True Crime Fairy Tale
Was the tale of Hansel and Gretel inspired by a real crime in German history? It would make for a great story, if it were true. This week’s episode comes…
Episode 213: Monsters in the Static
In the subgenre of analog horror, there’s something sinister or supernatural lurking in the horizontal lines and vertical holds in those old VHS tapes. Filmmaker Chris LaMartina explains why he…
Episode 78: Godzilla vs. Kong vs. America — our opinions are correct
It’s time to talk about the politics of kaiju. With the new Godzilla vs. Kong movie stomping our way soon, we’re discussing the long history of giant monsters in pop…
A Trite Dramatization of the Oslo Peace Accords
An adaptation of the Tony-winning play, Oslo‘s apolitical take on the Israel-Palestine conflict is of little use to anyone.
“A Clockwork Orange” Made Me Long to Be a Monster, But It Only Saw Me as a Victim
In the epic battle between good and evil for the fate of the soul, I had never been the soul in question; I had always been the stumbling block on…
I Think You Should Leave’s Hot Dog Guy Is More Than Just a Meme
The sketch, which isn’t on YouTube but you can watch on Netflix, starts after a hot dog–shaped car has crashed into a menswear shop. As the stunned onlookers emerge from…
Why You Should Watch The NeverEnding Story as an Adult
The NeverEnding Story was a classic children’s fantasy of the 1980s, right up there with The Dark Crystal, Labyrinth, Legend, and The Last Unicorn in creating a latticework of terrifying…
Satanic Panics and the Death of Mythos
All the stories in humanity’s history that have had a lasting impact on us, from the Bible to Greek myths to the X-Men franchise, have been rich in meaning beyond…
Hillbilly Elegy Tries, and Fails, to Understand the Working Class
In 2016 Hillbilly Elegy, J.D. Vance’s memoir of growing up in rural Ohio, became a bestseller in no small part due to the idea that it could “explain” the average…
An Interview With the Guy Who Yells “Mortal Kombat” in the Theme for Mortal Kombat
Yeah, we did it in the downtown Wall Street area. We went down there and started getting directions from this guy. And he started placing us in groups and saying,…