Break out your popcorn buckets, because Scotty and Amelia are going back to the movies this week with a special Oscars episode. They start off with some strong opinions about two of this year's big Best Picture contenders: Martin Scorsese's "Killers of the Flower Moon" and Cord Jefferson's "American Fiction." They follow that up with some, er, maybe less strong opinions about Alexander Payne's "The Holdovers" and Celine Song's "Past Lives." They close out with a few thoughts on "Godzilla Minus One" and "Saltburn," two films that got some serious Oscar buzz but came up short on nominations.

SPOILER WARNING: There are moderate spoilers in this episode, particularly for "Killers of the Flower Moon" and "Saltburn."

This podcast is powered by Pinecast.

This week Scotty reviews a pair of documentaries about two seminal bands who coincidentally share the same morbid name, while Amelia relates the story of the inspiring life and work--and the infuriating death--of Cuban-American artist Ana Mendieta. They conclude with some more Oscar talk; Scotty finally shares his thoughts on "Barbie" and talks about "The Zone of Interest," while they both rave about "Society of the Snow."

CONTENT WARNING: Amelia's story discusses sexual assault, violence against women, murder, and suicide.

This podcast is powered by Pinecast.

Happy 2024, everyone! For our first show of the new year, we have a couple wildly different stories for you. Amelia tells the tale of how one guy stole an idea and turned it into one of the biggest fast-food chains in the world. Meanwhile, Scotty details the sad life and strange death of Edgar Allan Poe. Since we're coming into Awards Season, we also spend a few minutes at the beginning talking about the movies "Oppenheimer" and "The Iron Claw."

This podcast is powered by Pinecast.

Happy holiday season, everybody! We've got a couple wildly divergent stories for our final episode of 2023. Scotty talks about the strange--and disturbing--rise of Andrew Dice Clay, and how the comedian became trapped within the ugly confines of his own character. Amelia provides a refreshing glass of egg nog, however, with her discussion of the origins of some popular Christmas traditions. We also spend a few minutes at the end talking about our favorite Christmas songs.

CONTENT WARNING: Scotty's story deals with racism, misogyny, and homophobia, and features language the listeners may find objectionable.

This podcast is powered by Pinecast.

This week Scotty and Amelia welcome author/longtime friend Shannon C.F. Rogers onto the pod to discuss her new novel "I'd Rather Burn Than Bloom" (2023, Feiwel & Friends), named one of the "20 Best Books to Read in July" by Kirkus Reviews and one of "The Best New YA Books of July 2023" by Paste Magazine.

We also talk about fan fiction,"The Animorphs," grief, growing up in New Mexico, the teenage mind, "Breaking Bad," and more. And Shannon even brought the WEIRD with the story of a terrifying creature from Filipino folklore. This was a fun, wide-ranging conversation, and we hope you enjoy it!

You can find Shannon online at: https://www.shannoncfrogers.com https://www.instagram.com/shannon.cf.rogers/ https://twitter.com/shannoncfrogers

You can order your copy of "I'd Rather Burn Than Bloom" at: https://bookshop.org/p/books/i-d-rather-burn-than-bloom-shannon-c-f-rogers/18675104?ean=9781250845665

You can pre-order her next novel "Eighteen Roses" (July 2024) here: https://bookshop.org/p/books/eighteen-roses-shannon-c-f-rogers/20209385?ean=9781250845733

This podcast is powered by Pinecast.

We're closing out spooky season with a couple spooky-adjacent stories this week. Scotty talks about the bizarre and ultimately deadly story of the "Hammersmith Ghost," and Amelia takes us through the history of one of Disney's most popular rides: the Haunted Mansion.

This podcast is powered by Pinecast.

Spooky spooky! We're back with some more Halloween-month content for you. This week we dive into two movies, "When a Stranger Calls" (1979) and "I Know What You Did Last Summer" (1997). We talk about the urban legends that inspired them (the-call-is-coming-from-inside-the-house and the tale of the Hookman, respectively), along with their possible connections to true stories.

SPOILER WARNING: We don't hold anything back on either film, so might want to watch them before listening to this episode.

This podcast is powered by Pinecast.

We're leaning hard into spooky season this week. Amelia talks about the grisly origins of the infamous "The Girl with the Green Ribbon" story, while Scotty takes us through the making and ignominious release of the "cursed" horror movie "Incubus," the first film ever made in the constructed Esperanto language.

CONTENT WARNING: Our stories this week touch on murder, execution, and suicide.

This podcast is powered by Pinecast.

To really kick off the start of spooky season, we're easing in and going only lightly creepy this week with the histories of two murdery/eerie board games. Scotty kicks things off with the creation of the Ouija Board, and Amelia takes us back into the billiard room with a candlestick and the origin story of the game "Clue." We also spend a few moments at the beginning talking about the documentary series "Shiny Happy People," and we have a ton of fun at the end dream-casting our perfect "Clue" movie remake.

CONTENT WARNING: The "Shiny Happy People" discussion touches on misogyny and child abuse.

This podcast is powered by Pinecast.

In an interesting role reversal, Amelia is the one who goes super dark this week with her story about the enduring mystery of the "Atlanta Blood House." Meanwhile, Scotty takes us back to Seattle with the infamous "Lexicon of Grunge" hoax.

This podcast is powered by Pinecast.