Fat Guy, Jacked Guy

In 2004, Howard Dean looked like he was poised to be the Democratic Party's outsider contender for president. Then, he laid down the scream heard around the world & was forced out of the race. Or, at least...that's what we all thought happened. This week, we're examining the "Dean Scream," what really pushed Dean away from political candidacy, & the effect it's ha...

We're taking y'all into the Octagon in this week's episode on the once beloved but now kind of ignored reality TV series, The Ultimate Fighter , where contestants have a shot at winning an exclusive UFC contract. We get into the first season of the show, which premiered in 2005, & discuss its effects on UFC's popularity, then of course, we get into some of the labor issues plag...

This week, we're defining, describing, and rating famous Dumb Guy Movies released in the early 2000s and the aughts. We get into the differences between a Dumb Guy Movie and a regular, run-of-the-mill dumb movie, and take you through some of the most popular ones of the decade (2003 - 2013). We're sure you've experienced this phenomenon in your own life even if you weren't sure wha...

Happy Pride, everyone! In honor of Pride Month, we're diving into the wild universe of the original seasons of The L Word . We know, we know...this has been done many times over before but even though Stef does get into some of why they watched the show from its premiere in 2004 to its end in 2009, we're going to talk about some stuff we don't see other places covering: how straight (p...

Craft beer lovers and haters, this episode is for you! This week, we're getting into this history of the American craft beer boom of the 2000s, the 2010s, and today. We get into our some of our own histories enjoying and subsequently moving away from craft beer, why we hate IPAs now, and how (as usual) capitalism ruins everything good. You can find Fat Guy, Jacked Guy on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Twitter⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, ⁠...

If you're as old as we are (or older), there's a good chance you spent some time casually watching Reno 911 during Comedy Central's Golden Age of original programming. This week, we're discussing the show's creation, its premise, its awful and unforgettable cast of characters, and its impact (or lack thereof). We discuss what satire is supposed to do, and why it just never seem...

Some people might be trying to rewrite the story of George W. Bush's presidency, but not your brothers here at FGJG. This week, we're discussing Bush's distinct rhetorical style - what people call "Bushisms" - and the ways he used this caricature of himself to convince a nation that the expansion of our imperialism was both inevitable and morally sound. We're getting into...

We've got a special treat in store for all you VH-1 Heads out there in the world this week. We're revisiting the wild, whacky, incredibly self-referential VH-1 "celebreality" universe from its origin: The Surreal Life . We discuss what The Surreal Life was/is, which "celebrities" were on it, and how exactly VH-1 helped usher in the brave, new world of being a celebrity...

The title of this week's episode really says it all. This is the Fat Guy, Jacked Guy tribute to the best white rapper of the aughts: Houston's own Paul Wall. We're giving you all the Paul Wall knowledge you thought you'd never have! We discuss his background, his rise to fame, some of his biggest hits, & a lot of other stuff in between. Here are some links to the songs & vi...

This week, we're joined by one of our beloved former students (& loyal Fat Guy, Jacked Guy listener & patron), Dawn, to talk about RuPaul's Drag Race , which premiered on Logo in 2009. We discuss what Drag Race is, & we ask Dawn about all her favorite Drag Race everything. We also get into the cultural impact of Drag Race & why the queens who competed on the show have becom...

This week, we're revisiting that moment in the mid-aughts when it seemed like everything underground was finally dredged up for everyone to enjoy. We're talking about the garage rock revival and the emergence of the "indie sleaze" scene, a time when roaring guitar-driven rock & roll helped build a culture of spontaneity and debauchery and...American Apparel bodysuits? It'...

In this week's episode, we dive deep into the new millennium's version of Sparta by revisiting 2007's 300 . We discuss everything 300 is bringing: the fascist propaganda, the anti-queerness, the idealized masculinity, the connections between the messages in 300 and the American politics of the period, and, of course, the ripped bodies of the actors who starred in the film and how they...

This week, we're wrapping up our month-long relitigation of the media produced in response to the "War on Terror" and the American War in Iraq. We discuss our experiences being part of the anti-war movement as teenagers, get into the criticisms launched by some famous entertainers and performers and the public's reaction to those criticism, and review an editorial written by Davi...

March 20th, 2003 was the start of the American War in Iraq. That means this week is the 20th anniversary of that day, and as we've been covering all this month, we're here to talk about some of the most important media of the period. In this episode, we discuss the oft-forgotten "War on Terror" documentaries No End In Sight (2007) and Restrepo (2010). We break down the content of...

In the late 2000s and early 2010s, people were growing wary of the "War on Terror," and Hollywood was starting to respond. In this episode, we examine Kathryn Bigelow and Mark Boal's "The Hurt Locker" and "Zero Dark Thirty," two vastly different films where Bigelow and Boal try their best to critique the "war" while also showing the horrifying realities of its perpetuation. We get into our own tho...

Since it's the 20th anniversary of the start of the American War in Iraq this month, we're covering the media produced in response to the start of the war and its immediate aftermath. We're kicking things off by discussing one of the first mainstream documentaries to come out as critical of the war: Michael Moore's 2004 film Fahrenheit 9/11 . We discuss the content of the film, the strange critici...

In the mid-aughts, a new craze took over American audiences: they wanted to watch mean British people on their TVs talk down to other Americans (and essentially, them, too). This little infatuation, starting with Simon Cowell on American Idol , grew into a full on obsession by the time the late aughts came around. In this episode, we discuss this strange kink and its effect on our culture, specifi...

The cabs aren't here, but this episode on MTV's Jersey Shore is. Take a little trip with us to Seaside Heights, New Jersey where we'll reminisce on some of the most ridiculous characters that have ever graced our television sets. We'll discuss the concept of the show, Italian-American cultural stereotypes and subcultural performance, and we'll get into just what sets Jersey Shore apart from other...

The early aughts were filled with steroid and performance enhancing drug usage scandals. Athletes from Barry Bonds to Lance Armstrong were being brought in for questioning related to their uses of these sweet, sweet anabolic elixirs. In 2008, Chris Bell set out to examine the anabolic steroid panic in his documentary Bigger, Stronger, Faster . In this episode, we discuss the doc, Bell's actual mes...

There was a rarely discussed phenomenon going on a little before and all the way through the decade 2003-2013, and this episode is an attempt to set the historical record straight on it. That's right, we're talking about what Brendan has dubbed "The Quoting Years." Remember all that time you spent with your friends repeating lines from your favorite films and television shows? Well, get ready to s...

20 years later, and it seems like the kisses between Madonna, Britney Spears, and Christina Aguilera at the 2003 MTV Video Music Awards have never been more relevant than they are right now. This week, we're examining the legendary kisses, their aftermath, and how they impacted and continue to impact queer culture and the broader culture at large. We get into some reporting from the period, and we...

The title is pretty self-explanatory BUT this week, we're revisiting one of the albums of the decade that dominated the charts even if it ultimately had very little artistic merit: 50 Cent's "The Massacre." We talk about 50 Cent's persona, each track on the album, white listeners' racial imaginations and their impact on commercial hip hop, Brendan's mom's connection to G-Unit, and the album's cult...

All right folks, WE'RE BACK. As you (hopefully) heard in our trailer for Season 2, we're using this new season to do a deep dive into the cultural and political phenomenon that dominated the decade between 2003 and 2013. You might be wondering why we chose this particular time period, and we promise that question is answered very thoroughly in this introductory episode to the new season. We're hap...

Here's a little trailer for our new season coming to your ear holes and brain matter on January 10th! Get ready! You can find Fat Guy, Jacked Guy on Twitter , Instagram , and TikTok . You can find Stef on the web here and Brendan here . Support us on Patreon !!! There's extra content for Patreon supporters , as well as opportunities to interact with us in other ways besides listening to the podcas...

It's our last episode of the year, y'all! We know that many of you are going to be watching Christmas movies over the next week, so we wanted to weigh in on some of our favorite Christmas movies that urge us to challenge the capitalist hell and system of consumerism we're all forced to live in. We give you the run down on some Christmas holiday history and then get into our critiques of these very...