Kael Your Idols: A New Hollywood Podcast
Kael Your Idols is a film discussion podcast focused on the "New Hollywood" era of American cinema. From the glamorized hippies and paranoid anti-heroes of the 60s and 70s, to the merchandise-driven blockbusters of the early 80s, join hosts Alana Gibson and Sam Ludwig as they dive into this wild period in studio filmmaking!
Logo artwork by: the_illuminator
Episodes
35 episodes
When Dreary Met Shabby: Love Story (1970)
The time has come to wish a hearty Happy Birthday to Alana! We said she could choose any movie she wanted to talk about and out of all the wonderful New Hollywood classics, she chose this one. Love Story itself might be astoundingly mid, but th...
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Episode 34
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1:51:51
Ah, Theatre! - The Iceman Cometh (1973)
Join us in celebrating Sam’s birthday with this special episode on the John Frankenheimer film version of Eugene O’Neill’s play The Iceman Cometh. The hosts dig in to the unusual experiment in cinematic stage plays that birthed this project. Yo...
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Episode 33
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2:26:46
Ballad of a Tall Man: Phantasm (1979)
The scares continue all through Halloween over here at KYI! The hosts, and their guest Levi Butner, wander the graveyards and get stuck in the muck as they discuss Don Coscarelli’s cult classic Phantasm. The obvious connections to Spielberg and...
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Episode 32
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1:51:54
Thrills. Chills. Catskills: Young Frankenstein (1974)
Horror comedy comes to life this episode with the Mel Brooks classic Young Frankenstein. This might be the first movie we’ve covered that almost everyone we’ve ever met has undoubtedly seen! The gags remain evergreen, but this watch through the...
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Episode 31
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1:10:52
8 1/2 x 4: Fellini & Mazursky & Fosse & Allen
This is a big one, folks. Alana and Sam take a deep dive into cinematic meta-fiction as they explore the relationship between the seminal film 8 1/2 (1963) and its three most prominent New Hollywood descendants: Alex in Wonderland (1970), All T...
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Episode 30
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3:46:14
Xenophilia: Alien (1979)
Alana and Sam search for the familiar within the unknown as they immerse themselves in the world of Ridley Scott’s genre-defining classic Alien. They ruminate on the disturbing picture it paints of space and the cycles of nature and remark upon...
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Episode 29
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1:46:51
Book Report: Easy Riders, Raging Bulls
Put on your spectacles, nerds! We’re talking some long-form PROSE in this episode. Our subject today is Peter Biskind’s Easy Riders, Raging Bulls: How the Sex-Drugs-and-Rock 'N' Roll Generation Saved Hollywood. That’s right, not a MOVIE like we...
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Episode 28
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1:39:27
Jesus Egg-cetera: Cool Hand Luke (1967)
Ohohoho it’s getting sweaty over here! On this episode we are joined by Ryan and Katie from The List to chat about Cool Hand Luke. Perhaps the defining prison film of the New Hollywood era, Paul Newman’s megawatt star power is put to perfect us...
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Episode 27
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1:51:35
War Giggles: MASH (1970)
Tonight’s episode of Kael Your Idols will be MASH! That’s right, Robert Altman’s MASH. Join Alana and Sam, that lovable pair of married movie fans as they dish the dirt on this beloved classic of early seventies cinema. A few laughs and a few t...
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Episode 26
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1:50:26
Trailer Trash Triumphant: Pink Flamingos (1972)
Get ready for the most disgusting, amoral, nastiest podcast-iest episode ever! We are delighted to bring you a discussion of John Waters masterpiece of filth Pink Flamingos. Underground cinema edges closer to the mainstream with this early 70s ...
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Episode 25
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1:58:13
Primate Palooza: Planet of the Apes Franchise
We bring you a special new episode ahead of our usual schedule! The excitement of the release of the Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes has got all of the millions of the fans of the recent entries of the franchise abuzzing. So of course, given ...
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Episode 24
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2:34:49
Déjà Who’s Your Daddy: Obsession (1976)
Question: If a movie about doppelgängers is itself a doppelgänger of another movie about doppelgängers… uh… like… what’s up with that, huh? Our hosts will attempt to answer at least a version of that question as they voyeuristically peek into t...
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Episode 23
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2:28:23
Toons of the City: Heavy Traffic (1973)
It’s Problematic Art Week on KYI! This episode Alana and Sam are joined by animator Frank Gidlewski for a round-table on Ralph Bakshi’s 1973 Künstlerroman "Heavy Traffic". There is much talk of the film's depictions of various taboos both sexua...
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Episode 22
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1:58:47
The Greatest Depression: They Shoot Horses, Don’t They? (1969)
Destiny’s dance continues! This week the hosts go around and around in their conversation on Sydney Pollack’s 1969 ode to the hopelessness of human existence (under capitalism)! This 1930s era Jane Fonda vehicle proves to be delightful fodder f...
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Episode 21
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1:30:49
Conspiracy Buddies: All the President’s Men (1976)
It’s Watergate time on Kael Your Idols! Sorry to jump right in to it but we didn’t want to bury the lede. In this episode the hosts get drawn into a web of lies and cover-ups as they discuss the 1976 classic “All The President’s Men”. This tale...
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Episode 20
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2:13:55
Anti-Protagonist: Wanda (1970)
This week on the ol’ podcast: Barbara Loden’s massively under-seen film Wanda (1970). We held this conversation a few months ago in the wake of the film placing 49th on the most recent Sight and Sound poll. Is this reputation warranted? Has the...
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Episode 19
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2:36:31
Director Spotlight: Three from Hal Ashby
If you want to sing out! Sing out! Kael Your Idols is pleased to bring you another Very Special Episode as we turn our attention and our empathy towards the career of Hal Ashby. The hosts are joined by film person Michael J. Dougherty to trace ...
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Episode 18
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2:37:22
Transcendent Neo Wave: Taxi Driver (1976)
Welcome to 2024 fellow Kael Your Idolators! For this first episode of the New Year we’re gassed up, got the meter running, and we’re offering you a midnight ride into the twisted minds of De Niro, Scorsese, and Schrader. These three New Hollywo...
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Episode 17
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2:33:56
Our top 5 movies of 1973 AND 2023
1973 vs 2023: the match-up of the century! To celebrate the new year we are counting down our top 5 films from these two years in cinema. Which movies were our favorites? Which movies missed the mark? And will 1973 or 2023 reign supreme? Listen...
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Episode 16
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2:38:59
A Final Fan Dance: The Right Stuff (1983)
The pod is taking a slight temporal detour this week and covering The Right Stuff - a film that began its development during New Hollywood and was finished and released in the wake of the Heaven’s Gate debacle. Sam and Alana pontificate about w...
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Episode 15
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1:38:22
Nostalgia for the Recent Past: American Graffiti (1973)
This week Kael Your Idols welcomes filmmaker Levi Butner to discuss George Lucas’s mega-hit American Graffiti. The film is, in a sense, the director’s first prequel - showing a day in the life of some Modesto teens in 1962 way way back before t...
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Episode 14
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1:31:32
Magic Hour Meditations: Days of Heaven (1978)
Love! Betrayal! Sunsets! That’s right - Terrence Malick’s Days of Heaven gets the Kael Your Idols treatment this week. A Texas farm sets the scene for this unusual love triangle unfolding amidst some very loopy voice-over narration. This deeply...
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Episode 13
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1:04:14
Director Spotlight: 4 Films by Sidney Lumet
This week we have a change of pace for the show. Instead of an episode on a single movie, Alana and Sam turn their focus onto the career of a filmmaker - namely the legendary Sidney Lumet. This is the first of many special episodes we have plan...
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Episode 12
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1:48:27
The Times They Are a-Zombie-ing: Night of the Living Dead (1968)
In this episode Sam and Alana sink their teeth into one of the most influential films of all time: George Romero’s independently produced Night of the Living Dead (1968). A gripping flick about flesh eating Ghouls and the people trying to fight...
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Episode 11
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1:18:15
Satan Goes Mainstream: The Exorcist (1973) and The Exorcist: Believer (2023)
When we found out that the 70s classic The Exorcist was to be the latest victim in Hollywood’s obsession with Legacy Sequels, a terrifying truth became all too clear: we would have to cover BOTH films on the podcast. This week your hosts braved...
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Episode 10
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2:33:16