Overthinking It Podcast

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Overthinking It Podcast episodes

August 26, 2024Episode 842: General Minion Intelligence
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Matt Belinkie, Mark Lee, and Peter Fenzel overthink those despicable Minions. Are they evil because they serve evil, or are they antibodies of a moral universe, because they undermine the evil they serve? What does it mean to be despicable? What fictional characters have made such an impact that we will still see them everywhere in 100 years? And why will the minions gradually conquer all AI training data to dominate future superintelligence?
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Further Reading
“Minionpalooza: The Rise of Minion Culture” on Polygon
“How Not Enforcing It’s IP, Universal Made The Minions Ubiquitous and Beloved” on Techdirt
“TikTok’s Crucified Minion Meme, Explained” on Forbes
“Funny Minions Best Comedy Songs” on Spotify
Yogi Bear Parody: “Booboo Kills Yogi: ending
Episode 842: General Minion Intelligence originally appeared on Overthinking It, the site subjecting the popular culture to a level of scrutiny it probably doesn't deserve. [Latest Posts | Podcast (iTunes Link)]
1 hr 9 min
August 19, 2024Episode 841: It Feels Like They Sent the Right Person
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Matthew Belinkie, Peter Fenzel, and Mark Lee confront the demons to overthink DOOM. They discuss the risks and successes of the dawn of 3D gaming, the pump-action panache of the DOOM guy and DOOM shotgun, and how and why we never feel fatigued or insulted by a DOOM re-release. Plus bonus discussion of its four-letter capitalized companion: MYST.
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Further Reading
DOOM + DOOM II Steam Store Page
“The Pump Action Shotgun: The Sound and the Fury“: old Overthinking Article that touches on the appeal of the DOOM shotgun.
Episode 841: It Feels Like They Sent the Right Person originally appeared on Overthinking It, the site subjecting the popular culture to a level of scrutiny it probably doesn't deserve. [Latest Posts | Podcast (iTunes Link)]
55 min
August 12, 2024Episode 840: The Snoopification of the Olympics
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Matthew Belinkie, Peter Fenzel, Mark Lee, and Matthew Wrather overthink the games of the XXXIII Olympiad in Paris, France. They discuss the opening ceremony, the fractured media landscape which has them consuming the games in various ways, and the tiers of sports you can relate to and can’t.
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Further Reading
“What Makes the Shot Put Go Far?” (Track and Field Coach)
The Madwoman in the Attic
Between Men: English Literature and Male Homosocial Desire
Episode 840: The Snoopification of the Olympics originally appeared on Overthinking It, the site subjecting the popular culture to a level of scrutiny it probably doesn't deserve. [Latest Posts | Podcast (iTunes Link)]
1 hr 13 min
August 05, 2024Episode 839: A Star Trek Solution to a Throuples Therapy Problem
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Peter Fenzel, Mark Lee, and Matthew Wrather overthink Deadpool & Wolverine, starting with a provocative (G-rated!) question, and continuing through
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Further Reading
“The Spectacular Failure of the Star Wars Hotel” (Jenny Nicholson on YouTube)
Episode 839: A Star Trek Solution to a Throuples Therapy Problem originally appeared on Overthinking It, the site subjecting the popular culture to a level of scrutiny it probably doesn't deserve. [Latest Posts | Podcast (iTunes Link)]
1 hr 8 min
July 29, 2024Episode 838: Brat Summer’s Lease Hath All Too Short a Date
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Middle-aged podcasters Peter Fenzel, Mark Lee, and Matthew Wrather investigate the “Kamala is Brat” meme and discover that it is actually a record album, such as you can play on a phonograph. They investigate Charli XCX’s BRAT, discussing its style and sound, its lyrical concern, its cultural connections, and the function of “brat” as a way of being in the world.
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Further Reading
BRAT on Genius
“Reload! A History of The Rewind” (DJ Tech Tools)
Essex on Wikipedia
Episode 838: Brat Summer’s Lease Hath All Too Short a Date originally appeared on Overthinking It, the site subjecting the popular culture to a level of scrutiny it probably doesn't deserve. [Latest Posts | Podcast (iTunes Link)]
1 hr 2 min
July 22, 2024 Episode 837: The Days are Long; The Years are Short; The Decades are Meaningless
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Peter Fenzel, Mark Lee, and Matthew Wrather overthink Matt’s recent baby shower, and settle on the theme of baby stuff (or “stuffs”) as a peculiar and unique entry in the poetry of stuffs that makes up one’s life.
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Episode 837: The Days are Long; The Years are Short; The Decades are Meaningless originally appeared on Overthinking It, the site subjecting the popular culture to a level of scrutiny it probably doesn't deserve. [Latest Posts | Podcast (iTunes Link)]
1 hr 3 min
July 15, 2024Episode 836: Blood and Milk
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Peter Fenzel, Mark Lee, and Matthew Wrather overthink Jerry Seinfeld’s Unfrosted, a parodic film about the 1960s in America (and, incidentally about the invention of the Pop Tart). But they don’t tuck in before they’ve had breakfaast—in a nostalgic prolegomenon (inspired by the film’s nostalgia) they discuss their feelings about breakfast and how kids interact with breakfast before getting to the film’s (something less than trenchant) poking fun at mid-century corporate culture, the space race, and (awkwardly) January 6.
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Further Reading
Jack LaLanne (Wikipedia)
Episode 836: Blood and Milk originally appeared on Overthinking It, the site subjecting the popular culture to a level of scrutiny it probably doesn't deserve. [Latest Posts | Podcast (iTunes Link)]
1 hr 12 min
July 08, 2024Episode 835: Dick Wolf Comes Westward, Like the Course of Empire
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Peter Fenzel and Matthew Wrather overthink Beverly Hills Copy: Axel F., discussing its undeserved critical reception (at least by the New York Times), its bemusing but unexpectedly resonant first sequence, the role of accountability and apology in relationships with an asymmetric power dynamic, and its unexpected Downton Abbey moment involving a fictitious hockey league.
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Further Reading
“Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F’ Review: It’s Busted” (NY Times)
“Fred Rogers Took a Stand Against Racial Inequality When He Invited a Black Character to Join Him in a Pool” (Biography)
Episode 835: Dick Wolf Comes Westward, Like the Course of Empire originally appeared on Overthinking It, the site subjecting the popular culture to a level of scrutiny it probably doesn't deserve. [Latest Posts | Podcast (iTunes Link)]
1 hr 10 min
July 01, 2024Episode 834: What Did You Think Would Happen to Humanity That Would Be Better Than This?
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Peter Fenzel, Mark Lee, and Matthew Wrather take another look at music generated by AI diffusion models, which have come a long way. They discuss the possible significance of this new technology and how it fits into our conception of creativity, and they play each other some tunes they’ve prompted.
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Further Reading
Dirt Road Brew
Puppy Patrol
Temple of Taste
Podcast Theme
Arcadia by Tom Stoppard (Wikiquote)
And here’s the last time we tackled AI music:
Episode 803: It Is Kind Of Amazing. It Is Also Crap.
Episode 834: What Did You Think Would Happen to Humanity That Would Be Better Than This? originally appeared on Overthinking It, the site subjecting the popular culture to a level of scrutiny it probably doesn't deserve. [Latest Posts | Podcast (iTunes Link)]
1 hr 9 min
June 24, 2024Episode 833: Ins and Outs, Man
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Peter Fenzel and Matthew Wrather overthink Inside Out 2 (2 Inside 2 Out), the anxiety-centered follow up to the 2015 Pixar hit. They both had a pretty difficult experience watching the movie, which was like a 90-minute anxiety attack, but they explore its allegory of the self, the presence and curious absence of the social world in the movie’s account of adolescence, and the quacking absence hanging over every frame of this hockey-centric story.
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Further Reading
How To Tell If Your Relative Was Really A Keystone Kop
Episode 833: Ins and Outs, Man originally appeared on Overthinking It, the site subjecting the popular culture to a level of scrutiny it probably doesn't deserve. [Latest Posts | Podcast (iTunes Link)]
1 hr 9 min