e209. PCA2022 Conference Paper Workshop & Preview

This week we’re going to try something a little different on the show. We’ve been mentioning in the past few weeks that we several of the hosts and our most frequent guests are all gearing ups for our big annual pop culture academia conference, PCA. In the past, we’ve had shows where we presented our…

e206. Return of the Oscars Preview – 2022

If you’re a movie fan then you might know that the Oscars are coming up next weekend. In fact, you probably even know if you’re not a movie fan. The Oscars are weird. Every year they’re a big deal for Hollywood… except really, does anyone care? The Oscars have been bleeding viewers lately, with last…

Call For Comments: Why do we fill out Oscar ballots?

Dune, West Side Story, The Power of the Dog, and Belfast are all nominees for the 2022 Academy Award for Best Picture From Monica: The 2022 Oscars are upcoming on March 27th, so we’re doing a good old-fashioned predictions episode. But as I sat down to fill out my ballot, I also found myself in…

e205. Why Do We Love Batman?

If you’re a regular listener of this show then you no doubt are aware that the Batman was released in cinemas last week. At the current moment, it is in fact the number one movie at the box office worldwide. And of course, that was to be expected. Everyone knew that it would be a…

Call for Comments: Hey, Are Y’all Talking About Batman?

From Hannah: How have we gone over two hundred episodes without dedicating an episode to talking about Batman? (Indeed, the Eternals of all superheroes got their own episode before we decided to focus on Batman.) From Mav: I mean, we didn’t. Episode 54 was totally all talking about Batman! Just none of you were on…

e201. The Romance Show: (Hannah wouldn’t let us call) Love In The Time Of COVID

Despite the fact that it is perennially one of the best selling genres in literature, Romance is often looked down upon. Part of this is simple misogyny; as a culture we look down upon things that are seen as “for women.” However, not only are romance novels dominant best sellers, romance as a concept essentially…

e200. Secret Origins Starring VoxPopcast: Special Anniversary Edition

It’s unbelievable, but somehow we’ve been doing this for 200 episodes! It’s time to celebrate. One today’s episode we look back on nearly four years of podcasting AND we discuss the secret origins of every host of the show and how we got into pop culture academia. PLUS, a two bonus secret origins of how…

CFC: Why Even Really Care About Banned Books Anyway?

From Mav: So, I guess we need to talk about “the Maus situation.” If you live in my world then it’s pretty impossible to escape the news from last week that Art Spiegelman’s Maus was “banned.” Between the fact that it’s a comic, that it was a politically motivated book banning, that there are issues…

e199. Nancy Drew & the Hidden Staircase to Pop Culture Immortality

Nancy Drew may be one of the most enduring figures in American Popular culture. First premiering in 1930, she predates Superman, Donald Duck, the Lone Ranger, two US states, FM radio, and the ball point pen. And yet — outside of her devoted fanbase — does not seem to garner the same respect of many…

e197. Serialization II: Electric Boogaloo (or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Franchise)

Way back on episode 170 we did a show talking about Serialization. As is often the case on our show… we resolved nothing. But we did note that there was so much to talk about that the conversation needed to be continued on a future show. Well this is that show. It’s time for Serialization…