Special Topics in Media

Send us Fan MailThis May, Special Topics in Media returns to a newer tradition, our "Student Spotlight Series". Last year, we examined a number of successful internship experiences shared by students in the Media Production and Communication program at MACU. This month, Garret sits down with key officers in the Communication and Media Club, starting with the current CMC President, and 2025-26 Communication Award recipient, Mia Haynes.Host: Garret Castleberry, Jacob Mallozzi (Guest)Producers: Garret Castleberry, Will McMurry (Audio Engineer), Alli Garner (Cover Art), Austin Foster (Music)Ways to Connect with us online:Follow and engage with Special Topics in Media on Twitter at @podcast_topics."Like" to follow our Special Topics in Media Page on Facebook (search Special Topics in Media).Join the Special Topics in Media Facebook Group and share your reviews of the film or this episode.Subscribe to Dr. Castleberry's academic YouTube Channel.Garret's academic website is available at https://garretcastleberry.academia.edu/.Support the show

Send us Fan MailAs our "Film Listology" season counts down the Top 100 films in the Listology Super Index, we rediscover a surprise import of international acclaim: Parasite, from Academy Award-winning writer-director Bong Joon Ho, in 2019. Parasite tells the story of families dueling for class status amidst the backdrop of modern Seoul, South Korea. Parasite presents itself as a family black dramedy, a social satire, and even a heist-horror. In essence, Joon Ho's work functions as a genre-bender, and one that rewarded the director with an armful of Oscars. But how does the film hold up less than a decade later? Unsurprisingly, better than ever. The Dialogic Duo debates the film's cultural significance as an important "can't miss" feature that is also somewhat already hard to find. Hosts: Garret Castleberry, Scott McMurryProducers: Garret Castleberry, Will McMurry (Audio Engineer), Alli Garner (Cover Art), Austin Foster (Music)Recommended readings paired with our Film Listology season:Rick Altman. Film/Genre. British Film Institute, 1999.Jim Collins, Ada Preacher Collins, Hilary Radner (Eds.). Film Theory Goes to the Movies, 1st Edition. New York: Routledge, 1992.Ways to Connect with us online:Follow and engage with Special Topics in Media on Twitter at @podcast_topics."Like" to follow our Special Topics in Media Page on Facebook (search Special Topics in Media).Join the Special Topics in Media Facebook Group and share your reviews of the film or this episode.Subscribe to Dr. Castleberry's academic YouTube Channel.Garret's academic website is available at https://garretcastleberry.academia.edu/.Support the show

Send us Fan MailIn this "Film Listology" episode of Special Topics in Media, the dialogic duo wrangles with the impact of Fred Zinnemann's Academy Award-winning 1952 film, High Noon. This ideological Film Western stars Gary Cooper as Marshal Will Cain, the outgoing lawman of the small New Mexican town of Hadleyville. Marshal Cain relinquishes his badge in favor of domesticity, but when word that his feared foe, Frank Miller (Ian MacDonald), is released from prison en route to the quiet town, Cain once again brandishes the badge in a desperate effort to enact justice one final time. But the question for our time is: does High Noon maintain its relevance in an age of social justice warriors and ideological talking heads? Can High Noon maintain its cultural context in a time where truth is relative? Garret Castleberry and Scott McMurry evaluate High Noon's cultural significance as the #72-ranked film on the Listology Super Index. Hosts: Garret Castleberry, Scott McMurryProducers: Garret Castleberry, Will McMurry (Audio Engineer), Alli Garner (Cover Art), Austin Foster (Music)Recommended readings paired with our Film Listology season:Rick Altman. Film/Genre. British Film Institute, 1999.Jim Collins, Ada Preacher Collins, Hilary Radner (Eds.). Film Theory Goes to the Movies, 1st Edition. New York: Routledge, 1992.Ways to Connect with us online:Follow and engage with Special Topics in Media on Twitter at @podcast_topics."Like" to follow our Special Topics in Media Page on Facebook (search Special Topics in Media).Join the Special Topics in Media Facebook Group and share your reviews of the film or this episode.Subscribe to Dr. Castleberry's academic YouTube Channel.Garret's academic website is available at https://garretcastleberry.academia.edu/.Support the show

Send us Fan MailOur "Film Listology" season continues with a surprise entrant in the #73 slot, from famed director Stanley Kubrick in 1975, Barry Lyndon. One could argue that Kubrick fuses a surrogate love letter to his never-filmed Napoleon Bonaparte biopic with a loose adaptation of the William Makepeace Thackeray novel, The Memoirs of Barry Lyndon, Esq. The result is as meditative and synchronic an examination into the spaces between love and loss, triumph and defeat, and possibly a search for satisfaction amidst unquenchable appetites. Barry Lyndon boasts a symphony of technical production film stories. But are these enough to position it among the elite titles of film history? The dialogic duo examine Kubrick's most refined work. Hosts: Garret Castleberry, Scott McMurryProducers: Garret Castleberry, Will McMurry (Audio Engineer), Alli Garner (Cover Art), Austin Foster (Music)Recommended readings paired with our Film Listology season:Rick Altman. Film/Genre. British Film Institute, 1999.Jim Collins, Ada Preacher Collins, Hilary Radner (Eds.). Film Theory Goes to the Movies, 1st Edition. New York: Routledge, 1992.Ways to Connect with us online:Follow and engage with Special Topics in Media on Twitter at @podcast_topics."Like" to follow our Special Topics in Media Page on Facebook (search Special Topics in Media).Join the Special Topics in Media Facebook Group and share your reviews of the film or this episode.Subscribe to Dr. Castleberry's academic YouTube Channel.Garret's academic website is available at https://garretcastleberry.academia.edu/.Support the show

Send us Fan MailThe "Film Listology" season continues with our #74 entry, Mr. Smith Goes to Washington. Released in 1939, Frank Capra directs Jimmy Stewart in this tale of an idealistic junior senator thrust into the cynical matrix of the Washington D. C. political establishment. Mr. Smith stands as a perennial "feel good" movie about how the American political system functions as the ultimate course corrective within an unjust world. But what happens if the film were to feel increasingly like a disillusioned fantasy far removed from modern sentiment? The dialogic duo discuss the film to arrive at a contemporary assessment of its cultural significance factor in the twenty-first century. Hosts: Garret Castleberry, Scott McMurryProducers: Garret Castleberry, Will McMurry (Audio Engineer), Alli Garner (Cover Art), Austin Foster (Music)Recommended readings paired with our Film Listology season:Rick Altman. Film/Genre. British Film Institute, 1999.Jim Collins, Ada Preacher Collins, Hilary Radner (Eds.). Film Theory Goes to the Movies, 1st Edition. New York: Routledge, 1992.Ways to Connect with us online:Follow and engage with Special Topics in Media on Twitter at @podcast_topics."Like" to follow our Special Topics in Media Page on Facebook (search Special Topics in Media).Join the Special Topics in Media Facebook Group and share your reviews of the film or this episode.Subscribe to Dr. Castleberry's academic YouTube Channel.Garret's academic website is available at https://garretcastleberry.academia.edu/.Support the show

Send us Fan MailOur "Film Listology" season sets sail once again with the #75 film according to the MCM Super Index, The Graduate. Mike Nichols directs Dustin Hoffman in this Academy Award Winning feature from 1967. The film "spoke" to a generation with its coming-of-age themes, scandalous insinuations, and the postwar malaise that seemingly swept over the Baby Boomers at the heart of the New Youth movement in America. But what happens when none of this matters? The Graduate posits the ultimate MeGeneration fantasy, which has echoed through pop culture history ever since. But to what extent? Scott joins Garret for an abridged discussion of this aging metaphor about cyclical perceived individuality.  Hosts: Garret Castleberry, Scott McMurryProducers: Garret Castleberry, Will McMurry (Audio Engineer), Alli Garner (Cover Art), Austin Foster (Music)Recommended readings paired with our Film Listology season:Rick Altman. Film/Genre. British Film Institute, 1999.Jim Collins, Ada Preacher Collins, Hilary Radner (Eds.). Film Theory Goes to the Movies, 1st Edition. New York: Routledge, 1992.Ways to Connect with us online:Follow and engage with Special Topics in Media on Twitter at @podcast_topics."Like" to follow our Special Topics in Media Page on Facebook (search Special Topics in Media).Join the Special Topics in Media Facebook Group and share your reviews of the film or this episode.Subscribe to Dr. Castleberry's academic YouTube Channel.Garret's academic website is available at https://garretcastleberry.academia.edu/.Support the show

Send us Fan MailFilm Listology RETURNS! Scott McMurry joins Garret Castleberry to reveal the next five films currently ranked #75-71 by the analytics super index. Which films made the cross-composite list? Should each of these be canonized in filmdom's Top 100? Check them out, send us your memories of each, and listen in as we resume the Season 8 focus on "Film Listology" on Special Topics in Media Studies.Hosts: Garret Castleberry, Scott McMurryProducers: Garret Castleberry, Will McMurry (Audio Engineer), Alli Garner (Cover Art), Austin Foster (Music)Recommended readings paired with our Film Listology season:Rick Altman. Film/Genre. British Film Institute, 1999.Jim Collins, Ada Preacher Collins, Hilary Radner (Eds.). Film Theory Goes to the Movies, 1st Edition. New York: Routledge, 1992.Ways to Connect with us online:Follow and engage with Special Topics in Media on Twitter at @podcast_topics."Like" to follow our Special Topics in Media Page on Facebook (search Special Topics in Media).Join the Special Topics in Media Facebook Group and share your reviews of the film or this episode.Subscribe to Dr. Castleberry's academic YouTube Channel.Garret's academic website is available at https://garretcastleberry.academia.edu/.Support the show

Send us Fan MailThe Special Topics in Media winds down prematurely with our Heist Film conversation (circa 2021) focusing on Steven Soderbergh's 2017 rural caper, Logan Lucky. Host Garret Castleberry is joined by  dialogic duo partner in crime Scott McMurry in a serenading love letter to the quieter films that often go unnoticed. Due to an inadvertant data dump, this conversation culminates our "Heist Film Season" of Special Topics.Host: Garret Castleberry, Scott McMurryProducers: Garret Castleberry, Will McMurry (Audio Engineer), Alli Garner (Cover Art), Austin Foster (Music)Recommended readings to pair with Season 5 "The Heist Film":Jim Leach & Jeannette Slowniowski (editors). The Best Laid Plans: Interrogating the Heist Film. Wayne State University Press, 2017.Daryl Lee. The Heist Film: Stealing With Style. Wallflower Press, 2014.Ways to Connect with us online:Follow and engage with Special Topics in Media on Twitter at @podcast_topics."Like" to follow our Special Topics in Media Page on Facebook (search Special Topics in Media).Join the Special Topics in Media Facebook Group and share your reviews of the film or this episode.Subscribe to Dr. Castleberry's academic YouTube Channel.Garret's academic website is available at https://garretcastleberry.academia.edu/. Support the showSupport the show

Send us Fan MailSpecial Topics in Media is getting the crew together again for a LIVE reaction special. Host Garret Castleberry recruits the Special Topics in Media Studies class for a post-screening response to Christopher Nolan's brainy blockbuster, Inception (2010). Can we add Nolan to heist film auteur canon? Students clutch their respective totems and pick their collective jaw off the proverbial ground to grapple with the film's key themes. Host: Garret Castleberry, Guests: Mia Haynes, Adia Reid, Peyton Towery, Brady Allen, Christian Soto, Abel Houston, Jasie Eischen, Sapraise CounsellorProducers: Garret Castleberry, Will McMurry (Audio Engineer), Alli Garner (Cover Art), Austin Foster (Music)Recommended readings to pair with Season 5 "The Heist Film":Jim Leach & Jeannette Slowniowski (editors). The Best Laid Plans: Interrogating the Heist Film. Wayne State University Press, 2017.Daryl Lee. The Heist Film: Stealing With Style. Wallflower Press, 2014.Ways to Connect with us online:Follow and engage with Special Topics in Media on Twitter at @podcast_topics."Like" to follow our Special Topics in Media Page on Facebook (search Special Topics in Media).Join the Special Topics in Media Facebook Group and share your reviews of the film or this episode.Subscribe to Dr. Castleberry's academic YouTube Channel.Garret's academic website is available at https://garretcastleberry.academia.edu/. Support the showSupport the show

Send us Fan MailThe Special Topics in Media retro season resumes with a callback to our Heist Film conversation (circa 2021) centered on Christopher Nolan's 2010 summer blockbuster, Inception. Host Garret Castleberry is joined by his dialogic duo partner in crime Scott McMurry in a cross-examination of Nolan's cerebral brain-bender. Does Inception work within the heist film genre, or does the film collapse in its plural ambitions? Host: Garret Castleberry, Scott McMurryProducers: Garret Castleberry, Will McMurry (Audio Engineer), Alli Garner (Cover Art), Austin Foster (Music)Recommended readings to pair with Season 5 "The Heist Film":Jim Leach & Jeannette Slowniowski (editors). The Best Laid Plans: Interrogating the Heist Film. Wayne State University Press, 2017.Daryl Lee. The Heist Film: Stealing With Style. Wallflower Press, 2014.Ways to Connect with us online:Follow and engage with Special Topics in Media on Twitter at @podcast_topics."Like" to follow our Special Topics in Media Page on Facebook (search Special Topics in Media).Join the Special Topics in Media Facebook Group and share your reviews of the film or this episode.Subscribe to Dr. Castleberry's academic YouTube Channel.Garret's academic website is available at https://garretcastleberry.academia.edu/. Support the show

Send us Fan MailA FIRST! Special Topics in Media goes "Live" (sort of), in an effort to activate improvisational audience feedback. Host Garret Castleberry taps into the collective power of the Special Topics in Media Studies class for a post-screening interpretive recap of intellectual themes resonant in Wes Anderson's Fantastic Mr. Fox. Students are pressed to speak to several unique categories in an improvisational interpretive event recorded for educational fair use. Does Anderson's film function within the Heist Film genre? Does this adaptation breach the generational divide? Key students share their immediate reactions. Host: Garret Castleberry, Guests: Mia Haynes, Adia Reid, Peyton Towery, Brady Allen, Christian Soto, Abel Houston, Jasie Eischen, Sapraise CounsellorProducers: Garret Castleberry, Will McMurry (Audio Engineer), Alli Garner (Cover Art), Austin Foster (Music)Recommended readings to pair with Season 5 "The Heist Film":Jim Leach & Jeannette Slowniowski (editors). The Best Laid Plans: Interrogating the Heist Film. Wayne State University Press, 2017.Daryl Lee. The Heist Film: Stealing With Style. Wallflower Press, 2014.Ways to Connect with us online:Follow and engage with Special Topics in Media on Twitter at @podcast_topics."Like" to follow our Special Topics in Media Page on Facebook (search Special Topics in Media).Join the Special Topics in Media Facebook Group and share your reviews of the film or this episode.Subscribe to Dr. Castleberry's academic YouTube Channel.Garret's academic website is available at https://garretcastleberry.academia.edu/. Support the show

Send us Fan MailThe past returns! Special Topics in Media slips under the radar to release its next "vault" discussion (circa fall 2021) celebrating The Heist Film. Host Garret Castleberry captures Scott McMurry for an analytic dissection of Wes Anderson's playful stop-motion animation adaptation, Fantastic Mr. Fox (2012). Does Anderson have what it takes to enter the conversation among the genre's greatest cinematic thieves?Host: Garret Castleberry, Scott McMurryProducers: Garret Castleberry, Will McMurry (Audio Engineer), Alli Garner (Cover Art), Austin Foster (Music)Recommended readings to pair with Season 5 "The Heist Film":Jim Leach & Jeannette Slowniowski (editors). The Best Laid Plans: Interrogating the Heist Film. Wayne State University Press, 2017.Daryl Lee. The Heist Film: Stealing With Style. Wallflower Press, 2014.Ways to Connect with us online:Follow and engage with Special Topics in Media on Twitter at @podcast_topics."Like" to follow our Special Topics in Media Page on Facebook (search Special Topics in Media).Join the Special Topics in Media Facebook Group and share your reviews of the film or this episode.Subscribe to Dr. Castleberry's academic YouTube Channel.Garret's academic website is available at https://garretcastleberry.academia.edu/. Support the show

Send us Fan MailWhat's old is new! Special Topics in Media breaks into the next "vault" discussion (circa fall 2021) celebrating The Heist Film. Host Garret Castleberry hoodwinks Scott McMurry into the job of a lifetime. The dialogic duo wind back the clock to dissect Stanley Kubrick's forgotten film noir masterpiece, The Killing (1956). Does The Killing demonstrate the secret to heist movie success as a specialized film genre?Host: Garret Castleberry, Scott McMurryProducers: Garret Castleberry, Will McMurry (Audio Engineer), Alli Garner (Cover Art), Austin Foster (Music)Recommended readings to pair with Season 5 "The Heist Film":Jim Leach & Jeannette Slowniowski (editors). The Best Laid Plans: Interrogating the Heist Film. Wayne State University Press, 2017.Daryl Lee. The Heist Film: Stealing With Style. Wallflower Press, 2014.Ways to Connect with us online:Follow and engage with Special Topics in Media on Twitter at @podcast_topics."Like" to follow our Special Topics in Media Page on Facebook (search Special Topics in Media).Join the Special Topics in Media Facebook Group and share your reviews of the film or this episode.Subscribe to Dr. Castleberry's academic YouTube Channel.Garret's academic website is available at https://garretcastleberry.academia.edu/. Support the show

Send us Fan MailWhat's old is new! Special Topics in Media kicks off another "vault" discussion (circa fall 2021) celebrating The Heist Film as a distinct (yet liminal) film genre. Host Garret Castleberry recruits Scott McMurry to uncover the roots of the heist genre and its connections to American social and cultural history. The dialogic duo kick off their conversation series with an examination of Steven Soderbergh's 2001 crew caper, Ocean's Eleven. Is Ocean's Eleven the "perfect" crime film? Let us know!Host: Garret Castleberry, Scott McMurryProducers: Garret Castleberry, Will McMurry (Audio Engineer), Alli Garner (Cover Art), Austin Foster (Music)Recommended readings to pair with Season 5 "The Heist Film":Jim Leach & Jeannette Slowniowski (editors). The Best Laid Plans: Interrogating the Heist Film. Wayne State University Press, 2017.Daryl Lee. The Heist Film: Stealing With Style. Wallflower Press, 2014.Ways to Connect with us online:Follow and engage with Special Topics in Media on Twitter at @podcast_topics."Like" to follow our Special Topics in Media Page on Facebook (search Special Topics in Media).Join the Special Topics in Media Facebook Group and share your reviews of the film or this episode.Subscribe to Dr. Castleberry's academic YouTube Channel.Garret's academic website is available at https://garretcastleberry.academia.edu/. Support the show

Send us Fan MailA new season, and an old season, are here! Join us as we peek into the past and present for a season built around the heist movie genre. The Dialogic Duo is up to no good! Host Garret Castleberry convinces Scott McMurry to "get the gang back together" to pull off one last job. That job? To expand the discourse around heist films as a way of better understanding film as a distinctly artistic yet commercial expression of mass communication. This crew cases the joint to lay the track for films to be examined this season. Host: Garret Castleberry, Scott McMurryProducers: Garret Castleberry, Will McMurry (Audio Engineer), Alli Garner (Cover Art), Austin Foster (Music)Recommended readings to pair with Season 5 "The Heist Film":Jim Leach & Jeannette Slowniowski (editors). The Best Laid Plans: Interrogating the Heist Film. Wayne State University Press, 2017.Daryl Lee. The Heist Film: Stealing With Style. Wallflower Press, 2014. Ways to Connect with us online:Follow and engage with Special Topics in Media on Twitter at @podcast_topics."Like" to follow our Special Topics in Media Page on Facebook (search Special Topics in Media).Join the Special Topics in Media Facebook Group and share your reviews of the film or this episode.Subscribe to Dr. Castleberry's academic YouTube Channel.Garret's academic website is available at https://garretcastleberry.academia.edu/. Support the show

Send us Fan MailFinally...the 2025 Summer Movie Season concludes. Host Garret Castleberry is joined by Kyle Hammonds to discuss key releases in August. Was August 2025 the best August in summer movie history? These rhetors debate the successes and failures of the doldrum summer month.Listen to hear which mainstream movies had their ticket stubs torn, and reach out to connect and let us know which August releases topped your radar in 2025. Hosts: Garret Castleberry, Kyle HammondsProducers: Garret Castleberry, Will McMurry (Audio Engineer), Alli Garner (Cover Art), Austin Foster (Music)Recommended Screenings (Garret and Kyle): Weapons Recommended Screenings (Kyle): Jaws: 50th Anniversary IMAX rereleaseWays to Connect with us online:Follow and engage with Special Topics in Media on Twitter at @podcast_topics."Like" to follow our Special Topics in Media Page on Facebook (search Special Topics in Media).Join the Special Topics in Media Facebook Group and share your reviews of the film or this episode.Subscribe to Dr. Castleberry's academic YouTube Channel.Garret's academic website is available at https://garretcastleberry.academia.edu/. Support the show

Send us Fan MailSomehow...the 2025 Summer Movie Season returned. Host Garret Castleberry is joined by Kyle Hammonds to discuss key releases in July, a month rich is blockbuster discourse Listen to hear which mainstream movies had their ticket stubs torn, and reach out to connect and let us know which July releases topped your radar in 2025. Hosts: Garret Castleberry, Kyle HammondsProducers: Garret Castleberry, Will McMurry (Audio Engineer), Alli Garner (Cover Art), Austin Foster (Music)Recommended Screenings (Garret): Eddington Recommended Screenings (Kyle): Ontological Obstacles (Garret & Kyle): Superman, Fantastic Four Ways to Connect with us online:Follow and engage with Special Topics in Media on Twitter at @podcast_topics."Like" to follow our Special Topics in Media Page on Facebook (search Special Topics in Media).Join the Special Topics in Media Facebook Group and share your reviews of the film or this episode.Subscribe to Dr. Castleberry's academic YouTube Channel.Garret's academic website is available at https://garretcastleberry.academia.edu/. Support the show

Send us Fan MailThe 2025 Summer Movie Season interruption CONTINUES with a second reflection on Paul Thomas Anderson's One Battle After Another (Warner Bros. 2025). How does PTA's latest film rate as a Border Western, and what character themes resonate with contemporary tensions in America? Host Garret Castleberry provides an armchair rhetorician second screening review of PTA's latest masterwork now in cinemas. Hosts: Garret CastleberryProducers: Garret Castleberry, Will McMurry (Audio Engineer), Alli Garner (Cover Art), Austin Foster (Music)Ways to Connect with us online:Follow and engage with Special Topics in Media on Twitter at @podcast_topics."Like" to follow our Special Topics in Media Page on Facebook (search Special Topics in Media).Join the Special Topics in Media Facebook Group and share your reviews of the film or this episode.Subscribe to Dr. Castleberry's academic YouTube Channel.Garret's academic website is available at https://garretcastleberry.academia.edu/. Support the show

Send us Fan MailWe interrupt this 2025 Summer Movie Season programming with a report from the FUTURE! Or, at least the present. Paul Thomas Anderson's One Battle After Another has arrived in theaters to immense pre-release critical acclaim. But will that film buzz translate to a wide audience reception? Host Garret Castleberry provides an armchair rhetorician response to screening PTA's latest masterwork on its opening day in cinemas. Hosts: Garret CastleberryProducers: Garret Castleberry, Will McMurry (Audio Engineer), Alli Garner (Cover Art), Austin Foster (Music)Ways to Connect with us online:Follow and engage with Special Topics in Media on Twitter at @podcast_topics."Like" to follow our Special Topics in Media Page on Facebook (search Special Topics in Media).Join the Special Topics in Media Facebook Group and share your reviews of the film or this episode.Subscribe to Dr. Castleberry's academic YouTube Channel.Garret's academic website is available at https://garretcastleberry.academia.edu/. Support the show

Send us Fan MailSummer is a time to celebrate a great many things, and we are seasonally framing our favorite "cool down" treats for a hot sunny day at the movies . Host Garret Castleberry grabs his wallet, swipes his card, and collects enough goodies to count down a "Top 5 Summer Movie Snacks". It's a Top 5 Countdown to get the mouth watering.Email us your rainy day theater visits at [email protected], or tag us with a rainy day theater vlog on our Special Topics in Media Facebook page. Links below!Hosts: Garret CastleberryProducers: Garret Castleberry, Will McMurry (Audio Engineer), Alli Garner (Cover Art), Austin Foster (Music)Recommended Screenings (Garret):Send us your thoughts in email or audio form at [email protected]!Ways to Connect with us online:Follow and engage with Special Topics in Media on Twitter at @podcast_topics."Like" to follow our Special Topics in Media Page on Facebook (search Special Topics in Media).Join the Special Topics in Media Facebook Group and share your reviews of the film or this episode.Subscribe to Dr. Castleberry's academic YouTube Channel.Garret's academic website is available at https://garretcastleberry.academia.edu/. Support the show

Send us Fan MailWe're BACK! After a minor hiatus to update the power converters and reset the flux capacitor (movie logic excuses only), the 2025 Summer Movie Season resumes with an enriched look into the month of June. Host Garret Castleberry is joined by Kyle Hammonds to discuss key releases in June, a month full of genre surprises. Listen to hear which mainstream movies had their ticket stubs torn, and reach out to connect and let us know which June releases topped your radar in 2025. Hosts: Garret Castleberry, Kyle HammondsProducers: Garret Castleberry, Will McMurry (Audio Engineer), Alli Garner (Cover Art), Austin Foster (Music)Recommended Screenings (Garret): 28 Years Later, F1: The MovieRecommended Screenings (Kyle): The Phoenician Scheme, MaterialistsOntological Obstacles (Garret & Kyle): Pixar's ElioWays to Connect with us online:Follow and engage with Special Topics in Media on Twitter at @podcast_topics."Like" to follow our Special Topics in Media Page on Facebook (search Special Topics in Media).Join the Special Topics in Media Facebook Group and share your reviews of the film or this episode.Subscribe to Dr. Castleberry's academic YouTube Channel.Garret's academic website is available at https://garretcastleberry.academia.edu/. Support the show

Send us Fan MailIt's a mid-season interlude ripe with nostalgia! Helping transition from early to mid-summer focus, Special Topics in Media offers a "2025 Summer Movie Season" side story. Host Garret Castleberry sits down with scholarly cinephile Kyle Hammonds to unpack the phenomenon of retro film screenings. The duo examine a partial sample of recent rewatches while theorizing about how the phenomenon aids versus ails the in-flux movie theater business as well as an increased industry focus on the audience experience. Email us your favorite Retro Rewatches at [email protected], or tag us with a rainy day theater vlog on our Special Topics in Media Facebook page. Links below!Hosts: Garret Castleberry, Kyle HammondsProducers: Garret Castleberry, Will McMurry (Audio Engineer), Alli Garner (Cover Art), Austin Foster (Music)Recommended Screenings (Garret):Send us your thoughts in email or audio form at [email protected]!Ways to Connect with us online:Follow and engage with Special Topics in Media on Twitter at @podcast_topics."Like" to follow our Special Topics in Media Page on Facebook (search Special Topics in Media).Join the Special Topics in Media Facebook Group and share your reviews of the film or this episode.Subscribe to Dr. Castleberry's academic YouTube Channel.Garret's academic website is available at https://garretcastleberry.academia.edu/. Support the show

Send us Fan MailIt's an early fall celebration! The rainy season arrived unexpectedly this August, and to commemorate the cool down, Special Topics in Media offers a "2025 Summer Movie Season" reprieve. Host Garret Castleberry dims the lights, curls up with a remote mic, and let's the thunder roll while recollecting a "Top 5 Rainy Day Movie Theater Drop-Ins". It's a Top 5 Countdown to help listeners stay dry. Email us your rainy day theater visits at [email protected], or tag us with a rainy day theater vlog on our Special Topics in Media Facebook page. Links below! Hosts: Garret CastleberryProducers: Garret Castleberry, Will McMurry (Audio Engineer), Alli Garner (Cover Art), Austin Foster (Music)Recommended Screenings (Garret):Send us your thoughts in email or audio form at [email protected]!Ways to Connect with us online:Follow and engage with Special Topics in Media on Twitter at @podcast_topics."Like" to follow our Special Topics in Media Page on Facebook (search Special Topics in Media).Join the Special Topics in Media Facebook Group and share your reviews of the film or this episode.Subscribe to Dr. Castleberry's academic YouTube Channel.Garret's academic website is available at https://garretcastleberry.academia.edu/. Support the show

Send us Fan MailThe Special Topics in Media event "2025 Summer Movie Season" expands with a deep dive into the major releases of May! Kyle Hammonds joins host Garret Castleberry to assess the technical start to summer. The rhetorical reviewers chart their May moviegoing, and make the ultimate case for what went horribly wrong with Mission: Impossible - The Final Reckoning.Hosts: Garret Castleberry, Kyle HammondsProducers: Garret Castleberry, Will McMurry (Audio Engineer), Alli Garner (Cover Art), Austin Foster (Music)Recommended Screenings (Garret): Thunderbolts*, Kingdom of Heaven (rerelease)Recommended Screenings (Kyle): Clown in a CornfieldOntological Obstacles (Garret & Kyle): Final Destination: Bloodlines, Lilo & Stitch, Mission: Impossible - The Final Reckoning Ways to Connect with us online:Follow and engage with Special Topics in Media on Twitter at @podcast_topics."Like" to follow our Special Topics in Media Page on Facebook (search Special Topics in Media).Join the Special Topics in Media Facebook Group and share your reviews of the film or this episode.Subscribe to Dr. Castleberry's academic YouTube Channel.Garret's academic website is available at https://garretcastleberry.academia.edu/. Support the show

Send us Fan MailIn this early interlude within our Special Topics in Media "2025 Summer Movie Season", host Garret Castleberry accesses sentimental bias to recall his "Top 5 First-Run Summertime In-Theater Heart-Pounding Experiences". It's a Top 5 Countdown to help listeners cool off during the dog days of summer. Hosts: Garret CastleberryProducers: Garret Castleberry, Will McMurry (Audio Engineer), Alli Garner (Cover Art), Austin Foster (Music)Recommended Screenings (Garret):Send us your thoughts in email or audio form at [email protected]!Ways to Connect with us online:Follow and engage with Special Topics in Media on Twitter at @podcast_topics."Like" to follow our Special Topics in Media Page on Facebook (search Special Topics in Media).Join the Special Topics in Media Facebook Group and share your reviews of the film or this episode.Subscribe to Dr. Castleberry's academic YouTube Channel.Garret's academic website is available at https://garretcastleberry.academia.edu/. Support the show

Send us Fan MailThe extended "2025 Summer Movie Season" wrap-up conversation starts here! Host Garret Castleberry is joined by media scholar Kyle Hammonds to list, rate, and respond to the films that ushered in the summer movie season back in April. Hosts: Garret CastleberryProducers: Garret Castleberry, Will McMurry (Audio Engineer), Alli Garner (Cover Art), Austin Foster (Music)Recommended Screenings (Garret): Warfare, The Shrouds Recommended Screenings (Kyle): Sinners, Pride and Prejudice (rerelease)Ontological Obstacles (Garret & Kyle): A Minecraft Movie, Star Wars: Episode 3: Revenge of the SithWays to Connect with us online:Follow and engage with Special Topics in Media on Twitter at @podcast_topics."Like" to follow our Special Topics in Media Page on Facebook (search Special Topics in Media).Join the Special Topics in Media Facebook Group and share your reviews of the film or this episode.Subscribe to Dr. Castleberry's academic YouTube Channel.Garret's academic website is available at https://garretcastleberry.academia.edu/. Support the show

Send us Fan MailAs we get set to premiere our "2025 Summer Movie Season", host Garret Castleberry ushers in a secondary moviegoing conversation that strikes at the heart of memories, movies, and personal preferences. It's a Top 5 Brainstorm to coincide with the dog days of summer. Hosts: Garret CastleberryProducers: Garret Castleberry, Will McMurry (Audio Engineer), Alli Garner (Cover Art), Austin Foster (Music)Recommended Screenings (Garret):Send us your thoughts in email or audio form at [email protected]! Ways to Connect with us online:Follow and engage with Special Topics in Media on Twitter at @podcast_topics."Like" to follow our Special Topics in Media Page on Facebook (search Special Topics in Media).Join the Special Topics in Media Facebook Group and share your reviews of the film or this episode.Subscribe to Dr. Castleberry's academic YouTube Channel.Garret's academic website is available at https://garretcastleberry.academia.edu/. Support the show

Send us Fan MailThe cinema harvest is nearly here! Tune in to our "2025 Summer Movie Season" preview event. Host Garret Castleberry and Kyle Hammonds dart under the velvet rope, cut through the concession lines, and sneak into their local theaters to dive in and dissect which movies are making waves in summer 2025. Hosts: Garret CastleberryProducers: Garret Castleberry, Will McMurry (Audio Engineer), Alli Garner (Cover Art), Austin Foster (Music)Recommended Screenings (Garret): We'll begin our countdown starting in April!Ontological Obstacles (Garret):April is NOT a friendly moviegoing month!Ways to Connect with us online:Follow and engage with Special Topics in Media on Twitter at @podcast_topics."Like" to follow our Special Topics in Media Page on Facebook (search Special Topics in Media).Join the Special Topics in Media Facebook Group and share your reviews of the film or this episode.Subscribe to Dr. Castleberry's academic YouTube Channel.Garret's academic website is available at https://garretcastleberry.academia.edu/. Support the show

Send us Fan MailThis week we wind down our "Talking Mass Communication Perspectives" season of Special Topics in Media. Garret Castleberry and Season 13 guest host Annabeth Fehrle reflect on how technologies challenge traditional educational systems, spring-boarding conversation out of Brian Gilchrist's essay, "The Smartphone as Permanent Substitute Teacher," which is featured in the academic anthology Communication Theory and Millennial Popular Culture (Roberts, 2016). Reading Reference: Brian Gilchrist. "The Smartphone as Permanent Substitute Teacher". In Communication Theory and Millennial Popular Culture: Essays and Applications. Roberts, K. G. (Editor). New York: Peter Lang, 2016. Host: Garret Castleberry, Annabeth FehrleProducers: Garret Castleberry, Will McMurry (Audio Engineer), Alli Garner (Cover Art), Austin Foster (Music)Ways to Connect with us online:Follow and engage with Special Topics in Media on Twitter at @podcast_topics."Like" to follow our Special Topics in Media Page on Facebook (search Special Topics in Media).Join the Special Topics in Media Facebook Group and share your reviews of the film or this episode.Subscribe to Dr. Castleberry's academic YouTube Channel.Garret's academic website is available at https://garretcastleberry.academia.edu/.Support the show

Send us Fan MailWelcome to the "Talking Mass Communication Perspectives" season of Special Topics in Media. Once again Garret Castleberry is joined by Season 13 guest host Annabeth Fehrle  to discuss Multistep Flow Theory and how it functions as a part of #Hashtag Advertising strategies.Reading Reference: Andrew Sharma & Chrys Egan. "Hashtag Television Advertising--The Multistep Flow of Millennial TV Usage, Commercial Viewings, and Social Media Interaction". In Communication Theory and Millennial Popular Culture: Essays and Applications. Roberts, K. G. (Editor). New York: Peter Lang, 2016. Host: Garret Castleberry, Annabeth FehrleProducers: Garret Castleberry, Will McMurry (Audio Engineer), Alli Garner (Cover Art), Austin Foster (Music)Ways to Connect with us online:Follow and engage with Special Topics in Media on Twitter at @podcast_topics."Like" to follow our Special Topics in Media Page on Facebook (search Special Topics in Media).Join the Special Topics in Media Facebook Group and share your reviews of the film or this episode.Subscribe to Dr. Castleberry's academic YouTube Channel.Garret's academic website is available at https://garretcastleberry.academia.edu/.Support the show

Send us Fan MailWelcome to the "Talking Mass Communication Perspectives" season of Special Topics in Media. This week Garret Castleberry and Season 13 guest cohost Annabeth Fehrle  discuss Muted Group Theory and how it can be interpreted within the narrative framework of a trio of Disney-Pixar animated feature films: Brave (2012), WALL-E (2008) and The Incredibles (2004). Reading Reference: Bruce W. Finklea & Sally Bennett Hardig. "Seen but Not Heard--Exploring Muted Group Theory in The Incredibles, WALL-E, and Brave". In Communication Theory and Millennial Popular Culture: Essays and Applications. Roberts, K. G. (Editor). New York: Peter Lang, 2016. Host: Garret Castleberry, Annabeth FehrleProducers: Garret Castleberry, Will McMurry (Audio Engineer), Alli Garner (Cover Art), Austin Foster (Music)Ways to Connect with us online:Follow and engage with Special Topics in Media on Twitter at @podcast_topics."Like" to follow our Special Topics in Media Page on Facebook (search Special Topics in Media).Join the Special Topics in Media Facebook Group and share your reviews of the film or this episode.Subscribe to Dr. Castleberry's academic YouTube Channel.Garret's academic website is available at https://garretcastleberry.academia.edu/.Support the show

Send us Fan MailIn this summer interlude, host Garret Castleberry looks back at the past year's programming themes, while setting the stage for ongoing programming to come. Host: Garret CastleberryProducers: Garret Castleberry, Will McMurry (Audio Engineer), Alli Garner (Cover Art), Austin Foster (Music)Ways to Connect with us online:Follow and engage with Special Topics in Media on Twitter at @podcast_topics."Like" to follow our Special Topics in Media Page on Facebook (search Special Topics in Media).Join the Special Topics in Media Facebook Group and share your reviews of the film or this episode.Subscribe to Dr. Castleberry's academic YouTube Channel.Garret's academic website is available at https://garretcastleberry.academia.edu/.Support the show

Send us Fan MailWelcome to the "Talking Mass Communication Perspectives" season of Special Topics in Media. This week host Garret Castleberry is joined by Annabeth Fehrle to discuss Fantasy Theme Analysis and how it applies to two politically oriented TV programs, ABC's Scandal (2013-2018) and NBC's Parks & Recreation (2009-2015). Reading Reference: Fogle, Krystal. "Knope vs. Pope: A Fantasy Theme Analysis of Scandal vs. Parks & Recreation". In Communication Theory and Millennial Popular Culture: Essays and Applications. Roberts, K. G. (Editor). New York: Peter Lang, 2016. Host: Garret Castleberry, Annabeth FehrleProducers: Garret Castleberry, Will McMurry (Audio Engineer), Alli Garner (Cover Art), Austin Foster (Music)Ways to Connect with us online:Follow and engage with Special Topics in Media on Twitter at @podcast_topics."Like" to follow our Special Topics in Media Page on Facebook (search Special Topics in Media).Join the Special Topics in Media Facebook Group and share your reviews of the film or this episode.Subscribe to Dr. Castleberry's academic YouTube Channel.Garret's academic website is available at https://garretcastleberry.academia.edu/.Support the show

Send us Fan MailWelcome to the "Talking Mass Communication Perspectives" season on Special Topics in Media. This week we tackle Disney, Hegemony, and the role that Critical Theory plays in shaping our views of the world. Reading Reference: Applequist, Janelle. ""Let it go, let it go"--Hegemony and Counter-Hegemony in Disney's Frozen". In Communication Theory and Millennial Popular Culture: Essays and Applications. Roberts, K. G. (Editor). New York: Peter Lang, 2016. Host: Garret Castleberry, Annabeth FehrleProducers: Garret Castleberry, Will McMurry (Audio Engineer), Alli Garner (Cover Art), Austin Foster (Music)Ways to Connect with us online:Follow and engage with Special Topics in Media on Twitter at @podcast_topics."Like" to follow our Special Topics in Media Page on Facebook (search Special Topics in Media).Join the Special Topics in Media Facebook Group and share your reviews of the film or this episode.Subscribe to Dr. Castleberry's academic YouTube Channel.Garret's academic website is available at https://garretcastleberry.academia.edu/.Support the show

Send us Fan MailA New Season begins! What is on deck? Who is covering it? And why should you listen!Reading Reference: Roberts, Kathleen Glenister (Editor). Communication Theory and Millennial Popular Culture: Essays and Applications. New York: Peter Lang, 2016. Host: Garret Castleberry, Annabeth FehrleProducers: Garret Castleberry, Will McMurry (Audio Engineer), Alli Garner (Cover Art), Austin Foster (Music)Ways to Connect with us online:Follow and engage with Special Topics in Media on Twitter at @podcast_topics."Like" to follow our Special Topics in Media Page on Facebook (search Special Topics in Media).Join the Special Topics in Media Facebook Group and share your reviews of the film or this episode.Subscribe to Dr. Castleberry's academic YouTube Channel.Garret's academic website is available at https://garretcastleberry.academia.edu/.Support the show

Send us Fan MailClosing out our Internship Interview Series, host Garret Castleberry visits with graduating senior and MACU's Men's Baseball pitcher Jacob Mallozzi, a student athlete blurring the lines between reporter and player. Jacob talks about his Texas roots and how this background provided the basis for his journeyman shifts in degree focus and professional outlook. This May, Special Topics in Media is proud to recognize college students demonstrating excellence through participation in internship partnerships. Throughout the month we will spotlight one-on-one sit-downs with current and graduating students in the Media Production and Communication program at MACU. Host: Garret Castleberry, Jacob Mallozzi (Guest)Producers: Garret Castleberry, Will McMurry (Audio Engineer), Alli Garner (Cover Art), Austin Foster (Music)Ways to Connect with us online:Follow and engage with Special Topics in Media on Twitter at @podcast_topics."Like" to follow our Special Topics in Media Page on Facebook (search Special Topics in Media).Join the Special Topics in Media Facebook Group and share your reviews of the film or this episode.Subscribe to Dr. Castleberry's academic YouTube Channel.Garret's academic website is available at https://garretcastleberry.academia.edu/.Support the show

Send us Fan MailWinding down this month's Internship Interview Series, host Garret Castleberry visits with junior Kaetlen Schier, a student athlete "thriving in the chaos" of work-life balance. Kaetlen talks about the value available when students seek internships that align with areas of passion and/or study;; in this instance interning with a men's semi-pro volleyball organization as the club's social media coordinator.This May, Special Topics in Media is proud to recognize college students demonstrating excellence through participation in internship partnerships. Throughout the month we will spotlight one-on-one sit-downs with current and graduating students in the Media Production and Communication program at MACU. Host: Garret Castleberry, Kaetlen Schier (Guest)Producers: Garret Castleberry, Will McMurry (Audio Engineer), Alli Garner (Cover Art), Austin Foster (Music)Ways to Connect with us online:Follow and engage with Special Topics in Media on Twitter at @podcast_topics."Like" to follow our Special Topics in Media Page on Facebook (search Special Topics in Media).Join the Special Topics in Media Facebook Group and share your reviews of the film or this episode.Subscribe to Dr. Castleberry's academic YouTube Channel.Garret's academic website is available at https://garretcastleberry.academia.edu/.Support the show

Send us Fan MailRounding the corner with May's Internship Interview Series, host Garret Castleberry connects with junior Brady Allen, a missions-minded media production specialist interning in areas that connect lighting, audio, and multimedia production in cooperation with a multi-campus ministry organization. This May, Special Topics in Media is proud to recognize college students demonstrating excellence through participation in internship partnerships. Throughout the month we will spotlight one-on-one sit-downs with current and graduating students in the Media Production and Communication program at MACU. Host: Garret Castleberry, Brady Allen (Guest)Producers: Garret Castleberry, Will McMurry (Audio Engineer), Alli Garner (Cover Art), Austin Foster (Music)Ways to Connect with us online:Follow and engage with Special Topics in Media on Twitter at @podcast_topics."Like" to follow our Special Topics in Media Page on Facebook (search Special Topics in Media).Join the Special Topics in Media Facebook Group and share your reviews of the film or this episode.Subscribe to Dr. Castleberry's academic YouTube Channel.Garret's academic website is available at https://garretcastleberry.academia.edu/.Support the show

Send us Fan MailContinuing May's Internship Interview Series, host Garret Castleberry connects with sophomore Jared Hinkle, a burgeoning videographer and social media coordinator affiliated with Major League Fishing who travels the country by day while casting lines that deepen his social media imprint by night. This May, Special Topics in Media is proud to recognize college students demonstrating excellence through participation in internship partnerships. Throughout the month we will spotlight one-on-one sit-downs with current and graduating students in the Media Production and Communication program at MACU. Host: Garret Castleberry, Jared Hinkle (Guest)Producers: Garret Castleberry, Will McMurry (Audio Engineer), Alli Garner (Cover Art), Austin Foster (Music)Ways to Connect with us online:Follow and engage with Special Topics in Media on Twitter at @podcast_topics."Like" to follow our Special Topics in Media Page on Facebook (search Special Topics in Media).Join the Special Topics in Media Facebook Group and share your reviews of the film or this episode.Subscribe to Dr. Castleberry's academic YouTube Channel.Garret's academic website is available at https://garretcastleberry.academia.edu/.Support the show

Send us Fan MailDiving deeper into May's Internship Interview Series, host Garret Castleberry sits down with graduating senior, MACU Women's Volleyball player, and recipient of the 2024-25 Media Production Award, Annabeth Fehrle. Annabeth discusses her passion for public speaking and how it translates into and out of the classroom.This May, Special Topics in Media is proud to recognize college students demonstrating excellence through participation in internship partnerships. Throughout the month we will spotlight one-on-one sit-downs with current and graduating students in the Media Production and Communication program at MACU. Host: Garret Castleberry, Annabeth Fehrle (Guest)Producers: Garret Castleberry, Will McMurry (Audio Engineer), Alli Garner (Cover Art), Austin Foster (Music)Ways to Connect with us online:Follow and engage with Special Topics in Media on Twitter at @podcast_topics."Like" to follow our Special Topics in Media Page on Facebook (search Special Topics in Media).Join the Special Topics in Media Facebook Group and share your reviews of the film or this episode.Subscribe to Dr. Castleberry's academic YouTube Channel.Garret's academic website is available at https://garretcastleberry.academia.edu/.Support the show

Send us Fan MailKicking off May's Internship Interview Series, host Garret Castleberry sits down with graduating senior, MACU Men's Baseball Pitcher, and recipient of the 2024-25 Communication Award Jordan Smith to discuss his transition from collegiate student athlete to junior varsity assistant coach.This May, Special Topics in Media is proud to recognize college students demonstrating excellence through participation in internship partnerships. Throughout the month we will spotlight one-on-one sit-downs with current and graduating students in the Media Production and Communication program at MACU. Host: Garret Castleberry, Jordan Smith (Guest)Producers: Garret Castleberry, Will McMurry (Audio Engineer), Alli Garner (Cover Art), Austin Foster (Music)Ways to Connect with us online:Follow and engage with Special Topics in Media on Twitter at @podcast_topics."Like" to follow our Special Topics in Media Page on Facebook (search Special Topics in Media).Join the Special Topics in Media Facebook Group and share your reviews of the film or this episode.Subscribe to Dr. Castleberry's academic YouTube Channel.Garret's academic website is available at https://garretcastleberry.academia.edu/.   Support the show

Send us Fan MailThis May, Special Topics in Media is proud to recognize students demonstrating excellence through participating in internship partnership this year. Throughout the month we will spotlight one-on-one sit-downs with current and graduating students in the Media Production and Communication program at MACU. Host: Garret CastleberryProducers: Garret Castleberry, Will McMurry (Audio Engineer), Alli Garner (Cover Art), Austin Foster (Music)Ways to Connect with us online:Follow and engage with Special Topics in Media on Twitter at @podcast_topics."Like" to follow our Special Topics in Media Page on Facebook (search Special Topics in Media).Join the Special Topics in Media Facebook Group and share your reviews of the film or this episode.Subscribe to Dr. Castleberry's academic YouTube Channel.Garret's academic website is available at https://garretcastleberry.academia.edu/.   Support the show

Send us Fan MailCelebrating independent bookstore week, Special Topics in Media host Garret Castleberry sits down with indie book store aficionado, universal book lover, and nonfiction author J Hall to discuss the release of his newest book College Unpacked: A Practical Guide to Choosing, Preparing For, and Excelling in College. The book provides a user-friendly guide to the increasingly complex process of applying to colleges and universities.This conversation was presented to a live audience commemorating the release of College Unpacked, and the book talk was hosted by the fine folks at Literati Press in the Paseo Arts District just north of downtown Oklahoma City.  In addition to College Unpacked, J Hall also hosts the Okie Bookcast, a podcast dedicated to connecting readers to their next great read. Host: Garret Castleberry, J Hall (Guest)Producers: Garret Castleberry, Will McMurry (Audio Engineer), Alli Garner (Cover Art), Austin Foster (Music)Ways to Connect with us online:Follow and engage with Special Topics in Media on Twitter at @podcast_topics."Like" to follow our Special Topics in Media Page on Facebook (search Special Topics in Media).Join the Special Topics in Media Facebook Group and share your reviews of the film or this episode.Subscribe to Dr. Castleberry's academic YouTube Channel.Garret's academic website is available at https://garretcastleberry.academia.edu/.   Support the show

Send us Fan MailVinylthon month is here! Which raises a fun question: How does vinyl intersect with other mass mediums? To connect the dots between vinyl and film history, Scott McMurry joins Special Topics in Media for a discussion about films that capitalize on the music craze. Celebrate "Vinylthon" by tuning in to the nonprofit event this April, or consider supporting vinyl radio through a subscription to the annual Vinylthon Zine, which celebrates "10 Years of Vinylthon" in 2025. Host: Garret Castleberry, Scott McMurryProducers: Garret Castleberry, Will McMurry (Audio Engineer), Alli Garner (Cover Art), Austin Foster (Music)Vinylthon: The event when radio goes all vinyl, all weekend.Ways to Connect with us online:Follow and engage with Special Topics in Media on Twitter at @podcast_topics."Like" to follow our Special Topics in Media Page on Facebook (search Special Topics in Media).Join the Special Topics in Media Facebook Group and share your reviews of the film or this episode.Subscribe to Dr. Castleberry's academic YouTube Channel.Garret's academic website is available at https://garretcastleberry.academia.edu/.   Support the show

Send us Fan MailVinylthon month is here! Which raises an important question: What exactly IS Vinyl?To deepen listener appreciation for Vinylthon month, Scott McMurry joins Special Topics in Media for a discussion about what distinguishes vinyl from other forms of physically reproduced media.Celebrate "Vinylthon" by tuning in to the nonprofit event this April, or consider supporting vinyl radio through a subscription to the annual Vinylthon Zine, which celebrates "10 Years of Vinylthon" in 2025. Host: Garret Castleberry, Scott McMurryProducers: Garret Castleberry, Will McMurry (Audio Engineer), Alli Garner (Cover Art), Austin Foster (Music)Vinylthon: The event when radio goes all vinyl, all weekend.Ways to Connect with us online:Follow and engage with Special Topics in Media on Twitter at @podcast_topics."Like" to follow our Special Topics in Media Page on Facebook (search Special Topics in Media).Join the Special Topics in Media Facebook Group and share your reviews of the film or this episode.Subscribe to Dr. Castleberry's academic YouTube Channel.Garret's academic website is available at https://garretcastleberry.academia.edu/.   Support the show

Send us Fan MailVinylthon month is here! Which raises an important question...What IS Vinylthon?Joining us to discuss "Vinylthon" and more, Dr. Tim Craig (Warner University) joins Special Topics in Media for a discussion about the origins of Vinylthon, grassroots growth of this musical movement, and the ways in which it continues to diversify its programming strategies. Host: Garret CastleberryProducers: Garret Castleberry, Will McMurry (Audio Engineer), Alli Garner (Cover Art), Austin Foster (Music)Vinylthon: The event when radio goes all vinyl, all weekend. Ways to Connect with us online:Follow and engage with Special Topics in Media on Twitter at @podcast_topics."Like" to follow our Special Topics in Media Page on Facebook (search Special Topics in Media).Join the Special Topics in Media Facebook Group and share your reviews of the film or this episode.Subscribe to Dr. Castleberry's academic YouTube Channel.Garret's academic website is available at https://garretcastleberry.academia.edu/.   Support the show

Send us Fan MailThe time has come. In this "Recalibration Preview", Special Topics in Media examines the data sets that feed into the tabulation process defining the "Film Listology" methodology. Cohost Scott McMurry provides listeners with the clearest explanation yet for how the math works to determine placement in the Super Index ranking for culturally significant films. The "Recalibration Preview" sets the stage for our Recalibration Special, where films ranging from #107 to #76 receive updated alignment. Hosts: Garret Castleberry, Scott McMurryProducers: Garret Castleberry, Will McMurry (Audio Engineer), Alli Garner (Cover Art), Austin Foster (Music)Recommended readings paired with our Film Listology season:Rick Altman. Film/Genre. British Film Institute, 1999.Jim Collins, Ada Preacher Collins, Hilary Radner (Eds.). Film Theory Goes to the Movies, 1st Edition. New York: Routledge, 1992.Ways to Connect with us online:Follow and engage with Special Topics in Media on Twitter at @podcast_topics."Like" to follow our Special Topics in Media Page on Facebook (search Special Topics in Media).Join the Special Topics in Media Facebook Group and share your reviews of the film or this episode.Subscribe to Dr. Castleberry's academic YouTube Channel.Garret's academic website is available at https://garretcastleberry.academia.edu/.Support the show

Send us Fan MailThe time has come. In this "Recalibration Preview", Special Topics in Media examines the data sets that feed into the tabulation process defining the "Film Listology" methodology. Cohost Scott McMurry provides listeners with the clearest explanation yet for how the math works to determine placement in the Super Index ranking for culturally significant films. The "Recalibration Preview" sets the stage for our Recalibration Special, where films ranging from #107 to #76 receive updated alignment. Hosts: Garret Castleberry, Scott McMurryProducers: Garret Castleberry, Will McMurry (Audio Engineer), Alli Garner (Cover Art), Austin Foster (Music)Recommended readings paired with our Film Listology season:Rick Altman. Film/Genre. British Film Institute, 1999.Jim Collins, Ada Preacher Collins, Hilary Radner (Eds.). Film Theory Goes to the Movies, 1st Edition. New York: Routledge, 1992.Ways to Connect with us online:Follow and engage with Special Topics in Media on Twitter at @podcast_topics."Like" to follow our Special Topics in Media Page on Facebook (search Special Topics in Media).Join the Special Topics in Media Facebook Group and share your reviews of the film or this episode.Subscribe to Dr. Castleberry's academic YouTube Channel.Garret's academic website is available at https://garretcastleberry.academia.edu/.Support the show

Send us Fan MailIn the "Film Listology" entry to Special Topics in Media, hosts Garret Castleberry and Scott McMurry evaluate the legacy of Elia Kazan's adaptation of the Tennessee Williams literary stageplay of the same name, A Streetcar Named Desire (1951). Boasting a pair of explosive performances by Vivian Leigh (Gone With the Wind) and Marlon Brando (The Godfather, On the Waterfront), Kazan infuses this Southern Gothic character study with masterful computation of shadow and light. With an award-winning supporting cast to boot, does Streetcar live up to its quotable history, or has its cultural significance expired?  Hosts: Garret Castleberry, Scott McMurryProducers: Garret Castleberry, Will McMurry (Audio Engineer), Alli Garner (Cover Art), Austin Foster (Music)Recommended readings paired with our Film Listology season:Rick Altman. Film/Genre. British Film Institute, 1999.Jim Collins, Ada Preacher Collins, Hilary Radner (Eds.). Film Theory Goes to the Movies, 1st Edition. New York: Routledge, 1992.Ways to Connect with us online:Follow and engage with Special Topics in Media on Twitter at @podcast_topics."Like" to follow our Special Topics in Media Page on Facebook (search Special Topics in Media).Join the Special Topics in Media Facebook Group and share your reviews of the film or this episode.Subscribe to Dr. Castleberry's academic YouTube Channel.Garret's academic website is available at https://garretcastleberry.academia.edu/.Support the show

Send us Fan MailThis week in our "Film Listology" season of Special Topics in Media, Garret Castleberry and Scott McMurry explore the innovation and influence of Fritz Lang's 1927 science fiction silent film Metropolis. Can silent cinema maintain high cultural significance in an age of immersive media and high definition spectacle? The dialogic duo wrestle with the film to determine its value in the pantheon of film history. Hosts: Garret Castleberry, Scott McMurryProducers: Garret Castleberry, Will McMurry (Audio Engineer), Alli Garner (Cover Art), Austin Foster (Music)Recommended readings paired with our Film Listology season:Rick Altman. Film/Genre. British Film Institute, 1999.Jim Collins, Ada Preacher Collins, Hilary Radner (Eds.). Film Theory Goes to the Movies, 1st Edition. New York: Routledge, 1992.Ways to Connect with us online:Follow and engage with Special Topics in Media on Twitter at @podcast_topics."Like" to follow our Special Topics in Media Page on Facebook (search Special Topics in Media).Join the Special Topics in Media Facebook Group and share your reviews of the film or this episode.Subscribe to Dr. Castleberry's academic YouTube Channel.Garret's academic website is available at https://garretcastleberry.academia.edu/.Support the show