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Pop Rocket

Pop culture discussion with Guy Branum, Wynter Mitchell, Margaret Wappler and Karen Tongson
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Pop Rocket
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Now displaying: April, 2019

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

Apr 26, 2019

First off, you're welcome Game of Thrones fans. This is a super-sized Pop Rocket loaded with theories, speculation, and yes, even love. While Wynter and Karen were away, Margaret and Guy tapped two die-hard fans for a full-on discussion of the series and their thoughts now that the first two of the last six episodes have aired. Assembled in the studio this week:

Guy "I've read all the George R.R. Martin books in the series" Branum

Sarah "I'm in a viewing group with a gaggle of lesbians and their gaybies" Kessler

Laura "I prepared delicious direwolf-shaped crackers" Krafft

Margaret "I host GoT viewing parties at my house" Wappler

This episode will reveal which Game of Thrones character Guy has dressed up for--TWICE!--for Halloween. Sarah finds one GoT character extremely annoying, and it's not Bran. Laura pines for a Winterfell man she fears will die in the next episode, and Margaret is pretty sure she knows who will take the throne.

This was a raucous, expansive conversation that will both delight and frustrate Game of Thrones fans.

All Abouts
Margaret: The podcast Going Through It hosted by Ann Friedman

Guy: Chasten Buttigieg’s Twitter account

Sarah:
Dr. Pimple Popper, now on Hulu

Laura: The FX show What We Do in the Shadows

That's My Jam

Guy: Lizzo - Better in Color
Margaret: FKA Twigs - Cellophane
Sarah: Rusted Root - Send Me on My Way
Laura: Stone Roses - Fool’s Gold

With Guy BranumMargaret WapplerSarah KesslerLaura Krafft

Did you know that you can now call and leave voicemails for the show? You can! If you want to comment on an episode, give us any feedback or just call to get advice from a panel member, the number is: (530) 237-4108

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

If you haven't already, follow us on Instagram.

Produced and edited by Laura Swisher for MaximumFun.org.

Apr 20, 2019

This week Wynter and Karen chat with Ellington Wells, a comedian and writer on Comedy Central’s brand new sketch show The New Negroes with Open Mike Eagle and Baron Vaughn. The panel takes a look at how black sketch comedy has involved and Wells tell us what Robert Townsend TV special inspired Vaughn to create a show with a similar sensibility.

All Abouts

Wynter: No Good Nick
Karen: Season 4 of Crazy Ex-Girlfriend
Ellington: Britney's Gram podcast special episode

That's My Jam

Ellington: Ava Max - Sweet But Psycho

Guy: BTS (방탄소년단) IDOL (Feat. Nicki Minaj)

Wynter: Nat King Cole - Harlem Blues

Karen: An Luu - Pourquoi tu me fous plus des coups?

With Karen TongsonEllington WellsWynter Mitchell-Rohrbaugh

Did you know that you can now call and leave voicemails for the show? You can! If you want to comment on an episode, give us any feedback or just call to get advice from a panel member, the number is: (530) 237-4108

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

If you haven't already, follow us on Instagram.

Produced and edited by Laura Swisher for MaximumFun.org.

Apr 12, 2019

**ANNOUNCEMENT: The nomination process is now open for the next Pop Rocket Seal of Approval. This quarter we’re looking for veterans with a large body of work who have been underappreciated and haven’t received the acclaim that their body of work and stellar character deserve. If you want to submit a name, you must call and leave a message on Guy’s mom’s voicemail to tell us who you’d like to nominate and why. That number is: 530-237-4108**

This week we’re joined by food writer Tien Nguyen whose love of food is only rivaled by her admiration of Sandra Oh, an Asian woman with amazing hair. We talk about Oh, her hair and why Killing Eve is killing it for the panel. Why is this show unlike any other in the spy genre? The panel has a lot of insight on this. Also, Wynter admits she was wrong for not embracing the show sooner.

All Abouts

Karen: Survivor Season 38: Edge of Extinction

Wynter: Wynter is all about Joe Bob Brigg’s show The Last Drive-In on Shudder

Tien: Kim-Joy’s new cookbook Baking with Kim-Joy

 

That's My Jam

Karen: Weyes Blood’s “A Lot’s Gonna Change”

Wynter: Moon Boots - Keep the Faith

Tien: Aretha Franklin - Jumpin’ Jack Flash

With Karen Tongson, , Wynter Mitchell-RohrbaughTien Nguyen

Did you know that you can now call and leave voicemails for the show? You can! If you want to comment on an episode, give us any feedback or just call to get advice from a panel member, the number is: (530) 237-4108

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

If you haven't already, follow us on Instagram.

Produced and edited by Laura Swisher for MaximumFun.org.

Apr 5, 2019

Take a trip down memory lane with Wynter, Karen and Margaret as they revisit 1991 in music. If you’ve ever been curious what song was playing when Karen experienced her first same sex kiss, tune in. If you grew up in the nineties, this episode will bring you back to that moment in time. If you spent your formative years in the aughts, and want to experience the 90s vicariously through Pop Rocket, the panel goes into great detail about what makes 1991 such a pivotal epoch, giving us grunge, new jack swing, schmaltzy ballads and music fans that could embrace Nirvana, Boys II Men, C+C Music Factory and REM at once.

As an added bonus, we created a Pop Rocket 1991 Mixtape that you can listen to on Spotify.

All Abouts

Margaret is on thatPen15 tip, and reliving those awkward middle school years via Maya and Anna

Karen is all about the season three episode of This Is Us, entitled R & B

Wynter has fallen hard for
Celine Dion after attending an event with the Québécoise chanteuse to promote her new album and tour

That's My Jam

Karen: Cathy Dennis - Too Many Walls

Wynter: Tame Impala - Patience

Margaret: Billie Eilish - Bad Guy

Karen TongsonMargaret WapplerWynter Mitchell-Rohrbaugh

Did you know that you can now call and leave voicemails for the show? You can! If you want to comment on an episode, give us any feedback or just call to get advice from a panel member, the number is: (530) 237-4108

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

If you haven't already, follow us on Instagram.

Produced and edited by Laura Swisher for MaximumFun.org.

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