The Occasionalists Podcast

Our final episode of 1959 takes us to Moscow to fight the Soviets on unusual turf: the kitchen!
While scientific and medical leaps defined the Space Race and the broader Cold War, the geopolitical and ideological struggle had a tangible impact on the American household. Rapid advancements in consumer technology and everyday goods dramatically elevated the domestic standard of living, placing the US miles ahead of the Soviet Union.
And the US was not afraid to brag about that widening gap on the world's stage.

The next episode in The Gateway to Tomorrow series has us rediscovering the incredible medical breakthroughs of 1959 that changed disease treatment for millions worldwide.
We also look at how stigma and shame around diseases perpetuate the barbaric treatment of the most vulnerable in society.

Our first full topic episode of the month takes us back to when the Space Race between the United States and the Soviet Union really kicked into high gear.
By 1959, the Soviet Union held a massive technological lead in the Space Race.
Driven by intense Cold War geopolitics, the United States and its newly formed space agency, NASA, went all-in on a singular, daring goal: beat the Soviets to the Moon.
As America stood on the precipice of global scientific domination, Russia's time as a superpower was rapidly coming to an end, as the country crumbled from within.

It's June, and you know what that means....new month, new year!
We are stepping into the WAAAYback Machine to take a look at the year 1959. The earliest possible year for this year's parameters and very likely, one of the farthest looks back ever on this podcast.
This whole month, we will be focusing on the pivotal scientific advancements from this year that touched the lives of everyone on Earth and set the world hurtling toward a new modern age.
 

Once again, the spatial anomaly in my house has delivered, albeit later than usual, a radio signal from the future.
We are checking back in with the movie review tandem of Brayson Lee and King Garcia Sato Jr. and their long-running movie review show, From The Balcony. 
This time, they are tackling some legacy sequels, including a new Star Wars installment.
Shocking, I know!

Our final episode for this double-feature Movie May special takes us back into one of my favorite comedy subgenres: the spoof!
Yeah baby! We are looking at the movie that reinvented what movie spoofs would look like for the next 3+ decades with the ZAZ classic, Airplane!
Then we are off to posh, 1930s England to view a send-up of British period pieces, Fackham Hall.
Will Airplane! Hold up to another rewatch? Will Fackham Hall charm someone who has never seen Downton Abbey? But more importantly: Have you ever been to a Turkish Prison?

Our next double feature for Movie May finds us tackling a horror movie that feels decades ahead of its time and its sequel that somehow manages to balance a whole bunch of stylistic spinning plates. 
First, we hammer down on The Shining. The movie that beat the "Trauma = Horror" trend by about 30 years and remains a polarizing film for fans and critics alike.
Then we take on The Shining's lega-sequel, set nearly 40 years after the original, Doctor Sleep. A movie that tries to tie together three separate storytelling styles while honoring a modern classic.

Our first review of Movie May is now live!
We tackle the "Dark Blockbuster" with a look at the second installment of the Star Wars franchise, The Empire Strikes Back. Somewhat controversial in its own time, it set the standard for how to create a blockbuster that was downbeat and saw our heroes lose and lose big. 
Much more controversial in more recent times is its franchise mirror, The Last Jedi. A purposeful upending of some tropes and storytelling beats that was roundly punished by toxic fandom.
Let's take a closer look at these two middle, darker chapters of the Star Wars mega-franchise.