Laughter—why does it happen? Brilliant filmmaker and comedy consigliere Ian Faria joins the study group to break down comedy in all its forms, be it slapstick physical violence, zinging dialogue, or a slow-burn silent reveal. Ian is just wrapping up post-production on a feature with his comedy group Simple Town and has much to share. This episode is the whole ball of wax and you're just gonna love it—definitely stay tuned to the very end for a surprise...!

Coens covered: No Country for Old Men, Raising Arizona, The Big Lebowski, O Brother Where Art Thou?, The Ladykillers, Burn After Reading

Plus: Friendship, Simple Town Goes to London

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Today we’re joined by writer, researcher, and podcaster Edward Ongweso Jr. to discuss “the essence of The Dialectic,” as a highly-fictionalized Herbert Marcuse proclaims in Hail, Caesar! Dialectics: what are they, what is their function, and how might their theory and praxis manifest multifariously across the Coens’ body of work? We discuss the history of the term, how the concept of keeping two ideas in tension is expressed within individual characters, and we finally tackle the loop-de-loop structure of Inside Llewyn Davis. This conversation is a deep dive and we hope you enjoy it as much as we did.

Ed’s podcast: This Machine Kills
Ed’s substack: The Tech Bubble

Coens Covered: Hail, Caesar!, Inside Llewyn Davis, A Serious Man, No Country for Old Men, Raising Arizona, Miller's Crossing, Fargo

Plus: No Direction Home

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To the White Sea is back to discuss HONEY DON’T!—the slapjacking new film from Ethan Coen and Tricia Cooke—and we’re bringing a new episode format to attempt to wrap our minds around this monumental moment. 

We’ve gathered some of our favorite minds of filmmaking and film analysis—Melissa Tuckman, Ben Brewer, and Emilio Diaz—for an unrehearsed panel discussion affectionately dubbed The McDunnough Group. We explore important issues of the day including how this new film differs from a Joel and Ethan collaboration, how a more varied filmmaking approach impacts the experience of the viewer, and whether the film successfully defines its moral universe. Thank you so much to all of the panel guests. Special thanks to Focus Features.

Coens Covered: Honey Don’t!, Drive-Away Dolls, The Big Lebowski, The Ladykillers, Burn After Reading

Plus: Supervixens, Before Sunset, Punch-Drunk Love, Love Lies Bleeding, Death Proof

“In livelier precincts, the swells of Dreamland gather to inspect the complicated weave of another piece of gossamer… Another movie, another portion of balm for the ache of a toiling mankind.”

Today we’re excited to be joined by Will Menaker and Hesse Deni—cohosts of Movie Mindset, as well as Chapo Trap House and Seeking Derangements respectively—to split the everlasting light of cinema via a prism of great importance: tensions between the old and the young in the films of the Coen brothers.

Jumping off from a thrilling duel between Muldrow and the blind swordsman we unpack the trope of The Old Gunslinger vs. The Kid, and from there fan out across a galaxy of cigar-chomping geezers, stoned Bar Mitzvah boys, goldbricking veterans of forgotten wars, and house partying dybbuks.

Thank you to Will and Hesse for this life- and movie-affirming conversation! Thank you also to the great Chris Wade for helping setting this up.

Coens Covered: The Ballad of Buster Scruggs, Miller’s Crossing, The Hudsucker Proxy, A Serious Man, The Big Lebowski, Inside Llewyn Davis

Plus: Armageddon, The Heart She Holler

Want to join the study group? Follow TTWS on social media, tell your friends about the show, and leave a rating/review on Spotify and Apple Podcasts. It really helps the show.

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For all things TTWS visit tothewhitesea.me – and join the Discord too!

Like a seashell to your ear, we are here. In this extra special episode of To the White Sea we are thrilled and honored to welcome Academy Award-winning sound editor Skip Lievsay, who has worked on more Coen brothers movies than the Coen brothers themselves! This paradox wrapped in an enigma will be unraveled along with so much more.

Together we listen closely to scenes of “perfect quiet” when the volume of the soundtrack drops down to almost zero, yet it’s in this zone where a whole galaxy of perception may be unlocked. We explore how these quiet scenes build tension, intimacy, tactility, and subjectivity. We also discuss Skip’s fascinating working relationship with the Coens, as well as Martin Scorsese, Terrence Malick, and Darren Aronofsky.

Immense thanks to Skip Lievsay, Kyle Miller, Mitchell Wareham, and Nina Leitenberg for their time and effort. Mega special thanks to Kate Sanford making this connection.

Coens Covered: Blood Simple, The Big Lebowski, The Man Who Wasn’t There, No Country for Old Men, The Ballad of Buster Scruggs

Plus: The New World

Want to join the study group? Follow TTWS on social media, tell your friends about the show, and leave a rating/review on Spotify and Apple Podcasts.

***You can also support us directly at https://ko-fi.com/tothewhitesea***

For all things TTWS visit tothewhitesea.me – and join the Discord too!

Surprise! We're back with a new episode. We jump off from the idea introduced to us by J. Todd Anderson, by way of Alfred Hitchcock, that filmmaking is about two things (and according to J. Todd only these two things): suspense and surprise. We analyze ways in which films create a “burden of knowledge” in the mind of the audience, and how this can dramatically affect the way scenes play out on a screen and behind our eyes. Sometimes you’re ahead of the characters, and sometimes they’re way, way ahead of you.

Check us out in the new episode of Blank Check where we kick off their Coen brothers mini series Pod Country for Old Cast with the first film in the Coens ouvre, Blood Simple!

Coens Covered: Raising Arizona, No Country for Old Men, Barton Fink, True Grit, Intolerable Cruelty, The Man Who Wasn’t There


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For all things TTWS visit tothewhitesea.me – and join the Discord too!

Hello study group! We will be back soon with more mainline episodes of To the White Sea. To tide you over we bring you a delightful side-quest / amuse-bouche. A couple months ago we went on Hit Factory to discuss A Simple Plan, directed by frequent Coens collaborator Sam Raimi. We enjoyed our discussion with Aaron so much, and thought it Coens-adjacent-enough to put it out as a bonus. Hope you enjoy it too!

Thanks to Aaron & Carlee for giving us the go-ahead to release this premium episode, and please consider supporting their amazing show on Patreon, which is all about the films and politics of the 1990s.

Want to join the study group? Follow TTWS on social media, tell your friends about the show, and leave a rating/review on Spotify and Apple Podcasts.

***You can also support us directly at https://ko-fi.com/tothewhitesea***

For all things TTWS visit tothewhitesea.me – and join the Discord too!

We're on the road! Ray and Jordan step out of the AMC Lincoln Square 13 and give their immediate impressions of Ethan Coen and Tricia Cooke's new film DRIVE-AWAY DOLLS while walking the streets of Manhattan.

Spoilers are everywhere so you'll want to see the film before diving into this. Thanks in advance for rocking with the "punk rock" audio quality in this special gonzo episode.

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For all things TTWS visit tothewhitesea.me – and join the Discord too!

Emerging from a cloud of goose feathers, TTWS returns! Filmmaker Devyn Waitt joins the study group today to discuss INSTINCT, moments in the Coens films that defy logic but somehow make sense on an intuitive, almost physical level. We touch on whether they could be a connection between survival skills and artistic expression, and speculate on the Coens’ writing process, which seems to be where their most free-wheeling moves find their form. We also discuss a scene from Devyn’s feature Not Waving But Drowning which involved getting a horse on a subway train.

Coens Covered: A Serious Man, The Man Who Wasn’t There, Miller’s Crossing (the bear version), Barton Fink

Plus: Beethoven’s 2nd (1993) - Beethoven destroys patio scene

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Today on the program we start things off with a reality-shattering two pages, then shoot into outer space with our guest, the brilliant production designer Alex DiGerlando. We explore film sets and designed environments that come out of left field and reshape our understanding of what it is we’re watching. We also dive into Alex’s approach to his own work, which he describes as “part muse, part curation.” Rounding things out we also unveil a new prismatic style: the proverbial “lightning” round. Thanks again to Alex for the awesome, mind-blowing conversation!

Coens Covered: Raising Arizona, The Hudsucker Proxy, Inside Llewyn Davis, ⚡️The Ballad of Buster Scruggs ⚡️

Plus: Beasts of the Southern Wild, The Sea of Trees, The OA, Maniac, A Murder at the End of the World

Watch: A Murder at the End of the World on Hulu

Want to join the study group? Follow TTWS on social media, tell your friends about the show, and leave a rating/review on Spotify and Apple Podcasts.

***You can also support us directly at https://ko-fi.com/tothewhitesea***

For all things TTWS visit tothewhitesea.me – and join the Discord too!