Pop & Locke: Recent Episodes
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Political ideas meet pop culture. Hosted by Landry Ayres and Aaron Ross Powell.
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We're back baby! After a holiday respite, Pop & Locke has returned to break down all your favorite media with today's brightest minds.
Today on the show we're talking National Treasure, and ask, is it a 21st century classic or time wasting conspiracy crock? Is it QAnon for kids? And where could they go with a next installment? Here to answer that and more are my two guests: Deputy Managing Editor at Reason, Natalie Dowzicky and returning guest and now Cato-ite, Research Fellow on Technology Policy, Jennifer Huddleston.
Fire up your hyperdrives and pack your kyber crystals because we are headed to a long, long time ago in a galaxy far, far away for another edition of Pop & Locke: Star Wars edition.
This week, Pat Eddington and Aaron Ross Powell join the show to break down Disney+'s latest offering in the Star Wars saga, Andor. How does the gritty prequel series to the sneaky hit Rogue One hold up? Who is the real evil in the series? And how does the Empire adopt the language of fascism to keep it's boot on the neck of the ever-growing resistance movement? All that--and more!
“All men must serve,” as the saying goes—but whom must they serve? That’s the question posed by the new HBO series from the mind of George R. R. Martin, House of the Dragon. Set almost two centuries prior to the enormously successful Game of Thrones series, House of the Dragon sets up House Targaryen’s eventual fall from power, provides context for the fractured, feudal state of Westeros to come, and asks; who should have the right to rule?
Reason’s Natalie Dowzicky and Robby Soave join the show to point out how the series is an example of the failures of a government absent the constitutional rule of law, elite fears of populism, and crumbling institutions usurped by greed and power.
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“Clueless” as she may be, Cher Horowitz isn’t just a naive high school student. She’s a pro-immigration, free market friendly, drug decriminalization defender. But what about her tendency to assume what other people want or need?
Reason’s Katherine Mangu Ward and Natalie Dowzicky join the show to break down whether her well intentioned “helpfulness” is cover for more authoritarian tendencies, the possible decline of a car-centric culture’s notions of youthful freedom and agency, and the complicated legacy of the film’s depiction of gender roles.
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Should you be allowed custody of nuclear powered weapons? It’s questions that’s plagued libertarians before, and one that’s also raised by the animated cult classic The Iron Giant. Through innovative production means, Brad Bird’s box office blunder turned cinematic darling wraps a clear creative vision and Aristotelian characterization of themes up in a seemingly simple story of a boy and a giant robot. Sean Malone and Paul Meany joins us to answer questions it raises like; is Brad Bird an objectivist filmmaker? How much can we change the path we’re set upon in life? And is The Lorax a good lesson for kids?
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The Lord of the Rings trilogy is an epic adventure based on the novels written by J.R.R. Tolkien. Set in Middle-earth, the story follows the young Hobbit, Frodo Baggins, as he and the Fellowship embark on a quest to destroy the One Ring, to ensure the destruction of the Dark Lord Sauron. But what is the Lord of the Rings story really about? And, why is it so popular?
Whether it's The Ring of Power, The Hobbit, The Silmarillion, or the original trilogy, Tolkien's words are filled with lessons and insight all can learn from. In this classic Pop & Locke episode, guests Jacob Levy, Paul Meany, and Paul Matzko join us to dig into the religious roots of the work, the nature of power, and whether or not the eagles would have actually helped destroy the ring.
The Lord of the Rings trilogy is an epic adventure based on the novels written by J.R.R. Tolkien. Set in Middle-earth, the story follows the young Hobbit, Frodo Baggins, as he and the Fellowship embark on a quest to destroy the One Ring, to ensure the destruction of the Dark Lord Sauron. But what is the Lord of the Rings story really about? And, why is it so popular?
Whether it's The Ring of Power, The Hobbit, The Silmarillion, or the original trilogy, Tolkien's words are filled with lessons and insight all can learn from. In this classic Pop & Locke episode, guests Jacob Levy, Paul Meany, and Paul Matzko join us to dig into the religious roots of the work, the nature of power, and whether or not the eagles would have actually helped destroy the ring.
In 1998 the Coen brothers released The Big Lebowski and the theaters were half-empty. However, the film has since spurred a cult-like following revolving around its protagonist, The Dude; a dopey but profound conscientious objector to all human conflict with his own special brand of zen. Part slacker manifesto, part sun-drenched noir, the film follows his quest to receive penance for a soiled rug and unravels into a wild goose chase involving all sorts of inherent vice.
In this classic episode from the Pop & Locke vault, Julian Sanchez and Akiva Malamet join us to discuss the essence of the Coen Brothers’ famous character, the hidden nods to Wagner, and what the film has to say about nihilist philosophy.
In 1998 the Coen brothers released The Big Lebowski and the theaters were half-empty. However, the film has since spurred a cult-like following revolving around its protagonist, The Dude; a dopey but profound conscientious objector to all human conflict with his own special brand of zen. Part slacker manifesto, part sun-drenched noir, the film follows his quest to receive penance for a soiled rug and unravels into a wild goose chase involving all sorts of inherent vice.
In this classic episode from the Pop & Locke vault, Julian Sanchez and Akiva Malamet join us to discuss the essence of the Coen Brothers’ famous character, the hidden nods to Wagner, and what the film has to say about nihilist philosophy.
What’s more faithful to the facts of the founders—1776 or Hamilton? Why does John Adams get the star treatment while James Wilson gets such short shrift? And what does the musical many of us had to watch in high school get wrong about American Revolutionary history? All that and more are answered this week, with the help of David Boaz, Paul Matzko, and first time guest Tim Sandefur.
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The court of Pop & Locke is now in session! All who have cause to discuss the cult classic comedy of courtroom escapes My Cousin Vinny draw near and you shall be heard. Our honorable guests help us break down the legal fact from fiction as we search for the verdict on Vinny’s veracity and verisimilitude. Plus; would you have taken the public defender instead? And how much do they really teach you in law school?
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Revived by the spirit of Stranger Things’ Eddie Munson, today we are going to mosh our way through the music of Metallica. From Kill ‘em All to …And Justice for All and beyond, the band has evolved from rebellious, rage-fueled teenage innovators to the flag-bearers of a heavy metal ethos rooted in principles without being didactic. Returning guest and committed metalhead Chris Freiman and William Irwin, author of the new book The Meaning of Metallica: Ride the Lyrics, join the show to pick through the politics and philosophy of the kings of thrash.
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Today we take a ride into the danger zone with Brandon Valeriano and Paul Musgrave and blow Top Gun wide open. Is Tom Cruise’s action 1986 blockbuster a a redemptive reconceptualization of the post-Vietnam American military, or is it just a sports movie? Plus; does the military provide a service or a product? And either way, why are we paying so much for it?
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Socrates once said the unexamined life is not worth living—and if he were around today I’m sure he’d say that “A Bug’s Life” is totally worth examining. Join us as we dive into the 1998 Disney Pixar romp to find what we can take away with us and what we can leave on the offering stone.
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Drug approvals were not always as rapid as they were for COVID-19.
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Politics is power, nothing more!
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This episode ain’t right.
We are headed down to the home of Tom Landry Middle School, Mega Lo Mart, and Strickland Propane—that’s right, Arlen, Texas. Kat Murti and first time guest Nick Gillespie join us to decide whether Hank Hill would have voted for Donald Trump, explain the eccentricities of Texan identity, and reveal the benefits of propane and propane accessories.
Vicious vulgarity and criticism of censorship are at the heart of Trey Parker and Matt Stone’s groundbreaking animated series.
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Dive into the depths of American psychopathy as we ask—can we get a table for two at 8 PM at Dorsia?
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Uncover the mystery of ideology with 2019’s best independent video game.
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It may have been less than a decade since we saw him in theaters last, but The Batman has got a new haircut, a fresh coat of eye shadow, and a lot of emotional baggage to unpack.
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Jessica Flanigan and Natalie Dowzicky sink their teeth into Stephanie Meyer’s tale of teenage temptation and vampiric virtue.
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Are Christians a persecuted minority in America? The God’s Not Dead film series has a clear answer, but Aaron Powell and Paul Matzko are doubtful of the conclusions. We sit down to find what might be causing this division, try to find a way to bridge it, and respect religious liberty for all.
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Is Snowpiercer a marxist masterpiece or a dystopian documentary? We trace Chris Evans’s path from the tail to the head n pursuit of the true meaning behind Bong Joon-ho’s 2014 caricature of capitalism.
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At the Circus, who can trust the ringmaster? Pat Eddington and Mike German join us sort who is who in Joh LeCarre’s Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy.
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Inspired by Al Gore’s “An Inconvenient Truth” and in the vein of his financial crisis origin story, “The Big Short”, Adam McKay’s 2021 Netflix film, “Don’t Look Up” posits a world where the sky is falling, politicians are too self absorbed to do anything, and the media is hellbent on distraction by any means necessary. Trevor Burrus, Matthew Feeney, and Natalie Dowzicky join us to parse the fact from fiction, and explain how successful it is in getting its strident hope across.
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In the spring of 1997, a teenage girl and her Scoobies started defending the town of Sunnydale and the world from previously unimaginable demons, all while being on time for chemistry class. Buffy the Vampire Slayer, created by Joss Whedon, has never been fully appreciated for putting the teen soap era of television on the map.
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Kevin McCallister was left home alone when his large family rushed to the airport to fly to their Paris Christmastime vacation. At first he was enjoying himself, staying up late, watching tv, and eating pizza until a duo of burglars, the Wet Bandits, try to ruin his holiday.
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Netflix’s horror series about a small fictional island community, a mysterious visiting priest, and unexplained “miracles” is the latest Mike Flanagan horror hit. Though this show received a wide variety of praise and criticism, it certainly caused people to think about the role religion plays in their lives.
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In 1953, under the Great Terror’s heavy cloak of state paranoia, the ever‐watchful Soviet leader, Joseph Stalin, collapses. When they discover his body the following morning, a frenetic surge of raw panic starts spreading like a virus amongst the senior members of the Politburo, as they scramble to maintain order, weed out the competition, and take power.
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Matthew Feeney and Caleb Watney discuss Denis Villeneuve's 2021 film adaption of Frank Herbert's Dune.
Frank Herbert’s 1965 Dune is a futuristic geopolitical allegory that was anti-corporate and pro-eco-radicalism. Villeneuve's film adaptation of the book stays pretty true to the original story, it's set in the very distant future, in which humanity has evolved in many scientific respects and mutated in a lot of spiritual ones.
Jamelle Bouie and Julian Sanchez join the podcast to discuss John Carpenter's 1982 sci-fi cult classic, The Thing, a film that made our skin crawl with paranoia. Based on the 1938 John W. Campbell Jr. novella Who Goes There?, The Thing, tells the story of a group of American scientists in Antarctica who encounter the eponymous "Thing", a parasitic extraterrestrial life-form that assimilates, then imitates other organisms, including humans.
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The hook-handed son of a slave summoned by the chanting of his name 5 times, Candyman, was originally created by horror legend writer Clive Barker. But the legend has since been adapted for the big screen many times, first in 1992 and most recently in 2021. Peter Suderman and Jesse Walker help us dissect both films as part of a larger discussion about how horror movies tackle social issues.
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The Simpsons is an American adult animated sitcom created by Matt Groening that follows the Simpson family who live in Springfield. The show parodies American culture, society, and ultimately the human condition.
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The Hurt Locker was the first narrative feature to make full, unnerving dramatic sense of the war in Iraq, and it does so without polemics or speeches or phony melodrama. In fact, the director, Kathryn Bigelow, has been praised for making a war movie that is apolitical in nature. The film follows an Iraq War Explosive Ordnance Disposal team who are targeted by insurgents and shows their psychological reactions to the stress of combat.
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In Pulp Fiction, two hit men, Jules Winnfield and Vincent Vega work for the crime boss Marcellus Wallace. The film is really comprised of six different stories that are very loosely connected to one another. And the title refers to the pulp magazines and hardboiled crime novels popular during the mid-20th century, known for their graphic violence and punchy dialogue.
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Pan's Labyrinth is a 2006 Spanish-Mexican dark fantasy war film. The story takes place in Spain during the summer of 1944, five years after the Spanish Civil War, during the early Francoist period. The narrative intertwines this real world with a mythical world centered on an overgrown, abandoned labyrinth and a mysterious faun creature, with whom, Ofelia, interacts.
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Fahrenheit 451 is a 1953 dystopian novel that was written by Ray Bradbury and turned into a film in 1966 and 2018. It’s a story about Guy Montag, a fireman, whose job it is to actually destroy illegal belongings, like books. Montag never questioned his job until he met his neighbor, Clarisse, who tells him about the past where everyone saw the world and its endless possibility through books.
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A paranoid, secretive surveillance expert has a crisis of conscience when he suspects that the couple he is spying on will be murdered. Julian Sanchez, Jake Laperruque, and Richard Theime join us to discuss how Coppola's The Conversation tells a story of a man caught between his own technological power and the nightmares of his personal responsibility.
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Winston Smith is a minor government employee, living in Oceania, whose job involves the rewriting of history in a manner that casts his fictional country's leaders in a charitable light. And in this closely-monitored society, there is no way to escape from Big Brother. A classic novel written by George Orwell and published in 1949 was adapted for the big screen in 1984.
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A Linguistics professor Louise Banks leads an elite team of investigators when gigantic spaceships touch down in 12 seemingly random locations around the world. As nations teeter on the verge of global war, Banks and her crew must race against time to find a way to communicate with the extraterrestrial visitors. Hoping to unravel the mystery, she takes a chance that could threaten her life and quite possibly all of mankind.
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One of Hollywood's greatest critical and commercial successes, The Godfather, released in 1972, is the quintessential American crime film. Early on in this film we are introduced to the patriarch of the Corleone family and as he ages it's clear that he wants to transfer control of his clandestine empire to his very reluctant son.
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Alfonso Cuarón's Children of Men is set in the year 2027. No one has had a child in over 18 years. Infertility threatens mankind with extinction and the last child born has perished. The U.K. is one fo the few countries left with a functioning government, but it is deluged by refugees fleeing from chaos in their own countries.
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Every television series based in the White House inevitably has to grapple with one fundamental question: what motivates politicians? Vice President of the United States, Selina Meyer, finds that her job is nothing like she expected, but everything her largely incompetent staff had feared. How does Veep compare to House of Cards and the West Wing?
The narrative of They Live follows the social-democratic political story described by George Monbiot in his book Out of the Wreckage. This story explains how the world fell into disorder as a result of the self-seeking behavior of the unrestrained elite. Julian Sachez & Jesse Walker join the show to discuss how John Carpenter’s underrated sci-fi horror movie, They Live, did more than skewer yuppies — it gave us the last word on the Reagan era.
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Idiocracy centers an extremely average Army librarian who wakes up from a centuries-long cryogenic sleep to find that America has gone to seed, with all intelligence bred out of society and the most loudmouth and insipid elements now dominating. A former pro wrestler with rage issues and particularly inane tendencies is now the president. Originally released in 2006, this film is perhaps more politically timely today than it was 15 years ago.
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A sitcom with two Avengers living out their best suburban lives, what could be better? But we all know by now that in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, there's always a catch. We discuss what could be next for Scarlet Witch and whether or not Wanda is redeemable after her mind control run amok throughout Wandavision.
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In the year 2157, on the outskirts of the system, far from alliance control, nine people look into the blackness of space and see nine different things. Joining us today are three people who see three different things in Joss Whedon’s cult classic series, Firefly, including; Julian Sanchez, Trevor Burrus, & Jennifer Huddleston.
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Bryan Stevenson was a young lawyer from Harvard when he founded the Equal Justice Initiative, a non‐profit law firm in Alabama, dedicated to defending the poor, the incarcerated, and the wrongly condemned. One of Stevenson’s first clients was Walter McMillian, a Black man who was sentenced to die for the murder of a young white woman that he didn’t commit. With Michael B. Jordan portraying Stevenson and Jamie Foxx as Walter McMillian, our movie in focus today, Just Mercy, tells a heartbreaking story of how the US justice system carries out the death penalty.
How has society changed its' views on the death penalty? How has the work of the Equal Justice Initiative helped inmates on death row? How does our criminal justice system treat death penalty cases?
In a post‐apocalyptic wasteland, Furiosa rebels against a tyrannical ruler in search for her lost homeland with the aid of a group of female prisoners, a psychotic worshiper, and a drifter named Max. This movie has been hailed as the ultimate feminist action movie, but does it deserve that accreditation? Kat Murti & Lester Romero help us unpack all of the action we witnessed on the Fury Road.
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The Lord of the Rings trilogy is an epic adventure based on the novels written by J.R.R. Tolkien. Set in Middle‐earth, the story follows the young Hobbit, Frodo Baggins, as he and the Fellowship embark on a quest to destroy the One Ring, to ensure the destruction of the Dark Lord Sauron. What is the Lord of the Rings story actually about? And, why is it so popular?
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After months of delay, Wonder Woman 1984 was finally released on HBO Max in addition to select theaters. There was plenty of anticipation for the sequel, but ultimately it was less than impressive. With a wishing stone, the introduction of the villain Cheetah, and the return of Steve Trevor the movie jumped around leaving the audience confused. With a third movie already approved, we hope director Patty Jenkins can learn from some of her mistakes.
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Michael Cannon, Stephen Kent, Pat Eddington, and Nick Armstrong join the show to discuss how The Mandalorian focused on character development. The show has let us discover much more of the galaxy and introduces even more opportunities for story-telling. Ultimately the show is about the travels of a lone bounty hunter in the outer reaches of the galaxy, far from the authority of the New Republic.
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There was one TV show that was able to show the horrors of war, incisively critique it, but still inspire compassion for those affected by it. MAS*H creators understood the power of comedy to hit just the right laughable notes between moment of introspection. Throughout this special episode of Pop & Locke we ask Mike Farrell, who plays BJ Hunnicutt on the show, about his time with the cast and how he was inspired to create his character.
Humans in a fascist, militaristic future wage war with giant alien bugs is truly the best way to describe Starship Troopers. This was the third movie in a trio directed by Paul Verhoeven throughout the late 80s and 90s. When the movie was first released in 1997, it received mixed reviews because a large portion of the audience did not conclude that the movie was satirical.
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In 2019 Los Angeles, Deckard is a blade runner who is tasked with the job of hunting down humanoids known as "replicants" who are illegally on Earth. Fast forward to 2049, when Officer K is a new blade runner who discovers a well-kept secret that leads him to Deckard, who has been missing for 30 years.
What is the difference between being "born" and being "created"? Who gets to decide whether or not robots or humanoids have rights? How do you know your memories are yours and not someone else's?
Evey Hammond is a regular U.K. citizen, which is under the rule of the fascist and tyrannical Norsefire Party. Every become the enemy of the state by teaming up with an enigmatic and larger-than-life freedom fighter known only by the letter "V". What is the meaning of the Guy Fawke's mask?
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The 1976 film, All the President's Men, follows The Washington Post reporters, Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein, as they uncover the details of the Watergate scandal that leads to President Richard Nixon's resignation.
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The Purge: Election Year is not a good movie, but it is ripe with social commentary. The dystopia film is set in the not so distant future where the New Founding Fathers of America are the dominant political party. But a young newcomer, Senator Charlie Roan is trying to unseat the incumbent to put a stop to government-sanctioned violence. The movie attempts to critique grotesque violence, but ends up just being extremely hypocritical.
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Get Out cleverly uses common horror tropes to reveal truths about how damaging racism still is in our modern world. Us, as the title suggests, tells a story about how neglecting to come to grips with our past makes us our own worst enemies. Alissa Wilkinson and Ciara Wardlow help us unpack both thriller films.
Why is horror considered a primarily white genre? How did Jordan Peele connect with his audience through the combination of horror and comedy? What is the connection between comedy and horror?
Christopher Nolan's Batman operates within the state in a very strange way. Nolan believes that his trilogy of movies are actually each in their own genre. Batman Begins is a classic origin story broken down in three parts. The Dark Knight exists as a crime movie with the Joker as a terrorist who seeks chaos. The Dark Knight Rises is an epic film with a militaristic enemy.
How are the Joker and Bane different? How do the villains in Nolan's Batman trilogy enhance the movies?
Peter Suderman and Sean Malone join the show today to talk about one of the most famous summer blockbusters ever. Jurassic Park is more than a movie about the misuse of innovation that ends up creating vicious dinosaurs. The movie itself was an innovation in of itself.
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The Big Lebowski has spurred a cult-like following revolving around The Dude. In 1998 the Coen brothers released "The Big Lebowski" and the theaters were half-empty. The movie was a follow up to their Oscar-winning film "Fargo". The movie follows a dopey but profound slacker noir about a guy — a conscientious objector to all human conflict — whose quest to avenge a soiled rug unravels into a wild goose chase involving all sorts of inherent vice.
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Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb hit theaters in 1964 a mere few months after the Cuban Missile Crisis. Not to mention it was also the height of the Cold War when Americans were worried about nuclear annihilation and mutually assured destruction. This satire lives on today as the best black comedy about nuclear warfare ever written.
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In a dystopian future, the totalitarian nation of Panem is divided into 12 districts and the Capitol. Each year two young representatives from each district are selected by lottery to participate in The Hunger Games. The Hunger Games is not only serves as entertainment for the Capitol, but it also serves as a reminder to the Districts about how much power the Capitol actually has to suppress them.
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Gattaca highlights a the future where eugenics is common. A genetic registry database uses biometrics to classify those so created as “valids” while those conceived by traditional means and more susceptible to genetic disorders are known as “invalids”. In this world genetic discrimination is illegal, but valids qualify for professional employment while invalids are relegated to menial tasks and jobs. The main character, Vincent, is an invalid and hopes to break the system where the genetically enhanced run the show.
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The Wachowski sisters directed one of the most famous science fiction films ever that has influenced the entire genre since its’ release in 1999. The Matrix is much more than a movie about a hacker who discovers the real nature of this reality.
Why do you think the Matrix has stuck around as part of our cultural vernacular for so long? How did the Matrix change the sci‐fi genre forever?
In Mrs. America, Cate Blanchett brilliantly plays conservative culture warrior Phyllis Schlafly, who built a coalition of housewives that ultimately kept the Equal Rights Amendment out of the US Constitution. In addition to Schlafly, the relationships between Gloria Steinem, Betty Friedan, Shirley Chisholm, Bella Abzug and Jill Ruckelshaus are the focus of Hulu’s new mini-series. The show does not leave you sympathetic to Phyllis Schlafly, but it certainly opens your eyes to the impact of her success.
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We asked Anthony Comegna and Jesse Walker to join the show to crack open unexplained phenomena and paranormal activity cases that are explored throughout The X-Files. The X-Files is perhaps the very first, long-running, science fiction show to earn a primetime slot. FBI Agents Fox Mulder and Dana Scully take on open cases that involve extraterrestrial life, alien abductions, future tellers, and so much more. Come seek the truth with us.
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Our three favorite muggles; Emma Ashford, Lauren Sander, and Trish Beck-Peter, join the show to discuss the Wizarding World of Harry Potter created by J.K. Rowling. With the existence of magic, the Harry Potter series tackles many question about immense power and good versus evil. Is Hogwarts a public school? What is the role of the Ministry of Magic?
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If you were to boil down the 1995 film Hackers, it’s a “wired ride with teenage cybercowboys” claimed Joe Brown in a 1995 Washington Post article. On today’s show we’re joined by the Cato Institute’s own Aaron Ross Powell and Julian Sanchez, as well as Eva Galperin, Director of Cybersecurity at the Electronic Frontier Foundation. We hope it inspires you to hack the planet.
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The focus of our show today is no other than the self-proclaimed gun-toting gay cowboy who is the owner of the G.W. Exotic Animal Park. Joe Exotic is the main character in the new hit Netflix documentary, Tiger King, and throughout the show we see his very public feud with another small private zoo-owner, Carole Baskin. Their love for tigers in particular starts a feud that proves that there can only be one king in the world of big cats.
Do we learn anything about the exotic animal trade in Tiger King? Is Joe Exotic a good example of a libertarian? How does the show sensationalize the characters?
The Good Place is a show that lays out a moral vision for the world that’s surprisingly sophisticated and deeply informed by academic philosophy — a vision that puts learning, and trying to do good front and center. We follow the journey of four characters who thought they were in The Good Place, but they are actually in The Bad Place because they did not earn enough points on Earth by doing good things. In four seasons they show how faulty a point system to earn your way to heaven truly is.
How did NBC’s The Good Place teach us how to be good? Does The Good Place make moral philosophy digestible? Is The Good Place about striving for moral change?
Leslie Knope, Ron Swanson, April Ludgate, Andy Dwyer, Tom Haverford, Ann Perkins, and the rest of the gang are all loyal employees of the Parks and Recreation Department of the Pawnee local government. Leslie Knope hopes to beautify her town by helping Ann Perkins turn an abandoned construction site (the pit) into a community park, but what should be a fairly simple project is stymied at every turn by oafish bureaucrats, selfish neighbors, and government red tape.
Is Ron Swanson a libertarian? Is Tom Haverford a real entrepreneur? Which Parks and Rec character are you?
HBO’s Westworld causes you to question the very nature of your reality. In this world, humans interact with AI intelligences, hosts, for the experience of a lifetime, but at times it is challenging to decipher who’s a host and who’s human. In many instances, the hosts seem more human-like than the real humans. What does it mean to be a conscious being?
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The world we live in has changed dramatically since Snow White first hit theaters in 1937. What society expects of women has changed and will continue to change. Disney has tried to evolve it’s princess stories as society has evolved, but have they been successful?
Do young girls still resonate with Disney princesses? Are Disney princesses heroines or damsels in distress? Are any princesses independent?
Louisa May Alcott’s Little Women has mattered deeply to generation after generation of women ever since it was first published in two volumes in 1868 and 1869. It inspired film versions in 1933, 1949, 1994 starring Winona Ryder & Kirsten Dunst, 2018, and 2019 with the all-star cast of Saorise Ronan, Emma Watson, Florence Pugh, Eliza Scanlen, and Laura Dern. This story is much more than just four girls growing up in Civil war-era Massachusetts making jam & accidentally burning their dresses in the fireplace.
Is Greta Gerwig’s version of Little Women relatable to women and men? Is Jo March really Louisa May Alcott? What role does romance play in Little Women? How is Little Woman about day to day life? What was the best scene in Little Women?
With every Star Wars movie comes waves of high expectations. The fanbase is so divided that not everyone can be pleased by JJ Abrams’ decisions. Now that the 9-part story is over, Disney will let the franchise cool for a bit before adding spinoff stories. The Rise of Skywalker tied up many loose ends to the sequel trilogy and paid some lip service to fans, but it still left some of us wanting a more satisfying end.
How does power corrupt in the Star Wars galaxy? Did you expect Rey to be a Palpatine in the Rise of Skywalker? How did Disney add to the Star Wars franchise?
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Image Credit: Den of GeekSummary: Alan Moore’s 1986 Watchmen was a condemnation of all forms of authority, mocking the concept of a benevolent superhuman, and portraying masked vigilantes as emotionally unstable. And Damien Lindelof took this story for HBO and refreshed it for a 2019 audience where the origin story is the Tulsa, Oklahoma Race Riots of 1921.
How is HBO’s Watchmen not a typical superhero story? Why is the classic superhero archetype an orphan?
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Summary:Is It’s a Wonderful Life actually a story about giving up on your dreams? How is A Christmas Carol a larger narrative about corporate welfare and charity? Most importantly, is Jingle All the Way the best Arnold Schwarzenegger movie? We answer all of these questions and more! If you have always wanted to hear a Libertarian rendition of the 12 Days of Christmas, you won’t be disappointed.
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Summary:American viewers love dystopias that are just eerie enough. In Gilead, a totalitarian theocratic state, reproduction rates are plummeting and women at-large are having trouble conceiving children. The answer to this problem is to institute child-bearing slavery. Elizabeth Nolan Brown, Marianne March, Tess Terrible, and Natalie Dowzicky unpack this controversial and timely television show.
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Summary:On the show today is Peter Suderman and Paul Matzko with our hosts, Natalie Dowzicky & Landry Ayres. Throughout this episode they discuss five distinct Black Mirror episodes and what is or is not scary about the dystopian-thriller. One common theme is that the creators of Black Mirror seem to assume the worst will happen, when many of the technologies introduced in this world could have positive effects as well.
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