Ticklish Business

Film critic Kristen Lopez and author Emily Edwards honor and celebrate Old Hollywood, the films and stars that continue to shine brightly for audiences today. With special guests brought along for the ride, the duo hope to celebrate the movies they love, and bring a new generation into an appreciation for classic film.

Episodes

222. New Discoveries of 2025 (with Samantha Richardson)

January 21, 2026 • 67 mins

We're back for our 10th anniversary season!!! And we're kicking things off with a listener favorite: our first time new discoveries of 2025. We look back at the year that was and the classic films we fell in love with. And we have former Ticklish Biz co-host, Samantha Richardson (nee Ellis) joining us. The trio give their lists and share the movies that almost made them. We also read some of your favorites from last year. ...

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Author Scott Eyman Talks Joan Crawford (From the Patreon Vault)

January 7, 2026 • 52 mins

We're on hiatus this week but here's one from our Patreon vault! Author, and Ticklish Biz friend, Scott Eyman joins Kristen and Emily to discuss his latest book, Joan Crawford: A Woman's Face. Eyman talks about dispelling many of the rumors about the star, including those crafted by her daughter Christina, Crawford's power as a star and more. Ticklish Business returns with new episodes on January 21! Learn more about your ad ch...

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221. Top 5 Christmas Movies

December 24, 2025 • 65 mins

We all made it to the end of 2025! This podcast did a lot to keep me sane this year. Chatting with Emily about these movies has meant a lot, and the fact that many of you stuck around for our hiatus...I can't say what it means to us. As we prep for the new year we're doing an old standard: a top 5 on our favorite Christmas movies. We share the ones that make us think of the holiday season, and one pick from Emily shocks Kristen! ...

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220: Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer (1964)

December 10, 2025 • 59 mins

The Christmas movie we'd planned to discuss last year finally gets its due as we're talking about the Rankin-Bass classic Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer. It's just us this week and you know what that means: expect the unexpected. We go down some paths with this episode, from talking about the LGBTQ community this has fostered, to its disability storyline, and whether it's eschewing capitalism or not. Did you know you can now watc...

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219. Gable & Lombard (1976 with Robert Matzen)

December 3, 2025 • 60 mins

An episode literally four years in the making! Maybe even five. Who knows how long Kristen has been promising this episode but the day has finally arrived! It was one of the most that ushered in the death knell for Old Hollywood biopics, and Carole Lombard biographer Robert Matzen joins Kristen and Emily to separate fact from fiction in Gable & Lombard! The trio talk about James Brolin playing Gable, the struggle of portraying Lo...

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218. Coming Home (1978 with Lawrence Carter-Long) - Films of Resistance

November 26, 2025 • 68 mins

Viva la resistance! We're closing the book on our Films of Resistance series as well celebrating the release of Kristen's latest book, Popcorn Disabilities, by talking about a movie looking at disabled activism. The 1978 feature Coming Home attempted to tell an authentic story about the struggles disabled Vietnam War vets were experiencing. Along the way, it became a landmark for disabled representation in film. Guest Lawrence Ca...

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217. Hair (1979 with Alex Steed) - Films of Resistance Series

November 19, 2025 • 57 mins

Viva la resistance! Over the next four episodes we'll be looking at how Old Hollywood talks about politics, independence and democracy and we're looking at the end of the 1970s with this counterculture musical. Hair shook up Broadway but how did it come off in the movies? Special guest Alex Steed joins Emily to discuss hippiedom and more. Be sure to follow us via social media at @ticklish_biz on X and @ticklishbiz everywhere els...

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216. Dr. Strangelove (1964 with Jeff Ewing) - Films of Resistance Series

November 12, 2025 • 66 mins

Viva la resistance! Over the next four episodes we'll be looking at how Old Hollywood talks about politics, independence and democracy and we jump into the Cold War 1960s with this Stanley Kubrick satire. Dr. Strangelove is the de facto movie about the Cold War, though it's presented alongside a spate of movies specifically in 1964 looking at nuclear fears. Film critic Jeff Ewing joins Kristen and Emily to discuss America's fasci...

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215. Born Yesterday (1950 with Nell Minow) - Films of Resistance Series

November 5, 2025 • 70 mins

Viva la resistance! Over the next four episodes we'll be looking at how Old Hollywood talks about politics, independence and democracy starting with this George Cukor comedy. Born Yesterday isn't a movie associated with any political group, but it celebrates the joys of being an informed person and our country's history of freedom. Plus, Judy Holliday is perfect and Bill Holden looks hot in glasses. Washington D.C. critic Nell Mi...

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214. A Bucket of Blood (1959 with Rodman Flender)

October 22, 2025 • 54 mins

The Halloween season comes to a close with director Rodman Flender talking to us about Roger Corman's A Bucket of Blood. Flender actually worked with Corman and lays out what he was like. We also talk the beatnik movement on-screen! Be sure to follow us via social media at @ticklish_biz on X and @ticklishbiz everywhere else. Also like and subscribe to us on all podcast apps and, if you love us, leave us a review. Find Kristen and...

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213. Nosferatu (1922 with Charles Bramesco)

October 8, 2025 • 57 mins

We're kicking off spooky season with the OG vampire movie: 1922's Nosferatu. Author of Vampire Movies, Charles Bramesco, joins Kristen and Emily to break down the movie's unfortunate flaws, the benefits of stealing its source material, what the hell happened to F.W. Murnau's skull? You can buy Charles's book Colors of Film: The Story of Cinema in 50 Palettes here. Have you signed up for our Patreon yet? You don't just get episod...

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212: Amadeus (1984 with Richard Kirkham)

September 22, 2025 • 70 mins

Our unintentional Musical Month in September ends by going classical, to the original OG of music: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart! Special guest Richard Kirkham joins Kristen and Emily to talk about this Milos Forman classic, the way this became an '80s classic, and who the hell is Tom Hulce? Be sure to follow us via social media at @ticklish_biz on X and @ticklishbiz everywhere else. Also like and subscribe to us on all podcast apps and...

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#211: This is Spinal Tap (1984 with Alan Cerny)

September 10, 2025 • 66 mins

It's Kristen's birthday month and she decided to celebrate with the biggest (fake) rock band of all time. Kristen, Emily, and guest Alan Cerny sit down to talk This is Spinal Tap, the way it plays with the documentary format, and try hard not to spend the whole time quoting it. Next Time: We unintentionally spend September in the year 1984 so we're looking at (another) musical feature, the Milos Forman classic biopic Amadeus. B...

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#210: Saturday Night Fever (1977 with Margo Donohue)

August 27, 2025 • 71 mins

**This episode was recorded prior to Margo's unfortunate passing towards the end of July. Our thoughts are with her family and loved ones.** We're hitting the dance floor with Margo Donohue, the author of Fever: The Complete History of Saturday Night Fever. Margo joins Kristen and Emily to discuss John Travolta's rise to fame, New York in the 1970s, and whether contemporary audiences can find any redeeming qualities in these cha...

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#209: Giant (1956, with Julie Gilbert)

August 13, 2025 • 67 mins

Edna Ferber biographer Julie Gilbert joins us to discuss the 1956 Western epic Giant. The trio talk about James Dean, Liz Taylor's feminism, and how the movie isn't afraid to deconstruct the genre it's set in. Buy Julie's book Giant Love by clicking this link. Be sure to follow us via social media at @ticklish_biz on X and @ticklishbiz everywhere else. Also like and subscribe to us on all podcast apps and, if you love us, leave u...

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#208: Dangerous When Wet (1953)

July 30, 2025 • 49 mins

Summer comes to a close and we're saying farewell to the beach with Esther Williams and the 1953 movie Dangerous When Wet. It's been a minute since we've disagreed on a movie and we look at Williams as a swimming star, her relationship with Fernando Lamas, and Kristen does dramatic readings from Williams's autobiography. This episode was created thanks to our Patrons: Ali Moore Danny David Floyd Gates mcf Rachel Clark Shaw...

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#207: Beach Blanket Bingo (1965 with John Malahy)

July 16, 2025 • 55 mins

John Malahy, author of the literal book on Summer Movies, joins us on the beach with Frankie Avalon and Annette Funicello for a discussion on 1965's Beach Blanket Bingo. John, Emily and Kristen talk about what makes a summer movie, the power of Frankie and Annette, and why Harvey Lembeck is the world's oldest teenager. Buy John's book wherever you get books. Find Kristen and Emily's books wherever you buy books. Kristen's lates...

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#206: Jaws (1975 with Christopher Shaw Myers)

July 2, 2025 • 62 mins

You're gonna need a bigger boat to listen to this episode! We're hitting the water and trying to avoid becoming a hot lunch with a look at the 50th anniversary of Jaws. Christopher Shaw Myers, author and nephew to star Robert Shaw, joins us to break down the movie's significance, Shaw's performance, and why Peter Benchley's book sucks. Buy Christopher's book Robert Shaw: An Actor's Life on the Set of Jaws and Beyond by clicking th...

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#205: High and Low (1963 with Scott McGee)

June 18, 2025 • 58 mins

International Month comes to a close with a look at Akira Kurosawa's contemporary noir feature High and Low! And who better to join us than TCM producer and author Scott McGee. Scott joins Kristen and Emily to talk about this morality tale, its connections to today's society, and what the "right type" of wealthy man can look like. Buy Scott's book Danger on the Silver Screen here. This episode was created thanks to our Patrons: ...

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#204: International Month — Seven Samurai (1954 with Alicia Malone)

June 4, 2025 • 55 mins

We're going on vacation through the world of classic film! Yes, International Month is back. But unless the previous two years, where we did two movies from different countries, we're spending June in one country with a single director: Akira Kurosawa. TCM host and author of the new book TCM Imports: Timeless Favorites and Hidden Gems of World Cinema, Alicia Malone, joins us to kick things off with a look at one of several Kurosaw...

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Ticklish Business

Episodes

.css-14f5ked{margin:0;word-break:break-word;display:-webkit-box;-webkit-box-orient:vertical;box-orient:vertical;-webkit-line-clamp:2;overflow:hidden;}222. New Discoveries of 2025 (with Samantha Richardson)

.css-r6mb8g{margin:0;word-break:break-word;display:-webkit-box;-webkit-box-orient:vertical;box-orient:vertical;-webkit-line-clamp:1;overflow:hidden;}Author Scott Eyman Talks Joan Crawford (From the Patreon Vault)

221. Top 5 Christmas Movies

220: Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer (1964)

219. Gable & Lombard (1976 with Robert Matzen)

218. Coming Home (1978 with Lawrence Carter-Long) - Films of Resistance

217. Hair (1979 with Alex Steed) - Films of Resistance Series

216. Dr. Strangelove (1964 with Jeff Ewing) - Films of Resistance Series

215. Born Yesterday (1950 with Nell Minow) - Films of Resistance Series

214. A Bucket of Blood (1959 with Rodman Flender)

213. Nosferatu (1922 with Charles Bramesco)

212: Amadeus (1984 with Richard Kirkham)

#211: This is Spinal Tap (1984 with Alan Cerny)

#210: Saturday Night Fever (1977 with Margo Donohue)

#209: Giant (1956, with Julie Gilbert)

#208: Dangerous When Wet (1953)

#207: Beach Blanket Bingo (1965 with John Malahy)

#206: Jaws (1975 with Christopher Shaw Myers)

#205: High and Low (1963 with Scott McGee)

#204: International Month — Seven Samurai (1954 with Alicia Malone)

Popular Podcasts

222. New Discoveries of 2025 (with Samantha Richardson)

Author Scott Eyman Talks Joan Crawford (From the Patreon Vault)