It’s Memorial Day in the USA. Dean Haglund in Michigan and Phil Leirness in California are joined by Jon Lawlor in New Jersey to discuss New Jersey Transit, the importance of celebrating everyone, and the challenges involved when someone you meet or care about is experiencing memory loss issues. May is also Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month in the USA. To celebrate this, Phil sits down for an in-depth personal interview with a giant of the AAPI community, and a legendary actress who made her mark on stage, on screen, and in voice work. Takayo Fischer has worked in huge movies, with legendary stars, has been a fixture on television for decades, has lent her voice to many animated programs, and has worked on iconic stage projects with major talents of the 20th and 21st Century. The story of how she got to the stage is unlike any other.

After a brief cold open where Phil and Dean discuss Dean’s trip to Los Angeles this week, your friends in podcasting get into a spirited and frequently hilarious discussion about the Olympics. Then Phil has notes for the brilliant Jon Batiste about his hot mess of a live show. A legendary agent and a trailblazing actress get remembered in “Celebrity Deaths”. Dean plays “armchair executive” in analyzing the news surrounding the forthcoming George Clooney-Brad Pitt vehicle Wolfs. Phil re-watched Barry Lyndon and he and Dean take a deep dive into that film and analyze the way the film has been so dramatically reappraised in recent years.

After a whirlwind, emergency trip to Turlock, Phil is back in Los Angeles. Dean Haglund is in Northern Virginia. They hook up via Zoom for a first half that covers the great new, Oscar-nominated film Another Round, and its director, Dogme 95 co-founder Thomas Vinterberg. They discuss the controversy that brought destruction to the annual Ovation Awards, honoring the best in Los Angeles theater. They play two rounds in their weekly vintage movie ad game and they celebrate the lives of a great character actor and a great funk musician, both of whom died this past week. All that, plus we find out if Dean ever went by the moniker “Dean E” or “Deanie”. In part 2, Dean interviews film and television critic, friend of the show, and fellow Michigander Mattie Giles. They discuss dogs, great bookstores, binge-watching “E.R.”, the D.C. Universe movies, why Dean can’t actually watch anything in one sitting and more!