After podding out to all you guys for five years, we wanted to take a small bow without getting too self-indulgent. So we decided indulge someone else instead.

Thomas Caldwell was our very first guest back in June 2010, and really helped us figure out what the show was and how our guests would fit into it. But as Hyphenates took shape over the years, it became clear that it wasn’t so much “talk about a filmmaker you like” as it was “talk about your favourite filmmaker of all time”. Thomas, who remains a fan of Tim Burton, began to regret not going with David Lynch.

So here we are, righting past wrongs. Thomas has written extensively on Lynch in the past, and brings a wonderful mix of academic insight and passionate enthusiasm to the conversation, talking about many of these films in a way you’ve never heard before.

But that’s not all! We also talk about three key films from the past month, from franchise reboot Jurassic World to Pixar masterpiece Inside Out to Thomas Hardy adaptation Far From the Madding Crowd. Then we ask an important question: is there a cinematic god passing out moral judgements on characters? And just what the hell do we mean when we ask this? You’ll have to listen to find out.

Remember, you can stream it directly from the page, download the mp3, listen via Stitcher Smart Radio, or subscribe via iTunes. There are so many ways to hear the show, so why not artificially inflate our ratings and try them all?

Other notes:

• In March, Thomas presented a one hour special on David Lynch and the David Lynch: Between Two Worlds exhibition at the Gallery of Modern Art in Brisbane, Queensland. The special aired on Melbourne’s 3RRR FM on Thursday 26 March 2015. You can listen to the special or read the transcript on Thomas’s website here.
• If you want to go further back, you can read The Evil That Men Do, an article Thomas wrote for Senses of Cinema back in 2002 for their Great Directors series.
• Lee also wrote about the David Lynch: Between Two Worlds exhibition, which you can read on Vice Australia.
• You can watch a ton of David Lynch’s music project right now via his official YouTube channel.
• Lee’s point about the Jurassic franchise is just the latest in his amazing theorising. Check out his completely serious and well-researched Jurassic World Theory.
• Did you know that part of David Lynch’s Inland Empire was filmed inside the house of Hyphenates alumnus Drew McWeeny? He wrote about it for Ain’t It Cool News here.
• Another Hyphenates alumnus, Jeremy Smith, has a Twin Peaks podcast called Fire Talk With Me that you should really listen to.

Outro music: “I’m Deranged” written by David Bowie and Brian Eno, and performed David Bowie, from Lost HIghway (1997)

If you want to brush up on the films of David Lynch first, remember to check out our Cheat Sheet here, before listening to the episode here.

Those of you with long memories may recall that Thomas Caldwell has been our guest before. In fact, he was our very first guest back in June of 2010.

We have an unofficial rule on Hyphenates about not repeating guests. This isn’t because we don’t want to talk to them again – in fact, nearly every recording ends with us wishing we could have that episode’s guest on again the following month – but because our wishlist of potential Hyphenates far exceeds the number of episodes we can reasonably produce. (If you’re a filmmaker, film critic, comedian, author, journalist, or even just someone we know, there’s a very high chance your name is on that list.)

So why are we having Thomas on again? There are a number of reasons. For one, it’s a good way to continue the 5^th anniversary celebrations we began last month. Our very first episode released in May of 2010 was never intended to be released to the public, it was just a test run, so we often consider June 2010 to be the first proper episode.

But there’s another reason. Thomas was kind enough to help us kick off the show back before anybody (ourselves included) really knew what it was going to be. Back in 2010, we were pitching it more as a “talk about a filmmaker who interests you”, whereas we now lean more on the “pick your favourite filmmaker”.

Thomas chose to talk about Tim Burton on that first episode, and although he was and is a big Burton fan, he did express regret at not going with his number one favourite filmmaker. And this is probably good time to admit that we sometimes use Thomas as a cautionary tale in order to usher people towards their number one pick: “Who would you regret not picking? Which name would make you flinch if someone picked them for a later episode?” The Tale of Thomas Caldwell has been a useful tool for scaring guests.

So when we were thinking of ways to celebrate our 5^th birthday, we thought why not have Thomas back on as a thank you of sorts, in order to talk about his undisputed favourite filmmaker?

So we agreed. Let’s break our rule and invite Thomas back to talk about the one and only David Lynch.

David Lynch is easily one of the most original, uncompromising authorial voices in filmmaking. From his debut Eraserhead to the groundbreaking TV series Twin Peaks and the modern classic Mulholland Drive, Lynch is impossible to easily categorise, having carved out a niche in cinema that’s all his own.

He’s almost universally beloved amongst film fans, and we’re very, very excited to be talking about his incredible works with the biggest Lynch fan we know.

So join us on June 30 as our celebrations continue with this special David Lynch episode!