It's not often that you see a Christmas film with Oscar buzz, nor one that the studio for some reason decide to release in the second half of January. Yet here we are, with the excellent cast and crew of The Holdovers. The reunion of Sideways' director and Star, Alexander Payne and Paul Giamatti respectively, sees them tackle the story of a depressed teacher left looking after outcast students at a boy's boarding school over the holidays, which is no-one's idea of fun. Joining your host, Helen O'Hara (@HelenLOHara) to talk about it is Radio One film critic and host of Radio One’s “Screen Time” Ali Plumb (@AliPlumb), here to dissect perhaps the best Christmas movie of the decade...

If you want to read or hear more from Helen, you can order her book "Women Vs Hollywood: The Fall and Rise of Women in Film" which is out now in The UK and comes out on 16th December in the USA and Canada.

Helen O'Hara is also on the Empire podcast every week and hosts the Podcast "His Darker Materials" to coincide with the BBC/HBO TV drama "His Dark Materials".

You can find Helen on Twitter @HelenLOHara

This pod was edited by Ben Williams and produced by Helen O'Hara and Stripped Media. If you want to know more about this podcast and others produced by Stripped Media, please visit www.Stripped.media to find out more or email [email protected]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

SHOW BLURB

Welcome to Pop Culture, the podcast that puts soft drinks at the top of the menu. Helen O'Hara and Kat Brown are arts journalists who don’t drink: Helen's a life-long teetotaller, and Kat is four years sober. Join us as we explore the culture lifting soft drinks out of the dark ages, hear from guests about their favourite non-booze options, and meet the people making things delicious. If you’re fed up of being given elderflower cordial at weddings, this is the pod for you. Send us your non-booze drinks obsessions (and good/bad/tedious soft drink menus) to [email protected] and see what we've been drinking lately on Instagram @popculturedrinkspodcast.

EPISODE BLURB

What's it like growing up teetotal in Northern Ireland? Or studying (and working) in England with booze everywhere you go? In our second bonus episode before the series launches on New Year's Day, Helen tells Kat about her background with not drinking alcohol, having your drink spiked "for a laugh", secrets to getting through boozy celebrations without being told you're boring, and how her attitude to soft drinks is expanding beyond water as the options improve.

Navigating university and media careers amid social pressure. 4:00

Drink preferences and options for non-sugar and non-caffeine drinkers. 8:31

Restaurants and bars not having soft drinks menus 12:45

A listener writes in about verdita 18:14

Episode transcript

If you’ve got a favourite drink you’d like to share with us or any other non-booze-related gossip, then email us at [email protected], and you can see what and where we've been drinking lately on Instagram @popculturedrinkspodcast.

Pop Culture is on Bookshop.org! Read books by us, our guests, and others we like, while helping to support the show at https://uk.bookshop.org/shop/pop-culture-soft-drinks-podcast

Artwork: Ilutaka

Music: HoliznaCC0

If you want to read or hear more from Helen, you can order her book "Women Vs Hollywood: The Fall and Rise of Women in Film" which is out now in The UK and comes out on 16th December in the USA and Canada.

Helen O'Hara is also on the Empire podcast every week and hosts the Podcast "His Darker Materials" to coincide with the BBC/HBO TV drama "His Dark Materials".

You can find Helen on Twitter @HelenLOHara

If you want to know more about this podcast and others produced by Stripped Media, please visit www.Stripped.media to find out more or email [email protected]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Folklore: not just a Taylor Swift album. In this Norway-set horror / comedy, an enraged barn elf just ruins a family Christmas in revenge for being fed fish instead of cookies. It may be a relatable beef, but it's taken to extremes in a sort of Gremlins-esque romp through Norwegian folklore. Director Magnus Martens joins us to talk about the levels of horror and humour involved, and then your host, Helen O'Hara (@HelenLOHara) is joined by film journalist Tom Beasley (@TomJBeasley) to discuss the best way to survive a Scandinavian Christmas...

If you want to read or hear more from Helen, you can order her book "Women Vs Hollywood: The Fall and Rise of Women in Film" which is out now in The UK and comes out on 16th December in the USA and Canada.

Helen O'Hara is also on the Empire podcast every week and hosts the Podcast "His Darker Materials" to coincide with the BBC/HBO TV drama "His Dark Materials".

You can find Helen on Twitter @HelenLOHara

This pod was edited by Ben Williams and produced by Helen O'Hara and Stripped Media. If you want to know more about this podcast and others produced by Stripped Media, please visit www.Stripped.media to find out more or email [email protected]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

John Woo is back, and he's brought a Christmas movie: now that's the kind of present we like to see under the tree. Or is it? To discuss this new Christmas-set tale of revenge and voicelessness starring Joel Kinnaman, your host Helen O'Hara (@HelenLOHara) is joined by Amon Warmann (@AmonWarmann) to delve into questions of action, representation and why you should be watching For All Mankind...

If you want to read or hear more from Helen, you can order her book "Women Vs Hollywood: The Fall and Rise of Women in Film" which is out now in The UK and comes out on 16th December in the USA and Canada.

Helen O'Hara is also on the Empire podcast every week and hosts the Podcast "His Darker Materials" to coincide with the BBC/HBO TV drama "His Dark Materials".

You can find Helen on Twitter @HelenLOHara

This pod was edited by Ben Williams and produced by Helen O'Hara and Stripped Media. If you want to know more about this podcast and others produced by Stripped Media, please visit www.Stripped.media to find out more or email [email protected]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Apple TV's big Christmas extravaganza this year is a showcase for the multi talented Hannah Waddingham, the star of Ted Lasso who is also a classically trained opera singer and Broadway star. As she gathers celebrity friends and family for an evening of Christmassy fun, Charlotte Harrison (@sometimescharlotte) joins me to talk variety shows, musical selections and hot tubs...

If you want to read or hear more from Helen, you can order her book "Women Vs Hollywood: The Fall and Rise of Women in Film" which is out now in The UK and comes out on 16th December in the USA and Canada.

Helen O'Hara is also on the Empire podcast every week and hosts the Podcast "His Darker Materials" to coincide with the BBC/HBO TV drama "His Dark Materials".

You can find Helen on Twitter @HelenLOHara

This pod was edited by Ben Williams and produced by Helen O'Hara and Stripped Media. If you want to know more about this podcast and others produced by Stripped Media, please visit www.Stripped.media to find out more or email [email protected]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Is it a Christmas film? Technically maybe not. But then again, yes, utterly. Paul King's follow-up to Paddington 2 is a musical, an ode to the power of chocolate and one of the most delightful films of the year, and in this episode Helen is joined by The Independent's film critic Clarisse Loughrey (@ClarisseLoughrey on Twitter) to discuss how Wonka isn't a Christmas movie but is it kinda? Kinda, it is. Wonka is in cinemas everywhere from December 15.

If you want to read or hear more from Helen, you can order her book "Women Vs Hollywood: The Fall and Rise of Women in Film" which is out now in The UK and comes out on 16th December in the USA and Canada.

Helen O'Hara is also on the Empire podcast every week and hosts the Podcast "His Darker Materials" to coincide with the BBC/HBO TV drama "His Dark Materials".

You can find Helen on Twitter @HelenLOHara

This pod was edited by Ben Williams and produced by Helen O'Hara and Stripped Media. If you want to know more about this podcast and others produced by Stripped Media, please visit www.Stripped.media to find out more or email [email protected]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It's Christmas Eve at Wayne Manor, and little Damian Wayne is home alone. WHAT COULD GO WRONG? Well, this animated caper suggests quite a lot might happen, and our young hero is going to have to extend every bit of his efforts to saving Christmas for the whole of Gotham. It's a madcap adventure, and joining your host, Helen O'Hara (@HelenLOHara) in the studio to talk about it is film journalist and host of the Empire Podcast, Chris Hewitt (@ChrisHewitt). Will Damian be the hero Gotham needs? Find out on Prime Video now.

If you want to read or hear more from Helen, you can order her book "Women Vs Hollywood: The Fall and Rise of Women in Film" which is out now in The UK and comes out on 16th December in the USA and Canada.

Helen O'Hara is also on the Empire podcast every week and hosts the Podcast "His Darker Materials" to coincide with the BBC/HBO TV drama "His Dark Materials".

You can find Helen on Twitter @HelenLOHara

This pod was edited by Ben Williams and produced by Helen O'Hara and Stripped Media. If you want to know more about this podcast and others produced by Stripped Media, please visit www.Stripped.media to find out more or email [email protected]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Bad news: you've lost your job and your wife and daughter have left you. Good news: you just rubbed a random antique and a genie popped out. That's the premise of the new film Genie, starring Paapa Esiedu and Melissa McCarthy and based on a Richard Curtis TV film of 1991. We spoke to director Sam Boyd all about directing this new version of the story, and then your host Helen O'Hara (@HelenLOHara) is joined in studio by film journalist Olly Richards (@OllyRichards) to get into the magic of it all.Sky Original Genie is available on Sky Cinema and streaming service NOW from December 1st

If you want to read or hear more from Helen, you can order her book "Women Vs Hollywood: The Fall and Rise of Women in Film" which is out now in The UK and comes out on 16th December in the USA and Canada.

Helen O'Hara is also on the Empire podcast every week and hosts the Podcast "His Darker Materials" to coincide with the BBC/HBO TV drama "His Dark Materials".

You can find Helen on Twitter @HelenLOHara

This pod was edited by Ben Williams and produced by Helen O'Hara and Stripped Media. If you want to know more about this podcast and others produced by Stripped Media, please visit www.Stripped.media to find out more or email [email protected]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

You know the one about the dyslexic who sold his soul to Satan? Well, imagine that but it's a family comedy starring Eddie Murphy and instead of Satan it's a rogue Christmas elf. We have an exclusive interview with director Reginald Hudlin and screenwriter Kelly Younger to find out more about how it all came together. Then join your host, Helen O'Hara (@HelenLOHara) and film journalist James Dyer (@JamesCDyer) as they discuss this madcap Christmas comedy. Candy Cane Lane is out now on Prime Video.

If you want to read or hear more from Helen, you can order her book "Women Vs Hollywood: The Fall and Rise of Women in Film" which is out now in The UK and comes out on 16th December in the USA and Canada.

Helen O'Hara is also on the Empire podcast every week and hosts the Podcast "His Darker Materials" to coincide with the BBC/HBO TV drama "His Dark Materials".

You can find Helen on Twitter @HelenLOHara

This pod was edited by Ben Williams and produced by Helen O'Hara and Stripped Media. If you want to know more about this podcast and others produced by Stripped Media, please visit www.Stripped.media to find out more or email [email protected]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

How can the same s**t happen to the same couple twice, as John McClane might ask? Well, it's a bigger and weirder mix-up of Christmas plans in this British comedy, the sequel to last year's Your Christmas Or Mine. We're once again joined by stars Asa Butterfield and Cora Kirk to talk about everything that went into making this Alpine adventure, and then author, journalist and podcaster Kat Brown joins me in the studio to dissect the franchise so far, and discuss sequel possibilities. Your Christmas Or Mine 2 is out now on Prime Video. You can find out more about Kat Brown on Instagram @Katbrownwrites or on Twitter @Katbrown. Her book It's Not A Bloody Trend will hit stores on February 1, and her second book - the big overachiever - is No-One Talks About This Stuff, out on March 21.

If you want to read or hear more from Helen, you can order her book "Women Vs Hollywood: The Fall and Rise of Women in Film" which is out now in The UK and comes out on 16th December in the USA and Canada.

Helen O'Hara is also on the Empire podcast every week and hosts the Podcast "His Darker Materials" to coincide with the BBC/HBO TV drama "His Dark Materials".

You can find Helen on Twitter @HelenLOHara

This pod was edited by Ben Williams and produced by Helen O'Hara and Stripped Media. If you want to know more about this podcast and others produced by Stripped Media, please visit www.Stripped.media to find out more or email [email protected]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It was a famous flop, but the big-budget magic of Santa Claus: The Movie - just re-released in cinemas in a new 4K format - still has a lot to offer. That's especially true for today's guest, comedian and author Marc Burrows (@20thCenturyMarc), who joins your host Helen O'Hara (@HelenLOHara) to talk animatronic reindeer, Mrs Claus-related trauma and the fear of floating away into space forever. Santa Claus: The Movie may be on in a cinema near you, but is definitely now out on Blu-ray and 4K Blu-ray in all good home entertainment shops.

If you want to read or hear more from Helen, you can order her book "Women Vs Hollywood: The Fall and Rise of Women in Film" which is out now in The UK and comes out on 16th December in the USA and Canada.

Helen O'Hara is also on the Empire podcast every week and hosts the Podcast "His Darker Materials" to coincide with the BBC/HBO TV drama "His Dark Materials".

You can find Helen on Twitter @HelenLOHara

This pod was edited by Ben Williams and produced by Helen O'Hara and Stripped Media. If you want to know more about this podcast and others produced by Stripped Media, please visit www.Stripped.media to find out more or email [email protected]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices