Welcome to Pop Culture Confidential!

Episodes

Aug. 20, 2016

Episode 41: From Jaws to Dory – The Summer Blockbuster Season

What movie will take the summer box office this y…
Aug. 20, 2016

Episode 40: The Incredible History of Wonder Woman

The lie detector test, bondage, feminism and supe…
Aug. 20, 2016

Episode 39: Star of the Broadway smash hit Hamilton: Anthony Ramos

Never has there been such a talked about pop cult…
Aug. 20, 2016

Episode 38: Revisiting The People v. OJ Simpson: American Crime Story

Race, sexism, class and fame were all at the hea…
Aug. 20, 2016

Episode 37: Miss L – Anonymously exposing the sexism of the acting world

Miss L has taken the internet by storm. The anony…
Aug. 20, 2016

Episode 35: Rocking the Vote – Music, Politics & the Campaign

Sander’s playlist highlights his revolution, Clin…
Aug. 20, 2016

Episode 34: The People v. OJ Simpson: American Crime Story

Race, sexism, class and fame were all at the hear…
Aug. 18, 2016

Episode 31: From Pulp Fiction to Spotlight - Master Class with Music Supervisor Mary Ramos

More than a music supervisor Mary Ramos is a detective, a negotiator and a fixer when it comes to suggesting and securing the perfect music for her directors. If you have been to the cinema in the last twenty years - you already know her work! Her credits include over 100 films from Reality Bites to Spotlight, and the many iconic Quentin Tarantino soundtracks. At this year’s Göteborg Film Festival Mary Ramos joined for a Master Class, moderated by our podcast host Christina Jeurling Birro, to share her process. This episode was recorded live during this Master Class and we were excited to have the opportunity to ask her: What does her work as a Music Supervisor entail? How does she select music? What lengths will she go to to secure song rights? How does the process differ when working with composers? And MUCH more!
Aug. 18, 2016

Episode 30: The ‘Spotlight’ Special

Welcome to this very special episode of Pop Culture Confidential that we recorded live in London where we interviewed several of the greats, in and around, this year’s most talk about films – ‘Spotlight’. The film won ‘Best Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture” at the SAG Awards, and is a definite Oscar contender for Best Picture. We sit down with Mark Ruffalo and the Pulitzer Prize journalist for the Boston Globe he portrays in the film, Mike Rezendes. As well as Walter Robinson, the Pulitzer Prize winning investigative reporter for the Boston Globe who was portrayed in the film by Michael Keaton, and writer and director Tom McCarthy. We ask – What shocked them most during the original investigation? Has the Catholic Church done enough to stop the cycle of abuse? What was it like bringing the story to the screen? And MUCH more! In 2001 the Boston Globe’s investigation team, called Spotlight, was responsible for exposing the systematic cover up of sexual abuse towards children by…
March 3, 2016

Episode 29: Susan Sarandon on Hedy Lamarr - Actress, Rebel and Inventor

On this weeks episode we are honored to talk to Susan Sarandon - Oscar winning actress, producer, Ping-Pong enthusiast, social and political activist, and passionately committed to human rights. Together with her production company Reframed Pictures; Susan Sarandon now embarks on a documentary project about one of her real inspirations, actress Hedy Lamarr! Lamarr was a Hollywood superstar know as the “the most beautiful woman in the world” but she had a secret life – as a brilliant inventor. Lamarr’s World War II invention changed history and our lives, and today is a technology that we use in cellphones, Bluetooth and Wi-Fi communication, but Hedy Lamarr would not get the recognition she deserved. Because of her storied career, Sarandon was in a unique position to understand what it was like for Hedy Lamarr to fight hard for roles on screen while fighting harder to change the world off screen. In this week’s episode we talk to Susan Sarandon about her new documentary but also why He…
March 3, 2016

Episode 28: The TV Season Highlights & Franklin Leonard of The Black List

The King’s Speech, Juno, American Hustle, Argo, a…
March 3, 2016

Episode 27: The Filmmakers of Making a Murderer

This weeks guests Moira Demos and Laura Ricciardi…
March 3, 2016

Episode 26: The Oscar Countdown Continues!

full frenzy and what better way to start the year…
Jan. 31, 2016

Episode 25: Gloria Steinem – A conversation with the feminist icon

Steinem has been an outspoken champion of women’s rights since the 1970s and has just released her new memoir ‘My Life of The Road’. Her work has been an inspiration to us personally and to a whole generation of women in pop culture – from comedian Amy Schumer to actress Lena Dunham, both of who are highlighting how society looks at women today with their work. As a columnist for New York magazine and a founder of Ms. Magazine Steinem has published seminal articles, including one that detailed her stint as a Playboy bunny to highlight the sexist treatment of women at Playboy Clubs, and a pioneering work in 1969, titled “After Black Power, Women’s Liberation.” Which brought her to national fame. More recently she has written about importance of Hillary Clinton’s run for President and what it means for society. Throughout her life she has battled for reproductive rights and has been vocal about her own abortion when she was 22. This book is in fact dedicated to “the doctor that changed …
Jan. 31, 2016

Episode 24: Creating Carol with Screenwriter Phyllis Nagy

Gorgeous, moving and subtle – ‘Carol’ is a beauti…
Jan. 17, 2016

Episode 23: Mad as Hell - The Journalism Genre in Hollywood

From Citizen Kane, All The Presidents Men, Anchor…
Jan. 2, 2016

Episode 22: The Star Wars Episode

We are thrilled to speak with Roger Christian who…
Nov. 20, 2015

Episode 20: Listen to Me Marlon

Marlon Brando was one of the most acclaimed and i…
Nov. 6, 2015

Episode 19: ‘The Leftovers’ Carrie Coon & the Science of Good TV

Carrie Coon burst onto the scene in 2014 with two remarkable performances in David Fincher’s Gone Girl and HBO’s The Leftovers. We are honored to speak with her! How would you react if 2% of the world’s population suddenly disappeared, including your husband and two children? This is the premise for Carrie Coon’s character Nora Durst on the hit HBO show The Leftovers, now in its second season. The show is co-created by Lost’s Damon Lindelof and the author of the novel, Tom Perrotta. We speak to actress Carrie Coon about her work on The Leftovers and what season two will bring for her character, what it was like to work with David Fincher on the psychological thriller Gone Girl and how the roles for women on television are evolving. Then we ask the question – can watching television increase your emotional intelligence? New research shows that watching award-winning television shows, such as Mad Men, Lost, The Good Wife or The West Wing, can increase our ability to read emotion and to …
Oct. 29, 2015

Episode 18: Behind the Scenes of Narcos - Escobar and the Blow Business

By 1982, cocaine made up 30% of all Colombian exp…