Oct 9, 2026 · 1 hr 42 min · 14 segments
Rivka and Frank are joined by a pod favorite, Wren Mack, to discuss one of the most requested films in our show’s history: *Fight Club.* This is, in fact, a very special final episode. We’ve loved…
Wren MackGuestFrankHostRivkaHostAnd it also, uh, uh, uh, I, I guess tragically ironic, j- uh, dramatically ironically, tragically ironically seems like a very fitting place that we're wrapping this show up because, you know, the thing that I wanted to talk to you about and the thing that's very much in the news right now is the, uh, now settled, uh, merger between Paramount Skydance and Warner Brothers Discovery.
Which news broke-
Ugh
... last week that the, the state's attorneys generals who had all filed a, an antitrust lawsuit to try to stop this merger, we found out last week that that lawsuit has been settled.
Uh, Paramount Skydance and David Ellison have apparently agreed to a bunch of terms to ha- to settle this, to settle this suit, to get it across the finish line so that the merger could actually take place.
I don't need to get into all of the things he promised.
It's, you know, it's kinda like a, it's, like, kinda like a laundry list of, like, "I promise I'll ma- I'll keep movies good." You know, it's a b- [laughs] it's a bunch of stuff like that.
Oh, my God.
It's, it's a bunch of stuff like that but, you know, you could, you could look into what he actually talked about.
I've, I've heard, also heard analysis that, like, this is a weak-ass, uh, uh, a- agreement.
Like, this only, it only lasts for, like, five years basically, and then after five years David Ellison can do whatever the fuck he wants.
And then, like, there are a bunch of, like, you know, like, sort of exit clauses where it's like, "If this happens, if this happens," he can do whatever he wants with Warner Brothers.
So it seems-
Mm
... like a pretty, uh, it sounds like a pretty weak sauce settlement terms that they came to agree upon.
And there's also reporting that, uh, California Governor Gavin Newsom was the one who pressured, uh, the California Attorney General Rob Bonta to wrap this shit up.
Get this shit done with.
Oh, cool.
"I don't wanna deal with this shit.
I'm trying to run for president.
I don't wanna have to fight the Ellisons, you know? I don't wanna have to go up against some of the richest people in the world who wanna control almost all of American media because I, Gavin Newsom, don't wanna deal with this shit." A- allegedly.
Um, he's obviously denying that, but there has been reporting.
So this is where we are.
So we will, you know, un- you know, barring anything, but barring an act of God, uh, you know, w- Paramount Skydance [laughs] and Warner Brothers Discovery will merge, becoming one of, if not the largest, uh, uh, American media empire in history, I think.
Uh, it, uh, I mean, not since the Gilded Age when, you know, like, [laughs] everyone was, was on, on, all about newspapers.
And it also, uh, uh, uh, I, I guess tragically ironic, j- uh, dramatically ironically, tragically ironically seems like a very fitting place that we're wrapping this show up because, you know, the thing that I wanted to talk to you about and the thing that's very much in the news right now is the, uh, now settled, uh, merger between Paramount Skydance and Warner Brothers Discovery.
Which news broke-
Ugh
... last week that the, the state's attorneys generals who had all filed a, an antitrust lawsuit to try to stop this merger, we found out last week that that lawsuit has been settled.
Uh, Paramount Skydance and David Ellison have apparently agreed to a bunch of terms to ha- to settle this, to settle this suit, to get it across the finish line so that the merger could actually take place.
I don't need to get into all of the things he promised.
It's, you know, it's kinda like a, it's, like, kinda like a laundry list of, like, "I promise I'll ma- I'll keep movies good." You know, it's a b- [laughs] it's a bunch of stuff like that.
Oh, my God.
It's, it's a bunch of stuff like that but, you know, you could, you could look into what he actually talked about.
I've, I've heard, also heard analysis that, like, this is a weak-ass, uh, uh, a- agreement.
Like, this only, it only lasts for, like, five years basically, and then after five years David Ellison can do whatever the fuck he wants.
And then, like, there are a bunch of, like, you know, like, sort of exit clauses where it's like, "If this happens, if this happens," he can do whatever he wants with Warner Brothers.
So it seems-
Mm
... like a pretty, uh, it sounds like a pretty weak sauce settlement terms that they came to agree upon.
And there's also reporting that, uh, California Governor Gavin Newsom was the one who pressured, uh, the California Attorney General Rob Bonta to wrap this shit up.
Get this shit done with.
Oh, cool.
"I don't wanna deal with this shit.
I'm trying to run for president.
I don't wanna have to fight the Ellisons, you know? I don't wanna have to go up against some of the richest people in the world who wanna control almost all of American media because I, Gavin Newsom, don't wanna deal with this shit." A- allegedly.
Um, he's obviously denying that, but there has been reporting.
So this is where we are.
So we will, you know, un- you know, barring anything, but barring an act of God, uh, you know, w- Paramount Skydance [laughs] and Warner Brothers Discovery will merge, becoming one of, if not the largest, uh, uh, American media empire in history, I think.
Uh, it, uh, I mean, not since the Gilded Age when, you know, like, [laughs] everyone was, was on, on, all about newspapers.
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