Made Possible by Pop Culture

Author Kyra Davis Lurie is on Made Possible by Pop Culture just in time for you to pick up her latest novel, The Great Mann, for the holidays! During the episode, she talks about her retelling of The Great Gatsby via an affluent (and historically rich and accurate) Black community, answers whether she'll ever write another Sophie Katz murder mystery, and talks about how Annie Lennox via "Sweet Dreams (Are Made Of This)" introduced her to new music and new style.

Actor/director Chris Chalk has been stealing scenes for decades, but it's his work as famed Stephen King character Dick Hallorann in Welcome to Derry that he deep-dives into on Made Possible by Pop Culture. In the episode he takes us through the first five episodes of evolution of the character and the world of the It prequel, plus teases a bit of what's to come in the remaining episodes for the season. And of course, a past pop culture influence (this time with an unintentional connection to the show) is discussed as well: Aretha Franklin's version of "Let It Be."

Journalist and author Kristen Lopez joins Made Possible by Pop Culture just ahead of the release of her latest book, Popcorn Disabilities: The Highs and Lows of Disabled Representation in the Movies. In the episode, she discusses the early childhood influence Forrest Gump (namely Lieutenant Dan) had on her, as well as the process to highlight films featuring disabled characters from the early 1900s to today in her book, what strides still need to be taken for better inclusion, and more.

Nikki DeLoach previews her latest Hallmark holiday movie, A Grand Ole Opry Christmas (including a Taking the Reins reunion), and yes there are SPOILERS within, while also reflecting on her time on Awkward and Home Turf. But, true to the concept of this podcast, she also shares important lessons learned from pivotal Season 4 episodes of Sex and the City and why she loves watching Wednesday with her eldest son and encourages other parent-children combos to do the same.

Iron Man and His Awesome Friends writer/EP James Eason-Garcia takes Made Possible by Pop Culture on a walk through memory lane of his childhood love of DC Comics' Batman: The Animated Series (and more specifically, pivotal Poison Ivy and Harley Quinn episodes) through getting into Marvel via Fantastic Four and his thoughts on the latest film for those characters. And of course we talk about his animated show as well, including the origin story for Iron Pup!

Stephen King's works are the discussion topic for Made Possible by Pop Culture's second annual Halloween roundtable episode. Featuring guests from across entertainment and culture journalism, the episode talks about the novels and adaptations of It, The Shining, The Stand, 11/22/63, and The Shawshank Redemption, and also touches on the start of Welcome to Derry, as well as the influence of King's On Writing advice memoir.

We Love TV executive producer Megan Harding takes Made Possible by Pop Culture back in time to talk about the classic family sitcom The Brady Bunch, from relating to the "Hawaii Bound" episode as a kid who grew up in an Australian beach suburb, to compiling behind-the-scenes stories (including about Robert Reed's high standards) for an episode of her own show. Plus, what other shows does she want to explore in future episodes of We Love TV and what does she have to work around when it comes to whose voices to include and how "inside baseball" to get?

You know her best from running shows including Supernatural, You, and The Magicians, but Sera Gamble is also a poet and now a newsletter scribe. She joins Made Possible by Pop Culture to share how the 2000 sci-fi serial killer film The Cell influenced her writing through the years, how she fits writing poetry in around her intense production deadlines, why she launched a Substack to help other writers, and yes, she answers a few questions about Supernatural too. It was just the 20th anniversary from the premiere, after all, and we'll never let it go!

Netflix's Boots and ITV's Code of Silence star Kieron Moore joins Made Possible by Pop Culture to talk about his troubled characters from both shows, including how much of boot camp training he went through for the latter, how they evolved through the first seasons, and where we leave them in the finales. He also talks about the influence of Gladiator and its star Russell Crowe on his early life, including his time as a boxer, in addition to acting, and he previews a passion (writing) project that he has been working on.