OTR Debate

OTR returns to ring in 2024 with a young adult novel series face-off: The Hunger Games against Percy Jackson! As our witness this week, we have acclaimed fantasy author Danielle M. Orsino, who discusses writing female characters with strength and complexity and designing fight scenes to be comprehensible and believable for the reader. With Lando representing Katniss Everdeen and her crew, will his...

OTR returns to one of its favorite Chicago neighborhoods, Lincoln Square, as we sit down for a bookish debate at The Book Cellar! This time, Huy and Mucci debate manga versus American comic books, for Lando to decide which is better. Mucci thinks manga needs anime to really come to life, whereas Huy argues for the greater diversity in topics and demographics of manga. Along the way, some Book Cell...

OTR escapes to a quiet cabin in Wisconsin for this analysis of Netflix's biggest and bloodiest battle royale shows, Squid Game and Alice in Borderland! Huy takes us through the social commentary of Squid Game, including its satire of capitalism (which, side note, Netflix seems to have missed with its new "Squid Game: The Challenge"). Lando argues for Alice in Borderland's greater range and its ori...

OTR continues its spooky discussions past Halloween, with our debate of two classic creepy 90's kids shows! Lando backs Goosebumps, with Judge Mucci allowing some commentary on the books as well as the TV show, and gets into R.L. Stine's personal life and behaviors. Huy advocates for Are You Afraid of the Dark? and takes us through all the twists and turns of one of its most legal-themed episodes....

It's a special Halloween episode of OTR Debate, as Mucci and Lando debate what is the best urban legend. Mucci brings melonheads to the picnic table, delving into the lore from three different states and focusing on the violent nature of their history and their purported attacks. Lando tries to convince Huy why you should not let the black-eyed kids in when they knock on your door, and explores wh...

A year ago, a settlement was reached at the end of Aliens v. Ghosts, Part 2. Lando agreed not to say ghosts weren't real, if Mucci agreed not to say aliens weren't real. In a fit of rage, Mucci broke that settlement -- but he's glad he did, because it allowed OTR to have this incredible discussion with the cohosts of the Astonishing Legends podcast, Scott Philbrook and Forrest Burgess! Huy judges...

OTR is back with Season 3! In this episode, we welcome on our new co-host, Huy, for a music debate: EDM v. Punk. Huy represents EDM and its origins from early electronic groups like Kraftwerk to its explosion in the mid-2000s with acts like Tiesto and Daft...what was it again? Mucci advocates for the necessity of punk in stripping music down to its basics after becoming over-complicated, as well a...

While Pat is away, Lando and Mucci decided to resurrect some topics from a live discussion OTR had regarding legal misconceptions in pop culture. Lando demonstrates how TV shows and movies often get the actual work of a lawyer completely wrong, always depicting them in a courtroom and, in that setting, getting to do whatever they want without objection. Mucci discusses misconceptions about immigra...

Back on Museum Campus in Chicago, IL, OTR debates their favorite classic Nicktoons! Pat takes the side of Hey Arnold! while Mucci advocates for Rugrats (#babymucci). With Lando judging, how big a role will Reptar play in his decision? Is Stoop Kid a more sympathetic character than Chuckie Finster? Is Rugrats a show for babies, or just a show about babies? Listen to find out -- and let us know what...

Recorded LIVE at Museum Campus in Chicago, IL - watch the video version on YouTube! Mucci and Lando face off with two trilogies that spanned the 90s to the early 2000s - Jurassic Park and Scream. For help, Mucci calls an expert witness - Danielle from the No More Late Fees Podcast! Who better to ask than someone who cohosts a podcast about the movies of the late 90s and early 2000s, the prime Bloc...

Surprise! We recorded a second (micro) episode live at the Garden of the Phoenix in Chicago! Pat and Mucci debate “The Veil of Ignorance” thought experiment by John Rawls. The theory posits that, in a hypothetical “original position” of equality, if people had the ability to create a society, they would create one that is fair to all, because each person does not know where they would end up in th...

Mucci and Pat are sandwich fans, but they disagree on which one is best. However, they believe there are two heavyweight contenders that should duke it out: the Monte Cristo and the Reuben. They put their culinary skills to the test for Lando, who judges this week based on flavor and presentation. Will he go for the heavy, sweet-and-savory, kinda-carnival-food Monte Cristo? Or will the balance of...

LIVE from Chicago's Garden of the Phoenix, Pat and Lando face off with their choices of the best depictions in the media of our future AI overlords. Pat's picks, including Halo's Cortana and 2001's HAL, emphasize the attempts for connection between AI and human beings. Meanwhile, Lando's choices emphasize the journeys that AI beings have taken in such movies as Wall-E and Ex Ma...

At C2E2 on 4/1/23, Matt Murdock (Lando) and Phoenix Wright (Mucci) joined forces (what is this, a crossover episode?) to debate superheroes and comics as they relate to legal concepts. Among cosplayers whose time and money put into their extravagant costumes causes them to rise like Galactus above Mucci's and Lando's efforts, famous trials in comic books are dissected, real-world concepts...

It all comes down to this: The final four of our March Malice Aforethought tournament of fictional attorneys! First up, we have Elle Woods v. Jackie Chiles, in a battle of passion versus alliteration. Then, Lionel Hutz goes up against Vincent Gambini, and this one might come down to pure likeability. Listen to find out which lawyer of those matchups will make it to the finals, and who will win it...

The tournament of fictional attorneys begins! The attorneys are judged on their legal acumen and likability, while we are reminded to put aside our feelings on the source material from which each attorney hails. Kim Wexler is a better attorney than Jack Kelly, but does she have the familiarity or likability to move on? Why are there two Arrested Development attorneys in this tourney? And will Vinc...

OTR gets ready for its first tournament of fictional attorneys by drafting the lawyers who will compete in the upcoming March Malice Aforethought: Barrister’s Battle. After Commissioner Derek lays out the ground rules, Mucci, Lando, Pat, and special guest Huy snake-draft their fantasy team of fictional lawyers from movies, TV, video games, and literature. Intro music by tyops — find this track at...

Following up on last week’s The Last of Us debate, OTR discusses some toxic fan bases related to some of their favorite subjects. Mucci discusses the gaming community and its distaste for “woke” stuff, Lando talks about Star Wars fans never being satisfied, and Pat brings up the toxic aspects of the fashion community. What do you think is the most toxic fan base? Are there others we should discuss...

Watch on YouTube: https://youtu.be/s-UH7Uw_b_c Recorded live at Birch Road Lincoln Park in Chicago, producer Andy gets on mic to debate Mucci in a topic near and dear to his heart: Is the first The Last of Us game better than its sequel? Pat and Lando co-judge as Mucci vouches for the more refined mechanics and deeper storytelling of Part II, while Andy uses his decade of experience with countless...

Watch video on YouTube here, along with all our minis: https://youtu.be/PTlQOluHOoQ While we were recording our last episode at Ravinia Brewing Company, we caught the attention of Jamie and Rachel, who wanted to share their opinions as to whether Pokemon is better than Digimon. Is Digimon really the Walmart knock-off of Pokemon? What do they think when Mucci tells them Digimon started as Tamagotch...

Recorded LIVE at Ravinia Brewing Company in Chicago, IL -- THANK YOU to Ravinia for letting us use their awesome space! Watch on YouTube here: https://youtu.be/y1muEQSYwhM This week, Mucci judges which Japanese cute-monster-multimedia-franchise is better: Pokemon or Digimon. Lando makes a case for the darker storytelling of Digimon's anime, while also taking us through important moments in the his...

Check out the full video of OTR's playthrough of Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney - Case 1-1 here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UkkFt7-gCmI Full video of our Twitch livestream on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BPmv0H0LdXk On 1/8/23, live on Twitch, OTR Debate played through Phoenix Wright's first-ever case! We talk about all the things that differ between the US and Japanese court systems...

Scooby Doo, Shaggy, and their Mystery Inc. coworkers (or co-conspirators?) love to solve crimes. But are they guilty themselves of committing certain crimes in the process of nabbing the costumed criminals that would've gotten away with it if it weren't those meddling kids? Prosecutor, Lando, seems to think so. Pat takes on the defense for the crew -- don't call them a gang! Mucci tries to keep hi...

Watch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FYiHrzN2x1k After our Best On-Screen Santa mini debate, Lando and Mucci tried to quickly debate Christmas songs.  Is "Baby, It's Cold Outside" problematic for Mucci? Is Lando a poptimist with his Mariah and Sia picks? Lando and Mucci regroup in the studio to add context  and re-evaluate their picks they chose off-the-cuff in the Chicago Athletic As...

Watch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3bVyUS8sXeE Recorded LIVE from Maggie Daley Park in Chicago, IL What is your favorite on-screen Santa Claus? Mucci and Pat debate their favorite Santa while Lando ice skates around their arguments. Mucci goes back to the 1940s for Edmund Gwenn's classic take on the role in the original Miracle on 34th Street, while Pat picks perhaps the skinniest S...