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PODCAST

Gobbledygeek

Paul Smith and Arlo J. Wiley

A more-or-less weekly podcast dedicated to all things geeky in pop culture and entertainment. We talk about everything from film and television to books, comics, video games, and more.

All Episodes

02:35:50

394 - Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker (feat. Eric...

Gobbledygeek ·

2020/01/19

The geeks speak! Gobbledygeek has been resurrected via cloning or Force magic or some shit, and to kick off season 11, Broken Magic author and The Deli Counter of Justice co-creator Eric Sipple has lightspeed-skipped on over to discuss Star Wars: Episode IX - The Rise of Skywalker. After adoring The Last Jedi, the gang approached this supposed final film in the Skywalker Saga with heavy amounts of skepticism--well-earned, depending on who you ask. They discuss the mystical, magical malarkey behind

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01:32:01

393 - Twisted Christmas: Anna and the Apocalypse

Gobbledygeek ·

2019/12/19

‘Twas the season 10 finale of Gobbledygeek, when all through the podcast, Zombies were shuffling, Scottish dancers aghast. John McPhail’s Anna and the Apocalypse was the topic du jour, In hopes that Paul and Arlo would discuss the songs, the jokes, and maybe some more. The movie does not foster too much discussion, alas; While instead, talking about Christmas plans and getting high, our hosts have a blast. Paul in his kerchief and Arlo in his cap, Have settled their mics for a long winter’s nap.

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01:32:48

392 - FCF: Daytripper

Gobbledygeek ·

2019/12/13

It took Brás de Oliva Domingos so long to find out, and he found out. What, if anything, he found out is the central question of Fábio Moon and Gabriel Bá’s 2010 Vertigo series Daytripper, subject of our final Four-Color Flashback for 2019. You see, Brás writes obituaries for a São Paulo newspaper--and at the end of most chapters in this book, he dies. Twin writers/artists Moon and Bá pave the way for an existential journey along the many turning points of a life, from the imperceptible to the

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01:31:31

391 - FCF: The Private Eye

Gobbledygeek ·

2019/11/28

The Cloud burst, and for forty days and forty nights, all of our secrets rained down. In the not terribly distant future world of Brian K. Vaughan, Marcos Martin, and Muntsa Vicente’s 2013-15 series The Private Eye, the Internet is a distant memory and anonymity is now the foundation of American society. Of course, our hero is an amoral paparazzo-slash-private investigator whose job is to dig up those old secrets; of course, this leads him into a world of trouble. For the penultimate Four-Color

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01:39:58

390 - Freegobble: Return to InfoPrison

Gobbledygeek ·

2019/10/30

Ever have a job so shitty, it haunts you years (or even decades) down the line? Paul and Arlo have, and it’s called Gobbledygeek! Hey-o! In all seriousness (?), Paul recounts a traumatic experience at Shakey’s Pizza and Arlo is filled with regret over his time at the right-wing call center InfoCision. Cue flashbacks to high school football teams ravenous for wings and evil televangelists separating the faithful from what little coin they carry. Speaking of the latter, Arlo laments Kanye West’s

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01:42:55

389 - Gobbledyween / FCF: My Favorite Thing is...

Gobbledygeek ·

2019/10/28

Our favorite thing is Gobbledyween, so to close out this year’s frightening festivities, Paul and Arlo are breaking from the norm to discuss Emil Ferris’ 2017 graphic novel My Favorite Thing Is Monsters. Joining them for this first Gobbledyween/Four-Color Flashback crossover is their The Deli Counter of Justice collaborator Eric Sipple. The gang marvels at Ferris’ stunning art (all done in ballpoint pen!), attempts to process the numerous threads in this first of two planned volumes (sexuality,

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01:14:44

388 - Gobbledyween: Society (feat. Greg Sahadachny)

Gobbledygeek ·

2019/10/20

Tale as old as time, song as old as rhyme: the rich have always sucked off the poor, and podcasting icon Greg Sahadachny has always joined Gobbledyween for the most ridiculous and outrageous pick of the season. This time, Paul and Arlo have chosen to torment Greg with Brian Yuzna’s 1989 satire Society, which is a dumb teen sex comedy until--well, until it isn’t. The gang discusses the film’s subtext and/or screaming neon text; Screaming Mad George’s “surrealistic makeup effects”; how the movie

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01:33:05

387 - Gobbledyween: Near Dark (feat. Joseph Lewis)

Gobbledygeek ·

2019/10/12

It finally happened. After three long years of behind-the-scenes turmoil, Near Dark has made its way to Gobbledyween. A/V writer-director Joseph Lewis joins Paul and Arlo to discuss Kathryn Bigelow’s 1987 vampiric Western, which reimagined the creatures of the night as filthy, lowdown rednecks. The gang discusses the influence Near Dark has had on vampire fiction, the late great Bill Paxton’s immortal performance as Severen, the film’s surprisingly conservative stance on biological family, and how

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01:43:03

386 - Gobbledyween: The Cabin in the Woods

Gobbledygeek ·

2019/10/06

Leaves are on the ground, blood is on the screen. It’s time once again for Gobbledyween, that most beloved of Gobbledygeek institutions--and one that has not reared its horrific head in full since 2015! All month long, Paul and Arlo will be discussing horror or horror-adjacent movies, starting with one they actually discussed seven years ago: Drew Goddard’s mega-meta 2011 genre critique The Cabin in the Woods. The boys reveal why they’re revisiting the film (hint: it involves sheer incompetence!),

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01:15:25

385 - Four-Color Flashback: Green River Killer

Gobbledygeek ·

2019/10/01

For another installment of this year’s non-superhero Four-Color Flashback, Paul and Arlo look at the story of a real-life hero in Green River Killer: A True Detective Story, Jeff Jensen and Jonathan Case’s loving tribute to Jeff’s dad, Detective Tom Jensen. Detective Jensen was instrumental in catching Gary Leon Ridgway AKA the Green River Killer, America’s most prolific serial killer. The boys discuss Paul’s connection to (and possible culpability in?!) the case, the comparisons or lack thereof to

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01:32:46

384 - Four-Color Flashback: Maus: A Survivor’s Tale...

Gobbledygeek ·

2019/09/01

For the latest installment of this year’s spandex-free Four-Color Flashback, Paul and Arlo tackle a big one: Art Spiegelman’s Maus: A Survivor’s Tale, still the only comic book ever to be awarded a Pulitzer Prize. Joining them to discuss Spiegelman’s harrowing account of his father Vladek’s time in the concentration camps of Nazi-occupied Poland--and Art’s own tense relationship with Vladek--is Broken Magic author and The Deli Counter of Justice co-creator Eric Sipple. The gang discusses

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01:27:37

383 - Salty Spiders

Gobbledygeek ·

2019/08/22

The Amazon is burning and all anyone cares about is Spider-Man. Yay! Welcome to another exciting episode of Gobbledygeek! After nixing a fash-bashing Geek Challenge because Paul absolutely could not sit through three hours of The Sound of Music, he and Arlo decide to freestyle it and, well, all is not well! The world’s on fire, the government is imploding, and Spider-Man might not get to be an Avenger anymore! As for that last one, the boys have deeply conflicted feelings about their love for the

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02:27:51

382 - Once Upon a Time...in Hollywood (feat. Kenn...

Gobbledygeek ·

2019/08/08

A long time ago in an industry far, far away...the end was nigh for Hollywood’s good ol’ days. Charles Manson had arrived, Family in tow, to disrupt the neverending Summer of Love. Quentin Tarantino’s ninth (and penultimate?) film, Once Upon a Time … in Hollywood, takes a look at L.A. in 1969, as Leonardo DiCaprio’s washed-up actor and Brad Pitt’s mysterious stuntman cross paths with rising star (and future Manson victim) Sharon Tate, here played by Margot Robbie. Joining Paul and Arlo to navigate

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01:22:36

381 - Four-Color Flashback: Hip Hop Family Tree

Gobbledygeek ·

2019/07/27

Paul and Arlo are in the place to be, rapping about Ed Piskor’s Hip Hop Family Tree. For the latest Four-Color Flashback installment, our nerdy white heroes take on nerdy white cartoonist Piskor’s quartet (so far) of graphic novels discussing the history of hip hop culture. The boys discuss Piskor’s art, equally indebted to underground comix and superhero books of the ‘70s and ‘80s; how the physical editions beautifully replicate the aesthetics of the time period; how Piskor captures the rhythm and

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01:16:06

380 - Portion Sizes

Gobbledygeek ·

2019/07/19

Paul cannot get his fridge under control because these damn restaurants keep serving him so much damn food. He and Arlo discuss the uniquely American problem of ever-expanding portion sizes, stopping at the Cheesecake Factory before taking a detour into canine conundrums, parental pondering, and nostalgic nightmares. You’ll never look at a Heffalump the same way. Featuring a cameo from Fatty Liver & The Teething Puppies! Next: the Gobbledygeeks in the place to be, gettin’ busy with Hip Hop Family

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01:42:46

379 - Spider-Man: Far From Home (feat. Cade Onder)

Gobbledygeek ·

2019/07/14

Pack your unnamed dead uncle's bags, grab your favorite designer sunglasses (that can also level whole cities), and fly on over for a discussion of Spider-Man: Far from Home. GameZone editor-in-chief Cade Onder swings by to join Paul and Arlo, becoming simultaneously the biggest Spider-Fan and the youngest guest to ever grace the podcast. The gang debates the moral implications of EDITH, the gentrification of Peter Parker, whether or not Zendaya is the best MJ, and if we ever need to see that dang

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01:11:49

378 - The Dog Ate My Sleep

Gobbledygeek ·

2019/07/07

We’re tired. So tired. That’s what you want to hear when you’re about to fire up a podcast, right? You are reading this, aren’t you? Buried among such illuminating subjects as the coffee Arlo’s drinking, Paul’s underhanded behind-the-scenes manipulations, and the boys’ general unprofessionalism, there is indeed some pop culture palaver and parley. The boys are digging HBO’s troubled teens drama Euphoria despite being approximately 400 years too old to say things like “that’s a mood”; Arlo is losing

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01:47:52

377 - Four-Color Flashback: The Nameless City Trilogy

Gobbledygeek ·

2019/07/03

For the next installment of this year’s superhero-free Four-Color Flashback, Paul and Arlo leave the realm of autobiography, semi- or otherwise, for some thrilling adventures in fictional China. Faith Erin Hicks’ The Nameless City trilogy has everything: young men and women coming of age in trying times, political intrigue, backstabbing, betrayal, and some pretty cool martial arts fights. The boys discuss Hicks’ deceptively simple artwork, how she incorporates sound effects into her storytelling,

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01:19:46

376 - Four-Color Flashback: American Born Chinese...

Gobbledygeek ·

2019/06/02

For the next installment of this year’s non-superheroic Four-Color Flashback, Paul and Arlo are joined by their pal Johny Ho to discuss Gene Luen Yang’s American Born Chinese. While they’ve previously discussed Yang’s work on the Avatar: The Last Airbender comics, Paul and Arlo discover a whole new side of Yang in this semi-autobiographical novel; while Johny finds pieces of his experience reflected in the story of Jin Wang, an Asian kid enrolled in a Western school. The gang discusses Yang’s simple

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01:10:57

375 - “300ccs of Thorazine”

Gobbledygeek ·

2019/05/26

How does one go from lamenting the untimely demise of Tom King’s Batman to discussing the power structures that dictate what one finds culturally acceptable in any given generation? There’s only one way to find out: by listening to this week’s Gobbledygeek! Paul and Arlo blather about superheroic drama, including Superman: The Animated Series; opinions that have evolved with time, whether they’re on The Downward Spiral or She-Ra: Princess of Power; and why the hell Pete Venkman was carrying 300ccs

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531 results