Talking Pondo

From summer blockbusters to indie darlings, Talking Pondo celebrates the joy of watching, questioning, and occasionally roasting the movies that shape our lives.

Every week, hosts Clif Campbell and Marty Ketola sit down to swap movies and swap opinions. Each of them brings a film to the table and together they dig into what makes it work (or not). Sometimes, there's a guest!

Whether you’re a casual moviegoer or a die-hard cinephile, there’s always room more movie talk.

And yes, there will be spoilers!

Making Pondo is a discussion with Clif, Marty and a guest from one of their many productions.

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Talking Pondo

Talking Pondo: The Empire Strikes Back and The Right Stuff

December 08, 2025 • Clifton Campbell, Marty Ketola • Season 3 • Episode 26

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In this episode, Marty gives Clif the movie The Empire Strikes Back to watch and Clif gives Marty the movie The Right Stuff to watch.

This week on Talking Pondo, Marty and Clif dive into a double feature: the unaltered Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back and the epic aviation drama The Right Stuff.

From space chimps and Wampa attacks to the bleak brilliance of early-80s filmmaking, the guys break down why Empire still defines modern sci-fi and how The Right Stuff captures the birth of American spaceflight. They dig into deleted scenes, production quirks, the evolution of special effects, Yoda puppetry, Han-and-Leia chemistry, and why 1983 was such a weird, magical year for movies.

It’s film analysis mixed with nostalgia, overthinking, mild confusion, and emotional support Wampas. Classic Pondo chaos.

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