Best Chris Tognotti Podcasts (2025)

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188. French Kiss 2:13:01

Play Pause

12d ago2:13:01

2:13:01

Winter and spring have given way to summer, and where better to head than the south of France for a romantic interlude, no? This week, Chris and Kevin crack into French Kiss, the 1995 romantic comedy starring Kevin Kline and Meg Ryan against the backdrop of Paris and the southern vineyards. Is this a downturn in Meg's romcom trajectory? Or is it, s…

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187. The Karate Kid Part III 1:36:36

27d ago1:36:36

1:36:36

In anticipation of the new... I want to say... sixth? not counting TV! installment of the Karate Kid franchise, Kevin brings Chris the third part of the, uh, trilogy. There's a new villain in town and he makes John Kreese look like a reasonable San Fernando Valley karate school teacher/business owner. But will Daniel-san be able to beat his equival…

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186. Police Academy 4 2:06:49

1M ago2:06:49

2:06:49

Kevin and Chris are joined by DT (@dtfrombtown on Twitch) for a long look back at a movie that clearly made a *big* impact on him: Police Academy 4. Part of the long-running, critically reviled, financially dominant (more than a billion in pure profit across seven films!) comedy series, the foruth iteration finds the gang welcoming some newcomers t…

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BONUS: BTS Pitch/Prep Meeting For EP186 (Police Academy 4) 49:13

1M ago49:13

49:13

Hey, everyone! For more bonus content like this, and two full bonus episodes per month, check out Now We Know on Patreon! Also, every audio episode here in your feed is now featured on Youtube with full video! Subscribe to the Now We Know Youtube channel here! Follow DT: Twitch: @dtfrombtown Youtube: dtfrombtown Follow Chris: Twitch: @christogpher …

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185. Looney Tunes 1:52:00

2M ago1:52:00

1:52:00

You've heard us talk about The Day The Earth Blew Up: A Looney Tunes Movie (if you're a member of the patreon), you've heard us talk about Rabbit Rampage for the Super Nintendo, but that's NOT all, folks! Here at last is our definitive review of the definitive Looney Tunes (or Merrie Melodies for the old heads). Is it any good? Well yes obviously. …

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184. Casper 1:44:38

2M ago1:44:38

1:44:38

Kevin and Chris dive headlong into 1995's smash family hit Casper, which the latter enjoyed reasonably well, and the former seemed ready to claw out his eyes... or those of everyone around him. (Check out the video episode at @nowweknowpod on Youtube for even more fun (we're in the sight gag business now!)…

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183. Wee Sing: Grandpa's Magical Toys 1:51:27

3M ago1:51:27

1:51:27

In today's first in-person video episode NWK's own Punchinello, Natasha Vinik, brings us her favorite childhood "movie": Grandpa's Magical Toys (from the Wee Sing video collection). The plot and budget are pretty bare-bones but does it hold up for Wee Natasha? And what of Kevin and Chris?

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182. Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs 1:39:51

3M ago1:39:51

1:39:51

(PROGRAMMING NOTE: This episode, as will be true of future episodes, is now optimized with full video! You'll still get your audio-only podcasts as usual, but for the full experience, visit Now We Know on YouTube!) With a new live-action remake hitting theaters (stop us if you've heard that one before), we dive into the 1937 classic Snow White and …

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181. Harriet the Spy (1996) 1:36:16

4M ago1:36:16

1:36:16

In honor of the recently, shockingly departed Michelle Trachtenberg, returning guest Jessica brings the film adaptation of Harriet the Spy, a childhood obsession which led to her own illegal, unethical actions. Was it because of a lack of clear message that there was anything wrong with them as long as you don't get caught? Peep at Kevin & Chris fr…

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180. Monty Python and the Holy Grail 1:41:11

4M ago1:41:11

1:41:11

Bring out your dead! African or European? Elderberries! A shrubbery!? All this and more can be yours as Chris and Kevin dive headlong into one of the most tragically run-into-the-ground comedies of all time: Monty Python and the Holy Grail, which turns 50 this year. We are the knights who say ekki-ekki-ekki-pitang-zoo-boing!…

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179. Snoopy Come Home 1:22:25

5M ago1:22:25

1:22:25

SnOOooOOooOOpy / SnOOooOOooOOpy / come home Snoopy come home (come home come home)... Ring any bells? This time Kevin has brought Chris an all-time sad kids' movie to be reassessed. Not as well-known as the holiday fare and no Vince Guaraldi songs but this Peanuts movie has some toe-tapping, melancholy-inducing tunes of its own. Sometimes kids, adu…

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178. The Money Pit 1:25:59

5M ago1:25:59

1:25:59

Imagine this: you buy a house, and it's a ridiculous steal, at just $200k for like a 15-bedroom mansion! The catch: it's really run down, and you'll have to tap your monied friends and professional contacts for loans to fix it up. And so you do, and you hire some contractors who get it all ship-shape, and now you have a million-dollar home. Sounds …

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177. Titanic 2:01:11

6M ago2:01:11

2:01:11

Finally, they're doing the real one! Kevin and Chris are joined yet again by their pal Miranda, who was once a Titanic-obsessed tween, and in this case the wreckage didn't sink far from the iceberg. Chris considers it the Greatest American Romance, will you too fall in love?

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176. The Lion King (1994) 2:02:04

6M ago2:02:04

2:02:04

With a new "photo-realistic" prequel to its 2019 "photo-realistic" remake in theaters at time of recording, Kevin and Chris round out the year with The Lion King, the 1994 Disney animated hit starring Jonathan Taylor Thomas, Matthew Broderick, Jeremy Irons, James Earl Jones, and many more. Happy New Year everyone! (Also, if you'd like to hear our t…

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175. Gremlins (1984) 1:31:51

6M ago1:31:51

1:31:51

Hi-ho hi-ho (gremlin voice) it's off we go to Kingston Falls, where the titular gremlins can be found. Kevin has seen this one plenty but for Chris it's brand new! Will he find the little fellas adorable or does he agree with Stripe "Gizmo caca"? Listen and see!

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174. Rankin/Bass Christmas Specials (The Year Without a Santa Claus, The Life And Adventures of Santa Claus) 1:57:24

7M ago1:57:24

1:57:24

Ho, ha, ho! To kick off the holiday season, we look back at a pair of those inimitable Rankin/Bass Christmas specials, rendered in beautiful stop-motion "animagic!" The specials in question: The Year Without a Santa Claus (of Heat Miser and Snow Miser fame), and The Life And Adventures of Santa Claus, frequently mentioned on these airwaves as "the …

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173. The Hunt For Red October 1:27:19

7M ago1:27:19

1:27:19

Kevin and Chris are joined by Joe Wolohan (Kevin's cousin, for the unitiated) for a dive—a submerging, if you into—into The Hunt For Red October, the "thinking man's thriller" that bravely answers the question: who has more screen presence? Alec Baldwin or Sean Connery?

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172. All Dogs Go To Heaven 1:38:51

8M ago1:38:51

1:38:51

With the haunted confines of October in the rear view mirror, but the warm, glowing dinners of Thanksgiving still weeks away, we decided to split the difference with a children's animated classic that's equal parts warm and bleak, jokey and disconcerting—All Dogs Go To Heaven, the 1989 Don Bluth feature starring Burt Reynolds, Dom DeLuise, and Judi…

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171. Ernest Scared Stupid 1:42:04

8M ago1:42:04

1:42:04

Roger roger it's Trollfighter 1 knowwhatImeanvern*??? *Vern does not appear in this film

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170. Halloween Is Grinch Night / It’s The Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown 1:47:16

9M ago1:47:16

1:47:16

This time, Chris offers up a twofer of animated Halloween specials, the latter a towering classic of the genre, the former an oft-forgotten footnote to its Christmas counterpart: Halloween is Grinch Night, and It's The Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown. Suffice to say the broad approach to the Halloween cartoon doesn't get much further apart than these …

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169. Beetlejuice (The Animated Series) 1:20:42

9M ago1:20:42

1:20:42

It's Beetlejuice cartoon time, 'know what I mean babe? Huh huh huh I'm the ghost with the most [repeat sequence until funny]

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168. Commercials of the 80’s and 90’s Vol. 7 1:26:31

10M ago1:26:31

1:26:31

This time Chris takes the wheel for Commercials of the 80's and 90's Lucky Number Volume 7! Dive in with us as we sift through wine ads that stigmatize male pattern baldness, pre-internet "party lines," and the cosmic horror of the Wendy's buffet bar.

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167. Beverly Hills Cop 1:27:47

10M ago1:27:47

1:27:47

With a legacy sequel on streaming now, Kevin and Chris look back at the 1980's comedy/action classic—emphasis on the comedy and de-emphasis on the action—Beverly Hills Cop. Starring Eddie Murphy, Judge Reinhold, and the pitching coach from Little Big League, among others. Join us for a deep dive into all the pranks, tricks, endless Axel F needle dr…

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166. Captain Planet 1:50:03

11M ago1:50:03

1:50:03

Kevin and Chris are joined by first-time guest (and alleged former caller to the Now We Know hotline) Andrea Bloom, here to dish on all things Captain Planet. Join the Planeteers in their pitched battle for the survival of earth against Hoggish Greedly, Verminous Skumm, the sultry Dr. Blight, and more!…

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165. Shelley Duvall's Faerie Tale Theatre 1:21:42

11M ago1:21:42

1:21:42

Kevin and Chris are joined by friend of the show Rachel Fisher (Hollywood Crime Scene) to revisit, in honor of the passing of the late, great Shelley Duvall, her classic 80's children's passion project: Faerie Tale Theatre. Specifically, the merry trio look back at Hansel and Gretel, starring Paul Dooley, Joan Collins, and young Ricky Schroder and …

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164. Disney’s Robin Hood 1:31:23

12M ago1:31:23

1:31:23

PROGRAMMING NOTE: Want to choose what we cover for our next Patreon episode? Check out our listener poll on Twitter or Instagram, @nowweknowpod. Although Chris is technically the host of this episode, both he and Kevin are about as diehard fans of this flick as one can be — it's Disney's Robin Hood, released in 1973 to muted/mostly negative reactio…

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163. Bionic Six 1:14:42

12M ago1:14:42

1:14:42

From the annals of long-forgotten animation, Kevin presents, for your consideration: Bionic Six, a 1987 cartoon starring a family of cyborg heros taking on the nefarious Dr. Scarab. Directed by Osaka Dezaki—the man behind such animes as Space Adventure Cobra, Takarajima (Treasure Island), and the Golgo 13 movies—this show looms large in Kevin's mem…

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162. The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen 1:52:53

1y ago1:52:53

1:52:53

Evan Tognotti joins the show to dig into 2002's The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, an infamous big budget flop (or "disappointment," if you prefer Chris' classification) which had huge ramifications not just for the superhero genre and Hollywood icon Sean Connery's career, but for the Tognotti family's own personal fortunes.…

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161. Mighty Mouse: The New Adventures 1:16:18

1y ago1:16:18

1:16:18

Here he comes to save the day! Kevin, that is, bringing with him six entries (three episodes' worth combined) of Mighty Mouse: The New Adventures, the 1987 Mighty Mouse reboot (not to be confused with 1980's The New Adventures of Mighty Mouse and Heckle & Jeckle). Listen as Kevin gingerly guides Chris through a slate of first season episodes, produ…

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160. Richie Rich 1:52:48

1y ago1:52:48

1:52:48

Nowadays, America's Culkinheads are all Kieran this, Kieran that. But back in 1994, we were still living in the Macaulay Epoch—though not for much longer, with that year's film adaptation of Richie Rich serving as the final childhood role for the darling young movie star. Nowadays you've probably only heard of this for the scene where Richie has a …

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159. Don’t Tell Mom The Babysitter’s Dead 1:43:48

1y ago1:43:48

1:43:48

Once agIan, we're called to the mat by that most predictable and ignoble of occasions—the modern remake. The new 2024 version of this movie dropped back in April, so Kevin decided the time was ripe to revisit the 1991 original: Don't Tell Mom The Babysitter's Dead.

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158. Aladdin and the King of Thieves 1:32:48

1y ago1:32:48

1:32:48

They're finally gettin' married! Following the conclusion of the Aladdin animated series—which itself was kicked off by an earlier straight-to-video sequel—Disney rolled out a final VHS installment headlined by the return of Robin Williams as the Genie. Also featuring Jonathan Rhys-Davies and Jerry Orbach, this movie bravely asks: am I really bette…

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157. Visionaries: Knights of the Magical Light 1:13:13

1y ago1:13:13

1:13:13

Throwing back to the classic (if slightly underheralded) animation of our youths, Kevin brings forth Visionaries: Knights of the Magical Light, yet another Hasbro-backed vehicle reverse-engineered to sell toys. And, like the far more popular G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero, this show was made by Sunbow Productions. Has lightning struck twice?…

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SPECIAL DISPATCH: Star Wars Marathon Patreon Challenge! 3:09

1y ago3:09

3:09

The gauntlet has been laid down: Patreon.com/nowweknow

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156. Dragon Ball Z Movies (Dead Zone, The World’s Strongest, The Tree Of Might) 1:55:50

1+ y ago1:55:50

1:55:50

On the occasion of the sad, premature passing of famed and influential manga author Akira Toriyama, Chris and Kevin look back at a trio of Dragon Ball Z movies that aired on American television in the late 90's—Dead Zone, The World's Strongest, and The Tree of Might.

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155. X-Men (90s Animated Series) 1:20:19

1+ y ago1:20:19

1:20:19

With a reboot on the horizon, Kevin and Chris look back at 1992's X-Men cartoon series, a childhood staple clearly loved and well-remembered by many. Please, join us for a little mutant madness, and see how this once and future hit holds up in our brave new world.

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154. Superman Animated Shorts of the 1940’s 1:30:12

1+ y ago1:30:12

1:30:12

It's a bird, it's a plane, it's Fleischer Studios' Superman animated shorts of the 1940's! Well, more accurately, we'll be talking about two of the classic Superman cartoons produced under the watchful eye of Max and Dave Fleischer, and one of the late-run entries produced by Famous Studios, Paramount's Fleischer successor studio. Join us for a loo…

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153. The Real Ghostbusters 1:23:41

1+ y ago1:23:41

1:23:41

Who you gonna call? Fortunately, not the police, but rather The Real Ghostbusters! That's right, with the unfathomably bizarre decision to release another self-serious Ghostbusters movie in theaters soon (wasn't what you loved about the original how maudlin it was?), Kevin revisits the classic 80's DIC cartoon series.…

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152. Babar The Movie 1:20:09

1+ y ago1:20:09

1:20:09

Step aside, Dumbo. Shove off, Horton. Get outta here, elephant... from... Operation Dumbo Drop... it's little Babar's time to shine! This episode we look back at Babar The Movie, a 1989 barely feature length flick which did screen in some theaters, raking in about $1.3 million at the box office, entertaining among others a three-year-old Chris Togn…

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151. Commercials of the 80’s and 90’s Vol. 6 1:23:01

1+ y ago1:23:01

1:23:01

It's that time again, friends! For his first episode of 2024, Kevin revisits a noble Now We Know tradition, taking us on a trip through Christmas cheer, grim reflections on secondhand smoke, and even a visit to the sacred Halls of Medicine—it's Commercials of the 80's and 90's Vol. 6!

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150. Titanic: A New Musical 1:38:12

1+ y ago1:38:12

1:38:12

Happy New Year to all our friends, lovers, and of course, listeners! To ring in a new year, Chris finally uncorks an episode he's had in his back pocket since, well, roundabouts Christmas of 1997 — Titanic: A New Musical (now called Titanic: The Musical, as it is no longer in any way new). Debuting on Broadway the very same year as James Cameron's …

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149. Babes in Toyland (1986) 1:22:53

1+ y ago1:22:53

1:22:53

Babes! Toys! Lands! Not really the first things you'd think of if you actually watched this made-for-TV movie, but here it is just the same. Noteworthy for performances by young Drew Barrymore, young Keanu Reeves, regular-aged Pat Morita, and for muddling Kevin's memories of 80s Christmastime with the things he watched yet again. Thrill to hear tha…

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148. Blues Brothers 2000 1:40:19

1+ y ago1:40:19

1:40:19

Baaaa bah bah BAH! Ba ba ba baaaah baaaah bah bah bah. BAAAAAH bah bah BAH! Ba ba ba baaaah baaaah bah bah bah. BAAAAAAAAAAH bah bah BAH! Ba ba ba baaaah baaaah bah bah bah! BAAAAAAAAAAH bah bah BAH! Ba ba ba BA buh buh buh BA BA buh buh buh BA BA buh buh buh BA BAH!

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147. Thanksgiving TV Cornucopia 1:27:55

1+ y ago1:27:55

1:27:55

Happy soon-to-be Thanksgiving, everyone! In celebration of the traditional themes, tropes, and gastronomies of the season, Chris and Kevin dive into a trio of classic TV episodes tackling the Thanksgiving spirit: Happy Days' "The First Thanksgiving," Small Wonder's "Thanksgiving Story," and Amazing Stories' "Thanksgiving." Enjoy, everyone! Also — w…

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146. We’re Back! A Dinosaur’s Story 1:25:58

1+ y ago1:25:58

1:25:58

With spooky season 2023 in the rear view mirror, Kevin and Chris turn their weary eyes to We're Back! A Dinosaur's Story, the ignoble, ill-fated Spielberg produced—though not directed—dino toon flick. Starring John Goodman, Walter Kronkite, Julie Kavner, and Jay Leno among others, this movie lays bare the fact that, while a Picasso scribble on a co…

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145. The X-Files 1:42:33

1+ y ago1:42:33

1:42:33

Wooo wooo wooo wooo wooo wooooooooooo dun de da dun de dah (this is supposed to be the X-files theme) Fan favorite Miranda returns to the pod to dish on the classic 1990's sci-fi paranoia series! We look back at a pair of episodes: "Squeeze," and "Clyde Bruckman's Final Repose."

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144. “Manos” The Hands of Fate 1:52:42

1+ y ago1:52:42

1:52:42

The month of October is upon us, and so too are all the attendant ghosts, goblins, ambulatory skeletons—you know the drill. But here at Now We Know studios, a different sort of ghoul shambles out to center stage: Torgo, along with the Master, Michael, Margaret, little Debbie, and Manos (not pictured in this film). That's right, it's "Manos" The Han…

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143. L.A. Story 1:30:23

2y ago1:30:23

1:30:23

Like a brilliant smoggy sunset against the skyline of 1990's Los Angeles, your loyal hosts are joined by returning guest Dr. Ian Werkheiser (PhD) to awe and delight you. This time we look back at L.A. Story, starring Steve Martin, Victoria Tennant, Richard E. Grant, and a cast of thousands! And don't worry—no showbiz phonies allowed.…

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142. The Rescuers Down Under 1:33:27

2y ago1:33:27

1:33:27

Who’s ready for a little outback adventure? Kevin and Chris revisit The Rescuers Down Under, the oft-forgotten Disney movie which sits snugly between The Little Mermaid and Aladdin, in the early days of Disney’s animation renaissance. With Bob Newhart and Eva Gabor returning as those selfsame Rescuer mice Bernard and Bianca one last time (barring a…

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141. Poirot 1:09:01

2y ago1:09:01

1:09:01

Kevin and Chris traipse back to the mid-90's, of PBS "Mystery!" vintage, to revisit one of Kevin's favorite childhood detective characters—Poirot, Agatha Christie's indefatigable, razor-sharp Belgian dandy investigator, complete with his trademark immovable mustache. Kevin presents two episodes of the classic series, featuring David Suchet as the t…