Best Neil Newton Podcasts (2025)

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Dumb and Christendumber - Part III: The Attack on Empathy 1:02:22

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2M ago1:02:22

1:02:22

Send us a text In part three of the Dumb and Christendumber trilogy we look at the Christian Nationalist attack on empathy. We had this crazy idea that the concept of empathy would mesh well with Jesus teaching in the gospels that we should treat people how we want to be treated. Who could have imagined how right we were? We take a deep dive into s…

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Dumb and Christendumber - Part II: Christian Nationalism 57:11

4M ago57:11

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Send us a text In Part II of our "Dumb and Christendumber" mini series, we look at the origins of Christian Nationalism, the connection between Christian obedience cults and Christian Nationalism, and what Christian Nationalists ignore from the Bible. For our Bible passage we wish literalists would take literally we discuss Genesis 17: 15-22 where,…

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Dumb and Christendumber - Part I: The Long Hangover of the Civil War 1:07:16

5M ago1:07:16

1:07:16

Send us a text This is the first in a three part series exploring how the United States got to the current multi-faceted crisis. In Part I, we discuss how most of the moral and theological questions leading to the Civil War never really got resolved and have now come roaring back like a virus that's mutated into a stronger strain. In Part II, we'll…

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Introducing Season 3: Dystopian Non-fiction 1:00:20

6M ago1:00:20

1:00:20

Send us a text We’re back with Season 3 of A Christian and an Atheist Walk into a Bar and our theme is (totally coincidentally) Dystopian Non-fiction. In Episode 1, Neil gives us an update on the impact of the fires in LA and we discuss the efforts to dismantle the Federal Government. We’re also introducing two new regular segments: 1) Bible passag…

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Skoden: Culture and Spirituality in Reservation Dogs 1:01:32

7M ago1:01:32

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Send us a text SPOILER ALERT: All the spoilers! If you have not watched the amazing series Reservation Dogs, just hit the mute button now! So we've finally reached what we are considering the final episode of Season 2 . The world is on fire literally and figuratively and so yeah, we're going to spend an hour talking about our favorite TV series may…

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46: Newton Talks #36 Tom Lee Rutter and The Pocket Film of Superstitions 53:24

1+ y ago53:24

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In this episode the acclaimed West Midlands based filmmaker Tom Lee Rutter joins me to talk about his new feature The Pocket Film of Superstitions.By Newton Talks

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Danzilla's Theory of The Big Lebowski 48:56

1+ y ago48:56

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Send us a text In Season 2 (ish) Episode 6, Neil relates an encounter with an unhoused person in LA, Dan (or Danzilla), who offered a very unique take on one of our favorite films, The Big Lebowski. We then take a deep dive into what Phil considers to be perhaps the most Big Lebowski story in the Old Testament, Judges 17-18, wherein Micah, a Levite…

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45: Newton Talks #35 Death Lines: Walking London's Horror History with author Lauren Jane Barnett 49:11

1+ y ago49:11

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In this episode, author Lauren Jane Barnett joins me to talk about her new book, Death Lines: Walking London's Horror History - a walking guide to horror movie locations in the capital city. The book is now available here: https://strangeattractor.greedbag.com/buy/death-lines-walking-londons-horr/By Newton Talks

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44: Newton Talks #34 Nigel Kneale's Beasts, with author Andrew Screen. 41:03

1+ y ago41:03

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In this episode, I talk to Andrew Screen about his new publication, The Book of Beasts (Headpress, 2023), which is an in-depth study of the Nigel Kneale anthology horror series called Beasts from 1976. You can buy the book here: https://headpress.com/product/the-book-of-beasts/By Newton Talks

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A Christian and an Atheist Epiphany Special 42:26

1+ y ago42:26

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Send us a text We were determined to do another holiday special and this year we wanted it to be about the Magi/astrologers in Matthew 2, which is technically not Christmas but Epiphany. The season of Epiphany begins on January 6 and runs all the way to Ash Wednesday (which this year is also Valentine's Day, so Ash Valentine's Day!) so we are getti…

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Critical Race Theory: What it Is and (mostly) What it Isn't 1:07:36

2y ago1:07:36

1:07:36

Send us a text We wanted to do an episode on Critical Race Theory because it’s one of those phrases that has come to mean everything except what it is. We draw a careful (and we would argue obvious) distinction between discussing the history of race relations in the U.S. and Critical Race Theory as a discrete legal movement addressing racism in the…

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43: Newton Talks #33 American Shot-on-Video Horror with Vincent A. Albarano. 51:09

2y ago51:09

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My guest in this episode is Vincent A. Albarano, who joins me to talk about his new book, Aesthetic Deviations: A Critical View of American Shot-on-Video Horror, 1984-1994. You can buy the book here: https://headpress.com/product/aesthetic-deviations/ and go to the Headpress website to for more fantastic books on cult film and media: https://headpr…

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The Creation Story and the Freedom to Disobey 48:18

2y ago48:18

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Send us a text With both the writers and now the actors who play Neil and Phil on strike, it’s taken a while to get this episode (which was recorded on Easter Sunday 2023) out. Fortunately, the episode was completed by AI and we think you’ll notice a big improvement over the organic episodes. In Season 2 - Episode 3, “Neil” and “Phil” discuss the i…

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Corporate Prophets and the Freedom to Disobey 55:52

2+ y ago55:52

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Send us a text Humans don’t like being told what to do. Shocking, we know! In Episode 2 we explore one of the three freedoms David Graeber and David Wengrow postulate in The Dawn of Everything, the freedom to disobey. We start with how the freedom to disobey is expressed in the Old Testament prophets' relationship to the priesthood and the monarchy…

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42: Newton Talks #32 Namsploitation with Neil Jackson 54:07

2+ y ago54:07

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In this episode, I talk to Neil Jackson, a Senior Lecturer at the University of Lincoln about his upcoming book, Combat Shocks: Exploitation Cinema and the Vietnam War (Bloomsbury, Forthcoming), which deals with exploitation films about the Vietnam war from the mid 1960s up until the late 1980s. We talk about the conventions and iconography of the …

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The Dawn of Everything: Introduction to Season Two 1:01:02

2+ y ago1:01:02

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Send us a text Season 2, Episode 1 is finally here! And y’nz are not gonna believe it, but we have…A PLAN! This season we will use the amazing book by the late David Graeber and David Wengrow, The Dawn of Everything: a New History of Humanity to frame many of our discussions about the Bible. We love this book — enough to shamelessly crib from the t…

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41: Newton Talks #31 Jackie Brown 40:12

2+ y ago40:12

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On the 25th anniversary since Quentin Tarantino's Jackie Brown had its UK release (the US release was Christmas Day 1997), Dr Chris Deacy joins me to discuss the casting and performances, the soundtrack and use of music, and the tone and mood of the film.By Newton Talks

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40: Newton Talks #30 Director Lizzie Borden and Born in Flames 43:08

2+ y ago43:08

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In this episode I am joined by filmmaker Lizzie Borden to talk about her renowned 1983 feminist sci-fi movie Born in Flames. We also talk about her follow up feature film, Working Girls (1986). Lizzie's latest book, Whorephobia: Strippers on Art, Work, and Life (2022), is now available from Seven Stories Press. You can order the book here: https://…

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A Christian and an Atheist Christmas Special 38:36

3y ago38:36

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Send us a text In this bonus episode, Neil and Phil compare the story of Hannah in the book of I Samuel to the story of Mary in the gospel of Luke and draw out some themes that turn out to be important throughout the Bible. In the course of the conversation, they discover that the Old and New Testaments have surprising parallels to the Peter Green …

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39: Newton Talks #29 Horror Films for Children with Cat Lester 44:24

3y ago44:24

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In this episode I talk to Dr Cat Lester about her book Horror Films for Children: Fear and Pleasure in American Cinema (Bloomsbury, 2021), which looks at horror movies aimed at young audiences, including Gremlins, Coraline, and Paranorman, among others.By Newton Talks

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Recent Supreme Court Rulings and the White Power Movement 30:23

3y ago30:23

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Send us a text We said Episode 10 was the season finale, but then SCOTUS unleashed a series of really stupid and damaging rulings and we needed to talk about it. One of the questions we keep hearing is, "Why do guns have more rights than women?" It seems like an obvious logical contradiction, but historian Kathleen Belew has shown that within the w…

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Season Finale: Aliens! 56:00

3+ y ago56:00

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Send us a text Our Season I Finale was delayed by supply chain issues, but it's finally here! In episode 10, Phil and Neil discuss whether aliens exist, why they may or may not believe in aliens, and how belief in aliens may have more in common with belief in a deity than we thought. In the triumphant return of "Should I Really Care About This?" Ne…

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38: Newton Talks #28 Filmmaker Interview: Raya Films 55:38

3+ y ago55:38

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In this episode I am joined by the writer/director team of Caroline Spence and James Smith, who together make up Raya films. Their movies Do Something, Jake (2018), Cyberlante (2020), Agent Kelly (2020), and Surveilled (2021) are available now, and they are currently casting for their new project entitled Best Geezer. Go to their website for more i…

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37: Newton Talks #27 The Vigilante Thriller, with Dr Cary Edwards 56:00

3+ y ago56:00

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In this episode, Dr Cary Edwards joins me to discuss his new book The Vigilante Thriller: Violence, Spectatorship, and Identification in American Cinema from 1970-1976 (Bloomsbury, 2022). We discuss films such as Death Wish, Joe, Dirty Harry, and Taxi Driver, among many others, and the cinematic and social context that created the revenge and vigil…

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36: Newton Talks #26 Best Films of the 2000s 43:28

3+ y ago43:28

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In this follow up episode to my best of the 1990s podcast I work through the Newton Talks top twenty films of the years 2000-2009, and I am joined by Dr Jennifer Wallis and Dr Chris Deacy, who give me nominations for their favourite movie of the decade.By Newton Talks

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Dismantling Dualism 1:02:47

3+ y ago1:02:47

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Send us a text In this episode we get down into the weeds discussing the philosophical problem of dualisms touching on the work of Hermann Dooyeweerd (Dutch Neo-Calvinism), Graham Harman (Object Oriented Ontology), and Emmannuel Levinas. But hang in there! We also delve into some very concrete expressions of dualism as found in Terry Gilliam and To…

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35: Newton Talks #25 Director Interview: Andrew Elias and Tales from the Great War 44:10

3+ y ago44:10

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In the latest of my filmmaker interviews I talk to Andrew Elias, writer and director of the upcoming Tales from the Great War (2022), a horror movie set in World War One. We discuss the making of the film, the inspirations for the stories it contains, and how Andrew approaches working with actors and crew. You can see the trailer here; https://www.…

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34: Newton Talks Cult Film Microcast #10 Showgirls 6:24

3+ y ago6:24

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In the tenth episode of my Cult Film microcast, I examine Paul Verhoeven's notorious Showgirls (1995), which failed with both critics and audiences on release, but which has since become a noteworthy cult movie.By Newton Talks

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Philanthrocapitalism: Why You Should Distrust It 1:00:40

4y ago1:00:40

1:00:40

Send us a text In this episode of ACAAAWIAB, Neil and Phil discuss how plutocrats use philanthropy for image laundering as well as to protect their power, an emerging movement of entrepreneurs who have embraced the idea that treating your workers well is both the right thing to do and good business, and how to move toward a just society so that we …

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33: Newton Talks #24 No Time To Die in-depth discussion with Lee Kenny 1:25:08

4y ago1:25:08

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This episode is the second of two on the 25th EON produced James Bond film, No Time To Die. In this one, I am joined by New Zealand based journalist and Bond fan Lee Kenny. We discuss the plot and characterisation in detail, and also get into where the series can go next.By Newton Talks

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32: Newton Talks #23 No Time To Die reactions 45:03

4y ago45:03

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In this first of two episodes on the 25th EON produced James Bond film, No Time To Die, I am joined by journalist Lee Kenny, Dr Chris Deacy, who is a Reader in Theology and Religious Studies, and media lecturer Will Hill, to talk through our initial reactions to the film.By Newton Talks

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Holy Forking Shirt! Neil and Phil Discuss the Afterlife! 1:11:42

4y ago1:11:42

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Send us a text In Episode 7, Neil and Phil take a deep dive into Bart D. Ehrman's Heaven and Hell: a History of the Afterlife. They'll talk about how dualism effects both ideas of heaven and of hell, Biblical concepts of embodiment, pan-psychic notions of consciousness, and more or less spoil the final season of The Good Place (you've been warned!)…

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31: Newton Talks #22 Director Interview: Charlie Steeds and Making Low Budget Horror 1:03:45

4y ago1:03:45

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In this episode Charlie Steeds, who has directed more than ten horror feature films since 2016, joins me to discuss his career and the challenges of low budget filmmaking. Charlie's films include Escape from Cannibal Farm (2017), An English Haunting (2020), and Death Ranch (2020), which has recently been released on DVD and VOD. You can visit his p…

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Phil and Neil Read Tolstoy's "The Gospel in Brief" So You Don't Have To 48:47

4y ago48:47

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Send us a text In this episode of a Christian and an Atheist Walk into a Bar, Phil and Neil read and discuss Leo Tolstoy's The Gospel in Brief. Much like Thomas Jefferson, Tolstoy wanted a version of the gospel that preserved the teachings of Jesus without referencing what we usually refer to as miracles or the supernatural. So is Tolstoy's "demyst…

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30: Newton Talks #21 The Texas Chain Saw Massacre and Watergate, with author Martin Harris 51:32

4y ago51:32

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In this episode author Martin Harris of the University of North Carolina, discusses his new book, Leatherface Vs Tricky Dick: The Texas Chain Saw Massacre as Political Satire, which provides an in-depth commentary on the links between Tobe Hooper's film and the Watergate scandal involving Richard Nixon. You can buy the book here: Headpress, 2021 - …

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The Scopes Monkey Trial as Meme 58:16

4y ago58:16

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Send us a text In this episode of A Christian and an Atheist Walk into a Bar, Neil and Phil dig into the Scopes Trial and reassess the competing legacies of William Jennings Bryan, H.L. Mencken, and Clarence Darrow. Along the way they’ll talk about memes that have nothing to do with kittens. In “Should I Really Care About This?” they expose the inj…

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Freedom of Religion 50:52

4y ago50:52

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Send us a text In Episode 4 of ACAAAWIAB, Neil and Phil explore the meaning of freedom of religion. What is is it? What are some common ways it's misunderstood? Can real belief even exist without it? We'll discuss British theologian Leslie Newbigin's distinction between de facto and ideological pluralism and how it applies to contemporary society, …

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Know Your Religions 1:00:30

4y ago1:00:30

1:00:30

Send us a text In Episode 3 of ACAAAWIAB, Neil and Phil explore how there is often a difference between what we say we believe and what we really believe. Maybe we participate in institutional religion and maybe we don’t, but either way we may find that aspects of our experience such as economics, science, or technology (or all three) begin to func…

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Debt and the Biblical Jubilee 42:36

4y ago42:36

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Send us a text In this episode, Neil and Phil talk about the Levitical Jubilee (Leviticus 25), how the concept of Jubilee gets transformed in both Old and New Testaments, and the implications of Jubilee principles on how we think about ecology, debt, justice and more. Along the way they discuss ideas about debt and society by David Graeber, Louis A…

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The Back Story 1:01:28

4y ago1:01:28

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Send us a text In the premiere of A Christian and an Atheist Walk into a Bar, Neil Newton and Phil Thompson talk about their back stories and how they came to hold their beliefs, the general idea of belief systems, common grace, Emmanuel Levinas, empathy, and more. For this episode’s “Should I really care about this?” segment, Phil and Neil will ho…

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29: Newton Talks #20 Author R.M. Francis and The Wrenna 49:30

4y ago49:30

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I am joined in this twentieth episode of Newton Talks by Black Country author and lecturer R.M. Francis to discuss his new novella called The Wrenna, set on the Wren's Nest Estate in Dudley. We discuss the book's influences in both social realism and horror, its fractured structure, and its relationship to sex, violence, and the abject. We also tal…

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28: Newton Talks #19 The Asylum in Cinema, with Dr Jennifer Wallis 43:25

4+ y ago43:25

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In this episode, historian of medicine and psychiatry Dr Jennifer Wallis joins me to discuss the relationship between the Victorian asylum and cinema, particularly the representation of the asylum in the horror film. We discuss 70s Amicus productions, Session 9 (2001), the reality of asylum life, and how cinema was used as entertainment in the West…

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27: Newton Talks #18 No Budget Filmmaking in the Midlands, with director Tom Lee Rutter. 49:25

4+ y ago49:25

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In this episode, my guest is Tom Lee Rutter, director of the western Day of the Stranger, the folk horror Bella in the Wych Elm, and the forthcoming 'almanac' The Pocket Film of Superstitions. We discuss no budget and guerrilla filmmaking, what it's like to make films in the Black Country and the Midlands, and Tom's own approach to making creative …

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26: Newton Talks #17 Best Movies of the 1990s. 37:14

4+ y ago37:14

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In this episode I rundown my favourite films of cinema's best decade, the 1990s. I am joined by Chris Deacy of the Nostalgia Interviews podcast, and Amanda Reyes of the Made for TV Mayhem podcast, who contribute their top picks from the decade alongside my own.By Newton Talks

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25: Newton Talks Cult Film Microcast #9 Never Say Never Again 7:48

4+ y ago7:48

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In this microcast, I look at the unofficial Bond movie, Never Say Never Again (Irvin Kershner), that came off second best at the box office against the EON produced Octopussy (John Glen), when they were both released in 1983. Despite it's generally low ranking reputation, I look at some of the elements I enjoy, including Bond's fashion, the shark s…

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24: Newton Talks #16 Blood in the Streets - Italian Crime Films of the 70s with Austin Fisher 47:08

4+ y ago47:08

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Author Austin Fisher join me to talks about his book, Blood in the Streets, which looks at Italian crime films cycles of the 1970s, such as the police thriller, vigilante movies, mafia narratives, and the giallo, and how they responded to the violent political turmoil happening in Italian cities at the time.…

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23: Newton Talks Cult Film Microcast #8 The Supergrass 5:50

4+ y ago5:50

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This microcast analyses the Comic Strip Presents feature film, The Supergrass (1985), directed by Peter Richardson, and starring Ade Edmonson, Jennifer Saunders, Robbie Coltrane, Nigel Planer, Keith Allen, Alexei Sayle, Dawn French, and Richardson himself.By Newton Talks

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22: Newton Talks #15 British Television Spy Series and Serials with Dr Joseph Oldham 46:08

4+ y ago46:08

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In this episode Dr Joseph Oldham joins me to discuss British TV spy dramas such as Callan, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, The Night Manager, and Spooks among others. Joseph is the author of Paranoid Visions: Spies, Conspiracies and the Secret State in British Television Drama, published by Manchester University Press.…

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21: Newton Talks Cult Film Microcast #7 Repo Man 5:18

5y ago5:18

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In this microcast, I talk about one of the definitive cult films of the 1980s, Alex Cox's debut feature, Repo Man (1984). As well as being a filmmaker, Cox was also presenter of the BBC series Moviedrome, which has an important place in the perception of cult cinema.By Newton Talks

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EPISODE XV: PATRIOTS TRADE DEADLINE REACTIONS 29:26

5y ago29:26

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Welcome back to the 411! In this episode, we give our reactions from the Patriots vs. Bills game along with our predictions to the Patriots vs. Jets game. We give our weekly fantasy advice including our popular installment of "Fantasy Stocks". We finish things up giving our reactions to the Patriots quiet trade deadline along with what we think is …