Pop DNA

We are launching a three-part series dissecting your favorite 1980s-nostalgia-bait Netflix series (that Erin loves and Rhonda... doesn't love), Stranger Things!  In this first part, we look at the unique placement of Stranger Things and its fandom within main stream pop culture. From the show's homages to DND and sci-fi/horror fans, to the recent evolution in the online fandom through social...

Happy New Year! In this bonus episode we discuss trends we noticed in the media of 2022, as well as themes and through lines that emerged in our favorite works. From the more abstract like exploring characters' vulnerability as a strength, to themes that are almost genres in themselves, like Rich People Nonsense™. We also look ahead to things we're excited to watch in 2023, and give a quick peek a...

As we wrap up our final Narnia episode we're asking the big questions: Was C. S. Lewis sexist? Or can we draw any feminist or female-empowerment messages from his work? What does feminism even look like in the context of a fantasy world where children go into battle with talking animals? We also look specifically at The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe as a World War 2 story, exploring the story...

This week on our Narnia journey we are diving in to all things magic. We discuss the differences between hard and soft magic systems, how magic is expressed in the world of Narnia, and how it compares to the magic in other fictional worlds. We also look at Narnia as a touchstone of fantasy fiction, its relationship with Tolkien's Lord of the Rings , and its influence on modern fantasy works like S...

This month we are talking about the best children's fantasy book series, The Chronicles of Narnia (and you can fight us on that). For our first glimpse into the wardrobe we share our first experiences with the series, favorite fan theories, and thoughts on various adaptations. We also definitively decide which order the books should be read, and preview the topics we plan to explore in the next tw...

One of our favorite things about The Woman in the House Across the Street From the Girl in the Window is that its long, ridiculous title is a perfect encapsulation of the genre it parodies, right down to the use of the words "girl" and "woman." The genre of course is the domestic noir thriller made popular in the past decade which we discussed last episode.  But why is this genre so gender-co...

This week we get into the history of parody, satire, and pastiche and how The Woman in the House... uses all three to comedic effect. We also look at the early thriller films that may share some DNA with the works The Woman in the House... parodies, and that have perhaps become parodies themselves.

We found the Netflix limited series The Woman in the House Across the Street From the Girl in the Window (which we will hereafter abbreviate as The Woman in the House...) to be utterly delightful. So we are diving in to this series with an overview of some fun topics we plan to discuss, like the nature of parody as commentary, the evolution of the thriller and suspense genres, and of course Rhonda...

For our Podiversary/Spooky Season bonus episode, and as a coda on our discussion of Lovecraft Country as a work of Black horror, we decided to watch Jordan Peele's 2017 masterpiece Get Out and talk through it! Please enjoy this brilliant film with our (less) brilliant commentary. And Happy Halloween!

We wrap up our discussion of Lovecraft Country with a deep dive into the Lovecraftian monsters portrayed in the series and the journey the show creators took in portraying them. We also discuss the literary criticism theory of "death of the author," and how it applies--and doesn't--to readers' enjoyment and transformation of the works of Lovecraft and other problematic artists. We also take a quiz...

In part 3 of our Lovecraft Country series we look at the real-world realities at play within this narrative, from the historical setting of the 1950s to very recent discoveries in the psychology of fear and terror.  Read this interview with Atticus actor Jonathan Majors about his thoughts on the series premiering in the midst of the 2020 Black Lives Matter Protests.  Read this article on...

TW this week for discussions of racism and racialized trauma Lovecraft Country sets out to give us a transformed or reclaimed vision of the horrors invented by the racist author H. P. Lovecraft, centering the very people that Lovecraft himself would have marginalized. How successful is the series at achieving this goal?  We explore different perspectives on how horror as a genre has been used...

Happy October and welcome to our Spooky Season discussion of the HBO series Lovecraft Country, based on the novel of the same name. In part 1, as usual, we give you an overview of the topics we plan to explore in-depth in the coming weeks. A few of those topics are: The psychology of fear and why we like horror The horror genre as a medium to comment on race and racism "Death of the Author," and h...

We wrap up our Gilmore Girls Revisited series this week with look at the pop culture sensibility of the show, from ASP's reference-laced writing style and her approach to character and story, to the show's impact on subsequent pop culture and references in other media. Like, remember when Mindy watched Gilmore Girls with Danny's mom on The Mindy Project and described seemingly alt-universe storyli...

This week we dig in to Gilmore Girls' relationship with politics, identity, privilege, and morality. We explore the parallels in the American political climate between the original run of the show and the premiere of A Year in the Life, look at some of our favorite moments when the characters discuss politics, and wonder how Rory feels about Hilary Clinton now... We also take a deeper look at the...

Jane Austen once referred to small towns as "a neighborhood of voluntary spies," and she easily could have been talking about Stars Hollow, Connecticut. This week we're diving in to the similarities between the writing of Jane Austen and Amy Sherman Palladino, from their explorations of class conflict, to their portrayals of the interior lives of women, to, of course, their small town settings and...

We're kicking off Season 5 with a return to the town of Stars Hollow! Long time listeners may already know that our second episode EVER was about Gilmore Girls (though we don't recommend listening to it, it sounds pretty terrible). So we thought it was long past time to return and talk about everything we missed! In part 1, we talk about some general thoughts about the original run of the series a...

It's Erin's birthday! For her Birthday Bonus she has brought us a selection of women's stories in media that all take place in New York City in the first few decades of the 20th century, from Funny Girl, to Brooklyn, to The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel.  What throughlines do we find in these women's journeys? How does the setting of New York City become an integral part of these stories? What can th...

Today's international film pick is both the first film ever shot in Saudi Arabia and the first ever film made by a Saudi woman, director Haifaa al-Mansour's Wadjda. We talk about the film's symbolism and imagery, its genius use of American pop culture, and the big feelings we felt watching this story of a young girl fighting to express herself in a place that wants her to stay quiet. Read the Holl...

We're back with another international film pick, this time with the Japanese classic My Neighbor Totoro! We discuss our previous experience with Miyazaki films, how we feel this movie compares and contrasts with American children's cinema, and how to claim Catbus plushies as a tax write-off. Join us all summer for the international films we've been meaning to see! And follow on Instagram for more...

We're kicking off our Summer International Film Festival with a visit to a whimsical, fantasy version of Paris with our friend Amélie. We discuss our cultural awareness of the 2001 film prior to us watching it just this past week, our thoughts on the aesthetics, themes, and storytelling of the movie, and even get in a few jabs at Emily in Paris, as one does.  Join us all summer for the intern...

We saw the Bob's Burgers movie! And we're gonna tawk abowt it! We dive into our initial thoughts on the movie, favorite moments, and the nods and in-jokes of the series we noticed. Then we get into some interesting (and some not so interesting) fan theories about the show. To top it off, we reveal the characters BuzzFeed says we are, but BuzzFeed is incorrect. Follow us on Instagram and stay tuned...

Butts, Butts, Butts! This week we're talking about how Bob's Burgers explores the experiences of puberty through Tina's stories, and how we as adult viewers decompress about our own adolescent experiences through this show and other media, like Pen15, Mean Girls, and My Big Fat Greek Wedding (no, it's not puberty, but it is coming-of-age!). We also look a little bit into the ways Bob's Burgers exp...

This week we look at how Bob's Burgers explores the classic coming of age story through each of the Belcher kids. We also get literary with a dive into the episode "The Gayle Tales," discussing the show's and the characters' relationships with literature. Blog post on the four stages of coming of age. Article on the literary-ness of Bob's Burgers. Follow us on Instagram for bonus content and news...

In anticipation of the new movie coming out at the end of this month, we're discussing our favorite animated family, the Belchers of Bob's Burgers! This week we give a rundown of all the different topics we want to dive into. From the show's literary sensibilities, to its explorations of adolescence and coming-of-age stories, to the interesting meta-commentary on fandoms and fan theories.  We...