Midday Movies

Today marks our 100th episode!!! Thank you for being here for 6 months of Midday Musings — and thank you for being here now. Stephen and Laura perform a retrospective of their favorite top 5 episodes from 51-100. From a politically charged episode that champions the 4-day workweek to broad analysis of some of the most intellectually chewy media pieces from the last six months, we’re enumerating po...

Today we’re talking about heaven, hell, and other afterlife options. Stephen shares stories of watching, “Hazbin Hotel,” an adult animated musical that takes place south of the earthly realm. Asking questions about morality and offering answers set to melodic beats, this animated series dovetails our cohosts into a deeper discussion of which afterlife is meant for you. What would be your afterlife...

Today we’re talking fun-in-the-sun as summer approaches! Whether it is the beach-y days or bonfire nights, the summer season is a reason to celebrate. We chat about 9pm sunsets, state fairs, camping, and national parks — getting fired up and ready to take on the long, long days. In the PNW, residents take aggressive advantage of these short months of sun. What’s your favorite summertime activity?...

Today the sun is out and we’re talking about the cool leisure activities available to you this spring — state fairs and all their attendant pleasures! We’re discussing fair food, artisan crafts, blue ribbon domestic animals, and having a good time. Work hard, leisure hard. We’re sharing our favorite, extreme food options — “food that wouldn’t dare present [themselves] in a restaurant” and our favo...

Today we’re discussing apocalyptic scenarios we’d like to tackle — nuclear wastelands, zombie viruses, alien invasion, climate collapses, and pandemic shutdowns. We share our favorite fictional ends-of-the-world — referencing “Fallout” (2024), “Hunger Games” (by Suzanne Collins), “Station Eleven” (by Emily St. John Mandel), “Severence” (by Ling Ma), “Cold People” (by Tom Rob Smith), “The Leftovers...

Today we’re taking a deep look at Alex Garland’s most recent project, “Civil War” (2024, A24 Studios), starring Kirsten Dunst, Wagner Moura, Cailee Spaeny, and Nick Offerman, and depicting the late stages of a fictitious modern American Civil War. (Special shoutout to Kevin Ryan of the “Tyrants in Training” podcast, who gave us a window into another example of a bad president.) The film, “Civil Wa...

Today we’re discussing the new Prime Video series “Fallout” (2024) —executive-produced by “Westworld” creators Jonathan Nolan and Lisa Joy — as well as its progenitor video game series, “Fallout” (1997-2019). Our co-hosts have got Uranium fever and are giving props to the series’ breakout stars Walton Goggins (playing “The Ghoul”), Ella Purnell (playing a Vault-born heroine), and Aaron Moten (play...

Today we’re once again unboxing Grim Rabbit Games’ “Red Flags Card Game” for another thrilling edition of Red Flags Friday. Laura and Stephen introduce each other to appealing potential dates (indicated by White Flags cards) and then proceed to ruin the dating candidate ( with ever-increasing Red Flags cards). This time around, Stephen introduces a potential mate with a powerfully persuasive White...

Today we’re unboxing the viral card game, “We’re Not Really Strangers,” an interactive way to get to know people on a deeper level. Using three skillfully crafted levels of game questions, “Perception,” “Connection,” and “Reflection,” Laura and Stephen delve into exchanges designed to deepen the connections between people — from strangers to those with relationships that have lasted for years. Our...

Today we’re discussing the final episode of HBO Max’s miniseries “The Regime” (2024), titled “Don’t Yet Rejoice.” Chancellor Elena Vernham’s (played by Kate Winslet) government has fallen to insurgents, Corporal Herbert Zubak (played by Matthias Schoenaerts) is leading them through the back alleys of the capital city, and survival is not assured. Will Tracy’s sweeping 6-episode account of one horr...

Today we’re breaking down episode 5 of HBO Max’s miniseries, “The Regime” (2024) starring Kate Winslet and created by Will Tracy. It’s six months into the Central European country’s civil unrest and it’s Christmastime in “All Ye Faithful.” Rebels are at the gate, Chancellor Elena is in denial, and the couple’s therapist is on call — Zubak (played by Matthias Schoenaerts) and Vernham are playing ho...

Today we’re discussing the four-day workweek movement that seeks to give Americans a 32-hour standard work schedule as well as the rash of TV series’ adaptations of popular video games. In praise of this glorious potential future, we discuss the history of the labor movement (which brought us from 6 workdays to 5 in the early 20th century) and how we would spend our additional leisure time. Laura...

Today we’re discussing health, hygiene, and introducing ease into your life. How have your day-to-day health habits changed since the COVID lockdown? Do you remember the health PSAs from the 20th century? And has the news been scaring you about what in your own kitchen can kill you? We talk personal hygiene preferences and fears, the habit recommendations of James Clear’s self-help book, “Atomic H...

Today we’re discussing the British phenomenon in American media — are they villains? Are they romantic leads? Are they action heroes? Discussing everyone from Tom Hiddleston to Cillian Murphy to Trevor Noah, we identify the roles culture allows them to play. Marvel movies and series are referenced, James Bond 007 movies are dissected, and the impact of the Daily Show is discussed with an eye towar...

Today we’re talking about the basis of strong, meaningful friendships — with the backdrop of Mercury Retrograde. How do you square the circle between introverts and extroverts? What facilitates the formation of close relationships with others and what prevents it? How do you find your tribe? We dig in deep and ask whether people-pleasing is secretly sabotaging your social group, what connects peop...

It’s a very special episode of Midday Musings — Red Flags Friday! We open the box on Grim Rabbit Games’ “Red Flags Card Game” and sort between romantic red flags and white flags in potential mates. What traits entice you enough to overlook serious red flags versus what are absolute dealbreakers? What baggage are you willing to lift? How important is physical attraction? Do you favor power over kin...

This Thursday is all about fun! When you’re in a rut and droopy from a lack of fun, what can you do? Laura shares her way-too-intense media consumption (“Quiet on Set,” “Zone of Interest,” and “Fantasticland”) and how it’s impacting her mental health, and Stephen offers the succor of coziness. Listening to your heart, relaxing, and diversifying your activities are all discussed as fun alternatives...

Today we’re taking no (political) prisoners as we discuss “The Regime’s” (2024, created by Will Tracy) fourth episode, “Midnight Feast” in which the Colonel Zubek (Matthias Schoenaerts) and Chancellor Elena Vernham (Kate Winslet) saga continues. Loyalties are tested and “1984” (George Orwell) is heavily referenced as Hugh Grant makes an appearance on this episode as a centrist alternative to Elena...

Today we discuss episodes 2 (“The Foundling”) and 3 (“Heroes’ Banquet”) of Will Tracy’s HBO Max series, “The Regime,” starring Kate Winslet. Chancellor Elena Vernham’s saga continues as she embraces folk medicine and populist ideals at the prompting of her unlikely advisor and confidant Corporal Zubek (played by Matthias Schoenaerts). Power displays, family dynamics, and political lunacy are the o...

Today we’re discussing the stuff of life — optimal sleep strategies, the power of hydration, and solving survival in the modern era. Comparing our Garmin watch “body battery” levels, we commiserate on heavy life demands and suboptimal rest. The television show “Resident Alien” (starring Alan Tudyk) says a human body needs 10 hours of sleep and Laura agrees. How do you sleep that much and that well...

Today we discuss managing the pressure of unexpected events and family emergencies — how do you cope? What are actions you can take to minimize disruption to your life when curveballs are thrown? This week offered up many challenges and Laura and Stephen had to field them. Whether you choose to prioritize your obligations or abandon them in the face of one big new problem, there are pros and cons....

Today we’re discussing romantic fiction and reality — inspired by Laura’s week-long battle with Elif Batuman’s novel “The Idiot.” A Pulitzer Prize finalist book about youth and first love, Stephen and Laura are inspired to chat about love interests in literature (shoutout to “Conversations with Friends” by Sally Rooney), and how love works in real life. Assessing romantic “types” and their accompa...

Today we’re doing a retrospective on the Bioshock game series — its cultural impact, philosophical influences, and how important it is that the franchise be brought to the small screen (à la “The Last of Us”) immediately. We discuss “Atlas Shrugged” at length (the literary inspiration for Bioshock’s undersea city Rapture) as well as the dangers of dogmatism. Also in the mix are Norse mythology, pr...

Today we’re discussing the beautiful, festival-winning Japanese film directed by iconic German director Wim Wenders (“Wings of Desire” & “Paris, Texas”). Starring legendary Japanese actor Koji Yakusho as Tokyo janitor Hirayama, the film charts several weeks of this man’s deliberately plotted existence — containing work, routine, and random daily interactions with members of the community. With cha...

Today we’re talking about the differences between school life and work life — expectations, work ethic, and social environment. Sharing stories of our own lives and the lives of those we love, we talk about how to survive and thrive in college and beyond. We discuss the unique underlying engine of American capitalism — work buddies — without whom no good project would ever get done. Whether you’re...