Ride the Omnibus
By Ariel Baska
Warning: All discussions can contain spoilers for featured content.
Ride the OmnibusJun 01, 2020
Filmmaker Amna al Hawaj
Ariel sits down with Bahraini filmmaker Amna al Hawaj, a woman on a mission to create change through popular cinema. She has worked on productions as varied as Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen to the Cannes Grand Prix-nominated Dègradé. She shares her industry insights as well as the view from her window on the world. She clearly articulates the best argument we've ever heard for the arts and the power of stories, and their importance now, more than ever.
Dame Diana & RBG: Feminist Icons
Possession (1981)
BBC's Just a Minute
For the 25th episode, a tribute to the BBC's enduring radio show, Just a Minute, and its host, Nicholas Parsons. Ariel is joined by Kieran Cowan to discuss the enduring appeal of the show, and guests Dan, Megan, and Miriam stop by to play a tribute round of the game with Kieran as host. It's an episode of silliness and froth about a game that means so much to so many around the world.
AnteBellum
Ariel and Monica talk all things AnteBellum, the film dubbed by many critics to be "the worst film of 2020." They discuss what the critics got wrong, what the film has to say about the status quo, and why people should be watching this film, and engaging with it.
Warning: Spoilers aplenty are ahead!
Pride & Prejudice & Adaptations
Ariel, Kim, Maggie, and Amy gather to discuss the various adaptations of Pride and Prejudice, faithful, fanciful, and modernized. They discuss why the work is so enduring and so endlessly translatable to different contexts, and go in depth into favorite characters and what each adaptation reveals about their psychology.
Crip Camp: A Disability Revolution (3/3)
Danielle, Irina and Ariel share their origin stories for the final part in our CRIP CAMP series. This series would be incomplete without a sense of the deeply personal experiences that have informed the perspectives shared on disability rights and activism.
Warning: Explicit language throughout, references to medical trauma and assault, and frank discussion of sexuality.
The Devil All the Time
Additionally, they discuss favorite films of 2020 so far, the landscape of moviegoing, and all the feelings.
WARNING: The discussion includes heavy spoilers for both the book and the film.
Crip Camp: A Disability Revolution (2/3)
In part 2 of the critical conversation series structured around the film Crip Camp, Ariel is joined again by disability activists Danielle Dass and Dr. Irina Greenman to discuss issues affecting the disability community. The conversation begins with a frank discussion of special education.
Warning: Contains explicit language.
Lovecraft Country: Mid-Season
Ariel, Kristina, and Rob dish over a shared passion for the HBO horror-drama Lovecraft Country, and its accompanying podcast. We discuss the impact of the show's writing on our understanding of black culture, and how it challenges assumptions in meaningful ways. We talk though the monsters, the performances, and our crazy theories for what happens next.
Crip Camp: A Disability Revolution (1/3)
Ariel is joined by disability activists Danielle and Irina to discuss the Netflix documentary Crip Camp, and the way it portrays the stories of people with disabilities, questions of disability rights, and disability activism. This episode is part of an ongoing series of critical conversations with disability advocates responding to themes presented in the film.
Writer/Director Jai Jamison
Writer/Director Jai Jamison is currently one of the writers on the new CW series, Superman and Lois, but is also responsible for the profound and affecting short film Slave Cry, set in Richmond, VA against the backdrop of the Confederate Monuments. The conversation ranges from a deep love of Richmond, to Black representation in the arts, to the messaging of the monuments, and their place in our world now.
The City We Became
Ariel, Alex, and Brian discuss N.K. Jemisin's The City We Became, a book that features characters embodying each of the boroughs of the city of New York. We discuss the characterization of New York City, and what the book has to say about diversity and inclusion, while also getting into the nuts and bolts of the good/bad binary of racism.
Blade (1998)
Comic Writer & Creator Zack Quaintance
Ariel sits down with Zack Quaintance, the brains behind the popular comics review site, Comics Bookcase, as well as an up and coming writer in the comic book world. They discuss his upcoming original graphic novel Next Door, neighborly behavior in the midst of the pandemic, and plans for future projects as both a writer and contributor to comic book analysis and discussion on his website.
Octavia Butler's Kindred
Ariel, Alex, and Rashida sit down to talk about the book Kindred, a 20th century slave narrative about a woman who is transported back in time to the slave plantation of her ancestors. They discuss the book and the author, the MacArthur Fellow and science fiction legend, Octavia Butler, and the importance of the hard work of confronting history.
Bonus: Amazon's Tales from the Loop
Miss Juneteenth
Bonus: Sondheim's A Little Night Music
Filmmaker Kuni Ohi
MC PHZ-SICKS (2/2)
MC PHZ-SICKS (1/2)
Warning: Contains explicit language.
All musical content is owned by PHZ-SICKS.
Jordan Peele's Us
Warning: Explicit language and spoilers for the film are included in this episode.
Tales from the Hood
WARNING: Contains explicit language and spoilers for the film.
Horror Noire
Please note: This conversation does contain spoilers for many horror films, but we feel these are essential to the conversation.