This may be the longest, most jam-packed edition of CulturePop yet, and Melinda and I would like to think there’s a little something for everyone here. First up, we talk to Laura Michalchyshyn, Robert Redford’s producing partner and an Emmy nominee for their project, “All the President’s Men Revisited,” a documentary exploring the Watergate scandal that brought down President Nixon We talked about Watergate, Ben Stein’s on-camera tears and why all need to be good citizens. Then, we switched gears and Melinda and I talked about pop culture. As much as we’ve loved talking to Emmy nominees this month, we simply couldn’t ignore Miley Cyrus, could we? Thus, we give you our very first supersized CulturePop! Here’s the rundown:
1:30 Laura Michalchyshyn talks to us about the focus of the documentary and how it came together
4:15 We discuss what the recent release of more Watergate tapes meant to the doc.
5:55 Laura tells us about talking to the players in the Watergate scandal.
7:00 Laura explains how the doc is a celebration of long form journalism.
7:45 We talk about Robert Redford’s influence.
8:40 Have we learned from Watergate? Does what’s happening today with Wikileaks mean we’re repeating history?
9:00 Laura reveals who declined the invitation to be interviewed (not a shocker).
12:05 Laura shares a Nixon Library anecdote.
12:55 We discuss the moment when Ben Stein breaks down crying in the documentary.
14:15 Extra credit materials on Discovery.com!
15:55 We talk about Bradley Manning and Edward Snowden through the lens of Watergate.
19:00 Have things changed since Watergate? Yes and no.
22:00 Being a good citizen — and why we need to be.
25:10 Watergate as the greatest detective story ever
29:00 The Big 4 meeting — and how it became a part of the film.
31:00 Her next project (which you may have already seen).
34:05 After signing off with Laura, we get down to business. Time to talk about Miley Cyrus!
35:20 I know, foam finger was in the original video, but still gross.
39:00 Is Lady Gaga over? No, but we agree she made a misstep.
42:30 We discuss “The Real Housewives of New Jersey” and why Teresa and Joe’s problems may be too much.
47:15 Melinda brings up Paula Deen, and I think neither of us really cares if she comes back to TV or not.