Boomer Has It!
Two writers, two cities, two opinions on culture and politics from a boomer perspective. Veteran creatives JB Miller and Jim Gialamas, reporting from London and New York, offer up a surprising take on a world going somewhere on a handbasket, if not a steamer trunk. All aboard.
Jim Gialamas is a writer and former journalist, widely acknowledged as the cultural mayor of Williamsburg, Brooklyn. JB Miller is an author, playwright, and former New Yorker now haunting cafes in southwest London. Drawing on their transatlantic dispatches, they meet here to figure out what the flip is going on.
Episodes
24 episodes
Two New Yorkers Who Lived Through 9/11
A quarter century after the 9/11 attacks on the World Trade Center, Jim and JB, who were in New York on that day, share their thoughts and memories. What was the city like in the aftermath? How popular were the two towers? How did President Geo...
Why Can’t Woody Allen Escape the Past?
Welcome to a masterclass in film criticism from Boomer Has It! Today, JB and Jim are putting the spotlight on Woody Allen. From his early just-for-laughs comedies and tributes to European directors to the 90-year old’s new movie, to be filmed i...
What the Royal Heck Are Harry and Meghan Thinking?
When Harry and Meghan left the UK six years ago, the press labeled it "Megxit." Since then, Prince Harry has publicly aired grievances about his family, fought ongoing security battles, and faced millions in court costs after losing high-profil...
The Craft Behind the Controversy: Actor Reed Birney on Queer Thriller "Blue Film"
Blue Film might be the most controversial movie of 2026. On this episode of Boomer Has It!, co-star Reed Birney joins us to discuss building the thriller's intense craft alongside Kieron Moore, collaborating with writer-direct...
Michele Wucker: How AI Journalism Flunked the Fact Check
What happens when a storied business publication covers your work with the “help” of AI? Risk educator and best-selling author Michele Wucker joins us to share what happened when her work became the subject of an AI-enabled reporting experiment...
Hunter Biden Bites Back!
Carrying on a tradition of troublesome First Family members, Hunter Biden is no exception. Drugs, broads, influence peddling, and an abandoned laptop — it was catnip for the right wing media. Lately he’s been responding to his critics with a co...
Is this the Most Violent Book of the Year?
Five outcasts, a fallen angel, and the muddy trenches of World War One — all in a single, long sentence. Jim and JB review this year’s Pulitzer Prize-winning novel Angel Down by Daniel Kraus. Do we salute? Or do we fire it into No Man’s Land?
The Odyssey Reviewed!
It’s the biggest film of the year, adapted from a story that’s in the public domain…because it’s almost 3,000 years old! This week, Jim and JB dive into Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey—the latest epic from the master of the very long, ...
Are Movies Back?
When we were all addicted to staying home and watching streaming TV, the fear was that the pictures had gotten “small,” just as Gloria Swanson claimed in “Sunset Boulevard” (1950). But with boffo box office returns, will 2026 be the year they g...
Should Democrats Recapture the Flag? Thoughts on Patriotism
Samuel Johnson may have called patriotism the “last refuge of a scoundrel,” but what’s wrong with being proud of your flag? Many on the left will give you a mouthful of reasons, allowing the right to co-opt national pride. Progressive designer ...
What Happened to Empathy?
While traveling by car on any U.S. interstate, you might encounter a bumper sticker that reads, “Nobody cares about your feelings.” The phrasing was a misinterpretation of a quote by Ben Shapiro who declared “Facts don’t care about your feeling...
Get Thee to A Comedy! Here's Our Top 5
It’s been a dour year so far, so Jim and JB have some comedy film suggestions to help everyone get through the summer. The remit was to each list his top 5, which turned out to be near impossible, so both have honorable mentions. The choices go...
Has MAGA Culture Peaked?
It's not enough that MAGA controls all three branches of government, it wants to control the culture too. But what exactly is MAGA culture? Your favorite Boomer aesthetes trace the Republican cultural revolution, covering movies and TV, music, ...
Is Male Friendship in Crisis?
Dude Desert? Guy Gridlock? Brocopalypse? A 2025 Gallup study revealed a disproportionate 25% of young American men suffering from severe daily isolation. JB and Jim trace the cultural evolution of male bonds—from the post-WWII "strong, silent" ...
Crime Novelist Charles Salzberg on Why We Can’t Get Enough
Why has crime (true and fictional) seized the culture? From books, plays, docs, features, series, and podcasts, crime is on a spree. This week Jim and JB talk to veteran crime novelist Charles Salzberg (author of the popular Swann series) about...
Luigi Mangione: Folk Hero or Villain?
What does it mean to be a "folk hero?” While figures like Robin Hood and Paul Bunyan once inspired ideals, like wealth redistribution and frontier progress, today’s larger-than-life characters carry the scent of cynicism. Jim and JB trace the e...
How Bad Was Queen Elizabeth II?
As the UK commemorates the late Queen’s centenary and King Charles is scheduled to visit the US, Jim and JB discuss whether maybe the late Liz maybe wasn’t such a great queen after all, leaving a right royal mess in her wake. Was it all due to ...
“Lost Lambs” Reviewed
This week Jim and JB shepherd readers through “Lost Lambs,” a buzzy new book by 29-year-old New York writer Madeline Cash. Will they be sheepish to suggest how much they like it? Or is celebrating Lost Lambs just following the flock? (Okay, I’l...
Will the Andrew Scandal Take Down the Royals?
The Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor scandal has been a huge story in the UK, with the first royal arrested since King Charles I was taken into custody and beheaded in 1649. Andrew’s prospects look better than that, but not by much. He’s lost his man...
MAGA Midterm Malpractice
Was James Carville right? In 2025, he argued that the best Democratic strategy was to just "play possum" and let the Republicans self-destruct. This week, Jim and JB take stock of the GOP’s unforced electoral errors, the 'property portfolio' fu...
Mad Men Is Back!
Mad Men is Back!Twenty years after studio executives rejected it, Mad Men is finally on HBO. Much to its chagrin, the cable network passed on the groundbreaking series, which debuted on the second-tier network AMC on 2007 and went...
Good riddance Washington Post?
March 1, 2026Good riddance to the Washington Post? The Washington Post has been a DC institution for 149 years, but is it time to say goodbye? Since Jeff Bezos took over, WaPo has suspended presidential endorsements, ...
Where is the counterculture?
In the 1960s, there was a clear counterculture to the political upheavals of the time, led largely by music, but also by key novels such as “Catch-22” and “Slaughterhouse-5,” despite being written by representatives from an older generation who...