In this episode of Drunk Ex-Pastors we continue our trip down memory lane, highlighting the movies we have seen that have had a big impact on our lives. We focus on the years 1998 – 2007, chatting about the Lord of the Rings trilogy, The Notebook, Garden State, and lots of others.

We begin this episode with some banter about the Lakers game that Jason took his dad to, and then we continue our respite from all things political and divisive by discussing the movies that most impacted us. This week we go from 1987-1997, talking about such films as Say Anything, Forrest Gump, Braveheart, and Good Will Hunting — sharing what we were going through at the time we saw them, how they affected us, and how we feel about them so many years later.

In this episode we take a much-needed break from politics and dedicate the majority of the episode to taking a walk down Movie-Memory Lane. We begin the year we each saw our very first movie in a theater (1977), and then list the films we remember seeing, why we enjoyed them, and how they impacted us. We make it to 1987, and will pick up from there in our next episode.

In this episode of DXP we hear from Christian about his latest visit to the ER, and Jason shares his final update on his mom. We discuss the Oscars and the issue of celebrity culture more broadly, wondering if the time of rich entertainers lecturing the public is finally over. We discuss the show Severance, and then hear from a caller about whether Trump dehumanizes immigrants.

We begin this episode of DXP by discussing Taylor Sheridan, and his shows Yellowstone and Land Man in particular. Christian shares what he has learned from Ancestry.com, and then gives us an Oscar update. We talk about the book Blind Spots, and then hear from a caller asking for clarity on our segment about Jon Stewart and the so-called fascism that so many are worried about.

We begin this episode with a discussion about various Oscar-nominated films, hardly any of which Jason has heard of. We briefly discuss the drama surrounding Blake Lively and the side effects of Ozempic, and then turn our attention to whether or not people on the right regret their vote for Trump. We touch on DOGE, Gaza, and USAID, and then hear from Jon Stewart about the dangers of perpetual overreaction and outrage.

In this episode of Drunk Ex-Pastors we talk about the fact that “fundamentalist” is not an inherently religious posture, but can be applied to politics as well. We discuss the film Emilia Perez, which critics love but audiences don’t (presumably because every single one of them is a transphobe). We hear from a caller about his frustration over the mispronunciation of words, and play another voicemail about whether it is closedminded to refuse to listen to Jack Hibbs.

We begin this episode in the middle of a conversation about the blockbuster trade that the Lakers just pulled off, and quickly pivot to Elon Musk’s “Nazi salute” during the presidential inauguration party, discussing whether or not Musk is actually a Nazi or just thinks they’re cool. We listen to Bishop Budde’s exhortation to Trump about being merciful to the downtrodden, and then springboard to the issue of immigration more broadly. Lastly, we hear from a caller about the proposed use of Guantanamo Bay to house immigrant criminals.

We spend most of this episode discussing the recent (but temporarily suspended) TikTok ban. We lay out why TikTok is unique and important and what might be the impetus behind the government's desire to ban TikTok. We discuss the "TikTok refugees" fleeing to RedNote, another social media platform actually owned by China, and the unfettered access it gives Americans into daily Chinese life and culture. We talk about how this is backfiring against the American government as Americans are beginning to realize that much of the government's concern over Chinese propaganda may actually be American propaganda.

We kick off this episode of Drunk Ex-Pastors with an update about the health of Jason’s mom (or lack thereof), which springboards into a discussion of death and how we cope with it. We talk about the Los Angeles fires and the public’s reaction to wealthy people losing their homes, and then discuss the current state of political discourse and its partisan, tribal character. We conclude by reading the manifesto of the CEO shooter Luigi Mangione.

In this episode of Drunk Ex-Pastors we catch up on some listeners’ voicemails. We discuss the issue of campaign promises and whether they reveal candidates’ actual intentions, or if they’re only generic indicators of their ideology. We talk about the intertwining of democracy and violence, expressing serious suspicion about whether the former is ever possible without the latter. Lastly we explore the relationship of wealth and power (as in, why do the obscenely rich continue to accumulate more and more?).