Podcast appearances and mentions of George Clooney

Austrian filmmaker Friedrich “Fritz” Moser discusses his documentary, How to Build a Truth Engine. The film brings together investigative journalism, computer science, and neuroscience to examine our susceptibility to disinformation and what might help us resist it. The film was executive produced by George Clooney. Fritz initially set out to make a film about automating fact-checking. Could technology help investigators keep pace with the material circulating online? His work eventually brought him to Prof. Vwani Roychowdhury of UCLA and Prof. Tim Tangherlini of UC Berkeley and their research group developing StoryMiner, a system for analyzing narratives and the relationships within them. In the film, visualizations help make complicated connections among claims, people, and events easier to examine.The researchers also encouraged him to speak with neuroscientists. Finding errors in a story and understanding a person's attachment to that story are different tasks. That distinction matters in my work. Someone may have built friendships, a sense of purpose, and part of their identity around a belief system. Presenting contradictory evidence can be important, but we also need to understand what reconsidering would mean for that person.Fritz's original technology question grew into a much broader inquiry: Why are we susceptible to disinformation, and how can we become better equipped to evaluate it? This interview covers crucial insights and technologies what can help us navigate the psychological warfare that is being used on peoples around the world. A fascinating interview.

Stavolta parliamo di due carriere parallele e ricche di soddisfazioni. Due vite e due cinema pieni di arte, amore, sofferenza, fantasia, desolazione, morte e rinnovamento.Ecco a voi il cinema di Spike Jonze e Charlie Kaufman.In un anno alquanto prolifico come il 2002, Kaufman lavorò con un regista esordiente che però poteva contare sulla sua fama e su un soggetto alquanto folle. Quell'esordiente era George Clooney e l'incontro con Kaufman portò alle "Confessioni di una mente pericolosa".

Nights' Dan Slevin, is one of the best film reviewers in any medium, consistently convincing, insightful, unpretentious, perceptive, thoughtful and articulate. He joins us every Thursday night, and here's what's caught his eye this week.Nights' resident screen critic joins Emile Donovan to review:MUSIC & PAID STREAMING - Disney+Theme from Hill Street Blues - Mike Post (feat. Larry Carlton)Hill Street Blues was a pioneering police drama from 1981-1987 which featured an ensemble cast, gritty environments and challenging storylines - at least for its time.IN CINEMASHeart of the Beast (directed by David Ayer). A special forces veteran (Brad Pitt) and his companion dog, also a combat veteran, go on a trip into the wilds of Alaska but he experiences a medical event and crashes their plane. They are now on a deadline to find safety before his health deteriorates further or the forbidding environment overwhelms them.FREE STREAMING - ThreeNowFantastic Mr Fox (directed by Wes Anderson, 2009). Stop-motion animated adaptation of the beloved Road Dahl children's story featuring a star-studded cast including George Clooney, Meryl Streep and Bill Murray. Mr. Fox (Clooney) writes the gossip column for the local paper but miss the excitement of stealing chickens. Eventually, his true nature gets the better of him, and he takes on the terrible chicken farming threesome of Boggis, Bunce and Bean, unleashing disaster on his community. How will he repair all the damage?Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

Tom Cruise hung out with Will & Kate, no indictment in Nolan Wells death, Cindy Crawford's son dies, Ed Sheeran needs friends, Hayden Panettiere autopsy, John Hinckley Jr's podcast, Alix Earle Meets World, Clavicular charged with rape, and the Tale of Norm Macdonald. Drew didn't feel good and we missed a couple days. Mike Binder bailed on us, but he'll be on the show soon. Mike jumped on One Bad Movie with Stephen Baldwin and we learn that he has his own podcast. Alix Earle is the hottest influencer out there right now... and a total idiot. Tom Brady totally hit it. It turns out Nolan Wells drowned with no foul play. Ben Crump continues to make it racial. Christine Wonsley needs more money. Sunny Hostin and Al Sharpton might be in some trouble. Don Lemon still doesn't get it. Cindy Crawford and Rande Gerber's son, Presley, overdosed in rehab. George Clooney is heartbroken. The kid had a nice team photo. Friends and family are bailing on Ed Sheeran for being so anti-Palestine. Carrot Top's 911 call has been released. The recent allegations against him are really bumming him out. Tom Cruise attempted to recruit Prince William and Kate Middleton into Scientology. Prince William is a better pilot than Prince Harry. Someone stole Simone Biles' Porsche. Lionel Richie is dying ASAP. A Kansas City mother baked her baby in an oven. She'll be on the streets in 11 years. Malia Nummerdor gets in on with canines. Hayden Panettiere did the 'Holy Trinity' of drugs. Cop Cam: We watch as a woman is saved from "Islamophobias". Docs: A new Norm Macdonald doc by Judd Apatow is headed to Netflix. Some girl named Maria Bamford has a film about something out. A Second City Television doc is out there too. The new trailer for You Can See Everything dropped. Alix Earle has a famous whore stepmom. She also fired her friend, Sally Carden, from running her socials. She also is beefing with Alex Cooper. Politics: Gavin Newsom will not impede Kamala Harris' run for president. JB Pritzker is not as fat as he used to be thanks to Ozempic. AOC is ready to run as the nation's leader. Lauren Boebert is probably the sluttiest member of congress. Nancy Mace loves "Cocks". The JLo Show will be the latest project to BOMB. Her doppelganger was recently arrested for stealing. John Hinckley Jr. has a podcast now. Looksmaxxing star Clavicular has been charged with rape. We find a woman who puts a lot of weiners in her mouth. Nice challenge. Merch is available if you want to rep the show. You'd look amazing too. If you'd like to help support the show… consider subscribing to our YouTube Channel, Facebook, Instagram and Twitter (Drew Lane, Marc Fellhauer, Trudi Daniels, Jim Bentley, BranDon, and Roberto).

George Clooney is supporting Rande Gerber and Cindy Crawford after son Presley’s death. Meanwhile, Dolly Parton reportedly underwent secret cancer treatment in Germany, while Lionel Richie has been hospitalized for the second time in a month following another heart scare. Rob’s latest exclusives and insider reporting can be found at robshuter.substack.com My new novel, Queen Elizabeth III, is available for pre-order right nowSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

What Famous Guy Do You Most Want to Be? full 510 Wed, 23 Sep 2026 13:58:02 +0000 gFazYMYE6sj978gy9UWqeEqrfbrW3q0D travis kelce,derek jeter,ryan reynolds,george clooney,tom holland,sports Fescoe & Dusty travis kelce,derek jeter,ryan reynolds,george clooney,tom holland,sports What Famous Guy Do You Most Want to Be? Fescoe & Dusty are huge fans of Kansas City sports and the people of Kansas City who make it the great city it is. Start your morning with us from 6-10 as we talk all things Chiefs, Royals, Jayhawks, and more, with plenty of tangents along the way! 2024 © 2021 Audacy, Inc. Sports https://player.amperwavepodcasting.com?feed-link=https%

This morning, Taylor Swift confirms we're not just getting a new song, and the real news is so much bigger. Plus, The Love Hypothesis finally lands on Prime and the reviews are split on one key ingredient, and Taylor Lautner reveals his baby girl's name, which somehow keeps things very much in the family. ☕ Taylor Swift's big announcement and the Sweden trip behind it☕ Tributes flow for Presley Gerber, and George Clooney's quiet show of support☕ The Love Hypothesis is out, but is the chemistry there?☕ John M. Chu's update on the Britney Spears biopic☕ Taylor and Tay Lautner welcome a baby girl, with a name you might guess TAKE THE SPILL'S WEEKLY POP CULTURE QUIZ HERE Become a Mamamia subscriber and get an all-access pass to everything we make, including exclusive podcasts and early listening, subscriber-only articles, monthly giveaways and our home workout app, MOVE. SUBSCRIPTION GIVEAWAY: The You Beauty hosts have bundled together their all-time favourite beauty products and two Mamamia subscribers are winning the lot. Subscribe to Mamamia to be automatically entered to win. Current subscriber? You're already in the draw. T&Cs apply. Get access to Very Peri, Mamamia's exclusive perimenopause series, for just $59. 25 world-leading experts, over 20 on-demand sessions, available now. We’ve sorted through the noise so you don't have to. Go to veryperi.com.au and join me today. You hot? Same. Buy today and save 40%THE END BITS Once you’ve devoured this morning’s celeb stories, get your daily news headlines from The Quicky here. Support independent women's media Follow us on TikTok, Instagram and Facebook. And subscribe to our Youtube channel. Read all the latest entertainment news on Mamamia... here. Discover more Mamamia Podcasts here. CREDITS Host & Executive Producer: Monisha Iswaran Mamamia acknowledges the traditional owners of the land on which we have recorded this podcastBecome a Mamamia subscriber: https://www.mamamia.com.au/subscribeSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Après George Clooney et Camille Cottin, voici Chantal Ladesou et Adil Rami... Et étonnement, ce n'est pas la même classe ! Retrouvez tous les jours le meilleur des Grosses Têtes en podcast sur RTL.fr et l'application RTL.Hébergé par Audiomeans. Visitez audiomeans.fr/politique-de-confidentialite pour plus d'informations.

Before The Pitt or Grey's Anatomy there was ER, the hit 15-season drama that paved the way for the media drama phenomenon. In ER: The Oral History (pub date: Sept 15) NY Times bestselling author Lynette Rice deep dives into the making of the show. The book draws on archival interviews and new conversations with over 60 people including John Wells and Noah Wyle (showrunner and star of the original ER, respectively, and executive producers of HBO's The Pitt), Eriq LaSalle, Laura Innes, Ming-Na Wen, Paul McCrane, Rick Rossovich, and Goran Visnjic.Lynette Rice is the New York Times bestselling author of How to Save a Life: The Inside Story of Grey's Anatomy, and covered ER while working at Entertainment Weekly and The Hollywood Reporter A new Kirkus review raves ER is "an entertaining history of an iconic series. Warning: This inside look at a medical show might cause dopamine rushes"MORE ABOUT THE BOOKLong before Jurassic Park was the embryo of an idea in Michael Crichton's mind, there was ER. A medical student who dreamt of a career in Hollywood, Crichton did what any aspiring writer would: he created a script based on time working in a high-octane hospital emergency department. Of course, nobody wanted it. It wasn't until Crichton turned his attention to dinosaurs and his 1990 novel Jurassic Park became a megahit - and a mega-movie franchise - that Steven Spielberg's camp asked the former doctor what other ideas he was kicking around. Producers weren't interested in Crichton's dream to make a hospital film. But, they were looking for new television series programming and thought there might be something even bigger in the concept than a movie. And, thus, ER was born.Despite some resistance from NBC's top brass, the Warner Bros. Television drama became an overnight hit with its high-adrenaline storylines, realistic dialogue, and bona fide (not to mention hot) stars in the making in the cast, including Julianna Margulies, Noah Wyle, Anthony Edwards, and an actor who didn't end up amounting to much named George Clooney. ER premiered opposite the popular CBS drama Chicago Hope and quickly cannibalized its competition. It would, in its heyday, average 35 million viewers per season (in an era before streaming and DVRs), and was either the number one or number two most watched show on television for six years.Over the course of its fifteen years on air ER would feature weddings, births, break-ups, death, and medical conundrums in just about every form you could imagine. Although stars like Clooney and Margulies would come and go, ER introduced (or, in some cases, re-introduced) the world to actors like Maura Tierney, Mekhi Phifer, Linda Cardellini, Ming-Na Wen, and Scott Grimes. It won the Emmy Award for Outstanding Drama Series and was nominated a staggering 124 times. As popular as is now, there would be no Grey Sloan Memorial without County General.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/arroe-collins-like-it-s-live--4113802/support.

Before The Pitt or Grey's Anatomy there was ER, the hit 15-season drama that paved the way for the media drama phenomenon. In ER: The Oral History (pub date: Sept 15) NY Times bestselling author Lynette Rice deep dives into the making of the show. The book draws on archival interviews and new conversations with over 60 people including John Wells and Noah Wyle (showrunner and star of the original ER, respectively, and executive producers of HBO's The Pitt), Eriq LaSalle, Laura Innes, Ming-Na Wen, Paul McCrane, Rick Rossovich, and Goran Visnjic.Lynette Rice is the New York Times bestselling author of How to Save a Life: The Inside Story of Grey's Anatomy, and covered ER while working at Entertainment Weekly and The Hollywood Reporter A new Kirkus review raves ER is "an entertaining history of an iconic series. Warning: This inside look at a medical show might cause dopamine rushes"MORE ABOUT THE BOOKLong before Jurassic Park was the embryo of an idea in Michael Crichton's mind, there was ER. A medical student who dreamt of a career in Hollywood, Crichton did what any aspiring writer would: he created a script based on time working in a high-octane hospital emergency department. Of course, nobody wanted it. It wasn't until Crichton turned his attention to dinosaurs and his 1990 novel Jurassic Park became a megahit - and a mega-movie franchise - that Steven Spielberg's camp asked the former doctor what other ideas he was kicking around. Producers weren't interested in Crichton's dream to make a hospital film. But, they were looking for new television series programming and thought there might be something even bigger in the concept than a movie. And, thus, ER was born.Despite some resistance from NBC's top brass, the Warner Bros. Television drama became an overnight hit with its high-adrenaline storylines, realistic dialogue, and bona fide (not to mention hot) stars in the making in the cast, including Julianna Margulies, Noah Wyle, Anthony Edwards, and an actor who didn't end up amounting to much named George Clooney. ER premiered opposite the popular CBS drama Chicago Hope and quickly cannibalized its competition. It would, in its heyday, average 35 million viewers per season (in an era before streaming and DVRs), and was either the number one or number two most watched show on television for six years.Over the course of its fifteen years on air ER would feature weddings, births, break-ups, death, and medical conundrums in just about every form you could imagine. Although stars like Clooney and Margulies would come and go, ER introduced (or, in some cases, re-introduced) the world to actors like Maura Tierney, Mekhi Phifer, Linda Cardellini, Ming-Na Wen, and Scott Grimes. It won the Emmy Award for Outstanding Drama Series and was nominated a staggering 124 times. As popular as is now, there would be no Grey Sloan Memorial without County General.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/arroe-collins-unplugged-totally-uncut--994165/support.

E dopo le tensioni di guerra ai confini con l'Europa tra strategia e conflitto, con l'analisi dell'inviato Nicola Pinna restiamo sul campo di battaglia per capire quali sono i veri obiettivi, oggi il commento di Mario Ajello ci parla dell'ultimo saluto a Emma Bonino, quindi passiamo alla cronaca con Luisa Urbani e il caso del cecchino che tiene in scacco al centro di Roma, ora ci sono quattro sospettati, restiamo sulla cronaca ma ci spostiamo in Abruzzo con Sonia Paglia e Rosalba Emiliozzi per il caso della famiglia nel bosco, con l'esperta di cinema Gloria Satta risolviamo e commentiamo il giallo sul soggiorno di George Clooney a Venezia, l'imperdibile pagina di sport di Massimo Boccucci oggi è dedicata alle ultime su Jannick Sinner


Inspired by the British panel show "Would I Lie to You," Mike reads two celebrity encounter stories from his days working for the Specialty Coffee Association of America. Sam, Angela and Liesa try and get to the bottom of which story is true and which story is a lie. Did Ellen DeGeneres "people" reach out to SCAA, or was is George Clooney's "people?" This is a orphan episode cut from a recent recording of Straight Up Life at Covoya because it was too long, but we've adopted it here as an episode of Ristretto. Can you tell when Mike is lying? Part of The Covoya Coffee Podcasting Network TAKE OUR LISTENER SURVEY Visit and Explore Covoya!

Joey admitted he accidentally mixed medications again and warned everyone that if he said anything weird on the show, he was blaming the medicine. Nancy shared that her family has moved into their son's room during their home renovation. The move uncovered a stockpile of hidden snacks, drinks, and food stashed all over Ben's room. The show talked about drive-thru accuracy, with Chick-fil-A ranking near the top and Taco Bell near the bottom. Joey also shared a story about a Sonic employee offering to "smell" drinks to figure out which one was diet. Monday Morning Wake-Up Call with 9-year-old Carter Joey realized he's a little codependent after getting excited about introducing his kids to Cocoa Wheats, only to have one son change his mind about liking it the very next day. Hot Tea: Nashville's airport is moving closer to being renamed after Dolly Parton. Judge Judy is retiring from her courtroom show. Officials say the nationwide Cyclospora lettuce outbreak is finally over. The Tennessee Valley Fair inspired another round of "Wheel of Fair Workers," with Joey and Nancy pretending to be turkey leg salespeople, pig race announcers, funhouse workers, and demolition derby hosts. Fat Bear Week is almost here, leading listeners to share names for neighborhood animals, including George Clooney the raccoon, Chonky the groundhog, and Martin the mallard. Lucky 7 for $50 to the Diner at Twisters. Joey spent part of the morning doing an over-the-top Garth Brooks impression while reading tour quotes and imagining how Garth would announce a Knoxville concert. Nancy completed her barrel racing redemption at the rodeo, ran the correct pattern, avoided knocking over barrels, and got emotional seeing how proud her family was afterward. Karly admitted she hates rodeos, especially the calf roping events, while Joey's boys were mostly entertained by watching the animals. The show wrapped up talking about the demolished O'Charley's in Turkey Creek and how much that area of Knoxville continues to change. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Ocean's Eleven is the coolest movie ever made… We break down why this movie only works because Soderbergh filled every single role with actors you already love, solving the impossible problem of making you care about 11 characters in two hours. We tell the story of how George Clooney convinced Julia Roberts to be in this movie. We get into how nobody on this entire cast would go back to their trailer between scenes because they were all having too much fun just hanging out on set. And we discuss the behind the scenes drama of Don Cheadle getting so upset about his billing that he had his name removed from the credits entirely.Chapters:00:00 Intro1:29 Just the coolest movie ever4:35 How they afforded all that star power13:37 Defending Oceans 1217:05 Actually filming in the Bellagio20:01 What makes these scenes so good24:01 The other great characters28:58 Don Cheadle drama behind the scenes36:45 9/11 caused a reshoot39:54 RIP Bernie Mac42:35 The plot holes48:27 Lennox Lewis lost because of this movie52:11 What new stars could replace this cast?1:04:25 Why Brad Pitt eats so much in this movie1:06:18 Under appreciated lines1:09:22 Benedict is WAY overhyped1:13:44 Our ranking & final thoughts

Joey admitted he accidentally mixed medications again and warned everyone that if he said anything weird on the show, he was blaming the medicine. Nancy shared that her family has moved into their son's room during their home renovation. The move uncovered a stockpile of hidden snacks, drinks, and food stashed all over Ben's room. The show talked about drive-thru accuracy, with Chick-fil-A ranking near the top and Taco Bell near the bottom. Joey also shared a story about a Sonic employee offering to "smell" drinks to figure out which one was diet. Monday Morning Wake-Up Call with 9-year-old Carter Joey realized he's a little codependent after getting excited about introducing his kids to Cocoa Wheats, only to have one son change his mind about liking it the very next day. Hot Tea: Nashville's airport is moving closer to being renamed after Dolly Parton. Judge Judy is retiring from her courtroom show. Officials say the nationwide Cyclospora lettuce outbreak is finally over. The Tennessee Valley Fair inspired another round of "Wheel of Fair Workers," with Joey and Nancy pretending to be turkey leg salespeople, pig race announcers, funhouse workers, and demolition derby hosts. Fat Bear Week is almost here, leading listeners to share names for neighborhood animals, including George Clooney the raccoon, Chonky the groundhog, and Martin the mallard. Lucky 7 for $50 to the Diner at Twisters. Joey spent part of the morning doing an over-the-top Garth Brooks impression while reading tour quotes and imagining how Garth would announce a Knoxville concert. Nancy completed her barrel racing redemption at the rodeo, ran the correct pattern, avoided knocking over barrels, and got emotional seeing how proud her family was afterward. Karly admitted she hates rodeos, especially the calf roping events, while Joey's boys were mostly entertained by watching the animals. The show wrapped up talking about the demolished O'Charley's in Turkey Creek and how much that area of Knoxville continues to change. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Three pocast episodes ... in one week? In this economy?  We had a lot to catch up on from our time away at the end of summer, and the arrival of September always brings a slew of new releases. Here's what we've got for you this time: BUDDY. This twisted horror comedy came out a couple weeks ago, but this is very much our kind of movie, so we knew we needed to catch up with it. The film from surrealist Casper Kelly (Adult Swim's "Too Many Cooks," "Yule Log") is set in a kitschy '90s kids TV show that looks a lot like "Barney & Friends." But "It's Buddy" is about an orange unicorn who doesn't like it when the young cast members dare to question his authority. Starring Keegan-Michael Key, Cristin Milioti, Delaney Quinn, and Patton Oswalt as a talking backpack named Strappy. In theaters. CALL MY AGENT! THE MOVIE. The French comedy series is now a feature film after four seasons on Netflix. Everyone is back, but now the action has moved from a talent agency to a movie set. Alonso loved this show, but Christy had never seen a single episode, so it was fun to come at it from both perspectives. Camille Cottin, Laure Calamy, Laetitia Casta and George Clooney co-star. Streaming now on Netflix. MOVIE NEWS LIVE! This was an especially somber day, given that it was the 25th anniversary of 9/11. But we hadn't done our movie news livestream in a few weeks, so we wanted to reconnect and reflect with our folks. Among the many topics we talked about were the Venice, Telluride and Toronto film festivals; the passing of Dolly Parton and Tim Curry; the secret Elizabeth Holmes documentary; Chris Hansen's response to "Primetime"; and the new concert film "Oasis: Don't Look Back in Anger," which is excellent. Join us on Fridays at Noon Pacific.  Thanks for being here with us! Subscribe to Christy's Saturday Matinee newsletter: https://christylemire.beehiiv.com/  

In this segment Jimmy discusses a new report that UAE President Mohammed bin Zayed warned Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu roughly 10 days before October 7, 2023, that Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar was planning a major operation that could destabilize the region. The report, published by Haaretz and based on reporting by Israeli journalists Shlomi Eldar and Ruth Yuval, says the warning came during a reported 45-minute phone call, while Netanyahu's office has strongly denied that the call or warning occurred and the UAE has declined to confirm or deny the specific conversation.  Jimmy connects the report to earlier reporting that Israeli officials had obtained Hamas's attack plan before October 7 and to broader questions about intelligence failures, while he mocks late-to-the-party Piers Morgan for being shocked and outraged by these reports. The segment concludes with Jimmy discussing an upcoming appearance on Morgan's program to debate skepticism of the official 9/11 narrative. Plus segments on reports Erika Kirk is planning to step down as CEO of TPUSA, accusations that Israel is starting wildfires in hostile countries, Ukrainian President Zelensky's threats against commercial aircraft in Russia and TPUSA's Blake Neff and Andrew Kolvet walking back statements about Tyler Robinson confessing to killing Charlie Kirk. Also featuring Stef Zamorano and Mike MacRae. And a phone call from George Clooney!

ABOUT ANATOLIY KOROLENKOAnatoliy's LinkedIn profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/anatoliykorolenko/BIO:Anatoliy Korolenko is a retail real estate and development executive with more than a decade of experience leading growth, portfolio strategy, construction, and facilities for some of the world's most recognized consumer brands.Currently leading Real Estate and Development for Nespresso USA, Anatoliy is responsible for shaping the brand's U.S. retail footprint—from market strategy and site selection through lease negotiations, design, construction, and ongoing portfolio optimization. His work combines consumer and market analytics with real estate economics to identify growth opportunities and translate brand strategy into high-performing physical retail environments.Prior to Nespresso, Anatoliy held a senior development and facilities leadership role with EssilorLuxottica, supporting a large multi-brand retail portfolio that included Lens Crafters, Sunglass Hut, and Ray-Ban.Throughout his career, he has focused on the intersection of real estate, customer experience, and business performance—building strategies that treat physical retail not simply as a distribution channel, but as an important driver of customer acquisition, brand engagement, and long-term growth.* * * *SHOW INTRO:Welcome to Episode 92 of the NXTLVL Experience Design podcast and my conversation with Anatoliy Korolenko – who leads the Real Estate and Development for Nespresso USA.In every episode we follow our catch phrase about having “Dynamic Dialogues About DATA: Design, Architecture, Technology and the Arts.”And as we continue on this journey, we'll continue to invite guests on our journey that are thought provoking futuris ts, AI technology mavens, retailers, international hotel design executives as well as designers and architects of brand experience places.We'll talk with authors and people focused on wellness and sustainable design practices as well as neuroscientists who will continue to help us look at the built environment and the connections between our mind-body and the built world around us.If you like what you hear on the NXTLVL Experience Design show, make sure to subscribe, like, comment and share with colleagues, friends and family.The NXTLVL Experience Design podcast is always grateful for the support of VMSD magazine.VMSD brings us, in the brand experience world, the International Retail Design Conference. I think the IRDC is one of the best retail design conferences that there is bringing together the world of retailers, brands and experience place makers every year for two days of engaging conversations and pushing us to keep on talking about what makes retailing relevant.You will find the archive of the NXTLVL Experience Design podcast on VMSD.com.Thanks also goes to Shop Association the only global retail trade association dedicated to elevating the in-store experience.SHOP Association represents companies and affiliates from 25 countries and brings value to their members through research, networking, education, events and awards. Check then out on SHOPAssociation.orgToday, EPISODE 92… I talk with Anatoliy Korolenko who leads Real Estate and Development for Nespresso USA … This conversation is effectively based on a tour that we took of the Nespresso flagship store on 5th Ave. at the corner of 16th St. in New York. We cover a lot of ground about how a store is laid out how elements of storytelling merchandising experience and design and construction all come together to make memorable moments of relevant engagement.We'll get into all of that in a minute but first a few thoughts…I've been working in the world of retail design for more than 30 years and there are subjects that have been foundational to my early learning from my first employer Joe Weishar at New Vision Studios, which I've talked about before in previous episodes.Not often do you find most of them beautifully executed in one store. But that was exactly my impression when getting a tour of the Nespresso store on 5th Ave. Corner of 16th St. in New York.Nespresso was founded in 1986 as a Nestlé subsidiary after employee Eric Favre invented a single-serve pressurized coffee system inspired by a popular Roman espresso bar.Favre visited Rome's Sant'Eustachio café and observed how intermittent water pumping created superior aeration and crema, leading him to design a capsule-based extraction prototype.1986 Launch: Nespresso S.A. was officially founded, rolling out its first machine (the C-100) and four coffee blends targeting offices in Switzerland, Japan, and Italy with limited initial success…A Couple decades later Nespresso was a global coffee powerhouse and the company opened its first standalone boutique in Paris in 2000 and later enlisted actor George Clooney as the face of the brand in 2006 to drive global luxury appeal.Now it's great to have someone who is a famous face to help promote a brand but no matter what happens in terms of marketing and advertising if the store doesn't deliver on expectations you're still likely gonna be in trouble in growing your retail footprint.Nespresso sells a considerable amount of their product online but in order to drive brand love a deeper more physical experience is needed and that means store Has to deliver something special if people are making the effort to get off their couch and get on those sales floor.Well-considered physical touchpoints become critical in terms of how the customer journey unfolds and the experience that customers engage in and later talk about after visiting the physical location.People who work there need to be experts since customers are better informed now than they have ever been after deep searches on line .So when customers come in the associate needs to know more and be a welcoming host who acts as a bit of a stage manger who facilitates how the theatre of the store will unfold.Purpose of retail has moved beyond the simple acquisition of goods or services. Retail stores have acted as a place to exchange stories to learn about the news of the day and connect to brands whose ideological orientations you align with.We've clearly moved from a place where retail was transactional into an experience based economy and now as Joe Pine would put it, we have moved into a place call the Transformation Economy.Here, customers expect so much more than just the product or service they're paying for.Experiences need to leave customers with a sense of a transformation. Deeper, more lasting experiences customers engage in while in stores and the memories they leave with are not just a fun story to share, though that is often done too, but a way of seeing themselves perhaps in the world and in relation to that experience that deeply matter.And while it is true that an increasing volume of business is done online, getting a cardboard box delivered to your front door the next day just can't compare to the aroma of delicious coffee in an environment that delights your other senses as well.Sure, if you're interested in a commodity purchase, use an online resource and welcome the cardboard box. On the other hand if you're seeking something more, going to the store cannot be replaced.Of course, once you arrive at the store one of the key components will be interaction with other humans. An AI bot interaction through an online purchase that offers up more opportunities for other things to buy because other people also bought them too,is very different than being greeted with a smile by an expert who knows the world of their brand at both the customer and product level.If I've showed up at the store I'm looking for something more and I will suggest that it's the human interaction you get face-to-face with an sales associate that is one of the key drivers to great brand experiences in retail places.I've often thought of retail stores and hotels like theater performances.A stage with performers but with no audience is called a rehearsaland a theater with no performers is call an intermission.When performers and patrons come together in a place, magic happens. The energy changes and the exchange is much deeper.Actors live on audience feedback and audience members expect performers to bring them into an imagined world were time shifts and for that 2 hour block they are someplace else.The sales associate and customer interaction works much the same way the store then simply as a stage set for the stars of the show customers sales associates and let us not forget products. Everything you do inside the store is geared towards telling the story supporting the actors and audience members and bringing them along on the story that unfolds in chapters or acts.So it's not surprising when you walk into a store like the Nespresso flagship on 5th Ave. at the corner of 16th St. in New York, that the story of Nespresso so comprehensively and confidently comes alive.From interaction stations that are very analog where you can experience the aroma of various coffees from around the world and if you like, free of charge, create your own coffee drink pour it into real glassware that when held in your hand creates a sense of comfort and familiarity.Sure the Nespresso store cells great coffee in a number of variations but the flagship store does much more than that.It welcomes you into a world of surprise and delight where customers interact with both analog and digital touchpoints; where they learn about the making of coffee and Nespresso's extraordinary sustainability program and how their capsules are recycled.And then it takes you off of the main selling floor and allows you to descend the digitally enrobed case staircase walking “into the poor” to a members lounge that is not only for members… it is for everyone.This place is designed to be reminiscent of what your own home may be complete with vinyl record player, a coffee bar where you can pour yourself another - free of charge - drink and spend time simply relaxing or chatting with the throngs of people that seem to always being showing up daily after 5:00 PM.A lot of retailers and hotel brands push designed experiences through a cost benefit analysis.Naturally minding their dollars and trying to understand where intention is being placed to drive impact - which usually translates to thinking about construction cost, altering employment practices and policies, considering the long-term needs of digital content management and a host of other things.The problem is that that ROI spreadsheet often doesn't have other columns on it for the intangibles like Return on Innovation, Return on Creativity, Return on Novelty, Return on Experience and Return on Emotion,all of which have become increasingly important in an experience and transformation based economy.How do you put a number on the intangibles of surprise and delight and the body memory of an experience so well choreographed did it lose you thinking about it and sharing it with friends and family days later.And this is where this episode's guest Anatoly Korolenko comes into our story.Anatoliy currently leads Real Estate and Development for Nespresso USA, He is responsible for shaping the brand's U.S. retail footprint from market strategy and site selection through lease negotiations, design, construction, and ongoing portfolio optimization. His work combines consumer and market analytics with real estate economics to identify growth opportunities and translate brand strategy into high-performing physical retail environments.Throughout his career, he has focused on the intersection of real estate, customer experience, and business performance—building strategies that treat physical retail not simply as a distribution channel, but as an important driver of customer acquisition, brand engagement, and long-term growth.I caught up with Anatoly on a trip to New York where we found the space at the old Pentagram office off of Madison Park that was under renovation by the Porcelanosa company who was turning it into a beautiful new showroom.So, during our conversation we lived through some sounds of circular saws, scaffolding being dismantled and some jackhammers breaking up a floor.And what with it being New York there was the occasional ambulance siren that starts off in the distance and then tends to come up and park right below your window.All good. We made it through. And we just chalked it up to being part of the authentic and unvarnished experience...* * * *ABOUT DAVID KEPRON:LinkedIn Profile: linkedin.com/in/david-kepron-9a1582bWebsites: https://www.davidkepron.com (personal website)vmsd.com/taxonomy/term/8645 (Blog)Email: david.kepron@NXTLVLexperiencedesign.comPersonal Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/davidkepron/NXTLVL Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nxtlvl_experience_design/Bio:David Kepron is a multifaceted creative professional with a deep curiosity to understand ‘why', ‘what's now' and ‘what's next'. He brings together his background as an architect, artist, educator, author, podcast host and builder to the making of meaningful and empathically-focused, community-centric customer connections at brand experience places around the globe. David is the Retail Studio Principle at Little Diversified Architectural Consulting (Little) and a former VP - Global Design Strategies at Marriott International. While at Marriott, his focus was on the creation of compelling customer experiences within Marriott's “Premium Distinctive” segment which included: Westin, Renaissance, Le Meridien, Autograph Collection, Tribute Portfolio, Design Hotels and Gaylord hotels. In 2020 Kepron founded NXTLVL Experience Design, a strategy and design consultancy, where he combines his multidisciplinary approach to the creation of relevant brand engagements with his passion for social and cultural anthropology, neuroscience and emerging digital technologies. As a frequently requested international speaker at corporate events and international conferences focusing on CX, digital transformation, retail, hospitality, emerging technology, David shares his expertise on subjects ranging from consumer behaviors and trends, brain science and buying behavior, store design and visual merchandising, hotel design and strategy as well as creativity and innovation. In his talks, David shares visionary ideas on how brand strategy, brain science and emerging technologies are changing guest expectations about relationships they want to have with brands and how companies can remain relevant in a digitally enabled marketplace. David currently shares his experience and insight on various industry boards including: VMSD magazine's Editorial Advisory Board, the Interactive Customer Experience Association, Sign Research Foundation's Program Committee as well as the Center For Retail Transformation at George Mason University.He has held teaching positions at New York's Fashion Institute of Technology (F.I.T.), the Department of Architecture & Interior Design of Drexel University in Philadelphia, the Laboratory Institute of Merchandising (L.I.M.) in New York, the International Academy of Merchandising and Design in Montreal and he served as the Director of the Visual Merchandising Department at LaSalle International Fashion School (L.I.F.S.) in Singapore. In 2014 Kepron published his first book titled: “Retail (r)Evolution: Why Creating Right-Brain Stores Will Shape the Future of Shopping in a Digitally Driven World” and he is currently working on his second book to be published soon The NXTLVL Experience Design podcast is presented by VMSD magazine and Smartwork Media. It is hosted and executive produced by David Kepron. Our original music and audio production is by Kano Sound. The content of this podcast is copywrite to David Kepron and NXTLVL Experience Design. Any publication or rebroadcast of the content is prohibited without the expressed written consent of David Kepron and NXTLVL Experience Design.Make sure to tune in for more NXTLVL “Dialogues on DATA: Design Architecture Technology and the Arts” wherever you find your favorite podcasts and make sure to visit vmsd.com and look for the tab for the NXTLVL Experience Design podcast there too.

I see George Clooney when I look at Greg's photo, you?

From a shocking story involving Jim Thornton from Wheel of Fortune to exclusive interviews with the Canadian International Air Show's Snowbirds and former fighter pilot Rob “Scratch” Mitchell, the gang dives into the biggest headlines of the week. Plus, the new Canadian $20 bill featuring King Charles III, Apple's first foldable iPhone, AI experts warning about the future of artificial intelligence, controversy surrounding Macklemore, updates on Canada-U.S. tariffs, and the latest from Harry Styles, George Clooney, Chris Rock, and more Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Mega-influencer Alix Earle's new reality show has dropped on Netflix and so we're unpacking it all, from all the details of her feud with Alex Cooper to the family's bizarre dynamics. Could Earle Meets World be Gen Z's answer to The Kardashians? Also this week: series two of The Gentlemen starring Maya Jama, as well as the brilliant film spin-off of French comedy Call My Agent! featuring an excellent cameo from George Clooney. Join us on Patreon for exclusive bonus episodes plus early access and ad-free listening at patreon.com/straightuppodcastTry the adaptogenic coffee that changed our lives with 20% off using code straightup at londonnootropics.comFollow us on IG ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@straightuppod⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ and TikTok @straightuppodFind us on YouTube @straightupmediapodEmail at ⁠⁠hello@straightuppodcast.co.ukRecs/ reviews: Where Are The Kings, Donal Ryan The Gentlemen, NetflixCall My Agent! The Movie, Netflix Earle Meets World, Netflix . Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Inside President Macron's summit, where Ted Sarandos, Dana Walden and Hollywood power players attended — very quietly French President Emmanuel Macron summoned some of the biggest names in global entertainment to the south of France this week to talk about nothing less than the future of cinema — and Hollywood came. Netflix's Ted Sarandos, Disney's Dana Walden, NBCUniversal's Donna Langley and other industry heavyweights attended the first-ever Lumière Summit, co-hosted by South Korean President Lee Jae Myung, as filmmakers, executives and government leaders grappled with AI, the attention economy and the threats facing traditional entertainment. “He did something that I think people who work in the entertainment industry in the U.S. have been really hungry to see happen,” says Ankler EIC Janice Min, who stops by the pod after attending the summit at the invitation of the French government. “Somebody in charge saying things about an industry that's struggling.” But if France was eager to lead the conversation, Hollywood's own leaders were considerably more cautious. Sarandos and Walden were seen but not heard, while Sony's Tom Rothman and a very pointed George Clooney were among the few major American figures willing to speak freely. “No one's saying Trump, but it's kind of about Trump,” Janice says of the geopolitical undercurrent running through the gathering. “It was great that Hollywood showed up — and it was revealing that a lot of them didn't feel like they could take the stage.” Plus: Thanks to Widow's Bay, Apple TV leads the pack ahead of the primetime Emmy telecast, and Natalie Jarvey crowns a winner in the Ankler Agenda summer box office draft. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week on Bad Dads Film Review, Sidey, Dan and Cris review Tony Gilroy's Michael Clayton, starring George Clooney, Tom Wilkinson, Tilda Swinton and Sydney Pollack. It is a legal thriller without grandstanding courtroom speeches, a corporate conspiracy movie without cartoon villains, and a George Clooney film where the star power is deliberately worn down into exhaustion, debt and moral compromise.Sidey has loved this one for years, Cris remembers liking it, and Dan arrives as a Michael Clayton virgin after realising the “Michael” film in his head was actually Michael Collins. The dads begin with the film's strange, non-linear opening: Arthur Edens spiralling through a voiceover, Michael being dragged away from a backroom poker game to clean up a rich client's hit-and-run, and the early reminder that Clayton may have a fixer's reputation but he is not a miracle worker. He can tell a man to face the music; he cannot make the consequences vanish.The review digs into Clayton as a man trapped by other people's mess. He is the firm's problem-solver, not a partner. He has an ex-DA past, a failed restaurant business, a brother whose addictions helped put him in debt, and an $80,000 hole that makes him useful to Sydney Pollack's Marty Bach. Clooney plays him as tired rather than cool: still sharp, still well-dressed, but visibly sick of being sent into the night to mop up disasters for people richer and worse than him.At the centre of the film is Arthur Edens, played brilliantly by Tom Wilkinson. Arthur's breakdown during the U-North deposition is spectacular and humiliating, but the dads keep coming back to the idea that his madness is tangled up with moral clarity. He has spent years defending a company whose weed killer has damaged and killed people, and once he finds the smoking-gun memo proving U-North knew the truth, he can no longer keep doing the job. His obsession with Anna, one of the plaintiffs, and with the fantasy book Realm and Conquest gives the film its odd spiritual thread, leading eventually to the horses on the hill that save Michael's life.Tilda Swinton's Karen Crowder becomes the face of corporate panic. The dads talk about her sweaty armpits, her rehearsed speeches, her desperation to satisfy U-North's board and her terrible decision to hire surveillance operatives who turn into assassins. Arthur's murder is one of the episode's key talking points because it is so coldly procedural: no big struggle, no dramatic villain speech, just sedation, injection, staged suicide and the awful efficiency of people doing a job.As Michael follows the clues Arthur left behind, the film becomes a study in compromised people trying to survive a rotten system. He finds the marked book, learns about the memo, realises Arthur had thousands of copies printed, and starts to suspect that the suicide story is nonsense. Yet when Marty offers him the money he needs, Michael takes it. That is part of what makes the film work for the dads: he is not pure. He sells Arthur out for $80,000 before finding his way back to something like decency.The finale is pure thriller satisfaction. After the bomb in Clayton's car fails because he has walked up the hill to look at the horses from his son's book, he confronts Karen at the U-North settlement meeting. She thinks he is dead, then thinks he can be bought. Michael pushes her into saying enough, reveals he is wearing a wire, and walks away as her world collapses behind him. The final taxi ride, with Clooney silently processing everything as the credits roll over his face, gets praised as a perfect ending.Verdicts are emphatic. Sidey gives Michael Clayton the strongest possible recommend and says he could watch it again immediately. Dan calls it one of the best midweek films the podcast has done this year and wants more undiscovered films like it. Cris loves that the legal world is not glamorised: it is late-night rooms full of lawyers billing hours, protecting corporations and turning human cost into numbers. The dads praise the whole cast, especially Clooney's pared-back performance, Wilkinson's haunted intensity, Swinton's Oscar-winning panic and Pollack's completely believable law-firm authority.In short: a brilliant grown-up thriller about corporate greed, moral exhaustion, legal compromise and the terrifying power of a memo everyone wants buried.You can now text us anonymously to leave feedback, suggest future content or simply hurl abuse at us. We'll read out any texts we receive on the show. Click here to try it out!We love to hear from our listeners! By which I mean we tolerate it. If it hasn't been completely destroyed yet you can usually find us on twitter @dads_film, on Facebook Bad Dads Film Review, on email at baddadsjsy@gmail.com or on our website baddadsfilm.com. Until next time, we remain... Bad Dads

Manon Kerjean, FRANCE 24's film critic highlights some of her picks among the French films in competition at the 83rd Venice International Film Festival. She also looks at new releases in French cinema: "15/18", a film set in a psychiatric unit which tackles mental health and "A Woman's Life" – a film starring Cesar-winning actress Léa Drucker as a woman whose organized life is upended by the arrival of a stranger. She also previews "The Unknown", a film by Arthur Hariri about two strangers who wake up in each other's bodies. Finally, she gives her thoughts on a highly anticipated film, "Call my Agent", which picks up five years after the end of the hit TV series on Netflix. 

Shane Stroud is THE ER expert at the No One Work Here network, so it's only natural that he's here for the second episode of our glorious new episodes. at first we thought it wasn't Swayze Adjacent, but I found Vanessa Marquez from Father Hood and now we're off to the races!!

Now 65, actor George Clooney has some strong feelings about the democrat party's next wave of leaders and he shares those thoughts out loud.... which was probably mistake number one. Why the left is going for looks instead of quality leadership. And more proof that Tony Fauci didn't follow the science... he ignored it. The warnings about the jab's toxicity to pregnant women that Fauci totally ignored before he lied on live TV to the world's mothers. Maria Bartiromo is rumored to be talking with CBS and 60 Minutes.   

Alix Earle's new Netflix series has dropped, and buried inside it is one of the nastiest, most intense celebrity feuds we've seen in years, her clash with Call Her Daddy's Alex Cooper. We're taking you through every messy layer of it.We're also unpacking Robert Pattinson's new Oscar-buzzy film, and why the real-life man at the centre of it is fighting back in the pettiest, most unhinged way imaginable. It involves ad space you won't believe.Plus, Venice Film Festival has served pure chaos: a heartthrob nearly fainting on the carpet, a director's AI confession that has the internet furious, and the four-year anniversary of the spitting allegations we all remember far too well... and Tina has a theory about it she's willing to die on.TAKE THE SPILL'S WEEKLY POP CULTURE QUIZ HERE Become a Mamamia subscriber and get an all-access pass to everything we make, including exclusive podcasts and early listening, subscriber-only articles, monthly giveaways and our home workout app, MOVE. Get access to Very Peri, Mamamia's exclusive perimenopause series, for just $59. 25 world-leading experts, over 20 on-demand sessions, available now. We’ve sorted through the noise so you don't have to. Go to veryperi.com.au and join me today. You hot? Same. Buy today and save 40%THE END BITS Find and follow us on socials: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thespillpodcast/ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@thespillpod Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thespillpodcast/ Support independent women's media Want to join the conversation? Have feedback or a topic you want us to discuss? Send us a voice message or email us at thespill@mamamia.com.auand we’ll get back to you ASAP! Executive Producer: Monisha Iswaran Audio & Video Producer: Mamamia acknowledges the traditional owners of the land on which we have recorded this podcast.Become a Mamamia subscriber: https://www.mamamia.com.au/subscribeSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Richard Kind has seemingly worked with everyone, and he has the stories to prove it. The beloved character actor joins Steve Kmetko for a hilarious, candid conversation about his unlikely path from Second City to Mad About You, Spin City, Scrubs, Pixar and beyond. Richard remembers working alongside Michael J. Fox and Charlie Sheen, explains what Christopher Walken taught him simply by watching him act, talks about his experiences with Disney and Pixar, and reveals why he still considers himself an actor rather than a comedian. And then there is George Clooney. Kind shares a hilarious prank involving Clooney's Oscar, a TSA agent and a very heavy suitcase, before telling a far more revealing story about the man Clooney was before ER made him a superstar. During the Los Angeles riots, Kind planned to leave town with friends. Clooney had another idea. It's funny, thoughtful, wonderfully unpredictable and very Richard Kind. CHAPTERS 00:00 Richard Kind Is Still Here01:17 The Character Actor Dining Society03:40 George Clooney's Oscar Prank06:13 Richard Kind's Second City Years08:08 "The Harvard of Comedy"09:19 Chasing the Dream of Acting11:07 Did His Family Think He'd Make It?13:20 Why Li'l Abner Should Come Back14:12 Songs That Have Aged VERY Badly16:17 Richard's First Television Job18:38 Learning Television With Mary Tyler Moore21:40 How Richard Met George Clooney22:39 "I'm the Luckiest Guy in the World"24:04 Richard Says He's NOT a Comedic Actor27:02 Why He Prefers Single-Camera Acting28:45 Remembering Linda Lavin and Tony Roberts31:30 Spin City, Michael J. Fox and Charlie Sheen32:59 What Actors Actually Do37:20 The Torturous "Drive Home"39:18 Mid-Century Modern and James Burrows42:49 Why Fans Still Love Him on Scrubs43:04 Richard Kind Calls Bill Lawrence a Genius46:27 Recording Family Guy and American Dad50:11 The Truth About Working for Disney52:09 Richard Kind vs. Marvel Movies57:40 What Richard Really Thinks of Amal Clooney1:00:30 George Clooney Before He Was Famous1:00:47 The Incredible LA Riots Story1:03:46 Richard Says Goodbye Show CreditsHost/Producer: Steve KmetkoAll things technical: Justin ZangerleExecutive Producer: Jim LichtensteinMusic by: Brian Sanyshyn https://stillherehollywood.comhttp://patreon.com/stillherehollywoodSuggest Guests at: stillherehollywood@gmail.comAdvertise on Still Here Hollywood: jim@stillherenetwork.comPublicist: Maggie Perlich: maggie@numbertwelvemarketing.com Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

In this week's episode, I take a look back at the movies and streaming shows I watched in Summer 2026 and rate them. This coupon code will get you 25% off the ebooks in the Ghost Armor series at my Payhip store: FALLARMOR The coupon code is valid through September 21, 2026. So if you need a new ebook this fall, we've got you covered! TRANSCRIPT 00:00:00 Introduction and Writing Updates Hello, everyone. Welcome to Episode 319 of The Pulp Writer Show. My name is Jonathan Moeller. Today is September the 4th, 2026, and today I'm looking back at the movies and streaming shows I watched over Summer 2026. We will also have Coupon of the Week and an update on my current writing, publishing, and audiobook projects. So let's start off with Coupon of the Week. This week's coupon code will get you 25% off the ebooks in the Ghost Armor series at my Payhip store. That coupon code is FALLARMOR. As always, you can get the coupon code and the links to my Payhip store available in the show notes for this episode. This coupon code will be valid through September 21st, 2026, so if you need a new ebook for this fall, we have got you covered. Now an update on my current writing, publishing, and audiobook projects. I'm pleased to report that the rough draft of Blade of Visions is done. It came to 99,000 words. It'd be kind of cool if it came to 100,000, but as I've learned in the 15 years I've been doing this, it's not a good idea to pad things for length. Editing is underway. I'm about 15% through the first pass of edits. I'm working on the cover design, so I'm on good track to have the book out before the end of the month. I also wrote a tie-in short story called Winter Crown and don't forget that [newsletter] subscribers will get a free ebook copy of that short story when Blade of Visions comes out later this month. So this makes a very excellent time to subscribe to my new release newsletter. I am also 12,000 words into Elven-Warlock, which will be the seventh book in the Half-Elven Thief series. Hopefully that will be out in October, if all goes well. In audiobook news, I think Blade of Thieves (as narrated by Brad Wills) and Cloak of Worlds (as narrated by Hollis McCarthy) are now finally available at all the usual audiobook stores, which includes Audible, Apple, Amazon, Kobo, Google Play, Chirp, and all the others. So if you want to listen to those if you are going on a Labor Day road trip, you can check those out. A reminder that Stealth and Spells Online: The Complete LitRPG trilogy (narrated by C.J. McAllister) is also available on Audible, so check that out. That's 32 hours long and that would also cover all your Labor Day travels. So that is where I'm at with my current writing, publishing and audiobook projects. 00:02:22 Main Topic of the Week: Summer 2026 Movie Roundup So let's move on to our main topic this week. Our main topic this week is the Summer 2026 Movie Roundup and I always enjoy doing those. These episodes are a little less serious than some of the other episodes and it's fun to talk about things I enjoyed and that you might enjoy as well. And I did see a lot of new movies this summer. In fact, I went to the actual theater four times for Masters of the Universe, The Odyssey, Spider-Man, and Coyote vs. Acme, which is probably more than I've gone in a single season since before COVID times. So as usual, here are the movies I saw this summer (rated from least favorite to most favorite). The grades are totally subjective and based on nothing but my own thoughts and opinions. First up is The Breadwinner, which came out in 2026. This is basically standup comedian Nate Bargatze's act come to life as a movie. If you've seen Bargatze's standup, his usual routine is to portray himself as the dumb husband and bumbling Girl Dad, which is actually quite clever from a comedic standpoint since you're unlikely to have outraged mobs calling for your head if all you're doing is making fun of yourself. Anyway, Bargatze portrays Nate Wilcox, the best Toyota salesman in Nashville. (Don't worry, this is the first of only many product placement moments.) He lets his wife Kate manage the household and do the bulk of the work with their three daughters. When Kate's invention takes off on Shark Tank, she has to go to South Korea for two weeks to oversee manufacturing, leaving Nate in charge of the kids. Comedic chaos ensues. On the positive side of this movie, I did approve how this movie showed a married couple trying to work through a rough patch and do what's right for their kids and each other in a semi-productive way rather than blowing up their lives over nonsensical trivialities in the style of Eat, Pray, Love. On the downside, there was a lot of product placement, to the point where it at times felt like an extended commercial with bits of plot jammed in between product endorsement. No doubt most of the production budget came from product placement money. Will Forte was funny as an eccentric roofing contractor and Martin Herlihy as a shifty DoorDash employee. Kumail Nanjiani was funny as Nate's rival salesman at the car dealership. So overall, I would say this was blandly amusing and inoffensive with some funny slapstick moments. Overall grade: C- Next up is Supergirl, which came out in 2026. This movie really was sort of a strange combination of John Wick and the human trafficking subplot from 2020's Black Widow. The end result wasn't quite as good as Superman from 2025, alas. I did like this movie's interpretation of Supergirl. Kara Zor-El's departure from Krypton was way more traumatic than Superman's, so she's dealing with her unresolved emotional issues by traveling from planet to planet with red suns and getting hammered since the same yellow sun that gives Kryptonians their superpowers on Earth also keeps them from getting drunk because their bodies process alcohol too efficiently. However, Kara comes to a planet where a girl named Ruthye lives. Ruthye's family has been slaughtered by ruthless brigands yet led by Krem of the Yellow Hills and she's going on a quest for revenge. When Ruthye tries to recruit Kara for the quest, she's not interested, but then Krem steals Kara's spaceship and poisons her dog Krypto. Krem carries the antidote on his person, so now Kara and Ruthye team up to get vengeance on Krem and to heal Krypto. Krem is a nasty piece of work and he and his space gang travel from planet to planet abducting women to be their wives. I think the problem was that Krem was kind of a boring but nasty villain, but he was still boring. He was basically a space thug with too many piercings. Lex Luthor from 2025 Superman, by contrast, was a really interesting villain, this malignant narcissist who knows that his obsession with Superman is over the top, but he's going to act on it anyway. Additionally, I don't think this version of Supergirl is quite capable of being a lead character on her own. She'd make a superb secondary character, but I don't think she could quite carry a movie on her own. And Jason Momoa was pretty good as Lobo. Overall grade: C- Next up is Troy, which came out in 2004. I wanted to see this either before or after I watched The Odyssey this summer and ended up watching it the day before I went to see The Odyssey. I would say this movie was slow and ponderous, but I did enjoy watching it. This is an adaption of The Iliad and has the sort of slow stateliness of epic films from the '60s. It had good performances and good battle scenes. Brian Cox was enjoyable as a scenery chewing Agamemnon and Brad Pitt worked as Achilles. Interestingly, his version of Achilles reminded me of the interpretation of Feyd-Rautha Harkonnen from Dune 2 as sort of a violent psychopath with his own twisted sense of honor. Oddly, despite the fact that this was rather a long movie, the ending seems a bit rushed, like we needed to hurry up and get to the Trojan Horse. It was amusing how Achilles' relationship with Patroclus was changed to "cousin" for the modern audience, but Greek views on sexuality would definitely be unpalatable with both right-wing and left-wing versions of the modern mind, which is a good thing because while the Greeks contributed a great deal to the development of civilization, they were into a lot of unsavory stuff. So overall, I would say this was a fun, epic movie, but I think this walked so the 2026 version of The Odyssey could run. Amusing fact: Christopher Nolan was apparently supposed to direct this, but the deal fell through and he got Batman Begins as a consolation prize instead. Overall grade: B- Next up is The Dink, which came out in 2026. This is an Apple TV comedy movie about pickleball of all things. I feel like this was made because some Apple executive got made fun of by some tennis players for playing pickleball and then decided to take revenge through media. Jake Johnson plays Dustin Boyd, a washed up former child tennis star who now works at his father's tennis club. The club has difficulties because of a growing influx of pickleball players who the hardcore tennis players hate. Dustin's father decides to use the club's bylaws to force a duel match to decide the issue, in the grand tradition of wacky comedy stakes. Dustin really wants to play the duel match, but his wrist is injured in an accident. To get his wrist mobility back, the doctor suggested he play some pickleball and Dustin views this as beneath him, but he really wants to play again, so he signs up for pickleball. This ends up being a wacky sports company/buddy movie as Dustin gradually befriends an eccentric older pickleball player. Ed Harris should really do more comedic roles. He was great as Dustin's stern, yet unscrupulous father. I do admire Apple TV's dedication to making random stuff. Overall grade: B- Next up is Green and Gold, which came out in 2025, and this is a melodrama about a farmer and his granddaughter dealing with the grim economic realities of farming. This is set in 1992/1993 era Wisconsin. Buck refuses to modernize his dairy farm in Door County, Wisconsin. His granddaughter Jenny is a talented musician and also a skilled farmer, and Buck wants her to take over the farm one day, but Jenny's ambitions are looking elsewhere. Events come to a head when Jenny realizes that Buck is deeply in debt to the bank, which is about to foreclose on the farm. However, Buck and the chief banker have a personal animosity, so they settle on a bet. If the Green Bay Packers win a Super Bowl title in 1993, the banker will give Buck one more year to turn things around on the farm. Meanwhile, Jenny begins to wonder if her music ambitions might generate the money to save the farm. Of course, if you are familiar with the history of the Packers, you know that they won a Super Bowl in 1996, not 1993. The movie has carried on the back of the very strong performances of its actors. It also has an ambiguously happy ending, as is true with so many things in farming. I like this movie because I've spent a lot of my life in the American Midwest, [and] I did appreciate how it shows the difficulties of the farming life. Also, this is important: a fall from a ladder is a plot point. Ladder safety is important, people! If you are going up a ladder, for heaven's sake don't climb the ladder in high heels like the character in question does. Wear sensible, well-fitting shoes with good soles. A very long time ago, I used to work with a guy who would climb extension ladders in cowboy boots. It is nothing short of the mercy of God that he didn't fall off and shatter half the bones in his body. Overall grade: B Next up is Grumpy Old Men, which came out in 1993. Apparently this is set in Wabasha, Minnesota, which is amusing because filming actually took place in several areas in the Twin Cities in Eastern Minnesota, but not actually in Wabasha. I found that personally amusing because I'm quite familiar with the area and so I recognize several filming locations. Anyway, the movie is about two retirees, Max and John, who are enemies and have been enemies for years, but Max is lonely and wants to get married again, and John is about to lose his house to the IRS due to tax problems. Things come to a head when an attractive literature professor moves across the street and both Max and John take an interest in her and start competing for her affections. However, it turns out that Max and John are actually best friends whose love language happens to be hatred and practical jokes, kind of like Wile E. Coyote and Road Runner, but more on them below. This was a good character comedy/drama. It was interesting that the professor was an early version of the Manic Pixie Dream Girl trope, albeit several decades before someone came up with the term. This is worth watching both as a character and comedy drama and a time capsule of the 1990s. Sometimes a movie ages a bit badly (Airplane and the Thomas Crown Affair from the Spring Movie Roundup come to mind), but this didn't. The sequel Grumpier Old Men from 1995 is basically the same movie, but with the characters acting about 20% dumber so a sitcom style plot can happen. Still entertaining, but not as good as the first one, so Grumpier Old Men only gets a B-, but Grumpy Old Men gets a B+. Next up is Masters of the Universe, which came out in 2026. It was amusing to read reviews of this movie because people thought way too hard about a movie that is essentially about battling action figures. Anyway, this was pretty good. It was nice to see a movie about a science fiction property that doesn't actually hate the source material. Basically it's a live action version of the cartoons from the '80s, albeit with somewhat more thoughtful moments. I heard someone suggest that it was close in tone to Thor: Ragnarok, and that seems accurate. The plot is that Skeletor conquers Eternia and 10-year-old Prince Adam is sent with the Sword of Power through a magical portal to Earth to keep him and the sword out of Skeletor's reach. However, Adam loses the sword while passing through the gate and 15 years later is working in human resources. He's still seeking for the sword despite his therapist trying to convince him that it was a trauma-induced fantasy. However, his persistence pays off and he does find the sword. Teela, who is one of the resistance leaders against Skeletor's rule, comes to Earth to find him and bring him back, but Skeletor's minions arrive to claim the sword as well. Adam and Teela escape back to Eternia and it's up to Adam to find a way to use the Sword of Power to become the hero that Eternia needs. Dolph Lundgren's cameo was great. Overall, I would say this is a fun movie to watch, especially if you're a Millennial or Gen Xer who saw the cartoons or the live action movie back in the '80s. Jared Leto has something of an increasingly questionable reputation these days, but he did a good job as Skeletor, played him halfway between the solemn gravitas of the 1987 version and the malevolent comedic cornball of the cartoons. Of course, in my opinion, the Frank Langella version from 1987 is the best version of Skeletor since he placed it with all the seriousness of a Shakespearean villain monologue at the Royal Shakespeare Company. In hindsight, it wasn't terribly surprising that this underperformed at the box office. It felt like it was made for guys my age, not for kids. I would've been comfortable bringing an eight-year-old to see The Mandalorian and Grogu or Super Mario Galaxy, but I would've been less certain bringing a kid that age to see Masters of the Universe. Additionally, it seemed very Marvel in tone, and I think the overall mood of the US these days is less "Marvel Cinematic Universe quips and banter" and more sort of the grimness of The Odyssey, which we'll talk about shortly. Overall grade: B+ Next up is Young Washington, which came out in 2026, a biopic of the early life of George Washington, covering how he more or less accidentally started the French and Indian War and how he recovered his reputation at the Battle of Braddock's Field. To be fair, the international situation at the time meant that someone was going to start the French and Indian War. It just happened to be Washington, who was in the wrong place at the wrong time. Overall, I liked this. It was reasonably historically accurate, though some of the emotional and family dialogue at times was a bit clunky. Additionally, Washington was portrayed as having revolutionary leanings much earlier in life than he actually did, since when he was a young man, he had no thoughts of being anything but a British subject and officer. That said, some of the most implausible stuff in the movie actually happened in real life. Like if I were to write in a novel that the future president of the United States personally rallied the army's rear guard to save as many men as possible from an ambush, and in the process had two horses shot out from under him and ended up with bullet holes in his hat and coat (all while fighting continuously), you would probably find that a bit implausible, but it actually happened that way. Washington's daring actions during that battle were one of the reasons he was appointed commander of the Continental Army during the Revolutionary War, that and there weren't many other colonials with as much experience of military command as Washington. In that vein, the battle scenes were the best part of the movie. They captured the brutality and messiness of 18th Century warfare without being especially graphic. Anyway, I'm glad this is getting a sequel. Maybe we'll end up with a Young Washington Cinematic Universe. Overall grade: B+ Next up is Meet the Parents, which came out in 2000, and this is probably one of the apex forms of cringe comedy. Ben Stiller plays Greg Focker, a nurse who's in love with schoolteacher Pam Burns. Greg wants to marry Pam, but overhears a phone call with her sister where she says her fiancé asked permission of her traditional father first. Greg decides that he's going to ask Pam's father's permission first to get off on the right foot, and so accompanies Pam to her sister's wedding and her parents' house to, as the title says, Meet the Parents. However, Pam's father is the former CIA counterintelligence officer Jack, and he and Greg immediately get on each other's nerves. To make things worse, the airline has lost Greg's luggage. From these two starting premises follow a cascading series of hilarious disasters that accumulate in a septic tank fire on the lawn. I'm not sure, but I think I saw this one in the theaters when it came out in 2000, and I thought it was funny then. With 26 years of additional life experience under the belt, I still think it's pretty funny, though you could still tell that this movie was filmed before 9/11 because if Greg had his airport meltdown seen today, the consequences would've been much worse. Overall grade: B+ Next up is O Brother Where Art Thou, which came out in 2000. This is a very, very, very specific adaptation of The Odyssey directed by the Coen brothers. George Clooney plays Everett, a convict who escapes from a chain gang in Mississippi during the Great Depression. He wants to find a treasure and he recruits fellow convicts Delmar and Peter to assist him. Along the way, Everett and his team encountered 1930s era versions of the Sirens, the cyclops, the blind prophet Tiresias, and other characters and foes from the original Odyssey myth. Everett and his friends end up running a scam where they pretend to be a Christian music group, but as it turns out, they're actually pretty good at singing, so this leads to unexpected hilarity and opportunities. This was also a very funny movie. Imagine The Odyssey is a comedy with a lot of singing set in the Deep South during the Depression, and you're there. If you're a fan of bluegrass music, this is worth watching. If you've seen Christopher Nolan's The Odyssey, it's worth watching this just to ponder how the same source material can produce such wildly divergent interpretations. If you don't care about The Odyssey, then this is still a fun movie to watch. Proof: I mentioned to someone that I had seen this and she responded that she both loved the movie and was surprised to learn that he had in fact been inspired by The Odyssey. Overall grade: A- Next up is Hoppers, which came out in 2026. Like most Pixar movies, this was very high concept. Unlike many recent Pixar movies, it wasn't too depressing and didn't disappear up its own tailpipe. In the city of Beaverton, hot tempered girl Mabel bonds with her grandmother in their favorite place, a woodland grove favored by beavers. Years later, Mabel is a biology student under Dr. Fairfax, but is neglecting her studies to face off against her nemesis, the popular yet sketchy Mayor Jerry of Beaverton. Mayor Jerry wants to build an expressway that will wipe out the woodland grove, and he's perfectly within his rights to do it since no animals have been found living there. Since Mabel's grandmother has died, she's unwilling to give up the grove. However, Dr. Fairfax's research might give her a way. Dr. Fairfax has worked out a way to temporarily transfer human consciousness to a robotic beaver capable of speaking to real beavers, much like the plot of Avatar. In a funny scene, Fairfax angrily denies that it's just like Avatar. Mabel gets the idea to use this to convince real beavers to settle in the grove, thereby thwarting Mayor Jerry's plans. This touches off both a wacky yet poignant adventure. The plot was very well structured and it followed the proper rules of story structure, which I've talked about before. Mabel definitely is a protagonist who takes action, but experiences setbacks and problems of her own creation. It was pretty good. I say it was a return to form for Pixar after some of their weaker movies in the 2020s. Overall grade: A Now it's time for my three favorite movies of summer 2026, all of which I actually saw in the theater. First up is Coyote versus Acme, which came out in 2026. This movie had an extra surge of popularity from the fact that Warner Brothers canceled it as a tax write-off, but distributor Ketchup Entertainment revived it. That makes it a plucky underdog since Warner Brothers senior executives are kind of like the apex version of soulless corporate bug men. Like if I wrote characters in my books who acted like Warner Brothers senior executives, people would think I was being didactic and heavy-handed. Anyway, after decades of failures in efforts to capture the Road Runner, Wile E. Coyote decides to sue Acme Corporation for its numerous defective products. Coyote teams up with a lazy strip mall lawyer named Kevin Avery, who specializes in getting small settlements from Acme. However, Avery and Coyote end up filing a massive lawsuit against Acme, which means they'll face the full wrath of Acme Corporation, including its ace lawyer Buddy Crane and its ruthless CEO, Foghorn Leghorn. What follows is a comedic courtroom battle as Coyote and Avery try to defeat Acme Corporation, defeat its sinister plans, and Coyote starts to realize that Road Runner might actually be his best friend. Both quite amusing and touching, and I'm glad this was rescued from the tax write-off vault. Overall grade: A Next up is The Odyssey, which came out in 2026. This wasn't quite as good as Oppenheimer in 2023 in my opinion, but it was still very good and very much worth seeing. It was weird that The Odyssey was briefly a football in the never-ending US culture war scrum because the movie isn't really political and doesn't really have a message beyond "war is destructive and bad", which every sensible person would agree with, and a lesser message of "violating the law of morality has unforeseen cascading bad consequences, including the destruction of civilization", which is also quite true and was one of the themes of Oppenheimer. Nolan himself dismissed the controversies as "irrelevant" and "part of the territory" since no one had actually seen the movie yet, and given that The Odyssey has made a billion and a half dollars as of this recording, I think that may have proved his point. I imagine the scrutiny from Batman fans back in the 2010s was way more intense since in the modern era, many people care more deeply about the accuracy of Batman than The Odyssey. I do think the debate over the historical accuracy in The Odyssey is pointless because the Odyssey is myth, not history. The Iliad and The Odyssey are a lot like Arthurian myth in terms of their actual historicity. Even when Arthurian legend was massively popular with English kings and nobles in the late medieval and early modern period (for example, Henry VIII's older brother was named Arthur in imitation of King Arthur), the version of Arthurian myth they celebrated and wished to emulate had virtually no connection to the reality of Britain in the 500s AD and was instead a sort of fantasy version of their own time in the 14th and 15th centuries. By the time The Odyssey was written down, no doubt a similar process was underway. Both The Iliad and The Odyssey and the Arthurian cycle probably have a kernel of historical truth buried underneath the tales of magic swords, sirens, cyclopses, and vengeful witches with magic islands. There likely was a Romano-British warlord who might have been named Arthur (or possibly Ambrosius Aurelianus) who held off the Saxons for a while before he was overwhelmed and killed. Likewise, Heinrich Schliemann was a highly eccentric and very sketchy crazy rich guy, but he did prove that there really was some version of the city of Troy that was destroyed at the end of the Bronze Age. But everything beyond those basic details came from thousands of years of embellishments and flourishes from later poets and writers. So arguing about the historical accuracy of The Odyssey is a bit like arguing if Star Wars portrays faster than light travel in an accurate way. That kind of argument is just missing the point entirely. It's also interesting to see how modern standards clashed with the ancient mindset. You know how I always say that everywhere in the United States is exactly the same right until it really, really isn't? I think ancient people are just like us until they really, really weren't. Like ancient people would have been superstitious to an extent that even the most credulous crystal and aura influencer on TikTok would find horrifying and frequently violent in a way that the most strident self-defense advocate would find shocking. The Odyssey's version of Odysseus feels guilt and remorse over his actions in a way an actual ancient Greek probably wouldn't have, but so what? This is The Odyssey viewed through the lens of the 21st century, just as those English nobles viewed the myth of King Arthur and his knights through the lens of their time. As I mentioned with Troy above, the ancient Greeks were often quite brutal and would celebrate sacking an enemy city. One side note before we get to the movie, I probably found it funnier than I should have how Nolan favorably cited classicist Emily Wilson's translation of The Odyssey as a source, and Wilson then had an extended and unintentionally comedic multi-article crashout about how much she hated the movie and of course how much she hated the commemorative Trojan Horse popcorn bucket. Apparently Wilson hated the movie so much she's going to do a new translation of The Odyssey, much to her publisher's baffled dismay. No one does offended huffy petulance quite like an academic. Anyway, back to the movie. It follows the familiar story of Odysseus through Christopher Nolan's preference for non-linear storytelling and practical effects. I did think it was interesting how in this interpretation, Odysseus explicitly connected the ruse of the Trojan Horse with the collapse of the Bronze Age and the rise of the Sea Peoples. It's also probably the most supernatural film Nolan has ever done with actual fantasy and supernatural elements as opposed to science fiction like Inception, Tenant, and Interstellar. Odysseus talks to Athena throughout the movie and it's left up to the viewer's interpretation whether or not he's actually talking to Athena or his own guilt-ridden hallucinations. That said, Odysseus encounters a witch with actual magic powers and travels to the underworld to speak with the shades of the dead, so it's entirely possible he's talking to the actual Athena. In this version, as I mentioned, Odysseus is guilt-ridden over the ruse of the Trojan Horse, which is shown as a violation of the sacred hospitality of Zeus's law and as great a crime as the creation of the atomic bomb in Oppenheimer, which of course is similar to Oppenheimer, where Oppenheimer's creation of the atomic bomb is treated similarly. There are also some genuinely scary sequences in the movie. The bit with the underworld is very spooky, the cyclops is actually quite frightening, and the character of Circe reaches the level of scary previously attained by Heath Ledger's version of The Joker in The Dark Knight. If Nolan ever decides he wants to do a horror movie, it will probably be one of the scariest ones ever made. To sum up, The Odyssey has great performances, great spectacle, great cinematography, and great action sequences. As an interesting interpretation of the original myth, definitely worth seeing. I think you can tell it was a great movie because of all the arguments on the Internet about "what does it really mean?" Great art often has that effect. Overall grade: A The final of my three favorite movies of [Summer] 2026 is Spider-Man: Brand New Day, which came out in 2026. There's a rumor, and I don't know if it's true or not, that Tom Holland found the experience of working with Christopher Nolan on The Odyssey so eye-opening that he insisted that if they made another Spider-Man movie, it had to have a reason for existing other than "make a lot of money". If this story is true, it clearly worked. Previously, I though the two best Spider-Man movies were Spider-Man 2 from 2004 and Spider-Man: No Way Home from 2021. I must now amend that opinion to say that there are three best Spider-Man movies and Spider-Man: Brand New Day is one of the three. It is pretty good. I would've trimmed it here and there, but I thoroughly enjoyed it and is an excellent Spider-Man story that totally captures the essence of the character within a good story. It takes place four years after the events of No Way Home erased everyone's memory that Peter Parker was Spider-Man. Peter has now been crime fighting full time, but it is taking a severe toll on his emotions and personal life that he's deliberately ignoring. Meanwhile, Spider-Man has become the beloved crime fighter of New York, trusted by both the NYPD and the Federal Department of Damage Control, which is a reoccurring frenemy for superheroes from other movies. When someone launches an attack on the headquarters of Damage Control, the director recruits Peter to fight their new enemy, a mysterious figure who uses telepathy to possess people from a distance. Peter is the only one who can sense it thanks to his spider sense, and he's also the only one able to resist the telepath's possession abilities. But despite his resistance to possession, fighting a telepath is a dangerous proposition for someone with as many emotional issues as Peter, and things start to spiral out of control when the telepath starts digging into his life. But there's another lesson Peter has to learn. People (and especially superheroes) who take the federal government at its word tend to regret it. For that matter, ignoring his emotional issues is causing Peter's spider powers to start acting in strange ways. But of course, at the end of the day, Spider-Man always follows his conscience, no matter how high the cost to him personally. Definitely an enjoyable movie. All the scenes with Spider-Man and Punisher were great, and the two of them had a great dynamic together. A few other Marvel Cinematic Universe people show up, but this is probably one of the most standalone movies the MCU has done in a while. Of course, the risk of MCU Continuity Lockout is always there (which is one of the reasons I started writing Half-Eleven Thief in 2023). Overall grade: A So I would say it was a pretty good summer for movies. It's also valuable lessons in not taking the Internet too seriously, which too many people do nowadays. There are all these dedicated analyses on X, Threads, and Reddit in June and May explaining why The Odyssey was going to fail for whatever reason, and instead it made $1.5 billion. So I think that's a good lesson in not taking everything you read on the internet a little too seriously. So that's it for this week. Thanks for listening to The Pulp Writer Show. I hope you found the show enjoyable. A reminder that you can listen to all the back episodes at https://thepulpwritershow.com. If you enjoyed the podcast, please leave a review on your podcasting platform of choice. Stay safe and stay healthy, and we'll see you all next week.  

Qué pasa cuando una película está terminada… pero Hollywood decide guardarla durante años? A partir del caso de Coyote vs. Acme, en este episodio de Trollywood Podcast hablamos de películas enlatadas, producciones malditas y proyectos que tuvieron que esperar años —o incluso décadas— antes de llegar al público. Desde retrasos provocados por estudios, fusiones, pandemias y problemas de dinero, hasta rodajes destruidos, pleitos legales y películas que literalmente sobrevivieron a sus propios actores.Repasamos historias increíbles como The King's Daughter, The New Mutants, Grizzly II, The Man Who Killed Don Quixote, The Other Side of the Wind y Dark Blood, películas protagonizadas por figuras como Pierce Brosnan, Anya Taylor-Joy, George Clooney, Adam Driver y River Phoenix que quedaron atrapadas durante años antes de poder estrenarse. ¿Cuál fue el caso más absurdo? ¿Cuántas películas terminadas seguirá teniendo Hollywood escondidas en algún cajón?

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Good morning, E News: Sandra Bullock has seen aliens, New details on “The Wheel of Fortune” announcer, Gloria Steinem has died, Jennifer Aniston's friends don't like her new boyfriend, Brad Pitt is saying George Clooney can't dance, Fake or For Real, Jeff's Italian Word of the Day: delay/late, News That Didn't Make the News: The best places to retire, Is your fast food order correct?, What's the next big thing?, Rules for theme parks, Second Date Update: I knew it, I knew you, 1K Letter of the Day, and more… See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

E News: Sandra Bullock has seen aliens, New details on “The Wheel of Fortune” announcer, Gloria Steinem has died, Jennifer Aniston's friends don't like her new boyfriend, Brad Pitt is saying George Clooney can't dance, and more...See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Donna & Steve start the show talking about something George Clooney can't do according to Brad Pitt, America's favorite hour of the day and what the average homeowner rates their home.In hour two, we play the James Bond actor edition of the College of Pop Culture Knowledge, fast-food joints that screw up your order the most and things you should never do at amusement parks.Finally, the best cities to retire to, a study that says women who play sports are more likely to become world leaders and (maybe) we find out the Soup of the Day!See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

El periodista Juan Carlos Galindo repasa en su sección cultural en Más de uno los principales asuntos de la semana cultural: las memorias de Cristina Llanos, cantante de Dover, la Mostra de Venecia, que ha reconocido a George Clooney con el León de Oro honorífico.

George Clooney is defending his buddy Mark Ruffalo from the meanies in the press. This after Ruffalo made some comments about Israel that rubbed Paramount the wrong way. Speaking of Paramount and Warner Bros, Clooney thinks the merger is a bad idea. Watch the podcast episodes on YouTube and all major podcast hosts including Spotify. CLOWNFISH TV is an independent, opinionated news and commentary podcast that covers Entertainment and Tech from a consumer's point of view. We talk about Gaming, Comics, Anime, TV, Movies, Animation and more. Hosted by Kneon and Geeky Sparkles. Get more news, views and reviews on Clownfish TV News - https://more.clownfishtv.com/ On YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/c/ClownfishTV On Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/4Tu83D1NcCmh7K1zHIedvg On Apple Podcasts - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/clownfish-tv-audio-edition/id1726838629 MORE CLOWNFISH TV - Official Merch Store: http://ClownfishMinus.com Facebook - https://facebook.com/ClownfishTV X - https://x.com/ClownfishTVcom Clownfish TV subreddit: https://www.reddit.com/r/ClownfishTVOfficial/ Disclaimer: This series is produced by Clownfish Studios and WebReef Media, and is part of ClownfishTV.com. Opinions expressed by our contributors do not necessarily reflect the views of our guests, affiliates, sponsors, or advertisers. ClownfishTV.com is an unofficial news source and has no connection to any company that we may cover. This channel and website and the content made available through this site are for educational, entertainment and informational purposes only. These so-called “fair uses” are permitted even if the use of the work would otherwise be infringing. #Podcast #Commentary #News #Reaction #Gaming #Comedy #Entertainment #Hollywood #PopCulture #Tech #Anime #FYP Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

You're listening to American Ground Radio with Louis R. Avallone and Stephen Parr. This is the full show for September 3, 2026. We open by digging into Enos Cantor Freedom's federal lawsuit against the Chicago Sky, the Metropolitan Pier and Exposition Authority, and the city of Chicago after he was escorted out of a WNBA game and banned from Wintrust Arena for wearing a shirt defining womanhood and cheering for the Indiana Fever. We walk through the video of his confrontation with Sky guard Natasha Cloud and debate whether he was singled out for his viewpoint rather than any actual rule violation, and what that means for his First Amendment claim. From there we hit our Top 3 things you need to know: the Ninth Circuit allowing Idaho's abortion ban to take effect for now, ICE setting a new record with 51,000 detentions in August as three million illegal immigrants have left or been removed since President Trump returned to office, and a federal judge tossing the DOJ's lawsuit against California's law letting biological males compete in girls' sports. Our American Mamas, Teri Netterville and Kimberly Burleson, join us to answer why 85-year-old actress Donna Mills has launched an OnlyFans page, which spins into a broader conversation about the platform, a politically outspoken creator monetizing her looks alongside her commentary, and the personal costs that can come with that kind of income. We Dig Deep on two fronts: a Maine Supreme Court ruling that a mother cannot take her 12-year-old daughter to church without the father's consent amid the parents' custody dispute over religion, and a Columbia Journalism Review report on New York City Mayor Mamdani's office paying influencers with taxpayer money to spread city messaging on immigration and tenants' rights, which we argue crosses the line from public information into propaganda. We also talk about North Carolina's Roy Cooper calling for healthcare over handcuffs for jailed offenders, and why we think that overlooks crime victims, before landing on a Bright Spot out of Pittsburgh, where a church is reporting a wave of young people, including hundreds of University of Pittsburgh students, coming forward for baptism. We close out with George Clooney warning about the rich and powerful while accepting a lifetime achievement award, and a father-son team in Michigan fixing cars for neighbors who can't afford repairs. Listen now wherever you get your podcasts, visit AmericanGroundRadio.com, and join the conversation at 866-AGR-1776. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Como es ya tradición, empezamos la nueva temporada desde el Festival de Venecia, el certamen que reactiva la carrera de premios. España ya ha elegido a sus tres finalistas para los Oscars y por aquí ya hemos visto las películas de Danny Boyle, Martin McDonagh y Werner Herzog. Por supuesto también hemos visto a George Clooney, la gran estrella que ha marcado la apertura del festival. Entre los estrenos, destacamos ‘Cronos', el thriller de Fernando González Molina sobre el atentado de Barcelona, y ‘Jim Queen', una divertidísima comedia de animación que amenaza con convertir en heterosexuales a los gais. En televisión, hacemos repaso de lo mejor y peor del verano para empezar puestos al día el nuevo curso.

It's finally Friday!! Ryan Reynolds says the 80's were no fun! Lisa dishes on George Clooney at the Venice Film Festival.

TV, film and stage actor (and devoted “Amazing Colossal Podcast” fan) Richard Kind drops by Gilbert's apartment to check out GG's memorabilia collection and to join Gilbert and Frank for a spirited discussion of the evils of censorship, the joy of onscreen female nudity and the twisted genius of Pat McCormick. Also, Richard auditions for “Cruising,” duets with Jose Ferrer, gets “punked” by George Clooney and pays his respects to Soupy Sales. PLUS: Conrad Veidt! Professor Irwin Corey! Forrest Tucker plays the back “nine”! Jack Benny lusts after Gina Lollobrigida! And Tony Curtis shares a donut with Captain Stubing! https://www.gilbertpodcast.com/56-56-richard-kind/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Frankie Rodriguez, Steve Zahn talk 'Chad Powers'; George Clooney honored with Lifetime Achievement Award at Venice Film Festival; Carla Lalli shares dinner and dessert recipes Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Frankie Rodriguez, Steve Zahn talk 'Chad Powers'; George Clooney honored with Lifetime Achievement Award at Venice Film Festival; Carla Lalli shares dinner and dessert recipes Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Rodrigo Sorogoyen, Isabel Peña y Vicky Luengo nos presentan 'El ser querido', la nueva película del director madrileño, protagonizada por Javier Bardem y Vicky Luengo. Una historia sobre un reconocido director de cine y su hija actriz, distanciados desde hace años, que tendrán que volver a encontrarse cuando trabajen juntos en una película.Con ellos hablamos de las relaciones entre padres e hijos, pero también del cine dentro del cine, de quienes trabajan detrás de las cámaras y de la capacidad del séptimo arte para generar pensamiento crítico. Una película que, en palabras de su coguionista Isabel Peña, es también un homenaje a quienes hacen posible el cine.Además, conectamos con nuestro corresponsal Jordi Barcia en el arranque de la 83ª Mostra de Venecia, donde George Clooney recibe el León de Oro honorífico a toda su carrera. Repasamos los grandes nombres de esta edición, entre ellos Nanni Moretti, Werner Herzog, Danny Boyle, Martin McDonagh y el surcoreano Lee Chang-dong.Escuchar audio

Our film critic Emma Jones takes us through the highlights as the 83rd Venice International Film Festival kicks off this Wednesday. 

Jaleel White is having a major '90s moment! The beloved Family Matters star joins Kevin Fallon on Obsessed to talk about hosting HGTV's Totally 90s House, reuniting with fellow '90s icons including Melissa Joan Hart and the Lawrence brothers, and why nostalgia for the decade is stronger than ever. Jaleel also opens up about the lasting legacy of Steve Urkel and “Did I Do That?,” playing Stefon Urquelle, voicing Sonic the Hedgehog, attending public school while starring on television, life after Family Matters, and the surprising role his parents played in helping him navigate childhood fame. Plus: the story behind Jaleel playing basketball with George Clooney! Follow Kevin Fallon on Instagram ⁠@kpfallon⁠ Follow Matt Wilstein on Instagram ⁠@mattjwilstein⁠ New episodes every Thursday, and Saturday; ⁠early drops on YouTube⁠. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Effective outing from Pedro Pages. Juggs in DC is waving the white flag. I think Dolly Parton is the lede today. Paid in cornmeal. Jackson's a known Notting Hill guy. Best Julia Roberts films. Stumbling into a troll. Falling on my carcass. Martin is so talkative lately. Tim just needs a few more Cardinal wins to cash that bet. Doug got triple banged. Matt Holliday may be calling in today. What is a Naruto? Who's the incel now? Doug's down on Nolan Gorman.Audio of Oli Marmol talking about Matthew Liberatore's start and recent struggles. When Libby's bad, you can see it early on. Nolan Gorman pregame on getting recalled and his conversations with Oli Marmol. The Springfield Cardinals will be making some branding changes. Rainiel Rodriguez raking. Here we go overinflating our minor league systems again. Guys with bad body language. Does George Clooney's doppleganger really look like him? The salt & pepper look is timeless.Nine to Five by Dolly Parton, good or bad? George Clooney's Doppleganger has called in and he has denied Jackson's advances. Rock hard facts from 11-12. Apologizing to Doug. Is he standing on a tarmac? Let's go to Chairman Steve next. Steve's heading to LA and looking for recommendations. Steve doesn't wanna watch his son get punched in the face. Mt. Rushmore of listeners' wives. McGwire wanted a Starbucks nearby. Alright Steve, that's enough.An ode to Porter Wagner. Crain & Cone. Audio of Crain predicting Mizzou's game by game results and Tiger Nationalists are not happy. Doug's never had an office. Show me seven wins. Papers has em 7-5. Ole Miss gonna be put to the test. It's talking SZN. Mizzou plays 5 teams that are ranked in the preseason Top 10.A bouncy tune. Is Francesa paying homage to Dolly today? Craig Albernaz's postgame gets a touch awkward when asked why Pete Alonso left after 5 innings. Martin needs to hear it again. Air fryers. Ovens in the master bedroom. Is that a winery hat or a beach hat?A brief Dolly detour. Poor John Rice had to drive up for that mess last night. Can Gorman pitch? Biff Johnson is on the line and he wants to add to the Cardinal discussion. Biff's not surprised by the falloff. Where'd you play college ball, Biff? I like Different Biff. Original Bif has trouble with rhyming. Now watch me shoot fireworks all over your boy chest. DJ Quik Jus Lyke Compton. Tattling.Hard not to think about Posh Spice when you hear this. When was the last time you did karaoke? You like Dick Tracy? The cultured gets Tim'd. How old is Warren Beatty? You're not playing Plinko, dude.Design Aire Heating & Cooling EMOTD.How about that perspective there? Who has 100% approval rating? Doug's Favorite Quarter Zip is on the phone lines and not happy he's on hold. Why are you out of breath? A cuck sitch with a four decade age gap.Rick Van Shelton. Curt with a C (Jackson's one-sided lover) is on the phone lines. He's not happy with an asinine take Doug had yesterday. Doug doesn't know why MLB players take days off. Down on Cal Ripken Jr.Doug has officially achieved his silver chunks and is moving onto platinum. Doug wants free tickets to the MIzzou/Florida game. Fired up for Gabe's post game shows.And the winner of the EMOTD is...See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

(00:00-28:19) Effective outing from Pedro Pages. Juggs in DC is waving the white flag. I think Dolly Parton is the lede today. Paid in cornmeal. Jackson's a known Notting Hill guy. Best Julia Roberts films. Stumbling into a troll. Falling on my carcass. Martin is so talkative lately. Tim just needs a few more Cardinal wins to cash that bet. Doug got triple banged. Matt Holliday may be calling in today. What is a Naruto? Who's the incel now? Doug's down on Nolan Gorman.(28:27-52:04) Audio of Oli Marmol talking about Matthew Liberatore's start and recent struggles. When Libby's bad, you can see it early on. Nolan Gorman pregame on getting recalled and his conversations with Oli Marmol. The Springfield Cardinals will be making some branding changes. Rainiel Rodriguez raking. Here we go overinflating our minor league systems again. Guys with bad body language. Does George Clooney's doppleganger really look like him? The salt & pepper look is timeless.(52:14-1:18:08) Nine to Five by Dolly Parton, good or bad? George Clooney's Doppleganger has called in and he has denied Jackson's advances. Rock hard facts from 11-12. Apologizing to Doug. Is he standing on a tarmac? Let's go to Chairman Steve next. Steve's heading to LA and looking for recommendations. Steve doesn't wanna watch his son get punched in the face. Mt. Rushmore of listeners' wives. McGwire wanted a Starbucks nearby. Alright Steve, that's enough.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Are you a senior director, VP, or elite account executive completely nose-down in your career, chasing corporate accolades, status, and wealth while your family's attention slips away?   In this highly reflective solo episode, host Billy Keels breaks his own rules to make a mandatory recommendation: anyone managing a demanding multinational career needs to watch George Clooney's movie J. Kelly. Following the story of a massively successful, wealthy superstar actor at the tail end of his career, Billy highlights the painful, subtle realities of a high performer who achieved the absolute pinnacle of external validation, only to realize his deepest true desire was simply to capture the attention of his daughters—before realizing he had spent decades being "on" for the wrong people. Learn how to find true harmony over balance, escape the corporate machine's lease option on your life, and intentionally protect the relationships that actually belong to you before time runs out.  

This is a preview of a premium episode from our Patreon feed, Paid Costly For Me! Head over to Patreon.com/PodCastyForMe to hear more for just $5 a month. How do you begin to talk about SUBURBICON, the 2017 film George Clooney made by hacking together an unmade Coen brothers crime script with one of his own about a true story of racial violence in the suburbs? By hacking together two incredible podcasts tangentially related to the subject, that's how! We got together with our good friends Jordan Fish and Ray Tintori from the To The White Sea podcast for some in-depth script analysis, live scene work, and a thorough postmortem of the Clooney film to figure out what even happened here. It's gotta be the most anyone has talked about this movie in 9 years, and it was a lot of fun - we hope you enjoy! (This episode will be on the To The White Sea feed in a couple weeks, but it's a Paid Costly For Me exclusive for now!) Follow To The White Sea: https://linktr.ee/tothewhitesea As always, thank you to Jetski for our theme music and to Jeremy Allison for our artwork. Additional production by Ryan Torgeson.

Paul and Amy head down to the Mississippi Delta with O Brother, Where Art Thou?, the Coen Brothers' Depression-era odyssey that transformed Homer's epic into a bluegrass-fueled American fable. They unpack George Clooney's career-defining comedic turn, the film's groundbreaking digital look, and the skillful way the Coens balance myth, music, and absurdity. You can join the Unspooled conversation on Paul's Discord at https://discord.gg/ZwtygZGTa6 Follow Paul and Amy on Letterboxd for more of their movie hot takes! https://letterboxd.com/paulscheer/ https://letterboxd.com/theamynicholson/ Paul's book Joyful Recollections of Trauma is out now! Find it at https://www.harpercollins.com/products/joyful-recollections-of-trauma-paul-scheer Check out more of Paul's writing on his Substack https://substack.com/@paulscheer Episodic Art by Kim Troxall: https://www.unspooledart.com/ Learn more about the show at Unspooledpod.com, follow us on Twitter @unspooled and on Instagram @unspooledpod, and don't forget to rate, review & subscribe to us on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or where you listen to podcasts. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices