The High Tech Low Life Podcast: A Cyberpunk Media Retrospective

This week we are covering the book The Ten Percent Thief by Lavanya Lakshminarayan.  The book is about a world strictly divided by social hierarchy, and told via interlocking short stories, ranging from humorous to horrific.  Your boys were divided on this one, but even if it fell short in places, the book definitely set itself up for a monumental task, and, for the most part, accomplished that ta...

Once in a while we pick a movie neither of us have heard of but yet of which we both end up singing the praises.  It's pretty rare, but thankfully Sleep Dealer is one of those movies. The Budget:  Low.  The effects:  Not so special.  But there is an unmistakable talent in the writing, directing, and acting that more than makes up for the small amount of money they had to make this film.  And to to...

It's an anime ep!  AD Police is a horny, cheap, and blessedly short collection of cyberpunk tales from 2027 Neo Tokyo.  We have covered a couple other series just like it, and it is, unfortunately, the worst of the bunch.  There might be a few nuggets of cool to pan out of this river of mediocrity, however, so stay tuned and see if these old prospectors manage to... sluice some... gold? This metap...

The Dream of the 90s is alive on the High Tech Low Life Podcast.  This week we watch The Net starring Sandra Bullock.  This movie is as 90s as it gets, and even though it's incredibly flawed and not that great, we just can't bring ourselves to hate it. The High Tech Low Life Podcast is a retrospective of cyberpunk fiction across all forms of media. Film, Television, Literature, Games, and Music ar...

As promised the thrilling conclusion of our Alien Earth recap featuring Colin of the Astronomica Podcast.  In this installment we cover episodes 3-8 of the series, and give it our ratings. The High Tech Low Life Podcast is a retrospective of cyberpunk fiction across all forms of media. Film, Television, Literature, Games, and Music are all on the table. In each episode we will revisit the property...

This week we are thrilled to be joined by Colin of the Astronomica podcast to recap the recently concluded first season of Alien: Earth.  The show is a mixed bag of good and bad, but lots of interesting details to discuss and pontificate upon.  So many details that this is, once again, being split into two parts, however FEAR NOT!  The second part will be released in just a few days and we will ha...

We had intended to cover a cool looking French film called Ares this week, however that was not to be as all the copies we found had unintelligible subtitles.  In lieu of that we decided to just put out an off the cuff episode with extended dystopia and recommendos, and a bonus review for the current Mark Wahlberg picture: Play Dirty.  What a treat! The High Tech Low Life Podcast is a retrospectiv...

This week, after a freshly recorded intro recapping the horrors of the day, we dive back in and wrap-up our recap of Blade Runner 2049.  Thanks again to Sean Faust for joining on this deep dive. The High Tech Low Life Podcast is a retrospective of cyberpunk fiction across all forms of media. Film, Television, Literature, Games, and Music are all on the table. In each episode we will revisit the pr...

For our centennial episode we have the pleasure of recapping Denis Villeneuve's 2017 sequel to Blade Runner: Blade Runner 2049.  Thirty years after the original and Deckard is back up to his old blade running tricks, and this time he has a hot new sidekick you might recognize, The Gray Man himself: Ryan Gosling.  We are excited to be joined by our old friend Sean Faust to cover this one, and cover...

In our final double digit episode ever, we cover 2015's moody and sleek Ex Machina.  This movie features a baby Domhnall Gleeson, a robot Alicia Vikander, and an Oscar Isaac that can really "get it", despite his toxic personality. A beautifully shot and acted film and might I say handsomly recapped by your hosts. The High Tech Low Life Podcast is a retrospective of cyberpunk fiction across all for...

The Final Installment of our Shadowrun Lore extravaganza!   The High Tech Low Life Podcast is a retrospective of cyberpunk fiction across all forms of media. Film, Television, Literature, Games, and Music are all on the table. In each episode we will revisit the property, it's influences, it's prescience, and enshrine it in the chrome and neon halls of Neo Valhalla. Pink Fohawk: https://open.spoti...

Dean and Ben are back to continue helping us dig into the lore and timeline of the Shadowrun table top roleplaying game.  This week we finish up the pre-game timeline and get into first edition and some second edition shenanigans.  And oh yes, we've got bug spirits, if that's what you're into you sick freak.  It's me.  The sick freak is me. The High Tech Low Life Podcast is a retrospective of cybe...

We are back from break and ready to take on one of our most requested and anticipated properties:  Shadowrun.   Man be meeting magic and machine up in here, folks.  Don't go into this expecting a lot of coverage of Shadowrun as a game, our wheelhouse is lore, not game mechanics, so we focus on the story and what came to pass to get us to where we are in the 6th world.  We are also happy to be join...

We're almost back, baby!  On this mini-ep we talk about some aesthetic changes to the pod, and announce our big Season 3 premiere episode coming next week.  Also read a couple of emails for good measure. The High Tech Low Life Podcast is a retrospective of cyberpunk fiction across all forms of media. Film, Television, Literature, Games, and Music are all on the table. In each episode we will revis...

I know, podcast "seasons" are dumb, nevertheless we are about to take a break and figured we'd kick out one more episode to cover the insane dystopian week we've had and read a few listener questions and comments.  Enjoy the heat and stay safe out in them streets! The High Tech Low Life Podcast is a retrospective of cyberpunk fiction across all forms of media. Film, Television, Literature, Games,...

This week ya boys dip their toe into one of the more popular dystopias of the modern era: The Hunger Games, specifically the prequel A Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes.  And like any good quest into uncharted territory, they dare not go alone.  Thankfully, Kristen from the Astronomica podcast has been kind enough to join us and lend her considerable expertise.  Yes, I'm aware that Josh is actually q...

While it may not be very cyberpunk, Sneakers is still well worth a watch and does kinda share some vibes skirting the edges of the genre.  Who doesn't like a good caper?  Who doesn't like this cast?  Who doesn't like watching a blind man drive a panel van full throttle over a multi-level parking lot?  Cyberpunk it isn't, but a fun and well-made movie it very much is. The High Tech Low Life Podcast...

What a strange bit of media Captain Laserhawk is.  Basically an extended commercial for a video game company, ripping off every cyberpunk trope in the book, you might expect it to be straight garbage.  Against all odds, however, it actually pulls off a fun and interesting little tale with some depressingly familiar dystopian world building.   Kudos to Ubisoft, I guess! The High Tech Low Life Podca...

In Time has an awesome concept.  What if time was literally currency?  What if centuries were horded by an elite that used the market to control and subjagate the majority of the population who had to toil and stress for every hour in the day?  Sounds like fertile ground for cyberpunkery!  Unfortunately this story is not told very well, and the result is kind of boring and hamfisted, and certainly...

Screamers is a solid little under-the-radar, mid 90's sci fi film.  It has some quality dialogue, interesting story adapted from a Phillip K Dick novella, and some surprisingly solid special effects from a time period when the effects on low budget movies were frequently less than special. The High Tech Low Life Podcast is a retrospective of cyberpunk fiction across all forms of media. Film, Telev...

After a freshly recorded introduction to discuss the various horrors and delights of the week, we rejoin our podcast in progress recapping The Fifth Element.  The back half of the movie is even more insane than the front, due in no small part to the introduction of Chris Tucker's Ruby Rhod, famous space radio DJ?  Twitch streamer? Podcaster?  We're gonna call him a podcaster. I know I'd like and s...

The Fifth Element only skirts the edges of cyberpunk, but after the gruelling slog that was Pluto Nash, we feel like we've earned something a little more fun.  Between the story, characters, costumes, and problematic director, however, there is far just too much to cover in one episode, so this one is a two-parter. The High Tech Low Life Podcast is a retrospective of cyberpunk fiction across all f...

Surely it can't be that bad, right?  It's just negative hype!  It's just people piling on a movie that may not be great by any means, but isn't 6% Rotten Tomatoes worthy.  Maybe there are some moments that make it worth the time investment.  Maybe it's the critics who are wrong. Nope!  This movie is B-A-D which stands for Boring As Dick (Dick is a guy I know and he's super boring). I wish it was f...

We are back to finish up our recap of All Tomorrow's Parties.  Listen and marvel at how, in the interest of time, Josh is forced to skip half the notes he painstakingly took, and yet we still manage to go way long.  Tune in to see what happens to Lainey, Rydell, Chevette, and most imporantly, Boomzilla.  Once again thanks to Geoff from Astronomica podcast for the assist. The High Tech Low Life Pod...

At long last we finish William Gibson's Bridge trilogy, or at least we start to finish it.  This is the first part of a two part recap of All Tomorrow's Parties, the final entry in the trilogy and, if one podcaster is to be belived, the final book of the 20th century.  We are also stoked to be joined by Geoff from the Astronomica Podcast once again to assist in breaking it all down for you folks....