Baconsale

Episode 537: 2026 Oscar Predictions

With the 98th Academy Awards coming up, it’s time, once again, for Baconsale to describe the various nominees since people haven’t seen most of these films (including most of us). Joel, Kent, and Zack are also going to be making their predictions about who is going to win each category, but this year, there’s a twist. After one person picks their winner, the others can’t choose the same one. And the choosing order will be randomized each round. It’s organized chaos as we discuss donkeys, get confused by the Norwegian language, and only laugh at Kent’s jokes. And with a customized prize based on the Best Picture winner, the stakes have never been higher.

 

Will One Battle After Another come off victorious? Will F1 be #1? Will Hamnet suffer another heartbreaking loss? Will Marty reign Supreme? Can Frankenstein pull itself together? Will Bugonia ascend? Will Sentimental Value tug at the heartstrings of the voters? Or is Hollywood just a bunch of Sinners? Press play to hear our thoughts in a higher register.

 

Also, visit Baconsale.com to fill out our official 2026 Oscars ballot and enter to win a prize!

Episode 536: Pardon Our French

Bonjour, listener! Comment allez-vous? On this magnifique episode of Baconsale, messieurs Joel, Kent, and Zack will be sharing their thoughts on French pop culture. We also have a, how do you say, special guest joining us here in the La Maison de Bacon. Our bonne amie Babs will assist us with our pronunciations and share some personal experiences about her time living in France. Also, we will be giving answers for such categories as Cinema Vérité (excellent films), A Voice that Brings Me Joie de Vivre, Encore for this Export, An Invention with Savoir-Faire, Bon Appétit (good food), Faux Pas Cuisine (bad food), and My Dream Bon Voyage! There will be plenty of poor attempts at French accents, but we’ll try to avoid clichés as we converse about bread, cheat to find loopholes, and discover what isn’t actually French.

 

Are you ready to press play? Oui? Then allons-y!

Episode 535: Baconsale-Approved Roommate Etiquette

Okay, listener, it’s time for an apartment meeting. We need to set some ground rules for living with other people. And whether you’re rooming with college students, a spouse, your kids, or your mom, Baconsale is here to help you understand proper protocol for co-habitation. We’ve gathered your guidelines and provided some policies of our own in an attempt to see which ones are our BFFs, which ones we’ll keep in touch with occasionally, and which ones we’ll never speak to again. Joel (the dad), Kent (the thief), and Zack (the ghost) will also share some personal stories about weird roommates and even call out a few by name. We hope you enjoy this random episode about prop culture.

Press play to remember it all comes down to communication.

Episode 534: Aging the Movies of 1986

Somewhere out there, beneath the pale moonlight, the films we’re discussing on this episode of Baconsale are going to turn 40 years old this year. We’ll begin this highway to the nostalgia zone by creating our Mount Rushmore of 1986 movies. Following that, we have a plethora of categories where we’ll determine if Johnny 5 is alive, if Platoon can defend its position, and if the goblin king has power over us. Along the way, we’ll try not to snub Milo & Otis as we avoid the government agents who are trying to capture us. We hope you enjoy this rad look back to the past since we are the men who will fight for these movies’ honor.

 

Life moves pretty fast. If you don’t stop and press play once in a while, you could miss it.

Episode 533: The Love Song of Love Songs

Well, Fly Me to the Moon! Is Baconsale doing another episode about Unforgettable romantic tunes? Yes, we are, and we’re doing it with Open Arms. However, this time we examined VH1’s list of Endless Love songs and put them in a tournament to see which Unchained Melody will win At Last. Is Your Song on the bracket? Even if it is, just Breathe, and remember that while it may be a favorite In Your Eyes, it may not do so Wonderful Tonight. On the other hand, Maybe I’m Amazed how far some iconic tracks will go. But no matter what happens, just remember that You Are So Beautiful, I Will Always Love You, and My Heart Will Go On.

 

How Deep Is Your Love? Well, press play, Babe, because I Don’t Want to Miss a Thing.

 

Also, even though You Don’t Bring Me Flowers, you still can visit Baconsale.com to download this bracket and find our official Spotify playlist of songs that are Always on My Mind.

Episode 532: Twinner Winner – Band/Solo

Is the whole greater than the sum of its parts? That’s the question we’re debating on this episode of Baconsale. We have created a list of 21 match-ups that pit popular bands against the prominent solo artists that spun-off from them. Joel, Kent, and Zack will then discuss and decide which musical act is better. Sometimes it’s very easy, sometimes it’s not, but we always seem to go a little off the rails somehow. You’re going to quickly realize that lyrics are not our strong point, but we hope you enjoy the angry rants and heartfelt testimonies of some contemporary adults about famous musicians.

 

Press play for some very questionable acronyms.

 

And you can find our official Spotify playlist for this episode at Baconsale.com.

Episode 531: 2026 Prediction Spree

Don’t call it a comeback, we do this type of Baconsale episode each year. We’re going to take our best guesses as to what pop culture drama and events are going to unfold in 2026. Kent is doing deep research and doing a mini pitch show for each category, Zack is going to occasionally get spicy with his catty commentary, and Joel will be ashamed of some of his picks. Nevertheless, we will press forward with our predictions and let you know where to buy a magazine, discuss how OK the Thunder are, express some hatred for Colorado, and even give some matching answers because everyone’s blue.

 

Marmosets said press play.

Episode 530: Best & Worst Movies of 2025-ish

Welcome to another season of Baconsale! As is tradition for our premiere episodes, we’re going to be taking a look back at the movies we watched in 2025. Joel and Kent will be sharing their top five and bottom five films from last year while Zack offers up some color commentary. We hope you enjoy as we get excited about pie, question the Russo brothers, punch down a little, protect the Honmoon, embrace the ick, and try to make Amazon a sponsor. Oh, and one word of advice: don’t watch a movie just because of the poster.

 

Press play, you mani pedi dream girl!

Episode 529: Oh, Thank Heaven for Season Eleven

Would you know our names, if you heard season eleven? We sure hope so, because we say them a lot on this episode of Baconsale! We’re ending this year by reminiscing about topics and sharing inside jokes as we reached 500 episodes and beyond. Joel (who wears a cap) and Kent & Zack (who look so handsome) accomplished some big things this year, including a Disneyland vacation, a road trip to see Weird Al, and a live recording in front of a studio audience, so that’s going to be brought up a lot. However, we’ll also give some insights about the podcast, offer behind-the-scenes trivia, get nostalgic, boop each other on the back, add lettuce, and offer up too many honorable mentions.

 

Jammies! Like every picture on Instagram, and then press play.

Episode 528: Schoolyard Pick – Worst Christmas Gifts

‘Twas late on Christmas Eve, and Santa Claus has finished a long night of delivering gifts to all the good boys and girls around the world. He’s hung up his coat, kicked off his boots, and is just settling into his favorite chair with a hot cup of cocoa when he suddenly realizes something: he’s forgotten about poor little Zackery. Therefore, he calls his recently hired interns, Joel and Kent, to create a magical morning for Zack. Unfortunately for him, the leftovers in Santa’s bag are the ones you, the listener, submitted when we asked you to share the terrible Christmas gifts you’ve received. And so, on this episode of Baconsale, we’re going to do our best with the worst, and see which pile of presents Zack ends up choosing.

 

Don’t be a condescending elf, press play!