Due to some scheduling adjustments and coinciding with some proximal current events, we bring to you a very different episode this week. Each week, we explore what scares us in order to find what saves us. This week, we're digging a little deeper on the last part of that motto.

Whether you are burnt out, stressed, worried, anxious, fearful, saddened, burdened, confused, lonely, or all of the above and more, we hope to offer you just a few words of encouragement and hope this week.

Reed is joined by friends of the show Andrew Nelson, Vera Goudie, and Dave Courtney for an open-hearted conversation about what we turn to when we're seeking hope or strength. From the simple practice of finding something to do with our hands to the creative meditations of a story or song, we're offering up a few things that we hope will make you feel just a little bit better and a little bit less alone.

We'll be back next week with our regularly scheduled programming, but for this week we want you to take a moment to breathe and we hope this episode helps you feel just a little bit better. Thank you for listening.

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We have finally arrived at the primary reason we chose to march through the Alien franchise this spooky season (AHHHHH). As we've made our way through #halloweylanyutani, we've had the 2024 release of the latest installment in our minds. So now, after all the facehugging, chestbursting, and j-j-j-j-jaw-dropping conversations, we have finally arrived at ALIEN: ROMULUS.

We sit down with two old friends, Blake Collier and Andy Whitfield, while all nestled together in a cabin in the California mountains to discuss why this film seems to have successfully reinvigorated the franchise 7 years after Alien: Covenant, what works and doesn't about this return to form, and the compelling way this particular entry explores our relationship with our technological and artificial companions.

It's an earnest and thoughtful conversation and we really hope you enjoy it!

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This week we feature our second Redux episode in the Alien Franchise run for Spooky Season (AHHHHH) #Halloweylanyutani. Redux episodes feature films we've covered on the show before but with fresh takes, new voices, and lots of renewed perspectives. This time around we're joined by friends of the show Vera Goudie and Matt Ruff to unpack the often frustrating specifics of ALIEN: COVENANT. Following the more polarizing response to Prometheus, Alien: Covenant feels like a deliberate correction -- perhaps an overcorrection -- away from the more thematic, existential questions the franchise was posing to get back to more xenomorphic carnage. The result is a film that abounds in wasted potential, though not without its moments.

Also featuring a Patron only segment with our final Simpsons Treehouse of Horror episode for this year, this is a hearty, lively, and thoughtful discussion we really hope you enjoy!

Patron Only Segment: The Simpsons, Treehouse of Horror XV

5:48 - ALIEN: COVENANT

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