Talking Simpsons

We go slightly off schedule to do 2003's holiday Simpsons ep, and we welcome back YouTube creator Pop Arena  (check out their Nickelodeon retrospective Nick Knacks )! After we reflect on all of the Xmas specials we grew up watching, we follow Homer on a journey of self-discovery. Can you give Certs as a gift? How many bits were cut from the script? And how accurate is this to Mr. Magoo lore? We di...

We welcome back journalist Louis Peitzman to discuss the sequel to the last podcast he did with us, Like Father, Like Clown ! This time around, Krusty deals with his religious background after reconnecting with his Rabbi father to plan an adult bar mitzvah. This somehow leads Homer to getting his own TV show that's a light parody of Bill Maher. How does this tie into a rushed ending with a lot of...

As Marge and Ruth battle the police state, we welcome back experts in satirizing dumb cops, Matt Bors and Ben Clarkson , creators of the  comic Justice Warriors (the new volume 2, Vote Harder, makes a great seasonal gift )! After reflecting on this story in the current post-election climate, learn how Thelma And Louise inspired this ep, why good waffles stick together, and how to balance parenting...

Whew, that was certainly an eventful November to say the least, and we're not just talking about all the podcasts we released. After we look back on the Simpsons news of the last few weeks like Halloween eps and NFL crossovers, we look back on the movies/TV/games we used as escapism in these dark times before heading out on a vacation for the rest of this Thanksgiving month. Then we reply to some...

What happens when Homer Simpson recreates the misadventures of a weird Canadian outdoorsman? You get the last ep of production season 14, where Homer battles a bear after shopping for Mother's Day gifts. Following our review of the this ep's "Project Grizzly" origins, we dig into how this story of the hunter becoming the hunter won an enviromental award 20 years ago. Plus, podcast chat of Veggieta...

We welcome back  Ian Jones-Quartey , creator of OK KO and Executive Producer on Steven Universe, for arguably the best-looking Simpsons episode ever. We discuss Satan, gremlins, vampires, and scariest of all, dogs playing poker. How did the writers and animators make such a ghoulish gallery, and what amazing moments were cut from the show? Learn all that while enjoying all the donuts in the world...

Pip pip and cheerio listeners, we're here to discuss the Simpsons' visit to London in this star-studded episode with more famous people than great jokes. Yes, they prioritize getting famous Brits in it from war criminal Tony Blair to hatemonger JK Rowling (plus a couple of UK citizens who aren't terrible people). But before that, we still get a couple of funny moments in the final episode written...

Happy day after Election Day! We've reached the beginning of the month, which means it's once again time for another installment of our community podcast! Join us we discuss the first four episodes of season 36, the new Sideshow Bob-based short, Simpsons Movie sequel news, and more. And, as always, we read and respond to your questions and comments from the most recent round of episodes. It's all...

It's time for the David Mirkin Era to begin on Talking Simpsons officially, and we're kicking it off with comedian/writer  Mike Lawrence! After Mike shares fun stories of working with Simpsons legend Greg Daniels, we discuss the show's deepest tribute to Citizen Kane. In this absolute classic, Burns searches for Bobo, The Ramones sing "Happy Birthday," Homer eats a lot of cheese, and too many othe...

As Lisa gets another makeover, we welcome back Merritt K (check out her new game, Fledgling Manor ) to help us make sense of this 2003 satire! It's primarily a lengthy parody of the Tim Rice/Andrew Lloyd Webber musical Evita, and we do our best to figure out which songs are being referenced. Plus, this musical episode features Michael Moore, leading us all to reflect on the politics of 2003, 2013,...

For the third time, we take our show on the road to Portland alongside Bill Oakley , former Simpsons showrunner and  Steamed Hams Society boss . Recorded live on October 2, 2024, at Kelly's Olympian in Portland, OR ! We all dissect a favorite ep from Bill's time on the series, The Itchy & Scratchy & Poochie Show. Bill has many fun memories and digressions about how this episode happened, with tale...

As we head into production season 5 and a huge changeover for the series, we're joined by first-time guest, writer/podcaster Evan Susser ! The Doughboys Commissioner helps us explore Conan O'Brien's final full ep of The Simpsons, as we give a timeline of how his unprecedented hiring to Late Night impacted the show. Then we dig into Homer's incredible trip to college,  one of the best eps ever, wit...

As autumn begins, we have a whole month of Simpsons events to look back on, while also looking forward to our October 2nd Portland live show with Bill Oakley ( get your tickets HERE before it sells out ). Then, we've got a trip report from Orlando, lots of chat about newly released video games, and replies to some of our favorite Patreon comments. Prepare for Halloween/Treehouse season with the ne...

Now that the Halloween fun is over, it's time for the proper "season premiere" of season 15, as Homer reconnects with his mother. After we dig into the career of writer Michael Price, we discuss how this second appearance of Glenn Close on the series compares to the first. Plus, we chat about viral headlines, collectible t-shirts, the surveillance state of 2003, and the overuse of songs from the '...

If you missed our 2018 Portland live show with Bill Oakley , or our 2023 show , good news: we'll soon be putting on another one of equal or greater value! And our beloved patrons have first dibs on tickets! (General public folks reading this later—we respect you as well.) Here are the details: WHAT: Our Talking Simpsons Live Show about "The Itchy & Scratchy & Poochie Show" with Special Guest, Bill...

It's the end of the first era of Simpsons writers as we welcome back returning favorite, comedy writer  Mike Drucker ( pre-order his upcoming book, Good Game, No Rematch )! In a full-length parody of 1991's Cape Fear remake, Bart evades murder by the talented singer, Sideshow Bob. Learn how this episode was written, how Jon Vitti looks back on it, why the animation is so gorgeous, and even the sec...

Season 15 begins with a big Halloween special, and we're joined by  Will Sloan , Jerry Lewis expert and cohost of podcasts The Important Cinema Club and Michael And Us ! After we chat about how this debuted in November, we chat through one segment that unintentionally copies Family Guy, a story of Frink/Hank Azaria meeting their comedy patriarch, and another Twilight Zone parody. You'll also learn...

We've reached the end of the month, which means it's once again time for another installment of our community podcast! Join us we discuss the incredible amount of Simpsons news from San Diego Comic-Con and D23, including updates about new Treehouse of Horror and Disney+ exclusive episodes, a new Christmas two-parter, and more. And, as always, we read and respond to your questions and comments from...

Just as we did for The Simpsons Sing The Blues , we're joined by Alex Navarro from Nextlander to discuss the other novelty album from Springfield. Yes, it's time for us to cover the barely-released oddity The Yellow Album! And we're chatting about it just when it was planned to be released, between the fourth and fifth seasons. But why was it released in 1998? How was there a lost Prince song on i...

We start season five with a first-time guest to help us with this Beatles parody: Katie Plattner , from the podcast Screw It, We're Just Gonna Talk About The Beatles and Screw It, I'm Just Gonna Talk About Music Or Whatever ! As we dive into the magical time of the '80s, we'll guide you through all of the copious Beatles references in this one, as well as the history of how it happened and its tie...

We welcome back podcaster/comedy writer  Mark Malkoff —host of the new podcast Inside Late Night , as well as the very fitting The Carson Podcast —for an epic discussion of the season 4 finale. We dig into SO MUCH of the TV history in this episode, including a ton about Johnny Carson, his relationship to The Simpsons, and how this was one of his final TV appearances. Not to mention so many details...

While The Simpsons news wasn't as busy as the real news this month, there's still a ton to catch up on in the July edition of our monthly community podcast. Not only that, but we had a month full of cool podcast guest appearances mixed with personal annoyances that took up more than a week of our lives. Then we catch up on all the movies/TV/games we experienced in July, tease some special upcoming...

We're covering an allegedly prophetic ep of Simpsons, and for that, we're joined once more by Stephen Sajdak , cohost of the  We Hate Movies podcast ! After the Osaka Flu ravages Springfield, Marge is arrested for shoplifting, and we discuss how much it might mirror the 2020 lockdown. Then we dig into the best Lionel Hutz sequence in the entire series, followed by trying to figure out all the chan...

As we close out season 14, we've got returning guest Chris Cabin from the podcast We Hate Movies ! Together we celebrate what most call the best episode of the season, thanks to Emmy-winning acting by Hank Azaria, not to mention the stunning direction of Lauren MacMullan. But can this sweet tale of Moe connecting with Maggie survive a whacky third act with the mafia? Grab an orange peel and listen...

Bart is expelled from school as animal cruelty is celebrated, and for such heady topics we welcome back the cohost of  The Flop House Podcast /Emmy-winning writer,  Dan McCoy ! After Dan explains to us how he won the same award as this episode did, we then detail the origins of Superintendent Chalmers. Then we talk about the less-fun IRL origins of whacking day, explain the many dirty jokes in thi...