Planet of the Meerkats

After living through a modern plague for more than a year now we’ve all become armchair COVID experts — thus, the Meerkats are gonna play their hands at prognostication, pondering what future plagues might look like and considering what big lessons we’ll learn from our pandemic response. We’ll also talk about cicadas, the biblical plagues, and of course, rabies and scabies. Join us for episode two...

Light up your best aromatherapy candles, open that fancy $8 bottle of pink wine, and break out your freak-nastiest nightie that you’ve been saving for a special occasion — it’s the Planet of the Meerkats season two premiere and we’re getting steamy. In a post-COVID world, what does intimacy look like? Are we on the precipice of a new sexual revolution? Be it holosex with VR celebrities or interdim...

Can the past change? From the Berenstain Bears to Darth Vader, the so-called Mandela Effect has caught the imagination of the internet. Nelson Mandela, the eponymous statesman who died in 2013, is remembered by many to have died in prison in the 1980’s. We could dismiss this as a misremembered morsel of history, if not for the thousands who misremember it in the same way. Are things actually chang...

If humanity were married to our nuclear arsenal we would have just celebrated our diamond 75th wedding anniversary. How have we responded? Much like in a real marriage: terror, insanity, grief and, eventually, indifference. Also, some pretty great songs and movies! Join the Meerkats as we party like it’s 1999, walk the dinosaur, and duck and cover our way through a “nucular” war-themed Zen Koan.

Dracula. Dragula. Blacula. Scott Bakula? Its been a long time, getting from there to here, but here we are, talking about vampires. Not just vampires, but his undead highness, Dracula himself. From an unholy monster, to a silly kids movie character, to a veritable god of repressed and, later, overt sexuality, Dracula has endured as a horror icon for over a century. Slip out of your coffin, slap on...

Kick off your socks and crack open a cold one, it’s time to get cozy and listen to the Meerkats grill each other with hard-hitting questions like, “What Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle are you?” and “Would you rather fight Karl Marx or Milton Friedman?” That’s right, we’ve got a half-serious half-silly Q-and-A comin’ atcha.

Here’s to our sweet…listeners. In the late 1960s and 1970s, theatricality in rock music reigned supreme, musicians dabbled in demonism, and the squares freaked the [meow] out. Join us as we explore the origins of Goth Rock, how rock acts embraced occult aesthetics, and how subliminal and explicit messages steered fans to the dark arts. Put on your freaky make-up, play the devil’s chord, and kick b...

Look into the eyes of a chicken and contemplate it’s incredible, savage stupidity. Look at the chicken through the eyes of Werner Herzog and discover how artistic observation can create poetry from that stupidity. If civilization is only a thin veil over a yawning chaotic ocean, and that ocean defined by the monsters lurking in the dark, where would we be without art? Pull your own riverboat over...

Batten down the hatches and awaken your inner Eldritch god, it’s time to talk sea monsters. The Meerkats discuss human-mermaid sexual relations, the eponymous Moby Richard, and are joined by Abigail for a top ten list. What are Cthulhu’s pronouns? Was Walt Disney planning a second Cuban invasion with his mermaid army? What is the worst type of animal infested rain? (spoiler: it’s spiders.) Release...

Holster your pick-axe and dust off your prospecting pan, this week we’re going gonzo for gold! It might not be the most valuable or the most useful element, but gold’s got swagger, a certain je ne c’est quoi, a flair for the dramatic. From the 49ers to the Ft. Knox conspiracy theorists, from gold-plated sushi to Trump’s golden toilet, this soft and shiny metal knows exactly how to push our buttons...

The Super Bowl is nothing if not a mirror reflecting the shallow decadence of the American soul, a crumpled can of Monster Energy tossed to the shoulder of our lonely highway of shattered national pride. For a few sacred hours each year we set aside our political differences in shared love for puppies, shared hatred for Tom Brady, and an unceasing appetite for wings, be they chicken or other. But...

The idea of the lost civilization has always held an intoxicating sway over the human mind, driving some to fantastical speculation and others to doomed exploration. The Meerkats delve into some of the most persistent myths, from Atlantis to Lemuria to hollow earth theory, with a detour into Bohemian Grove. Pull out your Mayan calendars and get ready to party like its December 21, 2012!

The Meerkats welcome Neil’s brother to the pod to talk about the evolving GameStop stock saga and try to learn why this story is so captivating. It turns out that sticking it to a bunch of Wall Street jerks is one way to unite the country.

Let’s raise a toast to toasted bread and all the humble sauces and slices that make sandwiches the ideal food. Join the Meerkats this week as they recount a fantastic voyage to Philly, discuss which Boyz II Men songs pair best with a cheesesteak, and estimate how many millions of calories they’ve consumed eating In-N-Out burgers over the years. The duo try their best to define what qualifies as a...

Throw on your cloak, grab a turkey leg for a snack, and hop on your trusty unicorn steed! The Meerkats are galloping back to the Middle Ages this week and along the way they’ll discuss monk fashion, Teslas, narwhals, tree climbing injuries, and eating tacos with David Bowie.

Put on your cursed ice crown and adopt a demon-vampire baby for this gem-tastic podcast. Dave introduces Neil to Adventure Time, Steven Universe, and one of the primary creatives behind the magic, Rebecca Sugar. Dave also interviews Abigail about her perspective on the shows.

Mechanical servants. More perfect versions of ourselves. The reapers of our eventual demise? Dave and Neil welcome special guest Abigail, 11-year-old robot aficionado, to discuss the evolution of robots in literature, TV, and film and to grapple with the complexities of robot ethics. The meerkats mull the mysteries of CAPTCHA, objectionable uses of the holodeck, and the potential of garlic-peeling...

Grab your hat and saddle your hoss, it’s time to talk cowboys. Dave and Neil discuss cowboy songs, cowboy movies, cowboy costumes, cowboys on the moon, and our general confusion about what a cowboy is. Does The Joker by Steve Miller Band qualify as a cowboy song? Is there a right reason to open a brothel? Who are the modern cowboys? Find out that and more this week on Planet of the Meerkats.

If you’re here for hot takes, you’re in the right place. Neil introduces Dave to Japanese environmental music with a very dope Spotify playlist and the Meerkats declare that American cheese is underrated. Put on your warmest socks and cuddle up for the most ambient mini-episode that you’ve ever episoded.

Neil reflects on his travels in Japan and Dave talks about some of the cultural touchstones from Japan that have influenced him, including Kurosawa, Murakami, and Junji Ito. The Meerkats also discuss two classics of Japanese cinema, House and Tampopo.

Dave and Neil talk broadly about music and specifically about barbershop quartets, the junior high school rapper-rocker fight of 1992, the Traveling Wilburys, video game tunes, and more.

Dave and Neil introduce the Planet of the Meerkats podcast and discuss the Leprechaun in the Hood, Abercrombie & Fitch, Barry Bonds, Stuffed Crust Pizza, Ric Ole, and Josh Hartnett.