2006 Midterms: E138 Icky Thumpin’ | with Luke Savage

Hope you have your suit and limo, because it’s Rahm Night. In the wake of the 2026 midterms thumpin’ from the democrats, the Shuffle Bois are joined by Luke Savage (substack.com/@lukewsavage) of Michael and Us to discuss the 2006 midterms. 2006 is a highly similar setting: a deeply unpopular republican administration stuck in a quagmire in the middle east amid soaring gas prices that result in a historic win for the democrats. We focus on the figure of Rahm Emmanuel, who is “credited” with the midterms win, when in reality the democrats won despite Rahm, and all Rahm did was benefit from getting to decide the democrats’ ideology in an opportune year.  They discuss some of the big themes of the election, including fundraising, the blogosphere, and centrism.Huge shoutout to our guest for coming on the pod! Be sure to check out Luke Savage on Twitter: https://x.com/LukewSavage, https://x.com/MichaelandUsSubstack: substack.com/@lukewsavageMichael and Us: https://michael-and-us.com/

Trick-or-treat yourself to a Chris Wade appearance on Remember Shuffle to discuss the Ron Swan-Song of NBC’s 2000 sit com lineup, Parks and Recreation. A show that is good despite its cringe politics rather than because of them, Parks and Rec features an ensemble cast of exceptional improvisers putting on excellent performances. After describing each character and their improv point of view, the Shuffle Bois move on to discuss some of the themes and big ideas of the show, including Obamacore millennial optimism, austerity, corporate power in America, and the sad state of the average American citizen.Chris and the Chapos have Chunks live screenings across the country, check them out here:11/9 - San Francisco CA, Q&A with Amber Frost and Nate Fisher https://drafthouse.com/sf/event/live-q-a-chunks 11/11 - Austin TX, Q&A with Chris Wade hosted by Jake Rhodes https://drafthouse.com/austin/event/live-q-a-chunks 11/12 - Denver CO, Q&A with Amber, Chris & Nate https://drafthouse.com/denver/event/live-q-a-chunks  11/15 - Los Angeles CA, Q&A with Amber, Chris, Nate & More?? https://drafthouse.com/los-angeles/event/live-q-a-chunks  11/19 - Chicago IL, Q&A with Felix & E1 https://drafthouse.com/chicago/event/live-q-a-chunks And be sure to check out our Patreon here:https://www.patreon.com/c/RememberShuffle Check out our website to search for episodes at: ⁠remembershuffle.com⁠⁠Give Remember Shuffle a follow on Twitter⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ And on Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠@RememberShufflePod⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ to interact with the show between episodes. It also makes it easier to book guests. 

The machine has told us that you are inexorably fated to listen to this episode on Minority Report. An exceptional Steven Spielberg joint from the 2000s, it’s a techno-thriller, neo-noir, whodunit that also functions as a meditation on fate, predestination, and free will. It’s also an extremely prescient film in many ways and a really good movie. After describing the Y2K backstory behind the film, the shuffle bois do a beat-by-beat plot summary before turning to the themes and big ideas of the film: fate and predestination, prescience, and Spielberg’s fixation on the nuclear family.Check out our website to search for episodes at: ⁠remembershuffle.com⁠⁠Give Remember Shuffle a follow on Twitter⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ And on Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠@RememberShufflePod⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ to interact with the show between episodes. It also makes it easier to book guests. 

Very Nice.Huge thanks to Brother Isaac for guesting on this episode! Check him out @coexist.inc on instagram, as well as his podcast, Coexist Inc., here, and on twitter as @coexistinc Check out our website to search for episodes at: remembershuffle.comGive Remember Shuffle a follow on Twitter⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ And on Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠@RememberShufflePod⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ to interact with the show between episodes. It also makes it easier to book guests. 

The Shuffle Bois are joined by subject matter expert and author Matt Singer to discuss 2000s Frat Pack comedies. The crew and their guest first attempt to describe the traits of this particular sub-genre of highly successful 2000s comedy film, defined by raunchiness, improvisation, and  frequent collaboration across a recurring group. They then trace the history of these films from Animal House, to Old School, through to the end of the decade with Step Brothers. En route, they discuss the death of comedy and the various trends and forces that led to its untimely demise, they analyze how these films approach male friendship, arrested development, and the role of women, and they close out by discussing these films’ style and (as always) the echoes in the culture.Check out Matt Singer’s website here, where you can pre-order his book Funny Business before its October 6th release date. Follow him on Instagram, Twitter, and Letterboxd.⁠Give Remember Shuffle a follow on Twitter⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ And on Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠@RememberShufflePod⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ to interact with the show between episodes. It also makes it easier to book guests.  And don’t forget to check us out on Patreon too! ⁠https://www.patreon.com/c/RememberShuffle⁠ 

The Shuffle Bois turn to the world of tabletop gaming in the 2000s. After briefly tracing the pre-Y2K history of the Warhmmer 40K world and game, they take a look and the state of the hobby in the 2000s. They do a tapas-style meal of faction snapshots, before talking about some themes and big ideas, including the grimdark world, the expansive lore, pastiche, satire, and the esoteric nature of the game and the high barriers to entry.Check out our Patreon for the full episode!⁠Give Remember Shuffle a follow on Twitter⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ And on Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠@RememberShufflePod⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ to interact with the show between episodes. It also makes it easier to book guests.  

Remember Shuffle is joined by Freddy G ( https://www.instagram.com/orangefreddyg/ ) to discuss the 2000s comedy stylings of one Joe Rogan. While his 2000s work all takes place before this insatiably curious polymath’s meteoric rise to Podcast God, we can trace this man’s evolution from hack 90s road comic to the weed-guy, reddit-minded figure we recognize today. The Shuffle Bois and Freddy review each of the three specials that came out during our decade of interest before turning to some of the recurring themes and big ideas, both those found within Rogan’s comedic oeuvre (like is fixation with the metaphysical), as well as what his career represents, like the platforming of cancelled people and the phenomenon of cohortification. Be sure to check out Freddy G on instagram ( https://www.instagram.com/orangefreddyg/ ), threads ( https://www.threads.com/@orangefreddyg ), YouTube ( https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCKa83htvL89DZHoa_Xmk8RA ), and Twitter https://x.com/OrangeFreddyG ⁠Give Remember Shuffle a follow on Twitter⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ And on Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠@RememberShufflePod⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ to interact with the show between episodes. It also makes it easier to book guests.  And don’t forget to check us out on Patreon too! https://www.patreon.com/c/RememberShuffle  

The release of Matt Johnson’s Tony has us mulling on a 2000 book which had a profound effect on the culture: Kitchen Confidential. We explore the tell-all book, the story of being Down and Out in a High Stress Luncheon , Bourdain’s cable TV shows, the documentary RoadRunner and the 2026 film based on the book (starring Stavros Halkias, hell yeah dude). We talk about the food culture of the year 2000, and how much it changed over the following decade, counter culture and competency in the kitchen. ⁠Give Remember Shuffle a follow on Twitter⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ And on Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠@RememberShufflePod⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ to interact with the show between episodes. It also makes it easier to book guests.  

The full 90 minute episode is LIVE on the patreon.⁠https://www.patreon.com/c/RememberShuffleThe shuffle bois turn to one of the most beloved video game franchises of all time, The Legend of Zelda, and trace its evolution throughout the 2000s decade. From the (overrated?) Ocarina of Time, to the brooding existentialist masterpiece that is Majora's Mask, the swashbuckling pirate cell-shaded Wind Waker, and the dark and gritty reboot Twilight Princess, they leave no stone un-thrown in their history of the franchises. Throughout the episode they discuss the mechanics that make the games great, their iconic scores, and the completely mid lore that accompanies such a cool world.

The Shuffle Bois turn to one of the largest and certainly most memorable reactions to the global financial crisis of the late 2000s , Occupy Wall Street. In part seven of their ongoing series, they take a look at the socialists, anarchists, daily show liberals, and obvious federal plants who descended on Zuccotti Park in Fall 2011. After tracing the history of the movement, they then describe the types of people who attended as well as some of the themes and big ideas of this story - globalization, horizontality vs verticality, idealism vs pragmatism, as well as the roles of both the police and the media.⁠Give Remember Shuffle a follow on Twitter⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ And on Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠@RememberShufflePod⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ to interact with the show between episodes. It also makes it easier to book guests.  And don't forget to check out our Patreon!Bibliography:David Graeber, The Democracy Project: a History, a Crisis, a MovementAmber A'lee Frost, DirtbagAnton Jaeger, Hyperpolitics