Midday Movies

Today we’re discussing the new top 10 Netflix miniseries, “Eric,” starring Benedict Cumberbatch, Gaby Hoffmann, McKinley Blecher III, and Dan Fogler (of “Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them”). Created by Abi Morgan, this is a detective noir that takes place in gritty 1980s-era New York City. Featuring a plot-critical puppet and creeping madness, this family drama is sure to make you go, “Jeeee...

Today we’re discussing summer in the Pacific Northwest — we’ve got boats, boards, and buckets of festivals. It’s three long months of joy, togetherness, and not thinking about general elections. What’s your favorite PNW summer activity? How will you and the gang of your choice be taking advantage of the sun madness? Is death or an indeterminate period of suffering the more terrifying prospect? Lik...

Today we’re talking about the new top 10 Netflix animated series, “Jurassic World: Chaos Theory.” Following the events of “Jurassic World: Camp Cretaceous,” this dinosaur action series is a mystery-slash-roadtrip adventure that brings together the campers of Camp Cretaceous who are being potential pursued by the nefarious forces of InGen. Additionally, we share our favorite prehistoric megafauna a...

Today we’re discussing soup, social systems, and StrengthsFinder 2.0 (by Don Clifton). Do you have favorite recipes that you return to again and again? Is it easy or difficult for you to connect to new people on the first meeting? What is your top strength according to the corporate-approved personality test StrengthsFinder from Gallup? We discuss breakfast (which can contain protein or a good boo...

Today we’re discussing the Netflix top 10 docuseries, “Dancing for the Devil: The 7M TikTok Cult” (2024, dir. Derek Doneen). In this too-strange-to-be-fiction documentary, TikTok dancers join a management firm (7M) tied to a church (Shekinah church), uncovering disturbing truths about the founder’s (Robert Shinn) sinister agenda. Impacting the families of several viral TikTokers, including the Wil...

Today we are discussing a video game that has been the obsession of the Midday Musings household for over a month, “Voices of the Void.” A free pre-Alpha game available for download on the itch.io PC gaming platform, this SETI simulator/slow horror survival game is created and maintained by one developer, EternityDev (aka Mr. Dr. Nose) and inspired by Signal Simulator, SETI, and the SCP Foundation...

Today we’re discussing the current top 10 Netflix show, “Bodkin,” a many-layered mystery/offbeat comedy starring Will Forte and Siobhan Cullen. Taking place in the small hamlet of Bodkin in modern day Ireland, this series follows an embattled Guardian journalist, young researcher, and American podcaster in pursuit of a cold case mystery surrounding the Samhain festival 20 years earlier. Unique Bod...

Today we are doing part 2 of 2 on the Netflix’s docuseries, “Ashley Madison: Sex, Lies, and Scandal.” We will be concluding our Ashley Madison series with a discussion of an unconventional couple featured in the docuseries, the supposed discretion of user data on the site, the fallout of the 2015 hack, and what influences people to cheat. We discuss the possible reasons that so many Christian coup...

Today we’re discussing episode 1 of Netflix’s docuseries, “Ashley Madison: Sex, Lies, and Scandal.” This is part 1 of 2, where we will be covering the founding of the site (during the 2000s-era dot-com boom), the marketing and monetization model of the product, and two of the most famous people impacted by the 2015 Ashley Madison leak (Nia and Sam Rader). We’re discussing infidelity as a married c...

Today we’re talking about cats, rats, and the Met Gala. We answer the questions, how well traveled is the average cat? Why is New York the global center of ambition and pizza rats? And what even is the Met Gala for? Learn fun facts about bacteria-based pandemics vs. viral-based pandemics, and how cats are relevant to both. Reflect with us on the Legend of Pizza Rat, who lives forever in our hearts...

Today we’re talking about taking Grim Rabbits’ card game “Red Flags: the Game of Terrible Dates” into the wild and playing it with friends. What is revealed about people in a 6-person game where not everyone knows each other? What secret superpowers do singles have that relationshipped players lack? How do different people confront different dating scenarios based on personality, experience, and p...

Today we’re talking about “Zillow Gone Wild” — the new HBO MAX show hosted by Jack McBrayer and featuring the most exciting, wackadoo house listings available across the US. Two house-hungry millennials (our co-hosts) talk Nietzsche, Camus, and Matthew McConaughey in the context of the American housing market, and walk you through the details of a renovated missile silo, a storybook cottage, and a...

Today we’re talking about change and how to manage it. Are you always operating at max capacity — and does that make change throw you for a loop? How much obligation is too much obligation? And how can you use fun to supplement your energy around getting things done? Special shout-out to Marc from the BoomBox Music podcast for his insight that running at 80% is the zen way to live. Change is life’...

Today we’re talking about the best, brightest, and most beastly of the animal kingdom! Starting with Stephen’s blind-as-a-bat insights on echolocation, we dovetail into a discussion of which internet animals are most like us (and the people we know). What is the evolutionary story of our favorite aquatic animals? What patriotic animal is not-so-secretly terrifying? Would an elk make a good cult le...

Today we’re talking about building up motivation when you feel a bit mentally drained. Social exhaustion is very real, and sometimes you need something extra to feel zesty. We share personal strategies for regaining momentum when you’re in a rut. Laura champions the benefit of short-term projects, and we discuss the mental health benefits of being well-rounded. We lay out the differences between t...

Today we’re celebrating another Red Flags Friday 🚩🚩🚩! Unboxing, once again, Grim Rabbit’s game of terrible dates, we’re investigating two potential dates with one huge white flag and several disruptive red flags. What would you endure if your date allowed you to use their penthouse suite in your favorite city? How much juggling can be tolerated if you can access an endless bag of cheese? Is vig...

Today we’re talking about nature, technology, and human civilization. Referencing Henry David Thoreau’s “Walden Pond” and History channel’s 2000s-era classic, “Life After People,” we study the Millenial/Gen Z phenomenon of “cottagecore” as a reaction to our vast technological proliferation. What is the nature of nature? How are we like the 19th-century citizens who longed to return to an imagined...

Today we’re discussing the paranormal — haunted experiences, ghost-Gnosticism, and whether or not to download an EMF monitor onto your smart phone. Between paranormal circuses and an eternal Halloween, we ask important questions such as “are ghosts real?” “Should we become paranormal investigators as a midlife crisis activity?” and “Why does my mom keep getting haunted?” Stephen and Laura chat abo...

Today we’re sharing our strategies for staying upbeat in the face of inconvenience and crisis. We’ll discuss keeping perspective on hard days and every day, with a special emphasis on detaching your happiness from external outcomes. Mental health hygiene, finding the benefit in negative situations, and allowing your resilience to carry you through expected and unexpected hurtles are among the topi...

Today we’re discussing entertainment media — from movies, to television, to theater, to social media. Delving into nostalgic pieces of media (90s-era cartoon/live-action world crossovers a la “Who Framed Roger Rabbit” and “Cool World”) and into the contemporary media space that bleeds analog and digital media, Laura and Stephen chart the differences between eras and cultures (British vs. American...

Today we’re discussing productivity and mindset, with special reference to Cal Newport’s book, “Deep Work.” Our cohosts are talking about routine disruption and how to recover from the light chaos that comes with existing as an adult human in adult society. Focusing on strategies that cultivate deep work and relying on a growth-oriented mindset to help you level up (or just keep up) in modern life...

Today we’re talking about boundaries — how to set them, what to protect by setting them, and how much space it is reasonable to expect from the establishment of boundaries. The co-hosts’ household is currently the epicenter of a territorial dispute between two domestic predators, informing this conversation around healthy boundaries. How does one create relationships that balance intimacy and dist...

Today we’re talking about our favorite Disney movies — “The Lion King” (1994) specifically! On this rainy/sunny midday, our co-hosts begin with a conversation on skin care that dovetails into “The Little Mermaid” (1989) — Laura’s favorite childhood Disney movie, based thematically on “Doctor Faustus” (by Christopher Marlowe). Stephen’s favorite childhood Disney film is “The Lion King,” based broad...

Today we are honoring a fan request from Dan Watt and reviewing his film festival-selected, Emmy-award winning documentary, “Everybody Dance.” Steaming currently on Freevee and Tubi, “Everybody Dance” follows the 4-month journey of recital preparation for a very unique ballet studio in Agora Hills, CA. Ballet for All Kids is a nonprofit organization run Bonnie Schlachte aimed at supporting neuroty...