Critical Wade Theory

Today I'm looking at one of the more unusual political biopics ever released — Oliver Stone's 2008 film *W.* Rather than delivering a fiery political attack or a comprehensive history lesson, Stone chose to make something far more intimate: a character study of the 43rd President of the United States, George W. Bush.

So, let's look at just how much Trump's Department of Justice has been distorting facts and statistics.

NOTE: I had to repair this video, splicing two separate recordings together (one from "the cloud"). Make of that what you will. Anyway, this is a fitting intro: Best known as the performer behind the helmet of Din Djarin in  The Mandalorian ,  Branden Wayne  has spent more than 25 years working across film and television, with credits ranging from  Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.  and  Angel  to...

On February 4, 1997, in Rowlett, Texas, Darlie Routier was sentenced to death by lethal injection for the murder of her five-year-old son, Damon. While her other son, Devon, was also killed during the same attack, his death never reached a separate trial. Darlie has always maintained that an unidentified intruder broke into their home, assaulted her, and killed her children. Despite her hospital s...

The pilot introduced us to the emergency room and its major characters. "Day One" is where the series begins to reveal what it will really become. This isn't simply a show about doctors treating patients. It's about controlled chaos, impossible decisions, and ordinary people forced to perform under extraordinary pressure.

One of de Beauvoir's most famous observations is deceptively simple: *"One is not born, but rather becomes, a woman."*

My podcast can be about anything! Here I review a local restaurant.

Every year, many movies are released. Some dominate the box office for a few weeks before fading from memory. Others become cultural landmarks that people continue watching, quoting, and recommending decades later. That raises an interesting question: What are the key features that make a film enduringly popular?

Alex Jones influencer Gary Allen was a prominent member of Robert W. Welch Jr.'s John Birch Society, which is why I am looking at Welch as the 3rd part of this examination of Alex Jones's paranoid ideology (if it could even be called an ideology). The biggest, most defining scandal of Robert W. Welch Jr.’s life centered on his conspiratorial book, *The Politician*. Written in 1956 and late...

Who is Gary Allen? Good question. I never heard of him, either...until I looked into who influenced Alex Jones. Gary Allen was one such infuence, at least to an extent. Let's look at some of the basic ideas Allen espoused and apply an anarchic deconstruction of right-wing populism. That photo is of Alex Jones, of course...because, again, most people won't even know who the hell Gary Allen...

For years, Alex Orbison has been recognized as the son of the legendary Roy Orbison and as the drummer for the Allman Betts Band. Now, he's embarking on a new chapter as a solo artist with his debut album Love and Loss. In this conversation (for VENTS Magazine online) Orbison discusses the long road that led him to writing his own songs, overcoming self-doubt, honoring authenticity over perfec...

Is it true that each generation is condemned to making the mistakes of the past?

In this episode I'm looking at one of the largest and most ambitious war films ever made: "A Bridge Too Far," released in 1977.

Husband-and-wife filmmakers Britt Bankhead and Grace Patterson discuss their film "The Town That Takes."

What would happen if traditional cultures around the world disappeared? Though technically not entirely possible, it is an interesting question...and I try to answer it here.

This episode moves through two very different topics: electricity and pop law. We’re starting with a question about stun guns and whether you can accidentally shock yourself while using one, then we’ll zoom out into the changing legal landscape around cannabis in 2026.

I have mixed feelings about The Onion's satirical takeover of Alex Jones's Infowars. Here's why...

Today, we’re taking a journey through cinema, looking at five massive films between 1968 and 1979 that completely redefined sci-fi and horror, with memorable aliens involved. We’re cutting right to the core of what made them work, with a closer look at the incredible casts who brought these worlds to life.

I am doing an open mic standup thing tomorrow night, and here are some of the ideas I will likely incorporate into my act.

Generally speaking, most people would consider me to be on the left. In fact, to hopefully make my podcast more interesting (and because I find it practical), I often try to view topics through sort of an anarchic lens, critical of power, critical of authority, the state, etc. So you might be surprised that, in some key ways, I can respect tradition. And, actually, sometimes I think we'd be fa...

Today we’re talking about Zero Population Growth: Bliss Out Volume 15 by Lilys. Yep, that’s a mouthful—but trust me, there’s something interesting going on here.

Today we're exploring something that sits at the heart of fantasy, science fiction, horror, and magical realism — the idea that imagination isn't an escape from reality. Instead, it's one of the deepest ways we can understand it.

How accurately does science fiction portray aliens? Are there any examples where the depiction of aliens is scientifically plausible in terms of their biology?

In this episode, I'm taking a look at Facelift, the groundbreaking debut album from Alice in Chains, a record that arrived before grunge became a cultural phenomenon and helped set the stage for the explosion of Seattle rock that would soon change popular music.

The acclaimed documentary podcast  Suspicious Minds  returns for a second season, expanding far beyond the personal stories explored in its debut. While Season One examined how artificial intelligence can fracture individual minds, the new season looks at the broader societal implications of AI, from military applications and collective psychology to belief systems, antinatalism, and even the poss...