Mark, Lawrence, Sarahlyn, and Al discuss the original 1883 freaky children's story and consider the recent rush of film versions, from a new Disney/Robert Zemikis CGI take to Guillermo del Toro's stop-motion passion project to a heavily costumed Italian version by Matteo Garrone. Why do people keep remaking this story, and how has the original moral of "be a good boy and obey" changed over the years?
For more, visit prettymuchpop.com. Hear bonus content at patreon.com/prettymuchpop or by subscribing via Apple Podcasts to the Mark Lintertainment Channel.
If you like this podcast, try The Social Breakdown at TheSocialBreakdown.com.

PMP#143: Pinocchio the Unfilmable (Yet Frequently Filmed)

Since 2008, Dave has written cheeky (but actually heavily researched) letters to rock stars that point out logical flaws in and/or deliberately misunderstand their lyrics. Many of these have been answered by the artists and housed in three books: Dear Mr. Kershaw, Dear Mr. Popstar, and Grammar Free In The U.K. 
Mark and Al Baker talk to Dave about the "green ink" stereotype in British comedy, metaphors in songwriting, how meaning escapes the intentions of the author, the clash between lyrical meaning and musical style, avoiding clichés, and more.
For more, visit prettymuchpop.com. Hear bonus content at patreon.com/prettymuchpop or by subscribing via Apple Podcasts to the Mark Lintertainment Channel.

PMP#142: Lyric Literality w/ Dave Philpott

The PMP A-Team (Mark, Lawrence, Sarahlyn, and Al) talk about the canon of Christmas songs, from centuries-old carols to current attempts by pop stars to get added to this cycle of cash-flow. Happy holidays, everybody!
We also do a bit of year-end reflection, getting into various things we've watched with some recommendations and ambivalent reflections.
For more, visit prettymuchpop.com. Hear bonus content at patreon.com/prettymuchpop or by subscribing via Apple Podcasts to the Mark Lintertainment Channel.
Sponsor: Check out RetroZest podcast at retrozest.com.

PMP#141: Christmas Songs

Mark and Lawrence talk to "Iroqois propagandist" and philosophy nerd John about how Native cultures currently relate to American and Canadian mainstream cultures with regard to the study of philosophy, TV (e.g. Reservation Dogs), cultural appropriation, identity politics, and more.
For more, visit prettymuchpop.com. Hear bonus content at patreon.com/prettymuchpop or by subscribing via Apple Podcasts to the Mark Lintertainment Channel.
Sponsor: Check out the Geek Freaks podcast network for 11 fun pop culture podcasts.

PMP#140: First Nations Culture w/ John Beaubien

We cover the first chunk of Neil Gaiman's 1989 comic and its new Netflix adaptation. Mark is joined by Anthony LeBlanc, Sarahlyn Bruck, and Al Baker.
What are the narrative challenges of depicting a god? What is the show's metaphysics the role of storytelling in it? Were the updates and story choices for the TV show helpful, or was the comic truly "unfilmable," as was long thought? 
For more, visit prettymuchpop.com. Hear bonus content at patreon.com/prettymuchpop or by subscribing via Apple Podcasts to the Mark Lintertainment Channel.

PMP#139: The Sandman Cometh

Is there really a division in today's culture between those who create and the merely receptive masses? Mark gathers three artists in different media about the place of the artist in society: sci-fi author Brian Hirt, art photographer and academic Amir Zaki, and musician/novelist/ex-English prof John Andrew Fredrick (of The Black Watch).
We touch on art education, the self-understanding of artists, the relation between artist and consumer, art vs. commerce, bad art vs. non-art, and much more.
For more, visit prettymuchpop.com. Hear bonus content at patreon.com/prettymuchpop or by subscribing via Apple Podcasts to the Mark Lintertainment Channel.

PMP#138: What Are “Creatives”?

What's the appeal of this 13-film franchise that started with John Carpenter's 1978 film Halloween and has purportedly wrapped up with David Gordon Green's Halloween Ends?
Mark Linsenmayer, Al Baker, Lawrence Ware, and Nathan Shelton debate the ideology and effectiveness of the various films.
For more, visit prettymuchpop.com. Hear bonus content at patreon.com/prettymuchpop or by subscribing via Apple Podcasts to the Mark Lintertainment Channel.
Sponsor: Check out The Create Unknown podcast.

PMP#137: Slashing the “Halloween” Film Franchise

Mark, Lawrence, Sarahlyn, and Al convene an emergency podcast recording to react to this brilliant, mind-blowing, possibly immoral HBO comedy docuseries, wherein Fielder supposedly helps ordinary people rehearse difficult personal confrontations.
For more, visit prettymuchpop.com. Hear bonus content at patreon.com/prettymuchpop or by subscribing via Apple Podcasts to the Mark Lintertainment Channel.

PMP#136: Nathan Fielder’s “The Rehearsal”

Given the end of Better Call Saul, Mark, Lawrence Ware, Sarahlyn Bruck, and Al Baker discuss this strange TV "franchise" that amazingly produced a prequel that was arguably better than the original. We cover the characterization and pacing, novelistic TV vs. not having a plot roadmap in advance, and whether we want to see another installment in this world.
For more, visit prettymuchpop.com. Hear bonus content at patreon.com/prettymuchpop or by subscribing via Apple Podcasts to the Mark Lintertainment Channel.

PMP#135: The Breaking Bad-O-Verse

With the dissolution of popular music culture by the Internet, what is it now to be into music genres that aren't currently popular? Is it still an act of rebellion, or is even that passé? 
Mark is joined by composer/multi-instrumentalist Jonathan Segel from Camper van Beethoven, philosopher Matt Teichman of the Elucidations podcast, and musician and Internet DJ Steve Petrinko to talk about our relation to the mainstream, the different types of unpopular music (popular 30 years ago vs. never popular avant garde), post-irony, and more.
For more, visit prettymuchpop.com. Hear bonus content at patreon.com/prettymuchpop or by subscribing via Apple Podcasts to the Mark Lintertainment Channel.
Sponsor: Get a huge discount and free month at NordVPN.com/pmp.

PMP#134: Unpopular Music Genre Fandom

Thanks to the new film Prey, we now have six films (starting with 1987's Predator) featuring the dreadlocked, camouflaged, infrared-seeing race of alien hunters who have apparently been flying around collecting our skulls for 300 years.
Mark is joined by Lawrence Ware, Sarahlyn Bruck, and Al Baker to talk about the appeal of this franchise and what makes a good Predator film.
For more, visit prettymuchpop.com. Hear bonus content at patreon.com/prettymuchpop or by subscribing via Apple Podcasts to the Mark Lintertainment Channel.
Sponsor: Get a huge discount and free month at NordVPN.com/pmp.

PMP#133: Predator (Films) and Prey

To honor the death of Gilbert Gottfried, we discuss jokes like the 9-11 one he was pilloried for. Can comedy really be "too soon" in relation to its tragic subject matter? Is comedy really tragedy plus time, or are jokes in fact most needed immediately when pain and discomfort are most acute?
Mark is joined by three comedians: Adam Sank (of the LGBTQ-themed Adam Sank Show), Twitch-streaming songster Meri Amber, and returning guest Daniel Lobell (graphic novelist and podcaster). We get into tailoring jokes for an audience, coping with grief, triggering, and more.
For more, visit prettymuchpop.com. Hear bonus content at patreon.com/prettymuchpop or by subscribing via Apple Podcasts to the Mark Lintertainment Channel.
Sponsor: Get a huge discount and free month at NordVPN.com/pmp.

PMP#132: “Too Soon” in Comedy?

Jordan Peele's launch from a solid comedy base with Key & Peele to the unexpected Get Out was so impressive that he's generated a huge amount of good will that allows him to play the full-on auteur with huge budgets. Did that pay off with his third film, the monster movie Nope?
Mark is joined by Lawrence Ware, Sarahlyn Bruck, and Nicole Pometti.
For more, visit prettymuchpop.com. Hear bonus content at patreon.com/prettymuchpop or by subscribing via Apple Podcasts to the Mark Lintertainment Channel.

PMP#131: Hope for Jordan Peele’s “Nope”

The 2022 Oscar winner for Best Picture was CODA, a story about a musically inclined girl with a deaf family. Kambri Crews, herself a CODA, joins your host Mark, Sarahlyn Bruck, and Al Baker to talk about how deaf culture interacts with film.
Films tend to show deafness as tragic, which is not necessarily how the deaf community views themselves. We talk about balancing the demands of a story, how real life works, and the need for positive representation. 
For more, visit prettymuchpop.com. Hear bonus content at patreon.com/prettymuchpop or by subscribing via Apple Podcasts to the Mark Lintertainment Channel.

PMP#130: CODA and Deaf Culture

Is re-playing or re-recording a song written and performed by someone else an act of love or predation?
Mark is joined by Too Much Joy's Tim Quirk, the Gig Gab Podcast's Dave Hamilton, and the author of A Philosophy of Cover Songs Prof. P.D. Magnus to talk about different types of and purposes for covers, look a little at the history, share favorites, and more.
For more, visit prettymuchpop.com. Hear bonus content at patreon.com/prettymuchpop or by subscribing via Apple Podcasts to the Mark Lintertainment Channel.
Sponsors: Find a top-rated doctor by visiting ZocDoc.com/PMP and downloading the free ZocDoc app. Check your rate for a loan at upstart.com/PRETTY.

PMP#129: Wherefore the Cover Song?

Mark is joined by NY Time entertainment writer/philosophy prof Lawrence Ware, novelist/ex-actor Sarahlyn Bruck, and filmmaker/Remakes, Reboots, and Revivals host Rolando Nieves to discuss the Jurassic Park franchise in light of the new film, Jurassic World: Dominion.
Is the mere presence of cool dinosaurs enough to justify a film, or are these actually good films by any standard? What childhood itch do these scratch? How do these films work as sci-fi and political commentary?
For more, visit prettymuchpop.com. Hear bonus content at patreon.com/prettymuchpop or by subscribing via Apple Podcasts to the Mark Lintertainment Channel.
Sponsors: Get 15% off great wireless earbuds at BuyRaycon.com/pretty. Find a top-rated doctor by visiting ZocDoc.com/PMP and downloading the free ZocDoc app.

PMP#128: Jurassic Shlock

We discuss the appeal of this Julian-Fellowes-penned British historical drama in light of the new film. Is this really "a new era" or just more of the same, and is that bad?
Mark is joined by returning guest Jon Lamoreaux (host of The Hustle music podcast), plus a couple: former newscaster Corrinne MacLeod and her husband, the photographer Michael MacLeod.
For more, visit prettymuchpop.com. Hear bonus content at patreon.com/prettymuchpop or by subscribing via Apple Podcasts to the Mark Lintertainment Channel.

PMP#127: You Down with Downton Abbey?

On the novel series and TV show written by James S.A. Corey (aka Daniel Abraham and Ty Franck). Mark is joined by fact-checker Al Baker, educator Sabrina Weiss, and voting rights guy/former reality TV editor Colin Cole.
For more, visit prettymuchpop.com. Hear bonus content for this episode at patreon.com/prettymuchpop or by subscribing via Apple Podcasts to the Mark Lintertainment Channel.
Sponsor: Find a top-rated doctor by visiting ZocDoc.com/PMP and downloading the free ZocDoc app.

PMP#126: Political Sci-Fi in “The Expanse”

Mark is joined by rhetorician/educator Michelle Parrinello-Cason, Chris Sunami (The Pop Culture Philosopher), and award-winning former journalist Kera Mashek to discuss the recently concluded NBC drama created by Dan Fogelman. Is it just comfort food, or a stark portrayal of diverse human struggles?
For more, visit prettymuchpop.com. Hear bonus content for this episode at patreon.com/prettymuchpop or by subscribing via Apple Podcasts to the Mark Lintertainment Channel.

PMP#125: The Dramatics of “This Is Us”

In light of the recent release of Matt Reeves' film The Batman, we consider the strange alternation of darkness and camp that is Batman. Is he even a super hero? What's with his rogues' gallery? What's with DC's anti-world-building?
Mark is joined by philosophy prof/NY Times entertainment writer Lawrence Ware, improv comedian/educator Anthony LeBlanc, and Marketing Over Coffee host John J. Wall.
For more, visit prettymuchpop.com. Hear bonus content for this episode at patreon.com/prettymuchpop or by subscribing via Apple Podcasts to the Mark Lintertainment Channel.
Sponsor: Lower your monthly credit payments at upstart.com/PRETTY.

Pretty Much Pop: A Culture Podcast

Pretty Much Pop: A Culture Podcast

Get Started

Download the App