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Brian Lehrer: It's The Brian Lehrer Show on WNYC. Good morning, and happy day before Christmas, again, everybody. It's an all call-in show today, no politicians, no other newsmakers, no experts, no other guests. You are the experts, you are the guests, and for this next stretch, you are the culture critics. We're inviting you to call in now with your best or worst of 2025 in any genre of entertainment or the arts. 212-433-WNYC. 212-433-9692. Call or text.

Movies, TV shows, books, plays, musicals, art exhibits, podcasts, social media, influencer feeds, sports as entertainment, maybe the remaking of the Mets the last few weeks is your worst entertainment pick of 2025. You name it. Give us your favorite picks. Give us your biggest pans. You can call or text 212-433-WNYC. 212-433-9692.

I will mostly leave the pans, the worst ofs, to you, and just give a few examples of some bests that others have thrown some critical bouquets at to get your juices flowing as your calls start to come in. Let's see. Anyone remember when White Lotus and Severance were coming out at the same time last winter? It was like the Barbenheimer of prestige TV. People have put it, "All right, maybe not quite that level of cultural impact, but maybe." They were two very talked-about shows that people had a lot of opinions about in either direction. Did you like them? Why, or why not?

Some other arts news from the past year, there was a Man Ray exhibit at The Met. On a very different side of the world of arts and culture, we saw the new Broadway musical, Queen of Versailles, which premiered last month, starring Kristin Chenoweth. Paul Thomas Anderson made another epic film, almost three hours long, called One Battle After Another. You can give us your thoughts on that. These are just some examples.

Can you sit through a three-hour movie anymore, by the way, speaking of One Battle After Another, in this age of short-attention spans? In fact, it's a whole other category, with movie theater attendance down and generally only the big blockbusters making money, from what I've been reading. Call in with a smaller-release film pick that you actually went to a movie theater to see this year rather than just stream it, and you would like to tell everybody it was worth the trip, or still is, if it's something that's still showing. What was worth the time and the effort and the overpriced popcorn? 212-433-WNYC, (433-9692).

We haven't even touched on new books. We had a New York Times book editor on last week to shout out their top 10, but I won't go through the list. If you have any to recommend, please let us know. 212-433-9692. I'm also curious, another wrinkle, is there anything you loved that most people hated? Or maybe it was the opposite. Did you really dislike anything that the people around you, and maybe the critics that you read, really loved?

It's always interesting to have really different opinions from the people you usually agree with, and you wonder, am I crazy, or am I just seeing this better, hearing this better than other people? 212-433-9692. Some more live events from this past year, the principal ballerina at the New York City Ballet, Sara Mearns, had a solo show in April where she also did contemporary dance. I know that made news. I recently read a pretty positive review in The New York Times of a Hamilton-like rap musical based on the diary of Anne Frank called Slam Frank, if you can believe it, if you didn't know about that. That had a popular off-Broadway run.

Back in TV land, another show getting a lot of attention right now is Pluribus. Kind of a weird one, but without giving any spoilers, let us know what you think. Is it good weird or bad weird for you? How does it stack up in, I guess you'd call it the utopia/dystopia genre, if that's a fair way to label that. We haven't even mentioned music. Any picks or pans of things that came out this year? 212-433-WNYC, (433-9692).

There's just so much content these days on all kinds of platforms and all kinds of media, so we appreciate your help. Our listeners, your fellow listeners will appreciate your help in picking through some of the options. What are you going to remember from 2025 for reasons good or bad? What should you read or listen to, or what should we steer clear of? Help your fellow listeners out. 212-433-3333. WNYC, call or text 212-433-9692. We'll take your picks and pans right after this.

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Brian: Quick program note, next Thursday, New Year's Day, WNYC will bring you live coverage of Mayor Zohran Mamdani's inauguration ceremony and inaugural address. I will be anchoring coverage, we will set the scene, we'll carry the ceremony, and we'll get reactions to the speech from guests and from you on the phones and in our text feed. Inauguration coverage, New Year's Day, a little before 1:00, here on WNYC.

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We continue with our all call-in show today. No experts, no politicians, no newsmakers, no guests, you are the guests. For this stretch, you are the culture critics with your picks and pans of 2025 from the world of arts and entertainment; entertainment broadly defined, even including sports. Christina, in Brooklyn, we see you there with an interesting sports pick. We'll get to you. We're going to start with Ray, on the Upper West Side. Hi, Ray, you're on WNYC.

Ray: Hey, what's going on? First time, long time. Definitely excited to be chatting with you today.

Brian: Glad you're on. What've you got?

Ray: I wanted to shout out the Yo La Tengo Hanukkah shows as my favorite event of the year. Not sure if those at home are familiar, but basically Yo La Tengo, wonderful indie rock band from New Jersey. Every year, they rent out the Bowery Ballroom, it used to be Maxwell's in Hoboken, but they'll do eight nights over the course of Hanukkah. Every night, it's a completely surprise musical guest, a surprise comedian. They'll bring out folks for the encores who you wouldn't expect.

This year, we had acts like Norah Jones, which was super cool. We had Susanna Hoffs from the Bangles. Throughout all eight nights, they don't repeat a single song. It really is a wonderful little community that comes out each year. Definitely really enjoyed that.

Brian: Unbelievable. I love Yo La Tengo. Did not know about those holiday shows in Hoboken, so thank you for shouting that out. Now to Christina in Brooklyn. Christina, you're on WNYC. Hey there.

Christina: Hi. Good morning.

Brian: What've you got? You got a pick?

Christina: I got a pick for the 2025 World Series between the Dodgers and the Blue Jays.

Brian: Because?

Christina: Because it was an unexpected, incredible series. It went all seven games. It went extra innings. There was a double game, essentially, early on in the series. I don't think anybody expected it to go that way. It was just a really fun watch. I don't have a particular investment in either of those teams, but I watched every single game to the bitter end, and it was awesome.

Brian: Yes, the double game. That's the one. I guess it went 18 innings, right? That's what made it a double game.

Christina: That's right. Yes.

Brian: I had the same experience. When the Yankees got eliminated, I was like, "Ah, okay. Yes, Dodgers and Blue Jays," but I started to watch, and they were just such good games that I got into it. Did you find yourself rooting for anybody by the end, even though you went into it without a team?

Christina: I was pulling for the Blue Jays, for sure, not only because I'm a Yankees fan, but they haven't won in a really long time. I was rooting for them to pull it off. It was a little anticlimactic when the Dodgers won in Toronto. I was watching with my daughter until the wee hours of the night, and it was like, "Oh, that's it. It's over."

Brian: Yes, Dodgers, again. Now they have Edwin Diaz. Christina, thank you very much. Poor Mets. Ross, in Plainsboro, you're on WNYC. Hi, Ross.

Ross: Hi, how are you doing?

Brian: Good. You got a pick too, huh?

Ross: Yes, I do. I saw an early screening of the South Korean film, No Other Choice, from filmmaker, Park Chan-wook, and it blew me away.

Brian: Describe it.

Ross: It's about this guy, he's a family man, and he has a good job at a paper company, but the paper company is bought up and merged with American company, so 20% of the workforce is laid off, including him. He can only think to get a job at a new paper company, and he's having trouble doing that. He figures out a plot to find the top three candidates of the pool of his former co-workers he thinks to kill them, so that way he can get a shot at a new job.

Brian: Huh. Really interesting. Okay. Without giving away the ending, interesting description of the premise. Ross, thank you very much. The Korean film, No Other Choice. Here's a pan coming in in a text, says, "Disliked the raved-about Little Bear Ridge Road, casting strange performances, either too broad or just weird. Good subject and some good writing, but play too academic and wrapped up too neatly for me. I remained unconvinced and unmoved by the characters. On the plus side, raves for me include the revivals Ragtime and Art, both are fabulous."

Cleo, in Manhattan, you're on WNYC. Hi, Cleo.

Cleo: Hello. Can you hear me?

Brian: I can hear you just fine.

Cleo: Okay. I want to give a shout out for an advanced screening of a film called The Nutcracker at Wethersfield. It is an amazing documentary about New York City ballet dancers who got together and put on a nutcracker at the Wethersfield Estate during COVID. I saw it at a fantastic place, New Plaza Cinema, where a lot of independent and foreign films are being shown. Highlight of my year.

Brian: Nice. Thank you for that pick. Here's another pick, another movie from Maxine, in Manhattan. You're on WNYC. Hi, Maxine.

Maxine: Good morning, Brian. I want to speak to you about Bau: Artist at War. It's a story about Joseph and Rebecca Bau. That's the couple that were portrayed in Schindler's List, in the wedding in Schindler's List. This film follows them from the camps, through life, and into the 1970s when Bau testified against the Nazis who murdered his father. It's a fantastic jump between 1970 and 1941-42 when the couple was interned in Plaszow and when they found one another.

They lived a life of 48 years of marriage in Ramat Gan. Bau became the senior graphic artist for the Mossad and did paperwork for people, like removing Eichmann from Argentina and getting Eli Cohen into Syria. It's a phenomenal story. Both of their daughters, Hadassa and Clila, will be at three premieres in Israel in Haifa, Tel Aviv, and Jerusalem next week. If anybody is in Israel, it's going to be a phenomenal experience.

Brian: Maxine, thank you for sharing--[crosstalk]

Maxine: By the way, it'll be on Netflix in January.

Brian: Ah. Bau: Artist at War. Do I have the title right?

Maxine: Bau, B-A-U, Artists at War, and there are trailers online. Sean McNamara is the producer, and he just won an award from the Catholic Film-- the Catholic Cultural Association congratulated him with its first prize this year. You have a movie that was made by a Catholic director, and funded by an evangelical Christian, and is the story of two survivors who were just major powers in mid-century Israel. Very important to the whole history of the state.

Pick it up on Netflix. It's a Paramount Pictures. It's going to be quite the experience. You will laugh and you will cry. The humor is amazing. It's the power of love and the power of humor in the worst of circumstances, and you'll dance.

Brian: Maxine, thank you very much for dancing with us. Linda, in Queens, is going to thank my colleague, Alison Stewart, for some of her picks of this year, right? Linda, hi, you're on WNYC again. Thanks, again.

Linda: Hi, how are you? Yes, indeed. I totally love Alison's Summer Reading Challenge. I have actually been part of the book club since it started way back around COVID time. For me, one of the best parts of the summer was the summer reading challenge. You got to pick from a number of categories. This forced me to go back and read some books that I have been meaning to get to. One of the categories was, "Read a classic you have been meaning to get to," and for me, that was The Fire Next Time by James Baldwin. I found it topical because this was his 100th year anniversary, so I really wanted to get to that one.

Brian: Linda, thank you so much. We did a segment on 100 Years of James Baldwin in our 100 Years of 100 Things series on this show. Glad Alison had it on her list of summer reads, and glad it inspired you. All right, we've been doing some picks. Here are a couple of pans. Tracy, on Staten Island, you're on WNYC. Hi, Tracy.

Tracy: Hello. Oh my goodness. I heard about the Diane Arbus exhibit at the Armory, also on Alison Stewart's show when she had the curator on and they were talking about how intricately it was designed. My husband and I went to see it, and we hated it. It was so weird. I'm an art history major. I loved the exhibit at the Guggenheim. This was so awful, the whole back wall was a mirror, so you thought you were getting twice as much as you did. My husband and I would just catch each other's eyes as we were walking through, and we just would laugh. We just couldn't stand it. Sorry, but--

Brian: Was it the presentation and not the Diane Arbus photos themselves?

Tracy: It was the presentation, and it was also I've decided that a little Diane Arbus goes a long, long way. [laughs]

Brian: Her thing was to find the kinds of people who are maybe marginal in society, who don't get portrait photographs of them taken very much.

Tracy: Oh. Yes. I think some of them didn't necessarily need the portraits. I'm so sorry. [laughs]

Brian: Tracy, thank you very much. Here is another pan of maybe a TV show that didn't age well, as I guess that caller thought some of the old Diane Arbus photos didn't age well. Tony, in Corona, you're on WNYC. Hi, Tony.

Tony: Hey, Brian. Big fan. My girlfriend, my fiancée, Julie, used to love this show. Rave-- Was that? Either way. Damn it, I forgot the name of the show because I never even watched it.

Brian: Everybody Loves Raymond?

Tony: Everyone Loves Raymond. Let me tell you, that's nothing but a misogynistic way of showing how men treat women. Everybody loves Raymond? You know what? I hate Raymond. I think he's a bit of a jerk. He always does the wrong thing, he treats his kids wrong, he treats his family wrong, and there are even some racist situations in that whole thing.

Brian: Tony, thank you very much. I never watched Everybody Loves Raymond. I know it was a big show, but I don't have a basis on which to agree or disagree with the caller, but he's probably started a controversy there if anybody wants to pick it up. We're not going to take a lot of calls on plus or minus Everybody Loves Raymond, but maybe you want to text in and see if Tony's take is mainstream or on the fringe. There we go, a big pan for Everybody Loves Raymond.

Here's a pan. Wicked: For Good. You know Wicked: For Good, the sequel that came out after Wicked with Ariana Grande as Glinda the Good Witch? "Wicked: For Good is one of the worst films I've ever seen. Not much more than a special effects fest. Shockingly bad." Oh, we're on a run of pans here. Marcia, in New Paltz, you're on WNYC. Hi, Marcia.

Marcia: Hi, Brian. What an honor to be speaking with you.

Brian: And vice versa. What've you got?

Marcia: This fall, I went to see the Bruce Springsteen movie, and he is my favorite forever rock star. I was so disappointed because I thought it was such-- they showed so little of his career. It was really based on the Nebraska album.

Brian: Right.

Marcia: I went there with this illusion, excitement that I was going to watch his whole life and career. That was disappointing, but I still believe that watching the movie in the theater is nothing like it.

Brian: Yes. [crosstalk] What you said about going to see the Springsteen movie, gives me a thought about reading reviews before or after you see something. I know people who will only read a review after they see the thing because they want to form their own impression. I tend to fall into the camp of reading reviews as long as I think there's not going to be a total spoiler before, so I get some sense of what the filmmaker or whatever the genre is, what they're going for, and sometimes I appreciate it more because of that.

I wonder if having known that it was about the making of Nebraska and not his whole life and career, if that might have helped you appreciate it. I don't know, just a thought.

Marcia: Maybe. I just get all excited about anything Bruce Springsteen. I have never seen him in person, in concert, so anything that I can get, I just go at it. For other movies, I do read reviews. I didn't for this one because Bruce Springsteen, I'm going to go see it, and it's going to be great.

Brian: Marcia, thank you very much. I will say that the text messages are flowing in support of Tony, in Corona, when it comes to Everybody Loves Raymond. Listener writes, "Yes, the women on Everybody Loves Raymond are shown as nags." Somebody else, "Tony is right, Raymond is a bore." Here's a funny pan. Are you ready for this one? Peanut Butter. Listener writes, "I finally tried it after my doctor told me I no longer had the lifetime peanut allergy. It was meh. People rave about it like it's caramel. Peanut butter is no caramel." There's a text I never thought we would get.

Oh, here's JC, in Washington Heights, who I think deservedly enough is going to give himself or herself, I don't know who JC is, a pick. JC, you're on WNYC. Hello.

JC: Hi, Brian. It's so nice to be on your show. We had an amazing experience with my show, it's called DetoNation Rat Cabaret, at the Theater for the New City. We had a great run in October. It created a little buzz, we were selling out, and people called it "the respite for the times." It was lots of word of mouth in an East Village show, which meant a lot to me and to our cast, it's 12 people. Really great music that we wrote, spanning hip hop, and chanson, and Bowie, and tango, and punk. It's a really crazy show about rats and rat mitigation in New York, with the Rat Czar having a wonderful reggae things.

Brian: There's an objective measure of that it can be a pick because I see it's getting picked up again to run again starting next month, correct?

JC: Yes, it is. We're already thrilled and excited about it. January 8th to be 25th, we're running again at the Theater for the New City. It's been just such a joy and a wonder to get this going and to see the response that it's been getting. I just wanted to shout out and let people know that good theater can be done with really nothing. We're scrambling, but it's all worthwhile.

Brian: DetoNation Rat Cabaret. JC, congratulations. I'm glad you had enough non-humility to call in and pick the show you wrote as your pick. One more. Lisa, in Brooklyn, you're on WNYC. Hi, Lisa.

Lisa: Hi. Thank you so much for letting me through. I wanted to nominate Slam Frank, a musical based on a viral tweet about Anne Frank not realizing her white privilege. It's in gramercy, and it's only running for a few days, and it is, for some people, the most offensive thing they've ever seen, and for others, a great piece of art that shows what can happen when nothing is sacred or forbidden to speak.

Brian: Lisa, thank you very much. That concludes our call in with your picks and pans from the worlds of arts and entertainment, and even the 2025 World Series, as we continue with this all call-in show on The Brian Lehrer Show today.

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