Armchair Expert Umbrella is a media/podcast network comprised of all shows produced by Armchair Expert.
Armchair Anonymous: Delivery Driver
Dax and Monica talk to Armcherries! In today's episode, Armcherries tell us about a crazy delivery driver story. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Jonah Nolan (director & screenwriter)
Jonah Nolan (Fallout, Westworld, The Dark Knight) is a screenwriter, director, and producer. Jonah joins the Armchair Expert to discuss why he doesn’t have a British accent like his brother, what he learned working on farm, and why he wrote his first script about amnesia. Jonah and Dax talk about how much research he does when taking on a project, how the perception of doing television has changed, and why humanizing the subject matter is so important in scriptwriting. Jonah explains how he finds himself crying more as a parent, how he approached adapting a video game to TV, and why biopics are so hard to make. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Synced: WOM
In this episode of Synced, Monica and Liz discuss what is sending them to hell, Monica recounts a traumatic phlegm incident, and Liz reveals her new family member: Monika. They answer a listener question on whether great sex requires pursuing a relationship and they end on an unexpected cliffhanger. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Flightless Bird: True Crime
In this week's Flightless Bird, David Farrier talks to Terra Newell, who you may well know from the Dirty John podcast. We look at what makes the True Crime genre such a big deal, and some of the ethical questions it raises. David also shares his favourite 10 True Crime bits of media with Monica and Rob - which are: Dear Zachary (2008): A filmmaker decides to memorialize a murdered friend when his friend's ex-girlfriend announces she is expecting his son. Blackfish (2013) / The Cove (2009): A documentary following the controversial captivity of killer whales, and its dangers for both humans and whales. The Jinx: The Life and Deaths of Robert Durst (2015): Filmmaker Andrew Jarecki examines the complicated life of reclusive real estate icon Robert Durst, the key suspect in a series of unsolved crimes. The Staircase (2004): The high-profile murder trial of American novelist Michael Peterson following the death of his wife Kathleen Peterson in 2001. Last Call (2023): As the AIDS crisis intensifies in the early 1990s, homophobia and hate crimes increase, and a serial killer preys on gay men in New York City by infiltrating the queer nightlife to identify his victims. 6 The Thin Blue Line - 1988 (Errol Morris): A film that successfully argued that a man was wrongly convicted for murder by a corrupt justice system in Dallas County, Texas. Paradise Lost (1996): A horrific triple child murder leads to an indictment and trial of three nonconformist boys based on questionable evidence. Capturing the Friedmans (2003): Documentary on the Friedmans, a seemingly typical, upper-middle-class Jewish family whose world is instantly transformed when the father and his youngest son are arrested and charged with shocking and horrible crimes. The Imposter (2012): A documentary centered on a young man in Spain who claims to a grieving Texas family that he is their 16-year-old son who has been missing for 3 years. In The Dark Season 2: The second season of In the Dark explored the legal odyssey surrounding Curtis Flowers, who was accused of shooting four people to death inside Tardy Furniture, a Winona, Mississippi store, in July 1996 Honorable mentions: A Very Fatal Murder, American Vandal Other OGs: Helter Skelter (1974), In Cold Blood (1966), Making a Murderer (2018), Serial (2014) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Rebel Wilson
Rebel Wilson (Rebel Rising, Bridesmaids, Pitch Perfect) is an actor, comedian, and author. Rebel joins the Armchair Expert to discuss why she loves fireworks, her experience writing a memoir, and how she forced herself to overcome shyness as a kid. Rebel and Dax talk about their paths to comedy, what getting malaria was like, and why she had to change how she promoted herself to get a job. Rebel explains why she decided to freeze her eggs, the juxtaposition of her character’s sexuality and her own, and her experience dealing with body shaming. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Armchair Anonymous: Took the Fall
Dax and Monica talk to Armcherries! In today's episode, Armcherries tell us about a time someone took the fall for them. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Maureen Dunne (on neurodiversity)
Maureen Dunne (The Neurodiversity Edge) is a cognitive scientist, neurodiversity expert, and business leader. Maureen joins the Armchair Expert to discuss her ability to read a book in a half hour, how most people don’t fit into just one neurodivergent box, and how neurodiversity should be seen as an asset. Dax and Maureen talk about the importance of combating stereotypes, how people misevaluate the level of talent of neurodivergent people, and how a large percentage of millionaires have dyslexic traits. Maureen talks about the disproportionality between talented people and meaningful opportunities, how codification and conduct drive culture, and the value of integrating cognitive diversity into the workforce. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Synced: MSP
In this episode of Synced, Monica and Liz chat about the summer of Celine, Monica reminisces over the Magnificent Seven, and Liz recounts when she fell in a hole. The two answer listener questions on how to stop co-workers from saying ‘bless you’, the ethics of hookups after long-term relationships, and compromise in a relationship. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Flightless Bird: Shoes Indoors
This week on Flightless Bird, David Farrier looks at why so many Americans don’t take their shoes off indoors. A poll by CBS last year found “the majority of Americans don't ask their guests to remove their shoes when they come to visit, and this is particularly true of older Americans.” David wants to find out why, so meets with etiquette coach Elaine Swann, founder of The Swann School of Protocol. The pair talk about the correct thing to do with your shoes, before moving their attention to road etiquette, airplane etiquette, and Zoom etiquette in the USA. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Christina Applegate
Christina Applegate (MeSsy, Married with Children, Anchorman) is an actor. Christina joins the Armchair Expert to discuss why she doesn’t like to take instructions, what growing up in the same neighborhood her whole life was like, and how she felt about receiving mixtapes. Christina and Dax talk about how she was in a commercial as a baby, why she loves watching reality television, and her attraction to punk rockers. Christina explains how she feels about people joking about addiction, why she wanted to start a podcast around her MS diagnosis, and why people like to watch other people fail. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Armchair Anonymous: Amusement Park
Dax and Monica talk to Armcherries! In today's episode, Armcherries tell us about a crazy amusement park story. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Lisa Damour (on the emotion of teenagers)
Lisa Damour (The Emotional Lives of Teenagers) is a clinical psychologist and author. Lisa joins the Armchair Expert to discuss how well fear immersion actually works, the three categories of temperament, and how the treatment of trauma has changed. Lisa and Dax talk about abnormal psychology, what caused the adolescent mental health crisis, and why the pandemic was so detrimental for teenagers. Lisa explains how social media has influenced self-diagnosis of disorders, why showing emotion is so difficult for boys, and how distraction has a place in our lives. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Synced: Manscraping
In this episode of Synced, Monica and Liz share childhood food traumas, a special guest joins to discuss manscaping, and Liz regales another plane event. They answer listener questions on how to stomach "baby talk" in a relationship, learning to orgasm in your twenties, and whether to match outfits with a significant other. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Flightless Bird: Lord of the Rings
This week on Flightless Bird, David Farrier still finds himself stranded back in New Zealand, waiting for his new Visa to be issued so he can make more American Flightless Birds. Cut off from America, he decides to do one of the most touristy things he can imagine: he sets off for Matamata and the tiny sleepy village of Hobbiton. Left over from the Lord of the Rings trilogy and The Hobbit, he goes to meet Hobbiton general manager Shayne Forrest, who takes Farrier around the most incredibly detailed living film set he’s ever seen. Farrier discovers that Hobbiton has recently opened up a Hobbit house, so Farrier goes inside to experience it with an American man called Matt. Outside, Farrier is lucky enough to meet Pickles, Hobbiton’s one and only rescue cat. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Conor McGregor & Jake Gyllenhaal
Conor McGregor is a mixed martial arts fighter, businessman, and actor. Jake Gyllenhaal is an actor. Conor and Jake join the Armchair Expert to discuss what their experience was collaborating to remake Roadhouse, how promoting a movie is different than promoting a fight, and what the motivation was for Conor to learn mixed martial arts as a young man. Conor, Jake, and Dax talk about what it’s like growing up in hypermasculine environments, how they approach failure, and what it’s like raising children as a fighter. Conor and Jake explain what training for a fight does for your physical health, what it takes to create believable fight scenes, and how much they love being creators. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices