Rationalish

Here's a paradox: The best way to fix the House of Representives is have even more representatives in the House. I know what you're thinking: "You want more politicians?!"

Hold your horses, hear us out. We did real research for this one. Here is the article that led to this idea:

U.S. population keeps growing, but House of Representatives is same size as in Taft era

Also referenced in the episode are the following:

Representation in the House: The Wyoming Rule

Many voters say Congress is broken. Could proportional representation fix it?

Election results, 2022: Incumbent win rates by state

Deadpan delivery. Monotonal narration. Provocateur. Brilliant cultural critic of postmodern America. Funniest man alive. Sound familiar? Perhaps you are thinking of one the hosts of this podcast. Or perhaps you are thinking of Nathan Fielder, the Canadian who got his start on "This Hour has 22 Minutes" then went onto the Comedy Central show "Nathan For You" then to the bright lights of HBO for "The Rehearsal". Now he's back with a new show: "The Curse" on Showtime.

Listen to these two handsome men discuss the ouevre of Nathan Fielder. They reference the following articles in this chat:

New Yorker: Don't Worry, Nathan Fielder Also Hates Himself

Vulture: Nathan Fielder Is Out of His Mind (and Inside Yours)

You may be wondering whether this is a movie podcast now. Truth is: We don't know! The important thing is that Martin Scorsese has a new picture out: "Killers of the Flower Moon." It's a formidable film, one that warrants discussion. Please enjoy this conversation between two cinephiles.

We reference the following resources in the episode:

Martin Scorsese: I Said Marvel Movies Aren’t Cinema. Let Me Explain.

Empire's Martin Scorsese Interview

'Killers of the Flower Moon' Sneaks Up on Key Milestone at Global Box Office

Plot summary help from: Killers of the Flower Moon Wikipedia

Christopher Nolan's latest film chronicles the life of J. Robert Oppenheimer, aka "Father of the Atomic Bomb." Morgan and Eddie, film scholars as they are, reflect on the merits of the film, the life of its protagonist, the oeuvre of Nolan, interspersing witticisms and erudite musings along the way. Some of the materials were reference:

Derek Thompson: ⁠Oppenheimer: The Genius, the Film, and the Project that Changed the World⁠

Adam Nayman: ⁠The Sheer Scale of Oppenheimer⁠

Like Stories of Old: ⁠Why Oppenheimer Should (Not) Have Shown Real Nuclear Violence?

In this episode, your two favorite researchers talk about the Writers Guild of America's strike and some shocking comparisons to the Luddites, courtesy of The Atlantic:

The Luddites of Hollywood - Gavin Mueller

In this episode, our two favorite young researchers discuss how to improve cities through great ideas that are not widespread but should be. We talk about how to diversify police forces, intergenerational housing, proportional representation, publicly funded arts programs and many more ideas. Here are some pieces we reference:

NY Times: Ireland Asks: What if Artists Could Ditch Their Day Jobs?

PBS: Dutch nursing home offers rent-free housing to students

I was too lazy to write cheeky show notes for this episode, so instead I asked ChatGPT (a machine-learning Artificial Intelligence) to write it for me. Here's what the AI wrote:

"In today's episode, we have two brilliant young researchers who have taken it upon themselves to uncover the mystery behind ChatGPT, the language model of the future. After much research and deep diving into the vast expanse of the internet, they have finally discovered the truth about ChatGPT. It's not just a simple chatbot, but a hilarious comedian with a PhD in humor and a master's degree in puns. So sit back, relax and get ready for a dose of laughter, as the duo cracks jokes and puns about ChatGPT, leaving their listeners in stitches. Who says robots can't be funny?"

You scared? Me too.

Ever wonder how film executives find their material? Well, here's a peak behind the curtain. "The Black List" is a compilation of screenplays that are the most-mentioned by film executives. Three hundred film executives to be exact. Turns out, executives might have bad taste. Or maybe it's just really hard to write a great screenplay. Who knows. Gotta say, our socks were not blown off by the plot synopses of these films. But there were some gems. 

In this episode, Morgan and Eddie choose their five favorite premises from the 75+ that made the 2022 Black List. See the full list here:

https://blcklst.com/lists/

Blacklist Wikipedia page we quoted: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Black_List_(survey)

Not all evidence is created equal. But in conversation it can appear that way....

In this episode we explore why anecdotal evidence is so appealing to people and how narrative and emotion speaks to human reasoning more than data and cold hard facts. 

We discuss the following article by Jens Eger, Sebastian H. Schneider, Martin Bruder and Solveig H. Gleser:

Does Evidence Matter? The Impact of Evidence Regarding Aid Effectiveness on Attitudes Towards Aid

And we quote the Wikipedia highlights of Norman Borlaug:

Norman Borlaug Bio

I anticipate your eye-rolls and sighs of disgust. I get it. You don't think the world needs more Star Wars. Well -- turns out you are WRONG. This show rocks. It's the best thing on TV. 'Andor' is ten episodes of narrative perfection and exhilarating storytelling. Acting is pitch perfect. The scenes are shot on-location; the dialogue is whip-smart. 

Withhold your judgment until you watch the first episode. Then, the second one will begin and before you realize it, ten hours of your life will be well-spent with Season 1 in the rearview mirror.