Episodes

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…

On Pop Culture Confidential this week we speak wi…

Pasta, Italy, Master of None, Wonder Woman and th…

On this week’s episode of Pop Culture Confidentia…

From Buster on Arrested Development, to his Emmy winning role as the devoted body man to Selina Meyer on Veep – Tony Hale has already proven that he is one of our generation’s comedy greats. Host Christina Jeurling Birro is joined this week by Hale ahead of the upcoming sixth season premiere of Veep. In this political climate, what is better than the return of HBO’s hilarious political comedy Veep. Hale returns as Gary, the anxious and often-bullied body man to now ex-President Meyer, who is portrayed by the incredible Julia Louis-Dreyfus. Before Veep, Hale inhabited another anxious character – fan favorite Buster Bluth of Arrested Development. The show gave him the opportunity to work with Jeffrey Tambor, Jason Bateman and legend Liza Minnelli who played his girlfriend. On this episode we find out how the recent U.S. election impacted the comedy in Veep, what Hale has learned from the comedy legends he’s worked with, his own experience with bullying and anxiety, and much more!

With unforgettable performances in Frasier, 24, and now one of this seasons’ most acclaimed new series Legion - Jean Smart is television royalty with a career spanning three decades and three Emmy wins. Smart’s career includes the iconic CBS hit sitcom Designing Women. A show that featured intelligent women who were both sassy and sympathetic and who expressed differing views on women’s issues. For her unforgettable role on Frasier, Smart won an Emmy, and on 24 she was gripping as First Lady Martha Logan whose fragile mental state deteriorated during the season. Smart then joined the Noah Hawley show Fargo where she gave a fearless performance as Floyd, the matriarch of the crime family. Their collaboration didn’t end there and today Smart is one of the stars of the acclaimed FX series Legion with Noah Hawley as co-creator. Legion is loosely inspired by the X-Men comics and here Smart plays Melanie Bird, a questionable therapist who is the leader of a group of super mutants being chas…

Richard Simmons, workout and fitness guru, is a true American pop culture icon. One example of the empire he built is his workout video “Sweatin’ to the Oldies”, which sold millions of copies. Three years ago Simmons mysteriously disappeared from public life, including cutting off contact with most of the world. This week we speak to Dan Taberski about his search for answers that lead to the massive podcast hit “Missing Richard Simmons”. Taberski is a writer, director and former producer for “The Daily Show” who was a student at Simmons fitness class “Slimmons” in Beverly Hills. He became friends with Simmons and had discussed making a documentary about his life and work. So why does the most flamboyant and visible exercise evangelist suddenly disappear without alerting friends and colleagues? Dan Taberski talks to host Christina Jeurling Birro about the importance of Richard Simmons, the many thousands of people that Simmons so generously helped during his career and the theories to …

Now that the film award season has come to a dramatic conclusion we are happy to turn our attention to the upcoming season of television. This week’s episode of Pop Culture Confidential covers the recent Netflix event in Berlin where they unveiled the upcoming lineup. Host Christina Jeurling Birro was thrilled to speak with two of the stars of Orange is the New Black – Kate Mulgrew who plays Red and two-time Emmy winner Uzo Aduba who plays Suzanne ‘Crazy Eyes’ Warren. We also speak to Netflix Chief Content Office Ted Sarandos who shares his journey with Netflix and the power of user data in creating original content including the hit House of Cards. It’s a very special ‘on location’ edition of Pop Culture Confidential where we dive into the recent and upcoming milestones for Litchfield Penitentiary, what it means to be Captain of a Starfleet ship, the Oscar win for White Helmets and how Netflix is supporting film distribution, and much more!

The Academy Awards are upon us and this is the an…

For those who follow Pop Culture Confidential, you know that we LOVE Saturday Night Live (SNL) and refer often to how it has influenced pop culture over the decades. We are so excited to be joined this week by Eugene Lee, who has been the original Saturday Night Live production designer since the start of the show's first season in 1975. At 77, he is one of the only original crewmembers still working. The SNL set Lee designed has a true New York vibe with real bricks and a nod to Grand Central Station. Three Tony Awards, 12 Emmy nominations, and one Emmy win later, Lee continues to carry on his accomplished tradition in theater while also leading the "SNL" production-design team, week in and week out. Lee comes from the theater world and has worked on Wicked, Sweeney Todd and Candide. He is not slowing down, he has also designed the sets for Jimmy Fallon and Seth Meyers, which show the variety of his work. Lee joined us from his home and workshop in Providence, Rhode Island where he i…

Scissor hands, face masks and apes – oh my! Three-time Oscar-winning costume designer Colleen Atwood has dressed some of the most iconic characters on the big screen. This includes Hannibal Lecter, Edward Scissorhands, Roxie Hart – and all the characters in eleven Tim Burton films. Atwood has been very busy this past year with Huntsman: Winter’s War, Alice Through the Looking Glass, her most recent collaboration with Tim Burton Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children, AND the Harry Potter prequel Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them for which she has been nominated for an Academy Award. From fantasy to modern day, Atwood’s costumes are always rich in detail and a deep study of character that isn’t always obvious at first. For Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children we travel back to Wales during World War II to an orphanage full of ‘peculiar’ children with unique superpowers. The character of Miss Peregrine, played by Eva Green, has the ability to transform into a bird that…