The Niche Files

This week, Ryan tries to record… but the Niche Nook Studios has other plans. Between loud hammering, union-mandated lunch chants, Nerf snipers, and the occasional chainsaw, things get chaotic fast.We’re hitting pause for a few weeks while the dust (and possibly the drywall) settles while we get things ready for season 2. Follow us on social media and subscribe wherever you get your podcasts so you don’t miss our return -- hopefully unscathed!Brace yourself.

Kass loves Broadchurch. Cody hasn’t seen it.In this episode, Kass makes the case for why Broadchurch is such a powerful and enduring series, focusing on its themes, performances, and emotional impact rather than a spoiler-heavy recap. Cody comes in fresh, asking questions and digging into what makes the show stand out from other crime dramas.Content note: discussion includes themes of murder and sexual assault.

What do Crowley, The 13th Doctor, Queen Elizabeth II, Anthony Bridgerton, and Richard Madoc all have in common? Next week's episode of the Niche Files!We will be discussing some difficult topics this time around, but we still hope you’ll join us as we discuss the BBC’s Broadchurch.

This week on The Niche Files, Ryan drags us headfirst into his childhood nostalgia with a deep dive into Holiday World -- the surprisingly wholesome Midwest theme park with free soft drinks, free sunscreen, wooden roller coasters, and a delightful amount of history and lore.We chat about the rides, water coasters, food, accessibility, and all the little details that make this place such a joy. Come for the theme park stories, stay for the shared nostalgia, food envy, and the warm realization that Holiday World is a genuinely happy place.

After a short vacation, The Niche Files is back, and Ryan is already planning a field trip.In this teaser, we start talking about childhood favorite theme parks, questionable ride safety, and why Kass might be actively tempting fate at this point.

This week on The Niche Files, we’re talking about The Muppet Christmas Carol, Cody’s pick for the best adaptation of A Christmas Carol, and the one that somehow manages to be heartfelt, emotional, and extremely Muppet-level chaotic at the same time.We walk through the story, the songs, and the ghosts, talk holiday traditions, and derail ourselves with a Muppet personality quiz along the way. It’s festive, funny, and feral -- exactly how a Christmas episode should be.

A simple holiday question turns into disbelief, metaphorical daggers, and a passionate defense of a Muppet-filled “beautiful masterpiece.”Was The Muppet Christmas Carol a yearly tradition -- or did someone in the room somehow miss it entirely?

This week on The Niche Files, we take on The Nightmare Before Christmas, a movie that’s been sparking arguments for decades.Kass makes her case, Cody questions the hype, and Ryan does his best to derail the conversation at every opportunity. We talk big opinions, strong nostalgia, and why this movie hits very differently depending on who you ask.Whether you watch it every year or side-eye the obsession, one thing’s guaranteed: this episode gets chaotic fast.

In a world where one Christmas movie dominates every Hot Topic shelf… Three podcasters must face the truth: Is it a masterpiece? Is it overrated? Is it both?

This week on The Niche Files, we’re dropping a special Thanksgiving Day episode and talking about A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving -- from Snoopy’s chaotic cooking to Peppermint Patty inviting herself (and everyone else) over, plus our own questionable childhood traditions and holiday memories.Join us for the holiday vibes! It’s nostalgic, lightly unhinged, and probably the closest thing you’ll get to wholesome from us.

A small appetizer before our full Thanksgiving episode full of cozy vibes, and Ryan speaking entirely in Charlie Brown–adult gibberish.Here’s the general translation:Happy Thanksgiving! We’re grateful for you -- enjoy your holiday and stay tuned.Want the full word-for-word version? We posted it on our socials.

Join us as we journey back to Lamia for Ella Enchanted, where we read Lucinda’s very real* (*not at all real) AITA post, expose some magical red flags, and accidentally curse each other along the way.

What happens when we step away from vampires and accidentally trip into a fairy-tale disaster zone? Ogres, elves, rogue magic, and a fairy godmother who should’ve been banned from baby showers. Check out the trailer.

This week on The Niche Files, we’re wrapping up spooky month with a special Halloween day release -- Kass’s pick: Interview with the Vampire.From Brad Pitt’s eternal angst to Tom Cruise’s chaotic energy, Kass unpacks Anne Rice’s gothic masterpiece, shares wild behind-the-scenes facts (including the makeup nightmares and River Phoenix’s almost-role), as we laugh our way through murder theaters, moral crises, and vampire drama that’s equal parts tragic and absurd.It’s the perfect bite-sized ending to spooky season. 🦇

Kass takes the mic for a very spirited discussion about a certain A-list actor and a very questionable casting choice.We’re not saying Tom Cruise was the wrong pick… but we get the initial concern. All complaints can be sent directly to Kass at [email protected].

The Goosebumps celebration continues -- but this time, things get weirder. Cody takes Ryan and Kass through the show’s strangest, silliest, and most wonderfully unhinged episodes... from evil lawn gnomes and comic-book villains to giant ants and one very cursed baby.We’re not here to scare you (okay, maybe a little); we’re here to celebrate the campiness, chaos, and charm that made 90s Goosebumps impossible to forget.

Things are getting weird at The Niche Files! In the upcoming Part 2 of our Goosebumps 30th anniversary special, we're diving into some of the strangest, silliest, and most gloriously bizarre episodes the '90s had to offer.The awesome dark synthwave cover of the Goosebumps Theme you hear in this trailer is used with permission from our new friend DreamReaper! Seriously, check him out at Linktree or grab the track on Bandcamp.

This week on The Niche Files, we’re going back to 1995 to revisit the Goosebumps TV series that defined a spooky childhood. Cody counts down her top five favorite episodes, shares why The Haunted Mask is the best episode, and tries to convince Ryan and Kass that some stories are actually timeless.Along the way, we laugh at the cheesy effects, talk about the best monsters, and remember why this show still sticks with us -- even 30 years later. Grab your flashlight and maybe a mask, because nostalgia is about to get weird.

Remember reading Goosebumps under the covers with a flashlight? We’re bringing that feeling back. Kick off spooky season with us as we celebrate 30 years of Goosebumps!

In this week’s episode of The Niche Files, we dive into FernGully: The Last Rainforest (1992) -- the animated classic that made a generation of kids hug trees.Ryan gets banished to the Shadow Realm, Kass takes the host seat for the first time, and Cody debuts her very first Hear Me Out segment: yes, it’s about Hexxus. (You’ve been warned.) Along the way, we talk Robin Williams’ Batty Rap, Tim Curry’s “Toxic Love,” the VHS nostalgia of 90s classrooms, and whether this eco-fable actually gets its message across.

Ryan tried to start the intro. Kass had other plans. Cody just had a great time either way. There's chaos, banishment, and the ever-looming threat that absolutely nobody is safe from Kass's wrath.

A “normal” podcast was never an option.Instead, Ryan turned this week into part trivia, part chaos experiment, and just enough nonsense to make us wonder why we gave him this much control in the first place. There are premature bonks, quack attacks, and the shocking realization that Kass and Cody knew more about John Wick than they even thought.Fast, funny, and full of chaotic energy start to finish. And we regret nothing.

Our newest teaser trailer asks more questions than it answers -- the rules are unclear, the soundboard is suspicious, and the chaos is just beginning.

The Niche Files sinks its teeth into Twilight -- from vampire age gaps and Robert Pattinson’s Edward-related regret to fanfiction origins and the movie’s harmful treatment of the Quileute tribe.It’s peak awkward romance with just enough chaos to make everyone question the choices that led here, including a butterfly effect that (allegedly) links 9/11 to Ellen DeGeneres.Support the real Quileute Nation: Learn more about the Move to Higher Ground project at mthg.org and help the community relocate to safety.

A bite-sized preview of our Twilight deep-dive. Get ready for glittery brooding, too many red flags to count, and the most intense game of vampire baseball ever recorded. Are Kass and Cody on Team Edward or Team Jacob? Will Ryan survive?Spoiler alert: Nope. Ryan died, but we brought him back as a vampire.

This week on The Niche Files, we’re revisiting The Princess Bride, a cult classic that somehow manages to be sincere, silly, romantic, and endlessly quotable all at once.We talk one man’s lifelong quest for vengeance, one very large man’s shocking lack of exercise, unforgettable characters, and why this movie has remained such a beloved favorite decades later --plus the important lesson that you should never, ever, under any circumstances, start a land war in Asia.Funny, nostalgic, and maybe a little overanalyzed, but that’s kind of the point here.

Welcome to The Niche Files! In this teaser, meet the hosts and get a taste of the chaos to come. It’s heartfelt, a little unhinged, and mostly Ryan’s fault. We’re shining a light on the overlooked, the forgotten, and the deeply beloved media that shaped us.Content Note: Expect swearing, mild innuendo/suggestive jokes, and the chaotic conviction of people who might have thought a little too hard about which fictional characters are… dateable.