Episode 372 - Hamnet, Death by Lightning & the funniest movies of all-time with stand-up Wendy Liebman.

·1 hr 7 min·4 clips

Death by Lightning follows James Garfield, Charles Guiteau, and a political system so open that anyone could walk up to the president.

1. Culture Pop Podcast Episode 372 covers Hamnet, Death by Lightning, Eddie Murphy’s documentary Being Eddie, and a guest segment with Wendy Liebman. 2. Steve Mace and Sue Kalinske host the show, and Wendy Liebman joins as a stand-up comic who has appeared on HBO, Comedy Central, Showtime, The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson, The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, and David Letterman. 3. The episode asks whether a movie, a historical drama, and a comedy documentary actually reveal enough to justify the time. 4. Steve and Sue open with Hamnet, directed by Chloe Zhao and starring Jesse Buckley and Paul Mescal as William Shakespeare and his wife. 5. Sue calls Hamnet her favorite movie of the year and praises the close-ups, the quiet scenes, and the child actor Jacoby Jupe. 6. Steve says Hamnet looked beautiful but moved at a “glacial pace” and felt “emotionally chilly.” 7. They compare their reactions to Rotten Tomatoes and to the idea that mood and headspace affect how a movie lands. 8. The conversation turns to Death by Lightning on Netflix, which Steve says stars Michael Shannon, Michael McFadden, Nick Offerman, Betty Gilpin, and Shea Whigham. 9. Steve and Sue talk about James Garfield, Charles Guiteau, the post-Civil War corruption backdrop, and how close people could get to the president. 10. Steve explains that the title Death by Lightning comes from Garfield’s own line about assassination being like lightning and impossible to prevent. 11. Sue says the Garfield series moved her because she knew almost nothing about the president beyond the assassination. 12. Steve says Guiteau felt like a smart but sleazy man who might have become significant in a positive way if one switch had flipped. 13. They discuss how the series shows Guiteau slowly becoming unglued and how fanaticism grows around political access. 14. Steve shares a stand-up story about repeating a joke while high and not realizing it until after the set. 15. Sue responds with a Starbucks gift-card story, saying a coworker told her she had offered him a card three times. 16. Wendy Liebman joins and talks about seeing the pilot of The Jetsons, driverless Waymo cars, and wanting a self-loading dishwasher. 17. Wendy and Steve revisit Merv Griffin, a test for Men Are from Mars, Women Are from Venus, and a long hotel hallway filled with celebrity photos. 18. The interview stays loose and conversational, with repeated callbacks to show business history, family stories, and old-school entertainment formats. 19. Fans of classic comedy, Hollywood memory, and TV-history anecdotes will like this episode. 20. Listeners wanting deep movie analysis or a fully revealing celebrity documentary may skip it.

As heard by us

Showbiz memories, quick banter, and an easy closing run of New York, Christopher Walken, and Woody Allen jokes.

Steve Mace and Sue Kalinske make this Culture Pop conversation feel like a relaxed walk through showbiz memory, old TV names, and the kind of stories that only land when the people telling them were there.

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Why you'd press play

Old showbiz names, pop-culture memories, and a loose conversation that keeps moving.

Read the full recommendation in PlayNext →

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