Well, robots, we're back, and this time we bring you a long awaited discussion on Sony's formal apology for The Emoji Movie. Miles Morales and the denizens of the Spider-Verse enable us to discuss animation, fandom culture, and the evolution of Nerdom as a popular identity. Talking points: We both forget that the Amazing Spider-Man movies happened; Donald Glover was robbed; polite racists; using animation to its fullest extent; the overshadowing of Jack Kirby; comic visual language; the age of superheroes; and, hey, stay safe robots.

Remedial Studies

Episode 42: "Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse

We return to you, sweet robots, bearing memories of a year past, and a hopeful look towards our future. Talking Points: A character development year; sweet tunes from the revolutionary bog; heavenly good television; Rachel's least surprising pick ever; they really just let a ten year old have to save the world; steel for humans, silver for monsters, coin for your Witcher; the blinding light of the fireside; that time Henry VIII's wives put on a pop concert; mortality on the riverbank; the impact of choice in an age of dragons; quality critical crafting; and, hey, we missed you.

Episode 41: 2019 Year in Review

This episode, we dive deep into the bowels of the earth to explore the life of one of nature's most fascinating creatures. Told from the perspective of an author bursting at the seams to share her thoughts and findings, this book helps us explore the ins and outs of science writing, literacy, and how both influence and are affected by the public. Talking Points: our individual experiences with science as a popular and academic pursuit; the aesthetic value of the natural; the trickle down economics of popular opinion; our inability to conceptualize the impact of something that seems so small; how differences of audience can impact the success of a work; the place of science writing in today's literacy struggles; and, hey, why aren't we funding more worm regeneration studies?

Episode 40: Amy Stewart's "The Earth Moved: On the Remarkable Accomplishments of Earthworms"

Hello, robots! Today, we're bringing you something a little different, a book of poetry that has caused quite a stir from the social medias to the blogs of academics who are always giving a Ted Talk in their own minds. Join us as we discuss what we look for in our books of verse, as well as why we find ourselves jumping to the defense of someone who's work is, apparently, easy to hate. Talking points: reliance on archetypal language to communicate power and self-understanding; coming of age in the time of evolving literary forms; the misconception that if one form is popular, then all others must be dead; the continued crusade against things young women enjoy; seeing ourselves in unapologetic and imperfect art; and, hey, is poetry like obscenity in that you only know it when you see it?;

Episode 39: Amanda Lovelace's "the princess saves herself in this one"

We return, robots! As we kick off our summer programming, join us as we journey into the depths of Prythian, a land of fae and magic and well-executed romance tropes, that Hannah has been begging Rachel to get into for over a year. Will the prophecies of Hannah the Oracle remain true? You'll have to listen to find out. Talking Points: our longest and most giggly source recap thus far; what to do when there's only one bed; meaningful consequences even when that plot point has passed by; Phantom of the Opera understudies; dealing with trauma in a fantasy setting; the world building of a political, economic, and social state; how to pull off an actual love triangle, and, hey, sometimes the question isn't if you love someone, but how you love them.

Episode 38: Sarah J. Maas's "A Court of Thorns and Roses" & "A Court of Mist and Fury"

Join Hannah for a spoiler-free review of Jim Henson's The StoryTeller: Sirens -- "The Mermaid and the Fisherman" written by Bartosz Sztybor and illustrated by Jakub Rebelka. This episode reviews other reviews, wonders what it means to be "indie", and gets mad about the captured mermaid motif.

Episode 38: Hannah Yells About Comics #2

The climax of characters old and new, and both at the same time, is the topic of today's Remedial Readalong. An ancient prophecy between friends is finally fulfilled as we travel back in time to an Ankh-Morpork without Commander Vimes, until now, on the eve of an ill-fated revolution. Talking points: being the hero you needed when you were young; actual, functional time-travel; cool monks; ties to other hopeless revolutions; keeping the Beast on a leash; not confusing a temporary lack of light with endless darkness; the anchor of a cigarette case; the culmination of almost thirty books' worth of writing; and, hey, who knows what evil lurks in the hearts of men?

Episode 37: Terry Pratchett's "Night Watch"

This fortnight, the world is hurtling towards the End of Days, and dragging us all along for the ride. Join us as we revisit one of our favorite stories by two of our favorite people. Talking points: dread and hilarity at the end of the world; the semantic and literal distinctions between good and evil; what happens when two masters start blending their styles; updating Revelations for the 90s scene; the power of belief; the strength of the ensemble piece; the fallout of underestimating children; and, hey, you are not who you were born to.

Episode 36: Terry Pratchett & Neil Gaiman's "Good Omens"

A fortnight has passed, and in this episode we're coming to America. Well, maybe not the America, but an America. Full of gods and miracles and the horror both bring with them. Join us as we road trip with the olds gods and the new. Talking points: this book is one long existential crisis; perspectives of space and time informed by one's geographical origin; what we're willing to sacrifice for normality and prosperity; you are what you worship, and you worship what you value; how this work has aged in a vast technological world; and, hey, it doesn't matter if you believe in us. We believe in you.

Episode 35: Neil Gaiman's "American Gods"

At last! The long foretold of episode about our favorite table top roleplaying game is here! We just reached out second anniversary of playing D&D and we've been so affected by it that it warrented its own episode. Talking points: chance and collaboration in narrative; leaning into bad stats; several anecdotes about several campaigns; that time Hannah and Rachel played as fish cousins; the catharsism of in-character emotion; death by dice; changing base modules to suit your own desires; what effects watching and listening to actual-play shows has had on our own expectations; and, hey, maybe the real treasure was the friends we made along the way.

Episode 34: Dungeons & Dragons Extravaganza Palooza Spectacular

The fifth installment of our Remedial Readlong has arrived. Join us as we venture out of the familiar confines of Ankh-Morpork and into the wild unknowns of Uberwald, full of waring races, lessons on the fat economy, and existential dread caused by false binaries. Talking Points: Pratchett doing Pratchett things, aka sliding in deep psychological questions amid Jokes Galore; how characters are revealed once taken out of their usual environment; the importance of varied female characters; the comfort of seeing love in middle age; the false dichotomies that plague society; how things become things; the fury of good men; and, hey, maybe we don't need to become what we were made to be.

Episode 33: Terry Pratchett's "The Fifth Elephant"

This week we come to you from the year without a summer, as well as everyone's high school reading list, to bring you a tale of monsters and storms and Romantic woe. Believe us when we say that the opinions were flowing fast and loose this episode! #JusticeForElizabeth Talking Points: Victor Frankenstein's unhealthy coping mechanisms; the bonds between creator and created and how they mimic those of parents and their children; way too many Jeff Goldblum references; the Russian Nesting Doll theory of unreliable narration; how poorly the internet prepared Hannah to read this book; the nature of monstrosity and what it teaches us; the scientific adventures of a punkass undergrad; and, hey, why does no one talk about Elizabeth?

Episode 32: Mary Shelley's "Frankenstein"

Sliding in a bit late, but we're still kicking. This episode we discuss the frankly delightful story of Lara Jean and her journey to find love off the pages of letters and romance novels alike. Talking Points: the state of modern romance; the neverending question of if genre readers need to be challenged; gender bending expectations of emotionally blindness; the importance of letting people live in their own stories; if we want to experience the joys of life, we must submit ourselves to the terror of being seen; our emphatic support of the fake-dating subgenre; and, hey, you're a sexy little Rubik's cube.

Episode 31: Netflix's "To All the Boys I've Loved Before"

We return from our holiday break refreshed and full of opinions, ocassionally even ones that are relevant to the episode we're recording! Today we discuss the magical, indulgent, and, at times, confounding world of creatures found in the first book of the All Souls trilogy. Talking Points: vampire romance and the female gaze; the intertwining of science and magic; world-building and the need for internal sense; women as a discrete audience; sometimes it doesn't pay to read the book before the television show; why characters like Matthew Clairmont appeal to female power fantasy; the unequal scrutiny of female-generated media; and, hey, maybe don't excuse your boyfriend's murder habits all the time?

Episode 30: Deborah Harkness's "A Discovery of Witches"

Hi robots! Another year, another wrap-up of the media we enjoyed most while experiencing that particular unit of time. The fact that we've made it to a second-annual anything is, frankly, astonishing, and we thank you for hanging in there with us. No matter how big or small, we love knowing you're there. Talking points: spooky houses and the nature of ghosts; Japanese workplace anime ft. heavy metal; genre flexibility in science fiction audio drama; novels of family devotion and dementia; monster girls and readers who love them; science as philosophical and cultural touchstone; why we needed to go to Wakanda; post-apocalyptic fantasy for the geologically active; a break-down on the toxic culture behind stand-up; one chapter in the battle of robots vs fairies; and, hey, happy holidays!

Episode 29: 2018 Year in Review

Remedial Studies is a podcast by two nerdy ladies who just want to make the world listen to our academic opinions on the most nonacademic subjects. No media form is off limits! Books people call trash? Absolutely! Albums from artists you never heard of (or heard too much of)? You betcha! Movies that never got their box office due for being "too niche?" Where would we be without them! Television that you stayed up way too late to watch? We're right they're with you! Games that would have gotten you made fun of as a kid that are kind of cool now? We're your one stop shop! Join us, Hannah and Rachel, as we work through all the pop culture we can get our hands on and do our best to stay on topic along the way. New episodes every other Tuesday.

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Remedial Studies

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