Night Call

The ladies take on the fireworks conspiracy! But first, a night message about Colorado intentional community Drop City. More commune geodesic domes and experimental theater companies. What is the most Night Call time zone? How should we return Mount Rushmore to its former sacred natural state? Then, checking out the story about the shitposting cult DayLife Army. What does it look like when a cult is extremely online, seemingly self-aware about being a cult, and dead set on exploiting people's better instincts? Then, it's the moment everyone's been waiting for: ten thousand hours of incredibly loud nonstop fireworks. We lay out the various theories about the fireworks and our own personal takes. Is it the cops? Just kids? Professional fireworks enthusiasts? Or the ghost of dead Paris Review legend, fireworks hobbyist and CIA plant George Plimpton? The big differences between the fireworks in different cities, and why this specific conspiracy feels convoluted but not far-fetched. Is it all a big psy-op? Just in

Today we take a night call about problematic Disneyland rides and suggest alternatives. Should we replace the torn down Splash Mountain with a Princess And The Frog Ride? (Yes) What is the most racist ride at Disneyland? Can theme parks be divided from themes of imperialism? Then it’s a listener query about Synanon, the self help drug rehab retreat on the Santa Monica strand that turned into a cult in the seventies. For our second half we are joined by Behind The Bastards host Robert Evans to discuss citizen journalism during the uprisings era! Robert discusses covering the Pacific Northwest, the Boogaloo creeps, showing up to face fascists. Then he takes our listeners’ questions about storing rations in small spaces, how to combat fascists flyering in your town, and where the best place to be during the revolution is (hint: among friends). Plus Molly exposes Robert as a full on pumpkin spice Fallhead!Footnotes: Splash Mountain Petition LA Mag on Synanon Paul Morantz on the Snake in his Mailbox Behind the Pol

Tess is off this week so Molly and Emily are joined by Night Call’s fabulous producer Joelle Monique! We start off with an email from a listener who was disappointed with our Lana Del Rey talk recently and take the opportunity to examine our own blind spots. We solicit more critiques from our listeners, and ask how we can be more helpful during this critical time in our country’s history. Then it’s a trip to the CHAZ! Emily learned about the history of autonomous zones and yes it does get weird. The connection to Burning Man and Santa Con is unveiled, and Emily provides the requisite Seattle context for the CHAZ and the French origins of the ZAD. Then we are joined by boy band expert Maria Sherman, author of the new book Larger Than Life, to dive into the recent radicalization of k-pop stans online. Sherman explains what exactly the “fan cams” are that stans have been overloading American police departments asking for footage of rioters with. Night Call is an autonomous zone of the MIND!Footnotes: The Demands

We start with a serious moment from Night Call about the current Black Lives Matter protests and our support for them. We plan to cover historic current events this month by looking into America’s past. Then we take some night calls and emails. Then the first (and most likely last) installment of Ramblin’ Gamblin’ June is our discussion of Robert Altman’s California Split! Who is horny on main for Elliott Gould and who is decidedly not? What is the secret to a gambling buddy comedy? What are our games? We are back and we will be here for our listeners all year, at Night Call.FOOTNOTE Restless leg/Parkinsons drug can cause gambling addiction TekWar Marge Simpson's gambling problem Oscar Zeta Acosta Elliott Gould interview Synanon RESOURCES Peoples Budget LA Louisville Community Bail Fund ActBlue’s Community Bail/Mutual Aid/Racial Justice Split Fund Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Night Call finishes up Y2May with some great calls and emails about the 2038 Problem that explain what it actually entails. Then we debate the merits of parallel universes and whether people just like theories because they offer a way out. And a surprise ventureinto the recent rash of cancellations and Cancel Culture in general. Does cancellation provide people with a sense of control in a time when there is none? Can any societal ill ever actually be corrected by cancelling a singular person? How long is the cyclefor cancellation narratives really? What are the possibilities cancellations open up for larger conversations about culture, racism and capital? Does anyone ever actually get or stay cancelled? Should we retroactively beloved artists for fucked up shit? Canyou separate the art from the artist? Then we receive an amazing call about the “WWW = 666” Y2K era conspiracy, and finish up with a discussion from our home bunkers about end of the millennialism and prepping for disasters.FOOTNOTES 2038 Problem

A listener question about the 90s and early 2000s celebrity sex tapes prompts a discussion about Tommy and Pam, Kim Kardashian and Paris Hilton’s tapes that leads into a talk about Only Fans. Molly tells Emily and Tess a story about the 528 Hz “love vibration” necklace that Denise Richards owns which turns into a story about shady right wing new organization Epoch Times and how it relates back to Shen Yun. Plus, the terrifying robot dog right out of Black Mirror and Christopher Meloni’s haunted house!Then it’s more Y2K May! Emily listened to a podcast about how Y2K was averted through IT workers working together, and how depressing it is that tech is only becoming more dystopian now faced with the current crisis. The incredible tale of the real Bob Loblaw’s Y2K blog, still available to view as an artifact. And Molly watched a famous SportsCenter commercial about Y2K that ends up with chaos that feels like now. All this and more podcasting by candlelight, on an all new Night Call!FOOTNOTES Whistle Vibration Me

Y2May continues with a listener query about the millennium celebration at Epcot, leading us down a hole about theme park rides like The Great Movie Ride and Superstar Limo that are no longer with us, the weird retro futuristic aesthetic of Epcot, and why Mickey Mouse can never be cool. Then it’s the Y2K movie chat everyone’s been waiting for, we break the first rule of Fight Club! We take on David Fincher’s 1999 satire to talk about capitalism, men’s rights groups, and whether the movies can ever blow up a building for fun ever again. Why did we all love this movie so much as kids and how do we feel about it now? Soap, eco-terrorism, homoeroticism and school shootings around the turn of the millennium on an all new Night Call!Footnotes Disney Superbowl Celebration "Celebrate the Future Hand in Hand" Giant Disney Puppets from the Millennium Celebration Superstar Limo Fight Club and Columbine Fight Club Trivia Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener

Welcome to Y2May! Our monthlong celebration of all things related to the year 2000 and the end of the 20th century. We start off with some William Gibson inspired chat about the current dystopian moment and then head back into the relative calmness of the near distant past. What were each of us doing on Y2K itself? But first it's our new sports show within the show Sports Call, where we take a call about Dennis Rodman and The Last Dance, the new ten part ESPN documentary about Michael Jordan's last season. Molly recommends The Last Dance to Tess and Emily, who remember their own sports thoughts. Our producer Joelle jumps in with some basketball facts after Molly wonders why the Bad Boys of Detroit were allowed to foul like that. As a new generation discovers Dennis Rodman and Carmen Electra for the first time, is anyone surprised they're going viral again? Then we get down to Y2K color schemes with a query from a listener about the late nineties Pacific Northwest color scheme of purple and forest green. We di

A night email about Instagram face and The Twilight Zone episode "Number 12 Looks Just Like You" start a discussion about transformation narratives that turns into Emily describing a terrifying YA series called The Uglies and Molly explaining what POT LEDOM means. A discussion about whether wellness will merge fully with beauty, and how that turns into eugenics. Then we learn about Happy Science, the Japanese cult promising followers that Coronavirus can be cured by the sound of their leader's voice. Emily explains the very unfriendly rivalry between Happy Science and another cult, Aum Shinrikyo. Then a Night Call about the Real Housewives of New York objecting to new housewife Leah having had a tattoo when they have all had vaginal rejuvenation on camera leads Molly to desperately try to convince Tess and Emily to give the franchise a chance. Plus nightmarish plastic surgery reality TV like I Want A Famous Face, Botched, and Extreme Makeover. And of course, The Swan. What the hell was going on in the mid 200

The ladies are joined by Jia Tolentino, staff writer for the New Yorker and author of the essay collection “Trick Mirror: Reflections on Self-Delusion” this week. First up we fetch the bolt cutters for our first impressions of the new Fiona Apple album. Plus, pandemic dreams! A scientific explanation for why people are having such weird dreams during self-isolation. Then we talk about "Instagram Face," which Jia wrote an incredible essay about. She also describes her experience meeting the Kardashians' plastic surgeon Dr. Ourian. Who has the most Instagram face? What will the beauty standards shift toward next? Can you facetune reality? We take a Night Call about Heidi Montag and recall the first phase of young people getting extreme plastic surgery. Then Tess, Molly and Emily take on another classic plastic surgery movie for Plastic Surgery April: John Woo's Face/Off! First time viewer Emily talks to seasoned Face/Off fans Tess and Molly about the operatic silliness of John Travolta and Nic Cage in this movi

Plastic Surgery April continues with a call about the multiple sets of "Twinfluencers" that get matching plastic surgery - The Haze Twins, The Clermont Twins, and a debate about whether the Olsen Twins had a particular procedure done. Where is the most state of the art plastic surgery getting done right now? What's up with the private jet trips and plastic surgery makeovers rich people in Houston are doing during the pandemic? Then we are joined by Caitlin Durante and Jamie Loftus from our station sisters, film pod The Bechdel Cast! Jamie and Caitlin form a Voltron of feminist movie criticism with Tess, Molly and Emily to discuss Robert Zemeckis's Death Becomes Her (1992). Can a movie whose message is "women be vain" also be subversively feminist, even if it doesn't technically pass the Bechdel test? Whatever DID happen to Baby Jane? All this and a rousing back and forth about the imagined feeling of sitting on butt implants, at Night Call!Footnotes: Simi and Haze BeforeSimi and Haze AfterPlastic Surgery and

Plastic Surgery April begins! How are influencers coping with staying indoors and who is still doing lip injections for the Kardashians? A night call from another medical professional says it’s probably okay to get take out right now and explains why. Then we get into our personal feelings about plastic surgery, insane beauty standards, and whether botox makes people look young or just rich. A night caller asks about Bella Hadid’s transformation into Carla Bruni and we spend a long time contemplating what it’s like to get a new face and have society treat you totally differently. Is this the end of decadent celebrity? We sure hope so, on an all new Night Call!Footnotes: Baby birds babbling Kylie's pregnancy lockdown prepared her for Covid Drake "Tootsie Slide" Kelly Ripa's last Botox March 11th Martha Stewart thanks her glam squad Subbing blood for eggs in baking India Sweets and Spices County Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer cautions restaurants cannot operate as groceries:  Eater LA on the grocery/res

Greetings fellow homebodies! This week Tess, Molly and Emily spend some time delving into our nightmarish techno-feudalist world. Where are the billionaires now? How do you shop for food ethically right now when the options are all bad? How are we, if not keeping sane exactly, at least muddling through? Some of us enjoyed watching Netflix's Tiger King, and some of us did not. A fun back and forth about ethics in documentary filmmaking, private zoos, and whether Joe Exotic is a Tony Soprano for our times. Then it's the conclusion of Spring Break March and the weirdest spring break in history with Magic Mike XXL, the Gregory Jacobs directed sequel to Steven Soderbergh's Magic Mike. Male objectification, Channing Tatum's career, Joe Manganiello's Backstreet Boys number, and how these movies quietly and expertly reinvented the movie musical for a new era without being annoying or twee about it. Escape on a mind vacation with Night Call, today!Footnotes: Instacart Strike How long can coronavirus survive on surfac

We are celebrating our inaugural episode of the Night Call Movie Club by putting it on the main feed! New episodes will come out every month for $5+ Patreon subscribers, along with our Book Club and other bonus episodes. Join us now at patreon.com/NightCall!To kick things off, we're watching the 1997 Robert Zemeckis-directed adaptation of Contact (after our 5-star experience with Carl Sagan's 1985 novel on the Book Club.) And who better to help us do it than writer, director and friend of the pod, Rian Johnson! We chat about how the movie has aged since its release, differences between the novel and the film, the filmography of Robert "Bobby Z" Zemeckis, sourdough starters, user interfaces of '90s Hollywood, loudmouths in Hawaiian shirts, and so much more. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A night caller asks and we deliver on covering the spring breakers and Disneyworld trippers who just wouldn’t stay home, as well as the too late response from Florida to prevent party rocking. Then a very special guest presents Dispatch From A Kid - Tess’s son Emmett! Emmett joins to tell us how kids feel about Corona and being off from school. More virus talk from the ladies leads into our penultimate week of Spring Break March, with The Real Cancun! The most 2003 movie of all time beloved by Werner Herzog, we look at why it failed where the Jersey Shore would succeed not too long after. Is any movie about thousands of people touching skin now a horror movie? Mayhaps! Molly tries to sell Tess and Emily on Summer House again and Emily counters with Terrace House. Come to Club Coco Bongo, with Night Call!Footnotes:Spring breakers in Florida ...During Coronavirus:Disneyland closed:"A petri dish":Conspiracies about coronavirus:Werner Herzog on The Real Cancun: Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.ihe

Well our Spring Break theme month has taken a turn due to reality. But we will be here for you at Night Call, some of us calling in remotely, to keep taking your night calls. Pandemic talk leads to a condemnation of wellness grifters giving junk advice about Coronavirus and selling garbage dust. Then Emily has a serious q&a with a listener who responded to our call for doctors and medical professionals to give real advice about the crisis. But it’s still Spring Break March, so we tuck into the appropriately weird Stravinsky piece The Rite Of Spring and the riot-causing Nijinsky ballet. Also spring rituals from around the world and Molly’s Excellent French Canadian Spring Break. Footnotes:- Moon Juice coronavirus protocol- *NIGHT CALL CANON!!!'- Alison Roman caramelized shallot pasta- The UCSF conference notes post, that Molly and Emily described and debunked, has been deleted since we recorded- Rite of Spring - Nicolas Roerich- Circle Dance- Dancing in the Streets- Baba Marta Day- Marzanna- Maslenitsa (bu

Molly, Tess and Emily continue Spring Break March with a listener email about alternative spring breaks and community service tourism. Then it’s social media breaks and more Coronavirus panic, as we speculate how the festival economy and economic in general will be affected (spoiler: it’s not good!) Plus a testimony about successfully using CBD for animals. The main feature this week is Where The Boys Are, the 1960 beach romp that invented the modern spring break tradition and sex comedies too. Why does this movie from 1960 still feel so deeply modern? When will we get more movies about women taking trips? And where exactly are the boys? Find out on Night Call!FOOTNOTES: Ultra Music Festival canceled UPDATE -- SXSW canceled (the day after we recorded) TP shortage Washing hands with cold water works as well as hot water CBD pillows First birth control pill Invention of the teenager Where the Boys Are invented spring break as we know it George Hamilton Forever Amber The Group Where The Boys Are trivia  Night Ca

The ladies are joined by dialect coach Samara Bay, from new IHeartRadio podcast Permission To Speak, to talk about accents, voices and power. Is there a more famous example of a "bad" accent than Dick Van Dyke in Mary Poppins and is it really even that bad? Then a night email about the movie Road To Wellville prompts a talk about Kellogg's Corn Flakes as health food fad of the past, and graham crackers as very ineffective anti-masturbation tool. And of course, Coronavirus! We discuss how misinformation spreads virally online and why the real culprit in any health pandemic or natural disaster is really human error and lack of preparation. Plus the tale of a cat who was cursed and then saved by a magical charm. Then it's a night call from listener Leah about a very existential spring break getaway, which leads to a reevaluation of Girls In Hoodies classic Harmony Korine's Spring Breakers (2012). Has it stood the test of time and space melting since then? Does it play like a period piece or have something real t

Jane Marie, creator and host of The Dream podcast, joins the Night Callers this week to break down the wellness industry. Are all essential oils a scam? What’s up with the influencers who stopped drinking water? Do I need to sell my crystals? Plus the creepy unregulated world of therapy apps, and a long dip in the pool for Ron Howard’s 1985 wellness opus Cocoon! All this and Steve Guttenberg too on an all new Night Call!FOOTNOTES: Jane Marie's The Dream podcast Jane Marie on Twitter Not that Rick Ross Dry fasting Goop lawsuit Donald Gary Young wikipedia Gary Young/Young Living Behind the Bastards episode "Free birth" article Gold dildo Jezebel on online therapy data-mining Smarterchild Ancestry.com's roots Esquire article on Aesop Anti-MLM reddit on Aesop Wilford Brimley on cockfighting AARP Cocoon article Night Call Patreon Night Call socials: Twitter @nightcallpod // Facebook @nightcallpodcast// Instagram @nightcallpodcast Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnyst

Poet Elaine Kahn, author of Romance or The End, joins the girls this week. “Where have all the great movie sex scenes gone?” A Zalman King inspired listener asks in a night email, and we answer. Elaine explains her favorite British reality dating show Flirty Dancing, and where the American reboot went wrong. A discussion of reality dating shows from around the world, with an emphasis on weird formats (including Netflix’s new show Love Is Blind.) Plus, why none of us enjoy The Bachelor! Then it’s a long piano recital about The Hunger - Tony Scott’s 1983 new wave vampire movie starring David Bowie, Catherine Denueve, Susan Sarandon and a scary posh Manhattan townhouse. We are divided on vampires and what they represent in fun ways! All this and a reading from Martine’s Sexual Astrology for this week’s Spooky Love February episode of Night Call.FOOTNOTES: Elaine Kahn's website Poetry Field School Elaine's Instagram Flirty Dancing UK The vast dating game show wikipedia well from which Molly drew examples I'd rath