This week, we're joined by Benjamin Cole to talk Hereditary, Ari Aster's 2018 feature debut. We talk about Aster's short films, Satanic Panic, Freud's The Uncanny, and how we find relief after surviving the unimaginable - among other things.

Content Warning: this episode was a blast for us to record, but we do speak frankly, comfortably and specifically about immense grief and trauma, both personal and as it relates to Hereditary.

Ben was previously attached to talk about another film, The Peanut Butter Falcon. For reasons we go into, we chose not to talk about that, but I do ask Ben to talk a bit about why that was his original choice.

For Top Five this week, Ben brought a topic that prompts us to go well over five minutes each: Top Five Bad(?) Films That Bring Us Joy.

Keywords makes its return this week, and we add a new segment: the hurried attempt at a plot summary.

You can find Ben at The Wildlife Center of Virginia, dedicated teaching the world to care about and to care for wildlife and the environment. Ben particularly enjoys working with raptors.

Our charity this week is National Harm Reduction Coalition, which creates spaces for dialogue and action that help heal the harms caused by racialized drug policies. You can support them here.

Thanks as always to Ross Kroeber for the show name, Aaron Taylor-Johnson for the show art, and to Podbean for hosting us. Follow the show on Twitter @beautspod, and check out what Jack is watching on Letterboxd @ jkradb. Enjoying the show? Buy Jack a coffee.

Next week, we'll be talking about Kelly Reichardt's River of Grass, which is currently available digitally wherever you find movies, and streaming on Kanopy and Amazon Prime.

Have a Beaut-iful week!