Pretty Much Pop: A Culture Podcast

The Interim Executive Producer of The Second City joins Mark, Erica, and Brian to discuss the scope of black nerd-dom: what nerdy properties provide to those who feel "othered," using sci-fi to talk about race, Black Panther , afrofuturism, black anime fans, Star Trek , Key & Peele , Get Out vs. Us , and more. For more, visit prettymuchpop.com . Hear bonus content for this episode at patreon.com/p...

Mark, Erica, and Brian are joined by Utah philosophy prof and former food writer C. Thi Nguyen to talk food as art, foodies, elitism, food TV, cooking vs. eating, and how analyzing food is like analyzing games. For more, visit prettymuchpop.com . Hear bonus content for this episode at patreon.com/prettymuchpop .

Mark, Erica, and Brian address critically acclaimed Adult Swim show . What kind of humor is it? Can we take the sci-fi and family drama elements seriously? How smart are the show and its fans? Is Rick a super hero, or Dr. Who? What will this serialized sit-com look like in longevity? For more, visit prettymuchpop.com . Hear bonus content for this episode at patreon.com/prettymuchpop .

Erica, Mark, and Brian are joined by Broadway actor Sam to discuss this unique convergence of musical theater, rap, and historical drama. Does Hamilton deserve its accolades? We cover the re-emergence of stage music as pop music, live vs. filmed vs. film-adapted musicals, creators starring in their shows, race-inclusive casting, and the politics surrounding the show. For more, visit prettymuchpop....

Something's strange... Is it a dream? If it's a morality tale with a twist ending, you're probably in the Twilight Zone . Brian, Erica, Mark, and guest Ken Gerber are in it this week, discussing the thrice revived TV series. Does the 1959-1963 show hold up? What makes for a good TZ episode, and does Jordan Peele's latest iteration capture the spirit? We talk about episodes new and old, the 1983 fi...

Is it really true that "every picture tells a story"? For Joseph, a Las Vegas artist who illustrates Go, Go GRETA! , narrative is essential, but how does the story an artist has in mind actually convey to the viewer? He joins Mark, Erica, and Brian to tell art stories and touch on Guernica , Where the Wild Things Are , Dr. Seuss, Narnia, and more. For more, visit prettymuchpop.com . Hear bonus con...

Brian, Erica, Mark, and Seth from The Partially Examined Life interrogate the 10-part ESPN documentary on Michael Jordan's Bulls' six championships. Was it worth ten hours? Does its time-jumping structure work? Is it really hagiography, or is the vision of ultra-competitiveness repulsive? Why are sports amenable to creating cultural icons? Does the doc's success mean many more? For more, visit pre...

Al works for Logically , a company that fights misinformation. He joins Mark, Erica, and Brian to try to discuss the appeal of conspiracy theories, whether their fandom is like other fandoms, the relation between pernicious and fun theories, and theories that end up true. We touch on echo chambers, the role of irony and humor in spreading these theories, how both opponents and proponents claim to...

Fine art and reality TV are typically rated our highest and lowest forms of entertainment, yet creative competition shows combine them. Robin Slonina , who was a judge on the body painting show Skin Wars , helps Mark, Erica, and Brian figure out the degree to which that format lets the art shine through. We also touch on Work of Art-The Next Great Artist , Face Off, American Idol , Project Runway...

Sitcoms traditionally provide a cozy, relatable, changeless environment, but streaming and serialization have changed this. What are the limits on the format? Mark, Erica, and Brian consider After Life , Curb Your Enthusiasm , Community , the Parks & Rec reunion, the Space Force pilot, the stain of Chuck Lorre, and much more. Plus, which weird premises are real: a quiz! For more, visit prettymuchp...

The famed game designer joins Mark, Erica, and Brian to discuss fundamental questions about gaming and what makes a casual game. We touch on everything from crosswords to Super Meat Boy. For more, visit prettymuchpop.com . Hear bonus content for this episode at patreon.com/prettymuchpop . This podcast is part of the Partially Examined Life network and is curated by openculture.com . Sponsor : Visi...

Mary Jo was a writer/performer on Mystery Science Theater 3000 and has gone on to make jokes during movies for Rifftrax Presents and Cinematic Titanic. She joins Mark, Erica, and Brian to talk about the joke-writing process, riffing styles, what kinds of films make for good riffing, the MST3K legacy, and more. For more, visit prettymuchpop.com . Hear bonus content for this episode at patreon.com/p...

The recently memified NBC Montana reporter joins Mark, Erica, and Brian to discuss news as entertainment, local news consumption, its uses and abuses, reality vs. media portrayals of reporters, and more. For more, visit prettymuchpop.com . Hear bonus content for this episode at patreon.com/prettymuchpop . This podcast is part of the Partially Examined Life network and is curated by openculture.com...

Parasite , K-Pop, and K-Dramas have reached the U.S. as part of Hallyu, an official Korean effort to expand cultural influence. Suzie Hyun-jung Oh joins Mark, Erica, and Brian to decode the zeitgeist in hopes of understanding films like Snowpiercer , A Train to Busan , The Burning , A Taxi Driver , etc. For more, visit prettymuchpop.com . Hear bonus content for this episode at patreon.com/prettymu...

In light of Star Trek: Picard , Brian, Erica, Mark, and Drew Jackson discuss our most philosophical sci-fi franchise. What makes a Trek story? How do you world-build over generations? How did Picard measure up? Plus Trek vs. Wars and step-children like The Orville and Galaxy Quest . For more, visit prettymuchpop.com . Hear bonus content for this episode at patreon.com/prettymuchpop . This podcast...

Why are we now seeing a resurgence of musical TV shows? Craig has created musicals for many TV shows (like Glow , Shrill , and Wet Hot American Summer ) and joins Mark, Erica, and Brian due to his work on Zoey's Extraordinary Playlist . We talk about narrative excuses for breaking into song, musicals on TV vs. film vs. stage, musical episodes on non-musical shows, and more. Watch Craig's daily Sab...

Heavily watched media like Bombshell , The Morning Show , Unbelievable , and 13 Reasons Why attempt to cover sexual assault and harassment while still entertaining. Does that work? Erica, Mark, and Brian consider what makes for a sensitive as opposed to a sensationalized portrayal. For more, visit prettymuchpop.com . Hear bonus content for this episode at patreon.com/prettymuchpop . This podcast i...

A discussion of what to watch during lockdown is what happens when you're busy making plans about what to include in a hypothetical discussion of what to watch during lockdown. Join Mark, Erica, and Brian to talk Tiger King , Star Trek , Parks & Recreation , Devs , Zoey's , 13 Reasons Why , Ozark , Westworld , Larry David, endless tributes to the dead, anthology shows, unreleased pilots, and circu...

How does clothing mesh with other elements to create a mood for a film? Costumer Whitney ( Happy Death Day, The Great Gatsby ) joins Erica, Mark and Brian to discuss how clothes on screen relate to clothes in life, historic vs. modern vs. genre, when costumes get distracting, her current TV and film costuming picks, and more. For more, visit prettymuchpop.com . Hear bonus content for this episode...

Why has a children's toy become a brand attached to virtually every media type, partnering with the most ubiquitous franchises, and serving as a pastime for many adult hobbyists who will gut you if you call LEGO a "children's toy." AFOL Brian Hirt talks with co-hosts Erica Spyres and Mark Linsenmayer about creative play vs. following the printed directions, building purists vs. anthropomorphizers,...

Do we need professional critics regulating our entertainment intake? Noah writes for The Washington Post, NBC News, The Guardian, Slate, Vox, The Atlantic, etc., and he now joins Mark, Erica, and Brian to talk about the function of criticism, criticism as art, and the joy of negativity. We talk 1917 , Midsommar , Marvel vs. Scorsese, Yesterday , Bob Dylan, Twilight , and more. For more, visit pret...

Do you play video games for the plot? Mark, Erica, and Brian are joined by former video game professional (current TV development exec ) Donald E. Marshall to talk through types of video game narrative, ways of weaving story into a game, balancing gameplay and storytelling, and more. For more, visit prettymuchpop.com . Hear bonus content for this episode at patreon.com/prettymuchpop . This podcast...

For nearly every episode, Mark, Erica, and Brian continue to talk after the public discussion for the entertainment of our supporters. In this case, following our “escape rooms and other puzzlers” encounter, our guest Adal Rifai also stuck around, and the result was too fun not to share with you. After a little more talk […]

You know "the comic" and "the tragic," but what kind of entertainment is "the puzzling?" Improviser/podcaster Adal Rifai joins Mark, Erica, and Brian to discuss escape rooms, riddles and puns, group problem solving, puzzles in films and video games, lateral vs. algorithmic thinking, and more. For more, visit prettymuchpop.com . Hear bonus content for this episode at patreon.com/prettymuchpop . Thi...

How has Joseph Campbell's "hero's journey" as famously leveraged for Star Wars evolved with more female action heroes in film? Vi Burlew joins Mark, Erica, and Brian to talk not only about Rey, Wonder Woman, Captain Marvel, Black Widow, and Mulan, but also bring in Lord of the Rings , Harry Potter , The Wizard of Oz , Little Women , Jane Eyre , Working Girl , and of course Road House . For more, v...