Should’ve Sent a Poet

This week hosts Natalie “Bea” Bickelhaupt and Natalie Epstein-Hogue discuss one of Bea’s favorite movies of all time: Guillermo Del Toro’s Pacific Rim (2013). It has everything a girl could ever want: giant robots, kaijus, and interpersonal psychological drama! Switching gears, Natalie and Natalie finally get to move past fascism and towards climate anxiety. Though they still can’t escape 9/11.  ...

In part two of their discussion of Starship Troopers (1997), Natalie and Natalie discuss the Big K and the surreal second half of the movie. Is it a dying fascist’s dream? A heightened propaganda film? Or maybe a portrayal of how bleak the ideal fascist society truly is.   NEXT EPISODE: Pacific Rim (2013)   SHOW NOTES: Want to support the show? Follow us on Patreon , or subscribe for $3 and gain a...

Warning: This episode includes in-depth discussions of fascism, the genocide of the Palestinian people, ICE and the mistreatment of immigrants, the death penalty, mass incarceration, and slavery. Listener discretion is advised.   In their first two-parter, Natalie and Natalie discuss Paul Verhoeven’s satirical masterpiece, Starship Troopers. Based on a novel of the same name by Robert Heinlein, it...

Federal agents clad in black suits and sunglasses are one of the most enduring images of the modern American conspiracy movement. An integral part of the alien cover-up mythos, they have long been a staple of pop culture. However, their most impactful appearance is in the 1997 action comedy, Men in Black. Join hosts Natalie and Natalie as they cover the show’s largest movie yet. It’s an episode yo...

In 2017, author M. T. Anderson released a little book titled Landscape with Invisible Hand. While insightful at the time, it has become increasingly prescient over the years. In 2023, it was adapted into a film of the same name. Join Natalie and Natalie as they kick off a set of episodes focusing on Post-Contact films and discuss their most contemporary film yet. This episode is so ch’ch!   NEXT E...

Things have been hard aboard the mothership lately, so this week we’re trying something different. Instead of a full episode, Natalie and Natalie are transmitting a special audio essay, written and read by Natalie “Bea” Bickelhaupt. Reporting back on her time with Stephen Spielberg’s latest alien-centric romp, Disclosure Day, she gives us a review and some insight into Spielberg’s quiet love of co...

Join Natalie and Natalie as they look back at the first arc of the first season of Should've Sent a Poet. Reflecting on First Contact as a genre, they compare and contrast Contact, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, Signs, and Arrival before answering some listener questions!   NEXT EPISODE: Landscape with Invisible Hand (2023)   SHOW NOTES: Have a question, comment, or correction? Email us at su...

Can you tell this is our favorite movie? It seems each episode is longer than the last, and this one is long. If any movie is deserving of a near five hour runtime, it's 2016's Arrival. Directed by the sci-fi virtuoso of our time, Denis Villeneuve, Arrival is the platonic ideal of a First Contact film. Synthesizing hard science fiction, cultural analysis, and heart-wrenching explorations of the hu...

Your eyes do not deceive you, this extra episode does belong in your feed. To celebrate the launch of our Patreon, we're releasing our first bonus episode for free! Beyond the paywall, anything is possible. That includes Natalie Epstein-Hogue writing the synopsis, and Natalie Bickelhaupt being subjected to cruel experiments!   In this episode, Natalie leads Natalie through the bizarre world of rea...

Well folks, it was bound to happen. Three episodes in and we’ve already doubled a movie’s runtime. I can’t say I’m surprised that the ceaselessly surreal Signs (2002), directed by M. Night Shyamalan, was the culprit. Despite not being very good, Signs manages to use First Contact as a jumping off point to explore grief and faith in some deeply compelling ways. Bad movies with interesting ideas alw...

Join Natalie and Natalie as they explore this touchstone of the Alien genre: Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1997), directed by Steven Spielberg. This seminal work enshrined many of the tropes and themes that permeate the rest of the genre, and is an essential science fiction watch. Accompanying such an iconic piece is an iconic Tin-Foil segment, as we explore both the narratives and cold hard...

In this inaugural episode of Should’ve Sent a Poet, co-hosts Natalie “Bea” Bickelhaupt and Natalie Epstein-Hogue discuss the podcast’s namesake, 1997’s Contact. Directed by Robert Zemeckis, starring Jodie Foster, and based on Carl Sagan’s novel of the same name, Contact is the perfect place to start our long journey through the stars. It follows radio astronomer Dr. Ellie Arroway as she makes firs...