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About Sort By: Earliest

Hosts Jonah and Journey dive into the complete bodies of work for some of New Hollywood’s most unique filmmakers. By contextualizing them with their peers and the industry they worked in and tracking their highs and lows beyond the heyday of the American New Wave, we hope to better frame the influence of these directors and understand the complexities of their careers. Currently exploring the filmography of Peter Bogdanovich.

Publisher

sortbyearliest

Category

tv & film

Language

en

Explicit

No

First episode

7 Nov 2025

Latest episode

23 Oct 2026

Latest episodes

29 episodes in the feed.

1. 

   23 Oct 2026

   Blessed Assurance [AKA The Price of Heaven] (1997) w/ Evan from Left of the Projector

   This week we are joined by Evan, co-host of Left of the Projector, to discuss Peter’s not-quite hit CBS film Blessed Assurance. The film is also called “The Price of Heaven”, we honestly have no clue which one is fully correct or why there are two completely different titles, but for posterity, we primarily call it Blessed Assurance. Much like how we are confused about what exactly is the title, we are also confused about what we are supposed to be getting out of this film. Based on a short story by Allan Gurganus, Blessed Assurance follows a Korean War veteran (Grant Show) returning to his small South Carolina hometown and his childhood sweetheart (Lori Loughlin). He faces trials and tribulations such as resisting the urge to cheat on his partner, being a funeral assurance collector, and living down the reputation of driving Marilyn Monroe one time. It’s kinda a snoozefest of a movie, but we had a great time talking about it! We also discuss Gremlins 2, Lori Loughlin’s college admissions scandal, Peter being unbelievably broke and making enemies, the failed gothic attempts of Verity, Cicely Tyson’s questionable acting choices, and the hit(?) film of fall 2026, Digger. Also, we don't actually ever get into this, but the film’s title of Blessed Assurance comes from both the hymn AND because Cicely Tyson’s character pronounces “insurance” as “assurance.” One of the film’s many subtleties. Next Episode: Rescuers: Stories of Courage: Two Women (1997) Further “Reading” By Bogdanovich (2011) Picturing Peter Bogdanovich by Peter Tonguette “'You Saved One of My Best Pictures': My Adventures with Peter Bogdanovich and his Lost, Last Picture Show” by James Kenney News clip of the South Carolina town where they filmed “Cicely Tyson Movie to be shot in S.C.” June 6, 1995 “Director Bogdanovich Declares Bankruptcy” by Ann W. O’Neill for the LA Times, June 4, 1997 “Episodes From a Transitory World” By Will Joyner for the NYT, August 15, 1997 “CBS’ Heaven Falls Short of Perfection” in The Spokesman Review, August 16, 1997 “‘Heaven’ Struggles Against Script in Civil Rights Drama” by Daryl H. Miller for the LA Times, August 16, 1997 THE BOGDANOVICH ARCHIVE Visit sortbyearliest.com Music by Ryan Torgeson Art by Jordan Kady Support your local independent cinemas and video stores! Follow Us! Sort By: Earliest on Instagram Jonah on Letterboxd and Twitter Journey on Letterboxd and Instagram Evan on Letterboxd, Instagram, and Twitter; LOTP’s website

2. 

   9 Oct 2026

   To Sir, With Love II (1996) w/ Collin Brinkmann

   This week, we are joined by author of Late Style in Film, Collin Brinkmann, to discuss yet another Bogdanovich legacy sequel: To Sir With Love II. Thirty years after Sidney Poitier’s defining role as “Sir” (Mark Thackeray) in the 1967 British smash hit To Sir, With Love, the powers of the television world decided it was time for a TV sequel, and what more obvious choice to helm than Peter Bogdanovich. Moving from London to Chicago, this follow-up has it all: a secret son, students with guns, life lessons, and most importantly: no calling anyone sluts in the classroom! Even if you haven’t watched the original To Sir, With Love (with its very catchy international hit theme song ingeniously titled “To Sir with Love”) we would really recommend you give this one a spin. We also discuss Claire Denis being relegated to the streaming trenches, Poitier and Bogdanovich dying on the exact same day, how Sir could have helped out some of the characters in Scorsese’s Mean Streets, the finer qualities of Bogdanovich as a writer, possible defenses(?) of Illegally Yours, and Journey’s affinity for John Huston’s Annie. Next Episode: Blessed Assurance [AKA The Price of Heaven] (1997) with Evan from Left of the Projector Further “Reading” To Sir, With Love II (1996) Original Broadcast with Commercials By Bogdanovich (2011) Late Style in Film by Collin Brinkmann Picturing Peter Bogdanovich by Peter Tonguette Michael Shannon talks getting fired from the film w/ NYT Michael Peña on Colbert ‘To Sir, With Love II Review’ by Ken Tucker for Entertainment Weekly (April 5, 1996) ‘CBS Sunday Movie To Sir, With Love II Review’ by Todd P. McCarthy for Variety (April 3, 1996) ‘TELEVISION REVIEW: Sequel for To Sir, With Love’ by Caryn James for NYT (April 6, 1996) ‘What Sidney Poitier taught me about courage and A Raisin in the Sun’ by LZ Granderson for the LA Times (June 8, 2022) THE BOGDANOVICH ARCHIVE Visit sortbyearliest.com Music by Ryan Torgeson Art by Jordan Kady Support your local independent cinemas and video stores! Follow Us! Sort By: Earliest on Instagram Jonah on Letterboxd and Twitter Journey on Letterboxd and Instagram

3. 

   25 Sept 2026

   Fallen Angels 'A Dime a Dance' (1995)

   It’s 1995: Peter Bogdanovich is back on Showtime and better than ever! This week, we cover Peter’s first real noir output: an episode of the anthology series Fallen Angels. In his episode “A Dime a Dance,” we follow Jennifer Grey and Eric Stolz as they investigate the murder of a nightclub dancer and evade a killer that also seems to be on the hunt for Jennifer Grey. Peter being Peter, the episode also features L.B. Stratten as the murdered dancer. It’s a genuinely well-constructed episode made to look like almost all black and white cinematography, and makes one wish Peter had done more noir. We also discuss the Paranormal Activity stage adaptation, old timey radio programs (Journey didn’t want to go down a 15 minute spiral, but the 1949 Suspense episode “Ghost Hunt” is one of the precursors to modern found footage horror alongside Orson Welles’ infamous “War of the Worlds” broadcast and RULES), Spider-Noir presented in “True-Hue”, an unaired Bogdanovich pilot called Prowler, niche bar trivia theming, and how dance is the devil. Next Episode: To Sir, With Love II (1996) w/ Collin Brinkmann Further “Reading”: Fallen Angels S2E3 “A Dime a Dance” on YouTube By Bogdanovich (2011) Picturing Peter Bogdanovich by Peter Tonguette “‘Fallen Angels’: The Lost Showtime Series That Hinted at the Future of Prestige TV” by Jake Rossen for MentalFloss (Oct. 30, 2025) The first minute of Prowler pilot Scott Bakula in Prowler Noir program Full Moon Matinee featuring a Detective Host Magazine reprinting of ‘Dime a Dance’ / ‘The Dancing Detective’ THE BOGDANOVICH ARCHIVE Visit sortbyearliest.com Music by Ryan Torgeson Art by Jordan Kady Support your local independent cinemas and video stores! Follow Us! Sort By: Earliest on Instagram Jonah on Letterboxd and Twitter Journey on Letterboxd and Instagram

Reach and audience

Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.

Apple Podcasts (US)

5.0 / 5

4 ratings

Spotify

5.0 / 5

8 ratings

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Guest appearances

Books guests

Based on episode analysis; this does not confirm that the show is currently accepting guests.