Best Kim Macleod Podcasts (2024)

1
Hey Tristan 1:05:16

2h ago1:05:16

1:05:16

That Doggett can go through the events of Invocation and come out the other side to dismiss anything happening in Redrum is nothing short of astonishing. Never did Scully get handed something so ardently impossible as the dark tale of child kidnap and apparent manifestation from beyond the grave. Fresh Bones was not this concrete with its impossibl…

1
Worm Emperor 57:57

1h ago57:57

57:57

A decidedly odd start to Doggett's time on the X-Files. And we can't ignore that it would be more effective if Patience and Roadrunners was swapped in the episode order. And also that Patience feels a lot like a re-do of Squeeze just without actually re-watching Squeeze and apparently just working off the vague memories of the classic. We compare t…

1
Whatever Happened to Strughold? 56:25

2h ago56:25

56:25

New season and new character! With Within we welcome John Doggett to The X-Files and indeed, the X-Files. Our new hardened skeptic to Scully's abruptly much more open-minded version of herself. Which does feel a little odd as it feels like seeing the UFO at the end of Requiem would be more of a trigger for this, but here we are. Also Kersh is back!…

1
Teens with Giger Counters 1:15:16

1d ago1:15:16

1:15:16

Is it ever possible to have a story wherein a character is granted three wishes and for them to not screw up immediately? Je Souhaite certainly paints none of the would be wishees in especially good light. Despite the inherent issues with humanity, the episode is a lot of fun. Scully gets to be giddy about autopsying an invisible man, while Mulder …

1
The Second Rule 55:45

1M ago55:45

55:45

Not sure if the first episode to receive the treatment, but it turns out Mythbusters specifically took down one of the central premises of this episode as being effectively impossible. So, no you can't listen to the Aramaic version of I am the Walrus on that pot your aunt made... Hollywood AD is a weird episode. Part religious struggle and part Hol…

1
Sinister Buddhas 1:01:53

2M ago1:01:53

1:01:53

The enduring question we were left with all things was what happened? The answer seemingly was Carter and Spotnitz who did things to the episode and fundamentally changed a few things about the directorial debut of Gillian Anderson. It is a shame as we would really like to like this episode but even now the details drift away. Except for a ship-bai…

1
Water Skiing Lessons 1:06:38

2M ago1:06:38

1:06:38

We are very much ignoring the future of En Ami. We know and we will get to it. Later. For now, we have questions about extraneous other angels and the complete lack of Lord Kinbote. And that man really does not live up to the code-name 'Cobra'. Still, the CSM and Scully road-trip has its moments though we are bewildered by the end as to what the po…

1
The Sexy Lamp Test 1:24:02

2M ago1:24:02

1:24:02

If you are at all convinced by the advertising, the promotional gimmicks, the press interviews for First Person Shooter, we are here to tell you in no uncertain terms how bad this game is. That said, you likely already played it during the press embargo and know of its absurd difficulty spike, its complete lack of cohesion and rumoured risk of perm…

1
Nice Episode, Shame About the Plot 1:01:31

3M ago1:01:31

1:01:31

And thus we learn the final fate of Samantha Mulder! Is it satisfying? No. Closure is very touching and quite beautiful and well acted. But as a capstone to a question that first appeared in the very first episode this is not what anyone wanted. We get into how this fails to make much sense with seven years of other conspiracy (we know the aliens h…

1
Use the Snackle Remover on Paper Hearts 2.0 1:07:15

3M ago1:07:15

1:07:15

Content warning: mentions of animal abuse, implied incest, child death Signs and Wonders is somewhat diminished when we learned about the various animal cruelties on set during the filming of this episode. Getting past that, we are left with a succession of questions about what and why this episode happened. Its pretty fun though and we learn about…

1
Episode Hijack 53:14

3M ago53:14

53:14

It is hard to watch Orison without immediately concluding that Scully is totally getting fired right after the climax of the episode. And yet - based on The Amazing Maleeni - somehow shooting an unarmed man, pointblank while he is being arrested by her partner is not enough. Weird how it was Scully who'd finally wind up killing someone like this. M…

1
Scratchcard Lore 1:00:25

3M ago1:00:25

1:00:25

At this point, it is quite impossible to talk about Rush without also mentioning Chronicle. And we can't! We get into how similar the two instances are and how they diverge quite wildly. We talk about the villain's lack of imagination, the welcome reappearance of Chuck, and how Mulder doesn't get really obsessed with the impossible shot pulled off …

1
The Four Zombies of the Apocalypse 55:21

4M ago55:21

55:21

Mulder may often feel like a jerk, but Hungry kinda paints him as a predator playing with his food as he takes his sweet time doing anything about poor old Rob in this episode. If Mulder was a bit quicker than likely three people might still be alive... Still, this is a monster-eyed view of The X-Files and pretty good. We get into the contrast to T…

1
Craig Willmore Simulator 49:24

4M ago49:24

49:24

Taking a brief break from Season 7, we try to give an overview of the first X-Files game - The X-Files Game. We get into FMV games as a whole and the specific drawbacks in general and here specifically. There's not a lot of Mulder and Scully in this game, but you can die in a bewildering and often funny succession of odd occasions. We try to make s…

1
Zombies Stole My Spaceship 1:08:58

4M ago1:08:58

1:08:58

While it might be a metaphor for the loss of the "truth" in The Sixth Extinction, it is impossible not to interpret the order of events wherein Dr. Barnes kills a man, that man comes back to life and kills Dr. Barnes, and later when events return to the same beach, the entire UFO is now missing as Grand Theft Spaceship. By zombie. Quite how Scully …

1
Shooting Skinner 1:10:38

5M ago1:10:38

1:10:38

This then is the end of The X-Files. No. Really. Fine. The point is we can't actually be sure that anything that happens after Field Trip in fact happens in series. It could all be a fungal hallucination as Mulder and Scully are dissolved in yellow goo in an underground cave. Something of a dramatically bleak ending but hard to argue against. (Thou…

1
The Ragamuffin 58:35

5M ago58:35

58:35

Nick has to insist quite a lot that he likes this episode though is not sold on baseball. Which it very much what The Unnatural is all about. A love letter to baseball that's also an X-Files episode that's also a lovely monster of the week episode that's also (sort of) a conspiracy episode and also makes a bit more sense of how the aliens work. Not…

1
Phonebooth of Hope 1:19:30

5M ago1:19:30

1:19:30

Startlingly the first episode this week Scully actually suggests Spontaneous Human Combustion as a possible cause of death. Which if we're honest shouldn't be a huge surprise after the events of, say, Fire back in season 1. Trevor is a curious monster of the week episode suggesting tornadoes can give you super-powers. But what really floored us thi…

1
Large Wooden Badgers 1:05:37

5M ago1:05:37

1:05:37

Content Warning: multiple dog deaths Arcadia is satire with a capital S. Perfect community built on top of a landfill. Oh and enforced by a trash golem! Or tulpa maybe. Mulder does do a lot of conjecture in this episode... We discuss the alien nature (to us anyway) of there gated communities and the conformity therein and also the state of Mulder a…

1
Scully Clone Army 1:06:39

5M ago1:06:39

1:06:39

Back to the monster of the week(s)! Well, monster of the week anyway. Agua Mala is a comedic bottle episode with a unnerving monster, some amusing character moments and a lot of water. Oh so much water just all the time. We discuss the somewhat odd implications about how Mulder talks about Arthur Dales in this episode and depictions of entomologist…

1
Alien Party Bus 1:19:45

6M ago1:19:45

1:19:45

Could this be the end of the conspiracy? Is the planned for day here (about a decade early)? We discuss much of the conspiracy's tangles in Two Fathers. And also make a weird Xenogears connection for kicks. We try to make sense of the episode's new claims while not being thrilled about CSM point blank talking to the audience through so much of the …

1
Doctor vs Doctor vs Nano Machines 1:03:54

6M ago1:03:54

1:03:54

SR819 features nano machines and a decidedly confusing plot about Skinner! Until it stops being about Skinner with extreme rapidity and we wonder how Mulder and Scully get to go on this adventure without Kersh throwing yet another book at the pair. We discuss a certain returning character's career trajectory in The X-Files and his somewhat bewilder…

1
Mulder and Scully Dating Agency 55:42

6M ago55:42

55:42

Content warning: child death, forced abortions, animal abuse After a run of comedic episodes, season 6 swerves hard into perhaps the darkest plotline The X-Files has ever had. But somehow any description of what happens in Terms of Endearment paints a picture of a bleak and thoroughly depressing episode which is somehow really fun to watch. Some of…

1
Mulder, Hula Hooping 54:07

6M ago54:07

54:07

Dreamland II continues with some possible stake-raising. Can Mulder and Fletcher get back to their original bodies? And what might be the fallout if they can? Not that Mulder learns a huge amount during his somewhat brief visits to Areas 51. Meanwhile Fletcher sets his sights on Scully... We discuss the weirdness of extending the joke episode out t…

1
Lawful Stupid 1:03:57

7M ago1:03:57

1:03:57

Triangle is the second X-Files time-travel episode! Maybe. It could be the first Wizard of Oz X-Files episode which does make everything a lot weirder. And if we're honest, its a bit more likely. It doesn't help that the ship is less than accurate, the German is less than accurate and even the code names are inaccurate. Still this is a popular epis…

1
Alien Day Care 1:11:29

7M ago1:11:29

1:11:29

The X-Files returns to TV with season 6. And a new locale. One these first two episodes are not remotely subtle about... For The Beginning, we talk about apparent Grey alien lifecycles and Chris Cater's pettiness. And where is Krycek even now? Its so hard not to contrast the black oil as it exists back to Piper Maru and how different everything was…

1
Barbecuing with Kurtzweil 1:03:55

7M ago1:03:55

1:03:55

We're off to the movies! The X-Files film (or Fight the Future - however rightly or wrongly it is so named) still holds up really well all these years later. Actual concrete details about the whole conspiracy are unveiled! Backstory! The threat! The slim hope of salvation! Just... We get into how much the Black Oil has changed since its introductio…

1
Gregor Samsa Awoke to Find He was a Tele-Marketer 1:16:06

7M ago1:16:06

1:16:06

The inevitable episode where Mulder gets himself committed. Folie a Deux is a great creepy episode that is almost a black comedy, but remains a fine creature-feature for the tail-end of season 5. There's some Philip K Dick in this episode - as well as a touch of Lovecraft. We are admittedly in danger of just praising Vince Gilligan all the time, bu…

1
With Music By Mark Snow 1:02:43

8M ago1:02:43

1:02:43

It feels a lot like All Souls forgets all about the events of Revelations from season 2 - that time it heavily implied Scully was set to be the next Messiah's guardian in some future conflict. Instead Scully has an opportunity to come to terms with the events of Emily - but also encounter a Seraph (maybe) and the Devil (maybe). All we really know i…

1
Rosebud Makes More Sense 1:09:22

8M ago1:09:22

1:09:22

...as final words instead of a guy shot by a cop blurting out 'Mulder'. Well, I suppose he had to get involved in this flashback into the 1950s for Travellers somehow. Into a world of red-scares and transplantation with a mind to... We never quite get what the whole spider in the throat thing is supposed to achieve in this episode. Presumably somet…

1
Cushy Alien Abductions 1:34:46

8M ago1:34:46

1:34:46

Patient X asks the question of "What would The X-Files be like if Mulder was an absolute jerk" and reveals that it makes us really want to strangle him in this episode. We get into how odd his characterisation has been across this season and how his vehement denial of alien abductions feels a little out of the blue in this episode. But otherwise we…

1
Taylor Swift Not Included 1:11:48

8M ago1:11:48

1:11:48

We're heading back to the 80s for some serious cyberpunk action in the first episode this week with Kill Switch! But somewhat disappointed. Invisigoth has a cool name and a cool look, but ultimately the episode feels a bit unsatisfying. We discuss William Gibson's writing outside of The X-Files and the vision of AI back here in the 90s and how it c…

1
Stephen King Country 1:09:52

9M ago1:09:52

1:09:52

Content warning - Schizogeny - discussion/depictions of child abuse Content warning - Chinga - above average violence Schizogeny often ranks amongst the least favourite of all The X-Files, and its really hard not to see it in that kind of light. How the plot fits together, what even is Man with Axe's deal, and how do the villain's powers remotely w…

1
Sorry Mulder, Pusher is in Another Castle 1:16:49

9M ago1:16:49

1:16:49

Content warning for Emily - Child death and discussions of sexual assault While Christmas Carol hinted at some conspiratorial follow-ups, we weren't really prepared for this the latest entrant in the Scully abduction subplot. Toxic alien blood! Shapeshifters! Mulder flipping out over a three-year old he met two hours ago! Not wholly sure why Mulder…

1
Christmas with the Scully's 1:25:22

9M ago1:25:22

1:25:22

Content warning for The Post-Modern Prometheus - discussion of sexual assault Content warning for Christmas Carol - discussion of suicide It's The X-Files Christmas special! Sort of. First off, we have to go read a well-regarded comic we are... less than happy with. The Post-Modern Prometheus is often cited as one of the series' best episodes, but …

1
The Best Kung Fu 1:06:21

9M ago1:06:21

1:06:21

The X-Files takes a trip back to 1989 and the formation of the Lone Gunmen. Also plausibly how Mulder's interest in aliens originated too. We talk the big questions. Like who's Kung fu is best and how does Suzanne find that hotel room? But in all seriousness, the Usual Suspects acts as a great pilot for a Lone Gunmen spin-off that does eventually h…

1
Whenever a Corpse is Found Desecrated... 1:22:57

10M ago1:22:57

1:22:57

The answer of how Mulder's dead body can be identified in Gethsemane and this not be David Duchovny leaving the series turns out to involve literal murder. And both Redux and Redux II don't spend much time at all grappling with the little detail of Mulder totally killing someone (which is not the first time) and then blasting said someone's face of…

1
Lord Kinbote Lives 1:31:26

10M ago1:31:26

1:31:26

Content warning - depictions and discussions of suicide Ketamine is a very different substance to whatever Herbert West uses in Re-Animator. But The X-Files seems to quite look how Dr. West's stuff looks so Mulder gets injected with it in this episode. Revelations of a sort from Mulder's past! Can we trust anything we see given the peculiar way the…

1
The Dude Abides 1:16:06

10M ago1:16:06

1:16:06

Content warning for Elegy - depictions of autism Welcome to the Skinner show! In this week's episode - Zero Sum - Skinner is embroiled in the shadowy cover-up while Mulder is almost one step ahead of him in a surprising twist to the norm. There's some good and bad insect accuracy in this episode and we get into Marita's nature as Mulder's contact o…

1
The Lone Gunmen and Cheese Steaks 1:03:49

10M ago1:03:49

1:03:49

Content warning for Small Potatoes - discussions of sexual assault A glimpse of the future! Or at least there was a future for the time-travel episode of The X-Files for the character to arrive back from. We get into how Scully doesn't seem to be right given the episode clearly has the future not being static. So maybe we can avoid the dystopian la…

1
Worst Birthday Ever 1:19:25

11M ago1:19:25

1:19:25

Is this Scully's worst birthday ever? A surprise rendition of Happy Birthday, an Apollo 11 key-chain, Mulder suggesting a plane crash is due to a UFO and then a visit to the actual crash site to look for survivors. Far be in from me to suggest this is not her ideal way to spend her birthday, but Scully doesn't looked entirely thrilled in Tempus Fug…

1
Were-rats Would Be Better 1:13:42

11M ago1:13:42

1:13:42

Content Warning: discussions of anti-semitism Come to New York! See none of the famous landmarks! I guess Kaddish is set in Queens, but still... We talk about how one dresses golems (and Umbrella-corporation projects) and how Scully's ongoing storyline doesn't seem to impact this episode at all. And that's it for this week. Next week- Oh wait. Unre…

1
Moose and Squirrel 1:25:30

11M ago1:25:30

1:25:30

Never Again provokes the unexpected question: did Morgan and Wong really not like returning to The X-Files after Space: Above and Beyond? Inevitably this episode also sparks some more consideration of Sculder shipping and the seeming increasing importance of episode ordering for how events play off each other. That said, this is also the talking ta…

1
Prestige Considerations 1:09:52

12M ago1:09:52

1:09:52

It was, perhaps, inevitable that The X-Files would do an episode on the chupacabra at one point. Only, El Mundo Gira isn't really about the chupacabra. Its not really a telenovela either - not outright weird or dramatic enough! We wind up contrasting the episode oddly to F. Emasculata and Jose Chung's 'From Outer Space' for previous examples of som…

1
Mulder's X-File 1:23:41

12M ago1:23:41

1:23:41

Terma somewhat disappointed after such a strong opener in Tunguska. We're not sure if the writers quite understand how vaccines work (like at all). Nor are we sure how and when and especially how Krycek can be some cunning master manipulator and still wind up losing an arm in a hilariously unconvincing sequence. Maybe Mulder's been reading the scri…

1
CSM, In the Sewer, With the Sniper Rifle 1:08:51

12M ago1:08:51

1:08:51

The shocking truth about Cancer Man's past and how he killed significant people! Or Cancer Man's thinly veiled autobiography passed off as fiction? You decide with regards to Musings of a Cigarette Smoking Man. We note how the episode is both plausible as backstory for the nemesis figure within the series, but also how it largely steers around most…

1
No Sunglasses 1:03:38

1y ago1:03:38

1:03:38

Content Warnings - themes of abuse against women and children, gore, fear of doctors/medical procedures. The Field Where I Died is a very polarising episode in the fandom. As such we get into why and the arguments from both sides - and its all connected back to whatever stance you might hold on the Sculder ship. We navigate some inconsistent hypnos…

1
Invasive Spikes 1:06:46

1y ago1:06:46

1:06:46

Content warning - potential racial insensitivity, discussions centred around lobotomy. In both episodes! We're not sure Howard Gordon was really the right person to pen Teliko. Also odd how its similarity to Squeeze seems to escape both Mulder and Scully's attention. Definitely not one of the series' better vampires all things considered. Still, fo…

1
Just Lock Your Doors 1:09:36

1y ago1:09:36

1:09:36

Content Warning for Home - Abuse, incest, infant death are all fundamental aspects of the episode plot. There are no easy answers for Mulder in Herrenvolk. The conspiracy does shift forward with some interesting reveals, but Jeremiah Smith does seem to correspond to the typical alien response to Mulder (ie, lying) regarding Samantha. Somehow Kim ge…

1
Mulder is Bad at Anagrams 1:26:03

1y ago1:26:03

1:26:03

Wetwired feels a whole lot like a re-do of Blood (from Season 2) with a bit of Ghost in the Shell eye-hacking on top. Not that it is anime-style eye-hacking. We discuss Mulder's strange inability to emphasise with Scully's paranoid turn in this episode as well as how knowing Dutch could give the game away right at the start. Talitha Cumi is the big…

Podcasts Worth a Listen

Kim Macleod Podcasts

Podcasts Worth a Listen

Quick Reference Guide