Pop Culture Happy Hour: 'Get Out' and 'The Americans'

You've probably read by now at least a little bit about Jordan Peele's well-reviewed and very commercially successful horror movie Get Out. And many of you, I'm sure, have seen it. With the film a couple of weeks into its run, we thought it was the right time to sit down with Gene Demby and Kat Chow from Code Switch (while Stephen Thompson was out of town) to talk about this very, very creepy movie. The structure of the conversation is that the first half is pretty unspoiled — we talk about the premise and the opening stretch, but not about the reveals that come later about what's actually going on and what's driving the lead character's discomfort. In the second half — after a solid warning, we promise — we spoil the whole thing and talk about what the resolutions in the story mean about its unsettling social commentary.

In our second segment, we finally get around to a full discussion of The Americans, just as it returns to FX for a fifth (and penultimate) season. We talk about the performances, the tension, the Russians, and — yes, at least a little — the wigs. Please note: we don't spoil anything that hasn't aired, but we assume you've seen it up to now.

We close the show, as always, with what's making us happy this week. Glen is happy about a "fish out of water comedy" he says is not quite what you might expect. Gene is happy about a project from a familiar figure you might remember from a past episode, and about a new podcast that goes in search of a familiar figure. Kat is happy about a show that's taking an interesting direction and a book she's enjoying. And I am happy about the return of a podcast and the second book in a fictional universe I like very much.

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