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Pop Rocket

Pop culture discussion with Guy Branum, Wynter Mitchell, Margaret Wappler and Karen Tongson
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Now displaying: August, 2017

A high-octane weekly discussion of the pop culture we all love to love.

Join host Guy Branum and panelists Wynter Mitchell, Karen Tongson and Margaret Wappler for smart, funny, sometimes sweary chat about everything great in entertainment.

Combining comic, journalistic, academic and digital media expertise, the Pop Rocket team will keep you up-to-date on what's most exciting in pop culture this week.

MaximumFun.org

Aug 30, 2017

This week on Pop Rocket Karen hosts and the gang is joined by film critic Dave White as they remember the life and death of Princess Diana. The crew trades stories of where they were when they first learned the news of her death, as well as what Princess Diana meant to each of them. Wynter details Princess Diana as the trendy jet-setter, while Karen explains the lasting effects of the People's Princess on the throne and the world at large. Dave reveals what he learned from the most recent Princess Diana documentary, the conspiracy filled TLC docu-drama, Princess Diana: Tragedy of Treason?. Plus, the gang discusses Queen Elizabeth's salty relationship with Princess Di.

This week Karen is all about the recent GQ article by Rachel KaadziI Ghansah, A Most American Terrorist: The Making of Dylann Roof. While Wynter is all about the Ryan Reynold's vehicle The Hitman's Bodyguard. Plus, Dave recommends another Michael Almereyda film, the soulful, futuristic drama Marjorie Prime.

With Wynter MitchellDave White, and Karen Tongson.

Jams:

Dave - Earth is a Cage - The Body & Full of Hell
Wynter - Bitter Sweet Symphony - The Verve
Karen - Last Chance On The Stairway - Duran Duran

Each week we’ll add everyone’s jams to this handy August Spotify playlist.

You can let us know what you think of Pop Rocket and suggest topics in our Facebook group or via @PopRocket on Twitter.

Produced by Christian Dueñas and Casey O'Brien for MaximumFun.org.

Aug 23, 2017

This week on Pop Rocket Karen hosts and the gang goes back to school. It's that time of year again and the crew looks back on the quintessential school movies that taught them about life. Wynter shares her desire to have a Sixteen Candles high school experience, and Alonso discusses his relation to Tom Cruise in the film Risky Business. The gang also dives into adult education, discussing the films and TV where adults go back to school. Karen shares with us the lessons learned from Will Smith's character in the film Six Degrees of Separation. Plus, the crew explores the current lack of value placed upon education and how that may be the death knell for future classic movies about the school experience.

This week Karen reveals some *SPOILERS* for the show Insecure and is also all about it. While Alonso is all about Netflix's The Defenders. Plus, Wynter gets her popcorn ready as she is all about Taylor Swift's social media scrubbing and her ongoing feud with Katy Perry.

With Wynter MitchellAlonso Duralde, and Karen Tongson.

Jams:

Alonso - Axolotl - The Veils
Wynter - Mediate - INXS
Karen - Haim - Little of Your Love

Each week we’ll add everyone’s jams to this handy August Spotify playlist.

You can let us know what you think of Pop Rocket and suggest topics in our Facebook group or via @PopRocket on Twitter.

Produced by Christian Dueñas and Casey O'Brien for MaximumFun.org.

Aug 16, 2017

This week on Pop Rocket Guy and the gang are joined by film critic Dave White as they do some serious netflix-ing and chilling. The group dives deep on their favorite titles available on the platform, and also discuss the highs and lows of cutting the cable cord. Guy dissects the reasons behind Shonda Rhimes jumping from the ABC ship, and Dave discusses his need from Netflix for more sugary reality TV shows, like Chasing Cameron. The gang compares and contrasts all the streaming services from Hulu to Crackle. Plus we also discover that Guy has a great affinity for the theme song to the Patti Lupone vehicle Life Goes On .

Guy and Karen have a semi-shared What We're All About in discussing their love for Difficult People. But Guy is all about a lot this week as he also shares his passion for Big Brother. Dave and Alonso are both all about documentaries, but they couldn't more different films. Alonso talks about the new Ferguson documentary Whose Streets?, and Dave is all about Escapes, a film chronicling the life of Blade Runner writer and actor Hampton Fancher.

With Dave WhiteAlonso DuraldeKaren Tongson, and Guy Branum.

Jams:

Alonso - The Summer Knows - Laura Fygi
Dave - Polegnala e Todora - Le Mystere des Voix Bulgares
Karen - Matthew Morrison - You've Got to Be Carefully Taught

Each week we’ll add everyone’s jams to this handy August Spotify playlist.

You can let us know what you think of Pop Rocket and suggest topics in our Facebook group or via @PopRocket on Twitter.

Produced by Christian Dueñas and Casey O'Brien for MaximumFun.org.

Aug 9, 2017

This week on Pop Rocket Karen hosts and the gang considers unpopular pop culture opinions. Sparked by a conversation in the Pop Rocket Facebook group, the panel talks about the opinions that they hold that run counter to the collective cultural narrative. In this episode no opinion is too unpopular to air, not even one concerning the Queen Bey herself. We learn about Wynter's love for Desus & Mero, and Karen tells us about the drama in Kentucky surrounding the bourbon heiress Hollis Bulleit who is claiming her family is shafting her since she came out. Plus, Wynter throws down the gauntlet when it comes to the song of the summer, and Karen serves us music that pays tribute to Margaret Wappler.

With Wynter MitchellAlonso Duralde, and Karen Tongson.

Jams:

Alonso - In the Cool Cool Cool of the Evening - Rosemary Clooney
Wynter - Creature Comfort - Arcade Fire
Karen - Haley - Big Thief

Each week we’ll add everyone’s jams to this handy August Spotify playlist.

You can let us know what you think of Pop Rocket and suggest topics in our Facebook group or via @PopRocket on Twitter.

Produced by Christian Dueñas and Kara Hart for MaximumFun.org.

Aug 2, 2017

This week, we are joined by film critic and host of the Linoleum Knife podcast Alonso Duralde! Alonso will be with us for the next couple of months while Margaret is on maternity leave, bringing his particular knowledge of film and the industry to the show. But this week: Girls Trip. The movie stars Regina Hall, Jada Pinkett-Smith, Queen Latifah, and breakout star Tiffany Haddish. They discuss Tiffany Haddish's hilarious performance in this movie, but does Hollywood know what to do with her next? They talk about the role of blackness and black female friendship in this movie, and why it's important more of these films get made. And finally, and probably most importantly, they talk about the role that black hair plays in the movie, and what each of the character's hair styles tells you about their personality.

Guy is all about The Beaverton, which is Canada's answer to The Onion News Network, and Wynter is all about the Jason Bateman led Netflix series Ozark. Plus, Karen catches up on Queen Sugarand Alonso is still watching Degrassi. Plus, we hear what each of the panelists is listening to this week.

With Guy BranumWynter MitchellAlonso Duralde, and Karen Tongson.

Jams:

Guy - Cars That Go Boom - L'Trimm
Alonso - Better The Devil You Know - Kylie Mynogue
Wynter - Idolize Me - Yellow Alex
Karen - Way Back - TLCand

Each week we’ll add everyone’s jams to this handy August Spotify playlist.

You can let us know what you think of Pop Rocket and suggest topics in our Facebook group or via @PopRocket on Twitter.

Produced by Christian Dueñas and Kara Hart for MaximumFun.org.

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