GeekNights Thursday

Tonight on GeekNights, we consider anti-intellectualism. In the news, Valve has new hardware including a new VR headset Rym is going to get, and you should learn about the 1981 Air Traffic Controller strike. We will be live at PAX Unplugged 2025!

• Anti-Intellectualism

• Anti-Intellectualism

• Anti-Intellectualism

• Rym - Jesus Didn't Have Long Hair....So Why does Jesus Have Long Hair?
• Scott - Using OSINT to track US military murders at sea

Tonight on GeekNights, we review (without spoilers) the third installment in the Knives Out Mysteries: Wake Up Dead Man. Benoit Blanc is a character for the ages, and it's worth seeing. In the news, Zohran Mamdani is the next mayor of New York and his victory speech is worth a watch. Democrats overwhelmingly vote to fight for democracy. Kodak quietly begins selling film again.

• Wake Up Dead Man (2025)

• Wake Up Dead Man (2025)

• Wake Up Dead Man (2025)

• Rym - Porcupine Screenwriting Tool
• Scott - HyperRogue

Tonight on GeekNights, we consider fancy restaurants. In the news, noted racist Terry Bollea has died at 71, Donald Trump is getting even more dangerously unhinged than usual, and the Canada World Junior assault case has ended.

Here is a list of every significant lecture or panel that Rym and Scott have ever done, going back to the year 2002.

• Fancy Restaurants

• Fancy Restaurants

• Fancy Restaurants

• Rym - Secret Train Station Apartments
• Scott - IAMMP Piano Roll Archive

Tonight on GeekNights, we consider the keeping of houseplants. In the news, the fascists are going after Harvard, but Harvard is fighting back in multiple ways. I recommend the free course "U.S. Public Policy: Social, Economic, and Foreign Policies." More interesting is the (not free) Public Leadership Credential. Long Island City finally has good bagels, and next week brings us a bunch of exiting nerd stuff including John Wick: Ballerina, The Phoenician Scheme, and Deltarune. Also Rym got a 1/4 scale Dig Dug machine.

• Houseplants

• Houseplants

• Houseplants

• Rym - Pizza
• Scott - Real Real Japan

Tonight on GeekNights, we consider the painting of minis, from Ral Partha to Ralidium. In the news, the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen (BLET) will likely (and justifiably) strike, here's a starting point if you are interested in the dynamics of a broader anti-fascist General Strike, and the Twitter AI is obsessed with defending South African white supremacists.

• Painting Miniatures

• Painting Miniatures

• Painting Miniatures

• Rym - The Violent World of Football Ultras
• Scott - KUNG FURY 2 FILTRADO!

Tonight on GeekNights, we talk about surgery. Warning: we talk about surgery. In the news, capitalism has destroyed Polygon and a federal judge has permanently blocked the Trump administration from deporting people to concentration camps using the archaic Alien Enemies Act of 1798, setting up an existential supreme court showdown.

• Surgery

• Surgery

• Surgery

• Rym - Stealing Power !!
• Scott - Joon Lee

Tonight on GeekNights, we consider the concept of retirement. I know what my plan is. In the news, James Bond is captured by an evil megacorporation, and supplements will destroy your liver.

• Retirement

• Retirement

• Retirement

• Rym - Tom's Diner (Cover)
• Scott - The 88x31 GIF Collection

Tonight on GeekNights, we talk about fear. Rym was on a panel about fear at PAX South back in 2016, plus a video essay. In the news, it turns out Santa Claus is a myroblyte, ChatGPT went down, Russia shot down another commercial airliner, and Finland seized a Russian sabotage tanker.

• Fear

• Fear

• Fear

• Rym - Caga Tió de Nadal
• Scott - What Happened to the World's Largest Tube TV?

Tonight on GeekNights, we talk about knives. Learn to use the right knife for the right task with the right technique in the kitchen, and your life will be better. Also learn how to care for them. In the news, the assassination of a health insurance CEO brought a deep simmering anger to the surface of American society, surprising many, and the Interstella 5555 "remaster" isn't.

• Knives

• Knives

• Knives

• Rym - Restored - Star Trek The Animated Series Public Service Ad
• Scott - Lord of the Maps

Tonight on GeekNights, we consider the humble tradition of carving pumpkins. You may recall in 2006 when we reviewed Pumpkin Scissors or our review of It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown, but we have never dedicated an entire episode to the carving of pumpkins.

In the news, tonight is the 19th anniversary of GeekNights. (The brave can listen to the remastered pre-launch beta episodes (with commentary)). Also jaywalking is no longer illegal in New York.

• Pumpkin Carving

• Pumpkin Carving

• Rym - Megilat Ḥam-Ed — the Scroll of the Steamed Portions of Cham
• Scott - What is the first American graphic novel?