On this week’s episode, I’m joined by New York Times film critic Alissa Wilkinson to discuss her new book about Joan Didion, We Tell Ourselves Stories. I mentioned the book in a newsletter a couple of weeks back, but I wanted to focus on the ways in which the political world has borrowed showbiz’s penchant for image calibration, from the ways in which issues are decided upon to the means by which politicians decide which voters to target. Didion, of course, was a natural observer of these shifts, having spent years in Hollywood before becoming one of the nation’s most interesting political observers. If you enjoyed this episode, I hope you both pick up a copy of Alissa’s book and share this with friends!

On this week’s episode, I’m joined by Ray Mendoza, who cowrote and codirected the new A24 movie Warfare with Alex Garland (Civil War, Ex Machina). We discussed the journalistic process of rebuilding the day’s actions portrayed in the film from the memory of those who participated, Mendoza’s work with Garland on Civil War, and the cinematic experience of trying to help people understand what it’s like to go into battle after getting your brain rattled. The movie releases on April 11, and I strongly recommend watching it in a theater to get that fully immersive sonic effect. And if you enjoyed this episode, I hope you share it with a friend.

I am pleased to be rejoined this week by Bobby Miller to discuss his new novel, Situation Nowhere. Imagine Brazil by way of Idiocracy but goopier: That’s Situation Nowhere. We talked about some of his influences, the state of our increasingly recursive culture, and why we need to bring back shaming folks for selling out. If you’re in Los Angeles, check out Bobby’s event on Saturday at The Redwood Bar! And if you enjoyed this episode, please share it with a friend. (And listen to last year’s episode with Bobby about the Blu-ray release of his film, The Cleanse.)

On this week’s episode I’m joined by Ross Benes, the author of the forthcoming book 1999: The Year Low Culture Conquered America and Kickstarted Our Bizarre Times. It comes out in a few weeks and I hope you take a gander at it; we spent most of our time discussing the ways in which professional wrestling and the Insane Clown Posse help explain the phenomenon that is Donald J. Trump and his ascent through the political landscape, but there’s more to the book than that. And if you enjoyed this episode, I hope you share it with a friend!

Sonny Bunch sits down with filmmaker Jonathan Gruber to discuss his new documentary, Centered, which explores the life and legacy of Joe Lieberman. As the first Jewish Vice Presidential candidate, Lieberman made history—only to later shake up politics by breaking with his own party. With the film releasing today, they dive into his career, key political battles, and the impact of centrism in modern politics.

A weird question I sometimes get is this: “I want to get into buying movies on disc, Sonny, but I don’t know where to start.” I say it’s weird because the answer seems obvious to me: just buy movies you like to watch! But there are issues I take for granted like formats and resolutions, so I thought it would be useful to talk to Aidan Ryan of the Boston Globe about his recent piece in that newspaper’s magazine focused on the Gen Z/Young Millennial cohort that has gotten really into collecting movies on disc. From the dollar DVD bins to the high-quality UHD 4K collectors sets put out by the boutique labels, these younger collectors run the gamut. If you have questions of your own, feel free to leave them in the comments and I’ll do my best to answer them. And if you enjoyed this episode, please share it with a friend!

On this week’s episode, I’m plesaed to be rejoined by Brandon Struessnig to discuss one of my favorite packages of the year, Vulture’s annual stunt awards. Who were the big winners? What were some of the surprises? Just how long did it take George Miller to shoot that war rig sequence in Furiosa anyway? All that and more on this week’s episode. Make sure to check out the winners before listening to us discuss them. And if you enjoyed this episode, please share it with a friend!

This week I was joined by Jake Rademacher, the director of Brothers After War to talk about his new documentary checking in with folks who have returned from the conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq and how they are reintegrating into society. It’s a powerful and moving documentary, and I highly recommend checking it out if you get the chance, particularly if you have a veteran in your life. You can find showtimes nearest you here. And if you’re a veteran, you should still be able to get free tickets to the film by signing up at VetTix.org and searching for Brothers After War. If you enjoyed this episode, I hope you share it with a friend!

On this week’s episode, I’m joined by the New York Times’s James Poniewozik to discuss SNL’s (rather lengthy) 50th anniversary celebration. (Here’s a gift link to James’s piece on his favorite episode of SNL.) We discuss the show, how it has changed, and how changes in how people watch the show change its meaning (and our relationship to it). I also asked James about his book, Audience of One: Donald Trump, Television, and the Fracturing of America and how to best cover Trump without succumbing to the siren song of scolding; that clip starts a little before minute 30 if you want to skip all the SNL chatter. (But why would you?) If you enjoyed the episode, I hope you share it with a friend!

On this week’s episode, I’m joined by Jake VerKesen—some of you in the comments might know him by his handle, Jake VK—on the long and winding road to turning an idea for a micro-budgeted indie movie like I Agree With You from a dream into a reality. We discuss the paperwork, the delays, the fundraising, the shooting, the food, the editing, and, finally, the showing, that goes into getting an indie movie made and delivered to the people. 

As discussed on the episode, the movie’s not out just yet, but hopefully y’all will get a chance to see it soon. You can follow the film’s progress on its Substack and add I Agree With You to your Letterboxd watchlist.