WHAT’S IN YOUR NERDHAT? Each year the RiverRun International Film Festival features special screenings for the whole family to enjoy. This year Richard took all four of his junior Nerdhatters to experience the "Films with Class: Elementary School" screening at the Reynolds Place Theatre. Afterwards he sat down in the grass at a local park to talk with them about their favorite animated shorts from the program. Their selections? - "Blu's" (2025, RedGod Studios) - "Sunspark" (2026, ...

WHAT’S IN YOUR NERDHAT? "Fentanyl overdose is the number one cause of death for 18–44-year-olds. Fentanyl can be as inexpensive as a cigarette and more than 100 times more powerful than morphine. As overdose rates rise and stigma persists, THE HOTLINE is not just a story about crisis—it's a story about listening. Grounded in real-world harm reduction efforts, THE HOTLINE is a film about connection in the darkest moments, the power of empathy, and the quiet heroes working in the shadows ...

WHAT’S IN YOUR NERDHAT? The dark comedy thriller "Over Your Dead Body" was the Centerpiece screening at the 2026 RiverRun International Film Festival. We had a chance to sit down with actor Keith Jardine, who plays Todd in the film, to talk about his experience working on set with director Jorma Taccone and actors Jason Segel, Samara Weaving, Timothy Olyphont, and Juliette Lewis. https://www.imdb.com/title/tt34685692/?ref_=nv_sr_srsg_0_tt_7_nm_1_in_0_q_over%20your%20dead%20b *The vi...

WHAT’S IN YOUR NERDHAT? On day 2 of the RiverRun International Film Festival, we sat down with filmmaker @willthwaites to discuss the documentary film @crimeandparody which he wrote, directed, filmed, and co-edited. "Crime + Parody" begins with an account of Anthony Novak's legal conflict with his local police department in Parma, Ohio and expands to cover the story of another Ohio resident, Omar Arrington Bay, whose encounters with law enforcement ultimately led to his death. Along the way, ...

WHAT’S IN YOUR NERDHAT? Timothy Cooper reached out to us leading up to last year's RiverRun International Film Festival. He was our first official interview. This past week he came back on the podcast to share how "Knead," the short film he wrote and directed and which played at RiverRun last year, has faired. He also talked about an upcoming short film for which he wrote the screenplay, "Rock, Paper, Destiny." Watch "Knead" on the Omeleto Channel: https://youtu.be/gkvTQzMRrIw?s...

WHAT’S IN YOUR NERDHAT? T.J. Sandella, the co-writer and co-director of the feature film "Battersea," which played at the 2025 RiverRun International Film Festival, came back on the podcast to share how the film has faired since we last spoke. Learn More About Battersea: https://www.tjsandella.com/battersea Learn More About T.J.: https://www.tjsandella.com/ *The views and opinions expressed by guests do not necessarily represent the views and opinions of the Nerdhat podc...

WHAT’S IN YOUR NERDHAT? This past week Richard had the privilege of sitting down for a conversation with Michael Morin, the new Executive Director of the RiverRun International Film Festival. Michael hails from California, where he grew up loving both music and movies, though music was his first love. After attending Junior college and film school in California, he began the first phase of his multi-faceted career which saw him touring with bands, filming concerts, and, ev...

WHAT’S IN YOUR NERDHAT? In honor of Women's history month, we are re-releasing two interviews originally recorded following the 2025 RiverRun International Film Festival. The first is with Yvonne Chan, MD. Phd. who came to RiverRun to promote the short film "We Are Kings," in which she played Jeri, the mother of the film's protagonist. The second interview is with Danielle Goldwert, whom Will and Richard met following the screening of her animated short, "Waterlogged." Learn More abou...

WHAT’S IN YOUR NERDHAT? This week's episode is dedicated to the memory of Ken Best, who passed away in March of 2025. In addition to teaching his son Richard how to play basketball in real life, he also took the time to sit down and play games like this one with his son (whom he always tried to defeat!). What games did you play with your fathers? Did they introduce you to sports? Did they kick your ass in NBA Jam (or perhaps let you kick theirs?). :et us know in the comments. ...

WHAT’S IN YOUR NERDHAT? We continue our celebration of 4 years making the Nerdhat podcast by sharing stories and clips from some of our favorite episodes. We also share the top 4 most popular episodes of all time (as of March 4th), including a clip from the most popular episode to date. Can you guess what it is? Let us know in the comments if you guessed correctly. *The views and opinions expressed by guests do not necessarily represent the views and opinions of the Nerdhat podcast ...