Apres Culture

This week we’re swinging by the Lone Star State, with stops in Waco, to talk juggernaut home renovation show Fixer Upper, and Marfa, to talk 1950s Western epic Giant. Feel free to take a drink every time Sara Ann says “mythmaking”—or just once for every one of Liz Taylor’s husbands. Pull up a chair and let JoJo explain her vision for your $300,000—it’s time for Après Culture. Tipple of the Week Shiner Bock, proud product of the Texas German Hill Country Next Week Nothing! It’s the end of season five, right here. But fret not; we plan to return in Fall 2018 with more booze, more pop culture history, more books, more movies, more TV, more guests, more gossip, and probably at least one movie that Sara Ann really hates. Ta-ta! Resources A story on the launch of Fixer Upper, from its hometown newspaper: http://www.wacotrib.com/news/business/waco-based-hgtv-home-remodeling-series-begins/article_357b354f-128e-5d15-b911-0b6dec42a313.html http://www.wacotrib.com/news/business/neglected-north-waco-houses-transformed-as-hgtv-cameras-roll/article_dbf75c5e-460e-5ee8-a63c-81e1171c5f8f.html On Fixer Upper’s effect on the Waco economy: https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/economy/2017/11/21/fixer-upper-effect-wacos-economy-benefits-chip-and-joanna-gaines-lifestyle-empire/884830001/ https://www.texasmonthly.com/the-culture/how-chip-and-joanna-gaines-renovated-waco/ A fairly cynical take from the Dallas Observer: http://www.dallasobserver.com/news/chip-and-joanna-gaines-cant-fix-waco-9427134 On Giant: https://www.newyorker.com/news/amy-davidson/how-elizabeth-taylor-and-james-dean-grew-old https://www.npr.org/2011/07/15/138163048/on-location-50-years-of-movie-magic-in-marfa-texas https://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2013/11/elizabeth-taylors-feisty-feminist-turn-in-em-giant-em/281024/

This week we’re talking about the Windy City, with 80s comedy, um, classic? Adventures in Babysitting (1987), plus Life Itself (2014), a documentary about the life and death of iconic film critic Roger Ebert. It is the best of times, it is the worst of times, but don’t worry: Sara Ann’s and Kasey’s relationship will probably survive. Pull up a chair and and accept our sincere apologies for discussing Elisabeth Shue and not mentioning her 1996 Oscar nom for Leaving Las Vegas—it’s time for Après Culture. Tipple of the Week Malort (again, we’re so sorry) Next Week From Sara Ann’s home state of Texas, it’s HGTV juggernaut Fixer Upper (2013-2018) and the Western epic Giant (1956)—all over ice-cold Shiner Bock. Resources On Ebert’s Pulitzer: http://www.pulitzer.org/article/how-mad-helped-roger-ebert-win-pulitzer-prize The NYT’s review of Life Itself: https://www.nytimes.com/2014/07/04/movies/life-itself-reminiscences-of-roger-ebert.html Ebert’s review of Hoop Dreams: https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/hoop-dreams-1994 Ebert’s review of Adventures in Babysitting: https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/adventures-in-babysitting-1987

Episode 41: Roseanne and One Day at a Time over Cuba Libres This week old sitcoms are new again: we’re talking about the Netflix reboot of Norman Lear’s One Day at a Time, and everything that made the soon-to-be-rebooted Roseanne beloved. We’ve got killer comedic actors, eye-opening storylines, and yes, behind-the-scenes shenanigans—and some of the best TV ever made. Pull up a chair and pay the three-pretzel ante—it’s time for Après Culture. Tipple of the Week: Cuba Libre Squeeze the juice of an entire lime into a tall glass, drop in a little ice and one or two of the spent lime rinds, add 2 oz rum and top off with cola. Next Week It’s all about Kasey’s new hometown, Chicago, with Adventures in Babysitting (1987) and Life Itself (2014), plus Roger Ebert’s reviews of Adventures in Babysitting and, for a bonus, of Hoop Dreams. Oh and the tipple next week? That would be a shot of Malort. Try it with us, you will regret it. Resources A 2008 EW retrospective on the series: http://ew.com/article/2008/10/24/roseanne-family-reunion/ A British take on Roseanne: https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2017/jul/01/return-roseanne-sitcom-broke-all-the-rules A look at the origins of the reboot: https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/features/roseanne-returns-is-tv-ready-a-trump-loving-comic-nothing-left-prove-1086651 On the iconic Roseanne afghan, and its spread across TV: http://www.slate.com/blogs/browbeat/2015/07/06/from_the_big_bang_theory_to_roseanne_to_jane_the_virgin_why_do_tv_characters.html Bio of Roseanne: https://www.biography.com/people/roseanne-barr-9463817

This week we’re toasting the Emerald Isle with a look at John Ford’s 1952 Maureen O’Hara/John Wayne romance, The Quiet Man, and Sharon Horgan and Rob Delaney’s ungilded look at married life, Catastrophe. It’s two very different American men falling for two very different Irish women in two very different eras—and we have thoughts. Pull up a chair and pray you can understand the waitress’s thick County Cork accent—it’s time for Après Culture. Tipple of the Week: Guinness We’re sure there’s a proper way to pour this stuff, and we encourage you to look up whatever article Esquire or GQ or The Boston Globe wrote about it. Next Week Sitcom reboots: the recent, critically acclaimed Norman Lear revival One Day at a Time, and the hotly anticipated (slash slightly dreaded?) Roseanne. Resources On The Quiet Man (scroll past the Rob Nixon nonsense down to the Deborah Looney article): http://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/24069/The-Quiet-Man/articles.html https://film.avclub.com/john-wayne-goes-to-ireland-for-what-should-have-won-bes-1798276673 https://www.khanacademy.org/partner-content/moma/moma-artist-interviews/v/moma-byrne-revisiting-the-quiet-man Maureen O’Hara’s obit: https://www.theguardian.com/film/2015/oct/24/maureen-ohara-quiet-man-dies-aged-95 On the passing of Rob Delaney’s 2-year-old son: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2018/02/10/catastrophe-star-rob-delaneys-two-year-old-son-dies-cancer/ New Yorker profile of Sharon Horgan, incl. her work on Catastrophe and HBO’s divorce: https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2016/04/25/sharon-horgan-the-brutal-romantic-behind-catastrophe

This week we’re talking 50s comediennes both factual (the iconic Lucille Ball) and fictional (Amy Sherman-Palladino’s latest fast-talking heroine, Midge Maisel). We’d say they do everything the guys do but in high heels and corsets—but let’s be real, no man has ever reached quite the same iconic status as Lucy. Pull up a chair and send the band leader your song request—it’s time for Après Culture. Tipple of the Week The Mudslide (recipe credit: https://www.supercall.com/recipe/the-ultimate-vodka-mudslide-recipe) Next Week It’s Saint Patrick’s Day! And we’ve got you covered with the John Ford/John Wayne/Maureen O’Hara classic, The Quiet Man, and the modern Sharon Horgan/Rob Delaney romance, Catastrophe. There will be brogues. There will be swoons. There will be Guinness. See you then ;) Resources On My Favorite Husband, the Lucille Ball radio show that led to I Love Lucy: http://splitsider.com/2014/06/a-look-at-i-love-lucys-radio-roots/ An interesting article on the technical innovations I Love Lucy was responsible for: https://www.dga.org/Craft/DGAQ/All-Articles/0307-July-2003/I-Love-Lucy.aspx On the evolution of the three-camera system popularized by I Love Lucy, which would go on to dominate sitcoms for the next five decades: http://articles.latimes.com/1991-07-29/entertainment/ca-176_1_love-lucy A bio of Lucille Ball: https://www.biography.com/people/lucille-ball-9196958 Audio interviews on I Love Lucy, including one from Mindy Kaling about Ricky’s accent: https://www.wnyc.org/story/96246-american-icons-i-love-lucy/ On Madelyn Pugh Davis, one of the three writers on I Love Lucy and a TV pioneer in her own right: https://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2011/04/the-girl-writer-behind-i-love-lucy-dies/237705/ On Lenny Bruce and his obscenity arrests: http://time.com/3642530/50-years-lenny-bruce/ And an obituary from the year he died: http://events.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/bday/1013.html

This week we’re talking Oscars scandals throughout the years, from Dudley Nichols and the original writers’ strike, to George C. Scott and his opinions on awards shows, to Marlon Brando and Sacheen Littlefeather, to the McCarthy era and the infamous Hollywood blacklist, to Harvey Weinstein, his Oscar campaign tactics and all the rest of it. It’s a lot, guys, and it’s all fascinating. Pull up a chair and explain whose award you’re here to refuse and why—it’s time for Après Culture. Tipple of the Week Gina’s Red Carpet Cocktails, found here: https://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/patrick-and-gina-neely/ginas-red-carpet-cocktails-recipe-1949109 (or Sara Ann’s variant, with tart cherry juice instead of pomegranate—which she highly recommends) Sources and References On the history of the Writers Guild of America (nee the Screen Writers Guild): http://www.law.nyu.edu/sites/default/files/ECM_PRO_067662.pdf A more general history of unionization in America: https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/posteverything/wp/2017/08/24/bend-the-trend-reviving-unionization-in-america/?utm_term=.1f8e64755397 On the massacre and later occupation of Wounded Knee: https://www.britannica.com/place/Wounded-Knee A list of the writers who were forced/able to write under pen names during the blacklist era: http://www.wga.org/the-guild/about-us/history/corrected-blacklist-credits A history of the blacklist: https://www.writing.upenn.edu/~afilreis/50s/blacklist.html More scandals (and “scandals”—come on, Elle, Bjork’s swan dress?) at the Oscars: http://www.elle.com/culture/movies-tv/news/g29576/scandalous-moments-in-oscars-history/ Quincy Jones’s Vulture interview: http://www.vulture.com/2018/02/quincy-jones-in-conversation.html Quincy Jones’s GQ interview: https://www.gq.com/story/quincy-jones-has-a-story Facebook post by Beautiful Girls and OG Miramax beneficiary, Scott Rosenberg “Everybody Fuckin’ Knew”: http://deadline.com/2017/10/scott-rosenberg-harvey-weinstein-miramax-beautiful-girls-guilt-over-sexual-assault-allegations-1202189525/ Next Week I Love Lucy and The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel

This week we’re talking fanfiction, with our girl Rainbow Rowell’s two novels Fangirl and Carry On, plus a freewheeling discussion of how fanfiction has touched our lives and shaped our culture with special guests April Maguire and Lillian Diaz-Przybyl. Whether you’re a fanfic newby (Kasey), a ship wars veteran (April and Lilian), or somewhere in between (Sara Ann), we’ve got you covered. Pull up a chair and prepare to defend your ship—it’s time for Après Culture. Tipple of the Week Tequila Sunrise: Fill a highball (tall) glass with ice and pour in 1 ½ oz tequila and 4 oz orange juice. Float a dash of grenadine over the top (meaning, hold a spoon upside down over the glass so it touches the side, and drizzle the grenadine slowly onto the spoon and down the side of the glass; this gives you the beautiful ombre look from red to orange in the finished cocktail). Garnish with an orange slice and/or cherry as desired and enjoy. Link to the more adventurous rainbow cocktail Kasey tried here: https://tipsybartender.com/recipe/taste-the-rainbow/ Next Week The history of scandal at the Oscars! Not that we’re saying this year’s Oscars will be fraught for all involved (cough*Casey Affleck*cough)... We’d just like Natalie Portman to introduce as many awards as possible kthx. Tipple: Gina’s Red Carpet Cocktails, found here: https://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/patrick-and-gina-neely/ginas-red-carpet-cocktails-recipe-1949109

This week we’re talking the rich, the powerful and the deeply unhappy with Netflix’s fictionalized account of the life and times of England’s Queen Elizabeth II, The Crown, and Kevin Kwan’s soapy tales of families so rich you’ve never heard of them, Crazy Rich Asians. It’s everything you were pretty sure was true about the mega-rich and nothing you ever imagined. Pull up a chair and prepare to explain why you wrote lewd letters home about the royal consort’s shenanigans in Borneo—it’s time for Après Culture. Tipple of the Week: Black Velvets Pour 2 parts chilled champagne (or other bubbly) into a champagne flute and top with 1 part chilled Guinness. Enjoy. Next Week Rainbow Rowell’s Fangirl and Carry On, and the wide world of fan fiction

This week we’re talking romance, comedy, cross-dressing and romancing the parents, with the Billy Wilder classic Some Like It Hot (Marilyn Monroe, Jack Lemmon, Tony Curtis) and 2017’s indie hit The Big Sick (Kumail Nanjiani, Zoe Kazan, Holly Hunter, Ray Romano). It’s rom-com goodness and a classic cocktail only one of us finished (we’ll let you guess who). Pull up a chair and crack a tasteful terrorism joke—it’s time for Après Culture. Tipple of the Week: Manhattans Fill a short glass ⅔ full with ice, then add 2 dashes angostura bitters, 1 oz sweet vermouth, and 2 ½ oz bourbon. Add a maraschino cherry, crush it against the side of the glass with a spoon, stir, and enjoy. Next Week Crazy Rich Asians and The Crown over Black Velvets

This week we’re talking the latest entry in the Star Wars franchise, Rian Johnson’s The Last Jedi, plus everything we’ve been watching and reading in the many long months we’ve been away, from YA novels to Lainey Gossip, the Aeneid (yes, the ancient Latin poem) to Oscar hopefuls—and why not, a dash of Stranger Things. Pull up a chair and prepare to defend your deeply held Reylo feelings — it’s time for Après Culture. Tipple of the Week: Champagne Chill. Pop. Pour. Enjoy. Next Week Valentine’s Day is barrelling toward us, so we turn our lovelorn gazes toward the big screen with rom-coms Some Like It Hot and The Big Sick, over Manhattans.

This week we’re filling those no-new-TV spaces in our lives with relentless marathoning, of new stuff like Stranger Things and The Crown, old stuff like Star Trek TNG, and, for one of us, a whole lot of Hallmark movies. I’ll let you guess which of us. Pull up a chair and put on your snuggie—it’s time for Après Culture. Tom Collins Combine 2 oz gin, 1 oz lemon juice and 1 tsp superfine sugar over ice in a tall glass, then top off with club soda or fizzy water. Garnish with a lemon slice.

This week we’re talking Gilmore Girls past and present, from the ecstasy of season 1 Dean (so dreamy!) to the agony of spending even one more minute with the Life and Death Brigade in 20-fricking-16 (you know every one of those guys was peddling subprime loans back in 2007). Pull up a chair and order your tenth coffee of the day—it’s time for Après Culture. Scotch Pour scotch in a glass. Taste it. Realize it tastes terrible. Go see if you have the ingredients for a Rob Roy or something...

Welcome back to Season 4 - Coast to Coast! Kasey has moved to Boston & Sara Ann is still beach-side in Malibu, but we don't let a little plane ride come between us. This week we’re getting our Halloween on with Tim Burton’s Sleepy Hollow and the short story "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" written by Washington Irving, plus two favorite episodes of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, “Halloween” and “Hush.” Tipple of the Week: Dra-Kahlua http://www.nj.com/homegarden/entertaining/index.ssf/2008/10/abbar.html 1 1/2 parts Kahlua 1/2 part cognac (brandy) 1/2 part Triple Sec 1/4 part lemon juice 1/2 part simple syrup Blood orange wedge for garnish Shake ingredients in a cocktail shaker with ice. Strain into a chilled, half sugar-rimmed martini glass and garnish with orange wedge. NEXT WEEK This season, we're doing things a little differently. While Sara Ann battles grad school and Kasey "works" on her own screenplays, we're going to check back in when we are SUPER stoked about upcoming pop culture events (think: Gilmore Girls revival, Veronica Mars, Friday Night Lights over the Super Bowl, and Oscar Contenders). Make sure you subscribe to our podcast so you don't miss out when a surprise new episode pops up on your feed!

This week we’re talking about the brilliance (OR IS IT) of Paul Feig, with cult classic TV show Freaks and Geeks, and 2016’s favorite political firestorm, Ghostbusters. SPOILER: Kasey and Sara Ann do not agree about the latter. Listen and find out who’s your real, true pop culture podcast friend. Pull up a chair and prepare to defend disco—it’s time for Après Culture. Slimers 1 ounce Peach Schnapps 1 ounce Midori (or any type of melon liqueur) 3 to 5 drop of an Irish cream liqueur such as Baileys Ice Pour the peach schnapps and melon liqueur into a cocktail shaker with ice and shake well. Strain into a chilled cocktail glass and add the Irish cream drop by drop into the center of the drink, without mixing. Drink and...enjoy? NEXT WEEK Listen to old episodes if you miss us (or hit us up on Twitter @apresculture), ‘cause this is the end of Season 3, and we’re gone until October. Ttfn, you beautiful people!

This week we’re diving into the wide, wonderful world of graphic novels with Art Spiegelman’s Pulitzer Prize-winning Holocaust memoir Maus: A Survivor’s Tale, and Kelly Sue DeConnick and Valentine De Landro’s exploitation-style feminist face-punch Bitch Planet. Pull up a chair—it’s time for Après Culture. Tipple of the Week: The Redheaded Slut: In a cocktail shaker, combine 1.5 oz Jagermeister, 1.5 oz peach schnapps, 3 oz cranberry juice and ice. Shake until frosted and serve in shot glasses. NEXT WEEK Ghostbusters and Freaks and Geeks

***DISCLAIMER*** We apologize, we've been encountering some sound technical difficulties this week in particular. The beginning of the episode will sound a bit "echo-y" however, as the podcast continues you will notice it evens out. We are working on creating a better sound experience in the future. Thank you for bearing with us! This week we’re talking Nora Ephron, with HBO bio-doc Everything Is Copy, directed by her son Jacob Bernstein as a search for why veteran personal essayist Ephron kept her terminal diagnosis secret until the very end, and then a look at Ephron’s most enduring work, seminal rom-com When Harry Met Sally… We have thoughts, we have feelings, we have another season 3 connection to Carrie Fisher (never bad). Pull up a chair and order what she’s having—it’s time for Après Culture. Apple Pie a la Mode Cocktail Adapted from Aimee Broussard’s recipe Blend together 3 cups ice-cream, ¼ cup Fireball whiskey, ¼ cup Jim Beam Apple Whiskey, ¼ cup Apple Jack, 1 ½ cup Apple Cider, teaspoon of Cinnamon, and ice, and serve with a dash of cinnamon. NEXT WEEK Maus, by Art Spiegelman Bitch Planet, by Kelly Sue DeConnick and Valentine de Landro TIPPLE OF THE WEEK: Red Headed Sluts

This week we’re celebrating the Fourth of July with two movies about American childhoods: baseball and friendship tale The Sandlot, and magical realism and revenge tale Rhymes for Young Ghouls. We’ve got nostalgia! And history! And Canadian accents, but don’t concentrate too hard on that! It’s all about America this week. Pull up a chair and try to figure out how to express to Smalls how much he’s frustrating you—it’s time for Après Culture. Long Island Iced Tea We followed this Chowhound recipe (complete with handy history!). NEXT WEEK: Nora Ephron, wooo! When Harry Met Sally (1989) Everything Is Copy (HBO, 2015) TIPPLE OF THE WEEK: Apple Pie (à la Mode) Milkshakes

This week we’re talking animation with friend of the show Daniel Barcroft, starting with Finding Dory, Pixar’s beautiful, funny ode to the abilities of the differently abled. Then we check in on our complicated feelings about Disney’s princess empire, from how Disney has tried to adapt its model to match the times, to how toy companies’ marketing models can actually determine the entertainment girls are allowed to watch. Pull up a chair and prepare to think heavy thoughts about kids’ cartoons—it’s time for Après Culture. Arnold Palmer Mix equal parts lemonade and iced tea (sweetened or not, to your taste) over ice. For a John Daly, add a shot of citron vodka. NEXT WEEK The Sandlot (1993) Rhymes for Young Ghouls (2013)

This week we’re lobbing y’all a short bonus episode in the form of a chat with Sara Ann’s Chinese friends about pop culture in the People’s Republic. Movies? TV? Piracy? Kung Fu Panda? We’ve got it all, plus the best explanation of the Cultural Revolution and its impact you’ll hear on any pop culture podcast this year (guaranteed). Pull up a chair and prepare to ganbei—it’s time for Après Culture. Chivas and Green Tea 1 ½ oz Chivas Regal 5 oz bottled green tea Sugar to taste Ice Combine in a tumbler and enjoy. Movies To Live (1994, dir. Zhang Yimou) Raise the Red Lantern (1991, dir. Zhang Yimou) Farewell My Concubine (1993, dir. Chen Kaige) Blue Kite (1994, dir. Tian Zhuangzhuang) TV The Empress of China (2014)

This week we’re putting our snooty pants on and talking a pair of literary classics (or alternately, a romance novel and the fanfic it spawned): Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Brontë, and Wide Sargasso Sea, by Jean Rhys. We’ve got spooky atmospherics, questionable love interests, Jamaican history, and sisters getting theirs. It’s the literary canon at both its smartest and dishiest. Pull up a chair and be ready to explain those funny noises coming from the attic—it’s time for Après Culture. Rum Punch Adapted from this Bobby Flay recipe: ½ c lime juice 1 c grenadine 1 c Jamaican white rum ½ c light rum 1 c pineapple juice 1 c orange juice Pinch nutmeg Orange slices Combine in a pitcher and chill 1 hour before serving. NEXT WEEK Finding Dory (2016) Disney princess movies TIPPLE OF THE WEEK Arnold Palmers or John Dalys (dirty Arnold Palmers)

This week we’re talking musicals with pal Elyse Peterson, from 1952’s classic Singin’ in the Rain to the CW’s devastating gem Crazy Ex-Girlfriend. We argue over that weird interlude with Cyd Charisse, invoke the Reynolds-Fisher family saga for the second time this season (for a fuller discussion/explanation, check out episode 22, Postcards from the Edge and You’re the Worst), debate the attractiveness of Greg Serrano, and praise the spiky but deceptively layered relationship between Rebecca and Valencia (which is indeed the home of Six Flags Magic Mountain—and that guy who played the werewolf in Twilight!). Pull up a chair and wish that Donald O’Connor was here to make pulling up a chair really hilarious—it’s time for Après Culture. Spiked Boba Teas Buy a boba tea drink from your local boba tea shop. Add alcohol. Notes NY Times profile of Rachel Bloom Favorite Crazy Ex-Girlfriend Numbers: Kasey: Heavy Boobs, Sexy Getting Ready Song Elyse: JAP Rap Battle, Settle for Me Sara Ann: You Stupid Bitch, Textmergency NEXT WEEK Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Bronte Wide Sargasso Sea, by Jean Rhys TIPPLE OF THE WEEK: Rum Punch

This week we’re tipping our hat to Pride Month with a visit from a couple of guests: Ryan Michaud, who boldly pits Taylor Swift against Beyonce in a bid for one gay man’s affections, and Shelby Vasko, who introduces us to lifestyle vloggers Shannon Beveridge (https://www.youtube.com/user/flips8trgrl3) and Cammie Scott (https://www.youtube.com/user/CammieScott), and talks about why their relationship (and breakup) has been so important to young lesbians growing up in red states like her. Pull up a chair and prepare to defend Lemonade to the death—it’s time for Après Culture. NEXT WEEK Singin’ in the Rain (1952) and Crazy Ex-Girlfriend (CW)

This week we’re tipping our hat to Mental Health Month with Carrie Fisher’s fictionalized memoir on film Postcards from the Edge, and FXX’s acid rom-com You’re the Worst. Nothing says comedy like mental illness! And we’ve got all the depression yuks you can take. Pull up a chair and make sure booze isn’t contraindicated with your medication—it’s time for Après Culture. Chocolate-Peanut Butter Adult Smoothie (adapted from nightclub.com) 1 1/4 oz. Absolut Vanilia Vodka 1 oz. Kahlúa 1/2 frozen banana 4 oz. milk 2 oz. chocolate syrup 2 oz. peanut butter 3-4 scoops vanilla frozen yogurt Blend together and serve. Important Note: We don’t want to risk spoiling anything for our listeners, so outlined below are the time-stamps of when we talk about each movie/show/book – listen at your own risk or feel free to skip around! 03:45-29:51 - Postcards From The Edge 30:00-43:37 You’re The Worst Next Week Taylor Swift’s 1989 YouTube channels YouNow (e.g., https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8IBkga1lFAE) and Nowthisisliving (https://www.youtube.com/user/flips8trgrl3)

This week we’re talking about everything we watched and read since season two, including Captain America: Civil War, The People v. OJ Simpson, and New X-Files, plus a Bravo run-down and Redbook recommendation (yes, that Redbook) with Kasey, and a whole lotta reading recommendations from Sara Ann (American Born Chinese, Who Fears Death, Wolf Hall, Left Hand of Darkness, Rainbow Rowell, Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda, Lumberjanes, and John Lewis’s graphic novel memoir March). Pull up a chair and decide whether you think Fresca makes a good mixer (WE HAVE DIFFERENT OPINIONS ON THIS)—it’s time for Après Culture. FRESQUILAS It’s just FRESCA and TEQUILA over ice. Proportion to taste. Important Note: We don’t want to risk spoiling anything for our listeners, so outlined below are the time-stamps of when we talk about each movie/show/book – listen at your own risk or feel free to skip around! 05:19-30:44 Captain America 30:53-42:05 America Crime Story: The People Vs. OJ Simpson 42:15-59:10 X-Files 59:20-01:02:45 Bravo – Watch What Happens Live / Real Housewives / Southern Charm 01:02:50-01:03:20 The Affair 01:03:25-01:03:53 Catastrophe 01:04:08-01:05:38 Blackish 01:05:40-01:07:04 Fresh Off The Boat 01:07:01-01:09:40 Jane The Virgin 01:09:50-01:15:07 The Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt 01:15:20-01:16:36 Agent Carter / Jessica Jones / DareDevil 01:16:45-01:18:19 Homeland 01:17:35-01:18:50 Mindy Project 01:18:51-01:19:35 The Americans 01:19:37-01:20:55 Better Call Saul / Mr. Robot / Penny Dreadful / Banshee 01:20:58-01:20:28 American Crime 01:21:35-01:22:43 Shannara Chronicles 01:22:48-01:24:38 Supergirl 01:24:40-01:25:23 Girls 01:25:30 Book Recommendations 01:27:51 Absolutely True Diary of a Part Time Indian by Sherman Alexie 01:28:25 Me Before You by Jojo Moyes 01:30:12 American Born Chinese by Gene Luen Yang 01:32:56 Who Fears Death by Nnedi Okorafor 01:35:13 Left Hand Of Darkness by Ursula K. Le Guin 01:40:00 Fangirl / Carry On by Rainbow Raul 01:41:40 Simon Vs. The Homo Sapiens Agenda by Becky Alertalli 01:42:42 Nimona by Noelle Stevenson 01:44:50 March by Aydin and John Lewis Next Week Postcards from the Edge (1990) You’re the Worst (FXX) TIPPLE OF THE WEEK: Vodka Smoothies

This week we’re going jock with special guest Greg Barnett, who’s introducing us to the Kevin Costner golf movie Tin Cup and ESPN’s original sports shouting show Pardon the Interruption. For a bonus, Kasey gives Sara Ann a sports quiz (which she’s sure to ace) and we take a look back at season two. Pull up a chair and do a little penguin dance—it’s time for Après Culture. NEXT WEEK: Nothing! Because season 2 is over. But we’ll be back in the spring! Look for it!

This week we’re talking great American girlhood novels, from the real lives behind the fictionalized autobiographies, to the two very different visions of one tumultuous time in American history they offer, to how ridiculous it is that a real-life dude would actually be named Manly Wilder (seriously, Manly Wilder). Who left the family’s time on a commune out of her story? Who hung out with Dorothy Parker and got sued by Charlie Chaplin? And who really wrote the Little House series (yeah, there’s a serious debate)? Pull up a chair and prepare to gloss over your father’s real shortcomings — it’s time for Après Culture. NEXT WEEK: Tin Cup (1996) Pardon the Interruption (ESPN podcast), “Divisional Round Recap: 1/18/16” TIPPLE OF THE WEEK: Micheladas

This week we’re celebrating MLK Day with two films by African-American writer-directors. Spike Lee’s Do the Right Thing is the tale of one day on one street in New York’s predominantly black Bed-Stuy district, and the thousand small moments that lead to a conflagration come nightfall. Gina Prince-Bythewood’s Love and Basketball traces the romance of two dedicated basketball players from their time as childhood sweethearts through their volatile college and professional careers, and how their love of the game alternately unites them and tears them apart. We’ve also brought guests Bahiyjaui Allen and Edwin Walker on with us to make token black friend jokes and talk about what Lee’s and Prince-Bythewood’s work has meant to them as aspiring filmmakers themselves. Pull up a chair and order a slice with extra cheese — it’s time for Après Culture. NEXT WEEK: Little House on the Prairie, by Laura Ingalls Wilder Little Women, by Louisa May Alcott TIPPLE OF THE WEEK: Dirty Shirley Temples

This week in a short mid-season check-in, we toss our two cents into the overflowing giant novelty piggy bank of rage that is our collective internet reaction to Netflix’s Making a Murderer. We talk murder theories, we talk prosecutorial misconduct, we talk RAGE. Are there spoilers? Oh, you betcha. Pull up a chair and brush off your Importance of Due Process speech — it’s time for Après Culture. NEXT WEEK: We resume full-length eps with an MLK Day-themed ep on: Do the Right Thing (1989) Love and Basketball (2000) TIPPLE OF THE WEEK: Assortment of Blue Moon Beer

This week we’ve got a couple of short eps to wet your appetite* for the last few eps of season 2 (we know!). We’re starting with a follow-up to our Star Wars marathon episode, with a spoilerrific review of The Force Awakens. (Can you believe ----------- ----------??????) We’re sure you’ve been holding off on seeing it until you heard our verdict, so here it is! Pull up a chair and make sure to shoot first—it’s time for Après Culture. NEXT TIME: Making a Murderer (Netflix) WE HAVE THOUGHTS TIPPLE OF THE WEEK: Vodka and cranberry (aka “The Dark Side”) *Yes, we know it’s “whet your appetite”; it’s a pun! Because we’re calling these aperitifs! It’s a meta-pun!

This week we’re succumbing to the pop culture inevitable and talking about Star Wars. That’s right, we've marathoned the movies to date in Machete Order and we’re ready to talk about what made us smile, what made us wince, and what we’re looking forward to as Disney unleashes a new round of Star Wars films on the world. Next Week: We're taking a break for the holidays. We’ve got travel, we’ve got family, we’ve got to put the podcast on hold. But we’ll be back with the back half of Apres Culture season two in January, with episodes on Martin Luther King Day, on sports movies, and on Girlhood Novels. If you want to read along with us, download Little Women and Little House on the Prairie now.

This week we’re celebrating the holidays with explosions and Hallmark schmaltz. That’s right, Pop Culture Swap is back, and the pieces of pop culture we gave each other were … not the same. Fortunately, there was eggnog. Very, very grownup eggnog. (This is absolutely the tipsiest we’ve ever gotten on the podcast.) We talk about the surprisingly progressive politics of the 1988 Christmas/action classic Die Hard, and how unlikely it must have seemed in 1987 that it would become a classic. Plus, Kasey enjoys a little romance/schadenfreude combo by forcing Sara Ann to watch the Hallmark Channel’s A Princess for Christmas, the story of a poor but noble young woman (of course) raising her dead sister’s children (of course) who suddenly gets whisked away to a fake European country to stay in a castle with her dead brother-in-law’s suddenly friendly, very royal, and suspiciously British family (OF COURSE). Pull up a chair and contemplate the chaste but appreciative kiss you will give your beloved when he finally dumps his shallow fiancée for you—it’s time for Après Culture. Important Note: We don’t want to risk spoiling anything for our listeners, so outlined below are the time-stamps of when we talk about each movie - listen at your risk or feel free to skip around! 07:30-33:48 Die Hard 33:56-54:35 A Princess For Christmas NEXT WEEK: Star Wars! Machete order! One weekend, five movies, and as little Jar-Jar as we can get away with. Be there! TIPPLE OF THE WEEK: Tatooine Sunrise

This week we’re doing you a solid with pop culture gift recommendations for everybody on your list. We’ve got kids’ books from toddlers to teens, and film, TV and movie picks for adults of every personality and type of gift obligation. Whoever you’ve got to buy for, we’re here to point you in the right direction. Pull up a chair and pop open your Christmas gift spreadsheet—it’s time for Après Culture. Important Note: We don’t want to risk spoiling anything for our listeners, so outlined below are the time-stamps of when we talk about each book or movie/show - listen at your risk or feel free to skip around! BOOK RECOMMENDATIONS Pre-School (Picture Books) 11:15-15:52 -Waiting by Kevin Henkes 11:15-12:55 -The Day The Crayons Came Home by Drew Daywalt 12:56-14:29 -Mr. Wuffles by David Wiesner 14:35-15:52 Early Grade-School (ages 5-7) 16:45-24:24 -Elephant and Piggie books by Mo Willems 16:45-18:50 -Story of Diva and Flea by Mo Willems 18:56-20:36 Upper Grade-School (ages 8-12) 24:45-34:18 -National Geographic: Weird But True series 25:24-26:40 -Who Was? series 26:42-29:15 -From The Mixed Up Files of Basil E. Frankweiler by E.L Konigsburg 29:57-30:55 -Are you There God, It’s Me, Margaret by Judy Blume 30:57-32:24 -Nancy Drew series by Carolyn Keene 32:26-34:18 Middle School 34:32-48:20 -Nimona by Noelle Stevenson 36:19-39:41 -Lumberjanes series by Noelle Stevenson 39:43-42:53 -Drama by Raina Telgemeier 43:00-46:10 -Hatchet by Gary Paulsen 46:19-47:24 -The Hobbit by JRR Tolkien 47:27-48:20 Teens 48:30-1:09:32 -My Friend Dahmer by Derg Backderf 49:15-53:50 -The Goblin Emperor by Katherine Addison 53:57-58:25 -Eleanor and Park / Attachments by Rainbow Rowell 58:30-1:02:46 -Dune by Frank Herbert 1:02:49-1:03:19 -The Years of Rice and Salt by Kim Stanley Robinson 1:03:21-1:05:42 -Agatha Christie books 1:05:47-1:07:25 -Dorothy L. Sayers books 1:07:29-1:09:32 TV/MOVIE/BOOK RECOMMENDATIONS Adults 1:09:40- -Please Like Me (PIVOT series) 1:09:32-1:13:09 -Silicon Valley (HBO series) 1:13:14-1:14:28 -Nova (PBS series) 1:14:35-1:16:25 -A Room With A View (movie) 1:16:39-1:18:00 -Trainwreck (movie) 1:18:28-1:19:26 -Between The World and Me (book) by Ta-Nehisi Coates 1:19:35-1:21:01 -Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown (CNN series)1:21:10-1:24:45 -Future Crimes: Everything is Connected, Everyone is Vulnerable and What We Can Do About It (book) by Mark Goodman 1:25:00-1:26:42 -Spotlight / Brooklyn (movies) 1:26:58-1:29:21 -Last Week Tonight with John Oliver 1:31:40-1:36:07 NEXT WEEK: Pop Culture Swap!: Christmas Edition Sara Ann’s Pick: Die Hard (1988) Kasey’s Pick: A Princess for Christmas (2011) TIPPLE OF THE WEEK: Sara Ann’s Homemade Eggnog

This week we’re looking at a pair of classic documentary films. First up is seminal true crime drama The Thin Blue Line, which examines the politics and personalities that put a man on death row for killing a Dallas police officer -- and asks whether it might have all been a horrible mistake. Then we’re diving into Los Angeles Plays Itself, a simultaneously cantankerous and swoony look at the history of Los Angeles as it appears on film. One grumpy film professor and native Angeleno sets out to make the definitive case for what’s wrong with the movies’ take on LA, permissions be damned, and 200+ clips later, a cult classic was born. Pull up a chair and google “fair use laws”— it’s time for Après Culture. Important Note: We don’t want to risk spoiling anything for our listeners, so outlined below are the time-stamps of when we talk about each documentary - listen at your risk or feel free to skip around! 02:22-19:16 - The Thin Blue Line 19:36-39:35 - Los Angeles Plays Itself NEXT WEEK: Our special Pop Culture Gift Guide, with suggestions for every age range and most of the personalities (seriously, we got you covered) TIPPLE OF THE WEEK: Mulled Wine

This week we’re helping you plot your ideal Thanksgiving TV and movie marathon. We’ll look at all the best Turkey Day episodes available to stream for free (because we’re all poor until after Christmas). Turkey abuse! American football! All the family feeling you can stand, and some really ill-advised orange/green color combos! It’s all happening in the Après Culture Lounge this week. Pull up a chair and try to suppress your sympathetic gravy belches—it’s time for Après Culture. Important Note: We don’t want to risk spoiling anything for our listeners, so outlined below are the time-stamps of when we talk about certain shows/movies - listen at your risk or feel free to skip around! COMEDY 07:06-18:20 Friends 18:20-23:05 Bob’s Burgers 23:08-27:38 How I Met Your Mother 27:39-31:36 Everybody Loves Raymond 31:52-36:34 WKRP in Cincinnati 36:36-40:07 Cheers 40:10-45:55 Planes, Trains and Automobiles 45:04-45:22 Brooklyn 99 45:34-47:02 Don’t Trust the B in Apt 23 47:03-48:40 Bob Newhart Show 48:41-49:48 The Cosby Show DRAMA 50:15-57:46 Gilmore Girls 57:50-1:05:27 West Wing 1:06:07-1:06:47 Felicity 1:06:49-1:08:05 The Wonder Years 1:08:06-1:10:12 Grey’s Anatomy NEXT WEEK: Documentaries! The Thin Blue Line (1988) Los Angeles Plays Itself (2003) TIPPLE OF THE WEEK: Grown Up Milkshakes

This week we’re saluting Sadie Hawkins Day with a nod to gender flipping. First we’ve got Emily Blunt demonstrating why it doesn’t need to be a “girl part” to cast a woman, in the War on Drugs thriller Sicario. Then we flash back to Dustin Hoffman casting himself in the girl part, and doing it smashingly, in classic cross-dressing comedy Tootsie. Pull up a chair and manspread to your heart’s content—it’s time for Après Culture. Important Note: We don’t want to risk spoiling anything for our listeners, so outlined below are the time-stamps of when we talk about each movie - listen at your risk or feel free to skip around! 03:00-17:06 Sicario 17:15-43:43 Tootsie NEXT WEEK: Thanksgiving marathoning: the best streaming Turkey Day shows to entertain and/or distract TIPPLE OF THE WEEK: Hard Cider Sangria

Welcome to Season 2 of Après Culture! We’ve spent weeks wading through the flood of fall TV, and now we’ve dried off, donned our Backwards Baseball Cap of Deep Thought (Kasey) and Bedazzled Monocle of Comic Consideration (Sara Ann), and returned to the secret underground Apres Culture Lounge for THIS, our REVIEW of FALL TV 2015. What’s good? What’s not? And what is the one thing all personality quirks, mental illnesses and super powers are good for (according to television)? We’re ready to reveal all. Pull up a chair and prepare to completely rethink your Hulu queue—it’s time for Après Culture. Important Note: We don’t want to risk spoiling anything for our listeners, so outlined below are the time-stamps of when we talk about certain shows - listen at your risk or feel free to skip around! 03:12 - 13:33 SUMMER TV CATCH UP 03:12 - 04:14 House of Cards 04:17 - 05:57 Bates Motel 05:16 - 06:05 Bloodline 06:15 - 08:16 You’re The Worst 08:55 - 10:43 Fargo 10:43 - 11:20 Good Wife 11:44 - 12:18 Transparent 12:31 - 13:33 Outlander 13:25 - 34:24 FALL TV - COMEDY 15:31 - 19:05 Last Man on Earth 19:24 - 20:16 Jane The Virgin 20:17 - 20:54 Black-ish 21:12 - 25:30 The Muppets 25:31 - 32:25 Crazy Ex Girlfriend 32:33 - 34:19 Grindr 34:36 - 42:13 FALL TV - COMIC BOOK SHOWS 35:08 - 37:10 Flash/Arrow/Legends of Tomorrow 37:11 - 38:54 Agents Of Shield 39:24 - 40:40 Gotham 40:41 - 42:06 Supergirl 42:14 - 44:29 KASEY’S TRASHY REALITY TV 42:50 - 43:09 Real Housewives of Orange County 43:10 - 44:04 Below Deck 44:04 - Vanderpump Rules 44:32 - 52:37 MORE FALL TV 44:42 - 50:32 Empire 50:32 - 52:23 Scream Queens 52:41 - THINGS WE DON’T RECOMMEND 53:18 - 55:01 Blindspot 55:02 - 56:08 Rosewood 58:00 - 58:18 Limitless 58:19 - 58:45 The Player NEXT WEEK: We celebrate Sadie Hawkins Day, that most and/or least feminist of holidays, with a gender-swap double feature: TOOTSIE (1982) SICARIO (2015) Tipple of the Week: Tootsie Roll Cocktails

This week we’re donning our literary canon sports coats (do they have elbow patches? Of course they do) and digging into some short stories. There’s lots to unpack in these tales of war, tradition, madness and bad decor, and we’re just the wine drinking gals to do it. Pull up a chair and think up a meaningful story for everything in your pockets. It’s time for Après Culture.

This week, with special guest April Maguire, we’re spoiling the heck out of a pair of zeitgeist-y TV shows. We talk rape, CGI, fan theories, and zombie Jon Snow in an uneven season of Game of Thrones. Then we dig into OITNB’s twisty treatment of its very human characters, the importance of faith this season, a much smarter and more considered treatment of rape, and one very unfortunate lapse in the show’s usually smart approach to racial stereotypes. Pull up a chair and keep an eye on that one kid who SO CLEARLY RESENTS YOUR NEW WILDLING POLICIES—it’s time for Après Culture.

This week we’re assigning each other pop culture homework, and discussing the results. First, Sara Ann made everyone watch Korean drama Secret Garden, a romantic comedy about a snobby department store CEO and humble stuntwoman who can’t stand each other -- at first. Did Kasey and Margaret find it worth putting up with the subtitles? Next we debate the attractions of Kasey’s assignment, lifestyle blogs The Everygirl, Into the Gloss, Cupcakes and Cashmere, Style Me Pretty Living, Elements of Style, and of course, Goop. Turns out Margaret has OPINIONS on lifestyle blogs. And lastly, Margaret’s picks: British teen dramas Misfits, about a bunch of delinquents who find themselves with superpowers and proceed to not exactly save the world, and Skins, about actors you’ve seen in other things, but as teenagers, and doing very non-teenager-appropriate things (very). Kasey and Sara Ann are fans--except for the one part Sara Ann REALLY IS NOT a fan of. Pull up a chair and start humming your favorite Korean theme song—it’s time for Après Culture.

This week we’re looking back at shows that surprised us, disappointed us, won us over or finally lost our love this past TV season. (We may be the only Pop Culture pundits to mention Fixer Upper in our year-end review. Maybe.) Then we’re looking forward to summer, with a ton of returning favorites and possible new loves, plus all the TV we’re finally, totally catching up on now that TV has “slowed down.” It’s a whirlwind of awesome, and we couldn’t be more excited. Pull up a chair and open your spreadsheet of TV to do—it’s time for Après Culture.

This week we’re observing Memorial Day with German U-boat film Das Boot, about a crew of average German sailors just trying to survive the Third Reich’s disastrous war. Then we’re talking two of the best episodes of one of the best shows ever, M*A*S*H. From season 1, “Sometimes You Hear the Bullet,” and from season 2, “Abyssinia, Henry.” Pull up a chair and picture your hairiest uncle in a Carmen Miranda costume—it’s time for Après Culture.

This week we’re relentlessly dissecting the Mad Men finale. We’ll settle for once and for all what that Coke commercial meant, explain why that nameless secretary gave Pete a cactus, of all things, and get real about how Mad Men changed our lives. Plus, we guarantee we’re the only one of the literally millions of Mad Men finale reviews this week to name check both Alfred, Lord Tennyson and Wyatt Earp. That’s right, check us out: we’re complex. Pull up a chair and give your Bloody Mary a contemplative stir—it’s time for Après Culture.

This week we’re honoring our mothers (or at least the general idea of motherhood): we talk seminal weepy Terms of Endearment, including John Lithgow’s unexpected role and the genteel way one died of cancer in 1983. (SPOILERS) Then we do a totally comprehensive survey of the sitcom Mother’s Day, from Golden Girls to The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air to The Middle. We found some sharp writing and some affecting insight, and also a whole lot of PG-rated masturbation jokes. And it wouldn’t be Apres Culture unless Sara Ann tried a kind of booze she’d never had before (white wine spritzers, y’all!). Pull up a chair; it’s time for Apres Culture.

This week we’re talking action, from modern franchise installments to classic Luc Besson flicks. We’ll render the judgment you’ve no doubt been waiting for before deciding to see the blockbusters du jour. Then we’ll jump back to the 90s for a French flick that got no sequels but still started a cottage industry, plus an assassin movie that amounts to “Lolita with explosions.” And we’ll finish off with a VERY IMPORTANT BET about the upcoming Mad Max reboot. So grab a nice anonymous Belgian ale and pull up a seat: it’s time for Après Culture.

This week we talk about train-adjacent murder, starting with Paula Hawkins’ immensely popular new novel, The Girl on the Train, a murder mystery full of unreliable narrators, metaphor-laden commuter trains, and suburban ennui. Then we head back to 1951 for Alfred Hitchcock’s classic, Strangers on a Train. Is there more to see than the famous strangers switching murders setup? And why does Hitchcock put his scary bad guy in a monogrammed, lobster-patterned neck tie? We finish up a Pulitzers quiz full of high-falutin’ literary trivia you can definitely use to impress strangers at bars. (Go ahead, get your Cliff Clavin on! Everybody loves that guy!) So mix yourself an ironic gin and tonic and get comfortable: it’s time for Après Culture.

This week on Après Culture, we’re taking a look at two canon-worthy movies based on the same fairy tale, Beauty and the Beast. Criterion’s restored version of Jean Cocteau’s Beauty and the Beast is streaming on Hulu Plus. Disney’s version isn’t streaming anywhere (nothing streams from the vault), but it can be borrowed from your local library, or almost any friend who has young children. Get more of-the-moment wit and wisdom on Twitter @apresculture, plus our between-episodes blogging at our website, apresculture.com. Thanks for listening!