S3 E21 - The Celebrity by Catherine Hein: Episode 19, "The Planets Just Aren't That Popular" episode artwork

EPISODE · Aug 18, 2026 · 1H 17M

S3 E21 - The Celebrity by Catherine Hein: Episode 19, "The Planets Just Aren't That Popular"

from The Last We Fake · host Alan Rifkin

Send us Fan MailWith Neva in surgery and the waiting-room TV blaring early morning kids’ fare (Baby Huey, Captain Kangaroo), Wanda transforms into a trivia fanatic to settle her nerves and rattle Howard’s. But even as NBC’s chromatic peacock heralds a new age for the industry, she already knows deep down what’s next: Wanda, in living color, spotlit in a future sitcom that her emotional anchor from the B&W past will never see. CREDITS:Catherine Hein's former life took her from 20 years in the entertainment industry to two years in a homeless women's shelter. That's where Wanda, the reigning spirit of this epic two-volume novel of early ‘60s Hollywood, was born.Host Alan Rifkin's novels, essays and short stories of Los Angeles have been published widely. Learn more about him at www.alanrifkin.com.Intro music is from the song "Slow," performed by Sally Dworsky. Written by Sally Dworsky and Chris Hickey. Available on iTunes, Spotify, Apple Music and all other streaming platforms. Closing credit music for Season 3 is performed by Ben Rifkin. Podcast art by Ryan Longnecker.Publishing notes:  Season Two’s novel, Sunland by Charlie Haas, has been released in print by Beck & Branch with a new title, The Current Fantasy ("Heart, soul, art, and the promise of Giant Vegetables... perhaps the last great untold chapter of the California Story." —Don Wallace).  Purchase on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Current-Fantasy-Charlie-Haas/dp/B0DJ1TJV82/ref=sr_1_1?dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.tuTmk2PLbYrhl35vNF26hNKifzMVNLxUX5sbuZKxIrSaOzMPlYjB5Uys5Y1YQ2ED1dDgQKbH8KqXAWxZaLQCQTt-KHNyPXOjQoh_573_J3WAGlt6ZVeniX-tqsXmWnQ3.CsBj4yVK4jbIFxGRKRiHullCZ9rJF1jsg1L23qgiuZE&dib_tag=se&qid=1728574532&refinements=p_27%3ACharlie+Haas&s=books&sr=1-1Season One’s novel, The Drift That Follows Will Be Gradual by Alan Rifkin, has been released in print by Open Books (“A delectable tour de force through our fractured culture from the 1980s through the 2010s—it is witty, wise, memorable, touching, by turns drop dead funny and piercingly moving.”—Richard Bausch). Purchase on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Drift-That-Follows-Will-Gradual/dp/1948598795?source=ps-sl-shoppingads-lpcontext&ref_=fplfs&psc=1&smid=ATVPDKIKX0DERSeason Three's novel, The Celebrity by Catherine Hein, is available for representation and print publication. DM the podcast for contact information. 

Episode metadata supplied by the publisher feed · Published Aug 18, 2026

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Send us Fan Mail With Neva in surgery and the waiting-room TV blaring early morning kids’ fare (Baby Huey, Captain Kangaroo), Wanda transforms into a trivia fanatic to settle her nerves and rattle Howard’s. But even as NBC’s chromatic peacock heralds a new age for the industry, she already knows deep down what’s next: Wanda, in living color, spotlit in a future sitcom that her emotional anchor from the B&W past will never see. CREDITS: Catherine Hein's former life took her from 20 y...

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S3 E21 - The Celebrity by Catherine Hein: Episode 19, "The Planets Just Aren't That Popular"

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