Episodes

A series about a broken, sad man who expects way way more from everyone around him? Who lives by a convoluted code? The Sawniverse is about a perpetually disappointed dad and all of the kids who break themselves trying to please him.

We are joined by Emma Copley Eisenberg for a discussion about intersections of fate, Aimee Mann, the enduring beauty of Philip Seymour Hoffman, and one of the most sprawling movies about unpacking dad relationships of all time!

We meant to take this week off but then a thing happened. Musician, podcaster and public personality John Roderick struck a collective nerve by telling a story about his daughter, beans, and a can opener. In doing so he became known to many as "Bean Da...

We are joined by Claire Comstock-Gay (AKA Madame Clairevoyant) for a discussion about the cuckoo-bananas masterpiece that is Moonstruck. Fate! Stars! Chaos! Love! Lust! 80s New York! Men are wolves and they are afraid of death. This one has it all!

Attention-seeking, resentment, a healthy desire for retribution, and boundless parallels to the Trump debacle. Also, is Batman Returns in fact the most anti-corporate superhero movie ever made? Join Sarah and Alex as they unpack all this and more.

Join Sarah, Alex and guest Anne Thériault as they discuss abandonment issues and anxieties about the horror of the 'urban' being unleashed upon the suburbs and threatening THE CHILDREN. This week's movie, of course, is Home Alone.

Join Sarah, Alex and guest Mara Wilson as they discuss "gleaming sex", deranged easter bunnies, and Jim Jones' connection to the America portrayed in the 1983 holiday classic A Christmas Story. You can find Mara on Twitter and on Instagram.

It's a movie about a father who drives himself mad by holding himself to unrealistic holiday expectations, sure, but is it possible that there could be some daddy issues to unpack? Join us and guest Sovereign Syre as we talk about National Lampoon's Ch...

Clear and Present Danger is a movie about a CIA agent that stands up to corruption, sure, but is it possible that this movie about a convictions-addled father also has some daddy issues to unpack? We were joined by very special guest Jamelle Bouie—New...

This is the latest installment of our Patreon-only chats that we wanted to share with y'all because it's the Sunday before Covid Thanksgiving and things are weird! You could probably use a little Bayside in your life, so here...

Tim Burton's Big Fish is about a man who hopes to get a better sense of who is yarn-spinning father is. Are there larger truths in our parents’ self-constructed myths? In their “amusing lies”? Who were our parents before we were born, anyway? Is it possible to get to know those people?

We usually tease the episode with some pithy switcheroo about how the movie is about one thing, but is it possible that there are some dad issues to unpack? But this is a movie that refers to an entire family by the dad's name, so join Sarah, Alex and guest Rachel Vorona Cote as they unpack Wes And…

Honey, I Shrunk the Kids is about a dad who shrinks his kids, sure, but is it possible there are some issues to unpack in a movie in which dad can't see or hear his children? Sarah and Alex discuss and heap loads of love unto...

Terminator 2 is about a boy, his mom, and a killer robot, sure, but is it possible that a movie about a surrogate cyborg father has some daddy issues to unpack? Join Sarah, Alex and Michael Hobbes as we discuss the best movie...

Angels in America is about plague in the Reagan 80s but could it be possible that there are some daddy issues to dissect in a work about a people abandoned by God? Join Sarah, Alex and Emma as they talk Angels,

Frankenstein [1931] and Young Frankenstein are about mad scientists who have to come to terms with their creations, sure, but is it possible that movies about men who create monsters have daddy issues to dissect? Frankenstein...

It’s a cult classic about 1980s Brooklyn intellectuals falling apart at the seams, sure, but Sarah and Alex sort through The Squid and the Whale’s many dad themes and issues. What happens when mom and dad decide to go their s...

It's a classic 90s stoner comedy, sure, but Sarah and Alex sort through Friday' s many dad themes and issues. What happens when, confronted with bullies and vengeful drug dealers, you feel compelled to stand your ground? Frid...

It's about a handful of guys competing against each other at a top tier Navy flight school, sure, but Sarah, Alex and special guest Clementine Ford unpack Top Gun's dad themes and there is plenty to sort through.

What if dads taught their kids to deescalate rather than to retaliate? To prioritize love over conflict? What if men learned from their trauma, and shared their lessons with their families? The War is an under-appreciated cla...

It’s about a lascivious dream demon, sure, but Sarah and Alex unpack Nightmare on Elm Street’s Dad themes and there is plenty to sort through. What happens when you realize that your parents' self-serving attempts at keeping ...

It’s about dancing, sure, but Sarah and Alex unpack Dirty Dancing’s dad themes and there is plenty to sort through. What happens when you disappoint your father by putting his own ethical code into action? A young woman gets ...

It is about a shark, sure, but Sarah and Alex unpack Jaws' Big Dad Energy by looking at its larger themes in the context of their own experiences with fathers and dads. Jaws, of course, is Steven Spielberg’s wildly popular 1975 adaptation of Peter Ben...

Sarah Marshall [You're Wrong About] and Alex Steed [Nashville Demystified] attempt to understand what the hell it means to be the grown children of dads and other dad-like figures. And, as they do with all difficult subject matter,