The Hindsight Zone

"My name's Alicia. What's yours?"

This week's episode is a favorite of both your esteemed hosts, and its themes have never felt more current than they do today.

We're talking about Season 1, Episode 7 - The Lonely, and we're also talking about the current state of robotic companion technology, the bizarre production choices made as the Twilight Zone was finding its groove, and the interesting differences between this episode's script and the short story it was later adapted into. It's a thinker, folks!

Content note: This week's episode includes discussion of sexual themes, and of violence against women. Please listen with care!

Referenced in the episode:

Vice TV - Meet Harmony The Sex Robot | SLUTEVER

Next Week on The Hindsight Zone: Season 5, Episode 14 - You Drive

Get in touch!

Tiktok @thehindsightzonepod

Instagram @thehindsightzonepod

Feel free to reach out via email at [email protected] if you want to request an episode for Season 2, or just say hi!

The Hindsight Zone is written by Olivia Sterne and Suzy Beller, and produced by Jonah Stickney. The Twilight Zone was created by Rod Serling and is not our intellectual property.

Intro/Outro music and narration by Aaron Ussery

Cover art by Suzy Beller

Happy Fall and welcome back to The Hindsight Zone!! We're kicking off Season 3 with a bang, discussing Season 1, Episode 34 - The After Hours. This one's a classic for a reason, folks!

Topics include mannequin history, lesbian vampires, and the very special souvenir that actress Anne Francis took home from set.

Referenced in the episode:

"A $200 thimble grinds my gears almost as much as a $500 hairbrush" - a reference to these hairbrushes, which we had been discussing earlier off-mic. Reach out if you want to support the show by buying one for Suzy!

The Johansson Experiments - The study Olivia mentions where researchers found that people will retroactively justify a choice they didn't actually make

"Rainy Taxi" by Salvador Dali

Cynthia the Mannequin and the Gaba Girls

Get in touch!

Tiktok @thehindsightzonepod

Instagram @thehindsightzonepod

Feel free to reach out via email at [email protected] if you want to request an episode, or just say hi!

The Hindsight Zone is written by Olivia Sterne and Suzy Beller, and produced by Jonah Stickney. The Twilight Zone was created by Rod Serling and is not our intellectual property.

Intro/Outro music and narration by Aaron Ussery

Cover art by Suzy Beller

I like it in here. For the first time in a long time, I feel like I'm... Like I'm right where I'm supposed to be.

This week, we're continuing our Summer horror series with an exploration of liminal spaces via Backrooms (2026) and Season 3, Episode 26, Little Girl Lost. Both of these pieces feature a person passing through a wall into another dimension, but what happens next is completely different. We're getting into it, and we're also talking about Ask ChaCha, Creepypastas, and Yellow's rich history as the color of mundane horror.

Thanks for tuning in! We'll be back before you know it with Season 3.

Referenced in the Epsiode:

Creepypasta - The Backrooms

Creepypasta - The Russian Sleep Experiment

The Yellow Wall-Paper by Charlotte Perkins-Gilman

Get in touch!

Tiktok @thehindsightzonepod

Instagram @thehindsightzonepod

Feel free to reach out via email at [email protected] if you want to request an episode for Season 2, or just say hi!

The Hindsight Zone is written and produced by Olivia Sterne and Suzy Beller. The Twilight Zone was created by Rod Serling and is not our intellectual property.

Intro/Outro music and narration by Aaron Ussery

Cover art by Suzy Beller

I'll be anything you want me to be...

Happy Summer from The Hindsight Zone! We're coming out of hiatus for a couple of weeks to bring you something a little bit different...

Between the American theatrical release of Obsession (2025) and the release of Backrooms (2026), this May was huge for surreal, psychological horror films. Both of these movies draw deeply on the cultural oeuvre of The Twilight Zone - so we thought we'd break each of them down on the show alongside a Twilight Zone episode with which they share themes.

This week, we're tackling Obsession and (Season 1, Episode 31) The Chaser - the plots are nearly identical, which makes the stark differences in tone between these two works of art very interesting. Please note: Due to the themes of the works we're discussing, this episode includes discussion of sexual violence. Listen with care!

Coming Soon to The Hindsight Zone: Backrooms (2026)/Little Girl Lost

Get in touch!

Tiktok @thehindsightzonepod

Instagram @thehindsightzonepod

Feel free to reach out via email at [email protected] if you want to request an episode for Season 2, or just say hi!

The Hindsight Zone is written and produced by Olivia Sterne and Suzy Beller. The Twilight Zone was created by Rod Serling and is not our intellectual property.

Intro/Outro music and narration by Aaron Ussery

Cover art by Suzy Beller

Welcome to the finale of Season 2!! Time has flown by since we started recording this podcast, and we'd like to extend a HUGE thank you to everyone who listens and especially everyone who has reached out to us to recommend an episode or share their thoughts on the show.

We're finishing off the season with a CLASSIC ep - Season One, Episode 2: One for the Angels. This one's a sweet and sentimental meditation on mortality, love, and the things that really matter. Join us for historical personifications of the Reaper, Ed Wynn Trivia, and meta-theories about the character of Death in the Twilight Zone extended universe.

Referenced in the Episode:

Scottie Dog in One for the Angels at 3:22

And at 19:31 in Nothing in the Dark

Get in touch!

Tiktok @thehindsightzonepod

Instagram @thehindsightzonepod

Feel free to reach out via email at [email protected] if you want to request an episode for Season 2, or just say hi!

The Hindsight Zone is written and produced by Olivia Sterne and Suzy Beller. The Twilight Zone was created by Rod Serling and is not our intellectual property.

Intro/Outro music and narration by Aaron Ussery

Cover art by Suzy Beller

"You see? No shock. No... engulfment. No tearing asunder. What you feared would come like an explosion, is like a whisper. What you thought was the end, the beginning."

Like many great TZ episodes, Nothing in the Dark contains equal measures of emotional poignancy and existential terror. Our coverage touches on our own thoughts about aging as one of us nears the big 3-0 (guess which one!), a dramatic reading from Robert Redford's Wikipedia page, and an account of the 60's Sci-Fi beef between Rod Serling and Ray Bradbury.

Referenced in the Episode

The Twilight Zone Vortex's review

Did the Creator of the Twilight Zone Plagiarize Ray Bradbury? - Literary Hub

Why Did Sci-fi Legend Ray Bradbury Only Write One Episode of The Twilight Zone? - SyFy

Death and the Maiden by Ray Bradbury - Tales of Mystery and Imagination

Next Week on The Hindsight Zone: Season One, Episode 2 - One for the Angels

Get in touch!

Tiktok @thehindsightzonepod

Instagram @thehindsightzonepod

Feel free to reach out via email at [email protected] if you want to request an episode for Season 2, or just say hi!

The Hindsight Zone is written and produced by Olivia Sterne and Suzy Beller. The Twilight Zone was created by Rod Serling and is not our intellectual property.

Intro/Outro music and narration by Aaron Ussery

Cover art by Suzy Beller

"Where's that idiot, Poole?"

"Here, Sir."

We both have very fond memories of watching Season 2, Episode 16, A Penny for Your Thoughts, as kids - but does this goofy comedy episode hold up? As we endeavor to answer this question, we also get into 1960s celebrity gossip, racehorse names, and the horrors of workplace misogyny.

Referenced in the episode:

Tuesday Weld!

Twilight Zone Vortex's review of A Penny for Your Thoughts

Next Week on The Hindsight Zone: Season 3, Episode 16: Nothing in the Dark

Get in touch!

Tiktok @thehindsightzonepod

Instagram @thehindsightzonepod

Feel free to reach out via email at [email protected] if you want to request an episode for Season 2, or just say hi!

The Hindsight Zone is written and produced by Olivia Sterne and Suzy Beller. The Twilight Zone was created by Rod Serling and is not our intellectual property.

Intro/Outro music and narration by Aaron Ussery

Cover art by Suzy Beller

"You go away now, Sandy."

Inspired by a listener suggestion, this week we're watching Season 5, Episode 15 - The Long Morrow. Atmospheric and tragic, with a classic TZ twist ending, this one's a gem that we had both sort of forgotten about. Digressions include: suspended animation, our deep and abiding love for Mariette Hartley, Gilmore Girls.

Referenced in the episode:

Mariette Hartley in the Star Trek episode "All Our Yesterdays"

Twilight Zone Vortex's Review of "The Long Morrow"

If you want us to cover your favorite episode, reach out at [email protected]!

Next week on The Hindsight Zone: Season 2, Episode 16: A Penny for your Thoughts

Get in touch!

Tiktok @thehindsightzonepod

Instagram @thehindsightzonepod

Feel free to reach out via email at [email protected] if you want to request an episode for Season 2, or just say hi!

The Hindsight Zone is written and produced by Olivia Sterne and Suzy Beller. The Twilight Zone was created by Rod Serling and is not our intellectual property.

Intro/Outro music and narration by Aaron Ussery

Cover art by Suzy Beller

"While there are men, there can be no peace"

This week, we're covering Season 1, Episode 20: Elegy. This one's a mixed bag, featuring a suspenseful and creepy first half followed by a frankly ridiculous conclusion. Digressions include: the phenomenon of actors trying to stand still on the Twilight Zone, whimsical old men in midcentury media, and how we'd like our bodies posed in a taxidermy-wish-fulfillment-cemetery situation.

Referenced in the episode:

Elegy, the short story by Charles Beaumont upon which this episode is based

The Twilight Zone Vortex's review of this episode

Next Week on The Hindsight Zone: Season 5, Episode 15: The Long Morrow

Get in touch!

Tiktok @thehindsightzonepod

Instagram @thehindsightzonepod

Feel free to reach out via email at [email protected] if you want to request an episode for Season 2, or just say hi!

The Hindsight Zone is written and produced by Olivia Sterne and Suzy Beller. The Twilight Zone was created by Rod Serling and is not our intellectual property.

Intro/Outro music and narration by Aaron Ussery

Cover art by Suzy Beller

"It is NOT a connection! It's a MAN!"

This week we're covering Season 5, Episode 19: Night Call. Despite its simple plot, this episode is visually and thematically rich, as well as atmospheric and genuinely scary! Our coverage includes some history of the telephone, some musings on aging and death, and a number of comparisons to Sorry, Right Number (also published as Long Distance Call), the short story upon which the episode was based.

Referenced in the episode:

Fears of Old Age, Cultural Representations of Elders and Narrative Twists of Aging in Four Horror Episodes of the Twilight Zone by Marta Miquel-Baldellou

Next Week on The Hindsight Zone: Season 1, Episode 20: Elegy