PODCAST · tv
The Substance
by The Substance Team
A podcast starting conversations that aim to help us all better appreciate Goodness, Truth, and Beauty. Engaging the culture without the Culture War™. Kansas City based!Socials:www.facebook.com/thesubstancepodwww.twitter.com/thesubstancepodwww.instagram.com/thesubstancepodSupport:Click the button below, or you can hit us up on the Cash App at $thesubstancepod
Episodes
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202: Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter feat. Laurie Strode Trap House
Happy Spooky Season, y'all! We are kicking off our October slate with a "Low Cinema" episode on Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter, perhaps the platonic ideal of the dumb, horny, young people in the woods slasher. Kev and Anna Ghoul from Laurie Strode Trap House join us for this conversation and…
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201: Celebrating 20 Years of Severin Films feat. David Gregory & Carl Daft
One milestone celebration episode deserves another! This week we go from marking the 200th episode of The Substance to the much more impressive achievement of Severin Films hitting 20 years of releasing and restoring (and sometimes rescuing and resurrecting!) cult and genre films. Co-founders…
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200: Lady Bird feat. Anna Marinello
We did it, Joe. Episode #200 of the show is finally out! We wanted to pick a special film for 200, and Greta Gerwig's 2017 directorial debut, Lady Bird, has it all. A beautiful coming of age story, tense mother/daughter dynamics, angsty artistic aspirations, first love and first heartbreak,...
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199: Civil War (2024) feat. Chell Stephen
The Road to #200 is almost at an end! Looking back at the Substantive Cinema episodes we've released this year, we couldn't help but notice an unintentional theme. Southland Tales, 28 Years Later, Team America: World Police, and now Civil War all deal with a troubled society trying to either make...
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198: Panic Fest 2026 Extravaganza!
This took a liiiiiitle bit longer to publish than we had intended but we are excited to share our Panic Fest 2026 coverage with you all! It was a highlight of the year and we met so many incredible people (wish we could have talked with everyone!). Many of these films are hitting the festival...
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197: Panic Fest 2026 Preview
Panic Fest 2026 is almost upon us! Last year, Panic Fest was one of the highlights of our year. We had an incredible time taking in new features and shorts as well as getting to know and spend time with some wonderful people (Listen to our Recap Episode rom last year for more)! Hope to see you...
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196: Team America: World Police feat. Justin LaLiberty
Happy Don't Believe Anything You Read On The Internet Day, everyone! Today we continue our April Fool's Day tradition of covering a silly movie (and then realizing that it's got more substance than audiences may think at first). 20 years ago Trey Parker and Matt Stone were pissed off at how…
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195: Substantive Cinema | 28 Years Later feat. Brandon Streussnig
On this episode we reflect on the reality that we must die, and in order to live we also must love. And it's a discussion on (ostensibly) a zombie movie that a 20+ year later legacy sequel! When the teaser trailer for 28 Years Later dropped, it seemed clear that the film wouldn't be a safe,...
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194: The State of the World, Spiritual Check-Ins, and the Road to 200 feat. Editor Dave
We are creeping up on Episode 200 so we sat down with (former) Editor Dave to talk about the State of The Substance as well as doing a bit of a spiritual check in as we look back on the road that has lead us here and look forward to where we are headed post #200! Shoutouts: Wake Up Dead Man The...
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193: Substantive Cinema | Southland Tales feat. Laurie Strode Trap House
***I don't like doing disclaimers on episodes and this one isn't totally filthy or anything but there is some explicit dialogue in the film that we discuss, so if you listen in the car with other people or whatever, you've been warned*** "This is the way the world ends. Not with a whimper, but…
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192: Liturgies For Resisting Empire feat. Kat Armas
Hey there, we intended to get this episode published last month but life and *waves hands at everything going on in the US* got in the way. HOWEVER! This was an encouraging conversation and a great way to orient ourselves as we kick off a new year under an oppressive, malicious, and very dumb...
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191: Substantive Cinema | The Holdovers feat. Marta Djordjevic
They said it couldn't be done but here we are, getting in our Christmas episode riiiiight before the big day! A few years ago Alexander Payne's The Holdovers made a big splash and became an instant Christmas classic to many. The film follows professor Paul Hunham (Paul Giamatti) as he is forced…
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190: Feed Drop | O Pagador de Promessas (The Projection Booth feat. Philip Marinello)
Enjoy this feed drop from earlier this year when host Philip Marinello joined Mike White and Robert Bellissimo on The Projection Booth to talk about the underseen Palme d'Or winning 1962 film O Pagador de Promessas. Follow Us: Instagram Threads...
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189: Substantive Cinema | In the Mouth of Madness feat. simi.views
"Do you read Sutter Cane?!" We're back in your feeds with another underrated banger from one of the all time Masters of Horror™. John Carpenter's In the Mouth of Madness is an absolute thrill ride and since Arrow Video has released what we hear is a gorgeous new 4K we figured it was time talk…
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188: Substantive Cinema | The Amusement Park feat. Dale_A
We are back! Had big plans for Spooky Season this year but health, vehicle nonsense, family, and general exhaustion at the state of things in the US had other plans. It was an absolute pleasure talking with Clark Collis about his new book Screaming and Conjuring on the last episode and to follow…
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187: Screaming and Conjuring feat. Clark Collis
Happy Spooky Season, all! We're kicking off our October programming this year with a bang and covering two of our favorite things: horror movies and beautiful hardcover books. Clark Collis is a British entertainment journalist and a long time senior writer for Entertainment Weekly along with…
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186: Substantive Cinema | New York, New York feat. Jim Hemphill
Martin Scorsese's Taxi Driver & Raging Bull are widely considered two of the best films of their era that were made in America. He and Robert DeNiro were a powerhouse creative team and they're still considered one of the all-time great collaborations in the history of the medium. This makes it...
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185: Rethinking Hell, a Spirituality of Fear, and a God of Radical Love feat. Brian Recker
It's been a crazy week, so the show notes will be short and sweet. Brian Recker is a public theologian, has a new book on Hell coming out at the end of the month, and I had a great time talking with him. In our conversation we cover: Our mutual love of movies (and solo theater visits) The…
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184: Physical Media, Local Theater Communities, and the Future of Filmmaking feat. Jeff Rauseo
When Netflix first expanded from being a mail order DVD/Blu-ray service to starting a streaming video service, it was revolutionary. They had top creators making movies and television series and had a wonderfully full library of titles to offer. Then Amazon Prime, Hulu, AMC+, Disney+, Paramount+,...
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183: Courage, Community, and Challenging MAGA with Positivity feat. Britt Giger (@thebrittbee)
This week we're talking everybody's favorite topic- local politics! But legitimately, it's something that's becoming more important by the day and actually far more fulfilling and invigorating than you may initially think. We invited our friend Britt (many of you know her as @thebrittbee) to have...
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182: Substantive Cinema | The World's End feat. Greg D.
It's time to get annihilated! Greg D. of the Nightmare Junkhead, Nerds of Nostalgia & the Screenland podcast (and weekly host of the Friday Night Frigts horror/genre programming at the Screenland Armour theater) joins us to dive into Edgar Wright and Simon Pegg's film The World's End. Following...
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181: Substantive Cinema | The Wind Will Carry Us feat. Marta Djordjevic
A few months ago we had Marta on to discuss Abbas Kiarostami's Taste of Cherry and it was a wonderful conversation! Towards the end we talked about how it's a shame that his film The Wind Will Carry Us is hard to find and that Criterion should put it out on Blu-ray and behold, on one of the next...
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180: Feed Drop | Memories of Murder (Movies & Us feat. Philip Marinello)
Bong Joon Ho's second feature film is a challenging watch but it's also a cinematic marvel of incredible substance. Recently, Philip joined Jen and Sarah on Movies & Us to talk about the 2003 film that Criterion calls "a haunting journey into ever-deepening darkness that begins as a black-comic...
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179: A Rebellion of Care feat. David Gate
On the eve of the publishing of his first book of poetry, A Rebellion of Care, we are excited to welcome David Gate to The Substance for the first of what will hopefully be many wonderful conversations (listen through until the end for a teaser of what's to come!). He's blown up on social media…
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178: Feed Drop | The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (Cinematic Doctrine feat. Philip Marinello)
Hey friends! We are back with a month of new to our feed episodes and are kicking off with a feed drop from our pals over at Cinematic Doctrine. Earlier this year, Philip was invited on to discuss what might be the quintessential American horror film The Texas Chain Saw Massacre and it was a...
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177: Substantive Cinema | The Silence of the Lambs feat. Tyler Huckabee
Tyler Huckabee returns to the show and the late, great Hannibal Lecter makes his Substance debut! In 1991, Jonathan Demme shocked critics and audiences alike with his sleek, stylish, unsettling, and genuinely fantastic film The Silence of the Lambs. It went on to be the third film in cinematic...
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176: Authenticity, Embracing Doubt, and Championing Inclusivity feat. Rev. Joseph Yoo
Sorry for the publishing delay! And yes, we know it says Tuesday on the intro, etc. It was a holiday weekend and things have been busy. But here we are with a new show and a WONDERFUL conversation with Episcopal priest and author, Reverend Joseph Yoo. Joseph has grown his online platform over the...
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175: Bonus Ep. | Panic Fest 2025 Recap!
Hey there, film fam! Been working on this for the last few weeks in between life and our regular episodes but Panic Fest 2025 was such a great time that we wanted to highlight some of the wonderful talent from the festival as well as Screenland Armour, the fest's incredible host! Panic Fest is a...
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174: Substantive Cinema | Fruitvale Station feat. Zachary Lee
As Ryan Coogler and Michael B. Jordan's most recent collaboration, Sinners, is dominating the domestic and worldwide box office, we thought it would be a good time to look at their first project together, Fruitvale Station. Fruitvale is partially the telling of the tragic story of the killing of...
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173: Substantive Cinema | Columbus feat. Jen & Sarah (Movies & Us podcast)
Kogonada. Ever heard of him? The South Korean-born American filmmaker began to get attention for his video essays that analyzed themes and motifs from various films and television series before launching as a writer/director with the film we are covering this week, Columbus (2017). The movie...
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172: Pursuing Generosity, Justice, and Restoration feat. Alexis Busetti
It's always great having a returning guest and this week we're welcoming back a friend we talked to back in 2021. Alexis Busetti is a seminary student and podcaster who we've been following and engaging with for several years. Her weekly show That Makes Total Sense!, is a wonderful listen and...
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171: April Fools' Special | Jupiter Ascending feat. Abby Olcese
Happy April Fools Day, y'all! Jupiter Ascending is silly and fun and we hope you join author and Kansas City film critic (The Pitch) Abby Olcese as we look at the Wachowskis's ambitious original science fiction fantasy film, Jupiter Ascending. Starring: Mila Kunis, Mila Kunis, Eddie Redmayne, and...
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170: Substantive Cinema | I Like Movies feat. Romina D'Ugo
Last week we had a great time talking movies with our Canadian friend Marta Djordjevic, so we figured we'd keep it going and double down with another Canadian guest AND a Canadian film (and stay tuned in the post show to potentially hear Marta about this week's film)! I Like Movies is...
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169: Substantive Cinema | Taste of Cherry feat. Marta Djordjevic
Way back when the show relaunched in 2020, we had planned on covering Abbas Kiarostami's Palme d'Or winning Taste of Cherry but I was overruled by my then cohosts who, at the time, were not terribly taken with the film. Now almost five years later, I'm excited to return to it with an even greater...
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168: Substantive Cinema | Green Room feat. Seth Vargas (Movie Friends)
Nazis...I hate these guys. Seth Vargas of the Movie Friends podcast joins us to discuss Jeremy Saulnier's 2015 punk horror masterpiece, Green Room. When a down on their luck punk band takes a blind gig at a venue that ends up being a skinhead bar, things get gnarly. We talk Seth's background in…
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167: Remembering David Lynch & Preparing for the Next Four Years feat. Editor Dave
Sorry about the unintentional hiatus but we are back! Pre-Super Bowl, I sat down to catch up with Editor Dave to catch up and do a little TTU. David Lynch died and that sucks, but we have an incredible body of work to enjoy forever along with the legacy of inspiration he's left to countless...
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166: Joan Didion, John Wayne, and American Myth-Making feat. Alissa Wilkinson
We are excited to welcome Alissa Wilkinson back to the show. Alissa is an author and staff film critic for the New York Times. It has been a few years since we had her on the show to talk about the 2019 Greta Gerwig adaptation of Little Women and since then she's written two wonderful books, the...
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165: Substantive Cinema | Bringing Out the Dead feat. Megan Abbott
We are back and joined by crime fiction and television writer Megan Abbott with a Substantive Cinema show on one of Martin Scorsese and Paul Schrader's most underrated films, Bringing Out the Dead! Substantive Cinema Episode List Shoutouts: Between the Temples Virtue I Like Movies Follow Megan...
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164: Substantive Cinema | The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou feat. Dan McCoy
Twenty years ago on Christmas Day, Wes Anderson released his fourth feature film into the world. The star-studded Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou was not as an immediate hit as some of Anderson's other films but it's one that has aged incredibly well. Bill Murray leads a cast of phenomenal actors...
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163: Our Church Speaks feat. Rev. Ben Lansing
Hey there, and Merry almost Christmas! This week we've got a wonderful conversation about faith and art that covers the width and breadth of global, historical Christianity as well as the importance of one's personal spiritual practices. Our guest today is Rev. Ben Lansing who is a professional...
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162: Substantive Cinema | Southern Comfort feat. Mitchell Beaupre
Four weeks in a row, can you believe it?! This week we are back with a Substantive Cinema pick that we've been excited for for quite some time, Walter Hill's underrated masterpiece Southern Comfort. The movie follows a squad of National Guardsmen doing exercises in the Louisiana swamps. After…
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161: Films For All Seasons feat. Abby Olcese
Hey! This is our third weekly drop in a row and we've got a great one coming next week as well! We are back (but will probably shift back to biweekly shortly so we don't burnout)! This week, we welcome back friend of the show Abby Olcese to talk about her wonderful new book, Films for All…
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160: Substantive Cinema | Shock Corridor feat. Mike White & Spencer Parsons
Once again, we recorded this episode a while back (a number of months ago, in this case) but due to the lamentable state of many things in the US, our episode this week feels eerily timely. For our first Noirvember Substantive Cinema epsiode of 2024, we are looking at one of Samuel Fuller's most...
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159: The American Gospel feat. Jon Guerra
We are back! We weren't planning on holding this episode until right before the US Election Day but here we are. Jon Guerra is an immensely talented devotional music singer songwriter and his new project American Gospel is a beautiful, timely project that some of our listeners put on our radar a...
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158: Vanitas + Viriditas feat. Josh Tiessen
Happy to be back in your feeds! Our old friend Josh Tiessen (see Ep. 61 for his first appearance on the show) is back with an incredible new book and body of work and we're excited to share this conversation with you! Purchase Josh's new book! From Josh's website: Completed between 2020-2023…
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156: The Straight Story feat. Tyler Huckabee Replay (Ep. 96)
Happy Father's Day! We will hopefully be back on track with our replay schedule here as we build up to our relaunch! Tyler Huckabee is someone who's work and perspective I've appreciated for a long time and it was a real joy to sit down and talk about movies and the work of David Lynch with him.…
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154: Felicia Wu Song Replay (Ep. 89)
Hi friends! We are in a busy season at the moment and are working on a number of exciting things for The Substance and to help give us some time to do things at a high level, we are going to take a few weeks to replay some classic episodes from our 150+ show library. This episode was remarkable…
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153: Bradly Mason Replay (Ep. 56)
Hey friends! We are in a busy season at the moment and are working on a number of exciting things for The Substance and to help give us some time to do things at a high level, we are going to take a few weeks to replay some classic episodes from our 150+ show library. Our conversation with Bradly...
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ABOUT THIS SHOW
A podcast starting conversations that aim to help us all better appreciate Goodness, Truth, and Beauty. Engaging the culture without the Culture War™. Kansas City based!Socials:www.facebook.com/thesubstancepodwww.twitter.com/thesubstancepodwww.instagram.com/thesubstancepodSupport:Click the button below, or you can hit us up on the Cash App at $thesubstancepod
HOSTED BY
The Substance Team
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Frequently Asked Questions
How many episodes does The Substance have?
The Substance currently has 208 episodes available on PodParley. New episodes are automatically indexed when they're published to the podcast feed.
What is The Substance about?
A podcast starting conversations that aim to help us all better appreciate Goodness, Truth, and Beauty. Engaging the culture without the Culture War™. Kansas City based!Socials:www.facebook.com/thesubstancepodwww.twitter.com/thesubstancepodwww.instagram.com/thesubstancepodSupport:Click the button...
How often does The Substance release new episodes?
The Substance publishes regularly with 208 episodes available. Check the episode list for the typical release schedule.
Where can I listen to The Substance?
You can listen to The Substance 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 The Substance?
The Substance is created and hosted by The Substance Team.
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