Laser Focus

This week, Kyle welcomes video essayist and cohost of the Lynch Pins podcast, Maggie Mae Fish, to discuss the work of the truly singular David Lynch. From the importance of Twin Peaks to the dark empathy of Mulholland Drive, Kyle and Maggie talk all things David Lynch. Find Lynch Pins wherever you get podcasts, or uncut on Nebula.

Finally! Kyle has finally found someone to talk about Ultraman with. And who better than the writer-director of the Netflix animated feature film,  Ultraman: Rising ? Together they discuss why the franchise is so much fun, what led to making an Ultraman movie, and which series are best.

Hot on the heels of the release of Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga, Kyle and Michael Walsh discuss the film and the one-of-a-kind wasteland glory of the entire Mad Max franchise. And, of course, they talk about Italian rip-offs, because of course.

In one of our most esoteric episodes yet, Kyle welcomes back Adam Murray to discuss another genre he’s been obsessed with lately: legal and courtroom thrillers from the ‘90s. Why does this captivate him so? What movies are worth revisiting now? And what’s more exciting: Tom Cruise running or Tom Cruise shouting?

This week, hot on the heels of the finale for X-Men ’97, Kyle and returning champion Eric Diaz break down the entire season and why it might be the best X-Men media ever outside of comics. What do they hope for a season two, and how can the MCU ever hope to capture this gift to mutant fans?

Kyle once again welcomes Nerdist’s editor-in-chief and Star Wars field reporter Amy Ratcliffe to talk about two similar yet wildly different animated outings: the brand new Tales of the Empire and 2022’s Tales of the Jedi. Why does one work so well while the other hardly works at all? 

This week Kyle welcomes Heroes Reforged co-host Hector Navarro to discuss their picks for the projects they hope to see in the future of the MCU and DCU. Kyle tries very hard not to just list X-Men things and fails miserably.

Kyle ventures into the television wasteland to discuss the first season of Prime Video’s Fallout TV series. Joining him are colleagues Rotem Rusak and Michael Walsh, who reflect on the show’s many characters, what factions we could see next year, and why heading to New Vegas could be more surprising than we think!

This week, Kyle sits down with Marvel Comics writer Benjamin Percy to talk about the culmination of his tremendous 50-issue run writing X-Force, from how he picked who’d go on the team, to making Beast into a bad guy. And, of course, how many times he thinks Wolverine has died, canonically.

This week, Kyle once again welcomes Tai Gooden to the show to geek out about something very near and dear to both of them: the bygone era of TV theme songs. With lyrics! They test each other, sing a few, and discuss why they were such a big part of childhood for ‘90s kids.

Kyle still has giant monsters on the brain and so as an addendum to last week’s episode, he discusses some of his very favorites in the genre. Godzilla, sure, but also Gamera, Daimajin, Cloverfield, and more!

This week, Kyle lets out his inner kaiju as he sits down with monster expert Dr. Emily Zarka, creator and host of MONSTRUM on PBS’ Storied channel. Together they discuss why we’re so fascinated by giant monsters, their social implications, as well as why the likes of Godzilla, Kong, and Mothra hold such special place in our hearts.

This week, Kyle and returning champ Michael Walsh discuss the 40th anniversary of This Is Spinal Tap and count down their top 10 personal favorite comedy movies ever made to determine which is the very best. 

In the wake of a ton of news regarding James Gunn’s highly anticipated Superman movie, and the new DCU in general, Eric Diaz joins Kyle to talk about the character, why so many other movies have gotten him wrong, and why they’re incredibly hopeful Gunn gets it exactly right.

This week, Ro Rusak returns to talk to Kyle about the recent Netflix series, Avatar: The Last Airbender. They discuss how well it adapts the animation to live-action, whether it’s better to stay true or blaze your own trail in adaptation, and how old the child actors will be by time the series wraps up. 

This week, Kyle sits down with YouTube creator and action figure aficionado Dan Larson of the channel Secret Galaxy to discuss the action dolly market in the year 2024. Is it going to last, or will it die with ‘80s and ‘90s nostalgia? 

This week, Kyle talks with Nerdist’s resident Dune-atic, Matt Caron, about Frank Herbert’s Dune book saga and its various adaptations. Additionally, they get into what new readers could gain from reading this 60-year franchise.

This week, Kyle cedes hosting duties to frequent guest Tai Gooden so she can interview creator of the comics  Malice in Ovenland  and  Diary of a Mad, Black Werewolf , Micheline Hess. Together they talk about Micheline’s early comics career working for Milestone Comics and what it’s like being a Black woman working in the comic book industry.

This week, Kyle gets into the creepy, cosmic nightmares of manga writer and artist Junji Ito, author of Uzumaki and Tomie . Joining to discuss this singular artist and his work is video essayist and comic book fanatic Patrick H. Willems. In addition to Ito, they also talk about the current run of X-Men and how it could influence the MCU.

We love movies here at Laser Focus, and we love blockbuster franchise movies. But let’s be honest, not all of them are good. This week, Mikey Walsh joins Kyle to talk about long-running movie franchises that, if push came to shove, you’d have to admit only have one good movie in them. (We look forward to your letters.)

This week, Kyle welcomes back Alison Mattingly to discuss arguably the most influential author working today, Stephen King, and the many, many, MANY film and television adaptations of his works. Seriously, it’s like so many.

This week, Kyle and returning champ Eric Diaz discuss the heyday of cartoons, toys, and governmental deregulation. That’s right, it’s all about how President Reagan’s new FCC policy made it so companies could market directly to children. The upside is it gave us some of the best cartoons and toys ever made. Transformers, TMNT, My Little Pony, Robotech, and more!

The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King turned 20 last month so Kyle and Nerdist Editor-in-Chief Amy Ratcliffe decided to have a chill vibes love fest about the trilogy, what those movies mean to them, to Tolkien heads, and to the movies in general, and try their darnedest not to say bad things about the later Hobbit trilogy. TRY.

Happy New Year, faithful listeners! Kyle is back after the holidays to talk to returning champion Tai Gooden about the recent Doctor Who specials, featuring David Tennant, Catherine Tate, and Ncuti Gatwa. They discuss righting the wrongs of 2008, Neil Patrick Harris’ outrageous German accent, and whether you’d know you saw a TARDIS if you saw it.

If you’re a movie fan, while some of your bigger franchises had duds and flops, you still got loads and loads of great cinema to choose from. Kyle and Michael Walsh discuss their top 11 movies of the year, including Barbenheimer, Godzilla, and Guardians 3. Happy New Year!