Best Simon Howell and Kate Rennebohm Podcasts (2025)

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Part 11: L'adaptatrice (ft. Rebecca Sheehan) 2:05:12

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2y ago2:05:12

2:05:12

Kate and Simon are joined by author and film academic Rebecca Sheehan to dissect two later Akerman features, including her final scripted feature, bound together in this episode by their respective takes on literary giants. First up is 2000's La Captive, derived from a section of Marcel Proust's In Search of Lost Time; next is Almayer's Folly, deri…

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Part 10: Self-portrait (ft. Patricia White) 1:43:29

2y ago1:43:29

1:43:29

Film scholar and author Patricia White joins us to tackle a couple of Akerman's more direct attempts at self-portraiture (Lettre d'un Cinéaste and Chantal Akerman par Chantal Akerman), along with Sami Frey's behind-the-scenes chronicle Autour de Jeanne Dielman (edited by Akerman in the early 2000s). Discussed: the greatness of Delphine Seyrig, the …

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Part 9: Akerman vs. America 1:39:05

2+ y ago1:39:05

1:39:05

Riding guest-free for a change, Kate and Simon tackle three films (a short and two features) that touch on issues of racism, injustice, and murder: the Amnesty International-prompted Pour Febe Elisabeth Velasquez, El Salvador, 1999's Sud and 2002's De L'Autre Coté. We also dive a little more than usual into criticisms of Akerman's documentary work/…

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Part 8: See and don't see (ft. Alisa Lebow) 2:29:58

3y ago2:29:58

2:29:58

With the help of scholar and filmmaker Alisa Lebow, who arrives armed with memories of meeting and speaking with Akerman, we tackle some of the Akerman work most inherently tied up with questions and challenges of Jewish identity, history and politics. These films are: 1980's medium-length TV doc Dis-Moi (Tell Me); 1986's tragicomic examination of …

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Part 7: Song and dance (ft. Girish Shambu) 2:12:59

3y ago2:12:59

2:12:59

After a mid-season siesta, we're back with one of the most obviously pleasurable and accessible groupings of any episode of The Akerman Year: that's right, it's time for musicals. Girish Shambu is on with us to talk about the beguiling whatsit Les Années 80, the one-hour TV documentary One Day Pina Asked, and finally Akerman's long-in-the-making Go…

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Part 6: Have you considered analysis? (ft. Miriam Bale) 1:45:51

3y ago1:45:51

1:45:51

This month, we're taking a look at Akerman's sole foray into the English mainstream via the 1996 rom-com A Couch in New York, while also taking a look at the 7-minute short that followed in its wake (the introspective Le jour ou) and looking backwards to a previous comic gem, 1984's 60-minute L'homme a la valise. Joining us for this spirited and li…

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Part 5: Hot summer nights (ft. Caden Mark Gardner) 1:46:55

3y ago1:46:55

1:46:55

Once again, the stylistic breadth of Akerman's work comes to the fore via two features linked closely in theme but vastly divergent in approach. First up is Toute une nuit (1982), which chronicles a single smouldering Brussels night via the (mostly) romantic trials and tribulations of several dozen characters; that's followed this month by the more…

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Part 4: Placement and displacement (ft. Jessica Bardsley) 2:11:53

3+ y ago2:11:53

2:11:53

This month, Lodgers alumnus and filmmaker Jessica Bardsley joins us to talk about three exceedingly different projects, all linked by the theme of displacement: 1978's Jeanne Dielman follow-up Les rendez-vous d'Anna, 1984's hilarious Family Business, made while looking to secure funding for Golden Eighties (more on that one in a future episode) and…

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Part 3: in correspondence (ft. Lakshmi Padmanabhan) 1:45:12

3+ y ago1:45:12

1:45:12

This month, we're joined by Lakshmi Padmanabhan to discuss two films centered around the acts of letter-reading: first up is the widely heralded News From Home, Akerman's 1976 feature juxtaposing the letters her mother wrote to her in the early 70s with contemporary images of New York life. After that, we zoom ahead a decade to look at her less wel…

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Part 2: Unsimulated eating, unsimulated sex (ft. Erin Nunoda) 1:57:47

3+ y ago1:57:47

1:57:47

Special guest Erin Nunoda joins us for a fun and freewheeling (and queer theory-festooned!) chat about a stylistically diverse set of sharp, daring and often pretty funny movies set in Brussels, Paris, and points in between. Films discussed this month: La Paresse Je tu il elle J'ai faim, j'ai froid Portrait d'une jeune fille de la fin des années 60…

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Part 1: Domestic orders (ft. Justine Smith) 1:55:10

3+ y ago1:55:10

1:55:10

For our appropriately gargantuan first proper episode, we welcome back fellow Lodger and film-studies veteran Justine Smith to dive in at the deep end with discussion of some of Akerman's early shorts, before moving onto the film Akerman is still far and away best known for, the 200-minute colossus Jeanne Dielman, 23 quai du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelle…

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announcing The Akerman Year! 5:42

3+ y ago5:42

5:42

We have a new podcast! It's about Chantal Akerman. We talk about it for a couple of minutes before leaving you alone again. More info on Twitter: twitter.com/akermanpod You can find the first, introductory ep of the pod here: https://akermanyear.fireside.fm/part-0 Thanks to everyone who listened to The Lodgers. We may return, one day...…

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Part 0: Blow up this town 30:37

3+ y ago30:37

30:37

In our introductory episode, we give a high-level overview of Chantal Akerman's origins, tease the future of the podcast, and dive right into Akerman's spirited first short film, Saute Ma Ville (aka Blow Up My Town), made at the age of 18. If you like the show or what we do generally, consider throwing us a few bucks to help cover our costs: https:…

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Episode Thirty-One: The Eternal Return (ft. Dennis Lim and Tom McCarthy) 1:30:46

6+ y ago1:30:46

1:30:46

With The Return long concluded and the once-shiny Blu-Ray sets gathering dust, The Lodgers must come to an end. Opting to try and take things out with a bang, Kate and Simon are joined by not one but two special guests: Dennis Lim, author of David Lynch: The Man From Another Place, and Tom McCarthy, big-deal novelist (Remainder, Satin Island, C) an…

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Episode Thirty: Unwrapping The Return 1:23:44

6+ y ago1:23:44

1:23:44

Christmas has come early for Kate and Simon, whose gratis copies of Twin Peaks‘ third season on Blu-Ray prompted the first of two concluding episodes of The Lodgers. In this episode, Kate and Simon fly solo to go over the set’s bonus features and take a few minutes to acknowledge the state of the critical discourse surrounding the season.…

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Episode Twenty-Eight: [redacted on FBI orders] (ft. Miriam Bale) 1:19:34

6+ y ago1:19:34

1:19:34

Part 16 of The Return marks the eventful continuation of the series’ climax, including at least one massive event fans have been anticipating for many weeks: the return of Jerry Horne! And also maybe the thing that happened with Cooper. Writer Miriam Bale (of the NYT, W Magazine, The New Republic, and many other fine establishments) joins Kate and …

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Episode Twenty-Seven: Goodnight, Margaret (ft. Byron Davies) 1:18:59

6+ y ago1:18:59

1:18:59

An emotionally intense and cathartic episode of The Return sparks a wide-ranging discussion with returning guest Byron Davies. Touched upon: whether we can allow/permit ourselves to accept Ed and Norma’s happy ending, The Return‘s handling of the woods as a space of evil and mystery; the possible fates of Becky and Steven; the implications of Coope…

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Episode Twenty-Nine: Enjoy Yourself, it's Later Than You Think (ft. Adam Nayman and the cast of The Lodgers) 1:38:07

6+ y ago1:38:07

1:38:07

After a considerable, scheduling-necessitated delay, we've brought back Adam Nayman to help us consider just where the season’s final episodes take us, how they affect our view of the series as a whole, and just what the hell we’re all going to do with our lives now. Also, we invited former guests of the show to chip in with their finale and series…

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Episode Twenty-Six: Me, a Tulpa? (ft. Dr. Sara Ann Swain) 1:09:33

6+ y ago1:09:33

1:09:33

After a couple of weeks in which The Return taunted and tantalized viewers by holding back on incident, “Part 14” decided to blitz us with a ton of new, bizarre, and exciting developments. Dr. Sara Ann Swain rejoined Kate and Simon to help try to make sense of it all. Nuts are invoked – often.By Simon Howell & Kate Rennebohm

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Episode Twenty-Five: Sonny, Sonny, You're Gonna Die (ft. Seth Mnookin) 1:29:50

6+ y ago1:29:50

1:29:50

Seth Mnookin (of MIT’s Graduate Science Writing program, Vanity Fair, and a whole bunch of other very cool stuff) for some reason felt compelled to ask if he could come onto our little Twin Peaks podcast…and we (reluctantly) obliged. We’re glad we did, as we ended up having yet another wide-ranging look at just what The Return is up to, this time w…

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Episode Twenty-Four: Horne Under a Bad Sign (ft. Glenn Kenny) 1:10:07

6+ y ago1:10:07

1:10:07

Just in time for the episode that frustrated the broadest set of Twin Peaks viewers, New York Times / [rogerebert.com](rogerebert.com) writer Glenn Kenny joins us to tackle the upside of frustration, as well as many, many other tangents, including the show’s possible riffing on Lynch’s real-life persona and the new series’ sneaky ties to soap-opera…

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Episode Twenty-Three: Candie Crush (ft. Joel Bocko) 1:34:18

6+ y ago1:34:18

1:34:18

Special guest and Lynch scholar Joel Bocko (@lostinthemovies), one of the internet’s most prolific Twin Peaks experts, joins us to dissect the intense, hilarious, and momentous “Part 11,” as well as ponder some of the wider questions of the series and its context in Lynch’s overall filmography. It gets real nerdy.…

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Episode Twenty-Two: Under the Starry Night, Long Ago 1:06:08

6+ y ago1:06:08

1:06:08

After last week’s recording session from hell (don’t ask), Kate and Simon scale it back and go guest-free to take on one of The Return‘s most tonally dynamic and extreme episodes. Topics include: Dougie and Janey-E’s, er, encounter; the trials of Candie; finally admitting that we miss a few long-absent characters; and we once again revisit the impa…

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Episode Eighteen: This Podcast Contains a Coded Message (ft. Byron Davies) 1:18:55

6+ y ago1:18:55

1:18:55

“Part 7” marks a huge turning point in The Return…or does it? Guest Byron Davies joins us to dive deep into some fresh philosophical tangents as we ponder what it means that the series has (apparently, maybe?) finally decided to please fans of the original run. Discussed: Jacques Rivette, the series’ controversial take on sexual violence, the entra…

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Episode Twenty: The All-Dougie Radio Funtime Hour (ft. Adrienne and Jonathan Turnbull-Reilly) 1:41:48

6+ y ago1:41:48

1:41:48

With no new episode this week, Kate and Simon are joined by guests Adrienne and Jonathan Turnbull-Reilly help us sift through listeners’ (and their!) burning Twin Peaks questions. We didn’t bother with a fancy edit this week, so please enjoy us in our raw, uncut glory.By Simon Howell & Kate Rennebohm

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Episode Twenty-One: Foot-With-Mouth Disease (ft. Jessica Bardsley) 1:16:37

6+ y ago1:16:37

1:16:37

Jessica Bardsley rejoins us following her triumphant original-run appearance to help Kate and Simon tackle one of the more notoriously talky episodes of The Return: Part 9. We apologize for the lateness, but if you knew the work that went into salvaging this podcast from a disastrous recording situation, your hair would turn as white as Bobby’s.…

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Episode Nineteen: Atom and his Brakhage (ft. Olivier Creurer) 1:24:43

6+ y ago1:24:43

1:24:43

Twin Peaks trended on Twitter worldwide on the back of its wildest episode yet, but what did its new levels of experimentation amount to? Kate and Simon dive into the episode with returning guest Olivier Creurer, and ponder the series’ (and Lynch’s) broader relationship to experimental cinema, among many, many other open questions.…

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Episode Sixteen: Tit for Tati (ft. Justine Smith) 1:21:40

6+ y ago1:21:40

1:21:40

With the new season’s airing schedule finally normalizing, Kate and Simon are joined by returning guest Justine Smith to try to sort out the new season’s relationship to the original Twin Peaks, the broader TV landscape, as well as Lynch’s other work. Also discussed: Twitter swag, political alienation, electrical currents, Bob, and Caleb Landry Jon…

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Episode Seventeen: Coop On, Coop Off (ft. Matt Croombs) 1:23:05

6+ y ago1:23:05

1:23:05

Things get a little more heated than usual at Lodgers HQ when returning guest Matt Croombs joins us to talk “Part 6” of The Return. The more extreme elements of the new season come to the fore as Kate, Simon and Matt weigh the impact of some key sequences. Discussed: Lynch-as-camp, female viewers’ reactions, the hilarity of child murder, what the n…

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Episode Twelve: In Zane, in the Membrane (ft. James Cathcart) 1:04:00

6+ y ago1:04:00

1:04:00

As we head into the final stretch of Season 2, things are finally starting to look up – or are they? Guest James Cathcart helps Kate and Simon crawl out from under the worst subplots and new elements of the second season while looking ahead to the (triumphant?) end of the season.By Simon Howell & Kate Rennebohm

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Episode Eight: The Gifted and the Damned 1:04:32

6+ y ago1:04:32

1:04:32

Kate and Simon fly solo, which means a whole lot of tangents, trivia, and goofiness ensue, including a particularly juicy bit of archival goodness that is 100% (to the best of our knowledge) exclusive to this podcast. (Exclusive!) Meanwhile, much energy is spent considering the creative role of Jennifer Lynch, the use of non-actors and the influenc…

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Episode Thirteen: There Is No Death 1:16:58

6+ y ago1:16:58

1:16:58

The final episodes of Twin Peaks‘ original ABC run are covered on this week’s podcast, and the momentous occasion brings out a lot of feelings in Kate and Simon – as well as a lot of profound nerdery. A slightly extended episode includes Kate and Simon bonding over their shared hatred of Jacques Tati, a detailed breakdown of the Red Room / Black Lo…

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Episode Eleven: Crimes Against Aesthetics (ft. Olivier Creurer) 1:08:01

6+ y ago1:08:01

1:08:01

“The legend of how awful [these episodes] are shades your approach to them…not everything in them is terrible…” We wrestle with perhaps the darkest, most awful stretch of Twin Peaks episodes we possibly could, with the help of Olivier Creurer. What can be salvaged from the wreckage? Discussed: the sudden influx of supporting characters, flutes, Poo…

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Episode Seven: Attack of the Plant Vaginas (ft. Sara Swain) 1:08:59

6+ y ago1:08:59

1:08:59

Kate and Simon face down a couple of occasionally patchy but still fascinating episodes with the help of the brilliant (Dr.!) Sara Ann Swain: “The Man Behind the Glass” and “Laura’s Secret Diary.” Of note this week: missing Bobby and Shelley (and conscious Audrey), Slavoj Žižek and his feelings about flowers/anatomy, Albert’s showstopping monologue…

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Episode Fifteen: You're Just a Stranger's Dream 1:21:01

6+ y ago1:21:01

1:21:01

Whatever you want to call it – Season 3, a “limited series,” or something new entirely, David Lynch and Mark Frost’s Twin Peaks revival is finally upon us, and tasked with discussing its first four episodes, Kate and Simon, are, well, a little overwhelmed. With the recognition that there will be plenty more hours to discuss, your humble hosts take …

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Episode Fourteen: "Fire Walk With Me" (ft. Adam Nayman) 1:11:18

6+ y ago1:11:18

1:11:18

New episodes of Twin Peaks land this Sunday (holy balls!), and that can only mean one thing: it’s time to revisit Fire Walk With Me, Lynch’s divisive, brutal film chronicling the final days of Laura Palmer. Author and critic Adam Nayman joins Kate and Simon to talk about the film’s critical rehabilitation, its wacky prologue, its impact on the Twin…

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Episode Ten: What About Bob? (ft. Ethan Vestby) 1:02:41

6+ y ago1:02:41

1:02:41

With the help of special guest Ethan Vestby of These Boys Are Good Boys, Kate and Simon accelerate the podcast’s pace and tackle the next four episodes, beginning to delve into what we will be not so affectionately terming as The Dark Days. This episode features an above-average amount of sass and several pieces of remarkably random trivia. Don’t s…

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Episode Nine: "Lonely Souls" 1:12:56

6+ y ago1:12:56

1:12:56

Laura Palmer’s killer is revealed, unraveling all that came before – or does it? Once again flying solo so as to hog a momentous episode, Kate and Simon discuss the impact of learning the “true” identity of Laura’s killer, the implications of a post-reveal landscape, and the ways in which Lynch is able to tap into a richer emotional landscape than …

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Episode Six: A Three-Hankie Crime (ft. Jessica Bardsley) 1:20:12

6+ y ago1:20:12

1:20:12

In a slightly belated (sorry!), slightly extended outing, Kate and Simon are joined by Jessica Bardsley for possibly the most impactful one-two punch of the entire series, the Season Two openers “Mat the Giant Be With You” and “Coma,” two Lynch-directed episodes with a ton of notable elements, scenes, and flourishes. We dive deep on the music, the …

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Episode Three: There are a Lot of Birds (ft. Matt Croombs) 1:02:11

6+ y ago1:02:11

1:02:11

With the help of guest Matt Croombs, Kate and Simon dive deep into “Rest in Pain” and “The One-Armed Man” while also pondering, among other things, Twin Peaks‘ place in the late 80s / early 90s political and cultural landscape, how its take on surreal dreamscapes collides and colludes with other threads of representation, and how it squares with so…

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Episode Four: Close Your Eyes, Burst Into Flame (ft. Connor Denney) 1:09:14

6+ y ago1:09:14

1:09:14

Kate and Simon are joined by Connor Denney (@reviewoffilm) to talk “Cooper’s Dreams” and “Realization Time,” Season One’s penultimate episodes. Of particular interest this week: roleplaying, doubling (and tripling!), Audrey, Bobby, amateur law enforcement, and how non-Lynch directors interpret what it is to be “Lynchian.”…

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Episode Five: Bite the Bullet, Baby (ft. Ricky D) 57:03

6+ y ago57:03

57:03

To cap off Twin Peaks‘ first season, Kate and Simon are joined by Goomba Stomp/Sordid Cinema editor and longtime partner in podcasting Ricky D. Does the climactic episode live up to the landmark television that preceded it? We answer this and other questions, like whether or not Leo has been shot enough times, whether Mark Frost cut it in the direc…

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Episode One: "Pilot" 56:59

6+ y ago56:59

56:59

The Lodgers will see Kate Rennebohm, Simon Howell, and an assortment of guests tackle the entire series run, leading up to (and including!) the new season landing in May. On the inaugural episode, Kate and Simon take a deep dive into the double pilot, ponder the European cut, and note some of the more astonishing facts of the series’ production, re…

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Episode Two: A Fish in the Percolator (ft. Justine Smith) 1:10:15

6+ y ago1:10:15

1:10:15

In our second episode, Kate and Simon are joined by longtime collaborator and partner in crime Justine Smith to discuss the pivotal second and third episodes of Twin Peaks. The wide-ranging discussion veers into the origins of surrealism, the success rates of other series directors at adapting Lynch’s signature style, and much more. Also: sweaters,…

Simon Howell And Kate Rennebohm Podcasts