Dr. Paul's back in the office...but "The Field" has other plans. This week on Watch-alongs, Dave, Cody, and guest Rob Cummings break down Shrinking Season 3 Episode 4, "The Field" — and it's one of the best episodes of the season. Jimmy's date with Kimmy goes off the rails in spectacular fashion, Derek accidentally eats Matthew's gummies and ends up in the hospital with a possible heart murmur (played entirely for laughs, or was it?), and Gaby finally Jimmys. But the heart of the episode belongs to Harrison Ford, whose quiet scene in a dark office might be the most emotionally satisfying moment Shrinking has ever pulled off. Plus: Cody makes a season prediction that nobody wants to be right about and the guys unpack the perfect song choice that closes it all out.

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From Independence Day to Idiocracy to The American President, Dave, Cody, and film/math professor Paul dive into the best (and weirdest) presidents in pop culture. Why do movies turn leaders into heroes, legends, and speeches we never forget? And what does that say about what we’re really hoping for? A funny, thoughtful look at power, leadership, and the stories we love.

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Dave & Cody recap Shrinking Season 3, Episode 3 (“D-Day”), an episode built around uncertainty, vulnerability, and people realizing they’re not as ready as they thought.

They talk through Jimmy’s complicated relationship with his dad, Brian and Charlie’s early delivery and adoption paperwork scare. They also dig into Sean’s awkward reunion with Marisol, Gabby working to rebuild trust with a former client, and why Liz continues to be both overwhelming and strangely essential.

The emotional center of the episode, though, belongs to Dr. Paul. As his Parkinson’s limits his ability to work, Paul makes the difficult decision to step back from mentoring Alice...forcing him to confront who he is without his profession.

Dave and Cody close by unpacking Bon Iver’s “Speyside,” why it fits the episode’s themes of repair and regret, and why Paul holding the newborn might be one of Harrison Ford’s strongest moments of the series.

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This week’s Be Kind Rewind is Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind—a movie that somehow gets more devastating (and more beautiful) the older you get.

Dave finally watches it start-to-finish and immediately regrets waiting 22 years… because this isn’t just a breakup movie. It’s a story about memory, identity, and the terrifying question underneath it all: if you could erase the pain, would you also erase the person who shaped you?

We dig into:

• Why Jim Carrey’s restrained performance is the real magic trick

• Kate Winslet flipping the “manic pixie” trope into something painfully human

• The “divine tech in cavemen hands” vibe of Lacuna (and why that feels relevant right now)

• Cool behind-the-scenes tidbits (including how much of the memory-collapse was done practically)

• What holds up, what doesn’t, and why the ending hits like a truck—in a good way

And yes… we Muppetize it, even though it feels borderline illegal to do so.

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Pop Culture Pastor Watch-Alongs is back with Shrinking Season 3, Episode 2: “Happiness Mission”

Dave & Cody dig into Paul’s health scare (and the surprisingly real-world UTI connection), Liz as the hilariously overqualified schedule-master, and Derek’s slow-motion struggle to stop coddling his grown son. But the emotional center lands on Gaby’s breaking point—and the tense, beautifully acted moment where her grief finally collides with Louis face-to-face.

Along the way: awkward Jimmy/Sofi chemistry (or lack thereof?), an impromptu “gym therapy session,” a Beyoncé concert prophecy, and a big question hanging over the whole hour: Do you deserve to be happy… after you’ve caused someone else’s pain?

And yes—we close it out with the episode’s needle drop: “Drop Stop Roll” by Rainbow Kitten Surprise, and why it feels like the internal monologue of half the cast this season.

It’s time for a Pop Culture Draft: Movie Soundtracks...and things get personal fast.

Dave, Cody, & Jackson draft their Top 3 all-time favorites, then battle it out in two chaos rounds:
🎵 One Song Carry (one track doing all the work)
🎬 Better Than the Movie (when the soundtrack outlives the film)

From Purple Rain dominance and Eddie Vedder roadtrip therapy to Muppet existentialism and Space Jam nostalgia, this draft turns into a full on memory lane set to music.

Plus: bonus The Lobby questions and a Movie Game showdown before the draft even starts.

Headphones recommended. Opinions required.

Dave & Cody fire back up Watch-Alongs with Shrinking Season 3, Episode 1 — going scene-by-scene through an episode that’s equal parts hilarious banter and quiet dread. The guys zoom in on Dr. Paul’s rapidly progressing Parkinson’s (and why that opening needle drop hits so hard), geek out over Harrison Ford doing some of his best work in decades, and celebrate the arrival of Michael J. Fox as “Gerry”… right before the episode rips your heart out with that final reveal. Along the way: crow trauma, “Racist Pam,” soulmate debates, "The Field” (aka the universe/Force/God-adjacent metaphor), and a standout growth moment that proves this show isn’t just about shrinking...it’s about learning how to grow when life gets heavy.

The Pop Culture Pastor Pop Culture Awards (PCPPCAs) are back — and Dave & Cody are handing out completely imaginary trophies for the very real highs, lows, and “why did this become a thing?” moments of 2025. From the Blockbuster Award for worst investment, to the Grandpa Award for the streaming service Dave still refuses to pay for, to Cody’s For the Love of Ray J chaos category, this special episode is basically a year-end pop culture recap disguised as an awards show. Plus: the Fred Rogers Award goes to a surprisingly wholesome couple, the Thor: Love & Thunder Award tackles 2025’s most divisive moments, documentaries get their due, an underdog steals the year, and Geek of the Round Table, Jason Geesaman returns on the Geek Phone with his own mini-award segment.

Finally, listeners get the last word with several community-voted categories (best geek movie, best TV show, and best geek performance).

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This week, Pop Culture Pastor rewinds one of the most influential adventure films ever made. From face-melting finales to rolling boulders, fedora grabs, and John Williams’ iconic score, Dave and Cody break down why Raiders of the Lost Ark still works more than 40 years later.

They explore peak Spielberg, peak Harrison Ford, and why Indiana Jones is the hero of the movie, even though the movie isn’t really about him. Along the way: legendary behind-the-scenes stories, a surprisingly perfect Muppet casting, debates about what truly holds up (spoiler: almost everything), and a deeper look at the film’s core tension between faith and control.

Plus, a Pastor’s Corner that digs into why Raiders isn’t just fun—it’s timeless, primal, and still saying something meaningful about power, reverence, and humility.

Also: The surprising return of Kenan & Kel.

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In this What’s Up, Doc? episode, Dave, Cody, and DJ Dangerfield dig into Netflix’s Evil Influencer: The Jodi Hildebrandt Story...a disturbing look at how therapy-speak, religious power structures, and influencer culture can combine into something downright predatory. The conversation quickly moves past “true crime details” and into the bigger questions: why we’re drawn to charismatic leaders, how “truth” gets rebranded, and why our culture is addicted to certainty even when reality is messy and complex. Along the way, they wrestle with what it means to protect the meek, build real accountability, and learn how to discern falsehoods, misrepresentation, and actual truth in a world that keeps rewarding confidence over wisdom.

Bonus: an update on the Ashley Tisdale “Toxic Mom Group” saga and what celebrity internet beef reveals about how social media makes everything worse.

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