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The Town -Episode #888 Sep 22, 2026

Show notes

Cops & Robbers Month- The Town
We rewatched Ben Affleck's The Town and know for sure that Jeremy Renner earned that Best Supporting Actor nomination and that we got to see a lot of Boston. Affleck plays Doug MacRay, who runs a crew of bank and armored car robbers in a one-square-mile neighborhood where the family business isn't optional, it's inherited (generational trauma!). After a job goes sideways and the crew briefly takes a bank manager hostage, Doug starts trailing her and ends up dating her. Meanwhile, Jon Hamm's FBI agent is closing in and Doug's ex-girlfriend, played by Blake Lively, is feeling used and discarded. Rewatch, reflect, and relate to what The Town has to teach us.

Point Break -Episode #887 Sep 15, 2026

Show notes

Cops & Robbers Month
We rewatched and overanalyzed Point Break, and realized Bodhi was doing self-help before self-help was a thing, just with more bank robberies and extreme sports thrown in. An FBI agent goes undercover with a crew of surfers who rob banks in president masks to fund a life of chasing the perfect wave. But it's also a movie about a generation looking for meaning outside the usual institutions, and a new kind of masculinity starting to take shape. This week: Set the Scene, Remember When, Random Facts, WTF!, Hot Takes, Hidden Gems, and REEL Therapy.
Rewatch. Overanalyze. Learn about yourself.

Summer School- Episode #886 Sep 08, 2026

Show notes

Cathy and Todd close out their "Movies We Love (But Love to Make Fun Of)" series with 1987's Summer School, the comedy where Mark Harmon's laid-back gym teacher gets stuck teaching English after the assigned teacher wins the lottery and bails. It's full of '80s pop culture, and underneath all of it there's a genuinely sweet message about meeting struggling kids where they are.

Teen Wolf- Episode #885 Sep 01, 2026

Show notes

Cathy and Todd discuss Teen Wolf for Movies We Love and Love to Make Fun Of month, the 1985 werewolf-basketball classic that turned a barely-known Michael J. Fox into a star just months after Back to the Future changed his life. They discuss the movie's best and strangest moments from Stiles's party-hosting mastery to Boof simply refusing to take no for an answer, and get into what the wolf actually represents: a metaphor for suddenly gaining power and having to learn how to handle it responsibly. They count down their 10 best Gen X high school party scenes in movie history and break down the infamous end-credits clip that wasn't even supposed to make it into the film.

St. Elmo’s Fire- Episode #884 Aug 25, 2026

Show notes

Cathy and Todd discuss St. Elmo's Fire for Movies We LOVE and LOVE to Make Fun Of month, the 1985 classic that made $37.8 million on a $10 million budget despite critics disliking it. They get into the David Blum "Hollywood's Brat Pack" article that changed everyone's careers overnight, Andrew McCarthy's book and documentary about being labeled a Brat, and then go over the movie's genuinely alarming WTF moments like Kirby's rewarded stalking arc, Billy pushing past Jules's "no," and his "there was no St. Elmo's Fire, you're making it up" non-help speech — before landing on their red flags list for the movie's worst behavior and the quotes they still can't stop repeating ("Wasted Love!").

Cocktail – Episode #883 Aug 18, 2026

Show notes

Cathy and Todd discuss Cocktail for Movies We Love and Love to Make Fun of Month. They revisit the 1988 Tom Cruise classic with its flair bartending, strange plot turns, and very serious ideas about money, masculinity, friendship, and success. They share their memories of seeing it when they were younger, explore the darker story hidden beneath the story, unpack Doug’s Coughlin’s Laws and Kerry’s missing backstory, and ask the important questions: Why does everyone make life-changing decisions based on barroom bets? And how did a critically despised Razzie winner become a movie we all still quote, rewatch, and love to make fun of?

Subscribe to Cathy’s weekly Zen Moment and upgrade to hear a weekly Zen Moment podcast hosted by Cathy and Todd!

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1. Sign up for Cathy’s Substack
2. Order Restoring our Girls

Links shared in this episode:

For the full show notes, visit zenpopparenting.com.

This week’s sponsor(s):

Avid Co DuPage County Area Decorating, Painting, Remodeling by Avid Co includes kitchens, basements, bathrooms, flooring, tiling, fire and flood restoration.
MenLiving – A virtual and in-person community of guys connecting deeply and living fully. No requirements, no creeds, no gurus, no judgements
Todd Adams Life & Leadership Coaching for Guys

Other Ways to Support Us

Follow us on social media
Buy and leave a review for Cathy’s Book Zen Parenting: Caring for Ourselves and Our Children in an Unpredictable World

Top Gun Maverick- Episode #882 Aug 11, 2026

Show notes

Cathy and Todd discuss Top Gun: Maverick to complete their summer blockbuster series, the 2022 legacy sequel that brought Tom Cruise back to the role that made him famous, three decades (and a pandemic delay) later. They talk about Val Kilmer’s real battle with throat cancer and how it shaped his return as Iceman, discuss the film’s themes of grief, legacy, and mentorship, debate why Jon Hamm’s character is such a dick, and share Cathy’s deeply conflicted feelings about Tom Cruise, who happens to look a lot like Todd. They also discussed the original Top Gun (1986) earlier in the summer, click here to listen: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/top-gun-episode-871/id414414318?i=1000770790944

Subscribe to Cathy’s weekly Zen Moment and upgrade to hear a weekly Zen Moment podcast hosted by Cathy and Todd!

Some Ways to Support Us

1. Sign up for Cathy’s Substack
2. Order Restoring our Girls

Links shared in this episode:

For the full show notes, visit zenpopparenting.com.

This week’s sponsor(s):

Avid Co DuPage County Area Decorating, Painting, Remodeling by Avid Co includes kitchens, basements, bathrooms, flooring, tiling, fire and flood restoration.
MenLiving – A virtual and in-person community of guys connecting deeply and living fully. No requirements, no creeds, no gurus, no judgements
Todd Adams Life & Leadership Coaching for Guys

Other Ways to Support Us

Follow us on social media
Buy and leave a review for Cathy’s Book Zen Parenting: Caring for Ourselves and Our Children in an Unpredictable World

Wedding Crashers- Episode #881 Aug 04, 2026

Show notes

Cathy and Todd continue their summer blockbuster series and discuss Wedding Crashers, the 2005 comedy starring Vince Vaughn and Owen Wilson that grossed $288.5 million on a $40 million budget. They cover the cast including Rachel McAdams, Isla Fisher, Christopher Walken, Bradley Cooper, and Jane Seymour, plus behind-the-scenes trivia like the almost-cast Justin Long, the scrapped Daniel Craig sequel, and Owen Wilson’s improvised “Rules” of wedding crashing. They count down the movie’s best quotes and talk through the film’s male friendship theme.

Subscribe to Cathy’s weekly Zen Moment and upgrade to hear a weekly Zen Moment podcast hosted by Cathy and Todd!

Some Ways to Support Us

1. Sign up for Cathy’s Substack
2. Order Restoring our Girls

Links shared in this episode:

For the full show notes, visit zenpopparenting.com.

This week’s sponsor(s):

Avid Co DuPage County Area Decorating, Painting, Remodeling by Avid Co includes kitchens, basements, bathrooms, flooring, tiling, fire and flood restoration.
MenLiving – A virtual and in-person community of guys connecting deeply and living fully. No requirements, no creeds, no gurus, no judgements
Todd Adams Life & Leadership Coaching for Guys

Other Ways to Support Us

Follow us on social media
Buy and leave a review for Cathy’s Book Zen Parenting: Caring for Ourselves and Our Children in an Unpredictable World

The Odyssey- Episode #880 Jul 28, 2026

Show notes

Cathy and Todd discuss the most recent summer blockbuster, The Odyssey, Christopher Nolan’s take on Homer’s epic and why a 2,700-year-old story about identity, home, and longing still hits just as hard today. From the Cyclops to the Sirens to Circe, they trace the myths and monsters and what those stories still reveal about who we are, and why the humanities matter to a thriving culture. It’s also a conversation about disguise and belonging, and why it’s so hard to come home when the choices of war change the world and leave shame behind.

Subscribe to Cathy’s weekly Zen Moment and upgrade to hear a weekly Zen Moment podcast hosted by Cathy and Todd!

Some Ways to Support Us

1. Sign up for Cathy’s Substack
2. Order Restoring our Girls

Links shared in this episode:

For the full show notes, visit zenpopparenting.com.

This week’s sponsor(s):

Avid Co DuPage County Area Decorating, Painting, Remodeling by Avid Co includes kitchens, basements, bathrooms, flooring, tiling, fire and flood restoration.
MenLiving – A virtual and in-person community of guys connecting deeply and living fully. No requirements, no creeds, no gurus, no judgements
Todd Adams Life & Leadership Coaching for Guys

Other Ways to Support Us

Follow us on social media
Buy and leave a review for Cathy’s Book Zen Parenting: Caring for Ourselves and Our Children in an Unpredictable World

Animal House- Episode #879 Jul 21, 2026

Show notes

Cathy and Todd continue their summer blockbusters series with National Lampoon’s Animal House (1978), John Landis’s frat-house classic that launched the college-comedy genre. They discuss the cast, behind-the-scenes trivia, the film’s most WTF scenes, and their own experiences in the Greek system. They also list the top 15 fraternity party songs of the early ’90s, plus the top ten things Animal House gave us that are still discussed, used, or homaged today.

Subscribe to Cathy’s weekly Zen Moment and upgrade to hear a weekly Zen Moment podcast hosted by Cathy and Todd!

Some Ways to Support Us

1. Sign up for Cathy’s Substack
2. Order Restoring our Girls

Links shared in this episode:

For the full show notes, visit zenpopparenting.com.

This week’s sponsor(s):

Avid Co DuPage County Area Decorating, Painting, Remodeling by Avid Co includes kitchens, basements, bathrooms, flooring, tiling, fire and flood restoration.
MenLiving – A virtual and in-person community of guys connecting deeply and living fully. No requirements, no creeds, no gurus, no judgements
Todd Adams Life & Leadership Coaching for Guys

Other Ways to Support Us

Follow us on social media
Buy and leave a review for Cathy’s Book Zen Parenting: Caring for Ourselves and Our Children in an Unpredictable World

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