Critical Nonsense

Critical Nonsense

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Critical Nonsense episodes

  • 116! The Bad Idea “Virus”

    What if we could cancel ideas without cancelling people?

    This week, Joey and Jess talk about cancel culture, “catching” bad ideas, conspiracy theories, helpful propaganda, Jess’s favorite story about languages, and dim sum. They don’t talk about which is better: the Portuguese egg tart or strawberry shortcake?

    references

    • The origin of the word “meme”
    • Richard Dawkins’ The Selfish Gene
    • Also Richard Dawkins’ essay “Viruses of the Mind” from Bo Dahlbom’s Dennett and His Critics: Demystifying Mind
    • Radiolab’s two-part deep dive into the ninja assassin of DNA sequencing: “Antibodies Part 1: CRISPR” and “Update: CRISPR”
    • A Critical Nonsense favorite: Greg Lukianoff and Jonathan Haidt’s The Coddling of the American Mind
    • The Guardian: “Portugal’s radical drugs policy is working. Why hasn’t the world copied it?”
    • Joey’s open letter to himself in McSweeney’s
    • Glutinous rice dumplings (Hom sui gok)
      • 38 min
    • 115! Revisiting Deep Work and Cinematic Universes

      How can we fix knowledge work? And what’s the deal with all these cinematic universes? [33:58]

      This week, Joey, Jess, and Aaron talk about fadoodling, hyperactive hive minds, Betamax and LaserDiscs, the initial conditions of a good universe, the MCU, and WandaVision. They don’t talk about how you can print money that smells like maple syrup.

      references

      • Our first conversation in May 2019 on Deep Work
      • Baz Luhrmann’s "Everybody's Free To Wear Sunscreen"
      • Cal Newport’s A World Without Email and Deep Work
      • The Ezra Klein Show: Stop. Breathe. We Can’t Keep Working Like This‪.‬
      • Why did LaserDiscs fail?
      • Edwin Abbott Abbott’s Flatland: A Romance of Many Dimensions
      • One of our old favorites: The Pixar (Universe) Theory
      • Peter Hamilton’s Pandora’s Star and the Commonwealth Saga series of science fiction novels
      • Why WandaVision’s Monica Rambeau is too powerful for Marvel movies
            • 47 min
          • 114! Rugged Individualism and Waffle Toppings

            How do we cure the disease of rugged individualism? And what wouldn’t you put on a waffle? [25:20]

            This week, Joey and Aaron talk about the American ideal of self-reliance, the story of Survivor Bias, how hard it is to be a man and ask for help, a framework to decide if something should/should not be a topping, "The Maple Syrup Standard", and Aaron's new waffle iron. They don't talk about the power ranking of breakfast foods: waffles, pancakes, french toast, anyone?

            references

            • Herbert Hoover and a primer on Rugged Individualism
            • The Over-the-Rhine Foundation in Cincinnati
            • NYTimes' Wirecutter: "The Best Waffle Maker"
            • (Corrections Department: "So it looks like it's technically not The Maple Syrup Standard... but..." - Joey) Quartz: "Canada's Strategic Maple Syrup Reserve and the Economics Behind it"
            • Aaron's waffle recommendations: find the Matt's near you and this other place to get waffles and Wafels & Dinges "where I found my waffle life in NYC" - Aaron
              • 41 min
            • 113! Black Futures Month and The Great Productivity Thaw

              How do we move Black History Month forward? And when will "sheltering in work" stop? [27:25]

              This week, Aaron and Joey talk about the inexplicably truncated history of Black people, Black in 2040, celebrating the great richness of Black-ness today, when jobs make us feel safe, all of our other tethers getting disrupted, and the thaw at work most companies won't see coming. They don't talk about the gaping hole missing a SYLVAIN shout during the credits.
              references
              • The origins of Black History Month
              • Aaron on Kindred's podcast talking about Heritage Months in the workplace
              • "Sheltering in Work," from LinkedIn Insights
              • Pew: on studying the effects of WFH
              • Glamour: "Revenge Bedtime Procrastination"
                • 50 min
              • 112! Cutie Corner: Real Talk and Mini Brands

                How does cuteness help broach real talk? And why we do think small things are so cute? [15:02]

                This week, Cutie Corner! Jess and Designer/Cutie-in-Chief, Nora Mestrich, invent a new segment about all things cute. This time, talking about Disney Pixar's Burrow, lite consumption, seeking "Deep Cute" vs "Superficially Cute", what exactly is a Mini Brand, *the* feta pasta, and knick knacking. They don't talk about the great Kinder Surprise choking controversy.

                references

                • Jess's Correction's Department for herself: "No idea why in my rush I implied people would know 'tapas' better than 'dim sum'. If you don't know what dim sum is, I know your next read or better yet, what you're ordering for brunch this weekend."
                • Disney Pixar's Burrow is only in full on Disney+, but if you haven't seen it, you can watch Hair Love in full right now.
                • Things you just need to see to believe: Polly Pockets, Mini Brands, Purl, and Funkos.
                • Rachel's Minis TikTok, or get your own Mini Brands?
                • The feta pasta recipe
                • Thanks to NPR's hard-hitting journalism: a hamster eats a tiny burrito.
                  37 min
                • 111! Your Purpose and UFO Sightings

                  How does purpose lead us astray? And when is it okay to talk about aliens? [24:22]

                  This week, Aaron and Joey and Jess talk about Disney Pixar's Soul, fridge magnets, the Princess Diaries Series of novels, the Drake Equation and other UFO/UAP talk, tranches, and the science behind wombats' cube-shaped poop. They don't talk about owls relate to any of this conversation.

                  references

                  • Elle: People react on Twitter to Soul
                  • Also, that Roger Ebert synopsis. But also, watch it!
                  • Quartz: "The Misappropriation of Corporate Purpose"
                  • Erik Erikson's Stages of Psychosocial Development
                  • '"The Princess Diaries" is a Meg Cabot literary classic—there are 10 in all, but at least read Book 1 through Jess's personal favorite, Book 3.
                  • SETI
                  • Lights in Charlotte and the blue light in Hawaii and some kinda something in LA
                  • Thanks science for explaining how wombats poop cubes
                    • 52 min
                  • 110! 5 Points on Gamestop and the "Stonks" Saga

                    What's so interesting about Gamestop and this whole "Stonks" saga?

                    This week, Joey with esteemed and Extremely Online special guests (Cultural Astrologer, Osei Kwakye and Dude-on-Reddit, Adam Hirschberg) talk about THE talk of the town [5:55], the unique opportunity of r/wallstreetbets [12:10], everyone's least favorite: the second wave [19:27], the demystifying power of pop culture [24:10], and the side-effects of stock gambling [30:28]. They don't talk about how the internet probably already thinks this conversation is passé.

                    references

                    • r/wallstreetbets and the story about DeepF–ingValue. And WSJ's interview with him. Did we mention this exchange from and then about Ja Rule?
                    • This joke
                    • CNN on the battle against the elite and WSJ with their take on what lead to the second wave
                    • Google Trends "short squeeze"
                    • NPR: The Eddie Murphy Rule
                      • 46 min
                    • 109! Wild Prognostications 2021!

                      What's to come in 2021?

                      This week, Wild Prognostications! Jess, Aaron, and Joey make their annual predictions (and explore the "Wilderness" around them): the plant-based schism [5:23], going back to the office [17:19], sit-down frozen breakfast innovation [29:28], the death (or not) of the fucc boi [38:32], the pop wellness holiday [47:15], and the fall of the Eurocentric design blueprint [58:57]. They don't talk about the correct way to eat popcorn—according to Jess, it involves chopsticks.

                      references

                      • Plant-based: at Dunkin, Impossible Foods news, and for more on "Lab Meat"...
                      • Office: BBC on the Great Remote Work Experiment
                      • Breakfast: NYTimes with proof of our collective Breakfast Rut, Jimmy Dean breakfast sandwiches, Savorly breakfast turnovers: the hot item at Costco, other freezer meals, and Jess's sister-in-law's pro-tip: bake-at-home croissants
                      • Fucc bois: Urban Dictionary's definition...
                      • Wellness: COVID's mental toll, Variety on a COVID 3rd wave's impact on media and entertainment,
                      • Design: MABEO furniture, Yinka Ilori, and Architectural Digest on Afrofuturism
                        • 1 hr 18 min
                      • 108! Geography of Innovation and People Watching

                        What's the future of unconventional innovation when geography is disrupted? And why is people watching so satisfying? [26:20]

                        Aaaaaand we're back! This week, Joey and Aaron and Jess talk about San José-sized places, people sharing knowledge, the crosswalk in Downtown Napa, mirror neurons,—A Classic Joey Camire Maneuver—the challenge with ethnography, and Lego Santas. They don't talk about how you can watch what people watch from the comfort of home.

                        references

                        • Berkes, Enrico and Gaetani, Ruben, "The Geography of Unconventional Innovation". July 19, 2019. Rotman School of Management Working Paper No. 3423143.
                        • Psychological Science: The Neuroscience of Empathy
                        • Psychology Today: The Expert's Guide to People Watching
                          • 54 min
                        • [Reruns] 88! Meme Metabolism and Internet (Speak) Speeds

                          Why does culture seem to move so quickly? And how do we keep up with the speed of internet speak? [24:44]

                          Given the events of this last week and getting back into the new year, one bonus week of reruns from the Nonsense Wellspring!

                          Again, Joey and special guests Steven Ebert and Nora Mestrich talk about all things speed: B-Boys, being "passé aggressive," being "extremely online," Nora's One Direction blog, and important initialisms. They don't talk about how Extremely Online Cakes now—for a limited time we don't fully know—has a specialty tshirt available on our Bonfire store.

                          references

                          • The Japanese Cake meme

                          • "Angry Baby" aka the Crazy Baby meme

                          • The Spaceman meme (more on it here), riffing on the pale-blue-dot moment.

                          • Calendar of Memes

                          • The "Yeet" vine Steven referenced

                          • Ben Thompson's Stratechery on "The TikTok War"

                          • "Damn Daniel"

                            52 min

                          About Critical Nonsense

                          From the publisher's feed

                          High-low brow conversations about anything and everything. Produced by SYLVAIN and hosted by Joey Camire, Aaron Powers, and Executive Producer/Nerd-Herder Jess Vander. SYLVAIN is a strategy and…