Brainwaves
by Jason and Barry
ComedyE · Explicit
Latest episode
The Best Christmas Movies You Forgot About (It’s Not Die Hard)
The Best Christmas Movies You Forgot About (It’s Not Die Hard)
About this podcast
Brainwaves is two GenX guys who never quite let go of the good stuff. Jason Reilly and Barry Nixon take the movies, comics, TV shows and cartoons that raised them and drag them, kicking and screaming, into middle age, one pointless debate at a time. How you watch a movie. What's worth owning. The stuff you loved at twelve that you're weirdly still defending at fifty. It's about 20 minutes, it settles nothing, and you'll leave with a laugh, a hot take, and something to argue about.
If you grew up on the good stuff and you're still holding onto it, you're home.
New episodes weekly
Episodes
The newest 50 of 318 episodes
- The Best Christmas Movies You Forgot About (It’s Not Die Hard) · 18 min · Season 7 Episode 2Christmas is officially here, and Jason’s making up for the holiday season he missed while filming in Tokyo. Barry makes his case that Trading Places is the Christmas movie that…
- O Captain, My Captain: A Tribute to Sir Patrick Stewart · 19 min · Season 7 Episode 1A day or two after we recorded last week, we learned we’d lost our captain. This week Barry and Jason sit down to pay proper tribute to Sir Patrick Stewart, the man who gave us…
- How Much Blood Is Too Much? Clayface, Kill Bill & the Goriest Movies We Love · 19 min · Season 6 Episode 52How much blood is too much? Jason and Barry get into the goriest moments in movies, from DC's brutal new Clayface (2026) to Kill Bill, Pulp Fiction, Reservoir Dogs and American…
- Movies So Good You'll Only Watch Them Once · 19 min · Season 6 Episode 51What makes a movie so good you can only watch it once? Barry and Jason dig into the masterpieces that are too powerful, too disturbing, or too devastating to ever put on again…
- Freddy, Jason & the Horror Movies That Still Scare Us · 20 min · Season 6 Episode 50Freddy, Jason, or Michael Myers, who reigns supreme? Just in time for Halloween, Barry and Jason rank the greatest horror franchises and the movies that still scare them…
- Ranking the Best Tom Cruise Movies (After His New Flop) · 20 min · Season 6 Episode 49Tom Cruise just had the lowest-grossing opening weekend of his entire career with his bizarre new movie Digger, so naturally, Barry loved it. While critics and audiences stayed…
- The GenX Concerts We'll Never Forget · 19 min · Season 6 Episode 48Two GenX guys go down concert memory lane, the legendary shows, the epic letdowns, and the bands that defined a generation. Jason relives seeing Guns N' Roses in 1992 at the…
- Buys We'll Never Regret · 20 min · Season 6 Episode 47Last week it was regrets. This week, the opposite: the purchases Barry and Jason treasure most and would never, ever sell. Barry shows off his ultra-rare Ghostbusters "ghost…
- Buyer's Remorse: Our Worst 4K Purchases · 19 min · Season 6 Episode 46Ever bought a Blu-ray you instantly regretted? Barry and Jason come clean about their worst physical media purchases, the 4K discs, steelbooks, and Arrow releases they should…
- Ranking Every Star Trek Series at 60 · 21 min · Season 6 Episode 45Star Trek turns 60, and two lifelong Trekkies celebrate the only way they know how: ranking the series, defending their favorites, and arguing about where it all went wrong…
- Open Mic Nightmare · 17 min · Season 6 Episode 44Two improv guys talk comedy, the shows that shaped them, and the one terrifying night Jason tried stand-up. Barry and Jason break down what makes a perfect Seinfeld episode, the…
- Everything's Rigged at the Carnival · 18 min · Season 6 Episode 43Are carnival games actually rigged? Barry and Jason take apart the whole midway: the basketball hoop that's a hair too small, the balloons nobody can pop, and Barry's one secret…
- Dressed to the Nines vs Dressed by Accident · 18 min · Season 6 Episode 42Jason has a fashion problem. Barry does not. When these two hung out last weekend, Barry showed up looking like the father of the bride while Jason looked, by his own admission…
- Coasts: East Vs West · 19 min · Season 6 Episode 41West Coast or East Coast, which one actually wins? Jason makes his case for the West: Vancouver, the mountains, and those Pacific sunsets that drop right into the ocean. Barry…
- Franchise Fever or Fatigue · 21 min · Season 6 Episode 40We put every franchise we love on trial. Which ones deserve to die, which ones need saving, and which will we defend forever even when they don't deserve it? It starts with the…
- Format Vs Comfort · 18 min · Season 6 Episode 39Is it better to experience something in the best possible format, or the most possible comfort? That's the debate that kicks off episode one of Brainwaves. The Odyssey is being…
- Brainwaves Podcast Trailer · 1 minYour brain called. It wants better content. Meet Brainwaves. Two guys, one running debate, and about 20 minutes to settle it. Jason Reilly and Barry Nixon take pop culture…
- Last Call · 19 min · Season 6 Episode 38After 300 episodes, it's time for one last round. Jason and Barry look back on six seasons of Two Shot Tuesday, sharing favorite memories, unforgettable guests, the evolution of…
- Never Grow Up · 20 min · Season 6 Episode 37Growing old is inevitable. Growing up? That's optional. This week, we celebrate the passions that have stayed with us for decades. From comics and cult movies to the World Cup…
- Never Grow Up · 21 min · Season 6 Episode 37Growing old is inevitable. Growing up? That's optional. This week, we celebrate the passions that have stayed with us for decades. From comics and cult movies to the World Cup…
- Supergirl Review: Better Than You Think? · 20 min · Season 6 Episode 36This week, Barry and Movie Guy Rob Pete head to the theater for Supergirl, one of the most talked-about superhero movies of the year. With expectations high and box office…
- Inside the World Cup · 18 min · Season 6 Episode 35Barry takes us inside his very first FIFA World Cup match, and it's an experience he'll never forget. From joining thousands of German supporters marching through downtown…
- Double Feature · 19 min · Season 6 Episode 34Movie Guy Rob Peets returns for a packed episode featuring reviews of two very different films. First, we head into the unsettling world of Backrooms, the internet phenomenon…
- Double Feature · 20 min · Season 6 Episode 34Movie Guy Rob Peets returns for a packed episode featuring reviews of two very different films. First, we head into the unsettling world of Backrooms, the internet phenomenon…
- Under the Spell of Penn & Teller · 20 min · Season 6 Episode 33Barry heads to Meridian Hall for an evening with Penn & Teller and comes away thoroughly entertained. We talk about the comedy, the audience participation, and the magic tricks…
- World Cup Fever HITS! · 18 min · Season 6 Episode 32The World Cup is almost here, and Barry is preparing for a front-row seat to the action as Toronto gets ready to welcome fans from around the globe. We talk about what it's like…
- The Mandalorian & Grogu Review · 21 min · Season 6 Episode 31Barry and Movie Guy Rob Peets head to the theatre for The Mandalorian & Grogu and break down whether Star Wars’ return to the big screen was worth the wait. We get into the IMAX…
- Jacked for All Seasons · 18 min · Season 6 Episode 30This episode covers a little bit of everything. We talk Star Trek trilogies hidden inside larger franchises, supporting our friend Laurie Carruthers at her sold-out Toronto…
- Welcome to Derry – 4K Style · 19 min · Season 6 Episode 29We start with Spotify’s all-time listening stats—how long we’ve really been on the platform, what we keep coming back to, and how the AI DJ actually holds up. Then it’s into 4K…
- From Castles to Psychedelics · 20 min · Season 6 Episode 28This one is just pure fun. From a trip to Casa Loma and movie scenes filmed in Toronto, to a strange headline about magic mushrooms and behavior change, the conversation goes in…
- Off The Rails · 19 min · Season 6 Episode 27This one starts in one place… and ends up everywhere. We get into a few headlines, including what makes one airport the best in the world, before the conversation drifts into…
- Big In Japan · 20 min · Season 6 Episode 26Jason is back from Japan and this trip had a bit of everything. From filming in Tokyo to navigating language barriers and everyday moments that don’t go as planned, he shares…
- Ten Most Rewatchable Action Movies · 19 min · Season 6 Episode 25We take on the 10 most rewatchable action movies of all time and put them to the real test—would you actually watch them again? From John Wick and Die Hard to Top Gun: Maverick…
- Super Mario Bros Sequel… Worth It or Not? · 18 min · Season 6 Episode 24The Movie Guy is back and we went to see the new Super Mario Bros sequel. With Chris Pratt, Charlie Day, Anya Taylor-Joy, and Jack Black, this one looks like a slam dunk, but…
- The Ultimate 4K Rewatch: What Works? What Doesn't? · 18 min · Season 6 Episode 23We put a stack of 4K movies to the rewatch test: Hard Boiled Red Sonja Salem’s Lot Spaceballs The Usual Suspects Here’s the game… Which one still holds up? Which one looks great…
- A Hockey Game, a Concert, and Random Strangers · 19 min · Season 6 Episode 22We thought this would be a quick update… it wasn’t. In 72 hours, we hit a concert, sat front row at a hockey game, got a very questionable wallet check, and somehow ended up…
- This Celebration Got Out of Hand Fast · 18 min · Season 6 Episode 21In this episode of Two Shot Tuesday, we kick things off with a little whiskey, a little celebration, and a St. Patrick’s Day recording that somehow turns into one of our most…
- Did The Bride Ruin Frankenstein? · 20 min · Season 6 Episode 20The Movie Guy returns to Two Shot Tuesday to break down The Bride, the new Frankenstein film starring Christian Bale and Jessie Buckley and directed by Maggie Gyllenhaal. We…
- A Very Questionable Morning · 19 min · Season 6 Episode 19This episode of Two Shot Tuesday begins under some very questionable conditions. Barry Nixon is just emerging from a bout with the latest round of “new COVID,” Jason Reilly is…
- Stephen King’s Most Under-the-Radar Movie? · 20 min · Season 6 Episode 18This week on Two Shot Tuesday, we revisit 1408 (2007) — the Stephen King adaptation that somehow slipped past a lot of people, despite delivering one of the most intense…
- 4K Classics, Guilty Pleasures & Cult Cartoons - We Watched EVERYTHING This Week · 19 min · Season 6 Episode 17It’s a review-heavy episode of Two Shot Tuesday. Jason Reilly and Barry T. Nixon cover everything from pristine 4K restorations to unapologetic 90s action and a cult animated…
- Send Help · 19 min · Season 6 Episode 16Sam Raimi is back and things get weird fast. On this episode of Two Shot Tuesday, Barry T. Nixon and Jason Reilly welcome back Rob Peets (The Movie Guy) to break down SEND HELP…
- Superbowl LX Recap: Seattle and Bad Bunny Win! · 18 minTwo Shot Tuesday is back with our annual Super Bowl catch-and-release episode — recorded less than 24 hours after kickoff while everything was still fresh. Jason Reilly, Barry T…
- How Getting in Shape Actually Works (10 Years of Proof) with Andre Orlando · 18 min · Season 6 Episode 14What does getting in shape actually look like when you stop chasing quick wins? In this episode of Two Shot Tuesday, we’re joined by personal trainer Andre Orlando to break down…
- Avatar, Stephen King & the Movies That Broke Us · 17 min · Season 6 Episode 13Two very different movies. Two very different nights. And somehow, the perfect way to kick off a new year. Jason starts with a New Year’s Eve review of Avatar: Fire and Ash — a…
- Primate: The Rabid Chimp Movie We Can’t Unsee · 19 min · Season 6 Episode 12This week we’re joined by The Movie Guy for a breakdown of PRIMATE, a Cujo-style horror flick about a rabid chimp, a cliffside mansion, and one very bad night. We get into the…
- Space Got Weird. Mercury’s Involved. · 18 min · Season 6 Episode 11It starts with a Rip From the Headlines that grabs our attention — “Mercury, the planet that shouldn’t exist” — and sends us down an unexpected space rabbit hole. In this episode…
- This Is How 2026 Starts: Whiskey, Comics & Wild Science · 18 min · Season 6 Episode 10It’s our first episode of 2026, and we don’t ease into the year. We kick things off the only way we know how: with whiskey, physical media, and a conversation that goes exactly…
- We Didn’t Expect 2025 to Turn Out Like This · 18 min · Season 6 Episode 9This is our final Two Shot Tuesday episode of the year, recorded early, fueled by coffee, Bailey’s, and Jameson, and filled with reflection. In this end-of-year conversation, we…
- The Perfect 4K Christmas (Mostly) · 19 min · Season 6 Episode 8It’s a full-on 4K Christmas extravaganza. In this episode of Two Shot Tuesday, we break down the 4K discs worth owning this holiday season, the blind buys that paid off, and the…
