PopaHALLics

Stuck on Netflix
What do a post-apocalyptic fairy tale, a biopic of a famous fashion designer,  and a creepy story of a woman trapped in a cryogenic chamber have in common? They're all on Netflix! Just by chance, almost everything Steve and Kate discuss is on the streaming giant, from the family-friendly adventures of a deer boy ("Sweet Tooth") to Ewan McGregor as the designer "Halston" to the French thriller "Oxygen." The whodunnit documentary of an unsolved art heist ("This Is a Robbery") and a serious drama about a survivor of the Rwandan genocide confronting her past ("Black Earth Rising") are too.

Books: From Nazis to Ghosts
Kate and Steve both read novels about Nazis—Kate, "In Search of a Name," about a woman investigating whether her great uncle was a hero or a villain during World War II, and Steve, "Ratlines," in which a British officer investigates a series of murders of ex-Nazis in 1960s Ireland.  But then Kate travels into Leigh Bardugo's fantasy world the Grishaverse with "The Language of Thorns" and "The Lives of the Saints."  Steve gets all noir and ghosty with John Connolly's supernatural-themed mysteries featuring private eye Charlie "Bird" Parker.

Popahallics #40 Playlist
Our latest playlist is sweet on the "Sweet Tooth" soundtrack, but we've also got great music from U2, the Pogues, Hozier, the White Buffalo and more. Take the playlist for a spin here.

"Pop-Up Pop with Carr & Sarah"
Our "Pop-Up" episodes allow us to interview other folks about their pop culture faves. In this show, Steve talks to Carr & Sarah, both 28, about what they're watching and listening to. We discuss how to reconcile your pop culture choices when you're a young couple starting out, how much influence family has on your tastes—and what to do if your partner hates your music. (Spoiler alert: Work on them.) Carr & Sarah talk about their streaming favorites, including "The Handmaid's Tale," "Your Honor," "Wayne," and "Makeup & Murder."

We Discuss Tons of Music
If you feel out of touch with today's music, don't worry: Sarah turns us on to soulful artists like Leon Bridges and plenty of good country, like Chris Stapleton. Carr makes us hip to his friends New Movement,  the young  Linda Lindas rocking out at the L.A. Public Library,  and plenty of cool hip-hop artists like rapper J Cole.

Popahallics #39 Playlist
Enjoy some of Carr & Sarah's favorite artists, from Creedence going "Up Around the Bend" to Red Hot Chili Peppers on the "Otherside"  ... from Nipsey Hussle "Grinding All My Life" to the Marcus King Band lamenting that "Rita is Gone." Listen to this diverse playlist of rock, hip-hop and country here.

"Talking Comedy with Joe"
Steve and Kate interview Emmy -winning Joe Janes, who teaches comedy writing and improvisation at The Second City and Columbia College. He has written for SNL's "Weekend Update" and Jellyvision's "You Don't Know Jack.” He has published three books of his staged work, and his full-length plays include Metaluna and the Science of the Mind Revue and A Hard Day's Journey Into Night.  Joe is a regular contributor to the on-line magazine Literate Ape with his weekly satirical column The Minutes of Our Last Meeting.

Make 'Em Laugh, Make 'Em Laugh
We talk to Joe about his unique career path, what makes good improvisation, how he used the pandemic creatively for such projects as "Salt City,"  and if it's harder to be funny these days without offending somebody. Plus how to offend fans of the Monkees. And how to win an Emmy writing for a  show without ever setting foot on the set. 

Popahallics #38 Playlist
Always look on the bright side of life ... the humorous side, anyway. Our comedy-themed playlist features songs with the Oompa Loompas, Zero Mostel, Monty Python and more. Listen here.

From Prize Winning Authors to "The Punisher"
Kate and Steve wander where their pop culture quirks take them, no matter how diverse. So we talk about "Klara and the Sun," a new novel about a robot girl designed as a playmate for children, by Nobel Prize winner Kazuo Ishiguro; "Gentlemen of the Road," a swashbuckling adventure novel about "Jews with swords" by  Pulitzer Prize winner Michael Chabon; and Netflix animated anthology series "Love, Death + Robots," which just launched its second season.

Why Do We Like Violent Vigilantes?
Steve finds it odd that Kate can watch (and enjoy) "The Punisher," an ultraviolent Marvel offering about a vigilante antihero, while showing no interest in more serious but also violent dramas like "Breaking Bad" and "The Sopranos." He also struggles with what our fascination with superheroes—vigilantes on the fringes of the law and society solving problems with violence—really means.

Popahallics #37 Playlist
Hit the road with songs about the road, living forever, robots , and being human. We're only human, after all.

Click through the links above to see and hear what we're talking about.

We Get Animated
Kate and Steve are tuned into toons on this episode. We discuss Netflix's wacky new animated feature "The Mitchells vs. The Machines," in which a robot apocalypse threatens a cross-country family trip; Amazon Prime's "Invincible," a  teen superhero series from the maker of "The Walking Dead"; and the Disney + series "Star Wars: The Bad Batch," with genetically enhanced clone warriors taking on the Empire.

Streaming Away
Speaking of Star Wars, Steve talks about why he believes "Rogue One," starring Felicity Jones, is the best movie set in a galaxy far, far away since the original trio of Star Wars movies. Kate, meanwhile, has more thoughts on the limited serial killer series "The Serpent" and Netflix's  "Collateral. " We also go on a road trip through northern Australia in search of a missing mum for the fun romantic comedy "Top End Wedding."

Books: Living Forever, Living Through the Late '60s
Kate ponders the curious case of a woman who can live forever without anyone noticing in the novel "The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue." Steve enjoys stories about a fertile time in British rock in Richard Thompson's new memoir "Beeswing: Losing My Way and Finding My Voice 1967—1975."

When Robots Attack
Our Popahallics #36 Playlist is perfect music for the robot apocalypse , with songs  by cool kids Los Campesinos!, Grimes, Sleater-Kinney, Le Tigre, Talking Heads and more, as well as tunes by pioneering folk rockers Fairport Convention.

Click through the links above to see and hear what we're talking about.

"Diversions & Dramas"
Like father, like daughter? Not on this episode! Kate takes the serious route, Steve the lighthearted one—meaning you're sure to hear about something that you'll like.

Serial Killers, Abductees, & Ancient Evils
Kate's picks fall in the serious British drama mode—a serial killer loose in Thailand ("Serpent") and an abducted young woman who escapes from captivity after 13 years ("Thirteen," starring a pre-"Killing Eve" Jodie Comer). She delves into  the Netflix fantasy series "Shadow and Bone," in which a young woman with magical powers moves through a world plagued by a swath of permanent darkness. And she recommends the novel "The City We Became," with representatives of New York City's boroughs confronting an ancient evil. Whew!

From the Colombian Jungle to the French Riviera
Meanwhile, Steve is on an adventure-filled romp through the jungles of Colombia in "Romancing the Stone." Then he's laughing at one of the silliest, and yet still enjoyable, British comedies ever, "The Love Punch," with Emma Thompson and Pierce Brosnan trying to pull off an elaborate diamond heist on the French Riviera to get their pensions back. (You read that right.)  Novel-wise, he recommends "Universal Harvester," a beautifully-written "horror" novel about America's lost and lonely.

Popahallics #35 Playlist
Our latest playlist features artists such as the Beatles, Dar Williams,  the Time, and the Yeah Yeah Yeahs with songs about spies, jungle love ... and Iowa.

Click through the links to watch/read what we're talking about.

Get Me a Ticket for an Aeroplane
Steve and Kate travel the world in this episode, talking about stories from Florida to France, from New York City to northern Europe. We marvel at the dancing skills of Danish actor Mads Mikkelsen and question whether Mads' movie "Another Round"  is as "life-affirming" as touted. ("Another Round" won the Oscar for best international feature after our recording.)

Streaming Foreign Films
Steve and Kate also explore "The Twelfth Man" (Norway), a true-story WWII thriller, and "The Intouchables" (France), an unlikely true-story buddy comedy involving a  rich quadriplegic and his caretaker from the projects. It's a hoot even in subtitles.  We also note how Hulu's frequent commercial interruptions of "Younger" (NYC) make it as disjointed as a foreign flick.

Hitting the Books
Kate offers her opinions on Linda Rodriguez McRobbie's "Princesses Behaving Badly," Hala Alyan's novel "The Arsonists' City" (set in Lebanon, Syria, and the U.S.) and Kiran Millwood Hargrave's novel "The Mercies" (Norway). Steve gets twisted up in John Grisham's tale of murder during a hurricane in "Camino Winds" (Florida).

Popahallics #34 Playlist
This episode's playlist features good music from folks we talk about like Mitski and Warren Zevon,  a couple of familiar hits from "The Intouchables" soundtrack, and some wild cards inspired by our discussion. For instance, Kate's thoughts on the fake Princess Anastasia  led us to a lovely Russian-sounding instrumental by Jerry Garcia. Hear the playlist.

"Do We Care About This Year's Oscars?"
The coveted statuettes will be given out during a broadcast on ABC Sunday evening, April 25. Steve and Kate predict winners in major categories such as best director, actor and actress—you'll have to see if we're right. But we find ourselves less than excited about this year's nominees. Is that because the pandemic nixed the communal experience of seeing a film with a crowd in a theater, or because the nominees themselves are underwhelming?

When "Mank" Doesn't Move Us
"Mank," one of this year's best picture nominees, got us wondering about this. Seeing the behind-the-scenes writing of "Citizen Kane" appealed to the film nerd in Steve, but as the final credits rolled he found himself curiously unmoved by the movie. Hear our thoughts on "Mank" and the other nominees by listening to "Do We Care About This Year's Oscars?"

A Playlist Puzzler
In honor of movie's big night, Popahallics #33 Playlist consists of 13 songs directly inspired by specific movies in the past. Can you guess all 13? Some of the movies will be readily apparent by song titles, others will be revealed by the song lyrics, and a few may require some thought. Email us when you think you have all 13: [email protected].

Click through the links above to read, watch or hear what we're talking about.

From Octopi to Abbie to the Sound of Silence
Steve and Kate ponder important questions in this episode: Can a man and an octopus have a meaningful friendship if it doesn't include watching the game and sharing a few beers? Also: 1, 2, 3, does Sacha Baron Cohen know what he's fighting for? And does the "Sound of Metal" still work when it's the sound of silence?

We Look at Some Oscar Nominees
We dish on Aaron' Sorkin's docudrama "The Trial of the Chicago 7," "Sound of Metal" (a drama about a punk metal drummer losing his hearing,),  the documentary "My Octopus Teacher" which takes place in a kelp forest, not a garden—take that, Ringo!—and the 12-minute short "If Anything Happens I Love You". (Hmmm ... does that title sound ominous to you?) We also discuss:

• "Tesla," starring Ethan Hawke as the inventor, not the car
• "The Falcon and the Winter Soldier," aka Sam and Bucky, are back!
• "News of the World," the novel that inspired Tom Hanks to hit the trail
• The Icelandic rock band Kaleo

Click through the links above to watch/read what we're talking about

A Playlist of Protest, Wanderlust, and Sea Cr
The times they are a-changin', with trailers for sale or rent, and I've been everywhere, man. There's a ton of great music by the likes of Dylan, Roger Miller, Johnny Cash, Phil Ochs, Kaleo, and more on our Popahallics #32 Playlist, inspired by our discussion.

Our Beers This Episode

• Blood Orange Yellow Dwarf, Big Woods Brewing Co./Quaff On! Brewing Co.
• Hazy Wonder IPA, Lagunitas Brewing Company

Our theme music is by Mike Bode 

April's Fools'! Instead of the "Mine vs. Yours" episode we promoted—a great idea for a show we might do in the future—welcome to the Great Podcast Switcheroo. Across the country, dozens of like-minded podcasts are switching feeds today so our listeners can discover new shows they might enjoy. PopaHALLics is trading places with the Cinema Guys,  listed as one of the top 5 local podcasts by Cincinnati Magazine.

The Cinema Guys—Brad A. Hargis, Justin Dunn and the Cinemaiden—are three friends who love  movies. In this episode, a favorite of theirs, they discuss their favorite Santa beards on film, the Mel Gibson film "Fatman" and home viewing recommendations. If you enjoy the Cinema Guys—and who wouldn't?—you can find their podcast at wearethecinemaguys.com.

Meanwhile, Steve and Kate are playing one of our favorite shows on the Cinema Guys feed and probably confusing the heck out of the good people of Cincinnati. Don't worry—we'll be back here in our normal space with a new show April 9.