Longtime listeners will get that particular feeling in the pit of their stomach when they hear Nate start talking about life in a particularly bleak way -- you know, the "make that heartbeat count because we're all going to die" kind of way. Brian has named this manifestation of his podcast co-host "Black Pill Nate." For today's episode, Black Pill Nate goes on a rampage against those who desperately hope for excellence of output while inputting mediocrity. There are a million ways to drive off the road, and only one way to stay on it -- and this applies to film, art, creativity, work, and everything in between. Mediocrity of input, Nate says, may be the reason we have "Wicked" dominating the box office, and why Severance season 2 may fail, and (contrarily) why Silo season 2 is currently succeeding (with filters, people!). The flip side of this is that there is also a very exclusive fraternity of excellence. If that doesn't make sense to you yet, keep repeating "mediocrity of input doesn't deserve excellence of output" every night until you fall asleep.