Monthly Archives: April 2015

247: Star Wars and Competitive Nostalgia



After losing a week to technical difficulties, we’re back! This week, we’re discussing the release of the Star Wars trailer and the people competing to see who can be the most nostalgic for Star Wars. The big question is, what’s the line between acceptable, earnest fandom for something that meant a lot to you, and cheering while a corporation sells you your childhood? We try to answer that, talk about “thug” as we solve race relations in Baltimore, listen to some of Joe Sinclitico’s stand-up comedy about koala hunting, and try to figure out if Matt Lieb actually likes us. As for the listener who asked if the Frotcast was dying, no, it is not, we just had some troubles upgrading our recording set up. We’ve come a long way, from shouting into a single mic to multi-track recording. Not successfully, mind you, but it’s been a journey. 


245: ‘Furious’ Freestyle, With Joe Sinclitico and Matt Louv



I was in SoCal this week for the MTV Movie Awards and Alison Rosen’s podcast, so the regular Frotcrew is gone this week (though Bret did still show up to the Frotquarters, poor Bret). Not to fear, though, because I was able to get a couple fan-favorite guests to record the make-up ‘cast, comedians Joe Sinclitico and Matt Louv (the museum of comedy). We talked about Joe’s righteous mustache and it smelling like a condom, the MTV Movie Awards, Furious 7, and discussed whether Vin Diesel is trying to bring up Paul Walker as much as Rudy Giuliani brings up 9/11. Enjoy.


244: Going Clear, and San Francisco’s Prison of Technology



There’s a new bus service in San Francisco that basically helps rich tech nerds pay a few more dollars not to see poor people. Is this a sign of the apocalypse or is it basically all capitalism in a nutshell? Either way, it seems like we the San Francisco residents are guinea pigs in an experiment to see what it’d be like if tech companies ruled the world. WE HAVE SEEN YOUR FUTURE, AND IT SUCKS. We discuss the infantilizing effect of tech before moving onto ‘Going Clear: Scientology and the Prison of Belief,’ with Ben back on the pod after two months in Central America. He talks where to go and what to spend and all that good stuff. We finish up with your emails and voicemails about your personal encounters with Name Of The Year contestants like Dr. Loki Skylizard, and Tokyo Sexwale.


BookDrunk Radio: ‘A Kim Jong-Il Production’ Author Paul Fischer



We couldn’t get the Frotcast crew together for a proper Frotcast this past week, but I did interview Paul Fischer ‘A Kim Jong-Il Production: The Extraordinary True Story of a Kidnapped Filmmaker, His Star Actress, and a Young Dictator’s Rise to Power.’ While it’s not the same thing as a normal Frotcast, I did go all Teri Gross for a Fresh Air-style, hour-long interview. The book tells the story of Choi Eun-Hee and Shin Sang-Ok, who at one point were the most popular actress and director in South Korea. They were kidnapped by Kim Jong-Il in 1978, and after Shin tried to escape twice and spent five years in North Korean gulags, he eventually got out, was reunited with Choi (his ex-wife at that point) and they made seven movies for Kim Jong-Il, including the so-bad-it’s-good cult classic, Pulgasari. They tried to make movies good enough that they’d be in Jong-Il’s good graces, so that he eventually gave them just enough freedom that they were able to escape back to the west. Shin eventually went to Hollywood and made a few movies, including ‘3 Ninjas Knuckle Up.’ I talk to Fischer about North Korea, parallels betwen North Korea and Scientology, The Interview, his personal experience in North Korea, and all about himself, writing the book, Kim Jong-Il, and everything else. Enjoy.