Bitcoin, Fight Club, and The Economy of Choices!

In this week's episode of 'The Economy of Nothing' podcast, we dive into a range of topics from Bitcoin's impact on the economy and choices to an in-depth discussion on the 1999 movie Fight Club. Mike Bedont AKA Captain Tracy reveals his thoughts on Bitcoin's future, debates the nuances of the film Fight Club, and whether he actually watched it. 

We also review various shows on HBO Max, including Aqua Teen Hunger Force, Rick and Morty, and the new Apple TV show starring Seth Rogan and our disdain for Jared Leto. Tune in for a lively discussion filled with insights and humor! 

Chapters:

00:00 Introduction to The Economy of Nothing

01:17 Cash vs. Digital Transactions

05:04 Bitcoin: Digital Gold or Scam?

17:05 The Future of Technology and Society

29:10 Fight Club Revisited

42:00 Starting with a Tangent

42:15 Diving into the Movie's Ending

45:14 Mental Health and Generational Shifts

46:54 Brad Pitt's Role and Charisma

48:37 Comparing Fight Club to Other Movies

01:06:29 Rick and Morty Discussion 01:14:57 Podcast Wrap-Up and Miscellaneous Topics 

Visual Radio: https://youtu.be/LEDBwa5Zmo8

🌐 Website https://economyofnothing.com

🛠️ Patreon https://www.patreon.com/c/economyofnothing

👕 Merch https://www.teepublic.com/user/economyofnothing

This week Mr. Green and Captain Tracy map out the manifest destiny of franchises:

• FX/Hulu’s Alien Earth (synths, cyborgs, xenos & Timothy Olyphant)

• The Super Mario Galaxy teaser and Nintendo’s inevitable Smash-verse

• Spider-Man sequel fatigue and why anthologies might save superheroes

• The graffiti Cool S as proof we’re all living in a simulation

• AI “shutdowns” (robots can’t trip, sorry Skynet)

• Westerns as American myth (Deadwood, Hell on Wheels)

• Peacemaker and the DC Universe shuffle

• Plus: Oreos, Pepsi, and how podcast sponsorships might save the world™

Welcome to Episode 110 of The Economy of Nothing™ — All Simulated.

Title: $98 Is Better Than a Job | Economy of Nothing Podcast 109

Description: Mike Allen and Captain Tracy return with another round of The Economy of Nothing Podcast, and this week’s theme is simple: everything’s broken, but $98 at the casino is still better than a lifeguard job.

• 🥀 Unemployment & Gambling — Mike’s $98 saga and why gambling pays more than lifeguarding.

• 🤖 AI Is a Grift — Google Gemini demos, NPCs, and why “Clippy 2.0” is back.

• 🏈 Football Is Broken — TV timeouts, betting, fantasy leagues, and refs as a metaphor for America.

• 🎬 Hollywood Problems — Austin Butler as the “new Brad Pitt,” Dave Franco’s Together movie, and the Real One Test™ (Brendan Fraser vs. The Rock).

• 📱 Attention Economy — Doomscrolling, smoking as a substitute habit, and phones as your second job.

• 🎤 Meta & Recap — From “Congress can’t fix the sun” to Taylor Swift’s NFL takeover, it’s nothing and everything at once.

🎙️ The Economy of Nothing is a comedy podcast about capitalism, culture, scams, and surviving in a world where even AI feels like a pyramid scheme.

Links: 🌐 Website: https://economyofnothing.com/podcast 🛠️ Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/c/economyofnothing 👕 Merch: https://www.teepublic.com/user/economyofnothing 🎧 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5oq4FslrPyMMql9qa7s72I 🍏 Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-economy-of-nothing-podcast/id1805857583 📻 Amazon Music: https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/082f0e43-dac5-4334-a3e4-bc82e0d50f50/the-economy-of-nothing-podcast

Do you want me to also generate a shorter punch-line summary (1–2 sentences) that can sit at the very top of the Libsyn feed before the bullet breakdown? That way people see a quick hook in apps like Spotify/Apple Podcasts.

Episode 108 of The Economy of Nothing jumps from sex myths to zombie movies to the rise of diabetes — and somehow it all makes sense (in our universe, anyway).

We kick things off with a freestyle announcement and a pitch for a Mass Effect TV show, before diving into the now infamous “missionary misunderstanding.” From there it’s a full ride: reviewing 28 Years Later, asking life’s fundamental questions, running into bureaucratic walls, and confronting heavier topics like school shootings and the diabetes epidemic. We also look at how advertising, media, and even modern video games reflect the absurd state of the world.

As always, it wraps with a franchise breakdown (Mission Impossible) and a little Patreon love.

Episode Highlights:

• The infamous “Jesus on the cross” missionary misunderstanding

• Why the Mass Effect TV show could be brilliant or cursed

• A review of 28 Years Later that spirals into a zombie rant

• Mike vs. unemployment bureaucracy

• Serious turns into school shootings, diabetes, and advertising culture

• The state of modern video games

• Wrapping up with Mission Impossible analysis

Timestamps: 00:00 — Introduction and Freestyle Announcement 00:41 — Welcome to the Economy of Nothing 02:27 — Mass Effect TV Show on Amazon 07:37 — Missionary Position Explained 19:01 — Zombie Movie Review: 28 Years Later 27:02 — Fundamental Life Questions 30:29 — Navigating Bureaucracy: Mike's Unemployment Struggles 33:56 — School Shootings: A Grim Reality 37:24 — The Diabetes Epidemic: A Growing Threat 41:42 — The Evolution of Advertising and Media 47:50 — The State of Modern Video Games 53:13 — Mission Impossible: A Franchise Analysis 57:36 — Closing Thoughts and Patreon Appeal

Episode 107 — Rick Mission Mort-Possible: Tom Cruise Jumps Into the Streaming Wars

Tom Cruise still won’t go to space, Rick & Morty isn’t the same without Roiland, and the Streaming Wars keep burning bad money after bad money. In this Visual Radio cut of The Economy of Nothing, we break down:

• The Mission Impossible stunt obsession (Go to Space, You Coward)

• Rick & Morty’s future without Roiland and the Dan Harmon takeover

• Why Netflix feels cheap, Disney feels empty, and Apple keeps throwing money at vanity projects

• Unemployment lifeguards, Hollywood nepotism, and corporate contradictions that make no sense

It’s the impossible crossover you didn’t know you needed: Rick, Morty, Tom Cruise, and the Streaming Wars.

Chapters: 00:00 — Introduction to The Economy of Nothing 00:48 — Podcast Overview and Host Introductions 02:43 — Unemployment Stories and Lifeguarding Jobs 08:52 — Mr. Green's Silver Screen Critiques (Tom Cruise & Mission Impossible) 18:55 — Rick and Morty: Voice Changes and Show Evolution 28:00 — Stock Picks and Market Insights 32:58 — The Evolution of Investment Strategies 33:36 — The Rise of Meme Stocks 36:30 — The Rule of Three in Branding 37:44 — Disney's Dominance and Challenges 39:01 — The Streaming Wars: Netflix vs. Disney 45:52 — Apple TV's Original Content Dilemma 53:24 — Nepotism in Hollywood 58:29 — The Future of Streaming and Content Creation

🌐 Website https://economyofnothing.com

🛠️ Patreon https://www.patreon.com/c/economyofnothing

👕 Merch https://www.teepublic.com/user/economyofnothing

🎙️ RSS Feed https://feeds.libsyn.com/574135/rss

The Moonshine Crew is back, and this week Mr. Green reveals his Totally Real Stock Tips™ (please, absolutely do not invest). Along the way, Captain Unemployment battles HOAs, Cheyenne threatens society with fruit trees, and the crew decides once and for all whether movies break physics or just common sense.

We rant about streaming ads as harassment, cross a Rubicon that technically doesn’t exist, and dip into the ethics of AI, dictatorships, and why tire pressure lights are the true enemies of freedom. It’s financial advice you can’t afford to take — wrapped in car trouble, Star Wars meltdowns, and one very suspicious Hamilton reference.

From dragons to $10 ice cream in 63 minutes.

In this episode of The Economy of Nothing, hosts Mike Allen and Mike Bedont veer from $10 ice cream cones to streaming ads (or as they call them, “subtracts”), with plenty of detours in between. They debate whether dragons might have been real, celebrate Twisted Metal for getting TV right, and roast the decline of modern writing. Along the way, they dig into corporate collusion, the economics of novelty pricing, and Big Pharma’s slow-motion disclaimers, all while keeping the conversation funny, fast, and just a little unhinged.

From nostalgic TV rants to full-on ice cream conspiracies, it’s another unpredictable, entertaining ride through capitalism, pop culture, and the weird logic of the algorithm.

Chapters: 00:00 Intro 00:28 Meet the Hosts 01:16 Unemployment 03:30 The $10 Ice Cream Rant 08:53 Streaming Services & Ads 13:04 Pharma Ads & Medicine 24:04 Economic Rants & Conspiracies 40:44 Pivot / Closing Thoughts 41:11 Twisted Metal (the show!) 45:10 The Decline of TV Writing 52:36 Dragons: Myth or Reality? 59:27 “Subtracts”: What We’re Calling Ads Now 01:03:58 Political Rants & Social Commentary 01:11:55 Future Plans

This week we talk pirates, billionaires, and the algorithmic rot of corporate booze. 

It’s a classic EoN hangout: Mike and Mike spiral through *Pirates of the Caribbean 5*, Nintendo nostalgia, weird fitness VR, and the slow death of flavor. The ghost of Four Loko lingers over everything. Also: livestream call-in culture, Google Calendar breakdowns, and the real reason Portal games feel like jobs.

📺 Visual Radio™: https://youtu.be/a79JQAQkGG4 🎧 Extended episodes + bonus content: https://www.patreon.com/economyofnothing   🌐 Official site: https://economyofnothing.com   📬 Contact: [email protected] https://economyofnothing.com/portfolio

This week on The Economy of Nothing, we ask the big questions: What if Forrest Gump had AIDS? What if Liam Neeson’s wolf fight was real? And what if your guest couldn’t speak… because she was an octopus robot? Mike Allen (Mr. Green) opens the Man Cave™ for a cinematic breakdown of The Grey, The Punisher, and the existential dread of survival movies. Meanwhile, Captain Tracy fights malfunctioning tech, Mississippi the dog, and a sentient Nanny Bot. Sarah joins the crew—sort of—but due to technical difficulties, her voice is silenced... leading to a cascade of bits about compliance robots, gender, and divine absence. Featuring: • 🐙 Sarah the robot-octopus • 🐺 Wolf metaphors & Mr. Green’s PTSD • 🙏 God’s Not Dead, He’s Just Off-Duty • 🐶 Mississippi the dog and her nannybot • 🕶️ 3D Glasses, Full-Conductors, and survival despair0

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This week, we broadcast directly from Yavin 4 to bring you the Star Wars Special—a rogue transmission of hot takes, nostalgic rewatches, and corporate-media despair. Mike B is joined by Brent and David for a full-scale nerd-out over Andor Season 2, the tragic brilliance of Rogue One, and whether Clone Wars ever really worked.

From Ewok basement parties to the bureaucracy of fascism, we ask the big questions: 📼 What makes Andor so good it breaks Star Wars? 🧮 Can any future Star Wars match it—or are we just optimizing content for the algorithm now? 📺 Does Resistance even exist?

Also discussed: Droids, Rebels, The Phantom Menace, Caravan of Courage, Tony Gilroy, the MCU problem, and the feeling of existential dread when you realize The Search for More SEO might be the last time this galaxy had anything worth saying.