{"podcast":{"title":"Critical Darlings","slug":"critical-darlings-7771666","podcast_index_feed_id":7771666,"rss_url":"https://feeds.megaphone.fm/THI7214278819","website_url":null,"image_url":"https://megaphone.imgix.net/podcasts/b70a2598-2185-11f1-9391-2f87e0e925cc/image/4c25862893adddea3f0c270dc90ba01c.jpg?ixlib=rails-4.3.1&max-w=3000&max-h=3000&fit=crop&auto=format,compress","author":"Blank Check Productions","episode_count":39,"summary":"Welcome to Critical Darlings: a podcast about the movies everyone is talking about, one new release after another. Every week, critics Richard Lawson and Alison Willmore cover the latest film driving the conversation—from big summer blockbusters to festival favorites, buzzy streamers, and major awards contenders. New episodes every Thursday. We’re a Blank Check Production! To catch up on our first miniseries covering the 2026 Oscars season, check out Blank Check on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen. Stick around on this feed for new episodes going forward. Produced by Benjamin Frisch Subscribe to Richard's newsletter, ⁠⁠Premiere Party,⁠⁠ and read Alison's work ⁠⁠at Vulture. Follow @blankcheckpod on ⁠⁠Twitter⁠⁠, ⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠, ⁠⁠Threads⁠⁠ and ⁠⁠Facebook⁠⁠!","last_synced_at":"2026-09-17T16:18:27.969877+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/critical-darlings-7771666"},"episode":{"title":"“Stop! That! Train!”, “Leviticus”, and Pride At The Movies (With Colin Drucker)","slug":"stop-that-train-leviticus-and-pride-at-the-movies-with-colin-drucker","published_at":"2026-06-25T08:01:00+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/critical-darlings-7771666/stop-that-train-leviticus-and-pride-at-the-movies-with-colin-drucker","show_page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/critical-darlings-7771666","url":"https://traffic.megaphone.fm/THI2569309356.mp3","audio_url":"https://traffic.megaphone.fm/THI2569309356.mp3","summary":"It’s Pride Week on Critical Darlings, and we’re joined by the co-host of the Alright Mary podcast (and Best Supporting Actress expert) Colin Drucker to break down two new wide-release gay movies: RuPaul’s spoofy Stop! That! Train! and the Australian conversion therapy horror film Leviticus. First, we discuss the delightful Stop! That! Train!, its performances, cameos, and various controversies including lying drag queens (funny) and AI visual effects (depressing). We also get into RuPaul and her legacy as both an artist and screen presence, and the incredibly fickle nature of the RuPaul’s Drag Race fandom and how they have received the film. In any case, she fun! Then, in a season rife with indie horror, Leviticus stands out for its brazen story of two queer teens in an industrial Aussie backwater. The metaphor of the movie, where a supernatural monster stalks gay teens in the guise of the object of their most beloved, feels audacious when most movies and TV are scared to acknowledge gay sexual desire on screen. Other sidebars include: mozzarella sticks, drag queen hairstylists, and mom hair. Next week, she’s super, AND she’s a girl? It’s Supergirl! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices","meta_description":"It’s Pride Week on Critical Darlings, and we’re joined by the co-host of the Alright Mary podcast (and Best Supporting Actress expert) Colin Drucker to br…","key_points":[],"chapters":[],"topics":[],"duration_seconds":5350,"processing_state":"not_requested","actions":[{"name":"request_transcript","method":"POST","url":"https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/critical-darlings-7771666/episodes/stop-that-train-leviticus-and-pride-at-the-movies-with-colin-drucker/transcription-requests","description":"Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode."},{"name":"read_markdown","method":"GET","url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/critical-darlings-7771666/stop-that-train-leviticus-and-pride-at-the-movies-with-colin-drucker.md","description":"Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource."}]}}