Pop Culture Confidential

Emmy award winning actress, active spokesperson for fair funding of public schools, breast-cancer survivor and ambassador Susan G. Komen For The Cure – Cynthia Nixon is just as powerful as the amazing kaleidoscope of characters she has portrayed. For most of us, she is best known for playing the glamorous lawyer Miranda on the iconic series Sex and the City, a role that still resonates with viewers today. Her most recent role is a spot-on portrayal of Nancy Reagan in the National Geographic movie Killing Reagan. Based on the best selling book of the same name, the movie also stars West Wing alum Tim Matheson as Ronald Reagan. The story centers on the assassination attempt on President Reagan in 1981 by John Hinckley, Jr. – an event that rocked the world and forever changed the security protocols for any US President. We are honored to speak with Nixon about Nancy Reagan’s legacy, how she is similar to her character Miranda, how surviving breast cancer has changed her, and much more. Learn more about your ad

Politics, power, and comedy. We speak with David Litt, former senior presidential speechwriter for Barack Obama and head writer/producer at “Funny or Die” DC, and author Rudolph Herzog who’s book “Dead Funny” documents humor in Hitler’s Third Reich. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Critic and author Matt Zoller Seitz spent 100 hours interviewing Oliver Stone for his new book “The Oliver Stone Experience” and he joins us this week to tell all. Then we speak to director David Farrier about his documentary that shocked at Sundance. “Tickled” dives into a mysterious tickling competition online and Farrier shares the deep resistance he faced when trying to document a story stranger than fiction. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Fall movie lineup is upon us and we speak to Michael Phillips, Chicago Tribune’s film critic, to get his recommendations and early Oscar contenders. We also speak with Javier Peña, the real DEA agent that helped bring down the murderous drug lord Pablo Escobar. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Fall TV season is here! NPR TV Citric Eric Deggans guides us through the new shows, trends, hits and misses, to give us his recommendations. The season offers a mixed bag of genres with a lot of 70’s and 80’s nostalgia, which includes a MacGyver reboot on CBS and the series The Exorcist, starring Geena Davis, based on the iconic film. We also discuss the much-awaited Netflix superhero Luke Cage, which of the political satire shows will stand out in their election coverage, and is it possible to have carpool karaoke without James Corden? Deggans weighs in on The Get Down, This is Us, Bull, The Good Place and much, much more! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The big talk of the Summer TV season (and one of our favorite shows) is the Netflix original drama Stranger Things, a show that transports us back to 1983. On this weeks show speak to breakout star Shannon Purser who plays fan favorite Barb on the show, and veteran prop master Lynda Reiss who has been able to capture the 1980’s to a tee. Created by the Duffer Brothers, Stranger Things is an eight part series starring Winona Ryder and Mathew Modine, but the story centers on a group of 12 year-olds and a supporting group of teenagers all played by an absolutely superb bunch of new actors. Shannon Purser plays Barbara Holland or Barb, the best friend of popular girl Nancy Wheeler, and she fantastically embodies the outspoken and intelligent character that we all identify with. Her performance has created what’s being called Barb-mania, with fans creating memes, fan art – even painting murals of her. Set in a small Indiana town, the show follows the disappearance of a young boy, uncovers a dark conspiracy and

Welcome to our Summer Pop Culture Confidential special! We are thrilled to talk to Paul Feig, the director of the 2016 Ghostbusters reboot and someone we have been wanting to talk to for a long time. With this years huge Summer release Paul Feig has taken on one of the most beloved comedy franchises: Ivan Reitman’s 1984 blockbuster Ghostbusters starring Bill Murray, Dan Akroyd, Harold Ramis and a host of other comedy and acting greats. It is also his biggest project to date, massive in every way - from production to the audience expectations. Feig and co-screenwriter Katie Dippold have not written a continuation of the original Ghostbusters storyline but created new characters with their own origin story. The cast includes some of the best comic actors working today - Melissa McCarthy and SNL alumni Kristen Wiig, Leslie Jones and Kate McKinnon. We speak to Feig about the unexpected reaction to the all female cast of the Ghostbusters reboot, his continuing work for greater female representation in both TV a

On this weeks episode we dive into some of the most talked about, and difficult, topics in pop culture today. Melissa Silverstein, founder and editor of Women and Hollywood, discusses the much too slow progress for women in Hollywood and the backlash towards the upcoming female driven Ghostbusters reboot. And we speak to critic Matt Zoller Settz on how he approaches Woody Allen’s films today, post allegations. We have seen some serious ticket sales for female driven blockbusters such as Twilight and The Hunger Games. So the backlash towards women busting ghosts has been surprising, and the hatred expressed on social media shocking. We ask Silverstein – has the landscape in Hollywood actually changed for women? As of late, there have been some touchy topics, hard conversations and sadness in the pop culture community. It has become difficult as an audience member, as a fan, to come to terms with a filmmaker, artist or public figure accused of a horrific act. From Woody Allen to Johnny Depp, there are many e

No one is covering the issues, and in particular the 2016 US Presidential election, quite like Full Frontal with Samantha Bee. The shows Executive Producer, and a former Producer for The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, Miles Kahn joins us this week to share what makes the show so successful and entertaining. Last year Jon Stewart left late night TV just before what may be the most absurd election to date. Luckily we were given something magical to replace the void. Samantha Bee was a twelve-year veteran correspondent of The Daily Show with Jon Stewart who was tapped to become one of the few women to host on late night. The show airs on TBS and the segments are smart, brave and super funny! Miles Kahn was a Senior Producer at The Daily Show for nearly ten years and in our opinion he perfected the art of the field piece, which included reports and interviews done by correspondents out of the studio. These pieces became the core of The Daily Show and now Full Frontal. He has produced legendary pieces for John Ol

Anticipation for the TV show “Outcast” has been mounting since it was debuted at SXSW and was immediately renewed for a second season. The series has a stellar cast including our guests - prolific actor Reg E. Cathey, who is know for his work on The Wire, OZ and House of Cards, for which he won an Emmy, and Patrick Fugit who is know for his memorable performances in Almost Famous and Gone Girl. Robert Kirkman, creator of the hit show “The Walking Dead”, helms the series about Kyle Barnes (Patrick Fugit), a young man who has been plagued by possession since he was a child, who with the help of a local reverend, tries to uncover what lies behind the horror and supernatural manifestations to rebuild himself and his family. We are very excited to speak to both Reg E. Cathey and Patrick Fugit about the show, their previous work, their process in creating such memorable characters on screen and much more! Outcast premieres in the US on Cinemax on June 3rd and in Sweden on FOX Monday June 6th. Learn more about y

In just 15 months British actor, comedian and Broadway star James Corden has reinvented the late night TV format with The Late Late Show on CBS. For example, his ‘Carpool Karaoke’ segment with Adele is the most-viewed late night TV clip in social media history with over 102 million views to date! On this weeks episode Late Late Show writer Lauren Greenberg joins us to share what makes the show so successful. Greenberg has been with the show since the beginning and wrote the first segment on the very first show in which Corden and Tom Hanks did a hilarious reenactment of Hanks career in six minutes! For anyone following the late night TV lineup – the last two years has turned the scene upside down with the number of changes in the lineup on the major networks. James Corden was considered an unusual choice to replace Craig Ferguson on the show, as he was pretty unknown to US audiences. But quickly he and his amazing writing team have created some of the most viral hits online, with literally billions of view

The newly released best selling book 'Her Again: Becoming Meryl Streep’, tells the origin story of arguably the most talented actor of her generation! Author, journalist and biographer Michael Schulman joins us on Pop Culture Confidential. Meryl Streep has 19 oscar nominations and 3 wins for her truly iconic performances that range from movies such as ‘Kramer vs Kramer’, ‘Sophie's Choice’, ‘The Devil wears Prada’, and ’The Iron Lady’, just to name a few. New Yorker journalist Michael Schulman did years of research and conducted over 80 interviews with Streep's friends and colleagues for his biography of her life. We talk about her school years where she was already burning with willpower and ambition, her passionate but tragic love story with ‘Godfather’ & ‘Dog Day Afternoon’ actor John Cazale. As well as her Hollywood breakthrough and first Oscar win for ‘Kramer vs. Kramer’, where she played Joanna, a woman who leaves her marriage and young son for over a year and returns to a bitter custody battle. Putti

What movie will take the summer box office this year? Will it be “The Legend of Tarzan”? “Captain America: Civil War”? Or will it be “Finding Dory”? In the summer of 1975, Steven Spielberg’s “Jaws” broke all kinds of records and the Summer Blockbuster was established. May marks the start of Hollywood’s busiest season – so grab your popcorn as Pop Culture Confidential takes a look at the Summer Movies with Ben Fritz, reporter for The Wall Street Journal. “Jaws” is still credited as the first Summer Blockbuster, earning $14 million in its first week – incredible numbers at the time. Since then “Star Wars”, “Jurassic Park”, “Top Gun”, and “Batman” have been just some of the huge summer hits for this all-important Hollywood season. This summer we look forward to “Tarzan”, “X-Men Apocalypse”, the Ghostbusters reboot, and the return of Dory in “Finding Dory”, Pixar’s sequel to the 2003 hit “Finding Nemo” and much more! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The lie detector test, bondage, feminism and superpowers – welcome to the fascinating world of Wonder Woman and her creator William M. Marston, a Harvard educated psychologist, lawyer, inventor and comic book creator. With the recent release of ‘Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice’ we get a first glimpse of Gal Gadot as Wonder Woman before her own upcoming blockbuster is released in 2017. The character is legendary – from the impact of the comic in the 1940’s and the success of the TV version in the 70’s starring Lynda Carter, but her creator has had an equally amazing life. We spoke with comic book historian, and author of the comprehensive ‘Wonder Woman Unbound’ Tim Hanley about the legacy of Wonder Woman and Marston’s life – from his contributions to the modern polygraph, which became part of the Wonder Woman legend as her lasso of truth, his polyamorous relationship with two woman, and how his strong feminist beliefs coupled with a fascination of bondage became main themes in the Wonder Woman comics –

Never has there been such a talked about pop culture phenomena that the least amount of people have actually been able to see! The Broadway smash hit ‘Hamilton’ has taken the US by storm and on this weeks episode we speak to one of its stars – actor and singer Anthony Ramos. The musical has found the impossible recipe for success – mixing rap, R&B, and pop culture references to tell the story of the American founding father Alexander Hamilton. The show’s creator and star Lin-Manuel Miranda weaves an addictive soundtrack into the remarkable milestones of Hamilton’s life, from orphan to chief architect of the American financial system, and his clash with Aaron Burr that ended in a duel that went down in history. Ramos is of Puerto Rican decent and grew up in Brooklyn where just a few years ago he was a rising baseball star. Now at just 24 he is a rising Broadway star with the role of a lifetime in ‘Hamilton’ and has appeared in on ‘Law & Order’. One sign of his success - along with the cast of ‘Hamilton’ he

Race, sexism, class and fame were all at the heart of how the OJ Simpson trial unfolded, themes that still resonate two decades later. The new hit series on FX ‘The People vs OJ Simpson: American Crime Story’ follows the 1994-95 trial of OJ Simpson for the horrific murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ron Goldman. On this episode we are joined by showrunners Scott Alexander and Larry Karaszewski to discuss their new hit series on FX ‘The People vs OJ Simpson: American Crime Story’. The ten part series is based on the Jeffery Toobin book ‘The Run of His Life’ and it examines the racial tensions of Los Angeles, the flaws in the American justice system, our obsession with celebrity and the 24 hour news cycle. The outstanding cast of the show includes John Travolta as the larger than life litigator Robert Shapiro, David Schwimmer as OJ’s best friend Robert Kardashian, Sarah Paulson as the scrutinized prosecutor Marcia Clark, and Cuba Gooding Jr as OJ Simpson. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm

Miss L has taken the internet by storm. The anonymous actress based in the UK has been sharing every sexist casting call and audition notice she encounters – and it’s quite a collection! She started the Tumblr blog ‘Casting Call Woe’ four years ago to show the unusual and sometimes bizarre casting calls posted online, but quickly realized how prevalent sexism was in the industry. “It all started out of frustration at seeing such ridiculous things and really just wanting other people to see what actors were dealing with on a daily basis,” Miss L has explained. Here are just some examples of the real world casting calls for women that she has shared: We are honored to speak Miss L and ask – Since she started, has the conversation on sexism changed? What is the craziest casting call she’s seen? And much more! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Alternative histories, conspiracy theories and a race against time - these are all at the heart of the gripping new Hulu series 11.22.63. The sci-fi series has an all-star team – it’s adapted from the best selling novel by Stephen King, J.J. Abrams is Executive Producer and it stars James Franco! On this week’s episode we speak to the woman behind it all – veteran writer (Friday Night Lights, Parenthood) Bridget Carpenter. Carpenter adapted for television the story of a teacher, played by James Franco, who discovers a time portal that leads to October 21st, 1960 and goes on a quest to try and prevent the assassination of John F. Kennedy. We find out what it was like to recreate Dealey Plaza, to work with Stephen King and J.J. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Sander’s playlist highlights his revolution, Clinton roars with Katy Perry, and Trump is rocking in the free world - even though Neil Young may hate it. This week on Pop Culture Confidential - the candidates and their music! Since the birth of the United States there has been a continued tradition of presidential candidates using music to express their campaign messages. We speak to Dr Eric Kasper, Asst Professor of Political Science and the co-author of the book "Don’t Stop Thinking About the Music: The Politics of Songs and Musicians in Presidential Campaigns" to find out – Where did the tradition of campaign songs begin? What does it mean for a candidate to have a musician’s endorsement? How can a campaign be hurt when a musician sends a cease and desist on the use of their track? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Race, sexism, class and fame were all at the heart of how the OJ Simpson trial unfolded, themes that still resonate two decades later. The new hit series on FX ‘The People vs OJ Simpson: American Crime Story’ follows the 1994-95 trial of OJ Simpson for the horrific murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ron Goldman. On this episode we are joined by showrunners Scott Alexander and Larry Karaszewski to discuss their new hit series on FX ‘The People vs OJ Simpson: American Crime Story’. The ten part series is based on the Jeffery Toobin book ‘The Run of His Life’ and it examines the racial tensions of Los Angeles, the flaws in the American justice system, our obsession with celebrity and the 24 hour news cycle. The outstanding cast of the show includes John Travolta as the larger than life litigator Robert Shapiro, David Schwimmer as OJ’s best friend Robert Kardashian, Sarah Paulson as the scrutinized prosecutor Marcia Clark, and Cuba Gooding Jr as OJ Simpson. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm