The Kulturecast
byWeirding Way Media
HistoryTVFilmReviews
The Kulturecast is a film and culture podcast hosted by Chris Stachiw, the Doctor of Podcasting, alongside a rotating table of guest co-hosts, and a founding member of Weirding Way Media. Each week digs into where film and culture meet — and how each one bends the other.Three series live inside the feed:Required Viewing: A 360° Film Study, with media scholar Dr. David D. PerlmutterKulture Meltdown, with Bryan Renfro of Movie MeltdownChangeover, with Mike White of The Projection BoothNew episodes weekly.Subscribe on Apple Podcasts → https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-kulturecast/id931361376Spotify → https://open.spotify.com/show/5wjxip9XVYapYu...
Episodes(40 episodes)
Mickey 17 (2025) — "I messed with a lab frog. I just figured this all must be my punishment."
From Train to Busan to the far-flung future of cloning and fascism, Korean cinema spans the genre gamut. Mickey 17, the latest from Parasite director Bong Joon Ho, adapts Edward Ashton's novel Mickey7 and casts Robert Pattinson in two roles, as Mickey 17 and Mickey 18, a pair of disposable clones on an icy colony world. Backed by a cavalcade of character actors including Mark Ruffalo, Toni Collette, Naomi Ackie and Steven Yeun, it takes aim at fascism, biotech abuse and more, though in our view to unsuccessful effect.Texas Tech's Dr. David D. Perlmutter and K-drama anthropologist Miranda join Chris...
Published: Aug 14, 2026Duration: 1h 19m 50s
Spider-Man: Brand New Day (2026) — "Are you Peter Parker, or are you Spider-Man?"
As the MCU barrels toward its next ultimate crossover event, Avengers: Doomsday, we first check in on everyone's friendly neighborhood webhead. Spider-Man: Brand New Day, directed by Destin Daniel Cretton, brings back Tom Holland for the fourth MCU take on Spidey, this time with 100% less multiversal madness, thankfully. Along for the ride are Jon Bernthal's Punisher, Florence Pugh's Black Widow and maybe even an X-Man or two, and we talk about all of them and how this Peter Parker stands on his own.Mike White of The Projection Booth joins Chris Stachiw, the Doctor of Podcasting, to talk...
Published: Aug 5, 2026Duration: 1h 32m 5s
Battle: Los Angeles (2011) — "That was some real John Wayne shit, staff sergeant."
Some sci-fi films vanish from the conversation almost as soon as they leave theaters, and Battle: Los Angeles is one of them. Jonathan Liebesman's 2011 film drops Aaron Eckhart's Staff Sergeant Michael Nantz and a Marine platoon, including Michelle Rodriguez's Technical Sergeant Elena Santos, into an alien invasion of Los Angeles, toeing the line between war movie and creature feature. In doing so, it does something few films since have managed: build a novel and compelling world for an alien invasion to unfold in. We talk war, aliens, and what happens when the two are combined.Dr. David D...
Published: Jul 29, 2026Duration: 1h 2m 14s
BlackBerry (2023) — "You want to be great, you need to sacrifice. The more painful the sacrifice, the greater you'll be."
It may be simplistic to say the BlackBerry died at the hands of the iPhone, but it wouldn't be entirely inaccurate. What a beautiful corpse it made, though: the device became so ubiquitous it earned its own nickname, the "CrackBerry". Matt Johnson's BlackBerry stars Jay Baruchel as Mike Lazaridis and Glenn Howerton as Jim Balsillie, tracing the Canadian company's rise and spectacular fall, and we dig into the film as well as the real history surrounding it.Dr. David D. Perlmutter and Mark Stachiw join Chris Stachiw, the Doctor of Podcasting, to talk BlackBerry, Research in Motion, the...
Published: Jul 22, 2026Duration: 1h 8m 17s
Supergirl (2026) — "Let's be honest. It's not a very high bar to clear."
Last year's Superman was a genuine surprise, especially for those of us who had soured heavily on the previous attempt at a unified DC Universe in Zack Snyder's Darkseriousverse, and the hope was real that James Gunn would point the ship in a new, more interesting direction. Unfortunately, Supergirl is not that. Directed by Craig Gillespie and starring Milly Alcock as Kara Zor-El, with Matthias Schoenaerts, Eve Ridley and Jason Momoa's Lobo, it barely lives up to even the smaller successes of Superman while trying, mostly unsuccessfully, to broaden the universe.Mike White of The Projection Booth joins...
Published: Jul 2, 2026Duration: 1h 9m 51s
Jackass: Best and Last (2026) — "Welcome to the first day of our final film."
Jackass has been a part of pop culture since the show first aired on MTV back in the pastoral days of 2000. Twenty-six years later, the boys are a bit older but still up to, for the most part, their old tricks. The crew has shrunk (and grown) over two decades, but the rambunctious stunts and pranks remain, even if Jeff Tremaine's Jackass: Best and Last, the fifth and final main film, is effectively a glorified clip show at worst and a documentary-style goodbye at best.Mike White of The Projection Booth joins Chris Stachiw, the Doctor of Podcasting...
Published: Jul 1, 2026Duration: 44m 25s
Forbidden Planet (1956) — "We're all part monsters in our subconscious, so we have laws and religion!"
Sci-fi has taken many forms as a genre, and since it's one both Dr. Perlmutter and Chris have an affinity for, why not cover one of the true classics? Fred M. Wilcox's Forbidden Planet sends Leslie Nielsen's Commander Adams to a distant world where Walter Pidgeon's Dr. Morbius, his daughter Altaira and Robby the Robot are hiding a terrible secret, in a loose riff on Shakespeare's The Tempest. Those who saw it in theaters may not have realized it was merely an amuse-bouche for the more pop-culture-pliable Star Trek, but it's well worth talking about and reappraising from a modern-day...
Published: Jun 25, 2026Duration: 1h 6m 50s
Train to Busan (2016) — "At a time like this, only watch out for yourself."
Zombie films are a dime a dozen these days, for good and for bad; for every Shaun of the Dead there are a hundred Walking Deads, everyone's favorite show to hate-watch. There's no hate-watching with Train to Busan, however. Yeon Sang-ho's film traps Gong Yoo's workaholic fund manager, his young daughter and a carriage full of strangers, including Ma Dong-seok's unforgettable Sang-hwa, on a bullet train as a zombie outbreak tears through South Korea, and it's one of the finest examples of how to innovate the genre even after all of its ground has been trodden.Texas Tech's...
Published: Jun 17, 2026Duration: 1h 7m 1s
Disclosure Day (2026) — "Full disclosure, to the whole world, all at once."
At this point in his career, a Steven Spielberg film should be an event worth heading to the local multiplex for; should being the key phrase. Couple that with a return to aliens, and it seems like an equation for cinematic success... right? Disclosure Day, written by David Koepp from Spielberg's story, stars Emily Blunt as a Kansas City meteorologist and Josh O'Connor as a cybersecurity specialist who uncover decades of covered-up extraterrestrial contact, alongside Colin Firth and Colman Domingo. We dig into Spielberg's latest extraterrestrial entry and whether it holds up against his other alien films.Mike...
Published: Jun 16, 2026Duration: 1h 19m 50s
Backrooms (2026) & Scary Movie (2026) — "I like it in here. For the first time in a long time, I feel like I'm..."
Chris may not be a Gen-Zer, but he can most definitely get down with their brand of horror, if Backrooms is any indication of the quality and concept of their take on the genre. Kane Parsons' feature debut for A24, adapted from his own viral YouTube series, follows Chiwetel Ejiofor and Renate Reinsve into an endless maze of yellow rooms beneath a furniture showroom. Contrast that with Scary Movie, the Wayans brothers' horror-comedy franchise returning from a long, justified and much-needed absence, and you have a hell of a double feature, or at least two very apropos weekends at the...
Published: Jun 10, 2026Duration: 57m 16s
The Witch (2015) — "Wouldst thou like the taste of butter? A pretty dress? Wouldst thou like to live deliciously?"
We're running it back on some films we've already watched, starting with a Robert Eggers film that has become a modern-day classic: The VVitch. Anya Taylor-Joy stars as Thomasin, who lives with her exiled Puritan family on the edge of the woods in 1630s New England, and that family may or may not be under the sway of a witch in the woods. Thomasin and her kin are doomed to find out whether the witch is real, and whether Black Phillip is just a goat.Dr. David D. Perlmutter and Julie Brannan join Chris Stachiw, the Doctor of...
Published: Jun 5, 2026Duration: 1h 26m 52s
The Mandalorian and Grogu (2026) — "The old protect the young and the young protect the old. This is the way."
We take a break from Mike White May to talk about the latest entry in the forever franchise that Star Wars has become: The Mandalorian and Grogu. Directed by Jon Favreau, it features Pedro Pascal, at least some of the time, under the helmet as Din Djarin, alongside Grogu, as the space western follows the pair's further exploits. Working for the New Republic, they take on a job to free Rotta the Hutt, the son of Jabba, voiced by Jeremy Allen White, with Sigourney Weaver along for the ride.Chris Stachiw, the Doctor of Podcasting, digs into The...
Published: May 29, 2026Duration: 1h 10m 40s
The Name of the Rose (1986) — "Have you ever known a place where God would have felt at home?"
Mike White May has been all Sean Connery all month long, and now it must come to an end, which it does with a monk murder mystery in The Name of the Rose. Jean-Jacques Annaud's adaptation of Umberto Eco's novel stars Connery as William of Baskerville, a thin facsimile of Sherlock Holmes, and Christian Slater as Adso, his young stand-in for Watson, as they investigate a series of strange murders at an abbey in northern Italy. Plus, star Elya Baskin, who plays Severinus, is interviewed about his time on the film.Richard Hatem of Richard Hatem's Paranormal Bookshelf...
Published: May 29, 2026Duration: 1h 54m 32s
Wrong Is Right (1982) — "The U.S. of A. may not always be right, but God knows we're never wrong."
Mike White May continues with more Sean Connery, except this time it's fake news, and he's the one selling it. In Richard Brooks' Wrong Is Right, adapted from Charles McCarry's novel The Better Angels, Connery plays Patrick Hale, a globetrotting TV newsman who gets tangled up with every US letter agency in a satirical game of intrigue and murder, opposite Robert Conrad, Katharine Ross and Leslie Nielsen. It's less fun than it sounds, which is a real shame given the Connery of it all.Chris Stachiw, the Doctor of Podcasting, digs into Wrong Is Right, Sean Connery, Richard...
Published: May 29, 2026Duration: 1h 21m 46s
Sicario (2015) — "You will not survive here. You are not a wolf. And this is the land of wolves now."
Before Yellowstone made him a household name, Taylor Sheridan wrote Sicario. Denis Villeneuve directs Emily Blunt as an FBI agent pulled into a cartel task force whose rules nobody will explain to her, while Benicio del Toro's Alejandro quietly walks away with the entire film. It's a thriller about borders, the ones on the map and the moral ones, and about finding out you were never the one making the decisions. We talk Villeneuve, Roger Deakins' camera, and the land of wolves.Chris Stachiw, the Doctor of Podcasting, digs into Sicario, Taylor Sheridan, Denis Villeneuve, and so much...
Published: May 22, 2026Duration: 1h 13m 18s
Mortal Kombat II (2026) — "Come with us, Mr. Cage, and discover the man you were meant to be."
We take another break from Mike White May to travel back to Netherrealm, Outworld and everywhere in between (looking at you, Orderrealm) with Mortal Kombat II, the sequel to 2021's COVID classic Mortal Kombat. With the first tournament in the books, Simon McQuoid's follow-up shifts focus to Johnny Cage, played by Karl Urban, as he is thrown right into the latest struggle of wills between Raiden, Shang Tsung and the ultimate baddie, Shao Kahn.Chris Stachiw, the Doctor of Podcasting, digs into Mortal Kombat II, Karl Urban's Johnny Cage, video game adaptations, and so much more....
Published: May 20, 2026Duration: 1h 19m 44s
The Paper Chase (1973) — "You teach yourselves the law, but I train your mind."
We take a break from Mike White May to go to college, specifically Harvard Law in the early 1970s, with James Bridges' The Paper Chase. Timothy Bottoms, a future presidential look-alike, stars as James Hart, a first-year law student who runs into one of the true titans of cinematic academia: John Houseman's Oscar-winning Professor Kingsfield. We get into law school horror stories, how real the film is, and whether the ends justify the academic means.Dr. David D. Perlmutter and Mark Stachiw, Esq. join Chris Stachiw, the Doctor of Podcasting, to talk The Paper Chase, Professor Kingsfield, law...
Published: May 19, 2026Duration: 1h 19m 33s
The Offence (1973) — "Nothing I have done can be one half as bad as the thoughts in your head."
Mike White May continues with more Sean Connery, this time with an edgier, more facial-hair-forward demeanor, in yet another Sidney Lumet joint, The Offence. Adapted by John Hopkins from his own stage play, it stars Connery as Detective Sergeant Johnson, a British cop who's had one bad day too many and takes it out on Ian Bannen's suspected child molester, with catastrophic results. We get into Connery, noir, and the film's influence on '90s crime cinema.Professor Spencer Parsons joins Chris Stachiw, the Doctor of Podcasting, to talk Sean Connery, Sidney Lumet, noir, and so much more.<...
Published: May 16, 2026Duration: 1h 36m 50s
The Anderson Tapes (1971) — "What's advertising but a legalized con game?"
Mike White May continues with yet another Connery and Lumet joint, this time an adaptation of Lawrence Sanders' novel of the same name. Connery plays John "Duke" Anderson, a burglar fresh out of prison who decides to rob the luxury apartment building where his latest squeeze, Dyan Cannon's Ingrid, lives, all while being inadvertently surveilled by a whole host of letter agencies. Martin Balsam, Alan King and a young Christopher Walken round out the crew.Chris Stachiw, the Doctor of Podcasting, digs into The Anderson Tapes, Sean Connery, surveillance-era heists, and so much more.Become a...
Published: May 11, 2026Duration: 1h 34m 34s
The Hill (1965) — "We are all doing time, even the screws."
It's Mike White May here at The Kulturecast, and we're talking Sean Connery all month long! We kick things off with one of the many pairings of Sidney Lumet and Connery, 1965's The Hill. With an ensemble cast including Harry Andrews, Ian Bannen, Ian Hendry and Ossie Davis, it follows a group of military prisoners held in a British Army "glasshouse" in the North African desert during World War II, where men are broken just for fun.Chris Stachiw, the Doctor of Podcasting, digs into The Hill, Sean Connery, Sidney Lumet, and so much more.Become...
Published: May 9, 2026Duration: 1h 19m 28s