Escape Hatch (formerly Dune Pod)

Dreams really can come true,but only if you make them happen. We are thrilled to be joined by the co-host of The Midnight Boys (PEW PEW!!) and Higher Learning , Van Lathan ! We have a wide ranging discussion on comics, cinema, and tech policy. Then we cover Lord and Miller’s hopecore miracle of a movie starring the incredible Ryan Gosling, Project Hail Mary! Chapters Introduction (00:00:00) Hatch...

It’s all been leading to this. Episode 300. The BIG one. The Dune Part Three trailer dropped 3 hours before we started recording. THEY KNEW. Plus It’s the return of the co-hosts of the movie prop podcast, The Stuff Dreams Are Made Of , show-runner of House of the Dragon Ryan Condal and the showrunner of Veep, Dave Mandel ! And we’re going as big into The Big Ones as you can get…Stanley Kubrick’s T...

Listen, we are all trying to make sense of our being led into another war, this time in Iran, and SHOCKINGLY have the complete imbeciles who run our country be woefully unprepared for the repercussions. Well, when former Deputy National Security Adviser and co-host of Pod Save the World , Ben Rhodes called us up and asked to come talk about it with us, we jumped at the chance! Plus we talk the Osc...

We welcome author and former Magic the Gathering Lead Game Designer, Brian Schneider . Brian talks about how to create a Magic set and explores the surprising convergence between professional Magic and Poker players! Then wWe cover Gen X’s apotheosis, John Cusack’s 2000 classic, High Fidelity! Spoilers, Jason thinks the soundtrack kinda sucks. Chapters Introduction (00:00:00) Hatch News (00:21:02)...

We’re finally re-joined by our hero, the Silver Fox, the VP of Merch, the original Podcast BadBoy, and the co-host of the the co-host of the Bat and Spider podcast, dale_a . We tackle Ben Stiller’s 1996 cult classic the broke out Jim Carrey’s acting career, The Cable Guy. Plus we cover close-up magic, the Winter Olympics, looming military strikes in Iran, and whether Haitch committed m#*$er at gym...

We’re on winter break, so in this special Best of episode, we start with the current state of Dems trying to appeal to the youths, Jason tells us all about vibecoding some incredible new tools for the pod, and then we go all the way back to Episode 6(!) of Dune Pod. Relive how we were dealing with deeeep COVID and Jason’s nervousness about whether Dune Part 2 would even get made. Plus we’re joined...

We’re joined by the host of the podcast Channels , Peter Kafka , as we go back to 1982’s Los Angeles, with Cameron Crowe and Amy Heckerling’s teenage masterpiece starring Sean Penn, Jennifer Jason Leigh, and Phoebe Cates, Fast Times at Ridgemont High. We cover how The Pool Scene changed a generation, the first time Haitch got blue balls (after making out all night at a church lock in), why the Sup...

This is a wild one. We’re joined by House of the Dragon S3 director Loni Peristere and the creator of John Wick, Derek Kolstad ! We cover Lee Marvin’s 1967 classic, Point Blank! Other topics include a S3 HotD update, that one time when Loni REINVENTED modern sci-fi visual effects with his revolutionary approach on Firefly (and then Battlestar Galactica!), and creating a legendary modern action her...

t’s always a great time when we’re joined by the co-host of the X-Ray Vision podcast, the incomparable Rosie Knight ! We tackle David Fincher’s 2002 taut thriller starring Jodie Foster, Forrest Whitaker, and Dwight Yoakim(?!), Panic Room. Other topics include how the Dems and ordinary citizens in Minnesota are effectively fighting back, and of course #hogtalk (on both Knight of the Seven Kingdoms...

It’s the dramatic return of our Scream Queen, Sr. Editor of Fangoria Magazine , Meredith Borders . Meredith is hot off the massive Kickstarter launch of her brand new book, First in Fright: The FANGORIA Compendium ! We talk about John Carpenter’s forgotten masterpiece, Jeff Bridges and Karen Allen’s 1980s classic Starman. We also cover Greenland, the (gestures around) whole situation going on, #du...

We kicked Jason to the curb to allow us to record when Escape Hatch film correspondent and co-host of the Cinenauts podcast ctcher was available. And he’s joined by the Mayor of the Freak Beat and co-host of The Austin Danger Podcast , Kev . By their command, we cover Charlie Kaufman and Spike Jonez’ sophomore effort, the wildly inventive Adaptation. Chapters Introduction (00:00:00) Hatch News (00...

We’re back, baby! And joining us to kick off the new year in style it’s the 3rd living host of Escape Hatch, the co-host of the Twin Vipers podcast, Jonesy Love Beer . Not gonna lie, this was a tough one as we tackled Christopher Walken’s unhinged performance in Gregory ‘Highlander” Widen’s less successful effort, The Prophecy. (It does have a young, sexy Viggo Mortenson playing the devil, so it h...

Happy Holidays from us to you! Ring in the new year with a look back at where we’ve been in 2025 and what 2026 and beyond hold for us. Then join us for an INCREDIBLE Mailbag segment, featuring our amazing voicemail friends who have truly outdone themselves all year, and scale new heights tonight. Happy New Year!! Chapters Introduction (00:00:00) Your Letters (00:28:14) Notes and Links Check out Es...

Happy Holidays from our family to you! Hope you are warm and cozy and having fun recharging over the break, while Jason and I take time for ourselves and our families. To keep the home fires burning, we submit this classic Dune Pod episode from 4(!) years ago, covering our very first ever Christmas movie, Die Hard! Chapters Introduction (00:00:00) Best of Escape Hatch: Die Hard (00:18:28) Notes an...

It’s our first ever teamup episode featuring the director and producers of Banshee, Your Friends and Neighbors, and Lucky Greg Yaitanes and Jonathan Tropper ! They talk about collaborating on projects for over 12 years, and Jonathan tells us about writing and filming the new movie Star Wars: Starfighter!!! Then since it’s the holidays, we cover Shane Black’s Christmas classic, The Nice Guys. Chapt...

We welcome one of our heroes, The New Yorker’s hard hitting political journalist, Isaac Chotiner . We discuss Sylvester Stallone’s 1985’s revenge fantasy classic, Rambo: First Blood Part II. Did you know it was written by James Cameron? Hear all about this and our take on the implications of late stage American hegemony in this episode. Chapters Introduction (00:00:00) Hatch News (00:22:19) Rambo...

Jason is on assignment, but have no fear! Taking Seat 1 this week is a legend, the co-host of House of R and author of MCU: The Reign of Marvel Studios , Joanna Robinson (!!) For her powerhouse return, we continue the journey we started last year and cover Peter Jackson’s The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers. Chapters Introduction (00:00:00) Hatch News (00:18:28) The Two Towers Roundtable (00:24:...

HAPPY THANKSGIVING! We kick off the holidays by revisiting our journey with the greatest living podcaster, co-host of The Ringer’s House of R , Joanna Robinson ! She joined us last year for The Lord of the RIngs: The Fellowship of the Ring and it instantly became an all time episode. Before that, Jason and I reflect on our Meetup 2025 hangover, and share turkey prep horror stories! And get ready f...

Meetup 2025! Folks flew in from all over the country and we spent a weekend in San Francisco making memories: we saw The Running Man in IMAX, and filmed a LIVE podcast (featuring live performances by many of your favorite voicemailers!) So, DON’T LISTEN TO THIS EPISODE, WATCH IT INSTEAD ! I learned to video edit for you. Chapters Introduction (00:00:00) Hatch News (00:09:44) The Running Man Roundt...

Jesus wept. It’s the dramatic return of our Scream Queen, Sr. Editor of Fangoria Magazine , Meredith Borders . Meredith is hot off the massive Kickstarter launch of her brand new book, First in Fright: The FANGORIA Compendium ! She guides us as we unlock the puzzle box to open up one of her favorite horror films of all time, Hellraiser! Chapters Introduction (00:00:00) Hatch News (00:17:46) Hellra...

We recorded this on Election Day 2025, and Jason is FIRED UP about Ezra Klein’s latest essay on how we beat Trump! He goes off on a cogent screed on what Ezra is getting wrong as we start the march to 2026 and 2028. Then, we’re joined by one of the stars of our voicemail segment, our very own Truthsayer, Birria! We discuss Wes Anderson’s breakthrough hit, shot at the very prep school where Birria...

OK! So who wants to hear us talk about gooning?! Also, it’s the return of the co-hosts of the movie prop podcast, The Stuff Dreams Are Made Of , show-runner of House of the Dragon Ryan Condal and the showrunner of Veep, Dave Mandel ! We continue our Classic Hollywood journey with the movie that invented the film noir genre, Humphrey Bogart’s, The Maltese Falcon. Chapters Introduction (00:00:00) Ha...

We liquidated all of the assets on our balance sheet based on this movie into our microphones for your listening pleasure. In honor of our movie this week, the 2011 financial meltdown classic starring Jeremy Irons, we also had a fun late stage capitalism discussion around the most recent near apocalyptic financial meltdowns and the impending AI bubble pop! We’re joined by the co-host of the tech m...

Look, this seemed like a good idea. We just forgot how problematic this movie is. BUT, it’s always a great time when the co-host of the X-Ray Vision podcast, the incomparable Rosie Knight joins us! Come along and feel the yearning with us, for Twilight: New Moon! Chapters Introduction (00:00:00) Hatch News (00:23:00) The Birdcage Roundtable (00:37:24) Your Letters (01:41:32) Notes and Links Check...

Welp, I guess now sitting members of Congress are coming on the pod. We’re joined by the trailblazing, first ever trans representative, Congresswoman Sarah McBride . She talks about the shutdown and how we build a coalition to fight back against this hostile administration. Then we tackle the blockbuster film that changed the conversation around what was allowed for gay characters in popular cultu...