At the end of 2021, Chris Ayers dreamt he was listening to a podcast about the Coen brothers. When he realized such a podcast didn’t exist, he decided to start his own. In 2022, Ayers and co-hosts Barbara VanDenburgh and PHOENIX contributor Jason Keil began The Life of the Mind podcast, in which they discuss auteurs Joel and Ethan Coen’s films chronologically. Episodes are released monthly on multiple podcast platforms.