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Listen to Gobbledygeek Episode 495 – “HBO’s The Last of Us, Season One (feat. Dale & Ensley Guffey)”

Pedro Pascal and Bella Ramsey in The Last of Us (2023), created by Neil Druckmann and Craig Mazin

Gobbledygeek episode 495, “HBO’s The Last of Us, Season One (feat. Dale & Ensley Guffey),” is available for listening or download right here, on Spotify, and on Apple Podcasts.

Love can spread like a fungus throughout the soul, eradicating any shred of self-control. For a thorough depiction of that sentiment, we turn to HBO’s The Last of Us, a TV adaptation of the blockbuster video game series. Joining Paul and Arlo to talk everything mushroom are authors and pop culture enthusiasts Dale and Ensley Guffey, stopping by the show for their first visit in years. The gang discusses the game’s transition to television, how the show breaks new ground for the zombie apocalypse genre, the incredible chemistry between Pedro Pascal and Bella Ramsey, and much more.

NEXT: a long-delayed Four-Color Flashback discussion of Gene Luen Yang’s Boxers & Saints.

BREAKDOWN

  • 00:00:48  –  Intro / Guests
  • 00:03:00  –  HBO’s The Last of Us
  • 01:59:42  –  Outro / Next

LINKS

MUSIC

  • “Never Let Me Down Again” by Depeche Mode, Music for the Masses (1987)
  • “Long Long Time” by Linda Ronstadt, Silk Purse (1970)

GOBBLEDYCARES

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Listen to the Gobbledygeek Season 14 Premiere – “In Like a Lion”

Gobbledygeek episode 491, “In Like a Lion,” is available for listening or download right here, on Spotify, and on Apple Podcasts.

We’re back, baby! After a longer than expected hiatus, Gobbledygeek has returned for season 14. That’s right, we’re up to 14 seasons of Paul and Arlo babbling on about any manner of nonsense–which they continue to do in this freestyle season premiere. 2023 has come in like a lion and is likely to go out like one, so we find our boys licking their wounds, recounting the real-life horrors that delayed their return to the mic, and generally complaining about everything. Including pop culture! Lest you forget that’s what they’re here for, Paul and Arlo sauté some thoughts on the mushroom apocalypse of HBO’s The Last of Us adaptation; rave about the movies they’ve caught up with, like The Fabelmans, RRR, and Aftersun; and decide to get high-brow by reading books that don’t have any pictures. Plus, a pitch for the inevitable Gobbledygeek TV series.

NEXT: okay, but we really like books that do have pictures in them. This year’s Four-Color Flashback series kicks off with Al Ewing and Simone Di Meo’s We Only Find Them When They’re Dead.

MUSIC

  • “At Last” by Etta James, At Last! (1960)
  • “This Will Be Our Year” by The Zombies, Odessey and Oracle (1968)

GOBBLEDYCARES

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Listen to Gobbledygeek Episode 479 – “Sad & Weird”

Gobbledygeek episode 479, “Sad & Weird,” is available for listening or download right here, on Spotify, and on Apple Podcasts.

For another freestyle, Paul and Arlo are getting weird. As in “Weird Al” Yankovic, whom Arlo recently saw with their good buddy Kenn Edwards. Arlo recounts the concert moment he’d been waiting for all his life, then Paul discusses the joys and frustrations of the first-ever virtual Slayage conference. Plus, brief ruminations on Nope, Thor: Love and Thunder, and The Rehearsal; and we remember our friend Chelsea Hawk.

NEXT: TBD.

LINKS

MUSIC

  • “We Would Be Building” by John Fahey, Days Have Gone By, Vol. 6 (1967)
  • “Lame Claim to Fame” by “Weird Al” Yankovic, Mandatory Fun (2014)

GOBBLEDYCARES

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Listen to Gobbledygeek Episode 466 – “Our Flag Means Death”

Taika Waititi and Rhys Darby in Our Flag Means Death (2022), created by David Jenkins

Gobbledygeek episode 466, “Our Flag Means Death,” is available for listening or download right here, on Spotify, and on Apple Podcasts.

Weigh anchor and hoist the mizzen! Paul and Arlo set sail for a discussion of David Jenkins’ pirate rom-com Our Flag Means Death. The new HBO Max series, a very loose telling of the history between Stede “The Gentleman Pirate” Bonnet and Edward “Blackbeard” Teach, begins as a silly romp very much in the vein of executive producer/star Taika Waititi’s other work. And then…well, it becomes something very much more, depicting a number of queer romances in positive, affirming fashion. The boys discuss this shouldn’t-be-shocking-in-2022 level of representation, the chemistry between Rhys Darby and Waititi, how closely (or not) the show follows the historical record, the series’ moral of not accepting that the way things are is the way they have to be, and more. Plus, up in the sky! It’s a bird, it’s a plane, Arlo is reading old Superman comics!

NEXT: reply hazy, try again.

BREAKDOWN

  • 00:00:47  –  Intro / Banter
  • 00:18:30  –  Our Flag Means Death
  • 01:36:26  –  Outro / Next

LINKS

MUSIC

  • “Perfect Day” by Lou Reed, Transformer (1972)
  • “Miles from Nowhere” by Cat Stevens, Tea for the Tillerman (1970)

GOBBLEDYCARES

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Listen to the Gobbledygeek Season 13 Premiere – “Triskaidekaphobia”

13! 13 godforsaken seasons of Gobbledygeek! Ma ah ah!

Gobbledygeek episode 459, “Triskaidekaphobia,” is available for listening or download right here, on Spotify, and on Apple Podcasts.

You’re in luck–season 13 of Gobbledygeek is here. Everyone’s favorite more or less (emphasis on less) weekly podcast returns with a look at the horrors 2022 has in store. How are Paul and Arlo feeling, two years into a pandemic? How dissatisfied are they with the goons running this whole show? Would they survive the apocalypse? At a certain point, the boys remember they’re supposed to be doing a pop culture show. Paul heads to Station Eleven, while Arlo finds The Lost Daughter and runs to Flee. Whistle through the graveyard with your podcast pals!

NEXT: more good-time goofs from your friends at Gobbledygeek.

MUSIC

  • “Back in the Saddle” by Aerosmith, Rocks (1976)
  • “Jerry Springer” by “Weird” Al Yankovic, Running With Scissors (1999)

GOBBLEDYCARES

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Listen to Gobbledygeek Episode 413 – “Action Park: Everything Is Legal in New Jersey”

The notorious wave pool at Action Park in Vernon, NJ.

Gobbledygeek episode 413, “Action Park: Everything Is Legal in New Jersey,” is available for listening or download right here and on Apple Podcasts here.

As Hamilton taught us, everything is legal in New Jersey. So we shouldn’t be surprised that it was once home to Action Park, the most dangerous amusement park in the world. Eugene Mulvihill’s vision of a lawless hellscape with pleasure as its only principle is the American Dream in miniature, with a guest appearance by Donald Trump himself! Paul and Arlo discuss the new HBO Max documentary Class Action Park, which brought the Mulvihill legend to their attention; some ancillary material available on YouTube, including one insane post-credits sequence; how Paul would love to bean somebody with a flaming tennis ball; and their respective childhoods, one as a latchkey kid in the ‘70s/’80s and one as a cowardly nerd in the ‘90s/’00s. Will they emerge unscathed? Tune in and find out!

Next: another episode of your favorite podcast. No, not that one. This one. Wait. Come back.

THE BREAKDOWN

Total Run Time: 01:24:00

  • 00:00:30  –  Intro / Main Topic
  • 01:21:07  –  Outro / Next

THE MUSIC

  • Action Park commercial (1983)
  • “Don’t Talk to Strangers” by The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Turtle Tunes (1994)

THE LINKS

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Listen to Gobbledygeek Episode 401 – “Texed”

Original art ‘Sam-Chan’ by CrispyToastYT.

Gobbledygeek episode 401, “Texed,” is available for listening or download right here and on iTunes here.

We’re all responding to quarantine (semi- or otherwise) in different ways. Paul seems to be practicing some sort of immersion therapy, living out the post-apocalypse in games like The Last of Us and shows like The Leftovers. Arlo, meanwhile, reaches for the comfort of old reliable favorites like the first Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movie or the modern classic sketch comedy series Key and Peele. Have you ever realized they’re different people? The boys discuss texting syntax, Paul’s genuine repulsion at a certain aspect of The Leftovers, Arlo’s journey through old superhero comics, and so much (or at least a little) more.

Next: TBD, as per ush.

THE BREAKDOWN

Total Run Time: 01:58:01

  • 00:00:27  –  Intro
  • 01:55:00  –  Outro / Next

THE MUSIC

  • “Gunfight Epiphany” by Robert Duncan, Gunfight Epiphany (Theme from Terriers) (2010)
  • “Let the Mystery Be” by Iris DeMent, Infamous Angel (1992)
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Listen to Gobbledygeek Episode 396 – “FCF Bonus: HBO’s Watchmen (feat. Greg Sahadachny)”

Regina King in HBO’s ‘Watchmen’ (2019).

Gobbledygeek episode 396, “FCF Bonus: HBO’s Watchmen (feat. Greg Sahadachny),” is available for listening or download right here and on iTunes here.

No one, especially not Alan Moore, ever really wanted a Watchmen sequel. Which is exactly why handing the reins to Damon Lindelof, who has a history of disorienting and upsetting expectations, is a stroke of genius. Last year’s HBO series, spearheaded by Lindelof, is a bold, startling continuation of Moore and Dave Gibbons’ graphic novel masterpiece–so of course, after talking about the book, Paul, Arlo, and reformed podcaster Greg Sahadachny had to discuss the TV show. The gang talks about the ways in which Lindelof subverts and pays tribute to Moore and Gibbons’ work; how Lindelof built a writers’ room with people who were not like him; the show’s provocative exploration of race and authority; whether or not the show sticks the landing; and much, much more.

Next: due to one scheduling kerfuffle after another, we’ve got another Four-Color Flashback for you! Paul and Arlo will discuss Jeff Lemire and Dean Ormston’s Black Hammer.

THE BREAKDOWN

Total Run Time: 02:32:50

  • 00:00:30  –  Intro
  • 00:05:40  –  Sturgill Simpson’s A Good Look’n Tour
  • 00:28:28  –  Watchmen
  • 02:28:25  –  Outro / Next

THE MUSIC

  • “Turtles All the Way Down” by Sturgill Simpson, Turtles All the Way Down (2014)
  • “Best Clockmaker On Mars” by Sturgill Simpson, Sound & Fury (2019)

THE LINKS

 

 

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Listen to Gobbledygeek Episode 390 – “Freegobble: Return to InfoPrison”

A Shakey’s Pizza in the wild.

Gobbledygeek episode 390, “Freegobble: Return to InfoPrison,” is available for listening or download right here and on iTunes here.

Ever have a job so shitty, it haunts you years (or even decades) down the line? Paul and Arlo have, and it’s called Gobbledygeek! Hey-o! In all seriousness (?), Paul recounts a traumatic experience at Shakey’s Pizza and Arlo is filled with regret over his time at the right-wing call center InfoCision. Cue flashbacks to high school football teams ravenous for wings and evil televangelists separating the faithful from what little coin they carry. Speaking of the latter, Arlo laments Kanye West’s evangelical turn on Jesus Is King. Elsewhere, Paul watches TV, including Succession, Primal, Daybreak, Watchmen, and Modern Love; and braves crowds of drunken revelers at shows for Bastille, Joywave, Trampled by Turtles, and The Avett Bros.

Next: TBD.

THE BREAKDOWN

Total Run Time: 01:39:58

  • 00:00:33  –  Intro
  • 00:01:12  –  We are NOT sponsored by the Gobble meal delivery service
  • 00:07:30  –  Cold pizza and really, really hot wings
  • 00:14:43  –  Way too much about InfoCision
  • 00:43:48  –  Not nearly enough about some great new TV shows
  • 00:54:08  –  More than a little bit about Succession
  • 01:07:20  –  Unfortunately, we discuss the new Kanye album
  • 01:15:30  –  A Popeye’s chicken sandwich interlude
  • 01:17:15  –  Back to Kanye (and controversial comments on Beyoncé)
  • 01:24:31  –  Lastly, Paul’s been to some concerts
  • 01:37:05  –  Outro / Next

THE MUSIC

  • “This Fucking Job” by Drive-By Truckers, The Big To-Do (2010)
  • “Blastoffff” by Joywave, Blastoffff (Single) (2018)

THE LINKS

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Listen to Gobbledygeek Episode 378 – “The Dog Ate My Sleep”

He only looks innocent.

Gobbledygeek episode 378, “The Dog Ate My Sleep,” is available for listening or download right here and on iTunes here.

We’re tired. So tired. That’s what you want to hear when you’re about to fire up a podcast, right? You are reading this, aren’t you? Buried among such illuminating subjects as the coffee Arlo’s drinking, Paul’s underhanded behind-the-scenes manipulations, and the boys’ general unprofessionalism, there is indeed some pop culture palaver and parley. The boys are digging HBO’s troubled teens drama Euphoria despite being approximately 400 years too old to say things like “that’s a mood”; Arlo is losing faith in The Handmaid’s Tale; Paul remembers Yesterday; and they both are in awe of Toy Story 4 being so much more than a cynical cash-grab.

Next: Toby Maguire now vanquished, Jake Gyllenhaal finally makes his way into a Spider-Man movie, donning a fishbowl for Spider-Man: Far From Home.

(Show notes for “The Dog Ate My Sleep.”)