lede_post_card_default

lede_post_card_stacked

lede_post_card_featured_post

lede_post_card_featured_post_3:2

lede_post_card_featured_post_1:1

lede_post_card_featured_posts_hero

lede_post_card_featured_posts_hero_3:2

lede_post_card_featured_posts_hero_1:1

lede_post_card_featured_posts_sidebar

lede_post_card_highlighted_post

lede_post_card_horizontal_a

lede_post_card_horizontal_c

lede_post_card_related_post

lede_post_card_square

lede_article_featured_16x9

lede_article_featured_16x9_full_width

lede_article_featured_3x2

lede_article_featured_3x2_full_width

lede_article_featured_1x1

lede_article_featured_1x1_full_width

lede_article_featured_flexible

lede_article_featured_flexible_full_width

lede_article_content

lede_article_content_wide_width

lede_article_content_full_width

lede_byline_avatar_post_card

lede_byline_avatar_highlight

lede_profile_coral_avatar

lede_logo

lede_logo_banner

lede_logo_footer_banner

lede_logo_simple_header

lede_sponsorship_logo

lede_sponsorship_logo_river_card

lede_sponsorship_homepage_card_logo

lede_sponsorship_homepage_card

lede_leaderboard

About Us

Footer Legal

Header Main

This Is Pop Heist

Topics

To celebrate Heistmas — and Pop Heist's first anniversary — we're offering 20% off a new annual or monthly subscription!
(Limited time only! Act now! Pow! Zap! Kapow!)

Pop Heist is a worker-owned, reader-funded pop culture news and journalism website, and we're here to rock your world.

Pop Heist

Vanessa Maki (she/her) is a queer writer, critic, artist, and Blerd. She has written for publications like Dread Central, Daily Dead, Fangoria, and many more. She&#8217;s a former contributor for Pink Advocate and The Mary Sue. And she&#8217;s currently a contributor for But Why Tho? etc.

Vanessa Maki

Heistmas

Heist Guide: Holiday Horror

Ethan Kaye (he/him) is a writer/editor/book hoarder. He is scared of the Loch Ness Monster.

Ethan Kaye

A mosaic of three men in Phrygian caps holding out items.

The 2025 Heistmas Advent Calendar Day 17: The REAL Story of the Magi!

Matthew Jackson (he/him) is a writer, critic, podcaster, and nerd-for-hire who&#8217;s been writing about pop culture for more than 15 years. He lives in Austin, Texas, and when he&#8217;s not writing he&#8217;s usually counting the days until Christmas.

Matthew Jackson

Andy Williams in front of christmas swirl

A Festive and Totally Reasonable Analysis of a Christmas Song That’s Slowly Driving Me Insane

Grace Leeder (she/they) has spent years cultivating her passion for storytelling, from TV shows to movies. Since entering the podcasting world in 2020, Grace has established herself as a trusted voice in pop culture, offering in-depth insights and recommendations that resonate with audiences. She began podcasting in 2020 on the award-winning Rob Has A Podcast, sharing her love for various TV series and films with listeners.
In the spring of 2024, Grace began co-hosting The Tastemakers, a podcast designed to provide curated reviews and recommendations. Throughout her podcasting journey, Grace has covered acclaimed series like Succession, The Last of Us, House of the Dragon, and many more. She has also expanded her scope to conduct engaging interviews with a diverse range of industry professionals, including actors, writers, directors, and costume designers, delivering an inside look at what goes into making some of the most popular shows and movies.

Grace Leeder

The 2025 Heistmas Advent Calendar Day 15: Santa Got Run Over by a Wrestler

The 2025 Heistmas Advent Calendar Day 14: Van Halen Saves Christmas in Dallas

Horror Secret Handshakes

Horror Secret Handshakes: ‘Silent Night, Deadly Night 4: Initiation’

Sebastian Deken (he/him) is a writer and musician originally from St. Louis, Missouri. He is the author of <a href="https://bossfightbooks.com/products/final-fantasy-vi-by-sebastian-deken">Final Fantasy VI</a> (Boss Fight Books, 2021), a critical exploration of the music from the 1994 game of the same name. He received his BA in music and French language and literature at Washington University in St. Louis and his MFA in creative nonfiction writing from Columbia University. He currently lives in Queens, New York, with his husband and two cats.

Sebastian Deken

The 2025 Heistmas Advent Calendar Day 13: I’ll Be Home for Quismoiss

Latonya &#8220;Penn&#8221; Pennington (they/them) is a prolific freelance pop culture critic who has written for publications such as Into More, Popverse, Comics XF, and more. They are also a poet and have been published in Videodame, The Daily Drunk, and Sage Cigarettes, to name a few.

Latonya Pennington

Stars featuring characters from comics and gangs riding down a rainbow in front of pixelated christmas wrapping paper pattern

Queerly Nerdy

Queerly Nerdy: ‘Tis the Season for Video Games and Comic Books

The 2025 Heistmas Advent Calendar Day 10: The Dean Martin Christmas Show

Brett White (he/him) is a pop culture journalist and editor-in-chief of Pop Heist. Prior to this, he was a senior reporter/producer for Decider for seven years. Prior to joining Decider, he covered pop culture for Comic Book Resources, Marvel.com, and MTV News. His areas of expertise include Marvel Comics, Star Wars, Drag Race, classic sitcoms, Sam Neill, unexpected thirst traps, and unlikely menswear icons.
In his spare time, he cohosts the podcast Must Have Seen TV and is writing his first book: a biography of <a href="https://www.haydenrorke.com/">Hayden Rorke</a>.
He also lives out his feminine fantasy as <a href="https://www.barbhardly.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Barb Hardly</a>, his drag queen alter ego.
His hobbies include spending way too much money on action figures, swimsuits, and fashion accessories. He currently lives in Queens with his handsome husband and two large, orange cats.

Brett White

Single on the 25th, lead characters dancing

Hallmark Hit or Miss: ‘Single on the 25th’ Thrives Despite Its Almost Anti-Hallmark Premise

christmas