

Fighting In The War Room: A Movies And Pop Culture Podcast
Katey, Matt, Da7e and David
The Film and Pop-Culture Podcast
Episodes
Mentioned books

Oct 10, 2025 • 1h 3min
524.6 – Nightmare in Horror Films, K-Pop Demon BBQ, The Smashing Machine
This week, Patches and Da7e have been watching the old Nightmare on Elm Street sequels on HBO Max and Patches wonders if we’re missing something in modern horror. Then, Patches and David got to meet the stars of K-Pop Demon Hunters in New York, did they earn more cred with their kids? Finally, Katey, David, and Da7e have seen The Smashing Machine and debate the movie’s high aspirations as a character piece with a puzzling execution.
“Golden” in the style of System of a Down by Anthony Vincent
Take a listen, embed and/or download below; for more from all of us, follow on BlueSky! Follow the show (@fitwr.bsky.social), Katey (@kateyrich.bsky.social), Da7e (@da7e.bsky.social), Patches (@misterpatches.bsky.social), and David (@davidehrlich.bsky.social).
One of TIME Magazine’s Top 100 Podcasts of All Time
Please subscribe on iTunes and KICK US A REVIEW if you like what you hear!
FORMAT
00:00 – Lightning Round: KB Toys Kids
02:24 – Intro – Welcome to Episode 524.6 of one of the best podcasts of all time!! Reviews! E-mail!
14:13 – Tidbit – Nightmare in Horror Films
29:57 – Mini-Segment – K-Pop Demon BBQ
40:21 – Segment 3 – The Smashing Machine
58:52 – Outro

Oct 2, 2025 • 1h 29min
524.5 – Alien: Earth, Rod Patches Reports From the Sphere, One Battle After Another
This week, everyone is back in the war room! The guys talk about Season 1 of Alien: Earth which has recently concluded on Hulu and it seems like they’re mostly positive on it. Then, we get a dispatch from Patches’ father who has seen The Wizard of Oz at the Sphere in Las Vegas. Finally, in a long segment that assumes you have also seen One Battle After Another, the hosts discuss Paul Thomas Anderson’s latest. AGAIN – SPOILERS – SEE ONE BATTLE AFTER ANOTHER FIRST IF YOU ARE WORRIED ABOUT PLOT SPOILERS.
Take a listen, embed and/or download below; for more from all of us, follow on BlueSky! Follow the show (@fitwr.bsky.social), Katey (@kateyrich.bsky.social), Da7e (@da7e.bsky.social), Patches (@misterpatches.bsky.social), and David (@davidehrlich.bsky.social).
One of TIME Magazine’s Top 100 Podcasts of All Time
Please subscribe on iTunes and KICK US A REVIEW if you like what you hear!
FORMAT
00:00 – Lightning Round: Just Quit
01:56 – Intro – Welcome to Episode 524.2 of one of the best podcasts of all time!! Review! E-mail!
14:04 – Tidbit – Alien: Earth
34:17 – Mini-Segment – Rod Patches Reports From The Las Vegas Sphere
40:32 – Segment 3 – One Battle After Another (Spoilers)
1:25:49 – Outro

Sep 25, 2025 • 1h 15min
524.4 – Disney’s Panic, Predators, The Aggression Dichotomy
This week, David’s solo-parenting attempt left him unable to podcast, so we decided to save our discussion of Alien: Earth and One Battle After Another until next week. Katey, Patches, and Da7e get together this week to discuss seemingly nonsense that quickly boils over. First, we attempt to talk about one studio’s panic in the face of the government and that quickly spirals out, then Katey’s seen the new documentary Predators, it’s about the old reality series To Catch A Predator and is about entrapment by the police (partially). Finally, Patches is playing a game that is aggressively annoying to play and loving it, he wants to know if there are other extremely aggressive movies that fail (HIM) or succeed (A Serbian Film? – just kidding, don’t subject yourself) – We’re calling it The Aggression Dichotomy – can you attract someone by media that is constantly daring them to walk away?
THURSDAY 9/25 is the last day to Sign up and join the FITWarriors in the Vulture Fantasy Movie League and still get full points!
Take a listen, embed and/or download below; for more from all of us, follow on BlueSky! Follow the show (@fitwr.bsky.social), Katey (@kateyrich.bsky.social), Da7e (@da7e.bsky.social), Patches (@misterpatches.bsky.social), and David (@davidehrlich.bsky.social).
One of TIME Magazine’s Top 100 Podcasts of All Time
Please subscribe on iTunes and KICK US A REVIEW if you like what you hear!
FORMAT
00:00 – Lightning Round: Car and Chase
02:17 – Intro – Welcome to Episode 524.4 of one of the best podcasts of all time!! Review! E-mail!
14:59 – Tidbit – Disney’s Panic
42:11 – Mini-Segment – Predators
50:45 – Segment 3 – The Aggression Dichotomy
1:11:07 – Outro

Sep 18, 2025 • 1h 5min
524.3 – Silksong, MegaDoc, Vulture Movie Draft and Festival Reactions
This week, David’s coming in hot and is mad that Da7e saw HIM over doing this podcast. Katey listens as Patches and David inform her about the Hollow Knight sequel Silksong before talking about Megadoc, the Megalopolis documentary with David. Then, Everyone talks about the VULTURE MOVIE LEAGUE and what they’re picking this year. Sign up and join the FITWarriors!
Take a listen, embed and/or download below; for more from all of us, follow on BlueSky! Follow the show (@fitwr.bsky.social), Katey (@kateyrich.bsky.social), Da7e (@da7e.bsky.social), Patches (@misterpatches.bsky.social), and David (@davidehrlich.bsky.social).
One of TIME Magazine’s Top 100 Podcasts of All Time
Please subscribe on iTunes and KICK US A REVIEW if you like what you hear!
FORMAT
00:00 – Lightning Round: Doors
02:13 – Intro – Welcome to Episode 524.3 of one of the best podcasts of all time!! Review!
09:54 – Tidbit – Silksong
22:16 – Mini-Segment – Megadoc
32:32 – Segment 3 – Vulture Movie Fantasy League
1:02:06 – Outro

Sep 12, 2025 • 60min
524.2 – The Long Walk, Katey’s Covered TIFF, Is Paramount Buying Warner Bros?
This week, Katey is still in Toronto, but the boys get together to talk about The Long Walk, this year’s third Stephen King movie, and discuss the breaking news that Paramount/Skydance is considering putting in a bid on Warner Bros. While the boys worry, Katey calls in with (her new fancy Tik Tok microphone that she went into the Criterion Closet with) a report from TIFF and how, yes, Hamnet rips out your soul (apparently).
Take a listen, embed and/or download below; for more from all of us, follow on BlueSky! Follow the show (@fitwr.bsky.social), Katey (@kateyrich.bsky.social), Da7e (@da7e.bsky.social), Patches (@misterpatches.bsky.social), and David (@davidehrlich.bsky.social).
One of TIME Magazine’s Top 100 Podcasts of All Time
Please subscribe on iTunes and KICK US A REVIEW if you like what you hear!
FORMAT
00:00 – Lightning Round: Bad Future Teens
01:31 – Intro – Welcome to Episode 524.2 of one of the best podcasts of all time!! E-Mail!
14:44 – Tidbit – The Long Walk
31:46 – Mini-Segment – Katey’s Toronto International Film Festival Check-In
38:23 – Segment 3 – Is Paramount Buying Warner Bros?
57:21 – Outro

Sep 3, 2025 • 1h 3min
524.1 – David Went To Telluride, Sophisticate Mini, Summer Movie Review
This week, Da7e has to go see a dumb demon movie to round out the summer, so Katey and David of FITWR’s Prestige coverage meet Matt Patches, he of random prompts. First, David reports from this year’s Telluride Film Festival. Then, Patches has some general questions for his co-podcasters before all three move into a review of Summer 2025’s movies and they…weren’t all Weapons.
Take a listen, embed and/or download below; for more from all of us, follow on BlueSky! Follow the show (@fitwr.bsky.social), Katey (@kateyrich.bsky.social), Da7e (@da7e.bsky.social), Patches (@misterpatches.bsky.social), and David (@davidehrlich.bsky.social).
One of TIME Magazine’s Top 100 Podcasts of All Time
Please subscribe on iTunes and KICK US A REVIEW if you like what you hear!
FORMAT
00:00 – Lightning Round: FITWR-POP DEMON HUNTERS
01:32 – Intro – Welcome to Episode 524.1 of one of the best podcasts of all time!!
14:05 – Tidbit – David Went To Telluride
30:40 – Mini-Segment – A Sophisticate Mini
40:02 – Segment 3 – Summer Movies in Review
1:00:01 – Outro

Aug 29, 2025 • 60min
524 – The Future of Star Trek, The Roses, Relay
This week, David has begun his festival run for the season so it’s up to Katey, Patches, and Da7e to hold down the podcast. First, the boys talk the future of Star Trek, a major priority for the new Paramount. Then, Da7e tells Katey and Patches how much he would have liked The Roses if someone else directed it. Then, Katey and Da7e talk Relay the Riz Ahmed/Lily James thriller that is currently in some theaters, if movies for discerning adults is your bag.
Take a listen, embed and/or download below; for more from all of us, follow on BlueSky! Follow the show (@fitwr.bsky.social), Katey (@kateyrich.bsky.social), Da7e (@da7e.bsky.social), Patches (@misterpatches.bsky.social), and David (@davidehrlich.bsky.social).
One of TIME Magazine’s Top 100 Podcasts of All Time
Please subscribe on iTunes and KICK US A REVIEW if you like what you hear!
FORMAT
00:00 – Lightning Round: Shark Tale
01:32 – Intro – Welcome to Episode 524 of one of the best podcasts of all time!! Email!
12:41 – Tidbit – Star Trek And Paramount’s Plans
29:14 – Mini-Segment – The Roses
43:44 – Segment 3 – Relay
57:04 – Outro

Aug 22, 2025 • 1h 5min
523 – Ne Zha II, K-Pop Demon Hunters in a theater, Highest 2 Lowest
This week, David is so busy he only wanted to be on the Spike Lee/Denzel segment, but before David joins us for a review of Highest 2 Lowest, it’s an animation-palooza! First, Da7e and Katey both took in the highest grossing movie of the year Ne Zha II and we’re cooked! Then, Patches took his family to a K-Pop Demon Hunters singalong screening in a real theater and we debate how Netflix kinda screwed the pooch on this one.
Take a listen, embed and/or download below; for more from all of us, follow on BlueSky! Follow the show (@fitwr.bsky.social), Katey (@kateyrich.bsky.social), Da7e (@da7e.bsky.social), Patches (@misterpatches.bsky.social), and David (@davidehrlich.bsky.social).
One of TIME Magazine’s Top 100 Podcasts of All Time
Please subscribe on iTunes and KICK US A REVIEW if you like what you hear!
FORMAT
00:00 – Lightning Round: Animated Dragon
01:11 – Intro – Welcome to Episode 523 of one of the best podcasts of all time!! Email!
15:59 – Tidbit – Ne Zha II
31:15 – Mini-Segment – K-Pop Demon Hunters in a theater!
44:00 – Segment 3 – Highest 2 Lowest
1:02:28 – Outro

Aug 13, 2025 • 1h 11min
522 – Taylor Swift The MCU, What is Vanity Fair Doing?, Weapons (Spoilers!)
This week, we’re having a great time laughing at movies, some of them comedies! First, Da7e inspired Patches to watch Universal’s DISASTROUS War of the Worlds (on Prime Video) that might be one of the worst movies ever. Then, Da7e downloads about enjoying Freakier Friday 22 years after the original. Finally, everyone saw The Naked Gun and liked The Naked Gun!
Take a listen, embed and/or download below; for more from all of us, follow on BlueSky! Follow the show (@fitwr.bsky.social), Katey (@kateyrich.bsky.social), Da7e (@da7e.bsky.social), Patches (@misterpatches.bsky.social), and David (@davidehrlich.bsky.social).
One of TIME Magazine’s Top 100 Podcasts of All Time
Please subscribe on iTunes and KICK US A REVIEW if you like what you hear!
FORMAT
00:00 – Lightning Round: Elevators
02:20 – Intro – Welcome to Episode 522 of one of the best podcasts of all time!! Email!
10:18 – Tidbit – Taylor Swift The MCU
25:00 – Mini-Segment – What is Vanity Fair Doing?
34:30 – Segment 3 – Weapons (SPOILERS START AT 40:01)
1:09:23 – Outro

Aug 7, 2025 • 1h 2min
521 – War of the Worlds (2025), Freakier Friday, The Naked Gun (2025)
This week, we’re having a great time laughing at movies, some of them comedies! First, Da7e inspired Patches to watch Universal’s DISASTROUS War of the Worlds (on Prime Video) that might be one of the worst movies ever. Then, Da7e downloads about enjoying Freakier Friday 22 years after the original. Finally, everyone saw The Naked Gun and liked The Naked Gun!
Take a listen, embed and/or download below; for more from all of us, follow on BlueSky! Follow the show (@fitwr.bsky.social), Katey (@kateyrich.bsky.social), Da7e (@da7e.bsky.social), Patches (@misterpatches.bsky.social), and David (@davidehrlich.bsky.social).
One of TIME Magazine’s Top 100 Podcasts of All Time
Please subscribe on iTunes and KICK US A REVIEW if you like what you hear!
FORMAT
00:00 – Lightning Round: Best Spoof
1:36- Intro – Welcome to Episode 521 of one of the best podcasts of all time!! Reviews! Email!
09:14- Tidbit – War of the Worlds (2025)
22:47 – Mini-Segment – Freakier Friday
36:57 – Segment 3 – The Naked Gun (2025)
56:44 – Outro