Optimism Vaccine

After seven years of podcasting and 18 years since Everybody Loves a Happy Ending, a day we never thought would come has arrived. There's finally a brand new Tears for Fears album. Steve and Stephen …

THIS WEEK: Boardinghouse (1982) and Pathogen (2006)

The OV Team turns their keen critical eyes to the world of shot-on-video horror films. First up, Boardinghouse, the film that dared to combine murde…

When inspiration fails to strike, the siren’s call of our unwatched physical media shelves beckons. Recently restored by Vinegar Syndrome, the OV gang examines a pair of early 90s actioners that co-s…

THIS WEEK: Man to Man with Dean Learner (2006), Submarine (2010), The Double (2013)

I bet you saw the title of this episode and thought "Damn, the OV boys got Ayoade on the pod?" Boy, wouldn't that be…

THIS WEEK: Garth Marenghi's Darkplace (2004), A Gun for George (2011), The Snipist (2012), Smutch (2016), Possum (2018)

Here at Optimism Vaccine, we've always loved the great tragedies: King Lear, The…

THIS WEEK: Who's Minding the Store? (1963), The Ladies Man (1961), Smorgasbord A.K.A. Cracking Up (1983)

Jerry Lewis was the king of comedy and the only person named Jerry Lewis who didn't marry his 1…

Question: What do severed heads, secret stashes of marijuana, and Wings Hauser have in common? They are all featured in Tough Guys Don’t Dance, the film adaptation of Pulitzer Prize-winning author No…

We've got a detour from our usual film-centric content (and acceptable recording fidelity) for a very special episode.

Stephen and Steve return to Discourse From The Big Chair after two years of slowl…

2021 was a great year for roller skating ninjas, wholesome paternal love and people named Ryusuke Hamaguchi. Join us as we talk about the best films of 2021 and once again try to convince you to watc…

OV pours one out for comedic genius/movie anti-star, Norm MacDonald, and beloved sitcom dad/penguin voice, Bob Saget

THIS WEEK: Dirty Work (1998), Screwed (2000), Half Baked (1998)

Support Optimism Vac…

What exactly is a wife guy and why have they sacrificed their Hollywood careers (and a few film studios) to honor their ladies? The OV boys investigate the wife guy phenomenon to get to the bottom of…

After years of grinding Jake's soul into dust by making him watch a cornucopia of trash every week, we're finally giving you the episode of his dreams: David Lynch's (unofficial) Los Angeles trilogy.…

The Bebop crew goes after a bounty that leads them deep into space in search of an ancient chess master, while the Woolong Club crew gives you the history of Cowboy Bebop on home video and the game o…

We're celebrating the holidays the only way we know how to: A critical reassessment of Dario Argento's most maligned (and recent) films. Tune in for a giallo that isn't a giallo (just an Adrian Brody…

The moment you start dipping your toes into the murky waters of Italian horror cinema, everyone will tell you the same thing: "Dario Argento is great! Just don't watch anything after Opera!"

But what …

Mario Bava, Sergio Martino, and Lucio Fulci built their legacies by creating some of the most beloved giallo and horror films of all time. But, like most of their Italian contemporaries, they were wi…

It's been nearly 25 years since the original Cowboy Bebop first helped you convince your friends that anime wasn't just horny cartoons about tentacles and robots. So what do you do with a cool cultur…

Shawn and Jack are off living their lives, leaving us scrambling to give our listeners something to be thankful for this week. Steve supplied the turkey: Unidentified with Demi Lovato, a vapid realit…

After three long years, your favorite Cowboy Bebop podcast/OV spinoff series, Woolong Club, is BACK!

On this episode: Spike and Jet's partnership is on the rocks, as a melancholy Faye makes a mysterio…

From small town Texas stripper to geriatric billionaire's wife, reality TV pioneer and denim spokeswoman, Anna Nicole Smith exemplified the American Dream in the 90s. She may have never broken into H…