109: There's Something Here from Somewhere Else

This week we are talking about the recent hype surrounding an AI that might, by 2030, "kill us all." This is somewhat familiar territory for the pod, but it is once again relevant after "whistleblower...

15 Sep 46min

This week we are discussing Mary Harron's adaptation of Bret Easton Ellis' novel American Psycho in light of Stu's recent article on the film's resonance with a cybernetic conception of the environmen...

8 Sep 54min

This week we are discussing José Saramago's 1995 novel Blindness. We consider what the central theme of the novel, a world in which virtually everyone suddenly goes blind, says about the way society i...

1 Sep 49min

This week we're finally talking about The Matrix, which is arguably the most culturally influential film of the last 30 years. We discuss the various ways the "red pill/blue pill" moment has been inge...

25 Aug 50min

This week we are delving into Stu's new article on Ray Kurzweil and the Singularity. What are some of the consequences of the potential merger of our brains with superintelligent AI? Are they good? Ar...

18 Aug 54min

This week we are covering the 1993 film, Alive, directed by Frank Marshall and starring Ethan Hawke and Josh Hamilton. A sort of apocalypse in miniature, the movie depicts the miraculous survival of s...

11 Aug 50min

This week we are tackling The Odyssey, both the ancient Greek epic and the recent adaptation directed by Christopher Nolan. We go over the context of the poem's composition and dissemination, its sign...

4 Aug 55min

This week we have a two pronged episode. We open up discussing the suit four states have brought against Meta, alleging the company has knowingly caused irreparable damage to millions of teens in prom...

28 Juli 1h