Luke Cage Season 2, Won’t You Be My Neighbor – IP 128

June 19, 2018June 20, 2018 | insidepoppodcast

We’re heading straight to Harlem for this special Luke Cage edition of Inside Pop. We’ve seen the second season of Marvel’s Luke Cage and we’re bringing you an exclusive preview of the first two episodes. We’ll also provide some fascinating behind the scenes info about the show’s music and production crew and theorize why vocal fans of the first season may have inspired the more volatile Season 2 Luke Cage. Plus, we question why we’re anti-shipping Mariah and Shades.

Then, Amita reviews the new documentary, Won’t You Be My Neighbor, about legendary children’s TV host Fred Rogers.

Plus, we have a brand new Big Sell that tackles one of the ugliest, and sadly most prevalent problems in Hollywood.

Fans of Luke Cage will want to check out our interview with showrunner Cheo Hodari Coker.

Like us on Facebook

And you can also find us on MaximumFun.org

Queer Eye Season 2, LGBTQ Pop Culture – IP 127

June 13, 2018 | insidepoppodcast

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | RSS

We’re celebrating Pride Month in this episode by highlighting some of our favorite queer pop culture.

First up, we’ve had an advanced look at the second season of Queer Eye on Netflix and we’re giving you an exclusive preview of the series that consistently gives everyone the feels. We’ll tell you how the series is breaking even more new ground than ever before.

And then we bring you a special rainbow colored Big Sell in which we recommend some under the radar pop culture with an LGBTQ focus that you will definitely want to put on your must watch/must listen list.

Big Sells:

Bronski Beat – The Age of Consent

A Time to Leave – Trailer

Sara Ramirez Trailblazer speech

Getting Curious with Jonathan Van Ness

Like us on Facebook

And you can also find us on MaximumFun.org

Childish Gambino’s “This Is America”, Big Screen vs Living Room films – IP 122

May 9, 2018 | insidepoppodcast

From the visceral imagery to our initial reactions- we discuss and try to decode the video that everyone is talking about- Childish Gambino’s “This Is America”. We give our thoughts and praise to Donald Glover’s latest music video/artistic statement.

Then, we discuss what films are big screen worthy and which films you can watch at home. Amita shares her thought process on how she determines which films pass the big screen test.

And finally, Sean gets brutally honest about last week’s Big Sell and suggests a new Netflix Japanese anime series, Agretsuko.

Links:
5 Things to know about ‘This Is America”

The Swimmer trailer

Like us on Facebook

And you can also find us on MaximumFun.org

Spring 2018 Pop Culture Preview, Max Fun Drive – IP 117

April 4, 2018April 3, 2018 | insidepoppodcast

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | RSS

In honor of the Max Fun Drive- we are proud to present our Spring Pop Culture Preview! We’ll share some inside info on the highly anticipated TV, Film and Music due out this Spring. And to help us out- our special guests – the hosts of Long Distance POPcast and JoJCast also share their picks!

Spring is no longer the season to bide your time while you await the big summer blockbusters and concert tours. Some of the most innovative and surprising pieces of pop culture are about to slide into your earbuds and onto your television and movie screens and we’ll tell you what cannot be missed!

Spring is also the time to support your favorite podcasts by becoming a member of Maximum Fun! We’ll tell you the glory (and gifts) that await you if you decide to become a member or renew your membership.

Take a look below at all of the upcoming pop culture packed into this special podcast!

Music

Janelle Monae – Dirty Computer

Elton John Revamp

Lake Street Dive

Movies

Tully

Grace Jones: Bloodlight and Bami

Television

Like us on Facebook

And of course you can also find us on MaximumFun.org

A Wrinkle in Time, Jessica Jones, Sade, Meshell Ndegeocello, Carousel, Vulfpeck – IP 114

March 14, 2018 | insidepoppodcast

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | RSS

This week’s episode of Inside Pop has the following Inclusion Rider: Our 114th episode must celebrate the creativity and diversity of women in film, music and television.

The show begins with a review of Ava DuVernay’s epic adaptation of A Wrinkle in Time. Amita discusses what she most loves about the film and Sean questions whether the film’s box office performance and overall reception was affected by the phenomenon that is Black Panther. Amita also shares some of the insight she got from Ava herself at DuVernay’s Times Talk last week.

Then, Amita and Sean rejoice over Sade’s new song, ‘Flowers of the Universe’ (Amita loves this remix of the song).

Next, the Pop Insiders move on to TV and Sean provides a spoiler free review of the second season of Marvel’s Jessica Jones. Will he convince Amita to give the show a try? Stay tuned.

The co-hosts also review Meshell Ndegeocello’s new new album of covers, Ventriloquism, which touches their Gen-X hearts with innovative and emotional covers of songs from the 80’s and 90’s including Prince’s “Sometimes it Snows in April”, Force MD’s “Tender Love” and Janet Jackson’s “Funny How Time Flies (When You’re Having Fun)”.

Plus, Sean talks about seeing the new revival of the musical Carousel on Broadway starring Renée Fleming and Joshua Henry (his Instagram is a must follow if you love soulful acoustic versions of songs from Hamilton and of course you love that) and discusses the challenges of enjoying a musical from the 50’s that has domestic abuse as a main plot point.

And the Big Sell returns from its month long sabbatical with a bang! Hear Sean’s review of Vulfpeck. And guess which new podcast he’s selling to Amita? The answer will NOT surprise you!

As promised – Sean’s favorite Mama tribute song.

Like us on Facebook

You can also find us on MaximumFun.org

Queer Eye: An Interview with Queer Eye Producer James Barker – IP 112

February 28, 2018February 27, 2018 | insidepoppodcast

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | RSS

In this special Producer to Producer episode, we interview friend of Inside Pop James Barker about one of the most popular shows currently on television, Netflix’s reboot of Queer Eye. James produced multiple episodes of this season and he gives us a behind the scenes look at the making of this pop culture phenomenon.

Listen to hear:

How hundreds of hours of footage got edited down into 8 brilliant episodes.
The differences between the original Queer Eye for the Straight Guy and this new version.
How producers captured the heartfelt moments that have America sobbing
An update on fan favorite AJ
And James’ tips on a few special things to look for while watching this series.

Like us on Facebook

You can also find us on MaximumFun.org

Oscar Nominations, Black Panther, Kelela – IP 108

January 24, 2018January 23, 2018 | insidepoppodcast

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | RSS

It’s been a long, strange, sometimes underwhelming trip to the Oscar Nominations but we’re here to share our immediate reactions. We give you our thoughts on why certain movies are heading to the red carpet and others got snubbed and we also try to make sense of why the film Three Billboards Outside of Ebbing, Missouri has become a frontrunner. We celebrate nominations for Get Out, The Big Sick, Logan, Mudbound and Lady Bird and share our gratitude to whomever was genius enough to book Tiffany Haddish to announce the nominations.

Plus, Sean makes his case for why Black Panther should have received an Oscar nomination THIS year! He’s not joking!

And we end the show with The Big Sell. Sean rates Amita’s Big Sell from last time, Kelela’s “Frontline,” and then Big Sells Amita an article by Alissa Wilkinson (one of his favorite culture critics) on the backlash against Three Billboards Outside of Ebbing, Missouri. Read it HERE

Like us on Facebook

You can also find us on MaximumFun.org

Black Mirror, The Chi, Forgotten Films of 2017 with Dave Karger, Pop Culture Resolutions – IP 106

January 3, 2018January 2, 2018 | insidepoppodcast

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | RSS

Did you resolve to put more time and energy into staying on top of the best pop culture stories of the week? Lucky for you, The Pop Insiders are here to help you keep that resolution with our brand new episode!

First, we give our spoiler free reviews of the new Lena Waithe Showtime drama – The Chi (please feel free to listen and then correct our pronunciation of the title of this show) and the first episode of the new season of Black Mirror.

Then we speak with IMDb special correspondent and frequent Today Show awards commentator – Dave Karger – about the movies of 2017 that may not be front-runners for the big awards, but are definitely worthy of your attention. From Detroit to Wonderstruck to Downsizing, Dave will tell you why you should give these flicks a second – or maybe first chance.

We also share our pop culture resolutions for the new year and hold each other accountable for how successful we were in keeping our 2017 resolutions.

And the Big Sell returns – Sean recommends (wait for it) a new new age song (nope that isn’t a typo) to start Amita’s year off on an optimistic and blissful note.

Like us on Facebook

You can also find us on MaximumFun.org

Interview with Dee Rees & Charles King of Mudbound, 100th Episode, Inside Pop Quiz – IP 100

November 15, 2017November 14, 2017 | insidepoppodcast

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | RSS

After two years, and thousands of hours of tv viewing, music listening and theater attending . . . Inside Pop’s 100th episode has arrived! Join us as we celebrate 100 episodes of pop culture obsession!

First up, we present our interview with director Dee Rees (Pariah, Bessie) and Charles King, Executive Producer, CEO and Founder of Macro. The pair sit down with Sean to discuss their new film, Mudbound; and in addition to sharing a behind the scenes view of their epic new film, they also discuss their unique working relationship; why they both choose to work in film AND television and their future plans to tell diverse stories.

Next, we celebrate our 100th episode with a special edition of the Inside Pop quiz called, ” You Don’t Know Me Inside Pop . . .Quiz!” Sean and Amita quiz each other on how well they know . . . their own podcast. Can you guess who has won the equivalent of the Inside Pop EGOT? Can you name all of the inductees in Sean’s ‘House of Hyperbole’? Play along to see if your attention span and your memory is better than ours.

And we present the 100th edition of the Big Sell. Sean’s rates Amita’s Big Sell from last week, the artist Makoto Azuma, and sells Amita John Legend’s cover of Joni Mitchell’s “Woodstock.”

Like us on Facebook

You can also find us on MaximumFun.org

Stranger Things 2 premieres, 2 Years of Inside Pop, Produced By NY, BigSell30 Wraps – IP 98

November 1, 2017October 31, 2017 | insidepoppodcast

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | RSS

We’ve come along way, baby! This week Inside Pop celebrates two years of weekly pop culture podcasting!

We start with a round-up of the Producers Guild of America’s Produced By NY conference. We attended this event along with 100s of other television and film producers and gathered information about some major upcoming projects including Black Panther, Mudbound, Marshall, The Post, Call Me By Your Name, The Shape of Water and more! And we share some great stories with you!

Then we review the first few episodes of Stranger Things 2. One of us is as happy as Dustin playing Dig Dug to be back with the gang from Hawkins. The other is worried the series may be in danger of repeating itself.

Finally we wrap our #BigSell30 day challenge and discuss some of the pop culture we consumed over the past 30 days. And Sean rates Amita’s Big Sell from last week (a photo project from Stefan Draschan) and Big Sells her on a new documentary about George Michael.

Like us on Facebook

You can also find us on MaximumFun.org