Make Me A Nerd with Mandy Kaplan

In 1991, a small blue hedgehog in red sneakers launched a cultural revolution. But the story of Sonic—and the rise and fall of Sega—isn’t just about pixels and processors. It’s about loyalty, rebellion, and the strange way that consumer technology becomes a reflection of who we are. This week on Make Me a Nerd, Mandy Kaplan sits down with Danny Brown—host of Five Random Questions and Head of Podca...

Who knew anti-heroes could teach us about healing? This week, Mandy sits down with Justin Jaeger—True Story film board favorite, book reviewer, and passionate MCU buff—to break down Thunderbolts. If you’re expecting a by-the-numbers action flick, think again. This Marvel installment has trauma, therapy metaphors, moral ambiguity, and exactly zero romantic subplots (finally). They talk about how th...

Hey! We're taking a short break to regroup, recharge, and do a little of the summer stuff that we're told grown-up nerds do. So you should do the same! We'll catch you in about a month... stay tuned! 

What happens when a self-help comedy podcaster and a self-proclaimed mainstream mom dive headfirst into the high-stakes world of dragon-based erotica? Fire. Literally. That’s right, this week Mandy welcomes Misty Stinnett to Make Me a Nerd for a full-on nerd-out over Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros, the romantasy sensation that has TikTok, book clubs, and reluctant fantasy readers in a collective sw...

Let’s talk about America. No—not that America ... Captain America, who—despite being a science experiment in high-waisted pants—somehow manages to be the most grounded Avenger in a sea of flying metal suits and literal gods with hammer fetishes. This week, Mandy invites longtime friend and deep-level comic nerd John Mundy to hold her hand as she dives headfirst into Captain America: The First Aven...

Welcome to the show, everybody! In this very special episode of Make Me a Nerd, Mandy Kaplan sits down with Bruce Vilanch—Emmy-winning writer, cultural historian of kitsch, and the man behind some of the strangest, most infamous moments in television history. You may know him as the guy who put Bea Arthur in a space cantina or paired Paul Lynde with KISS on national TV, but there’s so much more to...

Do you remember a time when David Bowie’s pants were tighter than your schedule, owls were CGI nightmares, and puppets had a suspicious amount of emotional range? No? WELL, YOU’RE IN FOR A TREAT. Because this week, Mandy steps right into the sparkly, slightly confusing fever dream that is Labyrinth. And she does so with none other than fan-favorite, tattoo-wearing, La Croix-powered 80s movie exper...

Welcome back, nerdlings, to Make Me A Nerd — the show where one mainstream mom dares to plummet headfirst into the gelatinous pit of sci-fi anthologies, death anxiety, and…digital pigs. This week, Mandy Kaplan reunites with podcast übermensch Pete Wright and returning mensch Tommy Metz III to tackle Black Mirror — that show that asks the critical question: “What if your phone hated you as much as...

What do you get when you cross a mainstream mom, a Time Lord, and the Spice Girls? A deliriously joyful trip through time, space, pop culture, and puppets. This week on Make Me A Nerd, Mandy welcomes back the dazzlingly encyclopedic Manny Patel—Doctor Who superfan, mashup artist, and the human equivalent of a well-timed sonic screwdriver—for an energetic deep dive into the “three-boot” of Doctor W...

In 1977, George Lucas introduced the world to a galaxy far, far away—a universe filled with lightsabers, Jedi mysticism, and the eternal struggle between the forces of good and evil. In the decades since, Star Wars has alternately soared and stumbled, expanding its mythos with prequels, sequels, spin-offs, and animated series. Some of these additions have been embraced with fervor. Others have bee...

This week on Make Me A Nerd, Mandy attempts to survive a full-blown fungal apocalypse—emotionally, spiritually, and occasionally by camouflage. And she’s not alone! She’s joined by three-time guest and ethics enthusiast Matthew Fox, who gently guides her through the cordyceps-infested wasteland that is The Last of Us. Think of them as a podcast Joel, if Joel read moral philosophy and didn’t shoot...

Ladies and gentlemen, Swifties and skeptics, gather round, for today we embark on a journey of seismic cultural significance. No, not another election cycle. No, not the discovery of yet another billionaire’s secret doomsday bunker. We are talking about Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour—a three-and-a-half-hour pop music odyssey, equal parts spectacle, sermon, and strut. Mandy Kaplan, self-proclaimed “mains...

You wake up. You’re at work. You don’t know how you got there. You don’t know who you are outside of this fluorescent-lit, carpeted labyrinth. And worst of all—you have to attend a melon party. This week on Make Me A Nerd, Mandy takes a cubicle tour of Apple TV+'s Severance. Joining her is Jon Cassie, a certified nerd extraordinaire, former podcaster, and educational innovator, who has spent more...

Everything Everywhere All at Once. It’s the film that took home a million Oscars, melted a billion brains, and somehow made hot dog fingers emotionally resonant. This week, Mandy sits down with Exorcist Minute co-hosts Lester Ryan Clark and Kynan Dias, two men who decided that watching Everything Everywhere like normal people just wasn’t enough, so they’ve chosen to break it down minute-by-minute,...

Wheel of Time—a sprawling, epic fantasy series filled with magic, palace intrigue, and, apparently, an unlimited budget for breathtaking visuals and absurdly attractive people. This week, Mandy welcomes back Audrey Kearns, aka the Geek Girl Authority herself, to painstakingly explain what the hell is going on in this Amazon Prime behemoth. We start with Mandy, who thought Wheel of Time was a fitne...

This week on Make Me A Nerd, Mandy marches barefoot into the unwashed, coconut-scented, betrayal-laden world of Survivor. And who better to guide her through this mosquito-infested fever dream than Patrick Gomez, Editor-in-Chief of Entertainment Weekly and a man who has spent an alarming amount of time thinking about reality television strategy. Yes, Mandy—who typically prefers her entertainment w...

In 1993, a television show did something radical. It eschewed the traditional frontier, the ever-expanding voyage, the endless pursuit of the unknown. Instead, it stood still. It stayed put. It built a world—not on a starship, but on a space station. A fixed point in the cosmos where characters, conflicts, and consequences could spiral outward in ways that no Star Trek series had attempted before....

Is it possible that a historical drama with time-traveling elements could captivate a mainstream audience, birthing a fandom so fervent it borders on the delightfully obsessive? This week, Mandy wades into the world of Outlander to find out. As her guide, Mandy speaks with actress Amy Crofoot, an avowed Outlander enthusiast, to explore the show's undeniable appeal. Is it the meticulously crafted h...

Is "The Exorcist" just a scary movie, or is it a cultural artifact, a theological debate wrapped in celluloid? Mandy Kaplan confesses her way into the abyss with Lester Ryan Clark and Kynan Dias, the minds behind "The Exorcist Minute," a podcast dissecting the film minute by agonizing minute. Why does the film open in Iraq? Is it a pro-Catholic screed, or something far more subversive? What does t...

What makes a nerd? Is it the obsessive cataloging of obscure details? The unyielding commitment to lore? The passionate embrace of minutiae deemed trivial by the larger world? This week, Mandy the Mainstreamer welcomes back Justine Huxley, a voiceover artist of rarefied skill, a legend among the Apex Legends. Together, they hit play on The Jungle Book, the 1967 Disney classic, to marvel at the lil...

What does it mean to be human? And, perhaps more importantly, what does it mean to feel human? On today’s episode of Make Me a Nerd, host Mandy Kaplan embarks on a journey with writer, producer, and director Paul J. Salamoff—a man whose career spans makeup effects, comic books, and award-winning filmmaking. Their mission? To dissect one of the most iconic and enigmatic films in science fiction his...

We’re slogging into the murky depths of Gotham, not with capes and cowls, but with gabardine and grit. This week on the show, Mandy navigates the shadowy alleys of nerddom, guided by the insightful Matthew Fox of Star Wars Generations and the Superhero Ethics Podcast on TruStory FM. Their subject? Not the bombastic exploits of a costumed crusader, but the surprisingly nuanced rise of The Penguin o...

What compels someone to willingly re-enter a labyrinth of death, deceit, and desperation? Is it revenge? Redemption? Or is it something darker—something unspeakable? In this week’s episode of Make Me A Nerd, Mandy welcomes back friend-of-the-show and pop culture aficionado Jimmy Aquino for a sprawling conversation about Season 2 of Netflix’s global phenomenon, Squid Game. Why does the show juxtapo...

What happens when obsession becomes a refuge, when a high score becomes a legacy, and when a rivalry turns into a morality play? This week on Make Me A Nerd, Mandy Kaplan goes deep into the pixelated world of Donkey Kong, a place where the stakes are high, the egos are massive, and the quarters just keep coming. Mandy is joined by Megan Isser, a former documentary filmmaker turned professor of fil...

This week, Mandy slays into Buffy the Vampire Slayer, a show she'd previously avoided. Joined by Pete Wright and Kyle Olson, she confronts her assumptions about vampires and the supernatural in stake and song. Before the nostalgia kicks in, Kyle addresses the complicated legacy of Joss Whedon, emphasizing the importance of separating the art from the artist. This is a conversation about reclaiming...