To celebrate Stranger Things premiering the first episode of its final season this week, we are replaying this very special edition of Pop Culture Junkie featuring Shauna, along with Junkies emeriti  Alex and Hayley the Brave and special guest Grant Goodman, who appeared in Season 4. We hope you enjoy this look back at that season before you binge the new episodes.
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This week The Junkies welcome an incredibly special guest; Grant Goodman, aka 'Freak' from Stranger Things. Grant welcomes Shauna, Hayley and Alex into the Hellfire Club, and talks about his time on the hit show's fourth season, covering topics like telling the Duffer Brothers apart with their masks on, working around Covid lockdowns, how he was the master of the reaction shot, and the rise of Eddie Munson, played by Joseph Quinn. Grant has been working since he was a kid, where he may or may not have been peed on playing the younger version of Rainn Wilson's character in the James Gunn movie Super, and will be appearing in the new Netflix comedy Mo, coming from A24. The Junkies ask Grant what he's watching and listening to now, and Grant tells us how his newfound fame means fan encounters everywhere, even in the restroom. 

Follow Grant on Instagram and Twitter. 

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In PCJ Pops, the Pop Culture Junkies share their recommendations on what to experience in pop culture, today and yesterday.

Though Halloween is over, it’s always the right time to enjoy a good horror flick. Shauna recommends you watch the demonically good The Omen from 1976, starring Gregory Peck and Lee Remick, and Olivia counters with the goofy Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter, which stars Benjamin Walker, Anthony Mackie and Mary Elizabeth Winstead.

We have affordable and rewarding Patreon tiers! Be the first to hear new and uncensored content, if you dare! Click here: https://www.patreon.com/popculturejunkiepodcast/posts

Apple Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/pop-culture-junkie/id1536737728

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/7k2pUxzNDBXNCHzFM7EL8W

Website: www.popculturejunkie.com
Facebook: PopCultureJunkiePodcast
Instagram: @pop.culturejunkie
Threads: @pop.culturejunkie
Bluesky: @pop-culture-junkie.bsky.social
Email: [email protected]

Shauna on Instagram: @shaunatrinidad 
Shauna on Threads: @shaunatrinidad

Olivia on Instagram: @livimariez

The Friday the 13th movie series is one of the top slasher movie franchises of the 1980s and beyond, so this week the Junkies take a look at Jason Voorhees, the unkillable movie monster with the staggeringly high body count who has been to camp, to hell, to outer space and has battled Freddy Krueger. The Junkies look at all 12 (not 13?) movies in the series so far, compare Jason to the other unstoppable slashers who made it big in the 1980s, Halloween's Michael Myers and Nightmare on Elm Street's Freddy, and figure out which of the three they could fend off if they ever found themselves having to choose one. Then the Junkies look to the future with Jason, and the newly-formed Jason Universe that could bring us that elusive 13th movie in the series - and more.


We have affordable and rewarding Patreon tiers! Be the first to hear new and uncensored content, if you dare! Click here: https://www.patreon.com/popculturejunkiepodcast/posts

Apple Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/pop-culture-junkie/id1536737728

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/7k2pUxzNDBXNCHzFM7EL8W

Website: www.popculturejunkie.com
Facebook: PopCultureJunkiePodcast
Instagram: @pop.culturejunkie 
Threads: @pop.culturejunkie 
Bluesky: @pop-culture-junkie.bsky.social  
Email: [email protected] 

Shauna on Instagram: @shaunatrinidad 
Shauna on Threads: @shaunatrinidad 

Olivia on Instagram: @livimariez

In PCJ Pops, the Pop Culture Junkies share their recommendations on what to experience in pop culture, today and yesterday.

This week, Olivia encourages you to binge The Girlfriend, a spicy drama starring Robin Wright and Olivia Cooke airing on Prime, and Shauna strongly recommends the television equivalent of a warm hug, The Great British Baking Show which is now streaming on Netflix.

We have affordable and rewarding Patreon tiers! Be the first to hear new and uncensored content, if you dare! Click here: https://www.patreon.com/popculturejunkiepodcast/posts 

Apple Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/pop-culture-junkie/id1536737728  

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/7k2pUxzNDBXNCHzFM7EL8W  

Website: www.popculturejunkie.com 
Facebook: PopCultureJunkiePodcast 
Instagram: @pop.culturejunkie 
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Bluesky: @pop-culture-junkie.bsky.social 
Email: [email protected] 

Shauna on Instagram: @shaunatrinidad 
Shauna on Threads: @shaunatrinidad 

Olivia on Instagram: @livimariez

Olivia and Shauna devote their last Spooky Season episode to the modern horror that is Generative AI, the inescapable technology that is not only replacing working writers and artists, but also must steal their work in order to do so. Recently, an AI "actress" going by the name Tilly Norwood stirred up a lot of controversy in Hollywood, so for this episode, the Junkies are joined by Alaina Lightfoot, an actor, writer, director, and producer based in Los Angeles who has appeared in commercials, web series, and several films which have been featured in festivals including Studio City Film Fest and The Great Film Festival 2025. Alaina and the Junkies discuss the impact AI performers, should the technology ever become truly viable, will have on show business and the people working in it, especially actors just getting started in their careers. Is AI inevitable, or will humanity win in the end? 

Follow Alaina Lightfoot on Instagram: @alainalightfoot 

We have affordable and rewarding Patreon tiers! Be the first to hear new and uncensored content, if you dare! Click here: https://www.patreon.com/popculturejunkiepodcast/posts

Apple Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/pop-culture-junkie/id1536737728

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/7k2pUxzNDBXNCHzFM7EL8W

Website: www.popculturejunkie.com
Facebook: PopCultureJunkiePodcast
Instagram: @pop.culturejunkie
Threads: @pop.culturejunkie
Bluesky: @pop-culture-junkie.bsky.social
Email: [email protected]

Shauna on Instagram: @shaunatrinidad 
Shauna on Threads: @shaunatrinidad

Olivia on Instagram: @livimariez

In PCJ Pops, the Pop Culture Junkies share their recommendations on what to experience in pop culture, today and yesterday.

This week’s Pop is all about zombies. Shauna promotes the wildly enjoyable CW series iZombie featuring Rose McIver and Rahul Kohli, and Olivia thinks you will enjoy the 2014 movie Cooties, which stars Elijah Wood, Alison Pill 

We have affordable and rewarding Patreon tiers! Be the first to hear new and uncensored content, if you dare! Cllick here: https://www.patreon.com/popculturejunkiepodcast/posts 

Apple Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/pop-culture-junkie/id1536737728 

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/7k2pUxzNDBXNCHzFM7EL8W 

Website: www.popculturejunkie.com
Facebook: PopCultureJunkiePodcast
Instagram: @pop.culturejunkie
Threads: @pop.culturejunkie
Bluesky: @pop-culture-junkie.bsky.social
Email: [email protected] 

Shauna on Instagram: @shaunatrinidad 
Shauna on Threads: @shaunatrinidad 

Olivia on Instagram: @livimariez

This week's episode covers a topic the Junkies rarely talk about: Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Kidding! But in this in-depth look at the iconic television drama, Shauna and Olivia take a deep dive into the background, lore, and future of the show that brought them together as friends long ago, during the plague years. The Junkies take you through the basics, like who plays what character, how the show developed from the movie of the same name written by Joss Whedon, and how the show broke new ground in representation - not just of vampires but also of women, LGBTQ people, and in its themes of identity, family, friendship, free will and sacrifice. Shauna and Olivia discuss how the Buffy-Verse has remained active and the new sequel series coming to Hulu next year - along with their hopes that it will be a fitting followup to the show they love so much. 

You can watch the Pop Culture Junkie Podcast on YouTube! Click here:  
https://www.youtube.com/@popculturejunkiepod/videos 

We have affordable and rewarding Patreon tiers! Be the first to hear new and uncensored content, if you dare! Click here: https://www.patreon.com/popculturejunkiepodcast/posts 

Apple Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/pop-culture-junkie/id1536737728 

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/7k2pUxzNDBXNCHzFM7EL8W 

Website: www.popculturejunkie.com
Facebook: PopCultureJunkiePodcast
Instagram: @pop.culturejunkie
Threads: @pop.culturejunkie
Bluesky: @pop-culture-junkie.bsky.social
Email: [email protected] 

Shauna on Instagram: @shaunatrinidad 
Shauna on Threads: @shaunatrinidad 

Olivia on Instagram: @livimariez

In PCJ Pops, the Pop Culture Junkies share their recommendations on what to experience in pop culture, today and yesterday.

This week, recent events have Olivia thinking about The Leftovers with Justin Theroux and Liv Tyler on HBO, and Shauna promotes the witty and wonderful Warm Bodies, starring Nicholas Hoult and Teresa Palmer and available to stream on Amazon Prime. 

You can watch the Pop Culture Junkie Podcast on YouTube! Click here: https://www.youtube.com/@popculturejunkiepod/videos 

We have affordable and rewarding Patreon tiers! Be the first to hear new and uncensored content, if you dare!  Click here: https://www.patreon.com/popculturejunkiepodcast/posts 

Apple Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/pop-culture-junkie/id1536737728 

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/7k2pUxzNDBXNCHzFM7EL8W 

Website: www.popculturejunkie.com 
Facebook: PopCultureJunkiePodcast 
Instagram: @pop.culturejunkie 
Threads: @pop.culturejunkie 
Bluesky: @pop-culture-junkie.bsky.social 
Email: [email protected] 

Shauna on Instagram: @shaunatrinidad  
Shauna on Threads: @shaunatrinidad 

Olivia on Instagram: @livimariez

An upcoming trip to Appalachia has Olivia thinking about creatures of myth and legend, so she and Shauna explore the spooky, scary and sometimes silly world of cryptids, and how they are represented in pop culture. After defining what a cryptid is and isn't (sorry, Slenderman fans, your guy isn't one), the Junkies discuss their favorite cryptids, discuss the movies and TV shows they appear in, and figure out which ones they could and could not take in a one-on-one fight. If they ever come up against a Fresno Nightcrawler, a sentient pair of pants, both feel they could win easily. But if they meet Bigfoot, they'll almost certainly surrender. 

You can watch the Pop Culture Junkie Podcast on YouTube! Click here: https://www.youtube.com/@popculturejunkiepod/videos 

We have affordable and rewarding Patreon tiers! Be the first to hear new and uncensored content, if you dare! Click here: https://www.patreon.com/popculturejunkiepodcast/posts 

Apple Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/pop-culture-junkie/id1536737728 

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/7k2pUxzNDBXNCHzFM7EL8W 

Website: www.popculturejunkie.com
Facebook: PopCultureJunkiePodcast
Instagram: @pop.culturejunkie
Threads: @pop.culturejunkie
Bluesky: @pop-culture-junkie.bsky.social
Email: [email protected] 

Shauna on Instagram: @shaunatrinidad 
Shauna on Threads: @shaunatrinidad 

Olivia on Instagram: @livimariez

In PCJ Pops, the Pop Culture Junkies share their recommendations on what to experience in pop culture, today and yesterday.

This week, Shauna warns that you will cry when you watch Tom Hanks’ award-winning performance in Castaway from 2000, and Olivia revisits the year 2006 with the fun revenge romp John Tucker Must Die featuring Jesse Metcalfe, Brittany Snow, Ashanti and Sophia Bush. 

You can watch the Pop Culture Junkie Podcast on YouTube! Click here: https://www.youtube.com/@popculturejunkiepod/videos 

We have affordable and rewarding Patreon tiers! Be the first to hear new and uncensored content, if you dare! Click here: https://www.patreon.com/popculturejunkiepodcast/posts 

Apple Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/pop-culture-junkie/id1536737728 

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/7k2pUxzNDBXNCHzFM7EL8W 

Website: www.popculturejunkie.com
Facebook: PopCultureJunkiePodcast
Instagram: @pop.culturejunkie
Threads: @pop.culturejunkie
Bluesky: @pop-culture-junkie.bsky.social
Email: [email protected] 

Shauna on Instagram: @shaunatrinidad 
Shauna on Threads: @shaunatrinidad 

Olivia on Instagram: @livimariez