politics

by

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

by

Listen to Gobbledygeek Episode 432 – “Two Crucifixes in the Logo”

Ned Flanders (voiced by Harry Shearer), by far the most likeable evangelical I’ve ever met, in ‘The Simpsons’ 4×19, “The Front” (1993)

Gobbledygeek episode 431, “WandaVision (feat. Michael Holland),” is available for listening or download right here, on Spotify, and on Apple Podcasts.

When we’re not contracting coronavirus, we’re contracting people to work on our houses. And sometimes those people, too, can be a plague. Paul and Arlo commiserate over uncomfortable contractor experiences, uncomfortable evangelicalism, and the uncomfortable intersection of those two very uncomfortable things. In other news, baby-faced Paul got his first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine and had to deal with some folks getting way too up in his personal space. Are we ready for a return to normal? No. No, we are not. Plus, we remember to talk pop culture and chat about the Oscar nominations.

NEXT: Paul decides on air during this very episode that next week will be this month’s Four-Color Flashback, discussing Vols. 1 & 2 of Daniel Warren Johnson’s Extremity.

MUSIC

  • “Comfort Eagle” by Cake, Comfort Eagle (2001)
  • “Burning Down the House” by Talking Heads, Speaking in Tongues (1982)

GOBBLEDYCARES

by

Listen to Gobbledygeek Episode 427 – “Derek DelGaudio’s In & Of Itself (feat. Wesley Mead)”

Derek DelGaudio in In & Of Itself (2020), directed by Frank Oz

Gobbledygeek episode 427, “Derek DelGaudio’s In & Of Itself (feat. Wesley Mead),” is available for listening or download right here, on Spotify, and on Apple Podcasts.

I am a podcast. This week, Paul and Arlo are joined by Wesley Mead to unravel the mystery of Derek DelGaudio’s stage show In & Of Itself, now available on Hulu in a filmed version directed by none other than Frank Oz. Truth be told, if truth is a concept you believe in, the gang doesn’t do much unraveling. No, that would be beyond the point. Instead, they discuss how the show makes them feel and what it reveals about the relationship between one human being and another. Magic, wolves, self-identity, and the communal experience all make an appearance. Plus, Wezzo tells us how the UK is faring with lockdown, and Arlo raves about Merawi Gerima’s stunning feature debut Residue.

NEXT: I’ll meet you in another life, when we are both cats. This month’s Four-Color Flashback is all about Ronald Wimberly’s take on Romeo and Juliet, 2012’s Prince of Cats.

BREAKDOWN

  • 00:00:55  –  Intro / Guest
  • 00:23:37  –  Derek DelGaudio’s In & Of Itself
  • 01:52:12  –  Outro / Next

LINKS

MUSIC

  • “Dog and Wolf” by Green Dolphin Street, Boozekilla (2017)
  • “I Am” by AWOLNATION, Run (2015)

GOBBLEDYCARES

by

Listen to Gobbledygeek Episode 421 – “Drop the Boom On This F#@%ed-Up World”

Britney wins!!!!!!!

Gobbledygeek episode 421, “Drop the Boom On This F#@%ed-Up World,” is available for listening or download right here and on Apple Podcasts here.

We’re still here. The world spins on, at least for a time. In the aftermath of Election Day 2020, there are many variables. Will that loser leave the White House? Will the GOP’s slow-rolling coup pay off? Will a Trumpian shadow militia form, leading to an actual Civil War II? As is the norm, Paul and Arlo have no answers, but they ponder these questions and many others. The boys recount their Election Night spirals; Arlo gets tested for COVID; Paul goes to the severe county of Sevier County; and they discuss some pop culture too, like why the kitchen-sink melodrama of This Is Us works, why Baby Yoda being a monster on The Mandalorian is cool and good, and why Paul hates The Simpsons.

NEXT: for the penultimate episode before our pregnancy-induced hiatus, Vickie Willis Navarra joins us for a Four-Color Flashback discussing Sandman Mystery Theatre: Book One by Matt Wagner, Guy Davis, John Watkiss, and R.G. Taylor.

MUSIC

  • “FDT (feat. Nipsey Hustle)” by YG, Still Brazy (2016)
  • “Three Little Birds” by Bob Marley & The Wailers, Exodus (1977)

GOBBLEDYCARES

by

Listen to Gobbledygeek Episode 409 – “Hamilton (feat. Sarah Kosheff)

Daveed Diggs, Okieriete Onaodowan, Anthony Ramos, and Lin-Manuel Miranda in ‘Hamilton’ (2020), directed by Thomas Kail.

Gobbledygeek episode 409, “Hamilton (feat. Sarah Kosheff),” is available for listening or download right here and on Apple Podcasts here.

2020 may be an absolute shitshow, but thanks to Disney+, we can all be in the living room where it happens: the filmed performance of Hamilton, recorded in 2016 with the original Broadway cast, is now available to stream. Paul and Arlo may have talked about Hamilton, oh, once or twice or 18 times since its debut five years ago, but luckily über-fan Sarah Kosheff is on hand to help them find new things to say. Arlo talks about getting to see an actual production of Hamilton for the first time, Paul relays the time he was sprayed with Groff sauce, the gang discusses the up-close nuance of the troupe’s acting, and they address some of the political and cultural criticisms of the show.

Next: we get all dolled up for a Geek Challenge featuring Puppet Master and Seed of Chucky.

THE BREAKDOWN

Total Run Time: 02:15:20

  • 00:00:18  –  Intro / Guest
  • 00:01:34  –  Main Topic
  • 02:09:40  –  Outro / Next

THE MUSIC

  • “Alexander Hamilton” by Original Broadway Cast of Hamilton, Hamilton (Original Broadway Cast Recording) (2015)
  • “Who Lives, Who Dies, Who Tells Your Story” by Original Broadway Cast of Hamilton, Hamilton (Original Broadway Cast Recording) (2015)

THE LINKS

 

by

Listen to Gobbledygeek Episode 404 – “Monty Wezzo’s Flying Quarantine (feat. Wesley Mead)”

We rigorously fact-checked this information and have concluded it is, without doubt, 100% true.

Gobbledygeek episode 404, “Monty Wezzo’s Flying Quarantine (feat. Wesley Mead),” is available for listening or download right here and on iTunes here.

Rule, Wezzo! Wezzo, rule the podcast! Gobbledygeek’s senior British correspondent, Wesley “Wezzo” Mead, returns after a truly mind-boggling 22-month gap to fill us in on how exactly the UK is falling apart. Boris Johnson is handling the COVID-19 pandemic very poorly, especially for someone who nearly died from the virus–but still not as poorly as Galactic Emperor Trump, with his Space Forces and super-duper missiles. You’ve heard all about how Paul and Arlo are coping with quarantine, but what’s Wezzo been watching? Well, do you remember the Olsen twins sitcom Two of a Kind and Amanda Bynes vehicle What I Like About You? No? That’s okay, Wezzo remembers them for you! Nostalgia plays a big role this episode, as we pine for our glory days from the discomfort of our hellish present; and specifically, those tactile yet intangible sense memories. Wow, deep! But it’s mostly What I Like About You.

Next: gonna cruise her round the town, show everybody what I’ve found, rock ‘n’ roll with all my friends, hopin’ the music never ends, these happy days are yours and mine, oh happy days.

THE BREAKDOWN

Total Run Time: 01:53:55

  • 00:00:33  –  Intro? (Time has no meaning anymore…)
  • 01:51:05   –  Outro / Next

THE MUSIC

  • “Blinded by the White” by Butch Walker, American Love Story (2020)
  • “Sweet” by Porridge Radio, Every Bad (2020)

LINKS

by

Listen to Gobbledygeek Episode 374 – “The Paranoia Is Coming from Inside the House!”

Gobbledygeek episode 374, “The Paranoia Is Coming from Inside the House!,” is available for listening or download right here and on iTunes here.

To paraphrase Olivia Newton-John, “Let’s get political–political!” Paul and Arlo discuss politics only occasionally, but this week, they unload. With anti-abortion bills being signed into law in both of their home states, Alabama and Ohio, the boys have a thing or two to say. (Spoiler: they are loudly and clearly pro-choice.) Where do you go after that? Well, Paul saves a restaurant bird, Arlo goes down a murderous Reddit rabbit hole, and Paul cannot get the fuck to sleep. Sweet dreams, kids.

Next: who knows!

(Show notes for “The Paranoia Is Coming from Inside the House!”)

by

Listen to ‘Gobbledygeek’ Episode 342, “Captain America and the Falcon: Secret Empire (feat. Ensley F. Guffey)”

Gobbledygeek episode 342, “Captain America and the Falcon: Secret Empire (feat. Ensley F. Guffey),” is available for listening or download right here and on iTunes here.

An American feels betrayed by his government, which has revealed itself to be nothing but a bureaucratic system designed to conceal criminal activity. Sounds familiar, right? It’s also the basis for the superhero classic Captain America and the Falcon: Secret Empire. Steve Englehart, Mike Friedrich, and Sal Buscema’s Nixon-era tale finds Cap on the run from a populace that no longer trusts him. Joining Paul and Arlo for this Four-Color Flashback installment is Wanna Cook? author and Cap superfan Ensley F. Guffey. The gang discusses why a story like this couldn’t be told today, how it’s difficult to understand Watergate’s importance given today’s political climate, the uncomfortable jive-talkin’ racial stereotypes, and why the outrageous cornball of old superhero comics doesn’t dilute its power. Plus, Arlo makes an apology and the gang shares what comics they’ve been reading.

Next: it’s all been leading to this. Avengers: Infinity War.

(Show notes for “Captain America and the Falcon: Secret Empire.”)

by

Listen to ‘Gobbledygeek’ Episode 330, “The X-Files: Season 7 (feat. Wesley Mead)”

Gobbledygeek episode 330, “The X-Files: Season 7 (feat. Wesley Mead),” is available for listening or download right here and on iTunes here.

No TV show is at its best seven seasons in, as Paul, Arlo, and special British guest Wesley “Wezzo” Mead can attest. The gang has just watched season 7 of Chris Carter’s seminal sci-fi series The X-Files, and they have questions: Why would anyone think that was a satisfying resolution to the Samantha Mulder storyline? Why is Dana Scully, one of the greatest female characters in all of genre fiction, consistently robbed of agency? Why is Chris Carter the worst writer on his own show? Why didn’t the show just end here? In addition to lamenting the season’s VR fantasmagorias and double scoops of Kathy Griffin, the gang does find praise for cast members going behind the camera and Vince Gilligan inching ever closer toward Breaking Bad. Plus, Paul continues to visit The Greatest Showman; Wezzo tells us of Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee, Somebody Feed Phil, and Inside No. 9; and gosh, politics are just AWFUL.

Next: Paul and Arlo dive into Guillermo del Toro’s The Shape of Water.

(Show notes for “The X-Files: Season 7.”)

by

Listen to ‘Gobbledygeek’ Episode 313, “The X-Files: Season 5 (feat. Wesley Mead)”

Gobbledygeek episode 313, “The X-Files: Season 5 (feat. Wesley Mead),” is available for listening or download right here and on iTunes here.

Once again, Paul and Arlo’s most British friend Wesley “Wezzo” Mead is abducted from the U.K. to discuss Chris Carter’s seminal sci-fi series The X-Files. The gang has reached the show’s fifth season; for a while now, Paul and Wezzo have been warning neophyte X-Phile Arlo that things would go downhill, and we may have reached that point. They discuss why season 5 doesn’t work quite as well as previous seasons; the big celebrity guest writers (Stephen King! William Gibson!); if the mytharc stuff makes any sense at this point; whether or not Scully has been completely robbed of agency; and the series’ first feature film, Fight the Future. Plus, there’s despairing political talk as always, and Arlo revisited every single David Lynch movie.

Next: the lasso of truth compels Paul and Arlo to give you their thoughts on Patty Jenkins’ big-screen Wonder Woman.

(Show notes for “The X-Files: Season 5.”)