The Incomparable Superfeed

BEEP boop what is… love? Well, we don’t figure this out, but John Siracusa does return to Sophomore Lit to discuss Karel Čapek’s play R.U.R. (1920), the origin of the word “robot.”

John McCoy with John Siracusa

How many sport editions of Trivial Pursuit are too many? This many.

Random Pursuit XLVI

Erika Ensign and Steven Schapansky with Brian Hamilton, Heather Berberet, Helen Zaltzman, Sandra Wong and Scott Ensign

Brian Hamilton -

Heather Berberet -

Helen Zaltzman -

Sandra Wong -

Scott Ensign -

Classic TTRPG tropes covered in this episode: a player trying to seduce an NPC, players fixating on one random room, and players wanting to use their skills for intra-party nonsense instead of getting things done.

Candlekeep - Zikran's Zephyrean Tome, Part 5

Tony Sindelar with James Thomson, Kathy Campbell, Monty Ashley, Steve Lutz and Tiff Arment

Edited by Erika Ensign.

The Summer of Submarines reaches crush depth with Disney’s 1954 epic “20,000 Leagues Under the Sea.” Captain Nemo of the Nautilus has met his match in an uncharismatic French professor, his strangely familiar associate, and their sidekick, a violent harpoonist and occasional cabaret performer. Also there’s a giant squid. Everyone remembers the giant squid—and for good reason!

"20,000 Leagues Under the Sea"

Jason Snell with Monty Ashley, Erika Ensign, Shelly Brisbin, Philip Michaels and David J. Loehr

Shuffle, and cluck, and tour jeté, and cluck cluck cluck. It’s a Magnum season finale, and ours too. See you in a little while, turkeys!

Jason Snell, Philip Michaels and David J. Loehr

It’s so annoying when someone knocks on your door in the middle of the night.

Candlekeep - Zikran's Zephyrean Tome, Part 4

Tony Sindelar with James Thomson, Kathy Campbell, Monty Ashley, Steve Lutz and Tiff Arment

Edited by Erika Ensign.

John fields some important questions about pasta from listeners Connor, Joshua, and Lee, including the definition of Al Dente and noodles versus pasta.

John Siracusa and Jason Snell

Our Summer of Submarines floats on with “U-571”, a 21st centry-style action movie that manages to hit most of the squares on the submarine bingo card. McConaughey is a disgruntled XO! Depth charges terrify! A surprising twist if you didn’t think about the title! Turns out, submarine movies aren’t a genre—they’re a format that lets filmmakers explore genres.

"U-571"

Jason Snell with Erika Ensign, Casey Liss and Moisés Chiullán

Cracks are forming in Dana’s dating plan while Dan is recruiting a reluctant Isaac for a special feature on, you guessed it, the Giants winning the pennant back in 1951. Sure, Lex and Brian are wondering how Sorkin continues to pick the strangest titles for his shows, but you, dear listener, need not worry. Just keep Sorkin’ In It.

Lex Friedman and Brian Warren

A season of “Strange New Worlds” comes to an end, and so does this season of our podcast! But before we go, we have thoughts about Pike and Batel, “Doctor Who” plots, ley lines, parallel timelines, and even “Star Trek: Scouts” and “Star Trek: Khan”!

Scott McNulty and Jason Snell