This episode I chat to Dr Lewis Tennant (lately the host of Verbal Highs, and also the brains behind the annual NZ Podcasting Summit) about an era of reggae music from the 1990s, exemplified by artists like Sizzla and Capleton. We go deep on the history of the music, its underlying philosophy, and the factors that give this specific era its unique sound.

Produced by Manawatū People's Radio with the support of New Zealand On Air.

"Phenomena" (1985) is a movie that is hard to describe without sounding insane. Jennifer Connelly (aged 14, one year out from breaking through in "Labyrinth") stars as a high school girl with the mysterious ability to commune with insects. When she is sent to an exclusive Swiss boarding school for girls, she becomes embroiled in a series of gruesome murders of students which she must investigate with the aid of an eccentric entomologist played by Donald Pleasance and his assistance chimpanzee. The chimpanzee is significantly more important than you'd expect.

The movie was directed by incredibly prolific Italian director Dario Argento (best known for hallucinatory fever dream giallo like "Suspiria" and "Deep Red") and is significantly more chaotic than his usual style.

Morgan Davie, last heard discussing "Under The Skin" way back in Episode #7, joins the show to talk through this very strange, kind of fascinating movie.

Produced by Manawatū People's Radio with the support of New Zealand On Air.

Nightbreed (1990) is an absolutely fascinating movie. It's Clive Barker flexing his muscles after the massive success of Hellraiser (1988) and really letting loose with an elaborate dark fantasy full of implications about complex mythology and cosmology, a gorgeously-stylised world, and many MANY weird little guys. It's also an incredibly ambitious movie that never quite manages to realise its ambitions, and a tortured project that was compromised and undercut by executive meddling. There's a lot in here that shares DNA with other dark/Gothic fantasy/horror projects of the 90s like The Crow, or the more adult works of Tim Burton - so why are those things cult hits, and this is a cult failure? Shaun Duke of The Skiffy and Fanty Show (https://skiffyandfanty.com) joins the pod to discuss this strange and powerful film!

Produced by Manawatū People's Radio with the support of New Zealand On Air.

What happens when Dan Aykroyd at the absolute peak of his popularity as both a comic powerhouse and a dramatic actor gets a vast budget, and more or less total creative control to make a movie? He makes "Nothing But Trouble" - an ambitious, star-studded, and (to be charitable) tonally-confused horror comedy which flopped at the box office and is more or less universally panned to this day. A pair of yuppies played by Chevy Chase and Demi Moore fall foul of a deranged 106 year old judge (played by Aykroyd himself under some impressively vile prosthetics and makeup) and hi-jinks ensue. Returning guest Bitter Karella is one of this movie's few defenders, and joins the show to talk us through what the hell is going on here.

Find most things Bitter Karella at www.midnightpals.com, and her new book "Moonflow" at www.hachettebookgroup.com/titles/bitter-karella/moonflow/9780316581936 (or wherever you get books on the internet!)

Produced by Manawatū People's Radio with the support of New Zealand On Air.

David Cronenberg's 1986 movie "The Fly" is among his best-regarded, and is an absolute classic in the canon of gnarly, gloopy, practical-effects mostly-80s body horror movies. It's also an oddly poetic tragedy about watching someone you love succumb to something awful and inevitable, and a character study that follows a sympathetic oddball's transformation into an absolute monstrosity. Erin MClean, local Palmerston North actor, director, and general creative-person-about-town joins the show to discuss all of this and we have a lot of fun getting deeply in the weeds.

A show about great trash, problematic faves, and difficult art hosted by Hugh Dingwall. Produced by Manawatū People's Radio with the support of New Zealand On Air.

Scottish author Iain Banks is probably best known (under the name Iain M. Banks) for his iconic Culture novels, which had a titanic impact on far-future "space-operatic" science fiction. His debut novel, 1984's "The Wasp Factory" is significantly less well-known. It is an INCREDIBLY divisive book which, love it or hate it (early editions published four full pages of both rabidly positive *and* negative reviews), will leave a massive impact on any reader. Ross Palethorpe rejoins the podcast to talk about this Gothic nightmare fairytale of a book.

CW for (not especially detailed) discussion of murder, animal abuse, child abuse and neglect.

Produced by Manawatū People's Radio with the support of New Zealand On Air.

I ruminate on useful ways to think about one's enemies' motives, prompted by considering the obscure horror movie "Jugface" (2013) in contrast with other depictions of fictional "death cults".

Produced by Manawatū People's Radio with the support of New Zealand On Air.

In the absence of a new mainline episode, I decided to do a parallel upload of this special I recorded for Waitangi Day this week.

Waitangi Day and the Treaty of Waitangi occupy a complicated place in New Zealand's public consciousness, especially in light of the current debate around David Seymour's Treaty Principles Bill. In this special longform interview for Waitangi Day 2025, Hugh talks to Dr Peter Cleave about this complex and difficult history. Dr Peter Cleave has been involved with retention and development of Te Reo Māori since the 1970s, holding numerous teaching roles at all levels. He has been both an academic and a broadcaster in Te Reo Māori, and was named an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit in 2025 for services to Māori language education.

Produced by Manawatū People's Radio with the support of New Zealand On Air.

"Hair metal" is, right off the bat, a disputed term. It began as a way of disparaging the pop glam metal of the 80s in comparison with the more "authentic" grunge movement that was becoming more fashionable in the early 90s, but was embraced by some fans of the genre as a catch-all term for groups who wouldn't necessarily have considered themselves part of the same scene at the time. However you slice it, hair metal was much MUCH bigger than you remember it, and its demise was far less total. Elana Levin (Graphic Policy Radio, Deep Space Dive) and returning champion John Cecil join the show to school me on an era and genre I know shamefully little about.

Produced by Manawatū People's Radio with the support of New Zealand On Air.

I'm back! I decided I'd like to get to ep 100 before I wrap this thing up, so that's nice. In this episode I have a bunch of thoughts prompted by the passing of David Lynch, and witnessing other people's takes on his life and work. I also get a bit into That Vulture Article re: the evolving Gaiman situation but I don't say anything very graphic or descriptive. Produced by Manawatū People's Radio with the support of New Zealand On Air.