I'm A Sophisticate and So Can You!

Did you miss us? We're back just in time to completely miss spooky season with our first dip into the well of media that is in the canon not because it's good, but because it's really, really bad. And we're starting with the "mother" of them all: Mommie Dearest! See Faye Dunaway screaming at her daughter while slathered in cold cream! Or Faye Dunaway chopping down a tree while slathered in cold cream! Or abusing her maid while--listen, I don't know why, but Faye Dunaway spends a lot of this movie covered in cold cream. It's certainly a movie, and we certainly watched it, and now we have opinions!This episode contains strong language, as well as discussions of physical, verbal, and emotional abuse.Co-Hosts: Sydney Painter and Anthony PinggeraTheme music by Dana Wilentz.If you enjoyed the show, don't forget to leave a rating, review, and/or subscribe wherever you catch your pods! If you leave us a review, we'll be sure to read it on the air in a future episode. We truly appreciate all of you for listening.Follow the show on Twitter, Instagram (soon), and TikTok (soon) at @SophisticatePod. Sydney is on Tiktok at @trashanalysis. Anthony is at @AnxiousArchfey on both TikTok and Twitter. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We've been taking a little bit of a break here at I'm A Sophisticate and So Can You, but in honor of Banned Books Week, we wanted to rewind time to our first book episode, in which we discussed one of the most frequently challenged and banned books in the United States: "I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings" by Maya Angelou.This episode contains explicit language, as well as discussions of sexual violence.Co-Hosts: Sydney Painter and Anthony PinggeraTheme music by Dana Wilentz.If you enjoyed the show, don't forget to leave a rating, review, and/or subscribe wherever you catch your pods! If you leave us a review, we'll be sure to read it on the air in a future episode. We truly appreciate all of you for listening.Follow the show on Twitter, Instagram (soon), and TikTok (soon) at @SophisticatePod. Sydney is on Tiktok at @trashanalysis. Anthony is at @AnxiousArchfey on both TikTok and Twitter. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Hi, Barbie! It's Barbenheimer, and we're here celebrating the first billion-dollar female-directed blockbuster: Barbie! Greta Gerwig and Margot Robbie continue their streak of creating excellent entertainment while also challenging the Kendom that is our current hellscape reality. We discuss the exquisite needle drops, the brilliant acting, paddle hands, and the fact that, at the end of the day, we're both just Weird Barbie.This episode contains explicit language.Co-Hosts: Sydney Painter and Anthony PinggeraTheme music by Dana Wilentz.If you enjoyed the show, don't forget to leave a rating, review, and/or subscribe wherever you catch your pods! If you leave us a review, we'll be sure to read it on the air in a future episode. We truly appreciate all of you for listening.Follow the show on Twitter, Instagram (soon), and TikTok (soon) at @SophisticatePod. Sydney is on Tiktok at @trashanalysis. Anthony is at @AnxiousArchfey on both TikTok and Twitter. Arie doesn't want to be found or perceived, so don't ask. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On this, our fortieth episode, we bring back our first returning guest, friend of the pod (and Anthony's wife) Arie Levine, to discuss one of the most unabashedly bizarre movies of the 1990s: The Lisa Kudrow and Mira Sorvino comedy "Romy and Michele's High School Reunion." It's the story of two women being ashamed that they're living lives that any millennial would kill for! But also high school bullying trauma? With a dream ballet? We don't know, y'all; a lot happens in this Loose Ninety.This episode contains explicit language.Co-Hosts: Sydney Painter and Anthony PinggeraTheme music by Dana Wilentz.If you enjoyed the show, don't forget to leave a rating, review, and/or subscribe wherever you catch your pods! If you leave us a review, we'll be sure to read it on the air in a future episode. We truly appreciate all of you for listening.Follow the show on Twitter, Instagram (soon), and TikTok (soon) at @SophisticatePod. Sydney is on Tiktok at @trashanalysis. Anthony is at @AnxiousArchfey on both TikTok and Twitter. Arie doesn't want to be found or perceived, so don't ask. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We took a couple of weeks off, but we've come roaring back with a breakdown of one of the wildest, darkest, and most compelling seasons of television (not just reality television) that we've seen in a long time: Season 10 of "Vanderpump Rules"! You know we're here to talk all about the Scandoval of it all. Or as Anthony calls it, Mad Madix: Fury Road. Or as they also call it, Mister Ariana and the Bambi-Eyed B*tch. If you've watched the season, we're going to give you a deep-dish discussion with our thoughts and feelings and MANY opinions. If you haven't watched the season, or even watched the show at all, we're going to give you the full breakdown of why you NEED to watch this fifteen-hour real-life Shakespearean tragedy. It is brilliant. It is chilling. It is unhinged. It's Bravo time, baby!This episode contains explicit language and discussions of adultery and emotionally manipulative behavior.Co-Hosts: Sydney Painter and Anthony PinggeraTheme music by Dana Wilentz.If you enjoyed the show, don't forget to leave a rating, review, and/or subscribe wherever you catch your pods! If you leave us a review, we'll be sure to read it on the air in a future episode. We truly appreciate all of you for listening.Follow the show on Twitter, Instagram (soon), and TikTok (soon) at @SophisticatePod. Sydney is on Tiktok at @trashanalysis. Anthony is at @AnxiousArchfey on both TikTok and Twitter. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

After our lengthy deep dive into Dolly Parton, we decided to give ourselves a well-deserved break by watching *checks notes* the two loudest movies on the face of the Earth, both of which--spoiler alert--were written by Chris Columbus, the director of Home Alone, which was good, and the first two "Harry Potter" movies, which were...less so. First up, we have the unexpected Christmas family/black comedy/horror/wet puppet romp Gremlins. Then, we watch the most star-studded cast of '80s tweens scream over each other while searching for pirate treasure in The Goonies! This episode contains explicit language, as well as discussions of violence, including the death of Santa Claus.Co-Hosts: Sydney Painter and Anthony PinggeraTheme music by Dana Wilentz.If you enjoyed the show, don't forget to leave a rating, review, and/or subscribe wherever you catch your pods! If you leave us a review, we'll be sure to read it on the air in a future episode. We truly appreciate all of you for listening.Follow the show on Twitter, Instagram (soon), and TikTok (soon) at @SophisticatePod. Sydney is on Tiktok at @trashanalysis. Anthony is at @AnxiousArchfey on both TikTok and Twitter. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We return with a vengeance for the second part of our first (intentional) two-parter as we cover the last twenty-five years of Dolly Parton's oeuvre. Topics of discussion include the Kenny G-ification of '90s music, Dolly's changing relationship with the divine, and the weird right-wing 2003 time capsule that is "For God And Country." Strap in, folks: this Backwoods Barbie is about to get weird with it.This episode contains explicit language, as well as brief discussions of violence, including the invasions of Iraq and Afghanistan.Co-Hosts: Sydney Painter and Anthony PinggeraTheme music by Dana Wilentz.If you enjoyed the show, don't forget to leave a rating, review, and/or subscribe wherever you catch your pods! If you leave us a review, we'll be sure to read it on the air in a future episode. We truly appreciate all of you for listening.Follow the show on Twitter, Instagram (soon), and TikTok (soon) at @SophisticatePod. Sydney is on Tiktok at @trashanalysis. Anthony is at @AnxiousArchfey on both TikTok and Twitter. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On our first planned two-part series, we do "the Full Waits" on an icon, legend, and one of our favorite people who we know very little about: Dolly Parton! With over forty studio albums released over the last forty-five years, we simply could not cover the entire scope of Dolly's career in one episode. In our first part, we cover Dolly's debut, her rise to fame with Porter Wagoner, and of course, the day that she wrote both "Jolene" and "I Will Always Love You."This episode contains explicit language, as well as brief discussions of violence, including violence against women.Co-Hosts: Sydney Painter and Anthony PinggeraTheme music by Dana Wilentz.If you enjoyed the show, don't forget to leave a rating, review, and/or subscribe wherever you catch your pods! If you leave us a review, we'll be sure to read it on the air in a future episode. We truly appreciate all of you for listening.Follow the show on Twitter at @SophisticatePod. Sydney is on Tiktok at @trashanalysis. Anthony is at @AnxiousArchfey on both TikTok and Twitter. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

For most of the month of March, Sydney was on a cruise ship in Norway. To celebrate, we have another installment of our recurring segment, "Why Are You Like This?" to cover a different disastrous cruise: the Titanic! This movie is for Sydney what the Star Wars trilogy is for Anthony--that is to say, a true core text. Was there actually room on the door? Is it okay to just watch this movie for the ship content? How much does true love really matter at the end of the world? All of this and more is on the docket, so pull on your life preservers and get in the lifeboat, loser, we're taking to the sea!This episode contains explicit language as well as extensive discussions of maritime disasters.Co-Hosts: Sydney Painter and Anthony PinggeraTheme music by Dana Wilentz.If you enjoyed the show, don't forget to leave a rating, review, and/or subscribe wherever you catch your pods! If you leave us a review, we'll be sure to read it on the air in a future episode. We truly appreciate all of you for listening.Follow the show on Twitter at @SophisticatePod. Sydney is on Tiktok at @trashanalysis. Anthony is at @AnxiousArchfey on both TikTok and Twitter. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Brush off your endoskeletons and spin up those time machines, because we're doing a double-feature of classic Arnold Schwarzenegger/James Cameron sci-fi action movies: 1984's "The Terminator" and 1991's "Terminator 2: Judgment Day"! Eight-year-old Anthony is dying of happiness. As it turns out, these two movies are much more different than we expected. One has also stood the test of time to be one of the most influential and beloved action movies ever made, while the other is a slasher movie with a killer robot. We'll let you figure out which one is which.This episode contains strong language, as well as frank discussions of violence, including (fictional) gun violence and mass shootings.Co-Hosts: Sydney Painter and Anthony PinggeraTheme music by Dana Wilentz.If you enjoyed the show, don't forget to leave a rating, review, and/or subscribe wherever you catch your pods! If you leave us a review, we'll be sure to read it on the air in a future episode. We truly appreciate all of you for listening.Follow the show on Twitter at @SophisticatePod. Sydney is on Tiktok at @trashanalysis. Anthony is at @AnxiousArchfey on both TikTok and Twitter. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Sometimes, the art of the past should stay in the past. This week, we listened to the band without whom the best music of the Nineties would not exist: Pixies! Does a groundbreaking band still feel fresh and new 35 years later? We certainly aim to find out. Then, we sit down for a viewing of the movie that made Paul Thomas Anderson a household name, that paen to the adult film industry of the 1970s, Boogie Nights! Is it possible to hate something more than we hated "Chinatown"? We certainly aim to find out.This episode contains graphic language, as well as discussions of pornography and violence, including sexual violence and violence against women.Co-Hosts: Sydney Painter and Anthony PinggeraTheme music by Dana Wilentz.If you enjoyed the show, don't forget to leave a rating, review, and/or subscribe wherever you catch your pods! If you leave us a review, we'll be sure to read it on the air in a future episode. We truly appreciate all of you for listening.Follow the show on Twitter at @SophisticatePod. Sydney is on Tiktok at @trashanalysis. Anthony is at @AnxiousArchfey on both TikTok and Twitter. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Having fixed their part one whoopsie-doodle, Anthony and Sydney return for the second part of their two-part discussion of "Star Wars" Episodes IV through VI.This episode contains graphic language, as well as discussions of violence.Co-Hosts: Sydney Painter and Anthony PinggeraTheme music by Dana Wilentz.If you enjoyed the show, don't forget to leave a rating, review, and/or subscribe wherever you catch your pods! If you leave us a review, we'll be sure to read it on the air in a future episode. We truly appreciate all of you for listening.Follow the show on Twitter at @SophisticatePod. Sydney is on Tiktok at @trashanalysis. Anthony is at @AnxiousArchfey on both TikTok and Twitter. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Cue John Williams and start the opening title crawl, because this week, Sydney cops to a BIG hole in her knowledge: the original "Star Wars" trilogy! Anthony, as a lifelong Star Wars nerd, is scandalized. So scandalized, in fact, that they accidentally didn't record the last half of the podcast episode and now this has to be a two-parter! Whoopsie-doodle. This episode contains graphic language, as well as discussions of violence.Co-Hosts: Sydney Painter and Anthony PinggeraTheme music by Dana Wilentz.If you enjoyed the show, don't forget to leave a rating, review, and/or subscribe wherever you catch your pods! If you leave us a review, we'll be sure to read it on the air in a future episode. We truly appreciate all of you for listening.Follow the show on Twitter at @SophisticatePod. Sydney is on Tiktok at @trashanalysis. Anthony is at @AnxiousArchfey on both TikTok and Twitter. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Happy 2023, y'all! We're back from our holiday break with our thirtieth episode. This time, we're sitting down to watch our third Keanu Reeves movie: John Wick! Then, we spin up the prodigies of pop punk, Paramore!This episode contains graphic language, as well as discussions of violence, including violence against animals.Co-Hosts: Sydney Painter and Anthony PinggeraTheme music by Dana Wilentz.If you enjoyed the show, don't forget to leave a rating, review, and/or subscribe wherever you catch your pods! If you leave us a review, we'll be sure to read it on the air in a future episode. We truly appreciate all of you for listening.Follow the show on Twitter at @SophisticatePod. Sydney is on Tiktok at @trashanalysis. Anthony is at @AnxiousArchfey on both TikTok and Twitter. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

It's a new dawn, it's a new day, it's a new life, and we're feeling good. This week, we talk about Nina Simone, a woman whose work is so influential and so singular that even though she's beloved, she's still underrated! Then, we sit down to discuss the wild, Hitchcockian mistaken-identity caper "North By Northwest"!This episode contains explicit language and brief discussions of violence, including violence against women.This episode contains explicit language, as well as discussions of death, drug use, and the AIDS crisis.Co-Hosts: Sydney Painter and Anthony PinggeraTheme music by Dana Wilentz.If you enjoyed the show, don't forget to leave a rating, review, and/or subscribe wherever you catch your pods! If you leave us a review, we'll be sure to read it on the air in a future episode. We truly appreciate all of you for listening.Follow the show on Twitter at @SophisticatePod. Sydney is on Tiktok at @trashanalysis. Anthony is at @AnxiousArchfey on both TikTok and Twitter.Anthony was on another podcast recently! They talked all about Weird Al's early album "Weird Al in 3-D" on the Beer'd Al Podcast! They had a blast; go check it out wherever you get your pods! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

November 29th. 9 am. Pacific Standard Time. From here on in, we talk all about our first musical, a show that Sydney knows like the back of her hand but that Anthony has studiously avoided for their entire life: Rent! To help us out, we bring on resident musical theatre nerd, Anthony's wife and everyone's landlord, Arie Levine! From the independent production that the three of us all saw to the original Broadway cast, we discuss a show that caught the imaginations of every theatre kid (except Anthony) in the nineties and early aughts, that shined a light on an epidemic that we can never allow ourselves to forget, and that changed the way musicals sound forever.This episode contains explicit language, as well as discussions of death, drug use, and the AIDS crisis.Co-Hosts: Sydney Painter and Anthony PinggeraTheme music by Dana Wilentz.If you enjoyed the show, don't forget to leave a rating, review, and/or subscribe wherever you catch your pods! If you leave us a review, we'll be sure to read it on the air in a future episode. We truly appreciate all of you for listening.Follow the show on Twitter at @SophisticatePod. Sydney is on Tiktok at @trashanalysis. Anthony is at @AnxiousArchfey on both TikTok and Twitter. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On October 21st, 2022, Taylor Swift released her newest album, "Midnights." But did you know that Carly Rae Jepsen released her newest album on the EXACT SAME DAY?! Two titans face off for control of our hearts, minds, and our Spotify playlists. This is Girl Pop Thunderdome, and we are merely here to bear witness.This episode contains explicit language and brief discussions of disordered eating and drinking.Co-Hosts: Sydney Painter and Anthony PinggeraTheme music by Dana Wilentz.If you enjoyed the show, don't forget to leave a rating, review, and/or subscribe wherever you catch your pods! If you leave us a review, we'll be sure to read it on the air in a future episode. We truly appreciate all of you for listening.Follow the show on Twitter at @SophisticatePod. Sydney is on Tiktok at @trashanalysis. Anthony is at @AnxiousArchfey on both TikTok and Twitter. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

How better to celebrate Halloween than by releasing an episode on (the day after) Halloween about the archetypical slasher movie, Halloween? If you think of anything, don't tell us, because this is what we've got. To give us horror newbs a hand, we called in friend of the pod and horror movie aficionado Anthony Bellantoni to help us place this classic film in the cosmic canon.This episode contains explicit language and discussions of graphic violence.Co-Hosts: Sydney Painter and Anthony PinggeraSpecial Guest: Anthony BellantoniTheme music by Dana Wilentz.If you enjoyed the show, don't forget to leave a rating, review, and/or subscribe wherever you catch your pods! If you leave us a review, we'll be sure to read it on the air in a future episode. We truly appreciate all of you for listening.Follow the show on Twitter at @SophisticatePod. Sydney is on Tiktok at @trashanalysis. Anthony is at @AnxiousArchfey on both TikTok and Twitter. Anthony Bellantoni is on Instagram at @tony.bellantoni. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

From Ridley Scott to Alfred Hitchcock, we're continuing our celebration of Spooky Season with our first two-movies episode! First, we watched the film that started the slasher genre (and one of Anthony's favorite movies) and made the Bates Motel a household name, "Psycho." Then, we head for the farthest reaches of deep space for the science fiction masterpiece, "Alien." Toilets! Facehuggers! Plot-armored cats?! This episode has everything.This episode contains explicit language, as well as discussions of graphic violence and dissociative identities.Co-Hosts: Sydney Painter and Anthony PinggeraTheme music by Dana Wilentz.If you enjoyed the show, don't forget to leave a rating, review, and/or subscribe wherever you catch your pods! If you leave us a review, we'll be sure to read it on the air in a future episode. We truly appreciate all of you for listening.Follow the show on Twitter at @SophisticatePod. Sydney is on Tiktok at @trashanalysis. Anthony is at @AnxiousArchfey on both TikTok and Twitter. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On our second episode of our recurring segment, "Why Are You Like This?", Anthony and Sydney gush about an artist who they've both been obsessed with for nigh on fifteen years: Lady Gaga! They discuss the origins of their love, how Mother Monster has changed the game and pushed the envelope, and of course, their experience at the once-in-a-lifetime spectacle that was the Chromatica Ball. Paws up, little monsters!This episode contains explicit language and discussions of self-harm.Co-Hosts: Sydney Painter and Anthony PinggeraTheme music by Dana Wilentz.If you enjoyed the show, don't forget to leave a rating, review, and/or subscribe wherever you catch your pods! If you leave us a review, we'll be sure to read it on the air in a future episode. We truly appreciate all of you for listening.Follow the show on Twitter at @SophisticatePod. Sydney is on Tiktok at @trashanalysis. Anthony is at @AnxiousArchfey on both TikTok and Twitter. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

From the streets of nineties Berlin to the biggest heavy metal band in the world, we're bringing the intensity! This week, we cover the titans of thrash metal and bestselling band of the 1990s, Metallica! Then we dive into time loops and money heists with the relentlessly German "Run Lola Run".This episode contains explicit language and brief discussions of violence.Co-Hosts: Sydney Painter and Anthony PinggeraTheme music by Dana Wilentz.If you enjoyed the show, don't forget to leave a rating, review, and/or subscribe wherever you catch your pods! If you leave us a review, we'll be sure to read it on the air in a future episode. We truly appreciate all of you for listening.Follow the show on Twitter at @SophisticatePod. Sydney is on Tiktok at @trashanalysis. Anthony is at @AnxiousArchfey on both TikTok and Twitter. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Ooh, baby, do we have a special episode for all of you! We're sitting down with ADHD advocate/sex educator/TTRPG player/fellow queer millennial Cate Osborn to discuss the 1999 cinematic movie masterpiece, The Mummy. Cate might just be the internet's foremost expert on The Mummy franchise, so hold on to your butts; just like Imhotep, this episode is real juicy!This episode contains explicit language and brief discussions of violence.You can always find Cate at Catieosaurus.com, which has links to all of her socials, including (but not limited to) TikTok, Twitter, and Twitch. You can also listen to her show, Catie and Erik's Infinite Quest, wherever you get your podcasts!Co-Hosts: Sydney Painter and Anthony PinggeraTheme music by Dana Wilentz.If you enjoyed the show, don't forget to leave a rating, review, and/or subscribe wherever you catch your pods! If you leave us a review, we'll be sure to read it on the air in a future episode. We truly appreciate all of you for listening.Follow the show on Twitter at @SophisticatePod. Sydney is on Tiktok at @trashanalysis. Anthony is at @AnxiousArchfey on both TikTok and Twitter. Our GDPR privacy policy was updated on August 8, 2022. Visit acast.com/privacy for more information.

Some art is so of-the-moment that looking back on it even a few years later can be confusing and disappointing. Some art ascends the era of its making to become timeless. On this episode, we deal with both. First, it's the indie comedy that made Jon Heder a star and made every teenage boy in 2004 ask: does the chicken have large talons? It's "Napoleon Dynamite"! Then, we spin up the records of one of the most influential, talented, and emotionally haunted male recording artists of the twentieth century: Marvin Gaye!This episode contains explicit language, as well as discussions of depression, drug addiction, self-harm, and murder.Co-Hosts: Sydney Painter and Anthony PinggeraTheme music by Dana Wilentz.Additional reading: Divided Soul: The Life of Marvin Gaye, by David Ritz.If you enjoyed the show, don't forget to leave a rating, review, and/or subscribe wherever you catch your pods! If you leave us a review, we'll be sure to read it on the air in a future episode. We truly appreciate all of you for listening.Follow the show on Twitter at @SophisticatePod. Sydney is on Tiktok at @trashanalysis. Anthony is at @AnxiousArchfey on both TikTok and Twitter. Our GDPR privacy policy was updated on August 8, 2022. Visit acast.com/privacy for more information.

After our last foray into the world of literature, we were looking for a book that would really kick us in the proverbial face. Enter the mad genius Virginia Woolf and her modernist classic, "Mrs. Dalloway." If you've ever wondered how a hundred-year-old piece of art could still feel relevant, the answer is right here. Was it easy? No. Was it worth it? Every step of the way. And as a bonus, we also have a lengthy discussion of Nicole Kidman's award-winning turn in "The Hours"!This episode contains explicit language and discussions of suicide, both fictional and historical.Co-Hosts: Sydney Painter and Anthony PinggeraTheme music by Dana Wilentz.If you enjoyed the show, don't forget to leave a rating, review, and/or subscribe wherever you catch your pods! If you leave us a review, we'll be sure to read it on the air in a future episode. We truly appreciate all of you for listening.Follow the show on Twitter at @SophisticatePod. Sydney is on Tiktok at @trashanalysis. Anthony is at @AnxiousArchfey on both TikTok and Twitter. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Weird wedding dances? Waterboarding? A queercoded mirror? This episode has everything! This week, we cover the musical genius that Stranger Things brought back into the cultural zeitgeist: Kate Bush! Then, we go way, way back in film history to the very first Walt Disney Animated Feature: Snow White and the Seven Dwarves! This episode contains explicit language and brief mentions of violence, including poisoning.Co-Hosts: Sydney Painter and Anthony PinggeraTheme music by Dana Wilentz.If you enjoyed the show, don't forget to leave a rating, review, and/or subscribe wherever you catch your pods! If you leave us a review, we'll be sure to read it on the air in a future episode. We truly appreciate all of you for listening.Follow the show on Twitter at @SophisticatePod. Sydney is on Tiktok at @trashanalysis. Anthony is at @AnxiousArchfey on both TikTok and Twitter. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

We're tilting at windmills, y'all. On our second episode about a book, we take on a true titan of postcolonial literature: Salman Rushdie's epic, Midnight's Children. This was a doozy of a book in every possible way.Co-Hosts: Sydney Painter and Anthony PinggeraTheme music by Dana Wilentz.If you enjoyed the show, don't forget to leave a rating, review, and/or subscribe wherever you catch your pods! If you leave us a review, we'll be sure to read it on the air in a future episode. We truly appreciate all of you for listening.Follow the show on Twitter at @SophisticatePod. Sydney is on Tiktok at @trashanalysis. Anthony is at @AnxiousArchfey on both TikTok and Twitter. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

On this episode, we watch the most wholesome movie, E.T., and then listen to the least wholesome band, the Sex Pistols. Or at least, that was the plan, until Sydney went rogue.This episode contains strong language and brief discussions of terminating pregnancies.Co-Hosts: Sydney Painter and Anthony PinggeraTheme music by Dana Wilentz.If you enjoyed the show, don't forget to leave a rating, review, and/or subscribe wherever you catch your pods! If you leave us a review, we'll be sure to read it on the air in a future episode. We truly appreciate all of you for listening.Follow the show on Twitter at @SophisticatePod. Sydney is on Tiktok at @trashanalysis. Anthony is at @AnxiousArchfey on both TikTok and Twitter. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

We might as well call this episode "all nostalgia, all the time!" First, we review that classic 80's romantic comedy, "Moonstruck" (or as young people call it, the Cher movie with "snap out of it!"). Then, We spin up the kings of mid-aughts indie rock, Arcade Fire, and cry about how we're not as young as we used to be. But in a fun way, we promise.This episode contains explicit language and a brief discussion of Nicolas Cage losing his hand in a deli accident.Co-Hosts: Sydney Painter and Anthony PinggeraTheme music by Dana Wilentz.If you enjoyed the show, don't forget to leave a rating, review, and/or subscribe wherever you catch your pods! If you leave us a review, we'll be sure to read it on the air in a future episode. We truly appreciate all of you for listening.Follow the show on Twitter at @SophisticatePod. Sydney is on Tiktok at @trashanalysis. Anthony is at @AnxiousArchfey on both TikTok and Twitter. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

This is the second part of our two-part COVID-palooza coverage of "The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills." On this episode, we cover Seasons 3 through 5, including the continuing Tragedy of Kim and Kyle, the weird blip that is Season 4, and that fight in Amsterdam! This episode contains explicit language and frank discussions of addiction and domestic abuse.Co-Hosts: Sydney Painter and Anthony PinggeraTheme music by Dana Wilentz.If you enjoyed the show, don't forget to leave a rating, review, and/or subscribe wherever you catch your pods! If you leave us a review, we'll be sure to read it on the air in a future episode. We truly appreciate all of you for listening.Follow the show on Twitter at @SophisticatePod. Sydney is on Tiktok at @trashanalysis. Anthony is at @AnxiousArchfey on both TikTok and Twitter. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

If you've ever wondered what we do when we get stuck in the house with COVID, the answer is: we binge five seasons of The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills and then record a podcast about it!We had a lot to say, so this is going to be a two-part episode, with the second part releasing in one week. This first episode covers Seasons 1 and 2 of the Real Housewives of Beverly Hills; the next episode will cover Seasons 3 through 5. Sydney is well and truly a scholar of the franchise, so this should be a treat for everyone, whether you're a fan of the show or not!This episode contains explicit language and frank discussions of some of the heavy subjects that get covered in the TV show, including domestic abuse and suicide. As always, we try not to dwell too much on the details, but if you are particularly sensitive to that subject matter, please take care while listening.Co-Hosts: Sydney Painter and Anthony PinggeraTheme music by Dana Wilentz.If you enjoyed the show, don't forget to leave a rating, review, and/or subscribe wherever you catch your pods! If you leave us a review, we'll be sure to read it on the air in a future episode. We truly appreciate all of you for listening.Follow the show on Twitter at @SophisticatePod. Sydney is on Tiktok at @trashanalysis. Anthony is at @AnxiousArchfey on both TikTok and Twitter. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Sydney and Anthony are getting brainy this week as they find the groove of the legendary queer funk/rock girl group, Labelle! Then, they try to wrap their heads around David Lynch's "Mulholland Drive." Does the movie make sense? What is sense, anyway? Only time will tell...or will it?This episode contains explicit language and frank discussions of sexuality.Co-Hosts: Sydney Painter and Anthony PinggeraTheme music by Dana Wilentz.Additional Reading:Glitter Up the Dark: How Pop Music Broke the Binary - Sasha GeffenWhy Labelle Matters - Adele BerteiIf you enjoyed the show, don't forget to leave a rating, review, and/or subscribe wherever you catch your pods! If you leave us a review, we'll be sure to read it on the air in a future episode. We truly appreciate all of you for listening.Follow the show on Twitter at @SophisticatePod. Sydney is on Tiktok at @trashanalysis. Anthony is at @AnxiousArchfey on both TikTok and Twitter. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

If you ever wanted to go back in time to convince your younger self to have better taste, this is the episode for you. This week, Anthony and Sydney are joined by their good friend and podcaster/voice actor extraordinaire Emma Sherr-Ziarko to discuss some media from their teen years. First, they zip to Neo-Tokyo to wrap their heads around the mind-bending power of Akira! Then, they sit down to talk about one of Emma's favorite bands (and Sydney's new obsession): Evanescence!This episode contains explicit language and frank discussions of drug use, of violence, including violence against women, and of mental health challenges.Co-Hosts: Sydney Painter and Anthony PinggeraGuest: Emma Sherr-Ziarko. Find Emma on Twitter at @TheGreatDilemma. Check out her podcast Pairing on all platforms or find her on SkillsHub!Theme music by Dana Wilentz.If you enjoyed the show, don't forget to leave a rating, review, and/or subscribe wherever you catch your pods! If you leave us a review, we'll be sure to read it on the air in a future episode. We truly appreciate all of you for listening.Follow the show on Twitter at @SophisticatePod. Sydney is on Tiktok at @trashanalysis. Anthony is at @AnxiousArchfey on both TikTok and Twitter. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

On this our first episode about a book, we delve into one of the most beloved memoirs of the twentieth century: Maya Angelou's "I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings." As it turns out, Dr. Angelou lived one of the wildest, most challenging, and altogether most interesting lives we've ever seen, and this book only covers her childhood! To say more would be to spoil the episode, so let's dive right in!This episode contains explicit language and discussions of violence against women. There is a discussion of an assault that some may find disturbing that starts at approximately 15:30.Co-hosts: Sydney Painter and Anthony PinggeraTheme music by Dana WilentzIf you enjoyed the show, don't forget to leave a rating, review, and/or subscribe wherever you catch your pods! If you leave us a review, we'll be sure to read it on the air in a future episode. We truly appreciate all of you for listening.Follow the show on Twitter at @SophisticatePod. Sydney is on Tiktok at @trashanalysis. Anthony is at @AnxiousArchfey on both TikTok and Twitter. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

From the plains of Texas to the crashing surf of Los Angeles, this episode has some wild rides. First, we dig into the discography of country-pop sensation Kacey Musgraves and ask the question: does anything get her down? Then, we put on our rubber president masks and watch the most famous movie to feature both surfing and bank heists: Point Break! Get ready: the little hand says it's Go Time!This episode features explicit language and frank discussions of violence, including violence against animals.Co-hosts: Sydney Painter and Anthony PinggeraTheme music by Dana WilentzIf you enjoyed the show, don't forget to leave a rating, review, and/or subscribe wherever you catch your pods! If you leave us a review, we'll be sure to read it on the air in a future episode. We truly appreciate all of you for listening.Follow the show on Twitter at @SophisticatePod. Sydney is on Tiktok at @trashanalysis. Anthony is at @AnxiousArchfey on both TikTok and Twitter. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

HAPPY APRIL FOOL'S! To mark the occasion, we're joining Operation Switcheroo and swapping feeds for a day with another podcast that we hope you'll enjoy. Featured here is an episode of Alphabet Flight, a show that takes an encyclopedic look at the Marvel Universe in alphabetical order. This particular episode covers the Red Ghost's Super Apes, a group of--you guessed it--superpowered apes (technically, two apes and a baboon). If you enjoy Alphabet Flight, you can find more of their episodes wherever you catch your pods, and you can follow them @AlphabetFlight on Twitter.If you're itching for our regular content, don't worry: we're releasing our new episode on Tuesday! See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Dust off your bell-bottoms and summon the Mod Squad: we're diving into the late sixties! First, we sit down and watch "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid." Who's more charming: Paul Newman or Robert Redford? Let us know. Also, is anyone else picking up on the throuple vibes in this movie? Then, we peel that famous banana and listen to one of the most important bands of the era: The Velvet Underground!Co-hosts: Sydney Painter and Anthony PinggeraTheme music by Dana WilentzThis episode contains explicit language, and frank discussions of depictions of violence and drug use.If you enjoyed the show, don't forget to leave a rating, review, and/or subscribe wherever you catch your pods! If you leave us a review, we'll be sure to read it on the air in a future episode. We truly appreciate all of you for listening.Follow the show on Twitter at @SophisticatePod. Sydney is on Tiktok at @trashanalysis. Anthony is at @AnxiousArchfey on both TikTok and Twitter. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

On this, our first mini-episode of a segment that we're calling either "How Did We Get This Way?" or "Why Are You Like This?", Sydney and Anthony discuss something that they have seen and already love: The Matrix! We know that the rest of the tetralogy is a bit of a mess, but the first movie is still one of the best science fiction films ever made!This episode contains explicit language.Co-Hosts: Sydney Painter and Anthony PinggeraTheme music by Dana WilentzIf you enjoyed this episode, leave us a rating or review on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or by going to https://www.imasophisticate.com/reviews. For more content like this, follow us on social media! The show is @SophisticatePod on Twitter. Anthony is @AnxiousArchfey on Twitter and TikTok. Sydney is @trashanalysis on TikTok. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Wondering what this show is all about? Check out our short trailer to find out! See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Of all the podcasts in all the world, you just had to stumble into ours. This week, Sydney and Anthony take on Regina Spektor, the twee piano virtuoso of the mid-aughts, with surprising results. Then, they sit down to watch the other most famous screenplay of all time: Casablanca! Will it fare any better than Chinatown? Only time will tell. Here's looking at you, kid.This episode contains explicit language.Co-Hosts: Sydney Painter and Anthony PinggeraTheme music by Dana WilentzLike the show? Follow us on Twitter at SophisticatePod. Sydney is on Tiktok at trashanalysis, and Anthony is on Tiktok and Twitter as AnxiousArchfey. You can also visit our website at ImASophisticate.com, where you can check out past episodes and, if you're feeling generous, leave us a rating/review! Every review helps, and we really appreciate every one of them. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

On this episode, Sydney and Anthony cover one of the most popular balladeers of the '80s and '90s: Lionel Richie. Or, as most of our audience may know him, Nicole Richie's dad. Then, they tackle one of the most influential (and longest) action movies of all time: Seven Samurai! See if we answer Sydney's most burning question: are the horses in this movie okay?!This episode contains strong language and frank discussions of violence.Co-hosts: Sydney Painter and Anthony PinggeraTheme music by Dana Wilentz See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

While we were recording our first batch of episodes, our world was rocked by the release of Red (Taylor's Version). It was then that we admitted a shameful truth to each other: neither of us had listened to an entire Taylor Swift album before! We felt called to drop everything and devour her entire discography multiple times in the span of two weeks. And what better time than Valentine's Day (okay, the day after Valentine's Day) to release an episode about someone whose private life has been made so aggressively public?We hope you enjoy it; this one gets deep!This episode contains strong language and frank discussions of violence, including violence against women.Co-hosts: Sydney Painter and Anthony PinggeraTheme music by Dana Wilentz. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Did you know that Diablo Cody wrote a sapphic horror-comedy about demonic possession? Neither did we! This week, we revisit "Jennifer's Body" to find out if it's as criminally overlooked as some people say. But first, we tackle a legendary '90s alt-rock outfit: Garbage! TikTok, we blame you for this.Co-hosts: Sydney Painter and Anthony PinggeraTheme music by Dana WilentzThis episode contains strong language and frank discussions of violence, including violence against women. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

When you walk through the garden, you better watch your back. On this episode, Sydney and Anthony review one of the most influential, unique, and just plain bizarre musical artists of the 20th century: Tom Waits! Then, they head down to Jamaica for a review of How Stella Got Her Groove Back.Co-hosts: Sydney Painter and Anthony PinggeraTheme music by Dana Wilentz See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

One of the funniest movies ever made and a legendary hip hop group: what's not to love? This week, Sydney and Anthony listen to Public Enemy and watch This Is Spinal Tap. Strap in: this episode goes to eleven.This episode contains explicit language.Co-hosts: Anthony Pinggera and Sydney PainterTheme music by Dana Wilentz See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

She's my girlfriend! She's my lead singer! She's my girlfriend AND my lead singer! This week, Anthony and Sydney take on punk legends Sleater-Kinney and that perennial favorite of film bros everywhere: Chinatown.This episode contains explicit language and discussions of violence, including violence against women.Co-Hosts: Anthony Pinggera and Sydney PainterTheme music by Dana Wilentz See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

In our first episode, Sydney and Anthony explain what this podcast is about, and then leap headlong into the queer canon, tackling disco diva Donna Summer and the classic thriller "Whatever Happened to Baby Jane?"This episode contains explicit language and discussions of violence.Co-Hosts: Sydney Painter and Anthony PinggeraTheme music by Dana Wilentz See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.