Is This Pinball?

Our brains are broken. Dylan is wondering if anyone should have opinions about anything, Willie is out here practicing the Way of Nonchalance, and Amy tried to watch Zack Snyder's "Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga'Hoole" and has lots of questions about why owls need to wear armor. Join us, won't you?

Two things: #SnyderCut #SnyderCut #SnyderCut Dylan has an opinion and we are all SURPRISED by what it is What's with out current cultural superhero zeitgeist? Is WandaVision  worth it? Will Amy be able to explain what  Mob Psycho 100 is ("No. I won't"- Amy)? Why is there so much dust ? How pinball is it all? TUNE IN AND FIND OUT, FRONDS.

After being (let's be honest) ASTOUNDINGLY on-topic re: video games and pinball the past couple of weeks, we return to the freewheeling conversation you know (yes) and love (maybe?).  This week, we talk about the following: the perfect pinball, how Dylan hits his vowels, Linger Longer with Langer, Being Human , "egg," Ernest Hemingway & his masculinity and way with words, the short stories of Lydi...

This week, your hosts tackle that eternal series of making little animals fight each other for your amusement & edification. That's right: we're talking Pokémon ! Tune in to hear us talk about our histories with the game, unnecessarily deep Pokémon lore, getting the opportunity to punch a Pokémon, which Pokémon make good eatin', and the horrible implications of ghost type Pokémon. 

Can it be? TWO actual pinball-related episodes in a row?? I can't believe it. You can't believe it. WE can't believe it. This week, we dive further in to what makes pinball pinball, centered around a game called "Whoa Nellie! Big Juicy Melons."  Though, to be fair, we also discuss tort law, bean cars, Robert Downey Jr.'s weird facial hair, how we can NEVER KNOW what James Taylor looks like, Hannib...

HEYA PINBALL HEADS. As our divine contract with the pinball gods demands, we're literally talking about pinball this week! Tune in to hear guest host Shaina Wagner grill Amy, Willie, and Dylan about pinball history, slang, and ramps. We also have a whole interlude about whether or not Humpty Dumpty is actually an egg, so tune in for that too, I suppose!

After weeks of dancing around it, we're doing it: a deep dive into one of Willie's favorite video game series, Fire Emblem. Whether you're only familiar with these blue-haired teens from Smash Bros. (like Amy) or are a tried and true min-maxing turn-based battlefield genius, we've got you covered. Tune in for a discussion of role-playing game mechanics, immersion vs. math, and, of course, our Fire...

This week, we welcome back guest host Bea Miranda for a discussion on Puerto Rico centered around her experience growing up on the island and as a Puerto Rican artist working in the States. Listen in to hear about the work of Rita Moreno, our collective love of Raul Julia, why it might be a better idea to just stop with the West Side Story revivals, the obvious deficiencies of State-side social st...

To say we had a good time recording this week's episode would be an understatement. Listen in to hear us lose our minds over the stonk market, plan for our new art movement based around 80-year-olds, talk about the giant vampire woman from the Resident Evil VIII trailer, argue about angles, and hear Amy reminisce about her brief time working in finance (ah, the life that could have been). How pinb...

We're back to basics this week, and by "basics" I mean BOOKS. Not only are we talking about some classic lit (and how pinball it is or is not) but we're also diving into the cursed world of Latin Duolingo, the importance of egg consumption in art-making, the wrong Last Samurai, and the beauty and horror of the work in bad translation.

After recording this episode of  Is This Pinball? , Dylan posted the following to Twitter: "On this week's show, due to an error in interpreting IMDB, I incorrectly identify who sucks and how and when and why. But it should be enough to know that someone does in fact suck in the ways enumerated and that their sucking is indicative of broader trends." That's probably the best context for this week'...

NOTE : this episode has content advisories. See below the description for time stamps. We've got the whole kit and caboodle for you this week, wherein both the kit and the caboodle are largely about *~*the theatre*~* That's right: tune in for discussions about  Angels in America , how much Amy and Dylan hate Stoppard, a revisiting of  CATS  the movie the musical, theatre trying to be TV (and why i...

Remember when we said we didn't have an episode this week? Well, Dylan recovered his audio and we're BACK, baby! And this time we actually remember to rate things on how pinball they are. Tune in this week to hear a deep dive into Mega Man X. That's right: we're talkin' robot morality, robot mortality, goofy robot names, unending cycles of robot violence, and also how Mortal Kombat is actually jus...

We're taking the week off to build up our screamin' juices for 2021 (read: we recorded an episode but had some, uh, audio trouble), but we wouldn't leave you high & dry! Enjoy this New Year's mixtape, featuring music by friends of the show. Track list: Dance Like Kids - Poochy Losin' Myself - Judith Horn  S-W-I-M-M-I-N-G - The Pile Bar In Ky - Pontac Yer Dooks - Mondus Mondus

Content advisory: brief discussion of suicide from 2:30 to 3:25 This week, your hosts dive into a topic in which no one has ever had any opinions at any point: Star Wars. That's right: we're talking all things related to that good ol' space western. And, uh, if you've thought you'd heard us yell about things before, wooooo boy, strap in buds because we're at Bea-checking-in-to-make-sure-Dylan-didn...

As you cozy up with a cup of nog and deck yourself out in twinkle lights, we have just the music to keep you company, featuring music by friends of the show. Songs featured : Rockin' Around The Christmas Herb - Poochy Jingle Bell Rock - Poochy Christmas is Coming - Corsick/Pontac

This week, join your regular hosts and special guest Hannah Keihl as they discuss their 2020 games of the year. In true Is This Pinball fashion, the games of the year might not be from this year (nor might they actually be games) BUT they are our favorites, and they are some level of pinball. Tune in to hear us talk about Chibi Robo, Donkey Kong Country 1-3, TikTok (and Blaseball), Zen Pinball, AN...

Oh my god can it be true? Are we actually talking about video games again? HELL YEAH WE ARE. Who would have thought?? No Greek philosophers this week, buddies. We're talking about those pixels and how they make us  feel . Specifically: we're talking about reality in video games. But actually, this just serves as a launching pad for a broader discussion about Triple-A video game design, video games...

In the week after Thanksgiving, Dylan and Bea watched nineteen (NINETEEN) horror movies, and now Dylan is here to talk about them. What happens next is a discussion of horror movies, sure, but also: what ghost would win in a ghost fight, haunted house hunters, Wes Anderson, Dark Goop Energy, whether or not all movies from the 80s are objectively bad, Will Ferrell mom opinions, and (natch) how pinb...

Comedian and raconteur extraordinaire Myq Kaplan joins the crew this week to tackle our most ambitious (or at least, most meta) topic to date: how pinball is the concept of pinball. Tune in for a discussion of how much ayahuasca is too much ayahuasca (and if it brings us closer to our True Pinball Selves), what is the comedy version of a multiball, RAMPS, and how pinball is a pinball rating for pi...

This week, we have special guest Teddy Hulsker on to discuss that favorite bogeyman of 70s pearl-clutchers: Dungeons & Dragons! All three of your hosts are, believe it or not, nerds and theater kids and so have definite opinions about the classic tabletop role-playing game. So grab your bag of holding, fellow adventurers, and prepare for a discussion of D&D as therapy, why first-time players gravi...

Every night, we get stared down by that goddamn great silver pinball in the sky and WE HAVE THINGS TO SAY ABOUT IT (apparently). Take a journey with us as Dylan starts the show with a throwaway bit that becomes the Whole Thing, and strap in for a discussion of how pinball the literal moon, Moon Knight, mooning, Moon over My Hammy, and Paper Moon are (or are not). Oh, and we may have also come up w...

BonjourHi, my dudes. This episode, we have special guest Jon Robin on to talk about what we've been dancing around for weeks: music from the Great White North. Specifically, we're talking about all the indie music from Canada that we can't get out of our heads. There's a whole bunch of music referenced this episode, and we even put together some listening playlists for you: Listen to Amy's aughts...

That's right, chickadees: everyone else WON'T SHUT UP ABOUT IT, so here's our election special! And by "election special," we mean that we talk about how pinball the candidates (spoilers: very) are for like ten minutes, and then spend the rest of the time screaming about Catholicism, d*ck measuring, mantis shrimp, and Canadian rock bands from the aughts. So, you know, the usual. Take care of yours...

After last week's show, Willie went to use the bathroom while Amy and Dylan kept chatting (and Amy ate a bunch of clementines directly into the mic). Tune in for some ramble-y fun-time discussions of our burgeoning ASMR careers, the downsides of keeping television shows running forever, the difficulty of satire, and the benefit of the Eternal Archetype. Content warning: brief mention of domestic v...