Talking out loud about the stuff that won’t leave us alone.

This week James brings Boy Band Confidential and a conversation about the machine behind 90s and early 2000s pop stardom. We talk about boy bands, nostalgia, exploitation, bad deals, and what it looks like when young artists are shaped by people with more power than them.

Curt brings the process of pitching a feature film before it exists. He talks about building a pitch deck, cutting a sizzle, communicating tone, and learning how to get people emotionally invested in a movie that has not been made yet.

We also talk about:

• Boy bands and the darker side of the industry

• The pressure placed on young performers

• Pitching a creative vision

• Why feeling matters more than plot

• Getting collaborators on the same wavelength

So… what are you into right now?

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George Primavera joins us this week. He’s a Dungeon Master and storyteller whose work spans live performance, immersive storytelling, and tabletop games, including projects like Realm, Hero Club, and his work with Smosh vs. Dread. He builds worlds and shapes stories in real time with other people.

The conversation moves from what we’re into right now into a deeper look at how stories actually get made.

This week’s Intos:

George brings:
• Survivor

George talks about why Survivor still works, how the structure of the game creates natural storytelling, and why watching people navigate alliances, strategy, and pressure is endlessly compelling.

From there, the conversation shifts into George’s work as a Dungeon Master and storyteller.

We get into how he builds worlds, how he guides stories without controlling them, and what it means to create something collaboratively in real time. It becomes a deeper conversation about structure, improvisation, and why some stories feel alive while others don’t.

We also talk about:
• Why games like Survivor create compelling narratives
• The balance between control and discovery
• How structure shapes creativity
• Building worlds people can step into
• What makes a story feel real

So… what are you into right now?

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Talking out loud about the stuff that won’t leave us alone.

This week we get into weird art. The kind that shouldn’t work, but does.

Curt falls down a rabbit hole with a French-Canadian duo making microtonal, alien-sounding music that feels completely unlike anything else right now. It’s chaotic, technical, a little unsettling, and somehow incredibly satisfying.

James brings in professional wrestling ahead of WrestleMania, breaking down why it’s more than just spectacle. It’s storytelling, performance, choreography, and live audience energy all rolled into one.

Somewhere in the middle of all that, we end up talking about why this kind of work feels so refreshing right now. When so much of culture feels polished, optimized, and predictable, there’s something about messy, human-made art that hits differently.

This week’s Intos:

• Angine de Poitrine 

• Professional Wrestling and WrestleMania

So… what are you into right now?

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Talking out loud about the stuff that won’t leave us alone.

Ali Gordon joins us to talk about writing her novel We Have Reached the End of Our Show, and what it means to protect an idea while it’s still forming. We get into the creative instinct to share too early, how outside feedback can shape or derail a project, and why sometimes the best thing you can do is keep something to yourself until it’s ready.

This week’s Intos:

Ali brings:

• The new Pokémon game Poképia

Ali talks about falling deep into a game that blends Pokémon, Animal Crossing, and environmental storytelling, and why it resonated so strongly. We get into the idea of building a better world, what it says about how we treat our own, and why something playful can still carry real weight.

James brings:

• Taskmaster

James talks about revisiting Taskmaster and why it’s such a perfect showcase for comedians willing to look stupid, take risks, and actually play. We get into the difference between performers protecting their image versus embracing the chaos, and why that shift changes how we experience comedy.

Curt brings:

• The Drama (starring Robert Pattinson and Zendaya)

Curt talks about seeing The Drama and why it created such a visceral, uncomfortable, and electric theater experience. We get into stories that push emotional limits, how far honesty can go in relationships, and why sitting in discomfort can be one of the most powerful parts of watching something with an audience.

Along the way, the conversation keeps circling back to a bigger idea: how we engage with art. Whether it’s protecting a creative idea, escaping into a game, performing without self-consciousness, or sitting through something uncomfortable, we talk about what it actually means to be present with the things we’re into.

We talk about:

• Protecting ideas before they’re fully formed

• Why sharing too early can kill momentum

• Escapism vs building something meaningful

• Performers who embrace chaos vs protect their image

• Why discomfort can be a powerful part of storytelling

So… what are you into right now?

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Talking out loud about the stuff that won’t leave us alone.

This week we get into nostalgia, reboots, and the strange moment we’re in where so much of culture is either being revived, reimagined, or just repackaged. We also get into a bigger question underneath all of it: what actually moves us forward. Through Project Hail Mary, we talk about the idea that hope isn’t naive, it’s necessary for survival, a framework that allows you to take action instead of defaulting to nihilism.

This week’s Intos:

James brings:

• The Scrubs reboot

James brings in the news of the Scrubs reboot as a jumping off point to talk about the current wave of revived IP, and the tension between revisiting something beloved and it feeling unnecessary.

Curt brings:

• Project Hail Mary

Curt talks about revisiting Project Hail Mary and why it hit even harder the second time. Inspired by a piece he wrote, we get into the idea that hope isn’t blind optimism, it’s a conscious choice to keep moving and act even when the outcome feels impossible. Because the alternative is giving up.

Along the way the conversation keeps circling back to a bigger idea: when nostalgia actually works, and when it doesn’t. Are we reinventing ideas, or just repeating them?

We talk about:

• The difference between rebooting and reinventing

• Why some nostalgic projects feel alive

• When familiarity becomes a crutch

• Hope as a framework for action

• Why doing something is better than doing nothing

So… what are you into right now?

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Talking out loud about the stuff that won’t leave us alone.

Riker talks about making his first feature and what it took to actually start before everything was in place. We get into collaborating with friends, not waiting for creative permission, and how the process of making the film showed up at a moment when he really needed it.

This week’s Intos:

Riker brings:

• Directing his first feature Stakeout, skydiving, Old Dominion’s Barbara

Riker talks about being drawn to things that require full engagement, directing a feature, skydiving, putting yourself in situations where you have to be all in. We get into what it means to commit before you feel ready and how that mindset carried into making Stakeout with his friends.

He also talks about how Old Dominion’s Barbara found him at the exact right time after a difficult season, and how certain pieces of art seem to show up when you need them. Not in an abstract way, but in a way that actually helps you process what you’re going through and keep moving forward.

James brings:

• Jungle’s visual album

James talks about the choreography and visual storytelling across Jungle’s music videos, how it’s directly inspiring two projects he’s working on, and why storytelling through dance in music videos feels like a bit of a lost art.

Curt brings:

• Project Hail Mary

Curt talks about why the book stuck with him and how it frames scientific and emotional curiosity as something that can actually move us forward, and the idea that a better future is possible if we’re willing to stay curious enough to build it.

Along the way the conversation keeps circling back to a bigger idea: what it means to just start, to make something with the people around you, and to trust the process even before you feel ready.

We talk about:

• Starting before you feel ready

• Making things with your friends

• Not waiting for creative permission

• Storytelling through choreography

• Curiosity as a creative engine

So… what are you into right now?

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Talking out loud about the stuff that won’t leave us alone.

Hosted by James Tolbert and Curt Mega, So, What Are You Into?! is a low-stakes conversation podcast built around cultural curiosity. Each episode we start with the things we’ve been genuinely into lately and see where the conversation goes.

This week’s Intos:

James brings:

• The Oscars

James comes in with a full reaction to this year’s Oscars, what hit, what didn’t, and what the ceremony says about where movies are right now. We get into the winners, the narratives, the performances, and the ongoing question of whether the Oscars still reflect the culture or just try to keep up with it.

Curt brings:

• Louis Theroux’s Inside the Manosphere

Curt dives into Louis Theroux’s exploration of the online manosphere and the world of masculinity, loneliness, and ideology that exists inside it. We talk about what the documentary observes, where it feels insightful, where it feels limited, and the tension between documenting something and actually understanding it.

Along the way the conversation opens up into a bigger discussion about media, framing, and the stories we tell about people and power.

We talk about:

• What the Oscars actually represent in 2026

• The gap between industry narratives and audience reality

• How media portrays masculinity, loneliness, and online spaces

• The difference between observing something and endorsing it

• Why certain ideas stick with you long after you watch something

So… what are you into right now?

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James brings experimental and immersive theatre. Curt brings surreal, dreamlike cinema.

James talks about the power of live performance and why theatre still feels culturally vital even in a world dominated by screens. We get into the electricity of a shared audience, the vulnerability of performing in front of a room, and why certain art forms still carry a sense of legitimacy in the cultural conversation.

Curt talks about a recent shift in the kinds of films he’s been drawn to. Movies that once felt confusing or inaccessible are suddenly opening up in new ways. Instead of stories that neatly explain themselves, these films invite audiences to sit with ambiguity, emotion, and interpretation.

We also answer a listener email about revisiting Fall Out Boy and the strange experience of returning to the music that shaped your teenage years.

By the end of the episode the conversation circles a bigger question: what actually counts as “real” art anymore? That leads us to recent comments from Timothée Chalamet dismissing opera and ballet as cultural markers of seriousness, and a discussion about artistic legitimacy and who gets to decide what art matters.

Email us:

[email protected]

Follow along:

Instagram + TikTok: @sowhatareyouintopod

Talking out loud about the stuff that won’t leave us alone.

Hosted by James Tolbert and Curt Mega, So, What Are You Into?! is a low-stakes conversation podcast built around cultural curiosity. Each episode we start with the things we’ve genuinely been into lately and see where the conversation goes.

This week the conversation circles around immersive moviegoing, the future of theaters, and the strange cultural space award shows occupy right now.

James brings:

• Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory (Cosm immersive screening experience)

We dig into the growing world of immersive cinema spaces like Cosm and the Las Vegas Sphere and what happens when a classic movie becomes a full event. From themed environments and massive projection to the emotional power of revisiting a childhood favorite, we talk about how these experiences can make familiar films feel brand new.

Curt brings:

• Award shows (The Oscars, The Tonys, and the strange cultural push and pull around them)

Curt talks about his increasingly conflicted feelings about award shows. Are they still meaningful celebrations of artistic achievement, or have they become something more performative and disconnected from the audiences they claim to represent?

Both conversations circle back to a bigger question: what makes shared cultural experiences feel meaningful right now?

We talk about:

• Why immersive screenings can make movies feel like events again

• The fine line between innovation and gimmick in movie theaters

• The emotional power of revisiting formative films

• Why award shows feel both important and strangely hollow

So… what are you into right now?

Email us:

[email protected]

Follow along:

Instagram + TikTok: @sowhatareyouintopod

Talking out loud about the stuff that won’t leave us alone.  Hosted by James Tolbert and Curt Mega, So, What Are You Into?! is a low-stakes conversation podcast built around interpersonal cultural commentary. Each episode, we bring the movies, shows, music, ideas, and random cultural obsessions we’ve genuinely been engaging with lately. No homework required. Not reviews. Just honest, sometimes ranty conversations about why something’s sticking and what happens when you talk about it with other people.  

This week we talk about why “ordinary” characters have been speaking to us in a moment that feels anything but ordinary. When the world feels unstable, why do stories about flawed, working-class, quietly moral people hit harder?  

James brings:  • Good Luck, Have Fun, Don’t Die  • No Other Choice  • One Battle After Another  • The Secret Agent  We dig into foreign-language films and the way they smuggle in profound social commentary without announcing themselves as Important Cinema. What makes these stories feel urgent? What are they revealing about systems, survival, and the quiet absurdity of modern life?  

Curt brings:  • Wonder Man  • A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms  

Both shows circle back to a core question: what does it mean to live fully in your calling - even when nobody sees or cares?  

We talk about:  • Vocation vs. visibility  • Excellence in a culture that rewards frauds  • Why “doing the right thing” feels radical again  • And why we’re craving stories about people trying - imperfectly - to be decent  

What are you into right now?
Email us: [email protected]  
Follow along: Instagram + TikTok: @sowhatareyouintopod