Episodes

On Oscar Sunday, Jimmy Kimmel will take the stage…

He's one of the stars of the "Queer Eye" reboot on Netflix, as part of the new Fab Five - Karamo Brown is making the audience laugh, cry and contemplate some very important topics. The original "Queer Eye for the Straight Guy" premiered on Bravo in 2003, a makeover show that delivered a whole new format. Five gay men brought their expertise to help straight men find their best selves. The show and the original cast broke barriers and the show was a runaway hit! The new cast are taking the show one step further, and by moving the show from New York to the South, where interesting encounters ensue. They are not just changing wardrobes - they are opening up conversations about race, LGBTQ rights and much more. Host Christina Jeurling Birro speaks to Brown about his experience making the show, what it means to be the first black "Queer Eye" star, and much more.

This year's Oscar frontrunner, with 13 nominations including Best Director (Guillermo del Toro) and Best Picture, is The Shape of Water. This week's guest, Doug Jones, is an integral part of the film, playing a nameless amphibian fish man captured at a military lab in Cold War era Baltimore. He becomes the love interest of a mute cleaning lady Elisa, played by Sally Hawkins. It's a romance like nothing we've seen before! Jones is an actor, former mime, and contortionist, with over 160 acting credits to his name. His twenty-year collaboration with director Guillermo del Toro has resulted in six films, one TV show, and twelve characters, including the films Hellboy and Pan's Labyrinth. Host Christina Jeurling Birro speaks to Jones about his long relationship with Guillermo del Toro, the emotional connection to playing creatures and monsters, the challenges of prosthetic costumes, and much more! The Shape of Water will premiere in Sweden February 14th 2018 and has premiered in the US and…

From his Emmy award-winning electronic score for …

Episode 94: Oscar nominations with Sasha Stone, A…

Our guest Ellen Lewis is the legendary casting director behind movies such as Goodfellas, Forrest Gump and The Wolf of Wall Street. She joins host Christina Jeurling Birro to share the unique process that went into casting Steven Spielberg’s acclaimed film The Post. With Meryl Streep and Tom Hanks already attached, Lewis set about to cast the large cast to play the real-life journalists and political figures in the script. The stellar ensemble includes Sarah Paulson, Bob Odenkirk, Tracy Letts, Bradley Whitford, Carrie Coon, David Cross, and so many more! We were honored to be joined by Lewis in our first season, a real portrait of her amazing career. This interview is included here as a postscript and is not to be missed!

Our guest, former FBI agent and criminal profiler, James "Fitz" Fitzgerald was one of the agents who brought down Ted Kaczynski, also known as the Unabomber. The critically acclaimed Discovery series “Manhunt: Unabomber” captures the gripping true story of mail-bomber Ted Kaczynski, his ability to elude the FBI for 18 years, and efforts made to bring him to justice. The series, now available on Netflix, stars Paul Bettany as Ted Kaczynski and Sam Worthington as our guest, FBI profiler James ‘Fitz’ Fitzgerald. The story focuses on the ongoing Unabomber investigation in 1995 and 1996, as well as the build-up to his trial, where the role of linguistics in the investigation was pivotal in his arrest and conviction. Host Christina Jeurling Birro speaks to Fitzgerald about his twenty years with the FBI, how they broke the UNABOM case, his investigation of other high-profile cases and much more!

Award’s season is upon us and the Golden Globes n…

As the Oscar race heats up, we look back over our…

With awards season in full swing – we speak to Se…

Thrilling, dark, gripping and tense are just some…

In light of the perpetually expanding list of peo…

On this week’s episode, we are joined by writer a…

On this week’s episode, we speak to Kasper Collin…

After a six-year hiatus – Curb Your Enthusiasm is back! On this week’s episode, we speak to executive producer, writer and director Jeff Schaffer who takes us behind the scenes of the latest season with all of its awkwardness, insensitivity and laugh-out-loud comedy. Mr. Schaffer also speaks with host Christina Jeurling Birro about working with Larry David and Jerry Seinfeld on 'Seinfeld', what he learned writing for the Harvard Lampoon, and much more.

On this episode of Pop Culture Confidential, Pamela Adlon speaks about life, parenting, and her jewel of a show – Better Things. After a fantastic, Emmy nominated first season of her semi-autobiographical series, Adlon is back with an already critically acclaimed Season 2 of Better Things. Pamela Adlon directs, produces, co-writes and stars in the show, which has given us some of the most touching and relatable comedy about a single working mother of three.

Last week we covered 2017’s Fall TV and Emmy awar…

It’s here! The annual Pop Culture Confidential Fa…

Our guest, Swedish director/writer Ruben Östlund, is the newly crowned winner of the Cannes Palme d’Or for his latest film "The Square", which is described as a poignant satirical drama reflecting our times. The suspenseful satire tackles the Swedish art scene, politics, media, community and national identity. The film stars Danish actor Claes Bang, Elizabeth Moss, Dominic West and motion capture artist Terry Notary, who gives a mesmerizing performance as the “ape-man” during a black-tie museum dinner. Östlund’s previous film "Force Majeure" won him the Jury Prize at Canne in 2014 and became a huge international hit. It’s about a father who runs away from danger instead of protecting his family and the emotional aftermath. The situation brings up the expectations of manliness and the uncomfortable humor of life itself. It was recently announced that "The Square" will represent Sweden at the 2018 Academy Awards, and we couldn’t be prouder to welcome its writer/director Ruben Östlund.

An Emmy winner in 2016 for The People vs O.J. Sim…

Our guest this week is Peter Baker, chief White House correspondent for The New York Times. During his career he has covered four presidents: Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, Barack Obama and now the Trump administration. Mr. Baker joined The Times in 2008 after 20 years at The Washington Post, including four years as Moscow bureau chief. His wife Susan Glasser is the chief international affairs columnist Politico. Mr. Baker has authored multiple books and his latest title is “Obama: The Call of History”, with incredible photography from The New York Times. Host Christina Jeurling Birro speaks to him about reporting on the last four presidents, the unique challenge of covering the Trump administration, his new book “Obama: The Call of History”, and much more!

Spectacular, jaw-dropping, sweeping and intimate - Dunkirk marks the return of director Christopher Nolan and our guest cinematographer Hoyte van Hoytema. The World War ll drama is a different type of war story, about bravery and survival. It focuses on the days when 400,000 British and Allied troops were trapped by the Germans on the beaches of Dunkirk, seemingly doomed to die there. Shot on large format film, Hoytema and his team worked with Nolan to create the stunning camera shots – from the visually stunning dogfights to the challenging water shots. We speak to Hoytema about the creative technical solutions his team used on Dunkirk, the industries’ return to using large format film, his reflections on working with so many great directors and much more!

Just in time for Summer we round up our best pop …

It’s a real joy to welcome this week’s guest – te…