panelists Curtis Creekmore and David Silbert (of the Punished Backlog), and guest panelist Erik Slader from the Super Switch Club podcast as they discuss and debate 16 of the most awesome Super Nintendo games.

For the warm-up to this episode, in which we discuss even more Super Nintendo games that didn’t make the bracket, become a Patreon supporter of the podcast today.

Episode Credits

Host: ⁠Eric Rezsnyak⁠

Panelists: ⁠Curtis Creekmore⁠, ⁠David Silbert⁠

Special Guest: ⁠Erik Slader, Super Switch Club Podcast⁠

Producer: ⁠Bob Erlenback⁠

Editor: ⁠Bob Erlenback⁠

Theme Music: “Dance to My Tune” by Marc Torch

#nintendo #supernintendo #snes #snesgames #snesgaming #videogames #supermarioworld #supermarioworld2yoshisisland #zelda #legendofzelda #alinktothepast #zeldalinktothepast #supercastlevania4 #finalfantasy #finalfantasyiii #finalfantasyii #donkeykong #donkeykongcountry #donkeykongcountry2diddyskongquest #supermariokart #mariokart #supermetroid #metroid #megaman #megamanx #streetfighter2 #chronotrigger #secretofmana #supermariorpg #tmnt #tmnt4 #videogames #90s #90sgamer #90sgames

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Great Pop Culture Debate host Eric Rezsnyak explains how we created the bracket for our episode devoted to the best video games released on Nintendo's 1990s Super Nintendo system, and walks you through the Round 1 match-ups. The main episode will release on Tuesday, November 25, wherever you listen to podcasts.

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Make sure to subscribe to the podcast⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ so you don't miss any upcoming episodes. And ⁠⁠subscribe to our YouTube Channel⁠⁠ so you don't miss our original video posts this fall and winter!

And if you love pop culture, ⁠⁠⁠sign up for our weekly newsletter⁠⁠⁠ to keep up on all the new movies, music, and TV shows dropping every week!

CREDITS:

Intro/outro music: "Dance to My Tune" by Marc Torch

IG: https://www.instagram.com/greatpopculturedebate/

Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/gpcd.bsky.social

Website: https://www.greatpopculturedebate.com/

Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/greatpopculturedebate

#podcast #popculture #debate #bestof #podcasts #music #movies #film #books #comics #television #tv #lgbtq #lgbt #nostalgia #geek #nerd #culture #greatest

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For the past 50 years, composer John Williams has arguably been the defining sound of cinema. Although he began composing music for TV and film in the 1950s, it wouldn’t be until the 1970s that he broke big, thanks to that iconic soundtrack to Stephen Spielberg’s Jaws. From there he would go on to provide the music for a slew of Hollywood’s biggest blockbusters, and most poignant films, as well as recognizable anthems for pop-culture mainstays like the Olympic Games and NBC Nightly News. John Williams is an American icon, and a definitive creator in film and music. So join the Great Pop Culture Debate as we attempt to name the Best John Williams Film Score. 

Scores discussed: Jaws, Saving Private Ryan, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, Raiders of the Lost Ark, Hook, Return of the Jedi, The Empire Strikes Back, Jurassic Park, Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, Home Alone, Star Wars, Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, Schindler’s List, Superman

Join host Eric Rezsnyak and panelists Amma Marfo, Derek Mekita, and Kate Racculia as they discuss and debate 16 of the most recognizable film scores of all time.

For the warm-up to this episode, in which we discuss even more compositions from John Williams that didn’t make the bracket, ⁠become a Patreon supporter of the podcast⁠ today.

Episode Credits

Host: ⁠Eric Rezsnyak⁠

Panelists: ⁠Amma Marfo⁠, ⁠Derek Mekita⁠, ⁠Kate Racculia⁠

Producer: ⁠Bob Erlenback⁠

Editor: John Higgins

Theme Music: “Dance to My Tune” by Marc Torch

#johnwilliams #film #filmscores #composer #composers #orchestralmusic #orchestral #starwars #indianajones #harrypotter #superman #jurassicpark #jaws #homealone #hook #schindlerslist #savingprivateryan #empirestrikesback #imperialmarch #returnofthejedi #phantommenace

IG: https://www.instagram.com/greatpopculturedebate/

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Website: https://www.greatpopculturedebate.com/

Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/greatpopculturedebate

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