Spaceballs Episode #870

Spaceballs Episode #870

Author: Todd and Cathy Adams May 26, 2026 Duration: 40:27

Cathy and Todd discuss Mel Brooks’ Spaceballs for Zen Pop’s space month, a 1987 Star Wars parody following Lone Starr and his half-man half-dog sidekick Barf as they rescue Princess Vespa from Dark Helmet and the incompetent President Skroob (whose name is literally an anagram of Brooks). The cast includes Bill Pullman, John Candy, Rick Moranis, Daphne Zuniga, Joan Rivers, and Dom DeLuise as Pizza the Hutt. They discuss the WTF moments, the lines they quote at home, and the news that a sequel, Spaceballs: The New One, arrives April 23, 2027 with most of the original cast returning.

Some Ways to Support Us

    1. Sign up for Cathy’s Substack
    2. Order Restoring our Girls
    3. Join Team Zen

Links shared in this episode:

For the full show notes, visit zenpopparenting.com.

This week’s sponsor(s):

Other Ways to Support Us


Think of a song that instantly transports you back to a specific moment, or a movie line that perfectly captures a feeling you couldn't name. That's the territory explored in Zen Pop. Hosted by Todd and Cathy Adams, this podcast isn't just a review show; it's a conversation that uses the shared language of pop culture-from classic films and TV to the soundtrack of a generation-as a starting point for something more personal. Each discussion begins with a familiar piece of music, a film, or a cultural moment, then gently unfolds into a deeper look at our own emotional blueprints, relationships, and the ways our past informs our present. The tone is grounded, often humorous, and carries a distinctly Gen X perspective, treating the artifacts of our collective memory not as mere entertainment, but as mirrors reflecting our patterns, blind spots, and ongoing growth. Listening to this podcast feels like having a thoughtful, nostalgic, and surprisingly insightful chat with old friends who believe that the movies we quote and the songs we replay have a lot more to teach us about who we are and how we connect. It’s about finding the quiet wisdom hidden in the noise of popular culture.
Author: Language: en-us Episodes: 100

Zen Pop
Podcast Episodes
Se7en: The Movie That Made Us Ask What’s in the Box- Episode #839 [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:24:03
Cathy and Todd discuss Se7en, David Fincher’s dark and unforgettable thriller. They talk about how the movie came together from the casting of Brad Pitt and Morgan Freeman to the decision to keep Kevin Spacey’s role a se…
Twilight, Vampires, and Werewolves- Episode #837 [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:25:21
Released in 2008, Twilight dropped into a perfect cultural storm with Obama’s election, iPhones taking off, emo Tumblr in full swing, and the YA craze exploding after Harry Potter. Catherine Hardwicke’s film felt raw and…
Halloween: Gen X Suburban Fear and the Final Girl- Episode #835 [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:12:09
Cathy and Todd revisit John Carpenter’s Halloween, the 1978 film that cost just over $300,000 to make and went on to shape the slasher genre. For Gen X kids, it was more than a scary movie, it was a cultural milestone. T…
Airplane! The Film That Defined Gen X Humor- Episode #834 [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:04:25
Airplane! hit theaters in 1980 and reshaped comedy for Gen X. It was a clear break from the more earnest films of the ’70s and set the tone for how parody and absurdist humor would play out for decades. By casting seriou…
The Summer I Turned Pretty, Shaped by Gen X Pop Culture- Episode #833 [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:16:35
Jenny Han’s The Summer I Turned Pretty is rooted in Gen X pop culture, taking inspiration from 80s movies to the soundtrack choices that set the mood. In this episode, we connect Belly’s summer at Cousins Beach to the st…
Unknown Number- The High School Catfish- Episode #832 [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:18:15
Cathy and Todd discuss Netflix’s documentary Unknown Number: The High School Catfish and how texts and constant accessibility blur the line between connection and chaos. What started as “stranger danger” in Gen X childho…
Boybands and Performative Masculinity- Episode #830 [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:50:52
Cathy and Todd look at how groups like Backstreet Boys, *NSYNC, Boyz II Men, and One Direction shaped pop culture and redefined what young men were allowed to sing about. They created space for emotion, love, and vulnera…