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Overthinking It Podcast — TV & Film
Overthinking It Podcast

Overthinking It subjects the popular culture to a level of scrutiny it probably doesn’t deserve.

Latest Episodes:

Episode 794: De Bello Gallico Sep 18, 2023

Show notes

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Peter Fenzel and Matthew Wrather engage in a storied two hander, or a podcast celebris duabus manibus, considering a recent Tik Tok meme and explaining once and for all why straight men think about the Roman Empire. You’ll never look at an arch the same way again.

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Further Reading

Uyghur Khaganate (Wikipedia)
Commentarii de Bello Gallico (Wikipedia)
“The Fall of Rome” by W. H. Auden
Newton’s Laws of Motion (Wikipedia)

Episode 794: De Bello Gallico originally appeared on Overthinking It, the site subjecting the popular culture to a level of scrutiny it probably doesn't deserve. [Latest Posts | Podcast (iTunes Link)]

Episode 793: That’s What the Bread is For Sep 11, 2023

Show notes

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Matthew Belinkie, Mark Lee, Jordan Stokes, and Matthew Wrather discuss an interview with Bernie Taupin, Elton John’s longtime lyricist, in which he disses the work of one William Martin Joel, going back to “Piano Man” and claiming that “tonic and gin” is bad lyric writing. The crew overthink the highs and lows of Billy Joel’s songwriting, and talk about the interplay of meaning, rhythm, melody, and harmony that makes song lyrics good or bad.

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Further Reading (Lyrics)

Episode 793: That’s What the Bread is For originally appeared on Overthinking It, the site subjecting the popular culture to a level of scrutiny it probably doesn't deserve. [Latest Posts | Podcast (iTunes Link)]

Episode 792: DTMFAVille Sep 04, 2023

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Peter Fenzel, Mark Lee, and Matthew Wrather overthink Labor Day plans, the back to school season, and the meaning of fresh starts and clean slates. They consider utopian social projects, which will all fail because they lack social roles for the villains of AITA posts.

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Further Reading

“A California Land Mystery Is Solved. Now the Political Fight Begins.” (NY Times)

Episode 792: DTMFAVille originally appeared on Overthinking It, the site subjecting the popular culture to a level of scrutiny it probably doesn't deserve. [Latest Posts | Podcast (iTunes Link)]

Episode 791: What is Plinko but a Novel Pachinko? Aug 28, 2023

Show notes

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Peter Fenzel, Mark Lee, and Matthew Wrather overthink The Price is Right as a tribute to Bob Barker (1923–2023). They play Showcase Showdown, and then consider the essential characteristics of the game shows, arriving at:

The Game Show has a Prize that matters; people watch the Game Show for the Prize.
The Game Show has a Host, who imparts a distinctive tone on the show.
Contestants on the Game Show are distinguished by their distance from the tone.
The Game Show embodies an idea of the Good Life.

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Further Reading

Bob Barker and The Price is Right (Wikipedia)
Showcase Showdown
The Price Is Right During Covid
- News Piece
- Podcast
Mark Lee on Ask Me Another

Episode 791: What is Plinko but a Novel Pachinko? originally appeared on Overthinking It, the site subjecting the popular culture to a level of scrutiny it probably doesn't deserve. [Latest Posts | Podcast (iTunes Link)]

Episode 790: We Are All Weaker than the Water Aug 21, 2023

Show notes

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Peter Fenzel, Mark Lee, and Matthew Wrather overthink recent storms that Matt and Pete have experienced. They are all over the place, but the nut is that there is a great difference between the various symbolic uses to which we put water and the reality of encountering its destructive force.

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Further Reading

“During Wind and Rain” by Tho(mas) Hardy

Episode 790: We Are All Weaker than the Water originally appeared on Overthinking It, the site subjecting the popular culture to a level of scrutiny it probably doesn't deserve. [Latest Posts | Podcast (iTunes Link)]

Episode 789: Sell Everything You Own and Get in a Spaceship Aug 14, 2023

Show notes

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Peter Fenzel, Mark Lee, and Matthew Wrather overthink The Guardians of the Galaxy: Vol. 3 which is about animal cruelty, oh and humans too. (Don’t be fooled when Matt calls it a romp!) The crew discuss the film’s themes, from the duty of care we owe one another to the benefits of being rag-tag to Pete’s surprising contention that this is the most Christian movie in current release.

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Further Reading

The Guardians of the Galaxy: Vol 3 (Wikipedia)
- Soundtrack Album (Wikipedia)
Adam Warlock (Wikipedia)
Family Romance (Wikipedia)
“The Creation of Adam” (Wikipedia)

Episode 789: Sell Everything You Own and Get in a Spaceship originally appeared on Overthinking It, the site subjecting the popular culture to a level of scrutiny it probably doesn't deserve. [Latest Posts | Podcast (iTunes Link)]

Episode 788: Joy at Being Seen Aug 07, 2023

Show notes

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Peter Fenzel, Mark Lee, and Matthew Wrather overthink Matt’s trip to the Eras Tour. TL;DR: It was phenomenal. And Matt has seen Shakespeare the way it’s meant to be played.

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Episode 788: Joy at Being Seen originally appeared on Overthinking It, the site subjecting the popular culture to a level of scrutiny it probably doesn't deserve. [Latest Posts | Podcast (iTunes Link)]

Episode 787: What Marks the Spot?! Jul 31, 2023

Show notes

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Peter Fenzel and Matthew Wrather follow a treasure map to the meaning of “X,” a letter with a semiotic gravity all its own. As Pete describes it, it is the only letter which stretches from pornography to divinity, from X-Rated to Xmas.

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Further Reading

“Why are there continent-sized ‘blobs’ in the deep Earth?” (BBC)
Miss Waldron’s Red Colobus (Wikipedia)
“Adam’s Task” by John Hollander
“The Canonical Doctrine of Reception” (ARCC)

Episode 787: What Marks the Spot?! originally appeared on Overthinking It, the site subjecting the popular culture to a level of scrutiny it probably doesn't deserve. [Latest Posts | Podcast (iTunes Link)]

Episode 786: In Greek, Nostalgia Means “An Old Phaser Wound Which Does Not Heal” Jul 24, 2023

Show notes

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Peter Fenzel, Mark Lee, and Matthew Wrather finally get around to overthinking Star Trek: Strange New Worlds, the spin-off of a spin-off of a not very good idea to begin with. You know what? We like it.

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Further Reading

The Gorn (Memory Alpha)
Anson Mount: Trivia (IMDb)
“I’m Not a Girl… Not Yet a Woman” at its conception
God help us, here are the Star Trek Discovery recaps.

Episode 786: In Greek, Nostalgia Means “An Old Phaser Wound Which Does Not Heal” originally appeared on Overthinking It, the site subjecting the popular culture to a level of scrutiny it probably doesn't deserve. [Latest Posts | Podcast (iTunes Link)]

Episode 785: An Uneasy Equilibrium Jul 17, 2023

Show notes

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Mark Lee and Matthew Wrather overthink the labor strife disrupting the entertainment industry, but we all know who the real disruptors are.

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Episode 785: An Uneasy Equilibrium originally appeared on Overthinking It, the site subjecting the popular culture to a level of scrutiny it probably doesn't deserve. [Latest Posts | Podcast (iTunes Link)]

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