Welcome to the first-ever Pop Culture Confidential Summer 2026 Movie Draft! Christina is joined by Jay Ledbetter and Ryan McQuade (hosts of The Director Watch Podcast) to draft the films of the summer season. From Nolan and Spielberg to Toy Story 5, the chilling Backrooms, and so much more, who will draft the ultimate summer lineup? Tune in to find out! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Lena Dunham’s 'Famesick' is here! On this episode, Christina is joined by Sophia Ciminello (AwardsWatch, Oscar Wilde podcast) to unpack the much-anticipated memoir and explore Dunham’s cultural impact. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Sachs, Farhadi, Almodóvar, Pawlikowski, Kore-eda, Hamaguchi, Mungiu and many more! Ryan McQuade of AwardsWatch.com joins Christina to preview the Cannes Film Festival 2026, featuring an incredible lineup of films and filmmakers. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The brilliant writer/director Mary Bronstein joins Christina to discuss her film If I Had Legs I’d Kick You. The film is a raw and revelatory exploration of motherhood, anchored by an incredible, Oscar-nominated performance by Rose Byrne. Christina and Mary Bronstein dive into where Mary was in her life when she began writing the film, how she and Rose Byrne developed the character of Linda, the ongoing taboos surrounding motherhood and so much more. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This episode, Ryan McQuade (AwardsWatch) joins Christina for a grab bag of news, reviews, and all manner of good stuff! They dive into 'Project Hail Mary', 'The Drama', Colbert taking on Tolkien, the Oscars venue move, Scorsese’s book adaptation, Supergirl, the Harry Potter TV series, and so much more. Listen now! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Emmy-nominated director Weronika Tofilska joins Christina to discuss her bold, existential storytelling, from the wildly successful Baby Reindeer to her latest project, Netflix’s chilling horror series Something Very Bad Is Going to Happen (exec-produced by the Duffer Brothers and starring Camila Morrone, Jennifer Jason Leigh, and Ted Levine). They dive into her creative journey, the terrifying twists on marriage and soulmates in the series, Lynchian influences, and what it’s like to craft horror. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Ryan McQuade of AwardsWatch joins Christina to recap last night’s 2026 Academy Awards (and cap off a long season!)One Battle After Another’s biggest wins, Sinners' successes, the surprises, emotional highlights, and so much more Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Join us as we dive into the 2026 Oscar predictions! Christina is thrilled to be joined by Erik Anderson of AwardsWatch.com. This year has brought us outstanding films, incredible performances, and one of the most unpredictable awards seasons we’ve seen in a long time. Listen as we discuss our predictions on who will take home the gold this year Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The race is alive! We’re just about ten days away from the Oscars, and things are heating up on the precursor front. The BAFTAs were last weekend, and this weekend brought the PGAs and the Actor Awards (the awards formerly known as the SAG Awards). Ryan McQuade of AwardsWatch joins Christina to break down what it all means for Oscar night! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Christina is joined by 2026 Oscar nominated costume designer Malgosia Turzanska, celebrated for her extraordinary work on Chloé Zhao’s Hamnet. Known for her unforgettable costumes in Train Dreams, Stranger Things, The Green Knight, X, Pearl, and more, Malgosia takes us deep into her art and the creative journey behind one of the year’s most talked-about films. They discuss the rich research behind Elizabethan clothing, the intimate storytelling within the Shakespeare family, and her concept of “emotional dressing,” where every detail carries meaning. From Agnes’ striking reds in Jessie Buckley’s Oscar nominated performance, to the protective padding worn by Shakespeare’s mother, portrayed by Emily Watson, to Will Shakespeare’s (Paul Mescal) ink-stained fingers, and much more. Plus, what Malgosia herself will be wearing to the Oscars! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Writer and director Clint Bentley joins Christina to discuss his acclaimed film Train Dreams, one of the most beautiful and celebrated films of the season! Nominated for four Academy Awards, including Best Adapted Screenplay and Best Picture, the film recently earned Bentley Best Director and Best Feature at the Film Independent Spirit Awards. The conversation explores how Train Dreams came together, the character of Robert Grainier (brought to life through a deeply anchored performance by Joel Edgerton ) as well as Nick Cave’s influence, themes of grief and memory, what it means to be a tender man in a changing world, and much more. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The endlessly inspiring Arian Moayed is back on the show and it is, as always, an absolute blast. The actor, director, and producer joins Christina to talk about his exciting new Marvel series Wonder Man and co-producing the documentary Champions of the Golden Valley with Malala Yousafzai. They also talk NYC Mayor Mamdani and keeping up with his “Succession family.” Who really wins the Succession group text chain? Arian opens up about making art accessible to everyone, the mission behind his work with Waterwell, and how storytelling can create real change. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Encore episode! Alexander Skarsgård talks Pillion, career, and more. With Pillion now premiering widely (the wonderful, warm, and emotional BDSM rom-com co starring Harry Melling) we revisit Christina’s wide ranging conversation with Alexander Skarsgård, recorded at the Stockholm International Film Festival in November 2026. They talk Pillion, the research behind the role, highlights from his career, campaigning at the same time as his father Stellan Skarsgård, fashion, and much more. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Awards season 2026 continues to steamroll ahead. Just days after the Oscar nominations, the BAFTA and WGA nominations have arrived. To help break it all down, Christina is joined by Eoin Daly, co-host of the Shhh, My Stories Are On! podcast, as they discuss the biggest talking points, surprises, and what these nominations could mean for the rest of the awards season. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Awards season 2026 continues to steamroll ahead. Just days after the Oscar nominations, the BAFTA and WGA nominations have arrived. To help break it all down, Christina is joined by Eoin Daly, co-host of the Shhh, My Stories Are On! podcast, as they discuss the biggest talking points, surprises, and what these nominations could mean for the rest of the awards season. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Christina & Ryan McQuade (of AwardsWatch.com) break down the 2026 Oscar nominations, diving into the biggest surprises, snubs, historic milestones, and what it all means for the race ahead! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

2026 is shaping up to be an incredible year for cinema, from visionary auteurs to indie gems and everything in between.Christina is joined by Jay Ledbetter and Ryan McQuade from the Director Watch Podcast for a massive breakdown of the movies they can’t wait to see in 2026. Plus a special appearance by Sophia Ciminello of AwardsWatch.com! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this episode of Pop Culture Confidential, Christina sits down with prize-winning production designer Fiona Crombie, whose work has shaped some of the most visually striking films of recent years. They talk in depth about Crombie’s breathtaking production design for Chloé Zhao’s Hamnet, starring Paul Mescal  and Jessie Buckley as William and Agnes Shakespeare. From intimate domestic spaces to the recreation of the legendary Globe Theatre, Crombie reveals how she brought emotion and lived-in detail into the spaces she designed Fiona Crombie was Oscar-nominated for her production design on Lanthimos The Favourite and has also collaborated with Bong Joon-ho (Mickey 17), Ari Aster (Beau Is Afraid), and many other acclaimed filmmakers. This conversation was recorded just after Jessie Buckley’s Best Actress win at the Critics’ Choice Awards and the Golden Globes, and as Hamnet itself took home Best Picture Drama. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Christina is joined by Ryan McQuade (AwardsWatch.com) to break down the Golden Globes 2026! The winners, the losers, the speeches, the cringe... and what it all means for the Oscars race. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

For the first episode of the year, Christina is joined by Ryan McQuade (AwardsWatch.com) to recap the Critics Choice Awards 2026, the first televised awards show of the season! Fresh off attending the ceremony, they break down what it was like on the ground, the night’s biggest wins, standout moments, and the industry buzz coming out of the show. It was a huge night for One Battle After Another, Sinners, and more as awards season officially kicks into high gear. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices