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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

00:19:02

Ep 98: Summer Plans & These Hands ☀️

Midday Movies ·

2024/04/30

Today we’re talking fun-in-the-sun as summer approaches! Whether it is the beach-y days or bonfire nights, the summer season is a reason to celebrate. We chat about 9pm sunsets, state fairs, camping, and national parks — getting fired up and ready to take on the long, long days. In the PNW, residents take aggressive advantage of these short months of sun. What’s your favorite summertime activity? What, to you, constitutes a “hike” (asking for a friend)? Is the sunshine noticeably improving your

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00:21:08

Ep 97: The Thing About Farm Animals

Midday Movies ·

2024/04/26

Today the sun is out and we’re talking about the cool leisure activities available to you this spring — state fairs and all their attendant pleasures! We’re discussing fair food, artisan crafts, blue ribbon domestic animals, and having a good time. Work hard, leisure hard. We’re sharing our favorite, extreme food options — “food that wouldn’t dare present [themselves] in a restaurant” and our favorite award-seeking 4-H offerings/child’s crafts. “Stardew Valley” and the importance of grange displays

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00:23:29

Ep 96: What’s Your Favorite Apocalypse

Midday Movies ·

2024/04/25

Today we’re discussing apocalyptic scenarios we’d like to tackle — nuclear wastelands, zombie viruses, alien invasion, climate collapses, and pandemic shutdowns. We share our favorite fictional ends-of-the-world — referencing “Fallout” (2024), “Hunger Games” (by Suzanne Collins), “Station Eleven” (by Emily St. John Mandel), “Severence” (by Ling Ma), “Cold People” (by Tom Rob Smith), “The Leftovers” (2014-2017), and “28 Days Later” (Dir. Danny Boyle, written by Alex Garland). No one wants the world

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00:28:19

Ep 95: Aftermath of A24’s “Civil War” (dir. Alex...

Midday Movies ·

2024/04/24

Today we’re taking a deep look at Alex Garland’s most recent project, “Civil War” (2024, A24 Studios), starring Kirsten Dunst, Wagner Moura, Cailee Spaeny, and Nick Offerman, and depicting the late stages of a fictitious modern American Civil War. (Special shoutout to Kevin Ryan of the “Tyrants in Training” podcast, who gave us a window into another example of a bad president.) The film, “Civil War,” follows the story of four combat journalists in pursuit of a final interview with the

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00:22:45

Ep 94: Analyzing the “Fallout” TV & Game Series

Midday Movies ·

2024/04/23

Today we’re discussing the new Prime Video series “Fallout” (2024) —executive-produced by “Westworld” creators Jonathan Nolan and Lisa Joy — as well as its progenitor video game series, “Fallout” (1997-2019). Our co-hosts have got Uranium fever and are giving props to the series’ breakout stars Walton Goggins (playing “The Ghoul”), Ella Purnell (playing a Vault-born heroine), and Aaron Moten (playing a member of the Brotherhood of Steel) who all represent different moral approaches to life in the

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00:21:08

Ep 93: Red Flags Friday Featuring Serial Killers &...

Midday Movies ·

2024/04/19

Today we’re once again unboxing Grim Rabbit Games’ “Red Flags Card Game” for another thrilling edition of Red Flags Friday. Laura and Stephen introduce each other to appealing potential dates (indicated by White Flags cards) and then proceed to ruin the dating candidate ( with ever-increasing Red Flags cards). This time around, Stephen introduces a potential mate with a powerfully persuasive White Flag and Laura finds out Stephen’s secret fetish — will it matter if these dates are serial killers

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00:23:19

Ep 92: Cultivating Connection with “We're Not Really...

Midday Movies ·

2024/04/18

Today we’re unboxing the viral card game, “We’re Not Really Strangers,” an interactive way to get to know people on a deeper level. Using three skillfully crafted levels of game questions, “Perception,” “Connection,” and “Reflection,” Laura and Stephen delve into exchanges designed to deepen the connections between people — from strangers to those with relationships that have lasted for years. Our co-hosts learn new things about each other and get vulnerable in the face of “We’re Not Really

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00:31:54

Ep 91: “The Regime” (2024) — Winners, Losers, and...

Midday Movies ·

2024/04/17

Today we’re discussing the final episode of HBO Max’s miniseries “The Regime” (2024), titled “Don’t Yet Rejoice.” Chancellor Elena Vernham’s (played by Kate Winslet) government has fallen to insurgents, Corporal Herbert Zubak (played by Matthias Schoenaerts) is leading them through the back alleys of the capital city, and survival is not assured. Will Tracy’s sweeping 6-episode account of one horrid year in this Central European country terminates with a battle between factions, geopolitical

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00:23:15

Ep 90: “The Regime” (2024) — Civil War, Denial, and...

Midday Movies ·

2024/04/16

Today we’re breaking down episode 5 of HBO Max’s miniseries, “The Regime” (2024) starring Kate Winslet and created by Will Tracy. It’s six months into the Central European country’s civil unrest and it’s Christmastime in “All Ye Faithful.” Rebels are at the gate, Chancellor Elena is in denial, and the couple’s therapist is on call — Zubak (played by Matthias Schoenaerts) and Vernham are playing house while the country’s power base is reordered. The stakes are high, the players are manic, and the

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00:19:55

Ep 89: Less Work, More Fun

Midday Movies ·

2024/04/12

Today we’re discussing the four-day workweek movement that seeks to give Americans a 32-hour standard work schedule as well as the rash of TV series’ adaptations of popular video games. In praise of this glorious potential future, we discuss the history of the labor movement (which brought us from 6 workdays to 5 in the early 20th century) and how we would spend our additional leisure time. Laura reveals her radical political support of the 3-day workweek and reviews Tim Ferris’s famous

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00:19:42

Ep 88: Health & Ease

Midday Movies ·

2024/04/11

Today we’re discussing health, hygiene, and introducing ease into your life. How have your day-to-day health habits changed since the COVID lockdown? Do you remember the health PSAs from the 20th century? And has the news been scaring you about what in your own kitchen can kill you? We talk personal hygiene preferences and fears, the habit recommendations of James Clear’s self-help book, “Atomic Habits,” and how healthcare fits into our daily lives. Whether your family has religious beliefs that

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00:18:57

Ep 87: Are the British Always Evil

Midday Movies ·

2024/04/10

Today we’re discussing the British phenomenon in American media — are they villains? Are they romantic leads? Are they action heroes? Discussing everyone from Tom Hiddleston to Cillian Murphy to Trevor Noah, we identify the roles culture allows them to play. Marvel movies and series are referenced, James Bond 007 movies are dissected, and the impact of the Daily Show is discussed with an eye towards the history of the British empire (and everyone they’ve imperialized). It’s the Americans versus the

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00:21:22

Ep 86: Forming Friendships

Midday Movies ·

2024/04/09

Today we’re talking about the basis of strong, meaningful friendships — with the backdrop of Mercury Retrograde. How do you square the circle between introverts and extroverts? What facilitates the formation of close relationships with others and what prevents it? How do you find your tribe? We dig in deep and ask whether people-pleasing is secretly sabotaging your social group, what connects people in the loose, self-deterministic adult friendship world, and is there in fact a hidden key to

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00:25:17

Ep 85: Romance & Rejection on Red Flags Friday

Midday Movies ·

2024/04/05

It’s a very special episode of Midday Musings — Red Flags Friday! We open the box on Grim Rabbit Games’ “Red Flags Card Game” and sort between romantic red flags and white flags in potential mates. What traits entice you enough to overlook serious red flags versus what are absolute dealbreakers? What baggage are you willing to lift? How important is physical attraction? Do you favor power over kindness? We reference Redditor wisdom and personal preferences for a no-holds-barred game of red flags,

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00:19:44

Ep 84: How to Have Fun

Midday Movies ·

2024/04/04

This Thursday is all about fun! When you’re in a rut and droopy from a lack of fun, what can you do? Laura shares her way-too-intense media consumption (“Quiet on Set,” “Zone of Interest,” and “Fantasticland”) and how it’s impacting her mental health, and Stephen offers the succor of coziness. Listening to your heart, relaxing, and diversifying your activities are all discussed as fun alternatives to the doldrums of productivity culture. Join us for a positive chat about improving the fun in your

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00:23:50

Ep 83: “The Regime” (2024) — Parsing the Politics of...

Midday Movies ·

2024/04/03

Today we’re taking no (political) prisoners as we discuss “The Regime’s” (2024, created by Will Tracy) fourth episode, “Midnight Feast” in which the Colonel Zubek (Matthias Schoenaerts) and Chancellor Elena Vernham (Kate Winslet) saga continues. Loyalties are tested and “1984” (George Orwell) is heavily referenced as Hugh Grant makes an appearance on this episode as a centrist alternative to Elena’s madcap authoritarianism. Politics of the heart and the mind are compared as both the country and the

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00:21:19

Ep 82: “The Regime” (2024) — Unpacking “The...

Midday Movies ·

2024/04/02

Today we discuss episodes 2 (“The Foundling”) and 3 (“Heroes’ Banquet”) of Will Tracy’s HBO Max series, “The Regime,” starring Kate Winslet. Chancellor Elena Vernham’s saga continues as she embraces folk medicine and populist ideals at the prompting of her unlikely advisor and confidant Corporal Zubek (played by Matthias Schoenaerts). Power displays, family dynamics, and political lunacy are the order of this regime and we’re charting the progress of HBO Max’s limited series from episode 2 (wherein

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00:23:37

Ep 81: Core Life Skills

Midday Movies ·

2024/03/29

Today we’re discussing the stuff of life — optimal sleep strategies, the power of hydration, and solving survival in the modern era. Comparing our Garmin watch “body battery” levels, we commiserate on heavy life demands and suboptimal rest. The television show “Resident Alien” (starring Alan Tudyk) says a human body needs 10 hours of sleep and Laura agrees. How do you sleep that much and that well? Preparation! Additional life strategies are discussed through the lens of “personal supply lines” and

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00:19:48

Ep 80: Managing Stress

Midday Movies ·

2024/03/27

Today we discuss managing the pressure of unexpected events and family emergencies — how do you cope? What are actions you can take to minimize disruption to your life when curveballs are thrown? This week offered up many challenges and Laura and Stephen had to field them. Whether you choose to prioritize your obligations or abandon them in the face of one big new problem, there are pros and cons. Sharing their strategies and offering up honest reflections, our co-hosts give advice and reiterate

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00:20:43

Ep 79: Romance & Other Gimmicks

Midday Movies ·

2024/03/22

Today we’re discussing romantic fiction and reality — inspired by Laura’s week-long battle with Elif Batuman’s novel “The Idiot.” A Pulitzer Prize finalist book about youth and first love, Stephen and Laura are inspired to chat about love interests in literature (shoutout to “Conversations with Friends” by Sally Rooney), and how love works in real life. Assessing romantic “types” and their accompanying “gimmicks,” we’re getting real about romance. Let’s get into it!Follow us on your favorite

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