Pop Rocket

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Ep. 215 - Dame Angela Lansbury with April Wolfe and S.A. Smythe Mar 09, 2019

Show notes

When she was 17, Dame Angela Lansbury quit her job at a department store to take a part in a movie, as 17-year-olds are wont to do. She played a young maid to Ingrid Bergman’s character in Gaslight, a film that garnered seven Oscar nominations and two wins, including one for Best Actress for Bergman. It’s the typical tale of a young actress trying to make it big and having to struggle, role after role after role after role, to hold her own on screen with the most celebrated actors in the world, on Oscar-winning film after Oscar-winning film.

She’s now 93 years old and has been in the business for nearly eight decades, dominating the big screen, the small screen and the stage.

For this episode of Pop Rocket, we felt it important to give Dame Lansbury’s career a discussion worthy of the legend that she is, and we couldn’t do it by ourselves. We needed to bring in the biggest Fangelas we could find outside of her immediate family: April Wolfe and S.A. Smythe, two individuals that get positively giddy noting which Murder She Wrote episodes comment on on colonialism and the prison industrial complex.

You guys, this is such a great episode, and that’s not even including everyone’s All Abouts!

Ep. 214 - We Marie-Kondo the Oscars w/ Matt Rogers Mar 02, 2019

Show notes

Matt Rogers joins us to help tidy up the Oscars. The 91-year-old institution has gotten a bit cluttered, so the Pop Rocket panel applies the KonMari Method to the Academy Awards. We’ll keep everything that sparks joy, and the rest will be dropped off at an Out of the Closet in a Hefty bag. Will the short film and animated short categories survive? What about song and dance numbers? Find out.

Let us know if you agree with the panel, or take issue by sharing your thoughts in the comments section below.

All Abouts

Guy remembers his friend and beloved comedian Brody Stevens, who died by suicide last week.

Wynter is all about Kind Hearts & Coronets.

Margaret wants everyone to take a moment to appreciate actress and wordsmith Dame Emma Thompson for her recent letter to Skydance detailing why she will not work with John Lasseter.

Karen Tongson is NOT about the speculation that Bradley Cooper and Lady Gaga are boffing. And for everyone going gaga over their duet, she reminds us of another live performance with off the charts chemistry, Barbra Streisand and Neil Diamond at the 1980 Grammys singing You Don't Bring Me Flowers

Matt Rogers, the self-described “roller coaster bitch” is all about Hagrid Magical Creatures Motorbike Adventure ride that’s coming to Disneyworld.

Ep. 213 - Horror Noire with Tananarive Due Feb 23, 2019

Show notes

We’ve got a SCREAMINGLY great episode this week as the wonderful Tananarive Due joins us in studio for a deep cinematic dive into the world of black horror. Tananarive Due is the UCLA lecturer whose class on Get Out--The Sunken Place--was crashed by non-student Jordan Peele . She is also the executive producer of Shudder’s very first original documentary Horror Noire: A History of Black Horror.

The panel cover A LOT of ground. For horror buffs and cinephiles alike, this episode is a MUST-LISTEN.

All Abouts Margaret Wappler - The Bodyguard on Netflix

Karen Tongson -https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RLkEpO3k514 on Hulu

Wynter Mitchell-Rohrbaugh - Lorena on Amazon Prime

14:00 Tananarive Due - The Passage on Fox

Jams Karen - Lion - You've Got a Woman

Tananarive - Rob Base & DJ EZ Rock - It Takes Two

Wynter - James Brown - Living In America

Margaret - Orion Sun - Stretch

With

Wynter Mitchell-Rohrbaugh

Karen Tongson

Margaret Wappler Tananarive Due

Did you know that you can now call and leave voicemails for the show? You can! If you want to comment on an episode, give us any feedback or just call to get advice from a panel member, the number is: (530) 237-4108.

You can let us know what you think of Pop Rocket and suggest topics in our Facebook group or via @PopRocket on Twitter.

If you haven't already, follow us on Instagram.

Produced by Laura Swisher for MaximumFun.org.

Ep: 212 - The Fifth Annual Pop Tart Awards! Feb 16, 2019

Show notes

Are you ready for the 64th most electrifying show in Hollywood? Well get ready because it’s here, in your podcatcher: The Fifth Annual Pop Tart Awards! The panel comes together to recognize the best of the best in TV, film and everything else entertaining. What will take home the Warm Blanket Award for fuzzy comfort entertainment? Who delivered the best performance of the year? Could the panelists find consensus on the best album of the year? Barely. Plus, a bona fide celebrity makes a cameo that...Will. Blow. Your. Mind. And if not, it will at least make you smile. Lastly, we encourage any and all winners of a Pop Tart to call in with your acceptance speech. Note, however, that if your speech runs long, we'll have to play you off with music. If you received an award, call us at: 530-237-4108.

Ep: 211 - Mega Movie Catch-up Edition Feb 09, 2019

Show notes

On this week’s show, the panel play catch up. Each panelist was assigned to watch one film from this past year they missed when it was still in theaters. At the behest of Guy, Margaret watched Can You Ever Forgive Me. Karen Tongson was assigned Roma, but decided she wanted to check out Support the Girls, so Wynter was tapped for Roma instead. Lastly, both Wynter and Karen wanted to talk to Guy about A Simple Favor.

Each panelist reported back. Who thought Roma was too slow? Did Margaret show enough love for her pick? And what did Karen appreciate most about the breastaurant drama?

**Spoiler Alert** If you haven't seen Roma, you may want to skip that part of the discussion.

All Abouts

Margaret - Velvet Buzzsaw

Wynter Mitchell-Rohrbaugh - Russian Doll

Guy Branum - Season 5 of Schitt’s Creek

Karen Tongson - Showtime’s Black Monday

That's My Jam

Karen Tongson - Sylvan Esso - PARAD(w/me)E

Margaret Wappler - Maggie Rogers - Alaska

Guy Branum - Liam Payne - Strip That Down

Wynter Mitchell-Rohrbaugh - Sampha - Treasure

Pop Rocket Ep 210 - The State of Adam McKay & Terry Crews Gets a Vote for PRSOA Feb 02, 2019

Show notes

Will Terry Crews receive the second-ever Pop Rocket Seal of Approval? Why wasn't Margaret on this week's show? Is Adam McKay a craftsman or an artist? These questions and more will be answered on this week's Pop Rocket!

Plus, in the wake of the PRSOA "Bloom backlash", the voting process has been amended. Tune in to find out how, and when there will be another nomination period.

That's My Jam

Wynter: Summer Walker - Girls Need Love

Karen: James Ingram - Just Once

Guy: RuPaul (feat. Myah Marie) - Adrenaline

With Guy Branum, Karen Tongson, and Wynter Mitchell-Rohrbaugh

You can let us know what you think of Pop Rocket and suggest topics in our Facebook group or via @PopRocket on Twitter.

If you haven't already, follow us on Instagram.

Produced by Laura Swisher for MaximumFun.org. Edited by Shana Daloria.

Pop Rocket Ep 209 - SchadenFYRE - The Most Epic Fyre Fest Discussion Ever Jan 26, 2019

Show notes

This week's show is a double dose of schadenfreude!

The gang compares the dueling documentaries Hulu's "Fyre Fraud" and Netflix's "Fyre," which tell different versions of the tropical shit show that landed its mastermind Billy McFarland behind bars.

All Abouts

Wynter is all about Crashing and True Detective.

Margaret is all about the memoir Love and Trouble: A Midlife Reckoning by Claire Dederer, who you may recognize from her article in the Paris Review What Do We Do with the Art of Monstrous Men.

Karen is all about CATWALK: Tales from the Cat Show Circuit on Netflix, and the rivalry between a “well-muscled” Turkish Angora named Bobby, and a voluminous Red Persian named Oh La La .

Guy is all about Sex Education on Netflix.

That's My Jam

Wynter: Phil Collins - I'm Not Moving (Idjut Boys remix)

Karen: Queen - Play the Game

Margaret: ROSALÍA - MALAMENTE

Guy: Mark Ronson (feat. Miley Cyrus - Nothing Breaks Like a Heart

With Guy Branum, Karen Tongson, Margaret Wappler, Wynter Mitchell-Rohrbaugh

You can let us know what you think of Pop Rocket and suggest topics in our Facebook group or via @PopRocket on Twitter.

If you haven't already, follow us on Instagram.

Produced by Laura Swisher for MaximumFun.org. Edited by Shana Daloria.

Pop Rocket Ep - 208 Tidying Up with Marie Kondo Jan 19, 2019

Show notes

Once again we’re firing on all cylinders this week! It’s an ultra-packed show covering everything from The Masked Singer, Surviving R. Kelly, MATANGI / MAYA / M.I.A. and the need to move beyond moralistic posturing in critiquing comedy.

The panel get into a lively discussion of Marie Kondo’s Tidying Up on Netflix show. One panelist loves it, one panelist thinks it’s “sinister”, and a panelist named Guy is so obsessed with one of the families featured on the show he couldn’t stop talking about them.

All Abouts Margaret shares her thoughts on the heartbreaking and disturbing six-part series Surviving R. Kelly

Guy is all about the 1998 film The Opposite of Sex, and explains how Terry Gross’ recent conversation with Kevin Hart made him appreciate it more.

Wynter is all about the M.I.A. documentary.

And Karen loves the new reality singing competition show The Masked Singer.

Pop Rocket Ep. 207 Highlights & Lowlights of The Golden Globes & Netflix’s Bandersnatch Jan 12, 2019

Show notes

The ENTIRE PANEL is back together for a jam-packed episode! They talk Golden Globes, Bandersnatch and react to some of the commercial jingles you beautiful listeners sang to us on the Pop Rocket voicemail line.

All Abouts

Wynter, fresh off a romantic holiday trip to Paris, is all about the Louis Vuitton Foundation's Basquiat exhibition

Guy is all about Can You Ever Forgive Me

Margaret is all about Regina King's Golden Globes speech

Karen thinks everyone should check out the new Aussie show Instant Hotel on Netflix

That's My Jam

Margaret: Sleater Kinney - Oh!

Guy: Lizzo - Juice

Karen: Mitski - Nobody

Wynter: Listener Temple’s rendition of Attorney Hal Cook’s commercial jingle from Little Rock, Arkansas

With Guy Branum, Karen Tongson, Margaret Wappler, Wynter Mitchell-Rohrbaugh Did you know that you can now call and leave voicemails for the show? You can! If you want to comment on an episode, give us any feedback or just call to get advice from a panel member, the number is: (530) 237-4108

You can let us know what you think of Pop Rocket and suggest topics in our Facebook group or via @PopRocket on Twitter.

If you haven't already, follow us on Instagram.

Produced by Laura Swisher for MaximumFun.org. Edited by Shana Daloria.

Pop Rocket Ep. 206 Pop Culture Resolutions for 2019 Jan 04, 2019

Show notes

Guy Branum is back for our first episode of 2019! Sadly, Margaret couldn’t join us because #health and Wynter was busy being a jet setter.

This week, the panelists share their pop culture resolutions for 2019, and own up to resolution fails from the past year.

Writer and comedian Tara Jepsen joins us in studio and Guy is awed by the combined power of her and Karen’s “lesbian efficiency.”

If you're curious about what Guy has been up to these past couple months, he catches us up. Spoiler alert (though not really): He consumed a lot of theater. In particular, he saw Matthew Lopez’s seven-hour, two-night play The Inheritance, and had LOTS of opinions about it.

From “learn more commercial jingles” to “master a new recipe a month,” the panel reveals an ambitious list of resolutions they may or may not be able to stick with for an entire year.

All Abouts

Karen is all about Bird Box the new Netflix thriller starring Sandra Bullocks.

Tara is all about hating a bootleg recording of a recent standup set by disgraced comedian Louis C.K..

Guy is all about The Inheritance by Matthew Lopez, which is loosely based on Howard's End.

Call to Action Inspired by one panelist’s resolution to learn more commercial jingles, we are asking Rocketeers to call in and sing their favorite jingles on the Pop Rocket voicemail. We want to hear those jingles that will forever be lodged in your brain.

That's My Jam

Guy: Janet Jackson -Together Again

Tara: Hey Jellie - Going Back

Karen: Labi Siffre - Watch Me

With Guy Branum, Karen Tongson, and Tara Jepsen.

You can let us know what you think of Pop Rocket and suggest topics in our Facebook group or via @PopRocket on Twitter.

If you haven't already, follow us on Instagram.

Produced by Laura Swisher for MaximumFun.org. Edited by Shana Daloria.