106! Subtle Cues and Interpreting Things Charitably

How do you pay closer attention to "the Meta Deck"? And how can we evolve our way of viewing others to include more charity of interpretation?

This week, Jess, Joey, and Aaron talk about car singing, listening better, our little mantras, giving grace, Lindy West, and the off-chance Aaron takes a sharp alignment turn. They don't talk about how next week is the return of our 2020 Wild Prognostications?

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105! The Audacity of Telling Good Jokes

What is the role of comedy in setting the boundaries of acceptable speech?

This week, Joey, Cultural Astrologer Osei Kwakye and Grand Comedienne Hannah Jegart talked about saying the funny thing loud, what's allowed when 'the parents' are out of town, the guilt of laughing, more on the Culture Wars, holding on to our hahas, and the Comedian Code. They don't talk about Alex's incredible intro.

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104! A Little Bit of Gratitude: A Special!

How do you make a podcast episode about Thanksgiving in 2020?

This week, a special! Aaron, Joey, and Jess talk about the weirdness of this week, the Busyness Olympics, poor mouthing, the logical proofs of gratitude, how to find things to be grateful for, and an extended special thanks. They don't talk about how this week of online shopping frenzy is the perfect time to get your Critical Nonsense merch.

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103! Repairing Life's Leaky Faucets

Which leaky faucet are you going to repair?

This week, Joey and Aaron and Jess talk about Aaron adjusting to Phoenix, Joey fixing his bike, Jess sorting her bead collection, replacements, thank yous, and the mindset of repair. They don't talk about whether any of us have ever actually fixed a leaky faucet.

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102! Six Handshakes: From Pretty BFFs to the Best-Worst Hitmen

This week, another episode of Six Handshakes!

Special guests Alex and Steven join Joey and Jess to talk about the six degrees of separation between Bunny the dog gaining sentience, the paradox of two pretty best friends, a Taiwanese Halloween contest, 🎶an exquisite burn🎶, Birds Aren't Real, and the Ig Nobel Prize. They don't talk about Nora's "Cutie Collection" *enough*.

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101! Zero-Sum Games and Digital Drugs

How do we escape the zero sum game? And what if technology is the drug of the future? [24:20]

This week, Joey and Cultural Astrologer Osei Kwakye talk about horse racing, linked fate, D&D lessons from Joey, Tristan Harris, the motif of the cigarette, and the social dilemma. They don't talk about how Aaron is currently winning the great Critical Nonsense swag race—check out the merch here.

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100?! Unfinished Convos re: Vanilla & Thirst-vertising & Pets

This week, our 100th episode‽

To celebrate, Jess (with Erica Hummel and Ben Vander), Aaron (with Valentine Aseyo) and Joey (with Jillian Camire) continue unfinished conversations we've had on the show. They talk about the canonical form of vanilla, The Chocolate Privilege, so many euphemisms, thirst representation, what dogs get out of the relationship, and living free from judgment. They also talk about the people that have made these 100 episodes possible, with special shouts to our incredible sound engineer, Alex Contell, and our inimitable designer, Nora Mestrich, and last but never least you, our dear listeners, for seeing us through this wild and crazy milestone. They don't talk about waffles.

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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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