Not Quite Great Books: a TV podcast

69. The Young Pope, Episode Ten

Hot Confessor Summer comes to a close as Regan joins John for her final (or not final, Lenny willing?) popely appearance on NQGB. Not only do they discuss the plot and character apotheoses in the finale, they also ask the divine questions of the series as a whole. Did Lenny experience character growth? Is this show a melodrama? What is Paolo Sorrentino doing with the final flourish of the show? What is the show saying about its characters and our relationship to them? What is the show's perspective on Cathlolicism? Did Regan make a good life decision when agreeing to embark on YP podcasting this summer?! 
There is still plenty (seriously, a lot) of time for commending the acting of Diane Keaton and Javier Camarra, bonus saint names and trivia, the Popes of Xmas Past, Andrew Bird (and, oddly, The Fray), Regan's The New Pope predictions, Papal underwear, and a Proustian-Aquinas blowout in The Cave. 
*podcast app slowly zooms out to encompass the whole earth, fin*
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This podcast was recorded during the 2023 WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes. Without the labor of the writers and actors currently on strike, the show being covered here wouldn’t exist. 
Music by Lesfm from Pixabay
 

68. The Young Pope, Episode Nine

Regan and John return for a truly remarkable episode of TV, The Young Pope episode nine. A long conversation about Gutierrez and Kurtweil discusses how the show is using but reworking conventional TV genres and tropes, Gutierrez's ministry, how the superb one-episode characters of David, Rose (the fan 'kiss'!), Freddy, and Pete shed light on Bernardo and on the show as a whole. There's much more to think and feel (so many feelings about this ep) through: the Spencer-Lenny abortion debate, Young Lenny's literal miracle, beautiful camerawork in the final Lenny-Spencer scene, and, of course, the revelation of Young Lenny's love letters. The show's ability to pull all these together and run tried and oft-melodramtic tropes through its weirdness gives us Regan and John a chance to talk about their emotional responses to the show and praise its abilities. 
Phew. Still plenty of time for multiple confirmation name proffers, bonus Hot Priest Rating, discussion of the music in the episode, Regan's finale predictions, and some extra-shipping of multiple forms!
CW for this episode for discussions of abuse. 
This podcast was recorded during the 2023 WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes. Without the labor of the writers and actors currently on strike, the show being covered here wouldn’t exist. 
Music by Lesfm from Pixabay

67. The Young Pope, Episode Eight

Is Episode Eight of The Young Pope indulging in or satirizing colonialism? Your trusty shepherds Regan and John think it is (way more) the former and explain why as they discuss this extra-strange episode. They also talk through Lenny's grief-filled ennui jag -- complete with submerged pool prayer -- and smiting down of Sister Antonia in one of the show's most affecting scenes. There is still plenty of time to cover FEMEN, the looming Kurtwell investigation, kangaroos (RIP), nude mom visions, and yet another apex of Lenny's hot priest rating.
Sex and death, eros and thanatos, name a more iconic duo (you can't). 
This podcast was recorded during the 2023 WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes. Without the labor of the writers and actors currently on strike, the show being covered here wouldn’t exist. 
Music by Lesfm from Pixabay

66. The Young Pope, Episode Seven

Regan and John continue #HotConfessorSummer with episode 7 of The Young Pope. [Important character's] death leads the show and this podcast to consider how the show engages both the finitude and fragility of human existence, from Andrew's guilt to Lenny's Parent Quest to the scheming of Mary and the wannabe Lenny replacements. We also have football jerseys, spicy saints, a new pinnacle in Hot Priest Rating, 
Did Regan also manage to lead us to consider the mysteries of Faygo and John also manage to shoehorn yet another Vertigo reference? Listeners, they did. All this and more when you give this ol' podcast a listen. 
This podcast was recorded during the 2023 WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes. Without the labor of the writers and actors currently on strike, the show being covered here wouldn’t exist. 
Music by Lesfm from Pixabay

65. The Young Pope, Episode Six, with Lucia Manzi

Gird yourself for miracles as John and Regan are joined by their colleague (and Italian politics expert, among many other skills) Lucia Manzi to discuss The Young Pope, Episode Six. Lucia's knowledge illumines the (Holy or not) spirit of the pod by putting Lenny's meeting with the Italian Prime Minister in the context of the Church's relationship to Italian politics and culture. Is Lenny an effective political actor and what is the show expressing through Lenny's political machinations? 
Lucia also joins to discuss Saints and Hot Priests, while Regan and John cover Andrew's dalliances, the tragedy of Angelo, and oh yeah a miracle immaculate birth? 
Don't drop the baby, listen to this podcast instead. 
This podcast was recorded during the 2023 WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes. Without the labor of the writers and actors currently on strike, the show being covered here wouldn’t exist. 
Music by Lesfm from Pixabay

64. The Young Pope, Episode Five

Put on your finest tiara and reddest gloves and join Regan and John as they discuss The Young Pope Episode Five. They rightfully focus on what one of your hosts (guess who) calls one of the greatest TV scenes ever with Lenny's address to the cardinals, as Lenny would have it no other way. Can the audience both identify with Lenny's existential sadness and despise his speech? How do Esther and Voiello draw out different emotional registers of the show? 
Also covered: the weirdest and saddest seduction, visual flourishes and visual gags, papal athleisure, and feet talk. If fanaticism is love as Pope Pius XIII insists, show yours by listening to this NQGB ep. 
 
Music by Lesfm from Pixabay

63. Billions 4x1, ”Chuck Rhoades’s Greatest Game”

Amy and John are back with the next installment of The One Percent series here on the NQGB, covering Billions Season 4, Episode 1. After dispensing with the villain origin story of this episode, they figure out whether this shallow show has anything interesting to say about capitalism, power, and gender. From the favors money can't buy to the worst dialogue written to an inexplicable John Malkovich performance to the NYC 1% core of the show, this episode has it all. 
Is Chuck Rhoades the Carrie Bradshaw of finance bros? Is he basically Amy Schiller? Tune in and find out.
 
Music by Lesfm from Pixabay
 

62. Total Cinema, Baby: Barbie, Oppenheimer, and Mission Impossible

Welcome to Total Cinema, Baby, a Not Quite Great Books production! Danielle and John are BACK recounting their epic weekend partaking in the Barbenheimer cinema experience, and adding the latest Mission: Impossible to the mix for good measure. Join your hosts as they reunite to take in the cinema event of the summer. They set the scenes of their viewing experiences and the Big Picture-inspired origins of “Total Cinema, Baby” before diving into their takes on all three films. Keep in mind, this is a spoiler-filled podcast! First, they tackle Greta Gerwig’s Barbie (15:49), working through their takes, favorite jokes and scenes, and touching on what didn’t quite land. Then, they move on to the spectacle of Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer (52:59). They consider some of the film’s criticisms, offer analyses of the best performances, and talk about what scenes have stayed with each. John and Danielle then turn to the ridiculousness of Mission:Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part 1 (1:18:08), taking in the stunts, being in on the joke, and mostly, Tom Cruise running montages. This is a wild ride of an episode that includes Danielle dragging John for his Marvel takes (on a non-MCU podcast!?), brainstorming which scenes would hit best in Barbie-form (and vice versa), and of course, ends a trip into the Cave. Enjoy!
This podcast was recorded during the 2023 WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes. Without the labor of the writers and actors currently on strike, the movies being covered here wouldn’t exist. 
Music by Lesfm from Pixabay

61. The Young Pope, ”Episode Four”

You Must, You Must, You Must listen to this episode: Regan and John return for another Young Pope episode, taking this opportunity to focus on bodies and power in this episode and in Catholicism more broadly, as Esther becomes a central character of the show. This episode also helps us focus on how we emotionally relate -- and how Paolo Sorretino might expect his audience to relate -- to the psychic travails of the characters of the show. There are also saintly TikTok discussion, Tonnino Petola/Sheep Mary coverage, Voiello-Giorlamo questions, and dancing Greelanders! 
Check yourself for any stigmata and join us for another Popely episode. 
 
Music by Lesfm from Pixabay

60. The Young Pope, ”Episode Three”

Regan and John are back for more Young Pope as they try to lift up God's weight through the magic of podcasting and the help of...*checks notes*...a stuffed deer? They puzzle through the ways that different members of Curia respond to Lenny's faith (or lackthereof) and wrestle with their own faith, wonder whether absence is indeed presence, and map out this episode's politicking.
There's still plenty of time for Esther conversation, introducing a new saintly quest, breaking down the title sequence, and the unabated continuation of Hot Priest Rating. Forget the body and blood, all you need is this podcast. 
 
Music by Lesfm from Pixabay