The Pink Smoke podcast
Episodes
Ep 164 The Jugger
09 Feb 2026
Contributed by Lukas
The Pink Smoke is back on track, picking up with the sixth entry of Donald E. Westlake's Parker series. A true outlier, The Jugger doesn't feature an ...
Ep 163 The Maya and Science Fiction
06 Jan 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Star Trek episodes, the title credits of Alien, the architecture of Star Wars and Blade Runner, the work of Joseph Campbell, H.P. Lovecraft, Clive Bar...
Parker Doesn't Say 'Merry Christmas': A 2025 Holiday Special
25 Dec 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In this super-sized episode of our ongoing series where we discuss the exploits of career criminal Parker from the books by Richard Stark a.k.a. Donal...
Ep 162 The Score
16 Dec 2025
Contributed by Lukas
With the fifth entry of the Parker series, The Score, Richard Stark aka Donald E. Westlake puts his career criminal anti-hero in charge of his most am...
Ep 161 I Killed Bette Davis by Larry Cohen
02 Dec 2025
Contributed by Lukas
If you're a fan of Larry Cohen, the maverick filmmaker behind such mind-bending genre pictures as It's Alive, God Told Me To, Q: The Winged Serpent an...
EP 160 Visitors from Lanulos
18 Nov 2025
Contributed by Lukas
“I went to a different planet where the spacemen drink coffee and don't cheat on their wives.” Cryptozoologist Christopher Funderburg and parapsy...
FiVE FROM THE FiRE / Episode 11: Becky D'Anna and Jon Laubinger
04 Nov 2025
Contributed by Lukas
What if every single print of every single film by 5 esteemed filmmakers were housed in a burning warehouse and there was only time to save 5 of them?...
Ep 159 Gremlins Rip-Offs
31 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
For this year's Halloween theme, the Pink Smoke sets its sights on the mid-80's to early 90's trend of "mischievous little monsters" horror movies mod...
Ep 158 Crow Killer / "Liver-Eating" Johnson / Jeremiah Johnson
20 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
We journey out to Montana Territory in the latter half of the 19th century to break biscuits with John "Liver-Eating" Johnson, subject of the books C...
Ep 157 Arthur and Arthur 2: On the Rocks
06 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
We watched Arthur. A New York love story. Pure lightning in a bottle. The little movie that went on to become the #4 biggest hit of 1981. And we watc...
Ep 156 The Mourner
16 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
We continue our series on the Parker books by Donald E. Westlake, published under the nom de guerre Richard Stark, which follow the various criminal a...
Ep 155 Dogfight
26 Aug 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Ever since Dogfight was released in 1991 to middling reviews and invisible box office, it's slowly developed a following among viewers who appreciat...
1974: Fifty Years Later / Ali: Fear Eats the Soul
05 Aug 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Last year, the Pink Smoke Podcast created a series called 1974: 50 Years Later, each episode featuring a different guest who chose a 1974 movie to tal...
Ep. 154: The Prophecy
22 Jul 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Host Martin Kessler finds himself in the middle of an angelic civil war, complete with soul-sucking seraphims, ritual exorcism, apocalyptic implicatio...
Ep. 26 Peterloo
19 Jul 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Host John Cribbs is joined on the latest episode of The Pink Smoke podcast by Martin Kessler of Flixwise: Outpost Canada to discuss Mike Leigh's lates...
Ep. 39 American Dharma
19 Jul 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Hosts John Cribbs & Christopher Funderburg discuss the legendary documentarian Errol Morris' latest film AMERICAN DHARMA, an extended interview with S...
Ep. 54 Eastwood Double Feature
19 Jul 2025
Contributed by Lukas
For Clint Eastwood’s 90th birthday, hosts Christopher Funderburg and John Cribbs have each selected one of the actor/director’s films to discuss. ...
Ep. 153 Earp Adjacent Westerns
02 Jul 2025
Contributed by Lukas
The myth of Wyatt Earp ignited at the ascent of cinema, his alleged Old West exploits embellished on celluloid during the Silent Era so that he was a ...
Ep. 152 Major Dune-dee
20 Feb 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Support our Patreon: www.patreon.com/thepinksmoke Sam Peckinpah and David Lynch, two of the most recognized directors of their day, were each in the...
1974: Fifty Years Later / A Wife To Be Sacrificed & Castle Of Sand
31 Dec 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Support our Patreon: www.patreon.com/thepinksmoke 1974 was a landmark year for film, a convergence of exciting international cinema and the original ...
1974: Fifty Years Later / Female Trouble
24 Dec 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Support our Patreon: www.patreon.com/thepinksmoke Who better to spend the holidays with than rebellious hair hopper Dawn Davenport, who goes from pin...
PSP 1974 The White Dawn
17 Dec 2024
Contributed by Lukas
1974 was a landmark year for film, a convergence of exciting international cinema and the original voices of New Hollywood that still resonates 50 yea...
1974: Fifty Years Later / Symptoms
03 Dec 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Support our Patreon: www.patreon.com/thepinksmoke 1974 was a landmark year for film, a convergence of exciting international cinema and the original ...
1974: Fifty Years Later / The Nickel Ride
13 Nov 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Support our Patreon: www.patreon.com/thepinksmoke 1974 was a landmark year for film, a convergence of exciting international cinema and the original ...
1974: Fifty Years Later / The Texas Chain Saw Massacre
29 Oct 2024
Contributed by Lukas
What is there left to be said about the greatest horror film ever made? Support our Patreon: www.patreon.com/thepinksmoke The Pink Smoke site: www.t...
1974: Fifty Years Later / Killdozer
22 Oct 2024
Contributed by Lukas
All episodes are made available to Patreon subscribers, the most killer-ish and dozer-y of all audiences, one week before their general release Suppo...
Ep. 151 Devil Girls
09 Oct 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Episodes are made available to Patreon subscribers one week before their general release. www.patreon.com/thepinksmoke "'It doesn't seem important a...
1974: Fifty Years Later / Mahler
01 Oct 2024
Contributed by Lukas
All Pink Smoke Podcast episodes are made available one week before their general release to Patreon subscribers. Subscribe to get early access & so mu...
1974: Fifty Years Later / Murder On The Orient Express
24 Sep 2024
Contributed by Lukas
All Pink Smoke Podcast episodes are made available one week before their general release to Patreon subscribers. Subscribe to get early access & so mu...
An Epilogue to The Pink Smoke's time at the Toronto International Film Festival
17 Sep 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Support our Patreon: www.patreon.com/thepinksmoke All good things must come to an end. Hosts John Cribbs and Christopher Funderburg are joined by Mar...
Ep. 150 Toronto International Film Festival 2024 Wrap Up
15 Sep 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Support our Patreon: www.patreon.com/thepinksmoke John Cribbs & Christopher Funderburg are back with their rundown of the 2024 Toronto International ...
Ep. 149 Toronto International Film Festival 2024 Preview
03 Sep 2024
Contributed by Lukas
All episodes are made available to Patreon subscribers, the most vioiently anti-Canadian and finestkind of all audiences, one week before their genera...
Ep. 148 The Queen Of Spades
20 Aug 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Host Martin Kessler is joined by Ally Pitts to discuss Thorold Dickinson's 1949 British fantasy-horror film, The Queen of Spades. Support our Patreon...
1974: Fifty Years Later / Deadly Weapons
14 Aug 2024
Contributed by Lukas
All episodes are made available to Patreon subscribers, the most pulchritudinous and buxom of all audiences, one week before their general release. S...
Ep. 147 The Outfit
06 Aug 2024
Contributed by Lukas
All episodes are made available to Patreon subscribers, the most secertive and sinister of all audiences, one week before their general release. {www...
Ep. 146 Little Drummer Girl
30 Jul 2024
Contributed by Lukas
The Pink Smoke welcomes back fan favorite John Arminio for a companion episode to our epic 100 Years of Spy Movies two-parter from last year to discus...
1974: Fifty Years Later / Blood For Dracula
16 Jul 2024
Contributed by Lukas
1974 was a landmark year for film, a convergence of exciting international cinema and the original voices of New Hollywood that still resonates 50 yea...
Ep. 145 Peter Pan
02 Jul 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Host Martin Kessler welcomes film writer and curator Vanya Garraway to discuss the various film versions of J. M. Barrie's oft-adapted Peter Pan, from...
Ep. 144 Cattle Drive Westerns
18 Jun 2024
Contributed by Lukas
All episodes are made available to Patreon subscribers, the most tender and sensitive of all audiences, one week before their general release. https:...
1974: Fifty Years Later / Pray For The Wildcats
11 Jun 2024
Contributed by Lukas
1974 was a landmark year for film, a convergence of exciting international cinema and the original voices of New Hollywood that still resonates 50 yea...
Ep. 143 Amatuer & Pulp Fiction
04 Jun 2024
Contributed by Lukas
All episodes are made available to Patreon subscribers, the most determined and unsparing of all audiences, one week before their general release. {w...
1974: Fifty Years Later / The Education Of Sonny Carson
21 May 2024
Contributed by Lukas
1974 was a landmark year for film, a convergence of exciting international cinema and the original voices of New Hollywood that still resonates 50 yea...
1974: Fifty Years Later / Young Frankenstein
07 May 2024
Contributed by Lukas
1974 was a landmark year for film, a convergence of exciting international cinema and the original voices of New Hollywood that still resonates 50 yea...
Summer Movie Preview 2024
30 Apr 2024
Contributed by Lukas
A Pink Smoke tradition resurrected: our once annual Summer Movie Blockbuster Preview Extravaganza returns from the dead as we train a beady and judgm...
Ep. 142 Fallout: Season 1
14 Apr 2024
Contributed by Lukas
“War… war never changes…” Attention wastelanders, time to strap on the ol’ power armor and grab a rusty gauss rifle, we’re headed into (a...
1974: Fifty Years Later / The Towering Inferno
09 Apr 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Episodes are made available to Patreon subscribers one week before their general release. {www.patreon.com/thepinksmoke} For the first episode of ou...
1974: Fifty Years Later. (Introduction to The Series)
02 Apr 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Episodes are made available to Patreon subscribers one week before their general release. {www.patreon.com/thepinksmoke} 1974 was a landmark year fo...
Ep. 141 The Beast
13 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, host Martin Kessler welcomes John Arminio of the Popcorn Eschaton! podcast to discuss Kevin Reynolds' underappreciated 1988 war film...
Ep. 140 Year In Review 2023
19 Jan 2024
Contributed by Lukas
The Pink Smoke brigade is back to discuss the movies of 2023. Hosts Martin Kessler, John Cribbs and Christopher Funderburg look back on a year replete...
Ep. 139 Aground & Dead Calm
02 Jan 2024
Contributed by Lukas
All episodes are made available to Patreon subscribers, the most tender and violent of all audiences, one week before their general release. Support ...
Ep. 138 Unforgiven
19 Dec 2023
Contributed by Lukas
All episodes are made available to Patreon subscribers, the most tender and violent of all audiences, one week before their general release. {www.pat...
Ep. 137 The Man With The Getaway Face
05 Dec 2023
Contributed by Lukas
All episodes are made available to Patreon subscribers one week before their general release. {www.patreon.com/thepinksmoke} Having outmaneuvered th...
Ep. 135 Quest For Fire
14 Nov 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Support our Patreon: www.patreon.com/thepinksmoke Hosts Christopher Funderburg, John Cribbs & Martin Kessler are joined by legendary poster artist To...
Ep. 136 The Marvels & The End Of The Superhero Era
13 Nov 2023
Contributed by Lukas
In this emergency bonus episode, hosts Martin Kessler and Christopher Funderburg sit down to discuss Marvel’s The Marvels of the Marvel Cinematic Un...
Ep. 134 Frank Henenlotter
31 Oct 2023
Contributed by Lukas
This is it. Frank Henenlotter’s perfect six. Hosts John Cribbs and Christopher Funderburg discuss one of their favorite filmmakers and his half d...
Ep 133 The Hawkline Monster
28 Oct 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Support our Patreon: www.patreon.com/thepinksmoke "Central County was a big, rangy county with mountains to the north and mountains to the south and ...
Ep. 132 Vice Squad + Dead & Buried
17 Oct 2023
Contributed by Lukas
All episodes are made available to Patreon subscribers one week before their general release. We’re joined by screenwriter Tom Vaughan to discuss a...
Ep. 131 Doc Savage: The Fortress of Solitude & The Devil Genghis
03 Oct 2023
Contributed by Lukas
All episodes are made available to Patreon subscribers one week before their general release. www.patreon.com/thepinksmoke The Pink Smoke dives head...
Ep. 130 Toronto International Film Festival 2023 Wrap Up
19 Sep 2023
Contributed by Lukas
John Cribbs & Christopher Funderburg are back with their rundown of the 2023 Toronto International Film Festival! From the highest highs (The Boy and ...
Ep. 129 Toronto International Film Festival 2023 Preview
05 Sep 2023
Contributed by Lukas
John Cribbs & Christopher Funderburg return to the Queen City for the 48th annual Toronto International Film Festival to watch all the best in the cur...
Ep. 128 Fassbinder's BRD Trilogy
22 Aug 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Christopher Funderburg is joined by Martin Kessler to discuss Rainer Werner Fassbinder’s Bundesrepublik Deutschland trilogy: Lola, The Marriage of M...
Ep. 127 The Infernal Desire Machines Of Doctor Hoffman
08 Aug 2023
Contributed by Lukas
All Pink Smoke Podcast episodes are made available one week before their general release to Patreon subscribers. Subscribe to get early access & so mu...
Ep. 28 Nonfiction
18 Jul 2023
Contributed by Lukas
A classic episode (utterly classic) episode released from behind the Patreon paywall. Savor it like some kind of a savory soup. Hosts John Cribbs & C...
Ep. 126 Man With A Movie Camera
06 Jul 2023
Contributed by Lukas
What more can possibly be said about Dziga Vertov & Mikhail Kaufman's Man With a Movie Camera, one of the most studied, discussed and written-about fi...
Ep. 125 Spy Movies Part II
20 Jun 2023
Contributed by Lukas
The Pink Smoke is coming in from the cold to debrief our listeners on 100 years worth of espionage thrillers. Starting in the 1920's, we chose one n...
Ep. 16 Shoplifters
23 May 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Hosts John Cribbs & Christopher Funderburg discuss (possibly) their favorite film of the year, Hirokazu Kore-eda's Shoplifters. This episode, recorde...
Ep. 124 Spy Movies Part I
09 May 2023
Contributed by Lukas
The Pink Smoke is coming in from the cold to debrief our listeners on 100 years worth of espionage thrillers. Starting in the 1920's, we chose one not...
Ep. 17 Forever And A Death
18 Apr 2023
Contributed by Lukas
PSP: Pulp Fictions covers the "Bond Novel That Never Was" - crime writer Donald Westlake's FOREVER AND A DEATH! Westlake is a favorite author of hosts...
Ep. 123 A Snake Of June
11 Apr 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Over a decade after his high-octane cyber-punk metal mutilation fetishism monster debut Tetsuo: The Iron Man (1989), director-producer-writer-cinemato...
Ep. 122 Flashman's Lady
28 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
"There's no such thing as an unfashionable hero or an unsuitable heiress." Hot off their five-hour excursion into Swishbuckler Cinema, hosts John Cri...
Ep. 121 Art vs. Trash
14 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Host Christopher Funderburg is joined by Martin Kessler to finally settle the debate of "what is art?" and "what is trash?" in cinema! Using the simil...
Ep. 120 Love Is Complicated
28 Feb 2023
Contributed by Lukas
On this episode, we're joined by filmmaker Bill Teck to discuss some of his favorite moments of bittersweet love in the movies. Having made One Day Si...
Ep. 119 Swishbucklers
14 Feb 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Here it is. Our massive exploration of one of the most disreputable genres imaginable: The Swishbuckler. A loose collection of movies created in the...
Ep. 118 Crime Story
24 Jan 2023
Contributed by Lukas
In 1986, NBC debuted the series Crime Story, co-created by former Chicago cop Chuck Adamson and produced by hot-off-Miami Vice Michael Mann. The show ...
Ep. 117 Year In Review 2022
10 Jan 2023
Contributed by Lukas
All episodes of The Pink Smoke podcast are made available to Patreon subscribers a week before their general release. Hosts John Cribbs & Christopher...
Ep. 116 Funny Farm
28 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
"Nobody enjoyed having pie in the sky turn into pie in the face." Keenly aware of the 1988 Chevy Chase vehicle Funny Farm (the last movie directed by...
Ep. 114 Too Much Val Lewton
29 Nov 2022
Contributed by Lukas
We get high-vallewton* with Tim Quirk, longtime cinephile and frontman of one of The Pink Smoke's favorite bands, Too Much Joy. At the height of the p...
Ep. 113 The Indiana Jones Tetralogy
15 Nov 2022
Contributed by Lukas
On our massive new episode, hosts Christopher Funderburg and John Cribbs are joined by longtime friends of the show John Arminio and Bill Teck to disc...
Ep. 112 Audition & The Stepfather
31 Oct 2022
Contributed by Lukas
“Only pain and suffering will make you realize who you are.” A Halloween double feature! Hosts John Cribbs and Christopher Funderburg look at a p...
Ep. 111 Corpsepaint
28 Oct 2022
Contributed by Lukas
“I’ve looked into his eyes and seen the blackness of the beyond, the great nothing that waits for our warmth.” The podcast gets as metal as it ...
Ep. 110 Les Diaboliques
11 Oct 2022
Contributed by Lukas
“The chaste woman loves to contemplate dawn.” Hosts John Cribbs and Christopher Funderburg sit down to discuss Henri-Georges Clouzot’s masterpi...
Ep. 109 Surviving Desire
04 Oct 2022
Contributed by Lukas
“The trouble with us Americans is that we all want a tragedy with a happy ending.” Sophie won't tell anyone she's sleeping with her professor. He...
The Trial: Unfinished Masterpieces
21 Sep 2022
Contributed by Lukas
For this episode in our Patreon-exclusive series on Franz Kafka’s The Trial, we’re joined by Martin Kessler to discuss unfinished masterpieces, ov...
Ep. 108 Toronto International Film Festival 2022 Preview
08 Sep 2022
Contributed by Lukas
We’re back. After an extended Covid, malaise and illness-induced hiatus, John Cribbs & Christopher Funderburg return to the 47th annual Toronto Inte...
Ep. 107 The Hunter
06 Sep 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Parker, that stoic solo brute of independent career criminals, made his debut in the pages of Richard Stark's The Hunter 60 years ago. Stark (the pseu...
106.75 First Person: Wastebasket Taxon
30 Aug 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Host Christopher Funderburg is joined by critic & author Martin Kessler for the second of four episodes covering Errol Morris’ stunningly brilliant ...
Ep. 106.5 First Person: Likely Heroes
23 Aug 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Host Christopher Funderburg is joined by critic & author Martin Kessler for the second of four episodes covering Errol Morris’ stunningly brilliant ...
Ep. 106.25 First Person: Crime (Adjacent) Stories
16 Aug 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Host Christopher Funderburg is joined by critic & author Martin Kessler for the second of four episodes covering Errol Morris’ stunningly brilliant ...
Ep. 106.0 First Person: The Best And The Brightest
09 Aug 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Host Christopher Funderburg is joined by critic & author Martin Kessler for the first of four episodes covering Errol Morris’ stunningly brilliant d...
Ep. 105 A Choir Of Ill Children
02 Aug 2022
Contributed by Lukas
“I want to kill someone but everybody’s already dead.” Hosts John Cribbs and Christopher Funderburg sit down to discuss Tom Piccirilli’s grot...
Ep. 23 The Golden Gizmo
19 Jul 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Hosts John Cribbs & Christopher Funderburg discuss Jim Thompson's haltingly bizarre crime novel THE GOLDEN GIZMO, originally published in 1954 as part...
Ep. 104 Total Recall
12 Jul 2022
Contributed by Lukas
“You are what you do. A man is defined by his actions, not his memory.” Martin Kessler returns to take a trip down memory lane, joining John Crib...
Ep. 103 To Live & Die in L.A.
29 Jun 2022
Contributed by Lukas
In 1985, William "Hurricane Billy" Friedkin was back on the streets with the savage and illusive policier To Live and Die in L.A. Filmed with gritty p...
Ep. 102 Dersu Uzala
14 Jun 2022
Contributed by Lukas
“You just like children. Have eyes but don't see. You try live in taiga, soon dead.” We’re joined by illustrator and poster designer Tony Stell...
Ep. 101 The Lady Eve
31 May 2022
Contributed by Lukas
On this episode, The Pink Smoke welcomes back podcaster and physical media maven Brian Saur to bite into the succulent apple that is The Lady Eve. The...
Ep. 100 Captain Blood
17 May 2022
Contributed by Lukas
“It came to Mr. Blood, as he trudged forward under the laden appletrees on that fragrant, delicious July morning, that man - as he had long suspecte...
Ep. 29 Deep Is The Pit
03 May 2022
Contributed by Lukas
We're joined by Steven Sheil, co-curator of the Mayhem Film Festival, to discuss this fantastic 50's crime novel written by H. Vernor Dixon, a truly o...
Ep. 99 Star Trek V: The Final Frontier
26 Apr 2022
Contributed by Lukas
“Jim, you don't ask the Almighty for his I.D.” It’s something you didn’t dream was possible, the unlikeliest scenario in all the universe: fo...
Ep. 31 The Religion
16 Apr 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Hosts John Cribbs & Christopher Funderburg discuss the "voodoo" thriller that was adapted for the screen into John Schlesinger's The Believers as well...
Ep. 98 The Doomed City
05 Apr 2022
Contributed by Lukas
“The Experiment is The Experiment.” We’re joined by critic & filmmaker Martin Kessler to discuss the Strugatsky Brothers’ magnum opus, The Do...