Alright, class, take out your pencils and pay attention, because your hosts are about to take you to school. Today's subject? The film world's King of Controversy - the rebel, the maverick, the lunatic, the visionary... Oliver Stone. Before he became a Hollywood pariah, this director won Academy Awards, made boffo bucks at the box office, and challenged his audience with films that made them re-examine the foundations of the United States of America. But as his views and ideas became more extreme, so did the vitriol spewed at his films. Your professors today, John Bring with special guest Daryn Beasley (The Whole Ref'n Show), will examine the artistic, cultural, and historical contexts of the films of Oliver Stone and the impact he has made on film (and the world at large). So open your mind and prepare for a fever dream of Vietnam flashbacks, the JFK assassination, Native American Shamans, predators, patriotism, virtue, vice, and the fall of Camelot. Take notes, there WILL be a qui...
Bust out your board, pick a token, and get ready to roll the dice as your brave hosts delve into the history, the legacy, and the global impact of the world's most famous (and divisive) board game. John, Lindsay, and Sandy relive their fondest Monopoly memories while they tackle topics such as house rules, real-life hotels, film adaptations, and the many, many Monopoly knockoffs. They also talk about why this game drives people to the edges of sanity and sometimes sends them careening into darkness. Take this dark and perilous journey with us, listener, but beware... you will soon stare into the beady eyes of Mr. Monopoly himself. Careful, his eyes are a gateway to the abyss - where time and space have no meaning. For that is the way of Monopoly. Abandon hope all ye who enter here. Say a prayer to your god, then pass Go and collect $200 on Here's Why It's Great! #hwigmonopoly
Bonjour! Let's take a trip back to the halcyon days of late 2019, when you didn't have to wear a mask to go outside and international travel didn't feel like rolling the dice on your health and well-being! For the Christmas holiday, your hosts, John and Lindsay, flew across the Atlantic for the very first time to go to a theme park similar to the one less than an hour's drive away from where they live. Why? They had to see if the nasty rumors were true - was Disneyland Paris the true redheaded stepchild of the Disney Park family? (All apologies to our redheaded listeners who happen to be stepchildren.) In this episode, your hosts will analyze, scrutinize, and (hopefully) popularize the little theme park that could. Keep your hands and feet inside the vehicle at all times, because it could be a bumpy ride on Here's Why It's Great!
In the magical time known as the spring of 1997, a brand-new band burst onto the scene in a fish-eyed lens fever dream, and one question would ring in the minds of the masses since then: what the hell, exactly, IS an MMMBop? Well, folks, your brave hosts have all the answers you've been looking for, and so much more. The brothers Hanson-- that's Taylor, Issac, and Zac-- are more than just a boy-band-turned-man-band that have had audiences swooning since before they were pre-teens. They're entrepreneurs, they're brewmasters, they're philanthropists, they're husbands, and they're fathers, all while they've been churning out perfectly-crafted pop songs since their heyday. They aren't the 90s nostalgia act you might imagine, and to prove it, your hosts John, Lindsay, and Sandy dive deep into their history, their discography, their legacy, and 12 of their grooviest songs. After listening to this episode, you'll be asking yourself: Where's the Love... for Hanson? So dust off those rollerb...
Hold onto your butts, because this episode, your hosts are taking you back to Site B for a dissection of gymnastics in survival situations, hunters with a heart of gold, and an incredible shrinking T-Rex. You're a clever girl for joining John and Richard on their journey back to 1997, where all sequels had to be bigger, louder, and dumber than the original. Life found a way for them to gush over Jeff Goldblum, behind-the-scenes specials, and Godzilla rip-offs. Of course, they were so preoccupied with whether or not they could talk about the Lost World: Jurassic Park, that they didn't stop to think if they should. Welcome... to Here's Why It's Great! #hwiglostworld
Is there something strange in your neighborhood? Then who you gonna call? John and Perry, of course! Ghostbusters fever dominated the 1980s, and five long years after the original film's release, the boys were back for another round of bustin'! Murray, Aykroyd, Ramis, Hudson, Weaver, Potts, and Moranis were back with Ivan Reitman at the helm; what could go wrong? In the eyes of the viewing public at the time, a whole lot, apparently. Upon Ghostbusters 2's release during one of the greatest blockbuster summers of all time, the film hit with a resounding thud, disappointing critics, fans, and the bean counters at Columbia Pictures alike. But your hosts have wondered since that fateful time-- what's so wrong with the movie? You've got Vigo the Carpathian, the Scolari Brothers, Dr. Janosz Poha, more Venkman and Dana, more Louis Tully, more chills and more thrills! So your hosts will take you back to '89 to pontificate on why they have always and will always love Ghostbusters 2. Because ...
Mamma Mia! It's-a time to jump down that warp pipe, eat some 'shrooms, and revisit a film that has confused children and adults alike for decades... and somehow remains the only big screen adaptation of the world's most famous plumbers. In the year 1993, Mario and Luigi were riding high on a wave of popularity brought on by the 16-bit revolution. The world was primed for a big budget take on these beloved characters, and what they got was... this? Your hosts John and Daryn lived through Mario fever and are here to offer their analysis on every odd directorial choice, every casting misstep, and the many, many versions of this movie that could have been. These two lifelong best friends will take you all the way to the Mushroom Kingdom and back as they explore this confounding cult classic. Nothing's impossible-- improbable, unlikely, but never impossible-- on Here's Why It's Great! #hwigsupermariobros
We hope you're hungry for tiny intergalactic troublemakers, shapeshifting bounty hunters, and kids with homemade dynamite, because your hosts are taking a bite out of an 80s camp classic. First came the Gremlins, then the Ghoulies, and finally the crown jewel of the 'little asshole monster' horror subgenre, Critters. The diminutive devourers ate their way into our hearts so many decades ago and never left, so this week, John and Tyler take a bite out of a film series that gave us not only Leonardo DiCaprio and the Chiodo Brothers, but one of the raddest movie-exclusive hair metal songs of all time-- "Power of the Night." Open up wide because we're chowing down on Here's Why It's Great. #hwigcritters
Order up a pizza and brush up on those nunchuk skills, because John and Ryan are about to take you back to the time-jumping third entry in the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles franchise. Your brave hosts relive the glory days of the Ninja Turtles, crush on Paige Turco big-time, and exalt the brilliance of one Elias Koteas (Casey Jones himself!) in this jam-packed ninja rap. You'll never call golf a dull game again after listening to these lifelong TMNT fanatics crisscross the entirety of Eastman and Laird's radical creation, talking comic books, video games, cartoons, and of course the hallowed film series. Hey dudes, this is no cartoon on Here's Why It's Great! #hwigtmnt3
Prep the boosters and brush up on your morse code, because your hosts are about to take flight with another forgotten 80's classic. This episode, John and Sebastian look back at a time when kid's movies were allowed to be earnest and heartfelt, space exploration still inspired a sense of wonder, and when it was no big deal that a droid gained sentience. Listen as your hosts learn lessons about teamwork, physics, and the effect of zero gravity on hair. Spoiler alert-- there is no effect! Prepare to look beyond bad visual effects and worse perms as we count down to liftoff on Here's Why It's Great!