Media/Lit

Randy and Kris are joined by three members of the original Media Literacy course that inspired this podcast: librarian Bella Rodrigues, actress Julia Melloni, and campaign finance watchdog Ethan Mort! These former students may be full-fledged adults now, but they asked the Media/Lit hosts to dive deep into a film they loved to hate in their teens: Strange Magic (2015), a jukebox musical fairy tale...

Randy and Kris respond to the Bat Signal and sit down for a Bat Chat with ⁠Doug Lief⁠ , host of the ⁠Nostalgium Arcanum⁠ podcast, to discuss a double-header of classics from Batman: The Animated Series . The panelists dig into “Almost Got ‘Im” and “Baby-Doll” in order to get to the bottom of the magic that allowed this children’s program to both bring out the best of Batman’s Rogues’ Gallery and e...

With every broken heart, We should become more adventurous. Randy and Kris are joined by beloved Podlings Madison Charbonneau and Stevie Gonzales to step back in time to the mid-2000s and celebrate Rilo Kiley’s definitive 2004 album, More Adventurous. Not only does the episode serve as an impromptu college reunion for Randy, Madison, and Stevie, but it also allows three old friends to introduce Kr...

It was Friday night, and Playland was jammed. For thousands of kids, it had everything they wanted. But for one kid, it had just a little too much. Randy and Kris are joined by the hosts of the Not Couple Goals podcast, Allie Nelson and Tyler McCarthy , to revisit their shared childhood trauma from watching the formative horror stories of Nickelodeon’s Are You Afraid of the Dark? television series...

In Part Four of Media/Li t’s “LOST & Lit” series, Randy and Kris welcome back die-hard LOST fans James Princivalle and John Aspler, PhD . (aka Doctor John) to discuss one of James’ favorite episodes of LOST :“Catch-22” (3.17). Before the gang digs into the episode, they look back on their experience with Media/Lit’ s two-part “LOST : Draft & Pitch” event from September 2024. They critique...

It was the end of an era, but the start of an age. Media/Lit kicks off season two in the biggest way possible: a sweeping draft of Taylor Swift songs across all of her eras in recognition of the conclusion of her landmark Era’s Tour. We’ve got seven panelists, seventy songs, and a soul-searching deep dive into Taylor’s catalogue. In addition to your usual time with Randy and Kris, this episode als...

Randy and Kris wrap up season one of Media/Lit by sharing the gift of music. That’s right, Randy and Kris swap “Mix Tapes” and then rank the tracks on their respective mixes. It’s a beautiful expression of friendship and a great opportunity to reflect upon some very special tunes.  But first, the boys look back to reflect on their favorite moments of heart and humor from the first season of the sh...

Are all podcasts like this? So much bigger on the inside? Randy and Kris are back with the next installment in the “New to Who” series! Kris gets a big old dose of TARDIS lore with a deep dive into “The Doctor’s Wife” (6.4). In other words, this episode will be remembered as the time Randy and Kris talked about the time that The Doctor and the TARDIS talked. In addition to celebrating the episode...

MERRY CHRISTMAS, YA FILTHY ANIMAL! Randy and Kris join forces with Bill George and the Should I Go See It? (SIGSI) crew for a cutthroat holiday movie draft inspired by 8-year-old Kevin McCallister’s violent booby traps in the seminal holiday classic: Home Alone. After reminiscing about gifts from their Christmas pasts, the boys set out to build the best possible roster of holiday films while dodgi...

Welcome to this very special Christmas edition of MediALIVE! Our very own Kris "Kringle" Ingersoll shares a heartfelt reading of "A Visit from St. Nicholas" by Clement Moore. The performance is set to festive holiday music. Treat yourself to this lovely bedtime story, and have yourself a merry little Christmas! Want to get in touch? Visit our ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠website⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ! Follow us on ⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠...

It’s time to gather for a game of Verandah Santa! Randy and Kris are here for YET ANOTHER minisode about minisodes: specifically, the six Bluey minisodes that dropped in December 2024! These two dads work together to rank the episodes and explore how they reflect what the Media/Lit crew values in their Bluey content. The hosts share their excitement for both the holiday season and the latest dose...

Come in, and know us better, man!  Randy and Kris are joined by Amanda Rivas, cohost of the Socially Distanced podcast from The Pop Break digital culture magazine, to celebrate one of our shared favorite Christmas films: T he Muppet Christmas Carol ! We may still have more than one sleep until Christmas, but this pod will make you feel like you’re singing in a street corner choir…or going home and...

In this brief Media/Lit sound bite that was cut for time from an upcoming holiday celebration of The Muppet Christmas Carol , Randy and Kris share their excitement for the upcoming December 2024 Bluey minisode drop, talk about Bluey fan shipping, and encourage special guest Amanda Rivas ( Instagram , Twitter , Bluesky ) to get into the Bluey spirit. Please enjoy this sound bite and get ready to st...

Randy and Kris welcome LOST superfan Jo Garfein for a very special hype episode ahead of the global digital release of the Getting LOST documentary that she had a hand in organizing and developing alongside director Taylor Morden ( The Last Blockbuster ) and her fellow producers. Following an L.A. premiere on the 20th anniversary of the LOST pilot episode this past September, Getting LOST has been...

In this episode, Randy and Kris are joined by editor-in-chief of the ⁠Pop Break⁠ digital pop culture magazine, ⁠Bill Bodkin⁠ , not only to watch Rian Johnson’s Knives Ou t (2019), but also to engage in a full “whodunit” experience! In addition to bringing their thinking caps, the panelists also bring their finest autumnal sweaters in honor of Chris Evans perfect “Fall in New England” vibes. Randy...

Randy and Kris are joined by Kris’s long-time buddy (and Randy’s new friend) Owen Amsler to discuss Saving Silverman (2001). Before they dig into the episode, the panelists brainstorm their own hypothetical cover bands to rival the “Diamonds in the Rough” from the film. Additionally, the crew gets vulnerable and digs into some of the best and worst things they learned from popular media as young m...

This Media/Lit sound bite brings you recommendations for both Matt Reeves' The Batman and The Penguin. In this brief sound bite that was cut for time, Randy's son interrupts the "Tell-Tale Heart" recording and accidentally prompts a Batman conversation. Please enjoy this sound bite and consider catching up on The Penguin before the finale this weekend! Want to get in touch? Visit our ⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠web...

Welcome to the very first installment of MediALIVE! In this very special series, we offer performances and readings of great literature, poetry, and other forms of media! To kick things off, Kris performs "The Tell-Tale Heart" by Edgar Allan Poe. Enjoy! Want to get in touch? Visit our ⁠⁠ ⁠⁠website ⁠⁠⁠⁠ ! Follow us on Twitter: ⁠⁠ @MediaLitPod ⁠⁠ and Instagram: ⁠⁠ @media.lit.pod ⁠⁠ ! Also, hit us wi...

HAPPY HALLOWEEN, PODLINGS! You’ve heard of a romance. You’ve heard of a bromance…but have you ever heard of a POEmance? Randy and Kris are joined by English teacher Jonathan Corte-Real to discuss Edgar Allan Poe’s short story, “The Tell-Tale Heart.” They discuss bromances, Poe’s unique appeal, and their favorite artistic choices …but first, Kris hits the others with a Buzzfeed quiz to determine th...

Welcome to the inaugural episode of "Bat Chat" - Media/Lit's ongoing series of Batman content with a special focus on Batman: The Animated Series . Randy and Kris respond to the Bat-Signal with teacher & writer Timm Freitas, the creator of the Garden of English YouTube channel. You see, despite Gotham’s recent heat wave, the city has been experiencing a series of suspiciously icy crimes. Lucki...

Randy and Kris are here for ANOTHER minisode about minisodes: specifically, the seven Bluey minisodes that dropped in October 2024! These two dads work together to rank the episodes and explore how they reflect what the Media/Lit crew values in their Bluey content. The hosts share their excitement for the latest dose of Bluey content, discuss which new games they are most likely to play with their...

Randy and Kris are joined by Bill George, the creator of Should I Go See It? - a fun, useful, and unpretentious film review Instagram account and podcast , to discuss Michael Mann’s seminal classic: Heat (1995) . Bill explores his lifelong love of film and tracks his history with Heat from his first VHS viewing to his ongoing quest to convince his podcast cohosts to watch one of the most important...

Randy and Kris are joined once again by some of their favorite voices from the LOST fandom to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the LOST pilot with part two of Media/Lit ’s very first “Draft & Pitch” event. In this PITCH episode, the assembled podcasters each present their pitch for a fun, but unnecessary, legacy sequel for LOST using the characters they drafted in part one . Please understand...

This Media/Lit sound bite brings you a quick preview of part two of our LOST 20th anniversary celebration Draft & Pitch episode. In this brief sound bite that was cut for time, Shruti recognizes a very particular image of Benjamin Linus in John’s presentation. The panel reflects on Ben’s ability to take a beating and then gears up for Shruti’s very Juliet-centric pitch.  Please enjoy this soun...

Randy and Kris are joined by some of their favorite voices from the LOST fandom to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the LOST pilot with part one of Media/Lit ’s very first “Draft & Pitch” event... “We’re all here now, and God knows how long we’re gonna be here. But if we can’t DRAFT together, we’re gonna POD alone.”  In this DRAFT episode, the assembled podcasters select some of their very fa...