Socially Distanced

The holiday hiatus is over and The Socially Distanced Podcast has returned for its second season. Hosts Al Mannarino and Bill Bodkin are joined by longtime friend of the show, Cole Rothacker to discuss the two-episode premiere of Disney+'s WandaVision.  The trio discusses their anticipation levels heading into the first fictionalized live action Marvel series for Disney's streaming service as well as a whole lot of background steeped in the MCU and comic books for the series and the characters we're seeing, we might be seeing and how the series will be impacting the new phase of the MCU. There's tons of theories, Easter Eggs and analysis of the show, plus a very in-depth debate on the DCEU and MCU. The episode concludes with a new segment -- pop culture recommendations where everyone gives recommendations on what they're into right now whether it be television, film, music, podcasts, comic books or anything in the realm of pop culture.

This is a special episode of the podcast as the guys celebrate the 11th Anniversary of ThePopBreak.com! Your hosts Al Mannarino and Bill Bodkin are joined by the original co-founder of the site, Brent Johnson, to discuss the humble and odd beginnings of the site. The trio reminisce about Pop Break live shows, covering concerts, New Brunswick vs. Asbury Park and the legacy of the site. After the nostalgia-fest, they discuss the trailer for the Simon Pegg/Nick Frost Amazon Prime series, Truth Seekers and the "hot" new single by Vin Diesel (not a typo). Of course there's television recommendations and ... Music in a Time of Quarantine: Al: 'The Great Divide' by The Shins Bill: 'Ghosts' by Bruce Springsteen Brent: 'Illicit Affairs' by Taylor Swift

Welcome to the 24th Episode of the Socially Distanced Podcast...the one where Al went AWOL. That's right Bill Bodkin flies solo this week, but is thankfully joined by the unofficial (but actual) hosts of the podcast -- Pop Break music editor Kat Manos and staff writer Cole Rothacker. Amidst Bill's terrible attempts at dad jokes and pseudo-intellectualism, the episode revolves around Disney+'s decision to release Mulan free of charge to subscribers in December (despite a $30 price tag in September). They also discuss the trailers for The Batman and The Suicide Squad as well as the long-awaited trailer for Haunting of Bly Manor -- the spiritual sequel to Mike Flanagan's massive Netflix hit, Haunting of Hill House. They also touch upon their mutual love of Flanagan's Shining sequel Doctor Sleep as well as the time an esteemed British journalist butchered Cole's last name. Tangentially, Bill discusses the time he and Al sorta met Mumford & Sons, the fallout of New Mutants and more. Finally, Bill, Cole and Kat discuss the tragic passing of Chadwick Boseman from the last week.  Music in a Time of Quarantine: Bill: "Fight the Power (2020 Remix)" by Public Enemy featuring Nas, Rapsody, Black Thought, Jahi, YG & Questlove Kat: "Supercut" by Lorde Cole: "Hopeless Wanderer" by Mumford & Sons

The 23rd episode (we're two weeks from our Point Pleasant watch-a-along!) finds Al and Bill bringing former Pop Break film editor Dan Cohen out of retirement to talk about his favorite thing the world (outside of Tom Brady) -- Batman the films of the DCEU. The reason our heroes dusted the moth balls off of Dan was because the DC Fandome event which premiered trailers and teasers for The Batman (starring Robert Pattinson), The Suicide Squad (directed by James Gunn), Wonder Woman 84, along with the brand new DC video games, including Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League. Al, Bill and Dan discuss their thoughts on the overall presentation of Fandome, their levels of excitement going forward for the DCEU and more.

This week The Socially Distanced Podcast heads to the golden fields of Iowa as Al and Bill are joined by Pop Break staff writer, Christian Bischoff.  Christian gives us the insight on a phenomenon called The Corn Sweats, and if you thinking we're kidding you're dead wrong. Once the science lesson ends, we dive into the big story -- Disney's decision to move Mulan to Disney+ at $30 price tag. The trio discuss the ramifications of this -- especially if Mulan is a hit -- on VOD and movie theaters in the future. They also discuss the price point they'd be willing to go on a film on demand and would this VOD model work for concerts and festivals. Later in the episode Al, Bill and Christian talk about the trailer for the new Charlie Kaufman film I'm Thinking of Leaving You as well as the Duffer Brothers announcement that the Stranger Things story would not end, as originally intended, with Season 4. Music Recs for This Week Are: Al: 'Prom Queen' by Beach Bunny Bill: 'Cheap Regrets' by The Districts Christian: 'Clenched Teeth' by Okay Kaya

Special guest Tommy Siegel (Jukebox the Ghost) joins Al and Bill to talk about his upcoming book (I Hope This Helps) and debut solo album (Another Century Wasted).  They also discussed the current state of the music industry, the genesis of his daily comics project, recording music during a pandemic, and much much more.  This Week's Music in a Time of Quarantine: Al's Pick: MTV Unplugged, Bleachers  Bill's Pick: No Instructions, The Happy Fits Tommy's Pick: Future Teenage Cave Artists, Deerhoof Pre-0rder I Hope This Helps: Comics and Cures for 21st Century Panic and Another Century Wasted at https://tommysiegel.net/ 

Our heroes (Bill and Al) are joined by The Pop Break’s Music Editor, Kat Manos and writer Cole Rothacker as they continue their streak of visiting the pod once a month to discuss the lackluster buzz surrounding Comic Con @ Home, the return of Simon Pegg and Nick Frost in Amazon Prime Video’s Truth Seekers, and an Adam McKay produced limited series focusing on the race to cure COVID-19. In the recommendations sections of the podcast, Al becomes a full on dad with his music pick and they briefly discuss the release of Taylor Swift’s 8th studio, folklore and the wave of hate aimed at online reviewers from some of her more toxic fan base.

The 18th episode of The Socially Distanced Podcast finds Bill and Al talking with longtime senior Pop Break writer, the man who redesigned the site and plays a mean Attack! Attack! cover -- Mr. Nick Porcaro. On this episode - Bill, Al and Nick discuss the very real and very devastating news that (according to a head organizer of Lollapalooza) that live music may not return until 2022. The trio discuss the possibilities of concerts next year and how this news would impact both festivals and concert venues alike. Elsewhere, they talk about the Russo Bros new film - The Gray Man (not Bill Bodkin) - starring Ryan Gosling and Chris Evans and how this is a monstrous move for Netflix. Finally, they talk about BRZRKR the new comic book written and starring (?) Keanu Reeves. On the TV side of things Al talks about his obsession with Rob Riggle narrated mini-golf while Nick extols the virtues of the band Don Broco.

The 17th episode of The Socially Distanced Podcast was a wild one! Al Mannarino and Bill Bodkin are joined, once again, by Pop Break's social media manager, Alisha Weinberger. In the episode, the "WTF" segment deals with the absolutely mind-boggling decision that Disney World made to re-open during the massive increase of COVID-19 cases in the state of Florida. They discuss if they would go to Disney now, or any time soon and how the park can even monitor people adhering to their rules. Later in the episode, they discuss the trailer for Umbrella Academy Season 2 (and if it could top Season One) as well as the announcement of a Matt Reeves-produced Gotham crime drama -- and how it needs to differentiate itself from Gotham.

Al and Bill celebrate the four-month anniversary of the podcast with a very special guest (and their first non Pop-Break guest), Kelly McGovern. Kelly is a social media ambassador for a number of independent movie houses in New Jersey and is one of Bill and Al's favorite people to pop culture with. In this episode, the trio talk about Kanye West's announcement via Twitter on July 4 that he will be running for President in the 2020 election. They follow that whole debacle up with their thoughts on the trailer for Seth Rogen's HBO MAX film, An American Pickle plus their thoughts on Florence Pugh's future in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. In the recommendations sections of the podcast Al, Bill and Kelly talk about the phenom that is Hamilton's debut on Disney plus then Al and Kelly go down the Dan Stevens aka DAMN STEVENS rabbit hole when discussing Eurovision. Musically, Dua Lipa's album Future Nostalgia, The White Stripes' record DeStijl and Phoebe Bridgers' new record Punisher get the big recs this episode.

Happy Fourth of July Weekend and Welcome to the 15th Episode of the Socially Distanced Podcast. This week Al and Bill are joined by Pop Break's first-ever intern, former TV editor and current "senior human who does podcasts" -- Matt Taylor.  In this episode the trio talk about the potential of Michael Keaton returning as Batman for the upcoming (maybe?) Flash film. The conversation takes a turn into a retrospective on Batman Forever and Batman and Robin, and Chris O'Donnell's earrings. They also, as the title suggests, speak about Ms. Marvel aka Kamala Khan's role as the lead in the new Avengers video game and her upcoming Disney+ series. Finally, the gang talks about Beyonce's huge announcement that her new visual album Black is King will be premiering on Disney+.  Musically, Matt and Al speak on The 1975's latest record and where it stands in their catalog and Matt extols the virtues of HBO's Succession.

Pop Break's podcast producer, engineer and editor Lucas P. Jones returns to the Socially Distanced Podcast mostly to talk about meat and beer. Well, that's not exactly true. Lucas, Al and Bill do talk meat and beer, but they also break down the very important topic of wearing masks in public. The crux of their conversation comes from AMC Movie Theaters initial decision to not require masks when theaters re-open then quickly changing their mind to definitely requiring them. The trio discuss how enforcing mask-wearing would be possible and can movie theaters even survive as a business with restricted capacity. They also discuss the return of Major League Baseball (which at time of recording was not set in stone) plus James Corden bringing David Tennant and Jodie Whittaker on to judge a DIY Doctor Who costume contest, which is just the guys excuse to talk a lot about Doctor Who.

Pop Break's music editor Kat Manos returns for her third guest appearance on the Socially Distanced podcast -- and she's not alone. Joining Kat once again is Pop Break film contributor, Cole Rothacker. The duo join Bill and Al to discuss Hollywood (fitting since they live a few minutes north of it) -- in particular the news of the Oscars expanding to 10 Best Picture nominations in 2022 and the Academy's intentions for diversification in its governing body. They also discuss the passing of famed Batman artist Denny O'Neil, David Fincher's Netflix film Mank and the trailer for Will Ferrell and Rachel McAdams' Netflix film Eurovision. Bill regales the crew with his famed Harry Potter story.

This is one of the more unusual podcasts we've done so far. This was recorded on Tuesday June 9 at the height of the protests around the United States. Neither Bill nor Al really knew what to talk about or even if the episode should happen, but they figured just talking would be good not only for their own mental health, but would also provide a quick break for everyone listening. The episode starts with a tribute to former owner of the site John Elliott who passed away earlier in the month. It's then followed by a discussion about the situation in the world and organizations people can check out to donate and learn from (this also happens at the end of the episode). Things lighten, sort of, with an in-depth discussion about Run the Jewels 4 and how it might be the most important record of 2020. The Watchlist this episode is expanded with Bill discussing Ava DuVernay's drama When They See Us and all of Anthony Bourdain's shows while Al extols the virtues of IFC's Brockmire and Rian Johnson's Knives Out. They close the episode out discussing the teaser trailer for Bill and Ted 3.

The 11th episode of the Socially Distanced Podcast was an episode we weren't sure we even wanted to record, and we were even debating about releasing this week.  Ultimately, we figured, since the mantra of Pop Break is to provide a pop culture break from the heaviness in the world, that may be a podcast would be a small break in all this. If you want to give this a listen Bill, Al, and special guest Ryan DeMarco talk about our five favorite movies from the 2010s might serve as a bit of a break, and debate whether or not The Social Network, as stated by Quentin Tarantino, is one of the best movies of the decade. However, the break can't be permanent. If we truly want to see a change in the world, we need to keep putting in the work after the hashtags and memes quiet down. We cannot sit back and let black men and black women to live in fear for their lives every single day. We all, yes we're looking in the mirror when we say this, need to do better, be better, and provide sustained action. So, enjoy this podcast, and if you have the means please support Black Lives Matter.