Episode 78: Why Are We Like This? – Dark Humor In Dark Times

This week, Alex and Adrian discuss why they avoid trailers and hate feeling marketed to, versus experiencing media for themselves.

This week, Alex and Swara talk about what art could look like without the shackles of capitalism and how public arts funding would change what kind of art gets produced. 

Alex, Kate, and guest Jess Howard discuss dark humor during dark times, getting deep into what is making current times so dismal and how they approach it to survive via pop culture.

This week, Alex, Kate, and special guest Jess Howard discuss the consequences of the rising costs of hobbies, especially video games, including gatekeeping, a broken developer pipeline, and developers still not making a living despite those horrendous $80 price tags.

This week, Alex and Matt are joined by Jesse Vitelli, who previewed the Switch 2 last week and is here to discuss everything from the hardware and what's different to the games and their absolutely unjustifiable price tags.

This week, Alex, Kate, and Jason discuss fact, fiction, and memory in Ray Mendoza and Alex Garland's 'Warfare,' what "based on a true story" really means, and whether any movie could ever truly be completely objective.

This week, Alex, Adrian, and Neysha talk about the ugly, the bad, and the good of fandom, when fandoms rear their toxic heads, and when fandoms bring people together.

This week, Alex is joined by guests Brenda and Austin from the Secret Histories of Nerd Mysteries podcast to discuss the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movie, celebrating its 35th anniversary this year.

This week, Alex, Jason, and Swara talk about what Oscar bait really means, whether filmmakers can make good art while chasing awards, and what they're hopeful for in the future of the Academy.

This week, Alex, Kate, and Jason discuss comedy—what they find funny, how their senses of humor have evolved over time, and how they draw the line between offensive and comedic.