On this week's vital BFG podcast, host Neal Pollack welcomes Stephen Garrett to be two white guys talking about a black-directed movie making fun of liberal white people reacting to a black-written book. We're talking, of course, about 'American Fiction,' and while Stephen loved the warm, neurotic upper-middle-class black family saga that the literary satire was hiding, Neal wanted more satire and less family saga, because the trailer promised satire. Neal also wonders if the satire is a little dated, and they didn't even really talk about the ambiguous ending of the movie, which may or may not have worked brilliantly. Anyway, 'American Fiction' is definitely an NPR discussion piece, this is Fresh Air, I'm Terry Gross. Kristin Clifford shows up to discuss the somewhat less discussable 'Mean Girls' musical adaptation, which both she and Neal agree is fine but kind of a weak cash grab. It can't compare to the original 'Mean Girls' in terms of star power, and the songs, which are OK, take time away from some of the original movie's best jokes, and even end up kicking certain characters to the curb. It's kind of like a pretty good community theater production of 'Mean Girls,' fine if you like that sort of thing. We didn't, really. Neal is a mega-nerd, and so is Paula Shaffer, so their discussion of the 60th anniversary special episodes of 'Doctor Who' reach nerdy podcast heights. They both feel relief to have Russell T. Davies back in the showrunner chair instead of Chris Chibnall, are thrilled to see the brief return of David Tennant, and both have high hopes for the charming Ncuti Gatwa in the TARDIS for a few seasons. It's not the nerd-hip thrill of 1976 or 2007, the peaks of Doctor Who in popular culture, but the show has successfully regenerated for Gen Z, and we're here for it. And we're definitely here for you. Enjoy the show!