Spring Pledge Show and Sven

·1 hr 12 min·5 clips

Matthew Socey replays his epic interview with Rich Koz, who took over as Sven Ghoulie from Jerry G. Bishop in Chicago.

The episode begins with host Matthew Socey promoting WFYI's spring pledge drive, encouraging listeners to become members. He explains the origin of the 'grab a pencil' segment, which started during COVID when theaters closed and has continued for six years as a social media film discussion. Socey shares that he is acting in '26 Pebbles,' an ensemble drama about the Sandy Hook shootings at Earlham College, a show revived after COVID cancellation. He mentions watching a special feature on the Criterion Blu-ray of 'The Long Good Friday,' a British crime drama starring Bob Hoskins and Helen Mirren. This leads to a discussion of HandMade Films, the studio founded by George Harrison, which produced 'Life of Brian' and other cult films. Socey then dips into the archives to replay an interview with Rich Koz, who portrays horror host Sven Ghoulie. The interview covers Koz's childhood influences, taking over the character from Jerry G. Bishop, syndication in the 1980s, and the show's current run on MeTV. Koz discusses favorite films like 'Bride of Frankenstein' and interactions with actors like Robert Englund. The episode concludes with the 'grab a pencil' segment, where listeners list films they've watched, and Socey promotes upcoming theater events and podcasts.

As heard by us

Sven's character logic and Chicago station history give the pledge-show segment its firmest shape.

This Film Sociology pledge-show segment starts at WFYI before settling into the comic engineering behind Sven's television persona. In conversation with Matthew Sose, Sven frames the character in the orbit of Jack Benny: someone beset by the people around him, rather than a…

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Why you'd press play

You get flying chickens, a Jack Benny-style host dynamic, and the strange route from a Chicago station to channel 50 in Detroit.

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