Special Topics in Media

Special Topics in Media Studies is a lecture-based podcast that tackles media history one artifact at a time. Each season of the series we will investigate a different mass media theme, medium, or programming genre. While our focus is educational (it is an academic podcast after all), we tailor our conversations toward a broad audience of media enthusiasts.

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Special Topics in Media

2025 Summer Movie Season - May

August 19, 2025 • Garret Castleberry • Season 10 • Episode 15

The Special Topics in Media event "2025 Summer Movie Season" expands with a deep dive into the major releases of May! Kyle Hammonds joins host Garret Castleberry to assess the technical start to summer. The rhetorical reviewers chart their May moviegoing, and make the ultimate case for what went horribly wrong with Mission: Impossible - The Final Reckoning.

Hosts: Garret Castleberry, Kyle Hammonds

Producers: Garret Castleberry, Will McMurry (Audio Engineer), Alli Garner (Cover Art), Austin Foster (Music)

Recommended Screenings (Garret): Thunderbolts*, Kingdom of Heaven (rerelease)

Recommended Screenings (Kyle): Clown in a Cornfield

Ontological Obstacles (Garret & Kyle): Final Destination: Bloodlines, Lilo & Stitch, Mission: Impossible - The Final Reckoning

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Garret's academic website is available at https://garretcastleberry.academia.edu/.