2016 was incredible for us at NetFlakes. Readership and listenership has grown by leaps and bounds and, more importantly, it seems like we’re on our way to our goal of connecting cool people through conversations about pop culture.

So allow us to indulge for a moment to take a look back at the 10 most popular episodes of The NetFlakes Podcast released this year. In case you missed them, check out the episodes by clicking on the title entries or by finding them in your podcast feed. You can find us on iTunes here or clicking our feed link should tell other podcast apps what to do.

10. Pee-wee’s Big Holiday

Guest: Rob MacDougall from Hold My Order, Terrible Dresser and academia

Hosts: Dylan Clark-Moore & Caroline Diezyn

Whether he’s queer or quirky, there’s no question that Pee-wee Herman is an icon. Rob helped us unpack the character, the state of children’s entertainment, and the fall and rise of Paul Reubens.

9. Barton Fink

Guest: Roozbeh Showleh from Runout Records and The Heavy Early Show

Host: Dylan Clark-Moore

Memories and nostalgia are at the forefront when we talked about Barton Fink‘s stereotypical 1940s Hollywood, the struggles of an artist outside his depth, and what it was like to see naked ladies on film for the first time… ’cause we’re classy like that.

 

8. It Follows

Guest: Filmmaker Jason R. Gray

Host: Dylan Clark-Moore

Sure, it’s a movie about a sexually transmitted demon but it’s also about how the real mark of adulthood is confronting your own mortality.

 

7. Heathers

Guests: Deanne Kondrat, Ian Baxter, and Vanessa Brown from Brown & Dickson

Host: Dylan Clark-Moore

In a bonus, sponsored episode, we got the chance to tackle Heathers and talk about the cruelty of high school, the importance of dark-humoured camp, and the incredible sex appeal of Christian Slater.

 

6. Jaws

Guests: Jeremy Hobbs & Victor Liorentas from Retro-mania at the Hyland Cinema

Host: Dylan Clark-Moore

I mean, it’s Jaws. Who doesn’t love Jaws? We went deep, talking about everything from the score to the legacy of the film to the movie’s really bad hats. Another fine reason to tune in is that about 25% of it is done with a damned fine Quint impression.

 

5. Ex Machina

Hosts: Dylan Clark-Moore and Caroline Diezyn

This may be my (Dylan’s) personal favourite episode of the year. I’m sure I tested Caroline’s patience as I continued to not understand their read that the guys in the movie were representative of toxic, Gamergatey masculinity but by the end of it, I had a whole new appreciation for the film and a new perspective on myself.

 

4. Adventures in Babysitting

Guest: Deanne Kondrat

Host: Dylan Clark-Moore

It’s always a nostalgia trip when Deanne drops in and Adventures in Babysitting was no different. We got the chance to talk about poorly-dated slurs, Daryl’s sex addiction, and one of the best opening credit sequences ever.

 

3. The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers – Extended Edition

Hosts: Dylan Clark-Moore and Caroline Diezyn

Guest: Chris de Hoog

Nearly every character gets their time in the spotlight when we break down The Two Towers. This includes, but isn’t limited to discussions on how awesome Arwen and Aragorn are compared to the useless dirt-farmers from Rohan.

 

2. The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo

Hosts: Dylan Clark-Moore and Caroline Diezyn

This discussion was a stark lesson in triggering, PTSD, and the use of sexual violence as a plot device.

 

1. Beyond the Black Rainbow

Guest: Mike Grasso from Hold My Order, Terrible Dresser, The Whole Shebang: The Minute-by-Minute Velvet Goldmine Podcast, and We Are the Mutants

Host: Dylan Clark-Moore

Among the most obscure movies we’ve ever covered, Beyond the Black Rainbow is the attempt of a director to remember, capture, and present his imagination as an adolescent in the 80’s. It’s certainly a trip, as was the experience of talking about it.

And there you have it, the most popular podcast episodes of 2016. Next year promises to be even bigger and better so stay tuned. After all, you ain’t streamed nothin’ yet.

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Caroline Diezyn is a podcast co-host and blogger at NetFlakes, and a PhD student, writer, and artist in London, Ontario. You can find them on Letterboxd and Twitter.

Dylan Clark-Moore is a podcast creator and blogger at NetFlakes. You can find him on Letterboxd and Twitter.