It’s April Fools’ Day, and what better way to celebrate than by spending an hour enjoying the spirited, irreverent conversation of two fools who have been changing the way people listen to the internet since May of 2007? This week, Dean and Phil discuss the stand-up comedy of Ali Wong, the performance artistry of Laurie Anderson, the beauty of the Fox Theatre in Detroit, the Orpheum Theatre in DTLA, the significance of the Tower Theatre just down the street from the Orpheum, and the Apple Store it now houses. They dig into “True Detective: Night Country”, and celebrate the great Japanese suspense picture Woman in the Dunes, marveling at the fascinating life of its director, Hiroshi Teshigahara. Two Francis Coppola epics, one disastrous, one just completed, both go under the microscope, and in “Celebrity Deaths”, two all-time great actors get remembered.

This week’s show begins with an email from a loyal listener about the Bree Sharp song “David Duchovny” and the unofficial video for it in which Dean participated. Then, Phil talks about what is going on his beloved Siren Radio in the UK. A petition has been launched to try and save the station to which Phil has been contributing for more than 12 years (read and, if so moved, sign the petition at https://www.change.org/p/support-our-siren-saving-siren-radio-lincoln-s-first-community-radio-station). This leads to a discussion of curated experiences and supposedly outmoded media. From there, the conversation switches to the impact of Bicycle Thieves on the big screen and that classic’s influence on Pee-Wee’s Big Adventure. The surprising good news of a just-released global box office smash hit gets cheered. Of course, “awards season” is reaching its climax, and Dean and Phil analyze what we can know will happen at the Oscars based on this weekend’s SAG Awards. The multi-award-winning miniseries “Beef”, its writing and its stars get hailed. Phil also shares a great story about Annette Bening and both her present, and one of her past, Oscar nominations. All that plus Phil regales with tales of the Autry Museum of the American West in the wake of emceeing a major event there. Finally, the lives of three fascinating music figures get remembered in “Celebrity Deaths”.

This week’s show will pick up right where last week’s Season 4 Episode 6 left off, with a pre-recorded segment wherein Dean Haglund reveals his top two films of 2023, and Phil Leirness reveals his number one choice. Then, Dean and Phil hook up live on digital audio to discuss a wide array of topics, including: the choreography of Pina Bausch, the German nominee for the Best International Film Oscar, the Mardi Gras jazz of Delfeayo Marsalis (and a real-life backstage mystery!), the Houdini Estate in Hollywood, “Bicycle Thieves”, the French classic “Diva”, and why February 10 was a terrible day for breakfast!