Popmatic Podcast

The best stuff we watched this year. Bryan comes back for the final show. Never stop fighting.

The best music we heard in 2016. Prophecy of final episodes being bonkers is true. Here’s a Spotify playlist if that is something that you do.

It’s our best books of 2016 episode featuring, wait for it, the best books we read in 2016. Plus—what is tickling our fancy this week.

After eight years and over 180 episodes Popmatic Podcast is about to call it in. December 21st will be our last episode. To congratulate ourselves for all our hard work, we just talk about whatever we want today. There are no rules. Sarah shows up half way through this episode because no rules. Will a […]

Comic books rule popular culture these days so maybe we should do an episode about them? Yeah, and John Lewis, 2016 Nashville Public Library Foundation Literary Award Winner, chose to write his memoirs in comics form. So we get graphic, literally. Plus—what is tickling our fancy this week.

Fall means pumpkin spice so this show is wall to wall p-spice… or wall to wall fall… or, wait Bryan’s back?! I’d love to say this show is off the rails but Popmatic is always a barrel over a waterfall so shut up and chug that latte before we hit bottom. Woooo! Make it a […]

In the words of Mel Brooks, “Politics! Politics! Politics! Politics! Politics!” Make sure you get out and vote November 8th. In the meantime, let us entertain you with light-hearted books about assassinations and crumbling marriages. Seriously, we have a lot of fun on this episode. Plus—what is tickling our fancy this week.

Sh-sh-sh-shoctober! We get horrific on Popmatic every Halloween. Mike hosts, Amanda goes cannibal, and we have a group therapy session to heal the damage done by The Exorcist. Plus—what is tickling our fancy this week.

It’s our Artober music episode and we’re in Nashville so it’s wall to wall country! Just kidding. It’s mostly classical, film scores, doom metal, and Jimmy Eat World. An evil robot offers ten dollars to anyone who mentions BoomBox. Plus—what is tickling our fancy this week.

This is our Artober food episode featuring on air taste tests. Start drooling now. We don’t mention Southern Festival of Books because we are bad at our jobs. Plus—what is tickling our fancy this week.

We kick off Artober with an episode dedicated to the visual arts. Other art themed episodes are coming throughout the month. It’s so exciting it makes my head spin, or maybe I’m just getting a sinus infection. Plus—what is tickling our fancy this week.

It’s Banned Books Week! We tell you about our favorite banned or challenged books. We don’t learn what “nunga-nungas” are. Plus—what is tickling our fancy this week.

Popmatic crew is a bunch of goofballs so on this show we honor the life and legacy of brilliant goofball Gene Wilder. Plus—what is tickling our fancy this month. Good day, sir. I said good day!

It’s Hispanic Heritage Month and there will be programs all over the library. We tell you about are favorite books, movies, and music by Hispanic creative types. Amanda has enough machismo to talk about John Leguizamo two years in a row. Plus—what is tickling our fancy this month.

Seven is a holy number on Game of Thrones and this posts on the seventh day of September which used to be the sev… yeah, whatever, there’s a new Harry Potter book! This show = fantasy. Plus—what is tickling our fancy this week.

A full cast in who knows how many months results in a show that can only be described as completely bonkers. The theme is Labor Day. Listen to find out how much fun it is to work at the library. Plus—what is tickling our fancy this week.

We’re doing a show about natural history and there is nothing you can do about. Why? Because August 24 is Vesuvius Day. Plus—what is tickling our fancy this week besides Sarah returning to Popmatic.

Shakespeare in the Park is full tilt through September. We bite our thumbs at you, metaphorically speaking, of course. Plus—what is tickling our fancy this week.

Summer Olympics start this week so we juice up our show with books, movies, and music about all the athletics international. The evil robot claims two more victims forcing Mike to host. Plus—what is tickling our fancy this week.

Summer Challenge summer shmallenge! We told you about the all good, enlightening stuff to read, watch, and listen to. This week is cheat week! We get terribly irresponsible and read, watch, and listen to whatever we want and encourage you do to the same. Welcome to the danger zone! An evil robot, who sounds suspiciously […]

Summer Challenge Part 3! Soothe your soul. Hopefully not with alcohol, but hey, the Popmatic crew are a bunch of cynics. Amanda and an evil robot know the holy highway is filled with beautiful music. Plus—what is tickling our fancy this week.

It’s the best books of the year! Put five librarians in a barrel and roll it down a hill and you might get this episode. We have no respect for format. We have no respect for genre. We have little respect for what actually came out this year. What do we have respect for? Copyright […]

It’s the best movies of the year! Will this episode be as divisive as the best music of the year episode? I hope so! Plus—what is tickling our fancy this month because we think you have all the time in the world to listen to podcasts. Something must brighten the gray of your cubicle cage. […]

It’s two days after tax day and we know some of you still owe the government money. On this episode, things that are taxing besides these filler intros. We all talk about books, except Mike. Oh reading, so hard! Plus—what is tickling our fancy this week. TAXATION, CULTURE STYLE It by Stephen King The Pilgrim’s […]

Last week, taxes. This week, death! (We recorded this before Prince died. Don’t worry, that episode’s coming.) We only live twice: once for real and once in our dreams. So on this show, our bucket lists. Only librarians’ bucket lists would include this many books. Plus—what is tickling our fancy this week. HUMBLE BUCKET LIST […]

Choose Privacy Week was last week but privacy matters all year so this week–privacy, or lack thereof.

Innovative comedian Maria Bamford is coming to TPAC and she has a new Netflix show, Lady Dynamite. So on this show—comedians! This is a surprisingly dark and contentious episode. Plus—what is tickling our fancy this week.

Congrats! You survived the full moon last week. It’s one small step this small step for man; one giant leap for… okay, maybe not, but we do talk about Moon Pies on this week’s episode. Plus—what is tickling our fancy. Hey, where’s Bryan?

Stephen King is coming to the Ryman Auditorium June 11th. Few authors receive as much mic time on Popmatic as Uncle Stevie so why not give him some more. More! More! Plus—what is tickling our fancy this week.

It’s Mother’s Day! James McBride is coming to the library to talk about his book about his amazing mother. Would I be pushing it to say this episode is matriarchal? Plus—our Prince memories. The Purple One was a bit much for one young kid in Kentucky to take. MOMS “Mommy Can I Go Out and […]

Everyone knows June 1st is real start of summer so we give you a summertime warm-up. I’d love to say you’ll leave with so many beach reads to burn through you’ll start a bonfire but this ended up being a music heavy episode. Turn up the radio and sip a margarita. Plus—what is tickling our […]

Nashville International Puppet Festival is back! On this show—puppets, duh. Pirates also make an appearance because internet. Plus—what is tickling our fancy this week.

The Orlando shootings shocked our nation, but so many of us know that love wins. On this show—our favorite LGBTQ themed materials. Nashville Pride Festival is this weekend (June 24-25). The headliner is En Vogue so free your mind and the rest will follow. Plus—what’s tickling our fancy this week besides our community rejecting hatred […]

This is the Fourth of July episode! Because we’re bad at our jobs, we don’t mention Hamilton, the Broadway cast recording of which you can stream on Hoopla right now. Because we’re nerds, we begin and end with dead presidents. No, not that Dead Presidents, but again Hoopla, streaming, right now, at least the soundtrack. […]

…and we’re back. Popmatic is getting into high gear for Summer Challenge. Sign up now! If you don’t know what to read we got you covered. This is the first of four part series about wellness. Though the theme this year is wellness, you can read/do whatever you want for Summer Challenge. We want to […]

Summer Challenge Part Two! Get your head straight. Never underestimate the power of comfort food. There is a live taste test during this episode. I’m proud that only one serial killer is mentioned. Plus—what is tickling our fancy this week.

We’re right in the middle of National Library Week, or as we like to call it—victory lap. National Library Week is a time to celebrate libraries and all the good things they do. We try not to ruin it. Plus—what is tickling our fancy this week. LIBRARIES the works of Gene Luen Yang, National Library […]

The fight about Maleficent gets resolved only to be replaced with a fight about Mad Men. It’s a whole new year for Popmatic. We tell you what books, movies, and music you should keep an eye out for in 2015. WHAT WE’RE LOOKING FORWARD TO Girl in a Band by Kim Gordon Clothes, Clothes, Clothes, […]

Cyber warfare is now mainstream news, but some of the Popmatic crew had a very bibliophile interpretation of word “hack.” In short, they hacked the hackers episode. HACKERS the works of William Gibson Cracking the Agrippa Code Hush, Hush, Sweet Charlotte We Are Anonymous: Inside the Hacker World of Lulzsec, Anonymous, and the Global Cyber […]

In celebration of MLK Day and release of Selma, we tell you about favorite books, movies, and music about the Civil Rights era. Bryan sings. For real. CIVIL RIGHTS The Civil Rights Collection The Story of Beautiful Girl by Rachel Simon Shock Corridor X-Men: God Loves, Man Kills by Chris Claremont, Brent Anderson, and Steve […]

NPL Seed Exchange is in full bloom so Popmatic decides to veg out. Plant puns abound. And what is tickling our fancy this week. PLANT LIFE NPL Seed Exchange Creepshow Indoor Kitchen Gardening Hothouse Flower and the Nine Plants of Desire by Margot Berwin Day of the Triffids by John Wyndham Cornbread Mafia by James […]

It’s African American History Month and there are events happening at all our branches. The Popmatic crew tell you about best books, movies and music about by or about African Americans. We run the gamut from kids shows to movies banned by the FBI. Bryan does not sing. AFRICAN AMERICAN HISTORY MONTH Static Shock! Trial […]

It’s the Valentine’s Day episode! Fall in the love with the Popmatic Podcast all over again. Find out what movie brings Mike to tears. And what is tickling our fancy this week besides the thought of Mike crying at a movie. VALENTINE’S DAY Breathless Trilogy by Maya Banks Secretary The Artist Sweeney Todd The Demon […]

The library is an educational institution; therefore, we spend most of our President’s Day episode talking about conspiracy theories and werewolves. Duh. Our post-Grammys discussion devolves to shouting. PRESIDENT’S DAY ALL YEAR The Hypo: The Melancholic Young Lincoln by Noah Van Sciver Eighteen Acres by Nicole Wallace Fraternity: A Journey in Search of Five Presidents […]

February is the shortest month so we were going to talk about short things, but, appropriately enough, we were short staffed due to #SnObama aka the 2015 President’s Day ice storm. With only Bryan, Jeremy and Mike in the studio, this episode slipped down the nerdiest of sci-fi wormholes. Be forewarned, there is discussion of […]

Hollywood is banking on robots. So is this episode. Plus what is tickling our fancy this week. ROBOTS Cybermen in Doctor Who: 1-4 The Doctors Revisited Forbidden Planet Cult Movies: the Classics, the Sleepers, the Weird, and the Wonderful by Danny Peary The Robot Hall of Fame Outer Limits Season 1 Episode 19 “I, Robot” […]

In Tennessee, Severe Weather Preparedness Week was two weeks ago, the week of the ice storm, so we thought we would lick our wounds. This episode is all about weather: the hot and cold, the wet and dry, the books and movies. WEATHER Isaac’s Storm: A Man, A Time, and the Deadliest Hurricane in History […]

Three days after the Ides of March – it’s our Ides of March episode! We pack three days worth of Roman factoids, book recommendations and snarky barbs into one little podcast. And what is tickling our fancy this week. Listen to the end to hear Johnny No Brain (aka Bryan) get schooled yet again. ET […]

Real life crime is down but crime books are as popular as ever. The Popmatic crew clues you onto sure bets ranging from the darkest true crime to the funniest parody novels. Plus – Mike’s tribute to the late, great Terry Pratchett. CRIMES & HEISTS Lost Girls by Robert Kolker A is for Alibi: a […]

Get your fool on full-on this week with double doses of Gaffigan and Evanovich. Plus satrirical takes on the army, aristocracy, vampires and STDs. ST… just listen already. FOOLS Food: A Love Story by Jim Gaffigan Dad is Fat by Jim Gaffigan the works of Mel Brooks Mel Brooks Make a Noise Ruthless People No […]

This week marks the 150th anniversary of the end of the Civil War so we get our North and South on. We mostly steer clear heavy history hitters but stock up on local authors and gender bent Union soldiers. Sort of. Obligatory Gone with the Wind fight breaks out and Jeremy sings Guns-n-Roses. THE CIVIL […]