Buckle up because we've got another exciting installment of Inside Pop- featuring the best of Film, Television and Music this week!
First up, we analyze the recently announced Oscar Nominations and discuss whether Oscar is still so white, how the love for La La Land will affect the Oscar telecast and the best way to predict who will win.
Then, we give you our Late Winter / Early Spring preview and share inside info on tons of shows including Twin Peaks, 24: Legacy, This Is Us, Fargo, Star Trek Discovery, The Good Fight and many more!
Plus, Amita reports on the experience of participating in the NYC Women's March and she and Sean rate Aziz Ansari's hosting skills on Saturday Night Live.
Finally, Amita rates Sean's Big Sell from last week, two new singles from St. Beauty - the duo who are reaching new heights on Janelle Monae's Wondaland record label.
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After a brief one week break, Inside Pop is back with a brand new episode! We have a comprehensive breakdown of the major awards nominations thus far leading up to the Oscar Noms that will be announced next week. We'll discuss the PGA, DGA and SAG nominees for Best Picture and Best Actor/Actress and give you our thoughts on how the awards race is shaking out thus far.
AND Amita is finally back home from her 2 week vacation in India! She's sharing all of the pop culture she experienced while overseas including a couple of shows she binge watched on her flights. Sean also shares his pop culture consumption over the last couple weeks and reveals how he really feels about the Sense 8 Christmas Special.
Plus, the Big Sell is back! Sean reviews and rates Amita's last Big Sell, the Alicia Keys music video for "Blended Family" and then shares his next Big Sell.
Twitter and Instagram @PopInsiders
Happy New Year! We're super excited to share our first episode of 2017! And what better way to kick off the year than with our annual pop culture resolutions. As always, we're striving to be the best pop culture consumers we can be.
We also take a moment to mourn the passing and celebrate the work of singer George Michael and hopefully turn you on to some of his greatest duets.
And before you fill out your Golden Globes office pool, make sure to listen to our 100% accurate predictions for Hollywood's drunkest night! Will Lion beat Moonlight? Will Deadpool upset La La Land? Will the Hollywood Foreign Press embrace Donald Glover's Atlanta? And will the best TV drama race come down to a fight between Strangers Things and Westworld? Listen for those answers and more!
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In this special year-end episode we take a look at our favorite moments from our favorite movies of 2016. And we're joined by film critic Dave Karger who not only shares his top 3 movie moments but also gives us a list of his favorite films of the year that fell under almost everyone's radar.
This is THE podcast episode to listen to if you're a) looking for recommendations of new films to check out b) want to revisit a film you loved and see it in a new light!
We have a diverse roster of films for our discussion including:
Those are the films - but you'll have to listen to see which moments gave us the feels, the chills, the laughter and the thrills.
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Make sure to check out our other year-end episodes:
We're back with another installment of our Best of the year episodes with our Essential Music of 2016 picks!
So why was this music Essential? These albums and songs acted as the soundtrack of our lives this year and brought us joy, helped us through pain, gave us life, empowered us and sometimes even made us cry. This is the music that fed our souls and we are thrilled to share it with you.
There's no question that artists we've loved for years, like A Tribe Called Quest, Beyoncé, Gwen Stefani, Sia and David Bowie continued to provide music that is as relevant and vital in 2016 as it was decades earlier. But our minds were also blown (and our hearts tugged) by a younger generation of music artists --- from Solange's honest and inspiring A Seat at the Table, to Frank Ocean's heady and heartfelt Endless and Blonde, to Blood Orange's introspective opus, Freetown Sounds.
We also shine a light on some of the great songs of the year including works by Kendrick Lamar, Bruno Mars, Rationale, Kamasi Washington, James Blake, One Republic and Miguel.
And this list would not be complete without Sean rejoicing one more time for the Hamilton original cast album.
Visit our site to read full show notes, to subscribe to our podcast and to listen to previous episodes at www.insidepoppodcast.com
We're excited to share the first installment of our annual BEST OF lists- our Top 10 Television Shows of 2016! If you need some new shows to binge watch over the winter, look no further! In this era of Peak TV we had a plethora of options to choose from and after much thought, we each put together our 10 favorite TV shows of the year.
A few of the series that made the cut- Queen Sugar, Luke Cage, Insecure, This Is Us and Atlanta- are some of the most critically acclaimed new shows of the year.
We also have a few established shows on our lists that continually deliver incredible drama week after week like How To Get Away With Murder, Game of Thrones and The Walking Dead.
Comedies and dramas, dragons and murderers, families and superheroes- there's something for everyone! Follow us on Twitter & Instagram @PopInsiders and let us know what you think of our picks and share your top TV shows of the year.
If you like this episode you may want to check out:
Our interview with Marvel's Luke Cage creator and EP, Cheo Hodari Coker, HERE: http://wp.me/p7Uq7E-8g
And for our full lists, bonus content and to subscribe to the podcast visit our official site at www.insidepoppodcast.com
We are very happy to finally share our next Producer to Producer interview with the creator and executive producer of Marvel's Luke Cage, Cheo Hodari Coker. The interview was conducted at the Producers Guild Produced By Conference in New York City on October 29th.
Whether you're a fan of Luke Cage or think that Misty Knight is a bad weather pattern - this is a MUST LISTEN. Cheo has been in the game for years and has worked on a variety of popular and critically acclaimed shows including - Southland, Almost Human and Ray Donovan.
He has imbued Luke Cage with a creativity and thoughtfulness that has resulted in a 'superhero' show that sits firmly within our current golden age of television. Tune into the show for the bullet proof Black man who can punch through walls but you'll also get an education on African American crime writers; a celebration of 90's Hip Hop; some of the most layered female characters on television; Mahershala Ali's star turn; a new definition of 'getting coffee'; an Alfre Woodard master class in how to play a conflicted (but not really conflicted) villain; a love letter to Harlem; Mike Colter owning the title role; and one of the most gorgeously shot shows you'll see all year.
Coker's eloquent and insightful conversation touches on:
Plus, there's nothing better than getting a pop culture suggestion from one of our great pop culture creators. Make sure you listen to the end of the episode to hear Cheo Hodari Coker Big Sell us three things he's loving.
If you're new to our podcast, visit our website where you can subscribe and listen to additional episodes. www.insidepoppodcast.com
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File this episode under "Life Goes On". Yes brothers and sisters, we're still coming to terms with last week's election, so we begin this week's show with a discussion of the pop culture we consumed over the past week as a means of escape, comfort and inspiration. We watched everything from Westworld to Moana; listened to Nina Simone and attended the Maxwell and Mary J. Blige show at MSG in an effort to soothe our hearts and minds.
Then, we discuss the album that was a tiny light amidst the gloom - A Tribe Called Quest's new release, We got it from Here... Thank You 4 Your service. We review the album, talk about Tribe's place in the Hip Hop canon, rate favorite tracks and celebrate their triumphant performance on Saturday Night Live. We also talk about highlights from what we think will go down as one of the most important episodes in SNL history thanks to Kate McKinnon's incredible cold open performance and Dave Chappelle's brilliant turn as host.
We also preview the highly anticipated Hamilton Mixtape, a collection of re-recordings of the songs from Lin-Manuel Miranda's hit musical, Hamilton. Sean is a Hamilton obsessive (remember the House of Hyperbole?) and Amita has yet to see the musical or listen to the cast album. Listen to hear their reviews from two very different perspectives.
We're also excited to bring you the first in our Producer to Producer series in which we interview a producer about their latest work. We launch the series with Joel Bach, co-creator of the Emmy Award-winning series, Years of Living Dangerously. The show explores the effects of climate change in the world through the eyes of high-profile celebrities. We find out how producers sent Arnold Schwarzenegger to the Middle East, Gisele Bundchen to the Amazon and also learn what YOU can do to join the battle to save our planet.
And we cap the show off with The Big Sell. Find out what Amita thinks of Sean's Valerie June Big Sell. And discover the new music video Amita has to share with Sean.
So...That happened.
But here at Inside Pop we're going to take Luke Cage's mentor, Pop's advice, and move "FORWARD!" And believe it or not, we do have something to celebrate. Inside Pop turns 1 year old this week and we honor this momentous event in the best way we know how - with a super sized episode filled with the week's top film, television & music.
First, we review new albums by Alicia Keys (Here) and Common (Black America Again) and discuss how these works are two more examples of how 2016 is turning into one of the greatest years for music with a message.
Next, Marvel proves themselves to be unstoppable with the release of Doctor Strange, another record breaking film in the MCU canon. But are the special effects and the great cast enough for us to recommend the film to you?
Then, we honor one year of Inside Pop by looking back at our very first episode and looking forward to our plans to take our podcast to the next level!
Plus - Sean tells you why The Exorcist is new Fall Television show you should definitely NOT be sleeping on!
And of course we conclude with the informative, inspiring, 'reach one teach one' segment - The Big Sell.
So - take a break from the reality of the election results and escape with us for an hour.
Links:
Download a free MP3 of "Seriously" here.
Watch the trailer for The Exorcist here.
We are witnessing history with this latest episode of Inside Pop! This is the last episode we'll release before our country elects a new president. In honor of this historic moment, we each countdown our top 3 favorite FICTIONAL pop culture presidents; from President Whitmore of Independence Day to President Palmer of 24 to President Shepherd of The American President and many more.
We also share our experience attending the Producers Guild of America's Produced By NY conference. The event was a who's who of producers in film, television and digital programming. We'll give you the inside scoop of on everything from what Chris Rock thinks of Donald Glover's Atlanta to our exclusive interview with the creator and showrunner of Marvel's Luke Cage, Cheo Hodari Coker.
We also take a moment to wrap up the biggest project Inside Pop has ever tackled - The Big Sell 30 Day Challenge! We discuss the highlights, shout out all of our collaborators and let you know where to go to find all of the Big Sells in one place.
And we return to our regular Big Sell format allowing Amita to sell Sean on a song he's never heard of, written by one of her favorite singer/songwriters and sung by one of his favorite vocalists.
All of that plus Sean performs one of the worst Morgan Freeman impressions ever recorded!
Pop Culture Presidential MOMENTS
Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me
Additional Links
Nathaniel Zablan of The Tone Podcast Writes About Ben Folds
Leslie Odom, Jr. Sings President Obama's imagined thoughts written by Sara Bareilles
Just two more days left for #BigSell30! Amita here with your penultimate Big Sell.
I had the opportunity to chat with Rachna Govani, food lover and co-founder of Foodstand to get a Big Sell from her. Foodstand is a free app to help you build good eating habits- which comes at the perfect time since we are entering the food focused holiday season. Between the celebration of Diwali, candy filled Halloween and the celebratory feasts of Thanksgiving, Kwanzaa, Hanukkah and Christmas, Americans are known to pack on the pounds over the next few months.
Foodstand is spearheading a movement to be more conscious about what you eat, how you eat and has created multiple challenges to help you achieve those goals.
I could honestly listen to Rachna talk about food for days because her passion for good food and creating a food community is so energizing. She's extremely smart and as I mentioned in our interview, Rachna is also a good friend and I couldn't be prouder of her. I also wasn't kidding about her being a rockstar in the food world- she recently attended SXSL- the South By South Lawn event at the White House and had the opportunity to speak with Russell Simmons about his efforts to create affordable healthy food for the community in Flint, MI. You can find out more about Russell's non-profit efforts here and read more about Rachna in this interview with her on Forbes.com.
As you will hear in our interview, I decided to Big Sell the Foodstand app to all of you and Rachna graciously gave us a Big Sell of another app- the free meditation app Insight Timer.
Enjoy our conversation and leave a comment below or tweet us @PopInsiders and let us know if you enjoyed this conversation or any of the other Big Sells from #BigSell30.
While you're scouring costume stores to find a David S. Pumpkins Halloween costume, get your pop culture fix in this week's episode!
We review Lady Gaga's new album, Joanne, with friend, DJ and devoted Lady Gaga fan, James Barker. We discuss the music, her slightly stripped down image, last weekend's SNL performance, and so much more! (Seriously, we couldn't stop talking about her and well...multiple tangents occurred).
Then, Sean tries to contain himself while describing the violent and tragic season premiere of The Walking Dead. SPOILER ALERT- he reveals details of what went down with hot but deadly Jeffrey Dean Morgan's Neegan and his deadly bat, Lucille.
Plus, we continue #BigSell30 with a special Big Sell from guest Matthew Billy, host of the music history podcast, Between the Liner Notes. It's an incredible account of an impromptu jam session with Pete Seeger of "Sailing Up, Sailing Down" that he had the privilege to witness.
All that and Amita's thoughts on the Mary J. Blige short-lived Crispy Chicken commercial- no spoiler necessary...you can probably guess her reaction.
Happy Saturday Pop Culture fans! Here's your daily dose of pop culture for #BigSell30.
We had such a great time talking to Alan Noah of The Test of Time podcast last week, so we brought him back to give us another Big Sell. This time, he suggested the Disney XD animated series, Star Wars Rebels. He also somehow snuck in a Big Sell for Star Wars Clone Wars in the middle of our conversation too!
At first I think Sean and I were a little hesitant on watching a "kids cartoon", but Alan took this assignment seriously and truly sold us on this!
Listen now to hear his description of the series and find out what made both of us gasp in excitement. Three words: James. Earl. Jones.
And definitely check out Alan's podcast- this week's episode dissects the John Hughes classic, Sixteen Candles.
Is Fall 2016 shaping up to be one of the greatest seasons for Pop Culture ever? Consider our latest episode that celebrates the ridiculous heights achieved in music, film and TV in just the past 7 days.
First up we discuss the independent feature, Moonlight which opens this week. This movie has filled Sean's soul and rocked his world so hard that it gets the full House of Hyperbole treatment. Find out why he thinks this film cannot be missed!
Then, we discuss the new single from the Queen of Hip Hop Soul, Mary J. Blige. Mary has sat on the throne for 2 decades but we think her new song, "Thick of It," is one of the most soul baring and emotionally gut wrenching songs she's ever recorded.
We also reveal the role Mary has played in our personal friendship and podcast partnership.
Plus, we talk about the new television drama on OWN, Queen Sugar. The show is halfway through its first season and continues to bring an impressive blend of melodrama, social realism and the most gorgeous cinematography on TV. All hail Oprah Winfrey and Ava DuVernay! Whether you're a huge fan or haven't had a chance to catch it, Amita shares a tip on the 'best' way to view past and upcoming episodes.
And #BigSell30 moves into the home stretch with a Big Sell from friends of the show Caroline and Tom Romita (and their new best friend, Alexa).
From the beginning of the #BigSell30, Jo and J, the hosts of the JoJCast, have been big supporters of our goal to experience one new piece of pop culture everyday throughout the month of October . Amita and I are super appreciative of all of the amazing big sell recommendations they've tweeted over the past couple of weeks. We've been big fans of their Screen Dump podcast since late last year so we are especially thrilled to have them join us for this Inside Pop Special International Edition!
JojCast's Big Sell is British music artist, Kate Tempest's new album, Let Them Eat Chaos. If you listen carefully to this podcast you'll hear Amita and I become increasingly intrigued by their description of this musician/poet we'd never heard before. Jo shares the fact that she has "...an emotional epiphany," every time she see's Tempest perform. I love (and quite often depend on) music that elicits deep emotional responses so I was ready to immediately check out this #BigSell! In addition to the new album, Jo and J also recommended Kate Tempest's appearance on NPR's Tiny Desk Concert series (link below). After watching the first song, "Ballad of a Hero," I was floored!
After listening to our conversation we think you'll also be inspired to check out Kate Tempest and listen to JoJCast (they're also podcasting about music now and I guarantee there are many other great recommendations from them ahead).
Listen to: Kate Tempest's new album: Let Them Eat Chaos
Watch her on: Tiny Desk Concert
Be sure to follow Inside Pop on Twitter and Instagram @PopInsiders and don’t forget to send us your Big Sells for #BigSell30
Hey everyone! Hope you're having a great weekend! If you're looking for a new TV show, podcast or song, the Big Sell 30 Day Challenge has you covered. We are challenging ourselves and encouraging you to experience one new piece of pop culture every day for 30 days.
Today's Big Sell is from a fellow podcaster and friend of ours, Alan Noah of The Test of Time Podcast.
Alan's Big Sell is the new FX series, Better Things starring frequent Louis C.K. creative collaborator and co-star, Pamela Adlon.
The semi-autobiographical comedy series stars Adlon and debuted a few weeks ago. So far it has been well received and FX has already ordered a 2nd season.
We had such a great time talking to Alan and definitely check out The Test of Time Podcast as well!
Be sure to follow Inside Pop on Twitter and Instagram @PopInsiders and don’t forget to send us your Big Sells for #BigSell30!
This week Inside Pop helps you deal with increasing demands of Peak TV. We review the new Fall TV shows we're sampling, the returning shows that are still solid and the programs that are either being saved on our DVR or on the cusp of being buried in the Pop Culture Graveyard. Some of the shows that make the list include: HBO's Insecure, Hulu's The Mindy Project and NBC's The Good Place & This is Us.
We also discuss the new single from Bruno Mars, "24K Magic" and analyze his Vegas party themed video. Plus, Amita's Big Sell features music from Atlanta star, Donald Glover, aka Childish Gambino.
The multi-talented creator, writer and director of the hit series also sings and raps and Amita handpicks three singles from his last album Kauai, "Palisades", "Sober" and "Pop Thieves" for #BigSell30. We also discuss his creative collective- Royalty, featured here in GQ Magazine as well as The Roots musical collective discussed here.
Listen. Share. Subscribe and follow us @Popinsiders on Twitter and Instagram. And don't forget to join us in the Big Sell 30 Day Challenge!
We're welcoming you back to the work week with a special #BigSell30 edition of Inside Pop. We're continuing our goal to experience one new piece of pop culture every day during the month of October with guests Wendell Britt and Nate Zablan, the hosts of The Tone Podcast.
Wendell and Nate's Big Sell is the singer/songwriter Ben Folds. And whether you've followed Ben Folds' career for decades or are only slightly acquainted with his music; after listening to this Big Sell you are guaranteed to have a greater appreciation for the musician. It's Everything You Wanted to Know About Ben Folds But Were Afraid to Ask!
We had such a great time talking to Nate and Wendell and hope you check out The Tone Podcast as well!
Be sure to follow Inside Pop on Twitter and Instagram @PopInsiders and don’t forget to send us your Big Sells for #BigSell30!
This week, we are reveling in the gifts of Black Excellence bestowed upon us by the pop culture Gods in film, television and music! We had the exclusive opportunity to watch visionary director Ava DuVernay's latest documentary, 13th, and discuss why we were so extremely moved by this powerful film.
Then, it’s hoodies up as we geek out over our immediate (and spoiler free) reaction to the premiere of Marvel's Luke Cage.
Plus, Solange drops her latest album, A Seat at the Table, and we immediately put it on repeat!
All that and Sean gives his first Big Sell in the #BigSell30 Day Challenge!
Follow us on Twitter and Instagram @PopInsiders and don't forget to send us your Big Sells for #BigSell30!
Visit our website InsidePopPodcast.com
It's Day One of the Big Sell 30 Day Challenge! #BigSell30 here we go! Thanks for joining us as we invite everyone to experience one new piece of pop culture every day for 30 days. If you're looking for suggestions this is the place to be!
Every day we'll have a Big Sell recommendation for you here on the site. Our first Big Sell comes from Matt McKee of The Long Distance Popcast. His Big Sell is the Netflix series Peaky Blinders starring Cillian Murphy, Sam Neill and Tom Hardy.
This show has been around for 3 seasons, but may have been overshadowed by higher profile Netflix series like Orange is the New Black, House of Cards, Stranger Things and Marvel's Luke Cage.
Listen to hear LDP co-host Matt McKee explain why this show is worth checking out!
And tomorrow on Day 2 - we will feature LDP co-host Claudia Castillo's Big Sell.
We're off and running! Remember to tweet YOUR Big Sell suggestions to us @PopInsiders and let us know how your #BigSell30 experience is going!
The Big Sell is getting even BIGGER! For the past 10 months we've 'Big Sold' each other every week - taking turns recommending something new in the world of pop culture for the other to check out. The result? We've each heard more music, seen more movies, read more short stories and experienced so much more great new pop culture than we'd ever experienced before. And our water cooler banter is so ON POINT!
And now we want YOU to get in on the act. We're inviting you to take part in the Big Sell 30 Day Challenge. Join us and commit to trying out one new piece of pop culture every day, for 30 days. A new song, TV episode, movie, poem, viral video, smart phone app - anything goes.
Listen to this special Inside Pop episode for all of the details. Beginning October 1st we'll tweet and post recommended Big Sells. And we want to hear from you! Tweet us using #BigSell30 and tell us what you've been trying out.
Throughout the month we'll have special episodes and special guests who'll share their Big Sells with all of us.
So join us for the Big Sell 30 Day Challenge and we guarantee at the end of the month you'll have whiter teeth, increased spiritual awareness and a firmer butt. And also - none of those things. But you will have the experience of feeding your pop culture obsession with great recommendations from fellow fanatics! #BigSell30
Earlier this summer we were inspired to record an episode that dealt with the question of why should we record a podcast about entertainment when the world seemed to be falling apart. We've decided to post this episode again in light of recent events.
Billie Holiday, Bob Dylan, Marvin Gaye, John Lennon, Patti Smith, Public Enemy, U2, KRS-One --- Pop culture has produced a long history of artists ready to answer the call to protest injustice, rail against ignorance and call out for understanding. But 2016 has produced so many horrors that, if you're anything like us, you may wonder whether podcasts - or pop culture in general, has any place in this new, darker world order.
Does it matter what an actor has to say about police brutality? What good does a benefit concert actually do? Can a song make any difference? These are some of the questions we attempt to answer in this special episode of Inside Pop.
We discuss the efforts of Beyoncé, Alicia Keys, Miguel, Jesse Williams, Jennifer Lopez, Lin-Manuel Miranda, and others to make sense of and affect positive change in this increasingly frightening world.