Cows in the field

Put on your dancin' shoes, it's time to discuss Billy Elliot with Aaron Meskin (Philosophy, U. of Georgia)! We discuss dance movies, dancing, how the film melds British working class drama with fantastical, nondiegetic dance numbers, how conformity perpetuates class structures, how the film portrays masculinity and dance, and more! Did you enjoy the episode? Leave us a review on your podca...

Join us and Bar Luzon (Philosophy, MIT) to discuss Celine Song's film PAST LIVES. We talk about immigration, love, irresistible freely chosen love, imagination and narrative in self understanding, counterfactual thinking, and never going home... Check out all our episodes at cowspod.com and buy a cow-branded shirt at shop.cowspod.com! Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands

The Cows journey to the future, Los Angeles 2019, to run blades with Zed Adams (Philosophy, The New School for Social Research). We discuss eyes, simulation, Hegel, Cavell, Heidegger, rain, tears, pajamas, and who among us is a replicant. Visit cowspod.com for the full schedule and merch! Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands

Journey with us and Matthias Michel (Philosophy, MIT) beyond the infinite! We discuss humanity's place in the universe, questions vs. mysteries, technology, space food, space toilets, transcendence, isolation, space, HAL9000, monoliths, chess... and what makes this movie so special. Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands

We take a trip down A24 lane to discuss our first AI movie of the miniseries, Alex Garland's EX MACHINA, with Aaron West (of Cinejourneys.com and The A24 New Wave). Auteurs, tech bros, trophy robot wives/slaves, creations leaving the nest, and more! Also, Justin cut out the bit where he ranted about the film's half-assed invocation of Wittgenstein and Frank Jackson, so don't worry: we...

We are joined by Tim Smartt (Philosophy, University of Notre Dame at Sydney) to discuss Altman, Coury brand cat food, loneliness, transitions, misplaced loyalties, noir... and more! If a friend asks you to drive him to Mexico at 3am, what should you do?! Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands

Robbie Kubala (Philosophy, UT-Austin) joins to discuss ENEMY! We discuss the fear of entrapment, performativity, spider femininity, 2 v 1, the difficulties of making Associate Professor... and more! Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands

We are joined by Dave Baker (Philosophy, U. Michigan) to talk about THE GREY (2012), which is definitely NOT Taken With Wolves! We discuss accepting death, grief, finding meaning in life, theistic and non-theistic readings, dudes bonding over survival scenarios, wolves, Liam Neeson, and more wolves! Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands

It's time to celebrate the films of 2025! No film can win in more than one of the following categories: + Best Supporting Character + Movie Most Likely to Grow on Me + Hidden Gem + Best Music + Best Line / Speech + Best Antagonist + Best Protagonist + Best Story + Best Picture Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands

Pick up your paddles, it's time to PONG! Marty Supreme is a 2025 movie directed by Josh Safdie starring Timothy Chalamet about an upstart New York table tennis savant who'll do anything to succeed at the sport and who just wants someone to treat him as seriously as he takes himself. We're joined by Sean Burns (WBUR, Spliced Personality) to explore the movie's manic energy. Advertis...

Roxana Hadadi (Vulture / New York Magazine) joins us to discuss Paul Thomas Anderson's BP lock(?) and everything surrounding the film: its structure, violent / non-violent resistance, broader themes in PTA's films... and much more! Is it time to call in a Greyhawk-10? Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands

Five years out, and it's time to look back on TENET with a replay of our episode from 2021. In it, we talk about parenthood, emotions, time inversion, free will, buddies, why this can't be done in any other medium, and also why the movie kicks butt! If you haven't given Tenet a second shot, now's the time! Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands

Players, chimes, noir conventions, screenwriting tips, running hot, tacit communication, and horny lawyers can only mean one thing -- we're discussing BODY HEAT! Joining us is Alex Kugelman, writer/director of the new hit film DON'T TRIP (streaming now on Tubi). Can you handle the heat??!? Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands

To celebrate the life and work of Rob Reiner, we wanted to cover our favorite of his films, which also happens to be a great NEW YEAR'S film! So join us to discuss the mysteries of love, and disagree about how to interpret the interstitial older couple interviews. Here's to 2026! Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands

Oh no Scott Calvin (maybe) killed Santa Claus and now through the power of legally binding contracts he has to become the Big Man himself! Will the power of belief triumph over police and psychiatry? Who will be crowned champion of the elves-only cocoa-making competition? Who are those puppets hanging out in Santa's room? All this and more!! Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands

Join us and Brianna Ashby ( Bright Wall / Dark Room ) to discuss 2001's AMELIE! We discuss loneliness, color theory, mediated interactions, breaking through stasis, and whether this is a post-COVID movie made before COVID! Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands

We are joined by Sam Liao (Philosophy, University of Puget Sound) to discuss our first animated film on the show: Isao Takahata's Grave of the Fireflies! We discuss childhood, innocence, war, societal collapse, and much more! Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands

We sit down with Rachel Fraser (MIT, Philosophy) to discuss Bong Joon Ho's Academy Award winning movie PARASITE! What do Freud, Jane Eyre, and Marx have to do with a movie about three families in South Korea? Psychoanalysis, transgression, class consciousness, ideology, ghosts, Hitchcock, and lots more! Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands

Continuing spooky season, we sit down with Pete Turner (Oxford Brookes University) to discuss found footage horror and the now-classic entry into the genre, REC! We discuss why this isn't "found footage"(!) although it is diegetic camera horror, and how the film uses the limited perspective to shape our identification with its characters. Don't go in the attic!! Advertising Inquiri...

Join us and Emily St. James to surf the dark web and hopefully not stumble upon any RED ROOMS. We discuss image management in the era of hyper-connectivity, Arthurian legends, Tennyson poems and 19th Century Chinese pirates, and of course, serial killers. Is this a comfort watch or a perfect horror for a brisk fall evening or BOTH? Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands

We are joined by Max Evry (author of A Masterpiece in Disarray: David Lynch's Dune ) to discuss another sci-fi epic of the same generation, this one starring Captain Kirk and Mr. Spock! Exploration, practical effects, V'GER!, mystery, AI, leaping beyond logic!! Star Trek: The Motion Picture (1979), check it out! Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands

We're joined by Andrew Overbye and Hannah Blechman from the Authorized Novelizations Podcast to explore near-death experiences, spirituality, brat packs, and more during our discussion of Joel Schumacher's 1990 film FLATLINERS! Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands

Alex Garland's second film in two years traces the true story of co-director Ray Mendoza's experiences in Iraq. We discuss the film with Jim Penola (An Invitation Productions), considering what drove Garland to the project, heroic sacrifice, decontextualizing violence, and the film's commitment to realism. Find us at www.cowspod.com! New shirts and hats at shop.cowspod.com! Advertising...

We do, in fact, read Sutter Cane! Carly Severn (KQED San Francisco) returns to explore the world of mass market paperbacks that portend the return of the Old Ones and the end of humanity in John Carpenter's homage to Lovecraft. Is it Mommy's Day? Sadly, yes, it is. Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands

Life, death, and rebirth are on the exam table as we pull up the chart on Stuart Gordon's RE-ANIMATOR (1985). Scout Tafoya (Ignite Films) returns to explore the film, its impact and legacy, men's desire to procreate without women, practical effects, consent, horror, and of course, H.P. Lovecraft! Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands