The 2025 Summer Movie Season interruption CONTINUES with a second reflection on Paul Thomas Anderson's One Battle After Another (Warner Bros. 2025). How does PTA's latest film rate as a Border Western, and what character themes resonate with contemporary tensions in America? 

Host Garret Castleberry provides an armchair rhetorician second screening review of PTA's latest masterwork now in cinemas. 

Hosts: Garret Castleberry

Producers: Garret Castleberry, Will McMurry (Audio Engineer), Alli Garner (Cover Art), Austin Foster (Music)

Ways to Connect with us online:
Follow and engage with Special Topics in Media on Twitter at @podcast_topics.

"Like" to follow our Special Topics in Media Page on Facebook (search Special Topics in Media).

Join the Special Topics in Media Facebook Group and share your reviews of the film or this episode.

Subscribe to Dr. Castleberry's academic YouTube Channel.

Garret's academic website is available at https://garretcastleberry.academia.edu/. 

We interrupt this 2025 Summer Movie Season programming with a report from the FUTURE! Or, at least the present. Paul Thomas Anderson's One Battle After Another has arrived in theaters to immense pre-release critical acclaim. But will that film buzz translate to a wide audience reception? 

Host Garret Castleberry provides an armchair rhetorician response to screening PTA's latest masterwork on its opening day in cinemas. 

Hosts: Garret Castleberry

Producers: Garret Castleberry, Will McMurry (Audio Engineer), Alli Garner (Cover Art), Austin Foster (Music)

Ways to Connect with us online:
Follow and engage with Special Topics in Media on Twitter at @podcast_topics.

"Like" to follow our Special Topics in Media Page on Facebook (search Special Topics in Media).

Join the Special Topics in Media Facebook Group and share your reviews of the film or this episode.

Subscribe to Dr. Castleberry's academic YouTube Channel.

Garret's academic website is available at https://garretcastleberry.academia.edu/. 

Summer is a time to celebrate a great many things, and we are seasonally framing our favorite "cool down" treats for a hot sunny day at the movies . Host Garret Castleberry grabs his wallet, swipes his card, and collects enough goodies to count down a "Top 5 Summer Movie Snacks". It's a Top 5 Countdown to get the mouth watering.

Email us your rainy day theater visits at [email protected], or tag us with a rainy day theater vlog on our Special Topics in Media Facebook page. Links below!

Hosts: Garret Castleberry

Producers: Garret Castleberry, Will McMurry (Audio Engineer), Alli Garner (Cover Art), Austin Foster (Music)

Recommended Screenings (Garret):
Send us your thoughts in email or audio form at [email protected]!

Ways to Connect with us online:
Follow and engage with Special Topics in Media on Twitter at @podcast_topics.

"Like" to follow our Special Topics in Media Page on Facebook (search Special Topics in Media).

Join the Special Topics in Media Facebook Group and share your reviews of the film or this episode.

Subscribe to Dr. Castleberry's academic YouTube Channel.

Garret's academic website is available at https://garretcastleberry.academia.edu/. 

We're BACK! After a minor hiatus to update the power converters and reset the flux capacitor (movie logic excuses only), the 2025 Summer Movie Season resumes with an enriched look into the month of June. Host Garret Castleberry is joined by Kyle Hammonds to discuss key releases in June, a month full of genre surprises. 

Listen to hear which mainstream movies had their ticket stubs torn, and reach out to connect and let us know which June releases topped your radar in 2025. 

Hosts: Garret Castleberry, Kyle Hammonds

Producers: Garret Castleberry, Will McMurry (Audio Engineer), Alli Garner (Cover Art), Austin Foster (Music)

Recommended Screenings (Garret): 28 Years Later, F1: The Movie

Recommended Screenings (Kyle): The Phoenician Scheme, Materialists

Ontological Obstacles (Garret & Kyle): Pixar's Elio

Ways to Connect with us online:
Follow and engage with Special Topics in Media on Twitter at @podcast_topics.

"Like" to follow our Special Topics in Media Page on Facebook (search Special Topics in Media).

Join the Special Topics in Media Facebook Group and share your reviews of the film or this episode.

Subscribe to Dr. Castleberry's academic YouTube Channel.

Garret's academic website is available at https://garretcastleberry.academia.edu/. 

It's a mid-season interlude ripe with nostalgia! Helping transition from early to mid-summer focus, Special Topics in Media offers a "2025 Summer Movie Season" side story. Host Garret Castleberry sits down with scholarly cinephile Kyle Hammonds to unpack the phenomenon of retro film screenings. The duo examine a partial sample of recent rewatches while theorizing about how the phenomenon aids versus ails the in-flux movie theater business as well as an increased industry focus on the audience experience. 

Email us your favorite Retro Rewatches at [email protected], or tag us with a rainy day theater vlog on our Special Topics in Media Facebook page. Links below!

Hosts: Garret Castleberry, Kyle Hammonds

Producers: Garret Castleberry, Will McMurry (Audio Engineer), Alli Garner (Cover Art), Austin Foster (Music)

Recommended Screenings (Garret):
Send us your thoughts in email or audio form at [email protected]!

Ways to Connect with us online:
Follow and engage with Special Topics in Media on Twitter at @podcast_topics.

"Like" to follow our Special Topics in Media Page on Facebook (search Special Topics in Media).

Join the Special Topics in Media Facebook Group and share your reviews of the film or this episode.

Subscribe to Dr. Castleberry's academic YouTube Channel.

Garret's academic website is available at https://garretcastleberry.academia.edu/. 

It's an early fall celebration! The rainy season arrived unexpectedly this August, and to commemorate the cool down, Special Topics in Media offers a "2025 Summer Movie Season" reprieve. Host Garret Castleberry dims the lights, curls up with a remote mic, and let's the thunder roll while recollecting a "Top 5 Rainy Day Movie Theater Drop-Ins". It's a Top 5 Countdown to help listeners stay dry. 

Email us your rainy day theater visits at [email protected], or tag us with a rainy day theater vlog on our Special Topics in Media Facebook page. Links below!

Hosts: Garret Castleberry

Producers: Garret Castleberry, Will McMurry (Audio Engineer), Alli Garner (Cover Art), Austin Foster (Music)

Recommended Screenings (Garret):
Send us your thoughts in email or audio form at [email protected]!

Ways to Connect with us online:
Follow and engage with Special Topics in Media on Twitter at @podcast_topics.

"Like" to follow our Special Topics in Media Page on Facebook (search Special Topics in Media).

Join the Special Topics in Media Facebook Group and share your reviews of the film or this episode.

Subscribe to Dr. Castleberry's academic YouTube Channel.

Garret's academic website is available at https://garretcastleberry.academia.edu/. 

The Special Topics in Media event "2025 Summer Movie Season" expands with a deep dive into the major releases of May! Kyle Hammonds joins host Garret Castleberry to assess the technical start to summer. The rhetorical reviewers chart their May moviegoing, and make the ultimate case for what went horribly wrong with Mission: Impossible - The Final Reckoning.


Hosts: Garret Castleberry, Kyle Hammonds

Producers: Garret Castleberry, Will McMurry (Audio Engineer), Alli Garner (Cover Art), Austin Foster (Music)

Recommended Screenings (Garret): Thunderbolts*, Kingdom of Heaven (rerelease)

Recommended Screenings (Kyle): Clown in a Cornfield

Ontological Obstacles (Garret & Kyle): Final Destination: Bloodlines, Lilo & Stitch, Mission: Impossible - The Final Reckoning

Ways to Connect with us online:
Follow and engage with Special Topics in Media on Twitter at @podcast_topics.

"Like" to follow our Special Topics in Media Page on Facebook (search Special Topics in Media).

Join the Special Topics in Media Facebook Group and share your reviews of the film or this episode.

Subscribe to Dr. Castleberry's academic YouTube Channel.

Garret's academic website is available at https://garretcastleberry.academia.edu/. 

In this early interlude within our Special Topics in Media "2025 Summer Movie Season", host Garret Castleberry accesses sentimental bias to recall his "Top 5 First-Run Summertime In-Theater Heart-Pounding Experiences". It's a Top 5 Countdown to help listeners cool off during the dog days of summer.

Hosts: Garret Castleberry

Producers: Garret Castleberry, Will McMurry (Audio Engineer), Alli Garner (Cover Art), Austin Foster (Music)

Recommended Screenings (Garret):
Send us your thoughts in email or audio form at [email protected]!

Ways to Connect with us online:
Follow and engage with Special Topics in Media on Twitter at @podcast_topics.

"Like" to follow our Special Topics in Media Page on Facebook (search Special Topics in Media).

Join the Special Topics in Media Facebook Group and share your reviews of the film or this episode.

Subscribe to Dr. Castleberry's academic YouTube Channel.

Garret's academic website is available at https://garretcastleberry.academia.edu/. 

The extended "2025 Summer Movie Season" wrap-up conversation starts here! Host Garret Castleberry is joined by media scholar Kyle Hammonds to list, rate, and respond to the films that ushered in the summer movie season back in April.


Hosts: Garret Castleberry

Producers: Garret Castleberry, Will McMurry (Audio Engineer), Alli Garner (Cover Art), Austin Foster (Music)

Recommended Screenings (Garret): Warfare, The Shrouds 

Recommended Screenings (Kyle): Sinners, Pride and Prejudice (rerelease)

Ontological Obstacles (Garret & Kyle): A Minecraft Movie, Star Wars: Episode 3: Revenge of the Sith

Ways to Connect with us online:
Follow and engage with Special Topics in Media on Twitter at @podcast_topics.

"Like" to follow our Special Topics in Media Page on Facebook (search Special Topics in Media).

Join the Special Topics in Media Facebook Group and share your reviews of the film or this episode.

Subscribe to Dr. Castleberry's academic YouTube Channel.

Garret's academic website is available at https://garretcastleberry.academia.edu/. 

As we get set to premiere our "2025 Summer Movie Season", host Garret Castleberry ushers in a secondary moviegoing conversation that strikes at the heart of memories, movies, and personal preferences. It's a Top 5 Brainstorm to coincide with the dog days of summer. 

Hosts: Garret Castleberry

Producers: Garret Castleberry, Will McMurry (Audio Engineer), Alli Garner (Cover Art), Austin Foster (Music)

Recommended Screenings (Garret):
Send us your thoughts in email or audio form at [email protected]!

Ways to Connect with us online:
Follow and engage with Special Topics in Media on Twitter at @podcast_topics.

"Like" to follow our Special Topics in Media Page on Facebook (search Special Topics in Media).

Join the Special Topics in Media Facebook Group and share your reviews of the film or this episode.

Subscribe to Dr. Castleberry's academic YouTube Channel.

Garret's academic website is available at https://garretcastleberry.academia.edu/.