Ep. 108: You’ve Got Mail

Nate and Ryan discuss You’ve Got Mail to celebrate this year’s annual T. Hanksgiving! Rom-Com Tom Hanks won America’s hearts throughout the ’90s, so listen in as Nate and Ryan take a look at Hanks and Meg Ryan at the peak of their powers. Directed and written by Nora Ephron with her sister Delia, You’ve Got Mail revisits a time when the internet was a benign novelty and brick and mortar stores still held sway.

Where does You’ve Got Mail rank among your Hanks favorites? How are you celebrating T. Hanksgiving? Let us know!

Read Love in the inbox: the epistolary pleasures of the Tom Hanks-Meg Ryan rom-com, Hanif Abdurraqib’s ode to You’ve Got Mail (4Columns)

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Ep. 98: That Thing You Do!

For this year’s T. Hanksgiving, Nate and Ryan watch Tom Hanks’ writing and directing debut That Thing You Do! Dripping in ’60s nostalgia, That Thing You Do! tells the story of The Wonders a fictional rock band who rise to the top of the charts with the titular song.

Even though That Thing You Do! isn’t necessarily one of his major hits, it’s quintessential Hanks, packed with nostalgia and charm. Nate and Ryan talk about why That Thing You Do! deserves more radio play 25 years later. Where does That Thing You Do! rank among T. Hanks movies for you? Let us know!

 

Read The Ringer’s Pure Nostalgia: The Oral History of “That Thing You Do!”

Ep 87: A League of Their Own

For the second annual T. Hanksgiving, a celebration of all things Tom Hanks, Nate and Ryan are watching A League of Their Own, the 1992 hit directed by the late, great Penny Marshall. Listen in as we discuss Hanks as not quite leading man, praise the strength and brilliance of Geena Davis, and really knock it out of the park with our baseball knowledge.

Why do you love Tom Hanks? Where does A League of Their Own rank among his performances? How long was your recovery after you tried to recreate the classic catch-the-foul-ball-while-doing-the-splits thing? Let us know!

Ep 78: Cast Away

This month, Nate and Ryan celebrate T. Hanksgiving by re-watching Cast Away. In what may be a new tradition, this November Nate and Ryan give thanks for Tom Hanks by discussing his performance as Chuck Noland in Robert Zemeckis’ 2000 film about a man lost on a deserted island with nothing but a makeshift loincloth and a volleyball that apparently shows some sass. Listen in as Nate and Ryan discuss what it is about Tom Hanks that makes him so likable, where his career is headed, and whether Cast Away is a good movie to throw on this upcoming holiday season.

Where does Cast Away rank among Tom Hanks performances? Where does Wilson rank among Tom Hanks’ costars? What was in that FedEx package? Let us know!

Listen to our archives!

Read this New York Times profile to find out that Tom Hanks is exactly as nice as you’d hope.