Great Pop Culture Debate

“Mean Girls” – written by Tina Fey and directed by Mark Waters – is arguably the most culturally pervasive film of the 21st Century. Since it was released in 2004, the film spawned a successful Broadway musical, a direct-to-DVD sequel, and a musical FILM reboot in 2024. Its quotes and catchphrases were almost immediately adopted by the American public, and can be heard pretty much everywhere to th...

Great Pop Culture Debate host Eric Rezsnyak gives you a quick rundown of how we came up with the 16 iconic lines we discuss in our Best "Mean Girls" Quote episode. To listen to the warm-up, which includes the panelists' other picks that didn't make the bracket, become a Patreon supporter of the podcast today. Then come back Monday, April 29, when the full episode is released for everyone. Subscrib...

In 2006, NBC’s “30 Rock” debuted to mixed reviews and modest ratings. But within a few episodes, Tina Fey’s workplace comedy set behind the scenes of a television sketch show found its footing, and over the course of its seven-season run would blossom into one of the quirkiest, funniest, and most daring sitcoms on broadcast television. While “30 Rock” ended more than a decade ago, it remains one o...

Great Pop Culture Debate host Eric Rezsnyak gives you a quick rundown of how we came up with the 16 episodes we discuss in our Best "30 Rock" Episode episode. To listen to the warm-up, which includes the panelists' other picks that didn't make the bracket, become a Patreon supporter of the podcast today. Then come back Monday, April 22, when the full episode is released for everyone. Subscribe to...

As we publish this episode in 2024, it has been 30 YEARS since 1994. THIRTY. YEARS. How did that happen? That said, 1994 was a great year for music. In the days right before the inventions of Napster and the iPod, radio, MTV, VH1, record stores, and CD clubs still had an iron grip on what most Americans listened to. It was a diverse mix of genres and artists, with dance hits, grunge bands, rap, r'...

Great Pop Culture Debate host Eric Rezsnyak gives you a quick rundown of the Round 1 match-ups for our Best Song of 1994 episode. To listen to the debates, become a Patreon supporter of the podcast today. Then come back Monday, April 15, when Part 2 is released for everyone. Click here for a playlist of all 32 tracks discussed in the Best Song of 1994 episode, as well as some additional picks by o...

Girl Scout Cookies have been spreading sugary joy, teaching millions of children entrepreneurial skills, AND raising funds for a terrific organization for more than 100 years. Girl Scout Cookies are an American institution! And for this special mini-minisode, the Great Pop Culture Debate podcast wants to determine the Best Girl Scout Cookie! Want to learn more about the Girl Scout Cookie Program,...

Families have been central to TV shows almost since the invention of the medium. Whether we're talking about the Rockwellian families from classic sitcoms, sprawling soap-opera dynasties, dysfunctional reality TV clans, or the blended families of the 21st century, TV shows have featured just about every permutation of family you can think of. Now, in a special Patreon-sponsored episode, the Great...

Les Miserables – in lay terms “Les Mis” – is one of the most awarded and impactful musicals of the late 20th Century. Based on the 1862 novel by Victor Hugo, which was turned into a French concept album, and then translated into English and expanded upon for its London West End debut in 1985, the show opened on Broadway in 1987, and became an instant classic as audiences were captivated by the hea...

Over its five-decade history -- and multiple generations of gaming systems -- Nintendo has been home to some of the most notable bad guys in video-game history. Some are original creations who only torment the heroes on Nintendo-owned titles. Some are third-party nemeses who have also appeared on other systems. And some are video-game adaptions of bad guys from other existing IPs. What they all ha...

Since “RuPaul’s Drag Race” debuted in 2009, its runway has become home to some of the most jaw-dropping looks on television. Those blockbuster fashion moments only became more common as the show progressed, and in recent years the show has caught the attention of fashion designers, supermodels, and cultural tastemakers due to the incredible outfits worn by its most stylish and creative contestants...

Technological advancements, European influences, and a deep societal need to shake that ass created the perfect breeding ground for the explosion of dance music in the 1990s. From dance club floors to wedding receptions, dance music was everywhere at the end of the 20th Century, with some of the biggest hits even crossing over into mainstream radio. Now, 30-plus years later, the Great Pop Culture...

Since its debut in 1967, the National Football League’s Super Bowl has provided viewers as a little diversion amidst all the tackling and running and sports-ing: the halftime show. What began as the wholesome, kitschy entertainments found at most college games, with marching bands and majorettes, has since evolved into pop-culture spectacles featuring megawatt musical guests that sometimes grab mo...

It’s hard to encapsulate a year in books. When looking at 2023, the obvious standouts are a slew of major, much-anticipated celebrity memoirs – Britney Spears, Prince Harry, Barbra Streisand, just to name a few. It appears we have a new buzzy fantasy series in the form of Rebecca Yarros’ The Fourth Wing . But what makes the literary world so exciting and engaging is that there is truly something o...

2023 was a newsworthy year for film. After three years of pandemic-induced cratering, the box office came roaring back thanks in part to the marketing and artistic triumph that was Barbenheimer. The year saw a slew of notable releases from directing legends and bold new voices that will make it one of the most competitive Oscar seasons in years. And after grueling months-long strikes, both the Wri...

Join Great Pop Culture Debate panelists Andrea Guerrero, Eric Rezsnyak, Jake Lewis, and Jonny Minogue as they share their 12 favorite albums from 2023, as well as a few additional honorable mentions. Head to the Bonus section of www.greatpopculturedebate.com for a playlist featuring selections from each nominated album. Love Pop Culture? Subscribe to Our Free Weekly Newsletter! Every Monday we tel...

There’s no question that television in 2023 was greatly impacted by the strikes by the Writers Guild of America and SAG-AFTRA, which brought Hollywood production to a halt from May until November. So for the first half of the year, we were well fed with quality shows worthy of the golden age of TV. For the back half, well…hope you like 90 minutes of “The Amazing Race” and international versions of...

Holiday albums have existed since at least 1945, when Bing Crosby released “Merry Christmas,” a collection of 8 Christmas songs for Decca Records. Since then, countless popular music artists have released full holiday albums to share their love of the sounds of the season… or simply to satisfy a record contract, or pay their mortgages. It’s a Christmas miracle! There have been dozens of iconic hol...

It has been nearly 100 years since Macy’s launched its Thanksgiving Day Parade outside the department store’s flagship Herald Square location in 1924. Since then, it has become the world’s largest parade, and has delighted untold millions since NBC began to broadcast the event in 1952. For many families, it has become an annual tradition to watch the parade as they prepare their Thanksgiving feast...

They solve crimes and captivate our attention. Detectives on TV! Since at least the late 1930s, detectives have been a staple of television shows. Most are procedurals like the "Law & Order" contingent, a bunch are from prestige dramas a la "Sherlock," some are comedies (think "Monk" or “Brooklyn Nine-Nine”), and some are even animated ("Inspector Gadget" counts!). But regardless, there's some...

Find out what decisions the panel made in Round 1 of Best TV Detective, going from the Top 32 to the Sleuth 16. To listen to the arguments in full, become a Patreon supporter of the podcast. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info .

The Aughts -- the years between January 1, 2000, and December 31, 2009 -- were a tumultuous period, to say the least. Still, those difficult times produced some spectacular new works of American pop culture, including in the Broadway musical genre. A slew of shows introduced during that decade became monster smashes that still play on Broadway today, and many more made significant marks in the Bro...

Get caught up on all the decisions in the Patreon-exclusive Round 1, which went from a Top 32 to a Singing 16. Then come back Monday 11/6 as the main episode drops wherever you listen to podcasts and we name the Best 2000s Broadway Musical! To listen to the arguments that led to the Round 1 decision, become a Patreon supporter of the podcast today. For more content, including the downloadable list...

Since the TARDIS first appeared on telly screens via the BBC on November 23, 1963, The Doctor has had dozens of Companions -- typically ordinary humans who join the time-traveling alien on wild, wacky, wonderful, and sometimes scary adventures. With "Doctor Who" poised to celebrate its 60th anniversary this fall, and the show about to get a massive revamp courtesy of returning showrunner Russell T...

Join Host Eric Rezsnyak and Panelists Brendan Hay, Jake Lewis, and Kevin Dillon as they don their spandex and clash in spectacular fashion to determine the bets Super Hero Film ever! (Or at least until mid-2023.) To listen to Round 1, showing how we got to the Sweet 16 down from the Top 32,  become a Patreon supporter of the podcast  today to access the exclusive Part 1 episode. EPISODE CREDITS H...