Podcast appearances and mentions of karen geier

Access this entire 94-minute episode (and additional monthly bonus shows) by becoming a Junk Filter patron for only $5.00 (US) a month! Over 30% of episodes are exclusively available to patrons of the show. ⁠https://www.patreon.com/posts/188-teri-garr-21-116729215 The writer and content strategist Karen Geier returns for a show to mark the passing of the great Teri Garr, a gifted and influential comic actress and pop cultural icon who worked with everyone from Elvis Presley, Cher and Jack Nicholson to Spielberg, Scorsese and Coppola. We discuss a cross-section of highlights from her body of work, from her 9 appearances as a background dancer in Elvis movies, to tv and commercials in the seventies, to her breakout role in Young Frankenstein, her Oscar-nominated performance in Tootsie, some of her lesser-known but interesting parts and her legendary status as David Letterman's favourite talk show guest, which cemented everyone's love for her. But we also discuss how brutally honest and aware she was about showbiz sexism and how it helped (and hurt) her career. Many of the Teri Garr performances we discuss are available to watch on YouTube or Dailymotion including all of her Letterman guest appearances and her 1986 comedy miniseries with Carol Burnett and Charles Grodin, Fresno. Follow Karen Geier on Twitter. Random Roles: Teri Garr, by Sean O'Neal for The AV Club, July 22, 2008 Teri Garr in the amateur short film Where's the Bus? by John Harris, 1964 (shot in b&w anamorphic 16mm)

Access this entire 93 minute episode (and additional monthly bonus shows) by becoming a Junk Filter patron for only $5.00 (US) a month! Over 30% of episodes are exclusively available to patrons of the show. https://www.patreon.com/posts/172-american-v-o-107059565 In the second half of our discussion about the 2016 FX miniseries American Crime Story: The People v. O.J. Simpson, Karen Geier and I dig into more of the great performances including Sarah Paulson as Marcia Clark, Sterling K. Brown as Christopher Darden, and Courtney B. Vance as Johnnie Cochran, and talk about some of the other highlights of the series, including the possible romance between Clark and Darden the show illustrates, and the episodes about the Bronco chase, the racism of the LAPD and the experiences of the sequestered jury members, and a salute to the other creative forces of the show, producers and showrunners Scott Alexander and Larry Karaszewski, specialists in what they call “anti-biopics”, depicting the lives of people who wouldn't seem worthy of the biopic treatment, with full immersions into these characters and their worlds.  American Crime Story: The People v. O.J. Simpson is available for streaming on Hulu in the United States and Disney+ internationally.  Follow Karen Geier on Twitter.

With the recent death of O.J. Simpson and this month's 30th anniversary of the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ron Goldman, the writer and content strategist Karen Geier returns for a look at the other great O.J. tv epic of 2016, Ryan Murphy's 10 part series American Crime Story: The People v. O. J. Simpson: On part one of our discussion we discuss the cottage industry of content that surrounded the Simpson trial, and how Murphy rose to the occasion in this series by approaching this story as history, tragedy and camp, infusing soap opera theatrics into the retelling of a true life televised trial that in turn led to the replacement of soap operas with reality television, and how the Kardashian family, through their involvement in the trial, directly benefited from this cultural sea change.  We discuss in detail a few of the fine performances from the ensemble cast, including from some unexpected turns: Connie Britton as Faye Resnick, David Schwimmer as Robert Kardashian, John Travolta as Robert Shapiro, Nathan Lane as F. Lee Bailey and Cuba Gooding Jr. as O.J., and we dig into one of the best episodes, the one that centers on Marcia Clark and the one episode that deviates from the source material, Jeffrey Toobin's The Run of His Life, and dramatizes moments from Marcia Clark's 1997 memoir Without a Doubt, focusing on the intense sexism she faced while trying to prosecute this case.  Part two of this discussion, on more of the great performances and some of our favourite moments in the series, is available on the Patreon feed. To support this show directly and to receive access to Part two of this discussion and dozens of exclusive episodes, consider becoming a patron for only $5.00 a month (U.S.) at patreon.com/junkfilter Follow Karen Geier on Twitter. American Crime Story: The People v. O.J. Simpson is available for streaming on Hulu in the United States and Disney+ internationally. 

Access this entire 107 minute episode (and additional monthly bonus shows every month) by becoming a Junk Filter patron! Over 30% of episodes are exclusively available to patrons of the show. https://www.patreon.com/posts/155-o-j-made-in-95579279 In the second part of our salute to Ezra Edelman's 2016 documentary O.J.: Made in America, Karen Geier and I discuss the back half of the film; from the beginning of the criminal trial, to the ways the prosecution messed up their argument and allowed the “Dream Team” to successfully change the subject of the case to the racist conduct of the LAPD, to the shocking verdict and the aftermath. The last chapter of the film is a breathtaking descent into hell, with O.J. eventually found liable for the deaths of Nicole Brown and Ron Goldman in civil court and his desperate attempts to resuscitate his showbiz career (while hiding the money from the Goldman family), finding himself at the absolute bottom of the entertainment food chain, including the exploitative hidden camera prank show “Juiced” and finally his arrest for what amounted to petty larceny in the demimonde of sports memorabilia collectors, where the judge threw the book at him. Karen and I discuss how the culture was forever changed by the O.J. Simpson media circus and how this film is a masterclass in the study of a narcissist who felt none of the rules of the world applied to him, and how understanding personality cults helps to explain why O.J got away with it for so long and yet still could not avoid the fate of most sociopaths, in a film that is ultimately about white privilege as much as it is about justice denied and toxic celebrities. Happy New Year to all our listeners and patrons! Follow Karen Geier on Twitter. TV commercial for “Juiced”, 2006

The writer and content strategist Karen Geier returns for a deep dive into Ezra Edelman's Oscar-winning documentary from 2016, O.J.: Made in America, made for ESPN's film unit '30 for 30' but released in theatres (the Academy changed the rules for the Documentary category after this 5 part docuseries won). This episode covers the first half of this fantastic 467 minute documentary, from O.J.'s origins as a superstar athlete and celebrity pitchman, his stormy marriage to Nicole that led to her vicious murder and the manhunt once he became the prime suspect. But this story takes place against the larger story of Los Angeles; the mass post-war migration of Black Americans from the South to the west coast and the evolution of the racist LAPD's law enforcement in the city that culminated in the beating of Rodney King and the subsequent riots in 1992, creating the conditions that gave O.J.'s “Dream Team” their winning strategy for the “Trial of the Century”. Karen and I discuss our favourite parts of the documentary, O.J.'s narcissism and disinterest in the civil rights movement, his strange showbiz career and finally the night of the Bronco chase, which marked the beginning of a bleak new chapter in American life. Part 2 of our discussion (about the trial, the verdict, and the aftermath) will be available exclusively to patrons of the podcast. Over 30% of Junk Filter episodes are only on the Patreon feed. To support this show directly and hear dozens of bonus episodes, consider becoming a patron at Patreon.com/junkfilter Follow Karen Geier on Twitter. O.J. “Flying” Hertz commercial, 1980 O.J. “Nobody Does It Better” Hertz commercial, 1978 Trailer for 1988's Traxx (the attempt to make a movie star out of local LA deejay Shadoe Stevens) Trailer for O.J.: Made in America (Ezra Edelman, 2016)

The writer and content strategist Karen Geier returns to the pod to say farewell to Paul Reubens and his iconic Pee-wee Herman character. Reubens created the Pee-wee character in the mid 1970s as part of the LA improv troupe The Groundlings, in a cohort that included Phil Hartman and Jan Hooks. A failed attempt to join the cast of SNL in 1980 doubled his resolve to be successful; he took his Pee-wee Herman show from cult status on stage to a smash-hit movie for Warner Bros. (the feature debut of director Tim Burton) and then to Saturday morning network tv with his innovative kids show Pee-wee's Playhouse which ran for 5 years on CBS. We talk about two of Karen's three favourite movies of all time (1985's Pee-wee's Big Adventure and 2016's Pee-wee's Big Holiday), discuss the Pee-wee character as a queer icon, pop culture innovator and comedy god, lament the destruction of his success in 1991 with his notorious arrest at a porn theatre in Florida (from the days when so-called ‘Cancel Culture' could actually cancel careers) and his hard-won third act with the return of Pee-wee to public life as Reubens fought a private battle. Become a patron of the podcast to access to exclusive episodes every month, including this summer's entire Miami Vicesidebar series. Over 30% of Junk Filter episodes are exclusively available to patrons. To support this show directly please subscribe at ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.patreon.com/junkfilter Follow Karen Geier on Twitter. Trailer for Pee-wee's Big Adventure (Tim Burton, 1985) Pee-wee's Playhouse Season 1 opening and closing credits, 1986 Pee-wee finally makes it to the basement of the Alamo, 2011 Trailer for Pee-wee's Big Holiday (John Lee, 2016)

Toronto-based writer and content strategist Karen Geier returns to the show to discuss the late screen goddess Raquel Welch and her greatest role as a trans woman out to destroy the Hollywood patriarchy in the 1970 film version of Gore Vidal's controversial best-selling novel Myra Breckinridge, produced on a high budget by 20th Century Fox in the early days of the new X rating. Long considered one of the worst movies ever made, Karen and I mount a defense of Myra Breckinridge as a ruthless satire of Hollywood that is intentionally distasteful and accidentally based in terms of its sexual politics. We discuss the troubled production and the cast of creatives including the British director Michael Sarne (who hated the book), the film critic Rex Reed (who made his acting debut here and trashed the movie when it was released) and the original screen sex goddess Mae West, coaxed back on the screen after nearly 30 years, who refused to appear on screen with Raquel and demanded she get top billing and two musical numbers (even though the film was not a musical). Karen and I also discuss Raquel's insane prime-time network tv specials and her comeback in the eighties as the star of a series of salacious workout videos. You can watch Myra Breckinridge for free over at the Internet Archive. There are over three dozen premium episodes of the show available exclusively to patrons: some notable previous Patreon guests include Jared Yates Sexton, Jacob Bacharach, David Roth, Bryan Quinby and Will Sloan. More to come! Sign up at https://www.patreon.com/junkfilter Follow Karen Geier on Twitter. Trailer for Myra Breckinridge (Michael Sarne, 1970) Raquel! (TV special for CBS from 1970) From Raquel With Love (TV special for ABC from 1980) Highlights from Welch's eighties at-home workout videotape A Week With Raquel (1986) “Swinging Into Disaster”, an in-depth article on the making of Myra Breckinridge, by Steven Daly for Vanity Fair, April 2001

We have Karen Geier on this episode! Follow Karen on Twitter - @karengeier If you want to hear Bryan dive deep into the world of Shock Jocks then you should check out our Patreon where you can get access to “Shocktober” plus a slew of other series that are updated every week! - www.patreon.com/streetfightradio Join the chat to talk to us while we record these episodes live every wednesday and sunday at 8pm on Twitch,Youtube & Facebook. Street Fight Radio Twitch - www.twitch.tv/streetfightradio Street Fight Radio Youtube - www.youtube.com/c/StreetFightWCRS Street Fight Radio Facebook - www.facebook.com/StreetFightWCRS/ Every Sunday at 8pm we do a show where we take calls from y'all. If you want to call in you can reach us at - (614) 655-3887 We love getting free things from y'all! Street Fight Mail - P.O Box 82306 Columbus, OH 43202

Access the entire 84 minute episode (and additional bonus episodes) by becoming a patron of Junk Filter: https://www.patreon.com/posts/68615908 Alex Shephard, senior writer for The New Republic and co-host of the Mr. Difficult podcast, returns to Junk Filter for a discussion of Baz Luhrmann's maximalist jukebox musical biopic Elvis, starring Austin Butler in a star-making role as The King and the distracting cartoonish performance from Tom Hanks as his manager/svengali Colonel Tom Parker. Plus: Alex discusses his recent TNR interview with the documentary filmmaker Alex Holder, recently subpoenaed to testify for the January 6 Committee in DC about what he captured on the day of the insurrection for his upcoming Discovery+ series on the outgoing first family in the final days of the Trump Presidency. Patrons of the Junk Filter podcast receive access to additional exclusive episodes a month: some of our notable previous guests include Jared Yates Sexton, David Roth, Will Sloan, Bryan Quinby, Karen Geier, and Jacob Bacharach. More to come! Sign up at https://www.patreon.com/junkfilter Follow Alex Shephard on Twitter and check out the Mr. Difficult podcast.

Writer Adam Jackson (Vice, Noisey) returns to the podcast for a discussion of the new Disney/Pixar animated feature Lightyear. Why did Lightyear fail at the box office? Was it the convoluted premise (this isn't a movie about the toy Buzz Lightyear or even a Toy Story film, this is the movie about the actual Buzz Lightyear that young Andy loved so much in 1995 that he bought the toy)? Was it the “controversial” LGBTQ content (which adds up to about 45 seconds of screen time and yet triggered hysterical calls for boycotts of the movie from the anti-Disney religious right)? Was it anger over the replacement of the conservative Tim Allen with the affable Chris Evans as the voice of Buzz? Was it stiff market competition from Jurassic World Dominion and Top Gun: Maverick? Adam and I went to see it together to see for ourselves where things went wrong. Patrons of the Junk Filter podcast receive access to additional exclusive episodes a month: some of our notable previous guests include Jared Yates Sexton, David Roth, Will Sloan, Bryan Quinby, Karen Geier, and Jacob Bacharach. More to come! Sign up at https://www.patreon.com/junkfilter Follow Adam Jackson on Twitter. Trailer for Lightyear (Angus MacLane, 2022)

Toronto-based writer and content strategist Karen Geier returns to the show for a discussion of John Waters and his 1994 “true crime” comedy Serial Mom, starring Kathleen Turner as a suburban Baltimore housewife who is eventually discovered to be a serial killer and becomes a tabloid sensation during her criminal trial. The remarkable thing about this film is it was released mere weeks before the O.J. Simpson murders and Waters strangely anticipated the cultural issues brought up by this case: the American obsession with crime and celebrity. Karen and I discuss the film and some adjacent current topics including Cancel Culture, the moral panic over Trans Rights and Drag Queen Story Time, the legacy of the O.J. trial, and the popularity of True Crime podcasts and documentaries. Patrons of the Junk Filter podcast receive access to additional exclusive episodes a month: some of our notable previous guests include Jared Yates Sexton, David Roth, Will Sloan, Bryan Quinby, Karen Geier, and Jacob Bacharach. More to come! Sign up at https://www.patreon.com/junkfilter Follow Karen Geier on Twitter and check out her podcast On Belief. She also has a Patreon! Trailer for Serial Mom (John Waters, 1994)

In this episode, we discuss: Why she found herself in a high demand group How she felt targeted racially and because she was neurodivergent How decision making played into why she stayed What it was like to go from one group to another And more... Priscilla's website: https://whova.com/web/icsaa_202207/ The ICSA website: https://www.icsahome.com/

Karen Geier and I break down the penultimate Yellowjackets episode and talk psychedelics. Plus your calls. Download the Callin app for iOS and Android to listen to this podcast live, call in, and more! Also available at callin.com

Writer and podcaster Rob Rousseau joins me from Montreal to discuss Peter Jackson's new epic-length documentary about those four mop-topped Lads from Liverpool. The Beatles: Get Back draws from the raw material collected in 1969 by director Michael Lindsay-Hogg for his 1970 documentary Let It Be. More than just a documentary about the Beatles, Get Back is more importantly a film about the process of artistic expression and collaboration that also offers a detailed reconsideration of the official myths and legends about the final days of the band. Rob and I also discuss Smooth Ringo, Checked Out John, Handsome Paul and George's amazing fits. Patrons of the Junk Filter podcast receive access to additional exclusive episodes every month: some of our notable previous guests include Jacob Bacharach, Jared Yates Sexton, David Roth, Bryan Quinby, Karen Geier and more! Sign up at https://www.patreon.com/junkfilter Follow Rob Rousseau on Twitter, listen to his show The Insurgents, and check out his regular live show on Twitch. Ramsey Lewis - Cry Baby Cry Evinha - Something

December 1, 2021 — Senator Mike McGuire's dream of a 320-mile Great Redwood Trail from the San Francisco Bay to the Humboldt Bay is a few million dollars closer than ever to becoming a reality. At a town hall on Tuesday night, he exulted over the funds he plans to tap to bring the project to fruition. “We now have funding to be able to move the Great Redwood Trail forward,” he told listeners, elaborating that this year's budget act included several items significant to the trail. One, he said, is that it appropriated enough money to pay off the remaining debt from the North Coast Railroad Authority, which owned and operated the northern portion of the railroad to be converted into the trail. Another is $10.5 million to pay for the master planning process, an intricate, years'-long procedure that will lay out the operations and management of the trail. But McGuire's victory laps alternated with bouts of alarm over the coal train, which he assured listeners will never happen, though it must be taken seriously. The application for the outdoor recreational paradise he's envisioned for years will be in direct competition with an application by out-of-state business interests to revitalize the railroad and run 800 loads of coal per day through the Eel River Canyon and the Humboldt Bay to overseas markets. McGuire said that the Eel River Canyon contains some of the most geologically fragile areas in North America, and reminded listeners that there are still train cars in the water from a massive landslide that covered the tracks in 1989. It wasn't the first time. Shortly after the turn of the last century, McGuire said, “the first day that a train was on it, a massive landslide came down over the tracks.” He said the federal government shut down operations after the 1989 landslide. “You will never see a freight train going north through the Eel River Canyon,” he assured listeners. “You can't make it work financially.” Still, he worries that the threat of the coal train could “tie up the Great Redwood Trail for years on end, saying that they're going to be able to get this started. The bottom line is, you will ever get a damn train through the Eel River Canyon...and the last thing that we would want to see anyway is an 800-car coal train coming through the Eel River,” or the Russian River, which, between the two of them, supply drinking water to over a million people. Plans to railbank most of the northern segments still need approval from the federal government. Railbanking is building the trail on top of the tracks, which does make it possible to revert the railroad to its original purpose. McGuire said that has only happened on about 20 miles of the 25,000 miles of railroad that have been converted to trails across the country. The southern portion of the trail, from the Mendocino/Sonoma County line to Marin, will run alongside the railroad tracks, which are owned and operated by SMART, the Sonoma Marin Area Rail Transit. The northern portion has been under the purview of the North Coast Railroad Authority. But in September, Governor Gavin Newsom signed SB 69, a bill written by McGuire. Under the new law, as of March first, the North Coast Railroad Authority will be known as the Great Redwood Trail Agency. And starting in July, the State Coastal Conservancy will take over the management of the organization. Several segments of the trail have already been built. But details about how to build the trail in the backcountry, where to put restrooms, how to maintain fire safety, and numerous other concerns, will be outlined in a master plan which is scheduled to get going next year and take three to four years to complete. Karen Geier of the Coastal Conservancy indicated that figuring out what to do about tunnels could be some of the trickier aspects of the master plan. “If there are places where it's just astronomically expensive to redo the tunnel and a reroute is feasible and makes sense, it's something we should pursue,” she said. “We also need to look at the tunnels that are still open to make sure they're still safe, and do a little bit more of an engineering analysis on the safety of the existing tunnels that are open. We'll see how far we get with that in this master planning process.” Geier and McGuire agreed that current trail-building projects are not in conflict with the master plan. Many jurisdictions are already building trails along the route, including Ukiah, Willits, Arcata, Healdsburg, and Marin and Sonoma Counties. “We certainly don't want this planning effort to get in the way of trail projects that are already moving forward,” Geier emphasized. “It's exciting that we are already seeing trails constructed, and we want those to proceed alongside the master planning process that's going to be happening.”

After taking some time to let it marinate, the Washington Post's Dave Weigel joins me to unpack the 26th film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Chloe Zhao's Eternals. We discuss how Eternals was first promoted as “a Terrence Malick version of a Marvel film”, some of the film's flaws and questionable aesthetic choices (particularly the controversial Hiroshima scene), how it was received by critics and fans, whether there will be an Eternals 2, and where the MCU goes from here. Patrons of the Junk Filter podcast receive access to additional exclusive episodes every month: some of our notable previous guests include Jacob Bacharach, Jared Yates Sexton, David Roth, Bryan Quinby, Karen Geier and more! Sign up at https://www.patreon.com/junkfilter Follow Dave Weigel on Twitter and subscribe to his Washington Post newsletter “The Trailer” Geico Eternals tie-in commercial “Parking Spot” - Lexus / Eternals tie-in commercial McDonald's / Eternals tie-in Happy Meal commercial

Access the entire 80 minute episode (and additional bonus episodes) by becoming a patron of Junk Filter: https://www.patreon.com/posts/57121333 Street Fight Radio's Bryan Quinby joins the show from Columbus, Ohio to discuss Jody Hill's black comedy Observe and Report. Misunderstood in 2009 as a mean-spirited comedic spin on Taxi Driver and King of Comedy, it is clearer to see in 2021 that Observe and Report was intended as a vicious satire not only of the American police state, but also of the kinds of toxic males that want to be cops, presented as a Judd Apatow-style laff riot. Bryan and I talk about our appreciation for anti-comedy and harsh satire, how this film anticipated the kinds of guys who populate the alt-right, the bad timing of this film being released right after the smash hit comedy Paul Blart: Mall Cop, and how Jody Hill went on to be one of the great modern satirists of American life through his subsequent work for HBO. Follow Bryan Quinby on Twitter. Patrons of the Junk Filter podcast receive at least two additional exclusive episodes a month: some of our notable previous guests include Jared Yates Sexton, David Roth, Karen Geier, Will Sloan, Zach Vasquez and Jacob Bacharach. More to come! Sign up at https://www.patreon.com/junkfilter Check out Bryan's great podcasts Street Fight Radio and The P.O.D Kast. Trailer for Observe and Report (Jody Hill, 2009)

In this episode, we discuss: * The basic beliefs of the Unification Church * What it's like for kids * What are the rules, and are they different by gender? * What is the companion book to the Bible that the Unification Church uses? * What are the political beliefs of the church? * And more...

Access the entire 82 minute episode (and additional bonus episodes) by becoming a patron of Junk Filter: https://www.patreon.com/posts/56088312 Veteran boom operator Sean Armstrong (who worked on every episode of Hannibal!) joins the podcast to discuss Chris Smith's 1999 film American Movie, a work by a determined documentary filmmaker about a determined independent filmmaker: it tells the story of Wisconsin's Mark Borchardt and his determination to finally finish his abandoned short horror film Coven and sell enough copies of it on VHS to finance his long-planned feature film Northwestern. Plus: Sean tells us what it was like to work on Hannibal with tha god Mads Mikkelsen! Follow Sean Armstrong on Twitter. Patrons of the Junk Filter podcast receive at least two additional exclusive episodes a month: some of our notable previous guests include Jared Yates Sexton, David Roth, Karen Geier, Will Sloan, Sooz Kempner and Jacob Bacharach. More to come! Sign up at https://www.patreon.com/junkfilter

Access the entire 93 minute episode (and additional bonus episodes) by becoming a patron of Junk Filter: https://www.patreon.com/posts/55330993 Author Jacob Bacharach returns to the pod to discuss Hal Ashby's evergreen social satire Being There (1979), adapted from the novel by Jerzy Kosinski. featuring Peter Sellers in his greatest performance as Chance, a simple-minded gardener raised by television who becomes a respected political thinker in Washington through sheer circumstance, luck and misunderstanding. Along the way we discuss the amazing run of great films Hal Ashby made through the 1970s, Being There's (mostly) successful themes of racial unfairness, media saturation and sexual dysfunction in Washington, and how this film was used as a somewhat tired metaphor during the Trump era to “explain” his Presidency. Plus we discuss the flawed 2004 HBO movie The Life and Death of Peter Sellers starring Geoffrey Rush, which includes a depiction of the making of Being There and in so doing reveals the perils of a great actor attempting to play a great actor... with a sidebar about our mutual enjoyment of Predator 2 (by the same director!) Patrons of the Junk Filter podcast receive at least two additional exclusive episodes a month: some of our notable previous guests include Jared Yates Sexton, David Roth, Karen Geier, Will Sloan, Sooz Kempner and Zach Vasquez. More to come! Sign up at https://www.patreon.com/junkfilter

It's the end of an era as host Rob Rousseau welcomes Karen Geier, Nora Loreto, The DC Sentinel's Sam Knight and Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East's Michael Bueckert to discuss Doug Ford, Quebec social solidarity, Canada's relationship to Israel/Palestine and more on the 49th Parahell ep100 series finale!Support Rob's work at https://www.patreon.com/robrousseau and catch his stream every Monday, Wednesday and Friday from 12-4 EST on Twitch TV at https://www.twitch.tv/robrousseau

It's the end of an era as host Rob Rousseau welcomes Karen Geier, Nora Loreto, The DC Sentinel's Sam Knight and Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East's Michael Bueckert to discuss Doug Ford, Quebec social solidarity, Canada's relationship to Israel/Palestine and more on the 49th Parahell ep100 series finale! Support Rob's work at https://www.patreon.com/robrousseau and catch his stream every Monday, Wednesday and Friday from 12-4 EST on Twitch TV at https://www.twitch.tv/robrousseau

In this episode, we discuss: How much real estate the church owns in Clearwater What the Scientologists do there What happens when David Miscavige comes to town The influence the church has over local politics What happens when they get heckled And more...

Yes, you read that right. It's the last episode of 49th Parahell. Moving forward I am going to be doing all my interviews and commentary on my live show on Twitch, with an audio version coming soon, so this week I brought back several friends of the show to talk about Doug Ford, the pandemic, Quebec's social solidarity, Joe Biden, Canada's relationship to Israel/Palestine and much more. patreon.com/robrousseau twitch.tv/robrousseau join the discord community: https://discord.gg/4Cq2XkWVgm  

Access the entire 87 minute episode (and additional bonus episodes) by becoming a patron of Junk Filter: https://www.patreon.com/posts/54704122 Toronto-based writer and content strategist Karen Geier (The Guardian, Vice, The Cut) joins the podcast to discuss Shira Piven's 2015 comedy-drama Welcome To Me, about a mentally ill woman obsessed with television and Oprah (Kristen Wiig); she wins a staggering amount of money in the California lottery, goes off her meds and bankrolls an expensive and strange syndicated daytime talk show about herself, where she re-enacts traumatic events in her life using actors for an increasingly attentive television audience. Patrons of the Junk Filter podcast receive at least two additional exclusive episodes a month: some of our notable previous guests include Jared Yates Sexton, David Roth, Will Sloan, Sooz Kempner and Zach Vasquez. More to come! Sign up at https://www.patreon.com/junkfilter

Matthew shares his wealth of knowledge in this week's episode and we discuss what the heck "Conspirituality" is. Find Matthew's podcast here: https://conspirituality.net/ And Matthew's website here: http://matthewremski.com/wordpress/

Dan and Riley speak to writer and podcaster Karen Geier about the different cults that have long cropped up around Canada. We talk Brother XII, Raelians, The Order of the Solar Temple, and so many more! Don't forget we have www.patreon.com/dabottlemen for all your "second episode a week needs," at a price of only $7 CAD!

Karen Geier makes her long-awaited return to the show to break down Trudeau's latest corruption scandal and explain a little about the bizarre cult-like WE charity at the centre of it. I also ask the question that was on a lot of people's minds yesterday: Why do we have monuments to Nazi war criminals in Canada? support the show on patreon: http://patreon.com/49thParahell merch: https://www.teepublic.com/stores/official49thparahell?ref_id=12242

We could not be more thrilled to share this EXCLUSIVE content with our Troubled Tribe! On Belief is a Canadian based broadcast by Karen Geier that digs deep into the Cults all around us. We've been a fan of Karen's work for a while now as her journalistic contributions have been featured in The Guardian, Vice etc; but On Belief definitely merges our worlds. While the program is subscription based, you can binge away on the 17min freebies for each episode HERE: https://onbelief.fireside.fm/ OR you can join Karen's patreon and have full access to both seasons for $5/mo HERE: https://www.patreon.com/karengeier  However, since Karen and her OnBelief base are now allies of ours, she has given us full access to share OUR full episode with our Troubled Tribe, pretty cool huh?! Pretty please hop on the Twitters and give her some love for the gift of using her international platform to lift up our voices and support the cause. With allies like these, we WILL expose the Troubled Teen Industry and we should start drafting TTI's eulogy pronto.  We certainly hope that we represented our Survivor fam well, but as always, all feedback is appreciated.  Hit the socials and welcome/thank our new ally @onbeliefpod  --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/troubled/message

KAREN GEIER laces up her black-and-white Nikes for CHRISTMAS AT GRACELAND: HOME FOR THE HOLIDAYS (2019) and journeys to: An important announcement ... THEME ... Oprah intro ... Hallucinating your own death ... Cult podcasts and grief ... Hallmark, holidays and cult behavior ... Caganer update ... BREAK ... Cast rundown ... Plot in One Segment: Back from Europe, on a couch, taking every job ... Thin plot, montages, filler ... Disrupting HIPAA for for-profit hospitals ... Insane fundraiser and Graceland gala ... Yule logs, tree shopping and decorating ... More filler kid-montages and a last-minute quit ... Priscilla Presley ... BREAK ... Spot the Angel: Harper's sister, or just Harper ... Adrian Grenier's Oh No! hair ... Eat Your Heart Out: A yule football phone; a toilet seat of dessert; sandwich error; kitchen flour explosion; "We're baking!"; cutting ones ... BREAK ... The Hallmark Expanded Universe: Back to Grace Lint for horror-romance and former bandmates ... Remembering last year's movie ... Overdetermined: Negging into domesticity vs. The Kids Need Structure ... Crossover: Hallmark's Extra-Pregnant "Entourage" with murder vs. Ashley Judd and Morgan Freeman save Graceland vs. A Fugue of Doubtfires ... BREAK ... The Hallmark Bechdel Test: Yes! Plus a silent husband ... The Hallmark Voight-Kampff Test: HusboBot 2.0 vs. Priscilla hostage-haunting Graceland ... Great Moments in Moppetry: 4 ... AIR BUD DEFEATS PORKY'S ... Rating: 2 ... Realtor staging a murder house ... Fake snow residue, ill-placed wadding ... BREAK ... The Leftovers: Authentic Memphis International Airport Experience, with Minority ... Accept the job, change the job, hold the job hostage ... Absentee parents ... Color-rinsed exteriors ... McMansions nearly dwarfing Graceland ... Identical dead-mom photos ... Don't tinsel like Elvis ... Europe: The shopping is amazing! ... Corning's rotating glass wall ... Plugs! ... Misbehavin' ... Merry Christmas • MUSIC: "Fuck You If You Don't Like Christmas," from Crudbump, by Drew Fairweather • "Pope," by Prince • "Elvis and Bears," by The Red Elvises • All other music by Chris Collingwood of Look Park and Fountains of Wayne • Check out Karen's podcasts and other work here.

DAVID T. COLE fortifies himself for PUMPKIN PIE WARS (2016) and the rising: Dave Quotient ... IMDB savant, finite memory ... Non-romping splenda oatmeal ... Magnum, PI's "Paper War" ... BREAK ... Cast rundown ... The Expositional Challenge: May be written ... Karen Geier plug ... Pie breach origins, bakery bailouts ... Just get a chair ... The Hallmark version of intercourse ... Hallmark-level naughty ... Falling off a ladder ... Some braless work ... "Winning the bake-off will bring in the locals" ... Who are the baking mandarins? ... Six Months Later ... BREAK ... Spot the Angel: No angel food cake; a terrible version of The Good Place; no angels, but The Devil ... Eat Your Heart Out: Pumpkin out the yang; no food stylist on set; a reasonable menu; inaccurate pie baking time; Le Cordon Bleu in London; artificially ignorant kitchen wrecking; "I'll write the recipe"; Casey learns nothing; baking pumpkins ... BREAK ... The Hallmark Expanded Universe: Murder She Baked, and America's Pie Belt ... The (Pie) Body Farm ... Murder She Baked > Khal Drogo ... Crossover: Grace and Frankie prequel; Tampopo; eighth base; Hallmark's Hunger Games; Gordon Ramsay abuse; Nailed It ... BREAK ... Payola, Patreon and another ad bust ... Journalismism: Another fake Google; Lucky in Love; Wharton's classes on psychological warfare; press scrum for pie ... Hallmark Bechdel Test: Technically yes, buuuuut ... The Hallmark Voight-Kampff Test: Sam is a replicant; Rico Aragon at the table read; Amish Ghost; it won't happen a third time; every person watching a bake-off; rotisserie turkey ... BREAK ... Overdetermined: Chair solution; a boundless bake-off economy; being complementary ... Rating: The Juiciest Taco origin story, and a 2.75 ... BREAK ... The Leftovers: Existential pumpkins ... CSI handwriting sample ... Black Betty ... He has a boat ... Teenage sneaking around ... Just go talk to him ... Cocaine is supposed to be fun ... Wellness Living ... A knife too far ... Merry Christmas! ... • MUSIC: "Fuck You If You Don't Like Christmas," from Crudbump, by Drew Fairweather • "Hot 'n' Nasty," by Humble Pie • "Buttermilk Boy," by Humble Pie • "Apple Pie À La Mode," by Destiny's Child • "Be Sweet," by The Afghan Whigs • "Sucking on the Sweet Vine," by Humble Pie • "Six Gallon Pie," by The Meat Puppets • All other music by Chris Collingwood of Look Park and Fountains of Wayne, except: "Orchestral Sports Theme" by Chris Collingwood and Rick Murnane

HBO has imported Sky Atlantic's miniseries Catherine The Great -- starring seasoned queen portrayer Helen Mirren -- and first-time guest Karen Geier is Russian (sorry) to join us for a discussion all about it! Around The Dial takes us through Living With Yourself, Modern Love, The Politician, Buzz, Survivor, the latest in Ken Burns, and HBO's highly anticipated take on Watchmen! Karen presents the "Interlude" episode of The Righteous Gemstones for induction into The Canon. Then it's on to the week's Winner and Loser, and a non-regulation Game Time that's the mother you never had and the sister everybody would want...or that's just about guest stars playing characters' relatives on TV. Saddle up your sturdiest steed and join us! GUESTS

HBO has imported Sky Atlantic's miniseries Catherine The Great -- starring seasoned queen portrayer Helen Mirren -- and first-time guest Karen Geier is Russian (sorry) to join us for a discussion all about it! Around The Dial takes us through Living With Yourself, Modern Love, The Politician, Buzz, Survivor, the latest in Ken Burns, and HBO's highly anticipated take on Watchmen! Karen presents the "Interlude" episode of The Righteous Gemstones for induction into The Canon. Then it's on to the week's Winner and Loser, and a non-regulation Game Time that's the mother you never had and the sister everybody would want...or that's just about guest stars playing characters' relatives on TV. Saddle up your sturdiest steed and join us!SHOW TOPICSCatherine The GreatATD: Living With YourselfATD: Modern LoveATD: The PoliticianATD: SurvivorATD: Ken Burns's Country MusicATD: BuzzATD: WatchmenThe Canon: The Righteous Gemstones S01.E05: InterludeWinner and Loser of the WeekGame Time: It's All RelativeSHOW NOTESKaren Geier on TwitterThe On Belief podcastOn Belief on PatreonThe On Grief podcastOn Grief on PatreonKarenGeier.comMaureen Ryan's Modern Love review at NYTimes.comAgain With This podcastAgain With This on PatreonTickets for MASTAS LiveMASTAS on PatreonJames Poniewozik's Watchmen reviewPhoto: Hal Shinnie / HBODISCUSSIONTalk about this episode on its dedicated page on ExtraHotGreat.comSUPPORT EHG ON PATREONThe EHG gang have been recording this podcast for almost a decade now. In podcasting terms, that makes us positively Methuselahian. Since the start of EHG, our listeners have asked if we had a tip jar or donation system and we'd look at each other and say surely that is a joke, people don't pay other people to do podcasts. We'd email them back "Ha ha ha, good one, Chet" and go about our business. Now we are told this is a real thing that real nice people do. Value for value? In today's topsy turvy world? It's madness but that good kind of madness, like when you wake up a 3:15am and clean your house. Or something. In all seriousness, we are humbled by your continued prodding to get a Patreon page up for EHG and here it is! Extra Hot Great on Patreon See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

-The Sams take the day off for the Jewish New Year -Trump's Civil War tweet, and other recent stories from over the weekend -UNLOCKED FROM BEHIND THE PAYWALL: An interview with podcaster Karen Geier on Justin Trudeau’s love of costumes and the Prime Minister’s chances of remaining in power after Canadian federal elections Subscribe at Patreon.com/DistrictSentinel

Catherine Oxenberg candidly reveals details of her daughter's time spent in NXIVM and assisting the FBI in bringing down NXIVM cult leader Keith Raniere, who earlier this year was convicted on all counts after a jaw-dropping trial. In this episode, we discuss: Catherine's initial objection to ESP (the training that would become NXIVM) What the 'therapy' part of NXIVM's training looked like Why she eventually stopped taking classes What happened when Catherine realized India was in over her head How Catherine snapped into action to deliver a plan that would not only pull her daughter out, but would put Keith behind bars What Catherine learned for the first time watching the trial And more... Special Guest: Catherine Oxenberg.

Guest EJ Dickson, who covered the NXIVM trial for Rolling Stone joins me to discuss the details of the trial and a phenomenon known as cult hopping, which she was made aware of from some people who testified at the NXIVM trial. In this episode, we discuss: The lurid nature of the testimony Surprises revealed in court Whether key figures are still supportive of Keith Whether these verdicts are precedent-setting How people cult hop What makes a person cult hop And more... Special Guest: EJ Dickson.

Karen Geier (writer, On Belief podcast) proves to be a dream guest as she's blocked by a long-time nemesis of the podcast, Ed Krassenstein, who follows up blocking her with a weird series of emails that do nothing to dispel the Krassenbrothers' creepy vibe. The Blocked Boys also get their shots in on Candy Crush: The Game Show, Chuck Wendig's horrible tweet, video game documentaries, the U.S. Women's Soccer team, and we end the show with the most Canadian Top 3 yet. If you want to spend your Candy Crush money on something more worthwhile, why not head over to http://patreon.com/blockedparty and donate $5/month for some truly blessed content. We will reward your money with two bonus episodes a month and this month that means you currently get to hear all of our back catalogue PLUS our latest, some dreadful celebrity Cameos along with our friend Felix Biederman from Chapo. Later this month, our first-ever video bonus episode will arrive, as Stefan and John will make that tuna and peas pizza, and Stefan will eat it. All that, plus you get access to our top-secret and super awesome Discord channel. Just $5!

It's been yet another week of terrible, mind-numbing discourse, so three-time guest Karen Geier returns to the show to help me break down Portland's Ngo Go Zone, the Patriot Prayer rally, concrete milkshakes, right wing disinformation and much more. Support the show on Patreon: http://patreon.com/49thParahell

Subscribe at patreon.com/strugglesession On today's Struggle Session Karen Geier joins us to talk cults, the Wayfair walkout, and Louie CK's enduring disdain for humanity. Listen to Karen's new show here: http://onbelief.com Tune: plant cell - cyan

Writer, host of the On Belief podcast, and Contrarian, Karen Geier tries to convince the court that Twitter is good for society. Judge Gladstone presiding.

Large Group Awareness Training is on the rise. We live in a time when decreasing religious adherence, a growing need for order and rules in one's life and a sense of complete entitlement have combined to make the allure of LGATs nearly irresistible. I spoke with 3 ex members of Large Group Awareness training students about their experiences. They explained: Why anyone would tell a group of strangers about the worst day of their lives How meditation, team building exercises and attack therapy combine to make people feel invincible How these groups give students a sense of euphoria, then ask them to sign up for more courses What happens as you progress through the ranks at LGATs What the ultimate goal is for LGATs And more... Special Guests: Alan Smithee, Jane Doe, and Marty Flipman.

If you've ever wondered what Jews For Jesus or other groups in the Messianic Judaism extended universe actually believe. In this episode, we discuss: The origins of Messianic Judaism How Messianic Jewish groups recruit How Messianic Jewish groups appropriate Jewish symbols and give them a Christian spin What Messianic Jewish groups actually believe Is there harm to the Jewish community? And more... Special Guest: Rabbi Michael Skobac.

Content warning: Frank discussion of abuse and murder You may vaguely remember the Tokyo Subway Sarin attack, but that's not where the Aum Shinrikyo story begins or ends. Guest Sarah Hightower explains: How Shoko Asahara was an opportunist and bully from childhood How Asahara was a multiple time grifter before settling on creating a cult The day-to-day lives of adherents What Poa was Why a failed bid to intall Aum members in Japanese Parliament spurred Asahara to pursue chemical and biological weapons And more... Special Guest: Sarah Hightower.

Content Warning: Frank discussion of child abuse In this episode, Chris Johnston tells us: Who was Anne Hamilton-Byrne? How did she grow her cult out of a well-placed yoga studio? How Anne took advantage of countercultre symbols like mysticism and LSD and used them to target rich conservatives How Anne was able to grow her brood of children How The Family evaded police and the homeschooling authorities What happened to the children of The Family? And more... Buy Chris' book: https://www.amazon.com/Family-shocking-true-story-notorious/dp/1925321673 Special Guest: Chris Johnston.

**A change has been made to this episode. Two sentences not materially important to the content of the episode have been removed to comply with a nastygram from a law firm representing a particularly litigious group which, while not directly referenced in the episode, are related to the group previously mentioned in this episode. The group in question is in no way affiliated with NXIVM. We at On Belief would like to thank the intern at the law firm for their patronage in the $5 tier.** Brock Wilbur sits down to discuss how he became aware of Keith Raniere and NXIVM and what he has uncovered so far. Brock discusses what it's like to worry for years you might be sued into oblivion by a cult Brock describes some little-known facts about the inner workings of NXIVM Who is Keith Raniere? Who is Nancy Salzman? Which organizations were used as fronts for NXIVM? What does Keith Raniere's trial hold? Special Guests: Brock Wilbur and Rick Alan Ross.

In this week's bonus episode, Riley, Milo, and Hussein speak with writer Karen Geier (@karengeier) about Butt-mentum—the sudden ubiquity of Pete Buttigieg—as well as other topics to include the Extinction Rebellion protests and an *insane* denunciation of Heathrow Airport by a man writing for Conservative Woman. It's good, folks. If you want to access the full episode, get it on Patreon here: https://www.patreon.com/posts/26364575 Please vote for us at this year's British Podcast Awards, and make us the toast of the dumbest possible award show on the planet: https://www.britishpodcastawards.com/vote *LIVE SHOW ALERT* We’ll be performing once again at the Star of Kings in Kings Cross (126 York Way, Kings Cross, London N1 0AX) on Thursday, May 30 at 7:30 pm. Tickets are £10—get them here and return to the podcasting basement! https://www.tickettext.co.uk/trashfuture-podcast/trashfuture-live-30052019/ *COMEDY KLAXON*: Come to Milo’s regular comedy night on May 8 at The Sekforde (34 Sekforde Street London EC1R 0HA), This show also starts at 8 pm and features  Radu Isac and Phileo Huff. Tickets are £5—sign up here: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/smoke-comedy-featuring-radu-isac-and-phileo-huff-tickets-60314057971

We delve into the mechanics of cults: What are the specific warning signs of cults? How do you know if your yoga class is a front for a cult? What does cult recruitment look like now vs other points in history? Which groups are the greatest threat to the most people today? This week's episode is an interview with cult expert Rick Alan Ross of the Cult Education Institute. http://culteducation.com/ More in-depth notes and links for this episode are available at http://onbelief.com Special Guest: Rick Alan Ross.

The high profile dissapearance of 6 year old Madeleine McCann. The Podesta brothers. Pizzagate. How do these connect? Karen Geier takes over the podcast for our first Bonus Episode! Enjoy. Karen's twitter: twitter.com/karengeier Support the podcast and get premium episodes: patreon.com/qanonanonymous

We explore the psychology of QAnon, conspiracies, and cults — including a lengthy interview with writer and journalist Karen Geier who is currently studying cults & blood libel myths. We also experiment on Jake, only to find out we've been coddling his sanity and he's become dangerously well adjusted.

KAREN GEIER is back in our dang kitchen for 2018's CHRISTMAS AT GRACELAND and: No response from the Pootie ... THEME ... Outrage on Elvis's behalf ... Not getting "Elvis" ... Drug sponge with a badge ... Bad movie, hard to remember ... EPCOT shout-out ... Kellie Pickler at Waffle House ... Crushing-clunker line reads ... BREAK ... The Expositional Challenge: Reggaeton ... Plot cleanup: Best friend Sally and house for sale; Banking Dad; endless gifts; barbecue sauce; Clay as Mark Wahlberg in Fear ... Active hostility toward the south ... Multi-regional accents at Grace Lint ... Southern Received Pronunciation ... BREAK ... Every Time A Bell Rings A Second Unnecessary Modest Mouse Percussionist Gets His Wings: Quadruple-dipping on "Silent Night"; sangin' weeyith an ack seeint; stank on "Noel"; should be called No W; hardly any Elvis; Soccer Elvis; ADR and clunkers; here's your guitar or whatever; Kellie Pickler and gospel ... Spot the Angel: When the only angel is the plutocrat; the perfect Santa of capitalism; sharing work product and violating an NDA; has anyone been to a bank before? ... THEME ... Eat Your Heart Out: Taking Chicago and the South's food culture and not having any food at all; Hot Cocoa is married to Ice-T; nuclear-powdered ice-rink hot chocolate; Tree Man Syndrome; unreal rice-crispy squares ... The Hallmark Expanded Universe: LeeAnn Rimes in Memphis in Canada and Michigan and NY vs. A gritty prequel of an absentee dad ... Overdetermined: A fictional and featureless magical south; Seaman Beaumont shout-out; Elvis's horny ghost and kids at Graceland; Clay and Laurel find that coming home is around the corner; ditching your other best friend from 3rd grade; the black family in a Friday's bed-and-breakfast ... BREAK ... Crossover: Man vs. Fool's Gold Loaf ... Hallmark Bechdel Test: Women be workin' and single parentin', less regressive than expected ... The Leftovers: Christmas light night-light ... Going out at night on a travel day ... "Do all of these other people live at Graceland?" ... Memphis snowfall ... Disney's Americaland hotel room ... Boss reading Memphis area music programs ... There are flights to Chicago ... Flocking-ass Christmas trees ... Turning the lights on AFTER decorating the tree ... The correct German way of Christmas lights ... Gas-filled s'mores ... Leave the door open for wilding-out houseguests ... Great Moments in Moppetry: 1 ... Rating: 1.5 ... Plugs! ... Merry Christmas! ... • MUSIC: "Fuck You If You Don't Like Christmas," from Crudbump, by Drew Fairweather • "If U Want It," from Cyber-Vision, by Drew Fairweather • "Black Dog/Hound Dog" by Dread Zeppelin • "Elvis and Bears" by The Red Elvises • "Ballad of Elvis and Priscilla" by The Red Elvises • "Tubular Bells" by Mike Oldfield • All other music by Chris Collingwood of Look Park and Fountains of Wayne, except: "Orchestral Sports Theme" by Chris Collingwood and Rick Murnane

This week returning guest Karen Geier joins the show to talk about Doug Ford, the Conservative Party, Trudeau, the media bailout, the postal strike, the relation between the decline in labor unions and modern economic alienation, Gavin McInnes quitting the Proud Boys, Hillary Clinton's tone deaf comments on European immigration and much more. Support the show on Patreon: www.patreon.com/49thParahell

In episode 34, host Jared engages in robust debate with the founder of Millennial Capitalists of America and honors fallen poster Karen Geier. We talk about Juul rollbacks, Amazon HQ2, and the comeback of Vine as "Byte."Show Karen some love: twitter.com/karengeierDebate the MilCaps: twitter.com/milcaps_USAThe call-in voicemail inbox is (202) 630-0580Patreon: patreon.com/shtpostpodcast Get on the email list at shtpost.substack.com

KAREN GEIER is cookin' in our dang kitchen for 2018's CHRISTMAS JOY and: Rap game gingerbread ... Affected by Christmas on a German level ... Caganer: The Catalan pooping figurine ... I got a capon guy ... "Do y'all eat loons?" ... BREAK ... The Expositional Challenge ... Plot cleanup ... What's sexier than a widower? ... Ersatz America without flavor ... A sorority recruitment video, but for marriage ... Department store in a train station ... An absence of egregious lines ... Spot the Angel: The Primum Mobile Aunt; rainmaking department store owner; Ben, a welter of self-abnegation ... Omnipresent stalker material ... Eat Your Heart Out: Insane ingredient list, barrels of milk, La Mansione, non-functional log kitchen, "Dirty Cookies," unclear about the terms of the cookie crawl, thawing cookies in a snow-covered barn, amazing Kitchen Aid mixer guy, communal labor ... BREAK ... Hallmark Expanded Universe: The Rocky Mountains of Georgia, Cartwright's vs. Weatherton's, a Lacey Chabert joint ... Overdetermined: Insane quit at the embarrassing gala showdown; 99 percent of city life is insanely boring; we here in small towns live in small towns; still "hitched" to being in Crystal Falls ... Crossover: Joy as a Scandinavian homicide cop vs. an Unseen Anne Hathaway movie vs. the gritty reboot of CITY WIFE ... Christmas in hospitals is terrible ... Doing Christmas drugs ... Wife absorbed alive by house ... BREAK ... The Swagony of Defeat: The "Wonderfold" Christmas diorama; conspicuous iPhone/MacBook placements; Southern Living cover shot; Balsam Hill Christmas ornaments; crappy-ass mosaic ornament ... German motivational abuse ... BREAK ... The Leftovers: Insanely restrictive gingerbread competition ... Gettin' that d-ring binder ... Love letter to retail ... Prop master's mom photo ... WEAR A HAIRNET ... Mrs. Weatherton's paying for lies ... I love Gabrielle Rose, and one day we'll be together ... Cyber is the future ... "Love Actually" as the ultimate Hallmark movie ... Carolina Panthers Stadium in gingerbread ... RATING: 3, leaning higher ... MyDang.Kitchen ... Fight against recipes prefaced with personal stories ... Merry Christmas! ... • MUSIC: "Fuck You If You Don't Like Christmas," from Crudbump, by Drew Fairweather • "If U Want It," from Cyber-Vision, by Drew Fairweather • "Tit for Tat "Ain't No Taking Back" by James Brown • "Tears" by Giorgio Moroder • All other music by Chris Collingwood of Look Park and Fountains of Wayne, except: "Orchestral Sports Theme" by Chris Collingwood and Rick Murnane • CLICK HERE FOR STILLS WE DISCUSSED FROM THE MOVIE.

This week we pack up a case of Jack Daniels and head back to 1976 to have a look around and watch it's second highest-grossing movie A Star is Born with special guest Karen Geier!  We go over the tale of a cool but also awful bank robbery before wading into the boozy swamp of Streisand that is A Star is Born.

In Episode Five of 49th Parahell, I try in vain to comment on all the news stories that broke while I was on vacation. Then Karen Geier joins the show to talk about the very scary mass shooting in Toronto, the deranged conservative media response, conspiracy theories, poverty in Canada and more.

This week Meg is back pulling time levers to get us back to 1934 to have a look around and watch it's highest-grossing movie: Viva Villa! with special guest, writer and tweetist Karen Geier.  We go over the dirt stormy criminal shooty child exploiting nightmare of 1934, then ponder the layers of wrong and bad that make up Viva Villa!