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Jimmy addresses the latest news, like Zohran Mamdani beating Andrew Cuomo in the Democratic mayoral primary, before speaking with Jonathan Bailey, Abby Elliott, Brandy and Monica.
In this episode, we're jumping on the TikTok bandwagon and reacting to (hurtful) listener comments on the propaganda we're just not falling for! From outrageous accusations about Jonathan Bailey's hotness to controversial takes on the authenticity of audiobooks as “reading,” we're reaching across the aisle, holding space for hot takes and sometimes calling out the haters. Plus, Knox and Jamie share some middle-aged-themed green lights.Relevant links: Our full show notes are at knoxandjamie.com/613Follow us on instagram @thepopcast for extra Popcast goodness and our weekly #popcastsmk's and fun themed posts!Explainer: Propaganda I'm Not Falling For | The Comments Mentions: Jonathan Bailey in Flip Flops | Set It Up on Netflix | A Hard Row to Hoe | The Harry Potter CollectionDrive-bys: The Bear S4 | Strategic Vunerability Ring Light | Labubus | Marjorie Taylor GreeneThanks to our Masters of Bait: @mrskparkhurst, @mag_voo, @katielcurry Bonus segment: Join our new Patreon tier to listen ad-free and get exclusive weekly and monthly content. Episode sponsors: Wildgrain | Olive & June | Splendid (code: POPCAST) | Gabb Wireless (code: POPCAST) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
A very relatable dinner discussion, BOOB TUBE: "Poop Cruise," and is Jonathan Bailey closer to being James Bond?See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
Women's health expert, author, former First Lady and mom of four, Maria Shriver adds co-host to her resume! Jenna's BFF Scarlett Johansson returns to discuss landing her dream role in ‘Jurassic World: Rebirth' and hosting off-set cocktails with co-stars Jonathan Bailey and Mahershala Ali. Also, Martha Stewart shares fruit-forward recipes and elegant entertaining tips from her 100th cookbook ‘Martha: The Cookbook.' Plus, supermodel Winnie Harlow celebrates World Vitiligo Day on ‘Jenna & Friends.'
Scarlett Johansson (and a special friend!) stops by Studio 1A to discuss her dream role in ‘Jurassic World: Rebirth,' kissing co-star Jonathan Bailey, and perfecting her British accent. Also, Dr. Maria Shriver shares new postpartum treatments offering hope to new moms. Plus, Adrianna Brach rounds up cool and comfortable summer-must haves in TODAY Bestsellers. And, Martha Stewart celebrates the 40th anniversary of her best-selling cookbook ‘Entertaining' with July 4th recipes.
BUS!! CLUB!! OTHER CLUB!! OTHER CLUB!! NO SLEEP!! That's what the headlines felt like last week. Between viral moments we liked to see involving Love Island drama, Jonathan Bailey's precious little glasses, and WNBA brawls…we were also greeted with some rockier newsworthy moments such as Trump assisting in bombing Iranian nuclear plants, Drake & Morgan Wallen teaming up, and the allegations that have recently come out against Tyler Perry. Getting on a news app made our heads spin this week. Luckily, we saved YOU the headache and talked about all of these topics this week, here on REWIND: The Podcast. Whether you need the political tea, the Hollywood tea, or just want to put your headphones in for some alone time, WE'VE GOT YOU COVERED!! It's all here on this brand new episode of REWIND. ⏰TIME CODES⏰ (0:10) FIRST THOUGHTS (1:55) TRUMP, IRAN, & INTERVIEWS WITH NO TIE (10:00) THE ALLEGATIONS OF TYLER PERRY (17:19) B SIMONE & FINANCIALLY HELPING YOUR FRIENDS (33:02) WHY DOES BEYONCÉ HATE US OVER HERE?? (38:43) CAITLIN CLARK, SOPHIE CUNNINGHAM, & WHY BLAKE LOVES THE WNBA NOW (43:18) KEEPING UP WITH LOVE ISLAND (52:55) DRAKE & MORGAN WALLEN ARE BESTIES?? (56:35) WE WERE LIARS (1:01:43) JURASSIC WORLD: REBIRTH REVIEW (1:05:16) FINAL THOUGHTS Follow Blake: @blakerackley Follow Raven: @iamravendawson To watch the podcast on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLVVnhe6Es3kFxV18W2oLrur6m3c7Lwl6- Follow Blake- Instagram: @blakerackley TikTok: @itsblakerackley Threads: @blakerackley Twitter: @itsblakerackley Follow Raven- Instagram: @iamravendawson TikTok: @iamravendawson Threads: @iamravendawson ABOUT REWIND: The Podcast - Hosted by the effortlessly charismatic duo Raven Dawson and Blake Rackley, REWIND: The Podcast is where pop culture past meets pop culture present—with a whole lot of personality in between. Fueled by a love for iconic throwbacks and today's most talked-about moments, these two besties serve up unfiltered opinions, sharp humor, and a deep appreciation for the drama that keeps entertainment interesting. From Y2K nostalgia to red carpet chaos, award show upsets to reality TV scandals, nothing is off-limits. Whether they're revisiting the cultural staples that defined an era or breaking down the latest internet-breaking headlines, expect hot takes, deep dives, and plenty of side-eye. If your playlist lives somewhere between classic R&B and current chart-toppers, if you still quote your favorite 2000s movies on the daily, and if you love a little (or a lot of) flair with your pop culture commentary—this is the podcast you've been waiting for. Press play, lean in, and get ready to REWIND.
Bobby's novel FOUR SQUARES is now out in paperback! Buy it wherever you get your books! Hello Wholigans! We begin today's episode with a game that nearly breaks Lindsey: the latest installment of Whose 25 Things, ft. Jermaine Dupri, Kimora Lee Simmons, Jodie Sweetin, and Venus Williams. Moving on, A.I. ruins celebrity gossip just like it ruins everything else, GloRilla gets sued, Jonathan Bailey gets profiled, Hannah Ann Sluss gets pregnant, Rachel Brosnahan sort of starts to slay, and more! As always, call in at 619.WHO.THEM to leave questions, comments & concerns for a future episode of Who's There?. Get a ton of bonus content over on Patreon.com/WhoWeekly. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Niecy Nash-Betts returns for another morning co-hosting with Jenna. The pair hears from Jonathan Bailey and Mahershala Ali on the duo's latest blockbuster, ‘Jurassic World: Rebirth,' starring alongside Scarlett Johansson – and their goals for the future. Also, Allison Williams talks reprising her killer role in Universal's horror film ‘M3GAN 2.0.' Plus, singer-songwriter Victoria Monét turns a new career page with debut children's book, ‘Everywhere You Are.'
Jonathan Bailey and Mahershala Ali talk fit checks, tiny glasses and taking over the ‘Jurassic' franchise in new film ‘Jurassic World: Rebirth.' Also, U.S. skater Amber Glenn reflects on her career success ahead of the Milan 2026 Winter Olympics. Plus, Allison Williams drops by Studio 1A to discuss her ‘killer' role in Universal's horror film ‘M3GAN 2.0.'
Brad Pitt on Dax Shepard podcast opening up about everything. More details about the Wedding of the Year! Kissing your friend on the mouth, we discuss Jonathan Bailey and ScarJo's red carpet relationship.Plus Tom Sandoval's image. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
Why Diddy's trial is coming to an end without the mogul taking the stand. The prosecution rests it's case after 34 witnesses. Will it be enough to keep Diddy behind bars? Then, a “Cobra Kai” villain accused of assault. Did Martin Kove bite his co-star? What the police report reveals. Plus, shocking new details on Lamar Odom's near-fatal overdose as a sex worker from his brothel speaks out. And, kissing co-stars Jonathan Bailey and Scarlett Johansson's “Jurassic” PDA as her hubby Colin Jost crashes the red carpet. Then, Bahamas Week another day with reality TV legend Boston Rob. Plus, a look inside the new Marvel show that's Robert Downey Jr. approved. The stars suiting up and spilling series secrets only to ET. And, only ET is on set with the new “Superman”, David Corenswet, and Lois Land, Rachel Brosnahan. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Send us a textKathy, Ramesh and Burk react to Trailer 2 for Jurassic World Rebirth, an upcoming American science fiction action film directed by Gareth Edwards and written by David Koepp. It is a standalone sequel to Jurassic World Dominion (2022), the fourth Jurassic World film and the seventh installment overall in the Jurassic Park franchise. The film will star a new ensemble cast led by Scarlett Johansson, Mahershala Ali, and Jonathan Bailey.Support the show
Celebrity chef Anne Burrell is dead at 55, and friends are demanding answers — with one source saying, “Something doesn’t add up.” Tyler Perry has been slapped with a $260 million sexual assault lawsuit, bringing long-whispered allegations into the spotlight. And Scarlett Johansson is heating up the Jurassic World Rebirthred carpet with co-star Jonathan Bailey — leaving insiders saying Colin Jost “definitely isn’t laughing.” Don't forget to vote in today's poll on Twitter at @naughtynicerob or in our Facebook group.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
What do we think of flip flops on the red carpet? Jonathan Bailey wore them, but is it fashion? BOOB TUBE: Alexis watched the "The Handmaid's Tale" finale, we talk to Rob Williams from Every Meal to chat our Food for Kids fundraiser, and a "Murder, She Wrote" record See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
The first trailer for the second part of the epic musical film series is here! Join The Watchers as we share our thoughts on the first look of Wicked: For Good. #WickedForGood Wicked: For Good (2025) is a musical fantasy film starring Cynthia Erivo, Ariana Grande, Jonathan Bailey, Ethan Slater, Marissa Bode, Bowen Yang, Bronwyn James, Michelle Yeoh and Jeff Goldblum.Subscribe, rate and review! Follow The Watchers in the Basement on social media! Use #WatchersBasement to comment about the show!facebook.com/watchersbasementtwitter.com/WatchBasement instagram.com/watchersbasementthreads.net/@watchersbasementanchor.fm/watchersbasement
A “Ghost Adventures” star eye to eye with his ex who plotted to have him killed. His emotional testimony as she finally learns her fate. Then, the fight over Jimmy Buffet's $275 million fortune. Why his widow says she's being shut out. Plus, Richard Simmons' legendary mansion hits the market. An inside look at where the fitness legend spent his final days. And, a star-studded salute to Billy Joel after his brain disorder diagnosis. Then, how Jennifer Lopez and Leah Remini got their friendship back on track. Plus, a first look at J. Lo's movie musical produced by ex Ben Affleck. And, a first look at “Wicked: For Good” and the new songs in the spellbinding sequel. Plus, a stripped-down Jonathan Bailey. Then, Entertainer of the Year winner, Lainey Wilson. Her wedding plans on pause? And, we saddle up to Megan Moroney, the self-proclaimed emo cowgirl, for an ET exclusive. Plus, George Clooney reviews “The Pitt”. His notes for former “ER” co-star Noah Wyle. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices
We're off to see the 2024 movie adaptation of Act One of the 2003 hit Broadway musical based on the 1995 bestselling book by Gregory Maguire, based on the 1939 film, based on the 1900 novel by L. Frank Baum. Telling the origin story of the witches of Oz, this Jon M. Chu-directed film saw Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande step into the roles made famous on stage by Idina Menzel and Kristen Chenoweth. Jonathan Bailey, Michelle Yeoh, Peter Dinklage, and Jeff Goldblum round out the cast of one of the biggest films of the past year. It brought in over $750 million worldwide, making it the highest-grossing Oz film, the highest-grossing musical film adaptation, and the fifth-highest-grossing film of 2024. It scored ten Oscar noms, including Best Picture, and won Best Costume Design and Best Production Design. A sequel, adapting Act Two of the show, is scheduled for release later this year. But does this musical prequel defy gravity, or does it hit a few flat notes? Join us as we throw a bucket of cold water on Wicked! For more geeky podcasts visit GonnaGeek.com You can find us on iTunes under ''Legends Podcast''. Please subscribe and give us a positive review. You can also follow us on Twitter @LegendsPodcast or even better, send us an e-mail: LegendsPodcastS@gmail.com
I was delighted to talk to the historian Helen Castor (who writes The H Files by Helen Castor) about her new book The Eagle and the Hart. I found that book compulsive, and this is one of my favourite interviews so far. We covered so much: Dickens, Melville, Diana Wynne Jones, Hilary Mantel, whether Edward III is to blame for the Wars of the Roses, why Bolingbroke did the right thing, the Paston Letters, whether we should dig up old tombs for research, leaving academia, Elizabeth I, and, of course, lots of Shakespeare. There is a full transcript below.Henry: Is there anything that we fundamentally know about this episode in history that Shakespeare didn't know?Helen: That's an extremely good question, and I'm tempted now to say no.Helen told me what is hardest to imagine about life in the fourteenth century.I think it's relatively easy to imagine a small community or even a city, because we can imagine lots of human beings together, but how relationships between human beings happen at a distance, not just in terms of writing a letter to someone you know, but how a very effective power structure happens across hundreds of miles in the absence of those things is the thing that has always absolutely fascinated me about the late Middle Ages. I think that's because it's hard, for me at least, to imagine.Good news to any publishers reading this. Helen is ready and willing to produce a complete edition of the Paston Letters. They were a bestseller when they were published a hundred years ago, but we are crying out for a complete edition in modern English.Henry: If someone wants to read the Paston Letters, but they don't want to read Middle English, weird spelling, et cetera, is there a good edition that they can use?Helen: Yes, there is an Oxford World's Classic. They're all selected. There isn't a complete edition in modern spelling. If any publishers are listening, I would love to do one. Henry: Yes, let's have it.Helen: Let's have it. I would really, really love to do that.Full TranscriptHenry: Today I am talking to the historian, Helen Castor. Helen is a former fellow of Sydney Sussex College in Cambridge. She has written several books of history. She is now a public historian, and of course, she has a Substack. The H Files by Helen CastorWe are going to talk mostly about her book, The Eagle and the Hart, which is all about Richard II and Henry IV. I found this book compulsive, so I hope you will read it too. Helen, welcome.Helen: Thank you very much for having me, Henry.Henry: You recently read Bleak House.Helen: I did.Henry: What did you think?Helen: I absolutely loved it. It was a long time since I'd read any Dickens. I read quite a lot when I was young. I read quite a lot of everything when I was young and have fallen off that reader's perch, much to my shame. The first page, that description of the London fog, the London courts, and I thought, "Why have I not been doing it for all these years?"Then I remembered, as so often with Dickens, the bits I love and the bits I'm less fond of, the sentimentality, the grotesquerie I'm less fond of, but the humour and the writing. There was one bit that I have not been able to read then or any of the times I've tried since without physically sobbing. It's a long time since a book has done that to me. I don't want to spoil it for anyone who hasn't read it, but--Henry: I'm sure I know what you mean. That's quite a sentimental passage.Helen: It is, but not sentimental in the way that I find myself objecting to. I think I really respond viscerally to this sentimentalising of some of his young women characters. I find that really off-putting, but I think now I'm a parent, and particularly I'm a parent of a boy [laughter]. I think it's that sense of a child being completely alone with no one to look after them, and then finding some people, but too late for a happy ending.Henry: Too late.Helen: Yes.Henry: You've been reading other classic novels, I think, Moby Dick?Helen: I'm in the middle of Moby Dick as we speak. I'm going very slowly, partly because I'm trying to savour every sentence. I love the sentence so much as a form. Melville is just astonishing, and also very, very funny in a way I hadn't expected to keep laughing out loud, sometimes because there is such humour in a sentence.Sometimes I'm just laughing because the sentence itself seems to have such audacity and that willingness to go places with sentences that sometimes I feel we've lost in the sort of sense of rules-based sentences instead of just sticking a semicolon and keep going. Why not, because it's so gorgeous and full of the joy of language at that point? Anyway, I'm ranting now, but--Henry: No, I think a lot of rules were instituted in the early 20th century that said you can and cannot do all these things, and writers before that point had not often followed those rules. I think what it has led to is that writers now, they can't really control a long sentence, in the sense that Melville and Dickens will do a long sentence, and it is a syntactically coherent thing, even though it's 60, 70 longer words. It's not just lots of stuff, and then, and then. The whole thing has got a beautiful structure that makes sense as a unit. That's just not obvious in a lot of writing now.Helen: I think that's exactly right. Partly, I've been reading some of the Melville out loud, and having just got onto the classification of whales, you can see I'm going very slowly. Those sentences, which are so long, but it's exactly that. If you read them out loud, and you follow the sense, and the punctuation, however irregular it might be in modern terms, gives you the breathing, you just flow on it, and the excitement of that, even or perhaps especially when one is talking about the classification of whales. Just joyful.Henry: Will we be seeing more very long sentences in your next book?Helen: I think I have to get a bit better at it. The habit that I was conscious of anyway, but became acutely so when I had to read my own audiobook for the first time is that I think I write in a very visual way. That is how I read because mostly it's silent.I discovered or rediscovered that often what I do when I want to write a very long sentence is I start the sentence and then I put a diversion or extra information within em dashes in the middle of the sentence. That works on the page because you can see spatially. I love that way of reading, I love seeing words in space.A lot of different kinds of text, both prose and poetry, I read in space like that. If you're reading to be heard, then the difficulty of breaking into a sentence with, whether it's brackets or em dashes or whatever, and then rejoining the sentence further down has its own challenges. Perhaps I ought to try and do less of that and experiment more with a Melvillian Dickensian onward flow. I don't know what my editor will think.Henry: What has brought you back to reading novels like this?Helen: I was wondering that this morning, actually, because I'm very aware having joined Substack, and of course, your Substack is one of the ones that is leading me further in this direction, very inspiringly, is discovering that lots of other people are reading and reading long novels now too. It reminded me of that thing that anyone with children will know that you have a baby and you call it something that you think only you have thought of, and then four years later, you call and you discover half the class is called that name. You wonder what was in the water that led everybody in that direction.I've just seen someone tweet this morning about how inspired they are by the builder next door who, on the scaffolding, is blasting the audiobook Middlemarch to the whole neighborhood.Henry: Oh my god. Amazing.Helen: It's really happening. Insofar as I can work out what led me as opposed to following a group, which clearly I am in some sense, I think the world at the moment is so disquieting, and depressing, and unnerving, that I think for me, there was a wish to escape into another world and another world that would be very immersive, not removed from this world completely. One that is very recognizably human.I think when I was younger, when I was in my teens and 20s, I loved reading science fiction and fantasy before it was such a genre as it is now. I'm a huge fan of Diana Wynne Jones and people like that.Henry: Oh, my god, same. Which one is your favorite?Helen: Oh, that is an impossible question to answer, partly because I want to go back and read a lot of them. Actually, I've got something next to me, just to get some obscurity points. I want to go back to Everard's Ride because there is a story in here that is based on the King's square. I don't know if I'm saying that right, but early 15th century, the story of the imprisoned King of Scotland when he was in prison in England. That one's in my head.The Dalemark Quartet I love because of the sort of medieval, but then I love the ones that are pure, more science fantasy. Which is your favorite? Which should I go back to first?Henry: I haven't read them all because I only started a couple of years ago. I just read Deep Secret, and I thought that was really excellent. I was in Bristol when I read it quite unwittingly. That was wonderful.Helen: Surrounded by Diana Wynne Jones' land. I only discovered many years into an obsession that just meant that I would read every new one while there were still new ones coming out. I sat next to Colin Burrow at a dinner in--Henry: Oh my god.Helen: I did sort of know that he was her son, but monstered him for the whole time, the whole course of sitting together, because I couldn't quite imagine her in a domestic setting, if you like, because she came up with all these extraordinary worlds. I think in days gone by, I went into more obviously imaginary worlds. I think coming back to it now, I wanted something big and something that I really could disappear into. I've been told to read Bleak House for so many decades and felt so ashamed I hadn't. Having done that, I thought, "Well, the whale."Henry: Have you read Diana Wynne Jones' husband's books, John Burrow? Because that's more in your field.Helen: It is, although I'm ashamed to say how badly read I am in medieval literary scholarship. It's weird how these academic silos can operate, shouldn't, probably don't for many, many people. I always feel I'm on horribly thin ground, thin ice when I start talking about medieval literature because I know how much scholarship is out there, and I know how much I haven't read. I must put John Burrow on my list as well.Henry: He's very readable. He's excellent.Helen: I think I can imagine, but I must go into it.Henry: Also, his books are refreshingly short. Your husband is a poet, so there's a lot of literature in your life at the moment.Helen: There is. When we met, which was 10 years ago-- Again, I don't think of myself as knowledgeable about poetry in general, but what was wonderful was discovering how much we had in common in the writing process and how much I could learn from him. To me, one of the things that has always been extremely important in my writing is the sentence, the sound of a sentence, the rhythm of a sentence folded into a paragraph.I find it extremely hard to move on from a paragraph if it's not sitting right yet. The sitting right is as much to do with sound and rhythm as it is to do with content. The content has to be right. It means I'm a nightmare to edit because once I do move on from a paragraph, I think it's finished. Obviously, my editor might beg to differ.I'm very grateful to Thomas Penn, who's also a wonderful historian, who's my editor on this last book, for being so patient with my recalcitrance as an editee. Talking to my husband about words in space on the page, about the rhythm, about the sound, about how he goes about writing has been so valuable and illuminating.I hope that the reading I've been doing, the other thing I should say about going back to big 19th-century novels is that, of course, I had the enormous privilege and learning curve of being part of a Booker jury panel three years ago. That too was an enormous kick in terms of reading and thinking about reading because my co-judges were such phenomenal reading company, and I learned such a lot that year.I feel not only I hope growing as a historian, but I am really, really focusing on writing, reading, being forced out of my bunker where writing is all on the page, starting to think about sound more, think about hearing more, because I think more and more, we are reading that way as a culture, it seems to me, the growth of audiobooks. My mother is adjusting to audiobooks now, and it's so interesting to listen to her as a lifelong, voracious reader, adjusting to what it is to experience a book through sound rather than on the page. I just think it's all fascinating, and I'm trying to learn as I write.Henry: I've been experimenting with audiobooks, because I felt like I had to, and I sort of typically hate audio anything. Jonathan Swift is very good, and so is Diana Wynne Jones.Helen: Interesting. Those two specifically. Is there something that connects the two of them, or are they separately good?Henry: I think they both wrote in a plain, colloquial style. It was very capable of being quite intellectual and had capacity for ideas. Diana Wynne Jones certainly took care about the way it sounded because she read so much to her own children, and that was really when she first read all the children's classics. She had developed for many years an understanding of what would sound good when it was read to a child, I think.Helen: And so that's the voice in her head.Henry: Indeed. As you read her essays, she talks about living with her Welsh grandfather for a year. He was intoning in the chapel, and she sort of comes out of this culture as well.Helen: Then Swift, a much more oral culture.Henry: Swift, of course, is in a very print-heavy culture because he's in London in 1710. We've got coffee houses and all the examiner, and the spectator, and all these people scribbling about each other. I think he was very insistent on what he called proper words in proper places. He became famous for that plain style. It's very carefully done, and you can't go wrong reading that out loud. He's very considerate of the reader that you won't suddenly go, "Oh, I'm in the middle of this huge parenthesis. I don't know how--" As you were saying, Swift-- he would be very deliberate about the placement of everything.Helen: A lot of that has to do with rhythm.Henry: Yes.Helen: Doesn't it? I suppose what I'm wondering, being very ignorant about the 18th century is, in a print-saturated culture, but still one where literacy was less universal than now, are we to assume that that print-saturated culture also incorporated reading out loud —Henry: Yes, exactly so. Exactly so. If you are at home, letters are read out loud. This obviously gives the novelists great opportunities to write letters that have to sort of work both ways. Novels are read out loud. This goes on into the 19th century. Dickens had many illiterate fans who knew his work through it being read to them. Charles Darwin's wife read him novels. When he says, "I love novels," what he means is, "I love it when my wife reads me a novel." [laughs]You're absolutely right. A good part of your audience would come from those listening as well as those reading it.Helen: Maybe we're getting back towards a new version of that with audiobooks expanding in their reach.Henry: I don't know. I saw some interesting stuff. I can't remember who was saying this. Someone was saying, "It's not an oral culture if you're watching short videos. That's a different sort of culture." I think, for us, we can say, "Oh yes, we're like Jonathan Swift," but for the culture at large, I don't know. It is an interesting mixed picture at the moment.Helen: Yes, history never repeats, but we should be wary of writing off any part of culture to do with words.Henry: I think so. If people are reporting builders irritating the neighbourhood with George Eliot, then it's a very mixed picture, right?Helen: It is.Henry: Last literary question. Hilary Mantel has been a big influence on you. What have you taken from her?Helen: That's quite a hard question to answer because I feel I just sit at her feet in awe. If I could point to anything in my writing that could live up to her, I would be very happy. The word that's coming into my head when you phrase the question in that way, I suppose, might be an absolute commitment to precision. Precision in language matters to me so much. Her thought and her writing of whatever kind seems to me to be so precise.Listening to interviews with her is such an outrageous experience because these beautifully, entirely formed sentences come out of her mouth as though that's how thought and language work. They don't for me. [chuckles] I'm talking about her in the present tense because I didn't know her, but I find it hard to imagine that she's not out there somewhere.Henry: She liked ghosts. She might be with us.Helen: She might. I would like to think that. Her writing of whatever genre always seems to me to have that precision, and it's precision of language that mirrors precision of thought, including the ability to imagine herself into somebody else's mind. That's, I suppose, my project as a historian. I'm always trying to experience a lost world through the eyes of a lost person or people, which, of course, when you put it like that, is an impossible task, but she makes it seem possible for her anyway and that's the road I'm attempting to travel one way or another.Henry: What is it about the 14th and 15th centuries that is hardest for us to imagine?Helen: I think this speaks to something else that Hilary Mantel does so extraordinarily well, which is to show us entire human beings who live and breathe and think and feel just as we do in as complex and contradictory and three-dimensional a way as we do, and yet who live in a world that is stripped of so many of the things that we take so much for granted that we find it, I think, hard to imagine how one could function without them.What I've always loved about the late Middle Ages, as a political historian, which is what I think of myself as, is that it has in England such a complex and sophisticated system of government, but one that operates so overwhelmingly through human beings, rather than impersonal, institutionalized, technological structures.You have a king who is the fount of all authority, exercising an extraordinary degree of control over a whole country, but without telephones, without motorized transport, without a professional police service, without a standing army. If we strip away from our understanding of government, all those things, then how on earth does society happen, does rule happen, does government happen?I think it's relatively easy to imagine a small community or even a city, because we can imagine lots of human beings together, but how relationships between human beings happen at a distance, not just in terms of writing a letter to someone you know, but how a very effective power structure happens across hundreds of miles in the absence of those things is the thing that has always absolutely fascinated me about the late Middle Ages. I think that's because it's hard, for me at least, to imagine.Henry: Good. You went to the RSC to watch The Henriad in 2013.Helen: I did.Henry: Is Shakespeare a big influence on this book? How did that affect you?Helen: I suppose this is a long story because Richard II and The Henriad have been-- there is Richard II. Richard II is part of The Henriad, isn't it?Henry: Yes.Helen: Richard II. Henry, see, this is-Henry: The two Henry IVs.Helen: -I'm not Shakespearean. I am. [laughs]Henry: No, it's Richard II, the two Henry IVs, and Henry V. Because, of course, Henry Bolingbroke is in Richard II, and it--Helen: Yes, although I never think of him as really the same person as Henry IV in the Henry IV plays, because he changes so dramatically between the two.Henry: Very often, they have a young actor and an old actor, and of course, in real life, that's insane, right?Helen: It's absolutely insane. I always separate Henry IV, parts I and II, and Henry V off from Richard II because it feels to me as though they operate in rather different worlds, which they do in lots of ways. My story with the Henry ad, now that we've established that I actually know what we're talking about, goes back to when I was in my teens and Kenneth Branagh was playing Henry V in Stratford. I grew up very near Stratford.At 15, 16, watching the young Branagh play Henry V was mind-blowing. I went a whole number of times because, in those days, I don't know how it is now, but you could go and get standing tickets for a fiver on the day. More often than not, if there were spare seats, you would get moved into some extraordinary stall seats at-- I was about to say halftime, I'm a football fan, at the interval.Henry V was the play I knew best for a long time, but at the same time, I'd studied Richard II at school. The Henry IV plays are the ones I know least well. I'm interested now to reflect on the fact that they are the ones that depart most from history. I wonder whether that's why I find them hardest to love, because I'm always coming to the plays from the history. Richard II and Henry V actually have a lot to show us about those kings. They bear very close relationships with a lot of the contemporary chronicles, whereas the Henry IV ones is Shakespeare doing his own thing much more.Particularly, as you've just said, making Henry IV way too old, and/or depending which angle we're looking at it from, making Hotspur way too young, the real Hotspur was three years older than Henry IV. If you want to make Hotspur and how-- your young Turks, you have to make Henry IV old and grey and weary with Northumberland.Back in 2013, the really intense experience I had was being asked to go for a day to join the RSC company on a school trip to Westminster Hall and Westminster Abbey at the beginning of their rehearsal process, so when David Tennant was playing Richard II and Greg Doran was directing. That was absolutely fascinating. I'd been thinking about Richard and Henry for a very long time. Obviously, I was a long way away from writing the book I've just written.Talking to actors is an extraordinary thing for a historian because, of course, to them, these are living characters. They want to know what's in their character's mind. They want to know, quite rightly, the chronological progression of their character's thought. That is something that's become more and more and more and more important to me.The longer I go on writing history, the more intensely attached I am to the need for chronology because if it hasn't happened to your protagonist yet, what are you doing with it? Your protagonist doesn't yet know. We don't know. It's very dramatically clear to us at the moment that we don't know what's happening tomorrow. Any number of outrageous and unpredictable things might happen tomorrow.The same certainly was true in Richard II's reign, goes on being true in Henry IV's reign. That experience, in the wake of which I then went to see Henry IV, parts 1 and 2 in Stratford, was really thought-provoking. The extent to which, even though I'd been working on this period for a long time, and had taught this period, I still was struggling to answer some of those questions.Then I'd just had the similarly amazing experience of having a meeting with the Richard II cast and director at the Bridge Theatre before the Nicholas Heitner production with Jonathan Bailey as Richard went on stage. That was actually towards the end of their rehearsal process. I was so struck that the actor playing Bolingbroke in this production and the actor playing Bolingbroke in the production back in 2013 both asked the same excellent first question, which is so hard for a historian to answer, which is at what point does Bolingbroke decide that he's coming back to claim the crown, not just the Duchy of Lancaster?That is a key question for Bolingbroke in Richard II. Does he already know when he decides he's going to break his exile and come back? Is he challenging for the crown straight away, or is he just coming back for his rightful inheritance with the Duchy of Lancaster? That is the million-dollar question when you're writing about Bolingbroke in 1399.It's not possible to answer with a smoking gun. We don't have a letter or a diary entry from Henry Bolingbroke as he's about to step on board ship in Boulogne saying, "I'm saying I'm coming back for the Duchy of Lancaster." The unfolding logic of his situation is that if he's going to come back at all, he's going to have to claim the crown. When he admits that to himself, and when he admits that to anybody else, are questions we can argue about.It was so interesting to me that that's the question that Shakespeare's Richard II throws up for his Bolingbroke just as much as it does for the historical one.Henry: Is there anything that we fundamentally know about this episode in history that Shakespeare didn't know?Helen: That's an extremely good question, and I'm tempted now to say no.Henry: When I left your book, the one thing I thought was that in Shakespeare, the nobles turn against Richard because of his excesses. Obviously, he really dramatizes that around the death of Gaunt. From your book, you may disagree with this, I came away thinking, well, the nobles wanted more power all the time. They may not have wanted the king's power, but there was this constant thing of the nobles feeling like they were owed more authority.Helen: I think the nobles always want more power because they are ambitious, competitive men within a political structure that rewards ambition and competition. The crucial thing for them is that they can only safely pursue ambition and competition if they know that the structure they're competing within will hold.The thing that keeps that structure rooted and solidly in place is the crown and the things that the crown is there to uphold, namely, particularly, the rule of law because if the rule of law starts to crumble, then the risk is that the whole structure collapses into anarchy. Within anarchy, then a powerful man cannot safely compete for more power because an even more powerful man might be about to roll into his estates and take them over. There have to be rules. There has to be fair competition. The referee is there on a football pitch for a reason.The king, in some senses, whether you want to see him as the keystone in an arch that supports a building or whether he's a referee on a football pitch, there are reasons why powerful men need rules because rules uphold their power. What goes wrong with Richard is that instead of seeing that he and the nobles have a common interest in keeping this structure standing, and that actually he can become more powerful if he works with and through the nobles, he sees them as a threat to him.He's attempting to establish a power structure that will not be beholden to them. In so doing, he becomes a threat to them. This structure that is supposed to stand as one mutually supportive thing is beginning to tear itself apart. That is why Richard's treatment of Bolingbroke becomes such a crucial catalyst, because what Richard does to Bolingbroke is unlawful in a very real and very technical sense. Bolingbroke has not been convicted of any crime. He's not been properly tried. There's been this trial by combat, the duel with Mowbray, but it hasn't stopped arbitrarily, and an arbitrary punishment visited upon both of them. They're both being exiled without having been found guilty, without the judgment of God speaking through this duel.Richard then promises that Bolingbroke can have his inheritance, even though he's in exile. As soon as Gaunt dies, Richard says, "No, I'm having it." Now, all of that is unlawful treatment of Bolingbroke, but because Bolingbroke is the most powerful nobleman in the country, it is also a warning and a threat to every other member of the political classes that if the king takes against you, then his arbitrary will can override the law.That diagnosis is there in Shakespeare. It's the Duke of York, who in reality was just a completely hopeless, wet figure, but he says, and I've got it written down, keep it beside me.Henry: Very nice.Helen: Kind of ridiculous, but here it is. York says to Richard, "Take Herford's rights away and take from time his charters and his customary rights. Let not tomorrow then ensue today. Be not thyself, for how art thou a king, but by fair sequence and succession?" In other words, if you interfere with, and I know you've written about time in these plays, it's absolutely crucial.Part of the process of time in these plays is that the rules play out over time. Any one individual king must not break those rules so that the expected process of succession over time can take place. York's warning comes true, that Richard is unseating himself by seeking to unseat Bolingbroke from his inheritance.Henry: We give Shakespeare good marks as a historian.Helen: In this play, yes, absolutely. The things he tinkers with in Richard II are minor plot points. He compresses time in order to get it all on stage in a plausible sequence of events. He compresses two queens into one, given that Richard was married to, by the time he fell, a nine-year-old who he'd married when he was six. It's harder to have a six-year-old making speeches on stage, so he puts the two queens into one.Henry: You don't want to pay another actor.Helen: Exactly.Henry: It's expensive.Helen: You don't want children and animals on stage. Although there is a wonderful account of a production of Richard II on stage in the West End in 1901, with the Australian actor Oscar Asche in it, playing Bolingbroke. The duel scene, he had full armour and a horse, opening night. It was a different horse from the one he rehearsed with. He gives an account in his autobiography of this horse rearing and him somersaulting heroically off the horse.Henry: Oh my god.Helen: The curtain having to come down and then it going back up again to tumultuous applause. You think, "Oscar, I'm wondering whether you're over-egging this pudding." Anyway, I give Shakespeare very good marks in Richard II, not really in the Henry IV plays, but gets back on track.Henry: The Henry IV plays are so good, we're forgiven. Was Richard II a prototype Henry VIII?Helen: Yes. Although, of course, history doesn't work forwards like that. I always worry about being a historian, talking about prototypes, if you see what I mean, but--Henry: No, this is just some podcast, so we don't have to be too strict. He's over-mighty, his sense of his relationship to God. There are issues in parliament about, "How much can the Pope tell us what to do?" There are certain things that seem to be inherent in the way the British state conceives of itself at this point that become problematic in another way.Helen: Is this pushing it too far to say Richard is a second son who ends up being the lone precious heir to the throne who must be wrapped in cotton wool to ensure that his unique God-given authority is protected? Also describes Henry VIII.Henry: They both like fancy clothes.Helen: Both like fancy clothes. Charles I is also a second son who has to step up.Henry: With wonderful cuffs and collars. He's another big dresser.Helen: And great patrons of art. I think we're developing new historical--Henry: No, I think there's a whole thing here.Helen: I think there is. What Henry does, of course, in rather different, because a lot has changed thanks to the Wars of the Roses, the power of the nobility to stand up independently of the crown is significantly lessened by the political effects of the Wars of the Roses, not at least that a lot of them have had their heads cut off, or died in battle, and the Tudors are busy making sure that they remain in the newly subjected place that they find themselves in.Henry then finds to go back to Hilary Mantel, a very, very able political servant who works out how to use parliament for him in rejecting those extra English powers that might restrain him. I do always wonder what Richard thought he was going to do if he'd succeeded in becoming Holy Roman Emperor, which I take very seriously as a proposition from Richard.Most other historians, because it's so patently ridiculous, if you look at it from a European perspective, have just said, "Oh, he got this idea that he wanted to become Holy Roman Emperor," but, of course, it was never going to happen. In Richard's mind, I think it was extremely real. Whether he really would have tried to give the English crown to Rutland, his favorite by the end of the reign, while he went off in glory to be crowned by the Pope, I don't know what was in his head. The difference with Henry is that the ambitions he eventually conceives are very England-focused, and so he can make them happen.Henry: Is there some sort of argument that, if the king hadn't won the Wars of the Roses, and the nobility had flourished, and their sons hadn't been killed, the reformation would have just been much harder to pull off here?[silence]Helen: I wonder what that would have looked like, because in a sense, the king was always going to win the Wars of the Roses, in the sense that you have to have a king. The minute you had someone left standing after that mess, that protracted mess, if he knew what he was doing, and there are arguments about the extent to which Henry VII knew what he was doing, or was doing something very different, whether or not he knew it was different, but there was always going to be an opportunity for a king to assert himself after that.Particularly, the extent to which the lesser landowners, the gentry had realized they couldn't just rely on the nobility to protect them anymore. They couldn't just follow their lord into battle and abdicate responsibility.Henry: Okay.Helen: That's an interesting--Henry: How much should we blame Edward III for all of this?Helen: For living too long and having too many sons?Henry: My argument against Edward is the Hundred Years' War, it doesn't actually go that well by the end of his reign, and it's cost too much money. Too many dukes with too much power. It's not that he had too many sons, he elevates them all and creates this insane situation. The war itself starts to tip the balance between the king and parliament, and so now you've got it from the dukes, and from the other side, and he just didn't manage the succession at all.Even though his son has died, and it really needs some kind of-- He allowed. He should have known that he was allowing a vacuum to open up where there's competition from the nobles, and from parliament, and the finances are a mess, and this war isn't there. It's just… he just leaves a disaster, doesn't he?Helen: I think I'd want to reframe that a little bit. Perhaps, I'm too much the king's friend. I think the political, and in some senses, existential dilemma for a medieval king is that the best of all possible worlds is what Edward achieves in the 1340s and the 1350s, which is, fight a war for reasons that your subjects recognize as in the common interest, in the national interest. Fight it over there so that the lands that are being devastated and the villages and towns that are being burned are not yours. Bring back lots of plunder. Everybody's getting richer and feeling very victorious.You can harness parliament. When things are going well, a medieval king and a parliament are not rivals for power. An English king working with parliament is more powerful than an English king trying to work without parliament. If things are going well, he gets more money, he can pass laws, he can enforce his will more effectively. It's win-win-win if you're ticking all those boxes.As you're pointing out, the worst of all possible worlds is to be fighting a war that's going badly. To fight a war is a big risk because either you're going to end up winning and everything's great, or if it's going badly, then you'd rather be at peace. Of course, you're not necessarily in a position to negotiate peace, depending on the terms of the war you've established.Similarly, with sons, you want heirs. You want to know the succession is safe. I think Edward's younger sons would argue with you about setting up very powerful dukes because the younger ones really-- York and Gloucester, Edmund of Langley and Thomas of Woodstock, really didn't have much in the way of an estate given to them at all, and always felt very hard done by about that. John of Gaunt is set up very well because he's married off to the heir of the Duke of Lancaster who's handily died, leaving only daughters.Henry: That's the problem, isn't it, creating that sort of impact? John of Gaunt is far too rich and powerful.Helen: You say that, except he's unfeasibly loyal. Without Gaunt, disaster happens much, much, much earlier. Gaunt is putting all those resources into the project of propping up the English state and the English crown for way longer than Richard deserves, given that Richard's trying to murder him half the time in the 1380s.Henry: [laughs] For sure. No, I agree with you there, but from Edward III's point of view, it's a mistake to make one very powerful son another quite powerful son next to-- We still see this playing out in royal family dynamics.Helen: This is the problem. What is the perfect scenario in a hereditary system where you need an heir and a spare, but even there, the spare, if he doesn't get to be the heir, is often very disgruntled. [laughs] If he does get to be the heir, as we've just said, turns out to be overconvinced of his own-Henry: Oh, indeed, yes.Helen: -specialness. Then, if you have too many spares, you run into a different kind of problem. Equally, if you don't have a hereditary system, then you have an almighty battle, as the Anglo-Saxons often did, about who's actually going to get the crown in the next generation. It's a very tricky--Henry: Is England just inherently unstable? We've got the Black Death, France is going to be a problem, whatever happens. Who is really going to come to a good fiscal position in this situation? It's no one's fault. It's just there wasn't another way out.Helen: You could say that England's remarkably-- See, I'm just playing devil's advocate the whole time.Henry: No, good.Helen: You could say England is remarkably stable in the sense that England is very unusually centralized for a medieval state at this point. It's centralized in a way that works because it's small enough to govern. It's, broadly speaking, an island. You've got to deal with the Scotts border, but it's a relatively short border. Yes, you have powerful nobles, but they are powerful nobles who, by this stage, are locked into the state. They're locked into a unified system of law. The common law rules everyone. Everyone looks to Westminster.It's very different from what the King of France has been having to face, which has been having to push his authority outward from the Île-de-France, reconquer bits of France that the English have had for a long time, impose his authority over other princes of the realm in a context where there are different laws, there are different customs, there are different languages. You could say that France is in a much more difficult and unstable situation.Of course, what we see as the tide of the war turns again in the early 15th century is precisely that France collapses into civil war, and the English can make hay again in that situation. If Henry V had not died too young with not enough sons in 1423, and particularly, if he'd left a son who grew up to be any use at all, as opposed to absolutely none-- what am I saying? I'm saying that the structure of government in England could work astonishingly well given the luck of the right man at the helm. The right man at the helm had to understand his responsibilities at home, and he had to be capable of prosecuting a successful war abroad because that is how this state works best.As you've just pointed out, prosecuting a successful war abroad is an inherently unstable scenario because no war is ever going to go in your direction the entire time. That's what Richard, who has no interest in war at all is discovering, because once the tide of war is lapping at your own shores, instead of all happening over there, it's a very, very different prospect in terms of persuading parliament to pay for it, quite understandably.You talk about the Black Death. One of the extraordinary things is looking at England in 1348, 1349, when the Black Death hits. Probably, something approaching half the population dies in 18 months. If you're looking at the progress of the war, you barely notice it happened at all. What does the government do? It snaps into action and implements a maximum wage immediately, in case [chuckles] these uppity laborers start noticing there are fewer of them, and they can ask for more money.The amount of control, at that stage at least, that the government has over a country going through an extraordinary set of challenges is quite remarkable, really.Henry: Did Bolingbroke do the right thing?Helen: I think Bolingbroke did the only possible thing, which, in some senses, equates to the right thing. If he had not come back, he would not only have been abandoning his own family, his dynasty, his inheritance, everything he'd been brought up to believe was his responsibility, but also abandoning England to what was pretty much by that stage, clearly, a situation of tyranny.The big argument is always, well, we can identify a tyrant, we have a definition of tyranny. That is, if a legitimate king rules in the common interest and according to the law, then a tyrant rules not in the common interest, and not according to the law. But then the thing that the political theorists argue about is whether or not you can actively resist a tyrant, or whether you have to wait for God to act.Then, the question is, "Might God be acting through me if I'm Bolingbroke?" That's what Bolingbroke has to hope, because if he doesn't do what he does in 1399, he is abandoning everything his whole life has been devoted to maintaining and taking responsibility for. It's quite hard to see where England would then end up, other than with somebody else trying to challenge Richard in the way that Henry does.Henry: Why was he anointed with Thomas Becket's oil?Helen: Because Richard had found it in the tower, [chuckles] and was making great play of the claims that were made for Thomas. This is one of the interesting things about Richard. He is simultaneously very interested in history, and interested in his place in history, his place in the lineage of English kings, going all the way back, particularly to the confessor to whom he looks as not only a patron saint, but as in some sense, a point of identification.He's also seeking to stop time at himself. He doesn't like to think about the future beyond himself. He doesn't show any interest in fathering an heir. His will is all about how to make permanent the judgments that he's made on his nobles. It's not about realistically what's going to happen after his death.In the course of his interest in history, he has found this vial of oil in the tower somewhere in a locked drawer with a note that says, "The Virgin gave this to Thomas Becket, and whoever is anointed with this oil shall win all his battles and shall lead England to greatness," et cetera. Richard has tried to have himself re-anointed, and even his patsy Archbishop of Canterbury that he's put in place after exiling the original one who'd stood up to him a bit.Even the new Archbishop of Canterbury says, "Sire, anointing doesn't really work like that. I'm afraid we can't do it twice." Richard has been wearing this vial round his neck in an attempt to claim that he is not only the successor to the confessor, but he is now the inheritor of this holy oil. The French king has had a holy oil for a very long time in the Cathedral of Reims, which was supposedly given to Clovis, the first king of France, by an angel, et cetera.Richard, who is always very keen on emulating, or paralleling the crown of France, is very, very keen on this. If you were Henry coming in 1399 saying, "No, God has spoken through me. The country has rallied to me. I am now the rightful king of England. We won't look too closely at my justifications for that," and you are appropriating the ceremonial of the crown, you are having yourself crowned in Westminster Abbey on the 13th of October, which is the feast day of the confessor, you are handed that opportunity to use the symbolism of this oil that Richard has just unearthed, and was trying to claim for himself. You can then say, "No, I am the first king crowned with this oil," and you're showing it to the French ambassadors and so on.If we are to believe the chroniclers, it starts making his hair fall out, which might be a contrary sign from God. It's a situation where you are usurping the throne, and what is questionable is your right to be there. Then, any symbolic prop you can get, you're going to lean on as hard as you can.Henry: A few general questions to close. Should we be more willing to open up old tombs?Helen: Yes. [laughs]Henry: Good. [laughs]Helen: I'm afraid, for me, historical curiosity is-- Our forebears in the 18th and 19th century had very few qualms at all. One of the things I love about the endless series of scholarly antiquarian articles that are-- or not so scholarly, in some cases, that are written about all the various tomb openings that went on in the 18th and 19th century, I do love the moments, where just occasionally, they end up saying, "Do you know what, lads? Maybe we shouldn't do this bit." [chuckles]They get right to the brink with a couple of tombs and say, "Oh, do you know what? This one hasn't been disturbed since 1260, whatever. Maybe we won't. We'll put it back." Mostly, they just crowbar the lid off and see what they can find, which one might regret in terms of what we might now find with greater scientific know-how, and et cetera. Equally, we don't do that kind of thing anymore unless we're digging up a car park. We're not finding things out anyway. I just love the information that comes out, so yes, for me.Henry: Dig up more tombs.Helen: Yes.Henry: What is it that you love about the Paston Letters?Helen: More or less everything. I love the language. I love the way that, even though most of them are dictated to scribes, but you can hear the dictation. You can hear individual voices. Everything we were saying about sentences. You can hear the rhythm. You can hear the speech patterns. I'm no linguistic expert, but I love seeing the different forms of spelling and how that plays out on the page.I love how recognizable they are as a family. I love the fact that we hear women's voices in a way that we very rarely do in the public records. The government which is mainly what we have to work with. I love Margaret Paston, who arrives at 18 as a new bride, and becomes the matriarch of the family. I love her relationship with her two eldest boys, John and John, and their father, John.I do wish they hadn't done that because it doesn't help those of us who are trying to write about them. I love the view you get of late medieval of 15th-century politics from the point of view of a family trying to survive it. The fact that you get tiny drops in letters that are also about shopping, or also about your sisters fall in love with someone unsuitable. Unsuitable only, I hasten to add, because he's the family bailiff, not because he isn't a wonderful and extremely able man. They all know those two things. It's just that he's a family bailiff, and therefore, not socially acceptable.I love that experience of being immersed in the world of a 15th-century gentry family, so politically involved, but not powerful enough to protect themselves, who can protect themselves in the Wars of the Roses in any case.Henry: If someone wants to read the Paston Letters, but they don't want to read Middle English, weird spelling, et cetera, is there a good edition that they can use?Helen: Yes, there is an Oxford World's Classic. They're all selected. There isn't a complete edition in modern spelling. If any publishers are listening, I would love to do one. [chuckles]Henry: Yes, let's have it.Helen: Let's have it. I would really, really love to do that. There are some very good selections. Richard Barber did one many years ago, and, of course, self-advertising. There is also my book, now more than 20 years old, about the Paston family, where I was trying to put in as much of the letters as I could. I wanted to weave the voices through. Yes, please go and read the Paston Letters in selections, in whatever form you can get them, and let's start lobbying for a complete modernized Paston.Henry: That's right. Why did you leave academia? Because you did it before it was cool.Helen: [laughs] That's very kind of you to say. My academic life was, and is very important to me, and I hate saying this now, because the academic world is so difficult now. I ended up in it almost by accident, which is a terrible thing to say now, people having to-- I never intended to be an academic. My parents were academics, and I felt I'd seen enough and wasn't sure I wanted to do that.I couldn't bear to give up history, and put in a PhD application to work with Christine Carpenter, who'd been the most inspiring supervisor when I was an undergraduate, got the place, thought, "Right, I'm just going to do a PhD." Of course, once you're doing a PhD, and everyone you know is starting to apply for early career jobs, which weren't even called early career jobs in those days, because it was a million years ago.I applied for a research fellowship, was lucky enough to get it, and then applied for a teaching job, utterly convinced, and being told by the people around me that I stood no chance of getting it, because I was way too junior, and breezed through the whole process, because I knew I wasn't going to get it, and then turned up looking for someone very junior.I got this wonderful teaching job at Sidney Sussex in Cambridge and spent eight years there, learned so much, loved working with the students. I was working very closely with the students in various ways, but I wasn't-- I'm such a slow writer, and a writer that needs to be immersed in what I was doing, and I just wasn't managing to write, and also not managing to write in the way I wanted to write, because I was becoming clearer and clearer about the fact that I wanted to write narrative history.Certainly, at that point, it felt as though writing narrative history for a general audience and being an early career academic didn't go so easily together. I think lots of people are now showing how possible it is, but I wasn't convinced I could do it. Then, sorry, this is a very long answer to what's [crosstalk] your question.Henry: That's good.Helen: I also had my son, and my then partner was teaching at a very different university, I mean, geographically different, and we were living in a third place, and trying to put a baby into that geographical [chuckles] setup was not going to work. I thought, "Well, now or never, I'll write a proposal for a book, a narrative, a book for a general readership, a narrative book about the Paxton family, because that's what I really want to write, and I'll see if I can find an agent, and I'll see if I," and I did.I found the most wonderful agent, with whose help I wrote a huge proposal, and got a deal for it two weeks before my son was due. At that point, I thought, "Okay, if I don't jump now, now or never, the stars are aligned." I've been a freelance medieval historian ever since then, touching every wood I can find as it continues to be possible. I am very grateful for those years in Cambridge. They were the making of me in terms of training and in terms of teaching.I certainly think without teaching for those years, I wouldn't be anywhere near as good a writer, because you learn such a lot from talking to, and reading what students produce.Henry: How do you choose your subjects now? How do you choose what to write about?Helen: I follow my nose, really. It's not very scientific.Henry: Why should it be?Helen: Thank you. The book, bizarrely, the book that felt most contingent, was the one I wrote after the Paston book, because I knew I'd written about the Pastons in my PhD, and then again more of it in the monograph that was based on my PhD. I knew having written about the Pastons in a very academic, analytical way, contributing to my analysis of 15th-century politics. I knew I wanted to put them at the center and write about them. That was my beginning point.The big question was what to do next, and I was a bit bamboozled for a while. The next book I ended up writing was She-Wolves, which is probably, until now, my best-known book. It was the one that felt most uncertain to me, while I was putting it together, and that really started from having one scene in my head, and it's the scene with which the book opens. It's the scene of the young Edward VI in 1553, Henry VIII's only son, dying at the age of 15.Suddenly, me suddenly realizing that wherever you looked on the Tudor family tree at that point, there were only women left. The whole question of whether a woman could rule was going to have to be answered in some way at that point, and because I'm a medievalist, that made me start thinking backwards, and so I ended up choosing some medieval queens to write about, because they've got their hands on power one way or another.Until very close to finishing it, I was worried that it wouldn't hang together as a book, and the irony is that it's the one that people seem to have taken to most. The next book after that grew out of that one, because I found myself going around talking about She-Wolves, and saying repeatedly, "The problem these queens faced was that they couldn't lead an army on the battlefield."Women couldn't do that. The only medieval woman who did that was Joan of Arc, and look what happened to her. Gradually, I realized that I didn't really know what had happened to her. I mean, I did know what--Henry: Yes, indeed.Helen: I decided that I really wanted to write about her, so I did that. Then, having done that, and having then written a very short book about Elizabeth I, that I was asked to write for Penguin Monarchs, I realized I'd been haunted all this time by Richard and Henry, who I'd been thinking about and working on since the very beginning of my PhD, but I finally felt, perhaps, ready to have a go at them properly.It's all been pretty organic apart from She-Wolves, which was the big, "What am I writing about next?" That took shape slowly and gradually. Now, I'm going to write about Elizabeth I properly in a-Henry: Oh, exciting.Helen: -full-scale book, and I decided that, anyway, before I wrote this last one, but I-- It feels even righter now, because I Am Richard II, Know Ye Not That, feels even more intensely relevant having now written about Richard and Henry, and I'm quite intimidated because Elizabeth is quite intimidating, but I think it's good, related by your subjects.[laughter]Henry: Have you read the Elizabeth Jenkins biography?Helen: Many, many years ago. It's on my shelf here.Henry: Oh, good.Helen: In fact, so it's one of the things I will be going back to. Why do you ask particularly? I need--Henry: I'm a big Elizabeth Jenkins fan, and I like that book particularly.Helen: Wonderful. Well, I will be redoubled in my enthusiasm.Henry: I look forward to seeing what you say about it. What did you learn from Christine Carpenter?Helen: Ooh. Just as precision was the word that came into my head when you asked me about Hilary Mantel, the word that comes into my head when you ask about Christine is rigor. I think she is the most rigorous historical thinker that I have ever had the privilege of working with and talking to. I am never not on my toes when I am writing for, talking to, reading Christine. That was an experience that started from the first day I walked into her room for my first supervision in 1987.It was really that rigor that started opening up the medieval world to me, asking questions that at that stage I couldn't answer at all, but suddenly, made everything go into technicolor. Really, from the perspective that I had been failing to ask the most basic questions. I would sometimes have students say to me, "Oh, I didn't say that, because I thought it was too basic."I have always said, "No, there is no question that is too basic." Because what Christine started opening up for me was how does medieval government work? What are you talking about? There is the king at Westminster. There is that family there in Northumberland. What relates the two of them? How does this work? Think about it structurally. Think about it in human terms, but also in political structural terms, and then convince me that you understand how this all goes together. I try never to lose that.Henry: Helen Castor, thank you very much.Helen: Thank you so much. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.commonreader.co.uk/subscribe
"I'm not afraid. It's the Wizard who should be afraid of me." We watched "Wicked" with our good Judy, Mitchell Anderson, and it was just as good as the first time we watched it! We knew we wanted to review this episode here on our show, and we thought there's no time like the present. Here we are, about halfway between the release of "Wicked" and her upcoming sequel, "Wicked: For Good," so we thought we'd take a look at what makes this movie work so darn well. Obviously, the casting of Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande is on point, but the supporting cast - Jonathan Bailey, Michelle Yeoh, Bowen Yang, and company - are all so wonderful, especially under the direction of Jon M. Chu. Allowing so many of them to ad-lib and keeping those gems in the final cut is a genius stroke! We promise to keep the singing to a minimum, but whether we keep that promise is to be seen. Yes, we have some hot takes on the movie itself, but we talk about what's to come in "For Good,” our predictions on how that half of the story will be presented, as well as a couple of fun facts we dug up in our research. We may not be true theater gays at heart, but needless to say, we're "Wicked" gays now, and we will be acting as such. Alert your local all-night diner - we're coming in at 11 p.m. and causing an absolute scene like it's opening night of our high school musical! Thanks for listening and don't forget to subscribe, rate and review us on Apple Podcasts! www.patreon.com/moviesthatmadeusgay Facebook/Instagram: @moviesthatmadeusgay Bluesky: @MTMUGPod.bsky.social Scott Youngbauer: Twitter @oscarscott / Instagram @scottyoungballer Peter Lozano: Twitter/Instagram @peterlasagna
No ens n'havíem pas oblidat. Sabíem que teníem un deute pendent amb vosaltres, per això us portem la temporada de 3 de Heartstopper, un món en què ens agradaria quedar-nos a viure. Fem la crítica de la temporada amb les aparicions de Hayley Atwell i Jonathan Bailey. Expliquem tots els secrets de rodatge i producció que ha desvetllat Alice Oseman que endinsar-nos en les trames, especialment centrades en Nick i en Charlie i els trastorns alimentaris. Tanquem amb els secundaris i tot el que sabem de sisè llibre i la quarta temporada. A 1 hora i 22 minuts, us portem un grapat de recomanacions de llibres i còmics per Sant Jordi en format de píndoles: “Les feres”, “Sense pietat”, “Zatanna: Abajo la sala”, “La sangre manda” i moltes més. Tanquem a 1 hora i 37 minuts amb una ressenya sense espòilers de Companion, desvetllant només el què explica en els 10 primers minuts, intentant parlar de la resta sense explicar res. Us acompanyen l'Ignasi Arbat, la Marta Sanz, l'Escarrufa i en Francesc Morales amb la col·laboració de l'Aram Bonmatí, en Jacint Casademont i en Marcel González. Web: https://www.ningunoesperfecte.cat Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/ningunoesperfecte
A box office hit during the 2024 holiday season, Wicked is now streaming on Peacock. Join The Watchers as we follow the Yellow Brick Road to the Land of Oz to discuss the gravity defying origin story of the Wicked Witch of the West. #WickedMovieWicked (2024) is a musical fantasy film starring Cynthia Erivo, Ariana Grande, Jonathan Bailey, Ethan Slater, Bowen Yang, Marissa Bode, Peter Dinklage, Michelle Yeoh and Jeff Goldblum.Subscribe, rate and review! Follow The Watchers in the Basement on social media! Use #WatchersBasement to comment about the show!facebook.com/watchersbasementtwitter.com/WatchBasement instagram.com/watchersbasementthreads.net/@watchersbasementanchor.fm/watchersbasement
This week Josh and Jade review the movie musical Wicked, directed by Jon M. Chu and written by Winnie Holzman and Dana Fox. It adapts the first act of the 2003 stage musical by Stephen Schwartz and Holzman, which was loosely based on Gregory Maguire's 1995 novel, itself a reimagining of the Oz books and the 1939 film The Wizard of Oz. Lost yet? The film stars Cynthia Erivo as Elphaba and Ariana Grande as Galinda the Good Witch, with Jonathan Bailey, Ethan Slater, Bowen Yang, Marissa Bode, Peter Dinklage, Michelle Yeoh, and Jeff Goldblum in supporting roles. Also, inside this episode our hosts discuss the casting of Nick Frost as Hagrid in HBO's Harry Potter series and the pending Duke lawsuit against the TV show White Lotus. Click play and enjoy!
Sarah talks to Samantha Barks ahead of her one-off concert at the London Palladium on April 5. In a wide-ranging interview Samantha reveals why Elsa was a career highlight, why she loved The Masked Singer on TV and what it was like to work with Hugh Jackman and Jonathan Bailey. Plus the secrets of concealing a pregnancy bump on stage. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
The set and costume designer Bob Crowley says he creates ‘other worlds'. The stage is where his imagination runs riot, at the National Theatre, the Royal Shakespeare Company the Royal Opera House, the West End, Broadway and beyond. He's won numerous Olivier and Tony awards for memorable designs such as the brightly lit revolving horses for Carousel, magical black and white tissue paper drawings evoking the foggy London skyline for Mary Poppins and couture dresses and the River Seine for An American in Paris. He's also worked on many new plays including The History Boys by Alan Bennett. His most recent credits include Richard the Second at the Bridge Theatre in London, with Jonathan Bailey in the title role. Bob's music selection includes Tallis, Gershwin, Schubert and Verdi.
While the 2024 summer movie lineup felt a little flat, a number of franchises — along with a few newcomers — should have film fans heading to theaters this summer. "Superman," "Jurassic Park" and even "The Karate Kid" are in the mix, along with the final (unlikely) installment in the "Mission: Impossible" franchise. Co-hosts Bruce Miller and Terry Lipshetz discuss what is on the way and which films have them most excited. Here is Miller's breakdown of the biggest movies: APRIL A MINECRAFT MOVIE (April 4) – At long last, a movie. Jack Black and Jason Momoa star as Steve and Garrett. THE AMATEUR (April 11) – A decoder (Rami Malek) decides to take matters into his own hands when the CIA won’t investigate a terrorist attack that claimed his wife. Rachel Brosnahan (the star of summer) co-stars. WARFARE (April 11) – Familiar faces turn up as soldiers embedded with an Iraqi family. Ray Mendoza and Alex Garland wrote and directed this “verite” look at war. DROP (April 11) – How’s this for a first date: You get messages during dinner that says you’ve got to do something about the man across the table. Like kill him. Meghann Fahy and Brandon Sklenar star. SNEAKS (April 18) – A designer sneaker (no kidding, a shoe) has to find his sister after she has been stolen by a collector. Bringing a ragtag band of shoes together, he heads to New York to move in for the kill. Yup, it’s animated. SINNERS (April 18) – Just when you thought those Gothic vampires had gone under, Ryan Coogler pops up with drama about twin brothers who return to their home to deal with things that are fang-tastic. THE RITUAL (April 18) – Al Pacino gets involved in an exorcism. (And to think he could have done this back in the 1970s.) PRIDE & PREJUDICE (April 20) – Yup, this has been done before. But it has a blue-chip crowd of actors telling the Jane Austen story. Keira Knightley and Judi Dench star. THE ACCOUNTANT 2 (April 25) Ben Affleck returns as the crime solver. This time, he’s looking for the person who killed an acquaintance. He calls on his brother (Jon Bernthal) to help. MAY THUNDERBOLTS* (May 2) – With the Avengers out of commission there’s a need for superheroes to do the government’s bidding. Unfortunately, they’re not exactly the cream of the crop, nor are they particularly united. Sebastian Stan, Julia Louis-Dreyfuss and Florence Pugh star. ROMEO & JULIET (May 9) – Rebel Wilson, Jason Isaacs, Dan Fogler and the Ruperts (Graves and Everett) try their hands at a different version of the classic. Like “Moulin Rouge,” it uses modern music. CLOWN IN A CORNFIELD (May 9) – As much as Frendo might seem like a nice guy, he could be behind a series of teen disappearances. Set in the Midwest, it might be that “Children of the Corn” sequel you were seeking. HURRY UP TOMORROW (May 16) -- Jenna Ortega and Barry Keoghan in this story of a musician who just can’t sleep. LILO & STITCH (May 23) – Disney’s gameplan: If an animated film is successful, turn it into a live-action one. If a live-action one works, try animation. That’s what’s behind this live-action version of the E.T.-like bonding between a Hawaiian girl and an alien. Maia Kealoha plays Lilo. MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE – THE FINAL RECKONING (May 23) – For those of you who forgot, there was a second part to “Dead Reckoning,” the last “Mission: Impossible” film. Here, Tom Cruise gets to go to even more locations to hang from dangerous buildings/mountains/you name it in an effort to fight the Entity. In case you don’t remember a thing, look at the first film and you’ll be just as confused. KARATE KID: LEGENDS (May 30) – Ralph Macchio gets back to business in this look at a troubled kid and a karate competition. JUNE FROM THE WORLD OF JOHN WICK: BALLERINA (June 6) – How do you get John Wick back in a film? You back things up and tell a side story. In this case, it’s the training of Eve Macarro (Ana de Armas). Yup, Keanu makes an appearance. THE PHOENICIAN SCHEME (June 6) – Wes Anderson gets Scarlett Johansson, Tom Hanks and Jeffrey Wright back together for a story about a rich man, his daughter and her tutor. THE MATERIALISTS (June 13) – A New York matchmaker has a little fence mending of her own to do. Dakota Johnson, Pedro Pascal and Chris Evans star. Celine Song writes, directs and stars. ELIO (June 13) – In this Pixar film, a kid gets beamed up to Communiverse, an interplanetary organization where he’s expected to deliver.leads the charge HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON (June 13) – A live-action version of the popular film is being released just in time for Universal Studios’ newest theme park to open. There, you, too, can ride dragons and discover what matters most. 28 YEARS LATER (June 20) – The world is still in a mess (even after “28 Days Later” and “28 Weeks Later”). A virus has wiped out a lot of the population and, yup, even Oscar winners like Cillian Murphy have to go to work to stop it. F1 (June 25) – Brad Pitt gets his own need for speed in this drama about a Formula One has-been who has to get back on track. From the folks who did “Top Gun: Maverick,” it has all the hallmarks of a summer blockbuster. Load up the popcorn. MEGAN 2.0 (June 27) – Hello dolly. She’s back, this time to prove a new version can have just as many glitches as the original JULY JURASSIC WORLD REBIRTH (July 2) -- Before that Jurassic Park unleashed a dinosaur world on the planet, there was a research island where some creatures still roam. If scientists can get a bit of the DNA, they might be able to solve some medical mysteries. Scarlett Johansson and Jonathan Bailey lead the charge (expect a trilogy). SUPERMAN (July 11) – David Corenswet gets to don the tights in this reboot from James Gunn. Nicholas Hoult plays Lex Luthor, Rachel Brosnahan is Lois Lane. The real scene-stealer, though, is Mutt Krypto, a dog that gets to fly through the air with the greatest of ease. I KNOW WHAT YOU DID LAST SUMMER (July 18) – The gang is back in this revisit to the land of the hook-wielding maniac. SMURFS (July 18) – They’re back, but now Papa Smurf is missing and the others have to find him. John Goodman plays the patriarch. THE FANTASTIC FOUR: FIRST STEPS (July 25) – Try, try again. That’s the case with the Fantastic Four. Now, with new actors in the roles, Marvel is hoping something will stick. Pedro Pascal leads the charge as Mr. Fantastic. SEPTEMBER SAW XI (Sept. 26) – This is getting to be “Friday the 13th” ridiculous. We’re up to the 11th torture film, now with new methods of madness. About the show Streamed & Screened is a podcast about movies and TV hosted by Bruce Miller, a longtime entertainment reporter who is now the editor of the Sioux City Journal in Iowa and Terry Lipshetz, a senior producer for Lee Enterprises based in Madison, Wisconsin. The show was named Best Podcast in the 2025 Iowa Better Newspaper Contest. Theme music Thunder City by Lunareh, used under license from Soundstripe. YouTube clearance: FV694ULMCJQDG0IY
Send us a textKathy, Mark and Burk react to the trailer for Jurassic World Rebirth, an upcoming American science fiction action film directed by Gareth Edwards and written by David Koepp. A standalone sequel to Jurassic World Dominion (2022), it is the fourth Jurassic World film and the seventh installment overall in the Jurassic Park film series. The film will star a new ensemble cast led by Scarlett Johansson, Mahershala Ali, and Jonathan Bailey with Rupert Friend, Manuel Garcia-Rulfo, Luna Blaise, David Iacono, and Ed Skrein.Support the show
This week, Tommy is joined by Simone Ashley and Hero Fiennes Tiffin, who are currently starring in the smash-hit romantic comedy, Picture This. The movie is about a struggling photographer named Pia (Simone) who is told she'll find true love and career success within the next five dates she goes on. With her sister's wedding approaching and her family playing matchmaker, her ex Charlie (Hero) soon reappears, throwing her life into chaos. You know and love Simone from her role in the wildly popular series Sex Education, and of course from starring opposite Jonathan Bailey in the second season of Bridgerton. Hero has a special place in the hearts of many Harry Potter fans because he played a young Tom Riddle in the sixth Harry Potter Film, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, before going on to star in the fan-favorite After franchise. Today, Simone and Hero open up about what it was about this story that made them want to be a part of it, if they can describe one another using only three emojis, if they are open to the idea of going on a blind date, the scene that they were most terrified to do in this film, if Hero prefers playing a darker character or a comedic role, the moment a bee stung Simone when she was filming with Hero and what she did next, if Simone keeps hearing about those steamy scenes between her and Jonathan Bailey, will we see Kate and Anthony as parents in season four, how it was for Simone producing a film for her first time, what’s to come with her new production company, if Hero wants to step into the Wizarding World again, a defining moment for them as artists, their relationships with social media and how they navigate protecting their peace, and so much more. Subscribe, rate, and review this episode if you enjoyed this conversation!See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Hi!!Sabrina and I are back to chat sexual tension, really good therapy sessions, the horrors of drinking as a youth, delicious parallels, comic goodness, and Jonathan Bailey! Enjoy our chat on Body!And send in your s3 emails for the next episode! We will catch up with Adam and hear his thoughts on Winter and Body + read out your emails.
This is only the second time we have welcomed back a guest and of your favourite guests ever, it's Simone Ashley. Who I am pleased to report is not only in her ‘strong queen era' but her ‘f**k that era' too! The last time Simone joined us Bridgerton season two had just dropped and her role as Kate Sharma, the love match for Jonathan Bailey's Anthony, was providing the long overdue south asian representation we needed on her screens. If you missed that episode go back right now and listen to episode 42 for a very inspirational chat about the power of determination. Now Simone rejoins us as she takes on the rom-com genre in Prime Video's new movie Picture This opposite Hero Fiennes Tiffin where she plays Pia whose family decide to play matchmaker with hilarious and heartwarming results. In this episode Simone talks about BS social pressures to tick boxes by certain ages, feeling othered in rooms full of men and why we need to start throwing as many promotion parties as we do weddings and baby showers. It's a big yes from me! I have learnt so much from Simone about the power of self belief and I hope this episode shows you how much cutting out the external noise and working on your relationship with yourself can help YOU achieve your dreams. If you love this episode too as always please get in touch as I love talking to you. You can find me across socials @joshsmithhosts and I'll see you next week for another episode of Reign! Josh x P.S I am so happy that today's episode is brought to you with the support of Pandora. Both Pandora and Reign are all about celebrating love in all its forms - be that romantic love, love for our friends and family or the practice of self love. This episode, like every episode of Reign, hopes to give you a loving dose of positivity, and to serve as a reminder that love - whether we give it, receive it or feel it has the power to uplift and heal. That's why we're empowering you to BE LOVE through these conversations - get out there and feel love, embody love and pass it on because you never know how much it could change your life or someone else's. Head to pandora.net to discover the latest jewellery collections and more. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Theora, Kaitlynn, and Alayna explore Charlie's brave steps in sharing his struggles with body dysmorphia and the tender moments between him and Nick that remind us why queer representation matters. From Nick's jealousy over a certain "sexy nerd man seminar" to the group's chaotic backyard party, this episode is packed with emotional growth, humor, and authentic LGBTQ+ storytelling.We also celebrate Charlie's journey in therapy, Tara's vulnerable moment, and even Michael's big dad energy as we unpack the beauty of friendship, recovery, and love. Plus, we fangirl over Jonathan Bailey's cameo and dive into Mesopotamian copper jokes – it's a vibe! Hydrate for Lesbian Jesus and gay it up all over the place with us as we break it all down.If you want to support us and gain access to bonus content become a Patreon: BGE PatreonWanna talk queer media with us and our friends? Join our Discord: BGE Discord LinkThis episode along with all our other episodes are now available on YouTube: Check out the BGE ChannelAs always, please feel free to reach out to us on all the things. We love hearing from you!Twitter @biggayenergypodInstagram @biggayenergypodTik Tok @BiggayenergypodcastTumblr @biggayenergypod
This episode features excerpts from the February 8th performance of Dennis Hensley's The MisMatch Game at the Los Angeles LGBT Center's Renberg Theatre. The panelists are Danny Casillas as Reba Areba, Jackie Beat as Bea Arthur, Sherry Vine as Rue McClanahan, Melissa Peterman as Rena Z., Felix Pire as Antonio Banderas and Tom Lenk as Tilda Swinton. The questions cover everyone from Jonathan Bailey to Betty White to Benson Boone. The evening was a bizonkers blast and raised over $4,100 for the Center. After the MisMatch Game clips, there's a super-sized So This Happened...where Dennis talks about the Oscar party he attended where he missed a trivia question about Centerstage, a delightful candle-making class he took at General Wax in North Hollywood, going dancing at the Kylie XCX night at Precinct hosted by past guests Mark Nubar and DJ Shyboy and attending the 25th Anniversary benefit screening of Coyote Ugly with most of the cast in attendance. It was true in 2000 and it's true today: you really can't fight the moonlight.
Book Vs. Movie: WickedThe 2004 Musical Vs. the 2024 Movie"Musicals in March"The "Wicked" movie is based on Gregory Maguire's novel Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West; the book (for the play) was written by Winnie Holzman, with music and lyrics by Stephen Schwartz. The show had its initial tryout in San Francisco in 2003 before moving to Broadway, where it has enjoyed a successful two-decade run despite receiving mixed reviews.This success is primarily attributed to its loyal fan base. Part One concludes with the iconic song "Defying Gravity," setting the stage for Part Two, which explores the consequences of Elphaba's rebellion. The film utilizes CGI and elaborate sets to vividly portray the magical world of Oz in ways that the stage cannot replicate. So, which version did we prefer? Have a listen to find out! In this ep, the Margos discuss:A brief look at the 1995 novel The path to Broadway to the Jon M. Chu filmThe cast includes Cynthia Erivo (Elphaba,) Ariana Grande (Glinda,) Jonathan Bailey (Fiyero,) Ethan Slater (Boq Woodsman,) Bowen Yang (Pfanne,) Peter Dinklage (Dr. Dillamond,) Michelle Yeoh (Madame Morrible,) Jeff Goldblum (Wizard of Oz,) Marissa Bode (Nessarose,) Bronwyn James (Shenshen) and Andy Nyman as Governor Thropp.Clips Featured:“Glinda makes a ball gown”"Kristin Chenoweth as Glinda at the 2004 Tony Awards""Indina Menzel as Elphaba at the 2004 Tony Awards"Wicked (Part 1 2024 trailer)“What is this feeling?”“Defying gravity”Music by John Powell and Stephen SchwartzFollow us on the socials!Join our Patreon page “Book Vs. Movie podcast”You can find us on Facebook at Book Vs. Movie Podcast GroupInstagram: Book Versus Movie @bookversusmoviebookversusmoviepodcast@gmail.com Margo D's Blog: Brooklynfitchick.comMargo D's Instagram “Brooklyn Fit Chick”Margo D's TikTok Margo D's YouTube: @MargoDonohueMargo P's Instagram: @shesnachomama Margo P's Blog: coloniabook.comMargo P's YouTube Channel: @shesnachomamaOur logo was designed by Madeleine Gainey/Studio 39 Marketing Follow on Instagram @Studio39Marketing & @musicalmadeleine
Book Vs. Movie: WickedThe 2004 Musical Vs. the 2024 Movie"Musicals in March"The "Wicked" movie is based on Gregory Maguire's novel Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West; the book (for the play) was written by Winnie Holzman, with music and lyrics by Stephen Schwartz. The show had its initial tryout in San Francisco in 2003 before moving to Broadway, where it has enjoyed a successful two-decade run despite receiving mixed reviews.This success is primarily attributed to its loyal fan base. Part One concludes with the iconic song "Defying Gravity," setting the stage for Part Two, which explores the consequences of Elphaba's rebellion. The film utilizes CGI and elaborate sets to vividly portray the magical world of Oz in ways that the stage cannot replicate. So, which version did we prefer? Have a listen to find out! In this ep, the Margos discuss:A brief look at the 1995 novel The path to Broadway to the Jon M. Chu filmThe cast includes Cynthia Erivo (Elphaba,) Ariana Grande (Glinda,) Jonathan Bailey (Fiyero,) Ethan Slater (Boq Woodsman,) Bowen Yang (Pfanne,) Peter Dinklage (Dr. Dillamond,) Michelle Yeoh (Madame Morrible,) Jeff Goldblum (Wizard of Oz,) Marissa Bode (Nessarose,) Bronwyn James (Shenshen) and Andy Nyman as Governor Thropp.Clips Featured:“Glinda makes a ball gown”"Kristin Chenoweth as Glinda at the 2004 Tony Awards""Indina Menzel as Elphaba at the 2004 Tony Awards"Wicked (Part 1 2024 trailer)“What is this feeling?”“Defying gravity”Music by John Powell and Stephen SchwartzFollow us on the socials!Join our Patreon page “Book Vs. Movie podcast”You can find us on Facebook at Book Vs. Movie Podcast GroupInstagram: Book Versus Movie @bookversusmoviebookversusmoviepodcast@gmail.com Margo D's Blog: Brooklynfitchick.comMargo D's Instagram “Brooklyn Fit Chick”Margo D's TikTok Margo D's YouTube: @MargoDonohueMargo P's Instagram: @shesnachomama Margo P's Blog: coloniabook.comMargo P's YouTube Channel: @shesnachomamaOur logo was designed by Madeleine Gainey/Studio 39 Marketing Follow on Instagram @Studio39Marketing & @musicalmadeleine
Are you ready to look up to the western sky as the hosts gets ready to defy gravity and bring you an unlimited review of one the biggest movies from last year, the award winning musical fantasy, Wicked, staring Cynthia Erivo, Ariana Grande and directed by Jon M. Chu. Based on the stage musical by Stephen Schwartz and Winnie Holzman, which was loosely based on Gregory Maguire's novel, a reimagining of the Oz books and the 1939 film The Wizard of Oz. The film is already the highest-grossing movie based on a Broadway play. The hosts pair the film with the Ozmopolitan Cocktail. It's time to trust your instincts, close your eyes and leap with the hosts as they celebrate one of the greatest adaptation Broadway musicals of all time.Come listen and follow the hosts on their Instagram and YouTube channel @the.gentlemenpodcast
With two major Shakespeare productions opening in two days in London, WhatsOnStage's intrepid deputy editor Tom Millward went to visit Jonathan Bailey at the Bridge Theatre to discuss all things Richard II, before sailing up the river for a spell at Theatre Royal Drury Lane; where Tom Hiddleston, Hayley Atwell, Mason Alexander Park and more are tackling much-loved comedy Much Ado About Nothing. We also got some intriguing tidbits from Jamie Lloyd about what might be on the horizon... Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Good news! Alex and Zach are back! We jump right into the 2025 Oscars Best Picture race with one of our favorite film of last year, Wicked. We break down the witchy musical, give their thoughts and take a look at its awards chances, plus some early thoughts on the Best Picture race and how to watch all the nominees.TIME STAMPS:0:27 - Intro1:42 - Oscar Nominations Rundown5:01 - Non-Spoiler Review17:09 - Concession Stand (Sweet, Salty, Refresher) - SPOILERS AHEAD44:49 - Awards Chances50:14 - Where to Watch Best Picture Nominees53:12 - OutroFollow us on Instagram @a.z_moviereview. Follow us on Twitter @a_z_moviereview.
John Mullan and Caroline Frost join Tom to review Steven Knight's new historical drama A Thousand Blows, Nicolas Hytner's production of Richard II staring Jonathan Bailey and novel Perspectives by Laurent BinetPresenter: Tom Sutcliffe Producer: Ciaran Bermingham
Forrest, Conan Neutron, and Kristina Oakes are joined by Julia Linger to talk about Wicked Part One!! John M. Chu (Crazy Rich Asians) directs the film adaptation of the 2003 Stephen Schwartz Broadway musical Starring Ariana Grande, Cynthia Erivo, Michelle Yeoh, Jeff Goldblum, Ethan Slater, and Jonathan Bailey. It was nominated for Best Picture, Best Actress, Best Supporting Actress, Best Original Score, Best Production Design, Best Makeup, Best Visual Effects, Best Costume Design, Best Film Editing, and Best Sound. #wicked #wickedmusical #cynthiaerivo #arianagrande #academyawards #academyawards2025 #oscars #bestpicture #bestactress #jeffgoldblum #michelleyeoh #oz #wizardofoz Julia Linger is on all social media @ Anxiousprout and on YouTube @anxiousprout Conan's former Protonic Reversal cohost Brenna has thryoid cancer and is raising money for her treatment, if you can help please donate https://www.gofundme.com/f/support-brennas-fight-against-thyroid-cancer Join our discord: https://discord.gg/ZPejN3ej The Movie Night Extravaganza Patreon helps us keep the show going.. become a Patron and support the show!! https://patreon.com/MovieNightExtra
Welcome to Multiverse News, Your source for Information about all your favorite fictional universesMarvel made the most of their Super Bowl time by releasing a “big game trailer” for Thunderbolts*. Featuring a needle drop of Nothing's Gonna Stop Us Now by Starship, the team of misfits gets a little bit more screen time plus an ominous look at, presumably, Sentry played by Lewis Pullman.Last Wednesday, Universal shared the first teaser trailer for Jurassic World Rebirth. The new Jurassic film features a stacked cast of Scarlett Johansson, Mahershala Ali, Jonathan Bailey, and Rupert Friend. The newest dinosaur flick in the epic franchise arrives July 2 among other blockbusters that month, The Fantastic Four: First Steps, and Superman. Directed by Gareth Edwards, the film takes place five years after the storyline of Jurassic World Dominion and the creators are citing Michael Crichton's original book as providing a lot of plot inspiration.A couple of Marvel stories are making the rounds after being revealed on podcasts recently. Firstly, actor Colman Domingo verified that he did have conversations with Marvel executives, though only after rumors of him playing Kang the Conqueror were circulating. Domingo emphasized that he wants a role that will allow him to “build something from the ground up” and that the Kang rumors were never a conversation from his point of view. On the comics side, Deadpool co-creator Rob Liefield left some comments on the floor of the Robservations podcast about feeling slighted during the Deadpool & Wolverine creative process and that Marvel boss Kevin Feige ignored him on the red carpet. Liefield also said that Marvel has a history of not treating comics creators well, specifically name dropping Feige. Hasbro Entertainment is teaming with Legendary Entertainment to develop a shared Magic: The Gathering universe that it says will span film and TV. The first property to be adapted in the universe will be a film.Star of HBO's The Franchise, Ruaridh Mollica is stepping into the MCU with a series regular role in Marvel's Vision Series, sources tell Deadline.During the Super Bowl, a first look teaser was shown for Mission Impossible: Final Reckoning, which hits theaters on May 23.Amy Adams has joined Javier Bardem in the Cape Fear series being developed by executive producers Martin Scorcese and Steven Spielberg and showrunner Nick Antosca for AppleTV+. Game of Thrones star Peter Dinklage has joined Michael C. Hall and Uma Thurman in Dexter: Resurrection, the continuation series of Showtime's Dexter franchise.John Ross Bowie who played Barry Kripke on The Big Bang Theory, has closed a deal to return to the role in a spin off series currently being developed by series creator Chuck Lorre for Max.During a recent interview on The Movie Podcast, Head of Marvel TV Brad Winderbaum revealed that Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man has been renewed for a second and third season.James Purefoy and Charlotte Riley have been cast as King Randor and Queen Marlena in Amazon MGM Studios and Mattel Films' live-action take onMasters of the Universe.
Gladiator 2 (2024, Dir. Ridley Scott, Starring: Paul Mescal, Pedro Pascal, Joseph Quinn, Fred Hechinger, Connie Nielsen, Denzel Washington) 148min Wicked (2024, Dir Jon M. Chu, Starring: Cynthia Erivo, Ariana Grande, Jonathan Bailey, Jeff Goldblum)... The post Extra Features 341 appeared first on Extra Features.
Jurassic World: Rebirth unleashes the trailer with Scarlett Johansson and Jonathan Bailey and I am here for it! Also, the Met Gala reveals their theme and Joe Biden signs with CAA! Donald Trump continues to be problematic.
Stassi is joined by her sister Georgi for a fun-filled catch-up packed with laughs and sisterly banter. They dive into the age-old debate: who's got it worse—middle kids or firstborns? (Hint: Stassi's the firstborn and has opinions.) They also dish on Hartford's Wicked-meets-Frozen birthday bash and chat about how parents today are upping their playground game to avoid mom-shaming. Stassi fangirls over Outlander's latest time-travel twists, reminisces about rocking the Castlecore vibe before it was trendy, and wraps up with dreamy Jonathan Bailey moments. This episode is pure sisterly fun! This episode is sponsored by: OUAI - Go to THEOUAI.com and use code STASSI for 15% off any product. Thrive Causemetics - Get an exclusive 20% off your first order at thrivecausemetics.com/STASSI. Rocket Money - Reach your financial goals faster with Rocket Money. Go to RocketMoney.com/STASSI . Cook Unity - Go to https://www.cookunity.com/STASSI for 50% off your first week. SKIMS - The Fits Everybody collection shop now at SKIMS.com and SKIMS stores. Liquid I.V. - Get 20% off your first order of Liquid I.V. when you go to LIQUIDIV.com and use code STASSI
In today's episode, we present a look at the latest Jurassic News from around the world! This week we discuss the latest photo from Jurassic World Rebirth, comments from David Koepp about referencing the novel, Jurassic World Chaos Theory potentially ending and an upcoming event at Universal Japan. Sit back, relax and ENJOY this episode of The Jurassic Park Podcast!Please check out my Newsletter featured on Substack! You can sign up for the newsletter featuring the latest from Jurassic Park Podcast and other shows I'm featured on - plus other thoughts and feelings towards film, theme parks and more!LINKS Variety Talks with David Koepp Universal Japan Event New Rebirth Photo Chaos Theory Final Season Chaos Theory Synopsis Chaos Theory Synopsis changed FOLLOW USWebsite: https://www.jurassicparkpodcast.com/YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@JurassicParkPodcastInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/jurassicparkpodcast/Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/jurassicparkpod.bsky.socialThreads: https://www.threads.net/@jurassicparkpodcastFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/jurassicparkpodcastApple Podcasts: https://apple.co/2VAITXfSpotify: https://spoti.fi/2Gfl41TDon't forget to give our voicemail line a call at 732-825-7763!Catch us on YouTube with Wednesday night LIVE STREAMS, Toy Hunts, Toy Unboxing and Reviews, Theme Park trips, Jurassic Discussion, Analysis and so much more.
David and Richard unpack some truly bizarre SAG Award nominations and who they have boosted (Jonathan Bailey!) and who is falling (a few Oscar-winning actresses, to start). They also discuss the best-picture frontrunners outlined by the directors' guild, Richard's time at the National Board of Review gala, and the terrifying impact of the Los Angeles fires. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices
In today's episode, we present our 400th episode! Jaye Jurassick returns to relay everything Jurassic fans have to look forward to in 2025. We sift through actual updates on Rebirth and our hopes and dreams for the rest of the year. Plus, we get to hear from some of the audience on what YOU want to see in 2025. Sit back, relax and ENJOY this episode of The Jurassic Park Podcast!Please check out my Newsletter featured on Substack! You can sign up for the newsletter featuring the latest from Jurassic Park Podcast and other shows I'm featured on - plus other thoughts and feelings towards film, theme parks and more!Be sure to check the recent episode of See Jurassic Right with Steven Ray Morris! I had the chance to join Steven to chat about the recent news surrounding Jurassic World Rebirth, so be sure to go listen. FOLLOW USWebsite: https://www.jurassicparkpodcast.com/YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@JurassicParkPodcastInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/jurassicparkpodcast/Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/jurassicparkpod.bsky.socialThreads: https://www.threads.net/@jurassicparkpodcastFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/jurassicparkpodcastApple Podcasts: https://apple.co/2VAITXfSpotify: https://spoti.fi/2Gfl41TDon't forget to give our voicemail line a call at 732-825-7763!Catch us on YouTube with Wednesday night LIVE STREAMS, Toy Hunts, Toy Unboxing and Reviews, Theme Park trips, Jurassic Discussion, Analysis and so much more.
Christine Riccio & Natasha Polis talk all things nerdy in the book, tv, movie, pop culture, fandoms, and how they integrate into their adult lives. Today they're going through their top 24 moments of 2024! Plus they chat Taylor Swift, Jonathan Bailey, Chris Evans, Friends, and more. Main discussion starts at : 25:09 Today in Fangirl Tea Time: Join Christine and Natasha for more stories about their recent life escapades. Check out our new those forking fangirls merch! http://thoseforkingfangirls.com/store Support the pod by joining the Forking Fangirls Patreon community: http://patreon.com/thoseforkingfangirls Follow the visual show on our Youtube: http://youtube.com/@thoseforkingfangirls Get Christine's new novel Attached at the Hip: https://a.co/d/grmPeVy Check out the Selkie Collection and get 10% off your order with code TASHAPOLIS Website: https://thoseforkingfangirls.com/ Email us feedback: thoseforkingfangirls@gmail.com Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thoseforkingfangirls/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/forkfangirlspod TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@thoseforkingfangirls
Today we are looking at 2024's hit musical movie adaptation, Wicked: Part I, directed by Jon M. Chu, starring Cynthia Erivo, Ariana Grande, Jonathan Bailey, Michelle Yeoh, and Jeff Goldblum. Plus we hear from the listener looking for movie recs while they recover from surgery. Author Paul Miles Schneider (The Silver Shoes trilogy) joins us.What's Good:Alonso - BFI Classic's 3 Women by Justin WyattDrea - Spirit Awards 2024 nominationsPaul - Thanksgiving up in the Pacific NorthwestIfy - Thanksgiving meal (Al Pastor Turkey)This Week's ITIDICs:1. Thanksgiving Box Office Record: ‘Moana 2' Scores Dazzling $225 Million Debut, ‘Wicked' Adds Huge $118 Million2. Sebastian Stan's Variety ‘Actors on Actors' Halted Because No Other Talent Wants to Talk About Trump3. ‘Wolfs' Director Jon Watts Tells Apple: No Sequel, I Don't Trust YouChristmas Movie Minute:Holiday TouchdownTo Have & To HolidayChristmas Under The LightsA 90s ChristmasDeck The WallsStaff Picks:Alonso - The Gathering (1977)Drea - Hard TruthsPaul - Miracle of Marcelino (in Spanish)Ify - The WizPlugs!Get the Silver Shoes trilogy from Paul Miles Schneider!Los Angeles! Come see Alonso, this Saturday, December 7th at Vidiots doing a book signing and introducing the Hitchcock film, Rope, at 4:15pm!Have Yourself A Movie Little ChristmasI'll Be Home For Christmas Movies Follow us on BlueSky, Twitter, Facebook, or InstagramWithDrea ClarkAlonso DuraldeIfy NwadiweProduced by Marissa FlaxbartSr. Producer Laura Swisher
Big box office weekend as Moana 2 and Wicked absolutely dominate! Disney's Moana sequel, starring Dwayne Johnson as Maui and Auli'i Cravalho, brings audiences back to the vibrant world of Walt Disney animation. Meanwhile, Wicked: Part 1, featuring Ariana Grande, Cynthia Erivo, and Jonathan Bailey, soars with musical magic as fans dive into this long-awaited adaptation. How do the Wicked reviews stack up? Are audiences loving the Wicked trailer and the incredible performances by stars like Marissa Bode and Bowen Yang? We also dive into first reactions to Star Wars: Skeleton Crew on Disney+, starring Jude Law, as Lucasfilm gives fans a fresh taste of its latest Disney+ series. Plus, David Ayer's latest comments on Suicide Squad, updates on Gladiator 3 from Ridley Scott, and rumors around Edward Scissorhands 2 that have fans buzzing. Is 2024 shaping up to be a HUGE year for movies? Catch it all on the live Kristian Harloff Show with Kristian and Rocha, breaking down the latest in Moana, Wicked, Star Wars, and more! Don't miss the fun!
Paul Tazewell is the costume designer for the film adaptation of the smash musical hit Wicked, which was released in theaters on November 22. Tazewell is a renowned costume designer celebrated for his contributions to Broadway, television, and film. In fact, in 2016, he won both a Tony for his designs in Hamilton and an Emmy for his creations on The Wiz Live! Today, he joins Who What Wear Entertainment Director Jess Baker to give us a deep dive into the development and creation of Wicked's incredible costumes. They talk about everything from the color palette chosen for Shiz University's uniforms to creating an entirely new pair of silver slippers inspired by 1930s court shoes and tornadoes (of course).See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
It's time for the Wicked Queens Edition Episode! We give our official reviews for Wicked part 1, we hold space for defying gravity & Jonathan Bailey sucking on a big green foot, plus we predict the worst possible cast for the inevitable Wizard of Oz remake. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices