We review Conclave, a new Oscar contender starring Ralph Fiennes that asks questions old and new about the consolidation of power and the intersection of religion & politics. Did they Trojan horse a Politics Movie into a Pope Movie? How does this fit into the canon of religious cinema? Then, we make our official predictions for MLB free agency: estimating which star players will sign where, for how long, and for how much money. How will the Soto sweepstakes shake out? The Mets will sign a bunch of big names, but who? And which lucky team will sign Roki Sasaki? The top 20 available players per FanGraphs are all covered here.

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Intro / Conclave (1:00-17:19)

Rays at Steinbrenner Field for 2025 (17:20-20:44)

Free Agency Predictions (20:45-1:16:35)

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Produced and Edited by Nolan Rabine

Cover Art by Brody Staub

The Los Angeles Dodgers won the World Series, beating the New York Yankees in 5 games on the backs of Freddie Freeman, dominant pitching, and catastrophic "Yankee defense." We react to the series as a whole, the birth of what seems to be a Dodgers dynasty, what that means for these two teams as well as baseball as a whole, and what the next steps are for 2025. But first: the murder of TikTok's favorite squirrel triggers some repressed memories for Brody, and Nolan calls on Americans to do their patriotic duty this week. We discuss the past, present, & future of the pod; new things we want to talk about and movies to discuss now that baseball season has come to an end. We'd love to hear from you at mudvillepod@gmail.com! What what would you like to hear us cover? We wrap up with some thoughts on film composition, as well as the long-awaited Joker: Folie à Deux.

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Intro / Dead Squirrels / The U.S. Election (0:00-15:03)

World Series Recap & the Future of MLB (15:04-42:55)

State of the Pod (43:10-48:20)

Favorite Film Scores (48:30-54:45)

Joker: Folie à Deux (55:00-1:02:40)

Produced and Edited by Nolan Rabine

Cover Art by Brody Staub

The 2024 World Series kicks off on Friday, and the coastal elites are rubbing their hands together and cackling as the New York Yankees head to LA to take on the Dodgers in one of MLB's all-time most anticipated matchups. Morgan's back as we preview the upcoming battle, dive deep into both rosters, and try to put into words the feeling of watching our favorite team win their first pennant in 15 years. First, we recap ALCS Games 4 & 5 in Cleveland and NLDS Game 6 in LA, saying our goodbyes to the Guardians and Mets.

A star-studded World Series will see Shohei Ohtani, Aaron Judge, Juan Soto, Mookie Betts, Giancarlo Stanton, Gerrit Cole, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Freddie Freeman, Tim Hill, Jazz Chisholm, Teoscar Hernandez, and many, many, more. Who are these guys? What are their stories, strengths, weaknesses? As Morg presents his 7 Tips to Win the World Series, we try to figure it out.

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Produced and Edited by Nolan Rabine

Cover Art by Brody Staub

The Mets won a do-or-die Game 5 at Citi Field on Friday to force a trip back to LA, while late-game heroics from Jhonkensy Noel and David Fry kept the Guardians alive in a wild Game 3 in Cleveland. We recap the past week, including five consecutive NLCS blowouts and a possible turnaround in Aaron Judge's postseason narrative, plus a new vote of confidence in the Dodgers, and an update on how potential World Series matchups might stack up.

Plus: Basing underdog narratives on payroll, $1,000 World Series nosebleeds, Tropicana Field ravaged by Hurricane Milton, Twins & White Sox might be for sale

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Intro, Game 3 NYY-CLE/Game 5 LAD-NYM reactions (0:00)

Dodgers-Mets NLCS Recap Games 1-4 (7:45)

Yankees-Guardians ALCS Recap Games 1-3 (18:00)

Fraudulent underdog narratives based on payroll (34:55)

Overpriced World Series Tickets (42:00)

Tropicana Field destroyed by hurricane, AL Central teams for sale (44:05)

Outro (50:30)

Produced and Edited by Nolan Rabine

Cover Art by Brody Staub

The Divisional Series are coming to a close, and both the Yankees & Mets have locked up spots in the final four. As we await Games 5 in Los Angeles and Cleveland, we try and make sense of the playoffs thus far. Detroit continues winning with only one real starting pitcher, Emmanuel Clase is human, and the Padres antagonize the Dodgers. What's next for the Astros and Orioles? Morgan's back on the pod to bid adieu to the Phillies, dedicate the episode to Brandon Backe, and lament the end of the SP3 going 7+ innings in the playoffs. Bonus content at the end as we react live to the ending of Yankees-Royals Game 4 and look ahead to a weekend of elimination games, predicting the chaos ahead for the Dodgers, Padres, Guardians, and Tigers.

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Intro (1:00)

Wild Card matchups (9:30)

Astros-Tigers (10:12)

Royals-Orioles (21:30)

Mets-Brewers (31:20)

Braves-Padres (42:10)

ALDS/NLDS (45:30)

Mets-Phillies (46:35)

Tigers-Guardians (57:45)

Padres-Dodgers (1:09:24)

Yankees-Royals (1:25:21)

Postgame/Yankees advance to ALCS (1:39:28)

Guardians-Tigers Game 4 (2:07:35)

Predicting Games 5 in LA and Cleveland (2:17:00)

Outro (2:22:00)

Produced by Nolan Rabine

Edited by Nolan Rabine and Brody Staub

Cover Art by Brody Staub

The playoffs are here! Nolan & Brody discuss the Mets-Braves doubleheader that became one of the most shocking days in recent memory, and look ahead to the Wild Card matchups for this week (Tigers vs Astros, Royals vs Orioles, Padres vs Braves, Mets vs Brewers), predicting the rest of the postseason along the way. Also, farewell to the Oakland Athletics and good riddance to one of the most maddening sagas in sports history.

Subscribe at Patreon.com/Mudville to support the show & receive updates anytime new content is released! We're in full swing this postseason and you won't want to miss any of it.

(01:02) Mets-Braves doubleheader

(11:20) Oakland's Last Stand

(23:55) Tigers vs Astros

(33:00) Orioles vs Royals

(40:45) Padres vs Braves

(47:55) Mets vs Brewers

(54:24) Predicting Divisional Rounds and Beyond

(1:11:00) Buster Posey hired as Giants POBO, All-Star Uniforms, F the Triple Crown

(1:19:00) Outro

Produced & Edited by Nolan Rabine

Cover Art by Brody Staub

Shohei Ohtani went nuclear on Thursday and we're still trying to make sense of it. Brody got to see a movie he worked on for a long time, Aaron Schimberg's A Different Man! We discuss his experience on set and in the theater, as well as the future of the expanded playoffs. Also, we celebrate the life of James Earl Jones, a legend of baseball & cinematic history who passed away recently at age 93.

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Produced & Edited by Nolan Rabine

Cover Art by Brody Staub

Brody’s on vacation in Italy, so Nolan is joined by Toney Brown for a marathon conversation about a nightmare birthday series at Citi Field, the surging Mets and a heated NL Wild Card race, MLB debuts for Dylan Crews and Rhett Lowder, the biopic Ronald Reagan deserves, the Fennell-ification of Zoe Kravitz, and a brand-new thriller from M. Night Shyamalan. The dog days of Summer are behind us, as World Series contenders are hitting the gas and the stench of Deadpool fans is finally leaving the cinema. We look ahead to the next few months and what to look forward to.

Check out Nolan’s updated Top 100 Prospects list here, and subscribe at Patreon.com/Mudville

0:45 - Penalties for Hitting Batters?

16:43 - Intro

20:30 - BOS/NYM Citi Field Series

42:00 - Wild Card Implications

1:04:00 - REAGAN / Daily Wire Cinema

1:25:00 - Blink Twice

1:33:15 - TRAP & M. Night Shyamalan

1:50:30 - What’s Next / Outro

Produced & Edited by Nolan Rabine