This week The Junkies welcome an incredibly special guest; Grant Goodman, aka ‘Freak’ from Stranger Things. Grant welcomes Shauna, Hayley and Alex into the Hellfire Club, and talks about his time on the hit show’s fourth season, covering topics like telling the Duffer Brothers apart with their masks on, working around Covid lockdowns, how he was the master of the reaction shot, and the rise of Eddie Munson, played by Joseph Quinn. Grant has been working since he was a kid, where he may or may no...
Jul 21, 2022•45 min•Season 3Ep. 92
This week, The Junkies take the last of their in-depth looks into beloved actor Samuel L. Jackson’s most iconic roles by watching Glass, the final in M. Night Shyamalan’s superhero trilogy that began with Unbreakable and continued with Split. This movie reunites Jackson with Bruce Willis, the hero of Unbreakable, and serves as Mr. Glass’s origin story (James McAvoy rounds out the cast.) The Junkies compare these superhero tales to the Marvel and DC canon, as well as discussing the entire Shyamal...
Jul 14, 2022•53 min•Season 3Ep. 91
This week The Junkies welcome cosplayer Stephanie Van Taylor, an aspiring actress who has been attending and working cons since 2012. She has collaborated with Big Dog Ink, Aspen, and now Mount Olympus Comics, to name a few. Stephanie has studied costume design and film production, and she practices and shares her passions at shows, on Instagram and Twitch. Alex wants to know more about what it means to be a creative dreamer, and Nicole asks about choosing and creating costumes. Shauna and Hayle...
Jul 07, 2022•43 min•Season 3Ep. 90
This week, The Junkies continue their in-depth look into beloved actor Samuel L. Jackson’s most iconic roles by watching Captain Marvel, arguably the Marvel movie that has the highest concentration of Nick Fury by volume. Though this movie is ostensibly about Carol Danvers/Captain Marvel/Vers, played to smirking perfection by Brie Larson, it is also the origin story for Nick Fury, the future director of S.H.I.E.L.D. Thanks to a deft de-aging effect, we see baby-faced Fury and Phil Coulson (Clark...
Jun 30, 2022•47 min•Season 3Ep. 89
This week the Junkies welcome special guest Jason Swarr, owner of Terror Trader, Arizona’s only year-round horror marketplace, home to everything from a robust VHS movie selection to a German torture boot to a three hundred-year-old human torso. In other words, it’s the coolest place around. Jason is a horror-movie fanatic and, unsurprisingly, the Junkies are too! Jason talks about how his obsession with horror began (growing up in Mothman country helped!), asks Alex, Shauna, Nicole and Hayley a...
Jun 23, 2022•1 hr 21 min•Season 3Ep. 88
This week, The Junkies continue their in-depth look into beloved actor Samuel L. Jackson’s most iconic roles by watching Coach Carter, the feel-good, based-on-a-true-story of a basketball coach who demanded more of his players than they were willing to give…at first. This movie is big on heart but has shockingly few F-bombs, and marks the first on-screen appearances of Channing Tatum and Ashanti, along with Octavia Spencer and that guy from Cousin Skeeter. This is one of the movies that inspired...
Jun 16, 2022•51 min•Season 3Ep. 87
This week, Hayley, Shauna and Nicole welcome writer, sound engineer, graphic novelist and podcaster David Lucarelli to the show. David is the writer and director of Crude: A Completely Unauthorized Play, which is based (in an unauthorized way) on the band Mötley Crüe. The show, currently playing in the Hollywood Fringe Fest, is a funny, loving and moving tribute to the band and especially Nikki Sixx. David also talks about his work as an ADR recorder for numerous movies and television shows, lik...
Jun 09, 2022•45 min•Season 3Ep. 86
This week, Shauna, Hayley and Nicole host the show live from Phoenix Fan Fusion, the comic and pop culture convention that returned this year after a two year hiatus. Hayley and Shauna tell the audience about all the good geeky stuff premiering this week, like Obi-Wan Kenobi and Stranger Things, then welcome special guests to the stage. First up is Hecate, a cosplayer, model and influencer who talks about her favorite cons and how the design process for her looks. Then David Boyles from Drag Sto...
Jun 02, 2022•52 min•Season 3Ep. 85
This week, the Junkies welcome special guests Steve Romanko and Turner Van Ryn of 13th Generation Productions, who are producing a new animated TV show called The Dragons of Melgor, which they describe as “an animated science fiction adventure that is grounded in our flesh and blood world.” Steve and Turner talk about getting inspiration for their show from old-school Battlestar Galactica, and talk about the creative process with all its ups and downs. Steve and Turner explain exactly what “in d...
May 26, 2022•1 hr 1 min•Season 3Ep. 84
This week, The Junkies continue their in-depth look into beloved actor Samuel L. Jackson’s most iconic roles by watching the legendarily goofy (but not Sharknado goofy) Snakes on a Plane. Is it a comedy? An action-adventure? A romance? It’s really a combination of the three, with bad special effects and a Cobra Starship video thrown in to boot. The Junkies confess what creatures they’d be afraid to be trapped on a plane with, from geckos to…butterflies(?), and wonder how they would die if they w...
May 19, 2022•49 min•Season 3Ep. 83
The Junkies are back with part two of their interview with Brad Perry, a legend in the Phoenix, Chicago and San Diego TV markets. Brad dishes on working with a couple actors the Junkies are very familiar with. Alex makes a case for Keanu Reeves’ acting chops, but Brad isn’t having it, and then Brad and Shauna go over the rules of a Samuel L. Jackson drinking game. Hayley gets Brad to divulge more celebrity shenanigans, and he regales us with tales of getting drunk with Dennis Rodman, hitting Las...
May 16, 2022•44 min•Season 3Ep. 82
This week The Junkies interview Brad Perry, a legend in the Phoenix television market (and elsewhere). Though Brad has conquered almost every kind of media, this is his very first podcast appearance. Brad is currently the host of the Arizona Daily Mix on KAZT, but got his start at Second City in Chicago, doubled for Damon Wayans (among other film jobs), and has headlined morning shows in San Diego as well as Phoenix. Nicole gets Brad to name his favorite Chicago-style pizzeria, and Hayley encour...
May 12, 2022•42 min•Season 3Ep. 82
Who’s the black private dick that’s a sex machine to all the chicks? Obviously, it’s Shaft, aka Law and Order SVU: The Movie. The second lesson in Samuel L. Jackson 101 is the beloved actor’s embodiment of the classic detective character originated by Richard Roundree in 1971. The Junkies look at Jackson’s take on the character, from his persona, his charisma and his collection of black leather coats. And they look at the movie’s bad guys, from the charming yet inexplicably Dominican Jeffrey Wri...
May 05, 2022•38 min•Season 3Ep. 81
Things get all little cheesy on the show this week, as in love of Mozzarella, Colby Jack, or Bleu cheese (but not Swiss), before the Junkies talk about their latest pop culture obsessions. Shauna is digging Moon Knight and the enduring mystery of Is It Cake?, while Alex is bingeing one of the year’s most lauded new shows, Abbott Elementary, and finally took in The Batman. Nicole talks about an awesome solo adventure at a Billie Eilish concert and a less than awesome White Sox season, and Hayley ...
Apr 28, 2022•59 min•Season 3Ep. 80
Now that the class on Keanu Reeves is concluded, it’s time to move on to our next subject: Samuel L. Jackson. This week, The Junkies go deep into one of the beloved actor’s most iconic roles: that of spiritual hitman Jules Winnfield in Quentin Tarantino’s Pulp Fiction. Sure, this movie is the source of numerous memes, but more than that, it’s a surprisingly deep look at revenge, redemption, and Royales with cheese. The Junkies discuss the use of language, drug use and casual violence in the movi...
Apr 21, 2022•1 hr 4 min
Who doesn’t love Keanu Reeves? No one, that’s who. This week the Junkies continue their semi-regular feature looking into some of pop culture’s most important films from one of its most beloved stars. Our final Keanu 101 lesson is on the movie that is one of his first: Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure. Starring an extremely young Keanu along with Alex Winter, this movie gives a pair of himbos a time machine and sets them loose in history. Excellent! The Junkies talk about how well the movie ho...
Apr 14, 2022•43 min
Who doesn’t love Keanu Reeves? No one, that’s who. This week the Junkies continue their semi-regular feature looking into some of pop culture’s most important films from one of its most beloved stars. This week’s lesson is on the movie that proved Keanu was bankable as an action movie star. In Point Break, Keanu stars as an FBI agent, improbably named Johnny Utah, who infiltrates a gang of bank-robbing surf punks led by Bodhi, played by gloriously blond skydiving fanatic Patrick Swayze. The Junk...
Apr 07, 2022•49 min
This week the Junkies take on the big story from this year’s Academy Awards® presentation: How Apple TV+ was the first streaming service to produce a Best Picture winner. Oh, and whatever else happened. But first, it’s time to talk what was poppin’ this week; Alex loved the wild, arty weirdness of Atlanta, while Shauna loved the allegorical Turning Red. Nicole is all about The Afterparty, while Hayley celebrates the historical romantic gay pirate comedy Our Flag Means Death. Then the Junkies tal...
Mar 31, 2022•56 min
Ashleigh Feiring, a Producer of the Phoenix Fan Fusion convention, joins the Junkies this week to talk about her role at the event, which takes place from May 27th through the 29th at the Phoenix Convention Center. Ashleigh is pals with Shauna and, like Hayley, both are very much into cosplay. (Will they talk Nicole and Alex into doing their first cosplays?) Ashleigh and the Junkies talk about favorite con moments, celebrity encounters, the best and worst of con food, and how first-timers can be...
Mar 24, 2022•57 min
Who doesn’t love Keanu Reeves? No one, that’s who. This week the Junkies continue their semi-regular feature looking into some of pop culture’s most important films from one of its most beloved stars. This week’s lesson is on the movie that first brought us the undeniable chemistry of Keanu Reeves and Sandra Bullock: Speed, aka “The Bus that Couldn’t Slow Down.” The Junkies discuss Keanu’s performance and appearance (yes, we’re that shallow) and rate the other actors by how sad they’d be if they...
Mar 17, 2022•42 min
The #QuadSquad (Alex, Hayley, Nicole and Shauna) celebrate the Third Season Premiere of the Pop Culture Junkie Podcast by talking about all those shows that didn’t make it past season two. Looking at you, Joan of Arcadia! Seriously, though, why did shows like Pushing Daisies, Eli Stone, Lizzie McGuire and The Munsters only get two seasons, while Grey’s Anatomy carries on year after year like some mythically unkillable behemoth? That question may never be answered, but The Junkies won’t stop tryi...
Mar 10, 2022•35 min
You picked the categories. You picked the nominees. And you voted on the winners. Now it’s finally time to find out the best and worst of Pop Culture from the year where everything went back to normal, 2021. Ha Ha! Alex, Hayley, Shauna and Nicole announce the winners of the Junkies’ Choice Awards in a no-frills ceremony that’s more fun than the Golden Globes, which admittedly isn’t hard to do. Find out who receives a statuette featuring our beloved Pop Culture Vulture, Vinnie this year. What was...
Mar 03, 2022•46 min
Who doesn’t love Keanu Reeves? No one, that’s who. This week the Junkies continue their semi-regular feature looking into some of pop culture’s most important films from one of its most beloved stars. This week’s lesson is on the first chapter of Reeves’ dog-loving hitman trilogy, John Wick. Though the movie has the thinnest of plots, it heavies up on meticulously choreographed action sequences and Reeves does most of his own stunts. But is it a good movie? The Junkies weigh this and other quest...
Feb 24, 2022•57 min
Alex, Shauna and Nicole welcome special guest Avery Xola, an Arizona native who is the author of the Murderman graphic novel series, a “punk rock project” which has everything: sex, shots, peeling skin, cyborgs and rock and roll. Avery tells the Junkies about how his writing has been influenced by everything from Robo-Cop, Muppet Babies and Final Destination, (among other classic stories), and talks about the artistic process, building a supportive community, representation, and how taking your ...
Feb 17, 2022•45 min
Who doesn’t love Keanu Reeves? No one, that’s who. This week the Junkies continue a semi-regular feature looking into some of pop culture’s most important films from one of its most beloved stars. Our second lesson is on time travel/romance The Lake House. Based on the Korean film Il Mare, The Lake House reteams Reeves with one of his most charismatic co-stars, the shag-mulleted Sandra Bullock. Reeves and Bullock play would-be lovers Alex and Kate, who live in the same house but two years apart,...
Feb 10, 2022•52 min
Joey, Banana, Splash and Hayley the Brave and Strong (aka the Pop Culture Junkies) talk about their nicknames and how they got them. In other news, January is finally over (!) and the Junkies are looking forward to a new month full of new beginnings. It’s Black History Month, and Alex and Hayley discuss the best shows and movies to watch now and all of the time. Nicole starts the Pop Culture Junkie Book Club, and Shauna gives How I Met Your Father a resounding “meh”. Then it’s on to news, includ...
Feb 03, 2022•1 hr
Who doesn’t love Keanu Reeves? No one, that’s who. This week the Junkies start a semi-regular feature looking into some of pop culture’s most important films from one of its most beloved stars. Our first subject is the fluffy football comedy The Replacements. Based (loosely) on real-life events, The Replacements is the story of a pro football team that hired scab players to play when the regular team went on strike. Alex, Hayley and Nicole discuss the plot, plot holes, cast and examine the best ...
Jan 27, 2022•50 min
The Junkies look at the phenomenon of hate-watching this week; Alex watches Jersey Shore just to complain about it to his brother, who’s a fan; Nicole’s dad holds her hostage in front of Two and a Half Men, Hayley watches 911 just to see characters catch on fire, Shauna thinks And Just Like That is so bad it actually became watchable, and everyone has a love-hate relationship with social media. Then it’s on to what’s happening this week: Peacemaker is like The Boys, only more ridiculous, the sec...
Jan 20, 2022•55 min
The Junkies take the Ten Year Challenge and decide what Pop Culture rocked back in 2012 and what needs to survive until the year 2032. Then Alex, Nicole, Hayley and Shauna move on to the Pop Culture of 2022, including (spoilers!) the finale of Dexter, the merits of Cobra Kai, aka Riverdale with Karate, and whatever the heck was going on in Netflix’s Don’t Look Up. Then the Junkies pay tribute to Bob Saget, who touched our lives in so many ways, and the late, great Sidney Poiter, before talking a...
Jan 13, 2022•46 min
Alex and Nicole make their Pop Culture resolutions for 2022…will they keep up with them? Time will tell! The year may have changed, but we are still popping here at PCJ. Alex hypes 60 Days In and Ron’s Gone Wrong, and he will convince you to subscribe to PBS Documentaries, and Nicole is taking the Ultimate Girls Trip with the Real Housewives of Everywhere. Then the Junkies celebrate the life of Betty White, the topless quitting style of Antonio Brown, the topless perseverance of Miley Cyrus, and...
Jan 06, 2022•31 min
