River Cities Reader Podcast

River Cities Reader Podcast

Live to tape interviews with Reader team members as guests on other broadcast, radio and podcast shows. Alive & Free Since 1993. The Quad Cities’ Independent Newspaper. Know More. Do More.

Episodes

  1. 1d ago

    November 6, 2026, with Dave and Darren — “The Only Living Pickpocket in New York,” “Fjord,” “Everest: The Other Side,” and “SCTV: The Greatest Show You’ve Never Heard Of”

    Dave Levora, Darren Pitra, and Mike Schulz talk film and why SCTV is one of the finest all-time comedy shows. In theaters (and TV screens) now: The Only Living Pickpocket in New York (dir Noah Segan, starr John Turturro, Giancarlo Esposito, Will Price, Tatiana Maslany, and Steve Buscemi). Fjord (dir Cristian Mungiu, starr Sebastian Stan and Renate Reinsve). The documentary Everest: The Other Side (irs. Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi and Jimmy Chin, starr Jim Morrison and Hilaree Nelson). The Netflix program SCTV: The Greatest Show You’ve Never Heard Of (dir Jason Hehir, starr Andrea Martin, Eugene Levy, Rick Moranis, Dave Thomas, a pre-death Catherine O’Hara, and Martin Short — and, in remembrance, John Candy, Harold Ramis, Joe Flaherty, and O’Hara, who departed 30 January 2026). Expected: Wild Horse Nine (dir Martin McDonagh, starr John Malkovich, Sam Rockwell, Steve Buscemi, Mariana di Girolamo, Ailín Salas, Tom Waits, and Parker Posey). The animated fantasy comedy The Cat in the Hat (dirs Alessandro Carloni and Erica Rivinoja, voice Bill Hader, Matt Berry, Quinta Brunson, Xochitl Gomez, Giancarlo Esposito, and America Ferrera). Drummer Boy (dirs Ben and Joel David Smallbone, starr JDS, Lucas Leach, India Brown, Melora Hardin, Ioan Gruffudd, Beth Easdown, Beverly Knight, Charles Esten, and Iain Glen). Jimmy (dir Aaron Burns, starr KJ Apa, Jason Alexander, Max Casella, Sarah Drew, Julian Works, Jen Lilley, Neal McDonough, Christopher McDonald, Rob Riggle, Kara Killmer, Jemma Donovan, and Courtney D’Angelo). “The Only Living Pickpocket in New York,” “Fjord,” “Everest: The Other Side,” and “SCTV: The Greatest Show You’ve Never Heard Of”

  2. Oct 29

    October 29, 2026, with Dave and Darren — “Clayface,” “Wildwood,” “Wicker,” and “A Talent for Murder”

    Dave Levora, Darren Pitra, and Mike Schulz talk film and consider all the fun things one can do with clay. Under scrutiny: Clayface (dir James Watkins, starr Tom Rhys Harries, Naomi Ackie, David Dencik, Max Minghella, and Eddie Marsan). Wildwood (dir Travis Knight, starr Peyton Elizabeth Lee, Jacob Tremblay, Carey Mulligan, Mahershala Ali, Awkwafina, Angela Bassett, Jake Johnson, Charlie Day, Amandla Stenberg, Jemaine Clement, Len Cariou, Maya Erskine, Tantoo Cardinal, Tom Waits, and Richard E Grant). Wicker (dirs Alex Huston Fischer and Eleanor Wilson, starr Olivia Colman, Alexander Skarsgård, Elizabeth Debicki, Marli Siu, Nabhaan Rizwan, Richard E Grant, and Peter Dinklage). A Talent for Murder (dir Anton Corbijn, starr Helen Mirren, Alden Ehrenreich, Olivia Cooke, and Juliet Stevenson). Under future scrutiny: The documentary Everest: The Other Side (dirs Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi and Jimmy Chin, starr Jim Morrison and Hilaree Nelson). The Only Living Pickpocket in New York (dir Noah Segan, starr John Turturro, Giancarlo Esposito, Will Price, Tatiana Maslany, and Steve Buscemi). Fjord (dir Cristian Mungiu, starr Sebastian Stan and Renate Reinsve). Christmas at the Kringles (dir Kevin Lewis, starr Ron Livingston, Rachel Bilson, Rob Riggle, Thomas Lennon, Arden Myrin, Donald Faison, Beverly D’Angelo, and David Wain). Godzilla Minus Zero (dir Takashi Yamazaki, starr Ryunosuke Kamiki, Minami Hamabe, Hidetaka Yoshioka, Yuki Yamada, Kuranosuke Sasaki, Sakura Ando, Miou Tanaka, Min Tanaka, Masami Nagasawa, and Jun Kunimura). “Clayface,” “Wildwood,” “Wicker,” and “A Talent for Murder”

  3. Oct 22

    October 22, 2026, with Dave and Darren — “Street Fighter,” “Sense and Sensibility,” “Whalefall,” “You Can See Everything,” and “Musk”

    Dave Levora, Darren Pitra, and Mike Schulz talk film and wonder how long it will take before it’s acceptable to give away spoilers to You Can See Everything. Scrutinized: Street Fighter (dir Kitao Sakurai, starr Noah Centineo, Andrew Koji, Callina Liang, Joe “Roman Reigns” Anoa’i, David Dastmalchian, Cody Rhodes, Eric André, Andrew Schulz, Vidyut Jammwal, Orville Peck, Don Lee, Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson, and Jason Momoa). Sense and Sensibility (dir Georgia Oakley, starr Daisy Edgar-Jones, Esmé Creed-Miles, Caitríona Balfe, Frank Dillane, Herbert Nordrum, George MacKay, and Fiona Shaw). Whalefall (dir Brian Duffield, starr Austin Abrams, Josh Brolin, Elisabeth Shue, John Ortiz, Jane Levy, and Emily Rudd). The Elon Musk documentary Musk (dir Alex Gibney). Nathan Fielder’s documentary about Elizabeth Holmes, You Can See Everything. Future scrutiny candidates: Clayface (dir James Watkins, starr Tom Rhys Harries, Naomi Ackie, David Dencik, Max Minghella, and Eddie Marsan). Wildwood (dir Travis Knight, starr Peyton Elizabeth Lee, Jacob Tremblay, Carey Mulligan, Mahershala Ali, Awkwafina, Angela Bassett, Jake Johnson, Charlie Day, Amandla Stenberg, Jemaine Clement, Len Cariou, Maya Erskine, Tantoo Cardinal, Tom Waits, and Richard E Grant). Wicker (dirs Alex Huston Fischer and Eleanor Wilson, starr Olivia Colman, Alexander Skarsgård, Elizabeth Debicki, Marli Siu, Nabhaan Rizwan, Richard E Grant, and Peter Dinklage). A Talent for Murder (dir Anton Corbijn, starr Helen Mirren, Alden Ehrenreich, Olivia Cooke, and Juliet Stevenson). Klara and The Sun (dir Taika Waititi, starr Jenna Ortega, Amy Adams, Mia Tharia, Aran Murphy, Steve Buscemi, and Natasha Lyonne). “Street Fighter,” “Sense and Sensibility,” and “Whalefall” “You Can See Everything” and “Musk”

  4. Oct 16

    October 16, 2026, with Dave and Darren — “Other Mommy,” “The Social Reckoning,” and “Angel and the Badman”

    Dave Levora, Darren Pitra, and Mike Schulz discuss film and what it will take to remove Aaron Sorkin from the film world. Which may involve removing him from the world entirely. Discussed: Other Mommy (dir Rob Savage, starr Jessica Chastain, Jay Duplass, Arabella Olivia Clark, Dichen Lachman, Arian Moayed, and Karen Allen). The Social Reckoning (dir Aaron Sorkin, starr Mikey Madison, Jeremy Allen White, Jeremy Strong, Bill Burr, Betty Gilpin, and Billy Magnussen). Angel and the Badman (dir Julio Quintana, starr Zachary Levi, Neal McDonough, and Tommy Lee Jones). To be discussed later: Street Fighter (dir Kitao Sakurai, starr Noah Centineo, Andrew Koji, Callina Liang, Joe “Roman Reigns” Anoa’i, David Dastmalchian, Cody Rhodes, Eric André, Andrew Schulz, Vidyut Jammwal, Orville Peck, Don Lee, Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson, and Jason Momoa). Whalefall (dir Brian Duffield, starr Austin Abrams, Josh Brolin, Elisabeth Shue, John Ortiz, Jane Levy, and Emily Rudd). Sense and Sensibility (dir Georgia Oakley, starr Daisy Edgar-Jones, Esmé Creed-Miles, Caitríona Balfe, Frank Dillane, Herbert Nordrum, George MacKay, and Fiona Shaw). The Elon Musk documentary Musk (dir Alex Gibney). Nathan Fielder’s documentary about Elizabeth Holmes, You Can See Everything. Your Mother Your Mother Your Mother (dir Bassam Tariq, starr Mahershala Ali, John Cho, Giancarlo Esposito, Abubakr Ali, Tramell Tillman, Tiffany Boone, and Laith Nakli). You Can’t Leave (dir Scott Windhauser, starr Spencer Boldman, Paola Andino, Thomas Bauer, and Taylor Murphy). Crawlers (dir Angel Gómez Hernández, starr Matilda Lutz, Gregg Sulkin, William Miller, and Melina Matthews). Trust Me, I’m a Doctor (dir Thane Economou, starr Linda Hamilton, Abbie Cornish, Kal Penn, and Al Sapienza). “Other Mommy,” “The Social Reckoning,” and “Angel & the Badman”

  5. Sep 25

    September 24, 2026, with Dave and Darren — “Resident Evil,” “The Weight,” and “Shaun the Sheep: The Beast of Mossy Bottom”

    Dave Levora, Darren Pitra, and Mike Schulz talk film and wonder aloud what will happen when super-hero films become a ruinous investment for the movie studios. Under present scrutinization: The Resident Evil reboot (dir Zach Cregger, starr Austin Abrams, Zach Cherry, Kali Reis, Johnno Wilson, and Paul Walter Hauser). The Weight (dir Padraic McKinley, starr Ethan Hawke, Russell Crowe, Julia Jones, Austin Amelio, Avi Nash, Lucas Lynggaad Tonnesen, George Burgess, Cameron Brady, Avy Berry, Alec Newman, and Sam Hazeldine). The stop-motion animated comedy horror Shaun the Sheep: The Beast of Mossy Bottom (dirs Steve Cox and Matthew Walker, voice Justin Fletcher, John Sparkes, Kate Harbour, Dani Dyer, Roman Kemp, Nina Sosanya, and Paul Whitehouse). Under future scrutinization: Heart of the Beast (dir David Ayer, starr Brad Pitt, J K Simmons, Anna Lambe, and Uber). Primetime (dir Lance Oppenheim, starr Robert Pattinson, Merritt Wever, Skyler Gisondo, and Phoebe Bridgers). The Disney animated fantasy comedy Forgotten Island (dirs Joel Crawford and Januel Mercado, voice H E R [aka Gabriella Sarmiento Wilson], Liza Soberano, Dave Franco, Jenny Slate, Manny Jacinto, Dolly de Leon, Jo Koy, Ronny Chieng, Kevin McCann, and Lea Salonga). An encore presentation of Avengers: Endgame with new footage, a custom introduction, and a new post-credits scene — a grand total of two additional minutes (dirs Anthony and Joe Russo, starr Robert Downey Jr., Chris Evans, Mark Ruffalo, Chris Hemsworth, Scarlett Johansson, Jeremy Renner, Don Cheadle, Paul Rudd, Brie Larson, Karen Gillan, Danai Gurira, Benedict Wong, Jon Favreau, Bradley Cooper, Gwyneth Paltrow, and Josh Brolin). “Resident Evil,” “The Weight,” and “Shaun the Sheep: The Beast of Mossy Bottom”

  6. Sep 17

    September 17, 2026, with Dave and Darren — “Practical Magic 2,” “The Uprising,” “Runner,” and “Hope”

    Dave Levora, Darren Pitra, and Mike Schulz talk film and the demerits (considerable) and merits (nugatory) of Oasis. Under present scrutinization: Practical Magic 2 (dir Susanne Bier, starr Sandra Bullock, Nicole Kidman, Dianne Wiest, Stockard Channing, Joey King, Lee Pace, Maisie Williams, and Xolo Maridueña). The Runner (dir Kevin Macdonald, starr Gal Gadot, Damian Lewis, and Alfred Enoch). The Uprising (dir Paul Greengrass, starr Andrew Garfield, Jamie Bell, Stephen Dillane, Tom Hollander, Cosmo Jarvis, Thomasin McKenzie, Jonny Lee Miller, Woody Norman, and Katherine Waterston). Hope (dir Na Hong-jin, starr Hwang Jung-min, Zo In-sung, Jung Ho-yeon, Taylor Russell, Cameron Britton, Alicia Vikander, and Michael Fassbender). The rock documentary Oasis: Don’t Look Back in Anger (dirs Will Lovelace and Dylan Southern, starr los hermanos Gallagher). Under future scrutinization: The Resident Evil reboot (dir Zach Cregger, starr Austin Abrams, Zach Cherry, Kali Reis, Johnno Wilson, and Paul Walter Hauser). The stop-motion animated comedy horror Shaun the Sheep: The Beast of Mossy Bottom (dirs Steve Cox and Matthew Walker, voice Justin Fletcher, John Sparkes, Kate Harbour, Dani Dyer, Roman Kemp, Nina Sosanya, and Paul Whitehouse). The Weight (dir Padraic McKinley, starr Ethan Hawke, Russell Crowe, Julia Jones, Austin Amelio, Avi Nash, Lucas Lynggaad Tonnesen, George Burgess, Cameron Brady, Avy Berry, Alec Newman, and Sam Hazeldine). “Practical Magic 2,” “The Uprising,” “Runner,” and “Hope”

  7. Sep 12

    September 10, 2026, with Dave and Darren — “By Any Means,” “Onslaught,” “Fall 2: Deadpoint,” and “Mother Mary”

    Dave Levora, Darren Pitra, and Mike Schulz talk film and the launch of the Mystery Science Theater 3000 reboot. Score! Under scrutiny: By Any Means (dir Elegance Bratton, starr Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Mark Wahlberg, Nicole Beharie, Josh Lucas, LisaGay Hamilton, LaChanze, Ethan Embry, David Strathairn, and Giancarlo Esposito). Onslaught (dir Adam Wingard, starr Adria Arjona, Dan Stevens, Eric Wareheim, Reginald VelJohnson, Michael Biehn, Alex Pereira, Drew Starkey, and Rebecca Hall). Fall 2: Deadpoint (dirs Peter and Michael Spierig, starr Harriet Slater, Arsema Thomas, Tom Brittney, and Grace Caroline Currey). Under future scrutiny: Practical Magic 2 (dir Susanne Bier, starr Sandra Bullock, Nicole Kidman, Dianne Wiest, Stockard Channing, Joey King, Lee Pace, Maisie Williams, and Xolo Maridueña). The Runner (dir Kevin Macdonald, starr Gal Gadot, Damian Lewis, and Alfred Enoch). The Uprising (dir Paul Greengrass, starr Andrew Garfield, Jamie Bell, Stephen Dillane, Tom Hollander, Cosmo Jarvis, Thomasin McKenzie, Jonny Lee Miller, Woody Norman, and Katherine Waterston). Hope (dir Na Hong-jin, starr Hwang Jung-min, Zo In-sung, Jung Ho-yeon, Taylor Russell, Cameron Britton, Alicia Vikander, and Michael Fassbender). The rock documentary Oasis: Don’t Look Back in Anger (dirs Will Lovelace and Dylan Southern, starr figure it out, alright?). “By Any Means,” “Onslaught,” “Fall 2: Deadpoint,” and “Mother Mary”

About

Live to tape interviews with Reader team members as guests on other broadcast, radio and podcast shows. Alive & Free Since 1993. The Quad Cities’ Independent Newspaper. Know More. Do More.