Look for Ah My Guys wherever you get your podcasts. What happens when comedy meets ethics, performance art meets aviation safety, and a TV host decides to build an airport just to see what happens? This week, Mandy is joined by her brilliant and ever-curious friend Megan Parlen to dig deep into The Rehearsal — Nathan Fielder’s surreal and provocative HBO series that defies easy categorization. Is it satire? Is it social commentary? Is it trauma with a laugh track? Mandy isn’t sure, but Megan has...
Aug 25, 2025•55 min•Ep. 60
Look for Ah My Guys wherever you get your podcasts. Mandy Kaplan has never seen Jurassic Park. We know. Breathe. She’s finally corrected this cinematic sin, and to walk her through the prehistoric magic, she’s joined by Pete Wright, Andy Nelson, and Tommy Metz III—three full-grown nerds whose love for Spielberg’s dinosaur masterpiece borders on religious. This is the movie that changed blockbuster filmmaking forever, and the guys are here to help Mandy understand the science, the spectacle, and ...
Aug 18, 2025•1 hr 5 min•Ep. 59
Look for Ah My Guys wherever you get your podcasts. What do you get when you cross Elizabeth Berkley, a pile of glitter, and the worst pool sex scene ever committed to film? Showgirls , of course — and this week, Mandy dives headfirst into the chaotic, cringe-glittery mess with TV producer and camp connoisseur Jessica Jimenez. Jess has seen the cult classic more times than she can count (or admit), while Mandy might have lost a small piece of her soul watching it for the first time. What follows...
Aug 11, 2025•54 min•Ep. 61
Look for Ah My Guys wherever you get your podcasts. Jimmy Aquino is back and brings K-Pop Demon Hunters , the surprise Netflix hit that blends idol culture with demon-fighting destiny and music bangers that have conquered the Billboard charts. Mandy and Jimmy break down the film’s animation style, Buffy-meets-BTS premise, Korean cultural foundations, and the epic vocal range of EJAE (seriously, a D3 to an A5 in one breath?). Jimmy dives deep into the 10-year journey to production, the real K-pop...
Aug 04, 2025•58 min•Ep. 57
He’s back and nerdier than ever! Mandy welcomes voice actor, activist, and self-proclaimed snappy dresser JP Karliak to discuss X-Men (2000)—the film that helped launch the modern superhero era and still sparks passionate debate among comic fans, queer viewers, and nerdy newcomers alike. JP, who now voices Morph in X-Men ’97 , breaks down the emotional legacy of the franchise, its deep ties to marginalized identities, and what makes a mutant story resonate decades later. The conversation bounces...
Jul 28, 2025•50 min•Ep. 56
In this delightfully nerdy episode, Mandy Kaplan welcomes actor and host Lisa Arch to discuss The Big Bang Theory , the show that launched Mandy’s “nerdification” and hooked Lisa over time with its layered friendships, character arcs, and perfect comedic timing. From dissecting the show’s legendary pilot to marveling at Sheldon’s emotional growth in “The Bath Item Gift Hypothesis,” Lisa and Mandy revel in how a sitcom about theoretical physicists managed to become deeply human—and deeply hilario...
Jul 21, 2025•55 min•Ep. 55
Let’s say you’re a respected voice actor. You’ve brought beloved characters to life in video games, animation, and probably at least one fan convention that smelled vaguely of beef jerky and dry-erase markers. Then one day, someone says: “Would you like to improvise a high-stakes fantasy quest in front of a live audience of howling D&D nerds… and also do it in costume… on stage… with dice… on YouTube?” What do you say? If you’re Justine Huxley, the answer is “yes”—and then you glue leaves to...
Jul 14, 2025•36 min•Ep. 54
In 1991, a small blue hedgehog in red sneakers launched a cultural revolution. But the story of Sonic—and the rise and fall of Sega—isn’t just about pixels and processors. It’s about loyalty, rebellion, and the strange way that consumer technology becomes a reflection of who we are. This week on Make Me a Nerd , Mandy Kaplan sits down with Danny Brown—host of Five Random Questions and Head of Podcast Support and Experience at Captivate—to talk about the Great Console War: Sega versus Nintendo. I...
Jul 07, 2025•51 min•Ep. 53
Who knew anti-heroes could teach us about healing? This week, Mandy sits down with Justin Jaeger—True Story film board favorite, book reviewer, and passionate MCU buff—to break down Thunderbolts . If you’re expecting a by-the-numbers action flick, think again. This Marvel installment has trauma, therapy metaphors, moral ambiguity, and exactly zero romantic subplots (finally). They talk about how the film blends superhero spectacle with emotional weight, highlighting characters who wrestle with t...
Jun 30, 2025•48 min•Ep. 52
Hey! We're taking a short break to regroup, recharge, and do a little of the summer stuff that we're told grown-up nerds do. So you should do the same! We'll catch you in about a month... stay tuned!
Jun 09, 2025•41 sec
What happens when a self-help comedy podcaster and a self-proclaimed mainstream mom dive headfirst into the high-stakes world of dragon-based erotica? Fire. Literally. That’s right, this week Mandy welcomes Misty Stinnett to Make Me a Nerd for a full-on nerd-out over Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros, the romantasy sensation that has TikTok, book clubs, and reluctant fantasy readers in a collective swoon. Misty—who’s spent the last 15 years producing content for Netflix, MasterClass, political campa...
Jun 02, 2025•53 min•Ep. 51
Let’s talk about America. No—not that America ... Captain America, who—despite being a science experiment in high-waisted pants—somehow manages to be the most grounded Avenger in a sea of flying metal suits and literal gods with hammer fetishes. This week, Mandy invites longtime friend and deep-level comic nerd John Mundy to hold her hand as she dives headfirst into Captain America: The First Avenger . And, it’s an episode that is more packed than Chris Evans’ post-serum pecs. Together, Mandy an...
May 26, 2025•49 min•Ep. 50
Welcome to the show, everybody! In this very special episode of Make Me a Nerd , Mandy Kaplan sits down with Bruce Vilanch—Emmy-winning writer, cultural historian of kitsch, and the man behind some of the strangest, most infamous moments in television history. You may know him as the guy who put Bea Arthur in a space cantina or paired Paul Lynde with KISS on national TV, but there’s so much more to Bruce’s story. Together, they dive headfirst into the murky glitter of The Star Wars Holiday Speci...
May 19, 2025•47 min•Ep. 49
Do you remember a time when David Bowie’s pants were tighter than your schedule, owls were CGI nightmares, and puppets had a suspicious amount of emotional range? No? WELL, YOU’RE IN FOR A TREAT. Because this week, Mandy steps right into the sparkly, slightly confusing fever dream that is Labyrinth . And she does so with none other than fan-favorite, tattoo-wearing, La Croix-powered 80s movie expert Krissy Lenz. Yes, Krissy is back, and she’s brought the power of voodoo (who do? SHE DO.) along w...
May 12, 2025•52 min•Ep. 48
Welcome back, nerdlings, to Make Me A Nerd — the show where one mainstream mom dares to plummet headfirst into the gelatinous pit of sci-fi anthologies, death anxiety, and…digital pigs. This week, Mandy Kaplan reunites with podcast übermensch Pete Wright and returning mensch Tommy Metz III to tackle Black Mirror — that show that asks the critical question: “What if your phone hated you as much as you hate yourself?” Together, Mandy, Pete, and Tommy trudge through techno-paranoia, pastel dystopia...
May 05, 2025•1 hr 3 min•Ep. 47
What do you get when you cross a mainstream mom, a Time Lord, and the Spice Girls? A deliriously joyful trip through time, space, pop culture, and puppets. This week on Make Me A Nerd , Mandy welcomes back the dazzlingly encyclopedic Manny Patel— Doctor Who superfan, mashup artist, and the human equivalent of a well-timed sonic screwdriver—for an energetic deep dive into the “three-boot” of Doctor Who on Disney+. Together, they attempt the nerdy equivalent of catching a greased pig: explaining T...
Apr 28, 2025•54 min•Ep. 46
In 1977, George Lucas introduced the world to a galaxy far, far away—a universe filled with lightsabers, Jedi mysticism, and the eternal struggle between the forces of good and evil. In the decades since, Star Wars has alternately soared and stumbled, expanding its mythos with prequels, sequels, spin-offs, and animated series. Some of these additions have been embraced with fervor. Others have been met with a sigh. And then, in 2022, something unexpected happened. A show emerged that defied the ...
Apr 21, 2025•52 min•Ep. 45
This week on Make Me A Nerd, Mandy attempts to survive a full-blown fungal apocalypse—emotionally, spiritually, and occasionally by camouflage. And she’s not alone! She’s joined by three-time guest and ethics enthusiast Matthew Fox, who gently guides her through the cordyceps-infested wasteland that is The Last of Us . Think of them as a podcast Joel , if Joel read moral philosophy and didn’t shoot people in the face quite as often. From clickers to conundrums, this episode dives into why this s...
Apr 14, 2025•56 min•Ep. 44
Ladies and gentlemen, Swifties and skeptics, gather round, for today we embark on a journey of seismic cultural significance. No, not another election cycle. No, not the discovery of yet another billionaire’s secret doomsday bunker. We are talking about Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour —a three-and-a-half-hour pop music odyssey, equal parts spectacle, sermon, and strut. Mandy Kaplan, self-proclaimed “mainstream mom on a mission,” has declared war on ignorance and invited back one of her favorite guests,...
Apr 07, 2025•1 hr 20 min•Ep. 43
You wake up. You’re at work. You don’t know how you got there. You don’t know who you are outside of this fluorescent-lit, carpeted labyrinth. And worst of all—you have to attend a melon party. This week on Make Me A Nerd , Mandy takes a cubicle tour of Apple TV+'s Severance . Joining her is Jon Cassie, a certified nerd extraordinaire, former podcaster, and educational innovator, who has spent more time thinking about sci-fi and board games than most of us spend awake. Together, they unravel Sev...
Mar 31, 2025•1 hr 6 min•Ep. 42
Everything Everywhere All at Once. It’s t he film that took home a million Oscars, melted a billion brains, and somehow made hot dog fingers emotionally resonant . This week, Mandy sits down with Exorcist Minute co-hosts Lester Ryan Clark and Kynan Dias, two men who decided that watching Everything Everywhere like normal people just wasn’t enough, so they’ve chosen to break it down minute-by-minute, which is either a brilliant act of cinematic devotion or a slow descent into madness. Probably bo...
Mar 24, 2025•1 hr 7 min•Ep. 41
Wheel of Time —a sprawling, epic fantasy series filled with magic, palace intrigue, and, apparently, an unlimited budget for breathtaking visuals and absurdly attractive people. This week, Mandy welcomes back Audrey Kearns, aka the Geek Girl Authority herself, to painstakingly explain what the hell is going on in this Amazon Prime behemoth. We start with Mandy, who thought Wheel of Time was a fitness tracker before being thrown into a world of Trollocs, Aes Sedai, and, oh yes, an alarming number...
Mar 17, 2025•1 hr 1 min•Ep. 40
This week on Make Me A Nerd , Mandy marches barefoot into the unwashed, coconut-scented, betrayal-laden world of Survivor . And who better to guide her through this mosquito-infested fever dream than Patrick Gomez, Editor-in-Chief of Entertainment Weekly and a man who has spent an alarming amount of time thinking about reality television strategy. Yes, Mandy—who typically prefers her entertainment with a side of not starving to death —has watched an entire season of Survivor , specifically Heroe...
Mar 10, 2025•1 hr 25 min•Ep. 39
In 1993, a television show did something radical. It eschewed the traditional frontier, the ever-expanding voyage, the endless pursuit of the unknown. Instead, it stood still. It stayed put. It built a world—not on a starship, but on a space station. A fixed point in the cosmos where characters, conflicts, and consequences could spiral outward in ways that no Star Trek series had attempted before. That show was Deep Space Nine. This week on Make Me A Nerd , Mandy steps into the Operations Center...
Mar 03, 2025•55 min•Ep. 38
Is it possible that a historical drama with time-traveling elements could captivate a mainstream audience, birthing a fandom so fervent it borders on the delightfully obsessive? This week, Mandy wades into the world of Outlander to find out. As her guide, Mandy speaks with actress Amy Crofoot, an avowed Outlander enthusiast, to explore the show's undeniable appeal. Is it the meticulously crafted historical setting? The sweeping romance? Or perhaps the subtle nods to geek culture that resonate wi...
Feb 24, 2025•56 min•Ep. 37
Is "The Exorcist" just a scary movie, or is it a cultural artifact, a theological debate wrapped in celluloid? Mandy Kaplan confesses her way into the abyss with Lester Ryan Clark and Kynan Dias, the minds behind "The Exorcist Minute," a podcast dissecting the film minute by agonizing minute. Why does the film open in Iraq? Is it a pro-Catholic screed, or something far more subversive? What does the film say about feminism? And what does it mean that the scariest voice in the movie comes from Me...
Feb 17, 2025•1 hr 5 min•Ep. 36
What makes a nerd? Is it the obsessive cataloging of obscure details? The unyielding commitment to lore? The passionate embrace of minutiae deemed trivial by the larger world? This week, Mandy the Mainstreamer welcomes back Justine Huxley, a voiceover artist of rarefied skill, a legend among the Apex Legends. Together, they hit play on The Jungle Book, the 1967 Disney classic, to marvel at the lilting menace of Sterling Holloway’s Ka, the bombastic warmth of Phil Harris’s Baloo, and the aristocr...
Feb 10, 2025•1 hr 3 min•Ep. 35
What does it mean to be human? And, perhaps more importantly, what does it mean to feel human? On today’s episode of Make Me a Nerd , host Mandy Kaplan embarks on a journey with writer, producer, and director Paul J. Salamoff—a man whose career spans makeup effects, comic books, and award-winning filmmaking. Their mission? To dissect one of the most iconic and enigmatic films in science fiction history: Blade Runner . This is a story about contrasts—about the grit of dystopian Los Angeles and th...
Feb 03, 2025•55 min•Ep. 34
We’re slogging into the murky depths of Gotham, not with capes and cowls, but with gabardine and grit. This week on the show, Mandy navigates the shadowy alleys of nerddom, guided by the insightful Matthew Fox of Star Wars Generations and the Superhero Ethics Podcast on TruStory FM. Their subject? Not the bombastic exploits of a costumed crusader, but the surprisingly nuanced rise of The Penguin on Max. This is a visceral exploration of power, betrayal, and the intoxicating allure of respect. Th...
Jan 27, 2025•1 hr 11 min•Ep. 33
What compels someone to willingly re-enter a labyrinth of death, deceit, and desperation? Is it revenge? Redemption? Or is it something darker—something unspeakable? In this week’s episode of Make Me A Nerd , Mandy welcomes back friend-of-the-show and pop culture aficionado Jimmy Aquino for a sprawling conversation about Season 2 of Netflix’s global phenomenon, Squid Game . Why does the show juxtapose childlike innocence with grotesque violence? How does its set design, awash in candy-colored ch...
Jan 20, 2025•51 min•Ep. 32
