We Can't Go to the Movies Right Now, So Get Your Fix with These 13 Movie Podcasts

Host Karina Longworth has the meticulously researched, incredibly engrossing movie history podcast of your dreams. You Must Remember This interrogates the forgotten histories of Old Hollywood, both on and off the screen. The podcast dives beneath the carefully crafted, studio-produced images to try to find out the sometimes unbelievable truth.

Listen to You Must Remember This now.

It's a classic but a good one. Filmspotting is currently hosted by cofounder Adam Kempenaar, alongside Josh Larsen. The format allows for some flexibility, so you might get reviews of new releases alongside playful "top five" or "top 10" lists, interviews, and in-depth retrospective. For a broad-strokes film podcast that touches on a little bit of everything, this is your best bet.

Listen to Filmspotting now.

It's not affiliated with Roxane Gay's iconic book, but the Bad Feminist Film Club certainly carries on the spirit of complicated modern feminism. Kelly Kauffman and Sarah Barson look at new films and past releases through a feminist lens. It's not about "cancelling" movies that don't stack up but more about engaging in conversations about what works, what doesn't, and where the film industry can go next.

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Girls on Film is straightforward and to the point. It's similar to other broad-coverage movie podcasts, covering reviews, analysis, interviews, and so on, but with a major catch: it's all from women's perspectives. The podcast, hosted by Anna Smith, aims to open up the critical establishment to voices outside the traditional, long-esconced "older white dude" critics. Guests include major names in the industry, and popular topics of discussion include films that do or don't pass the Bechdel test and diversity on and off screen.

Listen to Girls on Film now.

We've all got those movies we can't stop rewatching. The Rewatchables, hosted by Bill Simmons and a rotating roundtable of guests, focuses each episode on a beloved — though not necessarily iconic — movie and breaks down the rewatching experience. With humor and affection, the hosts take deep dives into their personal experiences with the movies, talking about rewatchable moments and their own evolution as viewers.

Listen to The Rewatchables now.

Backed by Focus Features, ZOOM has an unusual but intriguing premise: using a movie as the starting point to "zoom in" and investigate some other theme, whether it be royalty, aliens, science, or many more. Hosted by Amy Nicholson, the podcast dives into even the smallest details, interviewing experts and talking through plenty of trivia. You'll learn something without even meaning to!

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It's hard enough to get female critical voices hard, and that goes double when it comes to the voices of Black women. That's where Black Girl Film Club comes in. Hosted by Britney Brinson and Ashley Ayer, the podcast includes new releases along with older movies, discussing them through an unusually (and deeply engrossing) personal lens. It's the perfect intersection of personal experience and film analysis.

Listen to Black Girl Film Club now.

Titled after the question we've all asked ourselves at least once, How Did This Get Made? is a hilarious, but never mean-spirited, look at the most comically bad cinematic experiences. A trio of actors (Paul Scheer, June Diane Raphael, and Jason Mantzoukas) host this delightfully irreverent podcast, in which they poke fun at terrible movies and try to figure out what the thought process behind making them could have possibly been.

Listen to How Did This Get Made? now.

You can't talk about movies without talking about award season, and Next Best Picture has a refreshing, breezy, but thoughtful take on new releases, old award winners, and more. The NBP team talks through industry buzz, major releases, best-of lists, and then some, all with an easy and accessible vibe that's never stuffy. And, as a bonus for movie buffs who love theater, too, the podcast has a recurring miniseries that focuses on the best of theater, often looking at how it intersects with the world of movies.

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If you're looking for the humor of How Did This Get Made? but in reverse, Unspooled is for you. Instead of analyzing bad movies, Paul Scheer and Amy Nicholson revisit the movies considered to be all-time greats. As they rewatch and reevaluate each one, they discuss what got them icon status in the first place, how they hold up, and how they were made.

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Don't let the title fool you: Scriptnotes is not just for writers. Writers John August and Craig Mazin do spend a lot of time giving advice on screenwriting and dissecting even the smallest details of scripts, but they do so in a way that's accessible and fascinating, whether you're penning the next Oscar winner or not. Their expertise shines through as they talk through the real, nitty-gritty news on how the film industry really works, and they even have a regular segment where they offer critiques on listeners' own screenplays.

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With its attention-grabbing title, you might expect Black Men Can't Jump (In Hollywood) to be an incisive look at race in Hollywood. And you'd be right! But what you might not guess is that this podcast is superfunny, too! James III, Jerah Milligan, and Jonathan Braylock (all alumni of the Upright Citizens Brigade) tackle heavy issues with an unflinching gaze and sharp-tongued humor.

Listen to Black Men Can't Jump (In Hollywood) now.

We've all seen movies like this: huge buzz at the start, based on the creative team or the cast or the trailer or the concert. Then the movie comes out . . . and the reaction is decidedly less than the expected accolades. Hosts Joe Reid and Chris Feil talk through some of Hollywood's biggest letdowns and try to figure out just where they went wrong

Listen to This Had Oscar Buzz now.