Where psychology meets films. We dissect and analyze popular films and their psychological content.
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Episode 085: Everyone Could Use a Little Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy — Good Will Hunting (1997) with Ed Hansen
1:52:57
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Join Alex and returning guest host Dr. Ed Hansen in a discussion of cognitive-behavioral therapy and socio-developmental psychology in the Oscar-winning writer/stars Matt Damon and ben Affleck breakout Good Will Hunting (1997). But let's not forget the runaway star of this movie, the other Oscar-winner of this film, Robin Williams! In a film direct…
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Episode 084: How to Spot a True Narcissist in One Easy Step — Whiplash (2014) with Simon Rogoff
1:38:00
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Join Alex and guest host Dr. Simon Rogoff as they explore the blatant narcissism in Damien Chazelle's jazz drumming masterpiece Whiplash (2014). Starring Miles Teller as Andrew Nieman, the jazz student, and J.K. Simmons as Fletcher, the jazz teacher, this film goes hard. Fletcher is the worst of the worst teacher, who justifies his actions by think…
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Episode 083: Behaviorism and Research Methods on Repeat? Sign Me Up! Groundhog Day (1993) with Jordan Wagge
1:35:14
1:35:14
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Join Alex and returning guest host Dr. Jordan Wagge as they wax poetic and deep on one of Bill Murray's best, Groundhog Day (1993). Written and directed by comedy ace Harold Ramis and also starring Andie MacDowell, Chris Elliott, and Stephen Tobolowsky, this movie has become timeless with the question: what would you do with a day that repeats over…
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Episode 082: Would You Take This Drug? Limitless (2011) with Christina Ragan
1:35:30
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Join Alex and returning guest host Dr. Christina Ragan as they continue their tradition of rage (?) watch another movie that has drugs that unlock portions of unused brain matter — Limitless (2011), a Bradley Cooper psychological thriller. Directed by Neil Burger and based on the book The Dark Fields (2001) by Alan Glynn, the film also stars Robert…
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Episode 081: Prozium Has to Be a Play on Prozac, Right? Equilibrium (2002)
1:20:20
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Join Alex as he takes a solo look at the post-war fascist future of no emotions in Equilibrium (2002), Kurt Wimmer's 1984-esque future where a city-state has outlawed emotions. The film stars an up-and-coming Christian Bale, Taye Diggs, Sean Bean (blink-and-you'll-miss-it), with Emily Watson and Angus MacFadyen. After World War III, fascists though…
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Episode 080: Does an Android's Dreams Define Them? Blade Runner (1982) with Chris Mazurek
1:52:16
1:52:16
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Join Alex and guest host Dr. Chris Mazurek as they discuss the implications of a near-future world with human-looking androids called Replicants in Ridley Scott's Blade Runner (1982). The film is based on Phillip K. Dick's novel Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? The film stars Harrison Ford, in between his Indiana Jones and Star Wars stints, who…
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Episode 079: No, There Isn't a Gay Blood Test — Boy Erased (2018) with Lee Golembiewski
1:37:06
1:37:06
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Join Alex and guest host Dr. Lee Golembiewski as they discuss the harrowing true story of a young gay man enduring conversion therapy in the US South in Boy Erased (2018). The film stars Lucas Hedges as Jared, playing a version of Garrard Conley, who wrote a memoir of the same name in 2016, detailing his journey through conversion therapy in the ea…
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Episode 078: Drugs are Bad, MMKay? Requiem for a Dream (2000) with Melissa Maffeo
1:47:06
1:47:06
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Join Alex and guest host Dr. Melissa Maffeo as they delve into the seedy world of drug addiction in one of Darren Aronofsky's earlier films Requiem for a Dream (2000). The film stars up-and-coming Jared Leto, Jennifer Connelly, and Marlon Wayans, as well as Hollywood great Ellen Burstyn, as four folks who get caught up in their addictions, fueled b…
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Episode 077: Metascience, Faith, and Confirmation Bias... in Space! Contact (1997) with Jacob Miranda
1:37:16
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Join Alex and guest host Dr. Jacob Miranda as they explore the metascience, confirmation bias, and the nature of faith vs. science in the sci-fi epic, Contact (1997). The film, directed by Robert Zemeckis and cowrote by Carl Sagan himself, stars Jodie Foster as Ellie Arroway, a SETI scientist who helps discover a message from the stars. The film al…
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Episode 076: The Technosocial Commentary isn't So Subtle — The Circle (2017)
1:16:13
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Join Alex as he takes a solo look at the prophetic alternate reality in The Circle (2017), a film about a tech company and social media conglomerate that is parts Apple and other parts Facebook. The film, directed by James Ponsoldt and starring Emma Watson, Tom Hanks, Karen Gillan, John Boyega, and Patton Oswalt, explores the chaotic world of a tec…
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Episode 075: Disability and Laughing, They Do Go Together — The Fundamentals of Caring (2016) with Crissa Draper
1:43:22
1:43:22
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Join Alex and guest host Dr. Crissa Draper as they discuss the the ins and outs of caring for a person with disabilities and the impact of grief in The Fundamentals of Caring (2016)! The films stars Paul Rudd as Paul Rudd playing a guy named Ben Benjamin, a father looking to make a major change in his life, becoming a full-time in-home caretaker. H…
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Episode 074: Virgil Picked Up His Hammer and Saw, and Hated it — At First Sight (1999) with KatieAnn Skogsberg
1:47:51
1:47:51
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Join Alex and guest host Dr. KatieAnn Skogsberg as they discuss the fascinating story inspired by a true one, about a man who regains his sight after being blind for decades, in At First Sight (1999)! The story follows Val Kilmer's Virgil Adamson, as he receives cataract surgery and begins to "see", exploring a whole new world of visual sensations,…
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Episode 073: Self-Expansion Theory Across the Multiverse! Everything Everywhere All At Once (2022) with Mona Xu
1:47:00
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Join Alex and guest host Xiaomeng (Mona) Xu as they discuss the multiverse romp Everything Everywhere All At Once (2022), a film by writer-director team Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert (the Daniels), starring Michelle Yeoh, Ke Huy Quan, Jamie Lee Curtis, James Hong, and Stephanie Hsu. They explore self-expansion theory in identity formation, acros…
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Episode 072: Gender Expression and The Patriarchy and Toys! Barbie (2023) with Molly Metz
1:35:54
1:35:54
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Join Alex and returning guest host Dr. Molly Metz as they jump into the pink land that is Barbie (2023)! There's so much in this episode that they crammed in, and they didn't even get to everything. Alex and Molly explore gender expression, gender identity, masculinity, femininity, queerness, relationships, and of course, the role Barbie has had in…
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Episode 071: Four Walls, Infinite Feels — Room (2015) with Chelsea Robertson
1:39:02
1:39:02
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Join Alex and guest host Dr. Chelsea Robertson as they discuss the tragedy and the triumph of a mother and her 5-year-old son in the heart-wrenching book adaptation of Room (2015). They explore the social and cognitive development of Jack, the little boy, who for five years, has only known the inside of a shed that they call "Room." We also explore…
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Episode 070: Physics Avengers... Assemble! Oppenheimer (2023) with Sy Islam
1:13:27
1:13:27
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Join Alex and guest host Dr. Sy Islam as they discuss the smash-hit from 2023, Oppenheimer! Christopher Nolan's three-hour peek behind the creation of the team that formed the Manhattan Project and the literal fallout from the creation and dropping of the first atomic bombs, featuring the amazing performances by Cillian Murphy, Robert Downey Jr., F…
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Episode 069: The Doc with Staged Wilderness and Cultural Missteps—Nanook of the North (1922) with Phil Duncan
1:04:26
1:04:26
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Join Alex and guest host Dr. Phil Duncan as they discuss cinema's first documentary, Nanook of the North (1922), which was actually the second filming of said documentary! Dr. Duncan is a cinema studies professor and documentarian filmmaker, so he comes with receipts about how this documentary is more like a docudrama, with behind-the-scenes drama …
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Episode 068: This Music Makes Me Feel... The Psychology of Star Wars (1977) Music with Jim Davies & Joe Kraemer
1:15:11
1:15:11
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Join Alex and guest hosts Dr. Jim Davies and Hollywood composer Joe Kraemer as they discuss the powerful music of composer John Williams' immaculate score of Star Wars (1977) and its subsequent film franchise. In 2015, the two guests hosts wrote a chapter — after decades of friendship and a shared love of nerd culture and music — on the psychology …
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Episode 067: A Real Life Schizophrenia Experience — A Beautiful Mind (2001)
55:10
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Join Alex as he discusses wonderfully brilliant biopic of John Forbes Nash, Jr. in A Beautiful Mind (2001). The movie focuses on John Nash's struggle with finding an original idea to make his mark while also battling schizophrenia and the paranoid delusions and hallucinations it brought. The episode takes a an accuracy approach, since we are talkin…
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Episode 066: Tarantino Characters Flirting with Religion and Morality? Pulp Fiction (1994) with Jason Spiegelman
1:08:13
1:08:13
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Join Alex and returning guest host Jason Spiegelman as they discuss another one of Quentin Tarantino's classic, dare we say, most popular film, Pulp Fiction (1994). Much like their last episode, they spend most of the time just chatting about their favorite scenes and lines from the classic gangster-like film that weaves in and around different con…
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Episode 065: Milgram’s Conclusions on Obedience are Shocking! Experimenter (2015) with Sophie Halliday
1:22:29
1:22:29
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Join Alex and guest host Sophie Halliday as they chat about the historical and psychological impact of Stanley Milgram's famous experiments on obedience and social influence in Michael Almereyda's Experimenter (2015), the other historical psychology movie that came out that year. This biopic stars Peter Sarsgaard as the titular character, with Wino…
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Episode 064: Sex, Drugs, and Psychoanalysis? A Dangerous Method (2011) with Sheila Thomas
1:23:42
1:23:42
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Join Alex and guest host Dr. Sheila Thomas as they chat about the connection and the eventual schism of Carl Jung and Sigmund Freud in David Cronenberg's psychological thriller (?) A Dangerous Method, based on the book A Most Dangerous Method: The Story of Jung, Freud, and Sabina Spielrein, and the stage play The Talking Cure. The film stars Michae…
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Episode 063: Intersectionality is a Real Concept, Y’all — The Color Purple (1985) with Wind Goodfriend
1:22:23
1:22:23
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Join Alex and returning guest host Dr. Wind Goodfriend in a discussion of the psychological concepts in Steven Spielberg's critical hit drama The Color Purple (1985), which stars a breakout performer Whoopi Goldberg, amazing Oprah Winfrey, and the immaculate Danny Glover (albeit a terrible character)! The main topic on the agenda: intersectionality…
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Episode 062: Listen! It’d Be a Lot Cooler If You Did — Dazed and Confused (1993) with Chris Miller
1:22:35
1:22:35
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Join Alex and guest host Dr. Chris Miller as they discuss the wild and crazy Richard Linklater film Dazed and Confused (1993), a movie that came out in the 90s, but set in the mid-1970s. The film follows teens, such as Jason London, Anthony Rapp, Adam Goldberg, Parker Posey, Joey Lauren Adams, and Ben Affleck, as they end the school year with epic …
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Episode 061: McMurphy’s Stay at the State Hospital — One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest (1975)
1:10:08
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Join Alex as he discusses One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975), a tour de force from Milos Forman, Jack Nicholson, and Louise Fletcher! The film follows Randall McMurphy, an inmate at a work camp in Oregon who successfully (?) tricks them into thinking he's insane and so he gets transferred to the Oregon State Hospital, a psychiatric facility. Th…
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Episode 060: Baseball is a Game of Statistics! Moneyball (2011) with Jessica Hartnett
1:06:20
1:06:20
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Join Alex and guest host Dr. Jessica Hartnett as they discuss the wonderful game of baseball and the even more wonderful subject of statistics in the film Moneyball (2011), a movie adapted from a book based on another book about all the stats in baseball! And as baseball fans AND teachers of stats, imagine the gushing and the excitement about two a…
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Episode 059: He Wasn’t Even Supposed to Be There Today! Clerks (1994) with Nic Baldwin
1:07:05
1:07:05
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Join Alex and guest host Nicholas Baldwin as they discuss the wild antics of two clerks in Kevin Smith's cult class Clerks (1994). Follow Dante (Brian O'Halloran) and Randall (Kevin Anderson) as they navigate a day of true terribleness at a strip mall with the Quik Stop and the movie store. Oh, and let's not forget Jay and Silent Bob! The psych con…
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Episode 058: Can I Persuade You To Stop Smoking? Thank You For Smoking (2005) with Ed Hansen
1:46:41
1:46:41
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Join Alex and returning guest host Dr. Ed Hansen in a discussion of the various psychological concepts in the hilarious and sardonic dark comedy Thank You For Smoking (2005). The film was written and directed by Jason Reitman, and stars Aaron Eckhart, Maria Bello, David Koechner, Cameron Bright, J.K. Simmons, William H. Macy, and Robert Duvall — a …
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Episode 057: Conditioning Kids to Not Chop Down Trees — The Lorax (2012) with Kiersten Baughman
1:07:56
1:07:56
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Join Alex and returning guest host Dr. Kiersten Baughman as they discuss the many clear learning principles in Dr. Seuss' beloved classic The Lorax (2012), or more directly, the modern retelling of the classic, featuring songs! They discuss classical conditioning, operant conditioning, and social learning theory, all found within the main story of …
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Episode 056: How Did Psychology Hurt Scott Calvin? The Santa Clause (1994)
55:09
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Join Alex as he discusses a timeless Christmas classic, The Santa Clause (1994), starring Tim Allen in one of his more-famous roles. Watch as he becomes Santa after being tricked into it by magical law — this sounds like real life — and as he spends the entire runtime throwing psychiatry and psychology under the bus! It's almost like the real Tim A…
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Episode 055: Autism and a Better Life for Cattle — Temple Grandin (2010) with Sara Bagley
1:06:49
1:06:49
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Join Alex and returning guest host Dr. Sara Bagley as they embark on a discussion of Autism Spectrum Disorder and visual eidetic memory in the lovely and inspiring biopic of the real-life ASD advocate AND cattle-life revolutionary, Temple Grandin in HBO's Temple Grandin (2010)! They discuss the basics of ASD, what the film gets right and what the f…
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Episode 054: Fatphobia and Misogyny in a Romantic Comedy? That Can’t Be! Bridget Jones’s Diary (2001) with Jordan Wagge
1:04:05
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Join Alex and returning guest host Dr. Jordan Wagge (Twitter: @jorowags) as they take a closer look at the problematic themes and issues in 2001's Bridget Jones's Diary! A successful vehicle for Renee Zellweger, which spawned two sequels, it does have strong "romantic comedy" vibes, which includes things like fatphobia, misogyny, sexual harassment,…
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Episode 053: False Memories AND a Trip to Mars? Sign Me Up! Total Recall (1990)
1:06:40
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Join Alex as he discusses a timeless sci-fi classic from Paul Verhoeven and Arnold Schwarzenegger, Total Recall (1990)! Of course, this movie is all about how you might implant memories into a person, giving them the experience without the experience! We follow Doug Quaid, having an existential crisis in his life, realizing he got his memories chan…
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Episode 052: We Might Love David If He Wasn’t So Creepy — A.I. Artificial Intelligence (2001) with Jim Davies
1:34:10
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Join Alex and guest host Dr. Jim Davies in a discussion of the portrayal of artificial intelligence, consciousness, and love in Steven Spielberg's Pinocchio-esque film, A.I.: Artificial Intelligence (2001)! We explore the idea of artificial intelligence, what it means to be conscious or sentient, and how well the film works on these fundamentally h…
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Episode 051: Hans Landa is a Psych Case Study—Inglorious Basterds (2009) with Jason Spiegelman
1:31:23
1:31:23
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Join Alex and returning guest host Jason Spiegelman as they discuss a one of Quentin Tarantino's classic westerns... set during World War II, and in France, Inglorious Basterds (2009). Rather than naming specific psychological principles in this discussion, a focus is on the characters, their motivations, and the scenes in which those motivations a…
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Episode 050: Self-Discovery Right Before a Wedding is Ill-Advised — The Philadelphia Story (1940)
1:10:43
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Join Alex as he discusses a solid romantic screwball comedy from the early film days, The Philadelphia Story (1940), starring Golden Age of cinema heavyweights like Cary Grant, Katharine Hepburn, and James Stewart! In this episode, we'll explore how Katherine Hepburn's character, Tracy, comes to learn more about herself through social psychological…
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Episode 049: Birthdays Are Random, Folks — Born on the Fourth of July (1989) with Anthony Zoccolillo
1:14:23
1:14:23
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Join Alex and returning guest host Dr. Anthony Zoccolillo as they discuss the middle film of Oliver Stone's Vietnam trilogy, Born on the Fourth of July (1989). Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), patriotism, and activism are fantastic topics to explore in this war film based on the life of a real Vietnam veteran that went from blind patriot to le…
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Episode 048: Who Woulda Thunk Superheroes Would Make Decent Leaders? The Marvel Cinematic Universe with Sy Islam & Gordon Schmidt
1:13:21
1:13:21
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Join Alex and guest hosts Drs. Sy Islam and Gordon Schmidt in a discussion of the various leadership qualities of several Marvel superheroes from the Marvel Cinematic Universe (2008 - Present)! The Universe is huge, there are so many movies, but the characters span several movies, played by the same actors, so we have the ability to track growth an…
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Episode 047: I Wouldn’t Say I’ve Been Missing Work—Office Space (1999) with Ed Hansen
1:43:32
1:43:32
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Join Alex and guest host Dr. Ed Hansen in a discussion of the various psychological concepts in the sharp witty satire of late-1990s office work in Mike Judge's Office Space (1999)! It's high time we discussed the often-neglected child of psychology, Industrial-Organizational Psychology, and all that it has to offer in this laugh-filled podcast epi…
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Episode 046: Let’s Talk About Sex... Research — Kinsey (2004) with Leslee Koritzke
1:26:00
1:26:00
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Join Alex and guest host Leslee Kortizke in a discussion of the various psychological concepts in the biopic of Dr. Alfred Kinsey in the aptly-named Kinsey (2004)! The discussion is of course on the titular character's groundbreaking work on the sexual behaviors of Americans in the 1940s and 1950s, an extremely taboo subject of the time! The episod…
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Episode 045: A Juicy 90s Satire of Conversion Therapy—But I’m a Cheerleader (1999) with Molly Metz & Will Ryan
1:35:10
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Join Alex and guest hosts Drs. Molly Metz & Will Ryan as the three dissect and discuss the bubbly and rich 90s satire But I'm a Cheerleader (1999)! The film stars Natasha Lyonne and Clea Duvall as lesbians forced to attend a straight conversion camp. While the content is heavy — conversion therapy is wrong at all levels for both orientation AND gen…
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Episode 044: Wait, Zimbardo Didn’t Do An Experiment? The Stanford Prison Experiment (2015) with Keli Braitman and Jen Simonds
1:31:23
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Join Alex and guest hosts Drs. Keli Braitman and Jen Simonds as the three dissect and discuss the dramatic take on the real life The Stanford Prison Experiment (2015)! The film stars Billy Crudup as the real Dr. Philip Zimbardo, a psychologist who became famous for putting college-aged men in a fake prison in the basement of the psychology building…
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Episode 043: A Disney Version of a Discussion on Racial Prejudice—Remember the Titans (2000) with Wind Goodfriend
1:20:28
1:20:28
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Join Alex and returning guest host Dr. Wind Goodfriend in a discussion of the psychological concepts in the uplifting but superficial film, Remember the Titans (2000)! We discuss whether the discussion and commentary in this "Based on a True Story" story holds up in our modern discussion on prejudice and race, dive deep into the Allport theory of c…
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Episode 042: A Trans, Religious, Simulation Allegory, Oh My! The Matrix Film Franchise with Alex Swan
1:23:51
1:23:51
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Join Alex in an exploration of the themes and allegories — that have a psychological flair, of course — in The Matrix (1999) film franchise! In this episode, Alex dives into the Wachowski sisters' true meaning of the first film, which was a transgender allegory. He also explores the iconic religious allegory, as well as a discussion about simulatio…
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Episode 041: If Freud is the Butt of the Jokes, What Does it Mean? What About Bob (1991) with Jordan Wagge
1:17:32
1:17:32
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Join Alex and returning guest host Dr. Jordan Wagge (Twitter: @jorowags) as they take a closer look at the goofy Bill Murray comedy What About Bob? (1991). This Frank Oz classic that also stars Richard Dreyfuss as Dr. Leo Marvin is a wild ride in anxiety, therapy, and Freud jokes! Alex and Jordan officially start the Dr. Leo Marvin Haters Club and …
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Episode 040: Wait, A Chimp Can Fly A Plane?! Project X (1987) with Karen Brakke
1:23:38
1:23:38
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Join Alex and guest host Dr. Karen Brakke in a discussion of the various psychological concepts in the unofficial sequel to Ferris Bueller's Day Off, Project X (1987), starring Matthew Broderick and Helen Hunt. This film is fascinating for its portrayal of animal cognition, animal rights in research, and just how similar Broderick's character is ju…
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Episode 039: Do You Remember the Last Time We Talked About This Film? Memento (2000) with Alex Swan
1:10:10
1:10:10
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1:10:10
Join Alex in an renewed exploration of the memory issues and portrayal Memento (2000)! We first talked about this film all the way back in July 2019, in Episode 000. In this episode, Alex dives a little deeper into the portrayal of anterograde amnesia and the ultimate outcome of the story, including the speculation about which character is telling …
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Episode 038: Men Can Get Really Angry! 12 Angry Men (1957 & 1997) with Jordan Wagge & Jason Spiegelman
1:37:53
1:37:53
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1:37:53
Join Alex and returning guest hosts Dr. Jordan Wagge and Jason Spiegelman as the three dissect and discuss the two major American versions of the stage play and short story 12 Angry Men! The first major release was in 1957, written and directed by Sidney Lumet and starring Henry Fonda. The second, made-for-TV movie, was released in 1997, and starre…
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Episode 037: This Film is One Giant Racist and Sexist Fest! Crash (2004) with Karenna Malavanti
1:12:56
1:12:56
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1:12:56
Join Alex and guest host Dr. Karenna Malavanti in a discussion of the various psychological concepts in the wildly controversial film, Crash (2004)! It's controversial because even writer-director Paul Haggis doesn't think it should have won Best Picture at the Academy Awards. Oh, and the fact that each scene or connected vignette features truly aw…
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Episode 036: Wait, the Prison Was a Metaphor? The Shawshank Redemption (1994) with Justine Egan-Kunicki
1:29:32
1:29:32
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1:29:32
Join Alex and returning guest host Dr. Justine Egan-Kunicki in a discussion of the various psychological concepts in the classic prison film, The Shawshank Redemption (1994), a film based on a novella by Stephen King that doesn't have any horror or supernatural elements. Just good old fashioned, mid-century prison brutality! It is set in Maine, tho…
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