Episodes

Cannes Film Festival Dispatch 5: Review Paweł Pawlikowski's 'Fatherland' (Guest Sophia Ciminello – AwardsWatch) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On a special episode from Cannes 2026, Christina interviews (her husband:), screenwriter Peter Birro, and director Gustaf Skarsgård about their upcoming film. They are at the festival to introduce The Cannibal, a psychological horror film about a screenwriter who goes to the island of Fårö to write a movie about Bergman, but soon encounters a demonic presence. Production starts in 2026. Audio & Video Video by Anton Isiukov https://www.antonisiukov.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit m...

Review! We are excited about Jane Schoenbrun's ‘Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma’ starring Hannah Einbinder and Gillian Anderson. Guest Ryan McQuade AwardsWatch.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Ryan McQuade of AwardsWatch joins Christina live from the Cannes Film Festival 2026 to discuss this year’s jury, predictions, and some of the fests biggest stories. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

What to expect from Pop Culture Confidential at the Cannes Film Festival 2026. Join us! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Emmy season is heating up, and Christina is joined by Eoin Daly (of @onofusnet) to break down and discuss the most buzzworthy TV! From the sharp humor of Hacks, to the brilliance of Beef season 2, Half Man, The Pitt, Survivor, and everything in between. With nominations just around the corner (July 8th!) make sure to tune in for hot takes, insights, and predictions! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Special cross-over episode! On episode 344 of The AwardsWatch Podcast, Executive Editor Ryan McQuade is joined by Editor-In-Chief Erik Anderson, AwardsWatch Associate Editor Sophia Ciminello, and Pop Culture Confidential’s Christina Birro to preview the 2026 Cannes Film Festival and also discuss the newest changes within the Academy for the upcoming Oscars and beyond. You can listen to The AwardsWatch Podcast wherever you stream podcasts, from iTunes, iHeartRadio, Soundcloud, Stitcher, Spotify,...

Welcome to the first-ever Pop Culture Confidential Summer 2026 Movie Draft! Christina is joined by Jay Ledbetter and Ryan McQuade (hosts of The Director Watch Podcast) to draft the films of the summer season. From Nolan and Spielberg to Toy Story 5, the chilling Backrooms, and so much more, who will draft the ultimate summer lineup? Tune in to find out! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Lena Dunham’s 'Famesick' is here! On this episode, Christina is joined by Sophia Ciminello (AwardsWatch, Oscar Wilde podcast) to unpack the much-anticipated memoir and explore Dunham’s cultural impact. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Sachs, Farhadi, Almodóvar, Pawlikowski, Kore-eda, Hamaguchi, Mungiu and many more! Ryan McQuade of AwardsWatch.com joins Christina to preview the Cannes Film Festival 2026, featuring an incredible lineup of films and filmmakers. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The brilliant writer/director Mary Bronstein joins Christina to discuss her film If I Had Legs I’d Kick You. The film is a raw and revelatory exploration of motherhood, anchored by an incredible, Oscar-nominated performance by Rose Byrne. Christina and Mary Bronstein dive into where Mary was in her life when she began writing the film, how she and Rose Byrne developed the character of Linda, the ongoing taboos surrounding motherhood and so much more. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit meg...

This episode, Ryan McQuade (AwardsWatch) joins Christina for a grab bag of news, reviews, and all manner of good stuff! They dive into 'Project Hail Mary', 'The Drama', Colbert taking on Tolkien, the Oscars venue move, Scorsese’s book adaptation, Supergirl, the Harry Potter TV series, and so much more. Listen now! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Emmy-nominated director Weronika Tofilska joins Christina to discuss her bold, existential storytelling, from the wildly successful Baby Reindeer to her latest project, Netflix’s chilling horror series Something Very Bad Is Going to Happen (exec-produced by the Duffer Brothers and starring Camila Morrone, Jennifer Jason Leigh, and Ted Levine). They dive into her creative journey, the terrifying twists on marriage and soulmates in the series, Lynchian influences, and what it’s like to craft horr...

Ryan McQuade of AwardsWatch joins Christina to recap last night’s 2026 Academy Awards (and cap off a long season!) One Battle After Another’s biggest wins, Sinners' successes, the surprises, emotional highlights, and so much more Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Join us as we dive into the 2026 Oscar predictions! Christina is thrilled to be joined by Erik Anderson of AwardsWatch.com. This year has brought us outstanding films, incredible performances, and one of the most unpredictable awards seasons we’ve seen in a long time. Listen as we discuss our predictions on who will take home the gold this year Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The race is alive! We’re just about ten days away from the Oscars, and things are heating up on the precursor front. The BAFTAs were last weekend, and this weekend brought the PGAs and the Actor Awards (the awards formerly known as the SAG Awards). Ryan McQuade of AwardsWatch joins Christina to break down what it all means for Oscar night! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Christina is joined by 2026 Oscar nominated costume designer Malgosia Turzanska, celebrated for her extraordinary work on Chloé Zhao’s Hamnet. Known for her unforgettable costumes in Train Dreams, Stranger Things, The Green Knight, X, Pearl, and more, Malgosia takes us deep into her art and the creative journey behind one of the year’s most talked-about films. They discuss the rich research behind Elizabethan clothing, the intimate storytelling within the Shakespeare family, and her concept o...

Writer and director Clint Bentley joins Christina to discuss his acclaimed film Train Dreams, one of the most beautiful and celebrated films of the season! Nominated for four Academy Awards, including Best Adapted Screenplay and Best Picture, the film recently earned Bentley Best Director and Best Feature at the Film Independent Spirit Awards. The conversation explores how Train Dreams came together, the character of Robert Grainier (brought to life through a deeply anchored performance by Joel...

The endlessly inspiring Arian Moayed is back on the show and it is, as always, an absolute blast. The actor, director, and producer joins Christina to talk about his exciting new Marvel series Wonder Man and co-producing the documentary Champions of the Golden Valley with Malala Yousafzai. They also talk NYC Mayor Mamdani and keeping up with his “Succession family.” Who really wins the Succession group text chain? Arian opens up about making art accessible to everyone, the mission behind his wo...

Encore episode! Alexander Skarsgård talks Pillion, career, and more. With Pillion now premiering widely (the wonderful, warm, and emotional BDSM rom-com co starring Harry Melling) we revisit Christina’s wide ranging conversation with Alexander Skarsgård, recorded at the Stockholm International Film Festival in November 2026. They talk Pillion, the research behind the role, highlights from his career, campaigning at the same time as his father Stellan Skarsgård, fashion, and much more. Learn m...

Awards season 2026 continues to steamroll ahead. Just days after the Oscar nominations, the BAFTA and WGA nominations have arrived. To help break it all down, Christina is joined by Eoin Daly, co-host of the Shhh, My Stories Are On! podcast, as they discuss the biggest talking points, surprises, and what these nominations could mean for the rest of the awards season. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Christina & Ryan McQuade (of AwardsWatch.com) break down the 2026 Oscar nominations, diving into the biggest surprises, snubs, historic milestones, and what it all means for the race ahead! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

2026 is shaping up to be an incredible year for cinema, from visionary auteurs to indie gems and everything in between. Christina is joined by Jay Ledbetter and Ryan McQuade from the Director Watch Podcast for a massive breakdown of the movies they can’t wait to see in 2026. Plus a special appearance by Sophia Ciminello of AwardsWatch.com! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this episode of Pop Culture Confidential, Christina sits down with prize-winning production designer Fiona Crombie, whose work has shaped some of the most visually striking films of recent years. They talk in depth about Crombie’s breathtaking production design for Chloé Zhao’s Hamnet, starring Paul Mescal and Jessie Buckley as William and Agnes Shakespeare. From intimate domestic spaces to the recreation of the legendary Globe Theatre, Crombie reveals how she brought emotion and lived-in ...