Pop Culture Field Manual

Cameron and Izzy sit down to talk about everything related to survival (in pop culture). They definitely share some bits about their own training and talk, probably too long, about squeezing water from elephant poop.  They top it all off with a great game of "Would You Rather?" where no one is the winner and you might throw up in your mouth a little bit.  DISCLAIMER: We had some audio issues about...

What do a volcano, the Death Star and an ice palace have in common? They're all pop culture bases, lairs and hideouts! Cam and Israel spend the podcast taking you, the lucky audience, on a tour of all their favorites (with a fair amount of detours; hope you like talking about poop) and explore what makes them so cool. There's also a long tangent about an episode of Ray Bradbury Theater that Israel...

POW's in pop culture can be a tricky subject, but not in the hands of Israel and Cameron. They tackle prisoner of war movies the same way RAMBO jumps back into the jungles of Vietnam ready to rescue the American POWs. They finish off with a game of Geneva Suggestions: Rules. Real or Fake. Support the show! Support the show Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/pop-cu...

We've officially come full circle. Way back at the beginning of this journey we're on, our very first episode in fact, we did an episode about military cliches in pop culture. And here we are again! Expanding the list and still dumping buckets of hate on people who perpetuate these pop culture cliches in real life.  Big take away from this episode: don't wear your combat uniform in public, even fo...

The fan question episode is back in full force. Time to find out the answers to all those burning questions. Did they ever use secret weapons? What was Cam's B-boy nickname? What video game would Cam, Izzy and Chris create? And most important, how do you train for basic training for like the 500th time. (Just do some pull-ups and run a mile everyday.) All these and many more! The episode finishes...

This episode has been a long time coming, and a special thanks to Zeus for the suggestion. That's right, there's no other way to slice it; this is the definitive samurai episode. Israel and Cam break out their trusty katanas to cut right to the heart of the topic, and delve into the history of samurais a bit as well. Yeah, we here at the PCFM podcast can do some learned stuff. It's not all Ghosts...

We're back! e hope you missed us as much as Rian Johnson missed the mark with the Last Jedi, because you can't miss anything more than that. And if all of our subtle clues weren't enough, this episode is all about Star Wars. Cam and Israel talk about what they love, what they hate and what they know absolutely nothing about! If you ever wanted an in depth PCFM episode about Star Wars then today is...

What did the sovereign country say to the invasion? WOLVERINES. But seriously, invasions suck, but make for Grade A pop culture fodder. So Israel and Cameron take a minute (or 55) to talk about their favorites; spanning everything from World War II to World of Warcraft. Iz even manages to work in some Miyazaki, like the classy lad he is. Cam invented a game for this episode called "Hum It Like You...

Russkies! They're everywhere in pop culture these days (this is not a political podcast). What is it about them that makes them such great villains (this is not a political podcast)? Cameron and Israel cover all the Russian bad guys, and good guys too, that populate the pop culture landscape and talk about why they've always got a target on their backs (this is not a political podcast). Some of th...

Yar! Prepare thyselves to set sail on journey ye won't soon forget! Master Cameron and Captain Izzy are taking this motley crew on the sailing adventure....uh, this is exhausting. Pirates! They're everywhere in pop culture these days;TV, movies, videos games and many a romance novel feature pirates. What is it about pirates? Is it the lawless allure? The outfits? The awesome way they speak? (Arrrr...

What operator in the military has the most mystique around it? is the the galley cook on a ship? NO. Is it the CIA operative deep behind enemy lines? Ooo. Maybe. That's a good one. We should do another episode about that. But no! It's snipers. Snipers hold all the mystery. The silent assassins. The calculating, patient stalkers of prey. And we have one on the show! Richard Maynes, who is a super c...

The American Civil war was one of the bloodiest and horrific events in American history (for a great cause, though). Izzy and Cam talk about the ways that comes up time and again in pop culture; from Glory to Cold Mountain to The Good, The Bad and The Ugly, it has cemented its place in movies and TV. Not to mention all the strategy video games that you can play. You always pick the north, right? R...

Remember waaaay back at the beginning of this podcast? Episode 8? Well this is the sequel to that. That's right! Israel and Cameron are adding more fictional (and some very very real) vehicles to their wishlists. Israel is going into battle with a Tachikoma! Cam is going to fly in with a MH-6 Little Bird and light everything up! They list goes on. We're positive we missed some, so 38 episodes from...

You're getting ready to workout, or maybe go out on patrol on deployment, and you need that perfect music to get your head right. What are you putting on? Izzy and Cam use this episode to talk about music close (and not so close) to their hearts and what they like to hear while they're slaying. From the stuff they listened to while overseas to just plain old pump up music for their workout; this i...

Want a job that (might) pay well, involves meeting new people, flying to exotic locations and interacting with locals? Then Mercenary might be the career path for you! Cameron and Israel breakdown their favorite mercenaries from movies, video games and television. They really plumb the depths of the question "what is a mercenary?" Do bounty hunters count? What about assassins? And where are vigila...

There's nothing funny about the military. Actually, on second thought, there are TONS of things that are funny about the military. There are also a ton of military comedies that have been made. All this is to say that this episode is Cam and Israel talking about military comedies (of which Israel has seen surprisingly few, but he explains that). So sit back, have a laugh and laugh. Yeah, we said l...

Is there a more hated and reviled group than the Nazis? We sure hope not, because boy, do they f*cking suck. Which is probably why they show up so often as bad guys in film, video games and television. Cameron and Israel use this episode to explore the history and references of Nazi Germany throughout pop culture (and actual history).  The episode is tied up in a neat bow with the game "Hitler or...

The C.I.A. is a military pop culture mainstay and it's time we talk about it. (WE KNOW YOU'RE LISTENING, CIA AGENT PERSON) Cameron and Israel go down the MK Ultra rabbit hole in this episode to talk about all the times the CIA shows up in movies, TV and videos games and saves the day, gives everyone a bad time or is just kind of...there.  So keep your tinfoil hats on! A rousing game of "5 Clues" t...

We at the Pop Culture Field Manual podcast love every branch of the military. And one particular job in one particular branch that flies under the radar (like, WAY under) is sailing on submarines. It's a tough job that neither Cam nor Israel would want to do, but they salute the men and women who do it. And with that salute, they spend a good 40 minutes talking about their favorite movies with sub...

Disaster movies are all the rage and have been for quite sometime. Everyone can delight in seeing a major city on earth destroyed by an asteroid, or flood, or aliens, or whatever horrific thing you like. But what people love more than that is seeing the world SAVED. Saved by people with honor. People with integrity. Yes, Izzy and Cam are talking about oil drillers who split asteroids in half for t...

Cameron and Israel get a lot of questions about the differences between all the special operations groups in the military. Maybe not a lot, but a fair amount. Like, if you had to put the questions in a bag, it'd be a good sized bag- you know what? We're getting side tracked . The guys give an in-depth look at what all the special operations people do, from Delta, to MARSOC to Rangers and Green Ber...

Speechification  /spēCHəfəˈkāSH(ə)n/ (noun) The act of speechifying and thereby inspiring others. It’s a common trope in movies, and particularly war movies. A hero gets up, gives the big speech and everyone gets jazzed to go and fight. Gives you goosebumps. Izzy and Cam do a rundown of some of the greatest movie and video game speeches in the history of pop culture. So prepare to get inspired and...

Cameron and Israel get quizzed on this special version of the podcast. Scenario Master Chris (surely we can come up with a better name than that. Master Grader? Ugh, no. that's horrible) gives them a famous movie or video game scenario and they have to explain what their approach would be; Die Hard, Mad Max and Call of Duty: Modern Warfare just to name a few. Would they just plow through killing e...

It's Christmas time, so start stacking bodies, er, we mean presents! Izzy and Cam talk all things Christmas and do their best to tie to action, the military and pop culture. Just they they always say. Die Hard, The Christmas Miracle of 1914 and more get a mention this episode, as well as plenty of personal Christmas stories sure to tug at your heartstrings. Merry Christmas! A fun game of "I'm Drea...

One of our top requested episode topics has finally come to life! The Anime Episode! Cameron and Israel take a deep dive (holy sh*t do they go deep)into all things anime, covering A LOT; Naruto, Bleach, Studio Ghibli, Dragon Pilot: Hisone and Masotan, and more. We mean, they talk about a lot and they don't even talk about all the stuff they personally love (Hell, there are even general mentions of...