The Occasionalists Podcast

We are replaying a few of our best political episodes this month, starting with an absolute doozy! The Occasionalists vs The Misinformation Machine: From February of 2022, the third in a series of episodes from "Factual February," where we tackle rampant misinformation clogging social and traditional media. Bonus: Movie recommendations where lying is central to the plot!

Our final Satanic Panic episode is here! Despite some unusual technical difficulties, we were able to dissect the wonderful, frightening, freaky and all-around fun Late Night With The Devil!  What happens when Jack Delroy, a desperate TV host, sells his soul for ratings? A lot of things and none of which are particularly good for him, but great for this discussion. Also, we may have accidentally s...

We are back with our penultimate episode for this year's Fright Fest. That's right! We are almost to the end of our personal Satanic Panic, but before we check out, we have to take a look at two very different movies with two very different Devils at the center of them. We're reviewing Angel Heart (1987), a noir detective horror story in which a private investigator takes a trip into darkness, and...

We are back and putting together an absolutely dastardly, devilishly good playlist for you. Chemma makes his triumphant return to help us discuss the Satanic Panic of the 1980s and some of the repercussions of this movement as it swallowed up reputations and spit them out on live tv for parents everywhere to become afraid of a completely fabricated boogeyman.  We wrap up with our epic 20 song play...

The second part of our Origins of Evil intro episode covers ancient, not-so ancient, and recent depictions of the Dark Lord in various forms of pop culture. What attributes carried over? What didn't? What was the keystone literature I the Satan mythos that still informs the idea of this evil entity to this day? Find out now! And Hail Satan!

For the first official episode of this year's Fright Fest 666, we are diving deep into Satan's ancient beginnings and how, over the centuries, various religions and misinterpretations have transformed him from one of God's henchmen to his most fierce rival.  The Satanic Panic has officially started!

It's the most wonderful time of the year! October is here and with it comes Halloween and a staple series here at The Occasionalists, Fright Fest! It's our sixth edition and because of that, we were left with no choice but to take a trip to hell and focus this Fright Fest on the Prince of Darkness himself, Satan! The first full episode of Fright Fest 666: Satanic Panic is on its way, but in the me...

What's that sound? That's just Smoke and The Big Freeze crashing your soundwaves with another hard-hitting edition of the number one rated sports podcast in all of the former Soviet Satellite Nations, Over The Line!    

We are back with our third episode of Sports September, this time with none other than hockey correspondant Rob Nugent! We combine two concepts for this episode: our blind sports episode where we don't know what subjects the other is going to bring up. Then we mix it with a little trivia challenge at the end.  Put your thinking rally caps on and join us to get more smarter!

Sports September rolls on as we review some short-form sports documentaries and give a few movie pitches for people and situations that would make excellent sports movies.  Is there a brief discussion about 10 Cent Beer Night? Yes! What about oiled up Greek men? Also yes!

Sports September kicks off this week with a dive into some of the many reasons why sports are beloved by so many people, but especially the one person doing this podcast. Lightning Round Question: Who was your first favorite athlete? 

Our final stop of Back To School month takes us to our college years and the cult classic PCU from 1994. However, you would be forgiven if you thought this was a modern-day critique of the current culture wars.  The more things change, the more they stay the same.

We have graduated from elementary school and are heading on to high school, with the review of The Substitute (1996).  It is a deeply flawed but fun action movie that will remind you of simpler times in the world of action movies when squibs, practical effects, and physical stunts were still in demand. One tip for enjoying this movie: don't let the horrid messaging on the education system, teacher...

We are back with our first of three big movie reviews for Back To School month. Obviously, we have have to start at the elementary school with an entry that deals with younger kids. What better way to start off than with Damon Wayans barking insults at teenagers as Major Payne. Nearly 30 years later, does this movie still hold up? (Yes.) Is some of it problematic? (Maybe. Context is king!) Would I...

Our second minisode (and one of these times it will actually be short, pinky promise) for our Back To School month has us discussing some essential school-related movies, but maybe not the ones you're thinking about. From scandal at the ballot box to kidnapping, impersonation, frightening powers, and serial murder, these movies have it all. Are you taking notes?

WE. ARE. BACK.  That's right. Vacation is over, and it's time to get back to the podcasting grind. A newish season starts this month with a brand new theme: Back to School! August is the final countdown for students and teachers alike, as they watch their last few days of sun, fun, and freedom slip by. What better way to celebrate such a glorious time than to kick off a whole month dedicated to th...

Looks like we can get one more episode in before summer vacation officially wraps up around here. Why not revisit one of the best episodes of this past year: The Four Way Fatal Drinking Deathmatch! Yes, we got the whole crew together to crack a few drinks, reminisce, and generally have a great time on the pod. Enjoy! 

Part two of our B Movie May vacation episode. Enjoy it!

We are back with our last two-part vacation episodes, but not our last vacation episode. Stay tuned for that. Today, we are dialing it back to May of 2022 when the stars aligned for an unforgettable Movie May: B Movie May! Low budgets, high talent, and a veritable who's who of the Golden Age of Hollywood before they were stars. Check it out!

Two episode drops in a single day?! You betcha! The second half of The Remix is now live as well!

While not intentional, we're sticking with this month's secondary theme by dusting off extra-large episodes. Double shots for all! This week, we are hitting both parts of The Remix, in which we change all sorts of pop culture for the better and possibly for the worse. Mostly the latter. Enjoy!

Part 2 of our Time Travel discussion from 2020 finds us getting into the more esoteric and weird stuff regarding physics and philosophy. It's a lot of fun, enjoy it!

Our first classic episode is the beginning of a two-fer! It's one of our favorites from when we were podcasting A LOT, all the way back on April 1st, 2020. I wonder if anything was going on when we made this two-part episode...*insert thinking emoji here* Anyway, if you're hearing this for the first time, enjoy the first part of our deep dive into Time Travel--theoretical, fictional, and philosoph...

We are wrapping up our month of podcasting introspection with the grand finale: a deep dive into the script that's been moved from hard drive to hard drive for over 15 years: Dark Matter. Is it good? No! And we meant for it to suck! Want to know why it was written? Then listen to this episode! Any interest in hearing some terrible acting? No? I don't blame you but YOU'RE GETTING IT ANYWAY. 

For the first time in 5 years(!) we return to the realm of Westeros to talk about a longstanding favorite, Game of Thrones.  A one-of-a-kind show that as time has moved on from the bad controversial finale, is proving that it was likely the very last of its kind. Get comfortable as we get back on the King's Road for one more trip to the Seven Kingdoms.