As we find ourselves in the midst of the holiday season, we discuss the prevalence of Christmas-related deaths, what Avatar: The Way of Water can tell us about transmedia’s potential, and some historical murders and mysteries that have been solved!

[0:00] CoRri tells Mark why his probability of dying shoots up around the holidays
[22:14] We’ve got a new book club calendar up, Mark is doing a two part Ko-Fi Snack, and we get into. a long, Avatar-inspired discussion of the possibilities of transmedia storytelling
[48:00] What we watched!
[62:00] We talk about mysteries and cold cases that have been solved at long last!

We’re not usually a current events pod, but it’s been quite a week between the rapid shutdown of Britain’s major industries, Elon Musk’s continous spiral into fascism, and Mark’s march toward death (aka his birthday). So it’s time for a little State of the Dystopia chat!

[0:00] Mark tells CoRri about a mysterious maybe murder

[17:18] We chat about active imaginations and nightmares, Mark’s birthday, aging, and some surprising “facts” about time

[40:35] What we watched! With a LOT of side discussions.

[80:04] We’ve got a lot of anxiety about the breakdowns of our societies.

We’re coming in hot with a discussion of one of society’s greatest taboos: Inbreeding! Plus, we share some cultural exchange, our watches this week cause us to think some deep thoughts about humanity, and we discuss a few cases of extremely long term kidnapping.

[0:00] CoRri explains the science of human inbreeding… and why it might be less of a problem than we think? Hey, don’t shoot the messenger.
[29:16] We discuss Montell Jordan, pop music, an unusual brotherly Christmas tradition in the Lewis household, a ranking of Russells and other such pressing business
[53:00] What we watched!
[81:13] We talk about a few cases of kidnapping that went on a really long time

This week Mark returns to his favorite topic: The brain! (The brain, the center of the chain!) And then on the advice of his son Owen, we talk about times that people have died on the field while playing sports. Or sport, if you’re British.

[0:00] Mark tells CoRri some stories about the resilience of the human brain
[18:30] We talk about the darkness of winter, the lightness in CoRri’s soul, and how Mark is reframing his sleep struggles
[0:00] Mark tells CoRri some stories about the resilience of the human brain
[18:30] We talk about the darkness of winter, the lightness in CoRri’s soul, and how Mark is reframing his sleep struggles
[31:39] CoRri corrects a mistake she made about lead in water last week. Also, if you want Christmas JoAG mail, make sure you sign up on our Ko-Fi at the Great Bunch of Lads level!
[37:50] What we watched! A lot going on in this one! There is much to recommend!
[69:30] We talk about times people have died while playing sports
[100:18] We discuss the divisive Tik Tok favorite film Skinamarink!

We’ve got existential dread up to our ears this week! We talk about the ways in which lead may have destroyed generations of brains, climate and covid anxiety, stupid deaths, and the things that caused our nightmares growing up.

[0:00] CoRri explains the lead-crime hypothesis to Mark
[24:49] We chat about our current climate catastrophe anxiety
[29:00] Mark has COVID again and CoRri wants to know why so many people just keep passing it around; we discuss whether CoRri has any criminality in her; and CoRri has a dumb cultural exchange question
[49:20] It’s time for listener shoutouts! Mark gives all of our Ko-Fi supporters a story about a stupid death
[73:20] What we watched!
[96:00] We discuss strange and pervasive fears we’ve had throughout our lives

We had our first Comic-Con panel experience… and our first experience getting the boot for being too spicy! We talk about our grand day out in Birmingham before delving into the question of whether horror is good for children.

[0:00] We recap our experiences at MCM Comic-Con Birmingham

[20:00] We talk a little about CoRri’s whirlwing trip to England before diving into what we watched!

[31:50] Skip this quick section to avoid a Cabinet of Curiosities spoiler

[35:30] End spoiler

[] We discuss whether horror is, in fact, good for kids

If you live in a big city, you probably pass dozens of people every day hauling their luggage down the sidewalks and subway platforms. But have you ever stopped to wonder if there’s something more sinister in those valises than t-shirts and spare underwear?

[0:00] Mark tells CoRri about the science of decomposition

[16:50] In his own weird way, Mark offers some inspiration, and we talk about our “floating door” getting us through life.

[21:40] Cultural exchange time! We discuss the 5th of November celebrations in the UK, and CoRri talks about her road trip through the South.

[44:00] Should we delete Twitter?

[60:00] What we watched!

[93:00] We discuss people caught on CCTV carting corpses in suitcases

Nothing says Halloween like good old fashioned ghosts! This week we’re diving into the world of ghost hunting. Is there science to back up the existence of ghosts? Listen and find out!

[0:00] CoRri tells Mark why, if there were a hell, Ed and Lorraine Warren would most certainly be there
[29:43] We discuss how a demon would get into Mark and learn a little more about Welsh Halloween in the ’80s
[46:48] What we watched! (If the discussion of Barbarian sounds choppy, it’s because we spoiled the shit out of it and I had to cut it out. Sorry!)
[65:00] We get into discussing the science of ghosts and ghost hunting

It’s back to the gruesome twosome this week after back to back episodes with excellent guests. In this episode, we discuss an intense story of survival in the Peruvian rainforest, check-in with a little JoAG therapy, and lay out some of our essential viewing and traditions for the Halloween season.

[0:00] CoRri tells Mark the story of super badass German teenager Juliane Koepcke, who survived a plane crash and ten days solo in the Peruvian rainforest
[18:42] Mark joins QAnon?
[31:34] Our minds and bodies are broken
[40:30] Our con day is sold out and Snack of All Graves is coming on Monday so make sure you subscribe to hear it!
[42:05] Our no-spoiler thoughts on Halloween Ends and Terrifier 2
[55:35] We chat about our favorite Halloween season movies and traditions

This week we have the absolute pleasure of having Chris Porritt from the Helix Cloud Games network of podcasts with us to talk about the world of horror games and why they’re such fertile ground for innovation.

[0:00] Mark tells the story of a man and his unlicensed zoo
[16:49] We introduce our guest Chris Porritt, what tf cloud gaming is, and why Google is so good at killing stuff
[40:44] We announce our MCM Comic-Con Birmingham panel and other such JoAG business! Get your ticket and come see us do our first live appearance on Saturday, November 12th, 2022 at 3:10pm on the Live Stage!
[48:00] We talk about Deadstream and some of the movies that scarred Chris
[58:50] We discuss horror games!