Pop Culture Confidential

This was fascinating, fun.... and personal! Ryan McQuade joins me for this deep dive into Steven Spielberg's most personal stories, ahead of his semi-autobiographical new film The Fabelmans. Spielberg has so many times processed his childhood, his parents, their divorce, his traumas, through his stories. From Close Encounters to Indiana Jones to Catch Me if you Can and beyond you can find Spielberg working out his own life in his films. Ryan McQuade and Christina take a journey though these powerful themes in Spielberg's career! Twitter: @ryanmcquade77 . Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A wonderful conversation with writer/director Kogonada about his film ‘After Yang’, memory, feeling displaced, being in the present, the love of movies, ‘Pachinko’ and much more Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Writer/director Rebecca Zlotowski joins Christina at the Venice Film Festival 2022 to talk about 'Other People’s Children', her critically acclaimed new film! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Venice Film Festival dispatch! Writer, critic & film student Connor Lightbody joins Christina in Venice to review and discuss 'Don't Worry Darling', 'The Whale' and 'The Eternal Daughter'  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Actor Jared Harris and director Adrian Sibley join me, at the Venice Film Festival, to talk about their powerful documentary "‘The Ghost of Richard Harris’. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Venice Film Festival dispatch nr 3! Financial Times editor, film critic/writer Raphael Abraham joins Christina in Venice to review and discuss 'Bones and All', ''All the Beauty and the Bloodshed, 'Monica', 'Master Gardner' Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Venice Film Festival dispatch nr 2! Critic and writer Tom O'Brien (NextBestPicture.com) joins Christina in Venice to review and discuss their first reactions to 'Tár' and 'Bardo'! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Venice Film Festival dispatch. Critic and author John Bleasdale joins Christina to review and discuss their first reactions to Noah Baumbachs 'White Noise'... hint... they both LOVE it! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Critic & awards expert Thelma Adams joins Christina to predict the exciting 2022 Emmy awards! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Sara Dosa, director Sundance-winning documentary 'Fire of Love, joins us to talk about her incredible film following French volcanologists Katia and Maurice Krafft. A love story like no othe!. We talk about the Kraffts unique and powerful footage, their passionate relationship and their untimely death at the foot of Japans' Mount Unzen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Actor Ebon Moss-Bachrach joins Christina for an exclusive deep-dive into this summers TV hit, 'The Bear'! A conversation about his incredible performance, "cousin" Richie, how a frustrating character can fill you with compassion and a whole lot more from Mr Moss-Bachrach, who's career includes memorable roles in Girls, The Dropout and the upcoming Star Wars series, Andor. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Actor Daisy Edgar-Jones ('Normal People', 'Fresh', 'Under the Banner of Heaven') joins us to talk about her new film 'Where the Crawdads Sing', based on the global best seller. Also, on working with producer Reese Witherspoon, playing survivors, wanting to play the villan, and much more! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The multi-talented actor Keke Palmer joins us! We talk about her critically acclaimed performance in Jordan Peele's horror-sci fi 'NOPE', how her 20 year career & experiences growing up as a child star informed her role in Nope, the films' themes of the scary side of fame and Hollywood and so much more. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Matt Neglia, editor-in-chief of NextBestPicture.com joins us for an in-depth examination of ' The Bear' the excellent, surprise hit of the summer! The powerful themes, the cast, the filmmaking, we cover it all. Christina will doing deep dive, review episodes more regularly on Pop Culture Confidential. Send us your suggestions on the films & shows you'd like to hear about! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week we are joined by the cast & creators of the new series 'A League of Their Own': co-creator and star Abbi Jacobson, co-creator Will Graham, D’Arcy Carden, Chanté Adams, Roberta Colindrez, Saidah Arrika Ekulona, Priscilla Delgado, Molly Ephraim, Melanie Field & exec producer Desta Tedros Reff! The series, which premieres on Amazon Prime on Aug 12th, is an adaptation of the 1992 film with all new characters and story lines, about the formation of the WWII era women's professional baseball team.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Ahead of the premiere of Ron Howards major motion picture ‘Thirteen Lives’ we revisit our interview with Rick Stanton (in the movie played by Viggo Mortensen) 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. Mr Stanton 's memoir is 'Aquanaut'. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In part 1 of our Venice Film Festival special we are joined by writer, critic & host of the podcast 'Writers of Film' John Bleasdale. We talk about the incredible line-up this year at Venice & what we are most looking forward to! In part 2 Christina & John will meet up at Venice Film Festival for further discussions! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

From Hell's Kitchen to American Ninja Warrior to Floor is Lava! With more than 200 shows for over 50 networks Arthur Smith is a pioneer in non-fiction television. He and his company have created and developed some of the biggest, longest running and most influential reality and unscripted shows in TV history. Don't miss our conversation about the evolution of reality TV, how he shaped the genre and some great behind the scenes secrets from the surprise Netflix hit Floor is Lava! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Co-directors Tia Lessin & Emma Pildes join us to talk about their excellent, urgent and vital documentary THE JANES, HBOMax The film is the story of the Jane Collective, a group of women who formed a clandestine network that used code names and safe houses in an underground service for women seeking safe and affordable abortions pre Roe v. Wade. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A fabulously fun conversation with the great Hugh Bonneville! On 'Downton Abbey: A New Era', the Crawley family's new adventures, bringing back the original ensemble, how Lord Grantham has evolved this past decade and so much more! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices