Pop Culture Man Children

Double, double toil and trouble! Welcome back to Halloween 2025! It's the most important time of year here at pcmc, and we continue coming to you all month long with Halloween specials! On today's show, Mike and Janine discuss two foundational TV specials from Disney. Two Halloween specials that have a strangle hold on the millenial zeitgeist. Disney's Halloween Treat (1982) and DTV Monster Hits (...

Oww my boobs! Welcome to pcmc Halloween 2025! Spooky season is the most precious time of year for the pcmc brood, and we continue rolling along with our month-long scare-tacular Halloween specials. On today's episode, the host, Mike Bongiorno, is joined by the lovely Jennifer "Grave" Litrell. Mike and Jen are discussing the highly underrated spooky stop-motion film ParaNorman (2012). It's the stor...

The funeral is about to begin! Welcome to pcmc Halloween 2025! Spooky season is the most precious time of year for the pcmc brood, and we come to you all month long with our scare-tacular Halloween specials. On today's episode, the host, Mike Bongiorno, is joined, once again, by Peter Marsh (Comic Books Transformed / The Lasser Cast). Mike and Peter got together to discuss the 1979 horror classic...

BoooOOOOOooo! Welcome to pcmc Halloween 2025! Spooky season is the most precious time of year for the pcmc brood, and we come to you all month long with our scare-tacular Halloween specials. Today we travel to Hong Kong in 1985 to hop onto the hopping vampire craze! See what I did there? Today's film is Mr. Vampire — a slapstick comedy, martial arts, horror film! This movie modernized the mytholog...

BoooOOOOOooo! Welcome to pcmc Halloween 2025! Spooky season is the most precious time of year for the pcmc brood, and we come to you all month long with our scare-tacular Halloween specials. Today we kick things off with the HIGHLY PROBLEMATIC film Dressed to Kill from 1980. It's Brian De Palma's homage to Alfred Hitchcock. The film is suspenseful, sexy, and brilliantly made. Sadly, it's also comp...

Pcmc does what Nintendon't! On today's all-new episode of pcmc, host Mike Bongiorno, is joined by longtime contributor to the show, Vin Forte. In this episode, Mike and Vin discuss a famous episode of television from the early 2000s; MTV's True Life: "I'm a Gamer." If you haven't seen this (or any) episode of True Life, go watch it right now, then come back! The guys talk about the winners and the...

Set it and forget it! On today's all-new episode of pcmc, host, Mike Bongiorno, is joined by America's sweetheart Vin Forte. In this episode, Mike and Vin discuss Informercials, what they were, how they worked, why they were great, and where they went. From the ThighMaster to Girls Gone Wild, if you were awake at ungodly hours in the 1990s you experienced infomercials! If you like the show, make s...

Bibbidi-bobbidi-boo! On today's all-new episode of pcmc, host, Mike Bongiorno, is joined by frequent contributor Nadia Kader. Today's topic is the outrageous, gross, and incredible 2025 film The Ugly Stepsister. This is a dark, violent take on the Cinderella story, told from the point of view of her "ugly stepsister." But the movie is more than just a gimmick, it's a smart, heartbreaking tale of w...

Hello! On today's all-new episode of pcmc, host, Mike Bongiorno, is joined by frequent contributor (and frequent brother) Anthony Bongiorno. Together, Mike and Anthony review the new trailers for the upcoming movies and series: Good Boy (2025), Only Murders in the Building (Season 5), Chain Reactions (2025), Him (2025), and The Carpenter's Son (2025). In the "chill session", the guys discuss the b...

Woot woot! On today's all-new episode of pcmc, host, Mike Bongiorno, is joined once again by Janine Gagliari. Today's topic is "Our Favorite Nudity in Pop Culture." Not necessarily the sexiest nudity in pop culture. Although there are some HOT picks here! It's a conversation about the best use of nudity; the sexiest, funniest, scariest, and most interesting use of (all-gender) nudity in pop cultur...

Fit check for my napalm era! On today's all-new episode of pcmc, host, Mike Bongiorno, is joined by the great Janine Gagliari, to discuss the phenomenal Netflix animated movie KPop Demon Hunters (2025). If you haven't seen this incredible movie, GO WATCH IT RIGHT NOW! Then come back and listen to Mike and Janine gush over their favorite songs, favorite fights, and favorite outfits. This episode is...

Welcome! On today's all-new episode of pcmc, host, Mike Bongiorno, is joined once again by Bill Gagliardi. Mike and Bill are discussing Waxwork II: Lost in Time (1992), a film that isn't about wax, time, or being lost. It's the superior sequel to the mostly forgotten horror/comedy Waxwork (1988). The film is about two young people who go on an adventure that takes them through some of the biggest...

"When people don't want a circus, the world just don't make any sense." On today's all-new episode of pcmc, host, Mike Bongiorno, is joined by Bill Gagliardi. Today Mike and Bill are discussing the oft-maligned 1988 movie Big Top Pee-wee. Yes, that's right. Pcmc is covering the "bad" Pee-wee movie. But is it really that bad??? Mike and Bill argue that the film has a lot of good stuff in it that's...

Freeze scum! On today's all-new episode of pcmc, host, Mike Bongiorno, is joined once again by friend of the pod, Peter Marsh. Today Mike and Pete are discussing the 1987 dystopian classic RoboCop. A movie that's as funny as it is exciting, and as smart as it is dumb. The guys love this movie and gush about all their favorite scenes and characters. The guys also compare RoboCop to Superman (2025),...

Sleep now! On today's all-new episode of pcmc, host, Mike Bongiorno, is joined once again by friend of the pod, Peter Marsh. Mike and Pete sat down to discuss the spooky and fun cult classic Dark City (1998). Dark City is a late 90s mind-bendy scifi about false realities. It is very much a cousin to The Matrix and eXistenZ. Like the film itself, this episode of pcmc gets deep and philosophical. If...

Beam me up! On today's all-new episode of Pop Culture Man Children, your host, Mike Bongiorno, is joined once again by Vin Forte. On today's show the topic is Star Trek Beyond (2016), the last theatrically released Star Trek movie (for now). This is the final stop in Mike and Vin's journey to cover every Star Trek movie (for now). If you like this episode, please check out the backlog of Star Trek...

Pew pew! On today's all-new episode of Pop Culture Man Children, your host, Mike Bongiorno, is joined by long-time contributor to the show, Vin Forte. The guys are going back to a galaxy far, far away to discuss the 1999 Star Wars Expanded Universe book, The New Jedi Order: Vector Prime. This is one Vin loved as a kid and Mike is reading for the first time. It's an important book in the old Star W...

Cheer up! On today's all-new episode of pcmc, host Mike Bongiorno is joined, once again, by Anthony Bongiorno. Today the guys are discussing their "go-to media for serotonin." That means the movies, TV, books, social networks, or any other media we consume when we're feeling blue and need something to cheer us up. The world can be tough and the media we consume can be just the escape or inspiratio...

Happy 400 everyone!!! Today's episode is a very special one. Episode 400 features multiple segments from multiple contributors, all discussing one of the most foundational texts in pop culture, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. The team discusses "The Dreamer of Oz" (1990), "The Wiz" (1978), "Oz the Great and Powerful" (2013), "Wicked: Part 1" (2024) and, of course, "The Wizard of Oz" (1939). Come ease...

Welcome all! Before we hit our 400th episode milestone, let's take a trip in the way-back machine and revisit the very first episode of pcmc. This is the episode that started it all! See the origins of all your favorite pcmc traditions that continue to this day. Don't forget to tune in tomorrow for episode 400!  Find us everywhere @PCMCpod

Wake up! On today's all-new episode of pcmc, host Mike Bongiorno is joined, once again, by frequent contributor to the pod (and his brother) Anthony Bongiorno. Mike and Anthony got together to discuss their favorite "dream sequences" in pop culture. The guys also discuss how dream sequences work and what makes a dream sequence great. If you like what you hear, then you're in luck because we have a...

Hello! On today's all-new episode of the podcast, host Mike Bongiorno is joined by a panel of pcmc all-stars; Anthony Bongiorno, Jennifer Litrell, and Janine Gagilardi! The crew got together to discuss their favorite theatrical experiences, whether it be a Broadway show that changed Anthony's life, a concert that thrilled Janine, or the Stage Door experience Jen had with Alan Rickman. Anything hav...

SPOILER ALERT for Companion (2025) Quaid-face! On today's all-new episode of pcmc, host Mike Bongiorno is joined once again by Nadia Kader! Mike and Nadia got together to discuss Companion (2025), the new film that follows in the footsteps of Metropolis, Weird Science, and The Stepford Wives. It's all about robot love, robot sex, and the robot revolution! If you enjoy hearing Mike and Nadia discus...

Quack! Quack! On today's all-new episode of pcmc, host Mike Bongiorno is joined once again by Nadia Kader! Mike and Nadia got together to discuss the sweaty, ugly, and gross, Italian Giallo movie The New York Ripper (1982). A movie that was banned from the UK for years due to its extreme violence and sexual content. Nadia hates this movie, and Mike thinks it's a fascinating piece of cinematic tras...

SPOILER ALERT - this is a GENERAL spoiler alert for ALL pop culture. You have been warned! Rest in Power! On today's all-new episode of pcmc, host Mike Bongiorno is joined once again by Janine Gagliardi! The topic of this episode is "Most Devastating Deaths in Pop Culture." Do you remember how you felt when your favorite fictional character in TV, Video Games, Movies, or Books unexpectedly bit the...