Pop Rocket

Pop culture discussion with Guy Branum, Wynter Mitchell, Margaret Wappler and Karen Tongson

The Final Episode 05/24/2019

Ep 224 - What’s in the Cards for the Pop Rocket Panel w/ The Oracle of LA 05/17/2019

Ep 223 - Charlie Says with Screenwriter Guinevere Turner 05/10/2019

Ep 222 - Game of Thrones w/ Laura Krafft & Sarah Kessler 04/26/2019

Ep. 221 - The New Negroes & Black Sketch Comedy 04/20/2019

Ep. 220 - Killing Eve & the Asian Woman with Amazing Hair 04/12/2019

Ep 219 - 1991 in Music 04/05/2019

Ep 218 - Jordan Peele’s Us 03/28/2019

Ep. 217 - Pop Rocket Goes to USC to Teach the Kids Why Pop Culture Matters 03/23/2019

Ep. 216 - Lady Vengeance: From Bobbit and Beyond 03/16/2019

Ep. 215 - Dame Angela Lansbury with April Wolfe and S.A. Smythe 03/09/2019

Ep. 214 - We Marie-Kondo the Oscars w/ Matt Rogers 03/02/2019

Ep. 213 - Horror Noire with Tananarive Due 02/23/2019

Ep: 212 - The Fifth Annual Pop Tart Awards! 02/16/2019

Ep: 211 - Mega Movie Catch-up Edition 02/09/2019

Pop Rocket Ep 210 - The State of Adam McKay & Terry Crews Gets a Vote for PRSOA 02/02/2019

Pop Rocket Ep 209 - SchadenFYRE - The Most Epic Fyre Fest Discussion Ever 01/26/2019

Pop Rocket Ep - 208 Tidying Up with Marie Kondo 01/19/2019

Pop Rocket Ep. 207 Highlights & Lowlights of The Golden Globes & Netflix’s Bandersnatch 01/12/2019

Pop Rocket Ep. 206 Pop Culture Resolutions for 2019 01/04/2019

Pop Rocket Ep. 205 The Pop Rocket Holiday Playlist Spectacular 12/22/2018

Pop Rocket Ep. 205 The Pop Rocket Holiday Playlist Spectacular Happy Holidays, everyone! Wynter and Karen are joined by special guest panelists Tre’Vell Anderson (Director of Culture and Entertainment at ) and Alonso Duralde to create the ultimate holiday playlist. Each panelist created a top ten list of their favorite holiday songs, out of which they’d select twenty for inclusion in the official . Well, that was the plan, anyway. In practice, when faced with making the tough choices, they flopped. Whose version of "Sleigh Ride" should be on the playlist: Andy Williams’s, Ella Fitzgerald’s or TLC’s? Spoiler alert: They couldn’t decide. Plus, the panelists describe their holiday family traditions, and if you’ve ever been curious what the most popular Philippine Christmas song is, resident scholar Karen Tongson reveals the answer. From Ella Fitzgerald to Donny Hathaway, from the Morehouse Glee Club to Quad City DJs, the variety of musical stylings in this episode will get your feet tappin'. All Abouts For the last All Abouts of the year, each panelist picked one thing in 2018, that they could watch, listen to, read, or consume, OVER & OVER again. Alonso is all about the Amber Ruffin segment on Late Night With Seth Meyers - Karen is still all about the series finale of The Americans. Tre’Vell is awed by EVERYTHING about Cardi B, but especially her recent appearance with James Corden in . Wynter can’t stop watching . That's My Jam For this week’s jams, each panelist picked a song that best summed up the year that was 2018. Karen: Tre’vell: Alonso: Wynter: Did you know that you can now call and leave voicemails for the show? You can! If you want to comment on an episode, give us any feedback, or just call to get advice from a panel member, the number is: (530) 237-4108 You can let us know what you think of Pop Rocket and suggest topics in our or via on Twitter. If you haven't already, follow us on . Produced by for . Edited by . /episode/index/show/poprocket/id/8012480

Pop Rocket Ep. 204 From Dafoe’s Van Gogh to Hayek’s Frida: A Look at Hollywood’s Attempt to Make Art about Artists 12/14/2018

Pop Rocket Ep. 204 From Dafoe’s Van Gogh to Hayek’s Frida: A Look at Hollywood’s Attempt to Make Art about Artists How right, but mostly how wrong, does Hollywood get it when it comes to capturing artists in film? Margaret Wappler asks these very questions of her esteemed panel. And this, the panel is comprised of LA Times staff writer , who covers visual arts, culture and architecture, media scholar and TV critic --filling in for her under-the-weather wife Karen Tongson--and Cal Arts professor and visual artist , who is better known to Pop Rocket listeners as father to Silas and husband to our very own Margaret Wappler. From Mike Leigh's to Antonio Banderas's Golden Globe-nominated performance in , the crew highlights all the tired tropes Hollywood can’t resist when depicting artists. They’ll tell you about the films that get it right, and the films that get it deliciously wrong. Plus, why are all the portrayals of Andy Warhol on the big screen so...different? Was the real Andy Warhol more like Crispin Glover in or David Bowie in Julian Schnabel's ? Does Salma Hayek really do justice? And which actress nails the stereotype of the insufferable, pretentious artist on the head? Join us as we try to suss out: is art about art art, or t-shirt at the giftshop bullshit? All Abouts Sarah is all about Valerie Solanas's with forward by Michelle Tea. Carolina is all about narco-novelas, in particular Netflix's starring Diego Luna. David is all about his algorithmically generated list of top songs of 2018 from . Margaret is all about the 18th century period piece , a feminist reimagining of Queen Anne's court starring Rachel Weisz, Emma Stone, and Olivia Colman. That's My Jam Sarah - David - Carolina - Margaret- With , , , and . Did you know that you can now call and leave voicemails for the show? You can! If you want to comment on an episode, give us any feedback or just call to get advice from a panel member, the number is: (530) 237-4108 You can let us know what you think of Pop Rocket and suggest topics in our or via on Twitter. If you haven't already, follow us on . Produced by for . Edited by . /episode/index/show/poprocket/id/7925927

Pop Rocket Ep. 203 Bravo’s Dirty John & Our True Crime Obsession w/ Sarah Kessler 12/08/2018

Pop Rocket Ep. 203 Bravo’s Dirty John & Our True Crime Obsession w/ Sarah Kessler Guests: Karen Tongson Wynter Mitchell-Rohrbaugh Sarah Kessler We're getting down into the down and dirty story , the new Bravo show based on the LA Times and Wondery podcast of the same name. Joining us in the discussion this week is media scholar and TV critic who happens to also be married to our very own Karen Tongson. Dirty John is the true crime story about Debra Newell, a successful Orange County businesswoman who seemed to have everything going for her except when it came to love. In her middle age, she began online dating and met this guy who her two daughters found extremely shady. Obviously, throughout the course of the limited series starring Connie Britton and Eric Bana, she and we find out why. We take a deep dive into what it is that titillates and draws us into the dark and disturbing world of true crime. The panel takes a look at podcasts like Teacher's Pet, Serial and Bear Brook, among others, as well as shows such as Making a Murderer, Lifetime’s A Woman Scorned and the sensational, made-for-tv accounts of the most notorious serial killers. What does true crime tell us about women and what does it tell women to watch out for? Find out! List of All the True Crimes Stories Referenced in the Episode All Abouts Wynter Mitchell-Rohrbaugh is all about the interpersonal dynamics at play at H.W. Bush’s funeral. Sarah Kessler is all about on HBO based on the bestselling series by Elena Ferrante. Karen Tongson is all about a recent stand-up set she saw of . That's My Jam Sarah Kessler - Wynter - Karen Tongson - With , , and . Did you know that you can now call and leave voicemails for the show? You can! If you want to comment on an episode, give us any feedback or just call to get advice from a panel member, the number is: (530) 237-4108 You can let us know what you think of Pop Rocket and suggest topics in our or via on Twitter. If you haven't already, follow us on . Produced by for . Edited by . /episode/index/show/poprocket/id/7843676

Pop Rocket Ep. 202 Holiday Horror w/ Ricky Carmona 11/30/2018

Pop Rocket Ep. 201 Our Awkward Thanksgiving Show 11/22/2018

Pop Rocket Ep. 200 Our 200th Episode! 11/17/2018

Pop Rocket Ep. 199 Hip Hop, Pop, and Mental Health w/ Clarkisha Kent 11/10/2018

Pop Rocket Ep. 199 Hip Hop, Pop, and Mental Health w/ Clarkisha Kent Kanye West’s late September may have surprised casual observers, but by that point, his fans had heard both his outrageous statements and his frank talk about mental health for months. Charlagmane tha God lamented his canceled TimesTalk with Kanye on Instagram as a missed opportunity, writing, "Normalizing being mentally healthy is a conversation that I really wanted to have with Kanye because he's been so vocal about his own mental health struggles. Unfortunately, I think to have that conversation with him right now would not be productive and a total distraction from the point of the convo which is to eradicate the stigma of mental health especially in the black community." Well, we’re going to have that conversation today and we're joined by , film and pop culture critic- known to some as a "professional hater." The panelists discuss rapper Mac Miller's death, Chris Brown's history of domestic violence, and Jay-Z's openness about lacking the necessary emotional tools for marriage, among other things. To be clear, we are not medical professionals. All Abouts Margaret is all about . Lucy is the newly elected Representative of Georgia's 6th Congressional district. She is a national spokeswoman for Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America, which she joined after her son, Jordan Davis, was shot and killed in what is believed to be a hate crime. Karen is all about . She's one of the two Native American women elected to Congress in the midterm election and represents Kansas's 3rd district. Clarkisha is all about the over Rebel's claim that she is the first plus-sized woman to lead a romantic comedy. Wynter is all about Season 4: of the Syfy channel's horror anthology TV show "Channel Zero." That's My Jam Margaret - Karen - Clarkisha - Wynter - With , , , and . Did you know that you can now call and leave voicemails for the show? You can! If you want to comment on an episode, give us any feedback or just call to get advice from a panel member, the number is: (530) 237-4108 You can let us know what you think of Pop Rocket and suggest topics in our or via on Twitter. If you haven't already, follow us on . Produced by for . Edited by . This episode was engineered by . /episode/index/show/poprocket/id/7507154

Pop Rocket Ep. 198 The Very First Pop Rocket Seal of Approval 11/02/2018

Pop Rocket Ep. 198 The Very First Pop Rocket Seal of Approval The Pop Rocket Seal of Approval Before registered parliamentarian Guy Branum takes an extended leave for some much-needed relaxation at home and abroad, the panelists came together to consider, once again, whether they would be able to award the first-ever Pop Rocket Seal of Approval. Without an acting Nominating Committee Head to sift through listener suggestions on Facebook and Twitter, this time the panel decided to consider the names of only the most committed Pop Rocket listeners--those who cared enough about voting that they called in to make their case. One listener even called TWICE. Special thanks must go to everyone who called in. Your grassroots efforts to influence the panelists worked. Names that might have been dismissed out of hand if merely tweeted, were taken much more seriously. So, who will get to update their IMDB page awards section with a Pop Rocket Seal of Approval win? And might this episode feature a DOUBLE nomination? It might! Here is the full list of names submitted to the panel for consideration. They are listed in the order their calls were received: Tina Turner, Kristen Bell, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Kelly Clarkson, Robyn, Carly Rae Jepsen, Angela Lansbury, and Terry Crews. So who is the first-ever PRSOA recipient? You’ll find out. Jam Abouts = All Abouts + That's My Jam Karen - Wynter - Margaret - . Guy is all about the new on Netflix, which is darker and sexier than the original show about the half-mortal, half-witch teen Sabrina Spellman. With , , , and . Did you know that you can now call and leave voicemails for the show? You can! If you want to comment on an episode, give us any feedback or just call to get advice from a panel member, the number is: (530) 237-4108 You can let us know what you think of Pop Rocket and suggest topics in our or via on Twitter. If you haven't already, follow us on . Produced by for . Edited by . /episode/index/show/poprocket/id/7418471

Pop Rocket Ep. 197 Halloween & the Horror We Love 10/27/2018

Pop Rocket Ep. 197 Halloween & the Horror We Love **Note: Next week the panel will cast their votes to award--or not--The Pop Rocket Seal of Approval. You still have an opportunity to influence the panelists. If you want your voice to be heard, literally, call the Pop Rocket hotline and make a case for the person you want to win, and why. Call: (530) 237-4108** Jamie Lee Curtis is smashing box office records, and the Pop Rocket panel APPROVES. In this episode, Guy, Wynter, Karen, and Margaret share their favorite scares, from new shows like The Haunting of Hill House on Netflix and the CW's , to the latest season of American Horror Story: Apocalypse. Plus, they tackle the important questions, such as, “What Stephen King movie is the best?” and “What is it really going to take for Jamie Lee Curtis to kill Mike Myers?” And they lament that we are still awaiting a Halloween novelty song to top . All Abouts Wynter is all about the Lifetime TV psychological thriller/romance , which stars Penn Badgley and delves into themes of stalking, obsession, social media, and sociopathic detachment. Margaret is all about Girl Talk's 2010 album , which is the only album that will get Silas to sleep these days. Karen is all about an impassioned voicemail she received from Tina Turner devotee Nick White, who made an exceptionally strong case to award the very first Pop Rocket Seal of Approval to Tina Turner. Guy is all about food writer Samin Nosrat's Netflix show . That's My Jam Karen - Wynter - Margaret - . Guy - With , , , and . Did you know that you can now call and leave voicemails for the show? You can! If you want to let us know who you think should receive the first Pop Rocket Seal of Approval, or just call to get advice, the number is: (530) 237-4108 You can let us know what you think of Pop Rocket and suggest topics in our or via on Twitter. If you haven't already, follow us on . Produced by for . Edited by . /episode/index/show/poprocket/id/7333883

Pop Rocket Ep. 196 Bad Times at the El Royale w/Drea Clark 10/19/2018

Pop Rocket

TOPICS