We’re in the studio with Carol and Dave Brouillette, who have returned with us with good tidings from Monster Jam! Yes, Monster Jam, the (surprisingly wholesome) spectacle of giant tires, animal shaped vehicles, big jumps, and plenty of dirt tracks and screaming fans.
It’s one-part P.T. Barnum, one-part NASCAR, one-part Vince McMahon, and one-part Hanna Barbera Wacky Races. The good parts, mind you. Not those parts. Sunday! Sunday! Sunday!
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This month, we’re upturning the rocks of our childhoods and looking at all the bugs and worms, like the uncomfortable fact that serial bully and sexist Rick Berman still has any relationship to Star Trek media anymore, and how growing up sometimes means having our love of franchise media becomes more complicated.
Plus, a quick rundown of the history of professional wrestlers owning (and not owning) the rights to their own names — and that one time that Vince McMahon tried to “recast” a couple of names he owned with new wrestlers.
And why are all the worst people named Rick?
And lots more unhinged leftist rantings! We drop the mask and chat about the evils we’re all complicit in by living under capitalism. You know, because we’re a pop culture podcast!
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This month, we’re continuing our chat with Kayleigh Casterline, and digging into the intersection of sports, video games and capitalist rent-seeking.
The new wrestling game, AEW: Fight Forever, is claiming that it won’t ask you to buy an entirely new game every year, the way that their rival the WWE does (not to mention the NFL, the NBA or MLB). They say they’re going to sell you a game once, and then update it.
What is the promise of this approach? What are the potential pitfalls? What happens to your video game roster when another wrestler does something unspeakable?
Plus, more media has entered the public domain! And we’re one year out from the most famous rodent of them all joining the army of the publicly-owned!
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We continue our remotely-recorded conversation with David Gutiérrez, and grapple with the seedy underside of professional wrestling, and the strange corporate strange-hold that Vince McMahon has on the industry, in the wake of his XFL’s second collapse.
We also talk about the relative quality of children’s media franchises from the point of view of parents. Is refreshes itself much more frequently than stuff aimed at “grown-ups,” but is any of it any good? And what will the art these kids make look like in 20 years?
Hide your clouds, because we’re gonna yell at them!
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We’re back! For this month’s off-topic dive, we look at the tale of two recent franchise spin-offs: Bumblebee and Fantastic Beasts: the Crimes of Grindelwald. Why does the former succeed out of the wreckage of a totally maligned series, while the latter squanders the potential of its predecessor? What do we want out of a spin-off, prequel or sequel to a beloved media property? What separates the wheat from the chaff?
Plus, we ponder the in-universe reality of the WWE in an age where professional wrestling no longer even pretends to be a real sport.
Join us, won’t you?
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In the afterglow of WrestleMania, we rejoin Morgan Lambert to talk about the mixed results of professional wrestlers becoming Hollywood actors, and wonder why it’s so hard for Dwayne Johnson to get a movie project worthy of his charisma.
Plus, we talk about the latest in wrestling scandals, including Hulk Hogan’s bigotry, and the WWE’s continued business relationship with an authoritarian regime that hacked up a dissident journalist.
We talk about the charming culture shock of consuming Japanese media. Their pro wrestling customs, katakana sound effects in manga, quite possibly the greatest soap opera of all time, in the form of a series of Sakeru Gummy commercials.
We chat about the recent expansion of the American public domain and lament our draconian copyright laws.
Oh, and the Wizards of the Harry Potter world are fucking disgusting monsters.
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Dare to Dream.
We’re back! And in our first double-sized Single Serving Selection of the new year, we’re diving our way back into the world of sleeper holds and suplexes with the program director for RadioTacoma 101.9, Morgan Lambert! This month, we’re grappling with pro wrestling’s premier pay-per-view event, broadcasted live from Seattle, Washington on March 30, 2003: WWE’s Wrestlemania XIX!
Chris Jericho vs. Shawn Michaels! The Rock vs. “Stone Cold” Steve Austin! Hulk Hogan vs. Vince McMahon! Brock Lesnar vs. Kurt Angle! Limp Bizkit vs. Music! The Miller Cat Fight Girls vs. Social Progress! This wrestling event has everything great and terrible about sports entertainment.
From thrilling feats of charisma and athleticism, to problematic and embarrassing displays of exploitation, WrestleMania has you covered!
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Mike and Casey step into the squared circle with Living After Faith’s Rich Lyons, and Pól Rua of Mike and Pól Save the Universe. The topic: Professional Wrestling.
We discuss the history of this carnival attraction turned billion dollar industry, the toll it takes on its performers, the ugly business dealings of Hulk Hogan and Vince McMahon, and everyone’s favorite technicolor lunatic, the Ultimate Warrior. Feel the destrucity!
Previously titled: “Skin Like a Laminated Hot Dog”
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