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First Watch
by First Watch Podcast
Hosted by Zachary Morgason and Cole Duffy (@wixiwerehere and @losangelesbey on Twitter), First Watch is a film discussion podcast dedicated to unpacking what's inspiring in cinema. Topics range from classics to new releases, essay format to conversation format with guests.
Episodes
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Lance Oppenheim’s Primetime and the Moral Murk of Post-9/11 America
After a few months on the Jams and Tea YouTube, The First Watch Podcast returns to Spotify, Apple, and wherever you get your podcasts. Morgan, Cole, and Zach discuss the first of two new Lance Oppenheim films of the year, Primetime, starring Robert Pattinson, Skyler Gisondo, and Merrit Weaver.…
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Frederick Wiseman Retrospective #1: The Institutions | Titicut Follies, High School, Law and Order & Hospital
In the first episode of a new ongoing series, Cole and Zach discuss Wiseman's first four feature-length documentaries: Titicut Follies (1967), High School (1968), Law and Order (1969), and Hospital (1970).We begin with an overview of Wiseman's observational/direct cinema approach before exploring...
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I Have Friends Everywhere - Paul Thomas Anderson's One Battle After Another
The First Watch gang (and returning guest Ryley) round out the Paul Thomas Anderson series with his newest release, the much-hyped and much-lauded One Battle After Another.
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Hopelessly Inquisitive Men - Paul Thomas Anderson's Inherent Vice and The Master - First Watch
In part 2 of 3 of First Watch's PTA retrospective, the gang (plus Jams and Tea stalwart Ryley dive deep into two of the American auteur's most confounding works, which is of no surprise considering they're both loose to less-loose Thomas Pynchon adaptations.
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"If You Should Ever Leave Me" - P.T. Anderson's Boogie Nights and Magnolia
On this episode, the First Watch gang begins a three-part retrospective on one of the great American filmmakers, Paul Thomas Anderson, starting here with his second and third films and eventually culminating in a discussion about his newest film, One Battle After Another.
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"This Tempest In My Mind" - Akira Kurosawa's THRONE OF BLOOD & RAN
On this iteration of the First Watch Podcast, Cole, Morgan, Zach, and guest and friend Davey Peppers break down the swath of Kurosawa restorations hitting select theaters followed by a deep dive into the Shakespeare jidaigeki Throne of Blood and Ran.
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Darkness on the Edge of Town - Zach Cregger's Weapons
This week, we're back with a dive into horror hit Weapons by Whitest Kids U Kno alum Zach Cregger, as well as discussion of our recent five star ratings.
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Hindsight In 2025 - Ari Aster’s Eddington (and the Rest of the Summer)
And we’re back (again)! Cole and Zach have joined forces with previous frequent guest Morgan in a permanent capacity to conquer the films of the summer of 2025 and Ari Aster’s divisive (even amongst the three hosts) Eddington!
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Skin-deep Society - Joker: Folie à Deux, Megalopolis, and The Substance
In a long-awaited comeback, Cole and Zach reunite to discuss the films of summer 2024, its low lows and... moderate highs, before diving into three big autumn releases, Todd Phillips' box office dud Joker: Folie à Deux, Francis Ford Coppola's self-funded indulgence Megalopolis, and the year's…
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CONGRATULATIONS - The 96th Academy Awards & Hideaki Anno's The End of Evangelion
On this episode, Cole and Zach take some time to debrief and discuss the 96th annual Academy Awards and then dive deep into the LCL ocean to celebrate the theatrical release of Hideaki Anno's bizarro anime masterpiece, Neon Genesis Evangelion: The End of Evangelion.
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Paradise Lost - Denis Villeneuve's Dune: Part Two
After a somewhat slow start to the year, Denis Villeneuve's segmented, then delayed, Dune comes to its rousing conclusion. Trev and Morgan join Zach and Cole to talk through 2024 Oscars catch-up, a few new releases, and discuss if the Québécois director steps up to become the next big blockbuster...
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Empire of Stagnation - Marguerite Duras' India Song
Just before we crack open the year's first big blockbuster release, Cole, Zach, and guest Ryley take a trip back in time to discuss the hypnotic appeal of Marguerite Duras' sensual, dark, and experimental India Song.
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Class of 2023: Our Top 10 Films of the Year
At long last, Cole and Zach meet to discuss their favorite new releases of the year 2023 - the very best of the decade so far. Tune in for our thoughts on the latest from Martin Scorsese, Justine Triet, Jonathan Glazer, Christopher Nolan, and more, as we discuss not just our favorites, but all…
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First Watches 2023: Our Top 10 First Watches of the Year
It's 2024, and we're celebrating by looking back on 2023, starting with our favorite first time watches of the year, not including new releases. Cole and Zach discuss their top ten (actually, nine...) movies they each saw for the first time in 2023 and look back at a year of podcast episodes,...
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Beyond Infinity: Our Top 10 Pixar Features
Another year is at its end, but before we say au revoir Cole and Zach join to discuss a big round of new releases, including Hirokazu Kore-eda's Monster, Trần Anh Hùng's The Taste of Things, and Jonathan Glazer's The Zone of Interest before biting into our follow up to last year's Disney top 10 -...
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How Do You Live? - Godzilla Minus One & Hayao Miyazaki's The Boy and the Heron
This week, Luke from Mecha and Monster Mondays joins us to talk about a Japanese pop culture invasion. After discussing a few new releases, including Scavengers Reign, Scott Pilgrim Takes Off, and Poor Things, the gang digs into the latest monster smash, Godzilla Minus One as Cole acts as the…
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Battle of the Bonapartes - Ridley Scott's Napoleon (2023) & Abel Gance's Napoleon (1927)
Bonaparte is afraid. In the continuing saga of 2023's historical epics, Ridley Scott's Napoleon prompts Ryley, Cole and Zach to dig back 100 years and discuss Abel Gance's beloved but underseen silent era masterpiece, Napoleon, to determine which explosive film is the definitive take on France's...
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Lord Kill the Pain - Martin Scorsese's The Irishman
This week, to celebrate the season, we reflect on Martin Scorsese's mournful November crime classic, The Irishman, and discuss a large selection of movies, including Ozu's Tokyo Story, Todd Haynes' May December, and the latest installments of the MCU and Hunger Games series.
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Three to Get Ready - Sofia Coppola's Priscilla
This week we celebrate all things glamour. After discussing some new (and very old) releases, Cole and Zach discuss screening Kubrick's opulent classic, Barry Lyndon, in cinemas, and then the life and legacy of Priscilla Presley, Elvis Presley, and director, Sofia Coppola.
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The Book of Lamentations - Martin Scorsese's Killers of the Flower Moon
After a speedy roundup of new releases and films playing at AFI Fest, including the latest by Alexander Payne, Wim Wenders, Ryusuke Hamaguchi, David Fincher, and Justine Triet, Cole and Zach dive into the season's biggest release, Martin Scorsese's Killers of the Flower Moon and discuss how it...
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Horror Through the Eras: The New Millennium & Robert Eggers' The Witch
Wouldst thou like the taste of butter? Wouldst thou like to live horrifically? In the final installment of our horror genre Eras Tour, Jake joins Cole and Zach to discuss turn-of-the-millennium horror, including Scream, The Blair Witch Project, the endless wave of J-Horror, slasher sequels, and...
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Horror Through the Eras: Hitchcock to Slasher Icons & Tobe Hooper's The Texas Chain Saw Massacre
Killers of the harvest moon. This week, Morgan drops by to aid Cole and Zach in the continuing exploration of horror through the eras. After discussing our favorite horror movies of this year, we cruise through the 60s, 70s and early 80s to talk about horror's arrival on the main stage with hits...
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Horror Through the Eras: Silents to the Hays Code & Jacques Tourneur's Cat People
After covering the recent release slate - Saw X, The Exorcist: Believer, The Creator, as well as the Palme d'or and Golden Lion winners, Anatomy of a Fall and Poor Things, Cole and Zach travel back to the earliest days of horror. This week we tell the story from the silent era to the Hays Code…
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Boys Night - Remembering William Friedkin & Ira Sachs' Passages
This week - perhaps a consolation to Cole after so much Christopher Nolan talk - we offer a smorgasbord of gay classics, new and old! The main focus is Ira Sachs' Passages, but also discussed are Kurosawa's classic color-explosion Ran, and a fond farewell to the ultra-70s (and surprisingly...
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The Cerebral Films of Christopher Nolan
This week, in our continuing celebration of the release and box office domination of Oppenheimer, Cole and Zach extend their discussion backwards in time to dissect the cerebral works of director Christopher Nolan: Inception, The Prestige and Memento.
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Twilight of the Gods - Christopher Nolan's Oppenheimer
This week, Morgan and Ryley join Cole and Zach to explore the fallout of J. Robert Oppenheimer's most notorious invention, and the latest and, yes, greatest of Christopher Nolan's ballyhooed filmography, Oppenheimer, as well as the week's other big release, Barbie, and a historical watchlist...
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Prelude to Oppenheimer - Miyazaki's The Wind Rises & Kobayashi's The Human Condition
In the first ever bonus episode of The First Watch Podcast, Ryley links up with Zach and Cole to discuss Hayao Miyazaki's The Wind Rises, Masaki Kobayashi's The Human Condition to explore two examples of men trying to spare their human souls in the face of the Pacific War. Stay tuned for our...
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The Hunt for Blockbuster Nirvana - The 21st Century Action Pantheon & Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning
This week, we've assembled our team with one mission. Morgan and Jake join Zach and Cole to debrief on all our favorite action movies of this century so far, from the turn of the millennium to the films on this week's marquee. In this stuffed episode we talk James Cameron, we talk George Miller,...
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Midterm 2023: Our Top 10 Films of the Year (So Far)
It's July, the summertime, the midway point of the year 2023. Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning, Oppenheimer and Barbie are still in the future tense for Cole and Zach, but before the bomb, the pink shoe, and Tom Cruise all drop, it's time to look back and celebrate the best cinema has to…
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The Desolate Cinema of Béla Tarr
This week, after a huge rundown of new releases, guest Ryley joins Zach and Cole to talk about the great Hungarian slow cinema maestro, Béla Tarr, and all the things, big and small, that make his work endure through the decades, focusing particularly on Sátántangó and Werckmeister Harmonies.
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The Long Deak-end - Celebrating Roger Deakins at the Texas Theatre & Denis Villeneuve's Blade Runner 2049
Last weekend the historic Texas Theatre hosted one of the era's premier cinematographers, Roger Deakins, with a series to celebrate the accomplishments of Team Deakins', their Oscar glory, and some of the best looking films of this century. This week, new guest Tyke sits down with Zach to discuss...
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Buggin' Out - Shin Kamen Rider & Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse
The demise of the superhero film has been greatly exaggerated. This week, Ben joins Cole & Zach to discuss the latest insect/arachnoid caped comic adaptations, Hideaki Anno's Shin Kamen Rider, and the much anticipated animation juggernaut, Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse.
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The Extinct World: Feudalism & the Czechoslovak New Wave - František Vláčil's Marketa Lazarová
Our final episode has finally arrived. The big one. The best ever Czech film, according to the Czech people: František Vláčil's Marketa Lazarová. Ryley joins Cole and Zach to unpack this masterpiece and a specific type of period film that eschews modern themes and character dynamics in favor of…
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New Kids on the Bloc: Communism & the Czechoslovak New Wave - Miloš Forman's The Firemen's Ball
This week Ryley joins Cole and Zach to continue with the third part of our Czechoslovak New Wave series. On this episode, we dive into the communist political context that defines all the films in the movement by focusing in on Miloš Forman's radically silly The Firemen's Ball.
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A Tender Resignation - James Gunn's Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3
Pop on LP3. This week we're mixing it up and interrupting our ongoing Czechoslovak New Wave series to discuss the latest Marvel Cinematic Universe trilogy finisher, James Gunn's Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3. Guests Ben and Trevor discuss with Zach what makes this entry stand above the rest of…
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Life During Wartime: Fascism & the Czechoslovak New Wave - Juraj Herz' The Cremator
Heard of some gravesites, out by the highway, a place where nobody knows... This week, Cole and Zach are once again joined by Ryley to discuss one of the best and most famous films of the Czechoslovak New Wave, Juraj Herz' The Cremator. After discussing some new releases, including the latest...
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Riot Girls: Anarchism & the Czechoslovak New Wave - Věra Chytilová's Daisies
This week is the beginning of a new series, where Cole, Zach, and guest host Ryley sink their teeth into the Czechoslovak New Wave. Kicking off these conversations is Věra Chytilová's wild, crazy, madcap provocation, Daisies. Simultaneously one of the movements most popular and difficult films,...
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The Mommy Issue - A Motherlode of New Releases & Lee Cronin's Evil Dead Rise
Whoa mama. We have a whole lot of new releases and a whole lot of guest hosts. Luke, Jake, and Morgan join Cole and Zach to talk about all the month's latest, including Kelly Reichardt's artistic exploration Showing Up, Makoto Shinkai's latest fantasy anime Suzume, Ari Aster's new nightmare…
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Exploring Sight & Sound #1 - Silent Era Deep Cuts & Chantal Akerman's Jeanne Dielman
"Jeanne Dielman should be on Chopped." This week kicks off a new ongoing series where Cole and Zach discuss the top 100 movies in the 2022 Sight & Sound Greatest Films of All Time poll, beginning with the one and only, Jeanne Dielman, 23 quai du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles. Join us as we take a trip...
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The Easter Special - Our Seasonal Favorites & Hlynur Pálmason's Godland
It's Easter, and it's Passover, and it's Ramadan! With so many holy holidays stacked up, Cole & Zach are celebrating with their seasonal favorites, from studio bible epics to the modern day. This week's new release includes (spoiler-free) discussion of Air, No Bears, and Enys Men, and culminates...
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Class of 2013 - 10 Year Reunion: Our Top 10 Films of the Year
The films of 2013 are turning 10 years old this year, and we're celebrating with analysis our ten favorites! In the first of our "Class Of" retrospective series, Cole and Zach take a trip back in time to discuss the year's finest celebrating a decade since their release. Join us for an expansive...
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The Sisyphean Staircase - Chad Stahelski's John Wick: Chapter Four
Bullets, nunchucks, screeching tires, flaming ammunition, and samurai swords. They say the road to hell is paved with good intentions, so why wouldn't the road to heaven be smeared with blood? This week, Cole and Zach return to discuss the good (Pacifiction), the bad (Shazam: Fury of the Gods)…
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3rd Round Knockout - Michael B. Jordan's Creed 3
Just as Quantumania's box office star fades, another Jonathan Majors vehicles arrives to save the box office. This week, Cole and Zach are discussing Michael B. Jordan's knockout debut feature, Creed 3 and discuss how the new film and trilogy as a whole are great sports movies, satisfying dramas,...
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California Dreamin' - Quentin Tarantino's Once Upon a Time... In Hollywood
This Valentine's, Cole and Zach are joined once again by Morgan to celebrate Quentin Tarantino's nostalgic, warm, hilarious love letter to the city of angels, Once Upon a Time... In Hollywood. Join us as we discuss what makes Tarantino's 9th such a beautiful and moving ode, and one of our…
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Rabbit Season, Duck Season - Yorgos Lanthimos' The Favourite
After our big 2022 new release episode, Cole and Zach return to discuss a shared favourite, 2018 Oscar-winner The Favourite directed by Yorgos Lanthimos. Join us as we break down what makes this period piece so funny, smart and enduring. Also tune in for our (spoiler-free!) talk on new releases...
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Class of 2022: Our Top 10 Films of the Year
One year ends, another begins, and Cole and Zach celebrate the very best films of the year. From blockbuster titans like Spielberg, Peele and Cameron, to international arthouse darlings Park Chan-wook, Todd Field and Jerzy Skolimowski, we cover it all! Our favorite films, characters, performances...
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Opening the Vault: Our Top 10 Walt Disney Animated Features
This week we're delighted to present our biggest episode yet, our ten favorite Walt Disney Animated feature films. Join us as we discuss our personal canons, our favorite villains, our most underrated and overrated films, and much more. Please enjoy our expansive journey through the history of…
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New Horizons - Steven Spielberg's The Fabelmans
This week, the (other) Zach joins Zach and Cole to discuss the movies of the late fall - White Noise, Bones & All, The Eternal Daughter, and Glass Onion (NOTE: SPOILER FREE :D), before diving into Spielberg's walk down memory lane, The Fabelmans. Join us as we celebrate one of the finest American...
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Feast of Flesh - George A. Romero's Trilogy of the Dead
The dead speak! To celebrate the Thanksgiving holiday, Cole, Zach and Jake bite into George A. Romero's classic horror trilogy of classic zombie films, Night of the Living Dead, Dawn of the Dead, and Day of the Dead. There's no better way to honor America's foibles than with the genre master. Bon...
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The Black Panther Lives - Ryan Coogler's Wakanda Forever
This week, Cole and Zach review the hotly anticipated Wakanda Forever, the first MCU entry covered on the show! During the conversation, we discuss the potent sense of mortality imbued in the film, the incredible cast, Ruth E. Carter's Oscar-winning, and Oscar-worthy efforts, as well as the way...
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ABOUT THIS SHOW
Hosted by Zachary Morgason and Cole Duffy (@wixiwerehere and @losangelesbey on Twitter), First Watch is a film discussion podcast dedicated to unpacking what's inspiring in cinema. Topics range from classics to new releases, essay format to conversation format with guests.
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First Watch Podcast
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Frequently Asked Questions
How many episodes does First Watch have?
First Watch currently has 62 episodes available on PodParley. New episodes are automatically indexed when they're published to the podcast feed.
What is First Watch about?
Hosted by Zachary Morgason and Cole Duffy (@wixiwerehere and @losangelesbey on Twitter), First Watch is a film discussion podcast dedicated to unpacking what's inspiring in cinema. Topics range from classics to new releases, essay format to conversation format with guests.
How often does First Watch release new episodes?
First Watch has 62 episodes. Check the episode list to see recent publication dates and frequency.
Where can I listen to First Watch?
You can listen to First Watch on PodParley by clicking any episode. We provide an embedded audio player for direct listening, and you can also subscribe via your preferred podcast app using the RSS feed.
Who hosts First Watch?
First Watch is created and hosted by First Watch Podcast.
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