In honor of Chris’ birthday, Ruminations is finally dropping its twenty-third episode. One night not so long ago, Chris and Steve decided to talk about Disney villains (because Chris likes scouring YouTube for Disney villain rankings in his spare time). The goal was to simply prepare for a future episode on the topic, but the hourlong conversation was “too funny” so they stopped what they were doing, pressed record, and restarted their banter. Thus Episode XXIII: An Impromptu Disney Villains Roundup. What’s the better ranking system: Top 3 or “Mount Rushmore of…”? Which movie did Chris relate to as a child because he went to preschool in Paterson? Does Steve correctly remember the plot of Hamlet 15 years after reading it? (He does not.) Which villain does Chris keep interrupting Steve to deride over and over (and over) again? How much editing is really needed to pull an episode like this together? Give us a listen!
Ruminations Episode XXII: Nosferatu New Year
Welcome to Year 6 of Ruminations! Chris and Steve begin the new year with a discussion of Robert Eggers’ acclaimed remake of Nosferatu, a look back at 2024, and what we’re looking forward to in 2025 (if we can even think of anything). How, according to Chris, did the notoriously detail-oriented Eggers drop the ball? Can either of us talk about any of the characters in Nosferatu without calling them by their Dracula counterparts? What did we think of the 2006 Dracula-themed book, The Historian? How many episodes of TV did Steve watch while on paternity leave? Is Chris still miffed that Mufasa exists? What Zoomer slang ensured Steve’s fantasy football victory? Happy New Year!
Ruminations Episode XXI: Disney Fun Time
After a yearlong hiatus, Ruminations is back with Episode 21, the last episode before co-host Steve becomes a father! To mark this occasion (and the possibility of an even longer hiatus), Steve and Chris return to their roots: discussing the good, the bad, and the ugly of Disney. This time around, it’s mostly the Disney theme parks and their controversial changes of recent years, with a sprinkling of TV and movie talk. Which Disney landmark, according to Chris, is no longer safe? Did Steve ever finish The Acolyte? Did Chris come up with a better plot for an unnecessary Disney prequel nearly 20 years before it was announced IRL? Can one have nostalgia for a place first visited at the age of 20? How did Steve not die while drinking (and eating cheese) Around the World last summer? Come for Chris’s burning hatred of a thousand suns, stay for Steve’s inability to say “paella” and a surprise cameo appearance!
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Ruminations Episode XX: The EU
Ruminations is back for the third and final episode of our Star Wars trilogy, and like the characters in Rogue One, we’re going out with a bang! Not only is Episode XX three hours long, but we have, for the first time ever, two guests! Our good friends Rob and John, possibly the biggest Star Wars fans we know, joined us to discuss the countless books and video games that comprised the Star Wars Expanded Universe for over 20 years, its transformation into “Star Wars Legends” after Disney’s purchase of Lucasfilm a decade ago, and the new Disney canon of cartoons, live-action shows, one-off movies, and more. Plus, we chat about collectables! Oh, and there’s lots of Knights of the Old Republic talk and even more Knights of the Old Republic II talk. This is a really fun one, guys!
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Ruminations Episode XIX: The Sequels
Somehow, Ruminations returned… for a second Star Wars episode! This time around, Chris and Steve are joined by their old friend Frank for a look back at a trio of root canals put to celluloid: the ill-planned and ill-executed Disney sequel trilogy. Who hates the trilogy the most? Which of the three is the best (of the worst)? Was Frank subjecting himself to nearly 9 hours of torture just to be a guest on this episode worth it? We know this is a long one, folks, but there is a surprise at the end if you can make it that far–we talk about an infamous Star Wars… thing… that has a higher pedigree than even Empire Strikes Back. We’ll leave it at that. [Note: when we recorded, Disney had not yet announced that its Galactic Star Cruiser dumpster fire of a hotel was closing. It’s definitely closing. Yub nub!]
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Ruminations Episode XVIII: The Prequels
A surprise to be sure, but a welcome one! In the first of (at least) three episodes focused on a certain long-running space opera franchise, Chris and Steven discuss the goofy, lovable Star Wars prequels with a very special guest star: Diana, Steve’s wife of 9 months. Why do they love these movies so much? Has the trilogy been redeemed in the last two decades? What color lightsaber does Chris yearn for? All this, and more, in Episode XVIII of Ruminations!
Ruminations Episode XVII: House of Power, Rings of the Dragon
Ruminations is back for our seventeenth episode, this time to talk about the two prequels to juggernaut fantasy series that premiered in September, HBO’s Game of Thrones: House of the Dragon and Amazon Prime’s The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power. For the second time this year, this is the second version of an episode that we, Chris and Steve, recorded. Before you ask, no, no one was too drunk this time! Back in August, we recorded a grab bag episode about our respective summer trips, interesting stuff we recently watched, a wedding and a 30th birthday, and ended with our varying degrees of apprehension towards HoD and RoP, but since each show finished its first season before we could edit the episode… we decided to re-record and focus on the shows in full. We hope you enjoy this episode as much as we each enjoyed one of the shows over the other.
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Ruminations Episode XVI: Apocalypse Now Redrunks
In an episode two months in the making, Chris and Steve delve into the heart of darkness to explore five of the most famous Vietnam War movies made in the aftermath of the war in the 1970s and 80s. Which version of Apocalypse Now is best? Why is The Deer Hunter so dull? Which of us grew up thinking Full Metal Jacket was a comedy? Why does Vietnam have such a visceral place in our pop culture and collective memory? Stay to the end for a game of “Would You Rather?” and a glimpse into the first time we recorded this episode–yes, we liked this topic so much, we talked about it twice! (But only Chris remembers that.) Episode 16 is messy, a bit overlong, and has a dubious history reminiscent of its subject matter, but what else do you expect from this duo?
Ruminations Episode XV: Squidnight Mass
Happy Halloween from Ruminations! For the first half of our 15th episode, we chat about the latest movies we’ve seen in theaters, from the ground-shaking sounds of Dune to the earth-shattering disappointment of The Many Saints of Newark. Then, for the main portion of the episode (28:00 on), we break down our experiences watching two of Netflix’s recent shows, the stressful South Korean juggernaut Squid Game and Mike Flanagan’s latest horror slow-burn, Midnight Mass. Why was Matt Damon’s hair so silly in The Last Duel? Will Dune get a sequel (the answer’s yes, but we didn’t know that at the time of recording)? Was Squid Game better in Korean or in English? Was Midnight Mass a good Catholic show, as one Vox reporter lamented? Listen to find out!
Ruminations Episode XIV: On Her Majesty’s Secret Agent
For Episode XIV, Chris and Steve discuss the ins and outs of the 59-year-old James Bond franchise, which just saw its 25th movie, and the fifth and last of Daniel Craig’s run as 007, No Time to Die, premiere in theaters this month. Well, it’s less of a discussion and more of Steve talking about a series of movies and books near and dear to his heart while Chris feigns interest. (To Chris’s credit, he has a better grasp on Bond than Steve does many of his esoteric religious interests.) What’s the best Bond song? Who’s the worst Bond? Why did George Lazenby only do one movie and later intimidate a teenaged Steve at a nerdy movie convention? Who will the next Bond be? Most importantly–to Chris at least–what aspects of the franchise directly influenced Austin Powers? Ruminations will return!
Ruminations Episode XIII: The Podcast of the Rings
For Episode XIII, Chris and Steve discuss … not Star Wars for the 4th episode in a row! Instead, due to recent AMC 4K re-releases, they talk about their favorite piece of popular culture ever, J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings and Peter Jackson’s seminal film adaptations, the first of which will be celebrating its 20th anniversary later this year. For the episode’s first half, Steve, having watched 15 hours of behind-the-scenes footage and read a 560-page book on Jackson’s journey through Middle-Earth, focuses on the making of the trilogy and The Hobbit, its much, much worse prequel series. For the second half, Chris channels his inner Elrond and fields Steve’s questions on Tolkien’s themes, alleged plot-holes, and the Bible of Tolkien’s legendarium, The Silmarillion. Altogether, it amounts to 2 hours of Middle-Earth content! A day may come when Ruminations releases a short podcast … but it is not THIS day.
Ruminations Episode XII Show Notes
We mentioned a ton of movies and tidbits in Episode XII, so here are some links worth checking out when you have some time between all the eggnog and Christmas cookies!
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Ruminations Episode XII: Christmas All the Way
Chris and Steve discuss a range of topics relating to Christmas movies with Lou, Ruminations’ second-ever guest host. Questions like: Is Die Hard a Christmas movie? Is Ron Howard’s Grinch movie worth its two-hour runtime? Why can’t Steve keep the Rankin/Bass movies straight? Will Mel Gibson’s Fatman become a perennial Christmas watch? How many times has Lou seen Jingle All the Way? How does it feel to spit up whiskey and/or to record half of a podcast with the hiccups? All of this and more in the messiest, most laugh-filled episode of Ruminations so far! Give us a listen, and merry Christmas to all of our listeners!
Episode XII Show Notes
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Ruminations Episode XI: Underrated Horror
Just in time for the strangest Halloween in memory, we’re back to talk about three underrated horror movies we seem to revisit every year around this time: Wes Craven’s Haiti-set The Serpent and the Rainbow (1988), the ’80s pastiche The House of the Devil (2009), and the Nicolas Cage mystery Pay the Ghost (2015). Along the way, we reminisce about Burger King’s Universal horror action figures from our childhood, 10th grade speeches, and our vastly different experiences watching The Texas Chainsaw Massacre for the first time. Chris is in his element discussing voodoo and Samhain, and Steve enjoys telling Chris off for not knowing directors by name. Lastly, we list our top moments in scary movies! Give us a listen. (We know you all have nothing better to do.)
Ruminations Episode X: Onward and Up-ward!
Ruminations is finally back and, boy, did we miss a lot over the last 6 months! We start off Episode X with a discussion of our experiences during the COVID-19 lockdown and what we’ve been watching to pass the time as society crumbles around us, but the main event is much more fun. In a companion piece to our first-ever episode, we rank the best and worst of Pixar Animation Studios, once the baby of Apple’s Steve Jobs and now an integral part of Disney’s galactic empire. In a departure from our first episode, however, we stick to our own rankings, which means there are some fireworks!
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Ruminations Episode IX: The 2010s
Happy New Year from Ruminations! To celebrate the start of 2020 and the end of the 2010s, we talk* about 10 of our favorite movies from a decade that wasn’t all that great when it came to cinema. (At least in our opinions, but our opinions are Correct.) Stick around for some honorable mentions!
Ruminations Episode VIII Show Notes
Miscellaneous Exorcism
- Since posting our episode on Halloween, I have finished The Rite: The Making of a Modern Exorcist by Matt Baglio. I can’t recommend it enough for anyone looking for an accessible and informative overview of angels, demons, demonic infestation/oppression/possession, and the various ways in which exorcists go about exorcising demons in the 21st century. More on book’s main focus, Fr. Gary Thomas, below in our section on the movie version of The Rite.
- Here is an abbreviated form of the Rite of Exorcism from the Roman Ritual. It was admittedly harder to find online than one might think, but Chris found it. If you would like to purchase the full ritual, you can buy it here with the full Latin and English texts, side by side.
- Here is Fr. Vincent Lampert, Exorcist for the Archdiocese of Indianapolis, being interviewed on EWTN’s World Over program with Raymond Arroyo. As mentioned in the episode, Chris saw Fr. Lampert speak at Montclair State University twice (in 2010 as a student and then with me in 2016, post-college); here is video of his lecture at Seton Hall University in 2017. Lastly, Fr. Lampert also appeared in The Making of a Modern Exorcist as an exorcist-in-training with Fr. Thomas.
- The career of Rome’s foremost exorcist, the late Fr. Gabriel Amorth, is discussed on EWTN’s World Over program with Raymond Arroyo and The Exorcist director William Friedkin. Fr. Amorth was the author of numerous books on exorcisms–his most famous book available in English is An Exorcist Tells His Story–and was the subject of Friedkin’s 2017 documentary, The Devil and Fr. Amorth.
- Chris also mentioned the book Interview with an Exorcist: An Insider’s Look at the Devil, Demonic Possession, and the Path to Deliverance, which is exactly what it sounds like. This exorcist is Fr. José Antonio Fortea of Spain.
- Christ mentioned how priests partake in a “black fast” before beginning the exorcist ritual. We couldn’t find an exact source for this but Matt Baglio did make a point about fasting beforehand in The Making of a Modern Exorcist.
- Chris and I talked about this video from VICE where a reporter attended a voodoo ceremony in a basement in a Haitian neighborhood in Brooklyn. It is freaky and bizarre and also completely fascinating.
Ruminations Episode VIII: What an Excellent Day for an Exorcism
For our Halloween-themed episode, the Ruminations team talks about the Catholic Rite of Exorcism and the movies that have made it famous. Learn the differences between demonic infestation, oppression, and possession, what it’s like to talk to a 90-year-old exorcist IRL, and why even modern Hollywood can sometimes treat Catholicism respectfully!
(In order to get Episode VIII out in time for, you know, Halloween, our show notes will be posted at a later date. Stay tuned!)
Episode VIII Show Notes
Ruminations Episode VII Show Notes
The Curse of the Black Pearl
- This video explains some of the behind the scenes history of the making of The Curse of the Black Pearl, especially the comical short sightedness of Disney’s former CEO, Michael Eisner.
- Johnny Depp received an Oscar nomination for his role of Jack Sparrow, ultimately losing to Sean Penn for Mystic River. In 2018, Depp received the exact opposite honor when he was nominated for a Golden Raspberry for his (final?) performance of Jack in Dead Men Tell No Tales.
- Wikipedia has a good breakdown of how Hans Zimmer and Klaus Badelt split the work for the score of the first Pirates film. Long story short: Zimmer couldn’t focus on the score because he was busy composing for The Last Samurai, so he passed the work onto Badelt. However, he still managed to compose most of the main cues with Badelt. Because the schedule was so rushed, seven other composers had to contribute orchestrations and cues, including Game of Thrones’ Ramin Djawadi and Arrow/The Flash‘s Blake Neely. The most famous track, “He’s a Pirate,” sounds like it was lifted verbatim from Zimmer’s Gladiator track, “The Battle.”
Ruminations Episode VII: A Pirate’s Life for Us
After what seems like an eternity, Rum-inations is back with our seventh episode! As promised at the end of Episode VI, this one is all about pirates and rum. To prepare for such an undertaking…we bought a whole bunch of rum and rewatched all 5 Pirates of the Caribbean movies with our friend Ruben, who now joins us as our first guest!
In addition to our episode, check out our show notes full of movie and musical clips, historical tidbits, and mucho rum recommendations!
Episode VII Show Notes
Ruminations Episode VI Show Notes
Scavi Tour
- The exclusive Scavi tour must be booked months in advance because it fills up very quickly–only 250 people go through the necropolis under St. Peter’s each day. Some additional tips on how to snare tickets can be found here.
- The Fisherman’s Tomb: The True Story of the Vatican’s Secret Search (2018) by John O’Neill is a breezy read on the secret excavations that occurred under the Vatican in the 1940s, a project that was entirely financed by a Texas oil baron!
- A brief overview of the Scavi was featured as the June 2019 cover story of the Knights of Columbus’ Columbia magazine.
- It appears chief archaeologist (and identifier of Peter’s bones) Margherita Guarducci’s entire 1960 book The Tomb of St. Peter can be found online.
- St. Peter’s remains were first displayed publicly by Pope Francis in November of 2013.
- Check out Illume for more information about the tomb and necropolis. These diagrams are helpful in picturing the layout of the necropolis and the placement of Peter’s grave.
- Jesus without a beard? Here is Christ as Sol Invictus from Mausoleum M, also known as the Tomb of the Julii.
St. Peter’s Basilica and the Sistine Chapel
Ruminations Episode VI: Urbs Aeterna
Ruminations is back with its most historical episode yet! In Episode VI, Chris and Steve recount their April trip to Rome, the Eternal City, highlighting the history and splendor of St. Peter’s Basilica, the glory witnessing the Capitoline Wolf and Augustus of Prima Porta statues in person, an unexpected visit to an actual medieval castle, and more. This episode is a bit on the long side, folks–if you make it through the first 45 minutes, you’ll at least be rewarded by two superb anecdotes that practically had the hosts in tears!
Stick around until the end and check out our show notes full of historical tidbits, book recommendations, and lots of pictures!
Episode VI Show Notes
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Ruminations Episode V Show Notes
Game of Thrones (01:30-26:30): As we mentioned in the episode, the entire world has Game of Thrones Season 8 takes. Below are a few interesting columns, blogs, and podcasts we’ve come across since the finale aired:
- Entertainment Weekly‘s recap podcast with Darren Franich and James Hibberd. Hibberd visited various sets and interviewed actors during filming so he knew many of the plot points that were to occur, yet he still wasn’t keen on its final product (as conveyed in his own finale recap).
- Alan Sepinwall of Rolling Stone‘s equally unimpressed blog specifically focusing on Tyrion’s kingmaking
- This amazing GLoP podcast in which guests Ross Douthat (New York Times) and Sonny Bunch (Washington Free Beacon & Washington Post) join co-hosts John Podhoretz and Jonah Goldberg, and the normally level-headed Ross has a few, er, choice words to say about showrunners Benioff and Weiss.
- Lastly, this AV Club essay by Myles McNutt takes a contrarian, positive take on the finale, noting its thematic consistencies. Worth a read, as much as we might not agree with his view of the final product.
Aladdin (26:30-39:30):
- Flashback to Episode I and our ranking of the 57 Disney Animated Classics. Look at Number 1 on all 3 lists!
- Benj Pasek and Justin Paul, the “Speechless” writing team, on their new woke song for Jasmine
- Cartoon Jafar sings “Prince Ali,” which was left entirely out of the new movie. Speaking of missing Jafar scenes from the 1992 original, wasn’t live action Jafar’s transformation into a giant cobra so cool to see on the big screen? Oh.
Knights of the Old Republic (39:30-42:30):
- The news. Ugh. Here is the original trailer for the award-winning 2003 RPG. It plays automatically whenever you start up the original Xbox game, and I get chills every time. (The torture scene towards the end, which plays a major role in the plot, is very similar to this scene in The Force Awakens, and the only time my interest was piqued while watching Episode VII.)
- There’s a new book about the making of the game!
- This meme:
John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum (42:30-49:00):
- Not really much to say about this one. Some news about its box office numbers, as it was more successful than the previous two movies in its opening weekend.
Avengers: Endgame (49:00-51:00):
- This Half in the Bag review from the always-great Red Letter Media is comprehensive and sensible.
- We were both annoyed by Fat Thor though we never mentioned it in the podcast. Apparently, Chris Hemsworth fought to keep him in the movie?
Featured Image credit:
Composite image/FLIPP
Ruminations Episode V: Disappointment
Everything is Terrible in Episode V of Ruminations! When writing about our last episode, I quoted T.S. Eliot since cruel, cruel April brought us the ending of two of our favorite franchises. Little did I know how cruel it would actually be! Another Eliot quote is appropriate now (this one the conclusion to The Hollow Men):
This is the way the world ends
Not with a bang but with a whimper.
Whimper to its conclusion Game of Thrones did–and its lackluster finale takes up the full first half of our episode–but it wasn’t alone in its dullness. The live action Aladdin remake and the much-hyped John Wick Chapter 3 – Parabellum, released in back-to-back weekends, were also quite lame, to put it mildly. To top off this whirlwind of recent mediocrity, a bit of (potentially) soul-crushing Star Wars news also leaked this week. When will the suffering end?
Avenger: Endgame was pop culture’s only saving grace and we gladly left it out of our lamentations (until, ya know, the end of our episode, when we decided to actually talk about it. Oops?)
Listen and complain along with us! And, as always, SPOILERS!
Episode V Show Notes
Ruminations Episode IV: Endgame of Thrones
For the fourth episode of the Ruminations Podcast, we discuss the long-awaited endings of our beloved Game of Thrones and The Avengers. (“April is the cruelest month,” as Eliot said.) We recorded hours before the premiere of GoT’s 8th season, but we spend more time talking about the past 7 seasons anyway, so it’s not outdated yet! (One of Chris’s predictions has already come true! Psst. It involves dragons.) For both our GoT and MCU discussions, SPOILERS GALORE!
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Ruminations Podcast 
