Constellation: Last Stand Media's Conversational Podcast

Welcome one-and-all to yet another episode of Constellation, Last Stand Media's conversational podcast. Accompanying the Brothers Moriarty this week are Gene Park and Micah Watson of Punching Up: A Nintendo Podcast. Since we're a cast full of writers, Dagan thought he'd probe our respective approaches to the craft, where we draw inspiration, and how we came to love the written word. Micah reflects on an old internet cartoon from her high school years, Salad Fingers. What is it that we love about surrealist and absurdist humor on the internet, and what are some of our favorite examples of similar fare? As a Washington DC resident, Gene has noticed first-hand the rise in criminality in his own city, and wonders if and when we as a society will get our heads around solving our myriad criminal justice-related problems. Finally, Colin wants to chat about Elon Musk. Do you love him, hate him, or fall somewhere in between? Is he an inspiration, a menace, a distraction, or perhaps just an annoyance? Believe it or not, no one holds back in their responses. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Welcome to Constellation, Last Stand's conversational podcast. This week, the Brothers Moriarty are joined by LSM executive producer Dustin Furman, and -- for the first time -- popular YouTuber Finn Mckenty, the Punk Rock MBA. Let's get into the topics, shall we? Knowing that Finn is a fellow music connoisseur, Colin wants to probe his mind about one of his beloved musical genres: Raprock. Does it deserve more respect? And why is it experiencing a resurgence in recent years? Keeping seasonality in mind, Dustin's topic is Christmas, something fun for children but bastardized by commerce nonetheless. As adults, do we even care anymore? Finn's keen to chat about reality TV: Its history, its long run of success stories, and how it inspired our entertainment lives. Finally, Dagan's topic is one for the ages, all about our favorite bad guys in fiction. If we had to construct a so-called Mount Rushmore of Villainy, who would adorn it? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Greetings! Welcome back to Constellation, Last Stand Media's conversational podcast. This week, the Brothers Moriarty are joined by LSM Associate Producer Ben Smith and Lockmort of Lockmort's Edits on our YouTube channel. We start today's podcast off with a basic topic that spawns a substantial back-and-forth: Shoes. Are they important to us, style and/or function? What are our favorite brands? And so on. We then veer into more serious territory, as Lockmort gives us the rundown on a gallbladder-related situation that saw him visiting the ER multiple times. Have we ever experienced any unexpected medical catastrophes? Ben wants to chat (pun intended) about so-called internet friends, the people we've met -- and perhaps only know -- online. How much of our social life is consumed by a new style of camaraderie? Finally, Colin wants to discuss a recent claim out of American company OpenAI: That something is going on behind the scenes there with its Q-Star AGI program that may threaten humanity. Or so says a Reuters report. But what does that even mean? We get into it. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

It's time for Constellation, Last Stand Media's conversational podcast. This week, the Brothers Moriarty are joined by Punching Up co-host Gene Park and legendary games designer David Jaffe. Our topics are many-varied on this lengthy episode, and we begin with Jaffe, who has recently started taking the mega-popular medicine Ozempic. Like many others on the drug, he likes what he's seeing so far and wants to tell the tale. From there, we go to the idea of aging out of interests, spurred on by Gene's lapse in both listening to and playing music as a hobby. Meanwhile, Dagan's curious about our first names: What we think about them, our experiences with them in life, and perhaps even some names we wish we wielded instead. Finally, Colin checks-in with the cast for their early 2024 US election thoughts. As the field takes shape, which candidates are most appealing so far? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Welcome one-and-all to another episode of Constellation, Last Stand's conversational podcast. This week, the Brothers Moriarty are joined by LSM executive producer Dustin Furman and horror YouTuber Jimmy Champane. Colin starts things off in earnest with a conversation about the recent rise in antisemitism in the west. This isn't about Israel and Palestine -- that's its own thing, and it's an issue far too complex for this show -- but what isn't complicated is truly seeing people as individuals, and not as parts of evermore-subdivided groups. Changing the tone entirely, we move to Dagan. The topic? Humor. What makes us laugh? It's an easy enough question to conceptualize, and yet it's deeper than mere subject matter when it comes to the times in our lives when we laugh 'til we cry. Our guest Jimmy talks about a subject near-and-dear to all of our hearts here on this episode: Handheld gaming. Let's go through our respective histories with handhelds from Sony, Nintendo, SEGA, and beyond, and why we fell in love with lo-fi gaming. Finally, Dustin wraps things up with a food-related topic that left us hungry by episode's end. What do our daily meals look like, specifically when it comes to dinner? How do we switch things up, and what are our classic go-to selections? The answers may surprise you. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Gather 'round for another episode of Constellation, Last Stand Media's conversational podcast. Joining the Brothers Moriarty this week is LSM's coordinator and shopkeep Micah Watson, alongside Sacred Symbols co-host Chris Ray Gun. Dagan gets us started by asking us each to pitch a new video game to the audience, and naturally delivers a delightful idea of his own as well. Micah's nail person recently moved shops, and that presents a problem: She has no idea what salon she's defected to. She's turned to internet sleuthing to solve the case. Chris wants to chat about breakups and how they present themselves in our lives. Sometimes they're our choice; other times we're blindsided by them. What memories come to mind when the topic comes up? Finally, Colin ends with something silly: The humble egg. Fresh off an 'argument' between he and Micah about how eggs should be cooked and consumed, he goes to bat for why eggs may be the best food of them all. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

It's time for another episode of Constellation, Last Stand Media's conversational podcast. This week, the Brothers Moriarty are joined by the cast of Defining Duke, MrMattyPlays and Lord Cognito. As usual, we wind through a variety of topics, beginning with a big one: Change. Matty explores the ways his life has morphed, and how it needs to continue to adapt if he's to sustain his perfect pocket of happiness. Spurred on by something Chris Ray Gun noted in passing on Sacred Symbols a few weeks ago, Colin is curious how the cast feels about taking a hiatus from our gaming obsessions. Considering our jobs, are we able to escape the grind? Do we even want to? Cog, meanwhile, is feeling nostalgic. He wonders which eras of our lives -- and in what capacity, whether with sports, or friends, or music, or games, or whatever -- are most precious to us? Finally, Dagan wraps things up with a political topic, at least kinda. With the holiday season nigh, are we prepared for the inevitable partisanship that may ensue around the dinner table? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Welcome to an especially meaty episode of Constellation, as we celebrate the recent nuptials between Colin and Micah! This week, the Brothers Moriarty are joined by LSM coordinator and shopkeep Micah Watson and executive producer Dustin Furman, and -- as noted -- topics are designed around the Moriarty/Watson wedding, which is discussed extensively and in great detail. Colin starts things off by talking about the various friends he's gathered along the way, how awesome it was to see them interacting together, and how honored he was by the presence of so many loved ones. Dustin chats about the act of getting to Virginia for the occasion in the first place, the legacy of road trips in his life, and how travel can open up a whole world of new possibilities for anyone. Musical playlists often play an important role in road trips (as they did at the wedding), and Micah delves into the nerveracking exercise of creating a series of songs that will please as many people as possible. (Thankfully, the wedding turned into a party before long, and she did a great job.) Finally, we come to Dagan, who made note of the chronicling of the day's events through the art of photography. Living in the moment is difficult sometimes, but you can't lose sight of capturing the moment, either. Were the newlyweds able to strike the perfect balance between being present while also respecting the undeniable power of posterity? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Welcome back to Constellation! This week, Colin and Dagan are joined by legendary game designer David Jaffe and Last Stand's executive producer, Dustin Furman. Colin wants to discuss colonialism and its lingering presence today, while Dustin would like to talk about horror movies—our best, favorites, and overall thoughts on the enjoyment of being scared. This episode is a bit abnormal, with a few issues that caused Jaffe and Colin to drop out before the final topic. But don't worry; Dustin and Dagan held down the fort with a discussion on karaoke. It starts pretty straightforward but delves deep into the nature of insecurity and rising above it. This might be the most unique episode of Constellation yet, so please enjoy and forgive us for the mid-show mix-up. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Yes indeed: It's time for another episode of Constellation, Last Stand Media's conversational podcast. This week, the Brothers Moriarty are joined by Defining Duke co-host MrMattyPlays and Sacred Symbols co-host Chris Ray Gun. Dagan brings a mighty topic this go-around, especially considering the time of year. Halloween draws near, after all. So how do we feel about it? Are we a fan? Were we as kids? Where do we stand now? Chris keeps things ethereal with his topic, one that will become more pertinent in decades to come: Transhumanism. Inspired by Cyberpunk 2077's recent expansion, Chris expounds on the many potential outcomes of a modified person, and wonders whether we've always been a little too eager to change ourselves. Like Dagan, Matty also taps the seasonal energy -- though a little further out on the calendar -- by asking what we're grateful for. But he has an important caveat, in that we should dig deep to find what we're really thankful for beyond the obvious. Finally, Colin wraps things up by asking the guys about violent and sexual content in the media we consume, whether via TV shows and movies, video games, and elsewhere. Has it all gotten out of control? He certainly thinks so. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices