Stranger Things Finale Party

The 98th Academy Awards Recap

This past Sunday was the 98th Oscars ceremony and it was filled with reasons to celebrate and reasons to debate. Conan O'Brien hosted a show which pitted two stellar films -- Sinners and One Battle After Another -- against each other to claim the top prizes in cinema recognition.We gathered together again with Claire Lechtenberg, Director of Development & Marketing for Charlotte's Independent Picture House, to sit with us and discuss the highs and lows of this year's ceremony: our favorite awards, our frustrations, the rhythm of the show itself, and what we predict will be next for both the Oscars and this year's nominees.It's a brisk and lively discussion about this year's highest cinematic accolades and we hope you enjoy it!See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy [https://art19.com/privacy] and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info [https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info].

Good Boy + Bring Her Back

As a final coda to our series looking back at some prominent films from 2025 (#2025stillalive), we're ending in a similar fashion to how we began. We started this series with a pair of films in one episode (Together + Companion), and we end by discussing Ben Leonberg's unconventional canine-centric chiller GOOD BOY and the latest film from Danny and Michael Philippou, BRING HER BACK.Both films deal with characters (both human and canine) who experience profound desperation as people they love are lost or threatened. Good Boy is told entirely from the perspective of Indy, a dog who senses a malevolent presence he can't understand threatening his owner. Bring Her Back tells the story of Andy and Piper, two step-siblings who enter into foster care after the sudden and horrific death of their father. They soon learn that their foster mother, Laura (Sally Hawkins), has recently lost a child and not all might be as it seems in their new environment. The films have varying degrees of effectiveness and a wide array of different interests, but each are compelling in their own right.We're joined by third chair and Ghoul Scout Troop leader Vera Goudie to explore these two pieces, their interesting creative choices, and the surprising ways they reflect starkly different approaches to grief, fear, and desperation. It's one of our heartiest and most heartfelt discussions and we really hope you enjoy it!5:43 - Whatcha Watchin' / Readin' / Listenin' To?32:35 - GOOD BOY + BRING HER BACKSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy [https://art19.com/privacy] and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info [https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info].

The Cultural Invitation of Ryan Coogler's Sinners: an Interview with de'Angelo Dia

As part of our continued extensive coverage of Ryan Coogler's landmark film Sinners (nominated for a record-breaking 16 Oscars this weekend, including Best Picture), we invite back de'Angelo Dia. Dia is the Director of Education and Community Engagement for Charlotte's Independent Picture House, and describes himself as a theopoet and mystic whose work explores culture and moral imagination through poetry, performance art, and photography.Dia sat down with Nathan to further explore the invitation Ryan Coogler extends to us through his film Sinners, specifically how it becomes more than a singular director's vision and broadens to a truly collaborative and community-centric work. This fascinating conversation connects dots both cinematically and culturally for the ways the film is pushing an important discussion forward, provoking us to view ourselves in unconventional ways.It's a vibrant dialogue that we hope will enhance your appreciation for Coogler's film and for the moment in which it arrives. We hope you enjoy!See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy [https://art19.com/privacy] and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info [https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info].

Stranger Things Finale Party

The first season of Stranger Things released just a month before the first episode of The Fear of God. Though the proximities are nothing beyond coincidental, Stranger Things has always loomed a bit over our show in ways that were often surprising, funny, fun, and occasionally lovely.As we've been marching through the rewatch of Season 5 for our Patrons, we now wanted to close things off with one last Stranger Things party. We gathered together a host of guests from previous patron segments -- Vera Goudie, Charlie Baber, Josh Raugh, Matt Murray, and Lindsey Dunn -- to share our final takeaways from the final episode of the cultural phenomenon's final season. We also play a highly competitive game of Stranger Things-themed Trivial Pursuit!So, let's take one last trip to the Upside Down, fight a few lingering demogorgons, and roll the dice on one last DND campaign as we all share our closing thoughts on STRANGER THINGS. Enjoy!2:14 - Introductions and Welcomes4:20 - FoG History and Stranger Things7:14 - Trivial Pursuit Round 117:34 - Stranger Things Finale50:18 - Trivial Pursuit Round 259:20 - Stranger Things Themes1:31:09 - Trivial Pursuit Round 31:45:38 - That Ain't Right, Stranger Things1:57:08 - Trivial Pursuit Final Round2:12:56 - Final TakeawaysSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy [https://art19.com/privacy] and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info [https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info].

Religion and Ryan Coogler's Sinners: an Interview with Dr. Yvonne Chireau

As an extension of our coverage of Ryan Coogler's masterful film Sinners, this week we present to you a special conversation author and professor, Dr. Yvonne Chireau. Dr Chireau has spent much of her academic career studying religious history and supernatural traditions, particularly within Africana religions, African American religious tradition, and American folklore. She has written extensively about Hoodoo practices and the African American Conjuring tradition, which led to her directly providing her consultant expertise on Coogler's film.In this fascinating conversation, she sits down with Nathan and friend of the show (and fellow author and professor) Brandon Grafius to discuss the complexity of religious expression within the film Sinners, as well as illuminating the ways these ancient religious practices have often been deeply influential and just as deeply misunderstood, particularly within film and the horror genre at large. It's a riveting and enlightening dialogue that we hope will more fully enrich your appreciation for the subject, as well as for Dr. Chireau's work and Ryan Coogler's film. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy [https://art19.com/privacy] and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info [https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info].