The Afternoon Special Podcast

The Afternoon Special

Bobbi Miller | QCODE
Your friend who knows just a little bit too much about pop culture. Each week, join Bobbi Miller as she takes deep dives into everything in pop culture that you never knew to ask about, but now need the answer to. “I started The Afternoon Special as a series of videos on TikTok to keep me sane in the beginning of the pandemic. Soon, I decided to take my pop culture love to podcasts and The Afternoon Special Podcast was born,” says Bobbi Miller, host and creator of the show, which was chosen as the Apple Podcasts' Spotlight pick for March 2023. Bobbi, who describes herself on the show as “your friend who know just a little bit too much about pop culture” takes her audience on an eclectic deep dive of topics that range from adult animation to vampires in media, and what makes the perfect holiday special.  “The main approach I have when deciding topics for the show begins with the question of ‘What’s a pop culture question that you didn’t know to ask, but now you’re dying for the answer to?’ and then the episode is born from there,” she says. Bobbi has great ambitions for the show, but ultimately, she wants to keep it enjoyable for both herself and the audience. “I hope the show will continue to expand into other formats like listen-alongs or live shows,” she says. “No matter what, I just want to make sure the show remains fun. I hope the audience always walks away from each episode either having learned something new or just having had a good time.”
2000's How The Grinch Stole Christmas is a Year Round Film
This week's episode is The Afternoon Special podcast's midseason finale and we're spending it by pleading with you for 30 minutes that you should watch 2000's How The Grinch Stole Christmas year round. Perhaps the best episode yet. See you in February 2024 for the second half of season 5! Happy New Year! ~~ Follow the show on  Instagram: @theafternoonspecial Tik Tok: @theafternoonspecial Twitter: @hiimbobbi Email the show at [email protected] ~~ Afternoon Special is brought to you by QCODE.  To advertise on the show, contact us! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Dec 20, 2023
39 min
Snoopy: Gen Z's Animated Antidepressant
The days are getting shorter. The wind is getting a biting chill to it. Life can start feeling bleak around the holiday season and being frank, I know Seasonal Affective Disorder is kicking major ass right now.  In this dark hour, we need a hero. A hero to save us all. And who know that hero would come in a little black and white mute beagle with the alias Joe Cool, or more commonly known as Snoopy. If you’ve been on any social media site, there’s been a bit of a uptick in Snoopy related content of all kinds. Merch hauls, edits, literally anything with Snoopy at the center of it.  With most of us watching A Charlie Brown Christmas in the next week, I thought we’d take a deep dive into Snoopy, the world of Peanuts, and get to the core of what makes them effective depression ward offs.  ~~ Follow the show on  Instagram: @theafternoonspecial Tik Tok: @theafternoonspecial Twitter: @hiimbobbi Email the show at [email protected] ~~ Afternoon Special is brought to you by QCODE.  To advertise on the show, contact us! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Dec 13, 2023
29 min
Why May December is the Sleeper Hit of the Year
Last Friday, one of the best films of the year dropped on Netflix. From director Todd Haynes and starring Julianne Moore, Nathalie Portman, and Charles Melton, MAY DECEMBER was a film that was only somewhat on my radar and now I haven’t been able to stop thinking about it. It's easily in the top 3 films of the year. This will be a spoiler review so if you’re remotely interested in seeing the film, GO WATCH IT and then come back here to listen.  ~~ Follow the show on  Instagram: @theafternoonspecial Tik Tok: @theafternoonspecial Twitter: @hiimbobbi Email the show at [email protected] ~~ Afternoon Special is brought to you by QCODE.  To advertise on the show, contact us! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Dec 6, 2023
59 min
Irony is Killing Rom Coms
This week’s episode was born out of conversation being had on Twitter. The topic at hand was around why rom coms don’t really feel like rom coms anymore with our irony obsessed culture being the main culprit. We yearn for the days of classic films like When Harry Met Sally or even newer picks like To All The Boys I've Loved Before, an earnest rom com that didn't need to wink and nod to the audience that it was rom com. And that got the wheels of my brain turning. Has irony killed our ability to enjoy an honest rom com? Is an aversion to the cinema’s take on love a sign of our own qualms with love? Were rom coms of the past in need of a fix and this is the answer?  This week, we’re going to get to the bottom of this problem with the modern day rom com. ~~ Follow the show on  Instagram: @theafternoonspecial Tik Tok: @theafternoonspecial Twitter: @hiimbobbi Email the show at [email protected] ~~ Afternoon Special is brought to you by QCODE.  To advertise on the show, contact us! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Nov 29, 2023
44 min
Scott Pilgrim is a Loser and I Can Prove It (Missed Connections)
With the newest edition to the Scott Pilgrimverse, Scott Pilgrim Takes Off, premiering on Netflix, I thought I'd finally right a wrong and watch 2010's Scott Pilgrim vs. the World (I know). This week, in a new series (that may only have one episode, you know me) that I'm calling Missed Connections, I look back on Scott Pilgrim with fresh 25 year old eyes and give you my thoughts! ~~ Follow the show on  Instagram: @theafternoonspecial Tik Tok: @theafternoonspecial Twitter: @hiimbobbi Email the show at [email protected] ~~ Afternoon Special is brought to you by QCODE.  To advertise on the show, contact us! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Nov 22, 2023
37 min
Are The Looney Tunes Going to Save Hollywood?
When you think about Hollywood royalty, you may think about legacy studios or starlets of yesteryear, but when I think about Hollywood royalty, I think about characters and one group of characters that are the epitome of tinseltown nobility is the Looney Tunes.  The Tunes of Loon have been in the news a lot recently with the shelving of the live action/animation hybrid film, Coyote vs. Acme by Warner Bros. and this week, we are taking a brief walk through the history of the Looney Tunes, why Hollywood doesn’t know what to do with them, and why they’re so important.  ~~ Follow the show on  Instagram: @theafternoonspecial Tik Tok: @theafternoonspecial Twitter: @hiimbobbi Email the show at [email protected] ~~ Afternoon Special is brought to you by QCODE.  To advertise on the show, contact us! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Nov 15, 2023
45 min
The Curious Case of Betty Boop
Betty Boop. She’s a pop culture icon. She’s recognized the world over for either her signature curls, her signature catchphrase (boop oop be doop), or the fact that she can be found on merch for almost every roadside attraction in America. No matter where from, you know Betty. But who is she? Well, she is the subject of a bit of controversy in recent years on her origins and this week, we’re going to dive into it. ~~ Follow the show on  Instagram: @theafternoonspecial Tik Tok: @theafternoonspecial Twitter: @hiimbobbi Email the show at [email protected] ~~ Afternoon Special is brought to you by QCODE.  To advertise on the show, contact us! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Nov 1, 2023
35 min
It's Alive!: A Brief-ish History of the Movie Monster
Not too long after the invention of film, filmmakers began finding ways to put common emotions to the big screen. Happiness in comedies, sadness in dramas, love in romance. And of course, fear in horror.  Horror films hold an important space in film history and is a genre that oftentimes uses a disguised placed mirror to society to source scares. And one disguise used is the movie monster. Creature features, if you will.  Beasts, mummies, lab grown monsters, aliens, and vampires have been terrifying (and/or arousing) audiences for decades and this week, we’re taking a look into a brief-ish history of the movie monster. ~~ Follow the show on  Instagram: @theafternoonspecial Tik Tok: @theafternoonspecial Twitter: @hiimbobbi Email the show at [email protected] ~~ Afternoon Special is brought to you by QCODE.  To advertise on the show, contact us! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Oct 25, 2023
36 min
A Dish Best Served Scary: A Look At How Food Can Scare Us in Film
A lot of what scares is centered around consumption, especially in horror movies. Zombies eating our brains. Demons eating our souls. Werewolves eating our flesh. Vampires drinking our blood. So it makes sense that food holds a really interesting place in films intended to terrify us.  This week, we’re taking a look into how food is used to scare us in film. Unlike previous food episodes we’ve done, you might want to listen to this one on an empty stomach.  ~~ Follow the show on  Instagram: @theafternoonspecial Tik Tok: @theafternoonspecial Twitter: @hiimbobbi Email the show at [email protected] ~~ Afternoon Special is brought to you by QCODE.  To advertise on the show, contact us! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Oct 18, 2023
28 min
The Kids Don’t Know Their Pop Culture History
Across social media, there have been discussions of Gen Z's pop culture knowledge (or according to some, lack thereof). Thousands of videos and posts claiming that the young generation is not aware of pop culture history and this week, we're going to unpack these claims, decide if they're true, and understand where they come from. WARNING: millennial slander may be heard in episode. ~~ Follow the show on  Instagram: @theafternoonspecial Tik Tok: @theafternoonspecial Twitter: @hiimbobbi Email the show at [email protected] ~~ Afternoon Special is brought to you by QCODE.  To advertise on the show, contact us! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Oct 11, 2023
36 min
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