Best Joey Lewandowski Podcasts (2025)

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Hobbs & Shaw (Lap 15) 1:06:09

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7d ago1:06:09

1:06:09

We’re returning to the Fastiverse’s side story, Hobbs & Shaw, and we’re bringing Ross Benes (1999: The Year Low Culture Conquered America and Kickstarted Our Bizarre Times) along to talk about it! We ask how he defines “low culture” in his book, then ask the hard-hitting question: is Fast and Furious low culture? Ross shares his abbreviated history…

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The Trouble with Girls (1969) 1:02:49

7d ago1:02:49

1:02:49

It's time for The Trouble with Girls: a good title that does not describe its action at all and, sadly, Elvis's penultimate film. After getting some more advice about what to cover next, we run through the film's wild cast and lament how almost none of the many high profile actors spend any time interacting with one another. We also talk through th…

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omensetter's luck by william gass 40:10

12d ago40:10

40:10

our ohio module keeps on truckin’ with both a pop quiz about the state and a discussion of omensetter’s luck by william gass. we talk about the difficulty in reading the novel (and how the first two sections sort of fake you out a bit), what william gass is “doing” in this text, and why regional writing tends to be set back in time. shreds explains…

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Three-Time Undisputed Optimistic Theatrical Experience Champion | Life in the Fast Lane #50 1:28:04

14d ago1:28:04

1:28:04

It’s time for another Life in the Fast Lane, featuring the Three-Time Undisputed Optimistic Theatrical Experience Champion! After a very uneventful Tokyo Drift minute, we work our way through lots of news, which is mostly tangential to the franchise, including: some cool YouTube videos, upcoming movies starring the Family, and a weird takedown by C…

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Fastivus Special 2025 15:59

23d ago15:59

15:59

Happy Fastivus! For the third year in a row, we celebrate the date that marks the release of the original The Fast and the Furious. Shoutout to Reaction Rocket for creating the holiday -- and for getting retweeted by Ludacris! After quick recapping the rules for the Fast and Furious Hall of Fame ballot and voting process, we recap the enshrined ind…

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the bluest eye by toni morrison 48:05

26d ago48:05

48:05

our ohio module kicks off with a known quantity: the undeniably great debut novel from toni morrison, the bluest eye. after briefly reflecting on the states so far, we talk about famous people from ohio as well as whether the bluest eye feels specific to ohio. we talk about its thematic ties to ryan coogler’s sinners, as well as the text’s generati…

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Striking Distance (1993) 1:07:45

28d ago1:07:45

1:07:45

Shout-out to the 412 — we’re covering Striking Distance this week in honor of Pittsburgh. After finally explaining the pick and why we’re covering it now, Joe reviews the movie’s Pittsburgh bona fides. We discuss Bruce Willis as Tom Hardy, Sarah Jessica Parker as “a baddie,” and Tom Sizemore as the film’s most egregious red herring. We break down t…

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season fourteen theme and reading list 11:05

1M ago11:05

11:05

it’s time for another card drawing on lottery pod, and even though we don’t say it in this episode: suck shit, sufjan stevens. after we struggle to remember which states we’ve already covered, we make picks and predictions for both the states that we’re most excited about and the states we think will come up in the drawing. (spoiler: shreds is almo…

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... Great Value Theatrical Experience ... | Life in the Fast Lane #49 1:29:53

1M ago1:29:53

1:29:53

It's time for a ... Great Value Theatrical Experience ... in Life in the Fast Lane #49! We start off by discussing Tokyo Drift's fifteenth minute, with a deep dive into "Woman at Boswell's Apartment," played by Yoko Maki. We then move on to the news, including: is Fast X Part 2 actually about to start filming? The Rock is teaming up with A24 once a…

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open water by caleb azumah nelson 34:51

1M ago34:51

34:51

we’re closing out our second-person module with one of our strongest books yet: open water by caleb azumah nelson. after talking about the pitt (and the mount rushmore of tv), we talk about the lack of irony in open water and the way its naturalistic style makes you forget it’s written in second-person. we talk about the way nelson writes about med…

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The Fate of the Furious (Lap 15) 1:15:29

1M ago1:15:29

1:15:29

We welcome Alex Steed (You Are Good: A Feelings Podcast About Movies) to the show to talk about The Fate of the Furious! We learn about Alex's history (from afar) with the Fastiverse, which leads to an immediate question: where'd that baby come from? We talk about how the movies exist in a time and place where driving is still a centerpiece of cult…

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Charro! (1969) 48:25

2M ago48:25

48:25

We have made it to 1969, the final year of Elvis Presley's film career, and we're kicking things off with Charro! This means we have just two movies to go, but we may have finally accomplished something special: did we finally find a good tagline? We talk about how Charro! is a movie featuring no songs (other than the title/theme song) sung by Elvi…

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Megalopolis (2024) 1:30:57

2M ago1:30:57

1:30:57

We pledge allegiance to our human family, and to all the species that we protect, and to Francis Ford Coppola's Megalopolis! Joining us is Mark Hofmeyer (Movies, Films & Flix). First, we must begin by apologizing how hard this is to find and watch -- we explain why. We work our way through the twisted history of Megalopolis and Coppola's history of…

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a man asleep by georges perec 30:49

2M ago30:49

30:49

our penultimate book in the “you” module is a man asleep by georges perec, which is a return to form as it’s once again french as hell. we talk about how it compares to suicide by édouard levé and the malady of death by marguerite duras, as well as the refreshing nature of variation in the module. shreds talks about the other short story in the col…

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You Sign Your Mother's Day Painting with That Name? | Life in the Fast Lane #48 1:14:57

2M ago1:14:57

1:14:57

It’s time for another Life in the Fast Lane, and at long last, we’ve made it: today is the seventh. It’s Tokyo Drift Minute #14, and it’s time to explore who Major Boswell (Brian Goodman) is. Also: Joe has a new thought on the seventh debate. Also: the 2 Fast 2 Forever Hall of Fame voting is now open! Vote here. We Run the VIN and discover that he’…

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D.E.B.S. (2004) 1:15:42

2M ago1:15:42

1:15:42

Leesa Charlotte (Sweetbitter Podcast) returns to the show to talk about Jordana Brewster and Devon Aoki in D.E.B.S.! After Lisa gives us a brief history of gay cinema, Joey talks about Holland Taylor in Bosom Buddies. We admire Jordana Brewster as the villainous Lucy Diamond (especially her lip syncing scene) in a role that finally lets her have fu…

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the night circus by erin morgenstern 41:59

2M ago41:59

41:59

our “you” module is winding down, so it feels like the perfect time to cover a book that shouldn’t be in the module at all: the night circus by erin morgenstern. first, though, we talk about the film magazine dreams (with heavy spoilers): what makes it a mess, what went wrong, and how shreds would have ended the movie. then, we pivot to the night c…

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Please... #FuelFest | Life in the Fast Lane #47 52:51

2M ago52:51

52:51

It's time for another Fast Lane, and this one comes with potentially lore-changing implications. Please... We kick things off as Joey messes up -- and catches himself -- and then messes up again -- and doesn't notice until he edited the episode. Joe tells a story about accidental Pittsburgh pride in Tokyo. We confirm a long-suspected mystery about …

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Live a Little, Love a Little (1968) 1:04:25

2M ago1:04:25

1:04:25

Viva Pod Vegas returns with Live a Little, Love a Little -- Elvis's third and final film from 1968, and one of his most fun to date! After reading some emails suggesting things to cover in our near future -- and asking if Elvis love dogs more than anything else -- we run through the film's six (!) taglines, which Mike finds issue with. We talk abou…

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Furious 7 (Lap 15) 1:07:19

3M ago1:07:19

1:07:19

Jordan Polan-Clarke returns to the show to talk about Furious 7 (and the narrative complexity added to the franchise by this movie)! After talking about how a Star Wars-esque scroll could work to abbreviate this film's opening, we look this film up on RunPee and wonder what Deckard has against hospitals and emergency wards. Jordan shares her favori…

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the diver's clothes lie empty by vendela vida 46:46

3M ago46:46

46:46

shreds continues to physically fall apart on our latest episode as we talk about the diver’s clothes lie empty by vendela vida. joey rejoices as we finally hit a book this module that he loves, and we wonder if there’s a module we can built around the central element in this novel that he loves. we talk about how young and modern this novel feels, …

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ha ha ha... how do i turn this thing off | Life in the Fast Lane #46 1:06:45

3M ago1:06:45

1:06:45

It's time for another Fast Lane, and, you're not gonna believe this, but ha ha ha... how do i turn this thing off. We kick things off with Tokyo Drift's twelfth minute, including (possibly, unlikely) a new debate. It was a quiet couple of weeks for news, but we had plenty of VIN to Run, including: calculating Vin's payment-per-word for Groot as wel…

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Timeline (2003) 1:12:00

3M ago1:12:00

1:12:00

It's time to cover another Paul Walker movie we missed, this time with the help of Brian Rodriguez (Twilight Slumber Party): Timeline -- featuring Brian O'Conner in the middle ages! After discussing the adaptation debacle of Michael Crichton's novel, we talk about the Fastnections (Brian Tyler and... John Cena?) before diving into our frustrations …

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how like a god by rex stout 41:34

3M ago41:34

41:34

our episode about how like a god by rex stout starts with joey immediately killing one of shreds’ bits, setting a vibe. after talking about dave “storyteller” grohl, we talk a lot about shakespeare (including whether hamlet is required reading) before shreds gives this podcast our “ian mckellen on wtf” moment. we talk about how this feels like a ph…

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Dos Bandoleros | Life in the Fast Lane #45 1:21:35

3M ago1:21:35

1:21:35

It's an exciting time on 2 Fast 2 Forever, as Vin Diesel has teased a new short film, directed by him, which our community (shoutout Randy Carter) has dubbed Dos Bandoleros. Before we talk about what we think and hope that film will contain, we talk about the eleventh minute of Tokyo Drift, which brings past guest of the show Lynda Boyd into our mi…

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The Fast & The Furious: Tokyo Drift (Lap 15) 1:30:54

3M ago1:30:54

1:30:54

We’re joined by Cody Brown (Studiohouse Designs) to talk about The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift — and how it pushed him toward cars! In talking about Cody’s history with the franchise, we all share memories of bringing grandparents to movies they otherwise had no interest in. Cody explains why Suki is his favorite character and talks about wha…

1
the malady of death by marguerite duras 34:26

4M ago34:26

34:26

the malady of death by marguerite duras is likely the shortest text we’ve covered on the main feed so far. like suicide last week, it’s also european as all hell. after celebrating the 100th book covered on our show, which we missed, we pivot into the malady of death. horny module alert! we explore the mystery behind this book’s publication, try to…

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Speedway (1968) 1:12:43

4M ago1:12:43

1:12:43

Happy tax season! Viva Pod Vegas returns with Speedway, which features an almost unbelievable main storyline for Elvis. After running through the film's taglines, we talk about how Bill Bixby continues to sully his reputation and how good Elvis looks (and acts!) in this movie. We begin to understand why people condescendingly said "just number Elvi…

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The Mayan Queen and Scarlett | Life in the Fast Lane #44 1:11:57

4M ago1:11:57

1:11:57

We're back with another Life in the Fast Lane, and this one is all about the Mayan Queen and Scarlett (whoever they may be). After a Tokyo Drift minute that teaches us a new word, we parse some likely false rumors for Fast 11 and look at the goofs from Fast & Furious 6, which includes an IMDb user bringing proof and facts to the world's longest run…

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Knockaround Guys (2001) 1:05:59

4M ago1:05:59

1:05:59

Brian Rodriguez returns to the podcast to talk about Knockaround Guys -- and to tell the backstory behind one of our podcast network's great untold sagas. (This time, he's in front of the paywall -- and has to bite his tongue accordingly.) We talk about how Knockaround Guys exists within a very specific era of mobsters, mob movies, and public fasci…

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suicide by édouard levé 39:32

4M ago39:32

39:32

the next book in our second-person module is suicide by édouard levé, which kicks off a mini-module of shorter writing that is also european as hell. after discussing a gem of a film we discovered on the criterion channel, we talk about suicide‘s up-ending afterward and the manipulation found within the text. we discuss suicide as the defining mome…

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Vin Diesel's Evolution Through the Ages: Art, Film, & Revolution | Life in the Fast Lane #43 1:07:31

4M ago1:07:31

1:07:31

We're here for another Life in the Fast Lane as we track Vin Diesel's evolution through the ages across art, film, and revolution. First, though, we discuss a minute from Tokyo Drift that is exciting to watch but difficult to research and look at a preview for Universal's new F&F rollercoaster. We then luxuriate in nine new Run the VIN posts (in ju…

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Fast & Furious 6 (Lap 14) 1:23:35

4M ago1:23:35

1:23:35

We welcome back Aaron Neuwirth (2 Black Guys Talk Godzilla) to talk about his new podcast, Fast & Furious 6, and the future of the Fast franchise! We ask: which Godzilla movie is the most Fast & Furious? How is Fast & Furious 6 is like Avengers: Age of Ultron (complimentary)? Who gets the “with” and “and” credits in these movies? Does a California …

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bright lights, big city by jay mcinerney 47:51

5M ago47:51

47:51

welcome back to the penn badgley module. today’s episode is the most “normal” book we’ve read in a while: bright lights, big city by jay mcinerney. we talk about the novel’s deadpan humor, whether it feels tied to the 1980s, and how the main character ends the book while still sort of spiraling. we explore the current irony of a plot about fact-che…

1
Stay Away, Joe (1968) 1:14:18

5M ago1:14:18

1:14:18

Viva Pod Vegas returns with Stay Away, Joe, which is the lowest-rated movie of Elvis’s career. Is it as bad as we were led to believe? Yes… and no! After Mike sifts through shoddy taglines to try to find one he approves of, we debate whether watching these movies more quickly would help or hurt us. Mike works his way through a theory about Burgess …

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Find Your Bear Country... | Life in the Fast Lane #42 1:08:31

5M ago1:08:31

1:08:31

We return to Bear Country with another Life in the Fast Lane and another minute driving through Shangri-La in Tokyo Drift, where Joe talks about Victorville, Calif. and Arizona oil. We watch (twice, accidentally) the Haagen-Dazs Super Bowl commercial and talk about a live Fast & Furious-related event in NYC. We Run the VIN and continue to learn who…

1
Pleasantville (1998) 1:08:11

5M ago1:08:11

1:08:11

We welcome Jordan Polan-Clarke back onto the show to talk about Paul Walker's ascent into stardom in Pleasantville! (This movie is a real bummer to watch right now.) We talk about the history of toilets in movies and try to parse what color represents in this movie (spoilers: we don't know because this movie doesn't know, either). We talk about Ple…

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if on a winter's night a traveler by italo calvino 46:05

5M ago46:05

46:05

our next second-person novel is if on a winter’s night a traveler by italo calvino, which features an all-time great first chapter. before we talk about the novel, though, we simply must talk about the season 5 trailer for “you.” we then talk about incarnations of the text’s “gimmick” in other mediums, whether this is a “horny book for dudes,” and …

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Blended (2014) | Life in the Fast Lane #41 1:23:14

5M ago1:23:14

1:23:14

It's time for another Life in the Fast Lane, and we're taking a Blended family trip to Africa. Kind of. A little bit. First, though, we continue to race through Shangri-La in the Tokyo Drift Minute, where we get splashed by toilet water from three (?!) separate Port-o-Potty companies. We preview the Fast & Furious x Super Bowl ice cream commercial,…

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Fast Five (Lap 15) 1:29:03

5M ago1:29:03

1:29:03

We're joined by Brittany Friesner (@midwesttisbest) to talk about Fast Five and how she's bringing Fast & Furious to IU Cinema! She shares her rankings with a couple of unusual placements -- and a nice addition -- before recommending that we watch one of Joey's favorite movies. We talk about how good Dom is at geometry, whether this version of Hobb…

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Clambake (1967) 1:28:30

5M ago1:28:30

1:28:30

Oops, it took too long, but Viva Pod Vegas is back! We're trying to figure out what a Clambake is, and why there's only one in this movie. After opening the long-overdue mailbag, we learn how to pronounce Fabares and talk about this movie being a pivot point in Elvis's career and life. We try to make sense of Elvis as a water ski instructor who onl…

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interior chinatown by charles yu 31:23

6M ago31:23

31:23

our second-person module kicks off with interior chinatown by charles yu, which gives us literary whiplash both in terms of difficulty and perspective. we talk about the type of racism that charles yu captures in the book (and the type we “expected” to find), the way he takes down hollywood in the novel (and the similar representations we’ve seen o…

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babe wake up, Vin Diesel just posted | Life in the Fast Lane #40 1:17:35

6M ago1:17:35

1:17:35

It's time for another installment of Life in the Fast Lane, and babe wake up, Vin Diesel just posted. We kick things off with the sixth minute of Tokyo Drift, which gets some car racing action! (And also creepy sexualization.) We try to make sense of Andy Tudor's intriguing posts on X, Vin's sly "Dwayne" at the Golden Globes, and the mystery behind…

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season thirteen theme and reading list 12:14

6M ago12:14

12:14

it’s time for another season of lottery pod, and today’s theme reveal is news to everyone, including joey. (well, not everyone. shreds knows. he made it.) we discuss the theme as structure (rather than content), the inspiration for this theme, and the only book most people know that fit this theme. we talk about our goal of aiming for something les…

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Annapolis (2006) 59:57

6M ago59:57

59:57

It turns out that Annapolis, directed by Justin Lin, is basically the same movie as The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift. It's perfect for the Oops! lap. We talk about how it feels like every movie you've ever seen, Tyrese... with hair?, and how Brian Goodman essentially plays Sean's Dad in this movie (but also the exact opposite?). We break down …

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blake butler interview (author of 300,000,000, aannex, void corporation, uxa.gov) 1:03:21

6M ago1:03:21

1:03:21

after covering four of his novels — 300,000,000, aannex, void corporation, and uxa.gov — we talk to blake butler about his work. note: there are spoilers in this conversation (at least as much as you can spoil blake’s work.) we ask him about what he focuses on when he reads, his double book launch, and whether his nonfiction writing helps inform hi…

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An Hour and a Half of BS? | Life in the Fast Lane #39 1:10:53

6M ago1:10:53

1:10:53

We're back with "An Hour and a Half of BS?" on this all-new Life in the Fast Lane. In the Tokyo Drift Minute, we get the debut of baseball (and, perhaps, a legendary musician). We find Vin grooving to Christmas music, we revisit the Interquel question, and we raise the BDWHAPFY stakes (in a confusing way). We run through boring goofs from Fast & Fu…

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uxa.gov by blake butler 43:24

6M ago43:24

43:24

the final book in our blake butler module is uxa.gov, which may be his hardest-to-understand book we’ve covered. we talk about why we thought it would be more approachable, as well as why we should know better by now. we discuss the premise and whether it feels or reads like a film being described, the importance of font choice in the printing, and…

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Fast & Furious (Lap 15) 49:25

6M ago49:25

49:25

We're headed back to Mexico for the fifteenth time as we're joined by Matthew Anderson to talk about Fast & Furious! After learning about Matthew's history with the franchise, his favorite character, and his franchise power rankings, we discuss if Fast & Furious is the most fitting "oops!" movie in the franchise. Joe uncovers what Dom Toretto and K…

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Up Here in Bear Country with All His New York Thespians | Life in the Fast Lane #38 1:06:48

7M ago1:06:48

1:06:48

It's time for another Life in the Fast Lane, and we're coming to you live from Up Here in Bear Country with All His New York Thespians. After sharing our tips and tricks for New Year's Eve TV watching, we dive into Tokyo Drift's fourth minute to get our first dialogue of the movie and learn about Nikki Griffin's (Cindy) career. We talk about The Fa…