Supercontext: an autopsy of media

This 1985 concept album by Kate Bush is split into pop songs and a suite of music about someone drowning. We look at Bush's career arc leading up to this record and how the support she received from those around her allowed to experiment and create this wholly unique music. Interested in the media we discussed this episode? Please support the show by purchasing it through our affiliate store: Hounds of Love Additional Resources: Kate Bush Kate Bush rules, OK? Hounds of Love Landmark Productions: Kate Bush – Hounds of Love Classic Album: Hounds Of Love – Kate Bush Cowley, J. (2005). The Wow factor. New Statesman, 134(4726), 38–39. Sinclair, D. (1994). Dear diary: The secret world of Kate Bush. Rolling Stone, 676, 13. Moy, R. (2007). Kate Bush and Hounds of Love. Ashgate.

Dan Simmon's 1989 science-fiction novel is acclaimed for its unique structure, references, and style. We take a closer look at how it interrogates our expectations of genre to explore a complex host of themes. Thank you to Chris Marlton for coproducing this episode. Interested in the media we discussed this episode? Please support the show by purchasing it through our affiliate store: Hyperion Additional Resources: Throwback Thursday: The Mind-Altering Scope of Dan Simmons’ Hyperion Cantos Better to travel hopefully: Dan Simmons’s Hyperion Dan Simmons World-class maker of worlds Dan Simmons. By: Shindler, Dorman T., Writer (Kalmbach Publishing Co.), 00439517, Feb2001, Vol. 114, Issue 2 THRALL, J. H. (2014). Authoring the Sacred: Humanism and Invented Scripture in Octavia Butler, Kurt Vonnegut and Dan Simmons. Implicit Religion, 17(4), 509. Shea, B. (2015). Evolution and Neuroethics in the Hyperion Cantos. Journal of Cognition & Neuroethics, 3(3), 139. The one huge problem with Dan Simmons’ sci-fi mystery Hyperion Eschatology and Pain in Dan Simmons’ Hyperion Senior, W. (2012). Dan Simmons's Hyperion Cantos: The Fantasy Within. Hungarian Journal of English and American Studies (HJEAS), 18(1/2), 213-226.

This 1987 film is celebrated as a cult classic for its depiction of self-destructive young Englishmen at the end of the 1960s. We discuss how creator Bruce Robinson got it made, and whether it congratulates its characters for their alcoholism or criticizes their generation and the end of that era of British culture. Interested in the media we discussed this episode? Please support the show by purchasing it through our affiliate store: Withnail & I Additional Resources: How "Withnail & I" Became a Cult Withnail and I BRUCE ROBINSON Interviewed by Peter Murphy The World According To Grant 13 Loaded Facts About Withnail and I Withnail & I Comes Of Age This Year - If Only The Fans Would Too Withnail and I Facts and Trivia The Cult of Richard E. Grant’s Withnail and I Is Finally Having Its Moment We Hate It When Our Friends Become Successful: “Withnail & I” Withnail and Brexit: Why the cult classic is the perfect movie for our troubled times https://www.grough.co.uk/magazine/2020/03/09/withnail-and-i-fans-prepare-for-lakeland-alfresco-screening-of-cult-film

This 1962 novel is being reappraised by critics and fans as a creeping meditation on 1950s housewives, agoraphobia, and good old-fashioned New England persecution. Interested in the media we discussed this episode? Please support the show by purchasing it through our affiliate store: We Have Always Lived in the Castle Additional Resources: We Have Always Lived in the Castle by Shirley Jackson – a house of ordinary horror The Witchcraft of Shirley Jackson Flavorwire Author Club: Shirley Jackson’s Haunting Final Novel, ‘We Have Always Lived in the Castle’ SILVER, M. (2013). Is It Real? On Shirley Jackson’s We Have Always Lived in the Castle. Southern Review, 49(4), 665–667. Savoy, E. (2017). Between as if and is : On Shirley Jackson. Women’s Studies, 46(8), 827. BOYD TONKIN. (2015, July 29). Her dark materials: how Shirley Jackson became the ‘sorceress at the sink.’ Independent (UK). Shirley Jackson. (2020). Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th Edition, 1. We Have Always Lived in the Castle: A Prelude to a Myth How 'We Have Always Lived In The Castle' By Shirley Jackson Novel Made Me Love Horror — Even Though I Hate Being Scared The Haunted Mind of Shirley Jackson

This 1945 children’s book by Tove Jansson began a publishing empire in Finland that is worth millions of dollars. We look at Jansson’s beloved allegory about a world where a family survives turmoil and everyone is accepted for who they are. Interested in the media we discussed this episode? Please support the show by purchasing it through our affiliate store: The Moomins and the Great Flood Additional Resources: Tove Jansson: Love, war and the Moomins Brown, Ulla (November 2004). "A Quest for What Lies Hidden" (PDF). Outwrite. 7: 8–12. 'It is a religion': how the world went mad for Moomins THE HANDS THAT MADE THE MOOMINS How Tove Jansson's Moomins conquered readers' hearts My search for the real Moominland How Tove Jansson and the Moomins continue to inspire The Evocative Powers of Tove Jansson – Moomin Museum – Tampere Finland – Jude Cowan Montague The dark side of the Moomins

This 2001 record is praised as being metal for the thinking man. We peel back the lyrics and the time signatures to understand why this band inspires an almost-religious devotion in its fans. Interested in the media we discussed this episode? Please support the show by purchasing it through our affiliate store: Lateralus Additional Resources: 10 THINGS YOU DIDN'T KNOW ABOUT TOOL'S 'LATERALUS' Lateralus Publication: Modern Drummer Date: June, 2001 Fibonacci in Tool's Lateralus Spiral Out: Practical Wisdom in Tool’s Lateralus Looking Back at Tool’s “Lateralus” THE OUTWARD SPIRAL: HOW LATERALUS GALVANISED TOOL’S CUTTING EDGE ‘Hammer of the Gods’

This comic book series by Brian K. Vaughan and artist Cliff Chiang started in 2015 as a story about four preteen girls coming of age in the 80s. We look into how the creators produced the comic while examining their skepticism of nostalgia in a post-Stranger-Things world. Interested in the media we discussed this episode? Please support the show by purchasing it through our affiliate store: Paper Girls Additional Resources: Brian K. Vaughan Talks Saga, Paper Girls, and Why We’ll Never Get That Lying Cat Series Meet Brian K. Vaughan: The Comic Book Visionary Behind ‘Y: The Last Man’ You all should be reading Brian K. Vaughan’s ‘Paper Girls’ comic series now Paper Girls Is the Perfect Comic for Your '80s Nostalgia Trip ‘Paper Girls’ Graphic Novel Adaptation From Legendary TV & Plan B Gets Amazon Series Commitment The Paper Girls and the Alien Invaders Asian American Creatives Behind 3 Top-Selling Graphic Novels Of 2018 Kids On Bikes: The Sci-Fi Nostalgia Of 'Stranger Things', 'Paper Girls' & 'Super 8' Paper Girls' Vaughan & Chiang On the Series' Past, Present and Future “It’s Not A Slam-Bang-Action-So-Quiet”: An Interview with Cliff Chiang and Brian K. Vaughan NYCC ’19: PAPER GIRLS creators take victory lap, discuss series

This 2019 series of Gizmodo articles and videos by Kashmir Hill look into how difficult it actually is to stop using The Stacks: Google, Amazon, Facebook, Apple, and Microsoft. We place Hill’s research within our larger understanding of Big Tech and media literacy while listening to arguments for tech regulation or simply scaling back. I Cut The Big Five Tech Giants From My Life: It Was Hell Additional Resources: https://muckrack.com/kashhill I Cut the Big Five Tech Giants From My Life. It Was Hell. I Tried to Block Amazon From My Life. It Was Impossible. I Cut Facebook Out of My Life. Surprisingly, I Missed It I Cut Google Out of My Life. It Screwed Up Everything. I Cut Microsoft Out of My Life –– Or So I Thought I Cut Apple Out of My Life. It Was Devastating. Unplugging From Big Tech is Harder Than You Think It’s almost impossible to function without the big five tech giants How to block Big Tech with Kashmir Hill: podcast and transcript https://www.nytimes.com/by/kashmir-hill

This epic 1970s manga series is celebrated for its influence on other stories. We look at the conditions that produced it and how the comic represents Japanese history, revenge, gender, and the irredeemable hero on the road to Hell. Interested in the media we discussed this episode? Please support the show by purchasing it through our affiliate store: Lone Wolf and Cub: Volume 1, The Assassin's Road Additional Resources: 'Lone Wolf and Cub': Japan's greatest samurai manga? The untold truth of Lone Wolf and Cub Read More Lone Wolf and Cub Part 1: History and Influences Lone Wolf and Cub Part 2: Revenge in the Epic Narrative Tradition Lone Wolf and Cub Part 3: Artwork and Swordplay Lone Wolf and Cub Part 4: Ogami Itto and the Rejection of Bushido Lone Wolf and Cub Part 6: Cloud Dragon, Wind Tiger If You Are Patient Like a Samurai, Kazuo Koike's 'Lone Wolf and Cub' Will Reward You Transcultural Reinterpretation of the 'Lone Wolf and Cub' Narrative Kazuo Koike, 1936-2019 An Expanded Look at Lone Wolf and Cub: The First arc – Meifumado

This 1975 rock album began to define Rush’s identity after the late Neil Peart joined the band on drums and lyrics. We look at how they treated their band as a business to try to understand the particular blend of instrument solos and libertarian ideology that later defined them. Interested in the media we discussed this episode? Please support the show by purchasing it through our affiliate store: Fly By Night Additional Resources: Rush Dedicates Newest Album To Rod Serling Rush: The Complete Album-by-Album Guide The History Of Rush by Geddy Lee & Alex Lifeson: The Early Years Men At Work By Paul Elliott Rush-BTO's Heavy Metal Challengers Success Under Pressure https://rush.fandom.com/wiki/Fly_by_Night_(Album) Rush: ‘You have no freedom. You do what you’re told to do. By the socialists’ Flohil, R. (1975.) Rush: living the rock ‘n’ roll lifestyle. The Canadian Composer (97).