The High Tech Low Life Podcast: A Cyberpunk Media Retrospective

Pack your bags everyone we're heading to Mars.  Or at least our minds are.  Are they?  I don't know, the point is after this is all over it will FEEL like you went to Mars so just strap in, let your eyes glaze over, and your boys will take you on a journey.  Total Recall is this week's recap, and rest assured we both have a lot ot say about a movie that came around at the perfect time in history t...

Is it basically a children's movie from the 80's?  Yes.  Does it feature a white man playing an Indian character in brown face and imitating an accent?  Unfortunately also yes.  Does that make it a bad movie?  Surprisingly... not as much as you'd think.    Maybe it's just nostalgia talking, but we were prepared to do some heavy duty dunking on Short Circuit and ended up being kind of delighted by...

This week we are recapping our newest movie yet, 2025's Companion, a movie about robots, humans, and a Russian. 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 ha...

Ben Affleck teams up with John Woo to make an exceptionally mediocre early 2000s techno-thriller, and we are here to talk about it.  So the deal is, Affleck's character reverse-engineers tech devices, then makes something better, then has his memory of the whole experience wiped as a sort of futuristic NDA.  The problem is that he takes on a job a little too big, gets in a little too deep, and the...

This week we return to true classic cyberpunk with a recap of the 1988 OVA: Appleseed.  It's an interesting production that hints at a lot of the philosophical themes that cyberpunk likes to cover, but doesn't have enough time to include that junk in with all the gunfights and excessive cursing.  What you get is a lot of fun, but pretty surface-level cyberpunk anime stuff, and we're cool with that...

Real Steel is a competently made film that is so utterly lacking in heart, humor, or any even remotely interesting idea beyond "wouldn't it be cool if big robots fought each other like boxers?" It's not particularly interesting.  So if you're one of those sadists that likes hearing us suffer, this one's for you, baby! The High Tech Low Life Podcast is a retrospective of cyberpunk fiction across al...

They Live may not be subtle, it may not be the best acted, or the best written film of all time, but oh man is it an entertaining film.  A tight 90 minutes of ass kicking and bubblegum chewing.  This week we spend about twice that much time recapping it and are honored to be joined by a very special guest: Stan from the Astronomica Podcast! The High Tech Low Life Podcast is a retrospective of cybe...

Mute is a beautiful mess of a film.  So much potential, so many misplays.  If I was a sports guy I'd make an comparison to recent football games that have occurred because that last sentence really sounded like it would make a good sports analogy.  Unfortunately I am unfamiliar with the lingo of the grid iron, much like Duncan Jones is unfamiliar with navigating the complicated subject of child se...

This week we have about 30 minutes of dystopia talk (skip forward if you value your mental health), and then DIVE deep into this week's book.  The Mountain In The Sea asks a lot of questions about the nature of intelligence and personhood, all in a pretty unique cyberpunk setting involving Mega Corporations, Aritifical Intelligence, and drone warfare. The High Tech Low Life Podcast is a retrospect...

A movie so good it could not be contained in one episode.  We are back with part 2 of our Robocop recap, or Rebocap if you will.  More violence, more satire, more hilarity, more good stuff.  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 proper...

This week we check one of the big one's off the list, Paul Verhoeven's 1987 ultra-violent dystopian comedy classic:  Robocop.  And as it turns out, we may have underestimated the film, enough that once we got recording, we just couldn't keep it to one episode.  The movie has everything, and did a remarkable job at predicting the future of policing, tech, and entertainment.  Here's part 1! The High...

The holidays set us back on doing a proper recap of a cyberpunk property, but we still found time to record and recap of our favorite media of 2024.  We will get back to the cyber and the punk next week when we finally cover Robocop, but for now please indulge us singing the praises of our favorite movies, music, and TV of the last year. The High Tech Low Life Podcast is a retrospective of cyberpu...

Gremlins 2 is a tale of imbecilic corporate power run amok, the broken technology they covet, and the chaos that ensues as a result of it all. Only a small community of like-minded laborers coming together and combining their skills can end what can only be described as humanity's greatest threat: The Gremlins. Also, there's a whole lot of violent slapsticky humor and 80's pop culture references. ...

Heads up, lots of dystopia to talk this week so if you don't like that part of the show, you're gonna be skipping deep into this one.  After the current events have been discussed we dive into what is, unfortunately, not as exciting a property as we had hoped.  Spicy city is a fun premise that ultimately fails to deliver on anything it promises.   The High Tech Low Life Podcast is a retrospective...

Tom Cruise makes his High Tech Low Life debut this week as we cover 2002's Minority Report.  This is a pretty good film about a cop who stops crimes before they happen, and whether or not that's actually pretty messed up when you think about it.  Also, is it cool to keep slaves in a perpetual bath and submit them to horrific images for their entire lives?  I dunno probably not.  Lets not do that i...

We are back to finish up our recap of the classic cyberpunk novel: Hardwired by Walter John Williams.  We got gun fights, we got dog fights, we got throat weasels, we got a plucky band of DIY revolutionaries taking on the capitalist class in air, land and space!  What more could you ask for at a time like this?  Once again Geoff from Astronomica serves as our trusted wing man. The High Tech Low Li...

This week we are recapping the incredible cyberpunk novel by Walter John Williams: Hardwired.  Though it may have flown under our radar, its influence can be seen throughout the entire cyberpunk genre, and it's a crime that we haven't gotten to it sooner.  Seeing as it is the first week in November, 2024, we also do some incredibly dystopian election talk, the entirety of which is available on our...

Nothing to recap this week, we are reading emails, talking about election anxieties, and giving recommendos.  Thanks everyone for listening and emailing in questions and comments! 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 in...

Jason X is technically a movie.  Also we talk about the dystopian news of the week, give recommendations, and talk about what's happening on next week's episode.  You don't want to miss this one folks! 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...

It may not be cyberpunk, but it is one of the best science fiction/horror movies ever made, so we are making a brief departure from format to cover John Carpenter's The Thing from 1982.  This movie does an incredible job of depicting paranoia, isolation, exhaustion, and terror... actually that's a pretty good description of the dystopia we find ourselves in today, so maybe this isn't such a depart...

Remember that movie from the end of the 90's where everyone wore black and the main character had almost psychic-like powers?  Where few humans realized that their reality was being constructed for them by something more powerful, and they had to wake up and try to stop those creatures in their own realm?  No not THAT movie, I'm talking about Dark City from 1998.  A fun and weird little sci fi fil...

Cyber City Oedo 808 is a 3 part Anime miniseries from 1991 and it may just be the most quotable piece of content we've covered on this show.  Earmuff the kiddies because the cursing in this one is infectious, but also hilarious.  Basically three 40 minute episode give us glimpses into 3 convicted criminals turned non-consensual cops as they attempt to shorten their sentences by being bounty hunter...

This week we are joined by Robin AKA Nightshift Femboy to cover 1995's Tank Girl starring Lori Petty.  A movie that may not be great, but is definitely not boring.  If you've ever been curious what Law and Order: SVU's Ice-T looks like as a kangaroo-man, your answer lies within this film.  Also within this film is an incredible 90's soundtrack.  Unfortunately it also contains a lot of casual sexua...

Much like your hosts, The Creator is a very good looking film with a lot of fundamental flaws that makes it almost unbearable to watch or listen to.  Unlike your hosts, it cost 80 million dollars to make.  This week we recap it, talk about the few things it got very right, and the many, many things it got very wrong. The High Tech Low Life Podcast is a retrospective of cyberpunk fiction across all...

All Banger Autumn continues with a movie that, though it may not seem traditionally cyberpunk on its face, is certainly cyberpunk in it's themes and vibes.  Heavy drug use, dirty police tricks, and manipulative corporations all feature heavily, as does this podcasts's titular concepts of High Tech and Low Life.  Together they form a film that is equally funny, strange, and heartbreaking.   The Hig...