In this week's Movie Date podcast, Rafer and Kristen compare notes on their favorite pharmaceutical drug names. They also ask some big questions, including: Does volleyball really need to be seen in 3D? Should Steven Soderbergh retire? And if the only good part of a date is the kissing at the end...is it really a good date? It's all in honor of this week's big releases: "Top Gun 3D," "Side Effects," and "Identity Thief."

Every Friday, The Takeaway’s Movie Date team, Rafer Guzman and Kristen Meinzer, weigh in on the weekend's film releases. This week, there are three: the crime drama “Side Effects,” the vigilante road trip movie “Identity Theft,” and the 3D re-release of the eighties action classic, “Top Gun.”

Many people know Muzak as a catch-all for plain background music, but it's actually the name of a brand and a company. And this week, the company that owns Muzak - Mood Media - had decided to retire the Muzak brand name for good.

The Super Bowl may be the most watched television event of the year, but that doesn’t mean that other networks don’t try their best to lure viewers. The most talked-about counter programming to the Super Bowl last night, the ninth Animal Planet Puppy Bowl, garnered millions of viewers.

In this week's podcast, Rafer and Kristen play a game of would you rather involving racist hitmen versus zombie kidnappers. Will Rafer choose to be kidnapped? Will Kristen decide on racism? Find out, and along the way, get their thoughts on "Stand Up Guys," "Warm Bodies," and "Bullet to the Head."

Friday is movie day on the Takeaway, when we talk about the weekend’s big releases. This week, there are three: the teen zombie romance, "Warm Bodies"; the Sylvester Stallone buddy shoot-em-up, "Bullet to the Head"; and "Stand up Guys," a crime comedy starring Al Pacino, Christopher Walken. and Alan Arkin.

It seems we can’t go more than a few months, or even weeks between doping scandals. Has doping always been this prevalent in athletics? Or is it just easier to uncover? Dr. Harvey Shapiro is a physician, medical correspondent, and former doping control officer for the Olympics.

What is truly beautiful to you? Is it the face of someone you love? The first several notes of your favorite song? Or perhaps it’s a sunny day. If you’re Frank Close, it’s none of these things. In fact, that sunny day is the last thing he wants to look at when he seeks beauty. He prefers the opposite: the sun being blocked out, the light being hidden, the magic and mystery of a solar eclipse. 

In this week's Movie Date podcast, Rafer and Kristen review "Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters," and in the process, are forced to explore one of Rafer's least favorite movie themes in recent years: the sibling romance. Other movies discussed this week are "Parker," starring Jason Statham and Jennifer Lopez; and "Movie 43," starring Kate Winslet, Hugh Jackman, Halle Berry, Emma Stone, Kate Bosworth, Uma Thurman, and everyone else in Hollywood. Warning to the easily queasy: this podcast includes talk of fecal matter, brother-sister romance, brother-brother romance, misogyny, and menstruation.

As "Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters," the latest Grimm re-telling, hits the big screen, we look at where it all began with Maria Tatar, editor and translator of the new "Annotated Brothers Grimm."

Copyright protections were never supposed to last forever. Copyright was originally designed to protect creators long enough so that they could profit from their work, after which time that work would enter the public domain. However, changes to copyright law have made it so that copyright protections in the US generally last for 70 years after the creator's death. Duke Law School Professor James Boyle runs the Center for the Study of the Public Domain. He tells Bob about all the works that would have entered the public domain this year, but didn't. 

Dan Auerbach - Heartbroken, In Disrepair

In this week's Movie Date podcast, Rafer responds to one of Kristen's harshest critics - with a giant spoonful of sugar. Rafer and Kristen also give their thoughts on this week's big releases: "Mama," starring Jessica Chastain; "Broken City," starring Russell Crowe, Mark Wahlberg, and Catherine Zeta Jones, and "The Last Stand," starring Arnold Schwarzenegger. Advanced warning: if you can't stand sincere soft rock, you might want to fast-forward through this week's trivia question.    

The Takeaway's Movie Date team, Rafer Guzman and Kristen Meinzer, weigh in on the week's new releases, which include the former governator, that guy from "Jackass," and Oscar nominee Jessica Chastain.

Welcome to the second of several Movie Date Award Season Dispatches. Each dispatch is taken from a live interview, led by WNYC's Amy Eddings, and broadcast during All Things Considered on WNYC. In this dispatch, Rafer and Kristen share their thoughts on the Golden Globes - from the hosting to the winners to that speech by Lifetime Achievement winner Jodie Foster.

Welcome to the first of several Movie Date Award Season Dispatches. Each dispatch is taken from a live interview, led by WNYC's Amy Eddings, and broadcast during All Things Considered on WNYC. In this dispatch, Rafer and Kristen share their thoughts on the Oscar nominees - and whether they truly represent the best pictures of the year. 

In this week's podcast, Rafer and Kristen talk about whether Gangster Squad is a horrible date, or merely a tolerable one. They also share their excitement about the Oscar nominations, the Razzie nominations, and this weekend's Golden Globe Awards. Welcome to red carpet season!

This weekend, Queens of Comedy Tina Fey and Amy Poehler host the Golden Globes, just a few days after Emma Stone and 2013 Oscar host Seth McFarlane presented the Oscar nominations. Add to that the Razzie nominations for the worst movies of 2012, and you have a well-rounded kick-off to red carpet season. The Takeaway’s Movie Date team, Rafer Guzman and Kristen Meinzer have all the details on the nominees, the snubs, and the upcoming shows.

Massimo Montanari talks about the phenomenon of food culture, food lore, cooking methods, and eating habits throughout history. In Let the Meatballs Rest, he talks about how humans have cooked over time, the gastronomy of famine, the science of flavors, the customs of the table, and the ever-evolving identity of food.

Rafer and Kristen answer just a few of the many letters they've received in recent weeks from Movie Date listeners, including questions about "The Hobbit," "Les Miserables," and "Django: Unchained." Plus, Kristen and Rafer talk about "On the Road," "The Impossible," and "Promised Land."

It's the first Friday of 2013 and one of the most highly anticipated releases is the new adaptation of the Jack Kerouac's "On the Road." Also garnering a lot of buzz (and Golden Globe nominations): "The Impossible," a film about a family trapped in the Indian Ocean Tsunami of 2004.