Morgendorks: A Daria Podcast

Can't believe we're already at season four, but here goes: It's time to talk about "Partner's Complaint," this week on Morgendorks! When the rift between Daria and Jane—you know, the one we thought was smoothed over at the end of last season—drives them to partner up with other people for an economics project, our B-Plot Gang gets some much-needed airtime. Parts of this one are stunningly relevant even twenty years later, and it's worth checking out.

And for our cultural context this week, we spend some (nowhere near enough, because that podcast would never actually end) time talking about systemic racism—that rotten chunk of the societal bedrock designed specifically to make life harder and less prosperous for one entire section of the population.

If you're out there protesting, if you're contributing, if you're having the difficult conversations, if you're donating, if you're voting for people who will put an end to the bullshit: Thank you. Please keep the pressure on. <3

If you'd like to donate but aren't sure where to start, New York Magazine's got a list of 115 organizations that may or may not help. The Minneapolis-based organization Reclaim the Block also put together this Google Doc of places to donate.

Links:

UC Berkeley | Consumer-Lending Discrimination in the FinTech Era

Business Insider | This Chart Showing The Gap Between Black And White Life Expectancy Should Be A National Embarrassment

Ijeoma Oluo | So You Want to Talk About Race (Amazon)

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Email: [email protected]

Twitter: @morgendorks

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And just like that the curtain falls on Daria season three with "Jane's Addition," here on Morgendorks! When Daria, Jane, and Trent come together (kinda) to work (kinda) on a multimedia project (kinda)—and it coincides with a cute new guy monopolizing Jane's time—it begins to pull on the threads of Daria and Jane's friendship. Crushes will end! New crushes will begin! Rob will stun us with his complete inability to work with a German accent! All of this, and more!

And in our cultural context, we dive briefly into the ways in which the technological revolution of the late 90s impacted high school life. Plus: fan mail!

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Twitter: @morgendorks

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It's time to hit the high seas and hold an ill-fated casino night, here on Morgendorks! This week: "Just Add Water." When Ms. Li demands everybody attend the school's newest fundraising activity—a casino night aboard a luxury liner—it gives the entire Morgendorffer clan a brand spanking new setting for their litany of regular issues. But what's that on the horizon? AVAST! THE TRASH BARGE APPROACHETH.

Speaking of trash barges, we're going to dive into the absolutely insane and wonderful story of the Mobro 4000, a barge that just wanted a home for itself and its 3,100 tons of Long Island garbage—and went more than 6,000 miles in search of it, becoming the most-watched pile of garbage in human history. Yeah, it's wild.

Stay safe out there!

Links:

Quartz | How Often Do People Fall Overboard on Cruise Ships?

Vice | The Most Watched Load of Garbage in the Memory of Man

Newsday | Long Island's Infamous Garbage Barge of 1987 Still Influences Laws

Outpost Daria Reborn

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Email: [email protected]

Twitter: @morgendorks

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Are you ready to tackle the menace that is SPACE COMMUNISM? If you aren't, that's cool, because I don't think Lawndale is either. Time to talk about "The Lawndale File" on Morgendorks! When shady government types come to Lawndale High and talk about rooting out individuals acting suspiciously, paranoia grips the town. Are communists among us? What about aliens?! And why is Quinn suddenly dressing like she did back in "Quinn the Brain"?

All that, plus a dive into the anti-communist roots of science fiction in American media! ... woo!

Links:

Outpost Daria Reborn

Website: morgendorks.podbean.com

Patreon: patreon.com/morgendorks

Email: [email protected]

Twitter: @morgendorks

Facebook: fb.me/morgendorks.podcast

Time for another episode of Morgendorks! This week, we're talking about "Speedtrapped." When Jane and Mystic Spiral find themselves stuck in a dusty southwestern town's jail, Quinn and a newly licensed Daria are tasked with riding in to the rescue. It feels a whole lot like a plot you'd expect on a show with a slightly older cast—and also Lawndale is nowhere near the American southwest—but, hey, here we are.

And for our cultural context we dive just a little bit into some of the references this particular episode makes to the American southwest—and how such a unique region is covered by our popular media.

Also! Fan mail! Woo!

Stay healthy and safe, y'all.

Links:

Outpost Daria Reborn

Website: morgendorks.podbean.com

Patreon: patreon.com/morgendorks

Email: [email protected]

Twitter: @morgendorks

Facebook: fb.me/morgendorks.podcast

And so it was that on one of the last nights of The March that Wouldn't End, we entered into The Recording Session that Wouldn't End to talk about "Jake of Hearts," and things fell off the rails more than a few times. Podcast archaeologists who dig this episode up years and years from now will use it in their case studies to talk about the impact of global health crises and quarantines on the human psyche. There's also a fair amount of heart surgery discussion, soooo, uh, sorry about that.

We also try something a little different with this cultural context, wherein we discuss the popularity of radio with teens of the '90s and early '00s—and wonder hopelessly if it's still popular with the teens of today.

Thank you so much for listening, y'all. Please, please stay safe. Hopefully our silly little show brings you some much-needed fun in this wildly unpredictable time. <3

Links:

Dumbass DJ | TV Tropes

Radio survived the tape, CD, and iPod. In the age of Spotify, it's more popular than ever. | Quartz

Outpost Daria Reborn

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Email: [email protected]

Twitter: @morgendorks

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And fresh off a nearly one-month break (thanks so very much, car accidents and illness), we're back with "Lane Miserables," here on Morgendorks! When the surprisingly massive immediate Lane family all comes home at once, Jane and Trent find themselves without any room—so they end up living with the Morgendorffers. It's an odd duck of an episode. It also has some interesting things to say about parenting?

Speaking of which, in lieu of our cultural context we dig into Daria's (the show's, not the character's) take on parenting. Also, Rob talks about horses and The Matrix for a bit? I guess? Who knows what the hell that was about.

Also! Fan response! We talk about it! Y'all had a lot to say about where we ranked "Daria!," so we're diving into that a bit.

Thank you all so much for your patience as we dealt with multiple weeks of delays. We love you guys. Please stay safe, stay well, and do what you can to listen to health experts. This is going to be an absolutely insane couple of months, and we've all gotta be here for one another. <3

Links:

How a 19th-Century Photographer Made the First 'GIF' of a Galloping Horse | Smithsonian Magazine

Outpost Daria Reborn

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Email: [email protected]

Twitter: @morgendorks

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And so we come to the point that it seems so, so many shows came to in the late 90s and early 2000s: LET'S HAVE A MUSICAL! This week on Morgendorks, we're looking at "Daria!" When a hurricane threatens Lawndale, Daria and Jane have the deep misfortune to find themselves stuck on the Lawndale High roof. Will they survive? What will become of Lawndale? Who has the worst singing voice? Find out all of this, and more!

(It's Mack. Mack has the worst singing voice.)

We also dive a bit into the theory behind musicals, which is to say a lengthy discussion on diegesis. What does it mean? How is it applied to musicals? Why is it particularly important to television musicals?

Hoo, boy.

Links:

Passion of the Nerd | YouTube

Joel Schumacher's Phanton of the Opera: A Video Essay | Lindsay Ellis | YouTube

The 7th Heaven Musical is One of the Worst Episodes of TV Ever Made | The AV Club

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Twitter: @morgendorks

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Yo. Let's talk about nuts. It's time for "It Happened One Nut," here on Morgendorks! When a career aptitude test shakes some of Lawndale High's finest, Daria ends up getting a job alongside Kevin at the local mall's peanut distribution specialist, It's a Nutty Nutty Nutty World.

We also spend some time talking about Baby Nut, because how were we supposed to avoid that?

And for our cultural context, we dive into the nostalgic mystery of the dyed, bright-red pistachio. Why did we dye pistachios? And what does it have to do with the Iran Hostage Crisis? All this and more, this week on Morgendorks!

Links:

HuffPost | Remember Red Pistachios? Here's What Happened to Them | Alison Spiegel

NPR | Oh, Nuts! U.S. Pistachio Growers Worry About Competition from Iran | Ezra David Romero

University of California Agriculture and Natural Resources Fruit and Nut Research and Information Center | Pistachio Manual 2005

Pistachio Manual 2005 | The Pistachio Tree; Botany and Physiology and Factors that Affect Yield | Louise Ferguson, Vito Polito, Craig Kallsen

Pistachio Manual 2005 | Economic Considerations in Pistachio Production | Karen Klonsky, Steven C. Blank

Outpost Daria Reborn

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Email: [email protected]

Twitter: @morgendorks

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Some folks want to be forever young, some folks want to please those who want to be forever young, and some just want to be left alone. It's time for Morgendorks! This week, we're looking at "The Lost Girls." When Daria's unknowingly entered into and wins (naturally) an essay contest, she "gets" to spend a few days alongside Val, a prominent teen magazine magnate and pop culture ... eugh, I guess the word would be influencer? Holy cow.

For our cultural context, we take a bit of a dive into Jane Pratt—for whom Val is a thinly veiled stand-in—and the potentially insidious sway magazines had over teenage girls of the 90s and early 2000s.

Note: We're working on clearing up some of this remaining audio issues. Apologies for the random dips in quality.

Links:

The Cut | Jane Pratt's Perpetual Adolescence: Why She's Still Talking Teen Three Decades After Sassy | Carl Swanson

Kaiser Family Foundation | Kids & Media @ The New Millennium

Kaiser Family Foundation | Tweens, Teens, and Magazines

Nancy Signorielli | Reflections of Girls in the Media: A Content Analysis

Outpost Daria Reborn

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Patreon: patreon.com/morgendorks

Email: [email protected]

Twitter: @morgendorks

Facebook: fb.me/morgendorks.podcast