GenXtemporaneous

After a couple of weeks palate cleanser (while Kristina did more reading and research) we are once again back into the True Crime arc and today we are discussing true crime amateur sleuths.  We are going to speak to the evolution of sleuthing, how sleuthing can help, how it can harm and overarching it all is what some online scholars have identified as a late modern backlash against experts....

In this episode Marc and Kristina discuss a question suggested to us by a friend of the podcast: Is there a social contract that exists between celebrities and their fans?  We look at first what the social contract is from a purely political perspective (Locke, Rousseau and Hobbes at their finest) and then we apply it to celebrity to see how or if it works.  We are talking about a number...

We need some more time to research internet sleuths so in this filler episode, we are talking about the ultimate in crime and punishment -- Dante Alighieri's medieval masterpiece, The Inferno.  You'll learn a little bit about Dante, Medieval Florence, The Inferno and who Marc and Kristina want to damn to perdition.  Additionally, you'll see that Marc isn't the only one who can land a jok...

In this episode, the second in their true crime arc, Marc and Kristina discuss the role of the victim in the true crime genre.  Historically, when the victim began to enter the narrative, authors and audiences tended to place the blame for their victimhood on their shoulders.  As time has gone on, authors, and especially podcasters, have tried to find ways to recenter the victim as an agent in the...

In this episode, Marc and Kristina start a multi-episode arc looking at True Crime.  They lay groundwork here, discussing how genre theoretically works as a social construct that serves a symbolic function and then we turn more practical and examine the way that True Crime, as a genre, has evolved over time in three parts: method of presentation, authority, and focus.  This episode will...

Get in Losers, we're going to the mall.  Not really.  In this episode, Marc and Kristina discuss meangirls and whether women are just catty, nasty people at heart who hate other women and do whatever they can to destroy perceived enemies, or are they conditioned to be that way?  We use the rumored beef between Kim Catrall and those other three ladies on Sex and the City as an exampl...

In this episode Marc and Kristina discuss Sex Positivity, its roots in the clash between second and third-wave feminists, whether boundaries still apply, and we discuss sex positivity vis-a-vis an "Untold Story" episode called Sex for Sale that explores the wild and wonderful world of sex work. We will be posting an extension of this discussion on our Patreon.  Patreon will be launching The w...

In this second part of our episode Marc and Kristina finish their discussion about Netflix's The Tinder Swindler with special guests Joann and Kelly. In this episode we learn Simon's fate and obsess over Ayleen, the one woman who was able to swindle the swindler.  We don't all share the same views on this subject, but we all agreed, the Tinder Swindler is fun watching and a great cautionary c...

In this episode two guests, Kelly and Joann, join Marc and Kristina to discuss The Tinder Swindler.  The overarching question we are asking is do the women involved in this situation bear any responsibility for what happened to them.  Kelly and Joann offer a lot of great opinion in this episode.  We don't all share the same views on this subject, but we all agreed, the Tinder Swindl...

In this free sample of a genXtemporaneous after dark episode, Marc and Kristina do a mishmash of VH1's Pop up Video style trivia with an in depth discussion of Post Punk pioneers Siouxsie and the Banshees (Spellbound) and Adam Ant (Kings of the Wild Frontier). We also discuss The Cure (Let's go to Bed) and Bow Wow Wow (I Want Candy). You may not be aware of the connections between the four bands a...

In this episode Marc and Kristina talk about several of accidents that happened between 1965 and 1974 that led to the development of Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope.  Without those things, we argue, the face of American cinema today would look radically different.  This is the third installment in our Accidental 80s arc and after this we'll be stepping away from that subject for a bit.....

This is the first in an arc discussing the "accidental 80s".  We want to dig into the new year with a bit of exploration of some of the defining genX moments or trends and discuss how they happened only by accident.   In this episode Marc shares his commercial real estate expertise to expose the tax accident that led to the mid-century Mall boom in America that continued to an apex durin...

In this episode Marc and Kristina dive into the world of parasocial relationships.  We examine some history, the role of social media and the changing landscape of celebrity culture and interaction and Grape Kun. About baby dolls in medieval convents: https://www.leidenmedievalistsblog.nl/articles/dolls-for-adults About Grape Kun: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Txw_HHyqPQ Articles about parasoci...

What does The Godfather, Goodfellas, L.A. Confidential, Bridget Jones' Diary, Sleepless in Seattle, Love, Actually, Die Hard, Trading Places and Gremlins all have in common? Give this episode a listen to find out.  We are talking about best weather, best presents, best Christmas movie, the Christmas story and Linus.  There has to be Linus.   We wish you a merry Christmas (or whichev...

In this episode Marc and Kristina discuss ambition, Aristotle, 1980s Miniseries and the Thorn Birds.  We are looking at the way ambition drives the characters in the Thorn Birds to basically make themselves miserable.  We place key characters on an Aristotelian ambition continuum and we are generally kind of ooged out by the fact that 1980s audiences were so astonished at the thought of...

This is rerelease of an earlier episode.  We will be back next week with all new content about power and ambition in the Thorn Birds.  This is the first episode in a series of podcasts dedicated to exploring the war on science.  Marc and Kristina discuss Flat Earthers through the lens of Behind the Curve, a 2018 Netflix Documentary.    This is part 1 of a two part episode....

In this episode Marc and Kristina discuss the origins of anonymous speech through fake identities, the use of sock puppets and alt accounts online, and how trolling works.  Digressions include killing bugs, free speech, some sick burns on a cat-loving community, women who troll, and RIP trolling.  Come along for the ride. Sources for this episode: Fletch: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=...

This is a re-promote of the second episode in our NXIVM arc.  This week we're diving deep into the second episode of the Starz documentary Seduced: Inside the NXIVM Cult.  We uncover more of Keith's grossness and feel really sorry for India but less sorry for Mark Vicente who seems to really like the way that Keith gets him to the punchline of a very bad joke.  Also:  Keith! St...

Is it time for timer?  Do you hanker for a hunk of cheese?  Did you wake up early before your parents, make a bowl of cereal and eat it in front of the tv watching all your favorite shows?  Do you know who the Banana Splits are?  How about HR Pufnstuf?  Are you afraid of Sleestaks?  We've got the episode for you.  We look first at the history of puppets (very bri...

Trigger warning: This episode contains brief discussion about ending one's own life; if that is a trigger for you, we'll see you next week.  :)  Does GenX finally get the nuance of The Big Chill?  This film came out when we were in our teens.  While we may not have appreciated it fully at the time, we totally get it now.  In this episode Marc and Kristina discuss the Big C...

Marc and Kristina are back at it with cult life (this episode was actually recorded weeks before the Fandom episodes and you might say that this research made them wonder if they'd discovered a nascent cult in the genX corner of TikTok).  In this episode they examine the false promise of MLMs, the flaw in the girl boss culture that it promotes, and how things can get really culty, really fast...

This is it.  Last one.  GGs continued to not speak with us on the record and as such, this episode will skew more towards speaking about the Grotto Girls.  I have tried to play the devil's advocate where I could so that we could maintain a balanced approach.  We will discuss the complexion of the fandom, what other factors played into the rise of the fandom and finally, this is...

In the first of a 2-part episode (part b to be released on Sunday), Marc and Kristina continue the dive into the GenX-dominated fandom/standom that surrounds William White, a 21-year-old TikTok creator and model from Canada.  During the researching of this project, Marc and Kristina have repeatedly questioned how the fandom went from women sincerely supporting women and together helping to ca...

In this episode, Marc and Kristina explore the difference between fandom, standom, and cults.  This episode provides a framework for exploring, once again, the crisis of meaning and the ways in which people look for communities to join and find support and camaraderie.  We dig into what defines each branch of admiration and community and we lay the groundwork for the next episode in this...

Marc and I have been busy doing a lot of research for this week's upcoming episode (and by Marc and I, I mean me) and we're about to dive back into that cult life.  To get you warmed up, we're reposting Episode 10, which was about the NXIVM sex cult through the documentary Seduced.   Coming on Friday we are going to discuss a situation that we've touched on in a light-hearted way earlier...