Anna and Ben cough, gasp, and wheeze their way through the 1971 Norman Lear satire about a whole town that tries to quit smoking, Cold Turkey. Will they come to a consensus about whether the film unfairly judges the characters or successfully establishes stakes, or will Big Tobacco keep their findings from the light of … Continue reading 19 February, 1971: Cold Turkey

Anna and Ben venture into the heretofore unknown territory of 1971, and investigate Jules Feiffer's and Alan Arkin's Little Murders. They forensically dissect the romantic power dynamics between Elliot Gould's and Marcia Rodd's characters, but come to very different conclusions about the essence and impact of Donald Sutherland's satirical preacher. If they agree, fine; if … Continue reading 9 February, 1971: Little Murders

The BBC would like to apologize for the following summary: just for the halibut, Nathan and Ben fish through the episode's many inside references and call-backs, floundering to find a unifying theme. They cod have found something better than this one, but you know what they say: hake it 'til you make it! Reach for … Continue reading 17 – The Buzz Aldrin Show

Tonight, on "It's the Mind", we examine the phenomenon of déja vu, that strange sensation when it feels like Nathan and Ben have already talked about the possibility of last minute edits, Scottish "racism", the hilarity of explosions, and the world record for balancing eggs before. https://audioboom.com/posts/7763036-episode-16-deja-vu Sources and References The Official William McGonagall website … Continue reading Episode 16: Déja Vu

Anna and Ben divert somewhat from the traditional format of the podcast and after comparing The Aristocats to its canine antecedents and pondering feline genetic— and financial! — inheritance, they get lost in the weeds of discussing Disney's influence on and responsibility to popular culture. So much so that after the quiz on "catnappings", there … Continue reading 24 December 1970: The Aristocats

Anna and Ben receive a mysterious package that sends them on a journey of critical analysis regarding Chuck Jones' animated adaptation of The Phantom Tollbooth. They confer about educational theory, converse about mindless tasks, and chat about wordplay before being subjected to the demon that is the terrible Trivium, um, trivia contest. https://audioboom.com/posts/7730310 Sources and … Continue reading 7 November 1970: The Phantom Tollbooth

Nathan and Ben discuss the increasing public ire the six Python Boys are willing to display about the BBC, whether the existing show was the result of last minute edits, and charm of expecting a running gag. But nobody expects a quiz about the 1963 film Charade and a digression about 1992's tech espionage film … Continue reading Episode 15: The Spanish Inquisition

Nathan and Ben return with a scheme called "The Other Podcast" where we threaten to analyse episodes of Monty Python's Flying Circus if you don't listen.  The next podcast scheme might be the turning point. Until then, enjoy their musings on Graham Chapman's depictions of camp and a quiz on Cartesian Dualism. https://audioboom.com/posts/7701543-episode-14-face-the-press Sources and … Continue reading Episode 14: Face the Press

Anna and Ben sit down to investigate the rebellious origins of BBS Productions' film Five Easy Pieces. While not actually a comedy, they examine it as a forerunner of Nicholson's manic performances and an extension of Rafelson's work with The Monkees, and then delve into trivia surrounding the classical music featured in the soundtrack. Sources … Continue reading 12 September 1970: Five Easy Pieces