Best Rob Macfarlane Podcasts (2025)

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Groundhog Day (1993): Time Loops, Second Chances & Secret Witches 55:00

Play Pause

3d ago55:00

55:00

This week, Ben and Rob get stuck on Groundhog Day (1993), Harold Ramis’s timeless classic starring Bill Murray, Andie MacDowell, and Chris Elliott. What started as a quirky rom-com has become one of the most beloved and philosophically rich films ever made; the blueprint for every time-loop story that followed. How did Groundhog Day even come to be…

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Diana Arterian : Agrippina the Younger & Smoke Drifts 2:12:56

7d ago2:12:56

2:12:56

As an artist, how does one dive into the wreck of an archive, a canon, a shared collective memory, a history—one filled with silenced voices, distorted accounts, erasures and elisions—on behalf of those wronged by it? Poet Dionne Brand says “the salvage is the life which exceeds the wreck” and Diana Arterian’s work seems animated by this work of sa…

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Caught Stealing (2025): Nostalgia, Regret & Austin Butler at the Crossroads 1:08:56

10d ago1:08:56

1:08:56

This week, Ben and Rob get Caught Stealing (2025), Darren Aronofsky’s crime thriller comedy that feels like a lost ’90s gem dusted off for the modern screen. Starring Austin Butler, Zoë Kravitz, and Matt Smith, Caught Stealing reintroduces us to exaggerated neon-light New York, hustle, danger, and characters who carry regret like a heavy coat. Why …

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Conor Arnold on the Blackwater investigation and Oireachtas hearing 39:38

16d ago39:38

39:38

By Ireland on the Fly

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Anaconda (1997): Snakes, Sweat & Surprising Subtext in the Jungle 58:25

19d ago58:25

58:25

This week, Ben and Rob slither into Anaconda (1997), the gloriously over-the-top creature feature starring Jennifer Lopez, Ice Cube, Jon Voight, Eric Stoltz, and Owen Wilson. What should’ve been a throwaway B-movie about a giant snake somehow became one of the most iconic (and endlessly rewatchable) jungle horrors of the ’90s. Why does Anaconda wor…

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Olga Ravn : The Wax Child 2:16:42

26d ago2:16:42

2:16:42

Set during the 17th century witch trials in Denmark, and relayed to us through the voice of a magically animated wax child of one of the accused, Olga Ravn’s new book, which creates something uncannily other from primary sources, has been heralded as a “devilishly subversive feminist anthem” and speaks as much to the present moment as it does to th…

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Knives Out (2019): How Rian Johnson Lied To Us (And Why We Loved It) 55:10

26d ago55:10

55:10

This week, Ben and Rob sink their teeth into Knives Out (2019), Rian Johnson’s razor-sharp murder mystery starring Daniel Craig, Chris Evans, Ana de Armas, Jamie Lee Curtis, Michael Shannon, Don Johnson, and Toni Collette. A modern riff on Agatha Christie, Knives Out blends old-school detective tropes with wickedly funny satire and a cast firing on…

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Brown trout fishing on the Boyne 50:02

25d ago50:02

50:02

As we head into the final days for most of you for the game fishing season, this week we find out about the Boyne fishery, and the superb brown trout fishing to be had on the Trim Athboy Angling Club waters. Tommy Keogan is a stalwart of the club and he talks to us about how the club manages its eight miles of waters, as well his love of fishing th…

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Presenting Hysterical’s Dan Taberski on Origin Stories

1M ago

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Sharing a new podcast from Campside Media called Origin Stories, about the creative process and the craft of writing and reporting. Each episode drills down on a single work. What inspired it? How was it created, and why? What kind of challenges and hurdles cropped up along the way? And above all, what can the rest of us learn from the guest’s crea…

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The Fanatic (2019): Fred Durst, John Travolta & The Cult Classic You Didn’t Ask For 1:02:45

1M ago1:02:45

1:02:45

This week, Ben and Rob slam right into The Fanatic (2019), the bizarre thriller directed by Limp Bizkit frontman Fred Durst and starring John Travolta and Devon Sawa. It’s a fever dream of celebrity obsession, questionable choices, and Nu-Metal energy that has us all asking: why was this film even made? What on earth were Travolta and Sawa thinking…

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Troll 2 (1990): Goblins, Growth & The Worst Movie Ever Made 56:52

1M ago56:52

56:52

This week, Ben and Rob chew their way through Troll 2 (1990), the infamous “worst movie of all time” that somehow became one of the great cult classics. Directed by Claudio Fragasso and billed as Italian horror, Troll 2 is a feast of wooden acting, baffling dialogue, and vegetarian goblins that has been confusing and delighting audiences for decade…

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Cork’s Kevin McLoughlin on the good old days of salmon fishing 39:30

2M ago39:30

39:30

Kevin McLoughlin is a lifelong angler from Cork who joins us on this week’s Ireland on the Fly to talk about the good old days for salmon when the spring run was something to behold. Kevin talks about moving to Cobh, working in the fishing industry and even spending a year on the newly formed fisheries board in 1979. He has seen it all in Irish fis…

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Rickey Laurentiis : Death of the First Idea 1:59:56

2M ago1:59:56

1:59:56

Ten years in the making, poet Rickey Laurentiis joins us to talk about her much-anticipated remarkable new collection Death of the First Idea. “In the past decade, as Laurentiis has transitioned, her ideas of the lyric and poetry have transformed, as has the America in which she lives,” says the back copy on this book, whose poetry fittingly resist…

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The Toxic Avenger (1984): How Cult Cinema Took Over The World 57:04

2M ago57:04

57:04

Ben and Rob dive into The Toxic Avenger (1984), the gloriously trashy horror-comedy that turned an ordinary nerdy janitor into a mop-wielding mutant hero. Created by Lloyd Kaufman and Michael Herz, The Toxic Avenger is the ultimate mix of DIY guts, anarchic satire, and midnight-movie magic; the kind of cult classic that’s still shocking and oddly s…

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Event Horizon (1997): Gothic Sci-Fi Space-Hell Never Felt So Good 1:00:44

2M ago1:00:44

1:00:44

Ben and Rob board the Event Horizon this week, diving into Paul W.S. Anderson’s genre-bending science fiction horror that flopped hard at the box office; only to rise like a cosmic demon into cult classic territory. Featuring powerhouse performances from Laurence Fishburne and Sam Neill, Event Horizon remixes haunted‑house tropes, cosmic dread, and…

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Richard Gorodecky, Throwing Feathers in the Wind 59:33

2M ago59:33

59:33

Throwing Feathers in the Wind is a new book out by Richard Gorodecky, a fly angler who moved full time to Ireland five years ago to be closer to the river fishing that he loves so much. Richard was a long-time visitor to these shores fishing all over the country before settling in south Munster but his obsession with fly fishing has also seen him f…

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Together (2025): Why We Couldn't Tear Our Eyes Off The Screen 1:02:03

2M ago1:02:03

1:02:03

This week, Ben and Rob dive into Together (2025), a tangled, self-aware horror-drama that asks big questions about love, identity, and whether two people can ever really exist as individuals or if they’re doomed to dissolve into one another. It’s part relationship study, part metatextual puzzle, and part… something else entirely. Is Together a sens…

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Laynie Browne : Apprentice to a Breathing Hand 1:49:46

2M ago1:49:46

1:49:46

What does it mean to write toward or under the aura of another poet one admires, to write in homage, as a celebration of another? What happens to language when it hovers between two writers, between how they each separately inhabit it? What does it say about the self, or is discovered about it—within the poem and in the world at large—when that sel…

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War Of The Worlds (2025): It's So Much Worse Than You Think 1:02:54

2M ago1:02:54

1:02:54

This week, Ben and Rob suffer through War of the Worlds (2025), a baffling “screen life” style disaster starring Ice Cube and directed by Rich Lee. It’s a modern retelling of the classic H.G. Wells War Of The Worlds; except instead of tension, thrills, or coherence, we get glitchy video calls, insane leaps of logic, and a lead performance that sugg…

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Grilse run update - from the bad to the sublime 54:01

2M ago54:01

54:01

We’re at the tail end of the grilse run now and with the summer conditions we’ve had, coming off the back of a poor spring run, we’ve been desperately looking for some good news on the salmon front. And we found it – or sort of – because this week Johnny Casey and Yamil Turcuman two passionate salmon anglers who we’ve spoken to before – join us to …

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Black Bear (2020): Aubrey Plaza And The Chambe(a)r of Secrets 59:55

3M ago59:55

59:55

Ben and Rob head deep into the woods with Black Bear (2020), Lawrence Michael Levine’s tense, layered meta-drama starring Aubrey Plaza, Christopher Abbott, and Sarah Gadon. It’s part relationship breakdown, part filmmaking fever dream and maybe part psychological horror told in a way that proves three might actually be the magic number. What does t…

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Sprats, overfishing, heatwaves & ecosystems in danger of collapse 55:46

3M ago55:46

55:46

You may have seen the recent campaign and news stories about the disappearance of sprat from our coastal waters and the government’s unwillingness to do enough to protect our marine habitats – but what has it got to do with you if you're an angler and only interested in freshwater? Well in the current environmental climate, pretty much everything, …

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Martha Anne Toll : Duet for One 1:54:02

3M ago1:54:02

1:54:02

Today’s guest is writer and critic Martha Anne Toll. Through a discussion of her latest novel Duet for One we explore the perennial mystery of writing and art-making, namely how to render something that lives beyond representation, and how words can become a vehicle to evoke what words themselves cannot adequately describe. In this case, we look at…

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Warfare (2025): This Is Not A War Film, Let Us Tell You Why 57:28

3M ago57:28

57:28

Ben and Rob lock and load for Warfare (2025), the haunting, hyper-realistic war film co-directed by Alex Garland and former Navy SEAL Ray Mendoza. Known for cerebral sci-fi like Ex Machina and Annihilation, Alex Garland shifts gears into combat territory—while quietly stepping back to share authorship in a way that feels as radical as the film itse…

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Titane (2021): What Is This Insane Movie Actually About?! 58:39

3M ago58:39

58:39

Ben and Rob strap in for Titane (2021), the brutal, brilliant body horror from writer-director Julia Ducournau. Following her breakout debut Raw, Ducournau returns with Titane, a genre-defying mix of horror, surrealism, and melodrama that left one host completely wrecked—in the best way, the other in the worst. Is Titane about love, loneliness, or …

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The Last Salmon: Rob Macfarlane & why rivers are alive and should have rights 49:15

3M ago49:15

49:15

Is a river alive? What a question….it throws up so many if, buts, maybes, but most importantly, why not? They are our lifeblood, our circulation, our healing waters. But they also need saving now in these troubled times of extraction, industrialisation and pollution. To kick off Season 2, we’re taking the big picture view when it comes to rivers, a…

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Civil War (2024): What Does The Most Timely Film Alex Garland Has Ever Made Really Mean? 1:01:34

3M ago1:01:34

1:01:34

Ben and Rob head to the frontlines with Alex Garland’s Civil War (2024), the film that he intended to be his last in the directors chair. Starring Kirsten Dunst, Wagner Moura, Cailee Spaeny, and Nick Offerman, Civil War isn’t your typical dystopian epic. Instead, Alex Garland delivers a chilling, ground-level road movie where journalists race throu…

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The Last Salmon: Season 2 Launching July 25th 1:13

3M ago1:13

1:13

Wild salmon are in a perilous state. But we can’t and won’t give up.The Last Salmon with Jim Murray is back for another season, launching July 25th, addressing the problems and hearing from all sides of the argument, to find the solutions to help save our wild salmon.It’s not too late, the salmon haven’t give up, and nor can we. The Last Salmon, pr…

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Rob Macaisa Colgate : Hardly Creatures & My Love is Water 2:32:30

3M ago2:32:30

2:32:30

Today’s conversation with Rob Macaisa Colgate is about two books, his poetry collection Hardly Creatures and his verse drama My Love is Water. You could say these two books are approaching the same questions, but from opposite, if complementary vantage points. Questions of care and disability, of accessibility and community, of Filipino-American id…

Rob Macfarlane Podcasts

1
The Every Movie Ever! Podcast

Ben Groves & Rob Macfarlane

1
Ireland on the Fly

LastCast Media

1
Between The Covers : Conversations with Writers in Fiction, Nonfiction & Poetry

David Naimon, Tin House Books

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Channel Marketing Podcast from Averetek

Averetek, Inc.

1
Groundhog Day (1993): Time Loops, Second Chances & Secret Witches 55:00

1
Diana Arterian : Agrippina the Younger & Smoke Drifts 2:12:56

1
Caught Stealing (2025): Nostalgia, Regret & Austin Butler at the Crossroads 1:08:56

1
Conor Arnold on the Blackwater investigation and Oireachtas hearing 39:38

1
Anaconda (1997): Snakes, Sweat & Surprising Subtext in the Jungle 58:25

1
Olga Ravn : The Wax Child 2:16:42

1
Knives Out (2019): How Rian Johnson Lied To Us (And Why We Loved It) 55:10

1
Brown trout fishing on the Boyne 50:02

1
Presenting Hysterical’s Dan Taberski on Origin Stories

1
The Fanatic (2019): Fred Durst, John Travolta & The Cult Classic You Didn’t Ask For 1:02:45

1
Troll 2 (1990): Goblins, Growth & The Worst Movie Ever Made 56:52

1
Cork’s Kevin McLoughlin on the good old days of salmon fishing 39:30

1
Rickey Laurentiis : Death of the First Idea 1:59:56

1
The Toxic Avenger (1984): How Cult Cinema Took Over The World 57:04

1
Event Horizon (1997): Gothic Sci-Fi Space-Hell Never Felt So Good 1:00:44

1
Richard Gorodecky, Throwing Feathers in the Wind 59:33

1
Together (2025): Why We Couldn't Tear Our Eyes Off The Screen 1:02:03

1
Laynie Browne : Apprentice to a Breathing Hand 1:49:46

1
War Of The Worlds (2025): It's So Much Worse Than You Think 1:02:54

1
Grilse run update - from the bad to the sublime 54:01

1
Black Bear (2020): Aubrey Plaza And The Chambe(a)r of Secrets 59:55

1
Sprats, overfishing, heatwaves & ecosystems in danger of collapse 55:46

1
Martha Anne Toll : Duet for One 1:54:02

1
Warfare (2025): This Is Not A War Film, Let Us Tell You Why 57:28

1
Titane (2021): What Is This Insane Movie Actually About?! 58:39

1
The Last Salmon: Rob Macfarlane & why rivers are alive and should have rights 49:15

1
Civil War (2024): What Does The Most Timely Film Alex Garland Has Ever Made Really Mean? 1:01:34

1
The Last Salmon: Season 2 Launching July 25th 1:13

1
Rob Macaisa Colgate : Hardly Creatures & My Love is Water 2:32:30