Supercontext: an autopsy of media

This animated adult comedy from Justin Roiland and Dan Harmon is on a mission to violate boundaries, while indulging in themes of nihilism and toxicity. We discuss how it's written and animated, along with its representation of women and its non-unionized production team.  Interested in the media we discussed this episode? Please support the show by purchasing it through our affiliate store: Rick...

The first book in Jeff VanderMeer's Southern Reach trilogy focuses on humanity's weird relationship with nature and how we react to the unknown. We look at how VanderMeer wrote the book, the unique publishing strategy behind it and his choice to strip the characters of their identities, while still representing an all female cast. Interested in the media we discussed this episode? Please support t...

This Marvel Comics storyline began in 2016 as a synergistic publishing scheme that led to the wildly successful  Black Panther  film. Writer Ta-Nehisi Coates and artist Brian Stelfreeze tell a tale about monarchy, nationalism, revolution, diversity and the universal trope of power. Interested in the media we discussed this episode? Please support the show by purchasing it through our affiliate sto...

This is Guided By Voices' 100th record (by some fuzzy math). We discuss how they create songs and what each band member contributes. We also debate the quantity over quality ethos of this prolific band... and wonder if for some listeners it's more like a religion. Interested in the media we discussed this episode? Please support the show by purchasing it through our affiliate store: August By Cake...

  Together with guest Van Jensen, we dissect the original James Bond source material. We look at Ian Fleming's life and possible wish fulfillment, as well as how he wrote and published this post-World War II spy story. And of course, we'd be remiss if we didn't also discuss Bond's misogyny and nationalistic fantasizing.   Interested in the media we discussed this episode? Please support the show b...

Was this 1990s serial killer television drama about the end of the world? Or was it about having empathy for our fellow humans? Chris Carter (X-Files) created it after watching Se7en , but over the course of its three seasons Millennium  shifted and changed, until unfortunately it was cancelled. Interested in the media we discussed this episode? Please support the show by purchasing it through our...

Michael Shea was a genre writer who combined fantasy, science fiction and horror into a unique blend of wonder and imagination. Together with our guest Robert Lamb (Stuff To Blow Your Mind), we discuss Shea's writing style and legacy. Interested in the media we discussed this episode? Please support the show by purchasing it through our affiliate store: Demiurge: The Complete Cthulhu Mythos Tales...

Based on a hard-boiled novel by Charles Willeford, this sweaty, sultry film has us questioning hedonism and the struggle between order and chaos. Between writer/director George Armitage, a very shirtless Alec Baldwin and killer performances by Jennifer Jason Leigh and Fred Ward... we've got plenty to talk about. Interested in the media we discussed this episode? Please support the show by purchasi...

This comic book project stitches together the most important moments from decades (and thousands of pages) of X-Men comics. We talk to cartoonist Ed Piskor about his production process, the comics market and the relevance of the X-Men's themes in the present day. Interested in the media we discussed this episode? Please support the show by purchasing it through our affiliate store: X-Men: Grand De...

This band has been creating experimental music for 35 years. So we look at the moment when they doubled down by teaming up with musicians from Big Business. We confront our own subjectivity about music and examine how to make a living from something creative like this long-running doom machine. Interested in the media we discussed this episode? Please support the show by purchasing it through our...

David Simon and George Pelecanos' show makes us uncomfortable about sex work. But it's to better understand capitalism. We discuss their exploration of community, corruption and the production of both this show and the labor that inspired it. Interested in the media we discussed this episode? Please support the show by purchasing it through our affiliate store: The Deuce, Season One Last Exit to B...

We try to unpack what little is known about this author, while providing a "succinct" description of the book. Along the way we discuss the publishing industry, book awards, obscenity, themes and the mythical reputation this tome has garnered over the years. Interested in the media we discussed this episode? Please support the show by purchasing it through our affiliate store: Gravity's Rainbow In...

Does this film change the way we look at the world the same way its 1982 predecessor and Phillip K. Dick's original 1968 story did? We look at the aesthetics of this brutal dystopian vision and how it portrays women, fertility, power and agency... all while its financiers struggle with creative accounting to justify another sequel. Interested in the media we discussed this episode? Please support...

It's our Christmas episode and as is our tradition, we're covering a ghost story. While Deadman's comics may seem to be about an acrobat solving his own murder... we find out that it's also about censorship in the 1960s and collusion in the media industry. Interested in the media we discussed this episode? Please support the show by purchasing it through our affiliate store: Deadman: Book One Doom...

How do we respond to a pop music auteur who's been described as the "patron saint" of her generation? We look at her DIY production work ethic to find out. Additionally, we get very upset about how some try to sexualize, infantilize or demean her with criticism and even death threats. Interested in the media we discussed this episode? Please support the show by purchasing it through our affiliate...

This Netflix program is about the early days of studying serial killers at the FBI. We look at David Fincher's meticulous storytelling here, as well as the show's attempts to disrupt the glorification of murder and the methodological portrayal of criminal profiling. Interested in the media we discussed this episode? Please support the show by purchasing it through our affiliate store: Mindhunter:...

In this essay, one of America's most beloved storytellers provides advice on consuming media, thinking critically about it and applying it to your own work. We get real personal while trying to figure out who our respective "muses" are. Interested in the media we discussed this episode? Please support the show by purchasing it through our affiliate store: Zen in the Art of Writing Grinderman The A...

This 2007 thriller divides a lot of people over whether it's good or bad. We try to take a high road and instead explore what the film says about us. Is it about ordinary monsters? Addiction? Or America's guilt about its own dark side? Interested in the media we discussed this episode? Please support the show by purchasing it through our affiliate store: Mr. Brooks Seven Millennium Hannibal Field...

David Byrne's self-titled album is a personal moment in his creative history, but do his lyrics have meaning? Or do they simply dredge up emotions for the listener? Also, how does an album that's this diverse have such a white, middle class identity associated with it?  Interested in the media we discussed this episode? Please support the show by purchasing it through our affiliate store: David By...

Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman's novel about the comedy of Armageddon seems to be the very definition of "twee." We try to unpack what that concept means and how it contributes to the authors' humanist message. Interested in the media we discussed this episode? Please support the show by purchasing it through our affiliate store: Good Omens: The Nice and Accurate Prophecies of Agnes Nutter, Witch...

  This television show may be an adaptation of a superhero property, but it's unlike anything we've seen before. It takes the collage aesthetics from unusual comic books and turns them into Noah Hawley's kaleidoscope of mental illness, 60s futurism and a good old fashioned love story.   Interested in the media we discussed this episode? Please support the show by purchasing it through our affiliat...

Grant Morrison says this 2002 comic book with Chris Weston, Gary Erskine and Matt Hollingsworth is an inoculation against the nasty horror of the world through depravity, pornography and depression. We interrogate whether that theme works in the end product and if the sexual violence within is problematic. Interested in the media we discussed this episode? Please support the show by purchasing it...

David Simon and Ed Burns produced what is heralded as one of the most authentic depictions of the Iraq War, based on Evan Wright's embedded reporting. We look at how it navigates between journalism and drama to keep us from forgetting the story of soldiers on the ground. Interested in the media we discussed this episode? Please support the show by purchasing it through our affiliate store: Generat...

Writer/director Robin Hardy describes The Wicker Tree  as a companion piece to 1973's  The Wicker Man . We dig into just how this film got made. Was it a spiteful response to the American remake? Or a continuation for a deeper purpose? Interested in the media we discussed this episode? Please support the show by purchasing it through our affiliate store: The Wicker Man The Wicker Tree The Sacramen...

Killer Mike and El-P call their latest record the album of their careers. How does it straddle crass humor, transgression and political activism? And if you are "the jewel," how does their music fit into your community? Interested in the media we discussed this episode? Please support the show by purchasing it through our affiliate store: Run the Jewels Run the Jewels 2 Run the Jewels 3 Meow the J...