Escape Hatch (formerly Dune Pod)

It’s always a good time when we have the very smart and very thoughtful host of Channels with Peter Kafka , Peter Kafka .We catch up on SXSW 2025 and engage in some obligatory political takes. Then we tackle Gene Hackman’s first Oscar winning performance, William Friedkin’s NYC crime classic, The French Connection! Chapters Introduction (00:00:00) Hatch News (00:17:33) The French Connection Roundt...

At last, it’s the return of noted fantasy enthusiast and the co-host of the Twin Vipers podcast, Jonesy Love Beer ! We catch up on tennis, improving our health, and friendship. Then we tackle the first truly great modern fantasy film, 1981’s classic Dragonslayer. Chapters Introduction (00:00:00) Hatch News (00:16:35) Dragonslayer Roundtable (00:23:15) Your Letters (01:06:57) Notes and Links Check...

WE’RE BACK! And we brought back the creator of Skree Magazine and OG star of the Escape Hatch Letters Segment, Corey Corcoran ! After catching up on Haitch’s tennis escapades, and Andor S2 hype, we finally cover Corey’s pick, 1990’s Abel Ferrara Christopher Walken classic, King of New York. Chapters Introduction (00:00:00) Hatch News (00:15:55) King of New York Roundtable (00:29:45) Your Letters (...

LISTEN. We’ve been doing this for 4 ½ years, we’re coasting now, that doesn’t mean we don’t love you. We’re on ski week, but we fired up the mics to give you a 26 minute update on how things are going (SPOILER: not great!), and then we revisit this classic Dune Pod episode from all the way back in November of ‘22. Revisit my reentry into the world after having completed the Hoffman Process. Hear t...

Can’t believe how lucky we are, cuh. We’re joined by the host of the New York Times political podcast The Run Up , Astead Herndon . We have an amazing discussion about what Astead learned in the trenches covering the last few elections, specifically how the major parties ignore and take their voters for granted (at their own peril!) Then we get into one of his favorite nostalgia treats from his ea...

We finally settle the score: is Francis Ford Coppola’s The Godfather any good? Joining us to make the call is [checks notes] the co-host of Pod Save America and Pod Save the World , Tommy Vietor! Plus, we get an update on how Trump 2.0 is going as well as how we’re all dealing with [gestures around] all this. Chapters Introduction (00:00:00) Hatch News (00:10:07) Tommy Vietor Interview (00:15:45)...

Before he was the co-host of Pod Save the World , Ben Rhodes was the Deputy National Security Advisor for President Barack Obama. In that role, he was a consumer of Top Secret intelligence collected by the intelligence services. This gives him a very unique perspective as we finally tackle the 2011 adaptation of the John Le Carré spy masterpiece, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy. A phenomenal political a...

Tilda is forever our angel. For Part 2 of our Tilda double header, in the movie that put her over the top in her classic portrayal as the angel Gabriel, she faces off with Keanu Reeves as Constantine! Joining us to discuss is the co-host of the X-Ray Vision podcast , Rosie Knight . Chapters Introduction (00:00:00) Hatch News (00:18:00) Constantine Roundtable (00:27:40) Your Letters (01:23:56) Note...

We’re bound to learn something as we’re joined by the co-host of The Filmcast Podcast , Devindra Hardawar ! We tackle Part 1 of our latest Tilda Swinton Double Header, the Coens 2008 overlooked political thriller masterpiece, Burn After Reading. Chapters Introduction (00:00:00) Hatch News (00:14:14) Burn After Reading Roundtable (00:16:44) Your Letters (01:16:46) Notes and Links Check out Escape H...

We are back bay-bee! And we kick the doors off 2025 with the return of NY Times Bestselling author, Dave Itzkoff ! He has clearly established his Escape Hatch beat as gritty New York City movies from the 70s and 80s, and today is one of the all time classics, Walter Hill’s 1979 streetgang masterpiece, The Warriors. Come out and play with us! Chapters Introduction (00:00:00) Hatch News (00:14:03) T...

We know, we know…we said we’d be back in a week during the Mailbag ep, but I didn’t realize there was ANOTHER week before we got back. So Jason and I fired up the mics from vacation, and recorded a special new retrospective of the episode our listeners selected as the greatest Escape Hatch ever (it was actually Dune Pod at this point - but STILL), the first appearance of the actor from Warrior, Ba...

We know, we know…the holidays are OVER! But we’re still on our winter holidays break enjoying a little time with our families. Still, we wouldn’t leave y’all hanging, so we have a special treat for you, our First Annual Escape Hatch Mail Bag Episode! And we gotta shoutout the incredible letters and voicemails sent in from the Escape Hatch community, they truly have to be heard to be believed. We l...

Season’s Greeting from Escape Hatch! Remember last year, when we had dale_a on to talk about Dan Ackroyd wearing black face on our Trading Places episode ? Well, we figured for our 3rd Annual Holiday Movie Extravaganza, we’d choose the not at all controversial 2005 neo-noir Shane Black classic that restarted Robert Downey Jr.’s career, Kiss Kiss Bang Bang. While Jason opted to keep his reputation...

This is the One. We tackle one of the all time greatest works of art and the cornerstone of a beloved holiday tradition, as we watch Peter Jackson’s unmatchable translation of J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring. And joining us is the greatest genre podcaster in the game, and Maiar level Tolkien expert, the co-host of the House of R podcast, Joanna Robinson . We simp...

We’re all still worried about AI, right? Well we are, so we decided to bring you the 1970 artificial intelligence cautionary tale, in all its methodical, intense, and drenched in 70s retro future production design glory. Join us and learn why the ‘scientist’ making the computer is definitely the bad guy, in Colossus: The Forbin Project. (I MEAN, seriously, that bozo Elon literally named the superc...

RED ALERT . We finally tackle the 1979 masterpiece you’ve been waiting for, Star Trek: The Motion Picture. And we brought a serious expert, as we’re joined by the author of The Fifty-Year Mission: The Complete, Uncensored, Unauthorized Oral History of Star Trek: The First 25 Years , co-host of the Inglorious Treksperts podcast, and creator of the amazing documentary 1982: Greatest Geek Year Ever!...

In order to preserve our precious bodily fluids, we look for answers to the big questions as we welcome senior advisor to MIT's Center for Constructive Communication, Glenn O Brown . We finally go back into the Kubrick vault, as we tackle his 1964 satirical masterpiece, Dr. Strangelove: Or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Start Loving the Bomb. Chapters Introduction (00:00:00) Hatch News (00:26:...

Welp. After a decisive electoral outcome, we desperately need healing and renewed belief in the possibility of our country. And there is only one man we could turn to, the co-host of the incredible podcasts Bat & Spider , Paperkeg , and Interview with a Podcast Vampire , dale_a . We chose to cover the incredible tale of a creator who put everything on the line, inspired the ordinary Americans...

At this difficult time, our nation needs to come together. We do our part by finally tackling one of the most requested movies we’ve ever had for our podcast. The co-host of the X-Ray Vision podcast, Rosie Knight returns to cover the beginning of Bella’s journey, in 2008’s Twilight. Chapters Introduction (00:00:00) Hatch News (00:09:17) Twilight Roundtable (00:23:37) Your Letters (02:04:24) Notes...

Time to get to da choppa!! Ryan Condal, takes a break from prepping Season 3 of his mega-hit TV show House of the Dragon, to join us in covering his FOURTH Arnold Schwarzeneggar movie on Escape Hatch! We fill the final remaining slot of Arnold’s Mt. Rushmore, Predator! Chapters Introduction (00:00:00) Hatch News (00:15:43) Predator Roundtable (00:26:18) Your Letters (01:24:05) Notes and Links Chec...

We enjoy the tastiest Halloween treat, the return of our very own scream queen, editor of Fangoria magazine, Meredith Borders ! As usual she has done all of the deep, DEEP research into one of the greatest horror films of all time, her first horror true love, John Carpenter’s Halloween! Chapters Introduction (00:00:00) Hatch News (00:13:11) Halloween Roundtable (00:23:05) Your Letters (01:23:41) N...

It’s all been leading to this. Hear Jonesy Loves Beer go off on the 1968 390 cu. in. V8 Ford Mustang GT Fastbacks (325 hp) with four-speed manual transmissions vs. the 1968 375-horsepower 440 Magnum V8-powered Dodge Chargers. That’s right, the co-host of the Twin Vipers , PaperKeg , and Interview with a Podcast Vampire podcasts returns, for the most Jonesy Loves Beer movie we’ve ever done. It’s th...

We cover one of the greatest films of all time (animated or not!), Lord and Miller’s Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse! Joining us in his first appearance on the pod is a true artist and technical expert, an editor who has worked on Lucasfilm Animation’s Clone Wars, The Bad Batch, and Tales of the Jedi: Nicolas Anastassiou . Nica tells us about what he learned working directly with George Lucas on...

It’s the dramatic return of the show runner of Veep, and co-host of the movie props podcast The Stuff Dreams Are Made Of , Dave Mandel ! We cover Michael Mann’s 1986 thriller classic featuring the first onscreen appearance of Hannibal Lecter, Manhunter. Chapters Introduction (00:00:00) Hatch News (00:17:23) Manunter Roundtable (00:27:49) Your Letters (01:31:48) Notes and Links Check out Escape Hat...

Despite my best efforts, Jason gets his way. We finally cover what he called, ‘an under-rated science fiction masterpiece’, Vin Diesel’s The Chronicles of Riddick. Joining us, our queen, the co-host of the X-Ray Vision podcast, Rosie Knight ! Chapters Introduction (00:00:00) Hatch News (00:18:03) The Chronicles of Riddick Roundtable (00:25:48) Your Letters (01:29:33) Notes and Links Check out Esca...