Pop Culture Pastor

Dave & Cody break down Shrinking Season 3, Episode 9, "Daddy Issues" — Jeff Daniels returns as Jimmy's dad and proceeds to blow up everything Jimmy's been building. Paul delivers one of the most vulnerable scenes of the entire series. Sean graduates from therapy. Brian compares himself to Mother Teresa. And Jimmy self-sabotages a relationship because his father said one nice...

Dave & Cody review Project Hail Mary (2026), the sci-fi blockbuster starring Ryan Gosling and directed by Phil Lord and Christopher Miller. They break down the movie's stunning practical effects, the unforgettable friendship between Grace and Rocky, Sandra Hüller's show-stopping "Sign of the Times" karaoke moment, that Meryl Streep voice cameo, and the deep spiritual themes h...

Dave & Cody break down Shrinking Season 3, Episode 8, "Depression Diet" — the emotional fallout from Maya's death, Gaby's professional spiral, Jimmy and Sofi's hilariously awkward first date (again), and Liz learning to let go. Plus, Cody drops a scorching hot take on Gaby that's been building all season. They dig into the ethics of therapist grief, boundaries in ever...

He's the most expensive rescue mission in movie history — and he grew potatoes to survive. This week on Be Kind Rewind, Dave, Cody, and guest, Professor Paul Walcher revisit Ridley Scott's The Martian (2015), the survival epic that somehow won a Golden Globe for Best Comedy. We dig into what holds up (Matt Damon's career-best performance, that stacked cast, the gorgeous Mars shots), wh...

It’s Tia’s birthday, and this year everyone is determined to celebrate it rather than survive it. This week on Watch-alongs, Dave & Cody break down Shrinking Season 3 Episode 7, “I Will Be Grape” — an episode that does what this show does better than almost anything else on television: turns grief into something you can actually live with. Jimmy gets the push he needed, Candice Bergen and Chri...

In this chaotic ListBusters episode, the Pop Culture Pastor crew takes on Paste Magazine’s 20 Best Sitcoms of the 1990s and tears the whole thing apart. Along the way, beloved classics get sniped, nuked, and recast, forgotten favorites crash the list, and the debate over the best 90s sitcoms gets gloriously out of hand. If you love 90s TV , classic sitcoms , and heated arguments about shows like F...

Derek's in surgery, and suddenly everyone remembers what they can't live without. This week on Watch-alongs, Dave & Cody break down Shrinking Season 3 Episode 6, "Dereks Don't Die" — and it's an emotional whirlwind wrapped in one of the funniest episodes of the season. Ted McGinley gets his "actor" moment, Brian finally calls his dad, Matthew shows up when i...

Beware the Ides of March. Julius Caesar got stabbed 23 times by people he trusted — and in his honor, Dave, Cody, Paul, and Jackson are drafting their favorite betrayals in pop culture. From Brutus to the Red Wedding, from Frozen to Friends, from Planet of the Apes to a galaxy far, far away — which betrayals cut deepest, hit coldest, and hurt the most? The crew also crowns the greatest heel turn i...

Dave and Cody recap Shrinking Season 3, Episode 5, “Hold Your Horsies.” This week feels like the show hitting its stride again. Almost everyone is being pulled out of their comfort zone at the same time...Sean trying to loosen his grip on routine, Alice wondering who she is beyond being “the responsible one,” and Gabby spiraling when “we” suddenly enters her relationship vocabulary. Meanwhile, Jim...

Pop Culture Pastor hits the hardwood for a Be Kind Rewind of Space Jam —the 1996 nostalgia nuke that convinced the world Michael Jordan could master aliens and corporate synergy at the same time. Dave, Cody, and Jackson relive the VHS era magic, argue over what actually holds up (the Jordan aura, the soundtrack, Bill Murray being Bill Murray), and side-eye what absolutely doesn’t (the “kids movie...

Dr. Paul's back in the office...but "The Field" has other plans. This week on Watch-alongs, Dave, Cody, and guest Rob Cummings break down Shrinking Season 3 Episode 4, "The Field" — and it's one of the best episodes of the season. Jimmy's date with Kimmy goes off the rails in spectacular fashion, Derek accidentally eats Matthew's gummies and ends up in the hospi...

From Independence Day to Idiocracy to The American President , Dave, Cody, and film/math professor Paul dive into the best (and weirdest) presidents in pop culture. Why do movies turn leaders into heroes, legends, and speeches we never forget? And what does that say about what we’re really hoping for? A funny, thoughtful look at power, leadership, and the stories we love. https://linktr.ee/PopCult...

Dave & Cody recap Shrinking Season 3, Episode 3 (“D-Day”), an episode built around uncertainty, vulnerability, and people realizing they’re not as ready as they thought. They talk through Jimmy’s complicated relationship with his dad, Brian and Charlie’s early delivery and adoption paperwork scare. They also dig into Sean’s awkward reunion with Marisol, Gabby working to rebuild trust with a fo...

This week’s Be Kind Rewind is Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind —a movie that somehow gets more devastating (and more beautiful) the older you get. Dave finally watches it start-to-finish and immediately regrets waiting 22 years… because this isn’t just a breakup movie. It’s a story about memory, identity, and the terrifying question underneath it all: if you could erase the pain, would you al...

Pop Culture Pastor Watch-Alongs is back with Shrinking Season 3, Episode 2: “Happiness Mission” Dave & Cody dig into Paul’s health scare (and the surprisingly real-world UTI connection), Liz as the hilariously overqualified schedule-master , and Derek’s slow-motion struggle to stop coddling his grown son. But the emotional center lands on Gaby’s breaking point —and the tense, beautifully acted...

It’s time for a Pop Culture Draft: Movie Soundtracks... and things get personal fast. Dave, Cody, & Jackson draft their Top 3 all-time favorites , then battle it out in two chaos rounds: 🎵 One Song Carry (one track doing all the work) 🎬 Better Than the Movie (when the soundtrack outlives the film) From Purple Rain dominance and Eddie Vedder roadtrip therapy to Muppet existentialism and Space...

Dave & Cody fire back up Watch-Alongs with Shrinking Season 3, Episode 1 — going scene-by-scene through an episode that’s equal parts hilarious banter and quiet dread. The guys zoom in on Dr. Paul’s rapidly progressing Parkinson’s (and why that opening needle drop hits so hard), geek out over Harrison Ford doing some of his best work in decades, and celebrate the arrival of Michael J. Fox as “...

The Pop Culture Pastor Pop Culture Awards (PCPPCAs) are back — and Dave & Cody are handing out completely imaginary trophies for the very real highs, lows, and “why did this become a thing?” moments of 2025. From the Blockbuster Award for worst investment, to the Grandpa Award for the streaming service Dave still refuses to pay for, to Cody’s For the Love of Ray J chaos category, this special...

This week, Pop Culture Pastor rewinds one of the most influential adventure films ever made. From face-melting finales to rolling boulders, fedora grabs, and John Williams’ iconic score, Dave and Cody break down why Raiders of the Lost Ark still works more than 40 years later. They explore peak Spielberg, peak Harrison Ford, and why Indiana Jones is the hero of the movie, even though the movie isn...

In this What’s Up, Doc? episode, Dave, Cody, and DJ Dangerfield dig into Netflix’s Evil Influencer: The Jodi Hildebrandt Story... a disturbing look at how therapy-speak, religious power structures, and influencer culture can combine into something downright predatory. The conversation quickly moves past “true crime details” and into the bigger questions: why we’re drawn to charismatic leaders, how...

This week on Pop Culture Pastor , we Be Kind Rewind the late ’90s teen classic She’s All That... a movie that believed prom was destiny, popularity was currency, and glasses were a curse. Dave and Cody are joined by Dave’s 18-year-old daughter, Aila, to juxtapose late ’90s teen movie logic with today’s realities. Together, they dig into what surprisingly holds up (the cast, the romance, the vibes)...

It’s a brand-new year, and we’re kicking things off by looking ahead and why we’re excited about it. In this episode, Dave & Cody talk about the movies, shows, and stories they’re most looking forward to in 2026. From massive blockbusters like The Odyssey , Supergirl , and Avengers: Doomsday , to TV standouts like Shrinking , Lanterns , and House of the Dragon , we dig into what has us hopeful...

Dave and Cody drop a Christmas-week bonus review of Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery , digging into the franchise’s killer consistency, Josh O’Connor’s breakout lead turn, and a surprisingly thoughtful exploration of faith, church hurt, confession, and grace—then they wrap with recast picks, winners/losers, and ratings (plus a mini rant about Netflix keeping this gorgeous movie out of wide t...

🎄 We took a perfectly respectable “Best Christmas Movies” list… and absolutely wrecked it. In this festive edition of ListBusters , the Pop Culture Pastor crew goes after Entertainment Weekly’s 25 Best Christmas Movies of All Time — armed with nukes, switcheroos, rockets, and zero restraint. Classics get shuffled, sacred cows get tipped, Elf gets obliterated, and somehow Baby Jesus nearly gets sn...

This week, Pop Culture Pastor hits Be Kind Rewind on Ernest Saves Christmas (1988). Dave, Cody, and Jackson revisit the holiday oddity that was a childhood staple for many, unpacking what still works (Jim Varney’s undeniable talent, a genuinely great Santa) and what hasn’t aged as well. Along the way, they talk Ernest’s place in late-80s pop culture, Jim Varney’s legacy, deeper themes of identity...