Grounded Geeks

SO MANY SPOILERS in this episode for the HBO show, Peacemaker. Buckle up, everyone, because we are about to unpack all the layers to Peacemaker...including but not limited to racism, sexism, white nationalism, climate change, political correctness, and of course childhood trauma and mental health. You can't have superheroes without mental health issues. Enjoy! SHOW NOTES: groundedgeeks.medium.com

MAJOR SPOILERS in this episode for the new movie titled, The Batman. You really can't have any conversation about Batman without talking about childhood trauma, mental health, the Proud Boys(?), and investigative skills. That's exactly what we cover on this episode—and more. SHOW NOTES: groundedgeeks.medium.com

SPOILERS in this episode for the Pixar movie, Turning Red. If you've been feeling overwhelmed by your emotions recently, then this is the movie for you. It's got everything: Asian representation, boy bands, the discussion of feminine hygiene(!), puberty, emotions, immigrant backgrounds, and of course…generational trauma. Yay! SHOW NOTES: groundedgeeks.medium.com

Roughly a month ago, when we were first discussing how we wanted to cover the Apple TV+ show, Foundation, on this podcast, never in a million years did we think we would be comparing it to Russia's current invasion of Ukraine. But sadly this is where we are and there are a surprising number of parallels that we can see in both the TV show and the book and what's currently happening in Russia and Ukraine. For anyone who is a fan of science fiction as well as a student of international relations and political science, then Isaac Asimov should be required reading for you. SHOW NOTES: groundedgeeks.medium.com

SPOILERS in this episode for the Apple TV+ show, See. Have you ever wondered what the world would look like if everyone…was blind? If you have, then you should check out the TV show, See, streaming on Apple TV+. Or if you just want to watch Jason Momoa being yet another badass warrior, then this show is for you too. SHOW NOTES: groundedgeeks.medium.com

MAJOR SPOILERS in this episode for the movie Encanto. Ok so we know we don't talk about Bruno, but we kinda had to talk about Bruno. And magic and family and magical realism and feeling like an outsider and generational trauma. At some point we also talked about innovation in storytelling and The Godfather. There was A LOT to unpack all thanks to Encanto's many wonderfully complex layers. SHOW NOTES: groundedgeeks.medium.com

The Book of Boba Fett...The Chapter of Boba Fett within the Book of the Mandalorian? Whatever you want to call it, we finally got a chance to discuss the latest Disney+ show! And we had lots to unpack, from character development to the pope (again) to racism in Hollywood (also again) to how history keeps on repeating itself. Unpack with us! SHOW NOTES: groundedgeeks.medium.com

We finally talked about The Witcher! Aside from the monsters and magic, we also talk about medieval geopolitics, how our perception of time changes throughout our lives, the origin of banking, oppression...in genral, and a brief tangent about the Knights Templar and some king of France. SHOW NOTES: groundedgeeks.medium.com

Welcome to Season 3 of Grounded Geeks! We actually came back yaaaay! We're kicking off this season by talking about NOT the latest Marvel movie, Eternals. We get into the history of language, Greek and Roman gods, our personal thoughts on Sersi and Ikarus, and whether the truth will actually set us free. SHOW NOTES: groundedgeeks.medium.com

We're kicking off 2022 by diving into…the Matrix. What is real? What is not? And does any of it even matter? Besides (obviously) going into the philosophical questions posed by The Matrix Resurrections, in this episode we also talk about the evolution of CGI in movies, the point of Agent Smith, Plato and Aristotle, electrons and neutrons, the Harry Potter reunion special, and so much more. Is this podcast even real? Who knows. Oh and side note: we are taking a quick break (not for five years this time, we promise!) and you'll see us back here in February. SHOW NOTES: https://bit.ly/3KElFcK

HUGE MAJOR SPOILERS for Spider-Man: No Way Home in this episode! You've been warned. So for those who HAVE seen the movie, get ready for an episode where not only do we talk about the awesomeness of Spider-Man but the brilliance of good villains. It is known that Willem Defoe and Alfred Molina are gems that we must treasure forever and ever. We also dabble a bit in quantum physics and religion and specifically Jinn in Islam. What? We have to cover all these things when we're talking about the multiverse. Happy New Year folks!

HUGE SPOILERS in this episode for the Disney+ show, Hawkeye. This episode is a bit all over the place, but essentially if you wanna hear us gush about a TV show where we didn't reallyyyy have that many expectations, then this is it. Other things we rave about: The Yelena/Kate banter, Florence Pugh, the history of Russian accents portrayed on screen, Laura Barton, and a big shout out to LARPers and cosplayers everywhere

Welcome to our holiday special! Naturally the only trilogy worth talking about at all is the one…the only…Lord of the Rings. We figured we'd keep things light and fun this week and take time to gush about one of the most wonderful fantasy stories ever. Enjoy! SHOW NOTES: https://bit.ly/3nKvCeF

MAJOR SPOILERS in this episode for the Netflix live-action series, Cowboy Bebop. If you want to go on a fun space western ride, then Cowboy Bebop is for you. If you also just want to see John Cho being sexy then this show is also for you. We spend some time talking about how the live-action compares to the anime, how the characters have been expanded upon, and also whether our future could look anything like the Bebop universe in a few centuries. SHOW NOTES: https://bit.ly/3FSWhMQ

Welcome to Part 2 of us dissecting the Netflix anthology series titled Love, Death, and Robots! This time we discuss three episodes that focus on human body modification and what that means for society and the future. Buckle up because things get real philosophical in this one. SHOW NOTES: https://bit.ly/32gCHw2

Happy Thanksgiving, fellow geeks! We hope you're having a lovely time with your friends and/or family. But if you want to take a quick break from them, check out this short and sweet episode where we look back on what we've covered so far and pick one geeky thing we're grateful for this year. And as always, thank YOU for listening to Grounded Geeks. SHOW NOTES: https://bit.ly/3GOKaBF

We did it. We finally did an episode on Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings! Since the movie's been out for longer than two months, we're not sure if we need to put a spoilers disclaimer here? But yeah you can safely there are spoilers in this episode. In this episode, we talk quite a bit about whether Marvel was able to bring to life the "legend" of the ten rings, whether this movie helped in the fight for Asian representation, and the gift that is Tony Leung. SHOW NOTES: 

Welcome to another Superhero Smorgasbord episode! In light of the UN Climate Change Conference that is coming to an end this week—and also the horrifying impact of climate change itself—we figured we’d ask ourselves who we would want to send to COP26. Naturally, Captain Planet was one of our choices, but there were some other interesting ones thrown in there too. Not only did we talk about how they would tackle climate change (and this particular conference), but we also happened to go off on a couple tangents about Facebook and international law. You’re gonna love it. SHOW NOTES: https://bit.ly/3fFdEG4

What happens when you bring some of the world's best anime creators into the Star Wars universe? Something beautiful called Star Wars: Visions. In this anthology series, (now streaming on Disney+) we came across wandering strangers, a rock band, twins born into the dark side, lightsaber-smiths, and of course Jedis and Siths. In terms of real world topics, we touch on the role women have played historically in the Star Wars universe and climate change. (Y'all we can't NOT talk about climate change because it's that freaking critical). None of the episodes in Star Wars: Visions are what you would expect them to be. They're way better. SHOW NOTES: https://bit.ly/3ruQrMi

MAJOR SPOILERS in this episode for the movie Dune (2021). If you haven't seen this movie, we're warning you...it's epic. We got the chance to talk about colonialism, the feudal system in the context of an intergalactic empire, spice (both from the movie and real world spices that enrich all of our lives), and the inspiration Frank Herbert got from the Arabic language and Islam. It was a lot of unpack. We also complained about how Dune Part Two hasn't been greenlit yet, but that changed this week. Hooray! SHOW NOTES: https://bit.ly/358PdyR