Really True Fiction

In this episode we discuss the sequel to the 1982 classic. We talk about how, even though he is a replicant, K shows more subtle humanity than any other character in the movie. We also talk about the desire for relationship, Niander Wallace's desire to bring back slavery, Ryan Goslings acting, and the humans prejudice against the replicants (who are like them in basically ever manner).  Additional...

In this episode we dive into the 1982 Ridley Scott classic Blade Runner (based on the Philip K. Dyck novel Do Androids Dream Of Electric Sheep?). We talk about the nature of personhood, the Turing Test, where we think Plato got things wrong, and what it means to treat another being as a person. This is one of our more philosophically heavy episodes; so be forewarned! Enjoy! Additional Spoilers: Th...

We dive into everyone's favorite high school assigned reading and the Salinger classic. Both David and Luke were pleasantly surprised at how much they enjoyed this book. We talk about insecurities, depression, rage, theological whimsies, gift giving and receiving, a Promethean vs. a hero, and much more. Hope you enjoy!    

An RTF first! We welcome our friend Billie as our first ever guest on Really True Fiction! We discuss the Stephen King novel The Stand in this episode. We discuss the world of The Stand, and how it might be similar and different from our COVID world. We also discuss leadership, reflected decision making, remember the world before a tragedy, learning and growing from a global catastrophe, goodness...

We embark into our first Kubrick film. In this episode we discuss the fallout of bad leadership, the difficulty of maintaining good leaders, contemporary American issues, the challenge of moral psychology, and how older films don't really float our boats so much. Enjoy! Additional Spoilers: 2001: A Space Odyssey - 4:45 Being There - 8:55 Arrested Development Season 3 - 9:50 A Tale Of Two Cities -...

We take the plunge. In this episode we attempt to do justice to the 1996 masterpiece Infinite Jest; written by David Foster Wallace. This novel is massive and thorough, so it would be impossible to cover everything in it. However, we talk about the three main themes/critiques (as far as we see them) which are: achievement, entertainment, and pleasure/addiction. Enjoy! Additional Spoiler: Brave New...

Hey everybody! Amazingly, it has been a year of Really True Fiction! We are so grateful for everyone who listens and has contributed to this awesome experience for David and Luke. In this *not* episode, we take a little time to talk about our reflections on making this podcast over the last year. It is much shorter than a normal episode and a little bit personal. We talk about our favorite episode...

And we are back from our summer hiatus! In this episode we jump into the 1994 Tarantino masterpiece. We talk about Jules being a mensch, Jules Vs. Vincent in their level of consciousness, life as happenstance, our annoyance with gossip, and predict Pulp Fiction as a good candidate for modern censorship.    If you want to get in touch with us you can send us an email at reallytruefiction@gmail.com...

In this episode we discuss the 1999 David Fincher film (based on the Chuck Palahniuk novel) Fight Club. We talk about the ethics of crashing support groups, the psychology of talking to someone with a terminal illness, the specter of death, healthy vs pathological thinking, and the need to be conscious of your own life. Hope you enjoy. Additional Spoilers: The Life of David Gale 1:33:40

We take a deep dive into George Orwell's 1945 novella. We talk about ideology, philosophy, the importance of precise language, the disaster that results from trying to erase history, the importance of speaking up early, and overall having a more mature understanding of human nature. We also talk about the importance of not focusing on superficial qualities in other people to develop opinions about...

Part two of our dive into the HBO masterpiece. We talk about Marty, Maggie, and the rest of the characters in this episode. We talk about Marty's penchant for inattention, high level rationalization and self deceit, self discovery at an older age, sex as a weapon, education, and several other topics. Hope you enjoy! Additional Spoilers: Regression 1:33:35

In this episode we begin our discussion on the first season of the TV show True Detective. We focus on any and all things Rustin Cohle (Matthew McConaughey) in this one. We talk about fake nihilism, the observable discontinuity between how people talk about their lives and how they actually live, relationships, consciousness, healthy psychology for police, anti anti-natalism, temperament, and how...

In this episode we dive into the Dumas classic. We talk about revenge (obviously), Dantes' psychology, the joy of the life of the mind, perceiving motivations in others, non-sheepishness, the crippling nature of a guilty conscience, and our take on sweeping stories. This novel is an absolute treasure (pun intended) and we highly recommend you give it a read! Additional Spoilers: Margin Call  1:00:...

In this episode we talk about the 2000 film The Patriot. We talk about the early insights the framers had about other forms of tyranny, the wisdom of not being cavalier about war, how war involves everyone in a population, American optimism and even talk a little about empire.  Additional Spoilers: The Hurt Locker  15:40

A new experiment in RTF living! In this episode David and Luke talk about their favorite musical artists and the real life wisdom and happiness we get from them. In the spirit of the bard or troubadour, we feel like music itself is a beautiful story in it's own right.  David - The Tallest Man On Earth - (15:10 - 56:39) - The importance of melancholy, the intimacy of folk music, how imagery affects...

Don't you forget about this movie! In this discussion of the John Hughes classic we talk about the impact of Breakfast Club on culture, the rise of adolescence as a cultural phenomenon, the trailblazing of BC for this genre, music and it's impact on us, and of course the idiosyncratic insecurities of all five teens that make up the heart and soul of the film. 

We conclude the two parter on the television masterpiece. In this episode we talk about the Blumquists and the Gerhardts (as well as Hanzee). And we finish up with just some general Fargo show thoughts. This show is incredible. Please watch it. Additional Spoilers: 1917  1:05:08

This is a first of two parts on the second season of the TV show Fargo. In this episode we talk about Lou, Hank, Betsey and Mike. This is one of the best shows of the decade and we highly recommend you watch it before listening as it will add so much flavor to our conversation. *Correction*  - The role of Rye Gerhardt is played by Kieran Culkin, not Rory Culkin. Right family, wrong brother. 

We sit down for another chat about our current least favourite and most topical virus. We give a time stamped and cursory view through our lense on the state of the world and things of that ilk. Hope everyone is staying safe and well. 

David wanted a Scorsese, so we did a Scorsese! In this episode we (obviously) focus mostly on mental health and what constitutes insanity. We talk about this as focused on an individual as well as a society (of course using the Nazi's as the case study of collective insanity). We also discuss what makes someone like Teddy in the movie and someone like Anders Brevik in real life different. This was...

In this episode we talk about the 2002 film Minority Report. Originally a short story written by Philip K. Dick, we decided to do the film version instead because we knew it better and felt all of you would as well. In this episode we talk about stigma around drugs, changing your mind based on new evidence, the cognitive overhead of deception, free will, and many more topics. Also, we recorded thi...

It's your kids Marty! In this episode we talk about one of the all time greats. If you like camping, there is almost nothing campier than Back To The Future. We talk about Marty being a good friend to his dad, being able to walk away from dumb challenges by lesser minds, Lorraine's shame about her own desires, the wonderfulness culturally speaking of the 80's, and why Back To The Future is just jo...

In this episode we dive into what is arguably the greatest graphic novel of all time. Even though there has recently been a Watchmen TV show, our thoughts are centered on the novel (and the movie a little). That said, there are spoilers for the show scattered throughout the episode, so don't listen if you haven't seen the show yet and do not want it spoiled.  Additional Spoilers: The Walking Dead ...

Seeing as the whole planet is experiencing something that feels surreal and other worldly, but in real life, we thought why not have a chat about this huge thing we are all experiencing. So, hence our first addendum episode of Really True Fiction. We are pleased to have Joelle Mason (Luke's sister) on as a guest as David was away during recording. Joelle is an HR rep, so she and Luke talked a lot...

In part two we talk about Hank, Francisco, Galt and the smattering of Rand's villains. We reference objectivism here and there, but for a full run down of the philosophy inherent in this novel make sure you listen to part one first.  Additional Spoilers: 1984  1:34:30