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PODCAST

Why This Movie?

Christopher Alan Maloney

An examination of your favorite movies through an existential and philosophical lens.

tv & film film history

All Episodes

25:50

Scrooged

Why This Movie? ·

2025/12/23

In our SERIES FINALE, we'll look at 1988's Scrooged and how the Christmas season contains an inherent darkness.

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23:35

RE-GIFT: Elf with Tiffany Stafford

Why This Movie? ·

2025/12/12

Listen to my conversation with Tiffany Stafford about the role holiday movies play in grounding us and setting annual markers in our lives, and the hidden nuances within the story of Buddy the Elf.

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26:41

RE-GIFT: White Christmas with Candice Fanning

Why This Movie? ·

2025/12/05

Happy Christmas! Here is a re-gifted episode, a look at White Christmas, snow, Vermont, and the age-old adage that "the show must go on."

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30:51

The Green Mile with Dan Condon

Why This Movie? ·

2025/11/28

In this conversation, we take a look at Frank Darabont's The Green Mile and the burden of compassion.

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27:31

Remember the Titans with Coach Beth Condon

Why This Movie? ·

2025/11/07

Inspirational, based on a true story, and with a performance from Denzel Washington that keeps the sentimentality under control, Remember the Titans (2000) goes under post-game analysis in this episode of Why This Movie?

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20:01

Psycho

Why This Movie? ·

2025/10/24

It's the spookiest time of year, and the perfect time to dive deep into the best scary movie ever made. Hear about the calculation and intelligence that went into the making of Psycho, and how its every move has been working like crazy for 65 years.

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28:28

RE-RELEASE Scanners with Stefan MacDonald-LaBelle

Why This Movie? ·

2025/10/17

In honor of spooky season, we're releasing this conversation with filmmaker Stefan MacDonald-Labelle about Scanners (1981), his film Head Like a Hole, and the power of horror to illuminate social issues.

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26:12

West Side Story (2021) with Scout M.

Why This Movie? ·

2025/09/26

It's a movie first, and a musical second. Or is it the other way around? Join us this week for a look at Steven Spielberg's 2021 West Side Story, starring Rachel Zegler and Ariana DeBose. "Things are all right in America / When you're all white in America..."

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27:49

Cast Away

Why This Movie? ·

2025/09/12

We're back! In our Season 2 premiere, I'm taking a deep dive into the spiritual and meditative nature of Cast Away (2000) starring Tom Hanks.

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36:33

The American President with Jonathan Paula

Why This Movie? ·

2025/07/11

How do we stay optimistic when it seems like civilization is collapsing around us? The environment presented to us in The American President - of a Washington, DC in which smart people argue with each other in order to solve the country's problems - may hold the key. My guest Jonathan Paula talks with me about his love for this movie and why he is "a hopeless optimist."

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34:19

So I Married an Axe Murderer with Abbi Crutchfield

Why This Movie? ·

2025/06/27

Comic and television personality Abbi Crutchfield joins me to talk about the zany, deadly, and hilarious So I Married an Axe Murderer! You can find Abbi at @curlycomedy on Instagram, X, and YouTube.

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27:00

The Lizzie McGuire Movie with Angela Reighard-Rand

Why This Movie? ·

2025/06/13

Beloved television character Lizzie McGuire finds herself in Rome, and we are all going along for the ride! In this conversation, hear what Lizzie has to teach us about relatability, self-expression, and what dreams are made of (Hey Now, Hey Now).

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24:34

Elf with Tiffany Stafford

Why This Movie? ·

2025/05/30

A Christmas movie in June?! What the actual frost...? Don't worry, we haven't completely lost our minds - Elf is the movie my guest (Tiffany Stafford) wanted to talk about, and guests rule the roost in the Why This Movie? Podcast Studio. Listen to our conversation about the role holiday movies play in grounding us and setting annual markers in our lives, and the hidden nuances within the story of Buddy the Elf.

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39:07

Forrest Gump with Trent Ashcraft

Why This Movie? ·

2025/05/16

In this conversation about Forrest Gump, Trent Ashcraft and I mourn the loss of the monoculture and the time when a character-driven movie could become a cultural phenomenon without being part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

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30:36

The Big Lebowski with Matthew Rand

Why This Movie? ·

2025/05/02

"The Dude abides..." What does that mean? And how do we - throughout life's hurdles (even when our rugs are micturated upon) - continue to abide? The Big Lebowski presents a philosophy of relaxed indifference and a focus on life's little pleasures that we may do well to embrace. In this conversation with Matthew Rand, we uncover the Dude's outlook and what we can glean from it as we trudge through our troubled world.

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28:36

Goodfellas with Amy Maloney

Why This Movie? ·

2025/04/18

In this episode of Why This Movie?, listen to my conversation with my ex-wife about Goodfellas, Martin Scorsese's epic from 1990 about the reality of life in the mob.

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26:50

Scanners with Stefan MacDonald-LaBelle

Why This Movie? ·

2025/04/11

What is it about the horror genre that lends itself to deeper meaning and morality tales? Join filmmaker Stefan MacDonald-LaBelle and me for this conversation on the 1981 horror classic Scanners and how film is sometimes the best messenger for complex social issues.

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27:00

The Jerk with Joe Reeves

Why This Movie? ·

2025/04/04

Is there a hidden philosophy to Steve Martin's first movie? Or is it simply foolishness? See where Joe Reeves and I land in this conversation about his favorite film, 1979's The Jerk.

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34:18

Rocky with Luke Thayer

Why This Movie? ·

2025/03/28

"His whole life was a million to one shot..." In this episode of WTM?, I'm speaking with my old pal and standup comedian Luke Thayer about his favorite movie - Rocky. We tackle talent, luck, and what it means to go the distance.

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30:23

Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me with Nicole Matarese

Why This Movie? ·

2025/03/21

FIlmmaker and actor Nicole Matarese joins Why This Movie? to talk about her favorite movie, Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me - a comedy from 1992 that you've probably never heard of. Listen to our conversation about Adrienne Shelly, underrated sequels, and why this movie reaches "a new high in low comedy."

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31 results

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