Digging For Idols

We're climbing all the way up the coconut tree to review 5-time Survivor castaway Ozzy and his performance in the 2008 music video for the power ballad "Invece No" by Laura Pausini.

After 46 episodes, Digging for Idols finally digs into the White Lotus, beginning with pod favorite Angelina Cardona Keeley's appearance in Season 2. The ensuing episode rapidly unravels into long form Stangelina lectures.

As a feature film starring two multi-season Survivor alums, 180 is an extremely unique viewing experience. Join DFI in unpacking this starring performance by the legendary Coach and reviewing the Survivor easter eggs and shockingly steamy kissing between Coach and fellow Villians tribe alum Danielle DiLorenzo.

When Boston Rob issued a 30 day health and fitness challenge to followers over the summer, Christopher answered the call and unpacks his experience with Taylor in this mini.

Pregame for season 50 by turning back the clock with us to 2006 for a tantalizingly brief appearance by Survivor legend Cirie Fields in an episode of the soap opera Guiding Light. Will Cirie be "guiding" her way to a Sole Survivor rating or will our hosts "light" her up with a first boot review?

DFI breaks from its normal routine to react to the Season 50 cast announcement with an even-more-chaotic-than-usual 15 minutes of bubbly chatter.

DFI is headed back to the Tubi Sanctuary (where Flu Birds happen) to brave another infectious performance by Bill Posley from Survivor: One World. Did he take flight in his performance as a hacker in this pre-Survivor SyFy original or did he fail to make the bird-merge?

After a quick follow-up on DFI's letter to Santa, Christopher and Taylor dust off a mini from the vault that was pre-recorded in December 2023. In this time capsule-esque episode, they dig into the contents of an iPod that Kellee Kim took to Ponderosa while filming season 39, which Christopher won in an auction.

After a short break, DFI returns with a wintry, year-end recap of pod-favorite Sundra Oakley's performance in the 2024 global box office smash film Bob Marley: One Love. Does this Survivor legend cook (islands) in her role once again?

DFI bids farewell to spooky szn for 2024 by reviewing the no-budget 2010 Texas horror flick Apparition starring Survivor: Micronesia queen Natalie Bolton as a phony ghost hunter with a heart of gold. Sit back with a warm glass of Big Daddy's Ass Burn Hot Sauce and listen to find out just how haunted Christopher & Taylor were by Natalie's performance.

In this fun sized Digging for Idols mini, it's all treat/no trick as we devour the candy bucket of delights that is Jerri Manthey's award-winning performance in the 2005 short film, "Widowmaker."

DFI is dropping dead this week to check out a performance by Julie McGee (Survivor: San Juan del Sur) as a member of the Breaker Girls dance team caught in the crossfire of a high profile lawsuit in season 6, episode 5 of "Drop Dead Diva." Join Team Julie with us! Plus, ratings stats for our first year.

Our Baywatch Summer comes to a close with this episode... that's not about Baywatch but rather Season 3, Episode 1 of the Baywatch parody Son of the Beach that features four(!) different cameos by castaways from Survivor: Borneo.

DFI turns one year old! As our Baywatch summer nears a close, we gaze upon the sunset of peak lifeguard TV to review Joel Klug from Survivor: Borneo and his race against Jason Momoa in in the S11E20 episode of Baywatch, "Dead Reckoning."

DFI sneaks back to the Brian Heidik well to talk Baywatch strategy and cover a second of his acting appearances. Will we be too hot to resist dumping on his performance in S2E2 of Baywatch Nights or will Mr. Freeze cool our wrath with a chilling performance? (Suggested prior DFI listening: "Brian of Sherwood Forest")

When we go Lowe, our listens go high (hopefully). As we wade into the first in a series of Baywatch-related episodes, DFI chats about two-time Survivor Brenda Lowe and her brief appearance as a surfer in the 2017 Olympics-related feature film adaptation.

In (arguably) the most sexually charged episode of DFI yet, Christopher and Taylor fanboy, fangirl, and fan themselves while discussing sizzling brainiac Peih-Gee Law (Survivor: China & Cambodia) and her appearance as a partygoer in the music video for Janet Jackson's equally steamy song "Go Deep."

We've spoken on DFI before about which celebs we'd like to see on a season full of famous faces, but what about the Lisa Whelchel archetype? In this mini, Taylor and Christopher each throw out a short list of (arguably) less household-name level celebrities that we think could or should be dropped undercover into a season alongside folks with more traditional careers.

From the darkest bowels of Tubi, this week we watched "Dennis & Henry's Post-Divorce Checklist" (2022) to answer the age-old question: can Survivor legend Rupert Boneham redeem one of the worst movies we have ever seen in our lives? Plus: enter the nexus of the DFI universe (the 2004 Teen Choice Awards).

Daniel Lue joins Digging for Idols to talk about his experiences breaking into reality tv, wearing a speedo for Pee-wee, smelling his tribemates in the Amazon, contracting malaria, and his reaction to discovering that a podcast devoted a whole episode to  his 2018 performance in the show Lucifer. Lue crew, assemble!

Not much has changed in the twelve years since Survivor: One World. Bill Posley is still doing stand-up and Taylor Swift is still writing songs about ex-boyfriends. In this episode, we look at the multi-talented Bill's brief appearance as a burger joint manager in the obscure 2017 teen romcom "Vikes", which also stars a pre-Euphoria Sydney Sweeney. Plus, which Tortured Poets Department lyrics remind us of Survivor?

Taylor and Christopher find themselves marooned on the Hallmark Channel this week while braving the 2016 fall-in-love-with-your-comment-section-troll romcom "Hearts of Spring" starring Lisa Whelchel of Survivor: Philippines (among other things).

Take shelter from these troubled times with this episode covering Survivor: Tocantins castaway Candace Smith's performance as a social worker in the 2013 Vanessa Hudgens pregnant teen drama "Gimme Shelter". Plus: Christopher and Taylor spin the Tocantins makeout wheel after hearing a clip of Candace running down who she'd kiss on that season.

In this DFI mini we forego the usual song and dance to discuss Survivor tattoos: who's got 'em, who should get 'em, and which Survivor quotes would we most like to see inked?

Taylor's birthday pick has us going (out)back to the early aughts to behold 3-time Survivor Jerri Manthey's performance in the 2005 island creature feature "Komodo vs. Cobra."

2022's Babylon is manic and relentlessly abrasive. A perfect vehicle for Survivor: Panama's Shane Powers! This ep we are covering his wild Survivor stint and his brief but prominent role as a security guard in Babylon. Plus: which Oscar winners do we want to see on Survivor?

Christopher's birthday choice of covering uncredited parkour stunts by Frosti (Survivor: China) in the pilot episode of Chuck spirals into a nesting doll of birthdays and intrigue. Will our hosts uncover the details of Frosti's involvement in time?

DFI is thrilled to welcome our first ever guest on the show, the extremely interesting and multi-talented Rita Verreos! Rita joined us for a marathon chat about her fascinating upbringing, her current gig as Jewelry Television's first bilingual host, and of course, Survivor: Fiji.

Music is in the air with the 2024 Grammys this week and DFI is double dipping on castaways as we cover Survivor: South Pacific's favorite showmance Whitney & Keith joining forces in the music video for Whitney's 2021 song "Lightweight". Plus: pairing Grammy Song of the Year Winners with Survivor players!

In light of CBS dropping Season 46 cast auditions pre-season, Taylor and Christopher pause their usual subject matter to each recap and rate a variety pack of five Survivor audition tapes. Who will be awarded the coveted 5 out of 5 fish score?

Listener discretion advised for this very special and very adult episode in which Taylor and Christopher slither into the grossest recesses of the internet to find The Virgins of Sherwood Forest,  the pre-Survivor adult film starring eventual Survivor: Thailand winner Brian Heidik. Plus, which Survivor episode titles sound the most like the names of adult films?

From one social experiment to another, this episode we follow Rita Verreos from the snake-infested sands of Survivor: Fiji to a racism-infested episode of What Would You Do? that pits a character played by Rita against a restaurant full of outraged San Antonians. Plus: Taylor names a Survivor: Fiji boy band.

We've got a fever and the only prescription is more Cao Boi! DFI’s hosts are NOT splitting the votes this week in their appraisal of Cook Islands’ Cao Boi Bui and his performance in the 2017 futuristic sci-fi short film “The Last Fisherman,” but what rating will they agree on? Plus: who will direct the movie version of Cao Boi’s "Plan Voodoo" dream and who would you cast on an all-twins edition of Survivor?

In our first attempt at a "mini" ep during a holiday week, DFI goes on a side quest to investigate a mysterious and extremely elaborate alternate universe / fanfiction Survivor wiki that was found while investigating an earlier episode.

If it's your holiday wish to watch a movie on YouTube about Santa getting a divorce that features a small cameo by Survivor Borneo & Blood vs. Water castaway Gervase Peterson then let this episode be your Christmas miracle because we watched the 2023 holiday romcom "Santa's Second Wife"! How does a "divorce scroll" work? Can Taylor distinguish between Santa's elves & Philly strippers based only on their names? Get your stockings stuffed with answers.

Jefra Bland Hines appeared in a handful of music videos around the time that she was cast as a member of the Beauty tribe on Survivor: Cagayan, most notably the Shooter Jennings music video anthology "The Other Life." Will her work as "The Wife" earn her a  Digging for Idols tiara and sash or will she be left on the southern rock pageant jury?

You may recall learning about the denizens of wrestler John Hennigan's "Slamtown" during Survivor: David vs. Goliath, but did you know he was also brochachos with a burping pig named Arlo? Leave your table manners back at camp because we're going to sanctuary this week to overindulge on John's performance as Tommy the painter in the family film Arlo: The Burping Pig (2016).

Fill your elephant dung canteens with boiled amoebic dysentery and cow blood! We're headed back to Survivor: Africa to talk about the extremely dehydrated Jessie Camacho and her equally dehydrated character in the 2010 crime/adventure flick "Treasure of the Black Jaguar."

It was never a question of "if," only "when." DFI is on a Sugar high and digging through the center of the earth to Stars Hollow for the deepest of dives into the nexus of pop culture where Survivor and Gilmore Girls overlap: Sugar Kiper (Gabon, Heroes vs. Villains) and her performance as Shane in the s3e07 episode, "They Shoot Gilmores, Don't They?"

It's Election Day 2023 and we're dueling our way to the Oval Office to watch and review Matt "Wyatt Nash" Elrod's performance as Tad the dapper White House aide in Season 1 Episode 7 of the short-lived Presidential  comedy 1600 Penn. Will the Mayor of Redemption Island earn his way back into the DFI fame game or find himself vetoed by President Bill Pullman?

For Halloween we're sinking our teeth into Jud "Fabio" Birza's starring role in the charming no-budget family comedy My Stepbrother is a Vampire!?!  Did we get glamoured and become his familiars or did Survivor: Nicaragua's finest dude get the stake? Plus: our favorite Survivor nicknames!

Taylor and Christopher volunteer to be tortured by Lucifer (the show) in order to hunt down Survivor: Amazon's Daniel Lue and his performance in s3e19 as "Bounty #2." Also: Survivor Love Languages!

We're trading in our shovels for flashlights this week and going trekking for ghosts, casting a light on Jonny Fairplay's haunted performance in the 2011 web series/short "Ghost Trek: The Kinsey Report." Plus: our top scariest Survivor moments and our first TVN.

Survivor: Cook Islands may feature more literal digging for idols than any season of Survivor and we're channeling that energy here to review an appearance by Cook Islands alum Sundra Oakley as Assemblywoman Denise Bowser in Season 1, Episode 9 of the family dramedy Parenthood.

Dig deep with us as we discuss the charismatic Sean Rector (Survivor: Marquesas) and his performance as restaurant robber Ricky Edwards in s1e7 of "Everybody Hates Chris."

We're checking into "Seattle Grey's Sloan & Grey Memorial Pacific Northwest Institute whatever it's called" to watch s16e2 of Grey's Anatomy and review Woo from Survivor Cagayan and Second Chance's guest appearance as a bad boyfriend in a scooter accident.

Get to know the hosts of Digging for Idols as they sort out, truly, who is the rat and who is the snake while they review Sue Hawk's background work as a server in the teen comedy Bubble Boy (2001).