Supercontext: an autopsy of media

Some call Pale Fire the best novel of the 20th century. So we interrogate what that means by diving into literary criticism about postmodernism, hypertextuality, authorial intent, unreliable narrators and more. iTunes direct link Google Play direct link Additional Resources: Pale Fire and the Cold War: Redefining Vladimir Nabokov’s Masterpiece Shade and Shape in Pale Fire by Brian Boyd Freeing "Pale Fire" From Pale Fire Synthesizing Artistic Delight: The Lesson of Pale Fire by Brian Walter “PALE FIRE,” THE POEM: DOES IT STAND ALONE AS A MASTERPIECE? In an Elaborate Spoof, Nabokov Takes Us to the Never-Never Land of Zembla Pale Fire The Novel of the Century: Nabokov’s Pale Fire Walton, Jean, College Literature. Jun94, Vol. 21 Issue 2, p89. 16p.  

What went wrong with comedian John Mulaney's debut sitcom? Was it network interference? Formatting? Or did the creator just take on too much? We discuss the differences between irony and sincerity in television humor to try to understand this show's cancellation. iTunes direct link Google Play direct link Additional Resources: NBC Passes on John Mulaney’s Pilot Fox Gives Series Order To John Mulaney Comedy Produced By Lorne Michaels ‘Mulaney’ Order Trimmed To 13 Episodes In Defense of the Multi-Camera Sitcom John Mulaney surprises us with his top 5 multi-camera sitcoms Welcome Back, John Mulaney Mulaney: Season One Ratings In Defense of Mulaney The Evolution Of The Sitcom: The Age of the Single Camera You Made It Weird: John Mulaney Returns

Special guest Cristen Conger (Unladylike, Stuff Mom Never Told You) helps us unpack the activism of musician Kathleen Hanna. After the January 2017 Women's Marches we look at Hanna's methods of protest, including Riot Grrrl, articulation and disruption. iTunes direct link Google Play direct link Additional Resources: Cyndi Lauper Denounces Madonna’s Women’s March Speech: “Yelling Just Jacks People Up” Julie Ruin - Be Nice at The Wrecking Ball ATL Fest 2016 Don't Need You - The Herstory of Riot Grrrl Bikini Kill in the U.K. 1993 Kathleen Hanna @ Planned Parenthood Stand Up For Women's Health Rally The Riot Grrrl Collection at the Fales Library: Collection Overview Q&A: Riot grrrl Kathleen Hanna on sexuality, marriage and music Feeling Myself: Kathleen Hanna Gets Back to Work SXSW: Kathleen Hanna in new doc 'The Punk Singer' Punk Rock-Feminist Pioneer Kathleen Hanna on Her SXSW Doc and More Fans demand an apology from Kathleen Hanna in Toronto Julie Ruin concert banner drop Kathleen Hanna on Tokenism, Therapy, and Where Riot Grrrl Went Wrong  

What is pulp fiction for? We look at the first season of Sundance's rural crime noir Hap & Leonard for answers. Does this Joe R. Lansdale adaption bring something new to platonic male friendships? Or is it simply a salad mixer you can throw plot lines into? iTunes direct link Google Play direct link Additional Resources: ‘Hap And Leonard’ Renewed For Season 2 At SundanceTV – Update 'Hap and Leonard': Inside TV's New Pulp Fiction Buddy-Comedy 'Hap and Leonard' EP on Adapting Joe R. Lansdale and Making Brits into Texans 'Hap And Leonard' Creator Needed To 'Burn Bridges' To Make It As A Writer Darkness on the Edge of Town

It's Inauguration Day for Donald Trump... so is a comic book about the first teenage president essential reading for American citizens now? We look at both the 1973 and 2015 versions of PREZ from DC Comics while discussing the cyclical nature of politics and satire. iTunes direct link Google Play direct link Additional Resources: Why DC’s Prez Is the Best Comic You Aren’t Reading How a Comic About a Teen Girl President Became the Most Scathing Satire of 2016 TCJ ARCHIVE The Joe Simon Interview Cartoonist Mark Russell on his reboot of Prez, comics’ first teen president Why DC Comics' 'Prez' is essential reading for the 2016 election DC Comics skewers right-wing politics in this new comic where a teen is made president The Teens Who Would Be President: Explaining DC's 'Prez' Comic Books Lost in Transition: 2015’s ‘Prez’ And A Robot Named Tina  Polygon Explains Everything: Prez, a comic about the first US president elected by Twitter

Last year Peter Thiel secretly funded Hulk Hogan's lawsuit that destroyed Gawker. Should the wealthy be able to ruin a publication if they don't like what it has to say? We discuss the new precedent this case set between privacy and Freedom of Speech, all while tumbling down the rabbit hole of trashy media and big money. iTunes direct link Google Play direct link Additional Resources: Peter Thiel, Tech Billionaire, Reveals Secret War With Gawker Did I Kill Gawker? How Univision’s purchase of Gawker could alter the future of online journalism A Huge, Huge Deal This Is Why Billionaire Peter Thiel Wants to End Gawker NICK DENTON, PETER THIEL, AND THE PLOT TO MURDER GAWKER

While Lawless is a flawed film that's not for everyone, it's still one of our favorites. We go through some personal reconciliations while reviewing how John Hillcoat, Nick Cave and others made this true myth. iTunes direct link Google Play direct link Additional Resources: How 'Lawless' Nabbed New A-Listers Tom Hardy and Jessica Chastain John Hillcoat Talks Sticking With Shia LaBeouf For ‘Lawless,’ How Tom Hardy Embraced His Feminine Side & More The Road Director Hillcoat's Next Project Falls Apart EXCLUSIVE: Jessica Chastain to Star in 'The Wettest County Nick Cave: 'Lawless is not so much a true story as a true myth' Nick Cave on Writing the 'Lawless' Screenplay and Compiling and Playing Its Music (Q&A) Nick Cave on Lawless, the sentimentality of sadists, and the war on drugs

Paul Thomas Anderson's adaptation of Thomas Pynchon's Inherent Vice was embraced by some and puzzled others. But does a movie that's designed to be repeatedly re-watched automatically become a cult film? iTunes direct link Google Play direct link Additional Resources Inherent Vice, Thomas Pynchon - 9781594202247 What makes a cult film? NYFF 2014: 'Inherent Vice' and the contemporary cult hit Paul Thomas Anderson Wants to Adapt Thomas Pynchon’s Inherent Vice Pynchon’s Cameo, and Other Surrealities Paul Thomas Anderson’s Scientology Movie and Inherent Vice Adaptation Close to Finding Financing Paul Thomas Anderson On Inherent Vice A Director Continues His Quest Joaquin Phoenix’s ‘Inherent Vice’ Starting to Boost L.A. Production

In our 2016 holiday episode we look at the forgotten Christmas Eve tradition of telling ghost stories. M.R. James' work from over a hundred years ago best represents this Victorian trend, so in his honor we bring horror to academia and safe spaces. iTunes direct link Google Play direct link Additional Resources: How Did Antiquarians Become Action Story Heroes? Ghost stories: why the Victorians were so spookily good at them Christmas Ghost Stories: The Ghost of Christmas Past Goes Further Back Than You Might Realize M. R. James' Ghost Stories Work Eerily Well in This Graphic Fiction Form Telling ghost stories is a lost tradition on Christmas Eve  

Marvel's latest Netflix series Luke Cage incorporates ideas about diversity into the comic adaptation formula so more kids have heroes to look up to. We look at how its inclusivity and symbolism strive to achieve this forward thinking mission. iTunes direct download Google Play direct download Additional Resources: Luke Cage Comics And Race-Based Unethical Medical Experiments The Making of Luke Cage: A Hero For This Moment The Biggest Problem With Netflix's Comic-Book Shows CREATING “LUKE CAGE,” THE FIRST WOKE BLACK-SUPERHERO SHOW Luke Cage producer compares Netflix's new Marvel series to The Wire Luke Cage, Mike Colter, and the "Wu-Tang-ification" of the Marvel Universe Here's how many people are watching 'Luke Cage' compared to other Netflix shows Why Netflix’s Luke Cage Is the Superhero We Really Need Now Inside the making of ‘Luke Cage,’ Marvel’s first black superhero show Why the Creator of Luke Cage Wanted to Make a “Hip-Hop Western”