Hooked: A Pop Culture Podcast with Mary Carver

Today I'm joined by my friend and friend of the show, Jenny Rapson. Annnnnd, spoiler alert: We're talking about spoilers today! Another spoiler… our sound is a bit wonky in this short but sweet episode, but I know if you hang in there with us, you're going to love groaning about the spoilers we've been victims of…and maybe even ones that we've (fine, I have) spilled. And then, after we talk about...

Katie Reid—my friend and author—is here this week to talk about her new book, A Very Bavarian Christmas , which is basically a Hallmark Christmas movie waiting to happen. She talks about making the switch from writing non-fiction to fiction and, of course, why it is we love these types of stories so much. I know you'll enjoy hearing from her. If you order two or more copies of A Very Bavarian Chri...

Today we have a very special episode for you, the long-awaited, much-beloved, annual holiday movie preview episode! My friend (and friend of the Facebook group) Tori Rask is here to help me decide which of the 70—count them, SEVENTY—Hallmark and Lifetime holiday movies are worth watching this year. We are going through all three of the channels—Lifetime, Hallmark, and Hallmark Mysteries and Movies...

Today my friend, Dorina Lazo Gimore-Young, is here to talk about exercise in pop culture. Now, Dorina is an author and speaker, a fellow writer at (in)courage , and also a friend of the show, but she's also an experienced runner and a running coach. So she is definitely an expert on this topic! We'll talk about the extreme portrayals of fitness pop culture tries to tell us are the only options, as...

Today my friend—and, likely, one of your favorite authors and speakers—Holley Gerth is here to talk about introverts. We'll talk about famous introverts in pop culture and whether or not they're represented fairly or if they're giving introverts a bad wrap, and then we'll dive into what makes a person an introvert and why that matters. If you love talking about personalities, pop culture, science-...

Today my good friend—and friend of the show—Jenny Rapson is back for a deep dive into one of our favorite shows of all time, PSYCH. In preparation for the new Psych movie released on NBC's streaming app, Peacock, this summer, both Jenny and I rewatched the series. And in case you aren't impressed yet, let me just inform you that there are 121 episodes of this show! I've watched them all and at the...

Today my friend—and friend of the show—Dawn Camp is here to talk with me about movies in the time of COVID. Since we haven't been able to go to the theater, where have we been getting our movie fix? Have any of the new movies of 2020 been good? And when will we ever see the new James Bond movie? We cover all that and more—including a brief discussion of Xanadu. Bet you weren't expecting that kind...

This episode is the first of a new season, and my good friend—and friend of the show—Amanda White is here to talk with me about how sometimes, our first (pop culture) loves become our forever loves. We cover my long history of loving mysteries and her insistence on bonnets and survival stories. And hang in to the very end, because we also share some listeners' first and forever pop culture loves....

HEAD'S UP: This episode was recorded (with my friend and friend of the show, Alana Dawson) before we knew much about COVID-19 and before we were all social distancing and shelter-in-place-ing. I thought about not releasing this one, but though the conversation may seem out of touch (I'm not seeing any movies in the theater right now, for example.), my hope is that it will also be helpful -- either...

This week, Amanda White and I combine two of our favorite things into one fun conversation. We're talking about children's books (yay!) adapted into children's movies (double yay!). And while we recorded this well before we had even heard of the coronavirus, we're hopeful this episode will be helpful as you're looking for ways to keep your kids entertained while you're staying home. We planned thi...

Today I'm talking with my good friend (and friend of the show), Kristen Strong. If you've heard Kristen and me chat about pop culture before, you know we could go on forever, gushing about all the many favorites we have in common. But today we decided to be a smidge more serious and hopefully helpful and talk about how pop culture can help us deal with change. Whether the biggest change in your li...

Fun fact: If you don't count the bonus episodes Anna and I made for you last holiday season, this episode is actually #50. Our 50th episode! That feels like a big deal! Thank you so much for being here – this week and every week. I love getting to share these conversations with you. And this week is especially fun. Jenny Rapson is back on the show, and we are talking about the celebrities we are r...

Little known fact: My very favorite song to sing is "If I Could Turn Back Time" by Cher. I tend to think it's because Cher has a nice alto voice I can sing along to with confidence. No super high notes here but plenty of delicious angst. But you know what? Now that I think about it, I'm wondering if my subconscious attached itself to this song because of my unrelated (but maybe related?) love of t...

This week I'm talking with my friend Tasha Jun about why we need more diversity in romantic comedies. We also share a few of our favorite rom coms and talk about our FEELINGS related to the To All the Boys sequel. Halloween costume parties and Mr. Miyagi are also discussed. Enjoy! MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE: Joy Luck Club Karate Kid Hitch Crazy Rich Asians (the book) Crazy Rich Asians (the movie) A...

My brother is back on the podcast to talk about musical TV shows, episodes, and scenes -- and we are so proud of ourselves for not breaking into song and dance a single time. It's a miracle! (Yes, I did sing that in my head.) Because we are both super psyched about the new NBC show, Zoey's Extraordinary Playlist ( you can watch the pilot here ), we decided to deep dive into all of the best and all...

Let's go to the movies! Today my friend Dawn and I are talking about upcoming we're excited about. Prepare yourself to roll your eyes as we swear up and down that we're underwhelmed by this season's movies and then proceed to tell you about almost 20 movies that we just HAVE to see. This time around we break it down into three categories: date night movies, girls night movies, and family movies. A...

Welcome! Everything is fine. Since that's how The Good Place starts and this, the first episode of a new season, is about The Good Place, it seemed a fitting greeting. Of course, I could also say that "Everything is fine" is for those of you who are bummed out that your favorite show is coming to an end, as well as those of you who haven't bothered watching this show because hello, it makes fun of...

Get ready, because we have two weeks' worth of movies to catch up on today! THE CHRISTMAS COUCH is a series of special episodes of The Couch Podcast devoted to holiday movies. My friend Anna and I are hooked on holidays and honored to be your guides through this holiday movie season , candy cane and ugly sweater at a time. So grab your cocoa and let's get started!   Wanna watch Hallmark movies but...

Whew! Have you recovered from Thanksgiving week yet? And I don't mean all the turkey and potatoes and pies. I mean the dozens and dozens of movies that aired during the week and weekend! I'm still working my way through the list saved on my DVR, but we're still here with a review for you. THE CHRISTMAS COUCH is a series of special episodes of The Couch Podcast devoted to holiday movies. My friend...

This week's episode is kind of a big deal. I'm not saying it smells like leather-bound books, but maybe...? Seriously, this week marks the end of Season 2 of The Couch, so I decided to take a moment to chat with you all. It's a combination of "Ask the Couch," where I answer your most recent pop culture questions, and "State of the Podcast," where I talk about what's in the works for The Couch in 2...

Happy Thanksgiving, friends! We are in the middle of a jam-packed (turkey-stuffed?) week of holiday movies. But today's episode has our reviews of last weekend's movies. That way you know which ones to fit into your long weekend (or set the DVR to record for later)! THE CHRISTMAS COUCH is a series of special episodes of The Couch Podcast devoted to holiday movies. My friend Anna and I are hooked o...

So, sometimes I have what I think is a fantastic idea for a podcast episode and it turns out just like that. Fantastic. Other times, I scribble a note after someone makes a random, offhand comment and then stick to it like it's a bit I'm contractually obligated to carry on for eight seasons. And the latter might be what happened here. In theory, my friend Amanda and I got together to talk about ou...

Whew! We are already feeling the stress of holiday busyness and a ramped-up movie schedule over here! Anyone else? THE CHRISTMAS COUCH is a series of special episodes of The Couch Podcast devoted to holiday movies. My friend Anna and I are hooked on holidays and honored to be your guides through this holiday movie season - even when we're hit with 10 new movies in a weekend we're working and out o...

Hey, friends. Do you have kids? Or kids in your life? Do you want to teach them about other cultures and how to be kind and inclusive to others? Duh. Of course you do. Well, like I do about pretty much every topic, I think the answer to all that lies in books. And that's why I wanted to sit down with my friend, Dorina, who is a multicultural children's author. She's 100% the expert on this topic,...

We're back after another full weekend of holiday movies, and we have lots of opinions to share! Remember, THE CHRISTMAS COUCH will be a series of special episodes of The Couch Podcast devoted to holiday movies. My friend Anna and I are hooked on holidays and honored to be your guides through this holiday movie season. After all, when the powers that be are hitting us with nearly 100 brand-new movi...