PODCAST · society
Pop Rocket
by MaximumFun.org
Pop culture discussion with Guy Branum, Wynter Mitchell, Margaret Wappler and Karen Tongson
Episodes
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The Final Episode
**Warning - this episode contains lots of tears** For the final episode of Pop Rocket, the panel convene to give listeners one last All About, one last Jam, and they look back at the past four and a half years, and all the various milestones they’ve shared with one another and their listeners…
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Ep 224 - What’s in the Cards for the Pop Rocket Panel w/ The Oracle of LA
**Angelenos: Tonight (May 17th) at 7pm Guy and Karen will have a conversation about Why Karen Carpenter Matters at Book Soup in West Hollywood.** In this penultimate episode, the Pop Rocket panel seeks guidance from The Oracle of LA, Amanda Yates Garcia. Each panelist pulls a card from the…
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Ep 223 - Charlie Says with Screenwriter Guinevere Turner
This is the first of our three final episodes, and we’re joined by screenwriter Guinevere Turner (American Psycho,Go Fish) whose latest film Charlie Says just came out today, May 10th. As “budding cult-ologist” MagWaps notes, “if you think you’ve heard everything on the Mansons, trust me, this...
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Ep 222 - Game of Thrones w/ Laura Krafft & Sarah Kessler
First off, you're welcome Game of Thrones fans. This is a super-sized Pop Rocket loaded with theories, speculation, and yes, even love. While Wynter and Karen were away, Margaret and Guy tapped two die-hard fans for a full-on discussion of the series and their thoughts now that the first two of…
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Ep. 221 - The New Negroes & Black Sketch Comedy
This week Wynter and Karen chat with Ellington Wells, a comedian and writer on Comedy Central’s brand new sketch show The New Negroes with Open Mike Eagle and Baron Vaughn. The panel takes a look at how black sketch comedy has involved and Wells tell us what Robert Townsend TV special inspired...
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Ep. 220 - Killing Eve & the Asian Woman with Amazing Hair
**ANNOUNCEMENT: The nomination process is now open for the next Pop Rocket Seal of Approval. This quarter we’re looking for veterans with a large body of work who have been underappreciated and haven’t received the acclaim that their body of work and stellar character deserve. If you want to…
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Ep 219 - 1991 in Music
Take a trip down memory lane with Wynter, Karen and Margaret as they revisit 1991 in music. If you’ve ever been curious what song was playing when Karen experienced her first same sex kiss, tune in. If you grew up in the nineties, this episode will bring you back to that moment in time. If you...
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Ep 218 - Jordan Peele’s Us
Pop Rocket’s come early this week! Alonso Duralde guest hosts for this, our second week of the MaxFunDrive. The deadline for supporting this show is fast upon us, so if you haven’t yet become a new or upgrading member, do it now! Go to our donation page. You can donate while listening to this...
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Ep. 217 - Pop Rocket Goes to USC to Teach the Kids Why Pop Culture Matters
It’s the first live episode of Pop Rocket. Professor Karen Tongson invited the panel to give a lesson on why pop culture matters, with a focus on the past decade. You’ll learn what pop culture of the 2010s will last, and what culture won’t be remembered. Plus we’ll hear from some of Karen’s...
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Ep. 216 - Lady Vengeance: From Bobbit and Beyond
In honor of Women’s History Month, the panel lives vicariously through women who sought revenge, from Lorena Gallo (formerly Bobbit), to Thelma & Louise. They touch on their favorite films centered around women seeking revenge...or, perhaps more accurately, justice. All Abouts Margaret: Uncover:...
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Ep. 215 - Dame Angela Lansbury with April Wolfe and S.A. Smythe
When she was 17, Dame Angela Lansbury quit her job at a department store to take a part in a movie, as 17-year-olds are wont to do. She played a young maid to Ingrid Bergman’s character in Gaslight, a film that garnered seven Oscar nominations and two wins, including one for Best Actress for...
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Ep. 214 - We Marie-Kondo the Oscars w/ Matt Rogers
Matt Rogers joins us to help tidy up the Oscars. The 91-year-old institution has gotten a bit cluttered, so the Pop Rocket panel applies the KonMari Method to the Academy Awards. We’ll keep everything that sparks joy, and the rest will be dropped off at an Out of the Closet in a Hefty bag. Will…
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Ep. 213 - Horror Noire with Tananarive Due
We’ve got a SCREAMINGLY great episode this week as the wonderful Tananarive Due joins us in studio for a deep cinematic dive into the world of black horror. Tananarive Due is the UCLA lecturer whose class on Get Out--The Sunken Place--was crashed by non-student Jordan Peele . She is also the...
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Ep: 212 - The Fifth Annual Pop Tart Awards!
Are you ready for the 64th most electrifying show in Hollywood? Well get ready because it’s here, in your podcatcher: The Fifth Annual Pop Tart Awards! The panel comes together to recognize the best of the best in TV, film and everything else entertaining. What will take home the Warm Blanket…
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Ep: 211 - Mega Movie Catch-up Edition
On this week’s show, the panel play catch up. Each panelist was assigned to watch one film from this past year they missed when it was still in theaters. At the behest of Guy, Margaret watched Can You Ever Forgive Me. Karen Tongson was assigned Roma, but decided she wanted to check out Support…
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Pop Rocket Ep 210 - The State of Adam McKay & Terry Crews Gets a Vote for PRSOA
Will Terry Crews receive the second-ever Pop Rocket Seal of Approval? Why wasn't Margaret on this week's show? Is Adam McKay a craftsman or an artist? These questions and more will be answered on this week's Pop Rocket! Plus, in the wake of the PRSOA "Bloom backlash", the voting process has been...
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Pop Rocket Ep 209 - SchadenFYRE - The Most Epic Fyre Fest Discussion Ever
This week's show is a double dose of schadenfreude! The gang compares the dueling documentaries Hulu's "Fyre Fraud" and Netflix's "Fyre," which tell different versions of the tropical shit show that landed its mastermind Billy McFarland behind bars. All Abouts Wynter is all about Crashing and…
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Pop Rocket Ep - 208 Tidying Up with Marie Kondo
Once again we’re firing on all cylinders this week! It’s an ultra-packed show covering everything from The Masked Singer, Surviving R. Kelly, MATANGI / MAYA / M.I.A. and the need to move beyond moralistic posturing in critiquing comedy. The panel get into a lively discussion of Marie Kondo’s...
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Pop Rocket Ep. 207 Highlights & Lowlights of The Golden Globes & Netflix’s Bandersnatch
The ENTIRE PANEL is back together for a jam-packed episode! They talk Golden Globes, Bandersnatch and react to some of the commercial jingles you beautiful listeners sang to us on the Pop Rocket voicemail line. All Abouts Wynter, fresh off a romantic holiday trip to Paris, is all about the Louis...
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Pop Rocket Ep. 206 Pop Culture Resolutions for 2019
Guy Branum is back for our first episode of 2019! Sadly, Margaret couldn’t join us because #health and Wynter was busy being a jet setter. This week, the panelists share their pop culture resolutions for 2019, and own up to resolution fails from the past year. Writer and comedian Tara Jepsen…
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Pop Rocket Ep. 205 The Pop Rocket Holiday Playlist Spectacular
Happy Holidays, everyone! Wynter and Karen are joined by special guest panelists Tre’Vell Anderson (Director of Culture and Entertainment at Out Magazine) and 'Who Shot Ya?'s' Alonso Duralde to create the ultimate holiday playlist. Each panelist created a top ten list of their favorite holiday...
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Pop Rocket Ep. 204 From Dafoe’s Van Gogh to Hayek’s Frida: A Look at Hollywood’s Attempt to Make Art about Artists
How right, but mostly how wrong, does Hollywood get it when it comes to capturing artists in film? Margaret Wappler asks these very questions of her esteemed panel. And this, the panel is comprised of LA Times staff writer Carolina Miranda, who covers visual arts, culture and architecture, media...
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Pop Rocket Ep. 203 Bravo’s Dirty John & Our True Crime Obsession w/ Sarah Kessler
Guests: Karen Tongson Wynter Mitchell-Rohrbaugh Sarah Kessler We're getting down into the down and dirty story Dirty John, the new Bravo show based on the LA Times and Wondery podcast of the same name. Joining us in the discussion this...
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Pop Rocket Ep. 202 Holiday Horror w/ Ricky Carmona
It's well known in the Rocketeer community that our host this week, Wynter Mitchell-Ragnarok, is a huge horror buff. She watches two to three a week, and she is running out of horror flicks to watch on all the streaming services. Send her your recommendations! In the meantime, Wynter forced…
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Pop Rocket Ep. 201 Our Awkward Thanksgiving Show
Happy Thanksgiving, Rocketeers! We at Pop Rocket are thankful for you, our listeners. For the purposes of this episode, Wynter will be playing the role of Margaret’s sister who always criticizes her stuffing recipe, while Karen is the gay aunt who sold Wappler a bunk Subaru. There was a lot of...
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Pop Rocket Ep. 200 Our 200th Episode!
This week Pop Rocket celebrates its 200th episode!!! To commemorate this auspicious occasion, Karen, Margaret and Wynter take a look at how each of them has evolved from the quaint, carefree days of 2015 to the unrelenting hellscape that is 2018. Remember the blue dress? Sorry, remember the white...
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Pop Rocket Ep. 199 Hip Hop, Pop, and Mental Health w/ Clarkisha Kent
Kanye West’s rambling, pro-Trump speech on SNL late September may have surprised casual observers, but by that point, his fans had heard both his outrageous statements and his frank talk about mental health for months. Charlagmane tha God lamented his canceled TimesTalk with Kanye on Instagram as…
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Pop Rocket Ep. 198 The Very First Pop Rocket Seal of Approval
The Pop Rocket Seal of Approval Before registered parliamentarian Guy Branum takes an extended leave for some much-needed relaxation at home and abroad, the panelists came together to consider, once again, whether they would be able to award the first-ever Pop Rocket Seal of Approval. Without an...
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Pop Rocket Ep. 197 Halloween & the Horror We Love
**Note: Next week the panel will cast their votes to award--or not--The Pop Rocket Seal of Approval. You still have an opportunity to influence the panelists. If you want your voice to be heard, literally, call the Pop Rocket hotline and make a case for the person you want to win, and why. Call:...
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Pop Rocket Ep. 196 Bad Times at the El Royale w/Drea Clark
It’s 1969. Four guests check into the El Royale Hotel: a priest (Jeff Bridges), a vacuum salesman (Jon Hamm), a singer (Cynthia Erivo), and a hippie (Dakota Johnson). They all - save one - have something mysterious going on behind the scenes and the hotel itself is not what it appears to be. When...
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Pop Rocket Ep. 195 A Star is Born
This week gay America received so much, but in particular, A Star is Born starring Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper, who also directed the movie. Guy, Wynter, Karen & Margaret--aka the full panel--got a chance to watch, cry, and be torn apart by the story of a lady who gained the world, but lost the...
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Pop Rocket Ep. 194 We Hate the 80s and Brett Kavanaugh Edition w/Ted Alexandro
***Trigger Warning - This episode contains discussion of sexual assault. You may want to sit this one out if hearing this kind of discussion is likely to do more harm than good.*** Current events have us (and many others) reconsidering the way high school and college relationships were depicted…
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Pop Rocket Ep. 193 Our TV Shows You Should Binge-Watch Right Now Episode
The autumn TV season has officially begun, and let's be honest, there is TOO MUCH stuff to watch out there. If you're feeling overwhelmed, fear not. The Pop Rocket panel has lots of binge-worthy shows to recommend, and a couple new shows they think you should skip. One panelist will tell you why...
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Pop Rocket Ep. 192 The Pop Rocket Seal of Approval - Is It Rachel’s Time to Bloom? Plus Destination Wedding
We’ve got another full panel! This week, Guy, Wynter, Margaret, and Karen tackle the ornery romcom Destination Wedding, starring Gen X darlings Winona and Keanu. Does their star-power shine bright enough to carry an entire film wherein they’re the only two people with dialogue? Has Hollywood...
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Pop Rocket Ep. 191 2018 Summer Jams
Between the VMA's and Yom Kippur, we've got our own version of the high holidays here at Pop Rocket: The SUMMER JAMS episode! We will anoint OR NOT anoint the title of Song of the Summer to the most banging artist of the past few months. And yes, the band is back together again. The full panel -...
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Pop Rocket Ep. 190 Our Pumpkin-Spiced Fall Preview
It’s time, once again, to start deleting programs from our DVRs to make room for new ones. It's almost fall, y'all, which means award shows and the arrival of new network comedies, dramas, dramedies, and what have you. Sooooo Guy Branum, Karen Tongson, and Wynter Mitchell let us in on all the…
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Pop Rocket Ep. 189 HBO's Insecure Season 3 w/ LA Times Film Reporter Tre'vell Anderson
Hop on the PARTY LYFT as we jam out for the long-awaited return of our favorite newlywed Wynter Mitchell-Rohrbaugh. She joins Karen Tongsen and frequent favorite Pop Rocket guest LA Times Film Reporter Tre'vell Anderson as they get into their thoughts on season 3 of HBO's Insecure. The crew…
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Ep. 188 Crazy Rich Asians (The Movie) with Alonso Duralde & Andrew Ti
We did the book, now we're doing the movie! Goddess Guy Branum and dyke-about-town Karen Tongson are joined by fellow MaxFun host Alonso Duralde of the movie podcast Who Shot Ya? and returning favorite Andrew Ti, host of the podcast Yo, Is This Racist? to talk Crazy Rich Asians. Listen in to find...
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Ep. 187 Summer Book Club: Crazy Rich Asians
Goddess Guy Branum returns from his book tour just in time for Pop Rocket's annual Summer Book Club. He joins Karen Tongson and Margaret Wappler to finally dig into Kevin Kwan's Crazy Rich Asians book trilogy. By the way, the movie Crazy Rich Asians is out in theaters now. Go watch it! Kwan's...
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Ep. 186 Joyful Pop Culture w/ Matt Bellassai and Bari Finkel
This week, Karen Tongson and Margaret Wappler get happy with Matt Bellassai and Bari Finkel, the host and producer of Pineapple Street Media's Unhappy Hour podcast. Today's show is like a Snuggie for one's soul. The panel dishes on the pop culture that brings us pure joy, from songs that compel…
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Pop Rocket Ep. 185: “Eighth Grade” and Awkward Adolescence w/ NPR's Linda Holmes
***Warning - this episode contains spoilers*** This week, Karen Tongson and Margaret Wappler chat it up with pop culture maven and Pop Rocket's own podcast godmother Linda Holmes, the host of NPR's Pop Culture Happy Hour. The ladies revisit that wonderfully awkward time of their lives of…
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Pop Rocket Ep. 184: "Who is America?" w/ "UnReal" Creator Sarah Gertrude Shapiro
We've got a SUPERSIZED Pop Rocket for our first-ever Friday release, so strap yourselves in! This week, Guy Branum, Karen Tongson, and Margaret Wappler are joined by TV powerhouse Sarah Gertrude Shapiro, co-creator and executive producer of the Lifetime drama Unreal. The crew discusses the good,...
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Ep. 183: "Sorry to Bother You" w/ Kevin Avery
***Warning - this episode contains major spoilers*** This week, Guy Branum and Margaret Wappler are joined by Bay Area comedian and two-time Emmy winning writer Kevin Avery. He was head writer on Totally Biased w/ Kamau Bell, staff writer on Last Week Tonight w/ John Oliver and writer on The Jim...
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Ep. 182: HBO's Sharp Objects and the Wappler Test
This week, Guy Branum, Margaret Wappler and Karen Tongson discuss HBO’s Sharp Objects. It’s based on the Gillian Flynn Novel of the same name and is about a woman, Camille Preaker, played by Amy Adams, who returns to her childhood home to combat her personal demons and look into a number of...
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Ep. 181 Unplugged: Declaring Independence from Glowing Screens
This week, Guy Branum, Margaret Wappler and Karen Tongson are declaring their independence from screens, push notifications and batteries. That’s right, it’s all about the pop culture that you’ll still be able to experience after the grid goes down. Margaret is all about The Moment app which...
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Ep. 180: Dietland is Unapologetically Fat w/ Lindy West
This week, Guy Branun, Margaret Wappler and Karen Tongson are joined by Lindy West, New York Times opinion writer and bestselling author of the book Shrill to discuss the AMC show Dietlandand one of TV’s best fat characters ever: Plum Kettle. Lindy is all about is all about the UK show Grand...
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Ep. 179: What's in YOUR (pop culture) Bubble? w/ Jordan Morris and Sudi Green
This week, Guy Branun and Karen Tongson are joined by Jordan Morris, writer of the new Maximum Fun scripted series Bubble, and Sudi Green, former Totally Biased w/ Kumau Bellproduction assistant, current model and current writer for Saturday Night Live. In honor of Bubblethe team will discuss…
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Ep. 179: Strike a Pose with Las Culturistas
This week, Guy Branum, Margaret Wappler and Karen Tongson are joined by Bowen Yang and Matt Rogers, the hosts of the Las Culturistas podcast. The gang will discuss the show Pose which focusses on the Ball culture of 1980’s New York. Bowen is all about everything going down at E3, especially the...
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Pop Rocket Ep. 178: We Say Goodbye to The Americans
**Warning: This episode contains spoilers from The Americans series finale. If you, like Margaret, want to avoid the spoilers, skip from 7:01 to 14:20.** This week, Margaret Wappler and Karen Tongson are joined by Alonso Duralde, one of the hosts of the Max Fun podcast Who Shot Ya?, a movie…
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Ep. 177: The Passport Edition
This week, Guy Branum, Margaret Wappler and Karen Tongson are joined by Katherine Spiers, host of the podcast Smart Mouth, which asks people about their favorite foods. The gang will discuss international travel and all the best things that come from it, including people, food and pop culture....
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Frequently Asked Questions
How many episodes does Pop Rocket have?
Pop Rocket currently has 228 episodes available on PodParley. New episodes are automatically indexed when they're published to the podcast feed.
What is Pop Rocket about?
Pop culture discussion with Guy Branum, Wynter Mitchell, Margaret Wappler and Karen Tongson
How often does Pop Rocket release new episodes?
Pop Rocket publishes regularly with 228 episodes available. Check the episode list for the typical release schedule.
Where can I listen to Pop Rocket?
You can listen to Pop Rocket 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 Pop Rocket?
Pop Rocket is created and hosted by MaximumFun.org.
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