Nerdhat

WHAT’S IN YOUR NERDHAT? Each year the RiverRun International Film Festival features special screenings for the whole family to enjoy. This year Richard took all four of his junior Nerdhatters to experience the "Films with Class: Elementary School" screening at the Reynolds Place Theatre. Afterwards he sat down in the grass at a local park to talk with them about their favorite animated s...

WHAT’S IN YOUR NERDHAT? "Fentanyl overdose is the number one cause of death for 18–44-year-olds. Fentanyl can be as inexpensive as a cigarette and more than 100 times more powerful than morphine.  As overdose rates rise and stigma persists, THE HOTLINE is not just a story about crisis—it's a story about listening. Grounded in real-world harm reduction efforts, THE HOTLINE is a film about...

WHAT’S IN YOUR NERDHAT? The dark comedy thriller "Over Your Dead Body" was the Centerpiece screening at the 2026 RiverRun International Film Festival. We had a chance to sit down with actor Keith Jardine, who plays Todd in the film, to talk about his experience working on set with director Jorma Taccone and actors Jason Segel, Samara Weaving, Timothy Olyphont, and Juliette Lewis.  https:...

WHAT’S IN YOUR NERDHAT? On day 2 of the RiverRun International Film Festival, we sat down with filmmaker @willthwaites to discuss the documentary film @crimeandparody which he wrote, directed, filmed, and co-edited. "Crime + Parody" begins with an account of Anthony Novak's legal conflict with his local police department in Parma, Ohio and expands to cover the story of another Ohio...

WHAT’S IN YOUR NERDHAT? T.J. Sandella, the co-writer and co-director of the feature film "Battersea," which played at the 2025 RiverRun International Film Festival, came back on the podcast to share how the film has faired since we last spoke.  Learn More About Battersea:  https://www.tjsandella.com/battersea Learn More About T.J.:  https://www.tjsandella.com/ * The views and opinions ex...

WHAT’S IN YOUR NERDHAT? Timothy Cooper reached out to us leading up to last year's RiverRun International Film Festival. He was our first official interview. This past week he came back on the podcast to share how "Knead," the short film he wrote and directed and which played at RiverRun last year, has faired. He also talked about an upcoming short film for which he wrote the screen...

WHAT’S IN YOUR NERDHAT? This past week Richard had the privilege of sitting down for a conversation with Michael Morin, the new Executive Director of the RiverRun International Film Festival.      Michael hails from California, where he grew up loving both music and movies, though music was his first love. After attending Junior college and film school in California, he began the first phase of hi...

WHAT’S IN YOUR NERDHAT? In honor of Women's history month, we are re-releasing two interviews originally recorded following the 2025 RiverRun International Film Festival. The first is with Yvonne Chan, MD. Phd. who came to RiverRun to promote the short film "We Are Kings," in which she played Jeri, the mother of the film's protagonist. The second interview is with Danielle Gold...

WHAT’S IN YOUR NERDHAT? This week's episode is dedicated to the memory of Ken Best, who passed away in March of 2025. In addition to teaching his son Richard how to play basketball in real life, he also took the time to sit down and play games like this one with his son (whom he always tried to defeat!).  What games did you play with your fathers? Did they introduce you to sports? Did they ki...

WHAT’S IN YOUR NERDHAT? We continue our celebration of 4 years making the Nerdhat podcast by sharing stories and clips from some of our favorite episodes. We also share the top 4 most popular episodes of all time (as of March 4th), including a clip from the most popular episode to date. Can you guess what it is? Let us know in the comments if you guessed correctly.  * The views and opinions expres...

WHAT’S IN YOUR NERDHAT? Moving Forward, audio versions of Nerdhat News will be uploaded to the podcast feed. Here is a summary of today’s talking points:  1) We’re going back to a bi-weekly release schedule  2) Going Forward, video versions of full episodes will be posted exclusively to Patreon and will be available at the paid tiers only.  3) We still want to know what’s in your Nerdhat! Join Pat...

WHAT’S IN YOUR NERDHAT? In part one of our two part celebration, we return to the very first nerdy creation Richard reviewed for the podcast, Batman: The Animated Series (1992-1995). This was Laura's first time ever watching an episode, so Will and Richard decided "Heart of Ice" (first aired 9-7-92) would be an excellent choice. Listen to find out if Laura liked it, and to learn whe...

WHAT’S IN YOUR NERDHAT? Once upon a time, in an age known as the 90s, three bastard children resulted from a brief alliance between the nations of Nintendo and Phillips. These children, so named "Zelda: The Faces of Evil," "Zelda: The Wand of Gamelon," and the runt of the lot, "Zelda's Adventure," went on to live in infamy in the minds of those who loved Zelda an...

WHAT’S IN YOUR NERDHAT? In honor of Black History Month, we are re-releasing our out out-of-the-theatre review of Ryan Coogler's 2022 film, "Wakanda Forever."  Love the podcast? Want to join the community? Head over to our Patreon and sign up today!  https://patreon.com/TheNerdhatPodcast?utm_medium=unknown&utm_source=join_link&utm_campaign=creatorshare_creator&utm_conten...

WHAT’S IN YOUR NERDHAT? "Riven" was the bestselling PC game of 1997, despite being released in October. Laura has fond memories of playing it with her brothers, notebooks in hand, writing down clues and attempting to solve its puzzles and navigate its non-linear storyline.  How about you? Did you play Riven back in the 90s? Have you experienced the 2024 re-release? Let us know what you t...

WHAT’S IN YOUR NERDHAT? We plan to review video games more often in season 7, so it seemed fitting to re-release this 2023 bonus episode covering classic 80s and 90s Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle video games. We hope you enjoy!  And stay tuned for our first episode of season 7, in which we’ll be reviewing the 1997 PC Game “Riven.”  Love the podcast? Want to join the community? Head over to our Patre...

WHAT’S IN YOUR NERDHAT? This week we close out season 6 with our review of the world's very first fully hand-painted film, "Loving Vincent." It took some 125 artists and 65,000 paintings to bring this visual feast to the table, and it does not disappoint.  Let us know what you think in the comments.  Love the podcast? Want to join the community? Head over to our Patreon and sign up...

WHAT’S IN YOUR NERDHAT? If you love sword fights, satire, flesh wounds, or flying cows, then this episode is for you! This week we cover two classic medieval comedies: Rob Reiner's eponymous production of "The Princess Bride" (1987) and Terry Gilliam's stab at comedy "Monty Python and the Holy Grail" (1975).  Which is your favorite? Let us know!  This week's sour...

WHAT’S IN YOUR NERDHAT? Today we share an episode which we first published on November 23, 2022, just 13 days after the end of Kevin Conroy's valiant battle with cancer. For us and many of millennials like us, Kevin will always be our Batman. We hope you enjoy this episode honoring Kevin's life and work.  Image Copyrights: Kevin Conroy, Warner Brothers Animation/DC Studios Love the podca...

WHAT’S IN YOUR NERDHAT? This week we pull two classic sci-fi anime films out of our Nerdhat, both of which influenced the Wachowskis and inspired elements of the Matrix trilogy. Richard will  be pitching Mamoru Oshii's 1995 classic "Ghost in the Shell," while returning guest Elijah Miller will be advocating for Katsuhiro Ôtomo's groundbreaking 1988 film "Akira."  To P...

WHAT’S IN YOUR NERDHAT? In this week's episode we focus on the stories of two young women from the other side of the world, both of whom faced the challenges of living in cultures which restricted their freedoms and threatened their lives. "Persepolis," a 2007 French feature film faces off against 2017's "The Breadwinner," both of which premiered at International film...

WHAT’S IN YOUR NERDHAT? This week’s category is “Creepy Cartoons,” and we’re featuring two of the best to be released since Y2K frightened us into buying camping stoves and inordinate amounts of non-perishables - Alex Hirsch’s “Gravity Falls” and Pat McHale’s “Over the Garden Wall.” This week also includes an unscripted bonus segment in which Laura discusses her penchant for watching horror video...

WHAT’S IN YOUR NERDHAT? This week on Nerdhat its a battle of boots versus blades, as we pit Stephen King’s “The Long Walk” against “Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba - The Movie - Infinity Castle.” Who will win? The walkers or the sword wielders? Listen to find out!  Also, big shoutout to Winston Salem’s Marketplace Cinema, where we enjoyed both of these films.  Love the podcast? Want to join the com...

WHAT’S IN YOUR NERDHAT? Round 15 is all about the women of SciFi. Starbuck, also known as Kara Thrace, from the 2004 reboot of “Battlestar Galactica” faces off against Uhura, otherwise known as “Uhura” (at least to James T. Kirk), from the 2009 reboot trilogy of Star Trek movies. Joining us is special guest Rachael Morales, an accomplished author and lover of the SciFi and fantasy genres, not to m...

WHAT’S IN YOUR NERDHAT? By Clovis’ beard! This is a strange fight indeed. On one side stands an earth-pig born (who isn’t actually a pig) and on the other stands a sheltered, teenage superhero who finds himself unprepared to face the “real world.” Both fighters meet beautiful women along the way, but only one will succeed in romance. Which will win our contest? Perhaps only Tarim knows…. Join us f...