This week’s show picks up where last week’s show left off, in a cold open about Godard’s Contempt and Scorsese’s Raging Bull. Then, Dean and Phil talk about the importance of supporting movie theaters, and Dean offers up another vintage TV title ripe for viewing/re-viewing during what promises to be a very lengthy halt in television production. Phil shares deeply personal thoughts about two remarkable people who died this year. That leads to an edition of “Celebrity Deaths” dedicated entirely to great writers. Then, it’s back to Robert De Niro (and Raging Bull) as Dean celebrates what he believes to be the all-time five greatest performances by the multiple Oscar-winning legend.

A question from a loyal listener like you (yes, YOU!) leads to a passionate and thoughtful discussion about what television and movies you should be watching while no new television and movies are being made due to the writers’ and actors’ strikes. Moreover, Dean and Phil will discuss the ways all of us can greatly improve the chances of an equitable outcome to the contractual impasses. In honor of the actors, four frequently overlooked films boasting excellent performances by major stars will get remembered. And two of the greatest films of all time will get analyzed. Plus, this week’s show includes more on Raging Bull, further insights into “wabi-sabi”, and the return of “The Live Event of the Week”.

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.

After a cold open that involves a fascinating horror film from the UK in the 1940s (a rarity at the time) and the scientific theories it helped spawn, Phil reveals the horrific travels he undertook since he last convened with Dean on YOUR Chillpak Hollywood Hour! In “Celebrity Deaths”, the political cinema of Jean-Luc Godard gets analyzed, and the lives and careers of five performers and a jazz master get celebrated. Then, it’s back to the movies, with Dean recommending a current horror film and Phil revealing the two mysteries currently in theaters he is dying to see, before he and Dean sing the praises of several “Stranger Things” cast members and then try to figure out what went so right with one Ryan Reynolds vehicle from director Shawn Levy, and what went so wrong with another Ryan Reynolds vehicle from director Shawn Levy!

Saturday was International Ghost Hunting Day and Dean was at the forefront of it. Phil has been thinking a great deal about Buster Keaton, his influence, and other films and filmmakers that might have influenced the making of his beloved Wings of Desire. Phil asks Dean about legendary actress Ruta Lee, and an episode of “The Twilight Zone” in which she starred. One of the greatest banjo players of all time, a giant of reggae, and a founding member of a chart-topping UK pop band all get remembered in “Celebrity Deaths”. In the return of “What We’re Reading”, Dean discusses an artist who was once the most popular in Amsterdam and who has fallen into obscurity. This leads into a fascinating discussion about communicating with the future. Phil is reading a novel that explores two different timelines in the marshes and on the coastline of North Carolina in the 1950s and 60s. Dean and Phil then re-visit last week’s Emmy Awards and do an analytical deep dive into the furor surrounding “Ted Lasso” season 2 and the concept of “public ownership” before reviewing season 1 of “Hacks”. Finally, we want to wish our sponsor, Empire State Gas, Many Happy Returns! Thanks for sponsoring us all these years. You’ve got great gas!

Reunited and it feels so good … ” Your friends in podcasting convened on a rooftop in historic Los Feliz, overlooking the skyline of downtown Los Angeles to pre-record this week’s episode of YOUR Chillpak Hollywood Hour. Pour yourself a pitcher of Lord Turlocks (the cocktail Dean and Phil have made up to honor the recent creation of the Chillpak Hollywood Drinking Game wherein listeners take a shot every time the town of Turlock gets mentioned), sit back and relax as Dean and Phil shoot the breeze about jury duty, air travel in the age of Covid-19, Monday Night Football, Las Vegas, Liberace, “Fargo” season 4, “Schitt’s Creek”, “Crashing”, the Emmy Awards, deconstructionism, ageism in Hollywood, a lawsuit against IMDB, and more. They wrap things up by discussing several of Dean’s favorite filmmakers of all time.

In the first half of this week’s show, Dean Haglund and Phil Leirness celebrate the lives of several show biz luminaries who shuffled off the mortal coil these past few weeks. They also analyze the list of the 10 best films of the decade according to the legendary Cahiers du Cinema, especially their top choice. Finally, Dean and Phil reveal a newfound opponent to the Department of Justice’s plan to end the Paramount Consent Decree. Then, after a commercial break, your friends in podcasting welcome to the program, lifelong broadcaster and educator Alex Lewczuk of the University of Lincoln in the UK, Siren FM, and Southside Broadcasting. He discusses the past and present of sci-fi, as well as the importance of futurism.