If On The Record were a boxing match, Episode 5 would open with the bell ringing and Brian Wise and Michael Mackenzie already mid-ring.. The topic? The Golden Globes. The real issue? Whether a film can be called a “musical or comedy” when it is clearly neither, and whether Paul Thomas Anderson should be declared a genius by popular vote or sent to the cinematic sin bin.
Two overly seasoned cultural obsessives staring at the same screen and seeing entirely different movies.
From there, the episode sprawls—happily and unapologetically—into a wide-ranging conversation about awards hype, viewing expectations, and the strange disconnect between critical acclaim and lived experience. One host praises audacity and subversion, the other demands coherence and restraint. Nobody backs down. Nobody changes their mind. Which, frankly, is exactly how these debates should be conducted.
Luckily, special guest Liz Stringer moves the conversation into other areas that are slightly more important – touring her latest album and raising money to address housing insecurity along with the uncomfortable truth that this is no longer a fringe issue confined to capital cities or stereotypes.
The show rolls on, touching on music-making, self-management, creative independence, reality TV guilt, Russian books that are abandoned for the sake of mental health, and the eternal question of why we all say we won’t watch that show again… and then absolutely do.
By the end of Episode 5, On The Record has done what it does best: entertained, provoked, and digressed wildly. It’s messy, funny, opinionated, and oddly comforting—like a long conversation you didn’t plan to have, but are very glad you did.
Episode Links
Liz Stringer website
Liz’s album The Second High
One Battle After Another – Official Trailer
If I Had Legs I’d Kick You | Official Trailer HD | A24
Sam Fender – Remember My Name
Audrey Powne – From The Fire (ALBUM)
The Mushroom Tapes by Helen Garner, Chloe Hooper and Sarah Krasnostein
Milk Fed by Melissa Broder
The Pitt
Succession
THE HISTORY OF SOUND | Official Trailer
SENTIMENTAL VALUE – Official Trailer
The Faces Ooh La La (2004 Remaster)