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Now We Know

Kevin Werkheiser and Chris Tognotti

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On Now We Know, Kevin Werkheiser and Chris Tognotti return to resonant, haunting, farcical, or otherwise impactful entertainment obsessions of their youths, through the jaundiced eyes of adulthood. Follow us on Twitter at @NowWeKnowPod!
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True Tales of the Illuminati

Max Kreisky, Katherine Cargill, Eric Trageser

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True Tales of the Illuminati is about conspiracies. Ah, yes, conspiracies--where the strings of history are carefully pulled from behind the scenes to dance for the powerful like a puppet. In True Tales, the powerful are less puppet-masters and more... finger puppet-masters. At best. Promoted from the Department of Cover-Ups to Direct Action, Deputy Head Underboss Rebecca and her crew of hapless idiots intrigue, scheme, and stab their way into ruining every Illuminati conspiracy. Supervisors ...
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They're finally gettin' married! Following the conclusion of the Aladdin animated series—which itself was kicked off by an earlier straight-to-video sequel—Disney rolled out a final VHS installment headlined by the return of Robin Williams as the Genie. Also featuring Jonathan Rhys-Davies and Jerry Orbach, this movie bravely asks: am I really bette…
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Throwing back to the classic (if slightly underheralded) animation of our youths, Kevin brings forth Visionaries: Knights of the Magical Light, yet another Hasbro-backed vehicle reverse-engineered to sell toys. And, like the far more popular G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero, this show was made by Sunbow Productions. Has lightning struck twice?…
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Welcome to our final, celebratory minisode! We made it! Season 3 is happening! Let's celebrate with this episode, wherin the gang must race against time before a brilliant scientific mind unravels the secrets of the Illuminati! This episode was written by and guest stars Tom Crowley. You can find more of his work over at Wooden Overcoats, Victorioc…
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The gang deals with a lot of petty wickering. Er, bickering. No, we wait, we were right the first time, it's a wickering. Featuring Taqi Nazeer of The Kingmaker Histories as High Druid Corbin! Welcome to the third of four mini-episodes that we’re releasing to promote our crowdfund to make season 3! Click here to help us make season 3 or go to truet…
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It's a bird, it's a plane, it's Fleischer Studios' Superman animated shorts of the 1940's! Well, more accurately, we'll be talking about two of the classic Superman cartoons produced under the watchful eye of Max and Dave Fleischer, and one of the late-run entries produced by Famous Studios, Paramount's Fleischer successor studio. Join us for a loo…
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Step aside, Dumbo. Shove off, Horton. Get outta here, elephant... from... Operation Dumbo Drop... it's little Babar's time to shine! This episode we look back at Babar The Movie, a 1989 barely feature length flick which did screen in some theaters, raking in about $1.3 million at the box office, entertaining among others a three-year-old Chris Togn…
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Happy New Year to all our friends, lovers, and of course, listeners! To ring in a new year, Chris finally uncorks an episode he's had in his back pocket since, well, roundabouts Christmas of 1997 — Titanic: A New Musical (now called Titanic: The Musical, as it is no longer in any way new). Debuting on Broadway the very same year as James Cameron's …
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Babes! Toys! Lands! Not really the first things you'd think of if you actually watched this made-for-TV movie, but here it is just the same. Noteworthy for performances by young Drew Barrymore, young Keanu Reeves, regular-aged Pat Morita, and for muddling Kevin's memories of 80s Christmastime with the things he watched yet again. Thrill to hear tha…
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Happy soon-to-be Thanksgiving, everyone! In celebration of the traditional themes, tropes, and gastronomies of the season, Chris and Kevin dive into a trio of classic TV episodes tackling the Thanksgiving spirit: Happy Days' "The First Thanksgiving," Small Wonder's "Thanksgiving Story," and Amazing Stories' "Thanksgiving." Enjoy, everyone! Also — w…
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With spooky season 2023 in the rear view mirror, Kevin and Chris turn their weary eyes to We're Back! A Dinosaur's Story, the ignoble, ill-fated Spielberg produced—though not directed—dino toon flick. Starring John Goodman, Walter Kronkite, Julie Kavner, and Jay Leno among others, this movie lays bare the fact that, while a Picasso scribble on a co…
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The month of October is upon us, and so too are all the attendant ghosts, goblins, ambulatory skeletons—you know the drill. But here at Now We Know studios, a different sort of ghoul shambles out to center stage: Torgo, along with the Master, Michael, Margaret, little Debbie, and Manos (not pictured in this film). That's right, it's "Manos" The Han…
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Like a brilliant smoggy sunset against the skyline of 1990's Los Angeles, your loyal hosts are joined by returning guest Dr. Ian Werkheiser (PhD) to awe and delight you. This time we look back at L.A. Story, starring Steve Martin, Victoria Tennant, Richard E. Grant, and a cast of thousands! And don't worry—no showbiz phonies allowed.…
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Who’s ready for a little outback adventure? Kevin and Chris revisit The Rescuers Down Under, the oft-forgotten Disney movie which sits snugly between The Little Mermaid and Aladdin, in the early days of Disney’s animation renaissance. With Bob Newhart and Eva Gabor returning as those selfsame Rescuer mice Bernard and Bianca one last time (barring a…
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Kevin and Chris traipse back to the mid-90's, of PBS "Mystery!" vintage, to revisit one of Kevin's favorite childhood detective characters—Poirot, Agatha Christie's indefatigable, razor-sharp Belgian dandy investigator, complete with his trademark immovable mustache. Kevin presents two episodes of the classic series, featuring David Suchet as the t…
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Kevin and Chris are joined by treasured returning guest Miranda to discuss FernGully: The Last Rainforest, a film which Disney executive Jeffrey Katzenberg attempted to pressure Robin Williams out of doing, on the grounds that his turn as the genie in Aladdin (which came out after this movie) would be crowded if he also portrayed the inimitable Bat…
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Crash, boom, bang, it's time again! For summer fun, holed up in your shabbily carpeted living room, peering into the searing, unrelenting glare of a CRT television! For ten minutes apiece, Kevin straps in to experience eight classic [citation needed] games from Chris' youth: The Little Mermaid, Ducktales, Prince of Persia, the ignoble Mario is Miss…
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With the hitherto disastrous release of THE FLASH (2023) still ongoing, and the Batman '89 topical content well already run dry here at Now We Know, Kevin looks back at the feature-length TV pilot for the 1990 The Flash series, starring John Wesley Shipp as the titular speedster. So how will it stack up, not against not just its contemporary editio…
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Now We Know's salute to Academy Award-winner Brendan Fraser (The Whale, 2022) continues with The Scout, the 1994 baseball comedy (alongside iconic funny man Albert Brooks) that lit up Comedy Central's daytime programming slots, but decidedly did not light up the box office or the heart or minds of film critics. Was the jaded public reception approp…
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Head on over to Patreon.com/nowweknow to find out what Kevin and Chris think of the new "live-action" Little Mermaid remake, in theaters now. That said, always thorough, this episode Kevin and Chris revisit Disney's 1989 classic The Little Mermaid, which kicked off their animation renaissance of the 1990's. Conventional wisdom says this is a stone …
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It's Monkeybone night in America. After granting returning guest Evan Tognotti the unprecedented privilege to pick a surprise topic, with no prior knowledge on the part of Kevin or Chris, your humble hosts were shocked and appalled to be ambushed with the reviled Monkeybone, starring Academy Award winner Brendan Fraser, Bridget Fonda, Dave Foley, J…
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The quack attack is back, Jack! That's right, for the very first time (but far from the last) audiences in 1994 got to return to The Mighty Ducks cinematic universe. Charlie! Gordon Bombay! Goldberg! The female goalie who's much better than Goldberg but never gets to play, for reasons definitely unrelated to sexism! Join Kevin and Chris as they loo…
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"Better than the others, you'll be hooked on the brothers. UNH!" But in all seriousness folks, Super Mario is back in theaters this month, with Nintendo's big-budget return to the silver screen already hauling in cash in wheelbarrows. But it took a long, long time for the iconic video game company to ever attempt another theatrical release, in no s…
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Chris was but four years old when he first saw—for the only time—the critically praised yet commercially unsuccessful Sesame Street theatrical movie, Follow That Bird. It's loomed large in his imagination for decades for subjecting our beloved Big Bird to undue, needless, harrowing cruelty. Is Chris' inner child right? Or does this one go down a li…
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At long last, to revisit one of the seminal experiences of an 80's childhood–watching decades-old shows because Nickelodeon had too much time to fill–CEO and managing partner of Now We Know Industries Jordan Banks stops by the pod. He, Kevin, and Chris watched a trio of classic Nick at Nite shows: Dragnet, Taxi, and Bewitched. So, late on a school …
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After 25 long years, James Cameron's romantic epic Titanic is back in theaters for a limited time, a delight for White Star Line-heads everywhere. So, Chris decided to reach back into the annals of his sixth-grade PC and pull out Titanic: Adventure Out of Time, an "interactive movie" video game which actually preceded the Cameron film by one year. …
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To Kevin's abject horror, Chris wrests control of the wheel and sets course for Funny Farm. The 1988 comedy—characterized as a "small miracle" by Roger Ebert, and directed by George Roy Hill (The Sting, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, Slap Shot)—is now, according to a citation-free claim on Wikipedia, considered one of Chevy Chase's best films.…
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Happy New Year, everyone! And to kick off Season Six, Kevin and Chris bring forth a consummate New Year's movie: 1995's Four Rooms, starring Tim Roth, Madonna, Ione Skye, Quentin Tarantino, Antonio Banderas, Bruce Willis (in an uncredited role), and many more. Rest assured, you won't find a better way to ring in 2023 than with your saintly friends …
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Patreon.com/nowweknow Merry Christmas! Your present this year, from your humble hosts straight into your podcast feed: we've unlocked the final Patreon premium episode of the year, free of charge. Kevin and Chris are joined by Evan Tognotti to watch and discuss A CHRISTMAS STORY CHRISTMAS (2022), the legacy sequel to 1983's 24-hour TV marathon clas…
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Christmas time is here again... again! Kevin and Chris dive even deeper into classic Xmas nostalgia with the 1978 PBS special, Christmas Eve on Sesame Street. Join Big Bird, Bert, Ernie, Oscar, Cookie Monster, and more—including a certain iconic star of small and big screen alike, who'd apparently rather sit out in the wintry New York cold than spe…
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Christmastime, christmastime, christmastime is here! And with it comes Kevin and Chris finally tackling one of the foundational works of the American Christmas canon, that which famously aired in 24 hour broadcast TV blocks on the big day it—A Christmas Story, the 1983 Bob Clark film based on the work of legendary radio humorist Jean Shepherd. This…
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Happy Thanksgiving, everyone! Kevin and Chris are back in the seasonal spirit with A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving, the third Peanuts holiday special, released in 1973. Is it yet another stone cold classic like A Charlie Brown Christmas, or It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown? Not exactly, but it still boasts that Vince Guaraldi magic, and would bri…
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Episode 120 is finally here, and it's just another bread and butter Now We Know classic. This time around, your humble hosts Chris and Rachel look back at equal parts cynical and controversial 1994 kids flick Blank Check, featuring such luminaries as Miguel Ferrer, Karen Duffy, Michael Lerner, Tone Loc, and James Rebhorn. Come for the nostaglia, st…
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Happy Halloween, everyone! On this dim, sanguinary Night of Fright, in the year of our gored 2022, Chris does the unthinkable and voluntarily hosts a vampire movie episode. But this isn't just any vampire movie—in fact, according to Wikipedia, it's "currently the latest film" directed by 96-year-old comedy icon Mel Brooks! That's right, it's Leslie…
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The Halloween season is upon us, and so Kevin has once again foisted his trademark vampire nonsense on poor, unsuspecting, saintly Chris. This time it's the early 90's Dracula TV show, in which some radical kids and their uncle (could he be... Van Helsing?) take on an 80's businessman Drac, and Kindred: The Embraced, a sexy, thick-with-passion blen…
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The boys are back with the fifth installment of their populist darling series, Commercials of the 80s and 90s. From rappin' Flintstones, to the sttely commands of the Bop-It!, to the unholy union of Michael Jordan and McDonald's, Kevin and Chris pour over 18 more memorable commercials from the annals of their youths. (Programming note: If you're co…
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There can be only two! Two hosts, that is! Also, two Highlander movies as of the year 1991. Departing boldly from the plot and canon of the original film, yet nonetheless featuring returning co-stars Christopher Lambert and Sean Connery, Highlander 2 sends our beloved sword-wielding boys from Earth, to the Planet Zeist, and back again! Remember you…
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As fast as a streaking comet—its majestic tail slowly fading into a dark, night sky—baseball season is already very nearly over. As such, Chris decided to trot out the last remaining baseball movie of his youth for Kevin to behold: 1994's Little Big League, starring Luke Edwards, a.k.a the wizard from The Wizard. Also featuring Timothy Busfield, Ja…
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