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Pop Culture, Politics, and a Sprinkling of Treason
Based on 5 episodes we listened to · September 2026
Sharp film talk reveals the politics embedded in casting, criticism, awards, and the stories audiences tell about what they watch.
Light Treason News turns movie conversation into a lively argument about politics, taste, and power. Alison Kilkenny's exchanges with Meredith or Christopher move easily from jokes and personal stories into close readings of films, performances, trailers, and awards campaigns.
A failed-state grocery run meets Oscar ballot warfare; if movies are your coping mechanism, there's room for you.
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Short reviews from the PlayNext desk, based on the episodes we processed.
A film-chat episode that turns a strange casting mix-up into a sharper conversation about moral ambiguity and racial implications.
The episode starts with a ridiculous casting mix-up, then settles into a more grounded conversation about film logic, moral ambiguity, and the limits of a premise that invites provocation without fully taking it on.
A 1990-set video-store sim and spoiler anxiety anchor the episode's pop-culture talk.
Light Treason News spends its time between a 1990-set video-store management simulator and a sharper question about how much movie marketing should reveal before anyone buys a ticket.
Awards-season chaos, with a side of end-times gallows humor.
Light Treason News turns a Florida grocery run, a sense of national freefall, and Oscars predictions into a sharp pressure valve. Alison Kilkenny and Meredith steer the conversation toward something that feels useful as well as funny, which fits the episode's anxious,…
A personal update, a sharp Wuthering Heights critique, and a brisk run through a few more culture highlights.
Light Treason News opens with a personal update, then settles into a sharp, funny take on Emerald Fennell's Wuthering Heights. The discussion works best when it keeps the book's abuse, class, and racial violence in view instead of letting the adaptation hide behind mood and…
A sharp look at how Challengers gets reduced to its most familiar talking point.
Light Treason News treats Challengers as a movie that often gets remembered for its most obvious hook, and that narrowness becomes the point. The hosts stay lively and precise as they move from the threesome joke to larger questions about obsession, control, and how suggestion…
A near-daily politics rundown from Dana Goldberg and Alison Gill on Trump-era legal fights.
Three Slate journalists debate the week's politics, plus live shows and author interviews.
Mike Pesca opens with a monologue, then digs into Supreme Court ethics and Iran policy.
The episode kicks off with a painfully dumb Jane Austen casting mix-up.
Alison and Christopher start in full hangout mode.
Alison Kilkenny and Meredith open with Florida dread, a store run that feels like a war zone, and the odd comfort of arguing about Oscars predictions while the world keeps getting worse by the hour.
Alison Kilkenny starts with a personal update: she got married on Friday the 13th.
Host Alison Kilkenny and guest Christopher banter about tech issues and preview a discussion on pop culture and politics.
The hosts discuss current political events with a satirical tone, focusing on ICE actions in Minneapolis.
The hosts open with ordinary life updates and then veer into a very specific bar-bathroom story before the talk settles on pop culture.
Hosts discuss their upcoming trip to a wedding in Scotland and share thoughts on the movie Dune Part 2.
Hosts discuss best films of 2023, Oscar predictions, and a spoiler-free rant about Dune, with comedic banter and a Patreon shoutout.
Hosts Allison and Meredith banter about technical issues and discuss a columnist who was scammed out of $50,000.