Critical Nonsense

How do you dress for success? This week, Aaron and Joey talk about fashion plates, professionalism, drag, archetyping, navigating differences, and respect. They don’t talk about Rufio. references Fashion plate Professionalism as a Racial Construct Economic Policy Institute: The CROWN Act Paris is Burning Underground ball culture Everyday Feminism: You Call It Professionalism; I Call It Oppression in a Three-Piece Suit 

This week, Aaron, Jess and Joey revisit their 2025 prognogs from Episode 296. They talk about the micro social media surge, cynicism, platform madness, informed styling, blockbusters, weaponized compliance, non-apocalyptic runaway AI moments, and our AI overlords. They don’t talk about eggprogs. references If I ruled the world ... People: Bob Mackie Says 'People Were Horrified' by Cher's 'Naked' 1974 Met Gala Dress, Even Ripping Her Photo off Magazine Covers Tasting ultra-aged eggnog America's Test Kitchen: How to Make the Absolute Best Eggnog Louis Pasteur Memphis Group Conan O'Brien Needs A Friend Podcast: Conan Blames Jason Bateman For His Dad's Death Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 Split Fiction AAA (video game industry) quod erat demonstrandum The New York Times: Gonzo Fans Have Made ‘Dungeon Crawler Carl’ Into a Global Blockbuster Michiko Kakutani's 1995 The New York Times book review of Wicked: Let's Get This Straight: Glinda Was the Bad One? (paywall) Bloomberg: OpenAI's Nvidia, AMD Deals Boost $1 Trillion AI Boom With Circular Deals (paywall) The Food Lab: How to Roast the Best Potatoes of Your Life 

What does your Zero Farts Land future look like? This week, Aaron, Joey, and Jess talk about fucks. And farts. references Empire: Jamie Lee Curtis Is Done Compromising – And She’s Not Slowing Down George Wallace (not George Wallace) Kenan Thompson on We Might Be Drunk with Normand and Morril Janelle James on Conan O'Brien Needs A Friend The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck by Mark Manson 

How do you strategy? This week, Aaron and Joey talk about Elliott Kalan, the School of Let's Figure It Out, emotional distance from work, working in teams, meandering, and strategy that bleeds. They don’t talk about Jamesy P. references Pure Moods Joke Farming: How to Write Comedy and Other Nonsense by Elliott Kalan 99% Invisible Podcast Episode 646: Interview with Elliott Kalan Corrections Department: Les has never ever ever heard, touched, or even seen a copy of Pure Moods and now fears his colleagues do not understand him at all. 

Why do we expect the worst? This week, Aaron and Jess talk about simple solutions, Karen moments, assuming malice, Thanos, Falkland's Law, and lemmings. They don’t talk about the famous former power forward for the Boston Celtics or the Hamburger Peddler's rhyming buddy. references Corrections Department: Camila Cabello "I'll Be Home for [Quizmois]" Glee's Kevin McHale Kevin McHale on the Loss of Naya Rivera Hanlon’s Razor Guillermo del Toro's Frankenstein Cringe Blvd. Slow Horses Falkland's Law 

How has technology made us less sure of ourselves? This week, Jess and Joey talk about technological change, Christmas cards, scraping, phone numbers, friendships, and FaceTime. They don’t talk about beepers. references Ski-ba-bop-ba-dop-bop Rolodex propinquity Don't lose that number, Jenny Sternberg’s Triangular Theory and The 8 Types of Love Mr. Postman Desiigner "LOD Freestyle" 

Is it better to generalize or to specialize? This week, Joey and Jess talk about polymaths, running, functional fitness, idea people, curiosity, and Starship Troopers. They don’t talk about dilettantes. references Specialization is for insects. Stardew Valley Forbes: Going Pi-Shaped: How To Prepare For The Work Of The Future 129 Ways to Get a Life Robert A. Heinlein 

Are there actually interesting life innovations that are coming out of the content creation boom? This week, Joey and Jess talk about homemade pop tarts, learning letters, the power of song, TikTok, mastering movements, and apple dumplings. They don’t talk about Action Bronson. references The recipe is the sooonnggg. cool.missp: ABCs Turn Up EBITDA What Are Popovers And What Do They Taste Like? Pepperidge Farm Bakery Frozen Spiced Apple Dumplings Pastry 

How many other things do we have that we think of as imprecise but are actually pretty precise and agreed upon? This week, Joey and Jess talk about box plots, New York neighborhood names, Australian colloquialisms, measurement language, baking, and square roots. They don’t talk about The Smiths. references Box plot Reading a Box and Whisker Plot Perceptions of Probability The New York Times: An Extremely Detailed Map of New York City Neighborhoods The Journal of Neuroscience: Distinct Contributions of the Cerebellum and Basal Ganglia to Arithmetic Procedures Goldilocks Zone Square root Spiral of Theodorus Klein bottle 

What if we've become less willing to sacrifice our pawns to take the queen? This week, Jess and Joey talk about Ezra Klein, Ta-Nehisi Coates, Obama, game theory, defaulting to passion, and nuclear weapons. They don’t talk about David Lightman. references The Ezra Klein Show: Ta-Nehisi Coates on Bridging Gaps vs. Drawing Lines Nash equilibrium Mutual assured destruction A Beautiful Mind Pareto principle 

What's in your notes? This week, Aaron and Jess talk about internet chalk, bottle lining, the Pantry Challenge, gold bars, word clothes, and golden milk. They don’t talk about Gold Bond powder. references Heinz Breakfast Ketchup Paris is Burning trailer The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller Chinotto Astral Chain Bossa Bros and Nara Sky Full of Elephants by Cebo Campbell 

How much do you think you can change your personality? This week, Joey and Jess talk about life satisfaction, sad auras, nominative determinism, nature versus nurture, Martin Seligman, magical meat sacks. They don’t talk about marinade bags. references Forbes: How Singer-Songwriter EJAE Found Rumi’s Voice In ‘KPop Demon Hunters’ @thetalesoftayls' sad aura tweet Journal of Personality and Social Psychology: Most people's life satisfaction matches their personality traits: True correlations in multitrait, multirater, multisample data. [PDF] Nominative determinism Eeyore Martin Seligman Dungeon Crawler Carl 

What are places where wisdom exists where it shouldn't? This week, Joey and Jess talk about the Benner Cycle, feng shui, jelly shoes, BMW dashboards, the bullshit asymmetry principle, and Hitchens's razor. They don’t talk about Christopher Robin. references Human League Benner Cycle Bagua Black–Scholes model Joseph Henrich Enneagram of Personality Strauss–Howe generational theory Brandolini's law Hitchens's razor 

Why do we wave from trains and boats? This week, Aaron and Jess talk about kids, duck boats, kerchiefs, air travel, cruise ships, and roller coasters. They don’t talk about chucking the deuce. references Knott's Berry Farm Medieval Times New York Transit Museum L.A. Train Festival 2025 Some Kind of Quest 

How are you personally preparing mentally, psychologically for the increased engagement with AI? This week, Joey and Jess talk about AI psychosis, Blake Lemoine, the Turing Test, cognative security, red teaming, and hats. They don’t (yet) talk about NonsenseLLM. references Psycho Killer and the big suit X: Keith Sakata, MD The New York Times: They Asked an A.I. Chatbot Questions. The Answers Sent Them Spiraling. The New York Times: Chatbots Can Go Into a Delusional Spiral. Here’s How It Happens. Washington Post The Google engineer who thinks the company’s AI has come to life Bloomberg Technology: Google Engineer on His Sentient AI Claim Turing Test Johns Hopkins Magazine: The science behind why we see faces in nature Study: Barking Up the Wrong Tree: Human Perception of Dog Emotions Is Influenced by Extraneous Factors Pareidolia Red team Planning red teaming for large language models (LLMs) and their applications Ig Nobel Prize Six Thinking Hats 

When is old good and when is old bad? This week, Jess, Aaron, and Joey talk about The Bible, first editions, berries, Final Destination, whiskey, and Rick Astley. They don’t talk about Flavor Flav. references Dayspring by Anthony Oliveira sarcophagus 

How do you make sense? This week, Aaron, Jess, and Joey talk about intention, trust, assumption, context windows, synchronicity, and drinking. They don’t talk about Pal Joey. references Click, Clack, Moo in book formClick, Clack, Moo Read Aloud Palworld 

Why do we do hard things? This week, Joey and Jess talk about the Baddie Performance Index, Barkley Marathons, fun types, self flagellation, dessert stomachs, and natural childbirth. They don’t talk about Saquon. references Barkley Marathons Running so far away 

Why is it so important to be cool? This week, Jess, Aaron, and Joey talk about Black culture, 21 Jump Street, social approval, bandwaggoning, alternative hierarchies, and Lauryn Hill. They don’t talk about Digable Planets. references Dru Hill's "5 Steps" Old Man, look at my life. Journal of Experimental Psychology: "Cool is cool wherever you are" Miles Davis' The Birth of the Cool Uncola: Seven-Up, Counterculture and the Making of an American Brand Wired Video: Linguists Explain the History of "Cool" BET Video: The Origin Of "Cool": How Black Culture Embodies "Cool" & Influences Trends For Mainstream 21 Jump Street (2012) first day of school scene Corrections Department: To clarify, the study does not specifically question the Black origins of our collective use of the word "cool," rather it questions whether the emotional restraint in Black culture that came to define the early idea of "cool" is still the current concept of "cool." Bow Chicka Wow Wow 

How is it we've convinced ourselves sometimes that we like things that we don't really like? This week, Jess and Joey talk about the big light, the beach, group vacations, going to the movies, nature bathing, and bad drinks. They don’t talk about Mr. Nice Guy. references Rest easy, Brian Wilson Lord have mercy