House of R
Welcome to ‘House of R,’ where Mallory Rubin and Joanna Robinson explore your favorite fictional universes with their signature Deep Dives into everything from ‘Game of Thrones’ to ‘Star Wars,’ ‘The Lord of the Rings’ to Marvel, and beyond. Whether they’re parsing mythology, story themes, and character arcs or tracing influences across decades of fantasy and sci-fi stories, Jo and Mal will be here weekly with Deep Dives into new nerd culture releases, nostalgic revisitations of their favorite tales in fandom, Tropes Course examinations, Hall of Fame inductions, Hype Meters, drafts, mailbags, watch lists, top moments countdowns, recommendations, and more.
Latest Episodes
Hot Nolan Summer is back! As ‘The Odyssey’ approaches, Mal and Jo are joined by Erik Voss to continue their journey through Christopher Nolan’s filmography with ‘The Dark Knight Rises.' They discuss its strengths and weaknesses, how it compares to the rest of the ‘Dark Knight’ trilogy, and—of course—all things Bane!
(00:00) Intro
(06:55) ‘The Dark Knight Rises’ revisited
(01:12:03) Superlatives
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Hosts: Joanna Robinson and Mallory Rubin
Guest: Erik Voss
Producers: Carlos Chiriboga and Scott Lee
Studio Production: Jacob Cornett
Social: Jomi Adeniran
Additional Production Support: Arjuna Ramgopowell
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Mal and Jo dive deep into ‘The Vampire Lestat’ Episode 2! They discuss everything from the complicated relationship between Lestat and Gabriella to how the show is different from the book so far! Plus, they have a big announcement!
(00:00) Intro
(02:48) Big announcement
(08:25) Opening Snapshot
(29:20) Deep dive
(01:47:41) Book spoilers
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Hosts: Joanna Robinson and Mallory Rubin
Producers: Carlos Chiriboga and Scott Lee
Studio Production: Jacob Cornett and Jamie Yukich
Social: Jomi Adeniran
Additional Production Support: Arjuna Ramgopowell
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Mal and Jo are back to dive deep into Steven Spielberg’s newest movie, ‘Disclosure Day’! They discuss some of the best and most baffling moments from the movie and break down how it fits in Spielberg’s filmography.
(00:00) Intro
(07:48) Opening Snapshot
(31:08) Deep Dive
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Hosts: Joanna Robinson and Mallory Rubin
Producers: Carlos Chiriboga and Scott Lee
Studio Production: Jacob Cornett
Social: Jomi Adeniran
Additional Production Support: Arjuna Ramgopowell
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Mal and Jo dive deep into the premiere episode of ‘The Vampire Lestat.’ They discuss all of the characters (both new and returning from ‘Interview with the Vampire’) and break down everything from Lestat being the show’s new narrator to how the show is adapting Anne Rice's novel.
(00:00) Intro
(05:50) Remembering Anthony Head
(15:39) Quick Facts
(21:41) Opening Snapshot
(42:28) The Auction
(48:04) Detroit, Night 1
(01:12:27) The C-ntessa vs. the Useful Idiot
(01:23:45) Montreal
(01:31:19) Dracula’s daughter and vampons
(01:39:01) Detroit, Night 2
(01:44:57) Baby Jenks on the ceiling
(01:48:05) Immortal properties
(01:54:19) After-party on the Asshole Floor
(02:00:50) A hotel in Windsor, Canada
(02:03:11) Book spoilers!
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Hosts: Joanna Robinson and Mallory Rubin
Producers: Carlos Chiriboga and Scott Lee
Studio Production: Jacob Cornett
Social: Jomi Adeniran
Additional Production Support: Arjuna Ramgopowell
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Jo is joined by Hrishikesh Hirway and Jessica McKenna to celebrate the greatest fictional musical acts in movies and TV. They hand out awards for the best songs, performances, band names, and more, plus a quick check-in on the upcoming season of ‘The Vampire Lestat.’
(00:00) Intro
(05:45) Lestat Lestat Lestat Lestat
(25:03) Fictional Bands Hall of Fame
(01:30:26) The Potential Nominees
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Host: Joanna Robinson
Guest: Hrishikesh Hirway and Jessica McKenna
Producers: Cameron Dinwiddie and Scott Lee
Studio Production: Jacob Cornett
Social: Jomi Adeniran
Additional Production Support: Arjuna Ramgopowell
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Mal and Jo are here again to get you hyped for the things they are most looking forward to this summer season!
(00:00) Intro
(06:44) Rules refresher
(13:46) 2026 Summer Hype Meter
(15:35) ‘Heartstopper Forever’
(17:42) 'Coyote vs. Acme'
(20:59) Assorted Books Roundup
(23:40) ‘Toy Story 5’
(30:53) ‘Supergirl’
(36:43) 'Disclosure Day'
(42:06) 'The Death of Robin Hood'
(47:08) 'Lanterns'
(50:46) 'Spider-Man: Brand New Day'
(55:13) 'House of the Dragon' Season 3
(01:00:12) 'The Vampire Lestat'
(01:07:37) 'The Odyssey'
(01:15:56) Honorable mentions
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Hosts: Joanna Robinson and Mallory Rubin
Producers: Carlos Chiriboga and Scott Lee
Studio Production: Jacob Cornett
Social: Jomi Adeniran
Additional Production Support: Arjuna Ramgopowell
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Mal and Jo are joined by Jason Mantzoukas to talk about Season 1 of ‘Spider-Noir.’ Plus, Jason talks about ‘Frieren: Beyond Journey's End’ and ‘The Apothecary Diaries’ as well as some other recommendations he has for Mal and Jo!
(00:00) Intro
(16:48) ‘Spider-Noir’
(01:24:07) Mantzoukas Recommends
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Hosts: Joanna Robinson and Mallory Rubin
Guest: Jason Mantzoukas
Producers: Carlos Chiriboga and Scott Lee
Studio Production: Jacob Cornett
Social: Jomi Adeniran
Additional Production Support: Arjuna Ramgopowell
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A Dream of Nolan Spring continues! As ‘The Odyssey’ approaches, Mal and Jo are joined by author R. F. Kuang to continue their journey through Christopher Nolan’s filmography with ‘Tenet.' They discuss their original experiences with the movie, debate where it stands among the rest of Nolan’s films, and more! Plus, they take a more in-depth look at what to expect from ‘The Odyssey.’
(00:00) Intro
(04:39) Opening Snapshot
(09:05) ‘Tenet’ revisited
(01:07:43) Superlatives
(01:47:28) ‘The Odyssey’ hype
Explore the exclusive collection at Target.com
Hosts: Joanna Robinson and Mallory Rubin
Guest: R. F. Kuang
Producers: Carlos Chiriboga and Scott Lee
Studio Production: Jacob Cornett
Social: Jomi Adeniran
Additional Production Support: Arjuna Ramgopowell
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‘Star Wars’ is back in theaters and Mal and Jo are here to dive deep into the newest installment of the franchise, ‘The Mandalorian and Grogu!’ They break down what worked, what didn’t work, and—of course—all things Grogu! Plus, they try some of Grogu’s favorite blue cookies!
(00:00) Intro
(07:25) Opening Snapshot
(43:35) Deep Dive
(01:23:09) Blue Cookie Taste Test
Hosts: Joanna Robinson and Mallory Rubin
Producers: Carlos Chiriboga and Scott Lee
Studio Production: Jacob Cornett
Social: Jomi Adeniran
Additional Production Support: Arjuna Ramgopowell
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Dig deep! Ahead of the finale, Tyson Apostol and Riley McAtee of The Pod Has Spoken join Mal and Jo to raise a toast to the highlights from Season 50 so far and pitch their ideas for the future of ‘Survivor.’ Mal and Jo also bring Tyson and Riley into the nerd-verse for some fictional universe mash-ups.
(00:00) Intro
(04:07) ‘Survivor’ check-in
(01:24:54) ‘Survivor’ enters the nerd-verse
Hosts: Joanna Robinson and Mallory Rubin
Guests: Tyson Apostol and Riley McAtee
Producers: Carlos Chiriboga and Scott Lee
Studio Production: Chris Thomas
Social: Jomi Adeniran
Additional Production Support: Arjuna Ramgopowell
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