Anne Levine Show

Anne Levine and Michael Hill-Levine
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Funny, weekly, sugar free: Starring "Michael-over-there."

  1. 5 DAYS AGO

    Who's Elijah Wood?

    Send a text What happens when the biggest game of the year can’t keep up with its own halftime show? We start with a Super Bowl that slogged through three quarters, then got eclipsed by a jaw-dropping, Spanish-language performance built like living theater—multiple sets, seamless film inserts, a real wedding, and a closing message that correctly defines “America” as a whole hemisphere. We dig into why that spectacle worked so well: intention, choreography, and cultural specificity that never asked permission to be universal. From there, we talk ads: a wave of AI spots that promised wonder but delivered sameness, the comic timing that actually landed, and the annual Budweiser tearjerker that still understands story beats better than most brand decks. Then we shift to power and pipelines. Netflix continues to bankroll comedy and films at scale, setting the rhythm for modern stand-up, while an indie shock like Iron Lung reminds us a single creator with a clear vision can still rattle the system. The future of entertainment won’t be either gatekeepers or outsiders—it’ll be both, in tension. Our film segment pulls no punches. Hamnet departs boldly from its beloved novel, trusting cinema’s tools—faces, fabric, quiet—over literal adaptation. Jesse Buckley and Paul Mescal give performances that feel lived-in rather than lacquered, and the film earns respect on its own terms. We spotlight Come See Me in the Good Light, a documentary shaped by love, humor, and the urgency of goodbye, with producers like Tig Notaro and Kevin Nealon helping bring Andrea Gibson’s voice to a wider audience. And we hash out Sinners, a lavish, genre-bending surprise whose vampire turn will divide viewers even as its craft and cast impress. We close with the Olympics, the quad-screen chaos versus Peacock’s sanity, curling’s precise drama, and figure skating that treats gravity like a rumor. Through it all, a theme emerges: honest risk beats empty polish. Whether it’s a stadium-scale performance told in Spanish, an indie film punching above its weight, or a costume department that builds a world before a single line is spoken, we’re here for work that commits. If that’s your jam too, hit play, then tell us what moment you can’t stop thinking about. Subscribe, share with a friend, and leave a review to keep the conversation going. Find our Facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/447251562357065/

    1 hr

  2. 3 FEB

    Barbey Girl

    Send us a text A blizzard at the end of a long Cape Cod driveway is a bad setting for a breathing crisis—especially when you live with a rare lung disease. Before we could dial for an ambulance, we needed a snowplow. That’s how our week of sirens, scans, and unexpected heroes began, with two brothers clearing a path so help could reach the house and a pair of EMTs trying to place an IV while the ambulance bounced over ruts. What unfolded next pulled back the curtain on emergency care for rare conditions. LAM can fool even seasoned clinicians, and the first scans didn’t explain why oxygen wasn’t enough. So we phoned the one person who studies it every day. Within minutes, the focus shifted from “Is the LAM worse?” to “This looks cardiac,” and we moved from guesswork to a plan. Admission brought new characters: an earnest ER doc who asked the right questions, a performative planner with grand promises, a Belarusian night nurse who crossed a line and got reported, and a grounded, brilliant nurse who treated the patient like a whole human. Along the way we discovered the Barbey Pavilion—brand-new, oddly designed, and full of sliding farmhouse doors that feel like a fitness test at 3 a.m. The medical headline is clear: respiratory failure tied to a newly discovered mitral valve stenosis. That means cardiac rehab now, careful pacing at home, and possibly open-heart surgery this summer. The human headline is clearer: advocacy matters. Keep your expert on speed dial. Learn staff names. Ask simple, specific questions. Celebrate the people who show up—Akeem and Rahim with the plow, the EMTs with humor, the nurse who really listens, and the partner who becomes a one-person care team with a stitched hand and a steady smile. We close with a quick swing through Grammys fashion highs and lows and a moment for TV legends we lost, because life doesn’t pause when you’re healing. If this story moved you or helped you think differently about navigating care, subscribe, share the show with a friend, and leave a review with your own advocacy tips—we’ll read our favorites on an upcoming episode. Find our Facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/447251562357065/

    1 hr

  3. 27 JAN

    Stop The Sparkly Spit

    Send us a text A nor’easter pounds the Cape, the house runs cold, and we warm up by arguing about the most electric late-night guests ever and the sneaky power of real-life detail on screen. From Robin Williams’ cyclone energy to Martin Short’s masterclass in character and timing, we unpack what makes a guest unmissable: unpredictability, generosity, and a host forced into delightful chaos. We trade favorite moments—Goldblum’s sparkling weird, Letterman as the perfect interviewee, Steven Wright’s deadpan precision—and consider how the right pairing turns a segment into TV folklore. We also completely skipped Kevin Nealon and WHY? Then we turn a minor gripe into a bigger thesis: why toothbrushing scenes in movies feel so wrong. The glamorized swish-and-peck is all gloss, no life, and it breaks the spell of intimacy. Authenticity lives in the details—mess, timing, awkwardness—and when films honor that, relationships read truer than any montage. With that lens, we head into awards season and a new fixation: Sentimental Value, a Norwegian standout with a breathtaking lead performance from Renata Reinsve. We chart the contenders across acting, directing, editing, and casting, talk momentum versus merit, and admit that pronunciation shouldn’t be a barrier to recognition, even if it becomes a punchline on ceremony night. We close with a farewell to Valentino—sun-tanned icon, inventor of a red so specific it became its own legend. The memories are vivid: fur-lined coats, immaculate tailoring, a presence that turned sidewalks into runways. It’s a reminder that style, like cinema, is storytelling we wear, and that certain artists echo long after the lights dim. Join us for weather grit, late-night greatness, awards intrigue, and a little fashion history. If you enjoyed the ride, follow the show, share it with a friend, and leave a quick review—then tell us your all-time talk-show GOAT and your bold awards pick. Find our Facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/447251562357065/

    1 hr

  4. 20 JAN

    More Socks Than Plot

    Send us a text What makes a moment stick—the heat, the heart, or the craft? We start courtside in Melbourne, reliving a giddy exhibition with Federer, Agassi, Barty, and Hewitt that turns pure fun into a lesson on mastery. A tight Venus Williams match reminds us how crowds sway momentum and how a single ball toss can tilt a set. As Coco Gauff looms in the next round, we talk form, nerves, and why the Australian Open still feels like summer’s best live theater. Then we wade into the cultural wave everyone’s streaming: Heated Rivalry. The chemistry is undeniable, the intimacy is frank, and the representation matters. But does the story hold? We unpack why people love it, why some bounce after episode one, and how a tender queer romance can be groundbreaking even when the plot loops. It’s the rare show that makes the case for both hype and hesitation at once. We take a hard left into wonder: 52! ways to order a deck means your shuffle has almost certainly never existed before. From there, relativity reframes intuition—why time stops at light speed and how the universe’s expansion can outpace our everyday sense of “fast.” Curious minds, this is your candy: big ideas made graspable without sanding off the awe. Books anchor the back half. The Vaster Wilds by Lauren Groff earns our full recommendation—an elemental survival tale through Jamestown’s starving time that reads like a prayer carved into bark. Theo of Golden, meanwhile, splits us down the middle: a premise built on kindness that, for us, slides into tidy parable. We get specific about character, momentum, and when sentiment helps or hurts. Finally, we rave about One Battle After Another, a sharp, star‑studded Paul Thomas Anderson ride where DiCaprio, Penn, Del Toro, and Teyana Taylor surprise in all the right ways. It’s funny, bruising, and unnervingly timely. If you’re here for tennis, TV heat, big‑number brain candy, fierce reads, or film craft with teeth, you’ll find a lane—and a strong opinion—to ride home with. Enjoy the show, share it with a friend who loves a good argument, and tap follow so you don’t miss what we break down next. Find our Facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/447251562357065/

    1 hr

  5. 13 JAN

    Rocky Mountain Chai

    Send us a text Start with a mislabeled bag and watch an hour unfold. We kick off with a global roll call and a story that turns “chai” into “Chai,” then tumble into a surprisingly tender argument about taste: why a younger friend devoured Homeland but bounced off The Americans for “looking old.” That sparks a bigger question we wrestle with throughout—do we judge shows by their era, or by the energy and craft that still punch through decades later? From there we slide into the rituals that shape a day: the perfect “fridge cig” (Diet Coke to the uninitiated), the real cost of supersized sugar, and the protein-washed milkshakes that get sold as breakfast. It’s part cultural critique, part confession. We admit to reheated beef stroganoff for breakfast, a bagel craving during couture critiques, and the joy of guilty-pleasure game shows. Family Feud even gets a cameo, complete with an unforgettable silhouette that had us questioning sightlines at the movies. The Golden Globes take center stage as we celebrate Nikki Glaser’s sharp, tasteful hosting and break down the red carpet with equal parts admiration and side-eye. Selena Gomez’s old-Hollywood elegance, Jennifer Garner’s hand-beaded masterwork, and a few sheer, jewel-splashed risks remind us that fashion is engineering as much as theater. We talk construction, fit, and the line between statement and stunt, because good tailoring is a story, too. We close on heart. Isiah Whitlock Jr.’s passing hits hard, and we honor the way he could turn a single word into a legend while grounding every scene with warmth and wit. It reframes the hour: media isn’t just content—it’s memory. Whether it’s Arctic base stories, global listeners, or the difference a hyphen makes on a coffee bag, the thread is the same: what truly lasts is character and craft. If you felt seen, provoked, or just entertained, tap follow, share the show with a friend, and leave a quick review so more curious listeners can find us. What’s the one show you think still holds up today? Find our Facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/447251562357065/

    1 hr

  6. 6 JAN

    Sports Bras, Snow, And A Butt That Won’t Quit

    Send us a text A cold Cape Cod morning sets the scene for an hour that swings from laugh-out-loud awkward to quietly profound. We open with a hallway full of chairs, a pair of black scrubs bursting at the seams, and winter outfits that defy reason. It’s funny, yes—but it’s also a small study in shared space: how we move through clinics and crowds, what we notice, and the gentle obligations we carry when we’re together in public. Then we widen the lens to a journey that spans continents. Meet Karl Bushby, the British former paratrooper who bet he could walk from Chile to Hull and just kept going. His Goliath Expedition wrestles with ice floes, bureaucracy, and time itself—crossing the Bering Strait in winter, navigating Russian courts, swimming stretches of the Caspian with support boats, and marching across borders that don’t like being crossed. It’s ambition made tangible: the cost of a promise, the math of endurance, and the complicated beauty of finishing what you start. Back home, we taste the region’s past in our pantry. Polar Dry’s Prohibition pivot from whiskey to seltzers turned a Worcester family business into America’s largest independent bottler. Old Bay’s recipe traveled with a Jewish spice maker who escaped Nazi Germany and flavored the Mid-Atlantic forever. Add NECCO wafers, Friendly’s ice cream, and Rhode Island’s elusive Dell’s lemonade, and you get a map of New England written in sugar, salt, and memory. We end with TV—our new fixation on Pluribus from Vince Gilligan and Peter Gould—and a candid take on streaming’s long waits, dwindling momentum, and the power of a great cliffhanger to hold us anyway. The final minutes turn reflective as we mark Epiphany and say a name in remembrance. Through jokes and cravings, endurance and loss, the thread is community—holding space for each other in the cold. If this hour moved you, follow the show, share it with a friend, and leave a quick review to help more listeners find us. What story stayed with you most? Find our Facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/447251562357065/

    1 hr

  7. 30/12/2025

    Two Jeremys Walk Into A Springsteen Movie

    Send us a text The penultimate day of the year can make anyone reach for easy summaries—good year, bad year—but we found the truth in the details: a Springsteen biopic that drowns in mood, a Nuremberg remake that forgets to choose a spine, and a baking show that rescues the night with butter and wit. We went into Springsteen: Deliver Me From Nowhere expecting a guilty pleasure anchored by Jeremy Allen White, Jeremy Strong, and a scene-stealing turn from Marc Maron. What we found was a beautifully sung but relentlessly gloomy meditation on trauma, studio minutiae, and dark rooms that rarely let the music breathe. The vocals are uncanny. The storytelling, not so much. We unpack why the early Asbury Park setup intrigues, why the middle sags, and how a few smart choices could have shown the artist’s ascent without sandblasting the truth of depression. Then we tackled Nuremberg—a stellar cast on paper, thin gruel in practice. Rami Malek, Russell Crowe, and company circle gripping moments: a tense capture on a ruined road, forbidden letters carried between a cell and a family, a last-minute reveal that should land harder. The facts are there; the point of view is not. We talk about adaptation discipline, how courtroom history needs a thesis, and why performances can’t rescue a script that won’t commit. Needing a lift, we turned to the most reliable comfort in modern media: holiday baking. Duff’s grin, Nancy’s standards, and a cast that actually surprises—especially Nico, whose star-shaped wreath and marzipan mischief made us howl. And then a box at the door changed everything: Wildgrain frozen loaves and croissants that perfume the house and restore faith in simple ritual. We also detoured into a wild collectible story—the final three U.S. pennies and their mint dies selling for a shockingly low $800,000—Stockholm’s record-dark December, and why Cape Cod calls pot stickers “Peking ravioli.” Press play for sharp takes, cozy laughs, and a reminder that small joys beat big hype. If you enjoyed the ride, follow the show, share it with a friend who needs a year-end reset, and leave a quick review—it helps more listeners find us. What are you keeping or letting go from 2025? Find our Facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/447251562357065/

    1 hr

  8. 23/12/2025

    Brisket, Brie, And The $800 Backpack

    Send us a text A favorite song spins up memories of the Cape Cod Coliseum and a first concert that still rings in the ears, then we slide into a sharp, funny look at holiday gifting: luxe leather backpacks, money clips no one uses, and the difference between spending to impress and giving to delight. Our own Hanukkah looks simpler—silk scrunchies, tongs, socks—and then very not simple: a three-day brisket marathon with onions, garlic, thyme, lemon, and nerves of steel. The verdict from the table is worth every hour, even as latkes, baked brie, and bacon-wrapped scallops blow past any semblance of kosher. It’s messy, generous, and real. From the solstice’s first returning light to the odd trend of “quiet vacations,” we explore why so many of us hide escapes while broadcasting them online. Fake jet sets, AI-impossible apartments, and the pressure to look like we’re winning turn into a bigger question: what actually feels good? That leads us to restaurants ditching sprawling menus for a single, confident offering. Fewer choices can be freeing—for chefs who want to focus and for diners who want dinner to feel like a story. We share strategies for diner menus and a playful take on soup blends that make comfort food new again. Finally, we talk attention. Flip phones and minimalist devices are surging because people want peace from pings and doomscrolls. Could you give up your most-used app? Would you trade convenience for calm? We don’t preach purity—we practice intention. Cook the long meal when it matters. Order the fixed menu and trust the kitchen. Blend your soup and surprise yourself. And as the days get a little brighter, put a light on for the people you love. If this conversation made you smile, nod, or argue with your speaker, tap follow, share it with a friend, and leave a quick review to help others find the show. What would you give up for more peace? Find our Facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/447251562357065/

    1 hr
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About

Funny, weekly, sugar free: Starring "Michael-over-there."

Information

  • Creator
    Anne Levine and Michael Hill-Levine
  • Years Active
    2010 - 2026
  • Episodes
    81
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © 2026 Anne Levine Show
  • Show Website
    Anne Levine Show

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