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Playing Favorites

Playing Favorites

By Nathaniel Brimmer-Beller

Movies, punchlines, music and travelogues. Hosted by Nathaniel Brimmer-Beller, this show invites a guest to bring in their favorite film, favorite joke, favorite album, and favorite place - and discuss two, chosen at random.

Expect conversation, culture, comedy, and a compelling way to pass the time.
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PF III. Pod of Carnage

Playing FavoritesSep 28, 2021

00:00
02:00:45
Suani Rincon

Suani Rincon

From her ASMR intro to her Sinatra-inspired sendoff, Suani Rincon proves a more subversive podcast guest than I expected. 

Among many topics, we discuss Channing Tatum, Killers concerts, differences between ‘Western' and 'Eastern’ approaches to theatre, and Brandon Flowers’ singing voice - plus, Suani reads from 70 Hilariously Funny Jokes to Tickle Your Family’s Funny Bone, which is definitely not something she googled seconds before we started recording. Tune in!

Dec 02, 202231:31
Rosie Hart
Nov 23, 202242:57
Amy Wallace
Nov 22, 202239:47
Annabella Fazio
Sep 30, 202228:60
Apphia Campbell

Apphia Campbell

You read that right! My guest on Playing Favorites tonight is Apphia Campbell, the brilliant writer and performer who has brought two ingenious and universally acclaimed pieces to the Fringe, and I am lucky to say has been a wonderfully gracious new friend and guest.

We sat down in mid-August, minutes after her now legendary piece Black Is The Color of My Voice finished at the Pleasance EICC. We discussed the show, what it’s been like performing it for nearly 10 years, thoughts on writing new projects, past Nina Simone-inspired stories, how to think about a one-person show, her phenomenal play Woke, our admiration of Miriam Makeba, Rebecca Hall’s brilliant film Passing, making theatre in Shanghai, and lots more. It’s a very special episode of Playing Favorites!

Sep 16, 202241:51
Alexandra Clare
Aug 19, 202229:48
Kaia Hickson
Aug 16, 202234:06
PF IV. Pod Gun: Maverick

PF IV. Pod Gun: Maverick

IT'S THE 50TH EPISODE OF PLAYING FAVORITES!
Thank you all for listening!
What better way to celebrate than by soaring on the wings of F18s as the fourth PF Series tackles the high-flying-est film of the year. 


Nathaniel, Phoebe, Emily & Elihu throw caution and skepticism to the wind as they get their spines rattled and their spirits cleansed at a 4DX screening of Top Gun: Maverick and then immediately podcast about it, exactly as the listening fans deserve. Only the best at Top Pod / Pod Gun / Pod Fun / Podverick / Playing Flyvorites / Flying Mav-orites.


Topics discussed range all over the airmap, including our favorite callsigns, how we'd each be as pilots, the film's relationship with military propaganda, Tom Cruise & the "star career,"  the concept of movies as amusement park rides, exemplary grunt-acting, the film's Cannes premiere (which one of us attended), and why the 4DX option might be severely underrated. 


So have some Pod Fun with PF IV. Here's to 50 more!

Aug 14, 202201:37:40
Elihu Ngbodi

Elihu Ngbodi

The one & only Elihu Ngbodi, hailing from Poughkeepsie, New York & diving into the world of London acting, swings by Playing Favorites to chat about our shared backgrounds in International Relations, his past as a production assistant, loving Casablanca, visiting beautiful lakes, plans, Shutter Island, un-remake-able films, Norm Macdonald's bits about his own death, and whether or not Elihu would be in a superhero joint if one came around. Enjoy! 
Aug 12, 202258:51
Andy Gatchalian

Andy Gatchalian

Splendid actor & splendid person Andy Gatchalian hops on Playing Favorites to talk acting, Mike Mills, Feng Suave, squeaky chairs, films where nothing happens but it’s just vibes, Orange Peel Productions, and Pink Floyd’s new line of energy drinks. Drink Pink Flroid Rage today! 
Aug 05, 202249:48
Oscar Brudenall-Jones

Oscar Brudenall-Jones

Delightful fellow and frequently gut-bustingly funny performer Oscar Brudenall-Jones joins Playing Favorites tonight! He discusses his bizarre comedic taste, The Death of Stalin, Richard Harris, magpie-ing, grief, and resting places for those we love. A genuinely moving conversation. 

Jul 29, 202242:02
Emily Oxley

Emily Oxley

Emily Oxley, occasional target of japes and fellow Edinburgh theatre proselytizer, hops on Playing Favorites to chat radium, name changes, P.T. Anderson, Matthew Vaughn’s Stardust, Steve McQueen’s Widows, Austen’s Persuasion, Luhrmann’s Gatsby, and when podcasts will (understandably) be made illegal.

Jul 22, 202231:57
Phoebe Rowell John

Phoebe Rowell John

The one and only PRJ joins Playing Favorites at long last, to discuss feminism, women, FKA Twigs, old and good plays, the beauty of getting rid of theatrical fuss, Emma Thompson, and women.

Jul 15, 202226:04
Jodie Davey

Jodie Davey

In Everglade Special - Part 4
In our fourth & final cast chat with the quartet fronting brand-new extravaganza
In Everglade Studio, it's satirical Snow White herself Jodie Davey, a talented and friendly artist playing the talented and extremely unfriendly Skye, a twisted British songstress aiming to model herself after a Southern belle. We discuss what it's like embodying villainous characters - and what it means that Jodie does so so rarely - plus the magic of Spirited Away, how Jodie found her way into such musical talent, and the transformative power of a trip to Tabuk in the Philippines. 

It's Playing Favorites!
Further In Everglade Studio details, and tickets to the premiere, available here: www.mountview.org.uk/whats-on/show/in-everglade-studio/

Jun 16, 202227:39
Aveev Isaacson
Jun 15, 202236:05
Hannah Omisore

Hannah Omisore

In Everglade Special - Part 2
Our cast-tastic four-part special continues with the delightful and slightly unhinged Hannah Omisore, who plays the delightful and slightly unhinged Matilda in In Everglade Studio! We chat East London locales, getting tricked into enjoying scary movies, and quite a lot of Batman film history. It's another great chat with a great performer tonight on Playing Favorites - enjoy! 

Further In Everglade Studio details, and tickets to the premiere, available here: www.mountview.org.uk/whats-on/show/in-everglade-studio/

Jun 14, 202233:49
Laurie Duncan

Laurie Duncan

In Everglade Special - Part 1
The return of Playing Favorites is heralded in by four special episodes featuring the stellar cast of a brand new play:
In Everglade Studio, premiering 18th June at the Backstage Theatre in Mountview.

First up it’s the wisecracking matinee idol Laurie Duncan, who plays wisecracking matinee idol Clarke in the play, and brings giggles, wisdom, and lots of knowledge about something called “football teams” to the show. He’s great - enjoy!

Further In Everglade Studio details, and tickets to the premiere, available here: www.mountview.org.uk/whats-on/show/in-everglade-studio/

It's good to be back!

Jun 13, 202225:05
PF III. Pod of Carnage

PF III. Pod of Carnage

Back for another showdown we have literally all been waiting for, friends-of-the-show Michael Zwiauer and Angus Bhattacharya join us for a third PF Series event. This time, we dive into the 2011 stage-to-screen adaptation and star-studded showcase Carnage, a longtime favorite (at least for two of us). It stars such luminaries as Jodie Foster, Kate Winslet, Christoph Waltz, and John C. Reilly, each of whom take the excruciating and hilarious setup and run with it in titilating directions. It's a blast, it's an experience, it's a problematic fave, and it's one of the chief influences on the much-discussed ensemble piece The Arbitrator - which is currently and perpetually streaming on YouTube, and happens to star both Michael and Angus!
We discuss a hefty conversation's worth of subjects, including: the film's distinctively French cadence, relishing the art of dislike, adults who have forgotten how to be children, when to speak up about hamster treatment, the pros and cons of "spontaneous moralizing," which parts only Al Pacino could have improved, whether or not The Arbitrator is plagiarism or just a hearty homage to this film (which it is), and why the real Carnage is the friends we made along the way.
It's another PF Series, and it's not to be missed!
Lots of love,
Playing Favorites
Sep 28, 202102:00:45
Bill Crandall

Bill Crandall

Tonight, it's my former photography teacher and long-time fellow conversationalist, Bill Crandall! He's a fascinating artist and citizen, and a multi-talented fella who's released albums under this own name and as Mistochord, and continues to innovate and educate in various manners. We really have at it with the long-form discussion format this week, but somehow it all ended up a fairly coherent conversation nevertheless. 

We covered a sprawling but rich range of society-and-culture-related topics, including how an individual's favorites change over time, when re-evaluating certain old picks can show growth, what dancing at weddings can show us about our perplexing times, whether we’re seeing a “race to the bottom” in certain cultural arenas (we are), and the ethics within (or without) modern sport, education, plastically progressive marketing copy, escapism, and the intersection of art & climate change. 

It's a hefty one, but certainly a delight chatting again like the old dayz. It's Playing Favorites!

Sep 21, 202101:29:59
Natasha Federson

Natasha Federson

Tonight cineaste and splendid person Natasha Federson discusses how fun it is to criticize movies, our shared respect for Jean-Pierre Melville (and Natasha’s exquisite memory for how much I love his work), her apparent fascination with stories of unraveling men of religion, what it’s like sharing a home town with Thatcher, and our appreciation of auteur cinema like The Curse of the Were-Rabbit.
It’s another long-awaited and lovely conversation, and it’s Playing Favorites!
Sep 14, 202146:04
Grace Dickson

Grace Dickson

Extraordinary producer/person Grace Dickson (of Grace Dickson Productions!) plays favorites tonight! As we both agree too much of our time is spent somehow discussing theatre and the like, we decided to focus on different kinds of media for once in our lives. So, instead, we covered a litany of topics sprouting from Grace’s lifetime of knowledge. 

Recorded rather a few weeks ago but hardly out of context nevertheless, our chat included small-seaside-town politics, impressively-stocked gift shops, lamps, the ingenuity and parallels of She’s The Man and Some Like It Hot, and how to say “fly” in the past tense. Among other things. Listen in!

Sep 07, 202138:40
Marta Castellvi

Marta Castellvi

Actress, jetsetter and Cannes regular Marta Castellvi joins in tonight for a chat about fun times on the Croisette, Mexican locales and words, and the enduring appeal of Chet Baker - and mid-20th-century music in general! It's Playing Favorites!

Aug 10, 202127:42
Amelia Chinnock-Schumann
Aug 03, 202132:11
Rachel Oyawale

Rachel Oyawale

Playing Favorites returns! With splendid new guest and new friend Rachel Oyawale! Our chat ranged from picturesque Italian hostels to Carné's resplendent Black Orpheus, to our shared Jewish backgrounds and (mostly shared) Jewish senses of humor, and beyond.

Listen in! It's Playing Favorites! Glad to be back!

Jul 27, 202149:43
PF II. The Third Man

PF II. The Third Man

Tune your zithers and wind up your cuckoo clocks, it's our 33rd episode, so naturally time for a PF Series chat about Carol Reed's three-themed thriller The Third Man. Big fans and Playing Favorites regulars Michael Zwiauer, Jacob Baird, Steven Beller, and Robert Tomkin join me to discuss what some call the greatest British film of all time, Michael calls "almost clinically perfect,” and Robert has called, on-pod, his favorite film.

Listen in for a ripping discussion of this seminal 1949 Vienna-set noir, written by Graham Greene and starring Joseph Cotten, Orson Welles, Trevor Howard, and other great talents. Our chat answers or addresses a host of film-related and more existentially ponderous questions as:

  • Is Holly Martins really Graham Greene?
  • What do Austrians think of the movie?
  • Is Harry Lime the anti-Christ?
  • Would it work as a musical?
  • When did women get the right to vote in Switzerland?
  • What does this movie have to do with James Bond, Joker, and Spongebob?
  • Where is that creepy little boy now?
  • and: What does Jacob think??


It’s PF II, it’s a classic, it’s a must-listen. Good laughs, good ideas, good points, good tunes, good times.

May 28, 202101:56:56
Peyton Robinson
May 21, 202137:42
Caitlin Skinner

Caitlin Skinner

A very special Artistic Director Guest plays favorites tonight! Caitlin Skinner, of Stellar Quines, Woke, Distance Remaining, and many other tremendous projects, joins us to discuss Cool Camping in Arisaig, the stark differences between the magnificent Mary Poppins film and the perplexing Mary Poppins musical, and what Billy Connolly has to say about the perfect partner. It's Playing Favorites!
May 14, 202134:48
Laura Hounsell

Laura Hounsell

It's Episode 30, and with me tonight to celebrate is an extremely special guest: Laura Florence Hounsell herself! The director, designer, filmmaker, podcaster, literary sociologist, international fashion inspiration, and nice person comes on the show at long last, as we chat Chance The Rapper's Coloring Book, the sublime power, mystique, and romance of the sea, and one of Laura's favorite pastimes: SNL tributes featuring Mr. Bill Hader. It's Playing Favorites!

h a p p y  f o u r  y e a r s  S. B. L. x x

May 04, 202140:10
Camilla Anvar
Apr 30, 202131:55
Sophie Boyle
Apr 27, 202130:35
David Ruffin

David Ruffin

The charming, well-traveled, and always interesting David Ruffin joins today! He may not be the one from The Temptations, but this David Ruffin did bring in some excellent Smokey Robinson stories, a great travelogue relating to his decades-long love for David Lean's Lawrence of Arabia, and the great Chris Rock's connection between bad cops and airlines. It's a great chat, on Playing Favorites.

Apr 23, 202134:49
Jack Arnholz

Jack Arnholz

Mouse associate and old friend Jack Arnholz is on tonight, discussing his favorite landmarks of Maine, the spectacle of Eric André vs. Lauren Conrad, the cinema of Alejandro Jabberwocky (sic), and his fondness for pediatricians. Catch Jack's podcast "Buried or Cremated (and Also Paintings and Buildings)" on a near horizon. It's Playing Favorites!

Apr 16, 202132:14
Re-Playing Favorites: Domi Ucar on 'Everything You've Come To Expect'

Re-Playing Favorites: Domi Ucar on 'Everything You've Come To Expect'

We're twenty-five episodes in, and tonight the 2016 LP by Alex Turner and Miles Kane, a.k.a. The Last Shadow Puppets, gets the deep-dive treatment. If you've heard the album and love it already, or are curious at all about this 40-minute beauty (yes, our conversation is longer than the album itself...) and the fellas who made it, tune in and join the conversation! It's the first Re-Playing Favorites.
Apr 15, 202152:37
Reuben Joseph

Reuben Joseph

Thespian, musician, and one of the stars of Distance Remaining, which premieres this week, Reuben Joseph joins us tonight! We talk summery Belgian getaways, the satire of Taika Waititi, and chimneys. See Reuben in this hearty film here (distanceremaining.com) and catch nifty Behind-the-Scenes documentary The Making of Distance Remaining here (youtu.be/wDYBM8bmeLo). It's Playing Favorites!

Apr 13, 202133:40
Giulia De Vita

Giulia De Vita

It's Giulia De Vita! A tremendously lovely person and great film conversationalist, joining us tonight to discuss everything from her love and memories of Rome, to our time studying together in King's College London, to our shared interest in haptic theories of cinema - no matter how niche they may initially seem! It's Playing Favorites.

Apr 09, 202137:36
Callum Pope
Apr 06, 202137:22
Briana Pegado

Briana Pegado

Briana Pegado! One of the loveliest people around! On the show tonight! We chat everything from Blink-182 to Black DC punk rockers, to our respective approaches to facial expressions, to the comedy stylings of Elsa Majimbo, and beyond. She's a great person, with a great great laugh, and I'm lucky to have known her so long! It's another Playing Favorites!

Apr 02, 202135:15
Steven Beller

Steven Beller

Twenty episodes in! Marking the occasion with me is renowned historian and author of such works as Herzl, A Concise History of Austria, Antisemitism: A Very Short Introduction, Democracy: All That Matters, and The Habsburg Monarchy 1815-1918, who also happens to be a very amusing and interesting person, and also my dad: Steven Beller!


We discuss all sorts of topics, ranging from childhood memories on the Isle of Skye to the pluralist heart of Mel Brooks movies. It's another special-length episode, but as you'll hear, my dad and I share a love of talking, for the better I'd wager. It's Playing Favorites!

Mar 30, 202155:04
Tilly Botsford

Tilly Botsford

If you like jazz, crabs, cosmic connections, and the upcoming premiere of The Arbitrator (starring Tilly Botsford and an all-star cast) this Saturday at 9pm GMT on YouTube (link available here: https://youtu.be/rOtt3nsSZxY), then you will love tonight's episode, featuring Tilly Botsford!


We talk all manner of classy topics, including Tilly's curiously self-referential taste in film, our mutual affinity for Maryland, and why you should never try anything new ever. See Tilly in action this Saturday! Click the link! To the premiere! Here it is again! See you then! 

Mar 26, 202135:57
Kelechi Hafstad

Kelechi Hafstad

All the way from Reykjavík, eminently talented actress, polyglot, photographer, and cast member of The Arbitrator (premiering this Saturday at 9pm!) Kelechi Hafstad joins us tonight to play favorites. We cover all sorts of subjects, from cheese jokes to cellists, breathtaking fjords to late-night Ennio Morricone listens. And it all took place during a volcanic eruption! Très topical.


See Kelechi and the whole all-star Arbitrator cast at the live premiere on YouTube this Saturday, March 27th at 9pm UK time! Will be seeing you there!

Mar 23, 202132:47
Doris Brimmer

Doris Brimmer

Celebrating her 89th birthday this week (two days after my own big day!) is my absolutely wonderful grandmother, Doris Brimmer, and I had the pleasure to chat with her for a super-special feature-length Playing Favorites. We talked about all sorts of subjects: her love of New York, her loving and unforgettable time with my grandfather Andrew Brimmer, the types of films that have meant the most to her during different parts of her life, her time growing up in Harlem in the 1930s and 40s, attending Barnard College in the 1950s, living in Staten Island, Philadelphia, and more into the 1960s, her many experiences driving across the country, and much more. She's a New York lady through and through, and an exceedingly wise, thoughtful, perceptive, gracious, loving, and insightful person. What an honor to call her Grandma.

It's a new Playing Favorites, it's worth every minute, and it's an extra-special episode, featuring one of the loveliest people on Earth. Happy Birthday Grandma Doris!

Mar 19, 202101:23:48
PF I. The Podfather

PF I. The Podfather

Keep your friends close, but your regular podcast contributors closer. The Godfather was released 49 years ago today, and tonight marks our first in the PF Series: special episodes featuring Problematic Faves throughout movie history, no matter how the phrase's various definitions may apply, with splendid guests, riveting conversations, deep-dives on all sorts of themes and connections, and what promises to be a great time, every time. 

This particular cosa nostra welcomes Laura Hounsell, Dominika Ucar, Michael Zwiauer, and Ruby Sullivan to discuss/celebrate/debate this gigantic piece of work, which was first released 49 years ago today! A must-listen for any Corleone fans or foes. It's Playing Favorites, it's The Godfather, and it's not to be missed.

Mar 14, 202102:08:35
Nathaniel Brimmer-Beller (Birthday Boy)

Nathaniel Brimmer-Beller (Birthday Boy)

It's the 12th of March! Today delightful guest host Laura Florence Hounsell splendidly steps in during this Playing Favorites Birthday Special. Our chats had it all: Arctic Monkeys, the genius of Veep (my all-time favorite show), Aunty Donna's majestic "Funeral" sketch, the hyper-stylish Le Samourai, and the intense resonance and resonant intensity that is my relationship with Django Unchained (still, defiantly, my all-time favorite movie). 

Find Laura's lovely voice on her own excellent podcast, Artists' Impressions! Looking forward to the big 24.

Lots of love,
NBB

Mar 12, 202138:29
Grace Charlton
Mar 09, 202128:53
Todd Hitchcock

Todd Hitchcock

Few people have influenced and encouraged my foray into the film world quite like Todd Hitchcock, Director of Programming at the AFI Silver Theatre, and our splendid guest tonight. After years of talking all things cinema it's a wonder we still have more to discuss, but as always we managed a fascinating deep-dive into what makes great movies great - this time, Scorsese's Taxi Driver. 

Our chat also encompassed the Neolithic wonder of the Orkney Islands, the AFI Silver podcast Silver Streams, and Todd's remarkable lyrical expertise. It's Playing Favorites.

Mar 05, 202138:09
Anna Phillips

Anna Phillips

Tonight, the de-lovely Anna Phillips chats all manner of pop culture topics and pressing questions with characteristic grace and charisma! Our conversation ranged all over the map, including our mutual respect for Ariana's Positions, the comedic genius of Charlie Kelly & the whole It's Always Sunny setup, and the curious dynamics we have both experienced when traveling in rather mono-ethnic European locales. 

It's a great talk. And it's Playing Favorites!

Mar 02, 202136:14
Jacob Baird

Jacob Baird

Widely known as Jacob 'Hobnob' Baird, tonight's guest is an American singer-songwriter, musician, and co-founder and lead singer of the country–rock Zac Brown Band, as well as electronic dance music group Sir Rosevelt. In 2019, Baird released a pop surprise album titled The Controversy, which included what is arguably his masterpiece, "Swayze."


Our conversation ranged from interplanetary travel to the iconoclastic American cinema of 2007 to universally acclaimed and respected radio programme L'Heure de la Bande de la Zac Brun Bande Heure, all episodes of which reside at https://www.mixcloud.com/lheuredelabande. Tune in! And wait til the end...

Feb 26, 202133:14
Esther Brimmer

Esther Brimmer

Tonight, we welcome CEO and Executive Director of NAFSA, former Assistant Secretary of State for International Organizations Affairs in President Obama's administration, holder of many other preeminent titles and also, the best Mom in the world: Esther Brimmer! 


We talk music, movies, cats, and diplomacy - the four essential elements of life. It's Playing Favorites, episode 10!


Feb 23, 202126:23
Angus Bhattacharya

Angus Bhattacharya

INT. DINER - DAY.
THE ROCK and DAUGHTER OF ROCK eat large brunch.


THE ROCK: In life, things happen. You may not want them to, but... they do. You just got to do your best... and move on.


Words to live by.
Please welcome Angus Bhattacharya.


Further analysis is available here: filmdaze.net/things-that-happen-in-life-and-what-to-do-about-them

Feb 19, 202130:06
Camilla Hallman

Camilla Hallman

Fair Warning: This episode contains multiple Dad jokes that may prove distressingly Dad joke-y to listeners. Discretion is advised...

The extremely lovely Camilla Hallman plays favorites this week, all the way from my hometown DC. In the process, we talk Norah Jones, Clairo, Mary's Milk Bar, Capitol Hill Books, and more, I pose a comedy-based political theory, and Camilla runs afoul of Big Literature. Tune in!

Feb 16, 202135:06