NO SUCH THING

On this episode, we discuss the fatigue people have been feeling around franchise movies, particularly the Marvel Cinematic Universe. But where did franchise movies come from, and how did virtually all of Hollywood become so fixated on this kind of film? Walt Hickey, author of You Are What You Watch: How Movies and TV Affect Everything, walks us through the weeds on this, and gets to the bottom of our questions. Walt is also the author of Numlock News.

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NO SUCH THING is a production of Kaleidoscope Content, executive produced by Kate Osborn and Mangesh Hattikudur.

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Today’s episode was inspired by Susan Dominus’ new book “The Family Dynamic.” The book profiles six families with multiple successful siblings and analyzes the factors that have contributed to their success. 

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There’s a wild stat that’s floated around basketball circles for a long time: A 7-foot (or taller) American man has a 17% likelihood of being an NBA player. Are there hundreds of Victor Wembanyamas and Yao Mings walking among us? This week, we try to find out if this statistic holds true, and along the way we learn how extremely rare it is to be so tall, why the number of seven-footers in the league saw a dip, and… the case for socialized medicine? 

Our guests this week are Barry Bogin, Björn Quanjer, Guillaume Lettre, Stereogum’s Tom Breihan, and The F5’s Owen Phillips.

Check out Owen’s basketball newsletter, The F5: https://thef5.substack.com/ 

Tom Breihan, “On Being a Giant” & his book: The Number Ones

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Or leave a voicemail: ‪(860) 325-0286‬

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Many of you called our hotline and sent emails seeking our advice, and we are here to help. From party invitation etiquette, to a coupon fiasco straight out of a Curb Your Enthusiasm episode, the boys give their takes and dole out some help.

And for more, check out our newsletter at www.nosuchthing.show. If you have a question you want us to answer or want to be featured in our next advice episode, email us at [email protected] or give us a call at (860) 325-0286‬.

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It’s not just nostalgia or low-res photos—there may actually be biological and cultural reasons why people in the past looked so old. To get to the bottom of it, I spoke with Dr. Caroline Hudson, a facial plastic surgeon based in Chicago and co-author of Analysis and Assessment of Facial Aging. 

To see the images we reference, check out our newsletter at www.nosuchthing.show. Want advice from Manny, Noah, and Devan? Leave a message at (860) 325-0286‬ or email us at [email protected].

Like this episode? Check out Why does Dasani water taste like that?

Follow Dr. Caroline Hudson on Instagram. Original music for this episode produced by Zeno Pittarelli.

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Some conspiracy theories are fun, but many end up being dark and concerning. When someone is in too deep, what would it take to pull them out of the rabbit hole? Journalist Zach Mack ventured to find out in his show, Alternate Realities over at NPR, and on today's episode, he debriefs us.

Listen to Zach's show Alternate Realities on Apple Podcasts or Spotify.

And for more, check out our newsletter at www.nosuchthing.show. If you have a question you want us to answer, email us at [email protected].

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Our whole lives, we’ve been told the pullout or withdrawal method is not a legitimate form of birth control and a fast-track way to becoming a parent. Some have even referred to it as the pull-and-pray method.

But reproductive health researcher Andréa Becker makes the argument that the pullout method “is not the enemy of public health it’s been made out to be” if done correctly. 

Pre-order Andréa’s book Get It Out: On the Politics of Hysterectomy.

For more, check out our newsletter at www.nosuchthing.show, and if you have an argument you want us to settle, email us at [email protected].

Like this episode? Check out Episode 3: Why are slurs making a comeback?

Original music for this episode produced by Zeno Pittarelli.

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Most people have experienced the creepy feeling of getting ads that feel a little bit too targeted, for products they haven’t ever searched for but have maybe talked about IRL. With Amazon announcing a rollback on privacy protections, and the Trump administration ramping up mass surveillance as a scare tactic, it might be time to take stock of what privacy even means anymore. With some help from Andrew Couts, senior editor of security and investigations at WIRED, we get a clear-eyed view of how voice-assisted tech actually works, and why you should care. 

 

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Today’s episode is about RFK Jr., a man who has a completely baffling political trajectory. How does a guy go from “champion of the environment” to joining the most anti-environment administration ever? Thanks to our guest, Derek Beres, that pipeline becomes much clearer, as RFK Jr’s worldview has a lot of overlap with science that is at best, shoddy, and at worst, straight up disinformation.

For more, check out our newsletter at www.nosuchthing.show, and if you have an argument you want us to settle, email us at [email protected].

Original music for this episode produced by Zeno Pittarelli

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We just got back from a little weekend trip, which got us thinking once again about how confusing and terrible it is to deal with the TSA. Despite all their yelling—the TSA does not make it clear about what you can or cannot bring on a plane, or what items you actually have to take out of your bag. So I spoke with Darryl Campbell, an aviation safety writer for The Verge and author of Fatal Abstraction, who did a deep dive on The Humiliating History of the TSA.

For more, check out our newsletter at www.nosuchthing.show, and if you have an argument you want us to settle, email us at [email protected].

Original music for this episode produced by Zeno Pittarelli!

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