Childhood Ruined

A special on-location episode from gorgeous West Glacier, Montana! Your hosts sit down on a porch just outside of Glacier National Park to enjoy a drink and talk about a shared family vacation. We discuss how each night of the vacation was given a musical theme, and how everyone was looking forward to Yacht Rock Night. A special guest joins the pod to talk about his appreciation of Yacht Rock, and he details an elaborate 50-point scale for determining just how smooth a Yacht Rock song can be. A summary cannot do his scale justice; you just have to listen to take in the magic and majesty. We unironically talk about our newfound love of artists like Michael McDonald and Kenny Loggins, and how the meaning of songs and music changes for us over the years. Listen as we celebrate our special guest's birthday, and swim in the wake of Yacht Rock's glory!

We return after another hiatus to talk about Father's Day and discuss the challenges of handling open-world games like Fallout 4 (6:00). Mike talks about his roadblocks in Horizon Zero Dawn while Chris laments his long history of leaving games like Grand Theft Auto unfinished (9:00). The hosts share tales of getting owned in Fortnite (17:00), and briefly provide some background on the State of the Pod (27:00). Mike details how he had to use Dungeons & Dragons to sweet talk an internet technician (30:00), and Chris looks for a reaction about the Chris Hardwick news (34:00). A long conversation about privilege and fandom ensues (49:00) including the limitations of online communication (52:00). We discuss how the current political climate overlaps with recent developments in fandom, and explore how responsibile we are as consumers of the same nerd/geek ecosystem.

The hosts catch up after taking a two-week break from recording the show. Michael talks openly about his brother's suicide last year, and describes how he is contacting family and friends to gather stories about his brother's life. At the 15-minute mark, the conversation turns to the new album by Jack White. The hosts express their confusion about the album, and ponder the motivations of Jack White for making it. A long discussion about fandom's relationship with art and artists ensues, and touches on numerous other performers. 

The hosts talk about recent games they have returned to playing - Magic: The Gathering for Chris, and XCOM for Michael. The hosts explore how stress produced by a game relates to their level of engagement and enjoyment. At the 14-minute mark, the conversation turns to Ready Player One, and stays there for most of the episode. The hosts express their original reactions to reading the book years ago, and detail the growing backlash about the author and elements of the book. The hosts talk openly about being two privileged, White, straight, cis-gendered men, and how that creates blind spots. Other questions are posed during the episode. Can you enjoy a piece of art while disliking the artist? Can you listen to a song by Ted Nugent or John Lennon, and block out the problematic believes those men held? The show closes with another installment of What's On Chris' Turntable - and this week it's St. Vincent.