On this week's "very special episode" of VoxPopcast, join Mav as he once again chaperones his university's yearly game jam, "#Games4SocialImpact" at the University of Pittsburgh. On this yearly episode Mav interviews students in the midst of the 3 day design marathon as they build games that explore social issues. This year's theme is "Public". Mav interviews several teams as they explain everything from what they hope to learn from this process, to how they pick their teams, to how they approach the design process, to the sheer madness that descends upon them as they work around the clock. And, it's all a lot of fun. So listen and then leave them encouraging comments below. Citations and Links: Learn more about #Games4SocialImpact Download and Play the games on Itch.io Thank...
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e332. The 4th Wall Bounce: The Reflexivity of Media and Culture
So here’s a weird question for you… in a TV show like Batman, do the regular people know the phrase “dynamic duo?” In the movie Amazing Spider-Man Peter Parker uses the theme song from the 1960s Spider-man cartoon as his ringtone… but what song does he think that is? If two TV shows cross over,…
e331. Understanding the Syllabus: Learning Frameworks and Inclusive Practices
We’re quickly running out of summer and as we do the new school year is even more quickly approaching. That means, for those of us who teach classes… or who take classes, we’re starting to get busy with preparations, hoping to get them all done before the last minute. If you’re a professor, like Mav,…
Call For Comments: On Bouncing Off the Fourth Wall
From Mav: A couple weeks back, my friend Mikey Wood made a Facebook post about writing a superhero story and that in said story he had characters use the colloquial phrase “dynamic duo” NOT to refer to Batman and Robin. He then questioned whether that reference made sense in that world. Because would the phrase…
e330. The Immortal Legacy: Aging Actors and Endless Franchises
If you’re a fan of geek media, you likely noticed two important things from Marvel Studios last week. One was the long-awaited release of Deadpool & Wolverine. The second was the San Diego Comicon surprise that Robert Downey Jr. would be returning to the Marvel Cinematic Universe to take on the role of Dr. Doom.…
e329. Biographies, Blockbusters, And Biden! What a Week!
It’s been a hell of a week. Ok, let’s face it… it’s been a hell of a summer. This is a pop culture show and so we try to stay current on what’s happening, but the world has been moving so fast that we have been trouble keeping up, so on this week’s show, Mav…
e328. What’s the Deal with Presidential Assassinations?
It’s been a weird week of American politics. And we can’t really keep up. Yeah, we know something big happened this week (the whole shakeup of the democratic nomination) but we recorded this episode last week after the assassination attempt on Donald Trump. It oddly feels like old news now. But the thing is, we’re…
e327. Decoding Literary Criticism: From BookTok to Shakespeare
Recently an 18year old college student who calls herself alisha not alihsha posted a vlog where she argues in favor of what she calls “being a hater” in her video essay “Booktok, brainrot, and why it’s okay to be a hater” Somehow she went viral and became the topic of conversation for a bit on…
e325. So You Have To Write a Prospectus? Now What Is It, Exactly? (and can an ointment clear it up?)
One of the best parts about being an academic is that you “get summers off.” One of the worst parts of being an academic is “your off days are just a time to do more homework.” That’s where Monica is, as she is currently knee deep in trying to write her PhD prospectus. But that…
Call for Comments: Disaster Narratives
August 21, 2024
From Hannah: Perhaps it’s because of Twisters (it’s really good, actually), but I want to talk about disaster narratives. We’ve kind of done this before, when we talked about end of the world stories. But I don’t think they’re necessarily the same — we know in disaster films like Twister and Twisters and Geostorm and…