This week’s show covers a lot of ground thematically AND geographically! The death of João Donato takes us to Brasil and the era of bossa nova. The death of Dianne Feinstein takes us back to San Francisco of 1978. The death of Jane Birkin inspires discussion of her daughters, fashion, Hercule Poirot, Dirk Bogarde, and Jim Thorpe, Pennsylvania! And the death of Sir Michael Gambon inspires Phil to get up on his soapbox railing against those who think of the great actor as “Dumbledore”! The charms of Savannah, Dean’s ongoing battle with Covid after-effects, the end of the Writer’s Strike, and murder mystery dinners are all on the menu as well!

A cold open about the horror classic (?) Phantasm gets the ball rolling on a fascinating, funny, free-wheeling conversation between Dean and Phil about such topics as Dean’s forthcoming creative endeavors, Phil’s stressful experience judging a costume competition, the ongoing Los Angeles city council scandal and the difference between “representing” and “reflecting”. A message from someone very close to Dean about the most recent Palme d’Or winner at Cannes leads to a spirited appreciation of the comedy in Jean-Luc Godard’s Weekend and a message from a loyal listener like you (yes, YOU!) leads to hilarious stories about Werner Herzog’s Nosferatu the Vampyre and to a discussion of the very first episode of the new season of “Documentary Now” (a parody about Werner Herzog)! Kanye West’s ridiculous claims about Django Unchained and the onslaught of criticism directed at the new season of “The Crown” get examined before your friends in podcasting (and broadcasting) offer up a very lengthy, (and way too short!) celebration of the “Coal Miner’s Daughter”, Loretta Lynn.