The Austin B Media Podcast is a weekly podcast from Austin B Media. In each episode, a guest comes on and talks about a movie, TV show, or video game for about an hour or less. So, if you're interested, subscribe and turn on notifications to get notified about each new episode!
Seven-time guest Alise Chaffins joins me to discuss The Bear: Gary, FX's surprise standalone prequel that appeared on Disney+ and Hulu with no advance press, no reviews, and no warning.
We dig into what the episode does for Mikey's character, Richie's desperate need to belong, the case for a "Mikey Trilogy" viewing order (Fishes → Gary → Forks), Emmy clip candidates, and what the Season 5 car crash cliffhanger might mean.
Content warning: This episode discusses themes of depression, alcoholism, and trauma as depicted in The Bear: Gary.
The first 33 minutes are spoiler-free.
Chapters:
00:08 – Introduction & Alise's seventh appearance
01:43 – Recommendations: The Great Divide by Noah Kahan, DTF St. Louis, Beef Season 2, Alien: Isolation
05:10 – Initial reactions to the surprise release
07:49 – Is Gary a series or a standalone?
08:57 – Tone comparison: buddy road trip vs. kitchen anxiety
10:58 – What Gary does for Mikey's character
13:03 – The case for more prequel content
15:55 – Mikey's dual personality and Bernthal's performance
18:04 – Richie as film snob and service obsessive
19:56 – Mental health from an outsider's POV
23:03 – The basketball court scene
24:38 – Performances and filming logistics
26:26 – Our ratings and the case for cutting 15 minutes
30:02 – Why Gary feels "looser" than the main series
31:41 – Emmy clip candidates
SPOILERS BEGIN AT 33:15
33:43 – Does Gary, Indiana earn its place as a meaningful setting?
36:15 – Placing Gary in the series timeline
40:13 – The bathroom scene with Sherri
43:16 – Richie's mentality and what it tells us about him
47:41 – The Mikey Trilogy watch order: Fishes, Gary, Forks
49:32 – Wanting more Richie/Mikey/Carmy flashback footage
54:29 – On fan over-analysis
56:10 – Season 5 cliffhanger speculation
58:37 – Wrap-up
Find Alise on Substack at MacGuffin or Meaning (alisechaffins.substack.com) and on YouTube at @alisechaffins.
Order Alise's book, The Ted Lasso Relationship Guide, on Amazon.
Support the show on Patreon at patreon.com/AustinBMedia — $10+ members get this episode uncut.
Find me on Bluesky at austinb.media and everywhere else at @AustinBMedia.
6 Nov 2025
Diamond Diplomacy | A Conversation with Yuriko Gamo Romer & Masanori “Mashi” Murakami
Director Yuriko Gamo Romer and baseball legend Masanori “Mashi” Murakami, the first Japanese player in Major League Baseball, join Austin Belzer to discuss Diamond Diplomacy, a documentary exploring how baseball became a bridge between Japan and the United States.
Together, they talk about the sport’s cultural impact, the challenges of documenting over 150 years of history, and how Mashi’s legacy continues to inspire players around the world.
Subscribe to The Austin B Media Podcast for more filmmaker conversations.
Learn more and find screenings at diamonddiplomacy.com (https://diamonddiplomacy.com/).
Read the full transcript here.
Support Austin B Media
If you enjoyed this podcast, consider joining my Patreon.
Members get:
Early access to reviews and podcasts ($10 members get unedited episodes)
Exclusive monthly Film Club, where we watch a movie and discuss it together on Zoom
Community polls to help choose what I cover next
Behind-the-scenes research notes
Join here and help shape the future of Austin B Media! (https://patreon.com/AustinBMedia?utm_medium=unknown&utm_source=join_link&utm_campaign=creatorshare_creator&utm_content=copyLink)
Chapters
00:00 - Introduction and Welcome
00:26 – Hot Springs and Babe Ruth’s longest home run
02:05 – What inspired Yuriko to make Diamond Diplomacy
03:33 – Mashi’s minor-league days and first impressions of America
06:10 – From Fresno to the Giants: Moving to the majors
08:40 – Balancing archival footage and modern storytelling
11:00 – Working without AI and preserving history
13:00 – Friendship and collaboration through the film
15:00 – Legacy and baseball as diplomacy
19:30 – Closing remarks and festival screenings
Where to Follow Me
Bluesky (https://bsky.app/profile/austinb.media)
Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/austinbmedia)
Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/austinbmedia/)
Letterboxd (https://letterboxd.com/AustinBMedia/)
TikTok (https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZTRA3b6AQ)
Threads (https://www.threads.net/@austinbmedia)
YouTube (https://youtube.com/@austinbmedia)
Until next time!
30 Oct 2025
Norita | A Conversation with Producer Sarah Schoellkopf
In this episode, I talk with producer Sarah Schoellkopf about Norita, a moving documentary about Argentine human rights icon Nora “Norita” Cortiñas, one of the founders of the Mothers of Plaza de Mayo.
Sarah shares how her decades-long friendship with Norita inspired the project, how animation gave visual form to memory, and why the film serves as a manual for activism today.
Learn more at noritafilm.com (noritafilm.com)
Read the full transcript here.
Support Austin B Media
If you enjoyed this podcast, consider joining my Patreon.
Members get:
Early access to reviews and podcasts ($10 members get unedited episodes)
Exclusive monthly Film Club, where we watch a movie and discuss it together on Zoom
Community polls to help choose what I cover next
Behind-the-scenes research notes
Join here and help shape the future of Austin B Media! (https://patreon.com/AustinBMedia?utm_medium=unknown&utm_source=join_link&utm_campaign=creatorshare_creator&utm_content=copyLink)
Chapters:00:00 – Introduction00:53 – Meeting Nora Cortiñas05:27 – Documentary Teaching06:10 – Using Animation to Tell History11:11 – Speaking About Trauma in One’s Own Language12:43 – Balancing the Personal and Political17:08 – Norita as a Manual for Activism29:30 – Collaboration Across Continents33:00 – Where to Watch Norita33:30 – Closing Remarks
Where to Follow Me
Bluesky (https://bsky.app/profile/austinb.media)
Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/austinbmedia)
Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/austinbmedia/)
Letterboxd (https://letterboxd.com/AustinBMedia/)
TikTok (https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZTRA3b6AQ)
Threads (https://www.threads.net/@austinbmedia)
YouTube (https://youtube.com/@austinbmedia)
Until next time!
Who has been a guest on The Austin B Media Podcast
Names identified in recent episode analyses. Showing up to five guests.
Gal Balaban
Jack Martin
Ben Miller
Pedro Lima
Alise Chaffins
Reach and audience
Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.
YouTube views
72,472
Score snapshot 15 Sept 2025
Spotify
5.0 / 5
2 ratings
Podcast Authority Score: 62 / 100
A composite of feed quality, social presence, YouTube performance and engagement. Read the methodology.
Quality
50
Social presence
91
YouTube
76
Engagement
60
Contact The Austin B Media Podcast
Guest appearances
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