River Cities Reader Podcast

River Cities Reader Podcast

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River Cities Reader Podcast episodes

  • March 12, 2026, with Dave and Darren — “The Bride!”, “Hoppers,” and the 2026 Academy Awards

    Dave Levora, Darren Pitra, and Mike Schulz discuss the forthcoming Oscars with breaths only tenuously held in bate, and the animated short films being honored in particular. Oh, and they manage to discuss the current crop of film, both available and forthcoming.

    In theaters:

    • The animated science fiction comedy Hoppers (dir Daniel Chong, voice Piper Curda, Bobby Moynihan, Jon Hamm, Kathy Najimy, and Dave Franco).
    • The Bride! (dir Maggie Gyllenhaal, starr Jessie Buckley, Christian Bale, Peter Sarsgaard, Annette Bening, Jake Gyllenhaal, and Penélope Cruz).

      • Previews:

      • Reminders of Him (dir Vanessa Caswill, starr Maika Monroe, Tyriq Withers, Rudy Pankow, Lainey Wilson (in her film debut), Lauren Graham, and Bradley Whitford).
      • undertone (dir Ian Tuason, starr Nina Kiri, Adam DiMarco, Michèle Duquet, Keana Lyn Bastidas, Jeff Yung, Sarah Beaudin, and Brian Quintero).

        • The Bride! And Hoppers and the 2026 Academy Awards

        19 min
      • March 5, 2026, with Dave and Darren — “Scream VII,” “Pillion,” and “EPIC: Elvis Presley in Concert”

        Dave Levora, Darren Pitra, and Mike Schulz talk the current crop of cinema, and Schulz gets to plug his forthcoming role in the Playcrafters Barn Theatre comedy God of Carnage, running through March 8. So you know, theatre is like cinema, only the action has one fixed perspective and the soundtrack isn’t as great.

        Up on the screen:

        • Scream 7 (dir Kevin Williamson, starr Neve Campbell, Jasmin Savoy Brown, Mason Gooding, David Arquette, Matthew Lillard, Courteney Cox, Isabel May, Anna Camp, Michelle Randolph, Jimmy Tatro, Mckenna Grace, Asa Germann, Celeste O’Connor, Sam Rechner, Mark Consuelos, Tim Simons, and Joel McHale).
        • Pillion (dir Harry Lighton, starr Harry Melling, Alexander Skarsgård, Douglas Hodge, Lesley Sharp, Jake Shears, Rosie Sheehy, and Anthony Welsh).
        • The documentary/concert film EPIC: Elvis Presley in Concert (dir Baz Luhrmann).

          • Not up there, but soon will:

          • The animated science fiction comedy Hoppers (dir Daniel Chong, voice Piper Curda, Bobby Moynihan, Jon Hamm, Kathy Najimy, and Dave Franco).
          • The Bride! (dir Maggie Gyllenhaal, starr Jessie Buckley, Christian Bale, Peter Sarsgaard, Annette Bening, Jake Gyllenhaal, and Penélope Cruz).
          • Protector (dir Adrian Grünberg, starr Milla Jovovich, Matthew Modine, D B Sweeney, and Arica Himmel).

            • “Scream VII,” “Pillion,” and “EPIC: Elvis Presley in Concert”

            23 min
          • February 26, 2026 with Dave and Darren — “How to Make a Killing” and “I Can Only Imagine 2”

            Dave Levora, Darren Pitra, and Mike Schulz talk film, and Schulz puts in a plug for his forthcoming role in the Playcrafters Barn Theatre comedy God of Carnage, running February 27 through March 8.

            Here and now:

            • How to Make a Killing (dir John Patton Ford, starr Glen Powell, Margaret Qualley, Jessica Henwick, Bill Camp, Zach Woods, Topher Grace, and Ed Harris).
            • I Can Only Imagine 2 (dirs Andrew Erwin and Brent McCorkle, starr John Michael Finley, Milo Ventimiglia, Sophie Skelton, Arielle Kebbel, Trace Adkins, and Dennis Quaid).

              • There and later:

              • Scream 7 (dir Kevin Williamson, starr Neve Campbell, Jasmin Savoy Brown, Mason Gooding, David Arquette, Matthew Lillard, Courteney Cox, Isabel May, Anna Camp, Michelle Randolph, Jimmy Tatro, Mckenna Grace, Asa Germann, Celeste O’Connor, Sam Rechner, Mark Consuelos, Tim Simons, and Joel McHale).
              • Pillion (dir Harry Lighton, starr Harry Melling, Alexander Skarsgård, Douglas Hodge, Lesley Sharp, Jake Shears, Rosie Sheehy, and Anthony Welsh).
              • The documentary/concert film EPIC: Elvis Presley in Concert (dir Baz Luhrmann).

                • “How to Make a Killing” and “I Can Only Imagine 2”

                13 min
              • February 19, 2026 with Dave and Darren — “’Wuthering Heights,’” “Good Luck, Have Fun, Don’t Die,” “Crime 101,” “Cold Storage,” “The Moment,” and “GOAT”

                Dave Levora, Darren Pitra, and Mike Schulz knock on about film and hold a lightning-round discussion, which happens whenever there are six films on hand to discuss. Not exactly superstitious — but, to quote Michael Scott, just a little bit stitious.

                The here and now:

                • “Wuthering Heights” (dir Emerald Fennell, starr Margot Robbie, Jacob Elordi, Hong Chau, Shazad Latif, Alison Oliver, Martin Clunes, and Ewan Mitchell).
                • The animated sports comedy Goat (dir Tyree Dillihay, voice Caleb McLaughlin, Gabrielle Union, Aaron Pierre, Nicola Coughlan, David Harbour, Nick Kroll, Jenifer Lewis, Patton Oswalt, Jelly Roll, Jennifer Hudson, Sherry Cola, Eduardo Franco, Andrew Santino, Bobby Lee, and Stephen Curry).
                • Cold Storage (dir Jonny Campbell, starr Georgina Campbell, Joe Keery, Sosie Bacon, Vanessa Redgrave, Lesley Manville, and Liam Neeson).
                • Crime 101 (dir Bart Layton, starr Chris Hemsworth, Mark Ruffalo, Barry Keoghan, Monica Barbaro, Corey Hawkins, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Nick Nolte, and Halle Berry).
                • Good Luck Have Fun Don’t Die (dir Gore Verbinski, starr Sam Rockwell, Haley Lu Richardson, Michael Peña, Zazie Beetz, Asim Chaudhry, Tom Taylor, and Juno Temple).
                • The mockumentary The Moment (dir Aidan Zamiri, starr Charli XCX, Rosanna Arquette, Kate Berlant, Jamie Demetriou, Hailey Benton Gates, Isaac Powell, and Alexander Skarsgård).

                  • The forth and coming:

                  • How to Make a Killing (dir John Patton Ford, starr Glen Powell, Margaret Qualley, Jessica Henwick, Bill Camp, Zach Woods, Topher Grace, and Ed Harris).
                  • Midwinter Break (dir Polly Findlay, starr Lesley Manville and Ciarán Hinds).
                  • Psycho Killer (dir Gavin Polone, starr Georgina Campbell, James Preston Rogers, and Malcolm McDowell).

                    • “’Wuthering Heights,’” “Good Luck, Have Fun, Don’t Die,” “Crime 101,” “Cold Storage,” “The Moment,” and “GOAT”

                    18 min
                  • February 12, 2026 with Dave and Darren — “Dracula,” “The Strangers: Chapter 3,” “The Alabama Solution,” and “The Wrecking Crew”

                    Dave Levora, Darren Pitra, and Mike Schulz discuss film and an unexpectedly agreeable side-effect of climate change, given the Voy 61 Drive In Theatre’s operation amid February weather. Which may be more disturbing than most films nowadays.

                    The available:

                    • Dracula: A Love Tale (dir Luc Besson, starr Caleb Landry Jones, Christoph Waltz, and Zoë Bleu).
                    • The Strangers — Chapter 3 (dir Renny Harlin, starr Madelaine Petsch, Gabriel Basso, Ema Horvath, and Richard Brake).
                    • The documentary The Alabama Solution (dirs Andrew Jarecki and Charlotte Kaufman).
                    • The Wrecking Crew (dir Ángel Manuel Soto, starr Jason Momoa, Dave Bautista, Claes Bang, Temuera Morrison, Jacob Batalon, Frankie Adams, Miyavi, Stephen Root, and Morena Baccarin).

                      • The forthcoming:

                      • “Wuthering Heights” (dir Emerald Fennell, starr Margot Robbie, Jacob Elordi, Hong Chau, Shazad Latif, Alison Oliver, Martin Clunes, and Ewan Mitchell).
                      • The animated sports comedy Goat (dir Tyree Dillihay, voice Caleb McLaughlin, Gabrielle Union, Aaron Pierre, Nicola Coughlan, David Harbour, Nick Kroll, Jenifer Lewis, Patton Oswalt, Jelly Roll, Jennifer Hudson, Sherry Cola, Eduardo Franco, Andrew Santino, Bobby Lee, and Stephen Curry).
                      • Crime 101 (dir Bart Layton, starr Chris Hemsworth, Mark Ruffalo, Barry Keoghan, Monica Barbaro, Corey Hawkins, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Nick Nolte, and Halle Berry).
                      • Good Luck Have Fun Don’t Die (dir Gore Verbinski, starr Sam Rockwell, Haley Lu Richardson, Michael Peña, Zazie Beetz, Asim Chaudhry, Tom Taylor, and Juno Temple).
                      • The mockumentary The Moment (dir Aidan Zamiri, starr Charli XCX, Rosanna Arquette, Kate Berlant, Jamie Demetriou, Hailey Benton Gates, Isaac Powell, and Alexander Skarsgård).
                      • The 2016 rom-com Me Before You (dir Thea Sharrock, starr Emilia Clarke, Sam Claflin, Janet McTeer, Charles Dance and Brendan Coyle), playing at Voy 61.

                        • “Dracula,” “The Strangers: Chapter 3,” “The Alabama Solution,” and “The Wrecking Crew”

                        16 min
                      • January 29, 2026 with Dave and Darren — “Mercy,” “The Lost Bus,” “Come See Me in the Good Light,” and “The Ugly Stepsister”

                        Dave Levora, Darren Pitra, and Mike Schulz talk film and josh about assassins — as one does.

                        What’s in:

                        • Mercy (dir Timur Bekmambetov, starr Chris Pratt, Rebecca Ferguson, Kali Reis, Annabelle Wallis, Chris Sullivan, and Kylie Rogers).
                        • The Lost Bus (dir Paul Greengrass, starr Matthew McConaughey, America Ferrera, Yul Vazquez, and Ashlie Atkinson).
                        • The documentary Come See Me in the Good Light (dir Ryan White).
                        •  The Ugly Stepsister (dir Emilie Blichfeldt, starr Lea Myren, Thea Sofie Loch Næss, Ane Dahl Torp, and Flo Fagerli).

                          • What’s coming:

                          • Send Help (dir Sam Raimi, starr Rachel McAdams and Dylan O’Brien).
                          • Iron Lung (dir Mark Fischbach, starr Caroline Rose Kaplan, Seán McLoughlin, Szymanski, Troy Baker, Elsie Lovelock, and Isaac McKee).
                          • Arco (dir Ugo Bienvenu, starr Swann Arlaud, Alma Jodorowsky, Margot Ringard Oldra, Oscar Tresanini, Vincent Macaigne, Louis Garrel, William Lebghil, and Oxmo Puccino).
                          • Shelter (dir Ric Roman Waugh, starr Jason Statham, Bodhi Rae Breathnach, Bill Nighy, Naomi Ackie, and Daniel Mays).

                            • “Mercy,” “The Lost Bus,” “Come See Me in the Good Light,” and “The Ugly Stepsister”

                            15 min
                          • January 22, 2026 with Dave and Darren — “28 Years Later: The Bone Temple,” “No Other Choice,” and “The Rip”

                            Dave Levora, Darren Pitra, and Mike Schulz get into it on film — and when we say “into it,” we mean “with bicycle chains and rusty switchblades.” Because it’s Oscar season, yo! The Academy Awards, son!

                            What’s on the screen:

                            • 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple (dir Nia DaCosta, starr Ralph Fiennes, Jack O’Connell, Alfie Williams, Erin Kellyman, and Chi Lewis-Parry).
                            • No Other Choice (dir Park Chan-wook, starr Lee Byung-hun, Son Ye-jin, Park Hee-soon, Lee Sung-min, Yeom Hye-ran, and Cha Seung-won).
                            • The Netflix original The Rip (dir Joe Carnahan, starr Matt Damon, Ben Affleck, Steven Yeun, Teyana Taylor, Sasha Calle, Catalina Sandino Moreno, Scott Adkins, and Kyle Chandler).

                              • What’s coming:

                              • Mercy (dir Timur Bekmambetov, starr Chris Pratt, Rebecca Ferguson, Kali Reis, Annabelle Wallis, Chris Sullivan, and Kylie Rogers).
                              • Return to Silent Hill (dir Christophe Gans, starr Jeremy Irvine, Hannah Emily Anderson, Evie Templeton, Robert Strange, and Nicola Alexis).

                                • “28 Years Later: The Bone Temple,” “No Other Choice,” and “The Rip”

                                22 min
                              • #1041 January 2026 Reader Print Issue ITM Analysis WQUD Broadcast with Aaron Dail and Todd McGreevy

                                January 25, 2026 original broadcast on WQUD 107.7 FM — The conversation between River Cities’ Reader publisher Todd McGreevy and WQUD GM Aaron Dail begins in media res concerning Get The Flock Out!, Brooklyn Draisey’s contribution to Issue #1041 of the Reader.

                                Based on details in Automated License Plate Readers (ALPRs) in Iowa: Review and Recommendations — ACLU of Iowa, released 10 December 2025, the ALPR tech developed by the American security company Flock Safety has a 10% rate of error in execution. One in ten motorists will be pulled over by police based on faulty, flimsy, or downright false info reported to them by the ALPRs.

                                The only thing the cameras can do with any consistency is gather data on the travel habits of motorists. That’s warrantless tracking. That’s invasion of privacy.

                                This is one of those things that shouldn’t be left buried in the small print. But here we are.

                                This violation is so egregious that members of the ACLU of Iowa and University of Iowa Technology Law Clinic have advised those communities who have contracts with Flock Safety to get out of them.

                                They didn’t say break them, necessarily. Or maybe they did. It’s somewhere there in the fine print. Happy hunting, flockers.

                                What’s even more enraging is the fact that 48 Iowan communities were contacted to provide info on the Flock Safety ALPRs. According to Pete McRoberts, policy director at the ACLU of Iowa, “Many provided information but others refused to state how many cameras they operate and where. Some claimed information that is disproven by their own contracts. . .”

                                Incidentally, Scott County complied with the ACLU’s request, and it came out of the report with an excellent grade. (Way to go, Scott County!)

                                Everyone else who either ignored the request or complied and came up woefully short — hang your heads in shame. Kowtow to your emperor!

                                Dail may agree that the principles of free speech and civil rights are being transgressed, but he’s comparatively indifferent when it comes to the cameras’ actual existence. One sees his point: There are only so many hours out of the day one can commit to getting the whole story on such matters as this. That, however, should not be the default setting of the people who are tasked with monitoring the monitors. Kowtow!

                                So you know, David Stoner’s website and petition, https://gettheflockoutqc.com/, is unequivocal on the use of ALPRs in the Quad Cities: Nothing good can come of them.

                                Kathleen McCarthy’s story The Great Fanny-Pack Coup! takes the opportunity of the fifth anniversary of the 6 January “insurrection” to revisit the event and inspect the toppings of that great nothingburger served to the populace. Whether one can be perceived as suffering from Trump Derangement Disorder or Trump Adoration Affliction, the point cannot be ignored that the mainstream press has become hopelessly partisan in its coverage of modern-day politics.

                                That is not how traditional reporting is supposed to be. Kowtow!

                                It’s also useful to revisit One Iowan’s Hope from the J6 Ashes, Leo Kelly’s 7 January 2026 remembrance. Kelly was one of the protestors on-site at the time who wound up serving eleven months on, uhh, trumped-up charges. He is self-publishing his book HOPE: From the Ashes of Jan 6 at his website.

                                In case there are folks out there who say we’re a joyless clutch of I F Stones, they should know that we have a (to quote Giorgio de Chirico) kick-ass Art section as well as first-rate Movies and Music. These are reasons for living!

                                19 min
                              • January 15, 2026 with Dave and Darren — “Primate,” “Is This Thing On?”, and “Father Mother Sister Brother”

                                Dave Levora, Darren Pitra, and Mike Schulz have some things to say about film, in particular those in theater and coming to it.

                                What’s in:

                                • Is This Thing On? (dir Bradley Cooper, starr Will Arnett, Mark Chappell, BC, Laura Dern, Andra Day, Amy Sedaris, Sean Hayes, Christine Ebersole, and Ciarán Hinds).
                                • I Was a Stranger (dir Brandt Andersen, starr Yasmine Al Massri, Yahya Mahayni, Omar Sy, Ziad Bakri, Constantine Markoulakis, Jason Beghe, Ayman Samman, and Massa Daoud).
                                • Father Mother Sister Brother (dir Jim Jarmusch, starr Tom Waits, Adam Driver, Mayim Bialik, Charlotte Rampling, Cate Blanchett, Vicky Krieps, Sarah Greene, Indya Moore, and Luka Sabbat).

                                  • What’s coming:

                                  • 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple (dir Nia DaCosta, starr Ralph Fiennes, Jack O’Connell, Alfie Williams, Erin Kellyman, and Chi Lewis-Parry).
                                  • No Other Choice (dir Park Chan-wook, starr Lee Byung-hun, Son Ye-jin, Park Hee-soon, Lee Sung-min, Yeom Hye-ran, and Cha Seung-won).
                                  • Dead Man’s Wire (dir Gus Van Sant, starr Bill Skarsgård, Dacre Montgomery, Cary Elwes, Myha’la, Colman Domingo, and Al Pacino).

                                    • “Primate,” “Is This Thing On?”, and “Father Mother Sister Brother”

                                    16 min
                                  • January 8, 2026 with Dave and Darren — “Avatar: Fire and Ash,” “The Housemaid,” “Marty Supreme,” “Song Sung Blue,” “Anaconda,” “The Secret Agent,” and “We Bury the Dead”

                                    Dave Levora, Darren Pitra, and Mike Schulz are BACK! With FILMS! About which they’ll TALK!

                                    And how was your holiday? Wonderful! ONWARD!

                                    Films!

                                    • Avatar: Fire and Ash (dir James Cameron, starr Sam Worthington, Zoe Saldaña, Sigourney Weaver, Stephen Lang, and Kate Winslet).
                                    • The Housemaid (dir Paul Feig, starr Sydney Sweeney, Amanda Seyfried, Brandon Sklenar, Michele Morrone, and Elizabeth Perkins).
                                    • Marty Supreme (dir Josh Safdie, starr Timothée Chalamet, Gwyneth Paltrow, Odessa A’zion, Kevin O’Leary, Tyler Okonma, Abel Ferrara, and Fran Drescher).
                                    • Song Sung Blue (dir Craig Brewer, starr Hugh Jackman, Kate Hudson, Michael Imperioli, Ella Anderson, Mustafa Shakir, Fisher Stevens, and Jim Belushi).
                                    • Anaconda (dir Paul Rudd, Jack Black, Steve Zahn, Thandiwe Newton, Daniela Melchior, and Selton Mello).
                                    • The Secret Agent (dir Kleber Mendonça Filho, starr Wagner Moura, Carlos Francisco, Tânia Maria, Robério Diógenes, Maria Fernanda Cândido, Gabriel Leone, Alice Carvalho, Hermila Guedes, Isabél Zuaa, and Udo Kier).
                                    • We Bury the Dead (dir Zak Hilditch, starr Daisy Ridley, Mark Coles Smith, and Brenton Thwaites).

                                      • Previews!

                                      • Greenland 2: Migration (dir Ric Roman Waugh, starr Gerard Butler, Morena Baccarin, Roman Griffin Davis, Amber Rose Revah, Gordon Alexander, Peter Polycarpou, William Abadie, and Tommie Earl Jenkins).
                                      • Primate (dir Johannes Roberts, starr Johnny Sequoyah, Jessica Alexander, and Troy Kotsur).
                                      • Is This Thing On? (dir Bradley Cooper, starr Will Arnett, Mark Chappell, BC, Laura Dern, Andra Day, Amy Sedaris, Sean Hayes, Christine Ebersole, and Ciarán Hinds).
                                      • I Was a Stranger (dir Brandt Andersen, starr Yasmine Al Massri, Yahya Mahayni, Omar Sy, Ziad Bakri, Constantine Markoulakis, Jason Beghe, Ayman Samman, and Massa Daoud).
                                      • The fortieth-anniversary rerelease of Labyrinth (dir Jim Henson, starr Jennifer Connelly, David Bowie, Shelley Thompson, and Christopher Malcolm).

                                        • “Avatar: Fire and Ash” and “The Housemaid”

                                        “We Bury the Dead” and “The Secret Agent”

                                        “Marty Supreme,” “Song Sung Blue,” and “Anaconda”

                                        21 min

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                                      Live to tape interviews with Reader team members as guests on other broadcast, radio and podcast shows. Alive & Free Since 1993. The Quad Cities’ Independent Newspaper. Know More. Do More.