The Occasionalists Podcast

As it turns out, the physics-defying Einstein-Rosen Bridge in my apartment receives multiple frequencies from across different times. This one is from exactly 44 years in the future, believe it or not! So, without further ado, I present a Chicago-based movie review show featuring two aging Gen Alpha culture critics: From The Balcony.  

We close out our 1991 coverage by examining the most dangerous weapon ever unleashed on the American public: RAP MUSIC. That's right — not the threat of nuclear war, not the crack epidemic, not even a backmasked Judas Priest record begging every child to join their local Satanic Church — Rap. Thanks to the tireless moral guardians at the Parents Music Resource Center, we now know that 2 Live Crew,...

Our next 1991 pop culture episode is live. This week, we're looking at how cinema diverged sharply from its past — and discuss whether or not that divergence still holds today. We're highlighting three movies from 1991 that show how studios and filmmakers were positioning their movies along three distinct tracks, and give the hallmarks for each: The Silence of the Lambs (Prestige Cinema) Terminato...

Our first episode of February finds us navigating a big year for pop culture, 1991. We kick off our coverage of this critical numerical palindrome with a look at how the dedicated fans of underreported music genres and proper data collection radically changed the musical identity of an entire decade. Plus, we talk about how to make your music more mechanical and why it's super chic to rebel agains...

In one of the more interesting developments on this podcast, we accidentally found a direct signal from the future. It's only tuned into this one news broadcast, but it seems like a valuable resource we're definitely going to tap every month. Here's the first dispatch we received from 20 years in the future.  

We wrap up 1965 with a look at how the media covered the height of the Civil Rights Movement. From the Deep South to the West Coast, America was embroiled in a civil rights battle that the establishment would prefer to have crushed rather than even acknowledge. The similarities to our present are stark—once more, the establishment is using state-sponsored violence and repression in the face of civ...

The second episode of our dive into 1965 is now live. We pick up and head to Vietnam for the beginnings of a generation-defining conflict that reshaped the government's relationship with the media, showcased the cost of American interventionism, and changed public perception of the US forever.

Our first episode of 2026 is here! To kick off our brand new theme, we are taking it way back to a year of political turmoil, foreign wars, and true crime. That may sound very current, but that's the point! We are discussing the year 1965 for all of January, and we are starting with the unprecedented rise in violence in the United States, headlined by America's budding interest in serial killers.

Our final episode of 2025 is a revisit to the top episode of the year, and it's no surprise what's taking the top spot: The Walking Dead! Specifically, our look at The Walking Dead during Franchise February with Chemma. This episode's popularity is proof that not only is TWD a legit mega-franchise, but maybe the biggest in television history. Maybe?  Let's discuss it! 

Our last new episode of 2025 is a look at some of the best of pop culture in 2025.  Short and sweet synopsis, no? See you next year, kiddos!

Our #2 episode of the year is another academic-style episode where we broke down the differences between movie scores and soundtracks and some of the key terminology that comes with this musical territory. Enjoy!

It's time for our first of two wrap-up episodes, offering a direct look back at each month and what was learned throughout the year. Enjoy the first part of our Year in Review.

The #3 episode as voted (there was no vote) on by you is another intro minisode. This time, it was our intro to the world of Horror Comedies.  What makes a horror comedy great and how do the two genres overlap? Listen and find out!

This past week has been one of the hardest all of us associated with the podcast have ever had. Our dear friend Dennis Kisela passed away unexpectedly last week. He was a building block of what this show would eventually become, teaming up with me almost two decades(!) ago to produce our stupid little sports and pop culture podcast. Needless to say everyone who knew him is crushed and words alone...

The #4 episode of 2025 has been revealed and it is...an intro episode?! I'm assuming this is because it's really short and our brains can't focus for more than 30 minutes at a time. I get it! Enjoy this brief minisode on the goings on for the first ever Musical Movie May.

Today is the first of our look back at the top episodes of the year. Coming in at #5 for our Top 5 of 2025 is a long-overdue discussion with video game correspondent Greg Cherry about the enduring franchise that is The Legend of Zelda. Enjoy!

Our final (and slightly delayed!) Political Movie Pitch finds us wandering into a vengeful black comedy that pits aging politicians against their Gen Z congressional counterparts. Naturally, the older, wiser statesmen do what any normal person would do when annoyed by the younger generation in a public setting: take lots of steroids and set out on a quest for vitality and revenge. The Down Bad Cau...

Our next episode for Political Movie Pitch month tackles the ongoing war in Ukraine and reintroduces the once-popular concept of the "good guy" President in movies and TV shows. Will we ever see it again? You'll see (well, hear) it in this pitch for the geopolitical action thriller: WOLVERINES! Betrayed by a corrupt successor and marked for death, a former President and First Lady become fugitives...

It's time to dive into the first movie pitch minisode for this politically charged theme month.  What do you get when you have an aging President with a desire to flout the Constitution and a city (Washington DC) that's been a hotbed for occult conspiracy theories?  Sounds to me like a body horror movie we're calling 'The Witch Hunt.'

It's November, everyone! By now, you've no doubt been asked if you've voted and then asked if you voted for the people others want you to vote for. In celebration of this time-honored tradition of hating each other because someone picked the wrong overlords to exploit us, we will be tackling politics all month long. However, we will start the month with a Political Rewind episode. We flash back to...

We are back with one more episode, which happens when you have 5 Fridays in a month, to give our final thoughts on our annual celebration of all things horror.  We make some predictions on the future of horror movies, share some of our favorite spooky season songs and albums and we round it out with a little horror movie cast trivia. Happy Halloween everyone!

G'day mates! Live from our hometown somewhere Down Under, we are bringing you the final movie review of Fright Fest 7, as we tackle a horror-comedy from directing duo Colin and Cameron Cairnes, 100 Bloody Acres! This one checks all the boxes: 1970s and 80s Aussie country music? Check! Meat Grinder? Check! Vulnerable Young People? Check! Menacing Country Folks? Check! Drugs? Sexual Tension? Potassi...

Our first movie review for Fright Fest 7 is coming in hot! We are tackling the 1991 "final" installment of the Nightmare on Elm Street franchise, Freddy's Dead: The Final Nightmare. Of course, it wasn't nearly the final nightmare, and it won't be until the rights holders die! Like most horror franchises with increasing installments, the latter ones get sillier and sillier, and this one is no excep...

Our second installment of this year's Fright Fest examines two good (and GREAT!) examples of how horror comedies work on TV and one misguided attempt at blending the genres. We start with a trip deep into millennial nostalgia with a look at two episodes of The X-Files. We start with "Jose Chung's 'From Outer Space'" and wrap up with "Bad Blood." Then, we examine the first four episodes of the shor...

Welcome back to a new month and theme, the best month and theme of the year: IT'S FRIGHT FEST, BABY! October is upon us, and we are going balls to the wall with our annual dive into all things horror. Last year was a landmark Fright Fest as we dissected Satan's place in the horror genre. This year, we are turning up the laughs, along with the screams, as we make our foray into the blended genre of...