Nick Coffman, writer for ⁠Hard Drive⁠ and co-host of the dad-themed movie podcast ⁠Stand N' Watch⁠, joins me to talk about Tim Burton's Big Fish, relationships between parents and their children, and the all-too-familiar experience of joining a cult-adjacent, Masonic-affiliated leadership group when you're young.

Kaz Wheeler, host of ⁠"Didn't Get All of It Japan"⁠ and ⁠"Ultimo! Dragonball,"⁠ joins me to talk about death, tears, and resurrection within the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

Rowan Lee, folk horror connoisseur and author of ⁠The Harvest Maid's Revenge⁠, joins me to talk about Lars von Trier's Dancer in the Dark, the existential horror of life in the modern world, and the small pleasures of escaping into the movies.

On today's episode, I'm joined by Ivan to talk about regret, heartbreak, and the cerebral whimsy of Michel Gondry's 2004 film Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind.

Intro music provided by The Grey Room.

Eugene Grygo, who is featured in the 2024 documentary Look Into My Eyes, joins me to talk about loss, belief, psychic intuition, and the enduring power of Robert Redford's 1980 Academy Award-winner Ordinary People.

Poet and culture critic Eileen G'Sell joins me to talk about Lukas Dhont's 2022 film Close, male melodrama, and the liminal space of adolescence.

Check out Eileen's essay on Close in Mubi Notebook.

For some critics, Chloe Zhao's Hamnet was an emotionally manipulative tearjerker. For others, it was a sincere and heartfelt exploration of grief and loss.

Today, I'm joined by Ann Jones, known in many circles as my mom, to talk about why Hamnet was one of 2025's best films—and why it made her cry.

Brianna Kearney joins me to talk about why the 2024 romantic drama We Live in Time inspired her to publicly share her tears on social media—and how the movie helped her process her own mother's battle with cancer.

Artist and author Ryan Estrada joins me to talk about the 1986 Korean drama Gilsotteum, and he reveals why a 2016 screening of the film moved him and the entire audience to tears.

Is farting in front of someone the ultimate act intimacy? How do we decide when to follow—or to break—the unwritten rules of life? Terra, of the Atomic Pixies, joins me to talk about this and more on an episode about Daniel Scheinert and Daniel Kwan's 2016 flatulence-filled fantasy Swiss Army Man.