This week, playwright, actor, producer, and proud Diné Rhiana Yazzie sits down with Sunrise and Matt to talk theater, films, and being a cool person.

Zoe Leigh Hopkins joins Sunrise and Angela to talk about her career, starting with acting, then to editing and now to directing episodes of the award-winning Netflix series North of North. She talks about the importance of learning her language and all of the power that comes with it.

Back to deadCenter for the next round of interviews! We mix it up with Icon Loren Waters, Tulsa filmmaker Keith Daniels, and fashion icon Peshawn Bread, who lays down the law about AI. And remember, narrative sovereignty is the goal! #sunrisen #filmfestival #indigenous

Actor, writer, director, producer, graphic designer, but funny? Let's find out this week when Tai Leclaire visits with us.

Fresh off King of the Hill, we talk Rutherford Falls (!), the Best Holiday of the Year (Halloween, duh) and his upcoming film Cheyenne!

Meegwun Fairbrother has come a long way from Butterhead to playing an Osage family man in the new Little House on the Prairie series dropping on July 9. Charles Ingalls just got a new neighbor!

He joins us this week to talk about working with Sydney Freeland, learning Osage, and his upcoming projects.

It's deadCenter 2026 Part 1 - The Reckoning!

First, we got Blake Pickens and Caleb Vesely, who worked with Brenda Fisher and Chief Marchand Rice to share Chief's story of his life sentence and his journey into reconnecting with his heritage in a moving documentary that won Best Indigenous Festure at dC2026.

Next, we got Josiah Jones, whose documentary short Stankface Standing Soldier follows DJ and Mato Wayuhi, known for his work on Reservation Dogs. It can be seen on PBS In the Making American Masters Short Docs online.

Spend the next hour with Noetta, Angela and Sunrise flying their geek flags as we discuss the different types of conventions, their own convention experiences, cosplaying and the importance of being Native in these spaces. What cons have you gone to?

deadCenter Film Fest programmers Sunrise and Paris share their knowledge of the upcoming OKC film festival, with some pretty amazing films screening in Oklahoma City!

Lots of info on the films and how to see them this week!

Steven Paul Judd, director, writer, artist, currently writing and directing Dark Winds, finally joins us on the podcast this week. Special appearance by Ghost Will Sampson and the Bricktown IHOP (RIP).

We are thrilled to welcome Banchi Hanuse, Qwaxw Siwallace, and Q'umulha Schooner to the pod this week. They were nice enough to sit down with us at SXSW for a chat before winning the SWSX Documentary Audience Award!

The history of North America is littered with centuries of imperialism, and scars run deep. In Bella Coola, this story is even more harrowing than most. The Nuxalk Nation has seen attempts to wipe them out with smallpox, genocidal acts to steal their land, and now, the disappearance of the ooligan has been a major hit to the local customs. Ceremony tells the story of a people and a land, highlighting the ways that culture and the land remain as ingrained as ever.

Dr. Jennifer Nez Denetdale, citizen of the Navajo Nation, joins us this week to talk Dark Winds Season 4, from her Dine perspective. Dr. Denetdale is chair and a professor of American Studies at University of New Mexico, and brings her unique point of view to our ongoing discussion of this fan favorite show.

How many Indians are nominated for the 2026 Oscar Awards? More than we thought, but still, we are losing some steam on this front.

Our hosts debate who will win, who should win, and more this week!

Last year in Utah! And Sunrise went to say goodbye to all the Park City Pals. Matt joined virtually, and we got the scoop on the 2026 Final Park City Sundance!

February is made for love, and no one loves a love story more than our hosts. Which ones made the top of the list?

Our hosts watched the 1997 Shining so you don't have to, followed up by 2019's Doctor Sleep. And yes, Angela watched one with the sound muted.

Pod favs Cliff Curtis and Zahn McClarnon join the cast of Doctor Sleep to finish out Danny Torrance's story for an interesting addition to the King Universe.

How tropey does Derry get? Our hosts have all the feels about the new series on HBO Max. It takes us all back to the 60s and how Pennywise became the clown we all know and love?

2025 was...a...year. We've had a wild ride and are here to talk about it!

So long, 2025. You've been a year. To finish it off, let's talk about the last four episodes of FX's The Lowdown.

Thank you to our listeners for sticking with us for 4 years, and we hope 2026 will be the year you want! Be kind, and in the words of Rosebud Sioux citizen Bob Barker, please spay and neuter your pets.

Because no one asked for it, we, once again, revisit and discuss, "Edington" (not sure if it's spelled correctly, but too lazy to look it up).

Anyways, our all father, god creator extraordinaire, the OG, Jason Asenap graces us with his presence to talk about Edington.

Just like the mighty Cicada, Jason shows up every seven years and whips out his Tymbal to sing his shrilling chorus. Your ears will be blessed to hear such a song.

Also, we meander a bit and talk about the lovely power couple, Ramona Emerson and Kelly Byars -- and lavish them with words of love. Turns out they’re working on a documentary right now . we didn’t know at the time of the recording so keep your eyes up for that .

And as an added bonus, because all enquiring minds want to know, we discuss our favorite Taylor Swift era.

So, turn on, tune in and drop out.

The muzak is:

"Leavin' u wuz ez but lovin' u is hard" by Chahta Vba Isht Taloa Cocophony Broken Consort

Until the Gregorian calendar becomes measured by the eras of Taylor Swift, we won't just keep it real, we'll keep it

REEL INDIGENOUS!

Nominations for the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences are all under consideration by voters right now, and WHAT!!?? Several Native films have qualified to be considered!

Tiger is a live-action documentary short about Dana Tiger and her family of artists, who changed the landscape of North American Indigenous art. Their t-shirts have been seen most recently in Reservation Dogs and The Lowdown (and are available online).

A family triumphant and devastated, the Tiger story is deftly told by documentarian Loren Waters, and it's now available to stream on FNX and Criterion.