Number 1s

Goodbye

yc (https://twitter.com/yc) joins Hoff and Ryan to help explain what Us REALLY means

Hozier's album Wasteland, Baby!; The Big Bang Theory S12E17 "The Conference Valuation." No movie, sorry

Ryan gave up on trying to come up with another way to do the episode titles

The Oscars; How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World (2nd viewing); Ariana Grande's thank u, next (2nd listen)

NCIS; Ariana Grande's thank u, next; How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World

Alita: Battle Angel; the Grammys; A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie's Hoodie SZN

Number 1s returns with Ryan Sartor as co-host. We talk Super Bowl LIII, The Lego Movie 2 and the Backstreet Boys album DNA.

Number 1s returns for a one-off revival episode in which Hoff, Ryan Sartor and Charles “Otter” Holmes dive deep into Drake’s new double album SCORPION.

The final episode of Number 1s (for a while, at least)! Ryan Sartor returns to help tackle the extra meaty lineup of READY PLAYER ONE (3:35), the XXXTentacion album ? (22:43) and the Stormy Daniels episode of 60 MINUTES (40:27). We also get into a broad and kind of bleak discussion about modern communication. Thanks to everyone for listening, and good luck engaging with pop culture without me telling you what to think about it!

Alex Ptak joins me to talk PACIFIC RIM UPRISING (2:41), Logic’s new album BOBBY TARANTINO II (17:33) and 48 HOURS S31E19, “The Fitbit Alibi” (31:07).

Ryan Sartor is back to give his take on BLACK PANTHER: THE ALBUM (6:37) and discuss the new TOMB RAIDER (15:49) and BLUE BLOODS S8E16, “Tale of Two Cities” (35:15).

It’s all books (and one movie) this week as I cover all the bestsellers that have been piling up for the last month or so! Michael Lewis joins me to talk Madeline L’Engle’s A WRINKLE IN TIME and its new film adaptation (3:52), Devon Talbott and I discuss J. D. Robb’s DARK IN DEATH (27:22), and my mom Jane McNichol reports on Kristin Hannah’s THE GREAT ALONE (42:18).

Andrei Alupului and Keith Bevacqua join me for the first Number 1s “Rewind” episode! We flash back to March 8th, 2008 and cover 10,000 B.C. (5:27), the Jack Johnson album SLEEP THROUGH THE STATIC (26:01), AMERICAN IDOL S7E14 (35:19) and the Eckhart Tolle book A NEW EARTH (45:29).

Se Joe and Nick Cardona join me to discuss BLACK PANTHER: THE ALBUM and the February 22nd episode of THE RACHEL MADDOW SHOW. Maddow wasn’t actually #1, I screwed that up, but it’s still a fun conversation!

Charles “Otter” Holmes (MTV News, Complex, Genius) returns to talk BLACK PANTHER (1:31), the Justin Timberlake album MAN OF THE WOODS (36:15) and CELEBRITY BIG BROTHER S1E6 (1:08:04). We also take a sobering look at the bleak realities of a career in entertainment!

Brandon Scott Wolf returns to talk FIFTY SHADES FREED (1:53), the Migos album CULTURE II (37:37) and NCIS S15E14, “Keep Your Friends Close” (1:01:06). He also reveals a dark secret from his past!

Lizzie Martinez and Melissa Rocha return to discuss KEVIN CAN WAIT S2E15 “Fight or Flight” (1:52), WINCHESTER (15:40) and the Fall Out Boy album M A N I A (34:14). We jump onto the true crime podcasting bandwagon with our investigation of who killed Kevin James’s TV wife.

Tim Duffy joins Hoff to review MAZE RUNNER: THE DEATH CURE (1:35), the Camila Cabello album CAMILA (22:11) and the pilot of the new FOX show THE RESIDENT (36:28). Also: How would Drake react if you recognized him on the subway?

Maritza Montañez joins Hoff to discuss SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE S43E10, “Sam Rockwell; Halsey” (1:33) and the “horse soldiers” movie 12 STRONG (25:45). Joe Kowalski tags in for a review of the Dav Pilkey children’s book DOG MAN AND CAT KID (53:43).

Charles Gould (comedian, Jimmy Kimmel) joins Hoff to talk JUMANJI: WELCOME TO THE JUNGLE (2:08), the soundtrack to THE GREATEST SHOWMAN (40:50) and BLUE BLOODS S8E11, “Second Chances” (1:32:26). Rakesh Baruah (writer, Madame Pascal) reviews FIRE AND FURY: INSIDE THE TRUMP WHITE HOUSE (55:33) and discusses his own time working as a showrunner’s assistant on BLUE BLOODS (1:19:54).

Andrei Alupului, Lizzie Martinez and Ryan Sartor join Hoff for a wrap-up discussion of all the pop culture Number 1s covered in 2017 and the most prominent recurring themes that emerged over the course of the year. Everyone made fun of the spreadsheet Hoff put together listing all the year’s #1s but if you’re interested you can find it here: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/13VgcRhIoDjfVKM85AClDoRnvmQWE-O8aBX4CUOoz5RQ/edit#gid=0

Jill Weiner (comedian, WikiFreakz podcast co-host) guests. We revisit STAR WARS: THE LAST JEDI (5:53), then cover YOUNG SHELDON S1E9 “Spock, Kirk, and Testicular Hernia” (13:46) and the Luke Bryan album WHAT MAKES YOU COUNTRY (30:59). We learn something horrifying about kangaroos.

Charles “Otter” Holmes (MTV News, Complex, Genius) returns to discuss the new STAR WARS movie (4:13), U2’s SONGS OF EXPERIENCE (47:51), Eminem’s REVIVAL (56:40) and SURVIVOR S35E13, “The Survivor Devil” (1:25:46). Otter gets really hung up on a thing about mousse.

Candace Bryan and Ryan Sartor give their takes on Taylor Swift’s REPUTATION (5:20) and THE VOICE S13E23, “Live Top 10 Eliminations” (38:17). Hoff gives an overview of the new children’s book DIARY OF A WIMPY KID: THE GETAWAY (1:06:40).

Christian Polanco (The Cooligans) guests this week! He and Hoff expand on last week’s discussions of COCO (2:03) and Taylor Swift (15:42) and talk THE VOICE S13E20, “Live Top 11 Performances” (31:48) and the Janet Evanovich novel HARDCORE TWENTY-FOUR (55:08).

Sam Greenberg and Mike Proscino join Hoff for a special Connecticut edition of Number 1s. They talk COCO (1:57), the Taylor Swift album REPUTATION (29:54), the 60 MINUTES episode “Catastrophe, Voyagers, Rebuilding from the Wreckage” (46:47), and the Michael Connelly novel TWO KINDS OF TRUTH (1:05:52).

Andrei Alupului and Lizzie Martinez join forces with Hoff to talk JUSTICE LEAGUE (1:12), the Sam Smith album THE THRILL OF IT ALL (36:22) and the 48 HOURS episode “Reality Kills” (48:11). Boy was this stuff enervating. Happy Thanksgiving!

Otto Fernandez (comedian, child of TV) joins Hoff to talk BLUE BLOODS S08E06 “Brushed Off” (1:51), A BAD MOMS CHRISTMAS (25:25), Kenny Chesney’s album LIVE IN NO SHOES NATION (51:53) and the Dan Brown novel ORIGIN (1:04:39). We learn a lot about the fairer sex.

Claudia Cogan (comedian, Last Comic Standing) joins Hoff to talk THOR: RAGNAROK (1:27), the Niall Horan album FLICKER (26:09) and THE BIG BANG THEORY S11E06, “The Proton Regeneration” (35:53). We congratulate One Direction on becoming the Beatles of this generation.

Toby Scales (writer, comedian) joins Hoff for a belated episode filled with Bush-era throwbacks. We talk JIGSAW (2:56), P!nk's album BEAUTIFUL TRAUMA (49:10) and SURVIVOR S35E05 "The Past Will Eat You Alive" (1:23:50). We also get Corey Hart confused with Corey Haim. Sorry about that.

George Gordon guests on this very scary Halloween episode. He and Hoff discuss Tyler Perry’s BOO 2: A MADEA HALLOWEEN (11:08), the NF album PERCEPTION (31:53), and NCIS S15E04, “Skeleton Crew” (53:19). Along the way they also cover George W. Bush, gross trick-or-treating memories and Eminem’s anti-Trump rap. Scary stuff!

Ryan Sartor (writer, host of the Difficult to Name reading series) returns to discuss HAPPY DEATH DAY, the Shania Twain album NOW, THE BIG BANG THEORY S11E03 “The Relaxation Integration," and the Nelson DeMille novel THE CUBAN AFFAIR. Ryan finally brings up Dawson's Creek.

Brandon Scott Wolf (comedian, FollowBrandonScottWolf.com) joins Hoff to talk BLADE RUNNER 2049. They talked about other stuff too but the audio files got screwed up, so this episode gets cut short sooner than it was supposed to. Sorry!

Charles "Otter" Holmes (MTV News, Complex, Genius) guests! We talk the Foo Fighters album CONCRETE AND GOLD, the film AMERICAN MADE, the 48 HOURS episode "Solve This Case: Who Killed Kay Wenal?" and the novel SECRETS IN DEATH by J.D. Robb!

Se Joe joins Hoff to discuss KINGSMAN: THE GOLDEN CIRCLE, the Thomas Rhett album LIFE CHANGES, and BIG BROTHER S19E38. Hoff and Joe break down KINGSMAN's layered political allegory and Joe introduces Hoff to a reality show about making swords.

Melissa Rocha joins Hoff to discuss THE BIG BANG THEORY S10E23 "The Gyroscopic Collapse" (1:58), the LCD Soundsystem album AMERICAN DREAM (22:59) and the Sue Grafton novel Y IS FOR YESTERDAY (36:11).

Andrei Alupului and Doug Kellner join Hoff to talk the new movie version of Stephen King’s IT (1:32), the Lil Uzi Vert album LUV IS RAGE 2 (36:43), and AMERICA’S GOT TALENT S12E20 (49:29). They all float! They all float down here, Georgie!

Comedian Lizzie Martinez and writer Ryan Sartor return to discuss Brand New's depressing album SCIENCE FICTION (1:46), AMERICA'S GOT TALENT S12E17 (16:22) and the Sandra Brown novel SEEING RED (34:06).

It's a family affair on Number 1s as Hoff welcomes his dad, Hank Hoffman, to discuss ALIEN: COVENANT (4:19; now available on home video at Best Video Film & Cultural Center, among other places); the Kesha album RAINBOW (19:39); AMERICAN NINJA WARRIOR S09E11, "Kansas City City Finals" (31:30) and the Jeannette Walls memoir THE GLASS CASTLE (40:05). Good luck telling Hoff and Hank's voices apart!

Comedian Doug Kellner watches GAME OF THRONES for the first time (S07E06, "Beyond the Wall") and shares his reaction with Hoff (1:02). They also discuss the movie THE HITMAN'S BODYGUARD (38:38) and the Kendrick Lamar album DAMN. (50:40), then pound back some BookShots in honor of James Patterson and Maxine Paetro's THE MEDICAL EXAMINER (1:05:20).

Brett Arnold and Joe Avella of the New Flesh horror movie podcast join Hoff to discuss ANNABELLE: CREATION, DATELINE's "Saturday Night Mystery: Secret Lives," the Arcade Fire album EVERYTHING NOW, and Michael Connelly's novel THE LATE SHOW. Joe dabbles in online gaming.

Hoff subjects his comedian friend Lukas Kaiser to THE DARK TOWER, Lana Del Rey's LUST FOR LIFE and an episode of BLUE BLOODS (S07E02, "Good Cop Bad Cop"). Hoff and Lukas try to name three things they liked about each #1 and they manage to do it but it's not easy.

Improviser Andrei Alupului joins Hoff to talk THE EMOJI MOVIE, yet another episode of BIG BROTHER, JAY-Z's 4:44 and Daniel Silva's novel HOUSE OF SPIES. Spoiler: A few of these things are really not very good.

Comedian Lizzie Martinez joins Hoff to discuss JAY-Z’s 4:44, Christopher Nolan’s DUNKIRK and the CBS reality show BIG BROTHER. They spend several minutes talking about a couch. It’s a really crazy-ass couch.

Ryan Sartor (writer, host of the Difficult to Name reading series) joins Hoff to discuss: --WAR FOR THE PLANET OF THE APES! --AMERICA'S GOT TALENT, S12E06: "Auditions (6)"! --CAMINO ISLAND by John Grisham! They also spend a while talking about the Daddy's Home 2 trailer!

Debut episode! Hoff talks about why he started #1s and reviews SPIDER-MAN: HOMECOMING, DJ Khaled's album GRATEFUL, last week's episode of AMERICAN NINJA WARRIOR and the Helen Hardt novel SURRENDER.