Many Christmases ago, Frank Costanza, fed up with the commercialism of Christmas and upset at how it caused him to reign blows upon another man who also wanted the same doll he was about to buy for his son, decided to create a new holiday–a Festivus for the rest of us. In the spirit of Frank and this holiday, Michael Bailey joins me for a very special Festivus episode.
We begin by exploring the origins of Festivus, both through its appearance on Seinfeld and its real-life history …
And then carry on the traditions of the holiday with the airing of grievances, where we talk about what’s bothering us in pop culture this year as well as the feats of strength, wherein we take a look at the 1992-1993 Image Comics miniseries Brigade.
So get out the aluminum pole and get your family around the table so you can tell them all the ways you’ve disappointed them before they try to pin you because it’s time to celebrate!
It’s our 75th episode and that means it’s time for another look at another movie about the Vietnam War. This time around, I’m joined by fellow TTF podcaster Luke Jaconetti (Earth Destruction Directive) to talk about the 1982 Sylvester Stallone movie First Blood as well as its 1985 sequel, Rambo: First Blood Part II. We talk about each movie’s plot and characters as well as the novel First Blood by David Morell, and then talk about the pop culture phenomenon that was Rambo in the mid-1980s.
Shockwave tries to destroy the world! It’s time for another look at G.I. Joe and the Transformers and this time around, I’m looking at issue #3 of the series, which raises the stakes as Cobra has to ally with G.I. Joe and the Autobots. I also share some memories of Christmas 1986.
It’s Election Day and that means it’s time to talk politics … sort of! This episode, I’m joined by Rob Kelly (The Film and Water Podcast) to talk about the 1976 film All The President’s Men, which stars Robert Redford and Dustin Hoffman as Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein, the two Washington Post reporters who broke the Watergate investigation in the 1970s. We discuss the film as well as a little bit of its historical context and hold it up as one of the iconic movies of the 1970s.
Thirty years ago, I begn collecting comics for the first time. Now, Im taking you back to those days with “Origin Story,” a comics podcasting miniseries where I will look at all of the comics I bought in 1986-1987 in “real time.”
Thirty years ago, the New York Mets beat the Boston Red Sox in the 1986 World Series. For those of us who are die-hard Mets fans, it was an experience that we’ll never forget, and one that we have savored since then, as we patiently (and sometimes even painfully) wait for the Amazins to hoist the World Series trophy once more. Join me and my guest Paul Spataro as we look back on the 1986 season, NLCS, and World Series and share our memories of what it was like to be a kid (in my case) and be at some of the greatest games in Mets history (like Paul).
Thirty years ago, I begn collecting comics for the first time. Now, I’m taking you back to those days with “Origin Story,” a comics podcasting miniseries where I will look at all of the comics I bought in 1986-1987 in “real time.”

More con talk! I wrap up my coverage of the 2016 Baltimore Comic-Con by sitting down with Professor Alan to talk about our experience at this year’s convention. We discuss con prep, creators we met, what we bought, and what we thought. Then, join me, Stella, and The Irredeemable Shag for a conversation over Mexican food during Shag’s recent visit to Charlottesville. Plus … listener feedback!
It’s that time of year again–time for