Best Oeuvres Podcasts (2024)

1
Acteurist Oeuvre-view – Lilli Palmer – Part 16: NOBODY RUNS FOREVER (1968) & HARD CONTRACT (1969) 51:13

6d ago51:13

51:13

After some rocky episodes, our Lilli Palmer Acteurist Oeuvre-view uncovers a couple of gems: Nobody Runs Forever aka The High Commissioner (1968, directed by Ralph Thomas), a spy thriller bursting at the seams with the charms of Rod Taylor and Christopher Plummer, and Hard Contract (1969, the only feature film made by writer-director S. Lee Pogosti…

1
Painting the Rainbow Green: The White Cisgaytriarchy’s Oeuvre of the Almighty Dollar 1:31:07

14d ago1:31:07

1:31:07

Alt episode titles: Somewhere Over the Chase Bank, There is Community and Solidarity They Just Want Our Money, Not Our Pride: The Rainbow Capitalism EpisodeIntro Audio Excerpt: Sylvia Rivera (Rest in Power) interview from NYC Pride 2001https://x.com/ben_0207/status/1800675695661842651Who does rainbow capitalism benefit most? Who does it protect?Wha…

1
Hollywood Studios Year-by-Year – MGM – 1947: CYNTHIA (dir Robert Z. Leonard) and HIGH WALL (dir. Curtis Bernhardt) 1:12:55

5h ago1:12:55

1:12:55

For this MGM 1947 Studios Year by Year episode, we discuss Cynthia, a gentle family melodrama starring a luminous 15-year-old Elizabeth Taylor as an over-protected teenager, and High Wall, a psychiatric film noir with great roles for Robert Taylor and Herbert Marshall as sweaty noir protagonists at cross purposes. Our Fear and Moviegoing in Toronto…

1
American Masters: Kim Wilson and Del McCoury 23:47

5d ago23:47

23:47

Send us a Text Message. Two albums by great repositories of musical tradition: blues rockers the Fabulous Thunderbirds, STRUCK DOWN and bluegrass legends the Del McCoury Band, SONGS OF LOVE AND LIFEBy Little Crispy

1
Highway to Nowhere (or Pratt Street): Bumpin Uglies and Matt "The Cat" Hillyer 23:24

12d ago23:24

23:24

Send us a Text Message. Lovely country from Matt "The Cat" Hillyer, BRIGHT SKYLINE (Dallas); and rockin Sublime-style ska/rock/hiphop from the Mid-AtlanticBy Little Crispy

1
Hollywood Studios Year-by-Year – Paramount – 1947: CALIFORNIA and CALCUTTA 48:58

13d ago48:58

48:58

For this Paramount 1947 Studios Year by Year episode we watch a couple of films by producer/director team of Seton I. Miller and John Farrow: California, starring the belligerent sexual tension of Barbara Stawyck and Ray Milland in a left-leaning fable about the establishment of law and order in the West Coast, and Calcutta, a terrific Alan Ladd/Ga…

1
Rays of Musical Truth: Kayla Ray and Sugaray Rayford 18:44

19d ago18:44

18:44

Send us a Text Message. Fine new LPs from Kayla Ray, THE WORLD'S WEIGHT (true country) and Sugaray Rayford, HUMAN DECENCY (funk blues) Oops "The Highest Point in Seven Counties" is a suicide song.By Little Crispy

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Special Subject – The Wartime Mizoguchi – THE STORY OF THE LAST CHRYSANTHEMUM (1939) & THE 47 RONIN (1941) 1:08:50

20d ago1:08:50

1:08:50

For our June Special Subject we revisit the work of Kenji Mizoguchi, looking at two films from earlier than his best-known (in the West) period: The Story of the Last Chrysanthemums (1939), about cross-class lovers and what it takes to become a great artist, and The 47 Ronin (1941), based on a true story that became emblematic of samurai values. To…

1
Acteurist Oeuvre-view – Lilli Palmer – Part 15: SEBASTIAN (1968) & OEDIPUS THE KING (1968) 1:00:20

27d ago1:00:20

1:00:20

This week's Lilli Palmer Acteurist Oeuvre-view sees Lilli in two small but crucial roles: Sebastian (1968), starring Dirk Bogarde as a Cold War cryptanalyst of divided political loyalties, and Oedipus Rex (1968), starring Christopher Plummer as Freud's favourite plaything of the gods. We discuss Cold War politics, the Swinging Sixties New Woman, fr…

1
Until Black Trans Women are Free, Ya'll Will Have Macklemore Ol' Bleach Blonde Ass ft Elle Moxley 1:37:38

29d ago1:37:38

1:37:38

No Pride without Black Trans Liberation and Reparations--Not Rations, Pooh.Black trans liberation, much like Black liberation and the liberation of all oppressed peoples across the globe, requires a complete redistribution and reorganization of the current power structure/status quo--is GLAAD ready? Is GLSEN ready? Are you ready? Alt episode titles…

1
Total Instruction to Your Mind: Swamp Dogg's Oeuvre and His New Album 23:34

1M ago23:34

23:34

Send us a Text Message. Just one this week: Swamp Dogg, BLACKGRASS: FROM WEST VIRGINIA TO 125TH STREET. Great album by the 80-something American surrealist, Afrofuturist, soul man, country singer, genius. https://www.splicetoday.com/music/music-and-memory https://www.splicetoday.com/writing/it-s-not-that-far-from-memphis-to-nashville…

1
Hollywood Studios Year-by-Year – Universal – 1946: THE CAT CREEPS & SHE-WOLF OF LONDON 42:21

1M ago42:21

42:21

For this Universal 1946 episode, we chose a B-movie double bill, The Cat Creeps (directed by Erle C. Kenton, best known for Island of Lost Souls) and She-Wolf of London (directed by Jean Yarbrough, Abbott and Costello specialist), hoping for hidden gems. But did we find any? And in the Fear and Moviegoing in Toronto segment, our Powell and Pressbur…

1
It's All the Same River: Pimps of Joytime and Wyly Bigger 23:43

1M ago23:43

23:43

Send us a Text Message. Two fine new records. Memphis blues pianist Wyly Bigger, BROKEN TELEPHONE and Soul/funk/rock combo Pimps of Joytime & Sophia Urista, DON'T BELONGBy Little Crispy

1
Acteurist Oeuvre-view – Lilli Palmer – Part 14: MIRACLE OF THE WHITE STALLIONS (1963) and OPERATION CROSSBOW (1965) 46:38

1M ago46:38

46:38

In this week's Lilli Palmer Acteurist Oeuvre-view episode, we encounter more Nazis in a couple of movies very loosely based on real WWII incidents: Disney's Miracle of the White Stallions (1963), based on Operation Cowboy (but with the equine eugenics shoved into the subtext), and Operation Crossbow (1965), about the attempt by British Intelligence…

1
Abducted By Your Love: Martha Spencer and Blue Collar Gospel 27:50

2M ago27:50

27:50

Send us a Text Message. Reviews of lovely new roots albums: Martha Spencer, OUT IN LA LA LAND and BLUE COLLAR GOSPEL FROM THE PEN OF RICK LANG (various artists, including Donna Ulisse, Alecia Nugent, Darin and Brooke Aldridge, Becky Buller)By Little Crispy

1
Special Subject – Produced By Sam Goldwyn, The 1940s: THE LITTLE FOXES (1941), THE PRIDE OF THE YANKEES (1942), THE BEST YEARS OF OUR LIVES (1946), and MY FOOLISH HEART (1949) 1:30:39

2M ago1:30:39

1:30:39

This week we have a whopping big episode for you: Part 2 of our look at Samuel Goldwyn Productions, dealing with the 1940s; and, in our Fear and Moviegoing in Toronto segment, brief discussions of three Powell and Pressburgers, kicking off TIFF's May retrospective. For this episode we watched The Little Foxes (directed by William Wyler), The Pride …

1
Hollywood Studios Year-by-Year – RKO – 1946: STEP BY STEP & CRACK-UP 48:57

2M ago48:57

48:57

In this RKO 1946 episode we discuss Crack-Up (directed by Irving Reis), an eerie noir with a couple of great Expressionist set pieces. Pat O'Brien oozes vulnerability as a WWII vet and populist art critic who has to find out who's trying to make him look, or go, insane; Claire Trevor plays the love interest who's trying to help him (or is she?). Oh…

1
Works in a Bar: BadNews Barnes and Jay Gavin 24:51

2M ago24:51

24:51

Send us a Text Message. The rocking, funny blues and country of Chris BadNews Barnes, BADNEWS TRAVELS FAST (feat. Jimmy Hall, harmonica) and Jay Gavin, ROAD READY + TylerHalverson's lovely EP WESTERN AMERIJUANA (Pt. 1)By Little Crispy

1
Acteurist Oeuvre-view – Lilli Palmer – Part 13: THE PLEASURE OF HIS COMPANY (1961) & THE COUNTERFEIT TRAITOR (1962) 59:54

2M ago59:54

59:54

This week's Lilli Palmer Acteurist Oeuvre-view episode is a George Seaton double feature that once again gives us Lilli the sophisticate and Lilli the saint: in The Pleasure of His Company (1961), she plays the ex-wife of Fred Astaire, an absentee father whose plan to recapture his youth by seducing their daughter into becoming his travelling compa…

1
Don't fall for the okey doke: Anti-Blackness is Divisive and Perpetuates Settler Colonial Violence 1:35:42

2M ago1:35:42

1:35:42

For Hind, For Dexter, For Wadea, For Jordan and all others whose names go underreported, whose lives are undervauled, whose resistance is met with no fanfare.Support Within Our Lifetime, Palestinian led NYC based community organization: https://wolpalestine.comThe genocidal settler colonial regime of Israel will be brought to heel, the genocidal se…

1
Hollywood Studios Year-by-Year – 20th Century-Fox – 1946: THE DARK CORNER & THE RAZOR’S EDGE 1:22:27

2M ago1:22:27

1:22:27

This week's Fox 1946 Studios Year by Year episode features the strange bedfellows of Henry Hathaway's The Dark Corner, a curiously feminist film noir in which the tormented protagonist is saved by the persistence of a good woman (played by Lucille Ball), and Edmund Goulding's The Razor's Edge, based on a Somerset Maugham novel about spiritual enlig…

1
Musical Confessions: The Personal Essays of Stephanie Lambring 18:15

2M ago18:15

18:15

Send us a Text Message. The shattering, beautiful album HYPOCRITE by Stephanie Lambring. What if a songwriter resolved on rigorous honesty? A bonus episode, as it were.By Little Crispy

1
The Gospel of Roots: Emma Donovan and Miko Marks & the Resurrectors 22:15

2M ago22:15

22:15

Send us a Text Message. Reviews of by Miko Marks, FEEL LIKE GOING HOME (reissue, "deluxe version"), and the astonishing Aboriginal Australian roots artist Emma Donovan, TIL MY SONG IS DONEBy Little Crispy

1
Acteurist Oeuvre-view – Lilli Palmer – Part 12: BUT NOT FOR ME (1959) and CONSPIRACY OF HEARTS (1960) 51:27

3M ago51:27

51:27

Our examination of the film career of Lilli Palmer continues with a couple of excellent films that show us Palmer's range when playing "loveable": But Not for Me, in which she gives a comedic performance as the ex-wife of a Broadway producer played by Clark Gable, benevolently interfering in his budding relationship with young actress Carroll Baker…

1
Radio Ready: Walker County and Sean Stemaly 24:46

3M ago24:46

24:46

Send us a Text Message. Reviews of coming commercial acts Walker County, PAINTED PONIES and Sean Stemaly, 4 WHEEL HIGHBy Little Crispy

1
Hollywood Studios Year-by-Year – Warner Brothers – 1946: DEVOTION & NIGHT AND DAY 1:20:00

3M ago1:20:00

1:20:00

For this Warner Bros. 1946 episode we watched two fantastical biopics, Devotion (directed by Curtis Bernhardt), starring Ida Lupino and Olivia de Havilland as Emily and Charlotte Brontë, and Night and Day (directed by Michael Curtiz), starring Cary Grant as Cole Porter and Monty Woolley as himself. We found them to be like night and day in terms of…

1
Lessons for Bey: Matt Koziol and Jenna Paulette 20:01

3M ago20:01

20:01

Send us a Text Message. Reviews of two new albums that give you three chords and the truth: Jenna Paulette, THE GIRL I WAS and Matt Koziol, LAST OF THE OLD DOGSBy Little Crispy

1
Special Subject – Produced By Sam Goldwyn, The 1930s - THE DARK ANGEL (1935), DODSWORTH (1936), THESE THREE (1936) and WUTHERING HEIGHTS (1939) 1:34:20

3M ago1:34:20

1:34:20

In our April Special Subject, Part 1 of our look at the films of Samuel Goldwyn, we discuss Dark Angel (1935), These Three (1936), Dodsworth (1936), and Wuthering Heights (1939), a selection heavy on Dave favourites Merle Oberon, William Wyler, and Gregg Toland. We ask in what sense these are "quality" films, and in what ways they escape our expect…

1
The Wrong Name! Josh Langston and Kimmi Bitter 21:40

3M ago21:40

21:40

Send us a Text Message. The astonishing voice of Josh Langston, Tastes Like Sin and the sweet retro of Kimmi Bitter, Old SchoolBy Little Crispy

1
Acteurist Oeuvre-view – Lilli Palmer – Part 11: LES AMANTS DE MONTPARNASSE (1958) and MADCHEN IN UNIFORM (1958) 1:05:05

3M ago1:05:05

1:05:05

For this week's Lilli Palmer Acteurist Oeuvre-view episode, we watched Jacques Becker's The Lovers of Montparnasse (1958), in which Palmer, playing Modigliani's rejected lover Beatrice Hastings, perfects her persona of brittle dissociation; and Mädchen in Uniform, the 1958 remake of the famous Weimar-era film about a teenager at an all-girls' board…

1
Really Swell Kids!: Taylor Hunnicutt and Keller Cox 19:30

4M ago19:30

19:30

Send us a Text Message. Reviews of Taylor Hunnicutt, ALABAMA SOUND and Keller Cox, GOOD AGAIN, AMENBy Little Crispy

1
Hollywood Studios Year-by-Year – MGM – 1946: TWO SMART PEOPLE and A LETTER FOR EVIE 1:01:33

4M ago1:01:33

1:01:33

This MGM 1946 Studios Year by Year episode is a Jules Dassin double feature that shows the range of the famed blacklistee even during his most constrained studio period: the noirish romantic drama Two Smart People, about two con artists (Lucille Ball and John Hodiak) and a cop who are all out to con each other; and the remarkable A Letter for Evie …

1
Caravaggesque C&W: Wonder Women of Country and Armchair Boogie 19:17

4M ago19:17

19:17

Send us a Text Message. On Wonder Women of Country (Kelly Willis, Melissa Carper, and Brennen Leigh) and Armchair Boogie, Hard Times & DeadlinesBy Little Crispy

1
Acteurist Oeuvre-view – Lilli Palmer – Part 10: TEUFEL IN SEIDE (1956) and LA VIE À DEUX (1958) 1:17:05

4M ago1:17:05

1:17:05

For this Lilli Palmer episode of our Acteurist Oeuvre-view series, we watched another West German movie, Devil in Silk (directed by Rolf Hansen), and Life Together (directed by Clément Duhour), a tribute to famed French playwright, screenwriter, and film director Sacha Guitry with an all-star cast. We analyze the surprisingly sophisticated structur…

1
Liquid Riffology: Lisa Bastoni and Sean Riley & the Water 16:18

4M ago16:18

16:18

Send us a Text Message. Reviews of Lisa Bastoni, ON THE WATER and Sean Riley and the Water, STONE COLD HANDS. And don't forget Sunpie Barnes! Replacement for a messed-up episode file.By Little Crispy

1
Hollywood Studios Year-by-Year – Paramount – 1946: MISS SUSIE SLAGLE’S and THE BLUE DAHLIA 1:04:25

4M ago1:04:25

1:04:25

In this Paramount 1946 episode we look at two movies featuring Veronica Lake which otherwise could not be more dissimilar: Miss Susie Slagle's (directed by John Berry), about the trials of pre-WWI Johns Hopkins medical students living in a boarding house presided over by Lillian Gish; and famous Lake/Ladd noir outing, The Blue Dahlia (directed by G…

1
Who Tf Was I Friends With? Community and Friendships in the Age of Aquarius feat Elle Moxley 2:55:48

4M ago2:55:48

2:55:48

Parts 1 and 2If the shoe fit, go grab some socks"without community, there is no liberation, only the most vulnerable and temporary armistice between an individual and [their] oppression."--Audre LordeJoin us for a special episode of Black People Tell Black History (yes, it's giving very much Anita Baker 365 days of the year same ol love) with our l…

1
Is God Blue? Talibah Safiya and and Cory Henry 24:31

4M ago24:31

24:31

Send us a Text Message. Talibah Safiya, BLACK MAGIC and Cory Henry, CHURCH artsy new blues by a memphis queen and wildly traditional gospel by a master of the keyboard https://www.splicetoday.com/music/gospel-music-as-liberation Just realized that Cory Henry is features early and often in the PBS Gospel series.…

1
Hollywood Studios Year-by-Year – Universal – 1945: THE SUSPECT & LADY ON A TRAIN 49:28

4M ago49:28

49:28

In this Universal 1945 episode of The Hollywood Studios Year-by-Year, we look at a couple of noir-adjacent films, Robert Siodmak's The Suspect, starring Charles Laughton as an abused husband who looks for a way out of his miserable marriage when he meets sweet and lovely Ella Raines, and the comedy/crime film Lady on a Train, which stars Deanna Dur…

1
Be a Revolution or Get Swallooowed Up feat Ijeoma Oluo 33:09

4M ago33:09

33:09

Alternate episode titles:-Be a Revolution or Keep it Moving, either way don't step on a n*gga toes-Just Circling Back to Next Steps from 2020-Ijeoma is about to go chill and write mysteries cus a lot of yall dont want to be a revolution nor talk about raceJoin us for a very special episode with Ijeoma Oluo talking about her new book, "Be a Revoluti…

1
Resting My Eyes (with a pistol in my apron): Tricia Hersey's Ministry is About More Than Naps 31:57

4M ago31:57

31:57

...and can save your life. Join us for a very special episode of Black People Tell Black History with the one and only Tricia Hersey (IG @thenapministry) as she gives you a quick 30 minutes of necessary game on this Monday afternoon made for wage theft and dream death on how imagination was a requisite for our ancestors' freedoms, the blueprint the…

1
Those are very beautiful roots you have there: Leslie Stevens and Omar Coleman 25:27

4M ago25:27

25:27

Send us a Text Message. Crisper Roots 10: Leslie Stevens, LESLIE STEVENS and Omar Coleman, STRANGE TIMESBy Little Crispy

1
While White People Didn't Create Country Music, They Did Manage to Invent Colorism feat. Mayowa 51:48

4M ago51:48

51:48

...it is now a multiracial collaboration, an amerikkkan "folk" tradition, if you will. From its pseudoscientific, colonial roots to nick cannon, join us for another episode of Black People Tell Black History and a deep deep conversation with one of the leading voices drawing attention to and upending colorism as it iterates itself in all facets of …

1
Acteurist Oeuvre-view – Lilli Palmer – Part 9: MAIN STREET TO BROADWAY (1953) and FEUERWERK (1954) 51:52

4M ago51:52

51:52

In this Lilli Palmer Acteurist Oeuvre-view episode, we discuss Tay Garnett's Main Street to Broadway (1953), a pleasant curiosity with an all-star New York theatre cast, including Palmer and Rex Harrison in a brief sandwich-themed couple cameo, but nearly stolen by Lynchian radio humourist Herb Shriner; and Fireworks (1954), Palmer's first German f…

1
The New Hank is a Jewish Baronet from Bard College: Lola Kirke and Emily Ann Roberts 21:01

5M ago21:01

21:01

Send us a Text Message. Enthusiastic reviews of two new EPs: Lola Kirke, COUNTRY CURIOUS and Emily Ann Roberts, CAN'T HIDE COUNTRY https://www.splicetoday.com/music/ep-ingenues-of-country-musicBy Little Crispy

1
Saifa is Not About the Silos: What Black Intersex Justice Got to do With It? Everything. 47:03

5M ago47:03

47:03

“There is no such thing as a single-issue struggle because we do not live single-issue lives.”― Audre LordeJoin us in discussing the Black intersex revolution, imagination beyond violence visited upon our bodies and community as home with our dear love Saifa Wall.Sean Saifa Wall (he/him/his) is a Black queer intersex activist and rising scholar. Bo…

1
Hollywood Studios Year-by-Year – RKO – 1945: JOHNNY ANGEL & CORNERED 58:14

5M ago58:14

58:14

For this RKO 1945 episode, two beautifully filmed noirs (by Harry J. Wild), Edwin L. Marin's Johnny Angel, another noir with a femme fatale (Claire Trevor) who loves too much (and gets a very unexpected - and gory - redemption), and Edward Dmytryk's Cornered, in which Dick Powell learns why you shouldn't hunt down Nazis and kill them with your bare…

1
Twin, Where Have You Been?: A Tender Conversation with Dr. Joy James 1:04:12

5M ago1:04:12

1:04:12

Alternate episode titles: -Dr. Joy James Might Break the Internet If You Would Let Her Upgrade You-This is a wonderful, Establishment, Trump and Swiftie friendly episode, absolutely nothing to shadow ban here, nope not at all (devil emoji)If you couldn't tell, we are super juiced to invite you all to a very special, mind reconfiguring politic shaki…

1
Rock the Scholarship: Corey Ledet Zydeco and Ellis Bullard 21:40

5M ago21:40

21:40

Send us a Text Message. Great fresh readings of the archive this week: Corey Ledet Zydeco, MÉDIKAMEN and Ellis Bullard, HONKY TONK AIN'T NOISE POLLUTION Plus a little Dallas WayneBy Little Crispy

1
Black Midwives Existed Before Doctors and are Still Delivering Us Today ft. Racha 1:28:23

5M ago1:28:23

1:28:23

Traditional Midwives were criminalized, exploited and erased, their 1000 year old practices mined to create the field of obstetrics and this marginalization of Black and Indigenous midwives continues today. Learn more about the origins of the Black maternal health crisis in this country and movements to resist it--one birth at a time. Alternate epi…

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