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PODCAST

Midday Movies

Laura Fones and Stephen Frothingham

Welcome to the Midday Movies podcast, provider of fun, funny, and thoughtful media reviews 2-3x a week. Streaming on @radiotacoma101.9 every Tues/Thurs/Sat at 3pm.

tv & film

All Episodes

00:25:14

Ep 136: More First Date Questions from Relationship...

Midday Movies ·

2024/07/05

Once again, we’re sharing some of the “150 Best Questions To Ask On A First Date, According to Relationship Experts” (Women’s Health Magazine, 2024). With insights from Lisa Marie Bobby, PhD., Tara Suwinyattichaiporn, PhD., and Courtney Tracy, LCSW, PsyD, we share even more of the relationship insights and effective first date questions to keep your conversations constructive and free-flowing. Discovering personality markers for new people and easing the social anxiety of initial interactions are

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00:22:32

Ep 135: What’s Your Favorite Type of Horror

Midday Movies ·

2024/07/03

Today we’re discussing our favorite horror motifs from films, television, and games (shoutout to The Recap Rewatch for inspiring a “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” rewatch). Whether it’s Ariana Grande wanting to have dinner with Jeffrey Dahmer or Stephen getting spooky with the forest-cabin settings of “Evil Dead” and “Until Dawn,” every horror fan wants their spine tingled. What’s YOUR favorite type of horror? And what does horror allow us to imagine that other genres don’t? Prepare for Summerween with

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00:24:25

Ep 134: Top Indie Games on Itch.io

Midday Movies ·

2024/07/02

Today we’re digging into some of the top-rated games on user-generated indie game platform Itch.io. Games include “Night of the Consumer,” “Crawler,” “Baby Blues Nightmare,” and more. We discuss the unique game mechanics and themes that indie developers can offer a player that AAA games cannot (due to profit incentive). Whether it’s horror elements or unusual player-insert characters, there’s a world of indie brilliance in the game development space. Join us as we celebrate these small creators and

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00:22:24

Ep 133: First Date Questions from Relationship...

Midday Movies ·

2024/06/28

Today we’re sharing some of the “150 Best Questions To Ask On A First Date, According to Relationship Experts” (Women’s Health Magazine, 2024). With insights from Lisa Marie Bobby, PhD., Tara Suwinyattichaiporn, PhD., and Courtney Tracy, LCSW, PsyD, this list provides listeners with some conversational prompts that serve to invite deeper connections and more interesting conversations. Sharing some of our answers to probing questions and priming any potential daters, this list of first date questions

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00:21:06

Ep 132: Digital Minimalism: Choosing a Focused Life...

Midday Movies ·

2024/06/27

Today we’re discussing Cal Newport’s book, “Digital Minimalism: Choosing a Focused Life in a Noisy World” and how a reduction in device use might just better our lives. Stephen shares his insights as a recent reader of the self-development / digital discipline book and Laura shares findings from behavioral science studies that reveal clues as to why digital life is so addicting. The goal is increased focus and in Cal Newport’s book he gives his characteristic non-nonsense advice for the modern

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00:24:03

Ep 131: House of the Dragon Season 2 (HBO MAX, 2024)

Midday Movies ·

2024/06/26

Today we’re reviewing the premiere episode of the much-awaited GoT prequel, “House of the Dragon.” Emma D’Arcy, Olivia Cooke, Matt Smith, and Rhys Ifans reprise their roles as the adult members of the Targaryen and Hightower clans, who last season were poised to clash in civil war. Despite the two year delay between seasons, viewers occupy the immediate aftermath of King Viserys’ death and the succession crisis it creates. Now the children of these two families (the Greens and the Blacks, as fans

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00:22:09

Ep 130: Inside Out 2 and the Science of Emotion...

Midday Movies ·

2024/06/25

Today we’re discussing the 2024 sequel to Pixar’s 2015 classic, “Inside Out.” Amy Poehler reprises her role as “Joy,” main character Riley’s primary emotion. Joining the cast is Maya Hawke as “Anxiety,” one of Riley’s new pubescent emotions. In this film, our main character is now 13, going through puberty, leaving middle school, and navigating increasingly complex emotional landscapes. Joy, Anger, Fear, Disgust, and Sadness are now joined by Anxiety, Ennui, Envy, and Embarrassment in Riley’s

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00:23:18

Ep 129: Maxton Hall: The World Between Us (Prime...

Midday Movies ·

2024/06/21

Today we’re discussing the internationally popular young adult contemporary romance series, “Maxton Hall: the World Between Us” (streaming on Prime Video). Inspired by the Mona Kasten novel, “Save Me” and starring Harriet Herbig-Matten and Damien Hardung as socioeconomically- and ideologically-opposed students at the elite preparatory school Maxton Hall, viewers are gifted an enemies-to-lovers narrative with rich-versus-poor stakes. Competently constructed and enjoyable, this series is indicative of

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00:20:43

Ep 128: Zombie Survivalism in “Project Zomboid”...

Midday Movies ·

2024/06/20

Today we’re discussing indie zombie survival horror game, “Project Zomboid” (produced and published by The Indie Stone). Originally built as a Sims mod, this hardcore-difficulty game presents its players with 4 available Kentucky environments in which to attempt survival, using more than a dozen player-character types, and personalizing your playthrough further with good and bad traits. Designed to be unwinnable, Project Zomboid challenges players to test their “zombie apocalypse” strategies against

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00:24:08

Ep 127: Is this a Simulation? Discussing “Sims 4” (EA)

Midday Movies ·

2024/06/19

Today we’re discussing the iconic video game series, “The Sims,” where players can simulate buckets of lives and lifestyles in a charming, funny, simulated world peopled with NPC characters, fantasy monsters, and magical environments. This game contains resource and emotional management mechanics as well as commercial actions that players use to advance in the game (and maybe to reflect real physical and emotional systems). What is a game? And what can this game teach you about living a better life

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00:23:48

Ep 126: Is It Good To Be The King? Reviewing “Ren...

Midday Movies ·

2024/06/18

Today we’re talking about the new HBO Max docuseries, “Ren Faire,” which depicts the King Lear / Succession-esque drama at America’s largest renaissance faire, the Texas Renaissance Festival. Directed by Lance Oppenheimer, we follow the founder/mayor/ “king” of this Renaissance Festival town, named George Coulam, who is preparing to retire to focus on finding a romantic partner. His retirement opens up the highest position at the country’s most profitable festival, and three employees are eyeing the

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00:25:09

Ep 125: The Art of Joy

Midday Movies ·

2024/06/14

Today we’re talking about the art of joy — where it comes from, how to find it, and whether or not it’s connected to outcome. We’re given scripts to follow and conventions to uphold, but is that recipe one that leads to joy? Will buying everything society tells you to buy make you happy? Did comic book heroes lie to you about what is achievable in the first twenty-five years of your life? And is the culturally-enforced narrative of joy just a complex game meant to pass the time while you toil away

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00:22:04

Ep 124: Puppets and Pain with “Eric” (Netflix, 2024)

Midday Movies ·

2024/06/13

Today we’re discussing the new top 10 Netflix miniseries, “Eric,” starring Benedict Cumberbatch, Gaby Hoffmann, McKinley Blecher III, and Dan Fogler (of “Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them”). Created by Abi Morgan, this is a detective noir that takes place in gritty 1980s-era New York City. Featuring a plot-critical puppet and creeping madness, this family drama is sure to make you go, “Jeeeeezzzz 😬”. We talk family dynamics, broken window theory, and the backdrop of New York’s uniquely

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00:22:55

Ep 123: PNW Summer Madness

Midday Movies ·

2024/06/12

Today we’re discussing summer in the Pacific Northwest — we’ve got boats, boards, and buckets of festivals. It’s three long months of joy, togetherness, and not thinking about general elections. What’s your favorite PNW summer activity? How will you and the gang of your choice be taking advantage of the sun madness? Is death or an indeterminate period of suffering the more terrifying prospect? Like the Marvel series, this period of time is marvelous. No Seattle Freeze, every day is a beach day, and

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00:26:27

Ep 122: Jurassic World: Chaos Theory and Other Theories

Midday Movies ·

2024/06/11

Today we’re talking about the new top 10 Netflix animated series, “Jurassic World: Chaos Theory.” Following the events of “Jurassic World: Camp Cretaceous,” this dinosaur action series is a mystery-slash-roadtrip adventure that brings together the campers of Camp Cretaceous who are being potential pursued by the nefarious forces of InGen. Additionally, we share our favorite prehistoric megafauna and megaflora — with thought to the possible applications of modern dinosaur technology, whether for the

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00:23:02

Ep 121: Soup, Social Systems & StrengthsFinder

Midday Movies ·

2024/06/07

Today we’re discussing soup, social systems, and StrengthsFinder 2.0 (by Don Clifton). Do you have favorite recipes that you return to again and again? Is it easy or difficult for you to connect to new people on the first meeting? What is your top strength according to the corporate-approved personality test StrengthsFinder from Gallup? We discuss breakfast (which can contain protein or a good book), air fryer recipes, and the best food in the world (TM). Nutritional content and how you can use one

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00:25:44

Ep 120: Dancing for the Devil: The 7M TikTok Cult...

Midday Movies ·

2024/06/06

Today we’re discussing the Netflix top 10 docuseries, “Dancing for the Devil: The 7M TikTok Cult” (2024, dir. Derek Doneen). In this too-strange-to-be-fiction documentary, TikTok dancers join a management firm (7M) tied to a church (Shekinah church), uncovering disturbing truths about the founder’s (Robert Shinn) sinister agenda. Impacting the families of several viral TikTokers, including the Wilking Sisters, this docuseries takes you through the disturbing 20-year story of serial predator Pastor

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00:23:05

Ep 119: Indie Game: “Voices of the Void” (mrdrnose,...

Midday Movies ·

2024/06/05

Today we are discussing a video game that has been the obsession of the Midday Musings household for over a month, “Voices of the Void.” A free pre-Alpha game available for download on the itch.io PC gaming platform, this SETI simulator/slow horror survival game is created and maintained by one developer, EternityDev (aka Mr.Dr.Nose) and inspired by Signal Simulator, SETI, and the SCP Foundation. With over 23k fans on the “Voices of the Void” Reddit platform, we think it’s worthy of introduction to

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00:26:31

Ep 118: So Tell Me About Bodkin (Netflix, 2024)

Midday Movies ·

2024/06/04

Today we’re discussing the current top 10 Netflix show, “Bodkin,” a many-layered mystery/offbeat comedy starring Will Forte and Siobhan Cullen. Taking place in the small hamlet of Bodkin in modern day Ireland, this series follows an embattled Guardian journalist, young researcher, and American podcaster in pursuit of a cold case mystery surrounding the Samhain festival 20 years earlier. Unique Bodkin personalities, a sinister town culture, and the off-screen unraveling of the main characters’ lives

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00:23:20

Ep 117: Ashley Madison: Sex, Lies, and Scandal (2024)...

Midday Movies ·

2024/05/31

Today we are doing part 2 of 2 on the Netflix’s docuseries, “Ashley Madison: Sex, Lies, and Scandal.” We will be concluding our Ashley Madison series with a discussion of an unconventional couple featured in the docuseries, the supposed discretion of user data on the site, the fallout of the 2015 hack, and what influences people to cheat. We discuss the possible reasons that so many Christian couples were impacted by the Ashley Madison hack. We share issues we’ve encountered as a couple in a decade

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297 results

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