

Constellation: Last Stand Media's Conversational Podcast
Last Stand Media & Studio71
Welcome to the long-awaited and much-requested podcast series Constellation, where the Last Stand Media crew convene in different permutations to talk about anything and everything outside of the scope of our usual, games-centric programming. The only rule? Each host must bring his or her own topic to discuss with the group. That's it! Episodes go live every-other-Monday, and you can get each drop early and ad-free by supporting us on Patreon: patreon.com/laststandmediaFor advertising opportunities please email PodcastPartnerships@Studio71us.com We wanna make the podcast even better, help us learn how we can: https://bit.ly/2EcYbu4 Privacy Policy: https://www.studio71.com/terms-and-conditions-use/#Privacy%20Policy
Episodes
Mentioned books

Aug 15, 2023 • 2h 23min
#31 | Heartbreak, Ice Cream, Life/Work Balance
This week, we present to you a Constellation with only a trio of participants: Colin (but no Dagan, who's on vacation with his family), joined by The Washington Post's Gene Park and LSM coordinator and shopkeep Micah Watson. Gene brings a heavy topic to the show this week in the form of heartbreak. What's our history when it comes to the dramatic and traumatic ends-of-relationships? Meanwhile, Micah strives to balance the scale with something much more lighthearted: Ice cream. Which flavor is best, and in which form? What toppings speak to us? Who makes the best ice cream, period? Not surprisingly, there's much to say. Finally, Colin wants to confront an ever-present issue confounding people around the world: A striking lack of life-work balance. As he continues to seek it more in his everyday life, he asks how others find the middle-ground, and work to live instead of live to work.Get your plan for $15 a month at https://www.mintmobile.com/con Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Aug 8, 2023 • 3h 9min
#30 | Taking Things Too Far, Sentimentality, Ari Aster's Thesis Film, Former Jobs
Welcome one-and-all to yet another episode of Constellation, Last Stand Media's conversational podcast. Today, the Brothers Moriarty invite executive producer Dustin Furman and -- for the first time ever -- editor Lockmort of "Lockmort's Edits" fame to the show. As usual, our topics this week run the gamut. Our special guest Lockmort explores the fine line in comedy where you take things too far, which opens up a wider talk about when in our lives we may have crossed the line with those we care about. Meanwhile, Dustin is eager to talk about our old jobs, and where and how we've managed to make a living over the years. Colin's a sentimental guy, and he wants to know if anyone else feels the same way, spurred on by getting his so-called 'effects' in order over the last few weeks, like old letters and cards. Finally, Dagan does us the service (and disservice) of introducing us to writer and director Ari Aster's infamous student film, which (needless to say) is both horrifying and thought-provoking. Join us, won't you? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Aug 1, 2023 • 4h 31min
#29 | Hollywood on Strike, Parents Playing Video Games, Camping, Famous People
Welcome back to Last Stand Media's conversational podcast, Constellation. This week, the Brothers Moriarty welcome Sacred Symbols co-host Chris Ray Gun and LSM theme composer Ramon Narvaez. This meaty episode starts off with a bang, as Dagan chronicles his recent week-long camping excursion that brought him into the woods of Maryland with his son's Boy Scout troop. Meanwhile, Ramon wants to talk about older people playing video games, or in many cases not playing them. Was the Baby Boomer generation uniquely unequipped for this new mode of entertainment? Chris is curious about our thoughts on famous people, and those that lose touch with the world around them as their coffers grow. Finally, Colin goes with a current event, the SAG-AFTRA and writers strikes, which have brought Hollywood to a standstill. Why don't media companies care more about the people who make their enterprises go? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Jul 25, 2023 • 2h 25min
#28 | Knowing When You'll Die, Condiments Ranking, Being on Time, Frugality
Welcome back to Constellation! For the first time in our brief run so far, Colin is in fact not joined by Dagan (who's away with his son at Boy Scout camp), instead welcoming in a trio of people from the Last Stand stable as opposed to merely a duo. This week, our guests are executive producer Dustin Furman, associate producer Ben Smith, and coordinator Micah Watson. As usual, the topics are varied. Dustin wonders if we consider ourselves frugal -- or even cheap! -- and where one draws the line on spending money versus merely wasting it. Micah presents a what-if: Specifically, what if you could know when you were going to die, right down to the day. Would it affect how you lived your life? Would you even want to know at all? Meanwhile, Ben drops the matter of timeliness on the table, an ever-present phenomenon wherein some people are fixated on the clock in their daily lives while others obviously couldn't care less. Finally, Colin brings up the rear with something appropriately dumb, namely a condiments ranking. We already went deep into ketchup on a previous episode, but where do we stand on the likes of mustard, mayo, salsa, hot sauce, and more?Head to https://www.factormeals.com/con50 and use code con50 for 50% off Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Jul 18, 2023 • 3h 40min
#27 | Bad Habits, Moral Compass, Patriotism, Our Old Neighborhoods
Let us gather once more for an all-new episode of Constellation, Last Stand's conversational podcast. This week, the Brothers Moriarty are joined by Punching Up co-host Gene Park and Defining Duke co-host Lord Cognito. Based on a tangent occurring just last week on this very show, Cog wants to talk about our interpretation of the so-called moral compass, and how we conduct ourselves when it comes down to honor and honesty. Meanwhile, Gene is curious about the neighborhoods we grew up in, from the Bronx to Long Island to Guam. Dagan got unceremoniously cut-off last week, and so went with his original topic from that show: Bad habits. What are some of our less savory rituals and instincts? Finally, on the back of the Fourth of July, Colin wants to talk about patriotism. How's everyone feeling about America these days? Does the crew share his feelings that there's very little to be proud of about our country right now?Get your plan for $15 a month at https://www.mintmobile.com/con Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Jul 11, 2023 • 3h 24min
#26 | Why Xbox?, Self Care, Reality
It’s time for Constellation! The Brothers Moriarty are joined this week by Defining Duke co-host MrMattyPlays and legendary game dev David Jaffe. With the FTC vs. Microsoft situation dominating the news — and with so many people opposed to Colin’s points-of-view on the matter — the boys take the time to explain their own interpretations of recent happenings, attempting to contrast a more optimistic take on Colin’s pessimism. Meanwhile, Matty wants to explore the ways we practice so-called self-care in our lives, and how we unwind and destress from the anxieties of the world around us. Finally, Jaffe wants to discuss the very reality around us. Have you ever gotten the feeling that not all is as it seems? Technical problems and length precluded us from exploring a fourth topic this week, but Dagan will get two bites at the apple during Episode 27. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Jul 4, 2023 • 3h 6min
#25 | The Lost Titanic Sub, Brand Loyalty, Telemarketers, "How Didn't I Know That?!"
Welcome back to Constellation. This week, the Brothers Moriarty invite Defining Duke co-host Lord Cognito and Sacred Symbols co-host Chris Ray Gun to the show. As usual, our topics are quite varied. Chris wants to talk about a piece of contemporary news in the form of OceanGate's lost Titan submersible, which catastrophically imploded near the site of the Titanic in the North Atlantic. Cog, meanwhile, is curious about how we bob and weave around telemarketers, centered around a series of unusual phone calls he's recently received. Dagan wants to know which brands we're most loyal to: Cars, computers, games, clothes, food. You name it. Finally, Colin shares something embarrassing with the crew, something he recently learned that he couldn't believe he didn't already know. Does anyone else care to share a similar story...?Thanks to our sponsors!This episode is sponsored by BetterHelp. Give online therapy a try at https://www.betterhelp.com/constellation and get on your way to being your best self Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

8 snips
Jun 27, 2023 • 3h 20min
#24 | Trigger Warnings, The Movies That Make Us Cry, Our Favorite Books and Authors, Swimming
It's time yet again for another episode of Last Stand Media's conversational podcast, Constellation. This week, the Brothers Moriarty are joined by associate editor Ben Smith and coordinator Micah Watson. Dagan's topic explores the media -- primarily the films and TV shows -- that quite literally bring a tear to our eye. What sets off our waterworks? Micah thinks trigger and content warnings have gotten out of control, to the detriment of both the content that's being endlessly targeted and the people who are apparently being protected. On the back of Cormac McCarthy's unfortunate passing, Ben wonders which authors and books speak most to us, and what our reading habits have even become as adults. Does reading play a role in our lives? Finally, Colin brings something easy and breezy to the table, a seasonal inquiry: Are we going swimming this summer or what? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Jun 20, 2023 • 3h 45min
#23 | UFOs, Fast Food, Our Horoscopes, Hills Worth Dying On
Welcome, friends, to another episode of Constellation, Last Stand Media's weekly conversational podcast. This time around, the Brothers Moriarty are joined by Last Stand executive producer Dustin Furman and coordinator Micah Watson (both also co-hosts of our new Nintendo show, Punching Up). Dagan wants to know what hills are worth dying on. In other words, what do we believe so staunchly that we'd fight over it to the bitter end? Dustin delves into a favorite topic of ours: Fast food. He specifically mines us for our favorite fast food joints, as well as the restaurants we find most overrated and underrated. Micah took the time to do each of our horoscopes, delving into our respective signs from three different perspectives. How do we feel about what our star charts say about us? Finally, Colin brings a heavy point of conversation this week, one that seems strangely loose in recent weeks and months: UFOs. Whistleblowers are... well... blowing the whistle. Are we seriously about to find out that aliens are, in fact, real? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Jun 13, 2023 • 3h 24min
#22 | Why We Play Video Games, Pop Culture Ignorance, TV Habits, Grocery Bills
It's time for more Constellation! This week, the Brothers Moriarty are joined by Sacred Symbols co-host Chris Ray Gun and Last Stand associate producer Ben Smith. Dagan brings a heady topic to the table, one that we spend a lot of time discussing and dissecting: Why, exactly, do we play video games? What draws us to them? Why are they the superior form of entertainment? Chris ponders the pop culture happenings he's been late to, and wonders which people, events, and more we've somehow remained blissfully ignorant of. Ben inquires about our current TV-watching habits, and how we manage (or don't) to engage with various platforms, services, and series in a seemingly never-ending cavalcade. Finally, Colin wants to talk about grocery shopping, but through a specific lens: Price. It sure is getting expensive out there, huh? We should place a spotlight on those truly suffering, by first acknowledging that they are. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices