Gobbledygeek

Anti-immigrant sentiment. Militarized police. Fascist leadership. A Britain with closed borders. No, this isn't our world circa 2017; it's the 2027 of Alfonso Cuarón's 2006 sci-fi masterpiece Children of Men. A world rocked by mass infertility and faced with humanity's impending extinction has led down a path of violent extremism, one you and I may be traveling as we speak. Paul and Arlo discuss the film's terrifying relevance, its rightful ascendance to modern classic status, those insane tracking shots, and, you know, white male privilege. Plus, Paul promised Arlo he would watch Park Chan-wook's The Handmaiden, and by god that's a promise he kept.

Next: three years after their self-titled debut, the Guardians of the Galaxy are about to drop Vol. 2, and you're invited to the listening party.

Slip on your shiniest boots of leather and grab those whips, it's Four-Color Flashback time! Professional Grendel podcaster Chance Mazzia joins Paul and Arlo for their year-long exploration of Brian K. Vaughan and Pia Guerra's Y: The Last Man for Vol. 4: Safeword, wherein things get a little kinky. When the gang stops at a remote cabin in the woods (never a good sign), Yorick is in for a femdom fiesta complete with chains, ropes, and soul-searching. The boys discuss how the series subverts conventional ideas of masculinity; what Yorick's sexual history tells us about him; and how the story functions in a post-9/11, circa Trump world. Plus, Chance wants you to know The Name of the Wind, and Arlo furthers the kink with Park Chan-Wook's The Handmaiden.

Next: it's been more than a decade since Alfonso Cuarón's Children of Men hit theaters. Paul and Arlo examine how the film's dark and despairing future reflects our dark and despairing present.

This week, a podcast about a podcast. Of course, S-Town is no ordinary podcast; from the producers of This American Life and Serial, it's a coherent piece of documentary art unto itself. Reporter Brian Reed had little idea what he was getting himself into when John B. McLemore of Shittown (née Woodstock), Alabama, emailed him about a possible murder cover-up. Likewise, the listener who presses play on the first episode of S-Town has no idea of the journey they're about to take, one that is about time, empathy, compassion. Joining Paul and Arlo to suss out some of this journey's meaning is Paul's better half, Pam Smith, herself a lifelong Alabamian. The gang discusses how S-Town resonates with them, whether or not it's too invasive, why it should be mandatory listening, and Paul and Pam's trip to Woodstock. Plus, Pam plays some calming video games (Abzu, Flow, Journey, and Flower), while Arlo's other half finally gets him to play The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time; and we have movie sign as Paul heckles Netflix's Mystery Science Theater 3000 revival.

Next: Gobbledypal Chance Mazzia stops by for more Four-Color Flashback fun. This time, he's here for Brian K. Vaughan and Pia Guerra's Y: The Last Man. He'll help Paul and Arlo tackle Vol. 4: Safeword.

Aliens dripping their acidic psychosexual horrors all over you. Artificial intelligence becoming real, seeing and hearing and controlling all you do. Your friends' flesh peeling back to reveal their true inhuman visage. These are the nightmares conjured by such sci-fi horror classics as Alien, The Terminator, and The Thing, but you may not have seen their likes in recent years. Blumhouse and Birth. Movies. Death. writer Jess Hicks joins Paul and Arlo to ask, "Where have all the good sci-fi horror movies gone?" The gang discusses why the genre reached its apex in the '80s; why it's so much more difficult to produce (or even conceptualize of) good sci-fi horror these days; and how TV may be picking up the slack. In the middle of all this, technology literally revolts against our hosts. Plus, Paul and Arlo come from the land of the ice and snow to geek out over the giddy Thor: Ragnarok teaser.

Next: a podcast about a podcast. Paul's better half, Pam Smith, joins the boys to discuss the beautiful, stunning S-Town.

This week, Paul and Arlo turn on and tune into the wonders and terrors of the superhuman mind by taking a gander at the first season of Legion. The FX series, developed by Fargo's Noah Hawley and theoretically set in the X-Men universe, is unlike most other superheroic media. David Haller is either schizophrenic, an extremely powerful telepathic/telekinetic mutant, or both. Witnessed through his eyes, the world is fractured, bizarre, disturbing, and a tad surreal. As such, the typical X-Men plot--David is rescued from a mutant-hunting government organization known as D3 by a group of rebels with a Magneto-esque leader--is given a swift kick in the pants. The boys discuss this inventive telling of a simple story, the show's many visual flourishes, why it's a powerful exploration of mental health, and Aubrey Plaza's revelatory turn as a 50-year-old man. Plus, a surprise Rick and Morty pre-empts Samurai Jack, overjoying one of our hosts and causing considerable frustration in the other; and the boys rave about the fifth season of another brilliant FX drama, The Americans.

Next: film critic and horror expert Jess Byard joins Paul and Arlo to ask, "Where has all the good sci-fi horror gone?"

Hallelujah, it's raining men! As Yorick Brown discovers he may not be the last man in the universe thanks to a space shuttle carrying two others, Paul and Arlo invite Kenn Edwards to join them on their year-long Four-Color Flashback discussion of Brian K. Vaughan and Pia Guerra's Y: The Last Man. With Vol. 3: One Small Step, the gang discusses the book's self-referential devices, the prominence of fiction as a theme, and how Yorick's progression from boy to man is coming along. There's also talk of guest artist Paul Chadwick, who fills in for Guerra on the two-issue departure "Comedy & Tragedy"; depending on who you ask, the story is either a Gaiman-esque delight or the height of masturbatory self-indulgence. Fun times! Plus, Arlo and Kenn discuss Dave Chappelle's new Netflix specials, Jerrod Carmichael's 8, and, you know, the role of comedy in modern society. Meanwhile, Paul twiddles his thumbs.

Next: throw out your meds, drop the needle on The Dark Side of the Moon, and get ready for a discussion of Noah Hawley's brain-breaking FX/Marvel TV series Legion.

If only these walls could talk, the secrets they could tell. Among them: murder, betrayal, lies, infidelity, and how in the hell Tommy Wiseau made a movie. It's time for another Geek Challenge, and Arlo has seized the opportunity to finally force Paul into watching Wiseau's 2003 cult classic The Room. In turn, Paul has challenged Arlo to Sidney Lumet's much more dignified 1982 crime comedy Deathtrap. The boys discuss the advantages of stage over screen, and vice versa; questionable acting, be it Dyan Cannon or Greg Sestero; homoerotic subtext (or maybe it's just text); and, yet again, Arlo's fascination with epically bad filmmaking. Plus, Paul got his ears blown out by the Alabama Symphony's Led Zeppelin.

Next: Kenn Edwards joins Paul and Arlo for the next installment of their year-long Four-Color Flashback discussion of Brian K. Vaughan and Pia Guerra's Y: The Last Man. This time, the gang will talk Vol. 3: One Small Step.

People get old. Claws get rusty. Movie franchises get tired. After 17 years of real-world time and 150+ fictional years, the time has come for James "Logan" Howlett AKA Wolverine to take a bow. In Logan, the final film featuring Hugh Jackman in his iconic star-making role, we're introduced to a near-future bereft of mutants and full of sorrow. Logan's mind is a potent cocktail of regret, pain, and futility. When a young girl named Laura throws him back into action, he takes the nonagenarian Professor X on the road for one last adventure. Though "adventure" is not a word one would use to describe this brutal, melancholy film, about as far in tone as you could get from any of the nine previous installments in the X-Men series. Paul and Arlo discuss the film's worthiness as a swan song for Canada's most violent citizen, how it fits perfectly alongside Cop Land in director James Mangold's canon, whether or not the very R-rated violence is gratuitous, and if in a perfect world this should be the end of the X-Men's silver screen career.

Next: Paul and Arlo will be subjecting each other to yet another Geek Challenge. Paul must finally watch Tommy Wiseau's infamous 2003 cult classic The Room, while Arlo is tasked with Sidney Lumet's 1982 crime comedy Deathtrap.

Bringing a much-needed feminist perspective to a story about a man surrounded on all sides by women, Jeff Bridges poet Donora Rihn joins Paul and Arlo for their year-long Four-Color Flashback exploration of Brian K. Vaughan and Pia Guerra's acclaimed Vertigo comic book series Y: The Last Man. This time, the gang discusses Vol. 2: Cycles, which collects issues #6-10 of the original series. Donora asks Paul and Arlo how they perceive the book as men, and if they think it shows Yorick growing into his role as the last man on Earth; in turn, Paul and Arlo ask Donora if she finds Vaughan's narrative voice to be overwhelmingly male and if it fairly represents its many female characters. In between, Arlo can't stop recommending things to comics newbie Donora, there is yet more praise of Guerra's clean and beautiful artwork, and there are select readings from Valeria Solanas' SCUM Manifesto. Plus, Donora has a new name and the gang remembers the late great Bill Paxton.

Next: after a week off for another of Arlo's poop cruises, the boys sharpen their claws to discuss the final Wolverine film, Logan.

Just in time for everyone's distrust in government to be at an all-time high, Wesley "Wezzo" Mead joins Paul and Arlo once again to discuss Chris Carter's seminal sci-fi series The X-Files. This time, the gang sets their sights on season 4, and opinion seems to be divided on just how well the season holds together. Is this where the mythology stuff starts to really go off the rails? Does Scully's cancer make for a compelling dramatic throughline? And most importantly of all, is there an obvious heir to Darin Morgan's throne (a couple suggestions are thrown out)? Plus, Wezzo laments the progression of Brexit, while Paul and Arlo sift through the Trump Administration's mounting atrocities; and on a happier, sillier note, the gang has a blast with The Lego Batman Movie.

Next: this year's Four-Color Flashback exploration of Brian K. Vaughan and Pia Guerra's Y: The Last Man continues. Jeff Bridges poet Donora Rihn joins Paul and Arlo to discuss Vol. 2: Cycles.