The Bechdel Cast - New Year, New Q&A Episode

Episode Date: January 8, 2026

Jamie and Caitlin are kicking off the new year with an episode of your (Matrons') questions and our answers!See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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appearances from Behind the Bastards Robert Evans, it could happen here's Gare Davis, and a few surprised guests throughout the show. Listen to Better Offline on the IHart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever else you get your podcasts from. Hey everybody, it's Michelle Williams, host of checking in on the Black Effect Podcast Network. You know, we always say New Year, New Me, but real change starts on the inside. It starts with giving your mind and your spirit the same attention you give your goals. And on my On podcast, we talk mental health, healing, growth, and everything you need to step into your next season, whole and empowered. New Year, real you.

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On the pectocast, the questions asked if movies have women in them, are all their discussions just boyfriends and husbands, or do they have individual? The patriarchy's effing vast, start changing it with the Bechdel cast. Happy New Year, listeners of the Bechdelcast. It's me, Caitlin. It's me, Jamie, and we are entering, if you can believe it, the 10th year of the Bechdelcast. And as you can tell, the show started in November 2016, coincidence, but telling. and yeah things are better for women than ever yeah gender issues have been resolved uh look we

we're here to do a Q&A episode I don't know just like we didn't fix it we didn't fix it we're doing our best but we uh yeah we're just two people um so we have done this a number of times over the years we haven't done it in at least three years is that right kit and you know the last time we did it it's been a while in which we sort of put the call out for questions to our matrion community if you're not aware hot plug for many years now we've had a patron aka matrion where for five dollars a month you can get two bonus episodes of the podcast as well as access to our well over 200 episodes of back catalog that goes back many many years and so we asked the matrion community for questions around the show as we head into our 10th year lots of changes lots

to reflect on and as is common in the incredible matrient community they showed up and they showed up in a big way yes we received many many questions unfortunately we won't have time to get to all of them but we've selected a few questions that we will answer on this little Q&A episode and I'm excited to dive in. But, yeah, it's, it's been 84 years of the podcast, and there's a lot to reflect on. I mean, I think, yeah, maybe in dog years, no, it's been 70 dog years. Oh, God, let's not think about that. Yeah, but we don't have to.

But why don't we start with a question from Sophia? Okay. This is one we, I believe, have answered before. But not for a while. I feel like we don't revisit it. Yeah. I'd like to hear our respective versions of this story, all 84 years later. Right.

So the question is, how did you guys meet? Wow. Meet cute. We had a meet cute. I did. I don't remember a ton of the details. I know that it was at a comedy show in Boston, probably like 13 or more years ago. Wow.

Maybe. Yeah, I guess like, because I, yeah, I'm guessing like 20. between 2012 and 2014 would have been when this was happening. Yes. And we were at a stand-up show and I met you and I thought you were super funny and then I saw you at various other shows either stand-up or sketch. And I was like, wow, Jamie's so funny.

I want to be her friend. I felt the same way. And then we moved to L.A. within a year of each other. Then years passed. And then we didn't become friends really Or at least we didn't hang out until we were both living in L.A. a few years later. Then I asked if you wanted to do a podcast with me. And the rest is history. This very podcast.

I remember seeing you. I don't remember specifically when we met. I remember doing shows together. But I remember, I don't know why my specific memory of you when before we were friends was because I used to work at the box office of now defined. funked comedy theater improv Boston in Cambridge, Massachusetts. And I have a strong memory of like, I think you were going into a show. You were hanging out in the lobby with people.

And I was working at the box office. And I was like, wow, she's cool. And that was the whole, that's the whole story. And you were so true to think that. I was so right. I was, my instincts were spot on. And then years passed and then we became friends. But it was nice.

I mean, I really feel like, I mean, in the, now that we've both been in L.A. for over a decade, it, like, really was a life-changing link-up. Truly life-altering in the best possible way. Yes. Yeah. Okay. Next question from Kira asks, how would you describe the Bechtel cast's different eras since it started? This could pertain to the show's overall vibe or what it meant to you in the moment. I love a Taylor Swiftie in question.

I mean, I guess for me, I feel like the show has both grown with the times, I feel like, especially, because we talk about from time to time, like, older episodes at the Bechtlecast are like embarrassing. We don't like them. And that can be very true. I think objectively, if I was listening to the show and it was not us, I do feel like a lot of our growth is, reflect. of ourselves as individuals and, you know, putting in the work and all that step. And also so much of what we've learned from our, our guests over the years. But I think it also is kind of reflective of the times of like part of why listening to a 2018 Bechtelcast episode doesn't feel great is because it's a past version of ourselves that knew less than we do now. Absolutely. Yeah. I was thinking about it in terms of like, like first we were in our hobby era where we were just doing the show as a hobby actively losing money we were yeah i think i remember when we started the show we each paid is this right we were each paying like 125 dollars a month

to host the show and pay aristotle for like stuff because we had free so lower drop listeners we had and correct me if i'm wrong kately we had free recording space at your employer which is now condos yes the nerdist showroom is where I was the program director that was a comedy venue and then also in that space was a podcast studio upstairs which was really cool I mean I missed that space a lot oh RIP nerd note so many good memories but luckily the community has endured and we're all still front even though I wasn't actually but I felt like I was there anyways you were a part of the community I was in the building frequently but that was when Aristotle Acevedo was both he was

kind of doing it. He was helping produce the show, and he was also our primary sound engineer. Yeah, for years. And so we were working with him. And also at the time, this feels so ancient history now, we were like paying to host the podcast on Libson. Do you remember that? Yeah, because we just pay a monthly fee or something and a website fee and like just random small hosting fees we had to pay. Right. Like during the first year. Yeah. And after that, we started up our Patreon, aka Matron. That was like a full year later, though. That was late 2017. For sure. And then it was maybe a year-ish, maybe a little less than a year after that, that we got picked up by a network, how stuff works. So that, I think, transitioned us into our

next era almost. Yeah, I guess, yeah. I guess from like indie podcast to network show. Right. which is an interesting like again it's so particular because I guess I was thinking about it in our like in our personal place with like progressive issues and feminism which has also very aligned with you know when you're listening to a back to the cast episode please show us grace and look at the date it was released yeah because we have taken many else over the years and and rightfully so and you know and we appreciate your patience with us and all that and then and then also like I guess I wasn't even thinking about it, like literally the growth in the podcast industry, because I remember for a while, I want to say until like 2018, 19, the first couple years we had the podcast, I was having the time of my life. I was always having so much fun. We were meeting all these really cool people. You were drinking a lot of Mike's Hard Lemonade at the time. That was its own era. Well, I was, the Mike's Hard Lemonade era was like, Jamie was 24 and going through something but but but also like did you ever feel like I was like kind of like I felt a little

ashamed to be like I have a podcast and everyone was like okay what the fuck is that like it's just so weird to think about because I think in the early years of our podcast it was just not a mainstream thing it was still very niche I mean the fact that our show to my knowledge was really the only show of its kind and it was two white women talking about movies like that didn't exist. That's absurd. I don't know. It's just like so weird to think about. Yeah. I guess because so many people I knew and by that I mean so many comedians I knew had a podcast. I was like, yeah. Podcasts are huge right now. But you know, you're right. Like they weren't. It's like the comedy community I was in at the time. Like I have a specific

memory and obviously they shall remain nameless. And I certainly am the only person in this conversation that remembers us, but I felt it. I'm like, like, I was talking about having a podcast. I was like, I enjoy podcasting, but like, my mom doesn't know what it is. And like, I feel like I don't know. Like, I love our listeners, but I don't really know who's listening. And they're like, I don't know how to like explain the job. And they said to me, well, having a podcast isn't that embarrassing.

And it was like, oh, oh, brutal. Which is, first of all, untrue. Having a podcast is embarrassing. And, and, and, second, of all, that same person two years later had one of the most boring podcasts I've ever heard that lasts the last of the year. So, you know, it's just weird. And then with the network stuff, yeah, like, I guess we are on IHeart podcast now, but it was because a much smaller network we originally signed with got consumed by a larger network. And that's happened. We've seen that

happen many, many, many times to like our peers of like, God, I mean, this is like probably boring if you don't care about the inside podcast stuff, but like, but how like Earwolf was like this independent network that was sold to Sirius XM. And like there were so many examples of that and our show was sort of, you know, taken on that journey. Take it taken on that journey. shout out to the movie taken question mark just kidding yes we're going to a youtube concert in paris and then something wild happens i forgot we signed with how stuff works oh i forgot that's what it was yeah but yeah and then like i feel like the pandemic era was its own thing too where we went from recording every single episode true in a studio to having to pretty quickly you know adjust and

and I think it was a pretty easy transition for us, but, you know, we were recording from home and that made like editing a little different and recording was obviously different, but then it also opened up doors to remote guests that were international. And yeah, like, which is why, I mean, not all podcasts have, hashtag not all podcasts have done. I mean, like every, I don't know, like the industry is so, a podcast can be anything now. But, you know, a lot of, podcasts have returned to recording in person. We've stayed remote in part because it's like cool to have international guests. It's cool to have guests that don't live in the exact same city. And I feel like it's enabled us to have like a wider range of perspectives because we

love L.A. But you know, that really kind of limits the, uh, the types of perspectives that we're getting. And yeah, we're super, we're super lucky. It's yeah, that was another big. shift and and I think like going back to the earlier days like I think there was I don't know I feel like it was maybe two years at around the time we switched to a network that we were not a research for we were like primarily a comedy podcast to start we were not doing a ton of research it was a lot of off the top of the head kind of stuff and you know it's like we're still not we're not writing a dissertation for every episode and we do occasionally get things wrong and you know And we're not saying that the research is above reproach, but research being a priority in the show was not an original part.

And also, do you remember, I sometimes forget this, how part of the original thing was that, like, Caitlin's seen a lot of movies. Jamie's seen no movies. And it's just like, but that kind of went away pretty early. We were like playing games for a while. We did if you could. Yeah. Yeah. I mean, I think that made sense for our initial launch almost as a premise almost. Because like for me, my- Podcasts were more like that too then, like with like segments, you know. Segments. And then yeah, and also the, we're coming at it from different perspectives. Like I've seen a bunch of movies. You hadn't seen that many. I mean, that was kind of part of the conceit of the show for me where I was like, I grew up with so many movies that I know are.

of harmful, reductive tropes and are sexist and racists and all this stuff. And I wanted this podcast as a way to sort of like reconcile that. Yeah. And be like, okay, well, is it okay if I still like these movies? If I'm acknowledging why they're maybe not so great. And so... Which is like, I think a lot of podcasts like, I mean, not that we like invented that, but I think it is like a dynamic that to this day is like use.

I think it just, I didn't mind it. But just after the show ran for a couple of years, I could no longer say I hadn't seen many movies. I had seen many movies. And so, I mean, it never, like, we never decided for it to go away. It felt like it just kind of naturally. Same with the games where we're just like, oh, I think we're having enough fun just talking about this. Or especially movies that, oh, here's a change. We've always done live shows.

I think our live show model has changed over the years a little bit. But it's remained relatively similar. The biggest thing that we've changed. is that we used to cover movies that were really depressing at live shows or like really dense and then it would be like fight club yes yes which is we stand by the episode you know like it was and we had a wonderful guest the audience was great but you could feel a moment in the show where it was like either you or I were like reading like three paragraphs of like theory and we're like oh we actually have to mostly choose fun movies which feels so obvious but we learned it the hard way

And more than once, I think, I think it took a couple of those times being like, oh, people like this episode, but they maybe don't want to, like, be, like, drinking a beer and hanging out with their friends while they're listening to us talk about Fight Club. I don't know. And that's why we did a Shrektanic tour. Yeah, and like a Barbie movie tour. And actually, this kind of gets to a question coming up later. Movies that are also, like, fun to, like, dress up with and, like, make merch for. and like I really want to do a wicked tour. And like there are certain movies that we save because they would be really fun live shows.

Yeah, for sure. Star Wars. We just did our Star Wars prequels tour. So yeah, we didn't know that you shouldn't talk about a really depressing movie for two hours in front of a kind of hostage situation. Live and learn. Yeah, so true. Next question comes from Kelly asks, how do you find your guest? Do they come to you or do you go to them?

I know a fair amount of them are fellow podcasters themselves that you're friends with, but what about the others? Well, Kelly, it's a mix. It's a mix. It depends. Sometimes the guests reach out to us or their reps contact us. And if they seem like a good fit for the show, then we invite them on. Sometimes we will reach out to someone who we would like to have as a guest.

because we're like fans or because I mean sometimes we'll so I guess a question that I've seen presented by listeners over the years is do guests pick their own movies and the answer is for at least the last five years yes we like that model has changed over time there was a time where we would approach specific guests about specific movies I think the only exception to that now is if there is a movie that we would really like to cover and there is a writer who has written about that movie and like is someone that we know has a really strong opinion on that movie that we would like to explore with them we'll invite them on the show there's definitely a handful of examples like that but by and large anytime you hear a guest in the show especially this deep end like a returning guest it's almost always like in the like last two minutes of recording we're like all right you know come back anytime you want and then it will be I'm thinking of like shelly Nicole about how I feel like at the end of recording with Shelley she's always like okay well next time I want to do this this this or this and then yeah we'll hit her up or she'll hit

us up and then we'll do this this or this or like you know with repeating guests it's we always want to make sure that guests are covering movies that they are excited to talk about yeah we don't want to like project a particular movie onto a guest unless they've specifically written about it or posted about it or but otherwise uh yeah it's like it is almost entirely guests picking the movie that they cover with us right and then because the show has been on for so long there are now podcast publicists who reach out to us when someone has a new show launching or is promoting something and if it's someone who are interested in having on the show or like someone we're a fan of or someone who's been on the show before we'll say yes and we'll find a thing so the answer is

kind of all of the above we we still very often reach out to people who we just are fans of and would like to have on the show to have we have you know our like kind of common stable of returning guests and yeah we're trying to keep a mix of like familiar voices and new voices on the show for sure uh next question comes from sammy what Hollywood trends of the 2020s do you like or dislike what is what's your what comes immediately to mind for you i'm like i need to for me pray on this i appreciate uh-huh i appreciate a couple things the resurgence of lower budget indie comedies which feel like they kind of went away in like the 2010s maybe even earlier yeah at least ones that like got theatrical releases and are

also funny not to be bitchy but um no i mean there was a lot of like i think kind of focus grouped comedies in the 2010s definitely especially the back half of the 2010s yeah yeah like studio notes like high budget but like bad premise yeah comedies but in the past few years, movies that have come out that I've really loved and I've thought were hilarious, such as Dix the Musical, twinless, sorry baby, theater camp, a handful of others. So I appreciate that. I also appreciate that more movies are addressing class in a way that felt like class was also kind of ignored in the better part.

of the early 20th century um 21st 21st century is that so true it is look you're slaying you're saying keep going thank you so much and we've talked about a few of these movies recently and you know their execution happens at rates of varying success but um i i appreciate that like filmmakers are being like hey maybe the billionaire class uh maybe they're really bad i have mixed feelings on on that subgenre yeah but i mean i i totally agree with you i think that the circumstances that have led to uh lower budget movies getting theatrical releases is interesting i mean the positive thing for the 2020s is the collapse of franchises uh i think we were really in the trenches with the aimless franchises in the 2010s and in the 2020s they stopped making

money so they stopped making them and you know there's plenty to be worried about in the 2020s i think the a trend i dislike is labor issues for for those that are like i guess the strikes of 23 were extremely important the wGA and sag strikes however they have not really yeah the ways that studios and the industry has responded to those strikes has been to double down in AI and not to you know find ways to circumvent the wins made by those respective strikes into just like fine we don't need you and what what that's resulted in is a tremendous amount of dog shit yeah i feel like it's kind i mean a little less relevant to our show because i'm thinking a lot about tv but like how so much tv like the quality of tv i think is like really declined

because of how poorly the industry responded to crucial workers asking for basic protections. I think that also applies to the podcasting industry. But I do think that one of the, like you're saying, Caitlin, like one of the positive cast-offs of that is that it's like, I don't know. I feel like people blame consumers, like, or the industry blames consumers so consistently in a way that just like doesn't scan because people always want to see good stories and like good movies and like all of the movies you listed are great examples of that that are like it's amazing they're getting theatrically released but they're not being properly promoted in all situations and like I don't know

I'm very glad that there are still places for people to go for like original stories because I think people seem really burnt out on franchise stories and that original stories are like being actively asked for by everybody now like people get it and it's cool to see directors and storytellers like hit their stride and be able to like make cool stuff that people are able to see it frustrates me that it seems like unless it's profitable it's always going to try to be thwarted but like people are finding ways and I think that's really cool and I feel like in response to a lot of how shitty the last couple of years have felt in the industry, whether it's like the, like how horribly people were treated after necessarily

striking, after like blacklists around speaking out about Gaza, like there's just been a lot of hits. But I like that, you know, people are responding by like, fuck you, let's make something. and that people want to see those stories so yeah the industry still fucking sucks shit yes but but people are making really cool stuff anyways and movie lovers are finding it and that's cool let's take a quick break and then we will be back with more questions Next question. You want to know what my evenings actually look like?

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We human beings, all we want is connection. We just want to connect with each other. Health stuff is about learning, laughing, and feeling a little less alone. Listen on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. I'm Ed Zittron of the Better Offline Podcast and I want you to join me at this year's Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, Nevada, starting January 6th through January 10th, 2026. We're doing 10 radio-style podcast episodes about the world's biggest tech conference and we're going to dig into the latest and weirdest gadgets, gizmos and horrible AI gear that the tech industry is desperate to sell you, all while covering the biggest stories in Silicon Valley

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Listen to Better Offline on the IHot Radio app, Apple Podcasts, wherever you happen to get your podcasts. You know, we always say New Year, New Me, but real change starts on the inside. It starts with giving your mind and your spirit the same attention you give your goals. Hey, everybody, it's Michelle Williams, host of checking in on the Black Effect Podcast Network. And on my podcast, we talk mental health, healing, growth, and everything you need to step into your next season, whole and empowered. New Year, Real You. Listen to Checking in with Michelle Williams from the Black Effect Podcast Network on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Question comes from L.

Is it more fun to cover actually good movies or really big? bad movies. Listening to the two of you shredding a horrendous movie is always fun, but I wonder if it's also fun for you. The answer is, I fucking love it. I have a blast covering horrible movies, even though we might groan and grumble and say, oh, I can't believe you've requested B movie or we love that you requested B movie. We just wrapped our episode on Shark Tale and we were like, it's a part of the performance everyone we love watching dog shit yeah that's the end of the sense it's fun i mean i i think they're they're equally fun like it is also amazing we recently recorded an episode with returning guest angelica jade bastion who's like just the coolest person in the

world it's coming out in the near future it's about whatever happened to baby jane which is a great movie And I leave recording those episodes feeling like, yes, let's make art. Art is amazing. Yes, I love talking to people about cool art. And then I also leave with a very different kind of high when we talked about Sharktail for three hours. So it's like you kind of can't lose. It's honestly, the harder part is when we're, we're not the tougher episodes. I think the episodes where you leave with less of a natural high is like, it was fine.

Yeah. you know yeah those those mid mid movies yeah but talking about shitty movies it's the best i truly love it the worst the movie the funner i have for in the in most cases yeah like i mean i'm still riding high on that shark tail on that shark tail fume from earlier baby martin scorsesey pufferfish the titanic is a main character almost yeah the sunken titanic if that's not a prime location in the movie. If that's not an ad for the matriot, I don't know what it is. Exactly. Okay. Next question comes from Amy. Have there been any moments in your podcast discussions that have changed your perspective on a movie or genre? If so, could you please share more about

this? I think through talking to you and other guests, I have an incredible, I went into, I think I have like, I had at the beginning of the Bactable cast, a kind of like more traditionally feminine taste in movies, which I think it was like a lot of our early dynamic because I love musicals and rom-coms and you tended to love action to venture. And I have a lot more appreciation for genres like action, like horror, which I feel like is just like gotten really, you know, mainstreamified in the last 10 years. And I've like, I've been unable to deny it. And even sci-fi. because I mean since this podcast started writing I became a Star Trek writer briefly so I think that the podcast has broadened my perspective and like made me sit with movies I would not

normally make myself watch and and it's like in a good way like I feel like it is like expanded my understanding of movies and what I like so I think it's been great for me in that way Yeah, honestly, same because I, I mean, to your point, we had different tastes in genres and I was consistently poo-pooing, rom-coms especially, I feel like. Sure, yeah. I did not really engage with. And, you know, it's not my favorite genre still, but I see them for the merit that they have. Yeah. I'm trying to think of specific movies that have, that I, like, kind of.

came in with a preconceived notion and then, like, had my mind kind of blown by our discussion. I'm sure there are examples of this, but unfortunately, I no longer have a functioning memory. Well, I think that there's just been a lot of examples over the years of, like, me going in, being like, I'm not going to be into this based on genre, and then I've left very surprised and, like, excited. Yeah. next question comes from Rory. How do you feel about separating the artist and the art, i.e. the movie and the individuals who made it, have your views on this changed over time? This is a great question that I have very complicated feelings about still.

Sure. Where, you know, there are movies that I, especially ones that I have nostalgia for, And nostalgia can be a pesky emotion, but there are movies that were made by bad people or that star bad people that I grew up with and I have a hard time letting those go and I don't want to necessarily give those movies up. But, I mean, the whole kind of premise of this podcast is, you know, acknowledging the things that. are problematic about a movie and that might include who is behind the camera or in front of the camera and acknowledging that and talking about it and talking through it. So that's something at least that we do because a lot of people don't even get to that step of acknowledging. Well, and I think a lot of people too, and again, this isn't like, I'm not thinking of

anything in particular, but like I think that there is a kind of. common sort of conflation that I've been guilty of myself so I'm not saying that we've never done this on this show because I think we definitely have but like conflating acknowledgement with throw it in the trash it's completely culturally useless right and I've I mean there's like creators that I really enjoy who really tense up at the acknowledgement even if it's like well no I like this movie but like we can't not acknowledge right like I don't know well to your point like people's mileage varies on this significantly yeah where some people if anyone has been you know outed as a predator and

they made a movie or they started in a movie people will completely disengage with those movies and refuse to watch them and that's fair totally I mean and there are a certain I think it's so tricky because there are I mean like this is the most obvious example but like I don't want to cover Woody Allen movies on this show. Like, I don't want to think about him. I don't want to engage with his work because he is so completely repugnant. But I do think a part of it, for me at least, is that you can feel that in the art to me. Totally.

You can feel why I don't want to engage with his work in the stories he tells. Yeah. When that's not true, I think is when it gets, again, I'm not thinking of anyone in particular, size fucking Woody Allen but like I think that when it it where it feels harder is like if it is specifically if it's like an actor who did not write or direct the movie right that can feel very tricky and I mean there's no wrong way to approach this it really it's like a very personal thing and I think that it certainly like when I was younger I was a lot more like I don't know I guess unnuanced and how I thought about it and and I'm not even like mad at

And that I felt that way. I was like, yeah, good for her. You know, like, fuck that guy. Fuck that movie. But it's, I don't know. Yeah, it's just like a very individual thing. And it's like, it's hard for me to like, especially if it's like, whatever, someone that you volunteer with someone who gives back to their community, someone who really considers other people. And they're like, but I really enjoy X movie.

You're like, well, I'm not going to say like, you're a bad person. You know what I mean? Like, yeah. Yeah. Yeah. For sure. I think a hard and fast line for me is I will not spend money on movies that bad people are involved with.

You have to steal it. You have to dot argue. Luckily, I already own on DVD, many movies made by problematic people that I like. But yeah, I won't spend money. I won't like go to like if there's a screening of that movie. I won't spend money on a ticket. I won't rent a movie or buy. digitally like I

I won't spend money I think like an excellent sort of like the standard bearer for it because it's like you cannot help the movies that affect you and you can't help how people in your life feel about you feeling that way like I think that over time

even in like our friend group it's like there's just like disagreement on certain movies certain cultural figures I've gotten into it with partners too of like well I don't like watching this person's work because of this and they were like well i you know like they don't feel the same way it doesn't make either of those bad people you know like i i feel like

especially especially around the mean two of movement i i feel like i felt very i mean i felt very strongly about a lot but it was it's so hard because i i we were obviously like we were show as that movement was kind of unfolding and we were very much in conversation with it and it was very I don't know for for me at least it was like a very cathartic time to be recording because it felt like you know we've been working on the show for over a year at that point and we'd been you know in the world for much longer and it was very cathartic to feel like people are finally taking the kind of issues that we have seriously and I think that that energy and that catharsis was so like wow things have changed that when they didn't actually change and then when they actually started to actively regress, it's like, okay, well, what do we do now? You know, like, I don't know. It's so tricky because it's like in a world where it's like you want to remain consistent and steady in your personal convictions and also not prevent conversations from starting from people who do not feel one to one exactly as you do. And I know that that's a tricky thing because I'm not saying like, we should all hang out with our republican blah blah like that's not what i'm saying it's just like part of what i love about this podcast is that it is a place to actually talk about this stickier stuff in a way that isn't like i don't know in a way that feels safe and good and i don't know separating

the art from the artist the answer is i don't fucking no i mean there's i think it's it's different for everybody and i think katelyn your rule is less like If you have an issue with an artist, don't give them money. Yeah. Don't give them money. Because in a capitalist society, money is the language that speaks the loudest. So if you withhold your money, if you spend it somewhere else, like these are the things that end up, unfortunately, mattering at the end of the day as long as we live in a capitalist hellscape. And also just like prioritized.

I think a lot of like, it's important what you say. It's more important what you do. so I think that there's whatever like I'm thinking more at like peak Twitter before everyone you know before a fascist bought it and everyone fucked off but stating your like it's it's important to state your personal convictions is just as important to act those out in the real world and so is it a more productive use of your time to go volunteer in your community than to get into it with a stranger online about separating the art from the artist in a very specific case like frankly yes

like go outside and do something and like I and make your own art too like you know it I don't know sometimes it just feels like I don't want to I don't want to think about Woody Allen anymore you know I want to debate

oh could we watch Annie Hall I ain't watching that shit we love Diane Keaton so we covered the family stone it's honestly that fucking simple five Yep. Okay, next question comes from Donna Eymann. What's been your favorite movie you two covered this year?

What's been your favorite movie you saw this year? These are definitely different answers. Same answer for me. Ooh, wait, what's your answers? Favorite movie I saw this year. I have a few. Okay. And I'm going to stick to ones that came out this year as well.

I was like, and I'm going to sing them in a rap. No, I'm going to stick to the ones that came out this year. Okay. I loved, like I mentioned, sorry baby and twinless. I loved sinners. I really enjoyed weapons. Hell yeah. I really enjoyed one battle after another.

I'm sure I'm forgetting some, but. Oh, and I just saw Marty Supreme. And by came out this year, I mean, came out in 2025. favorite movies we've covered on the podcast this year, and I will clarify that these are not necessarily my favorite from a Bechtel cast lens. These aren't movies that I'm like, wow, they fared so well on the nipple scale. But these are just personal favorites of mine. Dracula, the Francis Ford Coppola one, Shawshank Redemption, Holes, O Brother, Were Arthur, those were three movies from my birthday month. So stands to reason that there's some of my favorites. Um, we covered the before

trilogy this year. Yes. That was a big one for me. And then also banshees of Vinashirin. Yay. How about you, Jamie? So recent, I, I think you've prepared for this episode more thoroughly than I. So I do not have a prepared list locked and loaded. I think for me, it is off the top of the head the same answer for both questions. Favorite movie I saw for the first time this year, favorite movie we covered this year, both Amadeus. Oh, yes. Kind of. no contest. Amadeus fucked my shit up this year. I really enjoyed

getting into men being bitches canon this year to the point where I wrote my own for making it. I really, yeah, Amadeus was really stuck with B movies that we covered this year, or I saw

for the first time, I also really liked, sorry baby, I really liked if I had legs I'd kick you, that that movie fucking ripped although it is a stressful watch. I really enjoyed covering whatever happened to baby Jane recently, seeing Rye Lane for the first time, seeing the before trilogy for the first time.

Those are really good. I'm just like scrolling through my letterbox. I'm like, what else did I really love this year? No Other Land was terrific. What else? Oh, and a great documentary that if you ever get the chance to see it, you should. It hasn't been widely released yet, but I hosted a screening is so good called American Theater.

It was really, really good. I saw Mikey and Nikki for the first time this year. That was really fun. I really, really, I feel like, yeah, I saw Sinners and Shin Godzilla the same week. That was awesome. Oh, yes, Shin Godzilla. I saw that this year too. Really, really enjoyed it.

Yeah, I don't know. I had a fun movie year. Yeah, but I think for me, all-time movie that we covered, and I saw a lot. for the first time it's got to be amadeus from fucking 1980 or whatever that 45 year old movie it fucked my shit up this year i loved those two bitches facing off i loved it so bitchy yeah awesome next question comes from marin what's a movie that you would like to recover from earlier in the podcast to speak back to our like first or second question on this episode uh you know things from the first couple years uh kind of anything from that era and we and to be clear that's nothing

against our guests we just didn't know what we were doing yet we were little babies i would love to recover the wizard of Oz same yeah especially in light of wicked so true a couple others that come to mind would be clueless. Yeah, that would be fun to cover again. I think mean girls. I think dirty dancing deserves a recover. Dirty dancing, yes, our first live show. Yes.

Maybe Thelman Louise. American Psycho, we covered pretty early in our matriot. I would love to recover that. Yeah, I think that there's just like a lot of movies from our first two or three years that we would be able to speak to more intelligently now. That would hopefully be, and also, of course, Titanic again. Well, again, again, again. Among the questions that matrons submitted, people also threw in a few different movie requests.

So, if people listening right now, if you have any specific movies, you're desperate to hear us talk about any specific guests, please always give us your recommendations. but at least one person was like what happened to your annual Titanic episode you didn't do one in 2025 look times were hard it was bad uh no we we we fucked up frankly we fucked up 2026 it won't happen again never again it won't happen again and we are sorry we failed you yeah but yeah I think really like you name it from the first couple of years we would probably do it again if it was a movie we felt strongly enough about because we're just different people we don't know those people those bitches those bitches couldn't even read we gotta we gotta do it again we do okay next question there's only a few left this comes from dora are there any specific movies

you would not cover on the cast and if so why i'm gonna separate whoa double separation in coming I'm going to separate this from separating the art from the artist there are certain like specifically like directors and writers whose work we are just completely disinterested in but I'm going to more focus on I think that there are

occasionally there are movies that one of us will pitch the other that the other will say no to because it's too annoying there are some movies that like you have reviews there have been movies I've refused I'm trying to think of what they are though okay I think you always say no to the Polar Express you're like anything else

else anything but the Polar Express you just rejected it last month even though I'm pretty sure it won our matriot poll we should have covered it next I promise look I promise next year we'll do it is we don't have to do it here's the thing I to me anything is fair game and even if I again grown and grumble about a specific movie there's very little that's off the table for me Yeah, no, there have been times where I'm like, hey, Jamie, and it's not even movies that I like. Well, first of all, I was like, we should cover Anaconda to line up with the reboot that's coming out. And you did not seem interested in that, even though I'd never even seen them. Well, I also, I think I also don't, because we used to cover a lot of, like, movies that were being rebooted.

But I feel like reboots don't even do well at the box office. So I'm like, I don't want to watch a movie I don't like for a movie no one's going to see. Well, let me tell you something. I took it upon myself to watch the. original Anaconda. For what? Well, for fun. And it was very fun.

It rocked. I'm sure I would actually like it. Well, something I recently rejected was you were like to celebrate the release of, what is it? I'm dying up here. No, that was a TV show. What was it called? Is this thing on? Is this thing on the Will Arnett stand-up comedy movie?

I said a hard no to any movies about stand-up comedians because they make my skin crawl. Yeah. I can't do it. And that's fair. I can't do it. Even though there's that one with Sally Field that I think would give us a lot to talk about, but I respect. I would be open to a Sally Field jewelry because I feel like we've actually, like Sally Field

has been in, I mean, because she was also in fucking, is it Norma? Norma Jean, right? Like the big labor movie. Like she has such a great filmography. Maybe that's a good matriot theme. Okay. Sally Field March. Sally Field March.

because Natalie Portman has been discontinued on our show. I kind of like movies that one of us is just like, ugh, life's too short. Life's too short to watch movies about stand-ups and or the Polar Express. You're not wrong. Okay, that brings us to the next question that Michelle asks as a certifiable wicked, Stan, when are y'all going to cover the movies? Jamie Tor, Tor, tour, tour, tour, tour, tour.

Do we have two? I mean, well, I guess this takes us back to the previous question. Yeah, it would be so much fun. Our outfits would be so fun. I, yeah. I mean, we've got to cover Wicked One Way or another. I'd love it to be in a live show. But if we disagree, then name a more fun movie about two women than Wicked

that we haven't covered already. because, hmm, what is it? Any other billion-dollar movies about two women right now? Not thinking of any. I'll ponder it further. I just want to dress up like Glinda. And so that is, and I also love Wicked One, and I will not be sharing my opinions on Wicked for Good unless I'm being paid to do it.

But Wicked One, I think, is amazing. Cynthia Arriva, Ariana Grande, come on. It's just like the first musical movie in like a decade where they cast people who can sing without computer assistance. Yes. Jonathan Bailey? Hot. Are you joking?

One of the hottest men on the face of the planet? I don't like Jeff Goldblum's performance. No. I'm just doing the episode now. Jeff Goldblum, I find very grating in most settings. Michelle Yeo, frankly, does a bad job. Cynthia, Ariana, Jonathan Bailey. Bone Yang.

Bon Yang, John Chu, forever and ever and ever. Like, it's wicked. It's wicked. Even SpongeBob. Why not? Even SpongeBob. What do you mean? You'll have to wait for the wicked episode for me to tell you about SpongeBob's connection to wicked.

Whoa. I can't wait to tell you about it. Okay. We'll see. This brings us to. the next segment it's called the shrek section or the shrection because we got several questions pertaining to shrek and i think it's probably because yeah of course the image that i included with this post on our matrion asking for questions was a an image of shrek and donkey

well that's on you i have to imagine that's what influenced many of these questions that's on you But I'm not mad about it. First question from Will. Okay. When will you two be writing the screenplay for a female reboot of Shrek? I'm pretty sure that was Shrek too, but we will, we will, we've, it's, it's already. It's in the works. It's in the works, yeah.

We've got a question from Kate. Would you do a commentary for Shrek and Shrek 2? I think that would be super fun. the way that we did that Titanic commentary that one time years ago yeah we used to like I mean we we were kind of set in our ways on the matrion right now where we do two original episodes which people like but it was like I kind of miss that period of time where we would occasionally kind of mix it up do a commentary do something I would be I would be down especially Shrek 2 Shrek April Shrepril Shrepril Shreptember Shre okay now we're talking now we're talking now we're talking Now we're talking. Okay, next question from Joe. Of the two of you, who is Shrek and who is donkey?

I mean, wow. I don't know. All my answers are evasive. Like, it depends on the day. I think we both are both. We contain multitudes. I'm trying to think of who in the Shrek franchise would be my ideal. Like, who would I want people to be like, you remind me of this person from Shrek?

Probably no one, honestly. Honestly, I'd be disappointed to be like, you remind me of a character from Shrek. I kind of want to be jingy. Oh, I don't even know. I mean, I kind of am like, I love Farquod. I don't want people to think of me as a Farquod type, but I love Farquod. He's pretty cool. He's pretty cool.

And I love Farquod's mom. I don't know. Wait, do we meet Farquod's mom? Do we not meet Farquod's mom? This is why we have to do the, we have to do this. Maybe I just totally made that up. We got a fast track, Shreptember. Shreptember.

I want to be one of the scary Shrek babies. I want to be the Shrek baby. Oh, God. I think I want Shrek to be my day. Oh, wait. What is that character from Shrek for that says something funny? Do you remember what I'm talking about? Do the roar.

That one? Yes. I love that you say. You knew what I was saying. Yes. Yes. The kid in Shrek for that says, Do the Roy.

That's me. Okay. Yeah. Yeah. So hopefully that answers your question. show. Next and final question of the Shrek. Do the Roar. The Shrection.

Merry, fuck, kill. Shrek Titanic Christmas Prince franchise. Oh. Kill Christmas Prince. Easy. I think so, yeah. Yeah. Fuck Shrek Mary Titanic for me, I think.

See, I would fuck Titanic marry Shrek. Well, yeah, because I guess you marry Titanic. It's like, well, what are you guys going to do together? With Shrek, it's an endless adventure. with Shrek and you know he's a he's a good partner he's been married for 25 years yeah true he's been he's yeah I mean like he as we saw in Trek 4 you know like he he has his issues but well and in Shrek 3 and in Shrek 2 and in Shrek 1 he has his issues but I mean as a husband I guess it's Shrek's two three and four where we learned about

Shrek's ability to to be a husband yeah I guess that that that does make sense. Marrying Titanic feels kind of like a lost cause in a way. But although, although, although going off with the fact that we discovered Shark Tale, if I married the Titanic, I would just end up living with the Italian sharks in Sharktail because they move in to the shipwreck of the Titanic. Or even better, what is that Italian, speaking of Italy, the Italian animated rip-off of an American tale, Anastasia, and Titanic that came out in 1998. Oh, the legend of Titanic.

The legend of Titanic. And then I could marry that big octopus. You mean tentacles? Tentacles. Yes, Tentacles, the octopus, who famously saved all the passengers of the Titanic from dying. Yeah, by holding the broken and half Titanic. holding it back together. Well, everyone evacuated with the plenty of boats that they had.

The exact right number of boats. And then tragically was pulled to the bottom when tentacles died. It was so funny when tentacles died. Great film. What was the question? Yeah, I'm with you. Kill Christmas Prince. Fuck Titanic, Mary Shrek.

Yeah. All right. And then the last question, curtail. Is that the right word? Dovetails, maybe. into a plug for something that we don't know all the details of yet, but... We're announcing intent. Exactly.

The question comes from Nancy asks, are y'all doing another tour again soon slash will you be coming to the New York City, New Jersey area? And then several other people asked, will we come back to the UK at any point? Will we come to Australia? Those questions we're not too sure about, But because we're entering our 10 years of doing the podcast, we are planning a 10-year

anniversary tour that is not going to be about Wicked. No, I don't know. I mean, I'm just saying a couple of that can be about Wicked. They don't know how to be about Wicked. We'll see. We'll see. But we will go on a 10-year tour. We will announce the details when we have them.

It'll probably be later in the year because that's when our 10-year anniversary is. is later in the year. But we're very excited. We've done, I think in the last couple of years, we've done a number of shorter tours, but this would be kind of a beefier, a beefier 10-year celebration tour that I'm very excited for. So am I. Yeah, we have to hammer out all the details still, but we will keep listeners abreast. Oh, yeah. And with that, that concludes our Q&A episode, our first in a couple of years. Thank you so much to all of our matrons who submitted questions. Sorry that we weren't able to get to everybody's.

And if you were like, hey, why couldn't I submit a question? It's because you're not a member of the matrion. And ultimately, you have to get on that. It's patreon.com slash Bechtelcast. It is $5 a month. It is the best way to directly support the show and its continuation and our ability to pay. our guests, all this other good stuff.

There are plenty of benefits to becoming a matron, including not just access to the episodes themselves. There's over 200 and there's two new ones every month, but you also have access to our community and to vote and polls and to submit questions and to get exclusive merch at shows and to sometimes get early ticket links if you're interested in going to the 10-year tour. We will make tickets available to matrons first. So if you've been wondering, oh, I don't know.

this five dollars what do i do with it a price that has never increased by the way no we look around we see inflation and we say no not us and patreon keeps getting us to change the policy but frankly it's it's always been five dollars and uh yeah it's been five dollars for eight years honey please join us over there we really love our community and yeah we're we're very grateful to have that community and to have all of our listeners we love all of our listeners equally that's true but we do the matrons just a little bit more it's okay um do you have anything you want to plug jamie uh not in the short term um yeah no this this year i am uh i think when this episode releases i will be shooting my first feature which i'm very excited about so i yeah i guess stay tuned

for uh me to tell you what happens with that and that i will have a new book my first novel coming out in the summer of 2027. It is currently titled The Tower, but I am told that that title will change. So I will let you. So I have just like, hey, here are things that I've made, but I don't know what they're called and I don't know when you'll be able to have them. Follow me on Instagram, I guess. Jimmy Christ Superstar. That's what I got. That's what I got. Katele, what about you? You can also follow me on Instagram at Caitlin Durante. And the main thing I want to plug is I have another round of my screenwriting classes coming up. I have several new sections. Some of them

are sold out already brag. But my intro to screenwriting class at the time of this recording still has a few spots left. And it starts on, oh, what's the date? January 17th. So there's still some time if those spots are still available by the time you're listening to this. Uh, You can find information about all of my classes on my website, caitlandurante.com. But yeah, I teach basically two screenwriting classes. One is an introductory class. And then one is a workshop in class. And that's for people who have taken my intro class or who already have some prior knowledge

of screenwriting and have a project that they're wanting to start or that they're currently working on that you would bring into the group and do table reads and then get. feedback from myself and your classmates. So those are my screenwriting classes that people should take all the time. Hell yeah. But yeah, that's pretty much it from me. Thank you so much, listeners. Thanks again to the matrons who submitted questions. And thanks to the matrons in general. Thank you to the entire Bechtelcast community. Yes, we love you. And we'll be back next week with your regularly scheduled programming. Love you.

Bye. Bye. The Bechtelcast is a production of IHeart Media, hosted and produced by me, Jamie Loftus. And me, Caitlin Durante. The podcast is also produced by Sophie Lichtenen. And edited by Caitlin Durante. Ever heard of them? That's me.

And our logo and merch and all of our artwork, in fact, are designed by Jamie Loftis, ever heard of her. Oh my God. And our theme song, by the way, was composed by Mike Kaplan, with vocals by Catherine Voskrasinski. Iconic and a special thanks to the one and only Aristotle Ossivado. For more information about the podcast, please visit Linktree slash Bechtelcast. Hi, I'm Dr. Priyankowali. And I'm Hurricane de Bolo. It's a new year. And on the podcast's health stuff, we're resetting the way we talk about our health. Which means being honest about what we know, what we don't know, and how messy it can all be. I like to sleep in late and sleep early.

Is there a chronotype for that, or am I just depressed? Health stuff is about learning, laughing, and feeling a little less alone. Listen on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Hi, I'm Ed Zittron, host of the Better Offline podcast. And this January, we're going to go on the road to beautiful Las Vegas, Nevada, to cover the Consumer Electronics Show, Tech's biggest conference. Better Offline's CES coverage won't be the usual rundown of the hottest gadgets or biggest trends, but an unvarnished look at what the tech industry plans to sell or do to you in 2025.

I'll be joined by David Roth at DeFector and the writer Edward On Guiseo Jr. With guest appearances from Behind the Bastards Robert Evans, it could happen here's Gare Davis and a few surprise guests throughout the show. Listen to Better Offline on the iHart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever else you get your podcasts from. Hey, everybody, it's Michelle Williams, host of checking in on the Black Effect podcast network. You know, we always say New Year, new me, but real change starts on the inside. It starts with giving your mind and your spirit the same attention you give your goals. And on my podcast, we talk mental health, healing, growth, and everything you need to step into your next season, whole and empowered.

New Year, Real You. Listen to checking in with Michelle Williams from the Black Effect Podcast Network on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. Are you desperately hoping for change in 2026, but feeling stuck? I'm Dr. Lari Santos, and in a new year series of my show, The Happiness Lab, I'm going to look at the science of getting, well, unstuck, unstuck at work, unstuck in your relationships, and even unstuck inside your mind. I am the absolute worst culprit when it comes to getting into these ruminative loops and just driving myself crazy.

Listen to the Happiness Lab on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your shows. This is an IHeart podcast. Guaranteed human.