Razor's Ink Podcast with Jonathan B. Ferrini
Razor's Ink Podcast is a weekly show hosted by Jonathan B. Ferrini, a published author with an MFA from UCLA. The podcast covers movies, television, and music, offering the host's personal take on entertainment. Ferrini also promotes his own fiction story collections and encourages listener donations.
Episodes
“The Studio That Discovered Everyone”
A long overdue, "Thank you".
Why Does Bonnie and Clyde Still Work Today?
“Two beautiful outlaws, a broken system, and a country ready to rebel."
Why Can’t I Stop Watching "The Last Picture Show" (Movie 1971)
Still Watching, Still Seeing a Black‑and‑White Memory of America
Four Singer-Songwriters in Terminal C (Music)
“How Four Singer-Songwriters Might Write One Song”
Why "Fitzcarraldo" Still Matters in 2026” (Movie 1982)
Opera in the Jungle; Dreams; Delusion; and a War of Egos on the Set.
Transactional Masculinity inside "American Gigolo" & "Sweet Bird of Youth" (Movies)
Find out inside my podcast what happens when being wanted becomes a man's only currency.
The Story of Boxing Movies
Training for the Fight and "The Sweet Science".
No Country for Old Men (Movie) Part II
Comparing two bookend movies: No Country for Old Men and The Last Picture Show as portraits of the American west where meaning fades, then vanishes entirely.
No Country for Old Men (Movie 2007)
Darkness, Silence, Fate, and Chance create the antithesis of a western movie.
Five Hundred Miles (Music)
Where Love Is Worth the Distance
Hollywood After the Studio Moguls
The Funeral Before the Film: What the Logos Are Really Telling You
“Mexican Radio” (Music 1982)
A complex song about a radio signal that didn’t ask permission to cross the border.
The Movie Director in the Frame
The Psychology of the Director Cameo
The Righteous Brothers (Singer-Songwriters)
Blue Eyed Soul. Still righteous, still soul.
Judgment at Nuremberg (Movie 1961)
A film analysis including the terrifying idea of "evil by procedure" and contemplating was justice complete?
Warren Zevon (Singer-songwriter)
Songs written like news dispatches filed after midnight from the field, providing no comfort or a way out, but staying with the damage reported.
Broderick Crawford (Actor)
Breaking Hollywood’s Mold: Broderick Crawford’s Enduring Influence.
The Heart of Films About Love
Lessons from Midnight Cowboy and Moonstruck
Five Easy Pieces (Movie 1970)
Silence as damage; masculinity; male withdrawal; and class identity.
Boogie Nights (Movie 1997)
Casting, characters, and critique of a film about pornographic movie making.
Nazis on the Run: 1970’s Cinema’s Reflection on Justice, Trauma, and Survival.
The Odessa File, The Boys from Brazil, and Marathon Man explore post-war anxieties, unfinished justice, and the lingering effects of history.
Boiler Room (Movie 2000)
Ambition, Ethics, and the Cost of Belonging in Wall Street’s Get-Rich-Quick Culture
Seventies Cinema: Hollywood’s Golden Decade
Creative Freedom; Cultural Shifts; Gutsy Studio Chiefs; and Rebel Filmmakers spark innovation.
Humor and Division: Lessons from 1970s Television
All in the Family; The Jeffersons; Sanford and Son; Good Times; Chico and the Man.
Sidekicks of Subversion Inside Early Television
How Eddie Haskell (Leave it to Beaver) and Maynard G. Krebs (Dobie Gillis) shaped American television of the fifties to early sixties.
“Lyrics, Life, and Legacy: My Trio of Timeless Albums”
Simon and Garfunkel; Dylan; and Steely Dan.
The Bedford Incident (Movie. 1965)
Brinkmanship at sea during the cold war offering enduring lessons for a world on edge.
Once Upon A Time in Hollywood (Movie 2019)
What the film got right and wrong about Hollywood of 1969.
Glengarry Glen Ross (Movie 1992)
What does the character “Ricky Roma” teach us about dialogue?
“Best Actor” to character actor
How did winning the OSCAR affect two acting careers?
Bac Sai “Physician” (Short Story)
Listen to me “set the stage” from the opening pages of a dying surgeon’s tattered diary revealing an extraordinary life filled with love and loss.
Money “Madness” inside Songs
What lyrics teach us about the “mean, mean, mean, mean, mean green.”
Hawaii Five-O (Television series 1968-1980)
What the series got “right” about the cultural and ecological mosaic of the 50th state.
Lyrics Are The Calculus of Writing
A redux of an early episode of The Razor's Ink Podcast, in which we explore the daunting task of writing music.
Apocalypse Now (Movie 1979)
What’s the real reason Colonel Kurtz was assassinated?
Fail Safe (Movie 1964)
Two movies about nuclear war were released in the same year: one farcical, the second, “deadly” serious. Join me as I discuss the latter.
Midnight Cowboy (Movie 1969)
I describe the significance of this legendary movie which has nothing to do with its “X” rating.
A Clockwork Orange (Movie 1971)
Let’s examine the socio-economic subtext to the movie and surmise why reprehensible Alex may appear sympathetic at film’s end.
The Limey (Movie 1999)
My memorial to the death of British actor Terence Stamp (1938-2025) whose acting genius melded with exquisite filmmaking resembling the Vesper Martini.
British Film Studios
Visiting marvels of movie magic; historic Shepperton and Pinewood studios.
Route 66 (Television 1960-64)
Imagine reading Jack Kerouac’s “On the Road” inside a speeding Corvette.
Shaft (Movies 1971 & 2000)
Two movies about a Black detective seeking justice thirty years apart with a new spin on racism.
Who Is Herb Alpert? 2.0
Check out a music genre bending composer, musician and brilliant businessman at my podcast.
70's Network Television Detectives
Let’s explore three very different detective shows who helped re-define an entire genre
The Taking of Pelham One Two Three (Movie 1974)
The 1970’s New York City subway system serves as a protagonist with a New Yorkers attitude: “Just another day inside the subway”.
“Rendition Rock” (Music)
Listen to four revered performers covering two hit songs including Wilson Pickett and The Four Tops delivering inspired covers.
Leaving Las Vegas (Movie 1995)
A raw story concerning suicide by alcohol, perfectly served “neat”, but marred by “on the rocks” or with a “back”. Find out inside.
Remembering Brian Wilson and Sly Stone (Singer-Songwriters)
Let’s examine two lyricists and performers with different styles but sharing the same happy heart pumping lyrics of love and understanding.
The Gong Show (Television 1976-1980)
The antithesis of a talent show you must see to believe.
The Dirty Dozen (Movie 1967)
A World War II film showcasing condemned military convicts unleased against the German high command including themes about nonconformity with an antiwar message.
Ballad of a Thin Man (Music 1965)
Deconstructing one of Dylan’s most abstract compositions.
On the Beach (Movie 1959)
The last vestiges of humanity inside Australia following worldwide thermonuclear war.
Rediscovering the Batman Television Series (1966-1968)
Escapism written for kids with adults in mind
The Swimmer (Movie 1968)
A movie about midlife crisis provides us the opportunity to imagine a timely remake.
Unrequited Love Inside Lyrics from a Gender Perspective.
“Linger” by The Cranberries (1993) and “Carrie Anne” by The Hollies (1967)
The Defiant Ones (Movie 1958)
Sidney Poitier and Tony Curtis play convicts. The chain that binds them rattles with racial hatred but reveals "we (all) come from the same side of the tracks".
The Shoes of the Fisherman (Movie 1968)
The election of a Pope whilst the world readies for war. Art imitating life?
Rediscovering David Bowie
Brilliant lyricist, iconic performer, and astute businessman.
I Want to Live! (Movie. 1958)
Susan Hayward portrays the life of Barbara Graham executed in CALIFORNIA’S gas chamber. I discuss the movie and what I name “The Criminal Justice-Media Complex” surrounding the trial and execution.
The Conversation (Movie 1974)
Gene Hackman delivers a minimalist approach performance he considered the pinnacle of his career in this film where “sound” serves as a protagonist.
My Rx for Network Television, Part IV: Variety Shows
I examine four variety shows from past decades and recommend television networks reinvent the variety show, "cure" declining ratings, and enjoy the intended “side effect” of “healing" the nation.
My Rx for Network Television, Part III: The Movie of the Week
I examine “original” movies made for television as my “treatment” for declining network television entertainment programing ratings.
My Rx for Network Television, Part II: The Late-Night Edition
Let’s examine Hugh Hefner’s “Playboy after Dark” for a clue to my “fix”.
My Rx for Network Television
Your heart monitor is about to flatline, television networks. Open my podcast serving as your medicine cabinet and find the cure sitting inside for over fifty years.
Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia (Film. 1974)
Director Sam Peckinpah’s customary Shoot ‘Em Up genre film includes a protagonist taking the form of a severed head! I call it a “wholesale film” but there’s much more inside than blood and guts.
Room 222 (Television. 1969-74)
A classic series about dedicated educators struggling with familiar social issues offering inspiration to the underappreciated educators of today.
The Oscars 2025
Trouble in "Tinseltown".
The Beatles and The Rolling Stones
Which was the better band? It’s about “context”. Let’s study “context” with the help of Jimi Hendrix, Wilson Pickett, The Beach Boys, David Lee Roth, Devo, and classical music.
The Grapes of Wrath (Movie. 1940)
Eco disasters; Migrants; Homeless; “Big Ag”; bad banks, and no help from government. Sound familiar? Inside, Ma Joad reminds us, “They can't wipe us out; they can't lick us.. 'cause we're the people."
"Men for Sale in Movies"
What do men have to offer their female clients? Let’s explore themes inside three films starring William Holden, Paul Newman, and Richard Gere.
Alfie (Movie. Starring Michael Caine. 1966)
"What’s it all about?" Womanizing, manipulation, abortion, and abandonment. The story leaves you feeling “black and blue” but you’ll discover the answer, "When you walk let your heart lead the way..."
"The Misfits" (Movie. 1961)
Marilyn Monroe defends wild mustangs from slaughter starring opposite Clark Gable.
“They Shoot Horses, Don’t They?” (Movie. 1969)
Jane Fonda’s character enters a brutal dance marathon contest. Let’s examine the movie and our appetite for “reality show” programming.
Sexploitation Films of the Sixties: Women Wielding the Whip!
One indie filmmaker showcased women in "control" including a dominatrix, female action heroes, and racial justice.
"That Girl". Marlo Thomas Empowers Women Inside a Sixties TV Sitcom.
Let's examine "Girl power" inside television and film including Liz Taylor, Audrey Hepburn, Jane Fonda, and Diane Keaton.
The Andy Griffith Show (TV. 1963-68)
The "Mayberry" sitcom providing escapism for the tumultuous sixties.
Sounder (Movie. 1972)
Join me as I explore timeless themes of family, resilience, and the will to survive despite insurmountable odds inside this sweet, beautiful, motion picture.
Songwriter to Storyteller
Let's discuss the depiction of war in lyrics and verse with the help of Hemingway, Metallica, The Animals, and Simon & Garfunkel.
Soylent Green (Movie. 1973)
Soylent green is now! Let's discuss a prescient film I elevated from a "B" to an "A" movie because of one scene.
How to pick a writer from four greats. INT. WRITERS' ROOM - MOTION PICTURE STUDIO - DAY
Listen to the Executive Producer interview four writers named Neil, Jack, Sal, and John for a writing gig.
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