About Us

BIOS

Adam Kempenaar is co-founder and co-host of Filmspotting and a professor at the University of Iowa, where he teaches courses on film criticism, sports and cinema, and podcasting. A longtime member of the Chicago Film Critics Association, he also serves as a marketing and content consultant for the Chicago International Film Festival. Adam earned his B.A. in Communication Studies and M.A. in Journalism and Mass Communication, with a focus in Film, from the University of Iowa after studying English at Grinnell College.

Josh Larsen is co-host of Filmspotting and the author of Movies Are Prayers and Fear Not! A Christian Appreciation of Horror Movies. A longtime member of the Chicago Film Critics Association, he writes at LarsenOnFilm and previously spent more than a decade reviewing movies for Chicago-based Sun-Times Media. Since 2017, he has led “Ebert Interruptus,” a tradition established by Roger Ebert, analyzing a single film scene by scene at the University of Colorado’s Conference on World Affairs. Josh attended Trinity Christian College as an undergrad and is completing a Master of Letters in Theology and the Arts at the University of St. Andrews, Scotland.

Sam Van Hallgren co-founded Filmspotting and has served as producer since Fall 2010… "Golden" Joe DeCeault is a Filmspotting producer and was instrumental in bringing the show to WBEZ/Chicago Public Radio (91.5 FM) in 2006… Michael Phillips is a regular contributor and guest host.

Fun Fact
Josh officially joined Filmspotting as co-host in January 2012, following guest appearances on episodes #371 and #376.