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Episode 41: Joal talks about Prince thoughts you could be pondering, and/or Prince things you could be watching rather than listening to her Prince-only podcast. You’re welcome. 

Episode 40: Joal pays tribute to the late Joe Garagiola, the athlete and broadcaster who made her the superstitious, baseball-addled person she is today.  For the kids, she recites KABC-AM 710’s weekday talk-show lineup from the 1970s from memory. It’s fun for all ages!  

Episode 39: Joal channels the soul of the Oscars’ typical voter: a sixtysomething white male. Hint: It’s gonna be a Mad Max: Fury Road kinda night! 

Episode 38: Joal discusses the new John Travolta-led series, American Crime Story: The People Vs. O.J. Simpson, with the one, non-O.J. American who still believes the fallen star is innocent of the 1994 murders ofNicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman: her mother.

Episode 37: Joal welcomes guest Stofor Bartol of Legacy.com to discuss why the winter really is bleak and, statistically speaking, deadly–and, no, not just for famous people.  She also wonders what SEO voodoo prompted news outlet after news outlet to refer to the late Glenn Frey as “Glenn Frey, guitarist of the Eagles.”  

Episode 36: Joal talks to comic-book writer Jim Beard, editor of the anthology, Gotham City 14 Miles: 14 Essays on Why the 1960s TV Series Matters, about the colors, literally and figuratively, of the 1966-1968 Adam West-Burt Ward TV series, Batman, turning 50 years old on Jan. 12, 2016. 

Episode 35: Joal’s holiday present for you: a listicle! Specifically, her 12 totally random and arbitrary pop-culture things she’s looking forward to in 2016. Somehow, Rizzoli & Isles is discussed, as is her totally exclusive finding that Robert Redford will be way older in the new Pete’s Dragon than Mickey Rooney was in the old Pete’s Dragon. And, yes, she know [...]

Episode 34: Joal opens up a holiday grab bag, and finds: news about Charlie Brown Christmas child-actor Peter Robbins; the least holiday-y holiday special not made in the 1970s (Toy Story That Time Forgot); the least holiday-y holiday special that was made in the 1970s (Home for the Holidays with Sally Field); a good argument as to why someone should remake Marlo Thomas‘ remake of It’s a Wonderful Life (It Happened One Christmas); and, a sad story of a little girl with an angelic voice who, lacking the child-star gene, lost her solo on the Hanukkah song because she couldn’t remember the words.

Episode 33: It’s grab-bag time. Joal serves up toasty warm takes on Mary-Kate Olsen’s “bowls of cigarettes,” Justin Bieber’s and One Direction’s new albums, Macaulay Culkin’s apparently crazy Bob Saget connection and notes the deaths of Scott Weiland

Episode 32: Joal welcomes special guest Anthony Marco, podcaster and keeper of a Facebook fan page for General Mills’ iconic monster cereals (Count Chocula, Franken Berry, Boo Berry and the rest), to talk, well, General Mills’ iconic monster cereals. Listen advisory: Franken Berry stool, marmints and Foster Brooks are discussed.  Joal also talks why Justin Bieber’s pop-star transition is and will continue to be tougher than Justin Timber [...]

Episode 31: Joal welcomes guest Jay Nordlinger, senior editor of National Review and author of the just-published Children of Monsters: An Inquiry into the Sons and Daughters of Dictators (Encounter Books). Plus, Joal discusses the pop-culture war over Lamar Odom’s legacy, pitting the ESPN crowd versus the Kardashian faithful, and notes milestone anniversaries for Zac Hanson, Johnny Carson and Batman’s Bob Kane.  

Episode 29: Joal welcomes Muppets guru Joe Hennes, editor and co-owner of ToughPigs.com (Tough Pigs: Muppet Fans Who Grew Up), to talk the new Muppets series, The Muppets, and whether Kermit and crew are suffering from that old teen-idol curse: Fans who don’t want their favorite act to change or, well, grow up. 

Episode 28: Joal asks, “Can Miss America save Betty?” Miss America is the newly crowned Betty Cantrell; Betty is the baby name–once popular, now not. A discussion of all things Betty ensues: Betty White, Betty Ford, Betty Crocker and Archie Comics’ Betty Cooper. Plus, does Isadora Duncan’s death mean pop culture was more cultured 88 years ago?  Discussed: 

Episode 27: Joal wraps up the two most compelling pop-idol, pop-culture stories of the summer: Justin Bieber and One Direction, and why the rise of one doesn’t mean the demise of the other. Plus, she discusses the 40th anniversary of a clunky, but well-meaning and perhaps important episode of a Chad Everett TV medical drama about a transgender doctor (played by the Brady Bunch’s Robert Reed). 

Episode 26: Joal watches the Batgirl debut of the late Yvonne Craig (Batman ’66’s “Enter Batgirl, Exit Penguin”), and wonders how much impact the female superhero really had on male-dominated pop culture. Discussed:  “Yvonne Craig, Actress Who Played Batgirl, Is Dead at 78” (NY Times) 

Episode 25: On the day after the 38th anniversary of Elvis Presley’s death, Joal devotes herself to a story about the actual day Elvis died, costarring Michael Jackson, Willie McCovey and childhood cancer–not her own. 

Episode 24: Joal discusses One Direction’s Liam Payne’s alleged influence on Burger King’s chicken-fries menu, and starts her own movement for the return of Burger King’s French-toast sticks, if that is they ever left. She also talks Melissa Gilbert’s bid for Congress (good for her!), and the hopeless feeling that is watching someone battle personal problems from either afar or up close. So, yes, that last one would be about Kim Richards.  She also ponders whether starting school in early August is evolving, or just plain crazy.  Referenced: “Did Typo in Tweet by One D [...]

Episode 23: Joal discusses Zayn Malik, #realmusic and the David Caruso and J.C. Chasez principles, and why One Direction fans’ insta-covers of “Drag Me Down” disprove Jeb Bush’s implications that Americans don’t work hard enough.  Elsewhere, she urges the Olsen Twins to stay strong, and stay out of Fuller House, and imagines a life where she was a child on a TV show being tempted and tormented with craft-services apple fritters much as Raven-Symone was tempted with craft-services bagels on The Cosby Show. Plus,in a shameless ploy for clicks and do [...]

Episode 22: Joal talks about our reaction to the passing of Bobbi Kristina Brown, the 15 million reasons Louis Tomlinson may be staying silent about his reported baby-to-be, the Duggar family’s TV-related “heartbreak” and why every under-30 Hollywood actress should raise a glass and maybe get smashed in honor of the 110th birthday of Clara Bow.  (Note: Bow’s birthday has been corrected in this copy. I originally noted it as her 100th birthday because I cannot add. Or subtract. It is just so sad.)    Discussed: “

Episode 21: Joal discusses confirmed reports that are not confirmed reports, the myth of “secret marriages,” complex Chapter 11 maneuvers that are boiled down to someone “going broke,” and one sad, hard truth: the music business really does eat its young.   One Direction’s Louis Tomlinson, former Glee costars Melissa Benoist and Blake Jenner, 50 Cent and the Runaways‘ Jackie Fox are name-checked.  Discussed:  “