Pop Culture Field Manual

Well, this is it friends. The end of the road. The last hurrah. We here at the PCFM Podcast are hanging up our podcasting shoes. We're putting our gear in a trunk and putting it in the closet until a mission comes up that only we can do. This is our final podcast episode. We're taking an indefinite hiatus from the show to pursue other projects. We may do an occassional podcast here and there, but...

Another one of our Patreon Exclusive episodes from last summer to tide you over until we're back with more new content for you.  Making art is hard. Whether that’s the time and effort that does into your favorite video game, the hours spent writing and rewriting (and then rewriting again) an amazing book, or the countless people that go into making a movie. But sometimes, the toll of the art creat...

A special episode for al our listeners! THis was the Exclusive Patreon episode we released last July. Enjoy! In case anyone doesn’t know, there was recently an attempted coup in Russia by the Wagner mercenary group, no matter what Putin or anyone else says, they were marching to Moscow and shooting down helicopters and it was not going to be pretty. BUT, did you know there have been 3 other coup a...

Every now and again you hear a story so OUTRAGEOUS that you think there's no way in hell it isn't made up. Well, that counts double in the military where strange things are abound. Cam and Izzy focus their eagle-eyed attention during this week's episoe on all those stories that sound to incredible to possibly be true (but most of them are!).  They wrap out the episode with new-fangled game of “No...

We’ve all experienced a movie, tv show, video game or book that when we reach the end we sit back and think….IS THAT ALL?! ARE YOU FRIGGIN’ KIDDING ME?!?!?! Unsatisfying endings or endings with cliffhangers that never get resolved can stay with us for, well… long enough for one to feel the need to make a podcast episode about. So Izzy and Cam are here to lament over some of their not so favorite e...

Since its creation, storytelling has been a popular outlet for communicating feelings about certain climates in time. Movies, TV, books, art; they have all been used to portray emotions in a linear trajectory, but we are here to talk specifically about military movies. In our propaganda episode, Cam and Izzy talked about how Hollywood was a powerful tool used to sway public opinion. More recently,...

Out of all the stories and representations of war in Pop Culture throughout the decades which ones are the BEST? That’s the question behind this episode today and Izzy and Cam are here to tell you which movie, television show, video game or book they think best represents a certain conflict. But what are the guideline the guide their decisions? Should it be the best encapsulation of the conflict o...

Bad guys. You love to hate them. You hate to love them. A good bad guy can make the good guy a better guy. A bad bad guy can make the good guys bad good guys. And the greatest bad guys make great good guys better than the best guy’s best friend’s guys. So today Izzy and Cam are rolling out their top 10 list of their picks for the greatest villains in pop culture. This is gonna be great… and by tha...

Who doesn’t like a good monster? We’ll tell you who: monster hunters. That’s why they hunt them. Because they hate them and they want them dead. Whether it’s a werewolf, a Frankenstein-type of deal or a child predator, monster hunters are out there doing the lords work, and Izzy and Cam are here to talk about them. A thrilling round of “On the Right Day, We’re All Monsters” ends this week's episod...

What is it about a great plot twist that draws us in? Is it the surprise? Is it the twisting of the narrative at a moments notice? Is it the chewy red candy? No, those are Twizzlers. It's probably one of those first two, but whatever it is, Izzy and Cam are going to discuss it today and figure it out. Or at the very least, they're going to discuss it. A twisty-turny round of “A Completely Normal G...

Crimes! Murders! Wire Fraud! These are all very exciting things to talk about. But do you know what makes them 1000 times MORE exciting? When they happen in the military. That’s right, today Cam and Izzy are going to be running their gums about military crimes, misdemeanors and whodunnits, both in pop culture and some real life stories. So put on your sleuthing shoes and let’s see if we can solve...

If you have worked a job and there was a movie or tv show that was made about that job, we guarantee you would find something that was misleading, inaccurate or possibly spot on about it. There's no shortage of military movies that feature service members deployed overseas, but how much of what is portrayed is accurate? Well that is exactly what Cam and Izzy are going to talk about today: real dep...

We recently did an episode on Insurgency in pop culture, but this week, we’re going to dive a little deeper with a man who spent a lot of blood, sweat and tears hunting for them in Iraq: Jack Treadway. His new book, Insurgent Hunter is out now. JACK TREADWAY served as a Navy SEAL with SEAL Delivery Vehicle Team Two and SEAL Team Five, where he became a sniper. He was also a BUDS instructor. Later...

The long talked about, finally realized interview with our legendary theme song singer, Stan Bush! Learn about Stan's life in music, some fun anecdotes about Van Damme and more. A little about Stan Bush: Worldwide icon of melodic rock Stan Bush is best known for his song “The Touch,” made famous by Transformers: The Movie (1986). An anthem for Transformers fans around the world, “The Touch” was re...

What makes a certain character’s death so satisfying? We’ve been down this road. We’ve walked this walk and talked this talk. This is the sequel to our Season 2 Episode 20 The Killshot, talking about all of those suuuuper satisfying kills in film, tv and video games. Today Izzy and Cam are going to cover all the things we didn’t get around to the first time. The headshots, the explosions and all t...

Everyone loves a good underdog story. The scrappy band of misfits up against the world, and then ultimately, the misfits win. Insurgency and rebellion are like that. Usually a smaller force, fighting the good fight, up against a larger corrupt group. (Not always, but in pop culture, usually) And you want the little rebels to win. And that’s just what Cam and Izzy are going to discuss in today’s ep...

SERE stands for Survival Evasion Resistance and Escape. Military schools with a long history rooted in WWII and Vietnam teach military personnel how to survive in the wilderness, evade enemy capture, resist their captors when taken and held by the enemy, and escape their imprisonment if possible. Izzy took SERE in the Special Forces Q Course and Cameron has been a student of survival for some time...

Welcome back to another episodes where we talk exclusively about games and gaming. It’s not secret that gaming is one of the biggest if not THE biggest hobbies out there. It’s big business. It’s in the culture and it’s definitely in the military. We’ve done episodes dealing with video games in seasons one and two. But let’s be honest, what true nerd is ever finished talking about video games. Izzy...

With 2023 firmly in their rearview, it's time for Izzy and Cam to look back and take stock of the year. That's right, folks, it's the PCFM 2023 Year In Review. What were the highs? What were the lows? What pieces of pop culture took them to new heights and which abysmal pieces of crap sent them spiraling in a hate fueled rant, wishing death upon their creators? This episode is tied with a lovely b...

This week in our continuing series of episodes focusing on one person or franchise, we’re turning our big PCFM spotlight onto Sylvester Stallone. If Arnold Schwarzenegger is the granddaddy of all action heroes, then Stallone is certainly the well-to-do uncle. Uncle Sly has been in his fair share of movies and at 77, he’s still making them. Certainly one of the great action icons of our time. Izzy...

Explosions. They’re everywhere. In the battlefield, in your home, in old abandoned Iron smelting factories bad guys use as hideouts. Explosions are as much a part of action pop culture as fists and guns. They can start the plot, enhance it, end it, or actually ruin everything….sometimes literally. Today Cam and Izzy are talking all things ‘splody. So let’s take off and nuke the entire site from or...

We’re going to cut right to the chase. DINOSAURS. They’re awesome. Always have been, always will be. There’s absolutely no denying it and only a weak-willed communist would say different. So how can pop culture possibly ever hope to improve upon what is already the best thing ever? By having people hunt them and generally, die doing so. And that’s what Izzy and Cam are here to talk about today: al...

The Sniper film franchise started in 1993 with the original Sniper starring Tom Berenger and has gone on to spawn 10 films in total with the latest SNIPER: G.R.I.T. releasing soon on Netflix. In a world of rising and falling franchises it’s quite the achievement. To talk about the Sniper franchise and a whole lot more Izzy and Cam are honored to have with them a very special guest for this episode...

Battle is bloody. There’s no arguing that. But what of war and battle in pop culture? There’s a whole spectrum of goriness, from the bloodless G.I. Joe cartoon from the 80’s to the brutal mayhem of Apocalypto. Cam and Izzy are here to talk about their favorite blood and guts pop culture (horror excluded) moments of all time. You might even find out that's there's something called "too gory." A fun...

A lot of times on this podcast, we’re all over the place. We cover a wide range of topics and we go off on tangents, and all of that is FINE. But Izzy and Cam thought it’d be fun to focus on one person or franchise for an episode, and we hope to make this a recurring thing. This week, they’re going to talk all about Arnold Schwarzenegger. That's right, the granddaddy of them all. They’ll try and c...