The podcast is really not so much a film review or cinema studies programme, as it is an ongoing discourse about Russian and Soviet history, culture, and contemporary issues. It uses the movie being reviewed in each episode more as point of departure for interesting and informed discussions on these said topics. The quality of the episodes actually depends less on the selected movie on hand-- some of which the host readily admits to be lacking in terms of artistic merit (do not expect endless Tarkovsky, mercifully)-- than on the specific guests. Fortunately for the audience, as a contingency measure when the availability of guests become difficult, the host often commandeers his wife as guest ‘under duress,’ who proves to be an engaging conversationalist and analyst who really adds to the appeal of the podcast.