The Lodgers | A Twin Peaks Podcast

We have a new podcast! It's about Chantal Akerman. We talk about it for a couple of minutes before leaving you alone again. More info on Twitter: twitter.com/akermanpod You can find the first, introductory ep of the pod here: https://akermanyear.fireside.fm/part-0 Thanks to everyone who listened to The Lodgers. We may return, one day...

Christmas has come early for Kate and Simon, whose gratis copies of Twin Peaks‘ third season on Blu-Ray prompted the first of two concluding episodes of The Lodgers. In this episode, Kate and Simon fly solo to go over the set's bonus features and take a few minutes to acknowledge the state of the critical discourse surrounding the season.

With The Return long concluded and the once-shiny Blu-Ray sets gathering dust, The Lodgers must come to an end. Opting to try and take things out with a bang, Kate and Simon are joined by not one but two special guests: Dennis Lim, author of David Lynch: The Man From Another Place, and Tom McCarthy, big-deal novelist (Remainder, Satin Island, C) and cultural critic. It's a wide-ranging conversation we're pretty sure longtime fans will savor. Special sonic contributions and Lynchian drones courtesy of Matthew Chiang, Jonathan Kennedy, and Olivier Creurer!

After a considerable, scheduling-necessitated delay, we've brought back Adam Nayman to help us consider just where the season's final episodes take us, how they affect our view of the series as a whole, and just what the hell we're all going to do with our lives now. Also, we invited former guests of the show to chip in with their finale and series thoughts! Thanks to our listeners for their feedback and attention. RIP Harry Dean Stanton.

An emotionally intense and cathartic episode of The Return sparks a wide-ranging discussion with returning guest Byron Davies. Touched upon: whether we can allow/permit ourselves to accept Ed and Norma's happy ending, The Return‘s handling of the woods as a space of evil and mystery; the possible fates of Becky and Steven; the implications of Cooper's possible liberation/awakening via Sunset Boulevard, and, of course, our final goodbye to Margaret Lanterman, the Log Lady, and Catherine Coulson.

Part 16 of The Return marks the eventful continuation of the series' climax, including at least one massive event fans have been anticipating for many weeks: the return of Jerry Horne! And also maybe the thing that happened with Cooper. Writer Miriam Bale (of the NYT, W Magazine, The New Republic, and many other fine establishments) joins Kate and Simon to eulogize several supporting players, ponder our expectations for the series' endgame, and [say very nice things about the FBI].

After a couple of weeks in which The Return taunted and tantalized viewers by holding back on incident, “Part 14” decided to blitz us with a ton of new, bizarre, and exciting developments. Dr. Sara Ann Swain rejoined Kate and Simon to help try to make sense of it all. Nuts are invoked – often.

Seth Mnookin (of MIT's Graduate Science Writing program, Vanity Fair, and a whole bunch of other very cool stuff) for some reason felt compelled to ask if he could come onto our little Twin Peaks podcast…and we (reluctantly) obliged. We're glad we did, as we ended up having yet another wide-ranging look at just what The Return is up to, this time with a special focus on the Lynch/Frost equilibrium, the series' warped sense of time, and a whole lot more.

Just in time for the episode that frustrated the broadest set of Twin Peaks viewers, New York Times / rogerebert.com (rogerebert.com) writer Glenn Kenny joins us to tackle the upside of frustration, as well as many, many other tangents, including the show's possible riffing on Lynch's real-life persona and the new series' sneaky ties to soap-opera aesthetics.

Special guest and Lynch scholar Joel Bocko (@lostinthemovies), one of the internet's most prolific Twin Peaks experts, joins us to dissect the intense, hilarious, and momentous “Part 11,” as well as ponder some of the wider questions of the series and its context in Lynch's overall filmography. It gets real nerdy.

After last week's recording session from hell (don't ask), Kate and Simon scale it back and go guest-free to take on one of The Return‘s most tonally dynamic and extreme episodes. Topics include: Dougie and Janey-E's, er, encounter; the trials of Candie; finally admitting that we miss a few long-absent characters; and we once again revisit the impact of Lynch's imagery of violence against women.

“Part 7” marks a huge turning point in The Return…or does it? Guest Byron Davies joins us to dive deep into some fresh philosophical tangents as we ponder what it means that the series has (apparently, maybe?) finally decided to please fans of the original run. Discussed: Jacques Rivette, the series' controversial take on sexual violence, the entrance of Diane, themes of death and decay, and so, so much more.

Twin Peaks trended on Twitter worldwide on the back of its wildest episode yet, but what did its new levels of experimentation amount to? Kate and Simon dive into the episode with returning guest Olivier Creurer, and ponder the series' (and Lynch's) broader relationship to experimental cinema, among many, many other open questions.

Jessica Bardsley rejoins us following her triumphant original-run appearance to help Kate and Simon tackle one of the more notoriously talky episodes of The Return: Part 9. We apologize for the lateness, but if you knew the work that went into salvaging this podcast from a disastrous recording situation, your hair would turn as white as Bobby's.

With no new episode this week, Kate and Simon are joined by guests Adrienne and Jonathan Turnbull-Reilly help us sift through listeners' (and their!) burning Twin Peaks questions. We didn't bother with a fancy edit this week, so please enjoy us in our raw, uncut glory.

Things get a little more heated than usual at Lodgers HQ when returning guest Matt Croombs joins us to talk “Part 6” of The Return. The more extreme elements of the new season come to the fore as Kate, Simon and Matt weigh the impact of some key sequences. Discussed: Lynch-as-camp, female viewers' reactions, the hilarity of child murder, what the new Peaks does to the old series' legacy, and a whole lot more.

With the new season's airing schedule finally normalizing, Kate and Simon are joined by returning guest Justine Smith to try to sort out the new season's relationship to the original Twin Peaks, the broader TV landscape, as well as Lynch's other work. Also discussed: Twitter swag, political alienation, electrical currents, Bob, and Caleb Landry Jones' weird skin and face.

Laura Palmer's killer is revealed, unraveling all that came before – or does it? Once again flying solo so as to hog a momentous episode, Kate and Simon discuss the impact of learning the “true” identity of Laura's killer, the implications of a post-reveal landscape, and the ways in which Lynch is able to tap into a richer emotional landscape than his peers. Somewhere in there you get a spectacularly pretentious moment courtesy of Simon (he apologizes profoundly) and many, many specific arguments for Lynch's directorial genius. And lots of mean jokes at James' expense. Again.

With the help of special guest Ethan Vestby of These Boys Are Good Boys, Kate and Simon accelerate the podcast's pace and tackle the next four episodes, beginning to delve into what we will be not so affectionately terming as The Dark Days. This episode features an above-average amount of sass and several pieces of remarkably random trivia. Don't say you didn't learn anything.

New episodes of Twin Peaks land this Sunday (holy balls!), and that can only mean one thing: it's time to revisit Fire Walk With Me, Lynch's divisive, brutal film chronicling the final days of Laura Palmer. Author and critic Adam Nayman joins Kate and Simon to talk about the film's critical rehabilitation, its wacky prologue, its impact on the Twin Peaks world at large, Sheryl Lee's remarkable performance, and to take potshots at other filmmakers for kicks.

Whatever you want to call it – Season 3, a “limited series,” or something new entirely, David Lynch and Mark Frost's Twin Peaks revival is finally upon us, and tasked with discussing its first four episodes, Kate and Simon, are, well, a little overwhelmed. With the recognition that there will be plenty more hours to discuss, your humble hosts take the long view, looking at Lynch's updated aesthetic tactics, as well as the new series' expanded sense of both horror and humour.

Kate and Simon face down a couple of occasionally patchy but still fascinating episodes with the help of the brilliant (Dr.!) Sara Ann Swain: “The Man Behind the Glass” and “Laura's Secret Diary.” Of note this week: missing Bobby and Shelley (and conscious Audrey), Slavoj Žižek and his feelings about flowers/anatomy, Albert's showstopping monologue, the Josie problem, the series' use of soap opera tropes and actors, and a whole lot more.

“The legend of how awful [these episodes] are shades your approach to them…not everything in them is terrible…” We wrestle with perhaps the darkest, most awful stretch of Twin Peaks episodes we possibly could, with the help of Olivier Creurer. What can be salvaged from the wreckage? Discussed: the sudden influx of supporting characters, flutes, Poochie, Diane Keaton's (uh) directorial acumen, flutes, Billy Zane, the series' behind-the-scenes collapse, flutes, and so, so very much more.

The final episodes of Twin Peaks‘ original ABC run are covered on this week's podcast, and the momentous occasion brings out a lot of feelings in Kate and Simon – as well as a lot of profound nerdery. A slightly extended episode includes Kate and Simon bonding over their shared hatred of Jacques Tati, a detailed breakdown of the Red Room / Black Lodge sequences, and plenty of questioning as to whether we really needed any of this Miss Twin Peaks business.

Kate and Simon fly solo, which means a whole lot of tangents, trivia, and goofiness ensue, including a particularly juicy bit of archival goodness that is 100% (to the best of our knowledge) exclusive to this podcast. (Exclusive!) Meanwhile, much energy is spent considering the creative role of Jennifer Lynch, the use of non-actors and the influence of nontraditional casting, and the ballad of Josie Packard. Also, many apologies are given, and Simon ponders one of his most profound regrets. (Not really that profound. But a little bit profound.)

As we head into the final stretch of Season 2, things are finally starting to look up – or are they? Guest James Cathcart helps Kate and Simon crawl out from under the worst subplots and new elements of the second season while looking ahead to the (triumphant?) end of the season.

To cap off Twin Peaks‘ first season, Kate and Simon are joined by Goomba Stomp/Sordid Cinema editor and longtime partner in podcasting Ricky D. Does the climactic episode live up to the landmark television that preceded it? We answer this and other questions, like whether or not Leo has been shot enough times, whether Mark Frost cut it in the directors' chair, and whether or not everyone on the podcast knows who Drake is. (The answer may surprise you!)

Kate and Simon are joined by Connor Denney (@reviewoffilm) to talk “Cooper's Dreams” and “Realization Time,” Season One's penultimate episodes. Of particular interest this week: roleplaying, doubling (and tripling!), Audrey, Bobby, amateur law enforcement, and how non-Lynch directors interpret what it is to be “Lynchian.”

With the help of guest Matt Croombs, Kate and Simon dive deep into “Rest in Pain” and “The One-Armed Man” while also pondering, among other things, Twin Peaks‘ place in the late 80s / early 90s political and cultural landscape, how its take on surreal dreamscapes collides and colludes with other threads of representation, and how it squares with some of its contemporaries in the so-called “Golden Age” of television. Also: did you notice all those birds?

In a slightly belated (sorry!), slightly extended outing, Kate and Simon are joined by Jessica Bardsley for possibly the most impactful one-two punch of the entire series, the Season Two openers “Mat the Giant Be With You” and “Coma,” two Lynch-directed episodes with a ton of notable elements, scenes, and flourishes. We dive deep on the music, the impact of Lynch's return to the directors' chair, and so very much more.

The Lodgers will see Kate Rennebohm, Simon Howell, and an assortment of guests tackle the entire series run, leading up to (and including!) the new season landing in May. On the inaugural episode, Kate and Simon take a deep dive into the double pilot, ponder the European cut, and note some of the more astonishing facts of the series' production, release, and reception. First-time viewers, be aware that The Lodgers is a spoiler-free podcast!

In our second episode, Kate and Simon are joined by longtime collaborator and partner in crime Justine Smith to discuss the pivotal second and third episodes of Twin Peaks. The wide-ranging discussion veers into the origins of surrealism, the success rates of other series directors at adapting Lynch's signature style, and much more. Also: sweaters, watching the show the “wrong” vs. “right” way, and our initial pet peeves.