Alex, Emily, and John discuss Christopher Nolan's 2023 movie Oppenheimer. They also discuss Taylor Swift's cultural omnipresence, Emily's ranking of the Jurassic Park franchise movies, the idea of "You Must Watch This..." as a future podcast theme, and the genre of science fiction.
Andrea and Emily discuss two albums of alternate rock band Death Cab for Cutie: Transatlanticism (2003) and Asphalt Meadows (2023). An episode 6 months in the making, they talk about these albums that are separated in time by 20 years but are connected by many themes. Topics include: our punk roots, the pandemic, the Beatles, glove compartments, and more!
Intro music: Bossa In My Heart by SergeQuadrado. Outro music: Life of a Wandering Wizard by SergeQuadrado.
Alex and Emily discuss two of the big movies released in 2023: The Killer (David Fincher) and Killers of the Flower Moon (Martin Scorsese). They start the conversation with a short discussion of the band The Killers, and Alex gives a top 5 of songs with the word "Killer" in the title.
Music discussion at the start
"The Killer" discussion starts @ 11:00
"Killers of the Flower Moon" discussion starts @ 37:00
Vince Breunig and Bryan Bilse stop by the library to talk about the Lodi Pride Campaign, which aims to create a sense of unity around the wonderful things happening at the school and in the broader Lodi community. The theme this year is "Guardians of Lodi Pride" and it is the 10th anniversary of the pride campaign.
Vince Breunig is the District Administrator of Lodi and Bryan Bilse is the Project Coordinator with Lodi Community Action Team (LCAT).
Videos of past pride campaigns can be found on the school district Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/LodiSchoolsWI
Alex, Andrea, Emily, and John share the meaningful songs of their lives in five year increments until the present day.
Andrea and Emily discuss The Super Mario Bros Movie (2023)! Does it live up to the hype? Is it better than the 1993 live-action Super Mario Bros.? Find out as they touch on topics of voice acting, story structure, adaptation, plumbing, and more.
Intro music: Bossa In My Heart by SergeQuadrado. Outro music: Life of a Wandering Wizard by SergeQuadrado.
Alex, Emily, and John discuss Iain Reid's psychological thriller I'M THINKING OF ENDING THINGS (2016).
What did you think the book was about when you first saw the title? Is the book funny? Is it frightening? What was your reaction to the end of the story? Are dramatic twists just storytelling gimmicks or do they add complexity to a story?
In addition to the book, Alex, Emily, and John chat about the Id, the Ego, and the Superego, as well as the ways that isolation impacts modern life.
"Monday, I'm all high
Get me out of FLA
In school, yeah
I fooled ya
Now I know I made a podcast"
Alex and John create individual playlists for Wilco's 1996 alt-country double album "Being There," discussing country music, Uncle Tupelo, unease with Tweedy's lyrics, and more!
Alex, Emily, and John discuss George Orwell's landmark fable ANIMAL FARM (1945).
Is the satirical allegorical novella funny? Does it secretly loathe the animals on the farm? What truth does it capture about life inside a totalitarian system?
In addition to the fable, Alex, Emily, and John chat about Louis Menand's character study essay about George Orwell that appeared in the New Yorker in 2003, entitled "Honest, Decent, Wrong." The last third of the pod touches on the negative influence of smart phones, digital photography vs. film photography, and Charlie Chaplin.
Not to be confused with Disney's Pinocchio (2022)! In this episode, Emily and Andrea discuss Guillermo del Toro's stop-motion masterpiece - a strong contender for Best Animated Film. You haven't seen Pinocchio quite like this, in a tale about free will, family, life, death, and hot chocolate.
Recommendations:
Uzumaki/Spiral into Horror by Junji Ito
Tomie by Junji Ito
Gyo/Fish by Junji Ito
No Longer Human by Junji Ito
Convenience Store Woman by Sakaya Murata
Metropolis (1927)
Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery (2022)
Intro music: Bossa In My Heart by SergeQuadrado. Outro music: Life of a Wandering Wizard by SergeQuadrado.
Andrea and Emily talk about the 1977 psychedelic Japanese horror film, House, which has gained a cult following for its unique visuals. They also talk about the differences between Japanese and Western horror and horror archetypes.
Recommendations:
Emma by Jane Austen
Why I Wake Early: New Poems by Mary Oliver
Dracula by Bram Stoker
The Addams Family (1991)
Intro music: Bossa In My Heart by SergeQuadrado. Outro music: Life of a Wandering Wizard by SergeQuadrado.
Andrea and Emily talk about the animated mini-series Over the Garden Wall. It's a show full of autumn imagery and Americana that is sure to get you into the spooky spirit. We follow the adventures of the brothers Wirt and Greg and their friend Beatrice as they wander through the woods in The Unknown and encounter a town of pumpkin people, a riverboat frog band, a witch in the woods, and the beast of despair.
Grab an apple cider and join us as we discuss the themes and layered imagery of this funny and creepy show!
Recommendations:
The Stranger by Albert Camus
The Woman in Black by Susan Hill
Garlic and the Witch by Bree Paulsen
SciShow Tangents podcast
Music throughout the episode is from Over the Garden Wall, performed by The Blasting Company. Outro music: Life of a Wandering Wizard by SergeQuadrado.
In light of the announced upcoming Super Mario movie, Andrea and Emily talk about the infamous 1993 film, Super Mario Bros! Critically and financially unsuccessful, this film has nonetheless gained a cult following. It's a wild, adventurous story about two brothers, plumbers, who fall into a gritty, alternate version of New York and have to save a princess.
Intro music: Kim Lightyear - Angel Eyes (Chiptune Edit) by Lightyeartraxx. Outro music: Life of a Wandering Wizard by SergeQuadrado.
We talk with Marian Buchanan about growing up on the farm, meeting her husband, dancing to their favorite tune, and much more!
Catherine Hochstein, who will soon turn 95, talks about growing up poor in a big family, shares memories of an influential person in her younger years, reminisces about working for Good Samaritan, and much more!
We uncovered some lost audio from another discussion we had about Divided We Fall by David French, so we're releasing it a little belatedly as a part two! In this podcast Alex, Andrea, and Emily talk about how the community-wide read went, the challenges and benefits of leading book discussions, and how the library's Book Club is going.
In spring and early summer, the Lodi Library handed out 200 free copies of Divided We Fall by David French and then had Daniel Kapust, a political science professor from UW-Madison, present at the library. Afterwards, the group had lunch together and discussed the book.
Special thank you to Wisconsin Humanities and The Friends of Lodi Public Library for their support.
Media recommendations:
Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer
Himawari House by Harmony Becker
The Penumbra Podcast
Britt-Marie Was Here by Fredrik Backman
Peter Darling by Austin Chant
The Soul of an Octopus by Sy Montgomery
Inky's Amazing Escape by Sy Montgomery
Did You Hear What Eddie Gein Done? by Eric Powell
Alex and Emily discuss Albert Camus' landmark novella THE STRANGER. A writing style that is at times muted and reserved and other times profoundly poetic, this story has confounded and compelled readers since its release in 1942.
How does the book speak to our time and all times? Is the book funny? Why does Meursault do the things he does? Is he a sociopath? Is the book falling out of favor with today's readers and teachers? Listen and find out.
In spring and early summer, the Lodi Library handed out 200 free copies of Divided We Fall by David French and then had Daniel Kapust, a political science professor from UW-Madison, present at the library. Afterwards, the group had lunch together and discussed the book.
In this podcast, Alex, John, and Tori talk about how that all went, while also reflecting on last year's read. They also talk about the movies of 1995, and many other things.
Special thank you to Wisconsin Humanities and The Friends of Lodi Public Library for their support.
John, Andrea and Emily discuss legendary Japanese animator and storyteller, Hayao Miyazaki, and two of his visionary films: Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind (1984) and Princess Mononoke (1997).
"Baby, I'm amazed at the way you podcast all the time
And maybe I'm afraid of the way I love you."
Alex and John discuss the individual Beatles albums of 1970 and draft songs from each album to make their own personal Beatles album of 1970.
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