The Best Stuff In The World

It’s time to play the music, it’s time to light the lights. It’s time to do this podcast on The Best Stuff In The World, the podcast for people who like things! Today we’re talking about The Muppets. Jim Henson’s beloved troupe of puppet character goes back decades: at one point The Muppet Show was one of the most popular tv shows in the entire world and Kermit, Miss Piggy, Gonzo and the rest have gone on to appear in movies, Disney theme park attractions, comics, cartoons, and more that I can’t think of while I’m writing this episode synopsis. It’s hard to think of another group of characters who have stayed this beloved for this long, or another franchise that manages to combine genuine warmth with abject chaos the way the Muppets do.To help us unpack all of it is our very special guest star Sue Kisenwether! Sue co-hosted the Star Trek podcast Women at Warp for 10 years, works in the New York Theater world, and is one of the biggest Muppet enthusiasts that I know, and I know my share. You can find out all about Sue at her website subspacesue.com and you can usually also find Sue at Dragon Con doing awesome stuff like hosting late night readings of Star Trek fan fiction or running the nerdy game show Fandom Feud.Find Sue at her website: subspacesue.comOur theme music is by Mister Michael BrousseauYou can email this show at [email protected]. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We’re talking about John Carpenter’s 1982 horror classic The Thing. When it came out, critics hated it and audiences mostly stayed home but over the following decades it was reappraised as one of the greatest horror movies ever made, and I feel that reputation is well deserved.It’s the story of a team of researchers at a remote Antarctic station who take in a stray dog, which turns out to be a shape-shifting alien that can imitate any living thing it absorbs. Kurt Russell leads a cast of fantastic character actors who slowly realize that any one of them could be the monster, and that nobody can leave. Mix in Rob Bottin’s astonishingly gross practical effects, a score by the legendary Ennio Morricone, and an ambiguous ending people are still arguing about, and you get a movie that ranks up there with Ridley Scott’s Alien as being among the best sci-fi horror ever made.To get into all of it, including some of John Carpenter’s other work from around this time, I am thrilled to be joined by returning guest Gary Mitchel, co-host of the horror podcast A Podcask of Amontillado. Gary and his co-host Erin cover all aspects of horror and you should go check that show out after you listen to this one!Gary's horror podcast A Podcask of Amontillado can be found here: A Podcask of AmontilladoI was recently a guest on The Flopcast to talk about Fairuza Balk's work in 1996's The Craft and 1986's The Worst Witch. Listen here: Flopcast 754 - Fairuzapalooza Part One: Lack of TootieOur theme music is by Mister Michael BrousseauYou can email this show at [email protected]. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Jane Austen’s classic novel Pride and Prejudice came out in 1813, and it has basically never stopped being popular. We get into what we think the reasons for that are during the episode, but it’s smart, it’s funny, it’s romantic, and it still holds up over 200 years later. Pride and Prejudice tells the story of Elizabeth Bennett, one of the great protagonists in English literature, a character who is witty, intelligent and wrong about every judgement she rushes to make in the first half of the book, and her strange relationship with the wealthy and prideful Mr. Darcy. Along the way she receives no less than three marriage proposals and the entire family’s reputation is nearly ruined by impulsive younger sister Lydia and her poor decisions. And there's a lot of dancing.My guests are literature teacher Dee Anne Anderson and Ann Gav of the Eurovision blog Dudepoints and we get into the book, its enduring popularity, and its many adaptations (Colin Firth and Jennifer Ehle or GTFO.)Ann Gav's Eurovision blog is here: Dudepoints.funDee Anne writes about Sleep No More on Tumblr: https://readwithjoy.tumblr.com/Our theme music is by Mister Michael BrousseauYou can email this show at [email protected]. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

I’m back after my little break for Dragon Con to talk about the greatest of all television shows, Buffy the Vampire Slayer!On the face of it, Buffy is ridiculous: a show about a teenage girl who fights vampires and demons on top of a literal hellmouth in suburban California and yet somehow it wound up being one of the smartest, funniest, and most emotionally devastating shows ever made. The early seasons had a central metaphor of high school as literal hell, the later seasons got into more ambitious long-form storytelling, and the whole thing was anchored by a powerhouse performance by Sarah Michelle Gellar as Buffy Summers, the one girl in all the world who had the strength to fight the forces of evil. The show had uniquely witty dialogue, the emotional stakes for the characters were always as high as they could possibly be and it is, with my hand on my heart, my favorite tv show of all time.Joining me to discuss Buffy is returning guest Derek B. Gayle from the Glitterjaw Queer Podcast Collective. Derek co-hosts a ton of great podcasts on Glitterjaw, and you should go check them all out. Links below.Also joining me is Laura Leslie - Laura’s someone I met through our shared fandom of the Punchdrunk show Sleep No More but she also ran one of the most popular Buffy fan fiction sites back in the day and it was awesome to talk with her about a different shared enthusiasm. You can find Laura online at her Tumblr Drink the Halo.Derek's Glitterjaw Podcasts:Gimmicks: https://www.glitterjaw.com/gimmicksWalloping Websnappers! A Spider-Man Podcast: https://wallopingwebsnappers.wordpress.com/Skreeonk! A Godzilla Movie Marathon: https://www.glitterjaw.com/skreeonkLee Carvallo's Podding Challenge: A Simpsons Gaming Podcast: https://www.glitterjaw.com/lee-carvalloOur theme music is by Mister Michael BrousseauYou can email this show at [email protected]. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

It's the return of our occasional segment where guests come on to talk about albums that changed their lives - the last time we did this was about a year ago when Gary Mitchel joined to talk about Portishead’s Dummy and this time I’m welcoming back to the show writer and musician Andre Salles to talk about two of his favorite records, Tori Amos’ Little Earthquakes and Talk Talk’s Laughing Stock!We get into why Andre chose these particular albums in the episode, and there are links to Andre’s bandcamp and old music blog Tuesday Morning 3am in the shownotes. We recorded this episode a few months ago, and since the recording Andre has launched a patreon - he’s making three albums this year with the support of his patrons: an instrumental guitar record, an album of songs with lyrics about grief, and an electronic ambient suite. He’s also creating improvised diaries each month and those are on the band camp: andresalles.bandcamp.com. The patreon is patreon.com/andresalles.Our theme music is by Mister Michael BrousseauPer usual, You can email this show at [email protected]. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

I’m joined by author Michael Blanding to talk about his fascinating new book THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO HOBBY LOBBY.Hobby Lobby is the multibillion-dollar craft store chain you may have wandered through for picture frames and fake flowers at some point, founded and owned by the Greens, an evangelical Christian family who have spent decades quietly using their fortune to push their religious beliefs into American law and culture, from a Supreme Court case that gutted contraception coverage, to a Bible museum blocks from the Capitol, to a long, well-funded campaign to remake the country in their image.Michael’s book traces the Greens' rise from a single picture-frame shop in Oklahoma to one of the most quietly powerful families in the country. His reporting took him from the Oklahoma prairie to plundered museums in Iraq to a monastery library in Egypt, and he's also the author of THE MAP THIEF and IN SHAKESPEARE'S SHADOW. This episode’s a little heavier than our usual fare, but I loved hearing Michael talk about the process of writing this book and I think you will too.Check out Michael and his upcoming appearances in support of the book at his website: https://www.michaelblanding.com/You can get THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO HOBBY LOBBY at a cool indie bookstore near you, or through bookshop.org: THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO HOBBY LOBBYI was recently a guest on the podcast Channel 37's After Midnight to talk about the bonkers 1977 Japanese horror movie House! Listen here: AFTER MIDNIGHT: HOUSEOur theme music is by Mister Michael BrousseauPer usual, You can email this show at [email protected]. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

AMC's The Vampire Lestat is based on the popular novel by the late Anne Rice, part of her VAMPIRE CHRONICLES series and continuing on from Interview with the Vampire, which is what the previous two seasons of the tv show were called.It’s a really bonkers show where Lestat, played by Sam Reid, forms a rock band where he sings about vampire stuff and goes on tour and kills people and has sex with people, not necessarily in that order. Joining me to unpack all of it are Hanako M. Ricks from the Fandom Hybrid Podcast, where she and her co-hosts dig into all corners of pop culture and storytelling, and writer, filmmaker and VAMPIRE CHRONICLES SUPERFAN Erica Robert Pallo, who was absolutely wearing a LESTAT LIVES t-shirt while we recorded this. Spoilers absolutely abound in this discussion, both for the tv show and for the first two books in the novel series, so if you haven't caught up yet, go do that and come on back. Or just listen. Lestat would be okay with that, and so would I.You can find Hanako M Ricks and the Fandom Hybrid podcast here: Fandom Hybrid PodcastYou can find Erica Robert Pallo here: https://www.instagram.com/ericarobertpalloYou can also find Erica's past podcast appearances on Linktree: Erica Robert PalloOur theme music is by Mister Michael BrousseauPer usual, You can email this show at [email protected]. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We're talking with writer, director, producer, and actor Julia Campanelli!Julia is the founder of SHELTER FILM and SHELTER THEATRE GROUP in New York City, companies built around a simple but urgent mission: changing the narrative through visually provocative, genre-expanding, socially impactful projects by and about women.As a filmmaker, she's written, directed, and produced a string of award-winning short films, including 116, Choose to Love, and A Day in November. She's currently developing her feature script The Paisley Witch Trial (winner of Best Screenplay at Raindance) for production in Scotland and she is crowdfunding a new short film called The Deer.On stage, Julia has directed and produced thirteen productions across NYC, including the critically acclaimed Macbeth on LES. I first came to know Julia when she joined the cast of the long running immersive theater juggernaut Sleep No More in New York and I know I have had my share of Sleep No More people on this podcast and my main goal with wanting to talk to Julia was to talk about The Deer and the Paisley Witches script but - surprise surprise - we wind up talking a lot about Sleep No More too. We cover a lot of ground that I don't feel was covered in previous interviews about the show - the early days of the Gallow Green rooftop space (and the secrets of the Gallow Green one on one scene!), the 6th floor one on one, and performing as one of the interactive characters in the Manderley Bar.Julia’s up to so much cool stuff and she’s such an interesting person that this is a long interview but I think it’s well worth your time.Check out the crowdfunding campaign for The Deer here: The Deer Film CampaignMore information about Julia can be found on her website: juliacampanelli.comOur theme music is by Mister Michael BrousseauPer usual, You can email this show at [email protected]. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Put down that chainsaw and listen to me! My guests and I are spending this episode talking all about the life and career of a singular American artist: "Weird Al" Yankovic!"Weird Al" has been making music for over forty years now and I think his story is genuinely one of the most interesting in music - he's outlasted pretty much everyone he's ever parodied, he's won five Grammys, and he seems to be more popular than ever, selling out Madison Square Garden on his most recent tour. I’m joined by returning guests and "Weird Al" superfans Kevin Eldridge from the great podcast The Flopcast and by musician and writer Dana Stinson to talk all things Al - the videos, the parodies, the non-parodies, the movies, the just-announced Broadway show, and more!Check out Kevin Eldridge's podcast here: The FlopcastYou can check out Kevin's comedy music band here: The Sponge Awareness FoundationDana's on Bluesky! https://bsky.app/profile/bimbokatan.bsky.socialDana published a "Hamilton" parody song about Dragon Con last year! Go check it out: You Will WaitOur theme music is by Mister Michael BrousseauPer usual, You can email this show at [email protected]. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We are talking to writer, designer, filmmaker, editor and other multi-hyphens I can’t come up with right now Rachel Lichtman!Rachel’s latest project is Programme 4 - a multimedia video project that creates an entire world centered around the fictional tv station Programme 4. Rachel has been touring with a roughly 90 minute Programme 4 compilation featuring ads, music videos, and opening credits to shows that don’t exist. Rachel’s able to bring to bear her design skills and her filmmaking skills on Programme 4 and I can honestly say there’s not really much like it. Rachel does a better job describing Programme 4 in the interview than I’m doing here but it’s really unique and cool and she collaborates with a ton of awesome and talented folks like Aimee Mann, Juliana Hatfield, Ted Leo, Eugene Mirman, and way more than I can list here including former guest of THIS show Josh Kantor. She’s been taking it on the road so if it comes to your town make sure to check it out.Check out Programme 4 here! Programme 4July 16 in New York! Make the scene with With Dave Hill, Josh Gondelman, Ted Leo, Tammy Faye Starlite, Angela DiCarlo, Nath Ann Carrera, Eszter Balint, and Eric Drysdale + Musical Director, David Nagler: https://kydlabs.com/e/EV6b612b7e-4b07-468c-8c61-c1560b02b180?referral_id=g-2f289b97-e394-4114-ab7f-c002e7f82474Per usual, You can email this show at [email protected]. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.