Better Than the Movie 31: A FACE IN THE CROWD w/ Buzzy Cohen

JEOPARDY! champion Buzzy Cohen returns to Better Than the Movie for a third short-story-to-film adaptation discussion. This time it's the tragicomic showbiz/political tale A FACE IN THE CROWD (1957), written by Budd Schulberg and directed by Elia Kazan, based on Schulberg's short story, "Your Arkansas Traveler." Future lovable sitcom dad Andy Griffith stars as Larry "Lonesome" Rhodes, a vagabond folk singer who becomes a TV sensation and fledgling demagogue. It's a film chock full of great performances that also acts as a sad reflection on the times -- both then and now. There are lots of Lonesome Rhodes in the world, at varying points of the good-evil continuum. Some of the Lonesomes the BTTM crew discuss here include Ronald Reagan, Donald Trump, Bruce Springsteen, and Dhar Mann. You won't want to miss this one. Hosted by Tyler Austin, Allan Traylor, and Justin Remer. Produced by Justin Remer.  Recorded at the LAPL Octavia Lab. Check out the "Better Than the Movie" audiobook playlist on Libro.fm - https://libro.fm/playlists/skylight-better-than-the-movie Opening music: "Optimism (Instrumental)" by Duck the Piano Wire   Closing music: "Rule of 3s (Solemnity Child)" by Elastic No-No Band 

Novelist Hannah Lillith Assadi makes her podcast debut to discuss her new book, Paradiso 17, about a Palestinian man's restless lifelong search for home. Writer and bookseller Sina Grace talks with Assadi, who is a longtime friend, about the process of funneling the grief from the recent passing of her father into a novel that is partly his story and partly her own. They talk character, they talk process, and they even digress into a long tangent on Emerald Fennell's Wuthering Heights (we just can't stop talking about it on this podcast!). Pick up a copy of the book at Skylight or order the audiobook version from Libro.fm.  Hosted by Sina Grace. Produced by Justin Remer. Recorded at the LAPL Octavia Lab. Opening music: "Optimism (Instrumental)" by Duck the Piano Wire.  Closing music: "Rule of 3s (Solemnity Child)" by Elastic No-No Band. 

This year is the 40th anniversary of Jim Henson's beloved cult classic film Labyrinth, and author Jes Battis is on the podcast to discuss their new book on the film: It's Only Forever: Labyrinth (available April 7, 2026). Starring Jennifer Connelly, David Bowie, and a slew of goblins and goodies from Jim Henson's Creature Shop, the film is a storybook fantasy that transcended its original box office failure to become a fan favorite. It's Only Forever is both an analytical and personal text, and Battis discusses the book's reading of the film as a queer narrative released in a time of '80s macho orthodoxy. Hosted and produced by Justin Remer.  Recorded remotely via Zencastr.  If you like podcasts, maybe you enjoy audiobooks too. Please check out the Skylight Books Podcast playlist of audiobooks featured in our recent Skylit author interviews, on Libro.fm. Opening music: "Optimism (Instrumental)" by Duck the Piano Wire.  Closing music: "Rule of 3s (Solemnity Child)" by Elastic No-No Band. 

Weird Al for all! On this episode, we are joined by Wes Locher, the author of the new biography aimed at middle-grade readers, Who Is "Weird Al" Yankovic?, from the Who HQ series of nonfiction children's books. He talks with writer and bookseller Justin Remer about the process of researching and writing nonfiction for kids, as well as exploring his favorite aspects of writing about Weird Al. Since Justin has his own book on Weird Al (geared at adults) coming out later this year, they have a lot in common to talk about.  Pick up a copy of the book at Skylight or order the audiobook version from Libro.fm. Hosted and produced by Justin Remer. Recorded remotely via Zencastr. Opening music: "Optimism (Instrumental)" by Duck the Piano Wire.  Closing music: "Rule of 3s (Solemnity Child)" by Elastic No-No Band. 

Moor! Moor! Moor! The Better Than the Movie gang is hanging out where it's wily and windy, and they've brought along filmmaker and labor organizer Paige Gresty to talk about it. The subject is Emerald Fennell's "WUTHERING HEIGHTS" (complete with quotation marks) and its purported source novel, WUTHERING HEIGHTS (no quotation marks) by Emily Brontë. (Justin also watched the 1939 version with Laurence Olivier and Merle Oberon, so there's an eensy weensy bit of talk about that movie too.) Is Fennell's film horny? Is it kinky? Is it subversive? Is it flashy? Is it any good? Well, I guess we'll find out.   Hosted by Justin Remer, Allan Traylor, and Tyler Austin. Produced by Justin Remer.  Recorded at the LAPL Octavia Lab.  Check out the "Better Than the Movie" audiobook playlist on Libro.fm - https://libro.fm/playlists/skylight-better-than-the-movie Opening music: "Optimism (Instrumental)" by Duck the Piano Wire   Closing music: "Rule of 3s (Solemnity Child)" by Elastic No-No Band  

Keywords for this episode: Surprising, enlightening, entertaining, provocative, warm, inclusive, thoughtful, required listening. Simona Supekar talks with bookseller Justin Remer about her new book in the Object Lessons series, Stock Photo. Starting with her history as a former keyworder for a stock photography company, Supekar explores the way these largely ignored components of the websites we visit shape our ideas about beauty, race, cultural heritage, and gender. She discusses the way that photo-generating AI is being trained on datasets that she helped construct. She talks about the changes in the industry in the past half-century. And, of course, she talks about all those stock photo memes.  If you're in the Los Angeles area, please check out our in-store event for the Object Lessons books Stock Photo and Ballot on Thursday, March, 12, 2026.  Produced and hosted by Justin Remer.  Recorded remotely via Zencastr.  Opening music: "Optimism (Instrumental)" by Duck the Piano Wire.  Closing music: "Rule of 3s (Solemnity Child)" by Elastic No-No Band. 

KOSMIC! Novelist, comics writer, and historian Stuart Moore joins the podcast to discuss his new book for the Marvel Age of Comics critical series from Bloomsbury and Marvel, Doctor Strange: A Decade of Dark Magic. As the title promises, Moore's book looks at the first ten years of the character - from its start as a supporting feature in Strange Tales from artist Steve Ditko and writer Stan Lee through multiple reimaginings and adjustments in the hands of writers and artists like Roy Thomas, Gene Colan, and Steve Englehart. In this discussion with bookseller Justin Remer, Moore talks about the dialogue Doctor Strange created with the '60s counterculture, the tumultuous publishing history of the title, and his own prior interactions with the late Ditko and Lee. If you stick around, there's some Toxic Avenger talk near the end as well.  Pick up a copy of the book at Skylight or order the audiobook version from Libro.fm. Hosted and produced by Justin Remer.  Recorded remotely via Zencastr.  Opening music: "Optimism (Instrumental)" by Duck the Piano Wire.  Closing music: "Rule of 3s (Solemnity Child)" by Elastic No-No Band. 

Adorn yourself. Cultural critic and poet Eileen G'Sell joins Skylight's Keila Cone-Uemura to about her new book in the Object Lessons series, Lipstick. They discuss perceptions of beauty in social contexts, in political contexts, and in pop culture. How is Chappell Roan's use of makeup a cultural subversion? What makes "Mar-a-Lago face" such an unsettling phenomenon? These questions and more are explored. Pick up a copy of the book at Skylight or order the audiobook version from Libro.fm.  Hosted by Keila Cone-Uemura.  Produced by Keila Cone-Uemura and Justin Remer.  Recorded remotely via Zencastr.  Opening music: "Optimism (Instrumental)" by Duck the Piano Wire.  Closing music: "Rule of 3s (Solemnity Child)" by Elastic No-No Band. 

Frank Miller and David Mazzuchelli's classic story arc of Daredevil comics from the mid-'80s, known as Born Again, is the subject of a new book from comics writer and editor Chris Ryall. Daredevil: Born Again - An Exploration is part of Bloomsbury and Marvel's new series of small critical books dedicated to classic comics runs, Marvel Age of Comics. Comics writer and artist (and Skylight's own) Sina Grace talks to Chris Ryall about this legendary Daredevil run and about the process of writing a book about such a major piece of the Marvel Comics canon. Pick up a copy of Chris Ryall's book from Skylight or order the audiobook version from Libro.fm.  Hosted by Sina Grace.  Produced by Sina Grace and Justin Remer.  Recorded remotely via Zencastr.  Opening music: "Optimism (Instrumental)" by Duck the Piano Wire.  Closing music: "Rule of 3s (Solemnity Child)" by Elastic No-No Band. 

It's the end of an era - or a trilogy - or something. Author and podcaster Garon Cockrell (Demonic and Other Tales) returns for his third guest appearance on BTTM to talk Clive Barker! This crew previously reviewed Nightbreed (BTTM episode 11) and Hellraiser (BTTM 22), so there's only one last feature film where Barker adapted himself: 1995's Lord of Illusions, based on the novella The Last Illusion (from the same collection that contains Nightbreed's source: Cabal). It's an opportunity for another raucous, silly discussion that is just good, clean, macabre fun. Check out the "Better Than the Movie" audiobook playlist on Libro.fm - https://libro.fm/playlists/skylight-better-than-the-movie Hosted by Allan Traylor, Tyler Austin, and Justin Remer.  Produced by Justin Remer.  Recorded remotely via Zencastr.  Opening music: "Optimism (Instrumental)" by Duck the Piano Wire  Closing music: "Rule of 3s (Solemnity Child)" by Elastic No-No Band