Best Joey Lewandowski Podcasts (2025)

1
Are You My First? | Life in the Fast Lane #54 1:02:23

13h ago1:02:23

1:02:23

It's Life in the Fast Lane Time, and we're kicking things off with Tokyo Drift Minute 20 and a newfound respect for Twinkie. After talking about the wares he has for sale, Joe takes a Hostess snack cake quiz. We then check in on Vin Diesel's Instagram and find that he has cooled (way) off since our last check-in. Are we going to be in Sung Kang's n…

1
Change of Habit (1969) 1:12:11

6d ago1:12:11

1:12:11

It's the season finale of Viva Pod Vegas as we've finally arrived at Elvis Presley's final film: Change of Habit! After getting over the fact that we're concluding on another late-career Elvis movie that isn't really starring him, we talk about the "Queen of Comedy" moniker, this film's surprising cinematographer, and what level of respect this mov…

1
Bullet to the Head (2012) 1:20:41

8d ago1:20:41

1:20:41

Fan favorite Garrett Smith returns to the podcast to talk about Sylvester Stallone, Sung Kang, and Jason Momoa in Walter Hill's Bullet to the Head! After talking about "hard" Stallone vs. "soft" Stallone, Garrett lends some much-needed Walter Hill-related context. We try to make sense of the tone of this movie and what it's trying to do, before ask…

1
cheat and show me your face by danielle chelosky 37:50

13d ago37:50

37:50

our danielle chelosky module kicks off with a pair of chapbooks that she self-published: cheat and show me your face. (it’s our first-ever “two books in one podcast” episode, and we do our best to keep ’em separated.) we talk about how both titles are very sexual and sexualized, but almost devoid of joy and not at all sexy, by design. we explore th…

1
Europe in the Summer. What a Beautiful Place. | Life in the Fast Lane #53 1:14:38

15d ago1:14:38

1:14:38

We're back for another Life in the Fast Lane, and what could be better? Europe in the Summer. What a Beautiful Place. We kick things off with the Tokyo Drift Minute, wherein Joe explains Japanese high school lunch service. Then, in a shocking turn of events, we re-order the Fast Lane agenda (again) to move right into Running the VIN as we enter eve…

1
season fifteen theme and reading list 6:11

20d ago6:11

6:11

we’ve done it. we’ve closed the big account, ghostbusters-style, and landed another author focus module. this time, we’re talking about the work of danielle chelosky. we discuss other authors whom we’ve spoken with who have praised her work and what we believe we can expect from her work. shreds describes how we will put together questions for her …

1
F9 (Lap 15) 1:28:14

22d ago1:28:14

1:28:14

We’re heading to Montequinto and Edinburgh (and a few places in between) to talk about F9 with Dr. Alicia Kozma! After Alicia tells us about her academic approach to F&F (and how she uses it in her teaching and programming work), we learn about her introduction to the Fast and the Furious, and we get a new style/form of rankings. Joey teases a seri…

1
ohio by stephen markley 57:41

27d ago57:41

57:41

we’re closing out our ohio module with ohio by stephen markley, who honored us by naming this book after our module. we talk about the impact of the title and writing about where you’re from, how the deluge serves as somewhat of a retroactive pre-read for this book, and how markley is one of the best social realist authors of our time. we talk abou…

1
Family Vacations with My Brother, The GOAT, Michael Jordan | Life in the Fast Lane #52 1:12:11

29d ago1:12:11

1:12:11

It's time for another Life in the Fast Lane, and we're talking about Family Vacations with My Brother, The GOAT, Michael Jordan! First, though: a Tokyo Drift Minute with a transition to Sean at school (and a new actress whose filmography we can explore). While there's no real news, Vin continues to post through it. As we Run the VIN (happy birthday…

1
Southland Tales (2006) 1:16:40

1M ago1:16:40

1:16:40

We're finally talking about Southland Tales, the first-ever Dwayne Johnson (not "The Rock") movie, and we're joined by Resident Historian Mike Manzi! After trying to parse the dense and complicated narrative in this movie, we talk about the critical reaction to the film as well as why this doesn't feel like a bomb/spectacular failure. Mike talks ab…

1
outside in by doug cooper 52:29

1M ago52:29

52:29

our ohio module continues with outside in by doug cooper and some “ohio facts” (island facts?) about the town of put-in-bay. after learning about island culture in ohio — we want to go so bad — we talk about an inciting incident that the novel does not reflect on at all, how shep shows no signs of darkness at all (and no flaws), and our issues with…

1
Fast & The Shirtless: my thespian father just loves the chemistry | Life in the Fast Lane #51 1:18:16

1M ago1:18:16

1:18:16

It's Life in the Fast Lane! Welcome to the Fast & The Shirtless: my thespian father just loves the chemistry. (It'll all make sense in time, or not.) In our Tokyo Drift Minute, we finally get to Noodle Grandma -- but leave with mysteries and AI hallucinations. We cover lots of news, including the biggest Fast and Furious news in months: Vin Diesel'…

1
Hobbs & Shaw (Lap 15) 1:06:09

2M ago1:06:09

1:06:09

We’re returning to the Fastiverse’s side story, Hobbs & Shaw, and we’re bringing Ross Benes (1999: The Year Low Culture Conquered America and Kickstarted Our Bizarre Times) along to talk about it! We ask how he defines “low culture” in his book, then ask the hard-hitting question: is Fast and Furious low culture? Ross shares his abbreviated history…

1
The Trouble with Girls (1969) 1:02:49

2M ago1:02:49

1:02:49

It's time for The Trouble with Girls: a good title that does not describe its action at all and, sadly, Elvis's penultimate film. After getting some more advice about what to cover next, we run through the film's wild cast and lament how almost none of the many high profile actors spend any time interacting with one another. We also talk through th…

1
omensetter's luck by william gass 40:10

2M ago40:10

40:10

our ohio module keeps on truckin’ with both a pop quiz about the state and a discussion of omensetter’s luck by william gass. we talk about the difficulty in reading the novel (and how the first two sections sort of fake you out a bit), what william gass is “doing” in this text, and why regional writing tends to be set back in time. shreds explains…

1
Three-Time Undisputed Optimistic Theatrical Experience Champion | Life in the Fast Lane #50 1:28:04

2M ago1:28:04

1:28:04

It’s time for another Life in the Fast Lane, featuring the Three-Time Undisputed Optimistic Theatrical Experience Champion! After a very uneventful Tokyo Drift minute, we work our way through lots of news, which is mostly tangential to the franchise, including: some cool YouTube videos, upcoming movies starring the Family, and a weird takedown by C…

1
Fastivus Special 2025 15:59

2M ago15:59

15:59

Happy Fastivus! For the third year in a row, we celebrate the date that marks the release of the original The Fast and the Furious. Shoutout to Reaction Rocket for creating the holiday -- and for getting retweeted by Ludacris! After quick recapping the rules for the Fast and Furious Hall of Fame ballot and voting process, we recap the enshrined ind…

1
the bluest eye by toni morrison 48:05

2M ago48:05

48:05

our ohio module kicks off with a known quantity: the undeniably great debut novel from toni morrison, the bluest eye. after briefly reflecting on the states so far, we talk about famous people from ohio as well as whether the bluest eye feels specific to ohio. we talk about its thematic ties to ryan coogler’s sinners, as well as the text’s generati…

1
Striking Distance (1993) 1:07:45

2M ago1:07:45

1:07:45

Shout-out to the 412 — we’re covering Striking Distance this week in honor of Pittsburgh. After finally explaining the pick and why we’re covering it now, Joe reviews the movie’s Pittsburgh bona fides. We discuss Bruce Willis as Tom Hardy, Sarah Jessica Parker as “a baddie,” and Tom Sizemore as the film’s most egregious red herring. We break down t…

1
season fourteen theme and reading list 11:05

3M ago11:05

11:05

it’s time for another card drawing on lottery pod, and even though we don’t say it in this episode: suck shit, sufjan stevens. after we struggle to remember which states we’ve already covered, we make picks and predictions for both the states that we’re most excited about and the states we think will come up in the drawing. (spoiler: shreds is almo…

1
... Great Value Theatrical Experience ... | Life in the Fast Lane #49 1:29:53

3M ago1:29:53

1:29:53

It's time for a ... Great Value Theatrical Experience ... in Life in the Fast Lane #49! We start off by discussing Tokyo Drift's fifteenth minute, with a deep dive into "Woman at Boswell's Apartment," played by Yoko Maki. We then move on to the news, including: is Fast X Part 2 actually about to start filming? The Rock is teaming up with A24 once a…

1
open water by caleb azumah nelson 34:51

3M ago34:51

34:51

we’re closing out our second-person module with one of our strongest books yet: open water by caleb azumah nelson. after talking about the pitt (and the mount rushmore of tv), we talk about the lack of irony in open water and the way its naturalistic style makes you forget it’s written in second-person. we talk about the way nelson writes about med…

1
The Fate of the Furious (Lap 15) 1:15:29

3M ago1:15:29

1:15:29

We welcome Alex Steed (You Are Good: A Feelings Podcast About Movies) to the show to talk about The Fate of the Furious! We learn about Alex's history (from afar) with the Fastiverse, which leads to an immediate question: where'd that baby come from? We talk about how the movies exist in a time and place where driving is still a centerpiece of cult…

1
Charro! (1969) 48:25

3M ago48:25

48:25

We have made it to 1969, the final year of Elvis Presley's film career, and we're kicking things off with Charro! This means we have just two movies to go, but we may have finally accomplished something special: did we finally find a good tagline? We talk about how Charro! is a movie featuring no songs (other than the title/theme song) sung by Elvi…

1
Megalopolis (2024) 1:30:57

3M ago1:30:57

1:30:57

We pledge allegiance to our human family, and to all the species that we protect, and to Francis Ford Coppola's Megalopolis! Joining us is Mark Hofmeyer (Movies, Films & Flix). First, we must begin by apologizing how hard this is to find and watch -- we explain why. We work our way through the twisted history of Megalopolis and Coppola's history of…

1
a man asleep by georges perec 30:49

3M ago30:49

30:49

our penultimate book in the “you” module is a man asleep by georges perec, which is a return to form as it’s once again french as hell. we talk about how it compares to suicide by édouard levé and the malady of death by marguerite duras, as well as the refreshing nature of variation in the module. shreds talks about the other short story in the col…

1
You Sign Your Mother's Day Painting with That Name? | Life in the Fast Lane #48 1:14:57

3M ago1:14:57

1:14:57

It’s time for another Life in the Fast Lane, and at long last, we’ve made it: today is the seventh. It’s Tokyo Drift Minute #14, and it’s time to explore who Major Boswell (Brian Goodman) is. Also: Joe has a new thought on the seventh debate. Also: the 2 Fast 2 Forever Hall of Fame voting is now open! Vote here. We Run the VIN and discover that he’…

1
D.E.B.S. (2004) 1:15:42

4M ago1:15:42

1:15:42

Leesa Charlotte (Sweetbitter Podcast) returns to the show to talk about Jordana Brewster and Devon Aoki in D.E.B.S.! After Lisa gives us a brief history of gay cinema, Joey talks about Holland Taylor in Bosom Buddies. We admire Jordana Brewster as the villainous Lucy Diamond (especially her lip syncing scene) in a role that finally lets her have fu…

1
the night circus by erin morgenstern 41:59

4M ago41:59

41:59

our “you” module is winding down, so it feels like the perfect time to cover a book that shouldn’t be in the module at all: the night circus by erin morgenstern. first, though, we talk about the film magazine dreams (with heavy spoilers): what makes it a mess, what went wrong, and how shreds would have ended the movie. then, we pivot to the night c…

1
Please... #FuelFest | Life in the Fast Lane #47 52:51

4M ago52:51

52:51

It's time for another Fast Lane, and this one comes with potentially lore-changing implications. Please... We kick things off as Joey messes up -- and catches himself -- and then messes up again -- and doesn't notice until he edited the episode. Joe tells a story about accidental Pittsburgh pride in Tokyo. We confirm a long-suspected mystery about …

1
Live a Little, Love a Little (1968) 1:04:25

4M ago1:04:25

1:04:25

Viva Pod Vegas returns with Live a Little, Love a Little -- Elvis's third and final film from 1968, and one of his most fun to date! After reading some emails suggesting things to cover in our near future -- and asking if Elvis love dogs more than anything else -- we run through the film's six (!) taglines, which Mike finds issue with. We talk abou…

1
Furious 7 (Lap 15) 1:07:19

4M ago1:07:19

1:07:19

Jordan Polan-Clarke returns to the show to talk about Furious 7 (and the narrative complexity added to the franchise by this movie)! After talking about how a Star Wars-esque scroll could work to abbreviate this film's opening, we look this film up on RunPee and wonder what Deckard has against hospitals and emergency wards. Jordan shares her favori…

1
the diver's clothes lie empty by vendela vida 46:46

4M ago46:46

46:46

shreds continues to physically fall apart on our latest episode as we talk about the diver’s clothes lie empty by vendela vida. joey rejoices as we finally hit a book this module that he loves, and we wonder if there’s a module we can built around the central element in this novel that he loves. we talk about how young and modern this novel feels, …

1
ha ha ha... how do i turn this thing off | Life in the Fast Lane #46 1:06:45

4M ago1:06:45

1:06:45

It's time for another Fast Lane, and, you're not gonna believe this, but ha ha ha... how do i turn this thing off. We kick things off with Tokyo Drift's twelfth minute, including (possibly, unlikely) a new debate. It was a quiet couple of weeks for news, but we had plenty of VIN to Run, including: calculating Vin's payment-per-word for Groot as wel…

1
Timeline (2003) 1:12:00

4M ago1:12:00

1:12:00

It's time to cover another Paul Walker movie we missed, this time with the help of Brian Rodriguez (Twilight Slumber Party): Timeline -- featuring Brian O'Conner in the middle ages! After discussing the adaptation debacle of Michael Crichton's novel, we talk about the Fastnections (Brian Tyler and... John Cena?) before diving into our frustrations …

1
how like a god by rex stout 41:34

5M ago41:34

41:34

our episode about how like a god by rex stout starts with joey immediately killing one of shreds’ bits, setting a vibe. after talking about dave “storyteller” grohl, we talk a lot about shakespeare (including whether hamlet is required reading) before shreds gives this podcast our “ian mckellen on wtf” moment. we talk about how this feels like a ph…

1
Dos Bandoleros | Life in the Fast Lane #45 1:21:35

5M ago1:21:35

1:21:35

It's an exciting time on 2 Fast 2 Forever, as Vin Diesel has teased a new short film, directed by him, which our community (shoutout Randy Carter) has dubbed Dos Bandoleros. Before we talk about what we think and hope that film will contain, we talk about the eleventh minute of Tokyo Drift, which brings past guest of the show Lynda Boyd into our mi…

1
The Fast & The Furious: Tokyo Drift (Lap 15) 1:30:54

5M ago1:30:54

1:30:54

We’re joined by Cody Brown (Studiohouse Designs) to talk about The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift — and how it pushed him toward cars! In talking about Cody’s history with the franchise, we all share memories of bringing grandparents to movies they otherwise had no interest in. Cody explains why Suki is his favorite character and talks about wha…

1
the malady of death by marguerite duras 34:26

5M ago34:26

34:26

the malady of death by marguerite duras is likely the shortest text we’ve covered on the main feed so far. like suicide last week, it’s also european as all hell. after celebrating the 100th book covered on our show, which we missed, we pivot into the malady of death. horny module alert! we explore the mystery behind this book’s publication, try to…

1
Speedway (1968) 1:12:43

5M ago1:12:43

1:12:43

Happy tax season! Viva Pod Vegas returns with Speedway, which features an almost unbelievable main storyline for Elvis. After running through the film's taglines, we talk about how Bill Bixby continues to sully his reputation and how good Elvis looks (and acts!) in this movie. We begin to understand why people condescendingly said "just number Elvi…

1
The Mayan Queen and Scarlett | Life in the Fast Lane #44 1:11:57

5M ago1:11:57

1:11:57

We're back with another Life in the Fast Lane, and this one is all about the Mayan Queen and Scarlett (whoever they may be). After a Tokyo Drift minute that teaches us a new word, we parse some likely false rumors for Fast 11 and look at the goofs from Fast & Furious 6, which includes an IMDb user bringing proof and facts to the world's longest run…

1
Knockaround Guys (2001) 1:05:59

5M ago1:05:59

1:05:59

Brian Rodriguez returns to the podcast to talk about Knockaround Guys -- and to tell the backstory behind one of our podcast network's great untold sagas. (This time, he's in front of the paywall -- and has to bite his tongue accordingly.) We talk about how Knockaround Guys exists within a very specific era of mobsters, mob movies, and public fasci…

1
suicide by édouard levé 39:32

6M ago39:32

39:32

the next book in our second-person module is suicide by édouard levé, which kicks off a mini-module of shorter writing that is also european as hell. after discussing a gem of a film we discovered on the criterion channel, we talk about suicide‘s up-ending afterward and the manipulation found within the text. we discuss suicide as the defining mome…

1
Vin Diesel's Evolution Through the Ages: Art, Film, & Revolution | Life in the Fast Lane #43 1:07:31

6M ago1:07:31

1:07:31

We're here for another Life in the Fast Lane as we track Vin Diesel's evolution through the ages across art, film, and revolution. First, though, we discuss a minute from Tokyo Drift that is exciting to watch but difficult to research and look at a preview for Universal's new F&F rollercoaster. We then luxuriate in nine new Run the VIN posts (in ju…

1
Fast & Furious 6 (Lap 14) 1:23:35

6M ago1:23:35

1:23:35

We welcome back Aaron Neuwirth (2 Black Guys Talk Godzilla) to talk about his new podcast, Fast & Furious 6, and the future of the Fast franchise! We ask: which Godzilla movie is the most Fast & Furious? How is Fast & Furious 6 is like Avengers: Age of Ultron (complimentary)? Who gets the “with” and “and” credits in these movies? Does a California …

1
bright lights, big city by jay mcinerney 47:51

6M ago47:51

47:51

welcome back to the penn badgley module. today’s episode is the most “normal” book we’ve read in a while: bright lights, big city by jay mcinerney. we talk about the novel’s deadpan humor, whether it feels tied to the 1980s, and how the main character ends the book while still sort of spiraling. we explore the current irony of a plot about fact-che…

1
Stay Away, Joe (1968) 1:14:18

6M ago1:14:18

1:14:18

Viva Pod Vegas returns with Stay Away, Joe, which is the lowest-rated movie of Elvis’s career. Is it as bad as we were led to believe? Yes… and no! After Mike sifts through shoddy taglines to try to find one he approves of, we debate whether watching these movies more quickly would help or hurt us. Mike works his way through a theory about Burgess …

1
Find Your Bear Country... | Life in the Fast Lane #42 1:08:31

6M ago1:08:31

1:08:31

We return to Bear Country with another Life in the Fast Lane and another minute driving through Shangri-La in Tokyo Drift, where Joe talks about Victorville, Calif. and Arizona oil. We watch (twice, accidentally) the Haagen-Dazs Super Bowl commercial and talk about a live Fast & Furious-related event in NYC. We Run the VIN and continue to learn who…

1
Pleasantville (1998) 1:08:11

6M ago1:08:11

1:08:11

We welcome Jordan Polan-Clarke back onto the show to talk about Paul Walker's ascent into stardom in Pleasantville! (This movie is a real bummer to watch right now.) We talk about the history of toilets in movies and try to parse what color represents in this movie (spoilers: we don't know because this movie doesn't know, either). We talk about Ple…

1
if on a winter's night a traveler by italo calvino 46:05

6M ago46:05

46:05

our next second-person novel is if on a winter’s night a traveler by italo calvino, which features an all-time great first chapter. before we talk about the novel, though, we simply must talk about the season 5 trailer for “you.” we then talk about incarnations of the text’s “gimmick” in other mediums, whether this is a “horny book for dudes,” and …

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