The Smartest People in the Room
by Maddie Weiner and Rachel Casey
Rachel Casey and Maddie Weiner have a lot of opinions on film - the industry, the art form, the makers, the viewers - and they just can't shut up about it. Join these two redheaded millennial women plus occasional guests as they discuss the latest in film news, awards season, festival season, their recent watches, film history, and much more.
Episodes
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Episode 29 - Snot Is The Key
It's the beginning of a new year, and you know what that means: getting caught up on releases from the previous year for Best of 2025 lists and awards season! This week we talk about Dead Man's Wire (premiering this Friday, January 9!), Avatar: Fire and Ash, If I Had Legs I'd Kick You, Hamnet…
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Episode 28 - My Friend Gwyneth? Paltrow?
Sorry it’s so late, but this week we discuss Sinners, The Phoenician Scheme, Brokeback Mountain, and the New York Times’ top movies of the century so far! (Episode recorded on 7/9/25). Maddie’s ballot: Mulholland Drive (2001), Spirited Away (2002), Margaret (2011), The Master (2012), Under the…
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Episode 27 - Spanish Has Been Such a Huge Part of Her Life
TW: eating disorders Last episode of 2024 and an important reminder that Rachel and Maddie are shrill feminist buzzkills with hater energy :) This episode we discuss Megalopolis, Emilia Pérez, Wicked, "live action" remakes of animated films, The Substance, and Conclave. Links: The episode of On...
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Episode 26 - Jellicoe Songs for Rafferty Jellicoe Frost Law Cats
We are now in awards pre-season and we have a lot to discuss. How are we going to get to 10 Best Picture nominees? Can James Mangold pull off A Complete Unknown? Will Nightbitch be good? (Answer: yes, it's Marielle Heller). Why are there so many horror movies about pregnancy right now, and…
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Episode 25 - I'm Not Reading All That
Sorry for the delay between episodes! A lot has happened - Maddie went to Cannes! We hate the suburbs! Maddie and Rachel saw Challengers! Links: Maddie's Cannes ranking on Letterboxd The article about pop music's "middle class" that Rachel mentioned Maddie's Seed & Spark campaign for the short…
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Episode 24 - Dunc Part 2
It's time for the Smartest People Oscar Predictions! Hopefully we are of some help to your ballots this weekend 🙏🏻 we also discuss the releases we're looking forward to in 2024. Movies discussed (* indicates spoilers): Oppenheimer*, Everything Everywhere All At Once Poor Things*, Nyad Eileen…
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Minisode 1 - That's What the Money's For Part 2, or, Barbie Was Not Kenough (with Irene Mudd)
Okay, so, we recorded this emergency podcast the Saturday after the Oscar nominees were announced, and then Maddie got too busy and is only just now uploading it. This episode is no longer topical, nor a hot take. Please forgive us but please listen anyway! (Also, Maddie knows the song is called...
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Episode 23 - That's What the Money's For
Things are getting back on track in 2024. We discuss awards season (recorded before the Oscar nominees were announce so don't @ us!), our Barbie's box office success, our favorite movies of 2023, and May December. Movies discussed (* indicates spoilers): Anatomy of a Fall, The Boy and the Heron...
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Episode 22 - It's Been A While
I know last time we said we were gettin' it together but, well, a lot has been going on! Maddie co-produced a movie, Rachel is a damn city planner, but we're here now to talk about festival buzz, actor-directors, stage-to-screen adaptations, and we pour one out for one of the greatest directors…
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Episode 21 - Men Can Have Little A Woman, As A Treat
We're gettin' it together, folks. This week we talk a lot about Matt Damon, Lily Gladstone, Martin Scorsese, Leonardo DiCaprio, and Sofia Coppola, plus Killers of the Flower Moon and Beau Is Afraid. Movies discussed (* indicates spoilers): Air, BlackBerry, The Martian, The Last Duel, Hustlers…
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Episode 20 - Crime Clone Party
This week we talk about Rachel's problem with Mia Goth, touch on the films of Kelly Reichardt, and share the upcoming films we're excited about. Plus, Maddie details her recent experience working on an indie film production which shall not be named. Movies discussed (* indicates spoilers):...
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Episode 19 - It's A Tragesty
Ahhh, the Oscars. First half of the episode is Rachel and Maddie making their picks for winners, and the second half is their reactions to the winners. Irene and Yayoi both stop in with their opinions. OVER IT: Oscar bait war movies, fat suits, apology Oscars. HERE FOR IT: Naatu Naatu, first-time...
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Episode 18 - The Moneyball Episode (with Spencer Campbell)
No Maddie until next time, but join Rachel and special guest Spencer Campbell for this episode themed around the films of Bennett Miller! Movies discussed (* indicates spoilers): Moneyball*, Capote*, Foxcatcher* Goon, Remember the Titans, Ford v Ferrari Boogie Nights, Pirate Radio (The Boat That...
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Episode 17 - We're All Obsessed with the Spoon
Our topics this week include the 8th Sight & Sound Greatest Films of All Time poll, Avatar: The Way of Water, White Noise, and "nepo babies." Maddie will be back in March! Sight & Sound poll Sight & Sound 2022 Films poll Movies discussed (* indicates spoilers): Avatar: The Way of Water* Jeanne...
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Episode 16 - Sweep the Leg
This week we're discussing a backlog of movies, including The Fabelmans, The Menu, Glass Onion, RRR, BROS, romantic comedies, Todd Field, and more! The next episode will be in two weeks instead of three and then after that we'll be doing some guest episodes as Maddie has a new job! You're Wrong...
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Episode 15 - Tap Dancing, Crying, Tap Dancing, Crying
We're back... again!! We're finally done filming our short film so expect more podcast episodes from us, at least for now! This week we discuss The Banshees of Inisherin, TÁR, the death of Film Twitter and its effect on people's brains (for better or for worse), Disney's internal drama, Don't…
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Episode 14 - Respecting Spielberg in Our Old Age
We're back!! Who knows how long it will be before the next episode but we're here now, and that's what matters. This week we catch up with the movies we've watched lately, including Nope, Three Thousand Years of Longing, and Bodies Bodies Bodies. We also discuss the problems facing HBO Max and...
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Update 8/8/22
Just a quick update, we’re not dead!
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Episode 13 - Pour One Out for Village 8 (with Irene Mudd)
We are raising money to produce a short film!! Please check it out here and consider throwing some support our way. Every little bit helps. If you like the podcast, we really think you'll like the film. Thanks :) This week we are joined by Irene in the first half of the episode (she had to dip...
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Episode 12 - Me-LONK-aly
We get some visits from Maddie's pet snake Cleo as we discuss Top Gun: Maverick, Fire Island, Apollo 10 1/2, The Bob's Burgers Movie, and Netflix's ill-fated decision to stop producing "vanity projects". Support the Kickstarter for our short film Blanch! Movies mentioned (* indicates possible...
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Episode 11 - Cannes-tent
Despite our impromptu break between episodes Rachel has been too busy to see any new movie, while Maddie has seen The Northman, The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent, and Deep Water. We also discuss The Trial Currently Happening Now, A24's membership club, and the types of action movies we…
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Episode 10 - Mr. Taylor Swift's Boyfriend (with Irene Mudd)
We are joined once again by beloved recurring Smartest Person Irene Mudd to discuss Cyrano, The Eyes of Tammy Faye, Jesse Plemons, and a lot of talk on Everything Everywhere All at Once, the movie of the moment. Movies mentioned (* indicates possible spoilers): Cyrano* Thelma & Louise, Taxi…
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Episode 9 - The Slap Heard 'Round the World
Our format is a little different this week: the first half of the episode was recorded before the Oscars and features our predictions for each category, plus the films which we think actually deserved to win; the second half is our reaction to the total mess that was the 94th Academy Awards.…
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Episode 8 - Bwah Bwah, Y'know? (with Scott Boice)
This week we are joined by Scott Boice, the creator of our theme music! The three of us discuss all of the controversy surrounding the upcoming Oscars broadcast, how Camilla Cabello's Cinderella will probably win the stupid #OscarsFanFavorite award, Francis Ford Coppola's GQ profile, and a lot of...
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Episode 7 - Under Such Derangement
We recorded this episode the day the Oscar nominations came out and you can tell we're riding high on some unexpected noms. We discuss all the major categories, with a particular focus on the actresses because we're a stereotype. You can find the Thrillist article we discussed here. Movies...
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Episode 6 - Paul Schrader Should Host the Oscars (with Aaron Hartley)
We're joined this week by Smartest People in the Room Awards Correspondent Aaron Hartley! We discuss the Screen Actors Guild nominations and likely Academy Awards contenders, David Ehrlich's annual Top 25 Movies supercut which you can find here, and our tentative top films of the year! Movies...
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Episode 5 - Staniels
Happy New Year! We recorded this episode before Rachel went on a trip to LA and after she saw several films - the new West Side Story, tick, tick... BOOM!, Belfast, and House of Gucci. Maddie only wants to talk about Joaquin Phoenix, as usual. And we discuss Christmas movies - are they bad? Are...
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Episode 4 - That Is Jamie Dornan
Sorry in advance for the bad sound quality on Maddie's end! There were a LOT of technical difficulties with recording and editing this episode so please bear with us! This episode we discuss mainly two big releases, Spencer and The Power of the Dog, and jump from there to discussions about actors...
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Episode 3 - Getting in Touch with Primal Man (with Irene Mudd)
This week we're joined by beloved recurring guest Irene Mudd!! Our topics include Bond movies and Bond theme songs, the new Uncharted trailer, how we got into film, our controversial opinions on Method acting, our hopefully-uncontroversial opinions on J*red L*to, Memoria's distribution plan and…
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Episode 2 - A Squirrelly Quality
This week's topics include Villeneuve's Dune and Timothee Chalamet in general, the Best International Feature submissions to the Oscars, the tragic events on the set of Rust (R.I.P. Halyna Hutchins), the IATSE union issues and possible strike, and The Last Duel. Movies mentioned (* indicates...
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Episode 1 - Animals Going on Journeys
A grand introduction to Rachel and Maddie's most important and controversial opinions, i.e. how they feel about a certain director and a certain franchise. Movies mentioned (* indicates possible spoilers): Dark Waters (2019) The Card Counter* Everybody Wants Some!! Molly’s Game* Drive Richard...
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The Smartest People in the Room Preview
The Smartest People in the Room with Rachel Casey and Maddie Weiner is coming soon!
About this show
Rachel Casey and Maddie Weiner have a lot of opinions on film - the industry, the art form, the makers, the viewers - and they just can't shut up about it. Join these two redheaded millennial women plus occasional guests as they discuss the latest in film news, awards season, festival season, their recent watches, film history, and much more.
Hosted by
Maddie Weiner and Rachel Casey