Episodes

Cathy and Todd discuss Apollo 13 (1995) for Space Month, Ron Howard’s docudrama starring Tom Hanks, Kevin Bacon, Bill Paxton, Gary Sinise, and Ed Harris, based on the true story of NASA’s near-disastrous 1970 lunar mission. The film was nominated for nine Academy Awards and grossed over $355 million worldwide, cementing its place as one of the great survival stories ever put on screen. They discuss the complicated legacies of the astronauts, the emotional devastation of the wives left behind, an...

It’s Space Month on Zen Pop, and Cathy and Todd are talking about E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, the Steven Spielberg film he called the first movie he ever made for himself. They discuss why it dominated 1982 and held the all-time worldwide box office record for eleven years, the Reese’s Pieces deal that made Mars look very foolish, the Atari game so bad they buried it in the desert, and why at its core this movie is really about divorce, grief, and two outsiders who find each other. Some Ways to...

Cathy and Todd discuss Rocky IV, the 1985 film that Sylvester Stallone wrote, directed, and starred in, grossing $300 million on a $31 million budget and spending six weeks at number one over Christmas. They break down Apollo Creed’s shocking death at the hands of Ivan Drago and the real story of Brigitte Nielsen sliding a photo under Stallone’s hotel room door and landing a role he wrote specifically for her. They dig into what the film is really about, whether Drago is a villain or the Soviet ...

Cathy and Todd discuss Rocky II (1979), the Sylvester Stallone-written and directed sequel that earned $200 million worldwide and briefly became the highest-grossing sequel ever made. They break down the film’s best behind-the-scenes stories and hidden details, make the case that Apollo Creed is actually the more compelling character in the film, and explore how Rocky II quietly lays the emotional foundation for the entire Creed franchise decades later. Some Ways to Support Us Sign up for Cath...

Cathy and Todd discuss Rocky (1976), a film that feels more like a documentary than a traditional sports movie, set in the working-class neighborhoods of Philadelphia and made on a shoestring budget by writer and star Sylvester Stallone and director John G. Avildsen. The story follows Rocky Balboa, a small-time boxer and part-time debt collector living an almost invisible life, who unexpectedly gets a shot at the heavyweight title against champion Apollo Creed as a publicity stunt. At its core, ...

To celebrate spring and baseball season, Cathy and Todd discuss Major League, the 1989 baseball comedy that wasn’t supposed to be a huge hit but ended up sticking around for decades. They get into the cast including Tom Berenger, Charlie Sheen, Wesley Snipes, and Rene Russo and the behind-the-scenes details, like filming in Milwaukee instead of Cleveland and Sheen having legit pitching skills. They also talk about the tone of the movie, how it got away with being a little rougher and more irreve...

Cathy and Todd discuss Dirty Dancing and how a low-budget film about a summer romance became a cultural phenomenon and why it still resonates. They explore how it’s not just a love story between Johnny and Baby, but also a deeper look at class tension, autonomy, and a girl finding her voice. They dig into behind-the-scenes tension, surprising casting what-ifs, and the film’s groundbreaking abortion storyline set in pre-Roe America, along with the chilling way privilege and disposability show up ...

Cathy and Todd discuss Billy Elliot (2000), the British film set during the 1984–85 miners’ strike about a working-class boy who secretly pursues ballet while his community expects him to box and follow the rigid rules of masculinity. Using the film as a lens, they also discuss the documentaryLouis Theroux: Inside the Manosphere, exploring how ideas about what boys “should” be, tough, unemotional, traditionally masculine, continue to shape conversations about gender today. They discuss the cultu...

Dance month continues as Cathy and Todd discuss the 1983 film Flashdance, directed by Adrian Lyne and written by Tom Hedley and Joe Eszterhas, a movie that helped define the early-1980s MTV-style of filmmaking with its fast cuts, dance scenes, and unforgettable soundtrack. Starring Jennifer Beals as Alex, a young steel mill welder who dances at night while dreaming of becoming a professional dancer, the film blends working-class ambition and romance. They discuss why the movie became such a cult...

Cathy and Todd discuss The Wedding Singer and why this Adam Sandler–Drew Barrymore rom-com lived fully inside the 80’s, the music, the clothes, and all that emotional earnestness. They talk about the chemistry that made it work and the unexpectedly sharp stuff underneath, and what happens when genuinely open-hearted people fall in love with each other. They get into Steve Buscemi’s awesome chaotic presence and why the soundtrack sold so many copies. The Wedding Singer helped reframe the ’80s as ...

Cathy and Todd discuss Best in Show to honor Catherine O’Hara and dive into America’s Mayflower Kennel Club Dog Show in Philadelphia, where nothing “big” happens and that is exactly the joke. They examine Christopher Guest’s mockumentary style, made without a traditional script, in which an ensemble performs identity inside a highly rule-bound world. They move through their typical categories and share plenty of their favorite clips as they explore how the film, released in 2000 before reality T...

Todd and Cathy discuss The Sure Thing (1985), Rob Reiner’s early, quietly subversive road-trip rom-com starring John Cusack as Gib Lloyd, a smart, restless college guy chasing a guaranteed hookup that slowly reveals itself to be hollow, alongside Daphne Zuniga’s Alison Bradbury, a sharp, principled counterpoint who refuses to play the “cool girl.” Set in a pre-internet, pre-cell-phone America, the film captures mid-80s college culture while exploring the tension between impulse and integrity, de...

Cathy and Todd discuss Why Heated Rivalry Matters, digging into why this hockey romance has become such a cultural lightning rod and emotional touchstone. They talk about Rachel Reid’s novel and the TV adaptation, but mostly they focus on what’s really happening alongside the sex scenes: two very different expressions of masculinity learning how to coexist without hierarchy, punishment, or performance. The conversation moves from the slow-burn relationship between Shane and Ilya to why so many w...

Cathy and Todd discuss A Few Good Men, a courtroom drama set inside the military justice system about power, loyalty, and what happens when following orders starts to feel wrong. They go through their usual categories, talk about why the movie still works all these years later, and give props to Jo Galloway who was dismissed for being “too much,” yet was right all along. The share why this film hit so hard for people who grew up learning the rules and then had to decide when to question them. PL...

We decided to re-run an old “Pop Culturing” Podcast in honor of the tragic death of Rob Reiner and his wife Michele. We will be creating 4 new Zen Pop Episodes based off of 4 other Rob Reiner films for the month of January. When Harry Met Sally… is a 1989 American romantic comedy film written by Nora Ephron and directed by Rob Reiner. It stars Billy Crystal as Harry and Meg Ryan as Sally. The story follows the title characters from the time they meet in Chicago just before sharing a cross-count...

Cathy and Todd discuss Love Actually as part of their “Christmas movies that might not actually be Christmas movies” month. Released in November 2003 and written and directed by Richard Curtis, the film uses its London-at-Christmas setting, stacked ensemble cast, and interwoven stories of romantic, familial, awkward, and heartbreaking love to reflect a long-held worldview: messy humans and basic decency still matter. Cathy and Todd go through their categories, debate the storylines, and unpack w...

Cathy and Todd talk about The Family Stone and why it works so well as “a Christmas movie that isn’t really a Christmas movie”. They explore how it’s a story about family systems, grief, belonging, and what happens when someone new steps into a familiar and often fragile emotional ecosystem. They get into the best family movies, the most uncomfortable scenes, each character’s role, birth order patterns, sibling energy, and the tension Meredith brings into the house. They also look at why this me...

Cathy and Todd discuss Trading Places for “Christmas movies that might not be Christmas movies” month. John Landis’ 1983 comedy-satire dropped the same year as Return of the Jedi, Flashdance, WarGames, and Risky Business, yet still became one of the biggest hits of the year. With Dan Aykroyd, a very young Eddie Murphy (only 21!), Jamie Lee Curtis, and a plot that dives deep into class and privilege, they discuss what the movie was saying about wealth, meritocracy, and who gets access, along with...

Cathy and Todd discuss Die Hard, the 1988 action classic that redefined the genre, covering everything from its Christmas Eve plot and iconic Nakatomi Plaza setting to the film’s surprisingly heartfelt themes of family, reconciliation, and love. They discuss why so many (including Cathy) consider it a Christmas movie, break down the characters and casting surprises, highlight the film’s legacy and genre-shaping influence, and share the behind-the-scenes stories that made Bruce Willis’s hero an u...