SXSW 2026 - Thanks for Nothing and The Ascent

Send us Fan MailWarning: This episode talks about suicide. If you or someone you know is thinking about harming themselves please call 988.Thanks for Nothing is a dark comedy about four friends who live in a self made group home and must work together to save their friend from her continued suicide attempts. We are joined by director Stella Marie Markert and actor Lea Drinda to discuss the creative styling of the characters, the importance of women friendships, and the meaning of a "staying of age" film.The Ascent is a doc about climber Mandy Horvath, a bilateral amputee attempting to crawl to the summit of Mt. Kilimanjaro on her hands, while also following the investigation surrounding the night she tragically lost her legs. We are joined by directors Scott Veltri and Edward Drake, and Mandy Horvath to discuss the trust it took to make this film, how they trained for the climb, and smoking a cigarette on top of the world's tallest free standing mountain.Follow director Stella Marie Markert on IGFollow actor Lea Drinda on IGFollow director Scott Veltri on IGFollow director Edward Drake on IG Follow climber Mandy Horvath on IGThank you to our sponsors, Standard Deviant Brewing and The Tech We WantAudio Produced by Jeff Hunt of Storied: SFCo-hosted by John Wildman of Films Gone WildSupport the showThanks for listening and for your support! We couldn't have won Best of the Bay Best Podcast in 2022 , 2023 , and 2024 without you!--Fight fascism. Shop small. Use cash. Fuck ice.--Support Bitch Talk here!Subscribe to our channel on YouTube for behind the scenes footage!Rate and review us wherever you listen to podcasts!Visit our website! www.bitchtalkpodcast.comFollow us on Instagram, Threads, and SubstackListen every Monday at 7 am on BFF.FM

Send us Fan MailYour Attention Please is a doc that follows the change makers fighting back against Big Tech's agenda to define the future of human connection. We are joined by director Sara Robin, cinematographer Yahna Harris, and inventor Trisha Prabhu, to discuss healthy ways in which they counter screen time, and setting intentions for our use of technology.Dreamquil is set in the not so distant future when poor air quality leads people to live their lives mostly virtually, and Carol, a dissatisfied career mother, signs up for a digital wellness retreat in an attempt to get her life back on track. We are joined by co-writer/director Alex Prager to discuss how she created the feel of this future universe, and our struggle to maintain a sense of humanity in the age of AI.Lesbian Simulator is a VR experience that creates awareness and empathy in a fun and playful manner. We were excited to chat with creator Iris van der Meule about queer joy and the positive reactions she's been receiving from around the world.Follow Your Attention Please on IGFollow director Sara Robin on IGFollow cinematographer Yahna Harris on IGFollow inventor Trisha Prabhu on IGFollow Dreamquil on IGFollow director Alex Prager on IGFollow digital creator Iris van der Meule on IGThank you to our sponsors, Standard Deviant Brewing and The Tech We WantAudio Produced by Jeff Hunt of Storied: SFCo-hosted by John Wildman of Films Gone WildSupport the showThanks for listening and for your support! We couldn't have won Best of the Bay Best Podcast in 2022 , 2023 , and 2024 without you!--Fight fascism. Shop small. Use cash. Fuck ice.--Support Bitch Talk here!Subscribe to our channel on YouTube for behind the scenes footage!Rate and review us wherever you listen to podcasts!Visit our website! www.bitchtalkpodcast.comFollow us on Instagram, Threads, and SubstackListen every Monday at 7 am on BFF.FM

Send us Fan MailRock Springs is a horror film that follows a young girl and her mother as they move to a remote house after the death of her father, only to discover a monster hidden in the town's history and the woods behind their house. Director Vera Miao and star Kelly Marie Tran join us to discuss the Chinese American diaspora, being Asian American women in the entertainment industry, and the importance of legacy work.In Mam, Jerald - a self-taught chef from small-town Texas - falls in love with Vietnamese cuisine after a life-changing trip abroad, and moves to NY with one goal: to open his own restaurant. Director Nan Feix, and actors Jerald Head and Nhung Dao Head join us to discuss the importance of community, how neighborhood faces became integral characters in the film, and why Jerald and Nhung's real life story helped the film come to life.Follow actor Kelly Marie Tran on IGFollow Mam on IGFollow director Nan Feix on IGFollow actor Jerald Head on IGFollow actor Nhung Dao Head on IGThank you to our festival sponsors, Standard Deviant Brewing and The Tech We WantAudio Produced by Jeff Hunt of Storied: San FranciscoSupport the showThanks for listening and for your support! We couldn't have won Best of the Bay Best Podcast in 2022 , 2023 , and 2024 without you!--Fight fascism. Shop small. Use cash. Fuck ice.--Support Bitch Talk here!Subscribe to our channel on YouTube for behind the scenes footage!Rate and review us wherever you listen to podcasts!Visit our website! www.bitchtalkpodcast.comFollow us on Instagram, Threads, and SubstackListen every Monday at 7 am on BFF.FM

Send us Fan MailMy Brother's Killer chronicles the unsolved murder of Billy London, a gay adult film performer who was brutally killed in West Hollywood more than 30 years ago. Director Rachel Mason and producer/editor Dion Labriola join us to discuss the importance of memorializing Billy's life, the one and only Penelope Spheeris coming on board as executive producer, and collecting gay porn.Time and Water is a documentary that follows renowned Icelandic poet and author Andri Snær Magnason as he writes a memorial for the death of a glacier while interlacing his family's history as an overall reflection of home, loss and change. Director (and returning guest) Sara Dosa joins us to share why she went back to film a second documentary in Iceland, approaching the environment and climate change through an emotional connection, and how our past and memories provide a road map for the future.Follow director Rachel Mason on IGFollow producer/editor Dion Labriola on IGFollow director Sara Dosa on IGThank you to our festival sponsors, Standard Deviant Brewing and The Tech We WantAudio Produced by Jeff Hunt of Storied: San FranciscoCo-hosted by John Wildman of Films Gone WildSupport the showThanks for listening and for your support! We couldn't have won Best of the Bay Best Podcast in 2022 , 2023 , and 2024 without you!--Fight fascism. Shop small. Use cash. Fuck ice.--Support Bitch Talk here!Subscribe to our channel on YouTube for behind the scenes footage!Rate and review us wherever you listen to podcasts!Visit our website! www.bitchtalkpodcast.comFollow us on Instagram, Threads, and SubstackListen every Monday at 7 am on BFF.FM

Send us Fan MailEdie Arnold is a Loser is a coming-of-age film about a group of high school outcasts who stir up trouble at their all-girls Catholic High School when they form a punk band. This interview was a full on party, as we are joined by co-director/writer Megan Rico, co-director Kade Atwood, and the film's stars Adi Madden Cabrera and McKenna Tuckett. We discuss our shared Catholic school trauma, their unique casting process, and the struggles of a horny teenager.Plantman and Blondie: A Dress Up Gang Film is a comedy about a plant vigilante that rescues neglected houseplants, and enlists a lonely man to join his cause. We're joined by co-writer/actor/comedian Frankie Quiñones to discuss how a real life Fiddle Leaf was an inspiration for this story, the origins of The Dress Up Gang, and what makes his mom such a natural actor.Follow Edie Arnold is a Loser on IGFollow director Kade Atwood on IGFollow actor Adi Madden Cabrera on IGFollow actor McKenna Tuckett on IGFollow The Dress up Gang on IGFollow actor/writer/comedian Frankie Quiñones on IGThank you to our festival sponsors, Standard Deviant Brewing and The Tech We WantAudio Produced by Jeff Hunt of Storied: San FranciscoCo-hosted by John Wildman of Films Gone WildSupport the showThanks for listening and for your support! We couldn't have won Best of the Bay Best Podcast in 2022 , 2023 , and 2024 without you!--Fight fascism. Shop small. Use cash. Fuck ice.--Support Bitch Talk here!Subscribe to our channel on YouTube for behind the scenes footage!Rate and review us wherever you listen to podcasts!Visit our website! www.bitchtalkpodcast.comFollow us on Instagram, Threads, and SubstackListen every Monday at 7 am on BFF.FM

Send us Fan MailFresh off the whirlwind of SXSW 2026, Erin and Ange reflect on all the action behind the scenes (while on location at an all you can eat/open bar brunch party). We've got red carpet hypes and gripes, learning to rethink our futures at The Tech We Want, a Lesbian Simulator VR experience, unpacking our secret crushes on Jack Johnson, and so much more... Thank you to our festival sponsor, Standard Deviant Brewing!Thank you to The Tech We Want for housing us!Support the showThanks for listening and for your support! We couldn't have won Best of the Bay Best Podcast in 2022 , 2023 , and 2024 without you!--Fight fascism. Shop small. Use cash. Fuck ice.--Support Bitch Talk here!Subscribe to our channel on YouTube for behind the scenes footage!Rate and review us wherever you listen to podcasts!Visit our website! www.bitchtalkpodcast.comFollow us on Instagram, Threads, and SubstackListen every Monday at 7 am on BFF.FM

Send us Fan MailWe're on location at one of our favorite events of the year, the Standard Deviant Brewing Pre-Superbowl Chili Cook-off! This is their 8th annual celebration of all things chili, and we have exclusive interviews with the chili makers and the final results! San Franciscans truly shine with creativity and talent, and this year was no different. We have everything from nuns to Toy Story, an ode to PBS and a first class Michelin star experience, cowboy recipes to dad's simple classic, a horrific zombie experience and a chili so unique it is simply not namable. We had so much fun, and to those who were there, thank you for your participation and we'll see you next year!Follow Standard Deviant Brewing on IGSupport the showThanks for listening and for your support! We couldn't have won Best of the Bay Best Podcast in 2022 , 2023 , and 2024 without you!--Fight fascism. Shop small. Use cash. Fuck ice.--Support Bitch Talk here!Subscribe to our channel on YouTube for behind the scenes footage!Rate and review us wherever you listen to podcasts!Visit our website! www.bitchtalkpodcast.comFollow us on Instagram, Threads, and SubstackListen every Monday at 7 am on BFF.FM

Send us Fan MailWelcome to 2 of our most fun red carpets ever!In Chasing Summer, Jamie returns to her small hometown, where friends and flings from a high school summer turn her life upside down. We chat with talent Lauren Aboulafia, Kristin Slaysman, Garrett Wareing, Cassidy "Uterus" Freeman, and Aimee Garcia, costumer Amela Baksic, dir Josephine Decker, and writer/star Iliza Shlesinger. Give Me the Ball is a doc about tennis icon Billie Jean King. We are joined by composers Laura Karpman + Nora Kroll-Rosenbaum, EP Marcia Cooke, prod Chris James, dir Liz Garbus, and the icon herself, BJK. Lauren Aboulafia on IGKristin Slaysman on IGGarrett Wareing on IGCassidy Freeman on IGAimee Garcia on IGAmela Baksic on IGJosephine Decker on IGIliza Shlesinger on IGLaura Karpman on IGNora Kroll-Rosenbaum on IGMarcia Cooke on IGLiz Garbus on IGSupport the showThanks for listening and for your support! We couldn't have won Best of the Bay Best Podcast in 2022 , 2023 , and 2024 without you!--Fight fascism. Shop small. Use cash. Fuck ice.--Support Bitch Talk here!Subscribe to our channel on YouTube for behind the scenes footage!Rate and review us wherever you listen to podcasts!Visit our website! www.bitchtalkpodcast.comFollow us on Instagram, Threads, and SubstackListen every Monday at 7 am on BFF.FM

Send us Fan MailThese two Sundance Film Festival documentaries discuss human life, both in how we deal with aging, and the lengths that we go to live longer.The Oldest Person in the World chronicles the ever-changing Guinness World Record holders of the title of oldest person alive. Director Sam Green discusses his curiosity with our obsession with death, why the record holders are mostly women, and how the story became something bigger that he never saw coming.Sentient exposes the hidden world of pain in laboratory research (both from the animals and the scientists that work in the field), questioning the justifications for harming animals and our alternatives in the future. Director Tony Jones sits down to share his frustration with vaccine deniers in the US, how we can move forward without animal testing, and why his goal with this film is to make the audience feel like you're on an emotional roller coaster. Follow director Sam Greene on IGThank you to our sponsor, Standard Deviant BrewingSupport the showThanks for listening and for your support! We couldn't have won Best of the Bay Best Podcast in 2022 , 2023 , and 2024 without you!--Fight fascism. Shop small. Use cash. Fuck ice.--Support Bitch Talk here!Subscribe to our channel on YouTube for behind the scenes footage!Rate and review us wherever you listen to podcasts!Visit our website! www.bitchtalkpodcast.comFollow us on Instagram, Threads, and SubstackListen every Monday at 7 am on BFF.FM

Send us Fan MailThese two Sundance documentaries touch on the importance of freedom of speech, and what happens when we both give people access and take it away.Public Access shares rare footage of NYC's media rebels who turned our screens into platforms for free expression, turning ordinary people into stars. We sit down with director David Shadrack Smith and subject/public access star Jake Fogelnest to discuss the wild west of public access TV, why Jake interrogated David before he agreed to participate in the film, and Jake being the original influencer.Seized documents the illegal raid of the Marion County Record, a small town Kansas newspaper, and what happened in its aftermath. Director Sharon Liese joins us to share how she gained the trust of the local people, the importance of telling both sides, and how the arrival of a new intern changed the way the story would be told.Follow director David Shadrack Smith on IGFollow Jake Fogelnest on IGFollow director Sharon Liese on IGThank you to our sponsor, Standard Deviant BrewingSupport the showThanks for listening and for your support! We couldn't have won Best of the Bay Best Podcast in 2022 , 2023 , and 2024 without you!--Fight fascism. Shop small. Use cash. Fuck ice.--Support Bitch Talk here!Subscribe to our channel on YouTube for behind the scenes footage!Rate and review us wherever you listen to podcasts!Visit our website! www.bitchtalkpodcast.comFollow us on Instagram, Threads, and SubstackListen every Monday at 7 am on BFF.FM