The Freshman Fifteen is a film discussion podcast in which, each season, we highlight the freshman films of fifteen notable directors.
Episode 37: Steven Soderbergh's SEX, LIES and VIDEOTAPE
sex, lies, and videotape (1989) · Jun 1, 2026
Special Episode: OSCARS 2026 (with Jeff Jensen & Friends)
Oscar's (2026) · Mar 9, 2026
Bonus: Jeff Jensen's Holdovers Essay
The Holdovers (2023) · Mar 10, 2024
Episode 35: Taika Waititi's EAGLE vs SHARK
Eagle vs Shark (2007) · Oct 1, 2023
Episode 34: Judd Apatow's THE 40-YEAR-OLD VIRGIN
The 40 Year Old Virgin (2005) · Jun 15, 2023
Conversation: THE APOLOGY with director Alison Star Locke
The Apology (2022) · Dec 19, 2022
Interview: WHY DID YOU KILL ME? with director Fred Munk
Why Did You Kill Me? (2021) · May 31, 2021
Episode 33: Alexander Payne's CITIZEN RUTH
Citizen Ruth (1996) · Apr 15, 2021
Bonus: Who Shot Nice Guy Eddie?
Reservoir Dogs (1992) · Feb 16, 2021
Episode 31: Quentin Tarantino's RESERVOIR DOGS
Reservoir Dogs (1992) · Feb 15, 2021
Episode 30: Martin Scorsese's WHO'S THAT KNOCKING AT MY DOOR
Who's That Knocking at My Door (1968) · Nov 15, 2018
Episode 27: Zack Snyder's DAWN OF THE DEAD
Dawn of the Dead (2004) · Aug 15, 2018
Episode 26: J.J. Abrams' MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE III
Mission: Impossible III (2006) · Jul 15, 2018
Episode 25: Michael Bay's BAD BOYS
Bad Boys (1995) · Jul 1, 2018
Episode 21: Christopher Nolan's FOLLOWING
Following (1999) · Mar 15, 2018
Episode 20: David Lynch's ERASERHEAD
Eraserhead (1977) · Feb 15, 2018
Episode 19: Terry Gilliam's MONTY PYTHON AND THE HOLY GRAIL
Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1975) · Jan 15, 2018
Bonus Episode: Tim Burton's BATMAN
Batman (1989) · Dec 18, 2017
Episode 18: Tim Burton's PEE-WEE'S BIG ADVENTURE
Pee-wee's Big Adventure (1985) · Dec 15, 2017
Episode 17: Ridley Scott's THE DUELLISTS
The Duellists (1977) · Nov 15, 2017
Episode 16: Terrence Malick's BADLANDS
Badlands (1974) · Oct 15, 2017
Episode 15: Stanley Kubrick's FEAR AND DESIRE
Fear and Desire (1953) · Mar 15, 2017
Episode 14: Errol Morris' GATES OF HEAVEN
Gates of Heaven (1978) · Feb 15, 2017
Episode 13: Spike Jonze's BEING JOHN MALKOVICH
Being John Malkovich (1999) · Feb 1, 2017
Episode 12: Sofia Coppola's THE VIRGIN SUICIDES
The Virgin Suicides (2000) · Jan 15, 2017
Episode 11: Paul Thomas Anderson's HARD EIGHT
Hard Eight (1997) · Dec 15, 2016
Episode 10: Wes Anderson's BOTTLE ROCKET
Bottle Rocket (1996) · Dec 1, 2016
Episode 09: Kevin Smith's CLERKS
Clerks (1994) · Nov 15, 2016
Episode 08: George Lucas' THX 1138
THX 1138 (1971) · Nov 1, 2016
Episode 07: Danny Boyle's SHALLOW GRAVE
Shallow Grave (1994) · Oct 15, 2016
Episode 06: Baz Luhrmann's STRICTLY BALLROOM
Strictly Ballroom (1992) · Oct 1, 2016
Episode 04: Sam Mendes' AMERICAN BEAUTY
American Beauty (1999) · Sep 1, 2016
Special Episode: BACK TO SCHOOL
Back to School (1986) · Aug 25, 2016
Episode 03: Steven Spielberg's DUEL
Duel (1971) · Aug 15, 2016
Episode 02: Rob Reiner's THIS IS SPINAL TAP
This Is Spinal Tap (1984) · Aug 1, 2016
Episode 01: The Coen Brothers' BLOOD SIMPLE
Blood Simple (1985) · Jul 15, 2016