Shows / The Kulturecast
The Kulturecast
The Kulturecast is a film and culture podcast hosted by Chris Stachiw, the Doctor of Podcasting, alongside a rotating table of guest co-hosts, and a founding member of Weirding Way Media. Each week digs into where film and culture meet — and how each one bends the other.
Three series live inside the feed:
Required Viewing: A 360° Film Study, with media scholar Dr. David D. Perlmutter
Kulture Meltdown, with Bryan Renfro of Movie Meltdown
Changeover, with Mike White of The Projection Booth
New…
Episodes
The KulturecastRequired Viewing 08: All About Eve
Fasten your seatbelts. This week on Required Viewing, we take our seats for Joseph L. Mankiewicz's All About Eve (1950), the backstage drama that earned 14…
The KulturecastKulture Meltdown: Clayface (2026) — "They stole everything from me."
DC goes full body horror, and the Kulture Meltdown asks whether a superhero movie can ever go far enough. Clayface (2026), directed by James Watkins from a…
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Event Horizon (1997) — "Hell is only a word."
It was pitched as a haunted house in space, rushed into theaters with only weeks to edit, and cut down from around two hours to 96 minutes before audiences…
The KulturecastRequired Viewing 07: The Maltese Falcon
It's the stuff that dreams are made of. This week on Required Viewing, we go after John Huston's The Maltese Falcon (1941), the third screen version of…
The KulturecastKulture Meltdown: Godzilla Minus One (2023) — "Is your war finally over?"
Godzilla has been a nuclear metaphor, a wrestling heel, a children's hero and a Hollywood franchise player, but it took 70 years for him to win an Oscar…
The KulturecastKulture Meltdown: Crystal Lake (2026), Episodes 3–4 — "It's like someone put a curse on this town."
Camp Crystal Lake is open for business again. We dig into episodes 3 and 4 of Crystal Lake, where a bear hunt goes wrong, Pam settles a score on Grace's…
The KulturecastKulture Meltdown: Crystal Lake (2026), Episodes 1–2 — "I don't wanna heal. I wanna find my son."
Before Jason, there was Mom. We head back to camp for the first two episodes of Crystal Lake, A24 and Peacock's Friday the 13th prequel series, with Linda…
The KulturecastChangeover: Jailer 2 (2026)
At 75, Rajinikanth is still the biggest draw in Indian cinema, and Jailer 2 is a reminder of why. Nelson Dilipkumar's sequel to his 2023 hit picks up with…
The KulturecastRequired Viewing 06: The Eiger Sanction
A spy spoof written by a film professor, played dead straight by Clint Eastwood, with a mountaineering film inside it that cost a man his life. This week on…
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Three Days of the Condor (1975) — "They'll print it."
The Doctor of Podcasting is joined by Karl Mamer and Dr. David D. Perlmutter for Sydney Pollack's Three Days of the Condor. Robert Redford's Joe Turner is a…
The KulturecastRequired Viewing 05: Contagion
It opens on Day 2, with a cough in the dark. This week on Required Viewing, we put Steven Soderbergh's Contagion (2011) under the microscope — the cold…
The KulturecastKulture Meltdown: Good Luck, Have Fun, Don't Die (2025) — "All of this is going to go horribly wrong."
We'll be honest; neither of us expected the AI apocalypse to be fought from a diner booth. Good Luck, Have Fun, Don't Die, Gore Verbinski's first film in…
The KulturecastChangeover: Digger (2026) — "When all else fails, you hit 'em with the truth. Hit 'em with the hard truth."
We'll be honest; it's fashionable to hate Tom Cruise, and neither of us ever has. Digger, the latest from Birdman director Alejandro G. Iñárritu, stars Cruise…
The KulturecastKulture Meltdown: Primetime (2026) — "You see how this looks, right?"
We'll be honest; we both spent a good chunk of the 2000s watching grown men sit down at a kitchen table they'd regret, and neither of us thought much about the…
The KulturecastRequired Viewing 04: Jaws
You're gonna need a bigger boat. This week on Required Viewing, we wade into Steven Spielberg's Jaws (1975) — the film that invented the summer blockbuster…
The KulturecastKulture Meltdown: Resident Evil (2026) — "You're hiring a glorified Postmates driver to hand you the cure, are you dumb?"
Video game movies rarely earn high expectations, and the Resident Evil franchise alone had offered seven reasons to keep them low. However, Zach Cregger, the…
The KulturecastRequired Viewing 03: Barry Lyndon
Is it even a movie? That's the question Barry Lyndon has provoked since 1975 — three hours of scenes so composed they look less like cinema than oil paintings…
The KulturecastHalloween II (2009) — "Man was meant to eat meat. We, all of us, have a little bit caveman in us."
If you missed last week's Rob Zombie goes to Haddonfield edition of the show, this one will make about as much sense as watching this movie without having seen…
The KulturecastRequired Viewing 02: Waterworld
It was the most expensive movie ever made, the punchline of a thousand headlines, and a flop so infamous it got its own nickname. This week on Required…
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Halloween (2007) — "Behind these eyes one finds only blackness, the absence of light. These are the eyes of a psychopath."
The last thing the world needs in 2026 is another Halloween film, but to be fair, the last thing the world needed in 2007 was another Halloween film…
The KulturecastRequired Viewing 01: Sideways
Two guys, a week in wine country, and a whole lot of avoidance. This week on Required Viewing, we uncork Alexander Payne's Sideways (2004) and study it from…
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The End of Oak Street (2026) — "God's not gonna let us die here."
From suburban horror to the back end of the Cretaceous, the American genre picture keeps finding new ways to burn down the cul-de-sac. The End of Oak Street…
The KulturecastRequired Viewing 00: Syllabus
Every film says more than whether it was good. Required Viewing: A 360° Film Study is a brand new sub-feed within The Kulturecast, where we take one film, TV…
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Mickey 17 (2025) — "I messed with a lab frog. I just figured this all must be my punishment."
From Train to Busan to the far-flung future of cloning and fascism, Korean cinema spans the genre gamut. Mickey 17, the latest from Parasite director Bong Joon…
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Spider-Man: Brand New Day (2026) — "Are you Peter Parker, or are you Spider-Man?"
As the MCU barrels toward its next ultimate crossover event, Avengers: Doomsday, we first check in on everyone's friendly neighborhood webhead. Spider-Man…
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Battle: Los Angeles (2011) — "That was some real John Wayne shit, staff sergeant."
Some sci-fi films vanish from the conversation almost as soon as they leave theaters, and Battle: Los Angeles is one of them. Jonathan Liebesman's 2011 film…
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BlackBerry (2023) — "You want to be great, you need to sacrifice. The more painful the sacrifice, the greater you'll be."
It may be simplistic to say the BlackBerry died at the hands of the iPhone, but it wouldn't be entirely inaccurate. What a beautiful corpse it made, though…
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Supergirl (2026) — "Let's be honest. It's not a very high bar to clear."
Last year's Superman was a genuine surprise, especially for those of us who had soured heavily on the previous attempt at a unified DC Universe in Zack…
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Jackass: Best and Last (2026) — "Welcome to the first day of our final film."
Jackass has been a part of pop culture since the show first aired on MTV back in the pastoral days of 2000. Twenty-six years later, the boys are a bit older…
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Forbidden Planet (1956) — "We're all part monsters in our subconscious, so we have laws and religion!"
Sci-fi has taken many forms as a genre, and since it's one both Dr. Perlmutter and Chris have an affinity for, why not cover one of the true classics? Fred M…
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Train to Busan (2016) — "At a time like this, only watch out for yourself."
Zombie films are a dime a dozen these days, for good and for bad; for every Shaun of the Dead there are a hundred Walking Deads, everyone's favorite show to…
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Disclosure Day (2026) — "Full disclosure, to the whole world, all at once."
At this point in his career, a Steven Spielberg film should be an event worth heading to the local multiplex for; should being the key phrase. Couple that with…
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Backrooms (2026) & Scary Movie (2026) — "I like it in here. For the first time in a long time, I feel like I'm..."
Chris may not be a Gen-Zer, but he can most definitely get down with their brand of horror, if Backrooms is any indication of the quality and concept of their…
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The Witch (2015) — "Wouldst thou like the taste of butter? A pretty dress? Wouldst thou like to live deliciously?"
We're running it back on some films we've already watched, starting with a Robert Eggers film that has become a modern-day classic: The VVitch. Anya Taylor-Joy…
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The Mandalorian and Grogu (2026) — "The old protect the young and the young protect the old. This is the way."
We take a break from Mike White May to talk about the latest entry in the forever franchise that Star Wars has become: The Mandalorian and Grogu. Directed by…
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The Name of the Rose (1986) — "Have you ever known a place where God would have felt at home?"
Mike White May has been all Sean Connery all month long, and now it must come to an end, which it does with a monk murder mystery in The Name of the Rose…
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Wrong Is Right (1982) — "The U.S. of A. may not always be right, but God knows we're never wrong."
Mike White May continues with more Sean Connery, except this time it's fake news, and he's the one selling it. In Richard Brooks' Wrong Is Right, adapted from…
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Sicario (2015) — "You will not survive here. You are not a wolf. And this is the land of wolves now."
Before Yellowstone made him a household name, Taylor Sheridan wrote Sicario. Denis Villeneuve directs Emily Blunt as an FBI agent pulled into a cartel task…
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Mortal Kombat II (2026) — "Come with us, Mr. Cage, and discover the man you were meant to be."
We take another break from Mike White May to travel back to Netherrealm, Outworld and everywhere in between (looking at you, Orderrealm) with Mortal Kombat II…
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The Paper Chase (1973) — "You teach yourselves the law, but I train your mind."
We take a break from Mike White May to go to college, specifically Harvard Law in the early 1970s, with James Bridges' The Paper Chase. Timothy Bottoms, a…
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The Offence (1973) — "Nothing I have done can be one half as bad as the thoughts in your head."
Mike White May continues with more Sean Connery, this time with an edgier, more facial-hair-forward demeanor, in yet another Sidney Lumet joint, The Offence…
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The Anderson Tapes (1971) — "What's advertising but a legalized con game?"
Mike White May continues with yet another Connery and Lumet joint, this time an adaptation of Lawrence Sanders' novel of the same name. Connery plays John…
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The Hill (1965) — "We are all doing time, even the screws."
It's Mike White May here at The Kulturecast, and we're talking Sean Connery all month long! We kick things off with one of the many pairings of Sidney Lumet…
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Hell or High Water (2016) — "150 years ago, all of this was my ancestors' land. Everything you could see."
We begin our mini-look at Taylor Sheridan's cinematic works with one of his more Western-facing screenplays, Hell or High Water. Directed by David Mackenzie…
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Bugonia (2025) — "There's Andromedan code all over your Instagram. You're barely even hiding it."
It may not have won Best Picture or Best Actress at the most recent Academy Awards, but Bugonia was not only one of the best films of the last year, it was…
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Melania (2026) — "Here we go again."
Sometimes even we don't know why we do the things we do, but this time around it's because we have to do our due diligence as film critics and take a bullet…
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Iceman (2017) — "Pitamei, Pitamos."
Big caveman energy abounds on this episode of The Kulturecast, as we dig into Ötzi the Iceman and a film told in a dead language all about him: Felix Randau's…
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The Bride! (2026) — "My darlings, a revolution is coming!"
Frankenstein's monster has had a century of remakes; his bride has had one great film and a whole lot of waiting. Maggie Gyllenhaal's The Bride! (2026) finally…
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Déjà Vu (2006) — "I'd try."
Have you ever experienced déjà vu? Have you ever experienced déjà vu? On this episode of The Kulturecast, Dr. David D. Perlmutter returns for Tony Scott's Déjà…
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An Unknown Compelling Force (2021) — "I think these theories are weird."
Nine experienced hikers set out into the northern Ural Mountains in 1959, and none of them came back. The Dyatlov Pass Incident is one of the most enduring…
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The Visitors Trilogy (1993–2016) & Just Visiting (2001) — "Courage is my creed."
If you thought it was all going to be serious, introspective chats about films, worry not, dear listener: French comedies are still a thing that exists! The…
The Kulturecast"I contain multitudes"
To quote the immortal Bo Burnham "is it gonna end?" and I continue to wonder that myself; the last two months have been, yet again, another nightmare. But hey…
The Kulturecast"You've got those Abbadon eyes..."
While Halloween may be behind us, there's still horror movies to talk about, especially ones that have been releasing almost parallel to the duration of this…
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Halloween Ends (2022) — "I've said goodbye to my boogeyman, but the truth is, evil doesn't die. It changes shape."
Halloween is the best holiday of the year, and every Halloween The Kulturecast marks it with a horror movie. This year it felt very apropos to cover Halloween…
The Kulturecast"I intend to enjoy the time I have left, and I suggest you do the same."
Similarly to Tron, Final Destination is a franchise that has been out of the game for almost fifteen years, but no longer with this year's immensely…
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Tron: Ares (2025) — "End of line."
Tron is a franchise that seems to come back every fifteen to twenty years for another swing at bat, usually with arresting visuals and a killer soundtrack in…
The Kulturecast“I was a detective once. I know how to deal with you.”
If The House that Jack Built wasn't serial killer entertainment enough, South Korea cinema seems to be equally obsessed with the more depraved amongst us with…
The Kulturecast"Don't look at the acts, look at the works."
If serial killer cinema is your bag, baby, and you've never seen Lars Von Trier's The House that Jack Built, let us tell you why you should change that…
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Weapons (2025) — "This is a true story. It happened right here in my town two years ago."
Addiction, mental health, grief: all things that can lead to an inescapable amount of trauma, heartbreak and instability in one's life. More often than not…
The Kulturecast"You need to take it down a notch!"
Dramedy runs high with a film from Adam Carter Rehmeier that not only made waves in 2024 due to the dopamine machine known as TikTok but also made an impact…