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PODCAST

Back To Pop

Back to Pop Podcast: Your All-Access Pass to Pop Culture IconsDive headfirst into the vibrant world of pop culture with the “Back to Pop Podcast,” where we celebrate the legends and lore of the entertainment universe. From the visionaries behind the scenes to the iconic faces in front of the camera, we bring you exclusive, heart-to-heart conversations with the diverse talents that have shaped our cultural landscape.“Back to Pop” is not just a podcast; it’s a vibrant dialogue with the movers and

tv & film film interviews

All Episodes

69:20

Ep: 74 Dancing Between the Raindrops with Nelson Aspen

Back To Pop ·

2026/04/16

Send us Fan Mail He’s covered the Oscars, the Golden Globes, and decades of Hollywood from the red carpet out. Now Nelson Aspen is turning the lens on himself. Nelson joins Back to Pop to talk about Dancing Between the Raindrops: Happily Ever After? — the final chapter in his trilogy blending romance, identity, and the unfiltered realities behind the spotlight. It’s a book that feels lived-in, because it is. We dig into reinvention in middle age, the tension between wanting intimacy an...

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82:32

EP: 73 “Bob Budiansky on Building the Original...

Back To Pop ·

2026/04/09

Send us Fan Mail He named 200 characters like Megatron, Starscream, Grimlock, Bumblebee, Prowl, and more . He wrote the character bibles that turned a line of Japanese toys into one of the most beloved franchises in pop culture history — and most people have never heard his name. Bob Budiansky spent 20 years at Marvel Comics as an editor, writer, and penciller. He drew Ghost Rider covers for five years, co-plotted the conclusion of the original Johnny Blaze run, and wrote The Transformers fr...

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52:58

EP: 72 Jeremy Robinson: Blood, Butterflies, and...

Back To Pop ·

2026/04/02

Send us Fan Mail Jeremy Robinson has written nearly 100 novels. He’s a #1 Audible and New York Times bestselling author published in 14 languages. His kaiju series Project Nemesis is in development at Sony Pictures Television with John Wick director Chad Stahelski. And now he’s back where he started — in comics. But he’s not adapting his novels. He’s creating something new. Nectar, the debut title from Robinson’s own Breakneck Comics imprint at Vault Comics, is a 19th-century gothic fol...

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64:44

Ep: 71 Comics, Games, and the End of Everything:...

Back To Pop ·

2026/03/26

Send us Fan Mail William Harms has spent thirty years building worlds — and the dead ones are his best work yet. From small press comics in the early ‘90s to writing Captain America and Wolverine for Marvel, to crafting the entire story of inFAMOUS for PlayStation 3 (IGN’s Best Story of the Year, 2009), to serving as Narrative Director on Mafia III — a BAFTA-nominated game that ended up in a Victoria and Albert Museum exhibit — William Harms has done it all. And now he’s back in creato...

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57:26

Ep: 70 Marc Singer: Before the Loincloth, Beyond the...

Back To Pop ·

2026/03/19

Send us Fan Mail Before streaming. Before shared universes. Before fandom went mainstream — there were heroes who meant it. This week on Back to Pop, we give Marc Singer’s career the full treatment it deserves. He was a classically trained stage actor before any of this happened on a screen — playing Petruchio in A.C.T.’s landmark 1976 Taming of the Shrew for PBS, Christian in Cyrano de Bergerac opposite Peter Donat and Marsha Mason. His film debut was opposite Burt Lancaster in Go Tell the ...

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62:19

Into the Sweetest Darkness: Doug Wagner

Back To Pop ·

2026/03/12

Send a text Today, on Back To Pop we dive into the pages of comics, with acclaimed writer Doug Wagner Doug Wagner writes serial killers in love, cannibal furries, fashion designers with a taste for human flesh, and Viking curses — and somehow, every single one lands with genuine heart. This week, Marc sits down with the creator of Plastic, Vinyl, Plush, I Was a Fashion School Serial Killer, and the upcoming Narco to find out how he makes the darkest material feel weirdly, disarm...

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60:50

Highburn Studios: The Business, the Books, and the...

Back To Pop ·

2026/03/05

Send a text Michael Watkins (CEO/Editor-in-Chief, Highburn Studios) is back — and this time he brought the whole crew. Joining him are Lyle Pollard, creator of the slice-of-life series Tribulations, and Mike “Mez” Phillips, freelance artist and creator behind No More and the upcoming Hemlock. Over the course of an hour, we get into what Highburn actually looks like from the inside in 2026, the challenges of running a creator-owned studio, and what it means to be both a working artist and a p...

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60:42

Hal Eisner Didn’t Plan Any of It — That’s What Made...

Back To Pop ·

2026/02/26

Send a text He covered the O.J. Simpson trial, the Rodney King riots, the Northridge earthquake, Columbine, the Las Vegas mass shooting, and Michael Jackson’s death. For 58 years, Hal Eisner was there — camera rolling, microphone in hand — for the moments that defined Los Angeles and shook the nation. But here’s what makes his story different: he never planned any of it. In this episode, the legendary FOX 11 and KCOP reporter joins us to talk about his new memoir, An Accidental Career: My Fi...

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71:28

On the Line: Breaking Barriers, Battling Cancer, and...

Back To Pop ·

2026/02/19

Send a text People know the kicks. The costumes. The Christmas magic. But they don’t always know what it cost to stand on that line — and what it takes to stay whole after you do. This week on Back to Pop, we sit down with Jennifer Jones — history-maker, dancer, author, and survivor — who became the first Black Rockette at Radio City Music Hall in 1987. What followed wasn’t just applause. It was pressure, resistance, representation, and a level of scrutiny few could imagine. Jennifer op...

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79:23

Caitlin Yarsky: Mythology, Emotion, and Visual...

Back To Pop ·

2026/02/12

Send a text Comic Creator Caitlin Yarsky joins us to discuss her journey from early creative impulses to becoming one of comics’ most distinctive visual storytellers. Known for her work on Coyotes, Bliss, Black Hammer, and He-Man and the Masters of the Universe, Yarsky shares insights into her creative process and evolution. We explore how Coyotes became a breakthrough moment, the intentional balance of mythology and emotion in her work, and what she learned stepping into beloved univ...

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87:35

From Two Dimes to TerrifiCon: Mitch Hallock’s Comic...

Back To Pop ·

2026/02/05

Send us a text What happens when a lifelong comic book fan decides to build the convention he always wanted to attend? You get TerrifiCon – Connecticut’s largest comic book convention and a love letter to creators and fans alike. In this episode, we sit down with Mitch Hallock, the visionary behind TerrifiCon, to explore his journey from discovering Marvel Team-Up #12 as a kid to producing one of the Northeast’s most beloved pop culture events at Mohegan Sun. Mitch shares the origin story ev...

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61:59

Ron Fazio: From the NFL to The Toxic Avenger to...

Back To Pop ·

2026/01/29

Send us a text The most unbelievable three-act story in pop culture. Ron Fazio suited up for the Dallas Cowboys and Philadelphia Eagles. Then he became the man inside the costume in The Toxic Avenger Part II and Part III. Today, he saves lives as a cardiothoracic surgery professional. In this episode, Ron shares: ∙Life in the NFL and the injury that ended his football career ∙Taking over the role of Toxie mid-production and the chaos of filming Parts II & III back-to-back for Troma ∙Wild...

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33:25

Patrick Piazzalunga: Drawing Gunpowder, Grindhouse,...

Back To Pop ·

2026/01/22

Send us a text Join us for an in-depth conversation with talented comics artist Patrick Piazzalunga as he shares his journey from Bergamo, Italy to the international comics scene. Patrick opens up about his early days studying at the Scuola Internazionale di Comics in Florence, working as an inker on series like Dampyr, and developing his distinctive style that blends dynamic action, horror elements, and grindhouse aesthetics. We dive deep into his latest project, Gunpowder Prophets (Mad Ca...

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66:34

Keith Williams: The Line Between Art and Story

Back To Pop ·

2026/01/15

Send us a text Every line in a comic tells a story. Some shout. Others whisper. Today on Back to Pop, we’re sitting down with Keith Williams — an inker who’s defined the look of Superman, The Phantom, and so many heroes we grew up with. This isn’t just a career retrospective. It’s a conversation about craft, rhythm, and what it means to tell stories one line at a time. From a childhood moment with Batman #184 to over a decade drawing The Phantom, from Marvel’s legendary bullpen under John ...

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80:28

Ink with Breath in It: Afua Richardson on Myth,...

Back To Pop ·

2026/01/08

Send us a text What happens when a classically trained flutist who beatboxed with Parliament-Funkadelic picks up a pen and starts drawing worlds? You get Afua Richardson — musician, illustrator, mythmaker, and cultural architect whose work refuses to stay inside the lines. In this soul-stirring 60-minute conversation, we trace Afua’s journey from Carnegie Hall at eleven to the panels of Marvel’s Black Panther: World of Wakanda, where she wove Adinkra symbols and ancestral memory into every fr...

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66:51

The Queen of Martial Arts: Cynthia Rothrock’s Journey...

Back To Pop ·

2026/01/01

Send us a text She was a five-time World Karate Champion before the world even knew her name. Then Hong Kong discovered her, and Hollywood spent the next three decades trying to keep up. From the high-octane streets of 1980s Hong Kong in Yes, Madam! to the cult-classic grit of China O’Brien and her latest powerhouse project Black Creek, Cynthia Rothrock didn’t just join the action genre—she redefined it. In this career-spanning deep dive, Cynthia joins Back to Pop to reveal how a 13-year-old ...

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70:55

A Christmas Special in Gotham: Mask of the Phantasm...

Back To Pop ·

2025/12/25

Send us a text In December of 1993, a small team of artists was handed an impossible assignment: take a direct-to-video project, pivot to a theatrical film, and deliver it in just eight months. It should’ve been a disaster. Instead, it became the gold standard. This week on Back To Pop, we’re celebrating Batman: Mask of the Phantasm—a noir tragedy wrapped in a mystery, draped in Art Deco shadows that still haven’t faded. Decades later, fans don’t just call it a great animated film… many call ...

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53:17

The Man Behind the Myth: Jason Paige (Pokémon,...

Back To Pop ·

2025/12/18

Send us a text You’ve heard this voice a hundred times… but chances are, you’ve never heard him. Jason Paige is the voice of the original Pokémon anthem—a song that defined a global generation. But that’s just the cover. Peel it back, and you find a working artist with an astonishing body of work that you've probably never connected to his name. From singing background for Michael Jackson to creating the earworm responsible for curing your heartburn ("Nausea, heartburn, indigestion..."), Jaso...

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67:58

Forging Savage Crucible: Rob Post on Building the...

Back To Pop ·

2025/12/11

Send us a text Dive sword-first into the world of Savage Crucible, the indie toy line that is redefining collectible fantasy art! Join us as we welcome the visionary creator and founder of Harvinger Studios, William Post, for an exclusive, deep-dive interview. In this episode, you will hear: • The Shocking Collaboration: How William partnered with the Frank Frazetta Estate to transform the legendary fantasy artist's iconic paintings into stunning, highly-articulated action figures. • The Gene...

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78:07

A Love Letter To Saturday Morning

Back To Pop ·

2025/12/04

Send us a text The Architect of Childhood - Margaret Loesch on Saturday Mornings , X-Men, Power Rangers, and the Fox Kids Revolution Margaret Loesch didn’t just give us shows. She gave us identity. Before the MCU, before the streaming wars, Margaret Loesch was the driving force behind the greatest Saturday Morning and syndicated children's programming of the 1980s and 1990s. As the President of Marvel Productions (Dungeons & Dragons, Transformers, G.I. Joe, Jem) and un...

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74 results

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