The Substance
The Substance

The Substance

The Substance Team

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A podcast starting conversations that aim to help us all better appreciate Goodness, Truth, and Beauty. Engaging the culture without the Culture War™. Kansas City based! Socials: www.facebook.com/thesubstancepod www.twitter.com/thesubstancepod www.instagram.com/thesubstancepod Support: Click the button below, or you can hit us up on the Cash App at $thesubstancepod

Recent Episodes

189: Substantive Cinema | In the Mouth of Madness feat. simi.views
NOV 4, 2025
189: Substantive Cinema | In the Mouth of Madness feat. simi.views
"Do you read Sutter Cane?!" We're back in your feeds with another underrated banger from one of the all time Masters of Horror™. John Carpenter's In the Mouth of Madness is an absolute thrill ride and since Arrow Video has released what we hear is a gorgeous new 4K we figured it was time talk about one of his best (and most slept on) movies.We are excited to be joined by Derrick (simi.views on all the socials) for his first appearance on the show as he's beginning to really get into Carpenter's work. When we just saw him log this highly on Letterboxd we thought this was a perfect fit and we weren't wrong as this was a wonderful conversation!On this episode we discuss:Our journeys so far with Carpenter's workPhysical media we have been enjoying latelyThe state of film scholarship in the age of social mediaHow JC's less is more approach to showing the overt horrors here was so effectiveSam Neill's perfect castingThe power of the film despite its memeificationHow Carpenter's work feels more powerful year after yearand MORE!Substantive Cinema Episode ListShoutouts:Tsukamoto Box SetKotokoCloudThe CatBreathe In, Bleed OutTakeout (Tubi, sponsor the show!)Follow Derrick:TikTokInstagramLetterboxdFollow Us:⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Threads⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Philip's Letterboxd⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠BlueSky⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Share Your Questions/Suggestions/Feedback With Us:Email: [email protected] on InstagramSupport Us: Support the show with an individual donation on CashApp to $TheSubstancePod or become a monthly Patreon supporter at patreon.com/TheSubstancePod
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76 MIN
188: Substantive Cinema | The Amusement Park feat. Dale_A
NOV 2, 2025
188: Substantive Cinema | The Amusement Park feat. Dale_A
We are back! Had big plans for Spooky Season this year but health, vehicle nonsense, family, and general exhaustion at the state of things in the US had other plans. It was an absolute pleasure talking with Clark Collis about his new book Screaming and Conjuring on the last episode and to follow it up we've brought back an incredible guest and we're diving back into the work of one of the undisputed Masters of Horror™. A few years ago we covered Romero's debut film and foundational masterpiece The Night of the Living Dead with Filmspotting's Josh Larsen. Romero's Dead movies are something we'd like to revisit sometime here at The Substance but today we're looking at a long hidden gem from early in his career that only recently became widely available, The Amusement Park.Commissioned by The Lutheran Society of Western Pennsylvania as a PSA on the perils of aging in America (especially as a non wealthy White), Romero decided to boldly make the project his own and instead of an after school special with talking heads discussing the difficulties that our senior neighbors face, he turned in something surreal and terrifying. With minimal dialogue the film conjures up the horrors of aging in an individualistic capitalist society: steep economic cost, difficulties with transportation, not being taken seriously by the general public, red tape accessing medical care, predatory assisted living facilities, and more. It's not a fun time but it's a visceral experience and one that stirs up questions worth asking related to what we owe to our more elderly neighbors. And we are delighted to be joined by Dale_A from the Bat & Spider podcast. Next time we have him back for something more uplifting!Substantive Cinema ListShoutouts:John Carpenter soundtracksTrue Indie by Don CoscarelliBat & Spider Episode #250 Phantasm ExtravaganzaOne Cut of the DeadFollow Dale:InstagramBat and Spider PodcastFollow Us:⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Threads⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Philip's Letterboxd⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠BlueSky⁠⁠⁠⁠Share Your Questions/Suggestions/Feedback With Us:Email: [email protected] on InstagramSupport Us: Support the show with an individual donation on CashApp to $TheSubstancePod or become a monthly Patreon supporter at patreon.com/TheSubstancePod
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81 MIN
187: Screaming and Conjuring feat. Clark Collis
OCT 13, 2025
187: Screaming and Conjuring feat. Clark Collis
Happy Spooky Season, all! We're kicking off our October programming this year with a bang and covering two of our favorite things: horror movies and beautiful hardcover books.Clark Collis is a British entertainment journalist and a long time senior writer for Entertainment Weekly along with being a regular contributor to other outlets covering film. He's also a life long horror fan. Modern horror cinema is in a fascinating place and in his new book, Screaming and Conjuring, Clark charts the period of horror cinema that immediately preceeds our current time (from Scream to The Conjuring) to chart the course of how we got here and what we may expect going forward. In our conversation we cover:The life of an entertainment journalist when that was a valued positionClark learning about Tommy Wiseau's The Room on a day trip with Tim & EricThe BFI library's impressive Fangoria collectionHow the DVD boom was big business (and a precurser to many film podcasts)"Is horror finished/back?"Familiar vs Fresh in relation to horror premisesDon Coscarelli and the lovely legacy of PhantasmLionsgate becoming the horror powerhouse of the aughtsMeeting the real Warrens & Annabelleand MORE!Substantive Cinema Episode ListBuy Clark's books!You've Got Red on YouScreaming and ConjuringShoutouts:Shaun of the DeadThe DescentBarbarianWeaponsThe Chucky seriesFollow Clark:InstagramEntertainment WeeklyFollow Us:⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Threads⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Philip's Letterboxd⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠BlueSky⁠⁠⁠⁠Share Your Questions/Suggestions/Feedback With Us:Email: [email protected] on InstagramSupport Us: Support the show with an individual donation on CashApp to $TheSubstancePod or become a monthly Patreon supporter at patreon.com/TheSubstancePod
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90 MIN
186: Substantive Cinema | New York, New York feat. Jim Hemphill
SEP 24, 2025
186: Substantive Cinema | New York, New York feat. Jim Hemphill
Martin Scorsese's Taxi Driver & Raging Bull are widely considered two of the best films of their era that were made in America. He and Robert DeNiro were a powerhouse creative team and they're still considered one of the all-time great collaborations in the history of the medium. This makes it curious that the film that they made together in between these monumental classics, 1977's New York, New York, has been largely forgotten and left out of the conversation.We're seeking to remedy that with our episode this week and we are happy to be joined by film enthusiast and historian Jim Hemphill. Jim has loved the film since he saw as a young film student and he brings some wonderful and personal insights to the discussion. In the episode we cover:Why directors and actors are often poor judges of their own workJim's early days in LA and getting to meet folks like Samuel Fuller, Billy Wilder, Budd Boetticher, and Blake EdwardsThe power of laserdiscs (and physical media in general) to develop and nurture generations of movie loversMarty's balance of strengths in having the talents of a classical studio director alongside the passions of an independent auteur The fact that NYNY may be Scorsese's only film (beyond his "faith trilogy") where the protagonist experiences genuine growthAnd more!Buy New York, New York Limited Edition Blu-RaySubstantive Cinema Episode ListJim's IndieWire article on NYNYBlu-ray Commentaries with Jim and his wife: The Golden Child and Navy SealsShoutouts:The Smashing MachineOne Battle After AnotherDexter: ResurrectionFollow Jim:InstagramIndieWireFollow Us:⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Threads⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Philip's Letterboxd⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠BlueSky⁠⁠⁠Share Your Questions/Suggestions/Feedback With Us:Email: [email protected] on InstagramSupport Us: Support the show with an individual donation on CashApp to $TheSubstancePod or become a monthly Patreon supporter at patreon.com/TheSubstancePod
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69 MIN