Raven On: A Pop Culture Podcast

Queen's Landing-er! Natalie & Ben are back with some origin myths & musical chit-chat, but then tangent time is over and they buckle in for intense Hot D action. Rhaenyra has the Iron Throne - at what cost? Daemon's having a very good day, Aemond is going ever more nuts, there's some massive casualties, Ben still can't stand Mysaria and Natalie just wants to see some locker room nudity. Enjoy!

Raven On returns for House of the Dragon Season 3! Mother of Kittens Natalie Bochenski is once again joined by writer extraordinaire Ben Pobjie to take a deep dive into the first episode "Salt and Sea, Fire and Blood", which features as its bloody centrepiece the Battle of the Gullet. Big name characters are lost, others merely trying to find direction (Christon Cole, looking at you). Nat and Ben...

Raven On | AKotSK S1E6 by Natalie Bochenski & Stuart Layt

Natalie and Ben return to SOB INCESSANTLY about the tragic end of a beloved character. Well, Ben is relatively adult and circumspect, but Natalie retains an irrational reaction to the inevitable. Ben has some excellent advice on retrieving lance spear points from your body (don't) and Natalie manages to bring Timothy Dalton into proceedings for some reason. Listen, there's a lot of chat, so strap...

Natalie and Ben return to revel in the majesty of this terrific episode. The Baelor Targaryen Fan Club is in full voice as the pair praise the Sexy Hand for his Sexy Stand. Dunk is lovely, Ben has a bone to pick with Egg, Natalie fears a devastating result, and both agree Steffon can go eat a bag of dicks. Note - there are digressions into musicals and dodgy Australian castles, so beware.

Natalie and Ben are back to delight in a) delightful team bonding between Dunk and Egg and b) Aerion getting smashed in the face. But Ben has questions about exactly what the rules are in jousting, and why it's not clear whether Dunk should take that offer from the Master of Games. In true Raven On style, there are tangents, this time into alcohol culture and famous people getting away with stuff....

Natalie and Ben are back - yes, it's very late, but they've had conflicting schedules and illnesses to podcast around. Anyway, the point is, Episode 2 of A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms is here, and these two are going to chat about. It's mostly about Ser Arlan's...er... "talent" but rest assured there's jousting, and awkward social interactions, and tug-o-war. Enjoy!

Raven On AKotSK S1E1 by Natalie Bochenski & Stuart Layt

Can you believe it's finale time?! The eighth and final episode of House of the Dragon is here, and Nat and Tom are ready to deep dive like a dragon off the cliffs of Dragonstone. Yeah, that's a metaphor that kind of works. Everyone had something going on in this episode: Rhaena's chasing a mangy feral; Tyland meets a gender-bending admiral; Aegon takes his bad leg (and sizzled wang) on the run; A...

Tom is in Edinburgh prepping a show, and Natalie is also in a very glamourous location (her couch), but nothing can stop them talking all things HotD penultimate episode! Rhaenyra's dragonriding auditions hit full swing with more misses than hits, but still, hits that count. Oscar Tully is everyone's new favourite Daemon-slapping young leader, Ser Larys is shenanigan-ing in the capital, and Alicen...

Lordy lordy, quite a saucy moment at the, ahem, climax of this week's episode of House of the Dragon. Nat & Tom break down the magic moment between Rhaenyra and Mysaria; Alicent's terrible relationships with her sons; Daemon's psychological breakthrough at Harrenhal; and the continuing effects of all this on the "Smallfolk" of the title. Plus dragon riding is tougher than you might think; unless y...

Nat and Tom are back to deconstruct Daemon's dodgy dream in this week's House of the Dragon. The Harrenhal ergot is wild, man. It's a slower episode after the fire and blood of last time, but there's still a lot of great moments and characters wallowing in frustration to make for excellent discussions: Alicent getting mansplained out of a job; Rhaenyra and Jace hoping to plant some new seeds; Aego...

NO NO NO NO NO WHY DOES THIS KEEP HAPPENING Sigh. You watch Game of Thrones/House of the Dragon for a decade and yet you STILL don't think you're going to have your heart broken. We sweet summer children. Tom's in France, but has found an hour away from the champagne and fromage to chat to Natalie about the epic Battle of Rooks Rest, and its terrible climax. Plus - Aegon really wants to matter, Al...

As Tom says to Nat in this episode re: nudity: "ask and ye shall receive". There's a lot to this week's HotD, but surely Hot D itself is a... well.... large part of it. Join Nat and Tom as they deep dive into Alicent and Rhaenyra's reunion, the arrival of Sir Simon as Ser Simon, Ser Gwayne the Green Knight and more. There's also updates on the impending British election, AND a tangent about why Na...

Nat and Tom are back for more Hot D, and it's all go go go as King Aegon seeks revenge for a little dynastic trouble he's had imposed on him. There's a focus on what the role the smallfolk will play in the battles ahead, as well as some proper acting, tantrums, twin talk, and more. There's also a little Doctor Who season finale wrap-up, plus a bit of chatter about the bonkers British election, or...

By the Old Gods and new, this is a very strange thing - to be delighted to be back in Westeros, but still so sad our wonderful friend and bloodrider Stuart Layt isn't here to lead the way with his booming laugh and unparalled knowledge of all things House of the Dragon. While of course Stu is irreplaceable, it's wonderful to welcome podcast regular Tom Salinsky onboard to help steer the dragon thr...

Singing! Goblins! Singing Goblins! New Doctor! New Companion! It's all happening in Ncuti Gatwa's first full episode as The Doctor in The Church on Ruby Road. John and Tom from the Best Pick Pod join Natalie to recap this Christmas episode, complete with babe left outside a church on Christmas Eve, goblin karaoke, mysterious set-ups for future episodes, and Davina McCall (who is a big deal in the...

The trio of Doctor Who 60th Anniversary Specials concludes with "The Giggle", in which Neil Patrick Harris has the time of his life with a dance number to a song very close to Natalie's heart. Once again she's joined by Tom and John from the Best Pick Pod to deep dive into David Tennant's last(?) outing as the Fourteenth Doctor and (spoiler!) Ncuti Gatwa's first appearance as the Fifteenth. Thanks...

It's the second 60th anniversary special, and Natalie is joined once more by Tom and John from the Best Pick Pod to discuss "Wild Blue Yonder". It turns out you can have a slightly-too-cutesy-and-quite-naff pre-credit sequence and then switch things up for a fabulously creepy episode set at the edge of the universe. Enjoy!

Kittens! This is WEIRD. It is WEIRD to podcast without the genius that is Stuart Layt. WEIRD, and NOT RIGHT. Sadly Stu passed away three months ago, and boy am I still mad about it. Particularly since he LOVED Doctor Who with his whole soul. But I am so glad that Tom Salinsky from the brilliant Best Pick Pod reached out about joining forces to recap the David Tennant 60th anniversary specials. And...

Hello, my friends. I'm sorry it's been so long. I've recorded a little chat just about Stu, and what it's been like without him, and what might happen next with the podcast. I hope you can take a listen if/when you're up to it. I hope you are all well and happy, wonderful listeners. Much love. xoxo MoK.

Lookout! Natalie's got herself a soundboard and isn't afraid to use it. Will this be enough to alienate Stu? Probably not, because he loves these dang movies too much. When Agent Hobbes needs to take down a car-based baddie, of course he turns to Dom's car-based superhero crew. They hit London to make those stupid Brits look even stupider, and track down the badass Owen Shaw. There's a chase throu...

Well HELLO sunshine! Nat & Stu head to Rio de Janeiro for the most ridiculous - and dare we say - most fun instalment of the Fast & Furious franchise so far. Your intrepid hosts are joined by the uber-clever Tom Salinsky from London, a PROPER critic who's ready to throw down in support of the franchise and all it stands for. There's The Rock's beefiness, Vin Diesel's meatiness, Gal Gadot's butt an...

In an eclectic turn, this podcast features all manner of pop culture subjects including the classic Australian series "Underbelly", the classic English detective series "Vera", and the classic time Nat & Stu watched a porno. That might give you an indication of how much the fourth instalment of the Fast & Furious franchise - conveniently called "Fast & Furious" - held the attention of your erstwhi...

With Vin Diesel and Paul Walker seemingly gone for good, The Fast & The Furious franchise tries to reboot, Tokyo-style, with a whole new cast of racing identities across the Pacific. The kid from American Gothic gets sent to Japan as punishment for illegal street racing, and immediately gets caught up in a whole new set of illegal street races. Nat & Stu dissect it all, including the creepy relati...