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Pop Culture Confidential

Pop Culture Confidential

Conversations at the intersection of movies, television, and pop culture.
Hosted by Christina Jeurling Birro, this podcast delivers candid interviews with filmmakers, actors, creators, and cultural tastemakers, plus festival and awards-season coverage, reviews, and in-depth explorations of the stories shaping what we watch and why it matters.


Recent

548
Oct. 16, 2026

548: ‘You Can See Everything’ .... You’ve Never Seen Anything Like It. Christina Birro & Ryan McQuade Review

It’s the film event of the year! Thirty-four days before she’s sent to prison, Elizabeth Holmes invites Nathan Fielder to move in with her. The result is You Can See Everything, Fielder and Lance Oppenheim’s masterful, riveting, mind-bending documentary about the Theranos founder. Christina Birro and Ryan McQuade dig into Holmes’s elusive nature, the filmmaking, the film’s potential to make Oscar history, and much more. Be warned: spoilers ahead!
547
Oct. 10, 2026

547: We Talk The Social Reckoning (Guest: Critic Jorge Tenreiro)

Freelance critic Jorge Tenreiro joins Christina to dig into The Social Reckoning, Aaron Sorkin’s follow-up to The Social Network. The film stars Mikey Madison as Facebook whistleblower Frances Haugen and Jeremy Allen White as Wall Street Journal reporter Jeff Horwitz, with Jeremy Strong as Mark Zuckerberg. Jorge, who is a litigator, also weighs in on some of the interesting legal questions at the heart of the story. Follow Jorge Tenreiro on Instagram @⁠awards_predix⁠
546
Oct. 3, 2026

546: Dispatch from NYFF. Behemoth! + Digger Talk (with Ryan McQuade)

In this dispatch from the New York Film Festival 2026, Christina and Ryan McQuade (AwardsWatch) dig into the festival's Centerpiece film, Tony Gilroy's Behemoth!, starring Pedro Pascal. Plus, Digger talk!
545
Oct. 1, 2026

545: A Conversation with Palme d'Or–Winning Director Cristian Mungiu (Fjord)

A special episode of Pop Culture Confidential! Christina had the honor of interviewing Cristian Mungiu, director of the Palme d'Or film Fjord. In a wide-ranging conversation, they discuss the film, the themes that run through his body of work, the conversations Fjord has sparked, and much more. Recorded live on stage following a screening in Stockholm, Sweden, September 2026.
544
Sept. 21, 2026

544: Chris Rosen (The Ankler) Joins Us to Talk TIFF, La Bola Negra, Fall Films, and the Oscar Race!

Toronto just wrapped, closing out the fall festival trio of Venice, Telluride, and TIFF, and the Oscar picture is starting to come into focus. This week, Christopher Rosen (deputy editor at The Ankler, co-host of the Prestige Junkie podcast) joins the show to break it all down. We dig into TIFF winner La Bola Negra, the sensation that had the festival buzzing, plus Martin McDonagh's Wild Horse Nine (which won John Malkovich Best Actor at Venice) and Simon Stone's Telluride/TIFF drama Elsinore st
543
Sept. 8, 2026

543. Mini Review: Nathan Fielder's Elizabeth Holmes Doc "You Can See Everything". Telluride Film Festival Dispatch

Nathan Fielder and Lance Oppenheim's documentary "You Can See Everything" about Elizabeth Holmes blew the roof off the Telluride Film Festival at its secret screening. Christina sat down with Jay Ledbetter and Ryan McQuade of the Director Watch podcast (AwardsWatch) to process the experience!

Recent Blog Posts

Jan. 20, 2026

Christina’s 2026 Oscar Nomination Predictions!

Christina’s 2026 Oscar Nomination PredictionsWith Oscar nominations landing Thursday, here are my final predictions!
 
 
Best Picture:
 
One Battle After Another
Sinners
Hamnet
Marty Supreme
Sentimental Value
The Secret Agent
Frankenstein…