Mostly Murder (But Sometimes Not)

New episode out now! We take a semi-detour to a galaxy far, far away with the season three episode of Star Wars: The Clone Wars, “Sphere of Influence”. We debate the role of the Jedi within the Republic and talk about how they serve as diplomats, law enforcement, security, advisors, monks, or investigators whenever the need arises. We discuss how this show is for children and therefore the “mystery” is highly simplified, think the tone can swing wildly between Saturday Morning Cartoon and complicated political intrigue, pick apart the sequel trilogy at length, and are mildly amused by the George Lucas self-insert character. We also talk about bonkers Star Wars nomenclature, think it is interesting that this episode dealt with the blocking of trade routes and frustration with a slow democratic process, and lament the oversaturation and corporatization of Star Wars media as a whole. Katy forgot about LEGOs, Carrie is haunted by images of dismemberment, Maddy has a skeleton friend, and Mack does a lot of explaining (and justifying). We also are very confused by the abundance of mismatched accents, touch on the topic of gender in a galaxy full of different alien species, discuss how sci-fi / fantasy mysteries are harder to judge as they have different rules, and Mack runs a mini-game where we try to differentiate between real and fake character names. Listen to hear more about familiar props, weird animation, The Fast and the Furious, cool stunt doubles, Arthurian knights, beach towels, and the mouths of Rodians. We also want to give a shout out to voice actors – within this episode you will hear our attempted impressions of various Star Wars characters as well as John Wayne, the Green Goblin, stun lasers, goats, and more! Enjoy!
“Star Wars: The Clone Wars – it’s good sometimes.” - Mack

TW: Current global politics, John Wayne Gacy, Catholic priest scandals, racism, slavery. There is also an audible burp at 00:03:52.

Show Notes:
A few excellent Tumblr posts: 

George Lucas Star Wars v Disney Star Wars

Obi-Wan in the cantina

Trilogy concepts and execution comparison

Katy was wrong about Dr. Mandible being a character in Futurama. She was thinking about Dr. Zoidberg.

Greedo in heels

The music used under the game intro is “The Path of the Force” by Luis Humanoide; YouTube link here

New episode out now! We watched the first episode of Deadloch, an Australian dark comedy mystery where two very different detectives are thrown together to solve a baffling serial murder case. We really liked how atmospheric it was, setting a very different tone which was then offset by the excellent and sharply hilarious writing. We discuss the two main characters and how they felt refreshingly unique in the mystery show landscape, loved the wacky small-town antics, think that female creators really know how to write nuanced and fleshed out relationships, and talk about how you can stereotype with love. Katy was clocked by her bird app, Carrie loves an adult choir, Maddy comes up with a great nickname, and Mack does not have anger triggers. We also talk about tropes of ‘90s feminism, get caught by rage bait, learn Australian slang, rant about hotel bathroom doors, and learn so much about seagull copulation. Listen to hear more about the murder cascade (or snowball), equal opportunity nudity, Columbo, speakerphone etiquette, lesbians, Taskmaster, and even more seagull sex facts. Enjoy!

TW: Nudity, mutilation of a body, suicide

Show Notes:
Taskmaster New Zealand Series 1 playlist with Madeleine Sami
Taskmaster Australia Series 1 playlist with Nina Oyama (not Nina Okama, apologies) 
Recent CNN article about Neal the Seal
Some Australians call a minor car accident a “bingle” or “prang” as illustrated in this Tumblr post (image here on Reddit)
The app Katy uses for her (casual) bird identification and logging is Merlin Bird ID from Cornell Lab of Ornithology at Cornell University
If you want to tell your elected officials that you do not want data centers, we recommend using 5 Calls which can connect you to your specific officials and offer many scripts and options to contact them about many issues, including anti-data center concerns

New episode out now! We read the 2018 novel The 7 ½ Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle by Stuart Turton, described by many reviewers as a mixture of Agatha Christie, Quantum Leap, and Groundhog Day. We talk about how the book was very confusing and at times frustrating, taking us through twists and turns and paths and timelines and ultimately snowballing until all the threads pulled together at the very end. We comment on how the book gave us a lot to keep track of yet we could not trust anything we knew, thought that all of the characters were interesting but not good people, discuss how there are in reality three separate mysteries, and are very grateful for book club Reddit. We also really get into the wordbuilding and what it means for their society, delve into the meaning of personhood, compare the experience of reading to RPG, and praise the editors for keeping everything straight. Katy had 18 pages of notes, Carrie proofread a Choose-Your-Own-Adventure, Maddy forgot what blancmange is, and Mack completed a lot of collector missions in Red Dead Redemption 2. We also investigate how our comprehension is affected (or not affected) when reading a physical book versus an eBook versus an audiobook, share the crafts and busywork we do with our hands when reading or watching things, discuss what we would do in a Groundhog Day situation, and talk about The Good Place a lot. Listen to hear more about Justin McElroy, Star Trek, Jeremy Bearimy, fainting, Disco Elysium, autism, and a lot of audible note shuffling. And please remember to support your local library! Enjoy!

Spoiler Warning: In addition to spoiling this whole book, we also spoil The Good Place and The Outer Worlds video game.

TW: Fatphobia, sexual assault, British Imperialism, Margaret Thatcher, vomiting

Show Notes:
The Times review
The Guardian Review
The Seven deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle Summary By Med Kharbach, PhD
The last summary post of JesusAndTequila on Reddit

New episode out now! We watched the first episode of the Netflix show How to Get to Heaven from Belfast, a story about three women investigating the sudden death of their estranged childhood friend who held a mysterious secret. We discuss how this is a very vibes-heavy show, loved the Northern Irish setting and appreciated that it was in modern day, and got excited about the fact that we don’t have a clue what is happening and how we all had different theories. We also loved the specificity of the early 2000s music and cyclical fashion choices, really enjoyed the cinematography, and have deeper discussions surrounding personhood and friendship and memory and who we are when we return to those who knew us long ago. Katy felt like a boomer, Carrie critiques flashlight use, Maddy reveals her car’s name, and Mack shares anchoring techniques. We also talk about our deep psychological need to prove we’re right, have a lengthy tangent about digital preservation and the transient nature of modern digital culture, learn not to drive in Ohio at night, and believe that Europe has just as many trash people as the US. Listen to hear more about mudlarking, Avril Lavigne, Community, MBTA closures, The Lord of the Rings, wearing dresses over jeans, age gap relationships, and Zune’s. Enjoy!

TW: Existentialism about death, age difference relationship, gaslighting, Fred and Rose West

Show Notes and Links:
The Deep Dive Academy, Podcast

Aisling Bea on QI: Aisling Bea’s Irish Version of Twinkle Twinkle

When Your Digital Life Vanishes by Julian Lucas, New Yorker Article

NETFLIX HAD ANOTHER BAD IDEA : AGE OF ATTRACTION | KennieJD

New episode out now! We watched the first episode of the Netflix show The Law According to Lidia Poët, about the first female lawyer in Italy. We discuss the character of Lidia and how she is portrayed, and how we massively share her frustrations with the opinions and limitations put upon her by the misogynistic patriarchal society. We compare this to other mysteries set in the same era in different countries, try to decide what level of feminist rage bait the show attempts, and enjoy how Lidia had to use her cleverness to get around the limitations put upon her to solve the crime. We also really loved the production design; the locations and sets were beautiful (if occasionally anachronistic) and we especially loved Lidia’s costumes and her very specific and fun jewelry. Katy loves her some historical scaffolding, Carrie shares a fun fact about adapting buildings for acoustics, Maddy does an incredible impression, and Mack tells a story about someone finding a cool pencil. We also learn that France and Italy are not the same, make guesses on how court cases are supposed to share information, disagree about the use of rock music, and talk at length about seeing a penis. Listen to hear more about Count Orlok, scientific women in history, Severance, butts, childbirth inventions, and family dynamics. Enjoy!

TW: Misogyny, traumatic childbirth, violence to women specifically