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2006 - Mixtape, Part I
Jun 25, 2026
Unknown duration
2006 - Brick
Jun 18, 2026
Unknown duration
2006 - Slither
Jun 11, 2026
1h 46m 19s
2006 - Tristram Shandy
Jun 4, 2026
1h 30m 10s
2006: The Sweet 16 Revealed
May 28, 2026
1h 08m 58s
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| 6/25/26 |  2006 - Mixtape, Part I | Movie of the Year: 2006Mixtape, Part IThe 2006 Mixtape Podcast Kicks Off — One Song at a TimeThe 2006 Mixtape podcast episode is unlike anything else in the Movie of the Year catalog. Instead of debating a single film, Ryan, Mike, and Greg welcome two special guests — Nate Ragolia of Debut Buddies and longtime PopFilter friend Taylor Wilhite — for a round-robin music showcase that captures the full, chaotic glory of 2006's soundscape. Each panelist takes a turn placing one song into a collective playlist, building something that is part argument, part love letter, and part time machine back to a genuinely strange year in pop culture.2006 was a transitional moment in popular music. Rap remained dominant, but with several megastars between album cycles, the charts opened up to a remarkably diverse mix of genres. Moreover, pop-punk and emo were infiltrating the mainstream at full speed. Additionally, R&B, dancehall, and indie rock were all jostling for space on the same playlists. The result was a year where "SexyBack," "Hips Don't Lie," "I Write Sins Not Tragedies," and "Dani California" could all feel equally essential — and equally of the moment. Consequently, building a 2006 mixtape is less a curation exercise and more a negotiation, which is exactly what makes this episode so much fun.Tune in for Part I of the 2006 Mixtape on the Movie of the Year 2006 podcast, and find out whose taste holds up, whose picks land with a thud, and which songs define the year better than any film ever could.About the 2006 Mixtape FormatThe Mixtape episode breaks from the standard Movie of the Year formula in the best possible way. Rather than a single film under the microscope, the full panel of five — Ryan, Mike, Greg, Nate, and Taylor — each take turns contributing one song per round to a shared playlist. The songs land wherever they land: the bracket, the conversation, the collective memory. No rules govern the selection beyond personal conviction and a willingness to defend the pick.The format rewards both champions of the obvious and advocates for the overlooked. Someone will inevitably go for the consensus anthem. Someone else will go deep on an album cut that never charted but defined their year. Furthermore, disagreements are baked in. Five people with five different relationships to the music of 2006 means that every pick is a small act of argument — an assertion about what mattered and why.Part I covers the opening rounds of that playlist construction. Part II will follow, continuing the conversation and expanding the tracklist. Together, they form a two-part portrait of a year in music told through the ears of five people who were living it.Guest Panelists: Nate Ragolia and Taylor WilhiteNate Ragolia is a freelance writer, editor, published author, voice over artist, and podcaster based in the PopFilter extended universe. He co-hosts Debut Buddies, a fortnightly podcast dedicated to firsts — debut albums, premiere episodes, inaugural seasons, the first of anything worth examining. Co-hosted with Kelly Attaway and Chelsea Hollander, Debut Buddies has built a devoted audience by taking the concept of beginnings seriously and hilariously. Nate is also the author of three books: There You Feel Free (2015), The Retroactivist (2019), and One Person Can't Make a Difference (2022). He brings to the Mixtape episode both the analytical rigor of someone who thinks carefully about cultural artifacts and the genuine enthusiasm of a lifelong music fan.Taylor Wilhite is a familiar voice to longtime PopFilter listeners. A former mainstay of the network, Taylor steps back into the booth for this special occasion — one of his rare guest appearances since stepping back from regular podcasting. His history with the PopFilter crew means he arrives fully acclimated to the energy, the arguments, and the particular pleasure of five people trying to out-taste each other in real time. His presence makes Part I feel like a reunion as much as a music show.Building the Playlist: Round by RoundEach round of the 2006 Mixtape follows the same structure: one panelist, one song, one chance to make the case. The picks accumulate into something that starts to resemble an actual playlist — though a playlist with a lot of disagreement baked into its sequencing.2006 was the kind of year where the argument over what belongs is genuinely interesting. The Billboard charts were dominated by Daniel Powter's "Bad Day," Sean Paul's "Temperature," and Justin Timberlake's "SexyBack." However, the year also produced landmark indie and alternative releases, left-field hip-hop moments, and a wave of pop-punk anthems that hit a specific generation square in the chest. Notably, the question of which songs were great versus which songs were simply inescapable is a distinction worth debating — and this episode debates it at length.As a result, the round-by-round format becomes a kind of stress test for taste. Each pick either extends the playlist's internal logic or breaks it, and the panel's reactions reveal as much about their musical identities as about the songs themselves. Part I lays the groundwork for what promises to be a contentious and deeply enjoyable full tracklist.Why 2006's Music Deserves a Closer ListenIt is easy to dismiss the music of 2006 as a transitional era — neither the peak years of hip-hop's commercial dominance nor the coming digital disruption that would reshape the industry within a few years. Nevertheless, that framing undersells how much was actually happening. Beyoncé released B'Day. The Raconteurs debuted. Stadium Arcadium by the Red Hot Chili Peppers dropped as a double album. FutureSex/LoveSounds by Justin Timberlake redefined what a mainstream pop record could sound like.Above all, 2006 was the last full year before the iPhone and streaming would begin to permanently reorganize how people discovered and consumed music. In practice, this means the mixtape as a cultural object — physical or digital — still carried enormous weight. A playlist in 2006 was still a statement, still a gift, still a way of saying something about who you were and what you cared about. Therefore, building a 2006 mixtape now is an act of archaeology as much as curation, and the Movie of the Year crew approaches it with exactly the right combination of nostalgia and rigor.Meanwhile, the Mixtape format itself reflects something true about the show: Movie of the Year has always been as much about the people doing the talking as about the films under discussion. Bringing in Nate Ragolia and Taylor Wilhite expands that conversation in ways that a single-film episode simply cannot. The result is one of the most purely enjoyable episodes in the 2006 season.Why the 2006 Mixtape Podcast Still MattersThe mixtape as a format has never really gone away. Streaming playlists are its digital descendants, and the impulse behind them — the desire to arrange songs into an argument about feeling and meaning — is as alive now as it was when people were still burning CDs. The 2006 Mixtape episode taps into that impulse directly, using the year's music as a lens for understanding both the culture of 2006 and the tastes of the five people assembled to discuss it.Specifically, the episode works because it trusts its panelists. Nate Ragolia's credentials as a critic and author give his picks analytical weight. Taylor Wilhite's history with PopFilter gives the episode a sense of occasion. And the core Taste Buds — Ryan, Mike, and Greg — provide the continuity and argumentative energy that listeners have come to expect from the 2006 season. Together, they make a compelling case that the music of 2006 is worth revisiting, debating, and yes, assembling into a playlist — even twenty years later.Ultimately, the 2006 Mixtape podcast is the season's most distinctive episode, and Part I is where it all begins. Subscribe, listen, and start forming your own opinions about what should have made the cut.Related Episodes from Movie of the Year: 2006Movie of the Year: 2006 — Intro Part 1Movies of 2006 — Bracket Reveal and Sweet 16Tristram Shandy — Movie of the Year: 2006Brick — Movie of the Year: 2006Browse All Movie of the Year EpisodesFAQ: 2006 Mixtape Podcast — Part IAbout the EpisodeWhat is the 2006 Mixtape podcast episode about?The 2006 Mixtape, Part I is a special episode of Movie of the Year in which the full five-person panel — Ryan, Mike, Greg, Nate Ragolia, and Taylor Wilhite — take turns contributing songs to a shared 2006 playlist. Each round features one pick per panelist, building a collective mixtape that reflects the full range of the year's music while generating plenty of debate along the way.Who are the guests on the 2006 Mixtape episode?The episode features two special guests. Nate Ragolia is the co-host of Debut Buddies, a podcast about firsts,... | — | ||||||
| 6/18/26 | 2006 - Brick | Movie of the Year: 2006BrickThe Brick podcast episode of Movie of the Year arrives just in time to appreciate one of 2006's most audacious genre experiments. Ryan, Mike, and Greg are joined by Pete Wright of TruStory FM to dig into Rian Johnson's neo-noir debut, a film that transplants the hard-boiled world of Dashiell Hammett into the hallways and parking lots of a Southern California high school. Few films from this era take a bigger swing, and fewer still land it this cleanly.About Brick (2006)Brick is a neo-noir mystery thriller written, edited, and directed by Rian Johnson in his feature directorial debut. The film opened in New York and Los Angeles on April 7, 2006, distributed by Focus Features. It stars Joseph Gordon-Levitt as Brendan Frye, a teenage loner who pushes his way into the criminal underworld of his high school to investigate the disappearance -- and eventual murder -- of his ex-girlfriend Emily, played by Emilie de Ravin. The supporting cast includes Lukas Haas as the drug kingpin known only as the Pin, Nora Zehetner as the duplicitous Laura, Noah Fleiss as the enforcer Tug, and Richard Roundtree as a vice principal navigating the chaos from the margins.Johnson wrote the first draft in 1997 immediately after graduating from USC School of Cinematic Arts. He spent the next seven years trying to get it made, with every financier asking him to set it in college instead of high school. He ultimately raised approximately $450,000 from friends and family, shot the film in 20 days, and spent three months rehearsing with the cast beforehand. The score -- inventive and deeply atmospheric -- was composed by Johnson's cousin Nathan Johnson using traditional instruments alongside improvised ones including filing cabinets, kitchen utensils, and tack pianos, all recorded on an Apple PowerBook.The film drew on hardboiled classics, particularly the novels of Dashiell Hammett, and won the Special Jury Prize for Originality of Vision at the 2005 Sundance Film Festival. It holds an 80% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes and earned three stars from Roger Ebert, who called it a rich source of dialogue and behavior. You can read Ebert's full review at RogerEbert.com. Brick has since become a cult classic and a clear blueprint for Johnson's later work on Knives Out.Find the full cast and crew listing at Brick on IMDb.Guest Panelist: Pete WrightPete Wright is a podcaster, author, educator, and co-founder of TruStory FM, a podcast production network he has built over more than three decades in media. He has logged thousands of episodes across more than three dozen shows covering film, ADHD, creative process, brand storytelling, and the craft of audio production. His work spans journalism, corporate communications, and graduate-level teaching, where he spent fifteen years working with students on storytelling and media production.Among his best-known projects is The Next Reel Film Podcast, a deep-dive film discussion series that serves as his primary film-critical home. He also co-hosts Taking Control: The ADHD Podcast alongside Nikki Kinzer, an award-winning show with over a million annual downloads and 29 seasons of episodes since its 2010 launch. In 2024, Pete and Nikki co-authored Unapologetically ADHD: A Step-by-Step Framework for Everyday Planning on Your Terms, a practical guide grown directly from the podcast's community and themes. His debut science fiction novella, Lattice, was published in 2026. Pete's most recent podcast venture is Headstone, a personal series about legacy, memory, and the stories we leave behind. He is based in Portland, Oregon. This Brick podcast episode marks his first appearance on Movie of the Year.Brick Podcast Discussion: Noir in High SchoolThe central creative gamble of Brick is not simply that it applies film noir conventions to a high school setting. More precisely, it applies them without irony. Johnson made a deliberate choice to play every scene completely straight, and the cast follows his lead without a single wink at the camera. Consequently, the absurdity of the premise becomes the engine of the film's tension rather than its release valve.This Brick podcast opens with a foundational question: does the noir-in-high-school conceit actually work? The genre's grammar depends heavily on power asymmetry, corruption, and the lone investigator operating outside institutional structures. High school provides all three. Brendan's relationship with the vice principal mirrors the classic detective's uneasy truce with law enforcement. The Pin's basement headquarters functions as the smoky back room. The femme fatale and the enforcer play their archetypal roles without adjustment.Johnson drew specifically on the novels of Dashiell Hammett -- particularly the Continental Op stories -- and encouraged his cast to read Hammett rather than watch noir films. He wanted the stylistic choices to come from the source material, not from imitation of existing screen adaptations. That decision gives Brick a distinctive texture. Moreover, the dialogue mixes actual period noir slang with invented high school vernacular in a way that creates its own self-consistent world. As Roger Ebert noted, the story never fully clarifies itself while it unfolds, but it delivers a rich supply of behavior and incident along the way.Genre Bending: What the Brick 2006 Film Is Actually DoingBrick belongs to a specific 2006 moment when genre recombination was operating at a high creative pitch. Kiss Kiss Bang Bang had landed the previous year playing similar games with noir self-awareness. Sin City had arrived with a maximalist visual approach to the same source material. Brick chose a third path: minimal budget, straight-faced commitment, and an insistence that the formal constraints of the genre could do meaningful emotional work if you simply trusted them.The genre-bending discussion on this Brick podcast examines how Johnson uses the noir framework not as homage but as architecture. The structure of a hardboiled mystery -- the inciting mystery, the series of contacts, the betrayal, the revelation -- maps onto adolescent social hierarchies with surprising precision. Furthermore, the paranoia endemic to the genre translates naturally into the heightened social surveillance of high school life, where everyone watches everyone and information is currency.The Spaghetti Western and Anime InfluencesJohnson has cited Sergio Leone's Spaghetti Westerns and Shinichiro Watanabe's Cowboy Bebop as visual influences alongside the noir literary tradition. That combination matters, because it explains why Brick never feels purely retro. The film's rhythm and its relationship to violence carry a different energy than classic noir. Notably, Johnson used shoes as a design element for each character, treating footwear as an immediate visual shorthand for who each person is. It's a small detail that reflects how thoroughly he thought through every layer of the film's visual language.Additionally, the score by Nathan Johnson uses invented instruments -- wine-o-phones, tack pianos, kitchen utensils -- to create an atmosphere that nods to classic noir without reproducing it. The result is a film that works as genre exercise, coming-of-age story, and tone poem simultaneously.The Treatment of Women in BrickNoir has always had a complicated relationship with its female characters, and Brick inherits that complication without fully interrogating it. Emily exists primarily as a body -- a mystery to be solved, a loss to be avenged. She drives the entire plot but occupies very little of the film's actual screen time. Laura is more present, but her function remains rooted in the femme fatale archetype: beautiful, manipulative, ultimately revealed as the architect of the tragedy.The Brick podcast addresses this directly. Does Johnson's decision to play the genre completely straight mean he also reproduces its blind spots uncritically? The case for the defense is that Brick is a formal exercise, and the female characters serve genre functions that the film deliberately signals as such. The case against is that signaling an archetype and interrogating it are different things, and Brick largely declines to do the latter.Moreover, the pregnancy subplot -- Emily is pregnant with Tug's child, a revelation that triggers her murder -- adds a layer of consequence to the female characters' bodies that the film handles with notable brevity. It functions as a plot mechanism more than a human reality. The discussion examines how this choice shapes the film's emotional center, which ultimately rests entirely with Brendan's grief and not with Emily's life or Laura's survival.Nevertheless, Nora Zehetner's performance as Laura earns genuine complexity within the constraints the script gives her. The hosts explore whether that performance transcends the archetype or simply executes it with exceptional skill.Rushmore: 2006 It BoysThe Taste Buds carve out space in this episode for a Rushmore segment dedicated to the It Boys of 2006 -- the young male actors whose stars were ascending in that specific cultural moment. Brick arrives at a fascinating point in Joseph Gordon-Levitt's career trajectory, before Inception and The Dark Knight Rises made him a mainstream anchor, when he was still operating in the cult-film | — | ||||||
| 6/11/26 | 2006 - Slither✨ | body horrorhorror comedy+3 | Drea Clark | UniversalSlither+1 | Wheelsy, South Carolina | SlitherJames Gunn+3 | — | 1h 46m 19s | |
| 6/4/26 | 2006 - Tristram Shandy✨ | metafictioncomedy+5 | — | Michael WinterbottomFrank Cottrell-Boyce+2 | — | Tristram Shandycomedy+5 | — | 1h 30m 10s | |
| 5/28/26 | 2006: The Sweet 16 Revealed✨ | film debatebracket season+3 | — | Movie of the Year | — | 2006 moviesfilm bracket+3 | — | 1h 08m 58s | |
| 5/21/26 | 2006: A New Season Begins✨ | 2006 filmsfilm reviews+3 | — | The DepartedPan's Labyrinth+7 | — | 2006 filmsThe Departed+3 | — | 1h 35m 09s | |
| 5/14/26 | 1971 - The Finale, Part III✨ | 1971 filmsfilm awards+3 | — | A Clockwork OrangeThe French Connection+3 | — | 1971 filmsfilm finale+3 | — | 1h 04m 23s | |
| 5/7/26 | 1971 - The Finale, Part II✨ | 1971 film bracketfilm matchups+3 | — | Willy Wonka and the Chocolate FactoryWanda | — | 1971 filmsfilm bracket+3 | — | 53m 06s | |
| 4/30/26 | 1971 - The Finale, Part I✨ | film awardscinema history+3 | — | A Clockwork OrangeSweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song | — | 1971film+3 | — | 1h 17m 36s | |
| 4/23/26 | 1971 - Straw Dogs (feat. Erik from the Cradle to the Grave pod!)✨ | film analysisviolence in cinema+3 | Erik Hanson | Straw DogsA Clockwork Orange+2 | Cornwall | Straw DogsSam Peckinpah+5 | — | 1h 51m 01s | |
Want analysis for the episodes below?Free for Pro Submit a request, we'll have your selected episodes analyzed within an hour. Free, at no cost to you, for Pro users. | |||||||||
| 4/16/26 | 1971 - Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song✨ | revolutionary political actpolarizing form and style+3 | — | Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song | — | Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss SongMelvin Van Peebles+5 | — | 1h 18m 18s | |
| 4/9/26 | 1971 - Harold and Maude (feat. Van from the Gaymer Girls pod!)✨ | 1971 filmsHarold and Maude+3 | Van Baumann | Gaymer GirlsParamount Pictures+1 | — | Harold and MaudeHal Ashby+3 | — | 1h 18m 59s | |
| 4/2/26 | 1971 - Dirty Harry (feat. Conor Kilpatrick from iFanboy!)✨ | crime filmsfilm analysis+4 | Conor Kilpatrick | iFanboyDirty Harry | — | Dirty HarryDon Siegel+5 | — | 1h 49m 24s | |
| 3/26/26 | 1971 - Brian's Song (feat. Mike White from The Projection Booth!)✨ | filmreviews+4 | Mike White | Brian's Song | — | Brian's Song1971+3 | — | 1h 42m 29s | |
| 3/19/26 | 1971 - Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory (feat. Matt Singer!)✨ | film analysisadaptation+3 | Matt Singer | ScreenCrushWilly Wonka and the Chocolate Factory+4 | — | Willy WonkaMatt Singer+5 | — | 2h 00m 16s | |
| 3/12/26 | 1971 - The French Connection (feat. filmmaker C. Craig Patterson!)✨ | film analysisNew Hollywood+4 | C. Craig Patterson | Columbia UniversityNYU's Tisch School of the Arts+5 | — | The French Connection1971 film+7 | — | 2h 02m 07s | |
| 3/5/26 | 1971 - A Clockwork Orange✨ | philosophymorality+4 | — | A Clockwork Orange | — | A Clockwork OrangeStanley Kubrick+6 | — | 1h 36m 27s | |
| 2/26/26 | 1971 - The Last Picture Show | Movie of the Year: 1971The Last Picture ShowRevisiting The Last Picture ShowIn this episode of Movie of the Year: 1971, Ryan, Mike, and Greg revisit The Last Picture Show, Peter Bogdanovich’s landmark film about youth, loneliness, and a fading Texas town.Released in 1971, the film helped define the early New Hollywood era, blending classical Hollywood craftsmanship with a more modern emotional realism. From its black-and-white cinematography to its quiet performances, this portrait of small-town America remains one of the most discussed films of its decade.Peter Bogdanovich and a Changing American CinemaDirector Peter Bogdanovich approached the film as both a tribute to classic cinema and a break from it. Drawing on older storytelling traditions while embracing the moral ambiguity of the 1970s, he created a work that feels suspended between eras.The Taste Buds explore how Bogdanovich’s direction captures the melancholy of a town in decline and how his cinephile instincts shape the movie’s visual language. In doing so, the film becomes a bridge between old Hollywood nostalgia and the more personal filmmaking that defined the decade.For more on Bogdanovich’s influence, see the American Film Institute:https://www.afi.comLove and Sex in The Last Picture ShowOne of the film’s most enduring elements is its honest portrayal of intimacy. Love and sex are not romanticized; they are awkward, transactional, vulnerable, and deeply human.Ryan, Mike, and Greg examine how the characters navigate desire and disappointment. Whether it’s teenage experimentation or adult loneliness, relationships in this story reveal more about isolation than fulfillment. That emotional candor is part of why the movie still resonates today.For historical background and cast details, visit Turner Classic Movies:https://www.tcm.comThe Generational Gap and a Fading TownAt its core, this 1971 drama is about transition. Older characters cling to memory and routine, while younger ones struggle to imagine their future beyond the town’s limits.The panel discusses how the generational divide shapes the narrative, turning a coming-of-age story into a meditation on cultural change. The closing of the town’s movie theater becomes symbolic—a quiet acknowledgment that an era is ending.IP Freely: Star Wars Meets 1971This episode also debuts a new segment called IP Freely, where the panel imagines modern franchise films directed by filmmakers working in 1971. The Taste Buds pitch hypothetical Star Wars entries through the stylistic lens of early-70s auteurs.The exercise highlights just how dramatically cinematic tone and scale have shifted since this film’s release.Rushmore: 1971 It GirlTo close the show, Ryan, Mike, and Greg assemble a Mount Rushmore of the 1971 It Girl, celebrating the performers who defined the year’s screen presence and cultural energy.Why The Last Picture Show Still MattersMore than five decades later, The Last Picture Show remains essential viewing. Its exploration of youth, longing, and generational change captures a moment when American cinema was reinventing itself.This episode revisits the film not just as a classic of 1971, but as a living text that continues to influence how audiences understand small-town storytelling and emotional realism.FAQWhat is The Last Picture Show about?It follows teenagers and adults in a declining Texas town, exploring love, loneliness, and generational transition.Who directed The Last Picture Show?Peter Bogdanovich directed the 1971 film.Why is it important?It helped define the early New Hollywood movement and won multiple Academy Awards.Is it based on a novel?Yes, it is adapted from Larry McMurtry’s novel. | — | ||||||
| 2/19/26 | 2025 - Best Movie of the Year | Movie of the Year: Best of the Year 2025Best Movie of the YearThe Best Movies of 2025 Face OffWhat are the Best Movies of 2025?That question drives the biggest episode of the Movie of the Year season.Hosted by Ryan and joined by Mike, Cassie, and Greg, this flagship episode brings together 25 of the most talked-about films of the year in a massive competitive bracket designed to determine one definitive answer: what is the Best Movie of 2025?This is not a ranked list.It’s not a polite retrospective.It’s a full-scale movie showdown.Twenty-five contenders enter the bracket.One film leaves as Movie of the Year.Why the Best Movies of 2025 Are Hard to DefineThe Best Movies of 2025 come from everywhere: theatrical releases, streaming premieres, international cinema, prestige dramas, comedies, franchise entries, and bold originals. This year in film refuses easy categorization.To qualify, a film simply had to:release in 2025make a real cultural or artistic impacthold up under comparison with the year’s strongest workSequels compete with originals.International films face studio giants.Streaming releases battle theatrical spectacles.Everything is on the table.The 25-Film BracketThe bracket for the Best Movies of 2025 includes a wide-ranging field representing the full landscape of modern cinema. Among the contenders:One Battle After AnotherSinners, one of the most discussed films of 2025No Other ChoiceThe Secret AgentIt Was Just an AccidentWeapons, a major genre standoutThe Naked Gunand many more filling out the 25-film fieldEach matchup forces direct comparison. Reputation alone isn’t enough to advance.Bracket Battles: How the Best Movies of 2025 Are DecidedEvery round of the bracket asks the same core question:Which film actually deserves to be remembered when we talk about the Best Movies of 2025?Debates center on:directing visionperformance strengthoriginalitycultural impactrewatchabilitylong-term staying powerRyan drives the bracket forward. Mike focuses on craft. Cassie champions bold swings and emotional impact. Greg looks for longevity and structural strength.No film advances without a fight.What Is the Best Movie of 2025?As the bracket narrows, favorites fall, and unexpected contenders rise. Prestige releases collide with genre filmmaking. Big swings face meticulous craftsmanship. By the final round, only two films remain.From there, one movie is crowned the Best Movie of 2025.No spoilers here.You’ll have to listen to find out which film survives.Why the Best Movies of 2025 MatterThe movie landscape of 2025 is crowded and fragmented. Streaming, theatrical, and international releases compete for attention at a pace that makes it hard to keep up. This episode cuts through the noise.By forcing direct comparisons, the bracket reveals which films truly defined the year and which simply dominated conversation. The result is a definitive snapshot of the Best Movies of 2025 and how they stack up against each other.Other Major 2025 EpisodesIf you’re exploring the full year in entertainment, continue with:Best Horror Movies of 2025Best Television Shows of 2025Best Unscripted Shows of 20252025 Year in Review – Century of the Year2025 MixtapeTogether, these episodes create a complete 2025 pop culture time capsule.FAQ: Best Movies of 2025What is the Best Movie of 2025?This episode crowns one definitive winner after a full 25-film bracket.Are streaming movies included?Yes. All platforms and release types are eligible.Are international films included?Yes. Films from all countries compete equally.Is this a ranked list?No. It’s a competitive elimination bracket ending with one winner.Final Verdict on the Best Movies of 2025By the end of the episode, one film stands above the rest. Through argument, comparison, and elimination, the panel determines the Best Movies of 2025 and names the official Movie of the Year.If you want the clearest possible answer to what defined cinema this year, this is the episode.Listen, Subscribe, and Join the Debate🎧 Listen now to hear the full Best Movies of 2025 bracket📩 Email your picks: popfilterco@gmail.com⭐ Subscribe to Movie of the Year for more year-end episodes | — | ||||||
| 2/12/26 | 2025 - Best TV Show of the Year | Movie of the Year: Best of the Year 2025Best TV Show of the YearThe Best Television Shows of 2025 Enter the ArenaThe Best Television Shows of 2025 didn’t rise to the top by accident. They survived hype cycles, second-season expectations, streaming saturation, and cultural overload.In this episode of Movie of the Year, Greg hosts a 16-seed competitive bracket—with play-ins—to determine the Best Television Shows of 2025. Joining him are Cassie, Ryan, Mackenna, and Mike, ready to debate prestige drama, ambitious limited series, breakout comedies, and the year’s most talked-about streaming hits.This isn’t just a 2025 TV year in review.It’s a showdown.Sixteen scripted contenders enter.One show leaves as the best TV show of 2025.What Counts as the Best Television Shows of 2025?This bracket includes:Returning seasons like Andor (Season 2) and Severance (Season 2)Limited series such as AdolescenceBold new scripted debutsComedy, drama, satire, and genre televisionNetwork, cable, and streaming releasesInternational series (though primarily English-language)If it aired in 2025 and was scripted, it was eligible. The goal: determine the top television series of 2025 across all platforms.The 16-Seed Bracket and Play-In RoundsBefore the bracket locks, two play-in battles determine the final spots in the field. The play-ins ensure that no prestige favorite automatically advances and that breakout surprises earn their place.Once finalized, the bracket includes:The PittAndor (Season 2), one of the most anticipated streaming shows of 2025PluribusThe Rehearsal (Season 2), pushing formal experimentationAdolescence, a standout limited series of 2025Severance (Season 2), a defining second seasonThe LowdownDying for SexLong Story ShortThe StudioEvery matchup forces hard choices. Reputation means nothing without performance.Bracket Battles: Prestige vs RiskAs the eliminations unfold, several themes emerge:Can a second season surpass its original impact?Does a limited series compete differently from an ongoing drama?Is cultural buzz equal to narrative achievement?Do streaming shows dominate the best TV shows of 2025 conversation?Greg maintains structure. Cassie pushes for ambition. Ryan defends emotional resonance. Mackenna highlights audience connection. Mike dissects craft and execution.The format separates hype from longevity and distinguishes conversation from quality.What Is the Best Television Show of 2025?The central question of the episode becomes unavoidable:What is the Best Television Show of 2025?Through quarterfinals, semifinals, and a final clash, the bracket narrows. The discussion sharpens. The arguments become more precise.Ultimately, one series emerges as the definitive winner among the Best Television Shows of 2025.No shared podium.No split vote.One champion.Why the Best Television Shows of 2025 MatterTelevision in 2025 is fragmented across platforms, genres, and release models. Determining the best TV shows of 2025, ranked through competition, forces clarity.Across the bracket, the standout series share:narrative ambitiontonal confidencestrong ensemble performancesformal experimentationstaying power beyond premiere weekThis episode serves as both a competitive bracket showdown and a thoughtful 2025 TV year in review.FAQ: Best Television Shows of 2025What is the Best Television Show of 2025?The episode crowns one clear winner after a full 16-seed bracket.Are limited series included?Yes. Limited series like Adolescence compete alongside multi-season dramas.How does the bracket work?Play-in rounds finalize the field, followed by elimination matchups until one show remains.Are streaming and international shows eligible?Yes. All platforms and countries were eligible.Internal Links for More 2025 CoverageIf you’re catching up on the full 2025 coverage, also check out:Best Horror Movies of 2025Best Unscripted Shows of 20252025 Year in Review – Century of the Year2025 MixtapeTogether, these episodes form a complete 2025 year-in-review podcast slate.Final Verdict: The Best Television Shows of 2025When the dust settles, the bracket delivers a decisive answer to the season’s biggest question. This episode doesn’t hedge. It names the Best Television Show of 2025 outright.If you care about prestige drama, bold streaming experimentation, or the evolution of limited series, this competitive showdown delivers clarity.Listen, Subscribe, and Join the Debate🎧 Listen now to hear the full Best Television Shows of 2025 bracket📩 Email your picks (or outrage): popfilterco@gmail.com⭐ Subscribe to Movie of the Year for more Best of the Year 2025 episodes | — | ||||||
| 2/5/26 | 2025 - Best Unscripted TV Show of the Year | Movie of the Year: Best of the Year 2025Best Unscripted TV Show of the YearThe Best Unscripted Shows of 2025The Best Unscripted Shows of 2025 reflect a television landscape that is bigger, stranger, and more carefully constructed than ever. In this episode of Movie of the Year, Mike hosts a high-stakes bracket to determine which unscripted series truly stood above the rest, joined by panelists Cassie, Greg, and Mackenna.Eight shows enter the bracket, spanning competition series, long-running institutions, comfort viewing, and chaos engines. What follows is a sharp, opinionated unscripted TV year in review, focused on craft, format, and why these shows continue to dominate the cultural conversation.Why “Unscripted” Matters More Than “Reality” in 2025Early in the episode, the panel draws a clear distinction: unscripted is the better word.In 2025, unscripted television includes:competition shows built on structure and fairnessformats refined through years of iterationpersonality-driven series that reward consistencyshows designed for communal viewingThe Best Unscripted Shows of 2025 aren’t judged on mess alone. They’re judged on execution.The 8-Show Bracket: All Platforms RepresentedThe contenders competing for the title of Best Unscripted Show of 2025 are:The TraitorsGame ChangerThe Great British Baking ShowProject RunwayNot Her First RodeoTaskmasterLove Island USABelow DeckNetwork, cable, streaming, and niche platforms all collide here. No show advances on nostalgia alone, and no platform gets preferential treatment.Bracket Battles: Competition, Comfort, and ChaosAs eliminations begin, the debates sharpen quickly.Some unscripted shows dominate through:airtight format designfairness and repeatabilitylong-term audience trustOthers succeed through:personalityescalationsocial dynamicscontrolled chaosMike pushes the panel to separate enjoyment from achievement. Cassie argues for innovation and tone. Greg interrogates longevity and consistency. Mackenna focuses on watchability and audience loyalty. Every matchup forces a real question: what makes an unscripted show great in 2025?What Defines the Best Unscripted Shows of 2025Across the bracket, a clear set of standards emerges:the format must sustain tensionthe rules must be legiblethe show must reward repeat viewingthe experience must feel intentional, not disposableThe Best Unscripted Shows of 2025 prove that this genre isn’t filler between prestige dramas—it’s some of the most precise television being made.Which Is the Best Unscripted Show of 2025?After multiple rounds and no shortage of disagreement, one series emerges as the clear winner.No ties.No qualifiers.No “it depends.”The final choice reflects the panel’s belief in format strength, cultural relevance, and staying power. To hear which show survives the bracket—and why—it’s time to listen.Why This Episode MattersThis isn’t a trash-TV roundup.It’s a serious look at why unscripted television thrives when scripted TV often struggles.As a Best Unscripted Shows of 2025 discussion, the episode doubles as a snapshot of how audiences engage with television now: socially, competitively, and consistently.FAQ: Best Unscripted Shows of 2025What is the Best Unscripted Show of 2025?The episode crowns a single winner after an 8-show bracket.What counts as unscripted television?Competition shows, docu-reality, and format-driven series across all platforms.Are streaming shows included?Yes. Network, cable, and streaming series all compete equally.Listen, Subscribe, and Tell Us We’re Wrong🎧 Listen now to hear the full Best Unscripted Shows of 2025 bracket📩 Email your picks or disagreements: popfilterco@gmail.com⭐ Subscribe to Movie of the Year for more 2025 year-end episodes | — | ||||||
| 1/29/26 | 2025 - Century of the Year | Movie of the Year: Best of the Year 2025Century of the YearA 2025 Year in Review in Real TimeEvery year tells a story — but rarely this fast.In this special episode of Movie of the Year, the panel presents 2025 – Century of the Year, a bold and chaotic 2025 year in review that attempts something simple, ambitious, and wildly entertaining: 100 of the biggest moments of the year, discussed in just 100 minutes.This isn’t a countdown.It isn’t a competition.It’s a real-time replay of the year as it unfolded.If you’re looking for a 2025 year-in-review podcast that values memory over rankings and chaos over consensus, this episode delivers.What This 2025 Year in Review CoversAcross 100 minutes, the episode touches on a wide range of moments that defined the year, including:major film releases and pop-culture eventsTV moments that dominated conversationinternet and media chaosstories that felt huge in the momentrobot chickensThe goal isn’t to judge what mattered most — it’s to remember what actually happened, when it happened.The Format: 100 Moments, 100 MinutesUnlike traditional year-end lists, Century of the Year moves chronologically, creating a true 2025 year in review rather than a retrospective ranking.Each moment gets:one minuteone burst of conversationOne chance to capture why it mattered thenJanuary flows into February, February into March, and suddenly the year is racing by. The format mirrors how 2025 actually felt: relentless, noisy, and impossible to fully process in real time.Who’s on the MicTo keep pace with the format, Movie of the Year brings together a full PopFilter lineup:GregMikeRyanCassie, host of The Superhero Show ShowKatelynnMackennaWith six voices rotating through the moments, the episode becomes a rolling conversation — jokes collide with reflection, and no one has time to overthink. The result is a loose, funny, and surprisingly emotional 2025 year-in-review podcast.Why Century of the Year Is a 2025 Year in Review Unlike Any OtherThere are no winners.No awards.No arguments to settle.Instead, this episode leans into playful chaos. One minute forces instinct. Tangents get cut short. Opinions are stated boldly and sometimes abandoned just as quickly. That’s not a flaw — it’s the design.This 2025 year in review captures how memory actually works: incomplete, emotional, and shaped by timing as much as importance.A Chronological Time Capsule of 2025Traditional year-end content flattens time.This episode restores it.By moving forward instead of counting down, 2025 – Century of the Year shows how early-year moments echo later ones, how narratives evolve, and how the year’s meaning changes as it unfolds.By the final minute, listeners have effectively lived through the year again — a full 2025 year in review preserved as a time capsule rather than a verdict.FAQ: 2025 Year in Review – Century of the YearWhat is the Century of the Year?It’s a Movie of the Year special episode covering 100 moments from the year in 100 minutes.Is this a ranking or a “best of” list?No. It’s a chronological recap, not a competition.What makes this different from other 2025 year-in-review shows?The format emphasizes speed, memory, and real-time reaction rather than hindsight judgment.Why This 2025 Year in Review MattersYears blur together.Moments don’t.This 2025 year-in-review captures the noise, contradictions, jokes, shocks, and emotions that defined the year — not as a polished list, but as it actually felt to live through it.Fast. Messy. Human.Listen, Subscribe, and Relive the Year🎧 Listen now to experience the full 2025 year in review📩 Email us the moment you think we missed: popfilterco@gmail.com⭐ Subscribe to Movie of the Year for more 2025 recap episodes and deep dives | — | ||||||
| 1/22/26 | 2025 - The Mixtape | Movie of the Year: Best of the Year 2025The MixtapeThe 2025 Mixtape as a Time CapsuleEvery year leaves behind more than movies — it leaves a sound.In this episode of Movie of the Year, the Taste Buds come together to create the 2025 Mixtape, a curated playlist designed to capture what the year felt like through music. Rather than ranking songs or chasing chart placement, the panel builds a living soundtrack that reflects the moods, moments, and cultural undercurrents of 2025.The goal of the 2025 Mixtape isn’t consensus.It’s memory.What the 2025 Mixtape Is (and Is Not)The 2025 Mixtape isn’t about declaring “the best songs of the year” in isolation. It’s about sequencing, contrast, and flow — how songs interact when placed side by side, how energy builds or collapses, and how a playlist can tell a story.This episode explores questions like:What song opens the year?Where does the emotional peak land?When does the mixtape need to slow down?And what track closes the door on 2025?The playlist is treated as a narrative, not a ranking.Choosing Songs That Define 2025As selections are made, the panel debates what qualifies a song for inclusion on the 2025 Mixtape. Is it cultural impact? Longevity? Personal obsession? Or the ability to instantly transport listeners back to a specific moment in the year?The conversation weighs:singles versus deep cutsmainstream hits versus discoveriessongs that grew over time versus immediate standoutsTogether, the picks form a portrait of how music functioned in daily life throughout 2025.Genre, Mood, and the Shape of the YearOne of the episode’s central tensions is the extent to which the musical landscape of 2025 is truly diverse. The 2025 Mixtape moves across genres, tones, and emotional registers, reflecting a year that resisted easy categorization.The discussion touches on:pop’s evolving extremeship-hop’s shifting centerIndie music’s changing rolegenre-blurring experimentationand songs that moved from background noise to personal anthemsThe result is a playlist that mirrors the year’s complexity rather than flattening it.Flow Matters: Sequencing the 2025 MixtapeMore than any single song, sequencing becomes the battleground. A great track can still feel wrong if it breaks momentum or disrupts the mood. The panel debates transitions, tonal shifts, and the extent to which a listener can handle emotional whiplash.This is where the episode gets deeply nerdy — and deeply satisfying.The 2025 Mixtape isn’t just assembled.It’s designed.Why the 2025 Mixtape MattersYears blur together.Playlists don’t.The 2025 Mixtape is an attempt to preserve a feeling — something listeners can return to years from now and immediately remember how the year sounded, what mattered, and what lingered. It’s subjective by design, imperfect by necessity, and meaningful because of it.Listen, Save the Playlist, and Share Yours🎧 Listen now to hear the full 2025 Mixtape come together📩 Email us your own version: popfilterco@gmail.com⭐ Subscribe to Movie of the Year for more year-in-review episodes🎶 And tell us which song had to be on the tape | — | ||||||
| 1/15/26 | 2025 - Best Horror Movie of the Year | Movie of the Year: Best of the Year 2025Best Horror Movie of the Year2025 Horror Movies and the Fight to Crown a ChampionThe world of 2025 horror movies is a battlefield, and in this episode of Movie of the Year, Mike, Ryan, and Taylor wage war over which film deserves to stand above the rest. Instead of assembling a list or reading off favorites, the panel builds a brutal bracket to determine the best horror movie of 2025 — from studio monsters to indie nightmares to streaming shocks.This isn’t just a celebration — it’s a confrontation.Sixteen titles enter.One claims the crown.What Horror Means in 2025: Defining the GenreBefore the eliminations begin, the panel confronts the evolution of horror in 2025.Is horror now:a metaphor for social collapse?a space for spiritual terror?a conduit for bodily dread?Or simply the movie that makes your heart race and palms sweat?2025 horror movies refuse to stay in one lane.The conversation traces how audiences now crave:original horror films over sequelsdaring stylistic swingsunpredictable storiesatmosphere over explanationnew monsters and mythologiesThis episode takes seriously the project of defining what horror in 2025 feels like.The 16 Films Competing for Best Horror Movie of 2025This year’s bracket includes a mix of theatrical releases, streaming originals, and buzzy festival darlings hoping to break through.The contenders for best horror film of 2025 include:Sinners (religious terror with real teeth)The Ugly Stepsister (fairy tale dread reimagined)Good Boy, a streaming sleeper hit with clawsThe Monkey, a Stephen King adaptation built for nightmaresFrankenstein, prestige monster cinema rebornDeath of a Unicorn, indie black magic meets satireBring Her Back, folk horror with biteWolf Man, classic creature feature updatedWeapons, conceptual terror from filmmakers pushing boundariesI Know What You Did Last Summer, the latest evolution of the rebootCompanion, don’t-look-away psychological dreadThe Shrouds, Cronenberg-tinged existential rot28 Years Later, the long-awaited apocalypse continuationThe Conjuring: Last Rites, the franchise’s closing exorcismFinal Destination: Bloodlines, fatalism done freshPresence, minimalist supernatural anxietyEvery movie enters the ring with a chance to win—until someone eliminates it.Which Film Will Be Crowned the Best Horror Movie of 2025?Bracket eliminations begin, and the knives come out.This year’s bracket is designed to expose taste, blind spots, and biases.Upsets are inevitable.Favorites fall early.Beloved films don’t get a pass simply because audiences showed up on opening weekend.Patterns emerge:Sequels struggle against original conceptsIndies land harder punches than anyone expectedPrestige horror keeps growingStreaming horror competes toe-to-toe with theatrical releasesAnd certain titles prove more resilient than anyone thoughtMike comes ready with structured and crafted arguments.Ryan defends the morally twisted, bleak, unforgettable entries.Taylor stakes her claim on the films nobody saw coming.When emotions flare, so do eliminations.The State of Horror in 2025: Themes and TrendsAcross the bracket, one portrait becomes clear:2025 is a genuinely great year for horror movies.This episode surfaces key trends:Original horror dominates sequelsFolk and myth-based horror resurfacesReligious fear returns in forceIndies drive imagination and innovationPrestige stars are taking bigger swingsStreaming is no longer second-tierAnd monsters—literal and metaphorical—are fully backIn short:Horror in 2025 is bold, ambitious, unpredictable, political, and willing to break form.FAQ: Best Horror Movies of 2025What is the best horror movie of 2025?The bracket determines a single winner — listen to discover which film claims the title.Are these 2025 horror movies theatrical only?No. The bracket includes streaming originals, festival discoveries, and major studio releases.Why bracket instead of ranking?Brackets force tough choices and eliminate safety picks.There can only be one winner.Is original horror better than franchise horror this year?The episode suggests the answer might be yes, but the bracket results tell the story.One Film Stands Above the RestAfter sixteen contenders face the executioner’s blade, one title emerges as the official Movie of the Year pick for the Best Horror Film of 2025.No ties.No cop-outs.No shared podium.If you want to know whether the champion is a blockbuster, an ignored masterpiece, an indie miracle, or a risky experiment that paid off, you’ll need to listen.Listen, Subscribe & Share Your Bracket🎧 Listen now for the full debate and surprise cuts📩 Email us your bracket or disagreement: popfilterco@gmail.com🌕 Subscribe for the rest of the 2025 season🩸 And tell us what we snubbed — we know you will | — | ||||||
| 1/8/26 | 2025 - Oscar Draft | The 2025 Season Begins with the Oscar DraftMovie of the Year is back with a brand-new season, and there’s no better way to kick things off than with our first-ever Oscar Draft 2025. Hosted by Cassie, this episode sees panelists Ryan, Mike, Greg, and Taylor engage in a deadly serious competition to predict which films will dominate awards season.Each drafter is tasked with assembling a roster of films they believe will rack up the most Academy Award nominations—across any and all categories—once Oscar morning finally arrives. It’s prediction, strategy, taste, and fortune-telling rolled into one.The Taste Buds are back, and this time they’re playing for keeps.Draft Rules: How the Oscar Draft 2025 WorksTo ensure fairness—and maximize tension—the draft follows a snake format, meaning the order reverses each round.Key Rules:Drafters select movies, not individuals or categoriesAny film is eligible—first half, festival darling, delayed release mystery, whateverNo two panelists can draft the same filmFive rounds totalThe winning team is the one whose final slate earns the most nominations when the Academy announces themEvery pick is a bet—on the movies themselves, their campaigns, their distributors, their word of mouth, and even the voters’ unpredictable tastes.Prediction vs Taste: Two Ways to PlayOne wrinkle that defines the episode: panelists must decide what kind of drafter they want to be.Do you swing for awards-season favorites blessed with early buzz? Or gamble on late-breaking discoveries nobody else notices yet?Some draft with spreadsheets and precedent. Others reach for films they want to see recognized. Every strategy has holes—and every smart pick someone else was eyeing can change the entire board.Stakes, Tension, and Oscar BloodsportUnlike the usual Movie of the Year chaos, this one is deadly serious. No bit is too small, no argument too granular, and no accusation too petty.Ryan, Mike, Greg, and Taylor:block each other’s pickssteal films out of sheer spiteargue over festival credibilitynegotiate control of the boardand, occasionally, wonder if they’ve made a catastrophic mistakeWith no immediate winner declared, the true victor won’t be revealed until Oscar nominations are announced. Which makes the waiting—and the trash talk—that much sweeter.Bonus Conversation: The State of the 2025 RaceBetween picks, Cassie guides the panel through the critical questions that define this year’s awards landscape, including:Are we preparing for a heavyweight Best Picture category?Does streaming still have power?Are studio campaign budgets shrinking—or going nuclear?How do the festivals signal real contenders vs early hype?And is there a surprise indie waiting to shake up the field?Consider this episode both a draft and an early contender roundtable.Why You Should ListenIf you’re:a serious Oscar nerda casual awards-season watchera data-brained analystor someone who wants to scout movies before everyone else gets loudthis episode is your roadmap to the 2025 season.Listen, Subscribe, and Play Along🎧 Listen now to the Oscar Draft 2025—and start keeping receipts. 💌 Email us your draft board or predictions: popfilterco@gmail.com ⭐ Subscribe to Movie of the Year for the full 2025 season 🏆 And return in a few weeks, when we crown the Oscar Draft champion | — | ||||||
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