The Kick Chance Solem-Pfeifer

Let's start the engines on a new kick! Now through the end of June (when "The Bikeriders" hit theaters), we're tracing the archetype of the motorcycle rebel. Most historians agree the first biker picture was "The Wild One" (1953) starring an iconically moody and leather-clad Marlon Brando. Today, author Burt Kearns joins the show to share how "The Wild One" became a flashpoint for censorship, anti-hero adulation, and movie posters. Kearns' new book "Marlon Brando: Hollywood Rebel" is out now.

https://www.marlonbrandobook.com/

It's match point of our sports-romance kick and hooooo, baby. "Challengers" is here, and we've got writer Alex Barr on the program to discuss this year’s sweatiest, hungriest, horniest movie. We talk tennis as sex, sex as tennis, the movie's use of food, unexplained bruises, a different side of Zendaya, bafflingly inventive cinematography, and so much more.

A cop and robber touch souls—and bods while skydiving at 120 mph—on the penultimate episode of our sports-romance kick. It's "Point Break" week, baby. Bennett Campbell Ferguson is here to dig into everyone's favorite surfing-skydiving-beach football spectacular. We break down good vs. goofy Keanu, assess how Kathryn Bigelow's first big hit epitomized her directing style, and try to figure out what to call Swayze's take on the femme fatale.

This week, dreams of soccer stardom clash with a host of familial and cultural expectations. Writer Jessie Tu (Women’s Agenda, “The Honeyeater”) is here to break down how "Bend It Like Beckham" (2002) changed the culture, showcased heartfelt father-daughter relationships, and everything happening in that one dizzying nightclub scene. Plus, is this another movie where the romance is not between the obvious athletes? Just sayin'.

Tie the boards to the ‘61 Chevy, and let's take this sports-romance series into the waves! Writer Emma Specter (Vogue) is here to discuss why "Blue Crush" is the ultimate women’s sports "sleepover movie." We also get into the power of Michelle Rodriguez on a jet ski, a healthy fear of the ocean, and whether the romance in “Blue Crush” is between the right characters.

Emma's debut memoir "More, Please" is out July 9! Preorder here:
https://www.harpercollins.com/products/more-please-emma-specter?variant=41074415042594

Four quarters, two players, one game for your heart. No movie in this sports-romance series creates team chemistry between the "sports" and "romance" like LOVE & BASKETBALL. The fantastic Jordan Robinson (Queens of the Court) joins the program to discuss the movie's on-court realism, athlete couples, the enormous pressures on college basketball players, and the LOVE & BASKETBALL character she finally feels bad for two decades later.

Listen to Jordan's WNBA podcast, Queens of the Court, with basketball legend Sheryl Swoopes:
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/queens-of-the-court/id1681606343

And read her 2020 remembrance of Love & Basketball, feat. countless great interviews:
https://www.theringer.com/movies/2020/4/21/21228610/love-and-basketball-20-year-anniversary