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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: November, 2018

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

Nov 30, 2018

It's well known in the Rocketeer community that our host this week, Wynter Mitchell-Ragnarok, is a huge horror buff. She watches two to three a week, and she is running out of horror flicks to watch on all the streaming services. Send her your recommendations! In the meantime, Wynter forced Karen, Margaret and Who Shot Ya?’s Ricky Carmona to subject themselves to some of her favorite movies from the holiday genre, such as Black ChristmasSilent Night, Deadly Night, and their sequels.

Our special guest this week is the hilarious Ricky Carmona, the host of the Maximum Fun movie podcast Who Shot Ya? and he's also a staff writer on the Comedy Central TV series Tosh.0.

All Abouts

Margaret is all about ROMA, a new film by acclaimed director Alfonso Cuarón. The movie is heavily based on his childhood in Mexico City in the 1970s and his family's live-in housekeeper.

Karen has a backhanded All About on Netflix's bro-y, new food competition show The Final Table.

Ricky is all about Adam Sandler's latest stand-up comedy special also on Netflix called 100% Fresh.

Wynter is all about season 1 of the USA Network crime drama The Sinner starring Jessica Biel and Bill Pullman.

That's My Jam

Margaret - Phosphorescent - New Birth in New England.

Karen - This Is Me (Reimagined Remix) - Keala Settle, Kesha & Missy Elliott

Ricky - Sounds of Blackness - Optimistic

Wynter - Bacao Rhythm & Steel Band - Great to Be Here

With Wynter Mitchell-RohrbaughKaren TongsonMargaret Wappler , and Ricky Carmona/a>.

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 by Laura Swisher for MaximumFun.org. Edited by Shana Daloria.

Nov 22, 2018

Happy Thanksgiving, Rocketeers! We at Pop Rocket are thankful for you, our listeners. For the purposes of this episode, Wynter will be playing the role of Margaret’s sister who always criticizes her stuffing recipe, while Karen is the gay aunt who sold Wappler a bunk Subaru.

There was a lot of tension in the studio, and everyone was walking on eggshells. Will our panelists be able to make it through a discussion of awkward family gatherings without bursting into tears? Will Wynter be triggered by a clip of The Family Stone? Will Margaret angrily scream, “Eat the fish, b***h!”? The panel dissects some of their favorite awkward moments--on screen and off--and try to figure out why we’re so captivated by angry, obnoxious relatives. If any of you out there have concerns about fraught dinner conversations over turkey, stuffing, and sides, the panelists are here for you!

All Abouts

Margaret alerted us to a fine piece of writing from New York Times critic Amanda Hess, who laments, “nothing ever ends anymore and it’s driving me insane.” If you’re overwhelmed by sequels, prequels, reboots, and overlapping universes, she’s a kindred spirit.

If no one spots Wynter out in the wild over the next two weeks, it’s probably because she’s playing her newest video game obsession Red Dead Redemption II.

Karen recently discovered the new ABC sitcom Single Parents starring Taran Killam, Leighton Meester and Jake Choi.

That's My Jam

Wynter - Michelle Obama - Becoming
Karen - Shawn Mendes - Lost in Japan
Margaret - Barrie - Michigan

With Karen TongsonWynter Mitchell-Rohrbaugh, and Margaret Wappler.

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 by Laura Swisher for MaximumFun.org. Edited by Shana Daloria.

Nov 17, 2018

This week Pop Rocket celebrates its 200th episode!!! To commemorate this auspicious occasion, Karen, Margaret and Wynter take a look at how each of them has evolved from the quaint, carefree days of 2015 to the unrelenting hellscape that is 2018. Remember the blue dress? Sorry, remember the white dress? They'll reminisce about that fun moment in pop culture, talk Taylor Swift then and now, and how much things have changed in terms of trans visibility from back in 2015 when Caitlyn Jenner sat down for an interview with Diane Sawyer on 20/20, and the strides we've made since then.

In addition, Guy takes us with him to the seaside town of Mendocino and lets us eavesdrop as he attempts to talk to his mother Deb and his niece Olivia about the pop culture they are currently consuming.

All Abouts

Margaret highly recommends There There: A Novel by Tommy Orange.

Wynter is all about Michelle Obama’s new book Becoming, but in audiobook format.

Karen’s into Survivor 37: David vs Goliath.

That's My Jam

Wynter - Rihanna - Bitch Better Have My Money

Karen - Carly Rae Jepsen - Party for One

Margaret - Lower Dens - To Die in L.A.

With Karen TongsonWynter Mitchell-Rohrbaugh, and Margaret Wappler.

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 by Laura Swisher for MaximumFun.org. Edited by Shana Daloria.

Nov 10, 2018

Kanye West’s rambling, pro-Trump speech on SNL late September may have surprised casual observers, but by that point, his fans had heard both his outrageous statements and his frank talk about mental health for months. Charlagmane tha God lamented his canceled TimesTalk with Kanye on Instagram as a missed opportunity, writing, "Normalizing being mentally healthy is a conversation that I really wanted to have with Kanye because he's been so vocal about his own mental health struggles. Unfortunately, I think to have that conversation with him right now would not be productive and a total distraction from the point of the convo which is to eradicate the stigma of mental health especially in the black community."

Well, we’re going to have that conversation today and we're joined by Clarkisha Kent, film and pop culture critic- known to some as a "professional hater." The panelists discuss rapper Mac Miller's death, Chris Brown's history of domestic violence, and Jay-Z's openness about lacking the necessary emotional tools for marriage, among other things.

To be clear, we are not medical professionals.

All Abouts

Margaret is all about Lucy McBath. Lucy is the newly elected Representative of Georgia's 6th Congressional district. She is a national spokeswoman for Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America, which she joined after her son, Jordan Davis, was shot and killed in what is believed to be a hate crime.

Karen is all about Sharice Davids. She's one of the two Native American women elected to Congress in the midterm election and represents Kansas's 3rd district.

Clarkisha is all about the Twitter beef between herself and other black critics and Rebel Wilson over Rebel's claim that she is the first plus-sized woman to lead a romantic comedy.

Wynter is all about Season 4: The Dream Door of the Syfy channel's horror anthology TV show "Channel Zero."

That's My Jam

Margaret - Jamie Isaac - Doing Better

Karen - Ariana Grande - thank u, next

Clarkisha - The New Respects - Something to Believe In

Wynter - Tori Amos - Cornflake Girl

With Wynter Mitchell-RohrbaughKaren TongsonMargaret Wappler, and Clarkisha Kent.

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 by Laura Swisher for MaximumFun.org. Edited by Shana Daloria. This episode was engineered by Christian Dueñas.

Nov 2, 2018

The Pop Rocket Seal of Approval

Before registered parliamentarian Guy Branum takes an extended leave for some much-needed relaxation at home and abroad, the panelists came together to consider, once again, whether they would be able to award the first-ever Pop Rocket Seal of Approval.

Without an acting Nominating Committee Head to sift through listener suggestions on Facebook and Twitter, this time the panel decided to consider the names of only the most committed Pop Rocket listeners--those who cared enough about voting that they called in to make their case. One listener even called TWICE.

Special thanks must go to everyone who called in. Your grassroots efforts to influence the panelists worked. Names that might have been dismissed out of hand if merely tweeted, were taken much more seriously.

So, who will get to update their IMDB page awards section with a Pop Rocket Seal of Approval win? And might this episode feature a DOUBLE nomination? It might!

Here is the full list of names submitted to the panel for consideration. They are listed in the order their calls were received: Tina Turner, Kristen Bell, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Kelly Clarkson, Robyn, Carly Rae Jepsen, Angela Lansbury, and Terry Crews.

So who is the first-ever PRSOA recipient? You’ll find out.

Jam Abouts = All Abouts + That's My Jam

Karen - Les Misérables: New York 1987 Original Broadway Cast - One Day More

Wynter - Michael Jackson - Leave Me Alone

Margaret - Willie Nelson - Vote 'Em Out.

Guy is all about the new Chilling Adventures of Sabrina on Netflix, which is darker and sexier than the original show about the half-mortal, half-witch teen Sabrina Spellman.

With Guy BranumKaren TongsonWynter Mitchell-Rohrbaugh, and Margaret Wappler.

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 by Laura Swisher for MaximumFun.org. Edited by Shana Daloria.

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