From Beneath the Hollywood Sign

Steve Cubine and actress-writer Nan McNamara have carved out a really satisfying niche with From Beneath the Hollywood Sign. Each week they pick a topic from Hollywood's golden era — the Westmore makeup dynasty, Earl Carroll's scandalous Vanities shows, Hollywood actresses who dated mobsters — and bring genuine enthusiasm plus solid research to the conversation. The show has earned a remarkable 4.9-star rating from 258 reviews, which speaks volumes about how much listeners connect with the hosts' chemistry. With 128 episodes and counting, they release weekly through the Airwave Media network and show no signs of running out of material. Recent episodes covered the Committee for the First Amendment during the blacklist era and a profile of Virginia Mayo as their Star of the Month. What sets this apart from other old Hollywood shows is the sheer range of topics — one week it is glamour and fashion, the next it is political blacklisting, then it is a profile of a forgotten makeup artist who transformed every major star of the 1940s. Cubine and McNamara clearly enjoy each other's company, and that warmth comes through in every episode. It feels like sitting in on a conversation between two people who genuinely cannot stop reading about this stuff and want you to share their excitement.