Pop Culture Confidential

At the height of the pandemic lock-down, while waiting to finish season 3, the great Brian Cox sat down with Christina to talk about his incredible portrayal of Logan Roy on HBO’s Succession, who he jokingly calls his “evil twin”. Now just days away from the premiere of S3 we are re-airing this candid conversation! We go deep into the making of the show, his thoughts on Logans motivations, emotional scenes with Jeremy Strong and much more. Plus Mr Cox childhood, background and prolific career in roles such as Hannibal Lecktor in Manhunter and Robert McKee in Adaptation. Succession season 3 start on Sunday Oct 17th HBO MAX Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week we talk about the biggest television show in the world, Squid Game! Honored to have Professor Areum Jeong with us to talk about the cultural, political & artistic impact of the Netflix megahit Dr. Jeong, assistant professor at Sichuan University-Pittsburgh Institute in China, researches and teaches Korean film, theatre and performance including South Korea’s modern culture & K-pop. She earned a PhD in theater and performance studies from UCLA and has taught at UCLA, UC Santa Barbara, and USC. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We are honored to talk to Rick Stanton MBE, one of the lead divers & key players in the 2018 dramatic rescue of the 12 boys and their soccer coach from an underwater cave in Thailand. An incident that, for weeks, was followed by the world. Mr. Stanton talks to Christina about his hobby, his passion for cave diving, the Thai rescue, how the boys got through it, his new book 'Aquanaut' and how he’s worked with the actor Viggo Mortensen (who’s playing Stanton in Ron Howards upcoming motion picture ‘Thirteen Lives’.) Don’t miss the incredible documentary The Rescue (coming in October) directed by Academy Award winning producers & directors (Free Solo) E. Chai Vasarhelyi and Jimmy Chin. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The stars are out this festival & awards season and Erik Anderson of AwardsWatch.com is back with us! We talk Denzel, Will Smith, Kristen Stewart, Chastain. The state of the oscar race and festival hits & misses. Why musicals are struggling, the beautiful Gyllenhaals, we taste some Licorice Pizza and much more! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Ted Lasso! The Crown! Get your ballots ready for Emmys 2021! Critic and writer Thelma Adams joins Christina as they predict this exciting year ahead of the Emmys telecast on Sunday the 19th. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Welcome to part two of our Venice Film Festival dispatch! Critic, writer & host of the ‘Writers on Film’ podcast John Bleasdale joins Christina, in Venice, to talk about the the 2021 festival and review & discuss the films they have seen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In part 1 of our Venice Film Festival special writer & critic John Bleasdale (The Guardian, Sight & Sound) talks to Christina about some of the movies, directors and performances they are most looking forward to at the festival: Almodovar, Sorrentino, Campion, Ridley Scott! Pablo Larraín imagines the days leading up to Diana and Charles divorce. The premiere of the much anticipated Dune. A LOT is discussed on this episode ahead of the fest next week. And in part 2 Christina & John will meet up at Venice Film Festival for further discussions! Don’t miss John Bleasdale’s new podcast Writers on Film! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Director Jonas Poher Rasmussen joins us to talk about his remarkable animated documentary 'Flee"‘. The Sundance Grand Jury Prize winner ‘FLEE ‘tells the story of Amin, who through a series of interviews with Rasmussen, tells his dramatic journey as a child refugee from Afghanistan to Denmark in the 1980s & grappling with his traumatic past. Riz Ahmed and Nikolaj Coster-Waldau are set to star, as lead voice actors, in the upcoming English version. Flee (Flykt) premieres in Sweden on August 20th, Tristar. And rolls out in other territories through the fall & winter 2021. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Culture writer Constance Grady (vox.com) joins us to talk about Britney Spears court case which she has followed closely, the #freebritney movement, how it has started major discussions on reforming conservatorships, the cultural implications and what will be happening going forward. Grady recently written a series of articles “The Purity Chronicles” where she examines the bubblegum misogyny of pop culture and looks back at the sexual and gendered mores of the late ’90s and 2000s. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Erik Anderson, editor-in-chief of AwardsWatch, is BACK! We have a great conversation about the Venice Film Festival line-up, the Cannes winners, early Emmy predictions and those incredible House of Gucci posters. Listen now! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week we revisit our interview (from March) with “Allen v. Farrow” director Amy Ziering. Congratulations on getting 7 EMMY nominations including Outstanding Documentary or Nonfiction Series and Outstanding Directing for a Documentary/Nonfiction Program. Award winning filmmaker Amy Ziering joins us to talk about the much discussed 4 part HBO documentary series ‘Allen v. Farrow’. In ‘Allen v Farrow’ Ziering and co-director Kirby Dick examine the 1992 the sexual assault allegations made against director Woody Allen by his then 7 year old daughter Dylan Farrow,  how it was dealt with in the criminal justice system, the media narrative and more. ‘Allen v. Farrow” is streaming on HBO and HBOmax. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

CONGRATS to Nicholas Britell on his Emmy nomination! (score: The Underground Railroad) This week we revisit my interview from a few months ago with award-winning composer Nicholas Britell (Moonlight, If Beale Street Could Talk, The Big Short, Succession). We talk about Mr. Britell's powerful collaborations with director Barry Jenkins & their most ambitious work together yet, the series adaptation of Colson Whiteheads' Pulitzer prize winning novel The Underground Railroad (Amazon Prime ) As well as about his work on Succession, the Kendall Roy rap and so much more. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week we listen back to our interview from last year with legend DANNY TREJO! And don’t miss Mr Trejos new memoir ‘Trejo’ released this week. Mr Trejo talks to us about his story, from a life of crime to hard prison time at San Quentin and Folsom prisons. How he turned his life around and how a promise to always help others led him to his massive Hollywood career with over 350 credits to his name! His films include ‘Heat’, ‘Machete’, ‘Desperado’, ‘Breaking Bad’ and ‘Spy Kids’. The documentary “Inmate #1, The Rise of Danny Trejo’ is streaming now. His new cookbook is “Trejos Tacos: Recipes and Stories from LA" Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Summer revisit! Our interview with director, actor, comedian Bo Burnham! Burnham stars in one of the best and most discussed films of the season, the critically acclaimed 'Promising Young Woman', written and directed by the Oscar nominated Emerald Fennell. Burnham joins us to talk about his multi-layered role as Ryan, about the interesting and difficult conversations audiences are having about the film, his massive You Tube comedy career, “cancel culture” and much more. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

With a new season of ‘Succession” fast approaching, this week we revisit our exclusive hour with actor Brian Cox! Mr Cox joined us to talk about his incredible portrayal of Logan Roy on HBO’s Succession, who he jokingly calls his “evil twin”. We go deep into the making of the show, his thoughts on Logans motivations, emotional scenes with Jeremy Strong and much more. Plus Mr Cox childhood, background and prolific career in roles such as Hannibal Lecktor in Manhunter and Robert McKee in Adaptation. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week we revisit our interview with award winning host, author and executive producer Padma Lakshmi! We talk about her excellent documentary series Taste the Nation (Now shooting season 2!). Here she takes us on a journey across the US exploring the diverse food culture of various immigrant groups the shape America. Padma Lakshmi also talks to us about her own story, her mother who left India for NYC and how this has shaped her, living an honest life, Top Chef and so much more. Join us! Taste the Nation is on Hulu Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Director Enrico Casarosa and Producer Andrea Warren join us to talk about their new, magical film ‘Luca’. Enrico Casarosa talks about directing a movie that takes place where he himself grew up, on the beautiful Italian riviera in Liguria. We talk about the themes of friendship, feeling like an outsider and coming of age in ‘Luca’, how difficult it is to animate pasta, the Pixar Cultural Trust and how they got those Italian hand gesture right. And much more! Luca premieres on Disney + on June 18th Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Yes we can-can-can! Erik Anderson, editor-in chief at AwardsWatch joins us to discuss this years Cannes Film Festival line-up, the surprises (F9?), sexy nuns, snubs, the Netflix stand-off, are both Marilyn (‘Blonde’) and Diane (’Spencer’) going to Venice? And so much more! Listen now! twitter @awards_watch Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Let’s celebrate! The groundbreaking documentary “Madonna: Truth or Dare” turns 30 this year, can you believe it? Join us for an exclusive conversation with Donna De Lory, singer, songwriter and legendary background singer/dancer. De Lory toured with Madonna on every concert from the Who’s That Girl Tour in 1987 up to the Confessions Tour in 2006. And worked with Madonna on albums such as Like a Prayer, Erotica, Ray of Light, Bedtime Stories and Evita. We talk about De Lory’s incredible career, her family steeped in music history, her journey with Madonna, the incredible impact of “Truth or Dare” and so much more Donna De Lory’s new EP is “We Shine” featuring the single “Just a Dream” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Sopranos fans rejoice! The ‘Sopranos Sessions’ is a triple feature exploring the award winning series through critics, cast and creator David Chase. We talk to actor Vincent Curatola about his iconic performance as New York underboss Johnny ‘Sack’, his audition, working with Gandolfini & Chase, dying on the Sopranos, the new prequel ‘The Many Saints of Newark’, why the series endures and much more. Visit https://celebratethesopranos.com for more information on the film ‘Sopranos Sessions’ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices