Small Beans

Unprompted by anyone: a podcast about Dave Chappelle’s recent Netflix special! Adam Tod Brown, friend from Cracked and host of Unpopular Opinion joins us to discuss the recent trend of comedians dunking on transfolk! So listen to that. Also, there’s jokes. It’s a weird episode! Features: Adam Tod Brown: https://twitter.com/adamtodbrown Michael Swaim: https://twitter.com/SWAIM_CORP Abe Epperson: ht...

Josie and the Pussycats can be seen as a vapid, mind-numbing waste of the senses. Someone else might see it as a satire of cultural propaganda and a decrying of the entertainment industry as a whole. Both have validity and while Abe and Adam disagree on this movie they do agree it has its charm and there’s more to this than meets the eye. Just like me, the description writer. Features: Abe Epperso...

Ivette Ale (@dignityandpowernow, @justicelanow) and Dahlia Ferlito (@wp4bl) talk with Erin Heaney about SURJ and the history of white people for black lives. This is a collaboration between Small Beans and Showing Up for Racial Justice, produced by White People 4 Black Lives. Show production team: @hi_femme, @dahliaseed, @cocomarzipan, @imapowerranger. Main Theme by Rachael Cantu. Art by Michael V...

It is the near-future and genetic manipulation has polarized the rich/poor gap to an even more extreme extent. Michael and Abe along with Small Bean Sarah Griffith take a look at the prescient social commentary in this 1997 sci-fi starring Ethan Hawke, Jude Law, and Uma Thurman. Also Dean Norris. Michael reminds us that we cannot forget Dean Norris, the star of Gattaca! This episode is brought to...

In this episode, Bridgett and Sarah discuss the Matrix “trilogy’s” third film. Completing the “trilogy,” the hosts point out what did and did not work for them. If you recall, we start the film with Neo using his Matrix Magic in the real world and covers the final battle between man and machine. Much like the film, the hosts must engage in their own battle. The Battle of “Does it hold up?” Feature...

Written and read by Michael Swaim. Score by Davey Francis. Cover art by TokBlok and Von Doyle. Table of Contents: 0:00 - Dedications 0:35 - The House With No One In It 37:00 - The Blessing 44:45 - Semper Fi 1:15:00 - Jacq & Gyll 1:29:50 - My Story Needs No Title 1:38:00 - The Queen, The Duke and Their Shadows 2:01:20 - The End 2:23:45 - Selected Poems Check our store to buy Small Beans merch! http...

The pit is back! Well, the podcast. Honestly, it’s been a while because things have been fairly positive in the lives of Michael Swaim and Katie Willert. It’s not all roses, but the two update us (and hopefully fellow addicts out there) how things are going now that they’re sober. No real trigger warnings this time: they discuss their relationship with addiction, what they’re struggling with, and...

We welcome back the show based around the interests of our collective friend and honorary Small Bean Griffin Rowell. Basically, everyone here at the Small Beans find him fascinating so we felt you should hear him too. In this miniseries, Michael and Griffin look into the metaverse, the technology behind it, its inevitability, and the possible forms it may take in our future. This first episode int...

Episode 3 of our new deep-dive podcast that chronicles the films of Paul Thomas Anderson and Wes Anderson! This time the sons take a look at Paul Thomas Anderson’s 1997 rags to riches pornstar tale. The hosts look at the film scene by scene and examine the larger themes of Anderson’s second feature. It’s a cautionary tale of drugs, a celebration of expanding the definition of family, and a stylist...

In this episode, Bridgett and Sarah discuss the Matrix Trilogy’s second film. After almost 2 decades of distance from this movie, what makes it so disappointing? How should sequels deal with canon exposition? Also, there’s parts of this movie that absolutely rule. Join Keymaker Sarah and Keymaker Bridgett to unpack what still holds up. Features: Sarah Griffith: https://twitter.com/sk_griffith Brid...

Love him or hate him, we acknowledge that Bay’s unique sense of motion and cinematic convention has led him to box office success. In this episode, Adam walks us through the story beats and intentions of Bay’s Armageddon work, how Bay’s cinematic tendencies become his strength, and ultimately how his style is designed to make you watch his movies in a certain way. Let’s really mine this topic. Jus...

As voted by our Show Me Producers, this month’s ISYM has the two hosts in complete simpatico. It seems our hosts aren’t as dissimilar as we thought. They both can trash Christopher Nolan movies with the best of them. If you want to hear why Adam and Maggie think of Inception and Interstellar, you’re gonna get that. If you patronize us, feel free to email us suggestions for episodes at any time at...

Brooks has returned so this means we’re covering another Charlie Kaufman film, this time around it’s 2002’s Adaptation directed by Spike Jonze! The gang discusses the nuances of the meta narrative, the wild production of the film, and determines for themselves the value of its ending. How does it stack up against Kaufman's other films? How was this film even made? Features: Brooks Brown: @quaranti...

Episode 2 of our new deep-dive podcast that chronicles the films of Paul Thomas Anderson and Wes Anderson! This time the sons take a look at Wes Anderson’s buddy comedy debut Bottle Rocket which follows two bumbling criminals as they make their way through a “70 year plan” of heists. Our hosts look at the story structure, character archetypes, visual aesthetic of the film as well as compare it to...

Ivette Ale (@dignityandpowernow, @justicelanow) and Dahlia Ferlito (@wp4bl) talk with Dean Spade (@deanspade) about Mutual Aid and Prison Abolition. This is a collaboration between Small Beans and Showing Up for Racial Justice, produced by White People 4 Black Lives. For SHOW NOTES, please find this episode over on the Small Beans Patreon page.

In this spooky episode, Abe points out the two types of Final Destination deaths and breaks them down. The hosts discuss the slow decline of sequels and how a franchise’s choices try to keep their irrelevance at bay. Also, what’s Death’s deal? Can it operate machinery or not? Do a Rube Goldberg machine or not, Death, c’mon. Features: Abe Epperson: https://twitter.com/AbeTheMighty Adam Ganser: http...

Clint Eastwood: writer, director, old conservative. Michael and Abe decide to take a film that's been called the best western ever and discuss how it’s not as advanced or progressive in the pantheon of westerns as one expects. This episode we dive into the themes, the cowboy ethos, and the concept of the western hero. It’s remembered as a big step in updating the western, but is it actually more o...

This week the professor discusses the nature and future of Air. We are joined by “social media person” and free speech mogul Juliet Parker who discusses her award-considered project GirlAir. Professor Scott Bug endorses. Features: Professor Scott Bug: https://twitter.com/profscottbug Cody Johnston: https://twitter.com/drmistercody Jamie Loftus: https://twitter.com/jamieloftusHELP Abe Epperson: htt...

Tom Reimann and Abe Epperson, the “Spielboys,” have created a new podcast. They will examine the films of Steven Spielberg one by one. They discuss the development of Spielberg as an artist, the themes and execution of the movie, and the behind the scenes trivia you probably didn’t know. This series will alternate releases between the Small Beans network and the Gamefully Unemployed network. To re...

We begin our new trilogy set with 1999’s The Matrix! Oh boy oh boy, let’s go down this rabbit hole, baby! Bridgett and Sarah discuss the legacy, themes, and gender critique of the Wachowski Sisters’ smash hit. A lot of what we reference was specifically in regards to gender, and how the Wachowskis' coming out recontextualized this film for many, many people. As a cis hosts, we want to make sure th...

Abe walks us through his theory about how the horror flick Don’t Breathe (2016) creates a sequence in the first 20-25 minutes that basically walks through the movie right in front of your eyes and you barely notice. Is this a good technique? Does it make the film more enjoyable? You know, write some stuff in the comments. Let’s get an algorithm going, huh! Features: Abe Epperson: https://twitter.c...

The first episode of our new deep-dive podcast that chronicles the films of Paul Thomas Anderson and Wes Anderson. We start with the star-studded feature debut of PTA: the tale of an older scam artist who takes a young gambler who’s down on his luck under his wing, only to find that there’s always a cost. The hosts return to their patented format of three spectra: diegesis (a plot walkthrough), pe...

We did it! We reached our 420th podcast (not including exclusives)! Join us in what will be forever remembered as “that movie you watch probably because you’re high!” David Bell sits down and discusses the legacy, the meaning, and the methodical production of undeniably the most influential space movie of all time. We also spend some time telling off Kubrick for being a prick! What a brilliant, eg...

Adam walks us through the directorial playbook of the film Full Frontal (2002) and how it’s message, the techniques Soderbergh uses, and it’s annoyingly elusive ending all point to how Steven Soderbergh was never comfortable making Hollywood blockbusters. Features: Adam Ganser: https://twitter.com/therealganz Abe Epperson: https://twitter.com/AbeTheMighty Support Small Beans and access Additional...

Today’s discussion covers the “breakup album” as in the album you would play during a breakup for whatever reason. The reasons and albums our hosts choose could not be more distant which is fascinating in its own right. Adam picked an album that is just as old as Maggie! Also, Maggie drops the knowledge that her dad is a big fan of Michael Swaim, so he’ll be using that as a power move in the futur...