Popspotting

Over a year since the last podcast, the Popspotting feed crackles to life with a surprise Listener Edition submission from our good friends Anna (@echobase77) and Wendy (@bunnieslrnow). They're fellow podcasters from the golden age of "LOST," and today share their "feel good picks." With Jen quickly recovering from what will hopefully be her last procedure, this show was a very welcome treat.

Maggie Mack is a long-time podcasting friend and Thanksgiving Popspotting guest from Northern Virginia. In this Listener Edition, she shares another podcast worth checking out: PodQuiz. PodQuiz is a weekly trivia quiz podcast.

Two podcasters from the golden age of "LOST" come together to share five post-"LOST" picks in a new Popspotting Listener Edition. Anna (@echobase77) and Wendy (@bunnieslrnow) recommend The Booth at the End (on Hulu), Castaway on the Moon (on Netflix), Twin Peaks (on Netflix), Bone by Jeff Smith (on Amazon), and Five Year Mission.

Today, two good friends join forces to bring you yet another episode of "Popspotting Listener Edition." Listen in as Heath Solo (@HeathActor) of "The Film List" and musician Matt Murdick (@musicalconcepts) of the "Musical Concepts Podcast" discuss Aaron Sorkin's new HBO series "The Newsroom" and the BBC reboot of "Sherlock Holmes."

Maggie (@ilea02) and Jennifer (@jennielf) discuss both "Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter," and the latest Disney/Pixar film, "Brave."

Pete in Rockford, Illinois is a long-time contributing member of our podcasting family, and this week he steps forward along with his wife Laurie to contribute a special Popspotting Listener Edition. Today they chime in with their take on board games (Carcassonne, Settlers of Catan, and Ticket to Ride), a book series, and a summer blockbuster movie.

We're thrilled to have another Popspotting Listener Edition come in from overseas. Today, Josva in Norway recommendations three beloved European films. His picks are "District B13," "troubledWATER," and "Troll Hunter." They should be available for American listeners through Amazon.com.

This week's Popspotting Listener Edition comes from Rob Valois and Bryan Lipsitz of "The Geek Generation."

Paul Fox and Kevin Ma of "East Screen / West Screen" bring us our first international Popspotting Listener Edition, in which they each highlight two of their favorite Asian films from 2011 that are now available video in some form that will work in the U.S.

She's a mom of twins. A teacher of film students. An editor of videos. And a blogger of lots of stuff. She's Faith McQuinn (@fbeemcee), the latest generous contributor to the "Popspotting Listener Edition" series of shows. Her topic for this Easter Sunday? "Top Five Lost Gems of the '80s."

This week, the second Popspotting Listener Edition comes from Susan, Amelia and Chris of the Geek Girl Soup Em City podcast. While they usually focus on the TV show "Oz," for this special show they focus on comic book recommendations.

We kick off Feedback Friday with lots of great movie talk, including "Red Tails," a solid rebuttal of Jen's critique of "The Little Mermaid," and "Leon the Professional." Then we move on to some great book recommendations (including a solid endorsement of Chris Van Allsburg's work), and finally a few TV thoughts, from "Manor House" to "Garth Marenghi's Darkplace."

Today's PopTalk & Trivia Thursday guest is our youngest yet. Sierra (@writergirl2101) hails from Charleston, South Carolina, where she attends Academic Magnet High School, and is working on her senior thesis on supporting students with Asperger syndrome in schools. She's an advocate for LBGT issues and is active in other social causes, but she also indulges her more whimsical side on Tumblr.

We're long overdue for another music show. And it's been over five months since we've shared some of our favorite cover songs. So for Wildcard Wednesday, we count down five more great examples of talented artists reinterpreting the work of their fellow musicmakers.

For TV Tuesday we talk about two shows with unique twists. First, we review the pilot of "Awake," the new NBC series starring Jason Isaacs and created by Kyle Killen (Lone Star, The Beaver). Then we confess our love for "The Booth at the End," a web video serial by Christopher Kubasik.

We're back after an extra week off with a look at Disney's "John Carter," which opens March 9. It was one of the movies we said we were looking forward to in 2012... but one we were also a little worried about, given how ridiculous the trailers were. But with Edgar Rice Burroughs' sci-fi classic as a guide, and with Andrew Stanton at the helm, we were still on board. Add the handsome Taylor Kitsch on screen and the talented Michael Giacchino behind the score, and we simply couldn't miss it.

We wrap up the week with your takes on "Justified," "The River," and "Breaking Bad" on the tube, and "John Carter," "Hunger Games" and "Chronicle" on the big screen.

Today's PopTalk & Trivia guest is Mike from Virginia, a long-time "LOST" fan (his license plate is "STILOST") and Transmission listener (since October 2005) and a huge TV and music fan. His picks included Roger Waters' "The Wall Live" tour for 2012, "Music From the North Country: Jayhawks Anthology," and several female singer-songwriters: Shelby Lynne, Allison Moorer, Tift Merritt, Brandi Carlile, and Susan Greenbaum, a personal friend who just released her new album, "This Life."

For every good movie, a sequel is soon to follow. (For every bad movie, too, it seems.) So we revisit one of our favorite "Wildcard Wednesday" topics from last year. It's another "Flickchart Faceoff," in which we turn to everyone's favorite dangerously addictive movie site (made in Florida!) to set us up with a series of movie matchups. We then judge which is more worthy, likely revealing more of our ignorance and bad taste in the process. But that's okay. The best part is hearing from you exactly why we picked the wrong ones!

We shift gears and go a little art house this week as we check out a pair of films that took the film festival circuit by storm. First, "Meek's Cutoff," a sparse exploration of trust and survival off the Oregon Trail in the 1800s, based on a true story. Then, "Certified Copy," a day in the life of a man and a woman who may or may not have a history together.