Prompts: Wound, 1300, Walnut

Wow! We are 10 episodes away from 100. Crazy that we've come this far and we cannot thank YOU, the listener, enough!

On this week's episode Neal is battling an oncoming migraine from the huge weather shifts (that have given him six days of migraines) and Lauren coins the best description of it ever. Hint: It's the title. After a little catch-up, the episode goes full speed.

Lauren starts with The Side Wound of Christ (Prayer Book of Bonne of Luxembourg) and discusses how the side wound wasn't just artwork, but was used for deep devotion and carried unexpected erotic and queer interpretations which have since challenged modern assumptions of medieval beliefs. Lauren's lesson shows us that the Middle Ages were actually full of complex, layered thinking about gender and were far from the “dark ages” stereotype we see in popular media.

Neal goes to the 1300s, but in film form, and breaks down The Seventh Seal the highly regarded film from arguably Sweden's greatest filmmaker, Ingmar Bergman. Here, Neal talks about Swedish cinema, the behind-the-scenes magic, and filming perhaps the most famous chess scene of all time that itself, was inspired by a piece of artwork! And he surprises Lauren with that fact.

Next Week's Prompts: Hell, Gray, Baby Blue, 106

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This week’s prompts: Bathing Suit, Mint Green, 1964

This week, Lauren and Neal kick things off by reading YOUR suggestions for open-house names and Neal comes up with a million dollar idea for a book villain that he may or may not use. Only time will tell. The pair then talk about movies that turn your brain off, and Neal recounts trying to watch a Jason Statham movie in six minute increments.

To start the episode off, Neal takes the reigns and uses 1964 and bathing suit to talk about the creation and evolution of the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue from its beginnings as a January filler to becoming a billion-dollar cultural juggernaut. He talks about the first cover mode, the female editor who helped build the franchise and make it a household name, the controversies, and of course, the supermodels the magazine minted.

Lauren picks up the conversation with a deep dive into Rudi Gernreich, the Austrian-born American designer whose fashion inspired social critique. Gernreich is perhaps best known for the topless monokini but throughout all of his work, saw clothing not just as style, but a way to challenge repression, rethink gender, and push modern fashion. Lauren details his refugee background and anatomical eye to his futuristic unisex looks and even talks about the unforgettable, very real, pubikini. And yes, it's what it sounds like.

Thank you to all our patrons for your support. We LITERALLY could not do this without all of you.

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Prompts: Natural, Currency, LXXXV

Today's episode goes from house hunting to Russian realism to a sweaty 80s crime thriller with some serious C.S.I. nudity!

In a pre-prompt discussion, Lauren gives listeners an update on her house-hunting journey and decides, along with Neal, that they need fake open house names from YOU to help them as they peek around listings and hopefully don't see a Todd in the way. IYKYK. Neal talks about one of his radio shows and how terms like HELOC are going right over his head. But today's prompts inspire some fun discussion on two different topics.

Lauren starts off talking about Ilya Repin’s 1885 painting Ivan the Terrible and His Son Ivan and its devastating portrait of rage, regret, and political fallout. She talks about Repin's lifestyle, Ukrainian roots, and how this work became one of Russia's most controversial canvases and evolved throughout history and was even subjected to vandalism.

Neal goes a different direction and uses LXXXV (85) for 1985, and tells us all about William Friedkin's underrated classic, To Live and Die in LA. It's based on a novel by a Secret Service agent, features currency, burning paintings, William Peterson full frontal, and a fantastic performance from Willem Dafoe. The infamous wrong-way car chase is covered at length, but what Neal and Lauren decide to fixate on is the genius of Wang Chung and their score for this film. We even get a review from the porch from Lauren's dad... sort of.

Make sure to send us your fake open house names and perhaps we'll use them!

Next week's prompts: Mint Green, Bathing Suit, 64

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Prompts: 1940s, Orange, Linguist

Lauren and Neal are EXCITED to be back on the moving train that is Curated by Chance. This week's brand-spanking-new episode covers two topics that were all the rage in the 1940s.

Neal kicks things off, firmly back in the co-host chair, with a deep dive into the Transatlantic or Mid-Atlantic accent, otherwise known as the old-timey voice you hear in old movies! The polished "old Hollywood" voice was made famous by stars like Cary Grant and Katharine Hepburn and Neal explains why it started, how it flourished, and why it just disappeared like nothing ever happened. He speaks about Edith Skinner, Marlon Brando, James Dean, and how, spoiler alert, the accent was never real!

Lauren takes the 1940s mantle and talks all about one of America's most celebrated artists, Edward Hopper. She takes us from lonely diners to sunlit windows and explores Hopper's captured isolation, stillness, and everyday life in a way that to fans new and old still resonates. But the biggest reveal (are we surprised?) is that Hopper probably wouldn't be Hopper without his wife, Josephine.

Also on this episode, Lauren and Neal figure out fashion trends, talk about Pickleball, and Lauren let's Neal know she's happy that he isn't recording from a moving car this time.

Next Week's Prompts: Currency, Natural, LXXXV (85)

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Prompts: Brick, 9399, Poison

Guess who's back? Back again.

Well, it's not Slim Shady, but Neal did have frosted tips early on in his high school career!

Neal finished his latest book under a TIGHT deadline and is happy to be back. He thanks Lauren for holding down the podcast with solo and guest episodes, and thanks the listeners for their patience. He even shares an anecdote about writer brain and how it led to making a BIG mistake in the book, but thankfully he fixed it later.

In honor of his return, Neal goes first and gives Lauren a much deserved break by talking about the story behind Bell Biv DeVoe's "Poison," one of the most famous examples of New Jack Swing. The discussion ranges from the origin of the song, the original group that birthed BBD, and the famous group that BBD helped form! Plus, the most famous use of this song on television and the videogame that stole it!

Then, Lauren takes the mic and talks about the danger behind beautiful colors and how poisonous colors have a place in fashion and color history. From sea snails to expensive garments worn by royalty to colors literally causing illness and death!

On this week's episode, you get creativity under pressure, the evolution of art through experimentation, how innovation have often come with unintended consequences, and the cultural ripple effect of one song.

Next Week's Prompts: Orange, 1940, Linguist

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This week’s prompts: Stripe, 97, Green

In the last episode without Neal (who finished his book) Lauren, relaxed on the couch, invites a very special guest: her husband, Dr. Stephen Polly. Together they provide an intimate, deep dive conversation into Steve's favorite movie of all-time, The Fifth Element.

This episode, Lauren highlights Steve's total camp blindness, Steve talks about Moonstruck totally breaking him, and they both comment on how Luc Besson's candy-colored sci-fi spectacle feels lived in. But before they talk about Chris Tucker's unhinged but beautiful performance, Bruce Willis acting his ass off in plastic, and Milla Jovovich's star-making performance (in a made-up language) Lauren and Steve delightfully take us behind the curtain to when they met, a story that starts with bar trivia, bonding over documentaries, and ends up with being married with a kid. Plus, we get to hear from the designer of our very own algorithm, Chance, talking about the deeply unnecessary but very appreciated physics calculations. Why? When you have an expert on the show, you get the expert analysis!

Next week’s prompts: Brick, 9399, Poison

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This week’s prompts: 458, Salmon, Sleep

Lauren is back solo again — slightly overbooked, a little raspy, and fully in the thick of spring-semester chaos — with an episode that moves from museum donor events and teaching highs and lows to ancient Japan, Buddhist scrolls, and the enduring power of visual storytelling.

After a little life update from the MAG, the classroom, and the general circus of adjunct-professor existence, Lauren takes the prompts in a different direction and dives into Japanese art before 1333. Using a single extraordinary hanging scroll — The Death of the Historical Buddha — as a starting point, she explores Buddhist imagery, grief, animism, shrine rebuilding, narrative scrolls, and the long visual history behind everything from manga to robot dogs.

Along the way, she unpacks the spiritual and aesthetic traditions that shaped early Japanese art: the solemn beauty of Buddhist nirvana paintings, the Shinto reverence for objects and ritual, the rebuilding of the Ise Shrine every 20 years, the gendered distinction between “masculine” and “feminine” art forms in the Heian period, and the lively, sketchy animal scrolls that feel like proto-manga centuries before manga existed.

It’s a wide-ranging, deeply visual episode about how art, ritual, storytelling, and national identity evolve — and how some of the most ancient forms still feel startlingly modern.

PLUS:
🖼️ A gorgeous Buddhist hanging scroll full of grief, gold, and symbolism
⛩️ Why Japan rebuilds one of its most sacred shrines again and again
🧵 Broken needles, animism, and the spiritual life of everyday objects
📖 The Tale of Genji and the rise of “feminine” narrative art
🐸 Frolicking frogs, monkeys, and rabbits as the ancient ancestors of manga

Next week’s prompts: Stripe, 97, Green

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This week’s prompts: Teal, Leg, 1960

Lauren is flying solo again and opens with a few updates from the past couple of weeks of guest episodes, a quick peek into the strange and wonderful conversations that happen at academic faculty parties, and a heartfelt shout-out to listener Dan for a timely and encouraging email. There’s also a little housekeeping about Patreon, reviews, and how much the show appreciates its listeners sticking with them during this busy stretch.

From there, Lauren dives into the life and work of Wilfredo Lam, one of the most fascinating — and often overlooked — artists of the 20th century.

Born in Cuba to a Chinese immigrant father and an Afro-Cuban mother, Lam described himself as “a mulatto of many worlds.” His art reflects that hybrid identity, blending Afro-Caribbean spirituality, Chinese visual traditions, and European modernism into something entirely his own.

Lauren traces Lam’s path from studying art in Havana and Madrid to joining the surrealist circles of Paris, where Picasso, Matisse, and André Breton became part of his artistic orbit. Despite those connections, Lam remained somewhat outside the traditional modernist canon — in part because his work centered Afro-Cuban culture and identity in ways that European audiences often overlooked.

The episode focuses on Lam’s most famous painting, The Jungle (1942–43) — a dense, eerie landscape of hybrid human-animal-plant figures emerging from sugarcane. Beneath its surreal imagery lies a powerful commentary on colonialism, tourism, and the exploitation of Afro-Cuban labor in Cuba’s sugar industry.

PLUS:
🎨 Lam’s friendships with Picasso and the Paris surrealists
🌿 Hybrid figures inspired by Santería and Afro-Caribbean spirituality
🌍 How tourism and colonial economics shaped Cuban culture
🖼️ Why The Jungle remains a modernist masterpiece hiding in plain sight

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Next week’s prompts: 458, Salmon, Sleep

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This week’s prompts: Blue, Twitch, 15

Lauren flies solo — but not really — as she welcomes her longtime partner-in-podcast-crime Julia from Miss Information: A Trivia Podcast for a full-throttle celebration of the cinematic masterpiece that is Magic Mike XXL (2015). What begins as a prompt-inspired detour quickly becomes a passionate thesis: this is not just a stripper sequel. It’s The Odyssey. With abs.

The two dive into the eight-and-a-half-hour road trip that somehow takes three days, from Tampa to Myrtle Beach’s gloriously unnamed “Stripper Convention.” Along the way: Mad Mary’s voguing chaos, a gas station Backstreet Boys breakdown for the ages, Jada Pinkett Smith presiding over a velvet-draped Savannah hedonism palace, and Andy MacDowell hosting a Charleston book club that accidentally turns into foreplay.

Lauren argues that the film’s true message is simple and profound: stripping is healing. Julia charts the logistical madness of the Froyo truck crash, the montage sewing session, and the conference room glow-up that somehow transforms Resurrection into the 10:20 p.m. moneymaker. And yes — they break down that final mirror routine from Channing Tatum and the late Stephen “Twitch” Boss in reverent, breathless detail.

They also tackle the deeper questions:
Why is everyone littering?
How long are these women at the convention?
Why does no one slip on the dollar bills?
And why did the third movie even exist?

PLUS:
The Stripper Convention as American myth
Joe Manganiello’s Cheetos-fueled Backstreet Boys meltdown
Domina, Rome, and subscription-based beauty
Sex swings, Nine Inch Nails, and the most romantic wedding ever staged
Magic Mike Live in Vegas and the $87 spiritual awakening
Why you can skip Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey and just watch this instead

No death. No brooding. Just friendship, fireworks, and finely crafted choreography.

Next week’s prompts: 1600, Divine, Royal Purple

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This week’s prompts: Nude, Mirror, 2193

Neal flies solo this week — juggling book deadlines, radio producing, directing gigs, and on-camera classes — and takes the prompts “nude” and “mirror” as an invitation to dive headfirst into one of cinema’s most controversial, complicated, and endlessly fascinating subjects: nudity on screen. From the silent era’s flesh-colored body stockings and allegorical “Truth” figures to the Hays Code crackdown that scrubbed Hollywood nearly clean for three decades, Neal traces how filmmakers have used (and misused) the naked body for art, shock, comedy, horror, politics, and pure box office bait.

Jane Mansfield makes mainstream movie history. Blow-Up and Midnight Cowboy help dismantle the Production Code. The ’70s explode with art-house extremity and exploitation excess — from Last Tango in Paris to Carrie. The ’80s normalize teen sex comedies and birth the erotic thriller, giving us Phoebe Cates in slow motion, Richard Gere in full frontal, and the rise of the femme fatale as both fantasy and threat. And then the ’90s detonate the culture wars. Sharon Stone’s leg-cross in Basic Instinct becomes the most paused moment in VHS history. Showgirls tests the limits of NC-17. The Crying Game uses nudity as narrative revelation. Schindler’s List reminds audiences that nudity can devastate rather than titillate. Through it all, Neal examines the power dynamics behind the camera — from Maria Schneider’s traumatic experience on Last Tango in Paris to Sharon Stone’s later revelations about consent and deception.

This isn’t just a history of skin on screen. It’s a history of censorship, power, vulnerability, gender politics, commerce, shame, and spectacle — and how cinema keeps holding up a mirror to all of it.

Next week's prompts: Twitch, Blue, 15

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This week’s prompts: Nude, Mirror, 2193

Surprise! It's a solo episode, this time with LT! Neal is working on his book and way over his head, so we're changing things up a bit. He'll be back next week. Today, LT takes on the prompts of nude and mirror, and brings us along through a minor history of nudity... in what else? Art! LT talks about stereotypes in art, Manet, how nudes and class evolved over time, and maybe a hot take on Paul Gaugin?

Listen in for a great opening story that LT says might be the best compliment she's had in ages! Thank you to all of our Patrons for supporting the show. We couldn't do it without you! Join our patrons by going to:

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Next week: a solo show from Neal about nudity in... what else? Film!

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This week’s prompts: Holy, New England, 530

Neal and Lauren welcome listeners to the deep winter doldrums with an episode that starts cozy and conversational… and then quietly spirals into bank robbers, nun masks, American realism, and one of the most haunting paintings of the 20th century. It’s a classic Curated by Chance hang: warm, thoughtful, and gloriously meandering.

Neal takes Holy and New England straight into The Town (2010), Ben Affleck’s Boston-set crime thriller that doubles as a love letter to place, loyalty, and impossible escape. He breaks down how Affleck reshaped a bloated studio script into a lean, character-driven heist film; why Charlestown functions as both setting and prison; and how real Boston crime lore — from codes of silence to armored car robberies — found its way into the movie. Along the way, Neal highlights Jeremy Renner’s Oscar-nominated performance, the infamous nun masks, the jaw-dropping Fenway Park climax, and why The Town belongs in the modern heist-movie canon alongside Heat.

After the break, Lauren also follows New England, but through art history, with a rich and moving portrait of Andrew Wyeth, one of America’s most iconic — and most misunderstood — painters. She traces Wyeth’s upbringing under illustrator father N.C. Wyeth, his frail childhood and intense artistic training, and the profound impact of loss, isolation, and landscape on his work. Lauren digs deep into Christina’s World: its real-life subject, its emotional ambiguity, and why viewers can read hope, despair, or quiet endurance into the same image. She also explores Wyeth’s mastery of watercolor and egg tempera, the tension between “illustration” and “fine art,” and the controversial, secretive Helga paintings — a body of work that shocked the art world and complicated Wyeth’s legacy.

PLUS:
Nun masks, Fenway Park, and Boston as a cinematic character
Jeremy Renner’s breakout performance and Affleck’s growth as a director
Christina’s World and why it refuses a single interpretation
New England landscapes as emotional terrain
Andrew Wyeth, watercolor wizardry, and the thin line between intimacy and obsession

Next week’s prompts: Nude, Mirror, 2193

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Follow the show and its creators on Instagram:

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This week’s prompts: Peach, Necktie, 309

It’s a solo mission this week as Neal takes the wheel for a heartfelt, history-rich deep dive into one of the most beloved sports movies ever made — a film that still makes audiences laugh, cheer, and maybe tear up just a little.

Neal takes Peach straight to A League of Their Own (1992), Penny Marshall’s classic underdog comedy about the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League during World War II. He walks through the film’s origins, from its real-life inspiration to its journey to the big screen, and explains why it remains one of the most enduring sports movies of all time. From John Lovitz’s fast-talking scout and the formation of the Rockford Peaches to the unforgettable chemistry of Geena Davis, Tom Hanks, Madonna, and Rosie O’Donnell, Neal breaks down what makes the movie such a perfect balance of comedy, heart, and history.

Along the way, he digs into Penny Marshall’s legendary direction style, the intense baseball boot camp that put the cast through their paces, and the behind-the-scenes stories that gave us iconic moments like “There’s no crying in baseball!” Neal also explores the real women behind the story — the trailblazing athletes who kept professional baseball alive on the home front and whose legacy finally received long-overdue recognition at the Baseball Hall of Fame.

It’s a love letter to teamwork, sisterhood, representation, and the kind of feel-good storytelling that never goes out of style.

PLUS:
⚾ The real All-American Girls Professional Baseball League
👒 Rockford Peaches, Racine Belles, and the best team names in sports history
🎬 Penny Marshall’s boot camp, bruises, and baseball realism
💄 Charm school, skirted uniforms, and playing hard in a “ladylike” world
🏆 Why A League of Their Own belongs in the sports-movie hall of fame

Next week’s prompts: Holy, New England, 530

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This week’s prompts: Peach, Necktie, 309

Neal and Lauren lean fully into chaos this week with an episode that earns its title the old-fashioned way: by going absolutely everywhere. What starts as a quick check-in spirals into a joyful, free-range conversation about internet conspiracies, parasocial fandom, doomscrolling, poetry whispered in the middle of the night, Roman fruit paintings, French Impressionists, and the eternal question of whether Doctor Who has queer time-travel fan fiction (spoiler: obviously).

Lauren takes Peach and turns it into an art-history fever dream, beginning with drunken T.S. Eliot recitations (“Do I dare to eat a peach?”) and winding through ancient Roman still lifes, fuzzy fruit symbolism, and the unexpectedly rich visual history of peaches in painting. From there, she launches into a deep, deliciously nerdy deep dive on Pierre-Auguste Renoir — the Impressionist painter of glowing skin, soft pastels, and famously gravity-defying nudes. She traces his journey from porcelain factory apprentice to founding Impressionist, his crisis of confidence after seeing Raphael and Titian in Italy, his pivot toward classical modeling, and the voluptuous excess of works like The Large Bathers. Along the way: invisible corsets, painterly filters, imposter syndrome, arthritis rumors, nepo-baby descendants, and one of the best art quotes ever: “The pain passes, but the beauty remains.”

By the end, the episode has become exactly what it promised: a pod full of tangents, powered by curiosity, affection, and the belief that sometimes the long way around is the most fun.

PLUS:
🍑 Ancient Roman peaches and pre-cultivation fruit history
📜 Drunk T.S. Eliot poetry as a lifestyle choice
🎨 Renoir’s glow, his gravity-defying nudes, and Impressionist rebellion
🩰 Invisible corsets, painterly filters, and the fantasy of beauty
🧠 Imposter syndrome, artistic reinvention, and why Raphael ruins everything
📱 Doomscrolling, fandom conspiracies, and the last good corners of the internet

Next week’s prompts: Peach, Necktie, 309

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This week's prompts: Paper White, 1962, Glasses

Neal takes 1962 straight to To Kill a Mockingbird, the landmark film adaptation of Harper Lee’s novel that somehow manages to be both gentle and devastating. He talks about Gregory Peck’s towering, quietly radical performance as Atticus Finch; why the movie still holds emotional power decades later; and how its moral clarity feels almost shocking in a modern landscape full of irony and cynicism. Neal also touches on the book’s long history of bans and challenges, why that still matters, and how the film’s restraint — its refusal to sensationalize — is exactly what gives it weight.

Meanwhile, Lauren unspools the life and legacy of Yves Saint Laurent, the fashion prodigy who permanently changed how women dress. From his early paper-doll designs and meteoric rise at Dior to the creation of ready-to-wear as a democratizing force, Lauren breaks down how Saint Laurent blurred gender lines, mainstreamed women in pants, and fused art, business, and rebellion into a single brand. She digs into his partnership with Pierre Bergé, his friendships and rivalries (Warhol, Lagerfeld), and the darker side of genius — addiction, burnout, and a career that flickered between brilliance and collapse. Along the way, we get couture history, fashion-week mechanics, and why Saint Laurent’s influence still shapes what hangs in our closets today.

PLUS:
📚 Why To Kill a Mockingbird still lands — and still gets banned
⚖️ Gregory Peck’s Atticus Finch as moral north star
👖 Yves Saint Laurent and the radical act of putting women in pants
🧵 Couture vs. ready-to-wear, and how fashion actually makes money
🎨 Genius, excess, and the cost of changing culture

Next week’s prompts: Peach, 309, Necktie

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This week’s prompts: Bath, Paper White, 70

It’s New Year’s Eve at Curated by Chance, and Neal and Lauren settle into a quieter, cozier kind of chaos — the kind fueled by lingering colds, holiday brain fog, and the strange emotional clarity that tends to arrive between December 26 and January 1. What starts as a low-key check-in turns into a surprisingly tender conversation about memory, comfort, and the stories that show up exactly when we need them.

Lauren takes the prompt “Bath” straight into the warm, surreal waters of Spirited Away (2001). What begins as a rewatch with her son becomes a meditation on growing up, fear, and transformation. She explores Chihiro’s journey from frightened child to quiet hero, the dream logic of the bathhouse, and why Miyazaki’s world never explains itself — it simply invites you to exist inside it. From No-Face’s eerie longing to the film’s gentle emotional pacing, Lauren reflects on how Spirited Away trusts its audience in ways most Western animation never dares to.

Meanwhile, Neal brings in Down Cemetery Road, the moody British mystery series that’s become his latest obsession. Set in a quiet English neighborhood with secrets simmering just beneath the surface, the show taps into a very specific kind of storytelling pleasure: slow-burn tension, intimate character work, and the creeping sense that something is deeply off. Neal talks about the show’s measured pacing, lived-in performances, and why British crime dramas hit differently — less spectacle, more unease. It’s less about “whodunit” and more about the emotional fallout of knowing too much.

Next week’s prompts: 1962, Glasses, AstroTurf

Join us on Patreon:

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👉 https://ltlikesthis.substack.com/

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🎧 The Show – @curatedbychance
🎨 Lauren – @paisleylo
🎬 Neal – @nealefischer

📧 E-mail us: curatedbychance@gmail.com

🎙️ Hear Neal each week on Triviality Podcast – Subscribe now!
🎧 Listen to Lauren on Miss Information Podcast – Subscribe now!

📘 Order Neal’s newest book Law & Order: SVU – Confidential (out October 14):
👉 https://geni.us/HPgeZ

🌐 And for more Neal in your life:
www.linktr.ee/nealefischer

Check Out Lauren’s SubstackJoin The Curated By Chance Music League (Round 4 Sign Up)Follow the show and its creators on Instagram

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This week’s prompts: Attic, Fur, 160

Neal and Lauren close out the holiday season with migraines, subzero temperatures, Christmas Eve recording energy, and an episode that somehow becomes both a love letter to seasonal chaos and a rom-com–worthy personal anecdote.

Neal takes “Attic” straight to National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation (1989) — the quintessential “everything goes wrong” holiday classic that turns good intentions into full-blown festive disaster. He walks Lauren (who has somehow never seen it) through Clark Griswold’s doomed quest for the perfect Christmas, unpacking iconic moments like the blinding house lights, Cousin Eddie’s RV arrival, the squirrel chaos, and that legendary Jelly of the Month Club rant. Along the way, Neal dishes out a sleigh-full of behind-the-scenes stories: a deceased trained squirrel, cue cards , an unscripted crotch grab into the final cut, and why this movie accidentally helped give us Home Alone. It’s pratfalls, pine sap, and pure holiday mayhem — with a surprising amount of heart.

Meanwhile, Lauren picks up “Attic” in a very different way, launching into a sharp, funny, and surprisingly moving breakdown of The Husbands by Holly Gramazio — a magical-realist novel about a woman whose attic functions as a portal dispensing an endless supply of husbands. She unpacks the book’s clever metaphor for modern dating, choice paralysis, grief, and self-definition, spotlighting standout husbands, the running Netflix joke, and why the book’s ending lands with such emotional precision. It’s funny, thoughtful, occasionally dark, and deeply relatable — even when the premise is completely bonkers.

And then — because this is Curated by Chance — Neal casually drops a real-life holiday rom-com story in which Johnny Galecki accidentally becomes his wingman. Yes, that Johnny Galecki. Sometimes the universe just hands you a third-act twist.

PLUS:
🎄 Why Christmas Vacation still feels painfully accurate
🐿️ Dead squirrels, wild squirrels, and very nervous stunt warnings
📖 Magical realism as dating allegory (and emotional survival guide)
💍 The grief of losing a perfect husband… to an attic portal
🍸 Johnny Galecki, Midwest bars, and the power of accidental celebrity proximity

Next week’s prompts: Bath, Paper White, 70

Join us on Patreon:

www.Patreon.com/curatedbychance

Check Out Lauren’s Substack:
👉 https://ltlikesthis.substack.com/

Follow the show and its creators on Instagram:
🎧 The Show – @curatedbychance
🎨 Lauren – @paisleylo
🎬 Neal – @nealefischer

📧 E-mail us: curatedbychance@gmail.com

Hear Neal each week on Triviality Podcast – Subscribe now!

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This week’s prompts: Goldenrod, 919, Hat

Lauren returns — coughs muted, spirits high — and Neal officially hands the mic back after last week’s Bond-fueled solo outing. What follows is a cozy, conversational episode that blends modern art theory, eccentric geniuses, and a little bit of podcast navel-gazing as the two reflect on growth, gratitude, and why structure can sometimes be the ultimate form of freedom.

Lauren takes Goldenrod and 919 straight into the world of Piet Mondrian, the Dutch modernist whose grids of black lines and primary colors became one of the most recognizable visual languages of the 20th century. She traces Mondrian’s journey from impressionist windmills to Cubist experimentation to the radical philosophy of De Stijl and neoplasticism, unpacking how horizontal and vertical lines were meant to represent nothing less than the underlying structure of the universe. Along the way: theosophy, occult philosophies, jazz clubs, secret flower paintings, rigid diets, racist pseudoscience, and the deeply funny revelation that Mondrian — stoic grid-master — loved dancing the Charleston.

Meanwhile, Neal reacts in real time, connecting Mondrian’s self-imposed artistic rules to movements like Dogme 95, modern minimalism, and why restriction often produces innovation. The conversation drifts into Mondrian’s lasting influence on fashion (hello, Yves Saint Laurent), graphic design, architecture, and pop culture — including why his work keeps resurfacing every few decades as the ultimate visual reset.

In between, the two share Spotify Wrapped–style listener stats, celebrate international fans, and marvel at the strange, wonderful overlap between art nerds, trivia lovers, audiobook obsessives, and people who just really liked an episode called Wash Your Damn Hands.

Next week’s prompts: Attic, Fur, 160

Join our Patreon!

www.Patreon.com/curatedbychance

Check Out Lauren’s Substack:
👉 https://ltlikesthis.substack.com/

Join The Curated By Chance Music League (Round 4 Sign Up):
👉 https://app.musicleague.com/l/6704df400ff1429186ef8bb85e56a488/

Follow the show and its creators on Instagram:
🎧 The Show – @curatedbychance
🎨 Lauren – @paisleylo
🎬 Neal – @nealefischer

📧 E-mail us: curatedbychance@gmail.com

Hear Neal each week on Triviality Podcast – Subscribe now!
Listen to Lauren on Miss Information Podcast – Subscribe now!

📘 Order Neal’s newest book Law & Order: SVU – Confidential (out October 14):
👉 https://geni.us/HPgeZ

And for more Neal in your life:
🌐 www.linktr.ee/nealefischer

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This week’s prompts: Goldenrod, 919, Hat

Neal’s flying solo this week — migraine hangover, holiday chaos, Lauren home sick — but he shows up with a gleaming, gadget-packed deep dive into Goldfinger (1964), the Bond movie that became the blueprint for all Bonds to come. From Ian Fleming naming his villain out of pure pettiness to the film’s choice to replace a convoluted Fort Knox heist with an elegant “poison the gold” scheme, Neal breaks down how Goldfinger sharpened every piece of the franchise into the gold standard.

It’s a whirlwind of gold paint, gadgets, henchmen, and cinematic swagger — plus a look ahead at where Bond might go next under Amazon and who’s circling the 007 mantle now.

PLUS:

🏆 The petty real-life inspiration behind Auric Goldfinger

🎶 Shirley Bassey, Jimmy Page, and the most iconic Bond theme ever recorded

🎩 Oddjob’s killer hat and Q’s weaponized DB5

💥 The laser table scene that redefined villainy

Join us on Patreon:

www.patreon.com/curatedbychance

Check Out Lauren’s Substack: 👉 ⁠https://ltlikesthis.substack.com/⁠

Follow the show and its creators on Instagram:

🎧 The Show – @curatedbychance

🎨 Lauren – @paisleylo

🎬 Neal – @nealefischer

📧 E-mail us: ⁠curatedbychance@gmail.com⁠

Hear Neal each week on Triviality Podcast – Subscribe now!

Listen to Lauren on Miss Information Podcast – Subscribe now!

Order Neal’s newest book Law & Order: SVU – Confidential (out October 14): 👉 ⁠https://geni.us/HPgeZ⁠

And for more Neal in your life: 🌐 ⁠www.linktr.ee/nealefischer⁠

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week’s prompts: 1717, Arena, Titian Red

Neal and Lauren kick off the post–Thanksgiving stretch with an episode powered by heating pads, sunglasses, and sheer stubbornness. Neal shows up bundled in a hood, nursing shoulder pain and a barometric-pressure headache, while Lauren juggles the last week of classes, giant waitlists, and adjunct life.

Neal takes “Arena” (and a little bit of “Titian Red”) straight into The Running Man (1987), the gaudy, neon-drenched Arnold Schwarzenegger cult classic loosely based on Stephen King’s Richard Bachman novel. He breaks down how the original bleak, globe-spanning manhunt of the book got reshaped into a gladiatorial TV deathmatch; why King refused to have his real name on the movie; and how the film swaps an everyman desperate to save his sick daughter for an ultra-jacked, framed helicopter pilot with an endless supply of one-liners. From American Gladiators–style stalkers (Fireball! Sub-Zero! Dynamo in a light-up diaper!) to Richard Dawson’s inspired turn as sadistic game show host Damon Killian, Neal unpacks the casting, the chaotic production history (multiple directors, Starsky-as-director Paul Michael Glaser, and hurt feelings from Arnold), and the bizarrely prescient “deepfake” climax that confused 1980s audiences. He also looks ahead to Edgar Wright’s new, more book-faithful adaptation starring Glenn Powell — complete with a blessing from Arnold himself.

Meanwhile, Lauren grabs “Titian Red” and delivers a lush, art-historical love letter to Titian, the 16th-century Venetian master whose women, fabrics, and hair basically rewired Western painting. She traces his path from Bellini workshop kid to international court painter for dukes, popes, and emperors; explains how his portrait Man with a Quilted Sleeve inspired Rembrandt; and then settles into a sensual close-reading of the Venus of Urbino. Is she a mythic goddess? A high-end courtesan? A new bride waiting in a palace bedroom while the ladies root through her dowry chest? Lauren breaks down the jewelry, the sleepy dog of fidelity, the flowers, the direct eye contact, and why a bit of strategic nudity plus a mythological fig leaf made it “okay” for a not-so-celibate cardinal-in-training to hang in his room. She closes with Titian’s late “magic impressionism,” his plague-era death, and how “Titian hair” became shorthand for rich red locks all the way to Anne of Green Gables.

In between, the two take a detour into modern stardom and the Glenn Powell Industrial Complex: Tom Cruise mentorship, Hollywood’s desperate search for the next capital-M Movie Star, Roman Reigns as a wrestling parallel, and why the studio machine trying to manufacture a “relatable leading man” feels a lot more obvious in the age of Instagram, fan cams, and micro-fandoms.

PLUS:
🎮 The Running Man as proto–reality TV fever dream
📺 Richard Dawson weaponizing his game show charm as a dystopian villain
⚡ Opera-singing stalkers, flamethrowers, and the most 80s cast list imaginable
🖼️ Titian’s Venus of Urbino and the long, horny history of “it’s not porn, it’s mythology”
🧡 “Titian red” hair, Renaissance fashion as identity, and why jewelry makes nudes feel even more naked
🌟 Glenn Powell, Tom Cruise, and Hollywood’s struggle to mint a new generation of marquee names

Next week’s prompts: Goldenrod, 919, Hat

Join us on Patreon:

www.patreon.com/curatedbychance

Check Out Lauren’s Substack:
👉 https://ltlikesthis.substack.com/

Follow the show and its creators on Instagram:
🎧 The Show – @curatedbychance
🎨 Lauren – @paisleylo
🎬 Neal – @nealefischer

📧 E-mail us: curatedbychance@gmail.com

Hear Neal each week on Triviality Podcast – Subscribe now!
Listen to Lauren on Miss Information Podcast – Subscribe now!

📘 Order Neal’s newest book Law & Order: SVU – Confidential (out October 14):
👉 https://geni.us/HPgeZ

And for more Neal in your life:
🌐 www.linktr.ee/nealefischer

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week’s prompts: Turquoise, 110, Watermark

Neal and Lauren fight through Thanksgiving-week chaos, closet recording, AirPods audio, and a brutal Zoom delay to bring you an episode that accidentally turns into group therapy — in the best way.

Lauren takes “turquoise” straight to the American Southwest by way of Wisconsin with a rich, nuanced dive into the life and work of Georgia O’Keeffe. From her early training at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and the Art Students League, to her complicated relationship with photographer and champion Alfred Stieglitz, Lauren traces how O’Keeffe moved from charcoal abstraction to monumental flowers, New York skyscrapers, and the bone-and-desert landscapes of Ghost Ranch. Along the way, she busts the “vagina flower” myth, talks about O’Keeffe’s resistance to being labeled a “woman artist,” and explains why the artist’s prickly independence still makes her feel so modern — even as her paintings disappear into private collections.

Meanwhile, Neal grabs the “110” prompt and goes full pressure-cooker with Falling Down (1993), Joel Schumacher’s tense, divisive portrait of a man who absolutely should have gone to therapy instead of terrorizing Los Angeles. He walks us through Michael Douglas’s infamous D-FENS — short-sleeve shirt, flat-top, briefcase, and all — and the film’s odyssey structure, from the overpriced soda in the corner store to the legendary Whammy Burger breakfast meltdown and a horrifying detour through a neo-Nazi surplus shop. Neal digs into the film’s early-’90s LA context, its connection to American rage, economic anxiety, and white male grievance, and why the final “I’m the bad guy?” moment still hits uncomfortably hard.

Then, in true Podcast Therapy fashion, the conversation swerves into real talk: male loneliness, the thin line between anger and sadness, revenge as a brain addiction, and why misery might be more contagious than we think. Lauren breaks down anger and grief as “roommates,” Neal brings in a book about the neuroscience of revenge, and together they make a compelling case that a lot of what we call “snapping” is really untreated sadness… plus a broken air conditioner.

PLUS:
💐 Georgia O’Keeffe’s flowers, bones, and “witch of the Southwest” era
🏜️ Ghost Ranch, feminist iconography, and why she hated everyone’s interpretations
🚗 Road rage, the 110, and the early-’90s LA anxiety baked into Falling Down
🍔 The Whammy Burger scene and the fantasy of yelling “this doesn’t look like the picture!”
🧠 Anger vs. sadness, revenge circuitry, and why men will literally shoot up Los Angeles instead of going to therapy

Next week’s prompts: 1717, Arena, Titian Red

Join us Patreon:

www.Patreon.com/curatedbychance

Check Out Lauren’s Substack:
👉 https://ltlikesthis.substack.com/

Follow the show and its creators on Instagram:
🎧 The Show – @curatedbychance
🎨 Lauren – @paisleylo
🎬 Neal – @nealefischer

📧 E-mail us: curatedbychance@gmail.com

Hear Neal each week on Triviality Podcast – Subscribe now!
Listen to Lauren on Miss Information Podcast – Subscribe now!

📘 Order Neal’s newest book Law & Order: SVU – Confidential (out October 14):
👉 https://geni.us/HPgeZ

And for more Neal in your life:
🌐 www.linktr.ee/nealefischer

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week’s prompts: Charcoal, Record, 1265, Story

Neal and Lauren dive into political chaos, medieval poetry beef, and paranoid thrillers for an episode that swings from 13th-century Florence to 1980s Philadelphia.

Lauren takes the year 1265 and spins it into a fiery tour through Dante Alighieri’s life, exile, enemies, and the giant, cosmic fanfiction we now call The Divine Comedy. She breaks down the Guelphs vs. Ghibellines feud (and then the even pettier White vs. Black Guelph split), how Dante wrote in Italian instead of Latin to reshape an entire language, and why Beatrice lives rent-free in the author’s imagination. From the nine circles of Hell to that iconic three-part afterlife road trip with Virgil as tour guide, Lauren untangles how one poet turned politics, heartbreak, and theology into the most influential self-insert narrative in history.

Meanwhile, Neal takes “Record” literally with Brian De Palma’s Blow Out (1981) — the sound-obsessed, paranoia-drenched thriller where John Travolta accidentally captures audio evidence of an assassination. Neal digs into De Palma’s cinematic lineage, how Blow Out riffs on Blow-Up and The Conversation, why the film basically invented its own genre of political dread, and the glorious insanity of the director’s beloved split-diopter shots. Expect Travolta love, Nancy Allen appreciation, Lithgow creepiness, and a crash-course in De Palma’s entire filmmaking DNA.

PLUS:
🔥 Dante’s exile and the pettiest political grudges of medieval Italy
📚 Why The Divine Comedy shaped the afterlife in Western art
🎙️ Blow Out and the conspiracy thriller hall of fame
🔪 John Lithgow doing John Lithgow things
🎥 Split diopters, deep focus, and De Palma’s visual mischief

BLOW OUT FULL FILM:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z20y1YqCc0Y

SPLIT DIOPTER SHORT EXPLANATION:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k6HkQvH5QvM

Next week’s prompts: Turquoise, 110, Watermark

Join us on Patreon:

www.Patreon.com/curatedbychance

Check Out Lauren’s Substack:
👉 https://ltlikesthis.substack.com/

Follow the show and its creators on Instagram:
🎧 The Show – @curatedbychance
🎨 Lauren – @paisleylo
🎬 Neal – @nealefischer

📧 E-mail us: curatedbychance@gmail.com

Hear Neal each week on Triviality Podcast – Subscribe now!
Listen to Lauren on Miss Information Podcast – Subscribe now!

📘 Pre-Order Neal’s newest book Law & Order: SVU – Confidential (out October 14):
👉 https://geni.us/HPgeZ

And for more Neal in your life:
🌐 www.linktr.ee/nealefischer

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week’s prompts: Automatic, Peach, 88

Neal and Lauren brave snow, slush, and Sisyphean car scraping for a cozy winter episode filled with musicals, surrealism, and just the right amount of existential dread.

Neal kicks things off by greasing the wheels of nostalgia with Grease (1978) — the leather-clad, pop-perfect, Chicago-born musical that became a worldwide phenomenon. He dives into the scrappy origins of the stage show at Kingston Mines, its wild Broadway success, and the unlikely road to Hollywood superstardom. You’ll learn how Travolta stole a solo, how Olivia Newton-John got sewn into her pants, and why half the cast was pushing thirty while pretending to be in homeroom. From the palm-tree fights to the palm-sweat dance scenes, Neal proves that Grease remains the slickest high school fantasy ever committed to film.

Meanwhile, Lauren spotlights British surrealist Eithel Colquhoun, a painter, writer, and practicing occultist who turned the mystical and macabre into fine art. She explores Colquhoun’s lifelong obsession with alchemy, magic, and androgyny; her expulsion from the British Surrealist Group for being “too into the occult”; and the recent Tate St. Ives retrospective that finally gave her due. From her saturated pastels and coral-toned dreamscapes to her fascination with the body as landscape, Colquhoun emerges as a forgotten visionary who painted femininity as both spiritual and subversive.

PLUS:
🩰 Why Grease began in a Chicago trolley barn
🎤 The hickeys, heartbreak, and heat exhaustion behind Rydell High
🎨 Surrealist spellcraft and the art of “automatic” painting
🔮 Eithel Colquhoun’s occult feminism and androgynous visions
🕯️ When artists are literally too witchy for the art world

Next week’s prompts: Charcoal, Record, 1265, Story

Check Out Lauren’s Substack:
👉 https://ltlikesthis.substack.com/

Join The Curated By Chance Music League (Round 4 Sign Up):
👉 https://app.musicleague.com/l/6704df400ff1429186ef8bb85e56a488/

Follow the show and its creators on Instagram:
🎧 The Show – @curatedbychance
🎨 Lauren – @paisleylo
🎬 Neal – @nealefischer

📧 E-mail us: curatedbychance@gmail.com

Hear Neal each week on Triviality Podcast – Subscribe now!
Listen to Lauren on Miss Information Podcast – Subscribe now!

📘 Pre-Order Neal’s newest book Law & Order: SVU – Confidential (out October 14):
👉 https://geni.us/HPgeZ

And for more Neal in your life:
🌐 www.linktr.ee/nealefischer

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week’s prompts: Bear, Five, German

Lauren takes us deep into the strange and hypnotic world of Grizzly Man (2005), Werner Herzog’s haunting documentary about Timothy Treadwell, the self-proclaimed bear protector who lived — and died — among Alaska’s brown bears. She explores Herzog’s icy narration, the infamous unseen audio tape, and the way the director blurs the line between empathy and existential dread. Along the way, we get side trips through Burden of Dreams, My Best Fiend, and a Herzog TikTok rabbit hole that proves the director might just be one long performance piece.

Meanwhile, Neal celebrates the strange majesty of German cinema — from the Expressionist shadows of The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari to Karl Freund, the cinematographer who quite literally unchained the camera and later revolutionized sitcoms with I Love Lucy. He traces how Weimar–era innovations birthed horror classics like Dracula and The Mummy, and why every three-camera comedy owes a debt to one very determined German technician.

PLUS:
🐻 The doomed devotion of Grizzly Man
🎥 When Herzog promised to eat his shoe — and did
🧛 How Nosferatu inspired Hollywood horror
📺 The German who lit I Love Lucy (and every sitcom since)
💀 Werner Herzog: philosopher, filmmaker, and accidental meme lord

Next week’s prompts: Automatic, Peach, 88

Join our Patreon (New Tiers):

www.patreon.com/curatedbychance

Check Out Lauren’s Substack:
👉 https://ltlikesthis.substack.com/

Join The Curated By Chance Music League (Round 4 Sign Up):
👉 https://app.musicleague.com/l/6704df400ff1429186ef8bb85e56a488/

Follow the show and its creators on Instagram:
🎧 The Show – @curatedbychance
🎨 Lauren – @paisleylo
🎬 Neal – @nealefischer

📧 E-mail us: curatedbychance@gmail.com

Hear Neal each week on Triviality Podcast – Subscribe now!
Listen to Lauren on Miss Information Podcast – Subscribe now!

📘 Order Neal’s newest book Law & Order: SVU – Confidential:
👉 https://geni.us/HPgeZ

And for more Neal in your life:
🌐 www.linktr.ee/nealefischer

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Episode 65: Inherent Vice... but not the movie

Prompts: 1220, Sage, Newspaper

We’re back to our regularly scheduled programming! After a mini panic involving corrupted files and cloud sleuthing, Neal and Lauren are reunited in glorious audio form. Thank you, Riverside, and thank you, listeners, for your patience!

In this episode, Neal grabs the morning edition and dives deep into His Girl Friday (1940) — Howard Hawks’s screwball masterpiece that forever changed Hollywood dialogue. You’ll hear about Cary Grant’s rapid-fire wit, Rosalind Russell’s secret joke writer, the gender-flipped origin story from The Front Page, and why the movie’s 191-page script clocks in at over 300 words a minute. Neal breaks down Hawks’s deceptively simple directing style, the film’s public-domain afterlife, and how His Girl Friday helped shape everything from Gilmore Girls to Aaron Sorkin.

Then Lauren turns the page to fine art and unpacks the life and legacy of Jasper Johns — the still-living legend of postwar American art. From flags and targets to encaustic wax and found newspapers, she traces how Johns blurred the line between abstraction and realism, pioneered “things the mind already knows,” and shared a creative (and romantic) spark with Robert Rauschenberg. Expect lessons in preservation, a crash course in art movements, and the revelation that Johns plans to turn his Connecticut estate into a creative haven after his death.

Also this week:
📬 A new patron joins the Curated by Chance family.
📚 Book Club updates (and a few reader confessions).
🪶 A porch-side dad review!

Join us on Patreon to help the show!: www.patreon.com/curatedbychance

Next week’s prompts have been drawn: Bear, 5, and German.

What could possibly go wrong?

Check Out Lauren’s Substack:
👉 https://ltlikesthis.substack.com/

Join The Curated by Chance Music League (Round 4 Sign Up):
👉 https://app.musicleague.com/l/6704df400ff1429186ef8bb85e56a488/

Follow the show and its creators on Instagram:
🎧 The Show – @curatedbychance
🎨 Lauren – @paisleylo
🎬 Neal – @nealefischer

📧 E-mail us: curatedbychance@gmail.com

Hear Neal each week on Triviality Podcast – subscribe now!
Listen to Lauren on Miss Information Podcast – subscribe now!

📘 Pickup Neal's newest book Law & Order: SVU – Confidential (out October 14):
👉 https://geni.us/HPgeZ

🌐 For more Neal in your life: www.linktr.ee/nealefischer

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Prompts: Crimson, 1514, Scream

Part two of our first-ever split episode experiment! Last week, Lauren took us deep into Raphael, the Renaissance bromance, and a corrupted file fiasco. This week, Neal takes the mic to resurrect horror—literally.

Neal dives into Scream (1996), the Wes Craven–directed, Kevin Williamson–penned meta-slasher that saved an entire genre. From the true-crime story that inspired it to the 12-year-old who convinced Craven to direct, this one’s packed with the behind-the-scenes chaos that made Scream a cult legend. You’ll hear how Drew Barrymore changed horror history, how the Weinsteins nearly fired Wes Craven over the dailies, and how a random Halloween store mask became Ghostface.

Plus:
🎬 The voice actor who turned “What’s your favorite scary movie?” into an icon
📺 Why Scream led to Dawson’s Creek
💀 The NC-17 fight, the infamous Santa Rosa school board snub, and why “Faster, better, more blood” became the mantra on set

Lauren gets her dad’s porch-side review (spoiler: “No likey”), and the curators debate couple costumes, haunted house plans, and the perfect fall shower window breeze.

Let us know if you’re liking our new “one topic per curator” format—it’s an experiment, but we’re here for it!

Join us on Patreon:

www.patreon.com/curatedbychance

Check Out Lauren’s Substack:
👉 ltlikesthis.substack.com

Join The Curated By Chance Music League (Round 4 Sign Up):
👉 https://app.musicleague.com/l/6704df400ff1429186ef8bb85e56a488/

Follow the show and its creators on Instagram:
🎧 The Show – @curatedbychance
🎨 Lauren – @paisleylo
🎬 Neal – @nealefischer

📧 E-mail us: curatedbychance@gmail.com

Hear Neal each week on Triviality Podcast – Subscribe now!
Listen to Lauren on Miss Information Podcast – Subscribe now!

📘 Purchase Neal’s newest book Law & Order: SVU – Confidential (out October 14):
👉 https://geni.us/HPgeZ

And for more Neal in your life:
🌐 www.linktr.ee/nealefischer

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Prompts: Crimson, 1514, Scream

First of all curators, thank you for your patience! We recorded a great episode and ALL our files were corrupted! We lost basically 90 minutes of great content. We dug deep, and were able to get a backup of a backup of a backup from our recording program. It might be slightly lesser quality, but it's preserved!

In this episode, Lauren tackles one of the holy trinity of renaissance painters, Raphael, and some of his artworks and relationship with Michelangelo! It truly sounds like they could have had a buddy cop movie relationship. Then...

Surprise! Since Lauren gave us a really interesting and exhaustive look at Raphael, and the file conundrum, we decided to split our topics into two episodes. So you'll hear Neal talk about his topic, in-depth, next week.

Let us know how you like this format. I.e. one of us talks about a topic for the 45-60 minutes which might open up some more conversational aspects. It's an experiment and we're here for it! Have no fear, next week is Neal's topic, and then we'll go back to regularly scheduled programming unless you like this format and we can experiment more! Huzzah!

Join us on Patreon (New Tiers!)

https://www.patreon.com/curatedbychance

Check Out Lauren’s Substack:👉 ⁠https://ltlikesthis.substack.com/⁠

Join The Curated By Chance Music League (Round 4 Sign Up):👉 ⁠https://app.musicleague.com/l/6704df400ff1429186ef8bb85e56a488/⁠

Follow the show and its creators on Instagram:🎧 The Show – ⁠@curatedbychance⁠🎨 Lauren – ⁠@paisleylo⁠🎬 Neal – ⁠@nealefischer⁠

📧 E-mail us: ⁠curatedbychance@gmail.com⁠

Hear Neal each week on Triviality Podcast – Subscribe now!Listen to Lauren on Miss Information Podcast – Subscribe now!

📘 Purchase Neal’s newest book Law & Order: SVU – Confidential (out October 14):👉 ⁠https://geni.us/HPgeZ⁠

And for more Neal in your life:🌐 ⁠www.linktr.ee/nealefischer

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week’s prompts: Justice, 79, Platinum

It’s the Curated by Chance new year, and Neal and Lauren celebrate their “paper” anniversary with horses, hats, and ghost directors. Neal saddles up for Tombstone (1993), the cult Western classic that survived chaos, cast shakeups, and a ghost director—literally. He dives into Kurt Russell’s secret takeover, Val Kilmer’s ice-cold commitment as Doc Holliday, and how Tombstone beat Kevin Costner’s rival Wyatt Earp to the draw. You’ll learn about on-set meltdowns, 134-degree wool suits, and why even Bob Dylan couldn’t stop quoting the film.

Meanwhile, Lauren unpacks the sugar-coated genius (and controversy) of artist Kara Walker’s 2014 installation A Subtlety, a massive sphinx made of sugar inside Brooklyn’s Domino Sugar Factory. From its towering form and commentary on race and labor to its uneasy reception among largely white audiences, Lauren explores how Walker uses beauty, history, and shock to confront viewers with America’s racist past. Plus: an accidental detour into equine photography, museum insight, and how an artist can lose control of their own work once it’s released into the world.

PLUS:
🤠 The twin-film showdown of Tombstone vs. Wyatt Earp
🍬 Kara Walker’s sugar sphinx and the art world’s sticky double standards
🐴 The accidental discovery of horse photographer Carol Walker
🩸 Val Kilmer’s bed of ice and the hottest costumes in Western history

Join us on Patreon (Stickers, Book Clubs, Film Clubs, Oh My!) https://www.patreon.com/curatedbychance

Next week’s prompts: Crimson, 1514, Scream

Check Out Lauren’s Substack:
https://ltlikesthis.substack.com/

Join The Curated By Chance Music League (Round 4 Sign Up):
https://app.musicleague.com/l/6704df400ff1429186ef8bb85e56a488/

Follow the show and its creators on Instagram:
The Show – @curatedbychance
Lauren – @paisleylo
Neal – @nealefischer

E-mail us: curatedbychance@gmail.com

Hear Neal each week on Triviality Podcast. Subscribe now!

Listen to Lauren on Miss Information Podcast! Subscribe now!

Pre-Order Neal’s newest book Law & Order: SVU – Confidential (out October 14):
https://geni.us/HPgeZ

And for more Neal in your life:
www.linktr.ee/nealefischer

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Episode 61: Dave Bautista in a Wig

This week’s prompts: Dice, Aubergine, 150

Lauren returns from France with baguette-fueled stories of business class decadence, wine-fueled tears at the Musée d’Orsay, and a new appreciation for Patrick, the most patient flight attendant in the skies. Somewhere between Bridgemix, focaccia, and a Luther Vandross doc, she finds time to catch The Last Showgirl (2024). Pamela Anderson trades Baywatch red for rhinestones and vulnerability in Gia Coppola’s indie portrait of a Vegas showgirl past her prime, with scene-stealing turns from Jamie Lee Curtis and Dave Bautista (in a wig, no less). Lauren unpacks the film’s vérité style, its bittersweet beats, and how Anderson nearly missed the role thanks to her own agent.

Meanwhile, Neal heads to Reno (cinematically) with Hard Eight (1996), Paul Thomas Anderson’s little-seen debut. From Sundance labs to studio battles over the title (Sydney vs. Hard Eight), Neal dives into how PTA fought for his cut, drew powerhouse performances from Philip Baker Hall, John C. Reilly, Gwyneth Paltrow, and Samuel L. Jackson, and laid the groundwork for Boogie Nights and beyond. It’s a story of craps, character studies, and a director learning how to lose battles but win the war.

PLUS:
🍷 Lauren’s business-class champagne strategy (spoiler: drink it all)
🎭 Pamela Anderson’s comeback and Jamie Lee Curtis going full frosty-lipstick brassy
🎲 Casino scams, improvised Philip Seymour Hoffman, and PTA vs. the studios
📼 Why The Last Showgirl is Pamela’s The Wrestler

Next week’s prompts: Justice, 79, Platinum

Support the show on Patreon: www.patreon.com/curatedbychance

Check Out Lauren’s Substack:
https://ltlikesthis.substack.com/

Join The Curated By Chance Music League (Round 4 Sign Up):
https://app.musicleague.com/l/6704df400ff1429186ef8bb85e56a488/

Follow the show and its creators on Instagram:
The Show - @curatedbychance
Lauren - @paisleylo
Neal - @nealefischer

E-mail us: curatedbychance@gmail.com

Hear Neal each week on Triviality Podcast. Subscribe now!

Listen to Lauren on Miss Information Podcast! Subscribe now!

Pre-Order Neal’s newest book on Law & Order: SVU coming out October 14th:
https://geni.us/HPgeZ

And for more Neal in your life:
www.linktr.ee/nealefischer

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Episode 60: Où sont les toilettes? (AD-FREE)

This week’s prompts: Worm, White, 22

Lauren over-caffeinates and contemplates French survival phrases, while Neal unpacks Cold War musicals and desert planets. Together, it’s part history lesson, part space opera geek-out.

First, Neal dives into Chess (1986), the Cold War musical born from Tim Rice and the songwriters of ABBA. From concept album origins to a notorious Broadway flop, Neal traces how a story of spies, romance, and rival grandmasters gave us both “One Night in Bangkok” and one of theater’s most beloved cult scores. You’ll hear about Michael Bennett’s abandoned vision, Trevor Nunn’s rewrites, Frank Rich’s brutal review, and why Josh Groban and Idina Menzel helped rescue Chess in concert form. Plus: the upcoming Broadway revival with Aaron Tveit, Lea Michele, and Danny Strong’s new book.

Then, Lauren goes full space nerd with Dune (2021/2024), Denis Villeneuve’s sweeping adaptation of Frank Herbert’s saga. From Timothée Chalamet’s brooding Paul to Zendaya’s scene-stealing Chani, Lauren breaks down Bene Gesserit politics, spice-addled blue eyes, sandworm rides, and Stellan Skarsgård’s terrifying Baron Harkonnen. She also explains why Austin Butler’s eyebrow-free Feyd-Rautha might haunt your dreams, and how Villeneuve used infrared cinematography to make Giedi Prime look like a silver gelatin nightmare.

PLUS:
♟️ How Tim Rice swapped the Cuban Missile Crisis for a chessboard musical
🎶 “One Night in Bangkok” climbing to #3 on the Billboard charts
🌌 Zendaya > Timmy: Chani finally gets her due
🪱 Sandworms, spice, and the practical goo bath you won’t forget

Next week’s prompts: Dice, Aubergine, 150

Support us on Patreon (New Tiers!)

www.patreon.com/curatedbychance

Check Out Lauren’s Substack:
https://ltlikesthis.substack.com/

Look out for another round of Music League next week!

Follow the show and its creators on Instagram:
The Show - @curatedbychance
Lauren - @paisleylo
Neal - @nealefischer

E-mail us: curatedbychance@gmail.com

Hear Neal each week on Triviality Podcast. Subscribe now!

Listen to Lauren on Miss Information Podcast! Subscribe now!

Pre-Order Neal’s newest book on Law & Order: SVU coming out October 14th below:
https://geni.us/HPgeZ

And for more Neal in your life, click here:
www.linktr.ee/nealefischer

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week’s prompts: Reckless, Silver, Hobby, 393

Lauren paints outside the lines with an American icon, while Neal curates four films that span from gritty New York streets to a Bronx stoop. Together, it’s an embarrassment of riches — with a side of erotic bike dancing.

First, Lauren dives into the messy brilliance of Jackson Pollock, the volatile pioneer of Abstract Expressionism. From his drip technique and Jungian therapy to CIA-backed exhibitions and fractal analysis, Pollock was as reckless as he was revolutionary. Along the way, Lauren restores credit to overlooked influences like Janet Sobel and Lee Krasner, and explains why Pollock’s chaotic canvases weren’t random splatters but nature itself, repeating in fractal form.

Then, Neal takes on all four prompts with a film for each:

• Reckless → Kids (1995), Larry Clark’s raw indie debut that shocked audiences with its unflinching portrait of New York teens and launched Rosario Dawson’s career.

• Silver → Quicksilver (1986), Kevin Bacon’s flop-turned-cult curiosity about a stockbroker-turned-bike-messenger, complete with surreal bike dance sequences and a soundtrack by Roger Daltrey, Genesis’ Tony Banks, and Rod Stewart.

• Hobby → Scrapper (2023), Charlotte Regan’s magical realist gem about a father-daughter bond, pastel dreams, and a scrapyard fort in East London.

• 393 → A Bronx Tale (1993), Robert De Niro’s heartfelt directorial debut based on Chazz Palminteri’s one-man play, balancing loyalty, family, and mob life in 1960s New York.

PLUS:
🎨 Fractals, drip paintings, and the Pollock-Shepard CIA connection
🚲 Kevin Bacon’s subway poster scavenger hunt (and his bike’s cameo in Brooklyn)
📺 Scrapper’s blend of realism and whimsy that wowed Sundance
🕶 “Now yous can’t leave”: the most famous barroom lock-in in cinema

Next week’s prompts: Worm, White, 22

Help Support The Show on Patreon (New Tiers!)

www.Patreon.com/curatedbychance

Check Out Lauren’s Substack:
https://ltlikesthis.substack.com/

Music League starting up again soon!

Follow the show and its creators on Instagram:
The Show - @curatedbychance
Lauren - @paisleylo
Neal - @nealefischer

E-mail us: curatedbychance@gmail.com

Hear Neal each week on Triviality Podcast. Subscribe now!

Listen to Lauren on Miss Information Podcast! Subscribe now!

Pre-Order Neal’s newest book on Law & Order: SVU coming out October 14th below:
https://geni.us/HPgeZ

And for more Neal in your life, click here:
www.linktr.ee/nealefischer

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week’s prompts: 96, Sphinx, Olive

Neal waves the flag for blockbusters, while Lauren summons a Sphinx of her own. Along the way, there’s a detour into pop girlies, concert confessions, and 23 cats.

First, Neal revisits Roland Emmerich’s Independence Day (1996), the mega-hit that turned Will Smith into a global star and made us all salute Bill Pullman. From script origins on a Mexican vacation to Fox nearly calling it Doomsday, Neal traces how a scrappy “what if” became a $817 million juggernaut. You’ll hear about Will Smith’s casting fight, Vivica A. Fox’s six auditions, Randy Quaid’s crop-duster redo, and why the White House model only got one glorious explosion. Plus: the Shakespearean roots of that iconic speech, Goldblum improv, KY jelly aliens, and Neal’s very own Bill Pullman connection.

Then, Lauren spotlights Leonor Fini, the Argentine-Italian artist, rebel, and self-described Sphinx who defied surrealism’s boys’ club. Raised in disguise, exiled from Catholic schools, and fiercely independent, Fini blurred the line between painter, costume designer, and living artwork. Her haunting portraits, gender-bending sphinxes, and polyamorous household (with two men and 23 cats) cemented her reputation as one of Europe’s most uncompromising 20th-century artists. She refused labels, scorned Breton, dressed as a cardinal, and made art that still electrifies auction houses today.

PLUS:
👽 The White House explosion that cost $50,000 (and one take)
🎭 Bill Pullman’s Shakespeare prep and surprise Chicago shoutout
🐈‍⬛ 23 cats, one dinner table, and a lot of attitude
🖼 The 2021 $2.3 million self-portrait that finally gave Fini her flowers

Next week’s prompts: Reckless, Silver, Hobby, 393

Help Support The Show On Patreon! (New Tiers!)

www.patreon.com/curatedbychance

Check Out Lauren’s Substack

https://ltlikesthis.substack.com/ 

Join The Curated By Chance Music League (new round coming next week)

Follow the show and its creators on Instagram:

• The Show - @curatedbychance
• Lauren - @paisleylo
• Neal - @nealefischer

E-mail us: curatedbychance@gmail.com

Hear Neal each week on Triviality Podcast. Subscribe now!

Listen to Lauren on Miss Information Podcast! Subscribe now!

Pre-Order Neal’s newest book on Law & Order: SVU coming out October 14th below: 

https://geni.us/HPgeZ

And for more Neal in your life, click here:

www.linktr.ee/nealefischer

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Prompts: Bulb, 37, Mahogany

Lauren goes local and Neal goes cult classic. Together, they hit two out of three prompts—and that ain’t bad.

First, Lauren spotlights Wendell Castle, the Kansas-born sculptor and furniture designer who became a pillar of 20th-century American craft in Rochester, NY. Known for his stack-laminated mahogany sculptures and trompe l’oeil wooden “tablecloths,” Castle blurred the lines between art and craft, raising everyday objects into fine art. You’ll hear about his teaching at RIT, his collaborations with his wife Nancy Jurs, and why Castle’s chairs, clocks, and blanket chests belong in museums (and maybe your living room).

Then, Neal dives into Foxy Brown (1974), Pam Grier’s iconic turn as the fierce, afro-crowned avenger of the Blaxploitation era. From undercover revenge plots to weaponized fashion, Grier reshaped what an action hero could be. Neal traces the film’s roots through director Jack Hill, Roger Corman’s drive-in empire, and the rise (and fall) of Blaxploitation as both empowerment and exploitation. Plus: Isaac Hayes, Blackula, Tarantino, and Neal’s near-arrest while working with Robert Z’Dar and Eddie Munster.

PLUS:
🪑 Why Wendell Castle’s furniture is both functional and fantastical
🎬 The rise and crash of Blaxploitation cinema, from Sweet Sweetback to Superfly
🎶 Shaft, Superfly, and the soundtracks that outlived the movies
📚 The Curated by Chance Book Club kicks off with Susanna Clarke’s Piranesi

Next week’s prompts: 96, Sphinx, Olive

Help Support The Show On Patreon! (New Tiers!)

www.patreon.com/curatedbychance

Check Out Lauren’s Substack

https://ltlikesthis.substack.com/ 

Join The Curated By Chance Music League (RD 2):

bit.ly/4iSDSmx

Follow the show and its creators on Instagram:

• The Show - @curatedbychance

• Lauren - @paisleylo

• Neal - @nealefischer

E-mail us: curatedbychance@gmail.com

Hear Neal each week on Triviality Podcast. Subscribe now!

Listen to Lauren on Miss Information Podcast! Subscribe now!

Pre-Order Neal’s newest book on Law & Order: SVU coming out October 14th below: 

https://geni.us/HPgeZ

And for more Neal in your life, click here:

www.linktr.ee/nealefischer

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week’s prompts: 2002, Butter, Fedora

Lauren bakes a shepherd’s pie. Neal's been making videos. Everything’s cooking—sometimes literally. This week's episode is a quick fire in the pan trip to two very different destinations.

First, Neal dives into Steven Spielberg’s Catch Me If You Can (2002), the breezy con-man classic starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Tom Hanks (and Hanks’ very FBI fedora). You’ll hear who almost got the part, how Christopher Walken churned up an Oscar nom with a very relevant speech to today's prompts, and what DP Janusz Kaminski did to achieve the classic look of the film. Plus: Amy Adams’ breakout role, 147 shooting locations in 52 days, and one of John Williams’ jazziest scores.

Then, Lauren spotlights the extraordinary life and work of Niki de Saint Phalle, the French-American artist, model, and activist who blurred boundaries between pop, politics, and play. From her bullet-ridden “shooting paintings” to her massive Tarot Garden in Tuscany, her bright, zaftig sculptures masked a turbulent personal life and a fierce commitment to feminism, AIDS awareness, and radical joy. Come for the butter-yellow Nanas, stay for the story of who once called her “the first free woman I have ever seen.”

PLUS:
🎬 Spielberg’s obsession with two-movie years (2002 was a banger: Minority Report + Catch Me If You Can)
🍷 Gin, sacred trees, and other on-set superstitions
👩‍🎨 Why Steinem, Yves Saint Laurent, and the Flaming Lips all drew inspiration from Niki de Saint Phalle
📚 The Curated by Chance Book Club has officially launched—Lauren's first pick Sept 1!

Next week’s prompts: Bulb, 37, Mahogany

Help Support Our Show on Patreon:

www.Patreon.com/curatedbychance

Check Out Lauren’s Substack:
https://ltlikesthis.substack.com/

Join The Curated By Chance Music League (RD 2):
bit.ly/4iSDSmx

Follow the show and its creators on Instagram:
The Show - @curatedbychance
Lauren - @paisleylo
Neal - @nealefischer

E-mail us: curatedbychance@gmail.com

Hear Neal each week on Triviality Podcast. Subscribe now!

Listen to Lauren on Miss Information Podcast! Subscribe now!

Pre-Order Neal’s newest book on Law & Order: SVU coming out October 14th below:
https://geni.us/HPgeZ

And for more Neal in your life, click here:
www.linktr.ee/nealefischer

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Lauren debates pest control theology. Neal is mid-migraine and back pain. Business as usual. From pointillist pixels to loincloths and jungle epics, this episode stretches across art history and ‘80s Hollywood with wildly different (but equally nerdy) results.

First, Lauren goes deep into Georges Seurat’s Models (1886), a painting-within-a-painting that doubles as a defiant response to critics. You’ll learn why Seurat’s figures were accused of looking like mannequins, how his dots anticipated both Cubism and CMYK printing, and why Ferris Bueller’s Day Off accidentally made him a household name. Along the way: nudes, parasols, Seurat’s tragic early death, and the tech-meets-art debate that still rages today (yes, even about AI).

Then, Neal swings vine-first into Greystoke: The Legend of Tarzan, Lord of the Apes (1984), the “highbrow Tarzan” you didn’t know existed. From Robert Towne’s 170-page opus (with a wild Hollywood fact about credit) to Rick Baker’s painstaking ape suits, this is Tarzan like you’ve never seen him—part Merchant Ivory, part monkey business. And one sensual dinner scene that will change how you think about soup forever.

PLUS:
🎨 Why Seurat might be the unwitting godfather of Photoshop
🐒 Glenn Close’s first Tarzan role (and not the one you’re thinking of)
🖼️ Photography, AI, and the “is it art?” debate that never dies
🍲 Tarzan’s orgasmic soup etiquette
📚 The Curated by Chance Book Club has officially launched—Lauren picks the first read September 1st.

Next week’s prompts: 2002, Butter, Fedora

SPECIAL THANKS TO OUR CHIEF CURATORS ON PATREON!

Nate Booster

Madeleine Garvey

Jennifer Pence

Join our Patreon (New Tiers!)

www.patreon.com/curatedbychance

Check Out Lauren’s Substack

https://ltlikesthis.substack.com/ 

Join The Curated By Chance Music League (RD 2):

bit.ly/4iSDSmx

Follow the show and its creators on Instagram:

• The Show - @curatedbychance

• Lauren - @paisleylo

• Neal - @nealefischer

E-mail us: curatedbychance@gmail.com

Hear Neal each week on Triviality Podcast. Subscribe now!

Listen to Lauren on Miss Information Podcast! Subscribe now!

Pre-Order Neal’s newest book on Law & Order: SVU coming out October 14th below: 

https://geni.us/HPgeZ

And for more Neal in your life, click here:

www.linktr.ee/nealefischer

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week’s prompts: 1519, Lavender, Washer

Neal forgets his mic. Lauren triggers an existential crisis. So, basically, everything’s normal. From rom-coms to laudanum-soaked painters, this episode spans centuries and sensibilities as our hosts dig into their latest trio of prompts with very different (but equally fascinating) results.

First, Neal breaks down the 2002 J.Lo classic Maid in Manhattan, including the OG Cinderella plot, the Ralph Fiennes miscast magic, and a wardrobe change worthy of Bob Mackie and Harry Winston. You'll learn why John Hughes took his name off the script (and used an Edmond Dantès pseudonym), how the paparazzi derailed filming, and how Ralph Fiennes was used as a decoy during the birth of Bennifer. Plus: a side trip into The Long Good Friday, Stanley Tucci’s excellent angry faces, and why Jennifer Lopez is (maybe) finally choosing herself.

Then, Lauren unveils the dark, dreamy world of Symbolist Art, a philosophical, aesthetic, and extremely pervy movement born in the late 19th century. From Edvard Munch's tortured screamers to Redon’s soft pastel cyclops, Klimt’s spiraling mosaic of death and life, and Gustave Moreau’s overwrought divine tragedy, this is your new favorite art history crash course. Come for the lavender, stay for the vampires, nude dreamers, femme fatales, and incomprehensible pig-walking metaphors.

Check out the J.LO humbling moment here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1f858q7ON6Q

PLUS:
🎨 What Symbolism has in common with surrealism, Satanism, and the death of the artist
👗 Bob Mackie’s most glam moment not involving Cher
💎 48.80 carats of chaos
📚 A new $10 Patreon Book Club tier is live—Lauren picks the first read for September
🎧 Music League is back and growing
💬 Listener love, DMs, and recommendations welcome!

Next week’s prompts: Chair, Puce, 1886

Help Support The Show On Patreon! (New Tiers!)

www.patreon.com/curatedbychance

Check Out Lauren’s Substack

https://ltlikesthis.substack.com/ 

Join The Curated By Chance Music League (RD 2):

bit.ly/4iSDSmx

Follow the show and its creators on Instagram:

• The Show - @curatedbychance

• Lauren - @paisleylo

• Neal - @nealefischer

E-mail us: curatedbychance@gmail.com

Hear Neal each week on Triviality Podcast. Subscribe now!

Listen to Lauren on Miss Information Podcast! Subscribe now!

Pre-Order Neal’s newest book on Law & Order: SVU coming out October 14th below: 

https://geni.us/HPgeZ

And for more Neal in your life, click here:

www.linktr.ee/nealefischer

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Summer’s in full swing, the bats are (mostly) gone, and Neal’s first attempt at mowing the lawn was almost a Disney nature documentary—minus the narrator and with a lot more screaming. Lauren’s on bat patrol until “The Batman” (the wildlife kind) cometh, and Patreon member Guy Carter weighs in with a skeleton-running-away-worthy comment. From spiders to baby rabbits to birdhouse injuries, it’s a wild week in the great outdoors… which just confirms that Neal and Colleen are officially indoor kids.

But then we get to the good stuff—this week’s prompts (“Chrome, 834, Surfboard”) lead to two very different film deep dives. Lauren revs up for a passionate ode to George Miller’s Mad Max franchise, covering everything from dystopian deserts and practical effects to Jenny Beavan’s award-winning costumes and the legendary Doof Warrior. Neal counterbalances with a trip back to 1993 for the gloriously goofy Surf Ninjas—a martial arts/surf comedy hybrid with Ernie Reyes Jr., Leslie Nielsen as a cyborg villain, Rob Schneider playing a “teenager,” and a prophetic Sega Game Gear. Yes, really.

Plus:
🎬 The unlikely link between Mad Max and Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris
🎮 Why Surf Ninjas’ video game dropped before the movie
📚 A new Patreon $10 “Book Club” tier announcement—fiction, nonfiction, and maybe a cozy murder mystery or two
🎵 Music League updates and possible future “Movie of the Month” club
🦇 Listener bat solidarity stories

Prompts for next episode: 1519, Lavender, Washer. Send us your takes, your movie recommendations, and—if you dare—your Surf Ninjas VHS nostalgia.

Help Support The Show On Patreon!

www.patreon.com/curatedbychance

Check Out Lauren’s Substack

https://ltlikesthis.substack.com/ 

Join The Curated By Chance Music League (RD 3):

https://app.musicleague.com/l/ccc4372077de4a7da5bf41459e0e497e/

Follow the show and its creators on Instagram:

• The Show - @curatedbychance

• Lauren - @paisleylo

• Neal - @nealefischer

E-mail us: curatedbychance@gmail.com

Hear Neal each week on Triviality Podcast. Subscribe now!

Listen to Lauren on Miss Information Podcast! Subscribe now!

Check out Neal's newest book on MrBeast and his other books available now and for pre-order!

www.linktr.ee/nealefischer

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week’s prompts: World War II, Forest Green, 77

If last week was chaos, this week... still chaos. Lauren is podcasting under a blanket like it’s her last line of defense. Welcome to another wildly unpredictable episode of Curated by Chance—complete with dramatic retellings, wartime art dives, and a little Spielberg in between.

First up, Neal takes us on a tour of underseen World War II films—including the gritty suspense of The Train (1964), the postwar pain of The Best Years of Our Lives (1946), and the harrowing psychological horror of Come and See (1985). Along the way, we detour through Schindler’s List trivia (Robin Williams was Spielberg’s emotional support system??), Oscar history, and heroic art-saving curators.

Then Lauren dives into the art and radical politics of William Gropper. From his gestural murals to his cartoonish critiques of capitalism, Gropper’s work is full of energy, empathy, and Bruegel-esque wit. We cover tragic fires, heroic moms, acrobatic circus comics, Soviet trips, and why being deeply American and deeply critical aren’t mutually exclusive.

Also in this episode:
– The return of Music League (Volume III launches Friday! Two days! Link below!)
– A new prompt pull: Chrome, 834, Surfboard
– And why Lauren’s bat was basically Batman Forever-level huge

Plus:
– Who was almost cast in Schindler’s List (brace yourself)
– Why The Train needed a Ferrari to get made
– And what happens when your house is 125 years old and full of feelings

Help Support Us On Patreon!

www.Patreon.com/TrivialityPodcast

Check Out Lauren’s Substack

https://ltlikesthis.substack.com/ 

Join The Curated By Chance Music League (RD 3):

https://app.musicleague.com/l/ccc4372077de4a7da5bf41459e0e497e/

Follow the show and its creators on Instagram:

• The Show - @curatedbychance

• Lauren - @paisleylo

• Neal - @nealefischer

E-mail us: curatedbychance@gmail.com

Hear Neal each week on Triviality Podcast. Subscribe now!

Listen to Lauren on Miss Information Podcast! Subscribe now!

Check out Neal's newest book on MrBeast and his other books available now and for pre-order!

www.linktr.ee/nealefischer

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week’s prompts: Parisian, Crown, 540, Fuschia

What do you get when a birthday party is interrupted by a hostage situation with a grenade landing in your neighborhood? You get Lauren’s summer.

In this episode, Lauren and Neal return with updates from the chaos of everyday life—and a seriously rich deep dive into art history, revolutionary brushstrokes, and one very cranky artist. Lauren breaks down The Judgment of Paris by Ross King, a nonfiction ride through the 1860s that pits old-school battle painter Ernest Meissonier against the boundary-pushing Édouard Manet. From nude scandals to Prussian sieges, the book—and this episode—certainly have it all.

Then, Neal takes us on a whirlwind tour through the origins and legacy of gentleman thief Arsène Lupin. Learn about the character’s creation by Maurice Leblanc, his rivalry with Sherlock Holmes and how this French antihero has inspired stage plays, films, anime, and of course, the Netflix hit Lupin. Bonus: a theory about Mr. Peanut you won’t be able to unsee.

We talk salons (the French kind), shockingly radical water lilies, and the fight to define what counts as “real” art. Also: a surprise detour into Whistler’s rage issues and a cozy mystery connection you didn’t see coming.

Plus:
– What happens when your street gets blocked by bomb squads?
– Why were 19th-century Frenchmen smacking paintings with riding crops?
– And did Lupin inspire Father Brown’s Flambeau?

And don’t miss:
– A new Patreon idea brewing… book club anyone?
– Music League Volume III dropping soon!

Check Out Lauren’s Substack

https://ltlikesthis.substack.com/ 

Follow the show and its creators on Instagram:

• The Show - @curatedbychance

• Lauren - @paisleylo

• Neal - @nealefischer

E-mail us: curatedbychance@gmail.com

Hear Neal each week on Triviality Podcast. Subscribe now!

Listen to Lauren on Miss Information Podcast! Subscribe now!

Check out Neal's newest book on MrBeast and his other books available now and for pre-order!

www.linktr.ee/nealefischer

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week’s prompts: Opal, Calendar, 1796

In this episode, Lauren and Neal dive into illuminated manuscripts, chaotic filmmaking, and the sounds that make your palms sweat.

First up: Lauren unpacks The Très Riches Heures du Duc de Berry, one of the most important medieval manuscripts ever created. We explore why it's a masterpiece of Christian devotion, seasonal symbolism, and early art history—featuring astrological charts, noble feasts, a pregnant grape-picker (!), and even some cheeky peasant butts.

Then Neal breaks down why Uncut Gems (2019) is one of the most stressful films of all time. Discover how the Safdie Brothers used overlapping dialogue, handheld cinematography, telephoto lenses, and non-actors to trap viewers inside Adam Sandler’s unrelenting chaos. If you’ve ever felt stressed just watching a movie—this one’s for you.

This episode covers:

• What a Book of Hours actually is—and why it matters
• Zodiac symbols and queer readings of medieval art
• How sound design and lens choice crank up film anxiety
• Behind-the-scenes filmmaking techniques on Uncut Gems
• Why comedians like Sandler make powerful dramatic actors

📚 BIG ANNOUNCEMENT: Our 50th episode is coming—and we're doing a Curated by Chance Book Club! Join us as we read How to Solve Your Own Murder by Kristen Perrin. You’ve got two weeks to grab a copy!

Next week’s prompts: Pen, Ivory, Radio, 1988

Help Support The Show On Patreon!

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Check Out Lauren’s Substack

https://ltlikesthis.substack.com/ 

Join The Curated By Chance Music League (RD 2):

bit.ly/4iSDSmx

Follow the show and its creators on Instagram:

• The Show - @curatedbychance
• Lauren - @paisleylo
• Neal - @nealefischer

E-mail us: curatedbychance@gmail.com

Hear Neal each week on Triviality Podcast. Subscribe now!

Listen to Lauren on Miss Information Podcast! Subscribe now!

Check out Neal's newest book on Cristiano Ronaldo and his other books available now and for pre-order!

www.linktr.ee/nealefischer

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We did it! 50 episodes in, Curated by Chance hits its midlife crisis—no Porsche, no Bali retreat, but Neal and Lauren are still here, still talking, and (shockingly) still not out of things to say. To celebrate the big 5-0, we’re cracking open our first ever CBC Book Club pick: How to Solve Your Own Murder by Kristen Perrin.

What begins as a light mystery read turns into a wide-ranging discussion on genre expectations, literary pet peeves, cozy vibes, and what makes a character actually worth rooting for. Lauren and Neal get honest about the book’s writing style, plot twists, character development (or lack thereof), and how it compares to their beloved Richard Osman universe.

📚 What’s inside:
– Our honest review of How to Solve Your Own Murder
– Thoughts on the “pastiche problem” in genre fiction
– Why fainting doesn’t count as a personality
– Where the romance subplot could’ve gone
– And what actually surprised us about the plot

Also discussed:
💬 Listening at 1.25 speed
📸 Posting episode extras on Instagram (@curatedbychance)
📖 The logistics (and dreams) of a future CBC Book Club tier
📘 P.D. James, Margaret Atwood, and the ghost of Agatha Christie
🎨 Art moms, missing townspeople, and the need for a “cool bitch” character
💋 And a wild aside about writing erotic fiction (Patreon exclusive?)

Your prompts for next week:
Parisian
Crown
540
Fuchsia

Have thoughts on the book? Want to nominate our next read? Drop us a message on Instagram or email us at curatedbychance@gmail.com. And let us know—should the CBC Book Club be a recurring thing?

Help Support The Show On Patreon!

www.patreon.com/curatedbychance

Check Out Lauren’s Substack

https://ltlikesthis.substack.com/ 

Join The Curated By Chance Music League (RD 2):

bit.ly/4iSDSmx

Follow the show and its creators on Instagram:

• The Show - @curatedbychance

• Lauren - @paisleylo

• Neal - @nealefischer

E-mail us: curatedbychance@gmail.com

Hear Neal each week on Triviality Podcast. Subscribe now!

Listen to Lauren on Miss Information Podcast! Subscribe now!

Check out Neal's newest book on MrBeast and his other books available now and for pre-order!

www.linktr.ee/nealefischer

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week’s prompts: Ivory, Pen, Radio, 1988

Morning energy hits different—especially when you’re caffeinated, half-unpacked, and dodging…critters? In this early-bird episode, Lauren and Neal dive into a grab bag of topics, from cinematic corporate climbs to tragic artistic genius.

First up, Neal shares a behind-the-scenes deep dive into Working Girl (1988). Hear the untold stories of Melanie Griffith’s sobriety struggles, Harrison Ford’s tzatziki-covered charm, and how Carly Simon’s Oscar-winning song almost got replaced by “Witchy Woman.” It’s a time capsule of shoulder pads, Staten Island, and serious 80s vibes.

Then, Lauren unpacks the short, brilliant, and heartbreaking life of Jean-Michel Basquiat. From street graffiti to gallery superstardom, Basquiat's rise through the New York art world was as meteoric as it was complicated. Learn how his work was shaped by language, jazz, anatomy, and identity—and how the art world has commodified and forged his legacy.

Plus:
– Which famous actor turned down Melanie Griffith?
– Who did Basquiat sell his first painting to?
– And what exactly crawled out of Neal’s hat?

REMINDER: Next week’s 50th episode is coming—and we're doing a Curated by Chance Book Club! Join us as we read How to Solve Your Own Murder by Kristen Perrin. You have one week to read, or just tune in to hear the basics and revisit when you finish!

Help Support The Show On Patreon!

www.patreon.com/curatedbychance

Check Out Lauren’s Substack

https://ltlikesthis.substack.com/ 

Join The Curated By Chance Music League (RD 2):

bit.ly/4iSDSmx

Follow the show and its creators on Instagram:

• The Show - @curatedbychance

• Lauren - @paisleylo

• Neal - @nealefischer

E-mail us: curatedbychance@gmail.com

Hear Neal each week on Triviality Podcast. Subscribe now!

Listen to Lauren on Miss Information Podcast! Subscribe now!

Check out Neal's newest book on MrBeast and his other books available now and for pre-order!

www.linktr.ee/nealefischer

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

PROMPTS: Bridge, Tangerine, 1077

This week, Neal and Lauren balance on the edge—of collapsing bridges, spiritual awakenings, and the line between realism and mysticism. It’s an episode about burden and beauty, as we trace the paths of two vastly different artists connected by one thing: the courage to push beyond what’s expected and into something sublime.

Neal dives into William Friedkin’s Sorcerer (1977), the sweaty, pulse-pounding remake of The Wages of Fear. It’s a tale of four desperate men driving trucks full of nitroglycerin across a rotting jungle bridge—but it’s also a story about fate, failure, and Friedkin’s quest to make something raw and real. Neal explores the movie’s notorious production chaos, its moody Tangerine Dream score, and why this film—long overshadowed—might just be a masterpiece.

Lauren brings light to the life and work of M. Louise Stowell, a Rochester-based artist and educator, who wove mysticism, nature, and design into luminous works of watercolor, posters, and illustration. A founding member of the Rochester Arts and Crafts Society, Stowell studied with Arthur Wesley Dow and taught at what is now RIT. Her work—dreamlike and spiritually charged—blended Japanese aesthetics, feminist ideals, and celestial symbolism. With glowing moonlit forms and reverence for line, space, and color, Stowell built quiet, meditative bridges between the physical world and something deeper.

Help Support The Show On Patreon!

www.patreon.com/curatedbychance

Check Out Lauren’s Substack

https://ltlikesthis.substack.com/ 

Join The Curated By Chance Music League (RD 2):

bit.ly/4iSDSmx

Follow the show and its creators on Instagram:

• The Show - @curatedbychance
• Lauren - @paisleylo
• Neal - @nealefischer

E-mail us: curatedbychance@gmail.com

Hear Neal each week on Triviality Podcast. Subscribe now!

Listen to Lauren on Miss Information Podcast! Subscribe now!

Check out Neal's newest book on Cristiano Ronaldo and his other books available now and for pre-order!

www.linktr.ee/nealefischer

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

4PROMPTS: Sweet, Disguise, Violet, 1166

This week, Neal and Lauren unwrap stories that look sweet on the surface—but dig a little deeper and you’ll find layers of longing, legacy, and lawsuits. It’s an episode about beauty, disguise, and the unexpected depth behind desserts and string sections.

Neal revisits Bitter Sweet Symphony by The Verve, a song so instantly iconic that it dominated 1997—and nearly destroyed the band that made it. He traces how a borrowed Rolling Stones sample led to one of music’s most infamous copyright clashes, why Richard Ashcroft’s swagger couldn’t save The Verve from implosion, and how the song’s legacy was shaped by ego, irony, and a long-overdue apology two decades later. Also: Liam Gallagher shows up, because of course he does.

Then Lauren brings us a rich and frosted journey through the work of Wayne Thiebaud, the painter who made cakes, pies, gumball machines, and deli counters into pop art masterpieces. With thick brushstrokes and brighter-than-life color, Thiebaud made the everyday delicious—and deeply emotional. Lauren explains why his art isn’t quite Pop, what makes his shadows so satisfying, and how stillness and sugar can say more than satire.

⁠www.whosampled.com⁠

Help Support The Show On Patreon!

⁠www.patreon.com/curatedbychance⁠

Check Out Lauren’s Substack

⁠https://ltlikesthis.substack.com/⁠ 

Join The Curated By Chance Music League (RD 2):

⁠bit.ly/4iSDSmx⁠

Follow the show and its creators on Instagram:

• The Show - ⁠@curatedbychance⁠

• Lauren - ⁠@paisleylo⁠

• Neal - ⁠@nealefischer⁠

E-mail us: ⁠curatedbychance@gmail.com⁠

⁠Hear Neal each week on Triviality Podcast. Subscribe now!⁠

⁠Listen to Lauren on Miss Information Podcast! Subscribe now!⁠

Check out Neal's newest book on Cristiano Ronaldo and his other books available now and for pre-order!

⁠www.linktr.ee/nealefischer

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

PROMPTS: Bath, Copper, 949

This week, Neal and Lauren step into two seemingly very different worlds—one of foster kids, foul balls, and 90s baseball magic, the other of copper plates, religious politics, and some seriously metal Renaissance art. It’s an episode about faith, fandom, and just how much you can say with a single image (or a single angel).

Neal revisits Angels in the Outfield (1994), a feel-good Disney sports fantasy that came out just as Major League Baseball faced one of its darkest real-life chapters. From Christopher Lloyd’s mischievous angel to Joseph Gordon-Levitt’s hopeful foster kid, Neal dives into the film’s quirky backstory—including its origins in a Jesuit radio play, why Disney picked the California Angels, and how four Oscar winners somehow ended up in this kids’ movie. Plus: Tony Danza’s arm bath, major Major League references, and life lessons on and off the field.

Then Lauren gives us a crash course on the art, politics, and religious drama behind the prints of Albrecht Dürer, the Renaissance engraving genius whose copper-plate works helped define the German Reformation era. From The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse to Melencolia I to an eerily accurate rhino he never saw in person, Dürer’s art was moralizing, mathematical, and meticulously beautiful. Learn why his prints spread across Europe (and schoolbooks), how they avoided the wrath of Protestant iconoclasts, and why his self-portrait was basically Renaissance Instagram thirst-trap energy.

Neal's Topic: Angels in the Outfield (1994)

Lauren's Topic: Albrecht Dürer

Help Support The Show On Patreon!

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Check Out Lauren’s Substack

https://ltlikesthis.substack.com/ 

Join The Curated By Chance Music League (RD 2):

bit.ly/4iSDSmx

Follow the show and its creators on Instagram:

• The Show - @curatedbychance
• Lauren - @paisleylo
• Neal - @nealefischer

E-mail us: curatedbychance@gmail.com

Hear Neal each week on Triviality Podcast. Subscribe now!

Listen to Lauren on Miss Information Podcast! Subscribe now!

Check out Neal's newest book on Cristiano Ronaldo and his other books available now and for pre-order!

www.linktr.ee/nealefischer

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

PROMPTS: Teal, Pizza, 236

This week, Lauren and Neal wander down wildly different (but equally satisfying) paths—one lined with sumptuous portraits and queer-coded brushstrokes, the other dripping with melted cheese, pizza lore, and ’80s teen movie mayhem. It’s an episode about beauty, indulgence, and the long, strange history of how we present people and pizza.

Lauren goes long on John Singer Sargent, the prolific portraitist whose mastery of fabric, personality, and sensuality made him the toast of the Gilded Age—and also got him chased out of Paris for painting a strap just a little too far off a woman’s shoulder. From the iconic Portrait of Madame X to the hotly debated Dr. Pozzi at Home, Lauren makes the case for Sargent as one of the most talented—and possibly most closeted—painters of his generation. Expect velvet, scandal, blush-toned skin, and a long detour through art historian beef.

Then Neal sets the table for a smorgasbord of pizza in film, from the absurd (Loverboy) to the iconic (Do the Right Thing) to the TV (Breaking Bad’s flying pie). With a heavy slice of Patrick Dempsey, a dash of Spider-Man, and a drizzle of grease-dripping nostalgia, Neal breaks down the evolution of pizza on screen—including the moment it first appeared, when it was called “pizza pie,” and why 85% of film pizza looks inedible. Anchovies optional.

Help Support The Show On Patreon!

www.patreon.com/curatedbychance

Check Out Lauren’s Substack

https://ltlikesthis.substack.com/ 

Join The Curated By Chance Music League (RD 2):

bit.ly/4iSDSmx

Follow the show and its creators on Instagram:

• The Show - @curatedbychance
• Lauren - @paisleylo
• Neal - @nealefischer

E-mail us: curatedbychance@gmail.com

Hear Neal each week on Triviality Podcast. Subscribe now!

Listen to Lauren on Miss Information Podcast! Subscribe now!

Check out Neal's books available now and for pre-order!

www.linktr.ee/nealefischer

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Neal takes the first swing (and squib) with a dive into RoboCop (1987), Paul Verhoeven’s ultraviolent, ultra-satirical sci-fi cult classic set in a future Detroit teetering on collapse. Come for the gunslinger-cyborg revenge story, stay for the commentary on Reaganomics, privatized policing, Nazi propaganda, and a Walkman loaded with Peter Gabriel. Learn how director Verhoeven’s childhood under Nazi occupation shaped his explosive style—and why RoboCop is both an American Jesus and corporate cautionary tale.

Then Lauren paints a political portrait—literally—by unpacking Self-Portrait on the Border Between Mexico and the United States (1932) by Frida Kahlo. In this often-overlooked work housed at the Detroit Institute of Arts, Frida dons a blush pink dress (out of character, but not out of context) and straddles cultural, national, and personal lines. From ancient Aztec ruins and industrial smokestacks to electric roots and subtle rebellion, this piece is a masterclass in using art as a weapon—and a warning. Also: unibrows, impalement, and political feminism done Frida’s way.

Neal's Topic:

RoboCop (1987)

Directed by Paul Verhoeven

Lauren's Topic:

Self-Portrait on the Border Between Mexico and the United States

(1932)

Frida Kahlo

Help Support The Show On Patreon!

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Join The Curated By Chance Music League (RD 2):

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Follow the show and its creators on Instagram:

• The Show - @curatedbychance
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• Neal - @nealefischer

E-mail us: curatedbychance@gmail.com

Hear Neal each week on Triviality Podcast. Subscribe now!

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Check out Neal's books available now and for pre-order!

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Prompts: Kitchen, Bronze, 80

Fresh off a trip to Boston, Lauren recounts her culinary and curatorial adventures (chocolate chip cookies in bed, lobster dumplings, and one surreal encounter with a butter-yellow sculpture of a woman peeing). Her topic? The extraordinary and unsettling work of contemporary artist Kiki Smith. Known for her sculptures, prints, and bronze bodies that explore everything from menstruation to myth, Smith is a feminist powerhouse whose work challenges viewers to confront death, discomfort, and the sacred messiness of being alive. Highlights include her crawling, glass-eyed Lilith, apothecary bottles labeled with fluids like “vomit” and “urine,” and a haunting series of woodcuts documenting her mother’s death.

Then Neal flips the episode’s aesthetic and emotional tone with a loving deep dive into the career of Nancy Meyers, queen of the romantic comedy, goddess of the marble kitchen island, and the only woman in Hollywood with consistent Final Cut. From Private Benjamin and The Parent Trap to Something’s Gotta Give, The Holiday, and It’s Complicated, Neal celebrates Meyers’ buttery, beige, beautifully structured world—and her game-changing success as a writer-director who made movies about middle-aged women... and made millions doing it.

Also: urinal etiquette, olive texture trauma, and what lullabies have to do with demons.

Help Support The Show On Patreon!

www.patreon.com/curatedbychance

Join The Curated By Chance Music League (RD 2):

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Follow the show and its creators on Instagram:

• The Show - @curatedbychance
• Lauren - @paisleylo
• Neal - @nealefischer

E-mail us: curatedbychance@gmail.com

Hear Neal each week on Triviality Podcast. Subscribe now!

Listen to Lauren on Miss Information Podcast! Subscribe now!

Check out Neal's books available now and for pre-order!

www.linktr.ee/nealefischer

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

PROMPTS: 30, Expose, Shadow

From the tight grip of Hollywood’s moral code to the brooding, empty piazzas of metaphysical painting, it’s all about what happens when shadows speak louder than light.

Neal exposes the strange, fascinating, and deeply moralistic world of the Hays Code, Hollywood’s self-imposed censorship system that ruled American cinema from the 1930s to the 1960s. From Fatty Arbuckle to Gone with the Wind, Casablanca, and the birth of film noir, Neal tracks the cultural panic that shaped what we could (and couldn’t) see on screen—and how filmmakers got clever with innuendo, subtext, and shadowy visual metaphors. Plus: the Catholic Church’s role in forming the hilariously named but terrifyingly influential Legion of Decency.

Then Lauren steps into the surreal with Giorgio de Chirico, a metaphysical painter who helped pave the way for Surrealism—and then completely rejected it. With eerie cityscapes, haunting shadows, and mythic stillness, de Chirico’s early work captivated the likes of Magritte and Dalí… until he denounced it all as forgeries. We explore his moody brilliance, his retreat into classicism, and how his lonely mannequins and Roman arcades still echo through modern art and cinema.

Help Support The Show On Patreon!

www.patreon.com/curatedbychance

Join The Curated By Chance Music League (RD 2):

bit.ly/4iSDSmx

Follow the show and its creators on Instagram:

• The Show - @curatedbychance
• Lauren - @paisleylo
• Neal - @nealefischer
• 
  

E-mail us: curatedbychance@gmail.com

Hear Neal each week on Triviality Podcast. Subscribe now!

Listen to Lauren on Miss Information Podcast! Subscribe now!

Check out Neal's books available now and for pre-order!

www.linktr.ee/nealefischer

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Prompts: Dystopia, Stone, 6

This week, Lauren and Neal go big—Biblical-apocalypse-meets-Renaissance-sculpture big. From marble perfection to multi-chapter madness, the duo tackles two cultural landmarks that both obsess over the body, prophecy, and, somehow, time travel.

Lauren kicks things off with Michelangelo’s David, that iconic slab of Renaissance idealism carved in quiet defiance of the world around it. She explores how David’s oversized hands, tense posture, and famous nudity turned him into more than just a pretty statue—he was a political message, a symbol of divine strength, and an unexpected sex symbol. From debates over feather placement to anatomical precision, Lauren walks us through the myth, mystery, and modesty of Florence’s most famous resident.

Then Neal unpacks Southland Tales (2006), Richard Kelly’s gloriously overstuffed follow-up to Donnie Darko. With a cast that includes The Rock, Sarah Michelle Gellar, Justin Timberlake, this apocalyptic sci-fi satire is either a misunderstood masterpiece or a glorious mess. Neal breaks down its Cannes controversy, its vision of a fractured America, and the film’s bonkers blend of prophecy, porn, and political panic. Oh, and Neal tells a horrifying story that you don't want to miss...

Lauren's Topic:

David

By Michelangelo (1501-1504)

Neal's Topic:

Southland Tales (2006)

Directed by Richard Kelly

Help Support The Show On Patreon!

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Follow the show and its creators on Instagram:

• The Show - @curatedbychance

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• Neal - @nealefischer

E-mail us: curatedbychance@gmail.com

Hear Neal each week on Triviality Podcast. Subscribe now!

Listen to Lauren on Miss Information Podcast! Subscribe now!

Check out Neal's books available now and for pre-order!

www.linktr.ee/nealefischer

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Prompts: Mauve, Fabergé Egg, Sale

From a glittering egg-based heist to the rebranding of manhood via cologne, this episode has everything: tilt-shift cinematography, Romanov decadence, and a scent trail that leads straight to 2001.

Neal kicks things off with a love letter to Game Night (2018), the mid-budget comedy-thriller that delivers both gut-busting laughs and cinematic style. With Jason Bateman and Rachel McAdams leading a cast of surprisingly intense suburbanites, this one’s shot like a Fincher film but plays like Clue on steroids. Neal breaks down the film’s unique look (including tilt-shift photography), standout performances (hello, Jesse Plemons), and why the Fabergé egg scene is memorable. You’ll never look at a 3-for-1 Tostitos sale the same way again.

Then Lauren explores the glitzy, imperial, and slightly cursed world of Fabergé eggs. From their origins in the Russian court to being used as coded political messages, these decadent eggs were more than just baubles—they were status symbols, love tokens, and eventually, product lines. We’re talking jewels, missing treasure, imperial drama, Joe Namath getting shaved by Farrah Fawcett, and Brut cologne. (Yes, somehow it all connects.)

Neal's Topic:

Game Night (2018)

Explanation of the Egg Oner

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=71Yj6Ur52ok

Lauren's Topic:

Fabergé eggs

Help Support The Show On Patreon!

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Join The Curated By Chance Music League:

bit.ly/4ieuxpS

Follow the show and its creators on Instagram:

• The Show - @curatedbychance
• Lauren - @paisleylo
• Neal - @nealefischer
• 
  

E-mail us: curatedbychance@gmail.com

Hear Neal each week on Triviality Podcast. Subscribe now!

Listen to Lauren on Miss Information Podcast! Subscribe now!

Check out Neal's books available now and for pre-order!

www.linktr.ee/nealefischer

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

PROMPTS: Black, 1350, Fire

In this episode of Curated by Chance, things get dark—literally and historically—as Lauren takes us on a deep dive into the Black Death, while Neal brings the dad-movie heat with a Clint Eastwood thriller that simmers with guilt, glory, and Secret Service showdowns.

Lauren unpacks the devastating second wave of the bubonic plague that ravaged Europe in the mid-1300s, touching on its impact on global populations, religious structures, art, medicine, and even nursery rhymes (ring around the rosie just got darker). She explores how the plague may have helped birth the Renaissance, inspired deeply weird fashion (plague doctor masks, anyone?), and led to history’s earliest known version of quarantine.

Then Neal talks In the Line of Fire (1993), a political thriller starring Clint Eastwood as a guilt-ridden Secret Service agent and John Malkovich as a creepy would-be assassin. From moody jazz scenes and rooftop chases to wooden guns and visual effects that predate Forrest Gump, Neal makes the case for why this underrated dad movie deserves a second look—and maybe a burrata on top.

Lauren's Topic:

The Black Death (1346-1353)

Neal's Topic:

In The Line of Fire (1993)

Directed by Wolfgang Petersen

Help Support The Show On Patreon!

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Join The Curated By Chance Music League:

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Follow the show and its creators on Instagram:

• The Show - @curatedbychance
• Lauren - @paisleylo
• Neal - @nealefischer
• 
  

E-mail us: curatedbychance@gmail.com

Hear Neal each week on Triviality Podcast. Subscribe now!

Listen to Lauren on Miss Information Podcast! Subscribe now!

Check out Neal's books available now and for pre-order!

www.linktr.ee/nealefischer

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

PROMPTS: 1024, Royal Blue, Ghost

This week Neal and Lauren dig into some cult classics—on screen and on the page—with sports corruption, spectral romances, and enough Gothic tropes to haunt your bookshelves for weeks.

Neal kicks things off with the 1994 basketball drama Blue Chips, directed by William Friedkin and written by sports-movie maestro Ron Shelton. From real-life coaching scandals to on-court drama starring Shaquille O’Neal and Penny Hardaway, Neal unpacks the movie’s behind-the-scenes chaos and its lasting impact on college sports, athlete recruiting, and 90s nostalgia. If you love Bull Durham, White Men Can’t Jump, or the idea of Nick Nolte absolutely losing it on the sidelines, this one’s for you.

Lauren, inspired by the prompt “Ghost,” dives headfirst into the shadowy, seductive world of Gothic fiction. She explores the genre’s origins, tropes, politics, and what makes it the fairy smut of its time. From Jane Eyre to Shirley Jackson to Bigfoot erotica (you read that right), Lauren walks us through the genre’s history, feminist potential, spooky vibes, and cultural staying power—plus the vampire lore that explains why the Count on Sesame Street can’t stop counting.

Neal's Topic:

Blue Chips (1994)

Directed by William Friedkin

Lauren's Topic:

Gothic Fiction

Help Support The Show On Patreon!

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Join The Curated By Chance Music League:

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Follow the show and its creators on Instagram:

• The Show - @curatedbychance
• Lauren - @paisleylo
• Neal - @nealefischer

E-mail us: curatedbychance@gmail.com

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• Christmas Ultimate Trivia Book (out now!)
• Rom-Com Ultimate Trivia Book (out now!)
• Pre-Order "The Totally Awesome World Of..." Series

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PROMPTS: Hand, Monochrome, 291

This week, Lauren and Neal find themselves surrounded by haunting photographs, avant-garde rebels, seduction by switchblade, and the power of a well-composed shadow. It’s all about hands—on camera, in print, and tattooed across the knuckles of cinema’s creepiest preacher.

Lauren dives into the story of Alfred Stieglitz and the legendary Gallery 291, where modern art and photography staked a claim in the American imagination. From pictorialism to straight photography, and from Paul Strand to Picabia’s mechanical portraits, this gallery helped launch modernism in the U.S. and gave us iconic images of Georgia O’Keeffe, especially her hands—obsessively captured by Stieglitz in photos that were both intimate and era-defining. Affairs, artistic movements, and gallery drama—who says photography history can’t be juicy?

Then Neal revisits the criminally underrated 1955 film The Night of the Hunter, directed by Charles Laughton and starring a hauntingly seductive Robert Mitchum. With its German Expressionist style, Southern Gothic tone, and nightmare-level villain, it’s no surprise that this one-off film became a favorite of Spike Lee, Scorsese, the Coens, and more. Love and Hate, stitched across the knuckles, meet deep focus cinematography and false prophets.  

Lauren's Topic:

Alfred Stieglitz

Neal's Topic:

The Night of the Hunter (1955)

Directed by Charles Laughton

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PROMPTS: Khaki, 624, Instrument

This week, Neal and Lauren dive into two genre-defining masterpieces—one epic adventure from late-90s Hollywood, and one triptych of religious fever dreams from the 15th century. You know, just your average Tuesday.

Neal kicks things off with a full-on love letter to The Mummy (1999), the film that gave us peak Brendan Fraser, tomb-raiding librarians, and one of the worst CGI effects ever committed to screen (we're looking at you, Scorpion King). From the film’s sweaty, snake-infested shoot in Morocco to Fraser’s near-death experience on set, Neal explores why this action-horror-romance-comedy hybrid has remained such a fan favorite—and how Rachel Weisz’s historically accurate eyebrows became a surprise icon.

Then Lauren finally (finally!) tackles The Garden of Earthly Delights by Hieronymus Bosch—a painting so packed with symbolism, medieval memes, and demon nuns that we barely scratch the surface. From the owl known as the “Bosch Bird” to a butt tattoo that’s technically playable sheet music, Lauren breaks down why this triptych is simultaneously hilarious, deeply religious, and weirdly hot on Instagram. Turns out “Jerry from Bosch” had a lot to say about sin, salvation, and maybe even EDM.

Neal's Topic:

The Mummy (1999)

Directed by: Stephen Sommers

Lauren's Topic:

The Garden of Earthly Delights

Hieronymus Bosch (1503–1515)

Check out the high-res version Neal found here:

https://archief.ntr.nl/tuinderlusten/en.html

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• 
  

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Prompts: Face, Bull, Sepia

In this art-and-cinema-packed episode of Curated by Chance, Lauren and Neal tackle two iconic mediums of visual storytelling: Picasso’s anti-war masterpiece and the century-long evolution of sepia in film.

Lauren kicks things off with Pablo Picasso’s Guernica, diving deep into the tragic bombing that inspired it, the painting’s powerful symbolism, and the key role of Dora Maar—Picasso’s partner, muse, and fellow artist. She explores the visual chaos, hidden skulls, dismembered limbs, and why the painting is considered one of the most haunting and effective anti-war artworks in history. But can we celebrate Guernica without celebrating the man behind it? That’s where it gets complicated.

Then Neal unpacks sepia—from its origins as a cuttlefish-derived archival tool to its place in cinematic magic. He explores how The Wizard of Oz pulled off its iconic sepia-to-Technicolor transition, how filmmakers like the Coen Brothers embraced sepia in emotional storytelling, and how color grading today still carries cultural weight, for better or worse (we’re looking at you, “Mexico Filter”).

Lauren’s Topic:

Guernica by Pablo Picasso (1937)

Neal’s Topic:

Sepia in film

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• 
  

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PROMPTS: Italy, 88, Chartreuse

Neal and Lauren explore two vastly different works—one about the magic of cinema, the other about fruit, vegetables, and a very ominous cucumber.

Neal kicks things off with Cinema Paradiso (1988), Giuseppe Tornatore’s love letter to film. He breaks down how the film blends nostalgia, mentorship, and the bittersweet passage of time through the relationship between young Toto and his surrogate father, Alfredo. From the iconic “film reel of kisses” to Ennio Morricone’s hauntingly beautiful score, Neal explains why Cinema Paradiso continues to resonate decades later—and why it’s one of the most romantic films about movies ever made.

Lauren takes a left turn into the world of Spanish Baroque painting with Juan Sánchez Cotán’s Still Life with Quince, Cabbage, Melon, and Cucumber (1602). She unpacks the eerie beauty of Cotán’s bodegón style, the stark black void that frames his produce, and why some of her students find this painting “deeply unsettling.” Plus, she shares how a seemingly innocent discussion on melons once caused a classroom mutiny.

Neal’s Topic:

Cinema Paradiso (1988)

Directed by: Giuseppe Tornatore

Lauren’s Topic:

Still Life with Quince, Cabbage, Melon, and Cucumber (1602)

Artist: Juan Sánchez Cotán

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• 
  

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PROMPTS: Rebel, Rose, 314

This week on Curated by Chance, Neal and Lauren explore two films centered on rebellion—one a Technicolor classic, the other a bombastic action epic.

Lauren kicks things off with RRR (2022), the Indian blockbuster that became a global phenomenon. She dives into how this Tollywood spectacle reimagines history, blending revolutionary fervor with jaw-dropping action, heartfelt bromance, and unforgettable musical sequences (including the Oscar-winning Naatu Naatu). From its dazzling dance numbers to its over-the-top heroics, Lauren explains why RRR is one of the most exhilarating films of the decade—and why everyone needs to watch it immediately.

Neal takes a trip back to 1955 with Rebel Without a Cause, the James Dean classic that defined teenage angst. He breaks down how Nicholas Ray’s iconic film captured generational conflict, masculinity, and alienation, while also discussing the tragic fates of its stars. Plus, he dives into the film’s cultural impact, its connection to Back to the Future, and how Rebel Without a Cause cemented James Dean’s legacy as a Hollywood legend.

Lauren’s Topic:

RRR (2022)

Directed by: S. S. Rajamouli

Neal’s Topic:

Rebel Without a Cause (1955)

Directed by: Nicholas Ray

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PROMPTS: Phone, Silver, 17

This week on Curated by Chance, Neal and Lauren dive deep into the world of absurdity, dark humor, and controversial art, exploring two distinct works—one from cinema and one from fine art.

Neal kicks things off by discussing Serial Mom (1994), the black comedy directed by John Waters. He delves into the film's satire of suburban life and American culture, following Beverly Sutfin, a seemingly perfect PTA mom with a murderous streak. From the absurd humor to Kathleen Turner's stellar performance, Neal explores why this dark comedy preemptively tapped into America's true crime obsession, long before the podcast boom. He also shares some behind-the-scenes facts about the production, including a connection to the song "Tomorrow" from Annie and a cameo from Patty Hearst.

Lauren then takes us into the world of Austrian expressionist painter Egon Schiele, whose works from 1917 and beyond remain both controversial and influential. She uncovers Schiele’s dark personal history, including his tragic family background and complex relationships, while diving into his provocative artwork. Known for his unsettling depictions of sexuality and death, Schiele's works often challenge notions of beauty, consent, and the human body. Lauren discusses his often grotesque yet captivating art and how it continues to spark debates about the artist's intentions and legacy.

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Neal’s Topic:

• Serial Mom (1994)

Lauren’s Topic:

• Egon Schiele’s 1917 works

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PROMPTS: Lunar, Electricity, 30

This week on Curated by Chance, Neal and Lauren celebrate their 30th episode with two cinematic classics—one romantic, one groundbreaking.

Lauren takes a deep dive into Moonstruck (1987), the beloved romantic comedy starring Cher and Nicolas Cage. From its theatrical dialogue to its fairy tale-like storytelling, she explores what makes this film such a timeless classic. She also discusses the film’s Italian-American identity, Cher’s Oscar-winning performance, and why this movie is secretly one of the best-written rom-coms of all time. Plus, Lauren shares why Moonstruck is a personal favorite (and her dad’s favorite, too).

Neal takes us back to the early days of cinema with A Trip to the Moon (1902), the legendary silent film by Georges Méliès. He explains how Méliès, a magician turned filmmaker, pioneered special effects, cinematic storytelling, and even matte painting. From the iconic moon face with a rocket in its eye to the film’s hand-painted frames, Neal breaks down why this film remains a foundational piece of movie history.

Lauren’s Topic:

Moonstruck (1987)

Stream the film here

Neal’s Topic:

Georges Méliès & A Trip to the Moon (1902)

Stream the movie here

Or check YouTube!

Leave Neal a review on his Rom-Com book HERE!

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Follow the show and its creators on Instagram:

The Show - @curatedbychance

Lauren - @paisleylo

Neal - @nealefischer

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PROMPTS: Siren, Leather, 818

Neal embarks on an off-the-rails deep dive into Ice Ice Baby, Vanilla Ice’s meteoric rise, and the bizarre world surrounding his fame. From his disputed backstory to a failed Hollywood career (Cool as Ice, anyone?), Neal unpacks the highs, lows, and lingering pop-culture footprint of one of the 90s’ most notorious one-hit wonders. Plus, a wild fact about an important crew member that you won't want to miss.

Lauren brings things back to high art with Caspar David Friedrich’s Wanderer Above the Sea of Fog, one of the most iconic paintings of the Romantic era. She explores how Friedrich captured the sublime, the loneliness of modernity, and even how the Nazis co-opted his work for their own nationalistic purposes. Also, if you’re in New York this year, she highly recommends seeing Friedrich’s newly opened exhibition at The Met.

Neal’s Topic:

• Vanilla Ice’s wild career & the Cool as Ice debacle
• How a misheard lyric led to a deep dive on the 818 area code
• TRAILER for Cool As Ice (watch the whole movie if you dare)
• 
  

Lauren’s Topic:

• Caspar David Friedrich’s Wanderer Above the Sea of Fog
• High-Res Version HERE
• 
  

Leave Neal a review on his Rom-Com book HERE!

Follow the show and its creators on Instagram:

The Show - @curatedbychance

Lauren - @paisleylo

Neal - @nealefischer

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Hear Neal each week on Triviality Podcast. Subscribe now!

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Buy Neal’s next two books out now and pre-order his newest books below!

• Christmas Ultimate Trivia Book (out now!)
• Rom-Com Ultimate Trivia Book (out now!)
• Pre-Order "The Totally Awesome World Of..." Series

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PROMPTS: Maroon, Accent, 215

This week on Curated by Chance, Neal and Lauren explore language, survival, and everything in between, bringing two wildly different yet equally fascinating topics to the table.

Lauren dives into Bill Bryson’s The Mother Tongue: English and How It Got That Way, a witty and informative exploration of the quirks, history, and evolution of the English language. From the origin of everyday words to unexpected trivia like why an apron was once “a napron,” Lauren explains why Bryson’s book is a must-read for language lovers. Plus, she shares her favorite passages and nerds out over the magic of etymology and regional accents.

Neal takes a darker turn with Battle Royale (2000), the Japanese cult classic that inspired The Hunger Games and countless “last-person-standing” stories. Neal breaks down the film’s dystopian setting, its influence on pop culture, and the behind-the-scenes stories that shaped this gripping, violent tale. He also connects it to Japanese history, cinema, and how Quentin Tarantino couldn’t get enough of it—literally casting one of its stars in Kill Bill: Vol 1.

Leave Neal a review on his Rom-Com book HERE!

Lauren's Topic:

The Mother Tongue: English and How It Got That Way by Bill Bryson

Neal's Topic:

Battle Royale (2000)

Directed by Kinji Fukasaku

Full Theatrical Version (Not Extended Version) on YouTube for Free

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• Christmas Ultimate Trivia Book (out now!)
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• Pre-Order "The Totally Awesome World Of..." Series

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PROMPTS: Sky-Blue, 101, Flowers

This week on Curated by Chance, Neal and Lauren explore two vastly different works.

Neal revisits The Truman Show (1998), diving deep into its eerie parallels with modern-day surveillance culture, reality TV, and social media. From Jim Carrey’s career-defining performance to the film’s psychological impact (including the real-life Truman Show Delusion), Neal unpacks why this dystopian comedy-drama is more relevant than ever. He also explores the iconic "sky blue" moment—the moment Truman discovers the literal limits of his world.

Lauren, on the other hand, takes a journey through art history with Sandro Botticelli’s Primavera (1482). With its mythological themes, lush depiction of over 500 plant species, and Botticelli’s signature style, this Renaissance masterpiece serves as Lauren’s personal gateway to art history. She breaks down its symbolism, its ties to both mythology and Christianity, and why its ethereal beauty continues to captivate viewers centuries later.

Leave Neal a review on his Rom-Com book HERE!

Neal's Topic:

The Truman Show (1998)

Stream the movie here

Lauren's Topic:

Sandro Botticelli

Primavera

1482

High-Res Scan Here

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• Christmas Ultimate Trivia Book (out now!)
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PROMPTS: 1958, Ship, Mustard Yellow

This week on Curated by Chance, Neal and Lauren dive into two fascinating works that capture grandeur, tragedy, and larger-than-life imagery.

Lauren takes listeners back to the 16th century with Pieter Bruegel the Elder’s Landscape with the Fall of Icarus, an artwork that redefines mythological storytelling. She explores how Bruegel subverts the dramatic morality tale of Icarus by making his downfall barely noticeable in the scene, instead focusing on the ordinary world continuing as tragedy strikes. From the hidden symbolism to the rich history of Bruegel’s artistic style, Lauren unpacks why this painting is a masterclass in subtle storytelling.

Meanwhile, Neal explores Attack of the 50-Foot Woman (1958) through the lens of its legendary movie poster. Instead of focusing on the film itself, Neal highlights the work of Reynold Brown, the artist behind over 300 classic Hollywood posters. From atomic-age paranoia to the feminist undertones of a vengeful, towering woman, Neal explains how this iconic artwork became more famous than the film it advertised. Plus, he shares a hilarious story about how Brown secretly inserted something into one of his posters to get back at people.

Lauren’s Topic:

Pieter Bruegel the Elder

Landscape with the Fall of Icarus

1560

High Res Scan Here

Neal’s Topic:

Illustrator Reynold Brown

Mini-Documentary

(look out for an art historian that should be played by Kate McKinnon)

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Buy Neal’s next two books out now and pre-order his newest books below!

• Christmas Ultimate Trivia Book (out now!)
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• Pre-Order "The Totally Awesome World Of..." Series

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PROMPTS: 1434, Charcoal, Lens

In this episode of Curated by Chance, Neal and Lauren explore two masterpieces inspired by this week’s prompts, taking listeners on a journey through art, cinema, and history.

Neal delves into Alfred Hitchcock’s classic Rear Window (1954), unraveling its themes of voyeurism, morality, and isolation. From the groundbreaking set design to Hitchcock’s visual storytelling, Neal breaks down why this suspenseful masterpiece still resonates in the digital age. He also shares fascinating trivia, including its connection to real-life crimes and Hollywood’s favorite costume designer, Edith Head.

Lauren takes us further back in time to 1434 with Jan van Eyck’s iconic Arnolfini Portrait. She unpacks the rich symbolism hidden in this Flemish masterpiece, from the mysterious convex mirror to the lavish fabrics and even the enigmatic dog at the couple’s feet. Lauren also explores the painting’s role in art history and why it continues to fascinate viewers centuries after it was completed.

Neal’s Topic:

Rear Window (1954)

Dir: Alfred Hitchcock

Stream the movie here

Buy the movie here

Lauren’s Topic:

The Arnolfini Portrait

Jan van Eyck

1434

More about the painting

Support Our Show:

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Prompts: Tomato Red, Globe-trotting, 5

In this week’s episode of Curated by Chance, Neal and Lauren find themselves in perfect sync as they both dive into Richard Osman’s latest book, We Solve Murders. What are the odds? (Apparently, 1-in-24 episodes.)

Lauren kicks things off with her enthusiastic review of We Solve Murders, Richard Osman’s action-packed, character-rich follow-up to The Thursday Murder Club. She explores how Osman’s knack for quirky characters and heartfelt moments makes this new book a winner. From charming detectives to globe-trotting escapades, Lauren shares why Osman’s latest is a must-read. Neal follows suit, sharing his thoughts on the book’s cinematic pacing, its cliffhanger-packed chapters, and why it’s the perfect blend of humor and mystery. Together, Neal and Lauren discuss their favorite characters, laugh-out-loud moments, and the emotional depth that sets Osman apart.

Check out We Solve Murders

Amazon

Bookshop.org

Also check out The Thursday Murder Club!

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Prompts: Blue, Machine, and Two

In this futuristic and literary episode of Curated by Chance, Neal and Lauren dive into two distinct works of art inspired by this week’s prompts.

Neal explores the 2002 sci-fi noir masterpiece Minority Report. Directed by Steven Spielberg and starring Tom Cruise, the film delves into the murky ethics of pre-crime technology, stunning practical effects, and a dark vision of the future. From incredible stunts to Spielberg’s signature long takes, Neal breaks down why this film remains a cultural and technological touchstone decades later.

Lauren takes a different approach with the novella This Is How You Lose the Time War by Amal El-Mohtar and Max Gladstone. Through an epistolary love story between two characters—Red and Blue—caught on opposite sides of a time-traveling war, Lauren highlights the poetic beauty and emotional depth of this Nebula, Hugo, and Locus Award-winning work.

Neal’s Topic:

Minority Report (2002)

Watch the movie

Lauren’s Topic:

This Is How You Lose the Time War (2019)

Get the book

Support Our Show:

Love the show? Help us keep going by becoming a Patron for just $5/month!

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PROMPTS: Fowl, 27, Coral

In this wild New Year and milestone birthday episode of Curated by Chance, Neal and Lauren ring in 2025 with a blend of art, absurdity, and a little fowl play.

Lauren dives into the storied history of Carl Fabritius’ The Goldfinch, a Dutch Golden Age masterpiece that’s survived explosions, shrapnel, and centuries of mystery. From its delicate depiction of a chained goldfinch to its surprising symbolic significance, Lauren takes listeners through its fascinating journey from obscurity to the center of Donna Tartt’s Pulitzer-winning novel and even Hollywood. A bird that survived the Delft Thunderclap? Now that’s art with a bang.

Neal follows with a hilarious detour into one of cinema’s most infamous cult classics: Howard the Duck (1986). With duck nudity, awkward animatronics, and a star-studded cast (Lea Thompson and Tim Robbins, anyone?), Neal explores why this Marvel misfire is as bizarre as it is beloved.

Lauren's Topic:

The Goldfinch

Carel Fabritius

1654

Learn More About The Work

Neal's Topic

Howard The Duck (1986)

Stream the movie

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• Christmas Ultimate Trivia Book (out now!)
• Rom-Com Ultimate Trivia Book (out now!)

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In this festive episode of Curated by Chance, Neal and Lauren dive into an unexpectedly hilarious and insightful conversation inspired by the spirit of the season, nostalgic college rituals, and... unconventional business ideas.

Lauren opens with reflections on Christmas traditions, from her family's cozy Christmas Eve rituals to her current waffle-filled mornings with her in-laws. Neal shares his childhood Christmas celebrations and recounts his role as the family "jungle gym" for his nieces, complete with a Tecmo Super Bowl tournament twist.

Then, things take a detour into hilarity with a playful discussion about graphic design genius (hint: the Hooters logo), entrepreneurial equality with "Bulges" (a hypothetical counterpart to Hooters), and the quintessential debate of deep-fried chicken tenders.

Neal transitions into the main topic: a spotlight on the 1993 thriller The Fugitive. From its gripping storyline to behind-the-scenes tidbits, Neal explains why Harrison Ford’s portrayal of the wrongfully accused Dr. Richard Kimball is a cinematic masterpiece. Highlights include Ford’s on-set injury, Tommy Lee Jones’ iconic improv line (“I don’t care”), and the audaciously real train crash scene. Fans of movie trivia and Chicago locales will love this segment!

Lauren wraps up with a beautifully immersive dive into Susanna Clarke’s Piranesi, a labyrinthine tale of loss, memory, and imagination. She highlights the book’s unique narrative structure, Clarke’s creative genius, and the intriguing stop-motion adaptation in the works by Leica Studios. If you’re a fan of magical realism or fantasy, this is a must-listen!

PROMPTS: 16, Water, Loss

Neal's Topic

The Fugitive (1993)

Stream the movie

Oral History of the film

Lauren's Topic:

Piranesi by Susanna Clarke

Learn More About The Work

Support Our Show:

Love the show? Help us keep going by becoming a Patron for just $5/month!

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Follow the show and its creators on Instagram:

The Show - @curatedbychance

Lauren - @paisleylo

Neal - @nealefischer

E-mail us: curatedbychance@gmail.com

Hear Neal each week on Triviality Podcast. Subscribe now!

Listen to Lauren on Miss Information Podcast! Subscribe now!

Buy Neal’s next two books!

• Christmas Ultimate Trivia Book (out now!)
• Rom-Com Ultimate Trivia Book (out now!)

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this episode of Curated by Chance, Neal and Lauren embrace the surreal as they explore two influential creative giants: the enigmatic René Magritte and the groundbreaking screenwriter William Goldman.

Lauren kicks things off with a deep dive into the surreal world of René Magritte, the Belgian artist known for his clever, dreamlike paintings that challenge perception and representation. From the haunting story of his childhood to his evolution as a key figure in surrealism, Lauren unpacks the layers of Magritte’s work, including iconic pieces like The Treachery of Images and The Lovers. Plus, discover how Magritte's influence extends to pop culture, from MoMA exhibits to Beyoncé music videos.

Neal follows up with a spotlight on William Goldman, the legendary screenwriter behind Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid and The Princess Bride. Neal explores Goldman's creative genius, his knack for blending humor and poignancy, and his lasting impact on Hollywood storytelling. With fascinating anecdotes about his screenwriting techniques and his bold defiance of conventional rules, this segment is a must-listen for movie buffs and aspiring writers alike.

Stay tuned for this week’s prompts—“Navy,” “1970s,” and “Train”—and join Neal and Lauren as they craft the next episode's inspirations.

PROMPTS: Navy, 1970s, Train

Lauren's Topic:

René Magritte

Learn More About The Work

Neal's Topic

Screenwriter William Goldman

Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid

Support Our Show:

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The Show - @curatedbychance

Lauren - @paisleylo

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E-mail us: curatedbychance@gmail.com

Hear Neal each week on Triviality Podcast. Subscribe now!

Listen to Lauren on Miss Information Podcast! Subscribe now!

Buy Neal’s next two books!

• Christmas Ultimate Trivia Book (out now!)
• Rom-Com Ultimate Trivia Book (out now!)

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this episode of Curated by Chance, Neal and Lauren start with a spirited discussion about wardrobe mishaps, a whirlwind trip to Washington, D.C., and the energy of exploring monuments on scooters in freezing weather.

Neal takes us back to 1975 with a cinematic masterpiece that’s part art history, part technical marvel: Barry Lyndon. Highlighting Stanley Kubrick’s obsession with natural light, NASA lenses, and meticulous historical detail, Neal reveals why this film is like walking into an 18th-century painting. Along the way, we hear about the film’s production challenges, its groundbreaking cinematography, and why it’s a must-watch for anyone who loves movies and museums.

Lauren shines a spotlight on the trailblazing artist Alma Thomas, who defied the odds to create vibrant, abstract works in her later years. From her time as a teacher to her rise as a celebrated painter, Lauren explores Thomas’s colorful legacy, including her role in the March on Washington and her history-making exhibition at the Whitney. Her story is a testament to how life is long, full of possibilities, and brimming with second (or third!) acts.

Stay tuned for updates from their Patreon and a special sneak peek at an upcoming exhibition Lauren is helping to host in 2025. You’ll walk away inspired to create, explore, and appreciate the beauty of art and film.

PROMPTS: Flower, Saffron, 1970s

Neal's Topic:

Barry Lyndon (1975)

Watch the film here

Cinematography Deep Dive

Lauren's Topic:

Alma Thomas

Learn More About The Work

Support Our Show:

Love the show? Help us keep going by becoming a Patron for just $5/month!

👉 www.patreon.com/curatedbychance

Follow the show and its creators on Instagram:

The Show - @curatedbychance

Lauren - @paisleylo

Neal - @nealefischer

E-mail us: curatedbychance@gmail.com

Hear Neal each week on Triviality Podcast. Subscribe now!

Listen to Lauren on Miss Information Podcast! Subscribe now!

Buy Neal’s next two books!

• Christmas Ultimate Trivia Book (out now!)
• Rom-Com Ultimate Trivia Book (out now!)

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Neal and Lauren kick off this episode of Curated by Chance with a fun hypothetical: which museum would you be okay being locked in for a week? Neal leans into nostalgia for The Met’s labyrinthine halls and ancient relics, while Lauren takes us through her imaginative week at The Met, complete with time-traveling from an 18th-century room to a Frank Lloyd Wright interior.

In their prompts section, Lauren dives into the life and art of Rosa Bonheur, the trailblazing 19th-century painter known for her massive and hyper-realistic animal portraits. Lauren paints a vivid picture (pun intended) of Bonheur’s defiance of gender norms, including her audacious decision to wear men’s clothing to sketch animals at the Paris horse markets. Neal follows up with an ode to Small Soldiers (1998), a chaotic blend of satire, toys, and 90s CGI nostalgia. From its stacked cast (Tommy Lee Jones, Kirsten Dunst) to its wild marketing fiascoes, Neal dissects why this movie holds a peculiar place in cinematic history.

The pair wrap up with updates from their Patreon and tease upcoming topics, leaving listeners with plenty to ponder and a dose of pop culture inspiration.

PROMPTS: Rose, Toy, 358

Lauren's Topic:

Rosa Bonheur

The Horse Fair

1855

Learn More About The Work

Neal's Topic:

Small Soldiers (1998)

Watch the film here

Fun Behind-the-Scenes Featurette

Support Our Show:

Love the show? Help us keep going by becoming a Patron for just $5/month!

👉 www.patreon.com/curatedbychance

Follow the show and its creators on Instagram:

The Show - @curatedbychance

Lauren - @paisleylo

Neal - @nealefischer

E-mail us: curatedbychance@gmail.com

Hear Neal each week on Triviality Podcast. Subscribe now!

Listen to Lauren on Miss Information Podcast! Subscribe now!

Buy Neal’s next two books!

• Christmas Ultimate Trivia Book (out now!)
• Rom-Com Ultimate Trivia Book (out now!)

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Neal dives into the delightful chaos of Waiting for Guffman, the cult classic mockumentary by Christopher Guest. He unpacks the absurdly earnest world of small-town community theater, introducing the eccentric Corky St. Clair, Blaine, Missouri’s quirkiest director. With heartfelt anecdotes and laugh-out-loud observations, Neal celebrates the improvised genius of the cast, from Parker Posey’s Dairy Queen dreamer to Fred Willard and Catherine O’Hara’s hilariously misguided stage couple. Neal shares personal memories tied to the film, why it resonates with theater lovers and skeptics alike, and how it brilliantly captures the lovable earnestness of amateur theater.

Lauren shifts the spotlight to Paris Is Burning, the groundbreaking documentary chronicling New York’s 1980s drag ball culture. With a blend of reverence and critical analysis, she explores the origins of voguing, the fierce competition of ball culture, and the resilience of LGBTQ+ communities in the face of societal rejection. From the larger-than-life house mothers to the heartbreaking reality of marginalized lives, Lauren celebrates the film’s enduring impact on queer representation, while highlighting its controversies. Together, Neal and Lauren weave personal stories and cultural insights into a vibrant discussion of two cinematic treasures.

Episode Prompts: 5014, Jet, Documentary

Special Rom-Com Ultimate Trivia Book Giveaway!

Purchase the book and go here: https://www.quarto.com/campaign/Rom-Com-Trivia-Preorder

Neal's Topic:

Waiting for Guffman (1996)

Watch the film here

Alternate Epilogue Neal Spoke About

Lauren's Topic:

Paris is Burning (1990)

Watch the film here

Criterion Collection Remaster

Support Our Show:

Love the show? Help us keep going by becoming a Patron for just $5/month!

👉 www.patreon.com/curatedbychance

Follow the show and its creators on Instagram:

The Show - @curatedbychance

Lauren - @paisleylo

Neal - @nealefischer

E-mail us: curatedbychance@gmail.com

Hear Neal each week on Triviality Podcast. Subscribe now!

Listen to Lauren on Miss Information Podcast! Subscribe now!

Pre-order Neal’s next two books!

• Christmas Ultimate Trivia Book (out now!)
• Rom-Com Ultimate Trivia Book (releasing Dec 3) Pre-Order Now and Enter the Giveaway!

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Lauren takes listeners deep into the complex world of museum ethics and cultural restitution, unraveling the fascinating saga of the Benin Bronzes. She recounts how these treasured artifacts were looted from Nigeria during a violent raid in 1897 and scattered across global museums, sparking heated debates about repatriation and cultural preservation. With wit and insight, Lauren sheds light on the ongoing tug-of-war between returning artifacts to their origins and preserving them for a global audience, challenging listeners to consider: who truly owns history?

Neal shifts gears with a celebration of Zatoichi, the iconic blind swordsman from Japanese cinema. He reveals the layered history of this legendary character, who first appeared in a 1962 film and evolved through 26 movies and a TV series. Neal connects Zatoichi’s influence to modern storytelling, from samurai classics to The Mandalorian. He also touches on The Warriors—the cult-classic film reimagined as a star-studded concept album by Lin-Manuel Miranda. Neal dives into the film's video-game-like structure, its iconic lines, and its cultural legacy, painting a vivid picture of why these stories endure. Plus the pair consider changing their podcast title. What do you think?

Episode Prompts: Mauve, 962, Steal/Steel

Special Rom-Com Ultimate Trivia Book Giveaway!

Purchase the book and go here: https://www.quarto.com/campaign/Rom-Com-Trivia-Preorder

Your trivia question: What one-named brand dress was Audrey Hepburn wearing in the opening of Breakfast at Tiffany's?

Lauren's Topic:

The Benin Bronzes

Learn More About Them

Neal's Topic:

Zatoichi: The Blind Swordsman

Criterion Set

The Warriors (1979)

Watch the film here

Warriors Concept Album

Listen to the album here

Support Our Show:

Love the show? Help us keep going by becoming a Patron for just $5/month!

👉 www.patreon.com/curatedbychance

Follow the show and its creators on Instagram:

The Show - @curatedbychance

Lauren - @paisleylo

Neal - @nealefischer

E-mail us: curatedbychance@gmail.com

Hear Neal each week on Triviality Podcast. Subscribe now!

Listen to Lauren on Miss Information Podcast! Subscribe now!

Pre-order Neal’s next two books!

• Christmas Ultimate Trivia Book (out now!)
• Rom-Com Ultimate Trivia Book (releasing Dec 3) Pre-Order Now and Enter the Giveaway!

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this episode, Neal and Lauren bring their signature blend of wit and insight to two fascinating cultural topics. Neal dives deep into Pretty in Pink (1986), sharing behind-the-scenes stories, casting surprises, and the lasting impact of John Hughes’ quintessential teen rom-com. From Molly Ringwald’s iconic wardrobe to the alternate ending that test audiences rejected, Neal unpacks why Pretty in Pink remains a touchstone for teen cinema. Whether you’re Team Ducky or Team Blane, Neal’s exploration of the film’s music, themes, and legacy will have you dusting off your prom playlist. Neal also details his trials of being dry needled and recommends it to the masses in true fine art form.

Lauren shifts gears and takes us into the stylish world of Elsa Schiaparelli, the trailblazing Italian designer who defined avant-garde fashion in the early 20th century. From her aristocratic upbringing to her revolutionary designs that fused art and couture, Lauren paints a vivid portrait of Schiaparelli’s fascinating life. With tales of surrealist collaborations, iconic fashion innovations, and a larger-than-life personality, this segment is a masterclass in style and history.

Episode Prompts: Adrenaline, Pink, 1615

Special Rom-Com Ultimate Trivia Book Giveaway!

Purchase the book and go here: https://www.quarto.com/campaign/Rom-Com-Trivia-Preorder

Neal's Topic:

Pretty in Pink (1986)

Watch the film on Paramount Plus

Stream the film elsewhere

"If You Leave" by OMD

Neal's Recommendation:

The Women (1939)

Lauren's Topic:

Elsa Schiaparelli (1890-1973)

Learn More About Elsa

Article about Shocking Pink

Support Our Show:

Love the show? Help us keep going by becoming a Patron for just $5/month!

👉 www.patreon.com/curatedbychance

Follow the show and its creators on Instagram:

The Show - @curatedbychance

Lauren - @paisleylo

Neal - @nealefischer

E-mail us: curatedbychance@gmail.com

Hear Neal each week on Triviality Podcast. Subscribe now!

Listen to Lauren on Miss Information Podcast! Subscribe now!

Pre-order Neal’s next two books!

• Christmas Ultimate Trivia Book (out now!)
• Rom-Com Ultimate Trivia Book (releasing Dec 3) Pre-Order Now and Enter the Giveaway!

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this episode, Neal and Lauren dive deep into two iconic works that shaped pop culture. Lauren takes listeners on a journey through So, Peter Gabriel's groundbreaking 1986 album. She explores its experimental sound, innovative collaborations, and social influence, highlighting Gabriel’s approach to music that incorporated diverse voices and global influences. From “Sledgehammer” to “In Your Eyes,” Lauren unpacks the inspiration, talent, and ambition behind each track, revealing why So continues to resonate with fans worldwide.

Neal short-circuits at one point and then shares his passion for You've Got Mail [1998] and discusses how Nora Ephron's direction and storytelling captured the essence of romance and New York City. Exploring themes of identity, double lives, and love in the digital age, Neal explains how the movie remains timeless. From the charming dialogue to memorable scenes, it’s a quintessential rom-com that fans of the genre shouldn’t miss.

Episode Prompts: Angel, Fox, 998

E-mail (curatedbychance@gmail.com) with an answer to the Rom-Com question in the episode for a chance to win a copy of Neal's book! The Question: What item was Patrick Dempsey's character saving up all summer for in Can't Buy Me Love?

Lauren's Topic:

Peter Gabriel’s So (1986)

Watch the music video for "Sledgehammer"

Listen to So on Spotify

The church that inspired "Your Eyes"

Neal's Topic:

You've Got Mail (1998)

Where to watch the film

Two Ways to Film The Same Scene - Great video on filmmaking!

Support Our Show:

Love the show? Help us keep going by becoming a Patron for just $5/month!

👉 www.patreon.com/curatedbychance

Follow the show and its creators on Instagram:

The Show - @curatedbychance

Lauren - @paisleylo

Neal - @nealefischer

E-mail us: curatedbychance@gmail.com

Hear Neal each week on Triviality Podcast. Subscribe now!

Listen to Lauren on Miss Information Podcast! Subscribe now!

Pre-order Neal’s next two books!

• Christmas Ultimate Trivia Book (out now!)
• Rom-Com Ultimate Trivia Book (releasing Dec 3)

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On this week's episode, Neal continues his BSE (Big Standing Energy) and tackles Fast Times at Ridgemont High [1982]r, revealing how the film changed the teen comedy landscape. From Sean Penn's iconic stoner Spicoli to Amy Heckerling’s game-changing direction, Neal uncovers the humor and heart in this cult classic. Listen in as he dives into the film’s killer soundtrack, its legacy, and how it paved the way for movies like American Pie and Clueless and has one iconic moment that literally ruined a small segment of the VHS industry.

Then, Lauren takes us on a deep dive into Gerhard Richter's Betty (1988). She explores the photorealistic painting’s air of mystery, discussing how Richter blurs the lines between photography, memory, and reality. Lauren shares fascinating tidbits about Richter's career, his shifting styles, and why Betty is more than just a portrait—it’s a masterpiece that will leave you pondering. Plus, for those wondering

EPISODE 13 PROMPTS:

Back, 82, Red

Neal's Topic:

Fast Times at Ridgemont High (1982)

Dir: Amy Heckerling

Written by: Cameron Crowe

Where to stream the movie

Lauren's Topic:

Gerhard Richter

Betty

1988

See the artwork in person!

Documentary: Gerhard Richter Painting (2011)

Support Our Show:

Love the show? Help us keep going by becoming a Patron for just $5/month!

👉 www.patreon.com/curatedbychance

Follow the show and its creators on Instagram:

The Show - @curatedbychance

Lauren - @paisleylo

Neal - @nealefischer

E-mail us: curatedbychance@gmail.com

Hear Neal each week on Triviality Podcast. Subscribe now!

Listen to Lauren on Miss Information Podcast! Subscribe now!

Pre-order Neal’s next two books!

• Christmas Ultimate Trivia Book (releasing Oct 1)
• Rom-Com Ultimate Trivia Book (releasing Dec 4)

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Next, Neal shifts gears, tackling the gritty spy drama Slow Horses [Apple TV+]. He explores the humor and humanity behind the show’s dysfunctional MI5 agents, highlighting Gary Oldman's standout performance as the curmudgeonly Jackson Lamb. With a theme song by Mick Jagger and a tone that’s as cynical as it is thrilling, Neal explains how the show blends dark humor with espionage in a way that makes it both gripping and refreshing. Stick around for Neal’s breakdown of the show's unique cinematography and how Slow Horses bucks (get it?) the trend of delayed streaming schedules.

EPISODE 12 PROMPTS:

Froth, 5, Stone

Lauren's Topic:

Jean-Honoré Fragonard

The Swing

1767

Look at the artwork while listening

Frozen reference of The Swing

Neal's Topic:

Slow Horses

Where to stream the show

To see the amazing drone shot, check out the opening of Episode 6 from Season 4!

Support Our Show:

Love the show? Help us keep going by becoming a Patron for just $5/month!

👉 www.patreon.com/curatedbychance

Follow the show and its creators on Instagram:

The Show - @curatedbychance

Lauren - @paisleylo

Neal - @nealefischer

E-mail us: curatedbychance@gmail.com

Hear Neal each week on Triviality Podcast. Subscribe now!

Listen to Lauren on Miss Information Podcast! Subscribe now!

Pre-order Neal’s next two books!

• Christmas Ultimate Trivia Book (releasing Oct 1)
• Rom-Com Ultimate Trivia Book (releasing Dec 4)

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Lauren follows up with an in-depth discussion of the British painter Francis Bacon. She unpacks Bacon’s life, struggles, and his fascination with dark themes—perfect for the Halloween season. Neal and Lauren dissect the artist’s obsession with “Screaming Popes,” referencing Bacon's haunting interpretation of Velázquez's Portrait of Pope Innocent X. They dive deep into how Bacon's post-war existentialism and bold artistic choices continue to influence modern art, cinema, and even horror films today. Plus, a discussion of "The Death of the Artist"!

EPISODE 11 PROMPTS:

53, Meat, Splatter

Neal's Topic:

Silver Bullet (1985)

Where to stream the film

Lauren's Topic:

Study after Velázquez's Portrait of Pope Innocent X (1953)

by Francis Bacon

Where to see the artwork

Support Our Show:

Love the show? Help us keep going by becoming a Patron for just $5/month!

👉 www.patreon.com/curatedbychance

Follow the show and its creators on Instagram:

The Show - @curatedbychance

Lauren - @paisleylo

Neal - @nealefischer

E-mail us: curatedbychance@gmail.com

Hear Neal each week on Triviality Podcast. Subscribe now!

Listen to Lauren on Miss Information Podcast! Subscribe now!

Pre-order Neal’s next two books!

• Christmas Ultimate Trivia Book (releasing Oct 1)
• Rom-Com Ultimate Trivia Book (releasing Dec 4)

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this episode, Neal and Lauren dive into the world of early George Lucas. Lauren gives a playful yet in-depth breakdown of THX 1138, Lucas’s first film, discussing its dystopian themes, the impressive DIY production, and how it laid the groundwork for the iconic Star Wars series. She shares fun production stories, like the bizarre involvement of cult members as extras and the origins of Wookiees!

Neal joins the conversation by highlighting the importance of Walter Murch’s editing philosophy and provides a fascinating look at how Lucas's friendships with legends like Coppola and Spielberg shaped his career. They also go down a rabbit hole of 1970s cinema, comparing THX 1138 to other dystopian classics and exploring its lasting influence on science fiction films. Then Neal jumps forward a few decades to talk about one of his favorite legal thrillers, the iconic A Few Good Men that started as a Broadway play from famed playwright-turned-screenwriter Aaron Sorkin.

EPISODE 9 PROMPTS: Gavel, Slate, 138

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Send us follow-up questions about art or film for our Patreon bonuses!

Lauren's Topic:

THX 1138 (1971)

Where to stream the film

Neal's Topic:

A Few Good Men (1992)

Where to stream the film

Follow the show and its creators on Instagram:

The Show - @curatedbychance

Lauren - @paisleylo

Neal - @nealefischer

E-mail us: curatedbychance@gmail.com

Hear Neal each week on Triviality Podcast. Subscribe now!

Listen to Lauren on Miss Information Podcast! Subscribe now!

Pre-order Neal’s next two books!

• Christmas Ultimate Trivia Book (releasing Oct 1)
• Rom-Com Ultimate Trivia Book (releasing Dec 4)

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this week's episode, Neal and Lauren explore the wild world of action movies and conceptual art. Lauren recounts an embarrassing Zoom meeting mishap involving a school interview, a microphone, and a sandwich and later breaks down how a banana duct-taped to a wall sold for $120,000 and sparked debates about the nature of art. Neal dives deep into the history of action movies, tracing their evolution from the gritty film noir of the 1940s to the stylized "gun-fu" of the John Wick series. He explains how Taken (2008) revitalized Liam Neeson's career and launched a wave of "dad action" movies. And at the end of the episode, Lauren and Neal decide to create their OWN conceptual art...stay tuned to find out what it is!

EPISODE 9 PROMPTS: Banana, Job, 1060

Support our show by becoming a Patron! Only $5 a month

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Send us follow-up questions about art or film for our Patreon bonuses!

Neal's Topic:

Taken (2008) and a brief evolution of the Action Movie

Where to stream the film

Lauren's Topic:

Maurizio Cattelan's Comedian (2019) and the world of conceptual art

Check it out here

Follow the show and its creators on Instagram:

The Show - @curatedbychance

Lauren - @paisleylo

Neal - @nealefischer

E-mail us: curatedbychance@gmail.com

Hear Neal each week on Triviality Podcast. Subscribe now!

Listen to Lauren on Miss Information Podcast! Subscribe now!

Pre-order Neal’s next two books!

• Christmas Ultimate Trivia Book (releasing Oct 1)
• Rom-Com Ultimate Trivia Book (releasing Dec 4)

Watch Neal on The Floor, premiering September 25th on Fox/Hulu!

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this week’s episode, Neal and Lauren talk about chaotic spills, ancient art, and dream-like cinema. Neal recounts a history of personal injuries tied to performance days, while Lauren confesses to teaching through the heat of a frenzied classroom. After light-hearted banter, they dive deep into the aesthetics of lost art and surreal filmmaking.

Lauren talks about the history of Greek and Roman sculptures, uncovering the truth about their original painted surfaces and debunking the myth of "white marble perfection." Were these sculptures intentionally white, or did time (and a bit of scrubbing) erase their vibrant past? Neal breaks down Un Chien Andalou (1929), a short film directed by Luis Buñuel and co-written with Salvador Dalí, explaining its significance in avant-garde cinema, its use of dream logic, and how it influenced generations of filmmakers, including Tim Burton and David Lynch. Want to more? Listen and find out!

EPISODE 8 PROMPTS: Antiquity, 29, Gray

Support our show by becoming a Patron! Only $5 a month

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Send us follow-up questions about art or film for our Patreon bonuses!

Lauren's Topic:

The truth about Greek and Roman sculpture and art!

Neal's Topic:

Un Chien Andalou (1929) by Luis Buñuel

Watch the film on our Instagram or HERE

He Likes to Chop Down Trees - Film School short Neal studied

Watch legend Robert Osbourne butcher the title of the film HERE

Recommendations:

Lauren: Visit a museum and check out this art and see how you feel now.

Neal: Check out these other great silent films influential to film...

Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans (1927)

The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1920)

Follow the show and its creators on Instagram:

The Show - @curatedbychance

Lauren - @paisleylo

Neal - @nealefischer

E-mail us: curatedbychance@gmail.com

Hear Neal each week on Triviality Podcast. Subscribe now!

Listen to Lauren on Miss Information Podcast! Subscribe now!

Pre-order Neal’s next two books!

• Christmas Ultimate Trivia Book (releasing Oct 1)
• Rom-Com Ultimate Trivia Book (releasing Dec 4)

Watch Neal on The Floor, premiering September 25th on Fox/Hulu!

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this week's episode, Neal talks about digital heartbreak and reveals two pieces of good news: his next book comes out October 1st (Christmas Ultimate Trivia Book) and he will be appearing on Season 2 of Fox's The Floor with Rob Lowe. Today Neal talks about an Agatha Christie classic, the origins and brilliance of Hercule Poirot, and why the book is perfect for the fall season. Lauren switches gears and breaks down a movie for the first time, The Fall (2006) highlighting its unique production process, practical sets, breathtaking locations, and what makes it a hidden gem. Does Kenneth Branagh deserve to be in the conversation of best Poirot adaptations ever? Listen and find out!

EPISODE 7 PROMPTS: 69, Eggshell, Fall

Pre-order Neal's next two books!

Christmas Ultimate Trivia Book (releasing Oct 1)

Rom-Com Ultimate Trivia Book (releasing Dec 4)

Watch The Floor premiering September 25th on Fox/Hulu

Support our show by becoming a Patron! Only $5 a month

www.patreon.com/curatedbychance

Send us follow-up questions about art or film for our Patreon bonuses!

Neal's Topic:

Hallowe'en Party (1969)

by Agatha Christie

Where to get the book

Poirot TV Series

Lauren's Topic:

The Fall (2006)

Stream the film starting September 27th

Follow the show and its creators on Instagram:

The Show - @curatedbychance

Lauren - @paisleylo

Neal - @nealefischer

E-mail: curatedbychance@gmail.com

Hear Neal each week on Triviality Podcast. Subscribe now!

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Topics discussed: Agatha Christie, Halloween Party, Hallowe'en Party, Hercule Poirot, David Suchet, Kenneth Branagh, Indie Filmmaking, Tarsem Singh, The Fall (2006), Eiko Ishioka, Practical Effects in Film, Agatha Christie Adaptations, British Mysteries, Classic Mysteries, Halloween Mysteries, Art Direction in Film, Visual Storytelling, Lost Photos, Lawrence of Arabia, Anne V. Coates, Photo Storage, Google Photos, Social Media Marketing, Instagram Content, Patreon Support, Film Recommendations, Gothic Cinema, Limited Location Films, Child Acting, Film Production, Practical Filmmaking, Murder Mysteries, Timeless Movies, Salvador Dali, Ariadne Oliver, Apples

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In today's episode, Neal and Lauren bring fascinating insights into art theory and indie filmmaking. Lauren dives deep into Walter Benjamin's theory of "The Diminishment of the Aura" and explores how it applies to the iconic Mona Lisa. She breaks down the painting's mysterious history, including lesser-known theories about its subject and Da Vinci's artistic mastery. Meanwhile, Neal takes on the world of indie filmmaking, sharing his thoughts on the improvisational sci-fi thriller Coherence (2013). He discusses the innovative ways filmmakers can work with limited budgets and no script and does a deep dive into the Dogma 95 movement and suggests some other limited location movies to check out. Lauren and Neal also coin a new rating system for movies (in the spirit of Siskel & Ebert) by a movie being a Popcorn Movie or a Cheesecake Movie!

EPISODE 6 PROMPTS: 1763, Replica, Indigo

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Lauren's Topic:

Walter Benjamin's Diminishment of the Aura

High Res Scan of the Mona Lisa

Learn more about Da Vinci

Go see the Mona Lisa at the Louvre!

Neal's Topic:

Coherence (2013)

Where to stream the film

Trailer for the film

The film explained by the director

Recommendations:

Lauren

• Learn about Art Heists
• Read Stealing Rembrandts: The Untold Stories of Notorious Art Heists by Anthony M. Amore

Neal

• Check out the movie Moon (2009) starring Sam Rockwell (limited location sci-fi)
• Middleditch & Schwartz: Completely Improvised Comedy Specials on Netflix

Follow the show and its creators on Instagram:

The Show - @curatedbychance

Lauren - @paisleylo

Neal - @nealefischer

E-mail: curatedbychance@gmail.com

Hear Neal each week on Triviality Podcast. Subscribe now!

Listen to Lauren on Miss Information Podcast! Subscribe now!

Topics discussed: Walter Benjamin, Diminishment of the Aura, Mona Lisa, Leonardo da Vinci, Art History, Renaissance Art, Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood, Art Theory, Mechanical Reproduction, Louvre Museum, Art Heists, Mona Lisa Theories, Famous Paintings, La Giaconda, Italian Renaissance, Fumato Technique, Eyebrows in Art, Da Vinci Code, Coherence Movie, Indie Film, Independent Filmmaking, Low-Budget Films, Improvisational Filmmaking, Psychological Thriller, Science Fiction Movies, Filmmaking Techniques, Long-form Improv, Limited Location Films, Dogma 95, Lars von Trier, Thomas Vinterberg, TikTok Content Creation, Social Media Marketing, Patreon Support, Shakespeare in Love, Best Picture Controversies, Harvey Weinstein, Best Picture Winners, Tiramisu, Pistachio Desserts, Restaurant Recommendations, Art Criticism, Modern Art, Teaching Art History, Mentoring Students, Branded TikToks, Film Directing, Improvisation in Movies, Creative Freedom in Filmmaking, French Art, Da Vinci’s Masterpieces, Reproduction in Art

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EPISODE 5 PROMPTS:

Orange, Actor, 700, Honey

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Neal's Topic:

Rock of Ages

Where to stream the original Broadway cast album

Learn more about the show

Stream the film adaptation starring Tom Cruise

Lauren's Topic:

Frederic Leighton

Flaming June

1895

Where to see the art

Where to learn more about the painting

Learn more about Leighton

RECOMMENDATIONS:

& Juliet (Original Broadway Cast Recording)

LAUREN'S HOMEWORK:

Go check out some Victorian Art!

Check out Only Murders in the Building

Follow the show and its creators on Instagram:

The Show - @curatedbychance

Lauren - @paisleylo

Neal - @nealefischer

E-mail: curatedbychance@gmail.com

Hear Neal each week on Triviality Podcast. Subscribe now!

Listen to Lauren on Miss Information Podcast! Subscribe now!

Topics discussed: Jukebox musicals, Broadway, Off-Broadway, Constantine Maroulis, Kyle Gass, Laura Bell Bundy, Legally Blonde, 1980s, Rock of Ages, Tom Cruise, Frederic Leighton, Flaming June, Victorian Art, Greco-Roman, Aesthetic Movement, Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood, Art History, Musical Theatre, Film, Adaptations, Madonna, Lactation, Grapes of Wrath, Wu-Tang Clan, Abba, Mamma Mia!, Only Murders in the Building, Big Night

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Stay tuned as the duo navigates the themes of creativity, conflict, and collaboration in both the art world and film industry. Plus, discover how Kusama's personal battles shaped her groundbreaking works, and what makes Crimson Tide a quintessential dad movie full of suspense and moral dilemmas.

EPISODE 4 PROMPTS:

Red, 450, Failure

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Neal's Topic:

Crimson Tide (1995) -

Where to stream the film

Where to buy the film

Lauren's Topic:

The Work of Yayoi Kusama

Where to see the art

Where to learn more about Kusama

Kusama: Infinity - Documentary

RECOMMENDATIONS:

The Adventure Zone Podcast

My Brother, My Brother and Me Podcast

The Rest is Entertainment Podcast

All About Agatha (Christie) Podcast

Hoge & Jahns: Chicago Bears Podcast

LAUREN'S HOMEWORK:

12 Places To Find Infinity Rooms

NEAL'S HOMEWORK:

If you like Gene Hackman, check out Night Moves:

Trailer for Night Moves (1975)

Tony Scott: An Artist of Pure Cinema - Scott's style and influence

Follow the show and its creators on Instagram:

The Show - @curatedbychance

Lauren - @paisleylo

Neal - @nealefischer

E-mail: curatedbychance@gmail.com

Hear Neal each week on Triviality Podcast. Subscribe now!

Listen to Lauren on Miss Information Podcast! Subscribe now!

Topics discussed: Yayoi Kusama, Infinity Rooms, Avant-Garde Art, Polka Dots, Crimson Tide (1995), Gene Hackman, Denzel Washington, Tony Scott, Film Direction, Art Commercialization, Artistic Struggles, Submarine Movies, Mutiny in Cinema, 90s Blockbusters, Biography, Influence, Art Installations, Mental Health, Creativity, Louis Vuitton, Submarines, Dad Movies, Underwater, Quentin Tarantino, Robert Towne, Steve Zaillian, Silver Spoons, Everything Everywhere All at Once, Inside Man, Spike Lee

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EPISODE 3 PROMPTS:

Olive, 8, Ocean

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Neal's Topic:

Ocean's Eleven (2001) - A deep dive into Steven Soderbergh’s heist masterpiece

Where to stream the film

Watch for Free Online

Where to buy the film

Lauren's Topic:

The Great Wave off Kanagawa (1831) by Hokusai - Discover the story behind Japan’s most famous artwork

Where to see the art

Where to learn more about Hokusai

RECOMMENDATIONS:

Farewell Mr. Bunting - SNL Dead Poet's Society Parody

Steven Soderbergh's Black + White Cut of Raiders of the Lost Ark. (Watch the blocking)

LAUREN'S HOMEWORK:

1. Utiga Hiroshige - The Last Great Master
2. Harvey Ellis + M. Louise Stowell

NEAL'S HOMEWORK:

1. Watch AUDITION (1999) with no prior knowledge. *If you like horror*
2. Check out Soderbergh's influence for one particular sequence in Ocean's Eleven. HERE is the shot from the movie and HERE is the likely influence from Hitchcock.

Follow the show and its creators on Instagram:

The Show - @curatedbychance

Lauren - @paisleylo

Neal - @nealefischer

E-mail: curatedbychance@gmail.com

Hear Neal each week on Triviality Podcast. Subscribe now!

Listen to Lauren on Miss Information Podcast! Subscribe now!

Topics discussed:

Heist Movies, Cinematography, Steven Soderbergh, Ocean's Eleven, Brad Pitt, George Clooney, Dead Poet's Society, Hitchcock, Japanese Art, Ukiyo-e, Hokusai, The Great Wave off Kanagawa, Woodblock Prints, Edo Period, Art History, Film Techniques, Lighting in Film, Movie Blocking, Japanese Culture, Prussian Blue, Debussy, Hiroshige, Woodblock, Van Gogh

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EPISODE 2 PROMPTS:

France, Gold, 59, Rhinoceros

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Lauren's topic:

Mark Rothko

Where to see the art

Where to learn more about Mark Rothko

Neal's topic:

Midnight in Paris (2011)

Where to stream the film

Where to buy the film

RECOMMENDATIONS:

Watch a few movies and check out the coverage!

The opening of Dog Day Afternoon (1975)

Follow the show and its creators on Instagram

The Show - @curatedbychance

Lauren - @paisleylo

Neal - @nealefischer

E-mail: curatedbychance@gmail.com

Hear Neal each week on Triviality Podcast. Subscribe now!

Listen to Lauren on Miss Information Podcast! Subscribe now!

Topics discussed: Abstract Expressionism, Abstract Painting, Mark Rothko, Pablo Picasso, Moon Landing, New York City, World War II, The Blacklist, McCarthyism, Midnight in Paris, Woody Allen, Annie Hall, Cinematography, Seagram Building, Jackson Pollock, Psy-op, Colorfield Artists, Exterminating Angel, Dog Day Afternoon, Diagetic Sound, Non-Diagetic Sound, Trans-Diagetic Sound

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EPISODE 1 PROMPTS:

New York, Blue, 89

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Neal's topic:

The Taking of Pelham One Two Three (1974)

Where to stream the film

Where to buy the film

Lauren's topic:

Vincent van Gogh's Starry Night (1889)

Where to see the art

Where to learn more about van Gogh

RECOMMENDATIONS:

Doctor Who: Season 5, Episode 10 - "Vincent and The Doctor"

The Warriors (1979)

Follow the show and its creators on Instagram

The Show - @curatedbychance

Lauren - @paisleylo

Neal - @nealefischer

E-mail: curatedbychance@gmail.com

Hear Neal each week on Triviality Podcast. Subscribe now!

Listen to Lauren on Miss Information Podcast! Subscribe now!

Topics discussed: Vincent van Gogh, Paul Gaugin, Doctor Who, The Taking of Pelham One Two Three, Quentin Tarantino, Heist Movies, Cinema Verité, MoMa, At Eternity's Gate, Starry Night, New York City, MTA, Triviality Podcast, Miss Information Podcast, NASA, algorithm

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