Ebert's review is read as three and a half stars, calling it the rare war movie that thrills people while they watch and invites them to leave the theater discussing the issues.
The hosts doubt it sparked thoughtful conversations about nuclear sub captains; the joked takeaway is not to be a crazy, racist, war-happy submarine captain, and another takeaway was wanting to go right back in and see it again.

In the discussion (7)

Approx. transcript time · 00:55:59Read transcript

The hosts say Simpson and Bruckheimer offered Val Kilmer a headlining role, which he declined and later regretted; the role was never specified.
Guesses for the Kilmer role are Viggo's part or Hunter, possibly turned down for not being big enough; he could have played every part except Hackman's.
Al Pacino was originally offered Captain Ramsey and would have dialed it up to 90 in his Vincent Hanna zone.
Brad Pitt wanted to play Hunter when Pacino might be Ramsey, then passed when Pacino dropped out.
Warren Beatty was courted, another case of Beatty flirting with a part for a year before declining, as with the Burt Reynolds part in Boogie Nights, which is called the bigger miss; he would not have fit this movie.
Tommy Lee Jones passed on the Hackman part; he would have worked, having done something similar in Under Siege.
Per a Don Simpson interview at Santa Anita, Pitt and Tom Cruise were considered for Denzel's part; Cruise was the first call for such parts for a decade, but it worked out perfectly.

Young 1990s up-and-comer as Zimmer; Cuba Gooding added to the crew

In the discussion (3)

Approx. transcript time · 01:06:43Read transcript

With apologies to Matt Craven, his role could have gone to a young 90s up-and-comer such as Brad Pitt or Mark Wahlberg; really anybody, even Leo, Affleck or Damon.
Robert Downey Jr., in his lost years right after Natural Born Killers, is floated, perhaps a little old for Hunter; it would have been a cool moment for him.
Not having Cuba Gooding in the sub as semi-comic relief is called a huge miss.

Tarantino's scenes; Denzel-Tarantino set confrontation; Towne's phone-dictated rewrite; Navy withdrawal; Tony Scott's mutiny-training response

In the discussion (8)

Approx. transcript time · 01:08:08Read transcript

Tarantino's scenes are the Silver Surfer scene, the Star Trek Captain Kirk exchange, and the dialogue about the submarine films The Enemy Below and Run Silent, Run Deep.
The hosts cite a 1995 Premiere article saying Denzel confronted Tarantino on set about the N-word in his films and refused to take it private; per GQ, Denzel later apologized and called him a fine artist, and Denzel's daughter was a PA on Django.
Robert Towne got an urgent call from Simpson and Bruckheimer to rewrite the nature-of-war scene and dictated it over the phone while they recorded.
Dinner for Five with David Milch and Jon Favreau is recommended for Milch's story of a Simpson rewrite call; the 7 a.m. texts are called far milder than Simpson.
High Concept, a biography of Simpson, is recommended as salacious and fascinating.
The hosts say Robert Mueller as FBI director often quoted Hackman's 'we're here to preserve democracy, not to practice it'.
After a two-year process, including videotaping the lieutenant commander Denzel based his performance on, the U.S. Navy pulled out once it learned the script involved a mutiny.
The Navy had backed Top Gun; Tony Scott responded that if mutiny never happens, why is there mutiny training for naval officers.

Dog on the sub; Ramsey's racism; Steve Zahn's job; cable-news briefings; one-cassette playlist

In the discussion (5)

Approx. transcript time · 01:16:59Read transcript

The dog's bathroom situation on the sub is a nit: someone should walk it or there should be astroturf, rather than piss in the hallway next to smokers.
Hackman going full racist was never fully understood.
Steve Zahn's job is unclear: smoking, listening to the radio, and failing to close a hatch.
The officers get too much information from cable news, even for 1995, including the briefing.
The only cassette aboard is Martha and the Vandellas' 'Nowhere to Run', played over and over.

Radchenko's next move; the too-easy final reconciliation

In the discussion (2)

Approx. transcript time · 01:19:56Read transcript

Radchenko's next move is joked to be buying a Premier League team such as West Ham, or the New Jersey Nets and making the Garnett trade.
Half nitpick: the friendly final scene fails after Ramsey's racist horse remark in front of crew and nearly starting a nuclear war; it could have been cut.