Do you watch reality shows? No really. You can admit it. We won't tell. We want to let you in on a secret. We actually watch some. In fact, we watch a bunch of them. And like... we're smart! in fact, being smart is sort of the entire point of this show. And yet, we watch some of the admittedly most mindnumpingly dumbest TV shows possible. Regularly! On this episode Mav and Monica are joined by returning guest, psychologist Stephanie Siler to talk about reality shows and why anyone likes them anyway. Or at least why we do. We examine the manipulative nature of reality TV production, the psychology of why we might enjoy watching it even if we think it's bad, and the role of exhibitionism and voyeurism in...
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Episode 4: Losing My Religiosity?
Never argue about politics or religion on the internet! Well, really, they’re the same thing. But so are arguments about atheism. And comics. And sports. And movies. And unix text editors. It’s not really religion; it’s religiosity! Wayne and Mav are joined by Danny Anderson of The Sectarian Review Podcast to discuss the way in…
Call for Comments: Movie Franchising and Cinematic Universes
Don’t worry, there are no Avengers: Infinity War spoilers in this post. That said, I’m pretty sure that international podcasting law requires that all shows talk about the movie next week in some way shape or form. Somehow podcasts devoted to knitting are going to have to come up with a way of discussing patterns…
Call For Comments: Pop Culture and Religiosity
One of the fun things about doing a dissertation on comic books is that I get to spend some time lurking in random forums on the internet (Facebook groups, Redit, Tumblr, that sort of thing) just observing subcultural behavior in fan culture. Anyway, one particular group I monitor had a very odd interaction about a week ago…
Episode 2: Do You Remember Nostalgia?
Today we talk about nostalgia porn. No… not that kind of porn… though I guess it might be interesting to do a whole episode devoted to talking about vintage pornography (“This one’s a talkie!”). This is a whole episode about media that references the past as a key feature of the media. Your Stranger Things.…
Call for Comments: Virtual Violence
From Mav: First of all, if you haven’t seen it, the first episode of the podcast is up, so come check it out. And we will be recording the second one tomorrow, so there’s still time to add your comments on pop culture nostalgia. Now with all of that out of the way, I’d like…
Episode 1: Origin Stories
At long last, it is finally here. Welcome to the first episode of the VoxPopcast, “Origin Stories.” Here, Wayne and Mav, joined by special guest John Darowski, explain the concept Vox Populorum and then debate the usefulness, purpose and significance of origin stories in comic books, movies and TV shows. Let us know what you think.…
Call for Comments: Do you remember nostalgia?
From Mav: This weekend I got a chance to see the film Ready Player One. As I said when I wrote my review of it (if you don’t read my movie reviews on my personal blog site, you absolutely should) I had not actually read the book before, though I’ve been meaning to and i’m sure I’ll get…
Update: Just Recorded Episode One
Wayne and Mav just recorded the first episode of the podcast on Origin Stories. Not quite sure when we’re going to post it yet, but we wanted everyone to know that we are certainly working on it. Thank you to everyone who commented on the first blog and gave us ideas to address in the…
Call For Comments: Superhero Origins (and ours!)
From Mav: One of my most favorite things to do as an academic is presenting at conferences. Part of this is just because being an academic means presenting your research. That’s a big part of the job. But for me, conferences are the most fun because it means linking up with other people with similar…