264, “Shadow of a Doubt / Strangers on a Train - Two Is the Magic Number (feat. Aja Romano)”

In years past, Paul and AJ have devoted month-long chunks of the show to Quentin Tarantino, modern film's remix master; and Hayao Miyazaki, Japan's animation master. For 2016, the boys are devoting February to another cinematic maestro: Alfred Hitchcock, the Master of Suspense. The first pair of films under discussion are 1943's Shadow of a Doubt, wherein Joseph Cotten's killer misanthrope shares blood (and a telepathic link) with young Teresa Wright; and 1951's Strangers on a Train, in which Robert Walker commits a murder for Farley Granger and expects him to return the favor. Joining Paul and AJ for this double about doubles is Aja Romano, geek culture writer for The Daily Dot, who educates the boys on why these are her favorite Hitchcock films. The gang talks Hitchcock's perfect mise en scene, why and how trains are important to the Master's work, the films' incestuous and homoerotic (not to mention vampiric!) undertones, and much more.   Next: Hitchcock Month continues as A/V writer-director Joseph Lewis confines the boys to one podcast for 1948's Rope and 1954's Rear Window.