Overthinking It Podcast

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Peter Fenzel and Matthew Wrather are lead by an article in USA Today to overthink the phenomenon of “Boot Camps” for men seeking to “reclaim their masculinity.” They wonder what that might mean and why someone might want to do it, and try to situate such experiences in the continuum of retreats, adventures, and corporate off-sites.

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Episode 813: What is the Orange Theory Anyway? 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)]

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Peter Fenzel, Mark Lee, and Matthew Wrather come to bury Pitchfork, not to praise it. They overthink the role of magazines in their lives, and the ways in which the medium has, and hasn’t, managed to translate to a new media landscape.

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Episode 812: Dependent Rock 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)]

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Pete Fenzel and Mark Lee overthink Bluey, the Australian kids’ show that squeezes every minute of its six-minute episodes for high-end emotional relationship coaching. They dissect how the show runs parallel narratives for both children and adults, its vast gap in raison dêtre with Paw Patrol and kinship with Daniel Tiger, the challenge of parents and children learn from each other, and the hidden semantics of its classical music underscoring.

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Episode 811: Stickbird is Goose 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)]

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Peter Fenzel and Matthew Wrather overthink an article about “the bit.” They discuss what constitutes a “bit,” and why it’s probably a bad idea to make it the basis of your whole social presentation.

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Episode 810: Sincerity is My Bit 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)]

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Peter Fenzel, Mark Lee, and Matthew Wrather tie a bow on 2023 by revisiting a couple of movies and TV shows they haven’t been able to devote a full podcast to. For Mark, it’s the Barbenheimer phenomenon, a marketing miracle whose like we shall not soon see again; for Pete, the Korean reality competition Physical 100, which is the real Squid Game game show, and not just because it’s streaming on Netflix; and for Matt, Poker Face, an anthology of lovingly-crafted mini-movies featuring the creative talents of Rian Johnson and Natasha Lyonne.

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Episode 809: It’s Tough to End a Squid Game 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)]

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Peter Fenzel, Mark Lee, and Matthew Wrather are joined by Jordan Stokes to overthink Maestro, Bradley Cooper’s impressionistic biopic of Leonard Bernstein and his complicated life, career, and marriage. They discuss the proper pronunciation of Bernstein, the man’s idiosyncratic place in classical music as a conductor and a composer, the film’s episodic style and narrative technique, and the film’s ambivalent message about art, creativity, and family.

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Episode 808: Bradley Cooper’s WandaVision 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)]

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Peter Fenzel, Mark Lee, and Matthew Wrather partake in our Christmas tradition of overthinking a literary work. This year it’s O. Henry’s short story The Gift of the Magi. The story is great fun (as long as you don’t get the version published by the U.S. State Department), and they discuss themes of gift giving, connections to the biblical magi, and the ultimate question: isn’t it ironic? Don’t you think?

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Episode 807: A Wise Man, Eh? 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)]

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Peter Fenzel, Mark Lee, and Matthew Wrather explore the legacy of Norman Lear (1922–2023) by considering the episode “Two’s A Crowd” from Season 8 of All in the Family and “The Big Move,” the 2-part Season 4 opener of Good Times. They discuss the stylistic, (sit)comic, and thematic aspects of both shows, and try to grapple with which file drawer to sick Norman Lear’s legacy in.

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Episode 806: We’re All Stuck in the Storeroom Together 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)]

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Peter Fenzel has seen Elmo Saves Christmas and overthinks it along with Mark Lee and Matthew Wrather. It turns out that Elmo unleashes a festive hellscape which wreaks havoc on his friends, on the Easter Buny, and on time itself.

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Episode 805: Go for the Roller Blades 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)]

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Peter Fenzel, Mark Lee, and Matthew Wrather overthink the Radio City Music Hall Christmas Spectacular, which Mark has recently seeen, and Pete and Matt have scene in the past. They discuss the strangeness of the Rockettes as a “precision dance troupe” speculate (wildly inaccurately, as it turns out) about their history, and then turn to the religious aspects of the spectacle (famously featuring live animals).

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Episode 804: It Gets Really Religious and There’s Camels 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)]