Best Generalknowledge Podcasts (2025)

1
242. 'Videodrome' (1983) 58:58

Play Pause

1h ago58:58

58:58

David Cronenberg's 'Videodrome' remains a shockingly prescient vision of the world we're living in now: technology overlords using computerized developments for their own nefarious means...except in the case of 1983 Toronto, personal enrichment isn't the end game: elimination of the freaks and geeks is. Featuring a tour-de-force performance from Ja…

1
241. Just Kids 58:18

10d ago58:18

58:18

I recently learned of the senseless death of a friend from elementary school—someone I hadn’t seen in over forty years. His name was Joe Kane. The news reached across all that time and unexpectedly unlocked a reservoir of childhood emotions I didn’t even know I was still carrying. Letting those feelings out left me feeling connected to Joe's spirit…

1
240. 'A Civil Action' (1998) 1:23:29

22d ago1:23:29

1:23:29

Here's the next episode in a little courtroom-drama jag I've been on; it's about the second of screenwriter Steven Zaillian's three directorial efforts, 'A Civil Action', from Zaillian's adaptation of the best-selling Jonathan Harr nonfiction book of the same name. Like 'The Rainmaker', 'A Civil Action' provides a large roster of fantastic actors o…

1
239. Dead & Company 60th Anniversary Shows, Golden Gate Park, San Francisco, CA 1:15:52

29d ago1:15:52

1:15:52

Dead & Company's 60th Anniversary three-show stand is an opportunity to talk about about the living history that the band's music represents, the ongoing and still-vital multi-generational pull of the concerts, which drew about 175,000 people, and the fascinating real-time challenge represented by sitting in with the band. Using Sturgill Simpson an…

1
238. John Grisham's The Rainmaker 1:17:02

1M ago1:17:02

1:17:02

In 1996, Francis Ford Coppola needed the money. He was coming off a run of films that included The Godfather Part III, Bram Stoker's Dracula, and Jack. His critical and box office results were at a career nadir. So he agreed to direct an adaptation of the John Grisham bestseller 'The Rainmaker' for Paramount. He wouldn't direct another film for 10 …

1
237. '2010 The Year We Make Contact' 50:34

2M ago50:34

50:34

Well, it's come to this. Was it curiosity? Was is discovery? A sense of completism? Oxygen deprivation? Whatever it was, I've now watched '2010: The Year We Make Contact' and I leave it for you to decide whether I'm any better for it.

1
236. '2001: A Space Odyssey', Part 4 57:48

2M ago57:48

57:48

We've come to the end...or is it the beginning? This is part 4 of my series of episodes about the emotional and intellectual contact Stanley Kubrick made between movie-goers and his epic science-fiction film of 1968. Here's the amazing mashup between Pink Floyd's 'Echoes' and the final sequence of 2001. Please sign up for my newsletter if you haven…

1
235. '2001: A Space Odyssey', Part 3 1:05:37

2M ago1:05:37

1:05:37

In Part 3, I geek out into how incredible and evocative the HAL sequences are in this film; what an amazing sense of character and personality Kubrick creates through the use of Doug Rain's iconic, best-in-class voiceover and the varying cutaways to HAL's electronic eye in scenes featuring the computer. Be sure to check out my other episodes coveri…

1
234. '2001: A Space Odyssey', Part 2 1:05:46

3M ago1:05:46

1:05:46

In part 2 of my four-part series on 2001, I am going through the TMA-1 (Tycho Magnetic Anomaly One) sequence in which Dr. Haywood Floyd of "The Council" visits the International Space Station, diverts some Russian scientist attentions, presents a specious, US Governmental coverup of the Clavius discovery to a group of cowed committee members, and t…

1
233. '2001: A Space Odyssey', Part 1 49:06

3M ago49:06

49:06

The first of my four-part series on Stanley Kubrick's '2001: A Space Odyssey' covers some introductory approach notes and the first sequence in the film: 'The Dawn Of Man'. In these episodes I want to avoid a nerdy technical discussion about how the filmmakers did what they did in this extraordinary, still-vital film masterpiece and instead focus o…

1
232. 'Texas Chainsaw Massacre' & 'Texas Chainsaw Massacre II' 49:06

3M ago49:06

49:06

I'd never seen Texas Chainsaw Massacre before this episode. I had also never seen Texas Chainsaw Massacre II. Regrets, I have a few. And this apparent chainsaw-sized hole in my film-going life is at the heart the Brad Caleb Kane Experiment In Terror that are our Cannon Fodder series of episodes. Find out what happened in this chaotic mess of an epi…

1
231. Cannon Fodder: '52 Pickup' (1986) 1:00:29

3M ago1:00:29

1:00:29

Cannon Fodder continues! John Frankenheimer finds himself directing for Cannon Films with Roy Scheider starring in Elmore Leonard's own adaptation of his 1974 novel 52 Pickup. Watch 52 Pickup on Prime before it leaves this weekend. Watch the excellent Cannon Films/Golan Globus unauthorized documentary Electric Boogaloo: The Wild, Untold Story of Ca…

1
230. Cannon Fodder: Charles Bronson in '10 to Midnight' (1983) 55:09

3M ago55:09

55:09

In this week's episode it's the debut of 'Cannon Fodder', a recurring series of episodes where I watch a curated selection of films made by schlockmeisters Golan/Globus in the 1980's for their Cannon Film Group, one of the most entertaining production shingles you'll ever hear or see. In Brad's view, he is a man of the people's cinema and I am a hi…

1
229. 'The Big Picture' (1989) 1:20:22

4M ago1:20:22

1:20:22

Long before 'Waiting For Guffman', Christopher Guest directed 'The Big Picture', a heartfelt, hilariously incisive movie about making movies. The film was greenlit during British film executive David Puttnam's brief tenure running Columbia Pictures. Co-written by Guest's 'Spinal Tap' co-star Michael McKean, who also turns in an unexpectedly warm an…

1
...is this thing on? 7:20

4M ago7:20

7:20

We're BACK, BABYYY! Let's Learn About... is returning at the end of May 2025, just with a few changes. I can't wait to crawl inside your ears again and teach you new things! 🧠 --- Send Us a Voice Note! Want to feature at the start of an episode? Please send us a voicenote with a fun fact you've learned, or something you found particularly interesti…

1
228. 'Sinners' 1:13:56

4M ago1:13:56

1:13:56

Ryan Coogler's original film 'Sinners' defied the so-called conventional wisdom of Hollywood and dropped only 6% week-to-week in its box office performance. It was also the subject of a fascinating online discourse about how the film's box office performance was written about in industry media. In this episode I recount the online controversy surro…

1
227. 'Caddyshack' (1980) 1:15:23

4M ago1:15:23

1:15:23

'Caddyshack', it turns out, is kind of a miracle of last-minute producer-led stitching together and salvaging, resulting in one of the more quotable films in comedy history. Hard to believe that at the time, Chevy Chase, Bill Murray, and Rodney Dangerfield were not yet the massive film stars they'd become as a result of this movie. This episode del…

1
226. 'A Minecraft Movie' 37:57

5M ago37:57

37:57

Why doesn't anyone believe me when I say I loved going to see this movie??By Meetinghousetv.com

1
225. Val Kilmer: I'm Your Huckleberry 1:31:54

5M ago1:31:54

1:31:54

An episode in memoriam of Val Kilmer, who died this week. Mentioned in this episode: 'Val', the excellent, moving, insightful, thoughtful documentary compiled from decades of Val Kilmer's home movies. 'Tombstone' is many people's favorite Kilmer film. 'Lost Soul: The Doomed Journey of Richard Stanley's The Island of Dr. Moreau' is a fantastic makin…

1
224. Don Simpson and the Hollywood Culture of Excess 1:12:19

5M ago1:12:19

1:12:19

Don Simpson was one-half of one of the most successful production partnerships in Hollywood history. His reality-distortion-field helped bring about films like Flashdance, Top Gun, Beverly Hills Cop, The Rock, Crimson Tide, and Days of Thunder, films that collectively grossed more than $3 billion dollars. Don Simpson's life is a cautionary tale wit…

1
223. 'Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy' (1979 BBC Series) 1:55:35

6M ago1:55:35

1:55:35

What does it say about your favorite podcast host that he considers the 1979 BBC adaptation of John le Carre's seminal espionage novel 'Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy' to be COMFORT VIEWING?? Nonetheless, as Smiley would say, there we are. In this episode, curiously one in which I am still totally unresolved as to how best to approach this series in …

1
222. Gene Hackman Appreciation Episode 1:58:08

6M ago1:58:08

1:58:08

Considering the versatile, endlessly watchable and iconic American actor Gene Hackman.By Meetinghousetv.com

1
221. Oscar Recap 2025! 45:26

6M ago45:26

45:26

HERE IT IS! Your most-anticipated episode of the year.By Meetinghousetv.com

1
220. OSCAR SPECIAL: Ranking The Best Picture Nominees w/ @vhsrevolution 1:22:56

6M ago1:22:56

1:22:56

I'm joined by David Schumann of the IG and YouTube accounts @vhsrevolution as we each offer up our Top Five out of the 10 Best Picture Nominees ahead of Sunday night's Academy Awards telecast. And yes, I will be doing my Postmortem Recap episode following the broadcast. Follow David on Instagram here. Check out David's YouTube Channel here.…

1
219. 'Slap Shot' (1977) 1:34:14

6M ago1:34:14

1:34:14

Here's the third of my episodic trilogy about George Roy Hill's films 'Butch Cassidy & The Sundance Kid', 'The Sting', and, now: 1977's 'Slap Shot'.By Meetinghousetv.com

1
218. 'Butch Cassidy & The Sundance Kid' (1969) 1:38:54

7M ago1:38:54

1:38:54

My deep dive into the films of Director George Roy Hill continues with the most iconic Western ever made: "Butch Cassidy & The Sundance Kid".By Meetinghouse Productions, Inc

1
217. 'The Sting' (1973) 1:41:14

7M ago1:41:14

1:41:14

George Roy Hill's 1973 masterpiece 'The Sting' (released December 1974) grossed in 1974 what would be over 900 million dollars today. It's a deceptively simple, stealthily subversive and counter-cultural film wrapped in the meticulous trappings of a 1930's Warner Bros gangster picture, and re-teaming Butch Cassidy & The Sundance Kid with that film'…

1
216. 'An American Werewolf In London' (1981) 1:42:06

7M ago1:42:06

1:42:06

In Hollywood, the story beats of werewolf movies were codified in 1941 by a German-Jewish emigrant to Hollywood via London named Curt Siodmak, who wrote the seminal film 'The Wolf Man', starring Lon Chaney, Jr. 40 years later, John Landis made the most important and enduring and influential werewolf film ever made in 'An American Werewolf in London…

1
215. 'No Country For Old Men' (2007) 1:47:18

8M ago1:47:18

1:47:18

Sparse. Laconic. Expansive. Languid. Wry. The Coen Brother's 2007 Neo-Noir Western 'No Country For Old Men' moves to the fatefully ticking beat of it's own Grandfather Clock. It's a film that rewards close viewing and is astoundingly faithful to Cormac McCarthy's novel while also being so completely a "Coen Brothers film" even as it's their (only?)…

1
214. 'Liquid Sky' (1983) 58:24

8M ago58:24

58:24

'Liquid Sky' was a $500,000 largely experimental film by the Russian expat director Slava Tsukerman that sprung from a group of friends and colleagues surrounding School of Visual Arts acting teacher Bob Brady. What's it about? Heroin, Cocaine, Aliens, Art, Fashion, Dancing, Nightclubs, Science, Sex, Lesbian Knife Fights, Androgyny, Shrimp, Berlin.…

1
213. 'Raising Arizona' (1987) 1:17:29

9M ago1:17:29

1:17:29

'Raising Arizona' was the 2nd film written and directed by The Coen Brothers, and it's one of my most foundational movies; a movie that spoke to who I was at 18, when I first saw it in 1987 and continues to be one of my favorites today. In this episode I revisit the film, tell some anecdotes about the making-of, and revel in the wonderful, nuanced …

1
212. 'Casino' (1995) 1:29:01

9M ago1:29:01

1:29:01

Our episodic roll of the Scorceseverse dice comes up a winner here with a look at 'Casino', Marty's unofficial "sequel" to 'Goodfellas' and a treatise on the inevitable end of mob controlled Vegas casinos. If you're interested in how we got here, check out my episodes about Goodfellas and 'Mean Streets': Goodfellas Part 1 Goodfellas Part 2 Goodfell…

1
211. 'Mean Streets' (1973) 1:49:08

9M ago1:49:08

1:49:08

The Full Cast and Crew MartyVerse run continues with the first of Scorcese's unofficial trilogy of gangster films, 'Mean Streets'. In this episode: Marty's Little Italy, Family, High School, NYU, Los Angeles, and early directorial experiences and how they influence and inspired 'Mean Streets'. How 'Mean Streets' was very nearly a blaxploitation fil…

1
210. 'Goodfellas' Part 4: All of DeNiro's Scenes 1:52:08

9M ago1:52:08

1:52:08

OK, so I wasn't quite done with Goodfellas, try as I did...one more bridge episode here before we get into 'Mean Streets' and 'Raging Bull'... In this episode, we consider Marty's Oscar frenemyship, DeNiro's screen qualities, his most famous and best onscreen performances, and, finally...FINALLY...all of his scenes from "Goodfellas" considered from…

1
209. 'Goodfellas' Part 3 1:30:37

10M ago1:30:37

1:30:37

In part 3 of my three-episode take on Martin Scorcese and Nicholas Pileggi's masterpiece 'Goodfellas', we pick the film up just after the halfway point, which is Tommy's killing of Spider. Test audiences and studio executives were completely discombobulated by the loss they felt of the breezy, funny, enjoyable glamorization of the gangster life tha…

1
208. 'Goodfellas' Part 2 1:54:15

10M ago1:54:15

1:54:15

In Part 2 of my 3-part exploration of the brilliance, humor, and bravura filmmaking of Marty Scorcese's 'Goodfellas', I talk about iconic scenes from the film's first half, including: The Bamboo Lounge Crew Introduction scene with Pete The Killer, Freddie No-Nose, and Jimmy Two Times. The Jimmy/Henry "I'm a clown" scene. The Copa Entrance scene. Th…

1
207. 'Goodfellas' Part 1 1:07:27

10M ago1:07:27

1:07:27

This is the first of at least 2 episodes about Martin Scorcese's 1990 masterpiece 'Goodfellas'. Let's be honest: it'll probably take three episodes to cover all the genius onscreen in this epitome of the perfect film. In this episode, I explore the film's roots in Nick Pileggi's classic non-fiction book 'Wiseguy', and the early involvement of vital…

1
206. Teri Garr 31:26

10M ago31:26

31:26

RIP Teri Garr. Star Trek https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WfAP6fJZ1is After Hours https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZPMDA9N1itk Tootsie https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vp3nln2xans https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c0pUtIIwGHo Michael https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0y6NM7Ax9hk Mr. Mom https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OvQctA3xsoE Young Frankenstein https:…

1
205. Watch-Along: 'Once Upon A Time In Hollywood' 2:38:35

11M ago2:38:35

2:38:35

I'm traveling for work this week so in lieu of a typical episode I'm taking a wild flyer on something new; maybe it'll work maybe it won't! It's a watch-along episode. It's like sitting next to me at a screening of 'Once Upon A Time In Hollywood' and me talking all the through the movie with salient interjections like "Oh I love this part" and "How…

1
204. 'American Psycho' (2000) 1:51:58

11M ago1:51:58

1:51:58

Director Mary Herron and her co-screenwriter Guinevere Turner did what 'American Psycho' author Bret Easton Ellis thought was impossible: made a film of his controversial, considered-unfilmable 1991. novel. And the lens through which they espied Patrick Bateman proved exactly the right way to gain something meaningful out of what, frankly, is a pre…

1
203. 'Hackers' (1995) 1:00:57

11M ago1:00:57

1:00:57

Brains addled after 'Megalopolis', I attempted and then discarded the idea to do 'Blazing Saddles' but was left wanting. So then, in a way I don't fully understand, but probably having to do with the idea of films that are said to be 'so bad they're good', I somehow arrived at the idea of doing Iain Softley's 1995 film 'Hackers' starring Angelina J…

1
202. 'Megalopolis' (2024) 56:36

11M ago56:36

56:36

I went and saw Francis Ford Coppola's 'Megalopolis' so you don't have to. You're welcome.By Meetinghousetv.com

1
201. 'Clean and Sober' (1988) With Very Special Guest Kathy Baker 1:47:59

12M ago1:47:59

1:47:59

Actor Kathy Baker joins the podcast this week for a very special episode about her 1988 film 'Clean and Sober'. Director Glenn Gordon Caron probably needed a stiff drink or 20 after coming off the tumultuous four-season run of 'Moonlighting' with its famously fractious co-stars. Instead he chose to direct one of the most underappreciated film gems …

1
200. 'You're Not Elected, Charlie Brown' (1972) 1:05:42

12M ago1:05:42

1:05:42

After two episodes about 'The Shining' and a couple weeks wondering what to do for Episode 200 of the podcast....events at the Presidential Debate pointed me in the direction of 'Peanuts' and the relatively terror-free childhood presented specifically in the 1972 Election special 'You're Not Elected, Charlie Brown'. In this Special, Charlie Brown n…

1
199. 'The Shining', Part II 1:12:44

1y ago1:12:44

1:12:44

In Episode 197, I covered much of the backstory and making-of history behind 'The Shining'. In this episode, I cover many of the scenes in the film that I didn't get to in Part 1, along with other commentary and observations about the film, Kubrick, 'Doctor Sleep', and 'Room 237'. Come and play with us, for ever...and ever...and ever.…

1
198. 'The Shining', Part 1 1:53:52

1y ago1:53:52

1:53:52

I went from not really ever wanting to watch 'The Shining' again...to now doing my first-ever two-part episode! Funny how often the answer to 'why did that film affect me so much as a child?' turns out to be 'DUH!'. Part 1 covers the origin story of the film, some of the King/Kubrick interplay over the years, the casting, the sound design, the musi…

1
197. 'Risky Business' (1983) 1:50:56

1y ago1:50:56

1:50:56

Paul Brickman's 'Risky Business' is one of the greatest films of the 80's and is so much more than the "teen sex comedy" many people thought they were getting at the time. Frame by frame, it's really a masterpiece with so many aspects and elements of brilliance. The score by Tangerine Dream, Tom Cruise at NINETEEN, Rebecca De Mornay, the genius edi…

1
196. 'Summer Rental' (1985) 47:31

1y ago47:31

47:31

Little-seen but worthy, the 1985 John Candy comedy 'Summer Rental' is due for a little revisit and respect! On the news of a forthcoming and hopefully definitive John Candy documentary directed by Colin Hanks and produced by Ryan Reynolds, I stumbled across this film (which I'd never even heard of) and found myself gleefully experiencing an expertl…

1
195: US Blues 18:03

1y ago18:03

18:03

I gave up drinking. I gave up drugs. I don't smoke. BUT I CAN'T QUIT DEAD & COMPANY! And I hope I never do! With the wife and daughter overseas on a girl's trip, I went back to Vegas for Week Seven of the Dead and Company shows over the 4th of July Weekend at the Sphere Las Vegas. This short (18 minutes) episode is not an inside-Dead show rundown, …