Call For Comments: 🤔How do you use your Emojis?

From Monica: My co-hosts and I have a very active group chat in which we plan future episodes, we recommend content, we razz each other about the current Box Office Game leaderboard, etc etc., and part of our conversational style frequently includes the utilization of emojis. I’m partial to the upside-down smiley face for its…

Call for Comments: What is Luxury Fashion, Really?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zw4zlvTlaI0 From Monica: What do Louis Vuitton, Christian Dior, Moet, Hennessy, Fendi, Givenchy, Marc Jacobs, Loewe, Celine, Bulgari, Tiffany and Co., and Sephora all have in common? They’re all owned by LVMH, the world’s largest corporate conglomerate specializing in luxury goods. What about Balenciaga, Bottega Veneta, Gucci, Alexander McQueen and Yves Saint Laurent? They’re all…

Call for Comments: Breaking Down The Romance Genre

From Hannah: Way back on Episode 24, we talked about the concept of genre in general: Why is genre occasionally a dirty word? What are the rules a piece of fiction has to follow to be considered a member of a particular genre? How useful is this concept in understanding a work? So I want…

Call for Comments: How did Nancy Drew get good?!?

From Mav: Long time listeners will know that I frequently say that Riverdale is the best show on television. I do love the show. But the honest truth is, Riverdale fulfills a very specific niche of absurdist, hyperrealistic, postmodern, storytelling. And as I’ve mentioned on recent episodes, I think it’s the pinnacle of what it…

Call for Comments: Humanities vs. STEM — Dawn of Nerdom

From Katya: There’s a generic assumption in academic circles that the humanities are embattled — for funding, for prestige, for influence within the university, etc. — against the BBEG of STEM. STEM is stealing our students. STEM is stealing our funding. STEM is gnawing our legs off (for science!) As you might guess, I don’t…

Call for Comments: The Return of Serialization II: Electric Boogaloo

From Hannah: On our 170th show back in July of 2021, we (finally) took a deep-dive into the concept of serialization. We discussed everything from (some) of the history of serialization, the economics, the question of “wholeness,” serialization and the Internet … but we also left a lot of questions unanswered. Which, to be fair,…

Call for Comments: Box Office Game 2022

From Hannah: Well, to borrow Mav’s words from this year, this year will continue to be … weird. It’s the end of the year, so it’s once again time for us to do our movie picks for the annual fantasy box office episode. If you’re new to our show, every year we play a game…

Call for Comments: Tinker TAILOR Soldier SPIES

From Monica: While everyone else attends cinemas this holiday season for Live Action Spideyverse or The Matrix: Again, I decided to rope my fellow co-hosts into watching a slightly less anticipated franchise new release, The King’s Man. If this is the first you’re hearing of this movie at all, it’s probably because you’re getting it…

CFC: Cards, Baking, Music, Shelf Elves & Other Holiday Traditions

From Katya: Sometimes I think being a scholar of culture boils down to constantly recognizing that, actually, it absolutely is that deep. Pretty much all the time. We were talking about seasonal cultural practices that we found interesting. Mav brought up sending Christmas cards as a tradition that made him feel like he was celebrating…

Call for Comments: It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year (For Cheesy Movies)

From Hannah: Thanksgiving is officially over, so we can finally, finally indulge in the sentimental, silly, and surprising seasonal specials that channels like Hallmark have made a holiday staple and streaming services like Netflix have, perhaps, perfected. Mav and I have made no secret of our love for these amazing works of art in past…