Ticklish Business

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213. Nosferatu (1922 with Charles Bramesco) Oct 08, 2025

Show notes

We're kicking off spooky season with the OG vampire movie: 1922's Nosferatu. Author of Vampire Movies, Charles Bramesco, joins Kristen and Emily to break down the movie's unfortunate flaws, the benefits of stealing its source material, what the hell happened to F.W. Murnau's skull?

You can buy Charles's book Colors of Film: The Story of Cinema in 50 Palettes here.

Have you signed up for our Patreon yet? You don't just get episodes 48 hours early but access to our three bonus series, video interviews, and access to chat classic movies with us via Discord! Sign up now via Patreon!

Be sure to follow us via social media at @ticklish_biz on X and @ticklishbiz everywhere else. Also like and subscribe to us on all podcast apps and, if you love us, leave us a review.

Find Kristen and Emily's books wherever you buy books. Kristen's latest, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Popcorn Disabilities⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, is available to pre-order now before it releases on November 13th!

• Love T shirts, pins, and other merch? ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠The merch shop is live⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠!

• ICMYI, the best way to support Ticklish Biz is to ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠become a Patron⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠:

• ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Follow Emily's Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

• ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Follow Kristen's Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

This episode was created thanks to our Patrons:

Ali Moore

Danny

David Floyd

Gates

mcf

Rachel Clark

Shawn Goodreau

A Button Called Smalls

Chris McKay

Jacob Haller

Peter Blitstein

Peter Bryant

Reyna Moya-James

Bridget M. Hester

Cat Cooper

Daniel Tafoya

David Baxter

Diana Madden

Harry Holland

Jamie Carter

Karen Yoder

Lucy Soles

Nick Weerts

Patrick Seals

Richard Silver

Rosa

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

212: Amadeus (1984 with Richard Kirkham) Sep 22, 2025

Show notes

Our unintentional Musical Month in September ends by going classical, to the original OG of music: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart! Special guest Richard Kirkham joins Kristen and Emily to talk about this Milos Forman classic, the way this became an '80s classic, and who the hell is Tom Hulce?

Be sure to follow us via social media at @ticklish_biz on X and @ticklishbiz everywhere else. Also like and subscribe to us on all podcast apps and, if you love us, leave us a review.

Find Kristen and Emily's books wherever you buy books. Kristen's latest, ⁠⁠Popcorn Disabilities⁠⁠, is available to pre-order now before it releases on November 13th!

• Love T shirts, pins, and other merch? ⁠⁠The merch shop is live ⁠⁠!

• ICMYI, the best way to support Ticklish Biz is to ⁠⁠become a Patron ⁠⁠:

• ⁠⁠Follow Emily's Instagram ⁠⁠

• ⁠⁠Follow Kristen's Instagram ⁠⁠

This episode was created thanks to our Patrons:

Ali Moore

Danny

David Floyd

Gates

mcf

Rachel Clark

Shawn Goodreau

A Button Called Smalls

Chris McKay

Jacob Haller

Peter Blitstein

Peter Bryant

Reyna Moya-James

Bridget M. Hester

Cat Cooper

Daniel Tafoya

David Baxter

Diana Madden

Harry Holland

Jamie Carter

Karen Yoder

Lucy Soles

Nick Weerts

Patrick Seals

Richard Silver

Rosa

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

#211: This is Spinal Tap (1984 with Alan Cerny) Sep 10, 2025

Show notes

It's Kristen's birthday month and she decided to celebrate with the biggest (fake) rock band of all time. Kristen, Emily, and guest Alan Cerny sit down to talk This is Spinal Tap, the way it plays with the documentary format, and try hard not to spend the whole time quoting it.

Next Time: We unintentionally spend September in the year 1984 so we're looking at (another) musical feature, the Milos Forman classic biopic Amadeus.

Be sure to follow us via social media at @ticklish_biz on X and @ticklishbiz everywhere else. Also like and subscribe to us on all podcast apps and, if you love us, leave us a review.

Find Kristen and Emily's books wherever you buy books. Kristen's latest, ⁠Popcorn Disabilities⁠, is available to pre-order now before it releases on November 13th!

• Love T shirts, pins, and other merch? ⁠The merch shop is live⁠!

• ICMYI, the best way to support Ticklish Biz is to ⁠become a Patron⁠:

• ⁠Follow Emily's Instagram⁠

• ⁠Follow Kristen's Instagram⁠

This episode was created thanks to our Patrons:

Ali Moore

Danny

David Floyd

Gates

mcf

Rachel Clark

Shawn Goodreau

A Button Called Smalls

Chris McKay

Jacob Haller

Peter Blitstein

Peter Bryant

Reyna Moya-James

Bridget M. Hester

Cat Cooper

Daniel Tafoya

David Baxter

Diana Madden

Harry Holland

Jamie Carter

Karen Yoder

Lucy Soles

Nick Weerts

Patrick Seals

Richard Silver

Rosa

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

#210: Saturday Night Fever (1977 with Margo Donohue) Aug 27, 2025

Show notes

**This episode was recorded prior to Margo's unfortunate passing towards the end of July. Our thoughts are with her family and loved ones.**

We're hitting the dance floor with Margo Donohue, the author of Fever: The Complete History of Saturday Night Fever.

Margo joins Kristen and Emily to discuss John Travolta's rise to fame, New York in the 1970s, and whether contemporary audiences can find any redeeming qualities in these characters. We also talk about how much we love Donna Pescow. A lot!

Buy Margo's book, Fever, by clicking this link.

Be sure to follow us via social media at @ticklish_biz on X and @ticklishbiz everywhere else. Also like and subscribe to us on all podcast apps and, if you love us, leave us a review.

Find Kristen and Emily's books wherever you buy books. Kristen's latest, Popcorn Disabilities, is available to pre-order now before it releases on November 13th!

• Love T shirts, pins, and other merch? The merch shop is live!

• ICMYI, the best way to support Ticklish Biz is to become a Patron:

• Follow Emily's Instagram

• Follow Kristen's Instagram

This episode was created thanks to our Patrons:

Ali Moore

Danny

David Floyd

Gates

mcf

Rachel Clark

Shawn Goodreau

A Button Called Smalls

Chris McKay

Jacob Haller

Peter Blitstein

Peter Bryant

Reyna Moya-James

Bridget M. Hester

Cat Cooper

Dana Raines

Daniel Tafoya

David Baxter

Diana Madden

Harry Holland

Jamie Carter

Karen Yoder

Lucy Soles

Nick Weerts

Patrick Seals

Richard Silver

Rosa

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

#209: Giant (1956, with Julie Gilbert) Aug 13, 2025

Show notes

Edna Ferber biographer Julie Gilbert joins us to discuss the 1956 Western epic Giant. The trio talk about James Dean, Liz Taylor's feminism, and how the movie isn't afraid to deconstruct the genre it's set in.

Buy Julie's book Giant Love by clicking this link.

Be sure to follow us via social media at @ticklish_biz on X and @ticklishbiz everywhere else. Also like and subscribe to us on all podcast apps and, if you love us, leave us a review.

Find Kristen and Emily's books wherever you buy books. Kristen's latest, Popcorn Disabilities, is available to pre-order now before it releases on November 13th!

• Love T shirts, pins, and other merch? The merch shop is live!

• ICMYI, the best way to support Ticklish Biz is to become a Patron:

• Follow Emily's Instagram

• Follow Kristen's Instagram

This episode was created thanks to our Patrons:

Ali Moore

Danny

David Floyd

Gates

mcf

Rachel Clark

Shawn Goodreau

A Button Called Smalls

Chris McKay

Jacob Haller

Peter Blitstein

Peter Bryant

Reyna Moya-James

Bridget M. Hester

Cat Cooper

Dana Raines

Daniel Tafoya

David Baxter

Diana Madden

Harry Holland

Jamie Carter

Karen Yoder

Lucy Soles

Nick Weerts

Patrick Seals

Richard Silver

Rosa

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

#208: Dangerous When Wet (1953) Jul 30, 2025

Show notes

Summer comes to a close and we're saying farewell to the beach with Esther Williams and the 1953 movie Dangerous When Wet. It's been a minute since we've disagreed on a movie and we look at Williams as a swimming star, her relationship with Fernando Lamas, and Kristen does dramatic readings from Williams's autobiography.

This episode was created thanks to our Patrons:

Ali Moore

Danny

David Floyd

Gates

mcf

Rachel Clark

Shawn Goodreau

A Button Called Smalls

Chris McKay

Jacob Haller

Peter Blitstein

Peter Bryant

Reyna Moya-James

Bridget M. Hester

Cat Cooper

Dana Raines

Daniel Tafoya

David Baxter

Diana Madden

Harry Holland

Jamie Carter

Karen Yoder

Lucy Soles

Nick Weerts

Patrick Seals

Richard Silver

Rosa

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

#207: Beach Blanket Bingo (1965 with John Malahy) Jul 16, 2025

Show notes

John Malahy, author of the literal book on Summer Movies, joins us on the beach with Frankie Avalon and Annette Funicello for a discussion on 1965's Beach Blanket Bingo. John, Emily and Kristen talk about what makes a summer movie, the power of Frankie and Annette, and why Harvey Lembeck is the world's oldest teenager.

Buy John's book wherever you get books.

Find Kristen and Emily's books wherever you buy books. Kristen's latest, Popcorn Disabilities, is available to pre-order now before it releases on November 13th!

• Love T shirts, pins, and other merch? The merch shop is live!

• ICMYI, the best way to support Ticklish Biz is to become a Patron.

• Follow Emily's Instagram

• Follow Kristen's Instagram

This episode was created thanks to our Patrons:

Ali Moore

Danny

David Floyd

Gates

McF

Rachel Clark

Shawn Goodreau

A Button Called Smalls

Chris McKay

Jacob Haller

Peter Blitstein

Peter Bryant

Reyna-Moya James

Bridget M. Hester

Cat Cooper

Daniel Tafoya

David Baxter

Diana Madden

Harry Holland

Jamie Carter

Karen Yoder

Lucy Soles

Nick Weerts

Richard Silver

Rosa

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

#206: Jaws (1975 with Christopher Shaw Myers) Jul 02, 2025

Show notes

You're gonna need a bigger boat to listen to this episode! We're hitting the water and trying to avoid becoming a hot lunch with a look at the 50th anniversary of Jaws. Christopher Shaw Myers, author and nephew to star Robert Shaw, joins us to break down the movie's significance, Shaw's performance, and why Peter Benchley's book sucks.

Buy Christopher's book Robert Shaw: An Actor's Life on the Set of Jaws and Beyond by clicking the link.

This episode was created thanks to our Patrons:

Ali Moore

Danny

David Floyd

Gates

McF

Rachel Clark

Shawn Goodreau

A Button Called Smalls

Chris McKay

Jacob Haller

Peter Blitstein

Peter Bryant

Peter Dawson

Reyna-Moya James

Bridget M. Hester

Cat Cooper

Daniel Tafoya

David Baxter

Diana Madden

Harry Holland

Jamie Carter

Karen Yoder

Lucy Soles

Nick Weerts

Richard Silver

Rosa

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

#205: High and Low (1963 with Scott McGee) Jun 18, 2025

Show notes

International Month comes to a close with a look at Akira Kurosawa's contemporary noir feature High and Low! And who better to join us than TCM producer and author Scott McGee. Scott joins Kristen and Emily to talk about this morality tale, its connections to today's society, and what the "right type" of wealthy man can look like.

Buy Scott's book Danger on the Silver Screen here.

This episode was created thanks to our Patrons:

Ali Moore

Danny

David Floyd

Gates

McF

Rachel Clark

Shawn Goodreau

A Button Called Smalls

Chris McKay

Jacob Haller

Peter Blitstein

Peter Bryant

Peter Dawson

Reyna-Moya James

Bridget M. Hester

Cat Cooper

Daniel Tafoya

David Baxter

Diana Madden

Harry Holland

Jamie Carter

Karen Yoder

Lucy Soles

Nick Weerts

Richard Silver

Rosa

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

#204: International Month — Seven Samurai (1954 with Alicia Malone) Jun 04, 2025

Show notes

We're going on vacation through the world of classic film! Yes, International Month is back. But unless the previous two years, where we did two movies from different countries, we're spending June in one country with a single director: Akira Kurosawa.

TCM host and author of the new book TCM Imports: Timeless Favorites and Hidden Gems of World Cinema, Alicia Malone, joins us to kick things off with a look at one of several Kurosawa movies dubbed the best movie of all time. It's 1954's Seven Samurai. Kristen, Emily and Alicia explore the samurai genre, discuss this movie's influence on our conception of the American West, and thirst over Toshiro Mifune.

Buy Alicia's book here.

This episode was created thanks to our Patrons:

Ali Moore

Danny

David Floyd

Gates

McF

Rachel Clark

Shawn Goodreau

A Button Called Smalls

Chris McKay

Jacob Haller