Remember Shuffle

What’s the worst you’ve ever screwed up at work? Whatever it was, we promise you it’s not as bad as today’s topic. In this episode’s Reading Series, we discuss the media’s influence on and culpability in the lead-up to the Iraq War. We focus on two commentators who, despite being hilariously, comically, aggressively wrong, failed upwards to prestigious positions in the liberal media sphere: Joe Scarborough and Megan McArdle. When it comes to holding people accountable, the Shuffle Bois can proudly say: “Mission Accomplished.”

The 2000s were such an apolitical decade that even the folk music and abortion movies lacked any social commentary. Remember Shuffle takes a look at 2007’s “Juno” and asks some Very Important Questions™: is Juno an indie film darling that struck gold, or a cynical cashing-in on the twee craze of the aughts? Is it a sweet film about an independent and self-sufficient teenager maturing and embracing vulnerability, or is it a coded message to the working class that the bourgeoisie is fracturing and through class solidarity there is a world to win?  Is Juno single-handedly responsible for the Dobbs decision stripping away reproductive rights in most of America, or can movies not do that?Links to Jordan’s Book:Booktopia:https://www.booktopia.com.au/ugly-paul-fenech/book/9781761043727.htmlPenguin website:https://www.penguin.com.au/books/ugly-9781761043727

Are you a right-wing chug who’s tired of the Lib woke media ramming its PC content down your throat? Are you a lib who worships the ground Obama walks on, and wants to watch some of the former president’s favo(u)rite shows? Are you dissatisfied with your life and want to escape to a world in which bad things don’t happen? Are you illiterate? Today Remember Shuffle is discussing Entourage, a show that would satisfy all four of those hypothetical viewers. The Shuffle Bois discuss how Entourage was the ultimate post 9-11, wish fulfillment, dudes rock show, how it ran for 8 seasons despite nothing fundamentally changing or happening after early season 3, and how it may, totally on accident, be the greatest criticism of Hollywood ever created.

In hono(u)r of the recent marriage of Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck, Remember Shuffle is looking back at how their fairy tale love story began: with full-page ads in the press, intense paparazzi attention, and what is likely the most offensive and terrible film of either of their careers, Gigli. After discussing the power couple, the Shuffle Bois go beat by beat through Gigli, so that you don’t have to. You can find Tessa and her standup at tessamfleming.com and on IG @TessaFleming

Dive into the cultural significance of Green Day's iconic album, exploring its bold political statements during a turbulent era. Unpack the evolution of protest music and the challenges artists face in expressing dissent. Analyze the narrative depth of 'American Idiot,' contrasting suburban angst with disillusionment. Critique the adaptation into a Broadway musical, focusing on its choreography and character portrayal. Examine punk's commercialization and its lasting impact on today's youth, all while celebrating an era that embraced musical rebellion.

Grab your Doritos, Xbox controllers, and Mountain Dew Gamer Fuel and buckle up for a tight 57-minute conversation about the Halo franchise-- a formative video game series of the childhoods and adolescences of millennials everywhere. Along the way, we attempt to discuss the surprisingly deep lore of the Halo universe, talk about the rise of “The Operator” in both politics and culture, and Cortana's slow creep into being a strange sex symbol. Nota bene: Dan Carlin does not appear in this episode, we just riff on his distinctive voice and speech patterns at 34:30 mins in.

Hi, we’re Remember Shuffle, and this is our Jackass episode. In this episode we discuss the absolute masterclass of early 2000s reality TV that is MTV’s Jackass. We analyze the pure, anarchic, joyful chaos of the 2000s reincarnation of Diogenes' cynicism, look at how the Jackass energy has been diffused throughout our pop-culture, and touch on why the nostalgia cycle of reboots seems to be shortening.

This week, the public intellectuals of Remember Shuffle are a literature podcast. We discuss the absolute masterpiece that is the Robert Langdon's Literary-Crypto Universe, unpacking the dense symbology Dan Brown’s Magnum Opus. Along the way, we discuss the gradual mainstreaming of conspiracy theories starting in the early 2000s, the laziest movie adaptations Hollywood has ever crapped out, and produce our own Dan Brown plot. Few People Realize Real Lies.

Finally, they made a movie just for the fellas. You have made it to the end of the rainbow, and awaiting you is a triple feature of a discussion of the 2000s cult classic, The Boondock Saints; Overnight, a documentary about its director; and The Boondock Saints 2, maybe the worst film ever made.

Remember How I Met Your Mother? HIMYM had HEAT in the 2000s--more viewers than The Office,  more episodes, more catchphrases, and even a Hilary Duff spinoff that launched this year! And yet it feels like this show is never talked about today. Even though it ended only it passed right through our culture like a 2000's Tiger King. We examine why.