Midday Movies

Today we’re discussing our favorite horror motifs from films, television, and games (shoutout to The Recap Rewatch for inspiring a “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” rewatch). Whether it’s Ariana Grande wanting to have dinner with Jeffrey Dahmer or Stephen getting spooky with the forest-cabin settings of “Evil Dead” and “Until Dawn,” every horror fan wants their spine tingled. What’s YOUR favorite type of horror? And what does horror allow us to imagine that other genres don’t? Prepare for Summerween with us as we dissect horror themes and have a scream. Join us!

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Today we’re digging into some of the top-rated games on user-generated indie game platform Itch.io. Games include “Night of the Consumer,” “Crawler,” “Baby Blues Nightmare,” and more. We discuss the unique game mechanics and themes that indie developers can offer a player that AAA games cannot (due to profit incentive). Whether it’s horror elements or unusual player-insert characters, there’s a world of indie brilliance in the game development space. Join us as we celebrate these small creators and their singular visions on this episode of top itch.io indie games!

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Today we’re sharing some of the “150 Best Questions To Ask On A First Date, According to Relationship Experts” (Women’s Health Magazine, 2024). With insights from Lisa Marie Bobby, PhD., Tara Suwinyattichaiporn, PhD., and Courtney Tracy, LCSW, PsyD, this list provides listeners with some conversational prompts that serve to invite deeper connections and more interesting conversations. Sharing some of our answers to probing questions and priming any potential daters, this list of first date questions is a ready tool for improving a sometimes awkward first romantic meeting and sometimes it’s just plain old fun. Join us as we delve into the shallow end of the relationship pool and demonstrate how to establish rapport!

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Today we’re discussing Cal Newport’s book, “Digital Minimalism: Choosing a Focused Life in a Noisy World” and how a reduction in device use might just better our lives. Stephen shares his insights as a recent reader of the self-development / digital discipline book and Laura shares findings from behavioral science studies that reveal clues as to why digital life is so addicting. The goal is increased focus and in Cal Newport’s book he gives his characteristic non-nonsense advice for the modern internet user. Join us!

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Today we’re reviewing the premiere episode of the much-awaited GoT prequel, “House of the Dragon.” Emma D’Arcy, Olivia Cooke, Matt Smith, and Rhys Ifans reprise their roles as the adult members of the Targaryen and Hightower clans, who last season were poised to clash in civil war. Despite the two year delay between seasons, viewers occupy the immediate aftermath of King Viserys’ death and the succession crisis it creates. Now the children of these two families (the Greens and the Blacks, as fans colloquially know them) exercise an outsized impact on events, and we watch as clashing egos, heartbreaks, and vendettas sleepwalk King’s Landing toward catastrophe. Join us for discussion and analysis of season 2 of HBO MAX’s “House of the Dragon.”

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Today we’re discussing the 2024 sequel to Pixar’s 2015 classic, “Inside Out.” Amy Poehler reprises her role as “Joy,” main character Riley’s primary emotion. Joining the cast is Maya Hawke as “Anxiety,” one of Riley’s new pubescent emotions. In this film, our main character is now 13, going through puberty, leaving middle school, and navigating increasingly complex emotional landscapes. Joy, Anger, Fear, Disgust, and Sadness are now joined by Anxiety, Ennui, Envy, and Embarrassment in Riley’s emotional headquarters. We discuss the neuroscience behind the film’s story and relate Riley’s experience of emotion to universal human experiences. Join us for a review and learning session as we muse about “Inside Out 2.”

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Today we’re discussing the internationally popular young adult contemporary romance series, “Maxton Hall: the World Between Us” (streaming on Prime Video). Inspired by the Mona Kasten novel, “Save Me” and starring Harriet Herbig-Matten and Damien Hardung as socioeconomically- and ideologically-opposed students at the elite preparatory school Maxton Hall, viewers are gifted an enemies-to-lovers narrative with rich-versus-poor stakes. Competently constructed and enjoyable, this series is indicative of the larger movement in media to share women’s stories and focus on female gaze narratives that were absent from the zeitgeist just 30 years ago. We discuss the series and what the series means for a shifting media landscape that serves up more to femme demographics than could have been imagined even one generation earlier. Join us!

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Today we’re discussing indie zombie survival horror game, “Project Zomboid” (produced and published by The Indie Stone). Originally built as a Sims mod, this hardcore-difficulty game presents its players with 4 available Kentucky environments in which to attempt survival, using more than a dozen player-character types, and personalizing your playthrough further with good and bad traits. Designed to be unwinnable, Project Zomboid challenges players to test their “zombie apocalypse” strategies against impossible odds. How long could you survive? Who’s on your zombie apocalypse team? And what strip of Kentucky state would be best for post apocalypse survival? Available on Steam and beloved by thousands, join us for a survivalism discussion on indie game “Project Zomboid.”

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Today we’re discussing the iconic video game series, “The Sims,” where players can simulate buckets of lives and lifestyles in a charming, funny, simulated world peopled with NPC characters, fantasy monsters, and magical environments. This game contains resource and emotional management mechanics as well as commercial actions that players use to advance in the game (and maybe to reflect real physical and emotional systems). What is a game? And what can this game teach you about living a better life? Can a simulation serve as practice for navigating your own reality? And who are you when you play a game where you can be anyone or do anything without consequences? We’ll share how we play the game, how popular streamers play, and what different play styles may communicate about your inner world. Join us!

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Today we’re talking about the new HBO Max docuseries, “Ren Faire,” which depicts the King Lear / Succession-esque drama at America’s largest renaissance faire, the Texas Renaissance Festival. Directed by Lance Oppenheimer, we follow the founder/mayor/ “king” of this Renaissance Festival town, named George Coulam, who is preparing to retire to focus on finding a romantic partner. His retirement opens up the highest position at the country’s most profitable festival, and three employees are eyeing the throne. The king’s potential successors include a longtime employer-actor, a former elephant trainer, and a family-financed kettle-corn kingpin. Unusual personalities, high ambitions, and this unique subculture coalesce to create an unforgettable, evocatively-filmed documentary experience. Join us!

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