99! Free Media and Virtual Family Functions

What if nothing is free anymore? And how should one go about virtual family functions? [21:26]

This week, Joey and Jess talk about the pandemic's advertising fallout, winning subscription models today, our membership ceiling, celebrating Aboo turning 98, a request for Zoom 'Birthday Mode', and hardware shortcomings. They don't talk about when you should stop corresponding age with N+1 individual candles.

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98! Irony Poisoning and Iterative Wisdom

How has irony poisoned the internet and when will it stop? And how are we building iterative bits of wisdom? [21:07]

This week, Aaron and Joey talk about The Office, Pepe the Frog, irony's protective shell, Blaise Pascal, and taking our hats off to the folk at Arts & Letters Creative Co. They don't talk about the color of irony's shell: green....red....blue....

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97! Other People's Allergies and Great Games

How do you deal with allergies you don't have? And what makes a great game? [20:48]

This week, Jess and Aaron talk about allergy empathy, personal matters of (food) intolerance, so many other creative culinary ideas from Aaron, Crash Bandicoot 4, watching our older brothers play games, and a bit of overflow of Jess's fascination with esports. They don't talk about how you should send us your alternative food favorites to criticalnonsense@sylvainlabs.com.

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96! After ADHD and Bland Brands

How do you break away from mental models that aren't doing you any good? And what's next after Blands? [33:32]

This week, Joey and Aaron and Jess talk about the move from ADHD to VAST, positive psychology, hiring based on luck, "your new Bland Identity," pelotons and Peloton, and design monoculture. They don't talk about how we, Sylvain Labs, are ourselves a certified B Corporation...

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94! Hip-Hop's Endurance and Survival of the Fittest Words

What has given hip-hop such staying power compared with other genres of music? And what makes new words last? [29:07]

This week, Joey and special guest Mujtaba Hameed talk about the 4 elements of hip hop, Drake, "the belt," the bouba-kiki effect, the word panties, and the best acoustic shapes. They don't talk about how Muj's brother felt about all the shade thrown this episode.

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93! Seeking Representation and Next Year's Living Situation

How do you go about finding yourself in the content you consume? And how are we going to live next year? [30:58]

This week, Aaron and Joey talk about the lasting effects of Will & Grace, capital C Critique, two asian women from Queens, the concept of the "15-Minute City," remote working adjustments, and a few silver linings. They don't talk about the activities schedule at Camp Camp.

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92! Public Intellectuals and an Abundance of Mint

Why don't we have public intellectuals like we used to? And why do we need so much mint? [27:58]

This week, Joey, Jess, and special guest Ilana Bondell talk about Vidal vs Buckley, Ta-Nehisi Coates, Brené Brown, menthe: the ultimate collaborator, how Wintermint isn't even mint, and Ilana's great mint conspiracy theory. They don't talk about whether mint chocolate chip ice-cream is better white or green.

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91! Appreciating Sharknado and All of Our Crushes

Why isn't everyone in love with Sharknado? And why do we crush? [30:11]

This week, Aaron and Joey and Jess talk about B-Movies, a Sharknado notes slam poetry reading, soap operas, the "crush vessel," crushing pain, and #WCW (Woman Crush Wednesday). They don't talk about Jess's now defunct girlband, called Next Crush.

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90! Thirst-vertising and Superheroes Today

Why is Thirst-vertising such a thing right now? And how are superheroes adapting to 2020? [22:06]

This week, Aaron, Jess, and luminary guest Dylan Fowler talk about risqué instagram advertising, WAP, Porn Hub's data analytics team, Watchmen, the idea of "protection," and She-Ra. They don't talk about the now defunct Isaiah Mustafa Voicemail Message Downloader site that left us far too soon.

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89! Feelings on the Ultra Rich and A Spice Investigation

How do we feel about the ultra rich? And what is going on right now with spices? [27:25]

This week, Joey, Jess, and Aaron talk about microschools, income inequality, "unfairness," the different kinds of cinnamon, "elevating comfort foods", and spicing up your life. They don't talk about how Bill Gates actually was pretty darn close guessing the price of floss.

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88! Meme Metabolism and Internet (Speak) Speeds

Why does culture seem to move so quickly? And how do we keep up with the speed of internet speak? [24:00]

This week, Joey and special guests Steven Ebert and Nora Mestrich talk about all things speed: B-Boys, being "passé aggressive," being "extremely online," Nora's One Direction blog, and important initialisms. They don't talk about how Extremely Online Cakes don't have novelty paper clips with fun shapes or colors: just regular paper clips.

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87! The Waffle House Index and Keeping an Open Mind

What can waffles tell us about in our lives that we might not otherwise see? And how do you make room for an open-mind? [23:45]

This week, Aaron and Jess and Joey talk about the Waffle House Index, the best kind of floss, the trap of spurious correlations, lots of longform, doomscrolling, and making the most out of openness. They don't talk about dinosaur floss, though they definitely, DEFINITELY should have.

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86! The Asymmetry of Bullsh*t and Lessons from Black Fandom

What's the cost of bullsh*t? And what can black fandom tell us about rebuilding modern creative businesses? [28:44]

This week, Joey and Aaron talk about Brandolini's Law, Hillary Clinton, what we don't know, Aaron's AdAge Feature (hello!), Gullah Gullah Island, and the Black Church. They don't talk about how the Gullah Heritage Corridor is in its 14th program year managed by the U.S. National Parks Service.

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85! The Dampener Effect and Cohesion at Work

What can we learn from games in designing a just society? And how do you keep cohesion with distributed teams? [26:56]

This week, Aaron and Joey and Jess talk about the Mario Kart blue shell (it's blue, Joey), what makes a good game, the equity v. equality debate, cohesion at work, what makes a virtual meeting, and sheep sounds. They don't talk about *why* sheep sounds—our secret to keep.)

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84! Shopping Cart Theory and Our Hero Complex

Who returns the shopping cart? And what values do we actually want to take away from our heroes? [18:59]

This week, Joey and special guest Cole Nielsen talk about our Social Contract, TFW someone holds the door for you, mask participation, The Last Dance, WWBD (What Would Beyonce Do?), and Michele Obama. They don't talk about how Dads are equally liable to breathe down our necks too.

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83! Getting to Know "Karen" and How We Come Out

Who is Karen and why do we hate her? And what does it mean to "come out"? [26:02]

This week, we're back. Joey and Aaron and Jess talk about Joey's grandma, overreactions, female stereotypes, pride-washing, otherness, and committing ourselves to fighting shame. They don't talk about how yes, you can expect your regularly scheduled nonsense programming to resume here and now.

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82! June 2020, A Voicemail

Thanks for your patience during this pause, folks.

This week, we're not releasing a new episode: Joey leaves a short voicemail in your podcast-inbox to explain.

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81! To "Stan" vs "Cancel" and Anger Management

How are cancel culture and stan culture related? And how do we rage in public and in private? [22:36]

This week, Joey and Aaron talk about the gentle breezes of Twitter, social currency, fan empowerment, one rude dentist, "angry black men," and escalating a game of work-league volleyball. They don't talk about the origins of "uncomfortable fuddy-duddiness."

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80! Content Overload and Personal Experiments

silver linings™

How much content is too much? And what experiments are you running on yourself RN? [19:19]

This week, Joey and voodoomamajuju Hannah Jegart talk about the overwhelming volume of boredom, watching Jeopardy, dopamine detoxing, Baby Foot, leg hair, and separately, helmet hair. They don't talk about how the second half of this episode deserves a Content Warning for gross bodily references.

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