Continuing the themes we began exploring with last week's Videodrome, we dive more directly into considerations of political turmoil, election interference, and manipulation of our collective perspective. In 1962, John Frankenheimer's haunting film THE MANCHURIAN CANDIDATE painted a bleak picture of the ways people in power would take drastic measures to ensure they maintained that control. Starring Frank Sinatra, it told a tale of soldiers who were kidnapped and "conditioned" into becoming cold-blooded assassins in order to eradicate political opponents. It was remade by director Jonathn Demme in 2004, starring Denzel Washington, Meryl Streep, Liev Shreiber, and a host of other recognizable faces.

We're joined by pastor and pop-culture maven Sonya Brown this week to examine both of these films and to reflect upon the terrifying ways their stories comment on our present moment. It's a thoughtful and remarkably hopeful conversation this week that we really hope you enjoy.

3:50 - Two Questions with Sonya Brown

Patron Only Segment: Whatcha Watchin' / Readin' / Listenin' To

18:06 - THE MANCHURIAN CANDIDATE (1962 & 2004)

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This week, we examine the dangerously transformative power of media intake by tackling David Cronenberg's VIDEODROME. Operating on a studio's budget for the first time in his career, the visionary filmmaker known for boundary-pushing body horror unleashed a wildly intuitive vision of a sinister broadcast -- known as Videodrome -- which causes intense hallucinations and compulsions in anyone who views it. The film used uncomfortable visualizations and psychosexually violent scenarios to create a nightmarish portrait of media manipulation and control. What's perhaps most frightening about the film is how eerily similar it is to our current state of technological codependency.

To unpack this film's fascinating details, we're joined by Josh Willenbrink of Restoration Games who last joined us to discuss and promote their upcoming releases and Justin Donnahoo, a youth pastor, Batman enthusiast, and co-host of the Moviga podcast. Together, we dive into the striking ways this film forecasted where we might one day find ourselves and we discuss the vital necessity of preserving our humanity amidst an ocean of algorithms.

It's a hearty and thought-provoking episode this week that we really hope you enjoy.

3:42 - Two Questions with Justin Donnahoo

15:34 - Catching Up on Games with Josh Willenbrink

Patron Only Segment: WHATCHA

25:47 - VIDEODROME

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We hope you're having a great summer! We're here with a quick bonus episode ahead of your holiday weekend to update you on the progress of our friendly competition between Nathan and Reed guessing the Metacritc score and opening weekend box office for this summer's slate of movies.

Gorey Gamer Matt Murray hosts a brief chat about our biggest surprises, our disappointments, and how the points are playing out for this halfway mark. It's brief, it's fun, and we hope you enjoy it!

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