Feeling Seen

Michael Sarnoski is forging his own unique path in Hollywood, with projects small (PIG), big (A QUIET PLACE: DAY ONE) and somewhere in between, as with his newest film, THE DEATH OF ROBIN HOOD. Sarnoski's latest stars Hugh Jackman and Jodie Comer and lands in theaters this weekend (June 19, 2026). Sarnoski's creative path -- which has often involved his own unique take on a familar genre or character -- was inspired and fortified as a young man by seeing the work of another singular director taking on a property he loved, and putting his own spin on in: Sam Raimi...

The director of DINNER IN AMERICA and CAROLINA CAROLINE has a secret, but it's not hidden under a giant papier maché head. He's spent much of his life as an avid home recorder, generating thousands of songs. There's a direct line between that background and the earworm musical climax of his DINNER IN AMERICA. And when he saw 2014's FRANK, a quirky little movie about a band with no interest in stardom giving their all to recording an album, he saw something familiar in a way he'd never seen on film before (and as a former sensitometry major, he k...

Chandler Levack is another of the current class of talented Candian ladies directing fresh, original cinema. Her latest is MILE END KICKS (starring Barbie Ferreira)…and, at the same moment, ROOMMATES, a Happy Madison film starring Sadie Sandler. And she memorably broke onto screen with festival darling I LIKE MOVIES. She joins Jordan to give us a fresh look at our show’s most relatable multi-hyphenate, Greta Gerwig. Chandler tells stories inspired by the desire to revisit her own history, and the result (like FRANCES HA or LADYBIRD for Gerwig) is somehow universally relatable. 

Then, Jordan has one q...

In her third feature (Saccharine, in theaters now and on Shudder in July), Natalie Erika James tackles themes of obsession, disordered eating, and queerness. And while the two movies are VERY different (one a psychological horror, the other a quiet, BAFTA-winning drama), those are all themes Saccharine shares with My Summer of Love, Pawel Pawlikowski's 2004 film that introduced the world to Emily Blunt.

Then, Jordan has one quick thing about Jane Schoenbrun's upcoming Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma, which just premiered at Cannes.

If you or someone you care about is struggling with...

When Aimee Kuge set out to make her indie-horror-romance CANNIBAL MUKBANG, she knew that she didn't want her lead to be your typical final girl. And in her "feeling seen" pick, we find another female protagonist that is nothing like anyone else in film (and yet, maybe more like a real-life person than most film characters could ever hope to be). It's Patty, as played by Emily Skeggs, in Adam Carter Rehmeier's 2020 sleeper hit (thanks, TikTokkers!) DINNER IN AMERICA.

Then, Jordan has one quick thing about Adam Carter Rehmeier's upcoming new film, CAROLINA CAROLINE.

Follow...

Given that she’s the voice of one of the most iconic bad bitches in entertainment history — Pam Poovey from the long-running and groundbreaking ARCHER — it’s no surprise that Amber Nash felt seen by another bad bitch of media. Granted, she might not be the first no-nonsense professional woman that comes to mind. But Lorna Cole, Renee Russo’s character in LETHAL WEAPON 3, was the first feeling seen pick that Amber came up with, and the more she examined the pick, the righter it felt.

Then, Jordan has one quick thing about the new horror film OBSESSION...

Writer/director Sophy Romvari's feature debut, BLUE HERON, already has her being added to the shortlist of great Canadian auteurs. And on that list, she'd be alongside the late, great Jean-Marc Vallée, whose 2005 film C.R.A.Z.Y. captures some of the same deeply felt, retrospective family drama that Romvari captures in her own films.

After this conversation, Jordan has one quick thing about illustrator Tony Stella, who passed away this week.

Help support this show and unlock bonus content! Become a member at https://maximumfun.org/joinfeelingseen

Fe...

Surprise! We're bringing you an extra episode this week in celebration of the final day of MaxFunDrive. Don't just sit back and listen -- become a part of Feeling Seen by supporting us now at maximumfun.org/joinfeelingseen. We'll make it worth your while!

Drag superstar, singer-songwriter, trans icon, and now actor, Adore Delano has tried out (and mastered) a lot of different roles. And what better guide through a story of self discovery and transformation than Drew Barrymore, and in particular her character Josie Geller in NEVER BEEN KISSED. And just because it's #MaxFunDrive, we're throwing...

It's MaxFunDrive! Help us hit our membership goals and keep this show going. Visit MaximumFun.org/JoinFeelingSeen now!

It's not hard to imagine Elle Woods as an icon for a young girl in the '00s, but it might surprise you that Elle was a major inspiration to the screenwriter and co-producer behind the new horror film FACES OF DEATH, as well as HOW TO BLOW UP A PIPELINE and CAM. Isa Mazzei talks with Jordan about the experience of seeing an undeniably femme figure being unafraid to break the mold.

Then Jordan has one...

Don't wait! Head to MaximumFun.org/join to become a MaxFun member right now! If you specifically want to support Feeling Seen, you can keep it extra simple and go to MaximumFun.org/joinfeelingseen

You may not remember 2000's Wonder Boys, but The Flop House's Dan McCoy does. He and Jordan discuss this Michael Chabon adaptation, starring Michael Douglas and Tobey Maguire. It's a part of Dan's DVD collection; for Jordan, it was a first-time watch. And while Wonder Boys may have come out in the year 2000, that places it at the tail end of '90s e...

This episode is airing during MaxFunDrive 2026! We need your support to keep making this show. You can support Feeling Seen right now by going to MaximumFun.org/joinfeelingseen. And thanks!

Olivia Taylor Dudley wowed us on THE MAGICIANS ; now in her latest film, TOUCH ME, she takes on the perils of an addictive alien boyfriend. And in this episode, she’s telling Jordan about all the facets of her that felt represented by both Clementine and Joel in one of her favorite films, ETERNAL SUNSHINE OF THE SPOTLESS MIND — from a combination of introversion and impulsiveness to her...

It's MaxFunDrive. And here, for the first time, we give you an exclusive look (well, listen) at the craft of podcasting: presenting Casters on Casters.

In this episode, Jordan Crucchiola (Feeling Seen) and John-Luke Roberts (Sound Heap with John-Luke Roberts) detail how much the podcasting landscape has changed since they got their starts, and why they aren't likely to win a podcasting Golden Globe.

If this glamorous, in-depth journey into what makes your favorite hosts tick inspires you, support them by joining as a member at maximumfun.org/join.

Edited and Produced by...

Katarina Zhu stars in her own directorial debut, Bunnylovr, which made a splash at Sundance and is now showing in theaters. In it, she grapples with themes of sex, love, and disjointed relationship -- but she doesn't go as dark as Lars von Trier in Nymphomaniac Vol. I --  a movie whose lead, Young Joe, made a teenage Katarina feel seen in ways she hadn't before. And you better believe Jordan was all-ears to learn why.

After this conversation, Jordan has one quick thing about some action picks for the big and small screen this weekend.

Esteemed film critic and entertainment journalist Jen Yamato (LA Times, Washington Post, Asian Enough podcast) loves cinema, but hasn't often felt seen in the movies -- especially as a kid. But she found something to relate and aspire to in Ellen Aim, as played by a very young Diane Lane, in 1984's Streets of Fire. All about that film, plus karaoke joy, Little Giants, Terrifying Girls High School, and more, coming at you in this very fun conversation.

Then, Jordan has one quick thing about the Gardena Cinema's new collaboration with Big Bad Film Fest.

Alexandra Heller-Nicholas may be the foremost authority on women and horror, having written the book (and now documentary!) 1000 Women in Horror. So it's appropriate that the character who made her feel seen is a woman in horror: Angela Bettis as the titular May in (past guest!) Lucky McKee's unforgettable 2002 indie psychological horror film, MAY. 

After this deep dive into a classic, Jordan has one quick thing about another past episode of this show -- Kara Brown on 'The Philadelphia Story' and setting the record straight on Millennial Feminism.

Additional Listening:

Lucky McKee on...

Buddy Lee Hooker is the son of a stunt rider, and the siren song of the family trade has made him one of the biggest legends in Hollywood stunts, an authority on the stunt world, and a 70 (!) year veteran of the industry. He’s curated Criterion’s new “Stunts!” Collection, and brought us one of the few films that offers an honest look at the life of a Hollywood stuntman (stuntman, stuntman…): Hal Needham’s 1978 film HOOPER, starring Burt Reynolds and Jan-Michael Vincent.

Then Jordan has one quick thing about the hotly anticipated action film THE FURIOUS – the trailer ju...

You’ll recognize Camrus Johnson’s face from his roles as Batwing on the Batwoman series or his new turn from hero to villain in season 2 of One Piece, where he plays Mr. 5. But you might not know that he’s also a director – of both television and award winning animation shorts – and an accomplished musician. Camrus and Jordan talk about the power of seeing yourself in a superhero (both before and after getting to embody one!) as he brings 2000s TV superhero icon Static Shock to the Feeling Seen table.

Then, Jordan has one quick thing (two quick...

Actor/writer/director Grace Glowicki is the creative voice behind DEAD LOVER (a Sundance surprise from 2025 that is getting a theatrical release this month) and TITO, and she stars in the archly comic horror thriller HONEY BUNCH (from directors Madeline Sims-Fewer and Dusty Mancinelli, now streaming on Shudder). While her films and performances are uniquely her own, Grace takes a surprising inspiration from John Turturro as BARTON FINK (yes, the same character that made film critic Walter Chaw feel seen just a couple episodes ago!). Here's an episode that proves that the same character can prove fodder for two...

Feeling Seen is now posting video versions of our interviews, starting with this one! Watch it here and subscribe to our new channel!

Jordan sits down with the one and only Matthew Lillard, an actor who looms large in the hearts of any Millennial horror lover, and whose fruitful career is still going strong -- right now he can be seen in CROSS Season 2, SCREAM 7, and FIVE NIGHTS AT FREDDY'S 2. But you might be surprised to learn that he devoted a decade of his life to getting one particular movie made: his directorial debut, FAT KID RULES...

Writer, film critic, and educator Walter Chaw has been writing and thinking about cinema since he was a teenager -- when he discovered how it could make him feel understood, and that saved his life. Now, he's a critic whose unapologetically personal takes on cinema makes some folks love his work, and really pisses some other folks off. Despite his artist's temperament and his expertise, Walter wants to stay in touch with the common man...just like BARTON FINK, from the Coen Brothers' classic 1991 anti-ode to the Studio System.

Then, Jordan has one quick thing about some...

This interview originally aired in January 2023, and we've updated it with a fresh opening and "One Quick Thing." 

Comedian Gianmarco Soresi is brutally honest with us this week: he deeply relates to Antonio Salieri (F. Murray Abraham!) in Milos Forman’s 1984 classical classic, Amadeus. But while Gianmarco can own his Salieri-like insecurities, he can’t let it keep him from pursuing virtuosity.

Then, Jordan has one quick thing about an exciting new action film from master Yuen Woo-Ping, Blades of the Guardians.

Gianmarco's latest special is Thief of Joy.

Help suppor...

This episode originally aired in May 2024.

Drag superstar Latrice Royale has been in the game since before Ru Paul’s Drag Race was a phenomenon. She won Miss Congeniality on her season of that show, and went on to appear on All-Stars and Drag U. An actor and performer, Latrice leads Season 4 of HBO’s drag docuseries We’re Here. And if you know anything about Latrice, just a few moments with Della Reese’s character, Vera Walker, in the Eddie Murphy-directed dramedy Harlem Nights  will show you how Latrice’s persona may have been shaped by Vera’s no-nonsense p...

We're thrilled to be adding the delightful Sophie Nélisse to the list of YELLOWJACKETS stars we've spoken with on the show; you'll recognize her as young Shauna Shipman from that series (or perhaps from her role in the beyond-buzzy HEATED RIVALRY). Now she's starring in the fun and freaky cursed-object horror movie WHISTLE, out in theaters this weekend (February 6, 2026). Now 25, Sophie's been acting since she was 11, and all that has taught her a thing or two about her emotions -- naming them, trying to control them, and knowing when they just can't be reined in. We are talking a...

If you're one of Chris Stuckmann's 2 million + YouTube subscribers, you've known about his debut feature, the horror film Shelby Oaks, for years -- long before the movie was bought and distrubuted by NEON, maybe even before he started the record-breaking Kickstarter campaign that funded the film. But you might not know all that much about the world Chris grew up in -- and left behind, in part because of his deep love of cinema. It's a world rarely depicted in film: the world of the Jehovah's Witnesss. And that's the setting of the movie he chose for this episode: 2022...

Jolenta Greenberg is a very familiar and comedic voice to anyone who's heard BY THE BOOK, HOW TO BE FINE, or her new show, HOT MESS-TERPIECE THEATRE. She and Jordan are talking Real Housewives, 4-Hour Work Weeks, and above all, the hilarious and sometimes horrific antics of Jerri Blank, Amy Sedaris's iconic character of the small and big screen comedy STRANGERS WITH CANDY.

Then, Jordan has one quick thing about Margot Robbie's overlooked turn as a heroic supervillain.

Additonal listening:
Kristen Meinzer on 'Anne of Green Gables'
Alan Tudyk on 'Young Frankenstein' and...

Director and star of OBEX (which premiered at 2025's Sundance Film Festival), Albert Birney is a filmmaker and animator who has paved his own unique path forward in the world of cinema, and done so with great success. He's brought another unique success story to the Feeling Seen table this week: Marcel, the Shell with Shoes On (and his eponymous 2021 film). Albert and Jordan also talk about his resonance with 1999's American Movie, a documentary that highlights the beauty and folly of one small-town man's quest to make his cinematic magnum opus.

Then, Jordan has one quick...

Back in 1986, Tim Blake Nelson was a drama student at Julliard when he saw Jim Jarmusch's sophomore feature, DOWN BY LAW. Tom Waits (who would continue to work with Jarmusch, and is starring in his latest film) plays a regular unlucky joe, and does it as no typical Hollywood star could. It was a path into the world of movies that Nelson could see himself following, if he got the chance (which he did). Today, you can see the great Tim Blake Nelson in Mona Fastvold's THE TESTAMENT OF ANN LEE, which stars Amanda Seyfried.

Then Jordan...

Happy New Year! We're bringing back one of our favorite episodes from the recent past, this conversation with June Squibb, which originally aired in June of 2024. Since then, in 2025, June had the title role in Eleanor the Great, Scarlett Johansson's directorial debut, which premiered at Cannes.

June Squibb was born an actor, and had a rich career on stage for years before becoming an on-screen performer in her sixties. It’s not your typical trajectory, sure, but then neither is being 94 and carrying your first feature film – which, by the way, is an action comedy. With her new...

How's this for a holiday treat? Multi-award winning singer and actor Andra Day shares her love of Dorothy Dandridge's iconic lead performance in Carmen Jones,  as well as her perspectives on wading deeper into movie-stardom (with her latest role opposite Bradley Cooper and alongside Laura Dern and Will Arnett in IS THIS THING ON?), turning 40, and why you should never stop transforming.

Then, Jordan has one quick thing about a festive little holiday picture called BLACK CHRISTMAS (the 2006 version).

Help support this show and unlock bonus content! Become a member at https://maximumfun.org/j...

It's an episode over 200 in the making -- writer/director Sam Wineman (who also happens to be Jordan's co-host on the oft-mentioned Aughtsterion podcast!) joins us to talk about his feature debut, Hag. And you might be surprised by his horror film's connections to a very different film -- 2016's rom-com (and Dakota Johnson vehicle) How to Be Single.

Then Jordan has one quick thing about another surprising movie dichotomy -- two films in theaters now starring Amanda Seyfried.

Help support this show and unlock bonus content! Become a member at https://maximumfun.org...

Another one of those magical Feeling Seen manifestations this week: just a few episodes after discussing a film he starred in with director James Michael Powell (ep 196), James Badge Dale himself is with us to talk about his perspective on acting and how it was shaped by Martin Scorsese's MEAN STREETS. Dale, who has been in countless films, and blurs the line between leading man and character actor, would eventually go on to work with Scorsese in THE DEPARTED. Now, he's starring in a new film alongside Ben Foster, KING IVORY.

Then, Jordan has one quick thing...

It's our 200th episode! We're celebrating in style with the charming and super-talented Thomasin McKenzie, an actor we've watched go from teen roles in films like LEAVE NO TRACE and JOJO RABBIT to grown-up roles, as in OLD, LAST NIGHT IN SOHO, and her new comedy, FACKHAM HALL. She shares the push-and-pull identification she feels (and aspires to) for Julie Delpy's Celine in the 1995 classic, BEFORE SUNRISE.

Then, Jordan has one quick thing about...200 great episodes! (And some ways you can support our past guests while giving some amazing holiday gifts).

THANK YOU for being...

For his latest book, BREAK THE FRAME, culture writer Kevin Smokler interviewed 24 prominent female filmmakers about their rich and varied careers. One of those filmmakers, Patricia Cardoso, directed the 2002 movie that introduced the world to a 17-year-old America Ferrera: REAL WOMEN HAVE CURVES. Despite their surface differences (to state the obvious, Kevin is not a young Latina child of immigrants from the barrio of Los Angeles), the movie has spoken to Kevin since it first came out, and has become the film he's most likely to recommend. It's a perfect example of how you never know just where or...

Actor Alex Winter may be best known as the Bill half of Bill and Ted -- and he's currently treading the boards with his counterpart from the Bill & Ted movies, Keanu Reeves, in a Broadway production of Waiting for Godot. But his body of work includes a ton of other films and tv shows, with roles both in front of and behind the camera. One project he co-wrote, co-directed, and starred in is the indelibly out-there 1993 comedy Freaked, which has just gotten a 4K UHD restoration and digital & BluRay release. Jordan and Alex talk about all that and more...

Barbara Muschietti (along with her brother Andy) has made her mark on Hollywood, especially in the horror realm (MAMA, IT, IT: CHAPTER TWO and now WELCOME TO DERRY). But regardless of what genre you're working in, the business of Hollywood takes tenacity, luck, and no small amount of delusion. That's what we've got for you today, through WORKING GIRL (1988) and Robert Altman's THE PLAYER (1992).

Then, Jordan has one quick thing about the 25th anniversary of the CHARLIE'S ANGELS movie.

Help support this show and unlock bonus content! Become a member at https://maximumfun.org...

Directors John-Michael Powell (VIOLENT ENDS, in theaters now) and David Gordon Green (whose movie ALL THE REAL GIRLS was an early entry in what's become an extremely varied and successful career) are both from Arkansas. Powell's new film, which stars Billy Magnussen, James Badge Dale, and Alexandra Schipp, is a bloody, grimy crime thriller -- a far cry from ALL THE REAL GIRLS' quiet romantic angst. But what the films have in common is an interest in depicting small-town Southerners as real, three-dimensional human beings. That detail both inspired Powell's film career and animates the work he's doing now...

An androgenous figurehead of a found family that refuses to grow up -- if you've never thought of Peter Pan in those terms, director Tina Romero is here to set you straight (er, in a manner of speaking). Tina also shares the ins, outs, and inspirations behind her feature debut, Queens of the Dead, which continues and reinvents a family legacy of zombie cinema (Tina is the daughter of the legendary George A. Romero). And as always, Jordan digs up all the connective tissue between all of the above.

Then, Jordan has one quick thing about Nia...

If you've never seen G.I. Jane, you might know it as a punchline, an epithet, or shorthand for a certain kind of movie -- or a certain kind of woman. But watching G.I. Jane in 2025, you see a portrait of fierce tenacity and genuine strength, all baked into a Ridley Scott action war drama. Actor Katy O'Brian -- who is absolutely on fire right now, and the list of things you'd know her from grows ever longer -- saw in Demi Moore's character, Jordan, a rare glimpse of something she recognized in herself. She's a character who...

Adult Swim veteran producer and head of Thin Edge films, Lisa M. Thomas has been working across genres in film and television for decades from her home in upstate New York. Her latest project is The Misadventures of Bucky and Beene, the story of queer radio hosts who get in some hot water with the locals. Similarly, her choice of young Ludovic from a French classic of '90s queer cinema, Ma Vie En Rose ("My Life in Pink"), is a character who runs afoul of the local normies simply by living their honest truth. Lisa and Jordan get...

As October kicks into gear, we've got Mercedes Bryce Morgan, director of the new horror movie BONE LAKE. And not only is her own film spooky, but so is her chosen "feeling seen" subject: teen girlhood...er, we mean Sissy Spacek's CARRIE from the horror classic CARRIE. She and Jordan get into the blurry line between exploitation and representation in horror and erotic thrillers, especially when it comes to women's sexuality.

Then, Jordan has one quick thing about the future (or lack thereof...) of the FAST AND FURIOUS franchise.

Help support this show and...