Fine Beats & Cheeses

This week our new episode is on a Monday because it is May the 4th, also known as Star Wars Day, and our episode is about Episode VI, "Return of the Jedi". That movie has twins in it, and so does this episode: our guests are twin brothers Al and William Penn, and you know that your hosts, Lynne and Leslie, are too. This was a really fun one, where we talk legacy and betrayal and Jabba the Hutt. But mostly, it's about family, chosen or otherwise, and we hope you like it!!Check out Al's Substack page here!And oh yeah, May the 4th be with you.

It's Leslie's turn to share her favorite something with us, and that something is the 2016 version of the cowboy classic but with more Denzel, "The Magnificent Seven". We talk why a western with a multiracial cast would be based in reality, villains so bad you can't wait for them to get got, why it doesn't bode well for a character when he is played by an uncredited recognizable actor, and why Ethan Hawke is everything. We hope you love it.Born in hood-adjacent Baltimore City, Leslie Streeter is a columnist for the Baltimore Banner, and the author of the 2020's memoir Black Widow: A Sad-Funny Journey Through Grief for People Who Normally Avoid Books with Words Like “Journey” in the Title and 2025's novel Family and Other Calamities. Her next novel, "Beignets and Big Feelings", comes out in October 2026 and is available for pre-order right now. She is the cohost of this here podcast Fine Beats and Cheeses, and a frequent speaker on grief. She is also a slow runner, an amateur vegan cook, and a fan of Law & Order. Leslie lives in Baltimore, Maryland, with her son, Brooks. Follow her on Facebook, Threads and Instagram.

Love is in the air this week as co-host Lynne becomes the guest to talk about one of her all-time favorite movies! It's Baz Luhrmann's 1992 colorful, wacky and heartfelt "Strictly Ballroom". We talk joy and gatekeeping and what it looks like to be you doing things that you love. It was a really good time and we hope you love it.Lynne Streeter Childress is a playwright, actor, teaching artist, singer, director, and the founder and artistic director of Building Better People Productions, a professional theater company based in Annapolis, MD (but they travel!), that does shows for young audiences all based in themes of empathy, kindness, respect and the things that make us all better people. Lynne has been in professional theatre for over 30 years, with much of that experience in theater for young audiences. This includes performing at the Kennedy Center, Arena Stage and Adventure Theatre, and teaching for institutions like the Folger Shakespeare Library, Everyman Theatre, and Baltimore School for the Arts. Through all those experiences, Lynne has seen firsthand how theater can communicate the most important things in the clearest and most interesting of ways, especially to young people. Lynne is on the Arts In Education roster for the Maryland States Arts Council and the Arts Council of Anne Arundel County, and through Building Better People Productions, has served students served by the Arlington (VA) Humanities Project, Arts Every Day, and the Howard County Arts Council. Lynne, along with fellow teaching artists Khaleshia Thorpe-Price and Jennifer Ridgway, facilitates Empathy Works, a program that helps organizations discover how empathetic thinking can change their company for the better. She co-hosts this here podcast Fine Beats and Cheeses with her twin sister Leslie Gray Streeter and their producer, Sam Lewis. Lynne lives in Annapolis, MD, with her family.You can find her on Facebook, Instagram, Threads and LinkedIn, and you can find Building Better People Productions here to book one of their shows, workshops, residencies and professional development sessions.

Our hearts WILL go on, darn it, because this week, we talk all things Titanic with author, podcast host, and entertainment journalist Nelson Aspen. We discuss the ship, its sinking, the 1987 hit movie based on all of that, as well as Nelson's personal enthusiasm and connection to the doomed ship. This was a TRULY fun episode and we hope you love it.NELSON ASPEN is one of Entertainment's most charming and popular personalities, having spent three decades on morning television outlets around the world, bringing the latest in entertainment and pop culture to millions of viewers! But there's a lot more to this Showbiz Insider than just empathy, wit, A-list contacts and masterful storytelling ability. You'd be hard pressed to name a celebrity he hasn't interviewed or an entertainment story he hasn't covered, which is why in 2020, the 5-time Publicists Guild of America nominee was recognized as International Media Journalist of the Year. A lifelong Titanic enthusiast, Nelson co-hosts the popular "Titanic Talk" podcast and speaks frequently on the subject of the Ship of Dreams. His 2025 historical fantasy, "Kindred Spirits: A Titanic Tale," has taken the Titanic world by storm with its unique perspective on the classic story. Reviewers say "it weaves history with wit and charm" and "one of the most unusual love stories you'll ever read with the bonus of being an intriguing mystery."You can find more about Nelson at nelsonaspen.com, Instagram, LinkedIn and YouTube!

Producer Sam has hijacked the format, as Fine Beats and Cheeses records our very first round table podcast! Funk and funk related music is the topic! See more of Sam at http://www.madebysam.com

Today we are invite you in to this episode about vampires! Our guest is friend of the show and returning guest, author and herbalist Rissa Miller. She talks about movies that bring vampires outside of their castles: specifically "The Lost Boys", "Near Dark", the Twilight series and recent winner of multiple Oscars, "Sinners". This was a really cool conversation and we hope you love it. Rissa Miller is an editor, author, herbalist, seer, and storyteller. You can find her on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and her website, Teaandsmoke.com. You can also check out her children's book, "Room With a Boo".

We would be in Misery if we didn't take a Stand about the genius that is the writing of Stephen King, and today, we talk his influence with return guest Analese Alvarez. Don't be scared! It's a good one :). Analese Alvarez is a high school principal, Buffy fanatic and cohost of Nerd Best Friends, the podcast that covers all of the NERDY conversations you are already having.... OR WISH YOU COULD!You can find her and the show on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and YouTube.

We just can't get enough of today's episode, where we talk 80s Synth Pop music with theatre veteran Thembi Duncan. We talk our favorite songs of the era, but also about what this music meant to us and how it still means something now!Thembi Duncan is an award-winning theatre practitioner, educator, and speaker with over 25 years of experience captivating audiences through storytelling, performance, and insightful discourse. She has served as a keynote speaker, panel moderator, workshop presenter, and event host for organizations in Washington, D.C., New York City, Western New York, and beyond.You can find her at Thembiduncan.com, on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and YouTube.

We WILL talk about Bruno, because today is all about the music of Bruno Mars, and our guest is our good friend (and frequent visitor to Fine Beats and Cheeses) Elicia Marie. Elicia is a Hooligan (what fans of Mr. Mars call themselves), and we had a wonderfully joyful conversation. We hope you like it!Elicia Marie is a licensed clinical social worker/therapist in private practice. She enjoys shaping the future of the profession as an adjunct professor in a master of social work program. She is a federal worker by day, working on mental health awareness campaigns and health communications. In her spare time, Elicia loves travel, cooking, music, reading, writing, movies, and talking pop culture and observational humor with her witty friends.

It's a different world than where you come from, but it's the same delightful podcast as we talk classic HBCU sitcom, "A Different World" with returning guest, Kelly Macias! This was a really fun discussion about college, growing up, and seeing yourself in the shows that you watch, which was absolutely our experience with this show. We hope you enjoy it!Kelly Macías (she/her) is a writer, researcher, and storyteller. The multidisciplinary arts-based approach to her work is inspired by the many lived experiences of Black women and what emerges from their wisdom and magic across time and geographies. Her writing has appeared in Prose Online, The Sunlight Press, Newsweek, The Baltimore Sun, and elsewhere. She is the creator of Toogood Stories, a platform dedicated to documenting, preserving, and making visible the many facets of Black women's lives. When she isn't engaged in her mindfulness meditation practice or binge watching Netflix, she can be found somewhere in the world dancing Argentine tango in a pair of Chuck Taylors. You can find Kelly and her work at toogoodstories.co and on Instagram.

Travel with us today to a small town with quirky people who drink a lot of coffee and talk really fast and are all in each other's business but love each other! We talk iconic 2000s-era show "Gilmore Girls" with our guest, Nicole Howze. This was such a fun conversation with a wonderful friend and we hope you love it. Nicole Howze is a mom of three, wife of over 20 years, Music lover and I mean all kinds of music, singer, and movie/TV fanatic. Don’t like horror movies though.

Today, we talk selfies, relationships and celebrity culture with attorney and media legal commentator Dave Aronberg. This was a really fun conversation. Dave Aronberg served three terms as the elected State Attorney for Palm Beach County from 2012 to 2024, where he led a team of 115 prosecutors and 180 professional staff in five offices throughout Palm Beach County. He is also a former Assistant Attorney General, White House Fellow and Florida Senator. In 2016, Aronberg created a Sober Homes Task Force that made more than 120 arrests for patient brokering and insurance fraud in the rehab industry, and has led to several new Florida laws. He is a trial skills instructor at Harvard Law School, and frequently appears on cable television as a legal commentator, and is the managing partner of Dave Aronberg Law, P.A., and a strategic partner with Capital City Consulting in West Palm Beach.You can find him at davearonberglaw.com.

It's Tuesday, (and) we're in love with these songs that were the soundtrack to our most of our teen years. Our guide on this tour to yesteryear is our friend, award-winning audiobook narrator, actor and bestselling author, Marni Penning! In this episode, Marni and each of the Fine Beats Crew list their favorite pop and alternative songs of the late 80s, and talk about the line between popular and alternative (and when they are almost the same thing). This is a really, really fun episode, and check this space and our social media for playlists of the songs we mention. Good stuff!Marni Penning is an Award-winning audiobook narrator, actress, & Amazon Bestselling Author. She's been acting onstage since age 8, including 54 productions of 23 of Shakespeare's plays, and co-founded Cincinnati Shakespeare Company (now in its 30th year!). Marni has performed on stages all over the US and in England and Scotland, and now gets to play ALL the parts in audiobooks recorded in her broadcast-quality home studio, with over 330 titles available on Audible, 500+ large-cast recordings for Graphic Audio (including the ACOTAR, Fourth Wing, and Crescent City series), and 600+ articles narrated for the Curio app.You can find out more about Marni on her website, theladyhamlet.com! You can also check out her book, The Penning Method for the Panicked Actor, a guide to less-panicked auditions. She is also theladyhamlet on Instagram, LinkedIn, and YouTube.

Baby Fishmouth is sweeping the nation AND our podcast this week as we talk the romcom classic, "When Harry Met Sally", with 3x guest and friend of the show, Jennifer Inglis. We talk about friendship turning into more, true love, and also the legacy of brilliant late Director, Rob Reiner. This is a wonderful episode and we hope you love it. Jennifer Inglis is a writer and author of two novels: “Girls Who Wear Glasses” and “Enchanting Sarah Greenberg.” You can find her on Instagram and Threads.

Enjoy this delightful blast from the past (2 years ago)! See you with a new episode next week. Stay warm!Summon your inner Sugarbaker as we talk the late 80s-early 90s sitcom classic "Designing Women". We are THRILLED to have as our guest Sarah Marshall, influential podcaster and host of two of our favorite shows, "You're Wrong About" and "You Are Good", which she co-hosts with past FB&C guest Alex Steed. On our episode this week, we talk how this show is very 80's AND very current all at the same time because much of what ailed the world almost 40 years ago is still ailing us. This is a discussion that was funny and deep, like "Designing Women" itself. Enjoy!Sarah Marshall is a writer, podcaster, and media critic focused on setting straight our collective memory—or at least getting to the bottom of why we believe and in turn define ourselves by popular narrative and myth. Why is the maligned woman a staple of our news media? Why do we believe that serial killers are brilliant? How do we keep stumbling into all these moral panics? These are some of the questions that propel Sarah forward. She is the host of the popular modern history podcast You’re Wrong About, which has been highlighted in the New Yorker, the Guardian and Time Magazine. Her writing has appeared in the Believer, Buzzfeed and the true crime collection Unspeakable Acts.https://www.remembersarahmarshall.com/

CW: SALike sands through the hourglass, so is this REALLY fun episode about classic NBC soap (now on Peacock) "Days of Our Lives". Our guest is editor, writer and creator Michelle Havich, and we had a blast. Even if you've never watched an episode, I think you'll love it!Michelle Havich is a detail-oriented editor and writer focused on conceiving and producing creative and dynamic content for a variety of niche audiences. You can find her on Instagram and LinkedIn.

SPOILERSNo one mourns the Wicked, but we hope that you listen to this episode anyway, as we talk "Wicked: For Good" with returning guest and friend of the show, writer Stephen Robinson. We talk the music, the characters and also the political pieces of it that seem timely. Because we know you, Cheese Cubes, we have been changed for good. Because you listen to us :).Stephen Robinson is and Arts and political writer. Subscribe to his newsletter The Play Typer Guy (www.playtyperguy.com), Instagram, and YouTube.

Sometimes scary can be soothing, as we find today when we talk with actor and educator Belle Burr about the horror movies that give her comfort! We hope you love it.Belle Burr, is an alumni of the American Academy of Dramatic Arts, and has studied classical theater, Commedia Dell'arte, Dance and Film. When not directing Belle combines theater with history to teach children of all backgrounds about the world around them and as an actor she has performed all over the country in various styles of dramatic and comedic theater.You can follow her adventures via @BelleBurr on Instagram, check out her reviews and podcasts at Pop Culture Uncovered and PCU on YouTube, catch her on tour with the American Immersion Theater or join her at a show with the crew of Drop Three Sketch and Improv

Almost Happy New Year from us! Here is a rewind episode from January 2024, where we talk New Year's Eve favorite, "Last Holiday", the Queen Latifah classic tale of a humble retail worker who follows her dreams all the way to a fancy European resort where a new confidence and LL Cool J are involved. Our guest is friend of the show, Elicia Marie!! We had a good time with this one and we hope you love it.Elicia Marie is a licensed clinical social worker/therapist in private practice. She enjoys shaping the future of the profession as an adjunct professor in a master of social work program. She is a federal worker by day, working on mental health awareness campaigns and health communications. In her spare time, Elicia loves travel, cooking, music, reading, writing, movies, and talking pop culture and observational humor with her witty friends.

Today, In the third of our trio of episodes with members of the Fine Beats and Cheeses team, we talk decorating and our guest is our very own co-host, Producer Sam. We talk holiday traditions, enjoying whatever you enjoy with wild abandon, and overcoming grinchitude!Born in Baltimore City, Sam Lewis is an artist at large, you can see his stuff at MadeBySam, or Instagram or even Facebook!

Today, In the second of a trio of episodes where members of the Fine Beats and Cheeses team, we talk 2006's new classic movie, "The Holiday" and our guest is our very own co-host, Leslie Gray Streeter. We talk knowing your worth, loving people who love you back, the thought of swapping houses with perfect strangers at the very last minute, and how pretty Jude Law is. Oh, and we talk how we have wanted to fight two of the characters in this movie for almost 20 years. This is one of our favorite movies, and we hope you like this episode. Born in hood-adjacent Baltimore City, Leslie Streeter is a columnist for the Baltimore Banner, and the author of the 2020's memoir Black Widow: A Sad-Funny Journey Through Grief for People Who Normally Avoid Books with Words Like “Journey” in the Title and 2025's novel Family and Other Calamities. She is the cohost of this here podcast Fine Beats and Cheeses, and a frequent speaker on grief. She is also a slow runner, an amateur vegan cook, and a fan of Law & Order. Leslie lives in Baltimore, Maryland, with her son, Brooks. Follow her on Facebook and Instagram.

Get your cloak because we're going castle-hopping on this week's episode as we talk Peacock's sneaky reality gem, "The Traitors", with our guest, broadcast media veteran and Fine Beats and Cheeses superfan, Glenda Crest. This was such a fun episode. We love talking to Glenda and we hope you love listening!Younger of 2 siblings, Watches wayyy too much TV. Been on various choirs since a child. Graduate of Baltimore City College. Towson STATE University, Mass Communications. Worked in TV Production since 1992.Still single, accepting applications.You can find Glenda on Facebook.

... or Fine Beats and Cheeses Rarely Dies, as Producer Sam called this episode upon editing it. We continue our holiday episodes while continuing the debate about whether "Die Hard", 1988's classic action flick that made Bruce Willis a movie star, is a Christmas movie. We think it is but what do you think? We ponder this with return guest, friend of the show, and James Beard award-winning writer Geraldine DeRuiter. This was a really fun one, and Sam wasn't on it, so we talked long. We're totally sorry (but not really. Don't tell Sam). We hope you love it.James Beard award-winning author of the nationally bestselling IF YOU CAN'T TAKE THE HEAT, and blogger behind Everywhereist.com. Also, way too noisy on social media. You can also find her on Facebook and Instagram.

We kick off the holiday season with this Rewind Episode from December 2024. It's a REALLY good one and we hope you enjoy it.There's something about Mary this week on the podcast because we are talking Christmas classic "It's A Wonderful Life" with a focus on Mary Bailey, the main character's wife! Our guest is Senior Recruiter, Job Search Specialist, and our good friend, Elly Cohen. The conversation was inspired by several articles, including this one in The Bulwark. This was a really thoughtful discussion and we hope you enjoy it. CW: Talk of depression and suicide. If you need help, there are people that can listen when you call or text 988 for the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline.

Watch out for that ottoman you are about to trip over and sit down and listen to this episode about classic TV comedy, "The Dick Van Dyke" show, and our guests are Olivia and Genevieve from The Fresh Starts Registry. We call them The Sisters! They are two of our favorite people to talk to. On the show we talk Dick Van Dyke, his show (and how a 60 + year old show has timely messages), and all of the things we love about him. We hope you love it so.n 2020, after her divorce, Olivia wanted to create a system of support for the moments in life when we start over. Alongside her sister, Jenny Dreizen, Olivia founded Fresh Starts Registry, and since then, it has been named the “the first divorce registry of its kind” by Forbes. It has been featured in The Wall Street Journal, New York Magazine, Forbes, The Cut, The New York Post, and more. Fresh Starts Registry is the first registry and online platform for everything a person needs to begin their life again after a major life change, such as divorce, job changes, moving, or coming out. They provide a free registry builder and bundles of products based on rooms of the house and budget to eliminate the overwhelm of creating a registry for restarting their life. The platform features 100+ vetted Experts in all categories to support people in all processes of their life changes. It is always free to build a registry and access the experts. Fresh Starts aims to eliminate the overwhelming feeling of starting your life over again with all the home items and Experts you need to empower you on your journey forward.Listen to them on their podcast, A Fresh Story, and find them:Olivia- Instagram and Threads Genevieve- Instagram and Threads

Enjoy this Rewind Episode of Fine Beats and Cheeses! It's "One Tree Hill", a show that I had never watched but am now kinda taken with. Our guest was the amazing Dr. Jessica Rabon! Listen now. Meet us at the basketball court and bring your drama as we talk classic 2000s series, "One Tree Hill" with our guest, Dr. Jessica Rabon. I (Lynne) completely missed this show 20 years ago so I am newly obsessed. Oh my goodness this was a fun conversation!!Also, we have a bonus conversation about our fave TV theme songs on our Patreon, where you can get exclusive subscriber content while supporting us for $5 a month!! Sign-up here! https://www.patreon.com/FineBeatsandCheesesDr. Jessica Rabon is a licensed clinical psychologist specializing in pediatric psychology. Her clinical interests include depression, anxiety, chronic medical illnesses, LGBTQ+ health, and eating disorders. She has published a number of peer-reviewed research papers and a book on topics such as suicide, depression, anxiety, self-compassion, gratitude, and forgiveness. Additionally, Jess creates mental health content on TikTok and Instagram and hosts two podcasts, Psych Talk and Welcome to Group Therapy, with the goal of making mental health more accessible and relatable, and destigmatizing mental health. https://www.facebook.com/jessicaleighphdInstagram: jessicaleighphdhttps://www.youtube.com/channel/UCwVZNyrZU-ThN-q3rsL7rJQhttps://jessicaleighphd.wixsite.com/mysite

Woman. Wo-man. WHOAAAAA Man. If you know what that's from, you'll know that this week on the pod, we are talking Mike Myer's 1993 masterpiece (so say we) "So I Married An Axe Murderer", and our guest is our very own co-host, Lynne Streeter Childress! From time to time, we here on the FBC crew are going to feature us talking about the cheesy things that make us happy. This was such a fun time, and it's a fun conversation, and we hope you like it.Lynne Streeter Childress is a playwright, actor, teaching artist, singer, director, and the founder and artistic director of Building Better People Productions, a professional theater company based in Annapolis, MD, that does shows for young audiences all based in themes of empathy,  kindness, respect and the things that make us all better people. Lynne has been in professional theatre for over 30 years, with much of that experience in theater for young audiences.  This includes performing at the Kennedy Center, Arena Stage and Adventure Theatre, and teaching for institutions like the Folger Shakespeare Library, Everyman Theatre, and Baltimore School for the Arts. Through all those experiences, Lynne has seen firsthand how theater can communicate the most important things in the clearest and most interesting of ways, especially to young people. Lynne is on the Arts In Education roster for the Maryland States Arts Council and the Arts Council of Anne Arundel County, and through Building Better People Productions, has served students served by the Arlington (VA) Humanities Project, Arts Every Day, and the Howard County Arts Council.  Lynne, along with fellow teaching artists Khaleshia Thorpe-Price and Jennifer Ridgway, facilitates Empathy Works, a program that helps organizations discover how empathetic thinking can change their company for the better. She co-hosts the podcast Fine Beats and Cheeses with her twin sister Leslie Gray Streeter and their producer, Sam Lewis. Lynne lives in Annapolis, MD, with her family. You can find her on Facebook, Instagram, Threads and LinkedIn, and you can find Building Better People Productions here to book one of their shows, workshops, residencies and professional development sessions.

"We may be cheesy, but we're still fine" would be our tagline if this show was a contestant on one of the shows in Bravo's "Real Housewives" franchise, but since podcasts can't go on that show, we talk about it with justice and inclusion advocate and consultant (and friend of the show) Melanie Hood-Wilson. We talk the juicy parts of all the shows, but also some insight that you might not have considered. Cool show. Hope you enjoy.Melanie Hood-Wilson is owner and principal consultant at Melanie Hood-Wilson and Associates. In 2020, seeing the turmoil of the global pandemic and the nation-wide reaction to the injustice of the George Floyd murder, her company’s mission changed focus from education to justice, belonging, and inclusion. Melanie specializes in building inclusive systems within organizations to build cultural capacity, retain a diverse team, and better serve stakeholders and attract new customers.You can find Melanie on Facebook, LinkedIn, YouTube, Instagram, and her website.

Sometimes it feels like you really know your fave celebrity and sometimes you REALLY think you know them, when you do not. That's called a parasocial relationship: a one-sided relationship where you feel emotionally connected to a public person that you've never met. It sounds creepy, but we all might, to some extent, get wrapped up in the latest news about people we don't really know. Our guest is podcaster and speaker Meghan Riordan Jarvis. WONDERFUL CONVERSATION! Hope you like it. Meghan Riordan Jarvis is a trauma-trained clinical psychotherapist, author, podcast host, two-time Tedx Speaker, educator, corporate consultant and sought after keynote speaker specializing in trauma and grief and loss. You can find her on Facebook, LinkedIn, and Instagram.

Happy October 31! Enjoy this replay from 2024! Have fun getting candy tonight!♫This is Halloween...Join Personal Development Coach and podcast host Desiree Simone and the crew as we discuss Halloweens! The movies, we mean...Desiree Simone is a Personal Development and Brand Coach, as well as the host of Growth On the Rocks, a fun, informative and sometimes boozy filled podcast where she and her guests tackle everything from relationships, mindset tips, self growth, love and so much more!You can find her on Instagram, LinkedIn, and Threads!

Get ready to be voted off the island or out of the house as we talk Reality Show Villains with our friend and return guest, Dr. Meredith Davis. We discuss people we love to hate, what makes a good villain, and if some of the people portrayed as villainous are not as bad as the shows would want you to believe. It's a good one!Meredith Davis is a solution focused leader that possesses three decades of experience in non-profit, higher education administration and teaching. Davis' focus areas are equity, access, diversity, inclusion, crisis management, leadership development, training and strategic planning. Her educational and pastime expertise is Blackness and the intersections of historical and popular culture. With a degree in sociology, she is obsessed with culture. Her favorite saying is, "If you are willing to do it, I am willing to watch."You can find her on Instagram or on her YouTube channel!

It's a little Halloween Rewind! Grab your Staypuft Marshmallows and listen to this episode from this past February where we talked to our friend Alex Steed about the original 1984 Ghostbusters!Who you gonna call? Us, we hope! Or at least you will listen, as we talk to friend of the show Alex Steed (of the wonderful "You Are Good", a feelings podcast about movies that he hosts with the fabulous Sarah Marshall) about 1984 classic, the original "Ghostbusters". This was fun as heck. You can find Alex on Instagram and Threads!

Here is part 2 of our talk about Ryan Coogler's "Sinners" with writer and actor Latisha Jones. (You can hear Pt. 1 here!) We dig more into this scary, fun and deep movie. We hope you like it!!Latisha Jones is a Writer, Actor and Educator. And host of “Interspectional”, a podcast where she discusses the sci-fi/fantasy media through a social justice lens. You can find her on Instagram.

Today, we talk about a set of twins (who are not Lynne and Leslie) who had to fight vampires and racists all of that as we talk the the brilliant "Sinners" with our brilliant guest: writer and actor Latisha Jones. This was such a good conversation that we looked at the clock and realized we weren't anywhere near done, and scheduled a second episode to finish (which you will here next week). There are so many layers to this movie, and we tried to dig into some of them. We hope you like it, and that you join us for next week.Latisha Jones is a Writer, Actor and Educator. And host of “Interspectional”, a podcast where she discusses the sci-fi/fantasy media through a social justice lens. You can find her on Instagram.

Today, we discuss CBS' reality juggernaut, "Big Brother" with our guest, leadership expert John Poitevent! And you didn't have to uproot your life and live in a house with strangers for months: you just have to listen to this episode. Enjoy! This was a great conversation. John has a passion for helping leaders and organizations achieve the fullness of their unique potential. For over 30 years he has worked in a variety of roles with non-profits and faith based organizations. Through The Vocari Group, he helps teams gain mission clarity, discover new possibilities and experience breakthroughs. His work has taken him to all fifty states and 15 countries, most recently facilitating a Small Business Bootcamp in Suubi, Uganda. In his free time John loves exploring and experiencing the great outdoors. On a long weekend you'll likely find him camping, biking, hiking, kayaking or fly fishing.You can find out more about John and what he does at https://www.vocarigroup.com/.

We are so excited to be talking about 1986's outer space adventure about a fierce woman and her associates fighting with extraterrestrials, "Aliens" because our guest is 3-time Fine Beats and Cheeses guest, and our friend, cartoonist, graphic novelist, and reality TV legend, Judd Winick. This is a long one because we all like to talk, and then Sam had to leave early, so Leslie and Judd and Lynne kept going, and Sam has forgiven us. Right, Sam? But anyway, it's awesome and we adore Judd and we hope you love this episode!Judd Winick is a screenwriter and an award-winning cartoonist. Judd has scripted issues of bestselling comic series, including Batman, Green Lantern, Green Arrow, Justice League, and Star Wars, and has also been head writer on the Hulu network’s animated series, The Awesomes. Judd also appeared as a cast member of MTV’s The Real World: San Francisco and is the author of the highly acclaimed graphic novel Pedro and Me, about his Real World roommate and friend, AIDS activist Pedro Zamora. He is also the author of kid graphic novels series, "Hilo". He lives in San Francisco with his wife, Pam Ling; their two kids; and their cats, Chaka and Sleestak.You can find him on Instagram, Facebook, and here!

This week, it's all things Carrie Bradshaw and crew as we talk "And Just Like That", the continuation of HBO's classic series, "Sex and the City" with our guest (and friend from Lynne and Leslie's days in church teen choir), Dawn Davis. Note: we did an episode on SATC when AJLT was in its earlier days, but are revisiting that universe now! This was a really good talk about friendship, legacy, and returning to things you previously loved (and all that comes with that). Enjoy!Dawn Davis grew up as both a corporate army brat and preacher’s kid, weaving her active imagination and colorful experiences into short stories while still in elementary school. In semi retirement she works as an assistant to a real estate broker. When she’s not writing, working, or wrangling life, she can be found by the water with a good book and a glass of champagne. Dawn lives in Annapolis with her husband, children, and dog. You can find her on Facebook and Instagram.

Something IS out there as we talk 2000s pretty teen alien TV drama, "Roswell", with our guest, Nichole Land. This was such a fun one and you will love it!Nichole says:My name is Nichole Land. I am a Rockville, Maryland Resident. I work at Montgomery College, a Community College in Montgomery County, MD where I was just recently promoted to the position of Executive Associate II of the Vice President of Workforce Development & Continuing Education. I have work at the College for 9 years. I was also a student at Montgomery College, later obtaining a bachelors degree from Maryland University and then a master's degree from Morgan State University. I began my career at a non-profit called Interfaith Works, specializing in wraparound homeless services in Montgomery County, before coming to Montgomery College. My passion is in Education and uplifting the community through faith, education, and a helping hand. Some of my hobbies include listening to music, attending concerts, plays, traveling and sitting by the Ocean. Oh, and eating a good meal! :)

Get your Shbop Shbop on today and gather around the street lamp with your friends as we explore the delightful tones of Doo Wop music with our friend, author and podcaster, Emily Edwards. Fun show! Emily J. Edwards earned her degree in Writing, Literature, and Publishing from Emerson College and took the long road to becoming an author, working for over a decade as a wine and spirits journalist, radio producer, and co-host of the podcast, Ticklish Business. She currently resides in Los Angeles with her husband, and several quadrupeds. Pronouns: she/her/hersYou can find Emily on Facebook and Instagram!

Venture back to September 2023 where we talked to our friend Geraldine DeRuiter about the Piano Man himself, Billy Joel. This episode was joy. We've wanted to do this episode for The Longest Time: we talk about Billy Joel!! WE LOVE HIM, and so does our guest, culture writer Geraldine DeRuiter. We talk about the relatability, joy, and thoughtfulness of his music, and why it holds up. Such fun. Geraldine DeRuiter is the James Beard Award-winning food and culture writer behind Everywhereist.com and the author of All Over the Place: Adventures in Travel, True Love, and Petty Theft and If You Can't Take the Heat: Tales of Food, Feminism, and Fury (which Lynne listened to on Audible and was sad when it was over). Her writing has appeared in The Washington Post, The New Yorker’s “Daily Shouts,” Marie Claire, and Refinery 29, and a few other places.You can find Geraldine at her website, The Everywherist, on Facebook, and Instagram.

Join us as we avenge Keanu Reeve's movie dog as we talk the first installment of the sensitive hitman movie series, "John Wick", with returning guest and friend of the show, Robin Peace. We talk revenge, the cutest dog in the world, grief, the awesomeness of the aforementioned Mr. Reeves, and more. Check it out. Robin is the author and poet, R. R. Peace who published her debut fantasy novel, The Geldian Prophecy: Ascendence last August and published a book of poetry this July called Diary of a Black GenXer: 1990-1999. She currently lives in Maryland with her cat, Oreo, who would definitely go John Wick on anyone who tries to hurt him!You can find Robin on Facebook, Instagram, and on her website!

Come with us back to October 2023 for this Rewind episode about wearing what you want, including supposedly unhip things like cargo pants! You know that favorite thing that you love to wear and buy over and over again no one else understands and you DON'T CARE? We do too! We talked to PR, Marketing, and communications expert Julie Khanna about her love of cargo pants, and the rest of us talk about the apparel that makes us consistently happy. We say this every week, but yes, this was a fun one.Julie Khanna enjoys connecting clients to their target audiences through creative and exciting tactics and individualized strategies. As a result, she is the founder and owner behind two thriving media-related companies: Khanna Connections, a public relations, strategic communications, and media marketing agency specializing in the medical, health, and wellness industries, and Khanna House Studios, a full-production YouTube, podcast, and content creation studio located in Wellington, Florida, that also provides in-studio and onsite videography. With years of documented experience and secured media placements, Khanna and her team successfully secure top-level local and national media coverage for their clients and provide executive thought leadership on increasing brand visibility. Keeping a pulse on all sides of media, Khanna is the editor-in-chief of The Well of PBC magazine, a columnist for Ask The Docs in Around Wellington & a contributor to USAWire. You can find Julie on Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, and at Khannaconnections.com.

We take a trip back to the 70s, 80s and back to now as we sing, in a gravelly soulful voice, the praises of one Michael McDonald, Brother of Doobie, maestro of the piano, and owner of cool hair. Our guest is our friend, musician, author, and mental health advocate Andrew Walen, who is a longtime friend of Lynne and Leslie's, and a longtime devoted fan of Michael McDonald's. This was a really really fun episode, where we talk reinvention, fandom, and why we don't like the term "Yacht Rock", while we love the music put in that genre. We hope you love it. Andrew Walen, a magna cum laude graduate from Berklee College of Music ('95). His journey began with him moving from Boston to Nashville where he thrived as a singer/songwriter and guitarist. Known for his performances in the iconic Lower Broadway clubs, Andrew released several CDs and had his songs recorded by artists across various genres, including children's music, R&B, rock, and country. Andrew later shifted his talents to music journalism, writing for both local and national publications. Andrew earned a degree in social work from the University of Tennessee and built a successful 20-year career as a psychotherapist and mental health executive in Nashville and Baltimore. Andrew felt drawn back to his first love: music. He opened the School of Rock in Pikesville, where he combines his deep industry knowledge and therapeutic skills to inspire and mentor the next generation of musicians. You can find him and School of Rock Pikesville on Facebook, Instagram and YouTube, and you can find the article that Leslie wrote about Andrew for the Baltimore Banner here!

I hope you're happy today, because today you're getting served this hilarious and fun episode about 2004's dance battle spectacular featuring 2000's cute boys like Marques Houston and the band B2K. We are joined by return guest Dr. Briana Barner, who previously talked about podcasts themselves. Y'all, this was a jubilant and joyous good time, and we did it all for Lil Saint (you'll have to watch the movie or listen to the episode for that to make sense). Dr. Briana Barner is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Communication at the University of Maryland. She received a doctorate in Radio-Television-Film and a doctoral portfolio in Women’s and Gender Studies from the University of Texas. Briana also earned a Master’s in Women’s and Gender Studies from UT. She is an interdisciplinary critical and cultural communications scholar with research interests in Black podcasts, digital and Black feminism, digital media, Black cultural production and representation. Her work has been published in Radio Journal: International Studies in Broadcast & Audio Media, Film Quarterly, and the edited collection Saving New Sounds: Podcast Preservation and Historiography, Feminist Approaches to Media Theory and Research and Black Sisterhoods: Paradigms and Praxis. Briana is currently working on a manuscript about the cultural production of Black podcasts.Find her on Facebook , Instagram and here!

We'll tell you what we want, what we really really want, and that's for you to listen to this hilariously awesome conversation with past guest Melinda Hare about The Spice Girls'1997's classic campy music movie extravaganza, "Spice World". It was a hoot and a half and we hope you love it. About Melinda:"Born/raised in Northern California, I have a background in costume design and construction for theatre. BA from San Francisco state university, MFA from university of Washington. I have worked in professional and educational theatre. I co-created and co-host Haute Set Podcast, a movie podcast with a particular focus on the costume design. "You can find her on Instagram. To support the Fine Beats Crew:Buy Leslie's critically acclaimed new novel, Family and Other Calamities! It's awesome!Book Lynne to perform for your school, library or other group with her theater company, Building Better People Productions! They use drama for kindness!Check out Producer Sam and all his creativity!

You ever make a deal with evil spirits and stop aging but all your oldness and evil goes into a painting you have hidden in your house?Me either, but Dorian Gray from the Oscar Wilde novel "The Picture of Dorian Gray" did, and we discuss the 1945 movie based on that novel with visual artist Donja Hamlin Houston (who Leslie and Lynne have known since middle school). This was a really thoughtful conversation about good and evil and all the things and we hope you like it!Donja Hamlin Houston is a local Baltimore artist who works in education. You can find her on Facebook.

2/3 of the Fine Beats team and their people are out of town on Leslie's book tour for her new novel, "Family And Other Calamities" (which you should totally read), so today we go back to November 2023 for this rewind episode!Once upon we were falling in love, but now we're only do a podcast!! Today we are talking about the dramatic 1980s classic "Total Eclipse of the Heart" by Bonnie Tyler with our guest, Emmy-award winning voiceover actor, Christopher Walker. We talked that song plus others written by Jim Steinman, who penned bombastic amazing songs for Miss Tyler, Celine Dion, Air Supply, and most famously, Meatloaf. We talk drama and rock and weird 80s videos and it was all delightful. It doesn't disappoint, because we would do anything for love, but we won't do THAT, y'all. Christopher Walker is a dad and and husband, an apprentice creative director for Graphic Audio, an actor, the voice of Disappeared on the ID channel, a writer and former trade press journalist, and the guy who peed on Paul Rudd in Living With Yourself. He loves to cook and enjoys actual cheeses.And he is also the best person ever, says Lynne, who was in a play with him 25 years ago.You can find Christopher on Facebook and Instagram

You ever been annoyed by a show or movie, but something keeps you watching it anyway? Then listen to today's new episode, where we talk Hatewatching with our guest Paula Chase. We discuss finding something good in the things that we kinda don't like. It's a fun one.Co-founder of award-winning blog, The Brown Bookshelf, Paula Chase is a long time Inclusion advocate and recipient of the ALAN Konigsberg Award for her advocacy. Her critically acclaimed upper MG and lower YA books blazed the trail for books tackling tough topics for young readers. Chase holds a B.S. in Communication from James Madison University. She resides in Maryland with her husband. Together, they’ve raised two daughters. More about her writing can be found at www.paulachasebooks.com . You can also find Paula on Instagram and YouTube.

Come go on the hunt for mysterious creatures as we talk the CW's long-running show, "Supernatural" with author Beth A. Freely. With nine full-length novels and five novellas under her belt, award-winning author Beth A. Freely recently moved to the village of Hope, New Mexico, with a population of “113 if you count our cats.” She is currently writing multiple novels at the same time while also editing one in anticipation of its 10th anniversary this year.Quick-witted and full of energy, Beth loves to be on the receiving and giving end of a good, fun interview, bringing her unique perspective to the subject. She is a compassionate editor who celebrates each author's unique voice, offering thoughtful guidance to enhance their work. With a talent for creating not just functional but customer-focused websites, Beth ensures every project shines with creativity and purpose.You can find Beth on Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube.

(We had some tech issues earlier with this episode where it posted the wrong one. This is the right one now :) )Get ready to be delighted by a delightful episode of a delightful TV show with a delightful guest, as we discuss sweet Australian animated kids (and everyone else) fave, "Bluey", with podcaster Juan Santana. This was a really sweet conversation about how wisdom falls from the mouths of babes (and things written and produced for them). We hope you enjoy!Juan Santana is a Spaniard living in the UK and cohost of the 2 legit 2 Crit podcast, a show about table top role-playing games. You can find him on Instagram and YouTube.