Movie Mindset - Oscars Preview ‘26

Movie Mindset - Oscars Preview ‘26

Author: Chapo Trap House March 15, 2026 Duration: 2:13:04
The Movies…. Are back. The Mindset….Continues. Bet you thought we had forgotten? Will and Hesse get in right under the gun for another Movie Mindset Oscars Special. Our two professional film critics and acclaimed indie film stars discuss this year’s finest offerings from Tinsel Town and debate which among them deserves to be immortalized with that finest of names “Oscar.” Will PTA finally have his crowning moment of glory this year or will it be One Disappointment After Another for the wunderkind director as he’s snubbed yet again… Who will win the ideological battle over fascism this year? Will it be The Secret Agent, which maintains that fascism is bad or F:1 which stands for Fascism = #1? Is having a parent evil, or is being a parent evil? And Is it better to exist or not to? Films like this year’s Frankenstein, Sentimental Value and Hamnet all delve into this tricky and universal human dilemma. The Best Actor race is among the tightest in recent memory with many industry insiders saying it’s going to come down to Michael B Jordan playing a set of twins who are divided over eating pussy and becoming a vampire and Timothee Chalamet who plays an arrogant, pushy Jewish guy who gets everything he wants and conquers the world. Will and Hesse discuss all this and more! Also Train Dreams? Place your bets NOW on which of this year’s movies will win, and which ones each of these professional film critics still haven’t seen!

The political landscape is a constant, often absurd, spectacle, and Chapo Trap House provides a running, deeply irreverent commentary on the whole show. Hosted by the creators of the blog, this podcast digs into the week's news with a blend of leftist analysis, dark humor, and a palpable sense of frustration at the state of things. Listeners hear a freewheeling discussion that dissects everything from the latest legislative failures and media hypocrisies to the bizarre cultural detritus that fills the gaps between major events. The tone is unapologetically partisan from a socialist perspective, but it's delivered with a cynicism and comedic timing that avoids sounding like a lecture. It’s less a formal debate and more like eavesdropping on a group of friends who have read too much news and are trying to laugh so they don't scream. You'll find critiques of establishment figures across the spectrum, deep dives into political history, and a consistent dismantling of the narratives presented by mainstream outlets. The Chapo Trap House podcast has built a dedicated audience by speaking to a specific, disillusioned political sensibility, offering a space where the news is processed not with detached objectivity, but with pointed satire and a shared sense of gallows humor. It’s a specific kind of antidote to the daily headlines, one that argues understanding the chaos requires mocking it relentlessly.
Author: Language: English Episodes: 502

Chapo Trap House
Podcast Episodes
Bonus: Inside Higher Ed [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 45:56
We’re joined by a former university administrator (who prefers to remain anonymous, though we have reviewed and verified their credentials) for an insider’s perspective of the current state of college administration, and…
Bonus: UCLA Encampment Update [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 24:32
Will talks to Anny Viloria Winnett, a UAW 4811 ASE Trustee, Graduate Student Worker at the UCLA School of Public Health, and an organizer involved with UCLA’s pro-Palestinian encampments. They discuss last week’s violent…
830 - Vat Grown Oaf feat. Trillbillies (5/6/24) [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:07:55
Tom, Tarence and (welcome to the show!) Aaron from the Trillbillies join us for another week of horror and spectacle around the War in Gaza. We touch on the ceasefire agreement being rejected basically as we were recordi…
Movie Mindset Bonus: Interview With Director Radu Jude [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 52:18
Will & Hesse talk to Radu Jude, the director of the new comedy feature Do Not Expect Too Much from the End of the World. The film features an overworked production assistant as she drives around Bucharest shooting videos…
828 - 59’33” feat. Alex Nichols (4/29/24) [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 59:33
Alex joins us again to catch up on the ongoing pro-Palestinian protests and the range of responses to them, from blatant attempts to provoke the protesters, to complaining about encampments ruining your teaching of silen…
MM17: Cagney WAS Modernity! [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:50:13
Welcome to Movie Mindset season 2! Will & Hesse look at two films somewhat bookending the career of the great James Cagney: Lloyd Bacon’s Footlight Parade (1933) & Billy Wilder’s One, Two, Three (1961). The first is a pr…
826 - University Challenge feat. Basil Zacharia Rodriguez (4/23/24) [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:26:04
Will interviews Basil Zacharia Rodriguez, an activist and student at Columbia University involved with Columbia Justice in Palestine (SJP) and Columbia University Apartheid Divest (CUAD) about the ongoing demonstrations…
824 - To Look and To Watch feat. Alex Nichols (4/15/24) [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:06:40
Alex is back on with us today to catch up on MMA libertarians, bad DJs, and a rudely interrupted Billy Joel. We then discuss Iran’s weekend missile attack on Israel, and get Donald Trump’s somber and thoughtful remarks o…
822 - Curb Your Shogunate (4/9/24) [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:07:00
Will, Felix and Amber are here to look at a startling rise in assault in Gay City. Then, a more serious look at the Israeli bombing of World Central Kitchen staffers, and how it seems the ongoing tragedy in Gaza is only…
820 - The Neese (4/1/24) [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:22:19
Will, Felix and Amber dish on the news of the day, including the resurgence of Havana Syndrome, Erdoğan’s historic losses in recent Turkish elections, and that obnoxious article about Stanford campus activism. But honest…