Gridlocked Popcast

In Episode 5 of Gridlocked Popcast, we’re talking about the pop culture we somehow missed: the shows, books, franchises, and fan-favorite phenomena that passed us by while everyone else was apparently doing homework. Each host brings a lock, a swing pick, and an edge pick, then asks the real question: is this still worth catching up on, or has the boat sailed into the fog with all 300 episodes onboard? Along the way, we get into binge-watch anxiety, unfinished franchises, over-recommendation fatigue, and the weird guilt of not knowing the thing everyone assumes you know. It’s part confession booth, part watchlist intervention, and part reminder that sometimes missing out is survivable.

The Gridlocked crew digs into the things in pop culture that set them off — from irritation and rage-bait to discomfort, nostalgia, and a few possible happy-place triggers. With a guest voice joining the table, the conversation stretches beyond movies into TV, music, fandom habits, and the strange personal rules that shape what we love, hate, and hate-watch. As always, the picks stay hidden until the mics are on, which means the arguments come with plenty of surprise, side-eye, and affectionate chaos.Thanks to Darin, an SCSU student, for filling in for Andrew!

This time, we’re talking about the pop culture that surprised us: the movies, shows, music, games, and other things we expected to bounce off of but somehow ended up loving. Each host brings a lock, a swing pick, and an edge pick — but nobody knows what the others picked until the conversation starts. The result is a round of unexpected confessions, gentle judgment, and a few “wait, you liked that?” moments. Sometimes taste changes; sometimes the thing just wins you over against your will.

In our first real outing as the Gridlocked Popcast, we try to figure out what kinds of stories we’ll always show up for. Each host brings a lock, a swing pick, and an edge pick from a list of major pop-culture genres — then the friendly arguing begins. Along the way, we start learning each other’s taste, blind spots, soft spots, and suspiciously strong opinions about what actually counts as a genre. It’s part pilot, part personality test, and part opening volley for the debates to come.Here's the genre list we mulled over before we had our conversation. It's not in any particular order. We compiled the list through ChatGPT, combing the overlapping genre categories of popular streaming sites like Netflix, Amazon, Disney+, Hulu and others, as well as web databases like IMDB and Just Watch. In the episode we talk quite a bit about how flawed this list actually is...and why we largely can't agree on stuff.FantasyScience FictionHorrorThrillerMysteryCrimeActionAdventureComedyDramaRomanceAnimationAnimeSuperheroHistoricalWarWesternDocumentaryFamilyMusical