The Best Stuff In The World

We are discussing one of the most famous and successful movies of all time - Raiders of the Lost Ark! Do I even need to go into a little intro spiel about Raiders? Producer George Lucas, director Steven Spielberg, and star Harrison Ford team up to create one of the most iconic characters in the history of cinema - a swashbuckling archeologist named Indiana Jones who, in the 1930s, is in a race with the Nazis and his rival, the French archeologist Rene Belloq, to discover the lost ark of the covenant.Joining us this week are some top men: returning guest Kevin Eldridge from the great podcast The Flopcast and Michael Falkner from the website Creative Criticality. We discuss the film (arguably the greatest adventure film ever made), its inferior sequels, and even touch on some of the ancillary video games and tie-in novels. It's a great episode. Trust me.You can find Kevin Eldridge over at The Flopcast.You can find Michael Falkner at the website Creative Criticality.You can email this show at gleamingpod@gmail.com

We're discussing the musicals of lyricist and composer Stephen Sondheim and also talking about the current state of musicals on Broadway - has the supermusical killed the chance for smart shows like Sondheim's to find an audience? Where can his influence be found today? Where should you start with such a vast and acclaimed body of work? I'm joined by the mighty Sue Kisenwether from the Star Trek podcast Women at Warp and by returning guest Cash the Composer (who previously joined to talk about their own immersive musical Fantasmagoriana.)You can hear 10 years of awesome feminist Star Trek talk with Sue Kisenwether at Women at WarpSue has a piece in the upcoming book OUTSIDE IN CAN LIVE WITH IT: 171 New Perspectives on 171 Star Trek DS9 Stories by 171 WritersCash's immersive musical FANTASMAGORIANA is being staged June 3rd through 7th in Charleston, South Carolina. Get tickets here: https://cashcomposer.dudaone.com/fantasmagorianaYou can also see a video recording of the show on Cash's Patreon

Our first in a possible series of sporadic episodes focusing on a single album - I put out the call on social media for folks to get in touch with albums that changed their lives to possibly discuss on the show (with the caveat that I have to like the record as well) and the first response I got was from Christian Campagna of the Talk About the Passion podcast to discuss the seminal hardcore punk album The Crew by Reno, Nevada's 7 Seconds.Christian and I were are joined in the discussion by our mutual friend (and my former radio co-host) Liam Gray and the three of us wind up talking about other parts of the 7 Seconds discography and what it means to us - this was originally planned as a mini-episode but it wound up being around the length of a regular episode. 7 Seconds are worth it.You can find Christian's podcast here: Talk About the Passion (way back in 2018 I was a guest on episode 13)Liam is currently documenting his RV lifestyle on Instagram at www.instagram.com/thebelugarv/You may remember Gary Mitchel from our episodes on GI Joe and Dungeons & Dragons. I was a guest on Gary Mitchel's horror podcast A Podcask of Amontillado. Check it out here: The Devil You KnowYou can email The Best Stuff in the World at gleamingpod@gmail.com

I’m excited to be talking to the frontman of one of Providence, RI’s greatest bands, Jason “King” Kendall from the Amazing Royal Crowns!The Royal Crowns managed to combine rockabilly, garage, and punk rock energy into something that sounded both familiar and new and they recorded *great* songs - DO THE DEVIL is probably the most well-known one since the video played on MTV a few times - and put on an absolutely fantastic live show. Being a bystander in the Providence music scene while they conquered that city was a really cool experience and Jason and I talk a lot about that and also what came after, including how as great as the Crowns were they dealt with a number of setbacks that were kind of out of their control, from having to change their name to The Amazing Crowns due to a lawsuit and their label folding. But it's also worth stressing that despite those challenges they also put out a lot of fantastic music and live shows that people still talk about to this day.The Crowns are playing a show in Cambridge, MA on June 20th with Skavoovie & The Epitones and you can buy tickets here: Skavoovie and The Epitones with The Amazing Royal Crowns at The SinclairCheck out https://royaltotheloyal.com/ to get alerted about the Amazing Royal Crowns digital museum and merch store.

Our guest Kellian Adams Pletcher joins to discuss the new interactive, immersive tiki show she has written, Cthulhu Luau, in advance of its sold-out run! We also discuss Kellian's origin in the swing music scene, her long-running seasonal show Club Drosselmeyer, the immersive theater scene in the Boston area, and why she doesn't like Sleep No More as much as I do.Check out Cthulhu Luau here: https://cthulhu-luau.com/Get notified when Club Drosselmeyer tickets go on sale here: https://www.clubdrosselmeyer.com/Our closing music this week is by Vic Ditches from The F.I.D's.

Mystery Science Theater 3000 (or MST3K) can be a difficult show to explain to people who haven’t seen it. Wisecracking robot puppets making fun of cheesy movies, mad scientists, invention exchanges, and more. I could not believe something as smart and funny and silly as this show existed when I discovered it.I’m joined to discuss MST3k by two people who are as smart and silly as the show itself.Guest roll call!Dan Toland podcasts about cheesy movies, cult films, midnight movies and more on CHANNEL 37’s MIDNIGHT MOVIE SHOW Phaea Crede is a children’s picture book author whose new book Oh Deer! Has just hit bookstores everywhere: https://www.phaeacrede.com/Enough introducing on my part. We’ve got podcast sign!

We're talking to a couple of the talented folks behind the new immersive theatrical company Artemis is Burning about their upcoming show The Death of Rasputin, which will begin performances at LMCC’s Arts Center at Governors Island on April 17, 2025, for a limited run. Ashley Brett Chipman, who conceived of the show, and her co-director Hope Youngblood discuss the inspiration behind the show and its upcoming run.Whispers in the candlelight, shadows in the corridors— The Death of Rasputin is no mere play; it is a descent into decadence, a fever-dream of power, prophecy, and betrayal. This debaucherous satire unfolds as a lavish, unholy revel, conjuring the espionage and mysticism that danced at the edges of the Romanov dynasty in its twilight hour. Here, every character claws for dominion, every ambition is laced with poison, and every grasp for power pulls them closer to the abyss. With history and legend entwined, and the specter of Rasputin looming large, this production dares to reclaim the grand spectacle of immersive performance, shattering the mold long held by the few. The revolution is here. The prophecy is written. Will you heed the call?Get tickets here: https://deathofrasputin.com/Find Rasputin on Discord here: https://discord.gg/XfgWkq5m

Fenway Park organist Josh Kantor joins Kevin to discuss his experience as a baseball organist for a team as beloved for the Boston Red Sox, the origins of his interest in both music and baseball, taking social media requests from fans, Stevie Wonder's "Journey Through the Secret Life of Plants" album, his pandemic-era streaming show "The Seventh Inning Stretch", playing onstage with his musical heroes, and - of course - KISS.When not playing at baseball games, Josh is also a member of the band Jim's Big EgoJosh is performing at the upcoming Hot Stove, Cool Music benefit show in BostonIn the tradition of the Seventh Inning Stretch, now is a good time to remind you all that the Greater Boston Food Bank can always use donations

We're discussing the work of someone who may be America’s greatest living cartoonist - YEAH I SAID IT - Jaime Hernandez!Jaime is best known for his groundbreaking work in the Love and Rockets comic book series and the LOCAS stories which are contained therein. LOCAS follows the tangled lives of a group of primarily chicano characters, from their teenage years in the early days of the California punk scene to the present day - the character themselves age in an approximation of real time. Most of the stories focus on two central characters - Margarita "Maggie" Luisa Chascarrillo and Esperanza "Hopey" Leticia Glass, whose on-again, off-again romance is a focus for many of the storylines. Love and Rockets made its debut in the early 80s, during a time when almost nobody was releasing comics stories that featured women in central roles, that featured characters who are queer, that featured chicano characters or showed any sort of realistic depiction of the punk scene. Jaime’s brother Gilbert is the other major contributor to Love and Rockets and he is deserving of his own episode but for this one we’re focusing on Jaime and Locas and I hope we’re able to impart a little bit of why this is the best American comic book ever made. I’m joined by returning guests Terri Harrington and Ryan Evans and this discussion was a total blast. If you’re a fan of Jaime’s work I hope you enjoy this episode and if you’re not familiar with the Maggie & Hopey comics I hope this inspires you to check them out. You will not be disappointed. Ryan's graphic novel discussion group can be found here: Reading Graphic NovelsTerri has been engaged in volunteer work with Punk Rock Saves Lives, a non-profit that focuses on wellness and equality through the power of music.Kevin recently appeared on The Flopcast, discussing weird Rhode Island public access television shows.