Cover to Credits

This episode we conclude the rom-com trilogy that we never knew we needed with To All the Boys: Always and Forever, directed by Michael Fimognari and adapted from the book by Jenny Han. In this final installment we discuss the many details of wedding planning, college parties, and all the boys that have been left in the dust! 

This episode we witness the birth of the iconic 007 franchise with Dr. No, written by Ian Fleming and adapted by Terence Young in 1962. We analyze vague rocket plots, discuss the first women of the Bond series, and question whether Bond is actually good in bed.

Everyone put your masks on because we're traveling to a dystopian future full of danger with Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind, originally written and published by Hayao Miyazaki as a multi-part manga series and then adapted to film by Miyazaki in 1984. We talk environmentalism, war, and the film's first introduction to America as the disastrous Warriors of the Wind!

This episode Ian finally gets to talk about chess with The Queen's Gambit, the hit Netflix show directed by Scott Frank and based on the novel by Walter Tevis. We look at this story's intersection of sex and chess, the Russian villain trope, and smothered males(?)

We return to Hogwarts this episode with a quick detour into bureaucracy and governmental incompetence! This fifth installment in the series, written by J.K. Rowling and adapted in 2007 by David Yates, explores themes of civil disobedience, trauma, and snogging!

We get together and have a few laughs this episode with Die Hard, the 1988 film by John McTiernan, based on the novel Nothing Lasts Forever by Roderick Thorp. We discuss action film tropes, random grandchildren in the novel, and of course we ask the age-old question: Is this a Christmas movie?

This episode, books come to life (and we're not just talking about the film adaptation) with Inkheart, written by Cornelia Funke and adapted in 2008 by Iain Softley. Tune in for kidnapping advice, discussions on the magic of books, and our attempt to determine if Meggie is a god by the end of the film.

Is it a ghost, or is it the patriarchy? This episode we dream of returning to Manderley in the novel Rebecca, written by Daphne Du Maurier and adapted in 1940 by Alfred Hitchcock. We talk unnamed narrators, unnerving housekeepers, and why you should never surprise anyone ever.

Earth may be a disaster right now, but Mars doesn't seem much better. Join us as we discuss The Martian, a survival tale like no other, written by Andy Weird and adapted by Ridley Scott in 2015. This episode we get into potatoes, science, Childish Gambino, online publishing, and most importantly, potatoes.

This episode we tackle this dense and topical HBO series, show-run by Misha Green, and based on the novel by Matt Ruff. We talk monsters, racism, and some Indiana Jones bullshit. 

It's time for the fourth installment of the Harry Potter series with The Goblet of Fire, written by J.K. Rowling and adapted in 2005 by Mike Newell. We look at how this series expands the scope of the Wizarding World, the scope of haircuts, and the scope of half-baked slave analogies. Also, we drop our hottest take yet in the Harry Potter series.

This episode, hope and horror combine with Room, written by Emma Donoghue, and adapted in 2015 by Lenny Abrahamson. We discuss the unique writing of the novel, the amazing cast of the film, and the biggest question left unanswered, where did Old Nick get a wardrobe from?

We take a look at the cult classic comedy The Devil Wears Prada, directed by David Frankel in 2006, and the novel it was based on by Lauren Weisberger. We discuss the challenges of first jobs, the real life inspirations of the story, and every glorious line that comes out of Meryl Streep's mouth.

This episode looks at the coming-of-age tale, Perks of Being a Wallflower, written in 1999, and then later directed in 2012, by Stephen Chbosky. We enjoy getting to discuss our home city of Pittsburgh, as well as the traumas of high school, getting high, and share what our personal tunnel songs are.

This episode, we discuss the true story of Christopher McCandless, as told in John Krakauer's book Into the Wild and the 2007 film adaptation by Sean Penn. We look at how both mediums attempt to fill in the gaps of Chris' final years and how his legacy continues well into the present.

We go planet hopping this episode with The Little Prince, a short book with big impact by Antoine de Saint-Exupery, and the 2015 film adaptation by Mark Osborne. We explore the absurdist humor, deeper meaning, and lasting legacy of this story, and the film's unique approach to bringing this tale to life.

We take a look at one of America's most prolific figures during the civil rights movement with The Autobiography of Malcolm X, and the film adaptation directed by Spike Lee in 1992. Malcolm X's remarkable life is captured from Zoot Suits and drugs in Harlem to his pilgrimage to the holy city of Mecca. We talk about the civil rights movement, hair conking, and Spike Lee's amazing work behind the ca...

We hit the dusty trail this episode as we look into The Sisters Brothers, a 2011 novel by Patrick DeWitt and 2018 film directed by Jacques Audiard. This oddball western, set against the backdrop of the California gold rush, follows two hitmen brothers, but is full of unexpected turns.

In this episode, we discuss the Stanley Kubrick classic Dr. Strangelove or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb *deep inhale* based on the novel Red Alert by Peter Bryant. We explore the unusual scenario of how this detailed cold war thriller was turned into a dark satire that's appeared on many Best Movie lists over the years.

The Harry Potter series gets a shakeup in both the novels and films with Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, written by J.K. Rowling and adapted in 2004 by Alfanso Cuaron. We discuss MORE forms of wizard transportation, the films' new Dumbledore (Dumble-coy?) and a finale so dense it takes half the episode to discuss.

Oh, hi Mark! This episode we see how one of the all-time worst movies ever was created with The Disaster Artist, written by Greg Sestero and Tom Bissell, adapted in 2017 by James Franco. We discuss the absurd hijinks depicted in this adaptation, as well as the darker elements left out of the film. 

Things heat up this episode as we delve into Little Fires Everywhere, the novel by Celeste Ng, adapted for Hulu by Liz Tigelaar. We discuss how race is brought to the forefront of this show, the courtroom conflict of the novel, and how Reese Witherspoon manages to break the sound barrier in the last episode.

This episode we discuss The Kite Runner, written by Khaled Housseini and adapted for the screen by Marc Forster. We spend the episode trying to make heads or tails of Kite Fighting, discussing the unique narrative, and discovering the sad history of how this sad movie was made.

The characters may be respectable, but we won't be while discussing the 2005 adaptation of Jane Austen's novel Pride and Prejudice. We cover all aspects of this 1800's novel, from the cousin marrying to the "shades of Pemberley" and how the film trades high collars for deep V's.

The saga of "the boy who lived" continues with Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, written by J.K. Rowling and directed by Chris Columbus in 2002. We discuss how this book expands on the themes of the series, what are ghosts in this universe, and how Harry's stage fright almost gets him killed by wizard crack heads.