For the first episode of the year, Christina is joined by Ryan McQuade (AwardsWatch.com) to recap the Critics Choice Awards 2026, the first televised awards show of the season! Fresh off attending the ceremony, they break down what it was like on the ground, the night’s biggest wins, standout moments, and the industry buzz coming out of the show. It was a huge night for One Battle After Another, Sinners, and more as awards season officially kicks into high gear. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It’s a huge episode! Ryan McQuade ( Executive Editor, AwardsWatch) joins Christina as they countdown their 20 best movies of 2025. What a year of cinema it has been! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Awards season is officially in full swing! Prizes and nominations are rolling in from critics groups, the Critics Choice Awards, the Golden Globes, and more. It’s been one announcement after another and we’re breaking it all down. Christina is joined by Ryan McQuade (AwardsWatch) to recap and dig into the surprises, the snubs, and the contenders gaining momentum. From PTA and Sinners to Sentimental Value, Amy Madigan, and many more, they explore where things stand now....and what it all might mean for the Oscars! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week’s episode is a special one: Christina’s interview with actor/producer Alexander Skarsgård! The interview was recorded live at the Stockholm International Film Festival (Nov 2025), where he received the 2025 Stockholm Achievement Award.The audience was packed and about to see Alexander’s fantastic new film Pillion. In this wide-ranging conversation they talk about the movie, the research behind his wildly funny and emotional new rom-com with BDSM themes, career highlights, campaigning at the same time as Stellan, fashion, and much more. You can also watch the interview on the Stockholm Film Festival’s YouTube channel or on the Pop Culture Confidential YouTube channel.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R0pQyGajgvU&t=1s Photos courtesy of Anton Isiukov: https://www.antonisiukov.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

2025 was a year in pop culture like no other! Celebrities “went to space,” Kendrick blew our minds at the Super Bowl, demons were hunted, SNL turned 50, and kiss cams caused chaos. It was a massive year for film and TV, packed with moments that had everyone talking. We also said goodbye to some of the biggest names in the industry. Ryan McQuade of AwardsWatch joins Christina as they each count down the biggest, most talked-about, and wildest pop culture moments of 2025. Don’t miss it! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

As we head into the final weeks of the year, we couldn’t resist diving into the incredible performances that have already defined 2025.It’s been an extraordinary year at the movies, full of bold artistic swings, deeply emotional turns, and career-making work across the board. In this episode, Christina is thrilled to be joined by Erik Anderson, editor-in-chief of AwardsWatch, to breakdown the Top 10 Acting Performances of 2025.Together, they dig into the roles that moved and surprised them & the ones that made them laugh and cry. They also take a close look at what these standout performances could mean in terms of awards season.And of course, a few honorable mentions that absolutely deserve their moment in the spotlight. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Christina talks with writer/actor/comedian Michael Strassner about his new film The Baltimorons, directed by Jay Duplass, a story shaped by the spirit of Baltimore and the most personal chapters of Strassner’s own life.They talk about blending humor and drama, how Strassner channels his personal history, including struggles with addiction, recovery, and self-reinvention, into the story. He also discusses the film’s unexpected romance, having his own family in the film, and much more.The Baltimorons won the Audience Award at South by Southwest 2025. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week’s episode is a special one: Christina’s interview with writer and director Benny Safdie at the Stockholm International Film Festival (Nov 2025), where he was also honored with the Stockholm Visionary Award. They discuss his filmmaking process, his obsessive characters, The Smashing Machine, working with Paul Thomas Anderson and Christopher Nolan, and much more. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It’s preview time! Christina is once again joined by critic Ryan McQuade (AwardsWatch.com) to preview the most exciting movie titles coming to theaters and streaming for the rest of the year! From awards hopefuls like Hamnet and Marty Supreme, to blockbuster titles like Wicked: For Good and Avatar: Fire and Ash, to Train Dreams, Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery, and much more! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Filmmaker Rebecca Miller joins Christina to talk about her remarkable new series Mr. Scorsese , a five-part portrait of Martin Scorsese, now streaming on Apple TV+. The series offers a rare and intimate look at the legendary director’s creative process, his lifelong relationship with cinema, and the people and experiences that have shaped his extraordinary career. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this episode, Christina talks with actor Gustaf Skarsgård, who is powerful in the historical crime drama To Cook a Bear(Hulu/Disney+), based on the bestselling novel by Mikael Niemi. They discuss embodying the Pastor, a fascinating, paradoxical character inspired by the real Lars Levi Laestadius, a man caught between faith, science, and survival in 1850s Sweden. The story weaves together themes of polarization, racism, class, and belief within a haunting detective mystery set against the stark northern wilderness. They also talk about Skarsgård’s thoughtful approach to acting — how he chooses his roles, from Oppenheimer to Soderbergh’s Black Bag to his upcoming role as Wallander — and how he has found more sustainable ways of working and living after past struggles with addiction. Don’t miss! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We’re diving into the state of the awards season race! Ryan McQuade of AwardsWatch.com joins us to break down the latest contenders and predictions. Then, a discussion on Rebecca Miller’s Mr. Scorsese (Apple TV+), a new five-part docuseries about the legendary filmmaker himself. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

From One Battle After Another, Jay Kelly, Hamnet, and Weapons, to Sentimental Value and If I Had Legs I’d Kick You and more, filmmakers this year can’t seem to escape one theme: parents. Guilt, loss, and legacy are everywhere on screen this year. Are directors today reckoning with themselves as parents rather than with their own parents? We dive into all of it — and more. Christina is joined by film critic J. Don Birnam (@awards_predix) to unpack one of 2025’s defining cinematic trends — parenting, responsibility, and what it means to parent (or be parented) in a changing world. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We’re pulling back the curtain on one of modern horror’s most unforgettable new icons: Aunt Gladys from Zach Cregger’s smash hit Weapons. Christina is joined by makeup department head Leo Satkovich and special makeup effects designer Jason Collins, the brilliant team behind her terrifying transformation. They explore how Aunt Gladys was brought to life: from drawing inspiration in Cindy Sherman’s photography and John Waters’ Pink Flamingos to perfecting the haunting look worn and played to perfection by Amy Madigan. They dig into the gory details — THAT potato peeler, wrangling a mob of kids, and much more. The conversation even dares to imagine a prequel Aunt Gladys, picturing a younger version in all her unsettling glory. And of course, the artists share exclusive Halloween costume tips straight from their own toolkit. Listen now! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this episode, Christina is joined by rising star Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas, recently named one of Variety’s 10 Actors to Watch, to talk about her role as Agnes in Joachim Trier’s Oscar-contending drama Sentimental Value. The film, also starring Stellan Skarsgård, Renate Reinsve, and Elle Fanning, explores family, identity, and the complicated bond between two sisters and their father. Inga shares what it was like working with Trier and Skarsgård, the intensity of filming a pivotal emotional scene with Renate Reinsve, and how audiences around the world are connecting with the film’s themes. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A Modern Masterpiece! Christina is joined by Ryan McQuade of AwardsWatch.com to dive into Paul Thomas Anderson’s One Battle After Another, starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Sean Penn, Teyana Taylor, Regina Hall, Chase Infiniti, and Benicio Del Toro. Edge-of-your-seat, urgent, and timely, Anderson’s bold filmmaking delivers a cinematic experience like no other. Join us for a deep dive into one of the year’s most anticipated films. Spoilers. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Joachim Trier’s Sentimental Value is the talk of the season, and Christina sits down with the acclaimed Norwegian director to dig into it. Featuring Renate Reinsve, Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas, Stellan Skarsgård, and Elle Fanning, the film has already won the Grand Prix at Cannes, charmed audiences on the festival circuit, and is quickly becoming an Oscar favorite. Christina and Trier dive into its rich themes — family roles, complicated relationships, and the deeply personal ideas at its heart. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Hollywood turns its spotlight on television’s biggest night this Sunday — the 77th Primetime Emmy Awards! Christina is joined by Tyler Doster, TV Editor at AwardsWatch.com, to predict the major categories and discuss potential surprises and upsets. From The Pitt and Severance to The Studio and Adolescence, which shows and stars will walk away with Emmy gold? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

All new Pop Culture Confidential: Telluride Dispatch!What a festival! Together with each of the incredible AwardsWatch.com team, we dive into the biggest conversations at Telluride — from Hamnet, Jay Kelly, Bugonia, If I Had Legs I’d Kick You, to the Springsteen biopic 🎸 and much more! We explore the themes running through this year’s line-up — fathers and daughters, regret, redemption, motherhood, and the power of art — plus highlight standout performances from Jessie Buckley, Renate Reinsve, Rose Byrne, Stellan Skarsgård, and Jeremy Allen White. With Ryan McQuade, Mark Johnson, Erik Anderson, Sophia Ciminello, and Jorge (a.k.a. J. Don Birnam) bringing their reviews and festival insights, this Telluride dispatch is full of reviews, festival buzz, and Oscar talk. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week, Christina welcomes Ryan McQuade (AwardsWatch) for a deep dive into Bruce Springsteen on film — including a look ahead at Deliver Me From Nowhere, the highly anticipated biopic starring Jeremy Allen White. From the Malick-inspired Nebraska to iconic soundtrack moments, we explore Springsteen’s cinematic inspirations and how his music continues to live on the big screen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices