The Complete Catalog

Hard Candy w/ Sydney Urbanek (Madonna, Episode 14)

Released in 2008, Hard Candy noticeably carries the production and songwriting tendencies of its all-star collaborators. Music writer https://sydurbanek.ghost.io/ and Tristan discuss the good and bad of those tendencies and how Madonna’s own presence...

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Confessions on a Dance Floor w/ PT Klein (Madonna, Episode 13)

For quite a few, Confessions on a Dance Floor, released in 2005, is Madonna’s “last great album.” While that may not exactly be the conclusion Tristan and film historian and cultural critic PT Klein come to, they certainly find its distillation of...

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American Life w/ Giulio Mazzoleni (Madonna, Episode 12)

Not since Erotica had Madonna faced as much controversy as she did with American Life. Her artistic statement on the state of the country and world, released in 2003 in the midst of the “Bush II era,” is often intentionally abrasive but has many...

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Music w/ Trevor Bermingham (Madonna, Episode 11)

Released in 2000, Madonna’s Music ushered in the 21st century for the everlastingly iconic pop star. And it did so with still-impressive forethought and freshness, which Tristan and friend of the show Trevor Bermingham constantly appreciate even for...

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Ray of Light w/ Caitlin Casiello (Madonna, Episode 10)

Ray of Light is often cited as Madonna’s greatest album. That’s a heavy expectation, but as basically Madonna novices Tristan and Caitlin Casiello, Assistant Professor of Japanese Film and Media Studies at the University of Florida, discuss, it’s one...

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Evita w/ Ben Gierhart (Madonna, Episode 9)

Evita was a major push for Madonna’s film career as well as her musical artistry, notably stretching her voice to new ranges to accommodate the Andrew Lloyd Webber sound. Tristan and theater artist and writer Ben Gierhart discuss the expansiveness,...

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Bedtime Stories w/ Michael Snydel (Madonna, Episode 8)

Discussion about Bedtime Stories, released in 1994 and two years after Erotica, is defined by the conscious “softening” of Madonna’s image. And as Tristan and former film critic and podcaster https://bsky.app/profile/snydel.bsky.social address, that...

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Erotica w/ Caroline Delbert (Madonna, Episode 7)

Erotica was considered the nadir of Madonna’s career when it was released in 1992. But as Tristan and journalist https://www.popularmechanics.com/author/224127/caroline-delbert/ uncover, the album has been reclaimed, especially removed from its...

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I'm Breathless w/ Lucy O'Brien (Madonna, Episode 6)

I’m Breathless, the 1990 soundtrack to Dick Tracy, is Madonna’s basically faithful ode to old Hollywood…plus one of her most “hip” and lasting tracks. Tristan and Lucy O’Brien, author of...

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Like a Prayer w/ Frankie Lee (Madonna, Episode 5)

1989’s Like a Prayer is considered a watershed moment in Madonna’s career. Tristan and actor, writer, and comedian https://www.instagram.com/frankieisfunnny/ dive deep into the monumental work; they think it’s going to catch on!

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Who's That Girl w/ Scout Tafoya (Madonna, Episode 4)

Who’s That Girl almost wasn’t included in the run of episodes for this Madonna season of The Complete Catalog because this soundtrack record isn’t made up of a majority of her songs. But the 1987 release still has the presence of a “Madonna album,” as...

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True Blue w/ Tim Riley (Madonna, Episode 3)

True Blue, released in 1986, was Madonna’s third album in as many years right at the start of the career and continued her meteoric rise in both the commercial and critical arenas. Author Tim Riley...

Like a Virgin w/ Santiago Fouz-Hernández (Madonna, Episode 2)

Like a Virgin was only Madonna’s second album but it is often credited as the one that “made” her. Tristan and Santiago Fouz-Hernández, professor in Iberian Studies and Film Studies at Durham University and co-editor of...

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Madonna w/ Matthew Rettenmund (Madonna, Episode 1)

Welcome to The Complete Catalog, a podcast for media deep dives. For this second season, host Tristan Ettleman and his guests explore the 18 albums of Madonna (including some videos, movies, and other releases) across 43 years. Madonna’s 1983...

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The Boy and the Heron w/ Edmond Ernest dit Alban (Studio Ghibli, Episode 30)

This is it: the season finale of The Complete Catalog: Studio Ghibli (at least for now)! Hayao Miyazaki’s The Boy and the Heron stands as his and the studio’s final film (again, for now) and it offers a rich yet complicated host of thematic threads...

Earwig and the Witch w/ Caitlin Casiello (Studio Ghibli, Episode 29)

Earwig and the Witch has the infamous reputation as Studio Ghibli’s worst film. That is indeed true, as Tristan and Assistant Professor of Japanese Film and Media Studies at the University of Florida Caitlin Casiello agree, but they also try to find...

The Red Turtle w/ Kyle Macciomei (Studio Ghibli, Episode 28)

Michaël Dudok de Wit’s 2016 feature The Red Turtle almost didn’t make it into the episode run of the “complete Studio Ghibli catalog.” But this Japanese/French/German co-production, helmed by Ghibli’s only non-Japanese filmmaker, is, besides being...

When Marnie Was There w/ Ben Gierhart (Studio Ghibli, Episode 27)

When Marnie Was There, directed by Hiromasa Yonebayashi, has been read through a few different lenses since its 2014 release, with many centering platonic female friendships and/or queer relationships. Theater artist and writer Ben Gierhart and...

The Tale of the Princess Kaguya w/ Ethan Simmie (Studio Ghibli, Episode 26)

The Tale of the Princess Kaguya is Isao Takahata’s final directorial effort. So it comes with a bit of resonance as the conclusion to the career of a great filmmaker, and Tristan and Ethan Simmie, host of the...

The Wind Rises w/ Gabe Gurwin (Studio Ghibli, Episode 25)

For quite a while, it seemed like 2013’s The Wind Rises would be Hayao Miyazaki’s final film. While that ended up not being true, there is a sense of something ending with this complex movie, and Tristan and Gabe Gurwin,...