Supercontext: an autopsy of media

This podcast ran independently from 2016 to 2020. We reflect on our goals in creating it and how successful those were while trying to be transparent about the ins and outs of podcast production, marketing, and monetization.

This graphic novel by Alan Moore and Eddie Campbell came out between 1989 and 1998, 100 years after the Jack the Ripper murders it's based on. We look at the meticulous research they put into this to try to understand how this story manages to be about true crime while indulging in deep themes like English identity, psychogeography, and the nature of time. Interested in the media we discussed this episode? Please support the show by purchasing it through our affiliate store: From Hell Additional Resources: A Look Back at ‘From Hell’ by Alan Moore and Eddie Campbell Delivering the Twentieth Century, Part 1: Alan Moore and Eddie Campbell’s From Hell Delivering the 20th Century, Part 2: Alan Moore and Eddie Campbell’s From Hell The Great Alan Moore Reread: From Hell, Part 1 The Great Alan Moore Reread: From Hell, Part 2 Eddie Campbell explains why he's coloring From Hell for the first time Michael J. Prince (2017) The magic of patriarchal oppression in Alan Moore and Eddie Campbell’s From Hell, Journal of Graphic Novels and Comics, 8:3, 252-263 Vollmar, R. (2017). Northampton Calling. World Literature Today, 91(1), 28–34. The House That Jack Built – An Interview with Alan Moore (2002) From Hell And Back: The Eddie Campbell Interview Superhuman Cognitions, Fourth Dimension and Speculative Comics Narrative: Panel Repetition in Watchmen and From Hell Postimperial Landscapes "Psychogeography" and Englishness in Alan Moore's Graphic Novel"From Hell: A Melodrama in Sixteen Parts" Author(s): Elizabeth Ho Source: Cultural Critique, No. 63 (Spring, 2006), pp. 99-121 Published by: University of Minnesota Press

This 1995 film by Michael Mann is considered a quintessential cops-and-robbers epic. We look at Mann's attention to detail and his attempt at authenticity in light of the movie's influence on audiences, filmmakers, and real-life criminals. Interested in the media we discussed this episode? Please support the show by purchasing it through our affiliate store: Heat Additional Resources: Interview w/ Eliot Goldenthanl Michael Mann Launches Book Imprint; ‘Heat’ Prequel Novel A Priority Life imitates art in Colombia robbery The long warm-up to Heat Heat Crime in the emptiness of Los Angeles Why Is Heat So Great? Let’s Ask Michael Mann. What Michael Mann Changed, and What He Didn’t, for the Anniversary Edition of Heat Michael Mann’s ‘Heat’: A Complex, Stylistically Supreme Candidate for One of the Most Impressive Films of the Nineties The Loneliness Of Los Angeles In Michael Mann's 'Heat' 10 Intense Behind-The-Scenes Facts About Heat Michael Mann eyes 'Heat 2' film as book nears completion Decades Later, Viewers Still Feel The 'Heat' For Michael Mann's 1995 LA Crime Saga REVISITING THE L.A. OF ‘HEAT’ 24 YEARS LATER WITH THE ICONIC CRIME DRAMA’S LOCATION MANAGER La Story: The Making of Michael Mann’s “Heat” – by Tom Ambrose [Empire] Michael Mann on ‘Heat,’ 22 Years Later: What We’ve Learned from His Recent Interviews

This 1985 concept album by Kate Bush is split into pop songs and a suite of music about someone drowning. We look at Bush's career arc leading up to this record and how the support she received from those around her allowed to experiment and create this wholly unique music. Interested in the media we discussed this episode? Please support the show by purchasing it through our affiliate store: Hounds of Love Additional Resources: Kate Bush Kate Bush rules, OK? Hounds of Love Landmark Productions: Kate Bush – Hounds of Love Classic Album: Hounds Of Love – Kate Bush Cowley, J. (2005). The Wow factor. New Statesman, 134(4726), 38–39. Sinclair, D. (1994). Dear diary: The secret world of Kate Bush. Rolling Stone, 676, 13. Moy, R. (2007). Kate Bush and Hounds of Love. Ashgate.

Dan Simmon's 1989 science-fiction novel is acclaimed for its unique structure, references, and style. We take a closer look at how it interrogates our expectations of genre to explore a complex host of themes. Thank you to Chris Marlton for coproducing this episode. Interested in the media we discussed this episode? Please support the show by purchasing it through our affiliate store: Hyperion Additional Resources: Throwback Thursday: The Mind-Altering Scope of Dan Simmons’ Hyperion Cantos Better to travel hopefully: Dan Simmons’s Hyperion Dan Simmons World-class maker of worlds Dan Simmons. By: Shindler, Dorman T., Writer (Kalmbach Publishing Co.), 00439517, Feb2001, Vol. 114, Issue 2 THRALL, J. H. (2014). Authoring the Sacred: Humanism and Invented Scripture in Octavia Butler, Kurt Vonnegut and Dan Simmons. Implicit Religion, 17(4), 509. Shea, B. (2015). Evolution and Neuroethics in the Hyperion Cantos. Journal of Cognition & Neuroethics, 3(3), 139. The one huge problem with Dan Simmons’ sci-fi mystery Hyperion Eschatology and Pain in Dan Simmons’ Hyperion Senior, W. (2012). Dan Simmons's Hyperion Cantos: The Fantasy Within. Hungarian Journal of English and American Studies (HJEAS), 18(1/2), 213-226.

This 1987 film is celebrated as a cult classic for its depiction of self-destructive young Englishmen at the end of the 1960s. We discuss how creator Bruce Robinson got it made, and whether it congratulates its characters for their alcoholism or criticizes their generation and the end of that era of British culture. Interested in the media we discussed this episode? Please support the show by purchasing it through our affiliate store: Withnail & I Additional Resources: How "Withnail & I" Became a Cult Withnail and I BRUCE ROBINSON Interviewed by Peter Murphy The World According To Grant 13 Loaded Facts About Withnail and I Withnail & I Comes Of Age This Year - If Only The Fans Would Too Withnail and I Facts and Trivia The Cult of Richard E. Grant’s Withnail and I Is Finally Having Its Moment We Hate It When Our Friends Become Successful: “Withnail & I” Withnail and Brexit: Why the cult classic is the perfect movie for our troubled times https://www.grough.co.uk/magazine/2020/03/09/withnail-and-i-fans-prepare-for-lakeland-alfresco-screening-of-cult-film

This 1962 novel is being reappraised by critics and fans as a creeping meditation on 1950s housewives, agoraphobia, and good old-fashioned New England persecution. Interested in the media we discussed this episode? Please support the show by purchasing it through our affiliate store: We Have Always Lived in the Castle Additional Resources: We Have Always Lived in the Castle by Shirley Jackson – a house of ordinary horror The Witchcraft of Shirley Jackson Flavorwire Author Club: Shirley Jackson’s Haunting Final Novel, ‘We Have Always Lived in the Castle’ SILVER, M. (2013). Is It Real? On Shirley Jackson’s We Have Always Lived in the Castle. Southern Review, 49(4), 665–667. Savoy, E. (2017). Between as if and is : On Shirley Jackson. Women’s Studies, 46(8), 827. BOYD TONKIN. (2015, July 29). Her dark materials: how Shirley Jackson became the ‘sorceress at the sink.’ Independent (UK). Shirley Jackson. (2020). Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th Edition, 1. We Have Always Lived in the Castle: A Prelude to a Myth How 'We Have Always Lived In The Castle' By Shirley Jackson Novel Made Me Love Horror — Even Though I Hate Being Scared The Haunted Mind of Shirley Jackson

This 1945 children’s book by Tove Jansson began a publishing empire in Finland that is worth millions of dollars. We look at Jansson’s beloved allegory about a world where a family survives turmoil and everyone is accepted for who they are. Interested in the media we discussed this episode? Please support the show by purchasing it through our affiliate store: The Moomins and the Great Flood Additional Resources: Tove Jansson: Love, war and the Moomins Brown, Ulla (November 2004). "A Quest for What Lies Hidden" (PDF). Outwrite. 7: 8–12. 'It is a religion': how the world went mad for Moomins THE HANDS THAT MADE THE MOOMINS How Tove Jansson's Moomins conquered readers' hearts My search for the real Moominland How Tove Jansson and the Moomins continue to inspire The Evocative Powers of Tove Jansson – Moomin Museum – Tampere Finland – Jude Cowan Montague The dark side of the Moomins

This 2001 record is praised as being metal for the thinking man. We peel back the lyrics and the time signatures to understand why this band inspires an almost-religious devotion in its fans. Interested in the media we discussed this episode? Please support the show by purchasing it through our affiliate store: Lateralus Additional Resources: 10 THINGS YOU DIDN'T KNOW ABOUT TOOL'S 'LATERALUS' Lateralus Publication: Modern Drummer Date: June, 2001 Fibonacci in Tool's Lateralus Spiral Out: Practical Wisdom in Tool’s Lateralus Looking Back at Tool’s “Lateralus” THE OUTWARD SPIRAL: HOW LATERALUS GALVANISED TOOL’S CUTTING EDGE ‘Hammer of the Gods’

This comic book series by Brian K. Vaughan and artist Cliff Chiang started in 2015 as a story about four preteen girls coming of age in the 80s. We look into how the creators produced the comic while examining their skepticism of nostalgia in a post-Stranger-Things world. Interested in the media we discussed this episode? Please support the show by purchasing it through our affiliate store: Paper Girls Additional Resources: Brian K. Vaughan Talks Saga, Paper Girls, and Why We’ll Never Get That Lying Cat Series Meet Brian K. Vaughan: The Comic Book Visionary Behind ‘Y: The Last Man’ You all should be reading Brian K. Vaughan’s ‘Paper Girls’ comic series now Paper Girls Is the Perfect Comic for Your '80s Nostalgia Trip ‘Paper Girls’ Graphic Novel Adaptation From Legendary TV & Plan B Gets Amazon Series Commitment The Paper Girls and the Alien Invaders Asian American Creatives Behind 3 Top-Selling Graphic Novels Of 2018 Kids On Bikes: The Sci-Fi Nostalgia Of 'Stranger Things', 'Paper Girls' & 'Super 8' Paper Girls' Vaughan & Chiang On the Series' Past, Present and Future “It’s Not A Slam-Bang-Action-So-Quiet”: An Interview with Cliff Chiang and Brian K. Vaughan NYCC ’19: PAPER GIRLS creators take victory lap, discuss series

This 2019 series of Gizmodo articles and videos by Kashmir Hill look into how difficult it actually is to stop using The Stacks: Google, Amazon, Facebook, Apple, and Microsoft. We place Hill’s research within our larger understanding of Big Tech and media literacy while listening to arguments for tech regulation or simply scaling back. I Cut The Big Five Tech Giants From My Life: It Was Hell Additional Resources: https://muckrack.com/kashhill I Cut the Big Five Tech Giants From My Life. It Was Hell. I Tried to Block Amazon From My Life. It Was Impossible. I Cut Facebook Out of My Life. Surprisingly, I Missed It I Cut Google Out of My Life. It Screwed Up Everything. I Cut Microsoft Out of My Life –– Or So I Thought I Cut Apple Out of My Life. It Was Devastating. Unplugging From Big Tech is Harder Than You Think It’s almost impossible to function without the big five tech giants How to block Big Tech with Kashmir Hill: podcast and transcript https://www.nytimes.com/by/kashmir-hill

This epic 1970s manga series is celebrated for its influence on other stories. We look at the conditions that produced it and how the comic represents Japanese history, revenge, gender, and the irredeemable hero on the road to Hell. Interested in the media we discussed this episode? Please support the show by purchasing it through our affiliate store: Lone Wolf and Cub: Volume 1, The Assassin's Road Additional Resources: 'Lone Wolf and Cub': Japan's greatest samurai manga? The untold truth of Lone Wolf and Cub Read More Lone Wolf and Cub Part 1: History and Influences Lone Wolf and Cub Part 2: Revenge in the Epic Narrative Tradition Lone Wolf and Cub Part 3: Artwork and Swordplay Lone Wolf and Cub Part 4: Ogami Itto and the Rejection of Bushido Lone Wolf and Cub Part 6: Cloud Dragon, Wind Tiger If You Are Patient Like a Samurai, Kazuo Koike's 'Lone Wolf and Cub' Will Reward You Transcultural Reinterpretation of the 'Lone Wolf and Cub' Narrative Kazuo Koike, 1936-2019 An Expanded Look at Lone Wolf and Cub: The First arc – Meifumado

This 1975 rock album began to define Rush’s identity after the late Neil Peart joined the band on drums and lyrics. We look at how they treated their band as a business to try to understand the particular blend of instrument solos and libertarian ideology that later defined them. Interested in the media we discussed this episode? Please support the show by purchasing it through our affiliate store: Fly By Night Additional Resources: Rush Dedicates Newest Album To Rod Serling Rush: The Complete Album-by-Album Guide The History Of Rush by Geddy Lee & Alex Lifeson: The Early Years Men At Work By Paul Elliott Rush-BTO's Heavy Metal Challengers Success Under Pressure https://rush.fandom.com/wiki/Fly_by_Night_(Album) Rush: ‘You have no freedom. You do what you’re told to do. By the socialists’ Flohil, R. (1975.) Rush: living the rock ‘n’ roll lifestyle. The Canadian Composer (97).  

This 2013 novel generated a cantankerous debate in the world of literary criticism over the quality of fiction and how we define it. We look at Tartt's writing process and themes to try to understand whether this book deserved the praise and awards it received. Interested in the media we discussed this episode? Please support the show by purchasing it through our affiliate store: The Goldfinch Additional Resources: It’s Tartt—But Is It Art? The Goldfinch is a bad movie because it is based on a deeply flawed book Donna Tartt on The Goldfinch, Inspiration, and the Perils of Literary Fame Why the backlash against Donna Tartt's 'The Goldfinch' was so extreme (2014 Year in Review) I HEART DONNA TARTT: 10 FACTS ABOUT MYSTERIOUS AUTHOR OF ‘THE GOLDFINCH’ Pulitzer Prize–Winner Donna Tartt on Writing The Goldfinch Donna Tartt shares The Goldfinch’s secret history Donna Tartt's multicultural fantasy: How "The Goldfinch" got away with its disgraceful racial politics https://newrepublic.com/article/156282/not-write-book-review

This 1969 double-album has been described as both “unlistenable” and “one of the greatest albums of all time.” We discuss its volatile production while trying to understand its composition and how it influenced another fifty years of weird music. Interested in the media we discussed this episode? Please support the show by purchasing it through our affiliate store: Trout Mask Replica Additional Resources: Some notes came from secondary sources listing Mike Barnes’ ‘Captain Beefheart’ and Bill Harkleroad’s ‘Lunar Notes: Zoot Horn Rollo’s Captain Beefheart Experience’  Burundo Drumbi! - John French's Series of Q&As, 2000/1 Captain Beefheart, a.k.a. Don Van Vliet, dies at 69 AllMusic Review by Steve Huey The Case for Why Captain Beefheart’s Awful Sounding Album, Trout Mask Replica, Is a True Masterpiece Why this awful-sounding album is a masterpiece The Dust Blows Forward: 'Trout Mask Replica' at 50 Why Captain Beefheart’s ‘Trout Mask Replica’ Still Sounds Like Tomorrow Frownland by Captain Beefheart & his Magic Band: Analysis

This 1999 cannibal-horror-comedy film went through three directors in a troubled production. We discussed how it successfully critiques American consumption and Manifest Destiny despite its financial failure. Interested in the media we discussed this episode? Please support the show by purchasing it through our affiliate store: Ravenous Additional Resources: ''Creative differences'' shake up Hollywood Film: They all but ate me alive! FANGO Flashback: “RAVENOUS” Robert Carlyle Interview ANTONIA BIRD'S RAVENOUS IS A DARK CANNIBAL TALE - BUT WITH JOKES! To Serve Man: Why ‘Ravenous’ Is the Greatest Cannibal Western Ever Women in Film: The Tonal Balancing Act of Antonia Bird’s RAVENOUS Why You Should Chew On ‘Ravenous’ (1999) Forgotten Flick Ravenous Is the Best-Ever Manifest Destiny Cannibal Comedy Ravenous - 20th Anniversary DiMarco, D. (2011). Going Wendigo: The Emergence of the Iconic Monster in Margaret Atwood’s “Oryx and Crake” and Antonia Bird’s “Ravenous.” College Literature, 38(4), 134–155.

This comic book series by Neal Adams is a strange combination of talent and narcissism, along with the realization that its lead character and its creator aren't as in control as they want to be. We discuss gun violence, Expanding Earth theory, and generational conflict to try to make sense of this one-of-a-kind experience. Interested in the media we discussed this episode? Please support the show by purchasing it through our affiliate store: Batman Odyssey Additional Resources: Deconstructing the Complete and Utter Insanity of ‘Batman: Odyssey’  Batman Odyssey Ten Questions To Answer About Batman: Odyssey by Neal Adams INTERVIEW: NEAL ADAMS ON BATMAN: ODYSSEY WC10: Neal Adams Talks "Batman: Odyssey" Neal Adams ('Batman: Odyssey') NEAL ADAMS INTERVIEWS: Adams Defends ‘Batman: Odyssey’ Petit, Z. (2014). Stubborn. Aggressive. Positive. Print, 68(5), 18–21. Breaking down the complete and utter madness of Batman vs. Ra’s Al Ghul Neal Adams: Ultraviolence Did Artist Neal Adams Make an Ass Out of Wonder Woman—and Himself?

This 1996 film is a purported biopic about a famous painter by another famous painter, Julian Schnabel. We ask whether the narrative this movie presents is an inaccurate portrayal of its subject because it exploits him or because the director is commenting on his own place within the world of fine art. Interested in the media we discussed this episode? Please support the show by purchasing it through our affiliate store: Basquiat Additional Resources: Jim Jarmusch Explains Why He Refuses To Watch Julian Schanbel’s ‘Basquiat’ Basquiat: Julian Schnabel's Radiant Child Julian Schnabel Asks Why White Filmmakers Shouldn't Tell a Story About a Person of Color “Basquiat” and the Art of the Biopic Basquiat SCHNABEL AND HIS DOUBLES by Charlie Finch "Basquiat' trivializes talented painter's life http://alienatedinvancouver.blogspot.com/2009/07/on-filmwork-of-john-lurie-interview.html “Time to Develop”

This is a repost of a 2016 episode. In our 2016 holiday episode, we looked at the forgotten Christmas Eve tradition of telling ghost stories. M.R. James' work from over a hundred years ago best represents this Victorian trend, so in his honor we brought horror to academia and safe spaces. Interested in the media we discussed this episode? Please support the show by purchasing it through our affiliate store: Ghost Stories of an Antiquary Additional Resources: How Did Antiquarians Become Action Story Heroes? Ghost stories: why the Victorians were so spookily good at them Christmas Ghost Stories: The Ghost of Christmas Past Goes Further Back Than You Might Realize M. R. James' Ghost Stories Work Eerily Well in This Graphic Fiction Form Telling ghost stories is a lost tradition on Christmas Eve  

This 2013 novel is a sequel to The Shining. With guest Emily Lewis, we consider how King continues his own redemption arc through these stories about alcoholism and parenting. Interested in the media we discussed this episode? Please support the show by purchasing it through our affiliate store: Doctor Sleep Additional Resources: Stephen King in Person The author speaks, receives Mason Award at Fall for the Book. Stephen King, "The Shining" and the crapper Stephen King Q&A: The author explores the origins of The Shining and its sequel Doctor Sleep Kathryn Schulz on Doctor Sleep, Stephen King’s The Shining Sequel What Stephen King Isn’t Shine On