Special Topics in Media

The Heist Film: Season 5 Preview!

A new season, and an old season, are here! Join us as we peek into the past and present for a season built around the heist movie genre. The Dialogic Duo is up to no good! Host Garret Castleberry convinces Scott McMurry to "get the gang back together" to pull off one last job. That job? To expand the discourse around heist films as a way of better understanding film as a distinctly artistic yet commercial expression of mass communication. This crew cases the joint to lay the track for films to be examined this season. Host: Garret Castleberry, Scott McMurryProducers: Garret Castleberry, Will McMurry (Audio Engineer), Alli Garner (Cover Art), Austin Foster (Music)Recommended readings to pair with Season 5 "The Heist Film":Jim Leach & Jeannette Slowniowski (editors). The Best Laid Plans: Interrogating the Heist Film. Wayne State University Press, 2017.Daryl Lee. The Heist Film: Stealing With Style. Wallflower Press, 2014. Ways to Connect with us online:Follow and engage with Special Topics in Media on Twitter at @podcast_topics."Like" to follow our Special Topics in Media Page on Facebook (search Special Topics in Media).Join the Special Topics in Media Facebook Group and share your reviews of the film or this episode.Subscribe to Dr. Castleberry's academic YouTube Channel.Garret's academic website is available at https://garretcastleberry.academia.edu/. 

2025 Summer Movie Season - August

Finally...the 2025 Summer Movie Season concludes. Host Garret Castleberry is joined by Kyle Hammonds to discuss key releases in August. Was August 2025 the best August in summer movie history? These rhetors debate the successes and failures of the doldrum summer month.Listen to hear which mainstream movies had their ticket stubs torn, and reach out to connect and let us know which August releases topped your radar in 2025. Hosts: Garret Castleberry, Kyle HammondsProducers: Garret Castleberry, Will McMurry (Audio Engineer), Alli Garner (Cover Art), Austin Foster (Music)Recommended Screenings (Garret and Kyle): Weapons Recommended Screenings (Kyle): Jaws: 50th Anniversary IMAX rereleaseWays to Connect with us online:Follow and engage with Special Topics in Media on Twitter at @podcast_topics."Like" to follow our Special Topics in Media Page on Facebook (search Special Topics in Media).Join the Special Topics in Media Facebook Group and share your reviews of the film or this episode.Subscribe to Dr. Castleberry's academic YouTube Channel.Garret's academic website is available at https://garretcastleberry.academia.edu/. 

2025 Summer Movie Season - July

Somehow...the 2025 Summer Movie Season returned. Host Garret Castleberry is joined by Kyle Hammonds to discuss key releases in July, a month rich is blockbuster discourse Listen to hear which mainstream movies had their ticket stubs torn, and reach out to connect and let us know which July releases topped your radar in 2025. Hosts: Garret Castleberry, Kyle HammondsProducers: Garret Castleberry, Will McMurry (Audio Engineer), Alli Garner (Cover Art), Austin Foster (Music)Recommended Screenings (Garret): Eddington Recommended Screenings (Kyle): Ontological Obstacles (Garret & Kyle): Superman, Fantastic Four Ways to Connect with us online:Follow and engage with Special Topics in Media on Twitter at @podcast_topics."Like" to follow our Special Topics in Media Page on Facebook (search Special Topics in Media).Join the Special Topics in Media Facebook Group and share your reviews of the film or this episode.Subscribe to Dr. Castleberry's academic YouTube Channel.Garret's academic website is available at https://garretcastleberry.academia.edu/. 

Film Review: One Battle After Another ... One Pod After Another

The 2025 Summer Movie Season interruption CONTINUES with a second reflection on Paul Thomas Anderson's One Battle After Another (Warner Bros. 2025). How does PTA's latest film rate as a Border Western, and what character themes resonate with contemporary tensions in America? Host Garret Castleberry provides an armchair rhetorician second screening review of PTA's latest masterwork now in cinemas. Hosts: Garret CastleberryProducers: Garret Castleberry, Will McMurry (Audio Engineer), Alli Garner (Cover Art), Austin Foster (Music)Ways to Connect with us online:Follow and engage with Special Topics in Media on Twitter at @podcast_topics."Like" to follow our Special Topics in Media Page on Facebook (search Special Topics in Media).Join the Special Topics in Media Facebook Group and share your reviews of the film or this episode.Subscribe to Dr. Castleberry's academic YouTube Channel.Garret's academic website is available at https://garretcastleberry.academia.edu/. 

Audiences Weren't Ready For "Eddington"...And They're Not Ready For "One Battle After Another"

We interrupt this 2025 Summer Movie Season programming with a report from the FUTURE! Or, at least the present. Paul Thomas Anderson's One Battle After Another has arrived in theaters to immense pre-release critical acclaim. But will that film buzz translate to a wide audience reception? Host Garret Castleberry provides an armchair rhetorician response to screening PTA's latest masterwork on its opening day in cinemas. Hosts: Garret CastleberryProducers: Garret Castleberry, Will McMurry (Audio Engineer), Alli Garner (Cover Art), Austin Foster (Music)Ways to Connect with us online:Follow and engage with Special Topics in Media on Twitter at @podcast_topics."Like" to follow our Special Topics in Media Page on Facebook (search Special Topics in Media).Join the Special Topics in Media Facebook Group and share your reviews of the film or this episode.Subscribe to Dr. Castleberry's academic YouTube Channel.Garret's academic website is available at https://garretcastleberry.academia.edu/.