Geeks Without God

This week, we take a look at the first three seasons of Star Trek: Discovery. We are joined by Scott Lohman, who is our favorite Trekspert. We cover a lot of spoiler stuff from the first three seasons of the show and as each season has it’s own arc, you may or may not want to dive too deep before listening. After discussing our impressions of the show, Scott has five Star Trek themed questions for us to answer!

This week, we take a look at “Invincible” on Amazon Prime. This dark comedic animated series is an adaptation of the “Invincible” comic series and we spoil the shit out of it so we must suggest you, at the very least, watch the first episode before you listen. Nick has mentioned the series in the past so you may already know the biggest secret of all but still, you should just watch the show. It’s free if you are an Amazon Prime member!

This week, we take a look at the changes in the American workforce resulting from the pandemic. Are we seeing a shift in which workers are gaining power in the workplace by pushing for better paying jobs? How have things changed given that working from home has been proven to be a workable option? The pandemic changed the landscape and we explore whether or not that change is permanent and whether it will be a good one.

This week, we are re-joined by our friend Nathan Gerber to talk Mortal Kombat! Yes, there is a new movie on HBO and we all watched it. Nate is a big fan of the video game and the 1995 movie so we look at all things Mortal Kombat. Except Mortal Kombat: Annihilation. Nobody should look at that.

A few weeks ago, Matt Kesson was on with us and we talked about the idea that science is pretty cool. We think science is so cool, we got our good friend Breanne Bilyeu to join us to do an entire episode about how science is pretty cool! A lot of folks suggest that there isn’t a lot of wonder for atheists and we totally disagree because we have science! We talk about some cool stuff about science and then Breanne asks us five questions because that’s how we roll!

This week we are once again joined by Jonathan Palmer to help us discuss the latest Marvel series, The Falcon & The Winter Soldier. While the series is longer than the Snyder Cut of Justice League, it seems to have a little bit more to say. Jonathan helps us break down what we enjoyed about the series and we even have a few criticisms.

Content Warning and something to PLEASE consider: Molly and Nick talk about a show called “Them.” Since recording this episode, that show has taken an incredibly dark turn that feels exploitative. Some folks are calling the show “trauma porn,” and that feels like an apt description. I don’t think we can recommend this show after listening to BIPOC and reading what they have to say about the show & how it makes them feel. Here’s an example of a review that going into detail about what we’re talking about: https://www.vulture.com/article/review-them-amazon-series.html This week, we take a look at some TV shows we’ve been watching and TV shows we are looking forward to. We look at all the streaming platforms we are currently watching including Disney Plus, Paramount Plus, HBO Max, Hulu, and Netflix. Also probably some others that we forgot to mention. If you are looking for good ways to spend some free time, give some of the shows on this list a chance (with the exception of “Them” for reasons mentioned above).

This week, we are re-joined by our friend Matt Kessen of Reverend Matt’s Monster Science! He is with us to talk about Cryptozoology, which is basically the “study” of Bigfoot, the Loch Ness Monster, and other such creatures. Matt is something of an expert on the topic but don’t mistake “expert” for “believer.” It’s hard to believe we’ve gone this many episodes without talking about Bigfoot and the Loch Ness Monster but the long wait is over! For more of Reverend Matt’s Monster Science, check out his website here!

This week, we have another boners episode queued up for y’all! Tim has a new Apple TV and he’s pretty excited about it. Nick has been doing all sorts of projects around the new house. Molly has nothing but free time right now and she’s going to tell you what she’s doing with it! Also, we answer five questions from a listener!

This week, we are joined by Melissa Kaercher to discuss the epicness that is “Godzilla Vs. Kong.” Melissa was our first guest lo so many years ago and we are pleased she was able to join us to discuss this new installment in the Kaiju lore. She is something of an expert on Godzilla so she is able to give us some historical context on Godzilla movies and helps to place within the larger pantheon of giant master movies. We also talk about King Kong. Just not as much as Godzilla. She also brought five questions for us!

This week, we have a conversation with Andy Blau, who performs at Renaissance Festivals as Zoltan the Adequate. He is a magician who has a lot of great stories to tell. We talk about how magic got him involved in the atheist community and how it eventually led to him spending a week as the Amazing Randi’s chauffeur. Also, he’s from Canada! Note: All of our podcasts are being recorded remotely and sometimes there are delays because the web is a scary and dangerous place. This week’s episode features a few more delays than some of the other episodes we’ve recorded this year.

This week, we watched the entire length of the Snyder Cut of “The Justice League” and we get our buddy and DC apologist Ronn Bauman to join us for a discussion. Please note, we spoil the shit out of this movie so if you want to watch all four hours unspoiled, you should hold off on listening. Otherwise, we share our positives and negatives about his movie that we all agree is better than the theatrical cut. To what degree we think it is better is up for some debate.

This week, we are joined once again by Pat Wick to talk about house rules in board games. You know, stuff like getting money when you land on Free Parking in Monopoly even though that’s not actually a rule. Sometimes house rules are there just to create peace or to make Candyland more interesting. Other times, they are created to maybe improve the game experience. We talk about the reasons we create house rules for games we enjoy.

This week, we bring back our resident Marvel expert Mark Sherman to talk WandaVision! We recorded this episode after the finale had aired so please be aware we spoil the shit out of the series. As we live in what can be fairly called the golden age of Marvel media, we talk about the full series and how it ties into some things from the comics but also strikes out in new and interesting ways. We all really enjoyed the show and it gave us a lot to think about. Seriously, though, don’t listen to this episode if you haven’t watched the show yet. So  many spoilers.

This week, we are joined by Windy Bowlsby to talk about pandemic baking! We’ve all developed new hobbies during the pandemic and Windy has been doing a lot of baking. We talk about our baking experience and other pandemic hobbies. But mostly we talk about bread. Yum!

This week, we talk to our friend, magician William Bradshaw. Will works as a street magician in Las Vegas as we thought he’d be the perfect person to ask about the new Hulu film “In and Of Itself.” It is a filmed stage play directed by Frank Oz that kind of defies description. We really enjoyed it and if you haven’t watched it yet, we suggest you do that before listening.  

This week, we take a deeper dive into Ted Lasso. We’ve mentioned the show a few times in recent episodes but we think it deserves and enter episode because the show is just that good. There are spoilers a-plenty so if you haven’t watched the show, and you really should, go watch the show before you listen to the podcast!

This week, we take a look at the 2020 film “Faith Based,” about a couple of guys who decide to get rich by making a Faith Based film. We all thought this movie would be a lot of fun and the concept certainly seemed like it was going to be something we enjoyed but it just didn’t really do it for us. Listen to this spoiler filled episode to find out why!

This week, we take a look at the Netflix documentary series “History of Swear Words” starring – no shitting you – Nicholas Cage. The series is only six episodes long and each episode focuses on a single swear word. They have an entire damn episode focused on the word “damn.” And if you are thinking “that sounds like a damn stupid thing to do an episode about,” you’d be goddamned wrong.

This week, we are taking a look at cleaning house. Specifically, going through all the shit you have and figuring out when it’s time to get rid of some of it. Molly and Nick are getting ready to move and Tim’s mom just downsized to an apartment so we’ve all got some recent experience with making choices about the stuff you have. What we leave behind is something we think about as atheists because it’s not like we have control over any of it when we are gone.