Episodes

David is joined once more by Nathan Ledbetter, Instructor of Asian History in the Department of Humanities at Rider University and Lorehounds Community Co-Host, to close out our three part series with a movie review of Godzilla Minus Zero, now in theaters. The first half is spoiler free, so it works...

Nathan Fielder and Lance Oppenheim's "documentary" is all the buzz and breaking box-office records for documentaries. But is it really a documentary? The fellas discuss the unique blend of cinematic genre, manipulation, music, and the director's POV that is making this one of the yea...

David, John, and Marilyn recap Season 3, Episode 1 of The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power on Prime Video. They discuss the changing battle lines in the war with Sauron, the corruption of men, and the brewing tensions among dwarves. Contact Us Questions or comments? Visit us at our website wher...

David and Stewart (Doove71) mark forty years of James Cameron’s Aliens, a foundational text for Eagle Eyes, with a spoiler free briefing followed by a full spoiler deep dive into the film that turned a monster movie into a war movie. David traces the making of Ripley through the forms of power at wo...

Just in the nick of time for the finale, Jean and Elysia catch up on episodes 5, 6, and 7 of VisionQuest: "Firewall," "Deadlock," and "Immolation." Tracking the characters across the real world as well as multiple mindspaces, they untangle the web of doppelgangers as the char...

David, Lisa, and Bryan complete their Catherine O’Hara cycle with a deep dive into Best in Show , the community’s overwhelming choice in the listener poll. Christopher Guest’s 2000 mockumentary about competitors at the fictional Mayflower Kennel Club dog show was built from just a 15-page outline, w...

Should you cast Octatonic Incantation or use a Tremolo Torch? In this week’s sidetrack, Mark reminisces about his (misguided?) attempt at gamifying a music class many years ago. Yes, his college students were grinding for gold, casting spells, leveling up, and looting fallen monsters, all to help th...

Steve and Anthony dance (and lip sync) with the Devil's Advocate. Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Back in 2021, season 1 of the show was very different than what you are getting now. It was an audio documentary series with me, J.D., and his wife, Yolanda. They're hilarious and follow my journey of reconnecting with the Black community. Between our usual film and TV reviews, we'll bring y...

Marilyn geeks out over Bear McCreary‘s music and the secrets it reveals in a bonus episode with none other than Phillip Menzies, the Bard of Ered Luin. Musician, composer, and music theorist extraordinaire, not to mention co-organizer of Ozmoot, Phillip is also the host of the YouTube show “The Word...

David is joined again by Nathan Ledbetter, Instructor of Asian History in the Department of Humanities at Rider University and Lorehounds Community Co-Host, for the second part of our three part series ahead of Godzilla Minus Zero. This installment is a full spoiler discussion of the 1954 original a...

Even though the rest of YouTube finished reviewing this show over a month ago, the fellas finally cover the finale. Let's be honest, this is the review you really want to hear. In addition to talking about the possibilities of what could happen in season two, and finding out what grade Edu gave ...

In the final episode of season two of Rings and Rituals, Marilyn and Sara revel in having the two finest scenes of the entire series appear in the final episode, and lament what might have been with Adar. They try to untangle a few lore threads and manage to pull in Mediterranean bells, Wagnerian ch...

Should Mark let his students drop no-no words in their concerts? This week, the hosts remember the iconic 1999 counter-diss track “Forgot About Dre” by Dr. Dre and Eminem. Mark highlights some awesome use of a cool rhyme trick that makes the song really stand out. Things then go a bit off the rails ...

Back in 2021, season 1 of the show was very different than what you are getting now. It was an audio documentary series with me, J.D., and his wife, Yolanda. They're hilarious and follow my journey of reconnecting with the Black community. Between our usual film and TV reviews, we'll bring y...

To celebrate this Halloween, and look ahead to Robert Eggers’ Werwulf movie coming at the end of this year, Elysia is joined by special guest Anthony to talk everything werewolf: What is the history of werewolf storytelling? The key werewolf novels? And, of course, what do we think are the 10 best w...

Even though everybody and their mother has finished reviewing all eight episodes of Carrie, we are on some serious CPT getting to it. But as usual, our takes are worth the wait. We discuss some comparisons to the original Brian de Palma classic (which apparently is horrible and crazy AF). Oh, and we...

Sara and Marilyn manage to find ritual even in the ravaging of Eriador. Sara recites Shakespeare, Marilyn finds the best of lines and the worst of lines (for her), and they give Sun Tzu his proper due by sharing what he actually said. They celebrate Celebrimbor’s freedom from illusion, and grieve th...

This year’s Elevenses film club Spooktober special goes deep into the first horror film ever to be nominated for an Academy Award for Best Picture: The Exorcist (1973). Elysia, David, and John bring their range of experiences – from lifelong aficionado to first-time watcher – into a discussion delvi...

What makes a song feel scary? This week, we welcome podcaster (Horror Movie Night) and musician (Ichabod Crane) Scott Roger to our first ever Halloween episode! Scott guides us through the classic tunes of the spooky season, especially from the teen pop craze of the late-1950’s and early-1960’s. We ...

John, Aaron, and Richard discuss whether nobles can be trusted and the fate of the rebellion. https://linktr.ee/cosmerecorner Schedule for Mistborn: The Final Empire -8/7/2026 - Prologue -8/14/2026 - Ch 1-5 -8/21/2026 - Ch 6-9 -8/28/2026 - Ch 10-15 -10/9/2026 - Ch 16-20 -10/23/2026 - Ch 21-25 -11/6/...

Lorehounds Host David and Lorehounds Community Co-host Stewart (Doove71) bring the full weight of the Special Relationship to bear on two of 2026’s most talked-about spy television seasons. The conversation covers Lioness Season 3’s gloriously over-the-top CIA special operations world and Slow Horse...

Steve and Anthony double their pleasure and fun by selecting thematically twinned movies. Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Jean and Elysia explore VisionQuest episode 3 and 4's character building a bonding, unexpected disintegrations, and recurring themes of longing for legitimacy, from Paladin's to synths to newly rediscovered sons – and why fearlessly facing one's own demise might be easier for some Marvel...

This month’s Rewind finds a lot of commonality between the chord shenanigans in “Hold On” and this week’s throwback from Season 1! Was this song written just for this podcast? Tears for Fears’ 1985 smash “Everybody Wants to Rule the World” is so perfect that even the band name is a psychology refere...

We got two new shows to cover, which means twice as many reasons to go off on tangents! This week, David from our sister show, The Lorehounds, joins to discuss Vision Quest episodes 1 and 2. Then, after he bails because of bedtime, the Usual Suspects stay to discuss the first episode of Carrie. We’r...

David is joined by Nathan Ledbetter, Instructor of Asian History, Department of Humanities, Rider University, and new Lorehounds Community Co-Host, to begin a three part series ahead of Godzilla Minus Zero. This first installment explores the history and context of Godzilla, from the 1954 original a...

Marilyn and Sara examine rituals of trials (all–sorts) and home, and the testing of faith. We see parents and children who keep talking past each other, recognize that Pharazôn is walking on a path of seawater as the rituals of power-over fail him, and wonder if Nenya really would work with Morgoth’...

Is nepotism a key part of a good nineties pop anthem? This week we reach for Wilson Phillips’ inspirational 1990 hit “Hold On.” Nichole explains how some songs you love give you different doses of dopamine, at different times and different regions of the brain, as the song unfolds. Mark shows us how...

The first two episodes of VisionQuest have given us a new surprisingly lovable Peepaw, his murderbot Frankenstein of a son, and a human grandson with a split personality – and Elysia and Jean are here to dissect it all. From Ultron's most quotable moments to all the shades of moral gray, not to ...