42 Minutes of Reality

Intro/outro music: “Gay Bar Videogame” by The Wildbunch http://freemusicarchive.org/music/The_Wildbunch/Gay_Bar/Gay_Bar_videogame 1:32 Mike’s holiday gift for JS 2:20 Introducing this month’s show 2:51 Concept and episode structure 7:42 Ep 1 Highlights: Mike and Chad 12:36 Ep 2 Highlights: Curt and Rodney 17:22 Ep 3 Highlights: Tracy and Dan 21:24 Ep 4 Highlights: Rob and Greg 25:04 Ep 5 Highlights: John, Bret and Shane 27:15 Mike’s quick hits for Eps 6-8 30:42 Ep 9 Highlights: Joe and Mark 36:40 Debating how much producers were egging on protagonists 40:13 Segueing into worldview and common themes 42:37 JS makes comparison b/w views of ‘extreme preppers’ and ‘conspiracy culture’ 43:24 Returning to distinction b/w ‘normal’ disaster prep and ‘doomsday prepper’ identity 45:03 Other common themes – distrust of outsiders/foreigners and incoherence of scenarios 46:45 JS thinks there’s grain of truth to ‘economic collapse’ scenarios and we debate a bit about Venezuela [Go see website for coda from Mike on his argument] 48:04 Mike thought ridiculous ‘Red Dawn’ scenario was actually one of the more plausible 49:42 Mike was irritated by show’s pandering – esp. given that it was on National Geographic’s channel 50:42 Segueing into motivation behind ‘doomsday prepper’ worldview – larger-than-life performance of trad gender roles 52:26 These people are loaded with $$$ – which made Mike very unsympathetic 53:44 JS thinks that this is rooted in a ‘risk-averse’ psychology coupled with too much money 55:08 Beginning our discussion of this month’s article 56:53 JS agrees with main thrust of argument, but disagrees with some specifics – thinks that perhaps all cultural qualities are not necessarily as gendered as author describes 57:59 Mike’s defense of article’s argument and JS’s refinement of his counter-argument 59:21 JS thinks that prepper worldview is more rooted in rise of globalized economy, but Mike is skeptical 1:01:20 Mike thought article’s analysis of prepping as expression of traditional fatherly authority was interesting 1:02:14 JS picks up on earlier thread about centrality of self-reliance in prepper worldview and we discuss whether self-reliance and dependence are gendered 1:04:12 JS critiques sub-argument about female preppers being ‘hysterical’ based on some counter-examples from the episodes we watched 1:05:55 Article mentions examples of questionable authenticity and we interpret what that means for show’s authenticity overall 1:08:54 Ending on show’s appeal – Is there something sincere or is it entirely based in irony? 1:12:28 JS patiently listens while Mike rants for a while 1:13:39 JS announces next month’s episode 1:14:30 Usual stuff: email, rate/review, and don’t forget to subscribe just because Mike forgot to mention it!

Intro/outro music: “Gay Bar Videogame” by The Wildbunch http://freemusicarchive.org/music/The_Wildbunch/Gay_Bar/Gay_Bar_videogame 1:26 Mike outs himself as victim of celebrity podcast catfishing scheme 2:06 Introducing this month’s show 3:17 Concept and structure 6:37 Our impressions of Nev and Max 8:07 Dual roles of hosts – investigation and therapy/counseling 9:23 Show’s tone ran contrary to JS’s expectations, particularly for MTV reality show 11:24 Nev’s personal controversies 12:42 The order in which we watched the episodes 13:43 Ep 1 – Sunny and Jamison (Chelsea) 14:43 Ep 3 – Kim and Matt 15:01 Ep 7 – Joe and Kari Ann (Rose) – Watch this one! 16:58 Ep 2 – Trina and Scorpio (Lee) / Ep 8 – Tyler and Amanda (Aaron) 17:58 Ep 4 – Jasmine and Mike (Mhissy) 21:30 Our initial impressions of show’s authenticity 23:15 How much we bought the narrative in Ep 7 24:12 Are motivational narratives for catfishers genuine? 26:28 How authentic are investigations by Nev and Max? 28:18 One moment of authenticity – catfishee’s reaction to meeting catfisher 31:15 Finding out how show was actually constructed undermined its ethical justification 32:58 How much did inauthenticity sour us on the show? Could it have been done another way? 34:22 What JS wanted from the narrative 35:32 Mike pushes back a little – thinks it would be easier for catfisher to not go on TV 36:53 Thing that irritated us most about the show’s ethics – it’s false front of ‘helping’ people 38:05 The broad thesis of this month’s article and overview of its main themes 38:54 What Mike thought was most interesting 40:24 JS also found emphasis on self-acceptance as substitute for traditional markers of success interesting 42:04 Mike liked analysis of catfishing as being on the continuum of online activity and not apart from it 43:52 Coming back to the usage of hand-held cameras as marker of authenticity 46:50 What did we think of the contention that reality TV narratives are ideal for constructing ‘good’ social media behavior? 50:24 Ending on where appeal of show lies 52:38 What specifically in the narrative captured JS’s interest before finding out about its inauthenticity? 54:24 Mike didn’t enjoy it as much, but that also insulated him from being crestfallen 55:40 Mike thinks part of appeal is due to inherent uncertainty of online relationships and our fears surrounding them 56:30 Introducing the show for our next episode 58:25 Mike’s half-hearted holiday well-wishes and our plan for the rest of the season 58:54 Usual stuff: email, rate/review, subscribe (or tell your friends to subscribe!)

Intro/outro music: “Gay Bar Videogame” by The Wildbunch http://freemusicarchive.org/music/The_Wildbunch/Gay_Bar/Gay_Bar_videogame 1:28 Your hosts’ memories of their ‘Super Sweet 16’ 2:14 Does Dave have any experience with ‘Sweet 16’ culture? 3:48 Episodes we watched 6:57 Concept and structure 9:10 Many segments reoccurred as formula became more established 15:11 Ava and Audrey – our most stereotypical celebrants 18:44 Role of parents 20:59 Formulaic nature of show not quite established in S1, E1 22:10 Comparing original to reboot – microcelebrities and positive vibes 25:27 Returning to worldview of original – is it celebrating or condemning wealth? 27:13 Did original series give its participants a ‘Villain Edit’? 30:08 This show is part of larger cultural narrative around gender and wealth 31:15 Role of diversity – is it progressive or does it give false impression of class in America? 34:11 How race and gender plays into show’s worldview and popular reception 35:24 Some narratives run counter to the ‘lax parenting’ critique 37:45 Contrasting worldview of reboot to original 39:52 How compelling was reboot compared to original? 44:07 Reboot felt more authentic and less manufactured 45:58 Mike apologizes for his second ‘academic article’ fail 47:00 Analyzing original’s authenticity (or possibly lack thereof) 50:58 Dave was struck by lack of diegetic dialogue and fast cuts from one segment to another 52:06 Mike was a little surprised by the claimed extent of scriptedness, etc 53:07 Is there a ‘damage control’ aspect to accusations of fakery? 58:45 Discussing appeal of original show 59:27 Mike notes that show stopped running when recession hit in 2008 1:00:36 What is the reboot’s appeal and why did they change the formula? 1:01:35 A conscious attempt by MTV to cater to their assumed audience? 1:04:00 Which version did we prefer? 1:07:03 Ending with our favorite motifs 1:09:19 Continuing the MTV train with Catfish 1:10:05 Usual spiel: email, rate/review, subscribe (or at least tell your friends!)

Intro/outro music: “Gay Bar Videogame” by The Wildbunch http://freemusicarchive.org/music/The_Wildbunch/Gay_Bar/Gay_Bar_videogame 1:14 Giving our podcast a paternity test 1:53 Introducing this month’s show 2:38 The episodes we covered 4:36 The “very, very high” concept and structure 7:40 Asking JS about his ‘Maury Memories’ 8:42 How JS’s recent experience differed from his recollection 10:05 JS didn’t enjoy himself the second time around 10:41 Mike’s impressions 12:37 Comparing this to Diners in terms of repetition 13:30 Does this have a narrative? Opinions differ 14:24 How show’s tone evolved over time 15:39 Comparing tone to Springer 17:11 What is and isn’t authentic 18:11 The ‘Double DNA test’ 19:30 Correlation b/w authenticity and discomfort 20:10 Coming back to the worldview 22:45 Discussing the show’s longevity 25:47 Segueing into role of polygraphs and paternity tests – ‘moment of truth’ 27:11 Reliability (or lack thereof) of polygraph tests – in contrast to presentation on the show 29:35 People don’t want to hear uncertainty and probability – they want ‘The Truth’ 30:10 Mike goes on digression about the fetishization of DNA in modern American culture 33:02 Paternity DNA tests are not ‘family relationship’ tests 34:23 JS pushes back a little, mentions that nature as well as nurture can be an influence 35:20 JS found ‘paternity’ segments easier to stomach given their actual science 36:11 Mike agrees a little, but stands by the overall critique 38:52 Introducing this month’s thesis 39:58 Origin and evolution of ‘talk show’ from social issues to ‘trash TV’ 41:10 Talk show as meeting b/w middle class values and lower class emotionalism 42:04 Host as the stand-in for the white middle class 43:20 Applying this analysis to Maury and larger ‘therapeutic’ scaffolding of ‘show experts’ 44:52 JS thought the ‘carnival’ comparison was compelling 46:02 Mike mentions the audience demographics, theorizes that show functions as social distancing 48:00 The process for recruiting participants, how this gives producers ability to shape the narrative 48:47 How production crew manipulates audience and guests to respond in predetermined ways 51:40 JS brings us back to our success/failure dichotomy and Diners comparison 53:51 Mike enjoyed the show, even though he knew it was horribly unethical 54:32 JS thinks parenthood made him more vulnerable and negatively affected by this show 56:16 Mike’s weak justification – they all signed up for this 57:08 Updates to availability for shows from previous episodes and upcoming episode announcements 1:00:27 The usual: email, rate/review, and subscribe

Intro/outro music: “Gay Bar Videogame” by The Wildbunch http://freemusicarchive.org/music/The_Wildbunch/Gay_Bar/Gay_Bar_videogame 2:14 Introducing this month’s show 3:30 Mike takes his seat on the “complain train”; JS luxuriates in the payback 3:58 Concept and structure 7:24 Guy Fieri, the host 9:50 Guy’s background, lack of ‘pedigree’ 10:38 Fieri as icon of the populist ‘everyman’ 12:12 Cultural politics of food and relationship of food to politics 13:19 Mike tells stories about his lack of appreciation for fancy food 15:18 Why JS picked show – interest in relationship b/w food culture and social class 17:10 We thought first two episodes cut against the show’s implied message 18:48 The flak that Fieri has received 20:46 Revisiting dichotomy of success vs. failure in reality TV 22:40 Show has no narrative – a problem for Mike, but not necessarily for JS 23:30 'Diners' as advertisement 25:20 Show suffered due to format we watched it in – not recommended for binge-watching 26:11 Introducing this episode’s article 28:24 Authenticity rooted in nostalgia, tradition; defined in opposition to ‘industrial’ food system 31:58 Evolution in prestige of ‘industrialized’ food; how ‘fresh and local’ unifies different ideologies of ‘foodie’ culture 35:11 Show also taps into appeal of underdog ‘mom-and-pop’ establishment vs. corporate ‘chain’ 36:01 ‘Authentic’ vs ‘Fusion’ paradigms – issues of demographic change, marketing, and cultural appropriation 40:24 Authenticity of the actual show 41:51 JS makes distinction b/w ‘inauthentic’ and ‘authentic, but produced’ 42:31 How the tapings work and their impact on authenticity of show 44:23 Why this show fell short for Mike, how it could have been more interesting 46:40 JS gives positive case for show’s appeal; we discuss the role of gender in said appeal 49:34 Our poll results – congratulations to our one voter! 51:36 The usual: email, rate/review, and subscribe

Intro/outro music: “Gay Bar Videogame” by The Wildbunch http://freemusicarchive.org/music/The_Wildbunch/Gay_Bar/Gay_Bar_videogame 1:04 Welcoming you to a very special episode 1:51 Introducing this month’s show 2:30 Our personal differences on show’s quality 4:40 Concept and structure 7:35 Our previous knowledge of ‘bikini barista’ phenomenon 8:33 What’s the appeal of this joint? 10:51 Mike’s experiences with Olympia, WA 11:50 Some themes of various episodes 13:27 Owners listed as executive producers 15:43 Kallai 16:56 Dalilah 17:45 Arielle 19:33 Mike’s two cents 21:34 Why Mike found Dalilah unsympathetic 23:41 Chrystal 25:40 Arianna 27:53 Paul and Yulia 32:15 Stephanie – operations manager 33:38 Jaslin (Mike looked up her name) 34:52 Ashley – the outlier 36:42 JS’s plausible theory on Ashley and Jaslin 38:02 Disconnect b/w Ashley and others (future vs. here-and-now) 40:42 This struck Mike as authentic representation of this type of workplace (sans the bikinis) 41:20 Bringing Highway back in – representations of occupational reality TV and gender 45:04 Issues of class and ‘openness’ to having personal issues on television 46:50 Likely similar personal issues in both shows, but gender and audience shaped the different narratives 49:10 Looking at the finale in more depth 53:32 Transitioning to this month’s article 58:36 Gendered nature of different occupations; orthopedics and sport 1:00:44 ‘Head of household’ and ‘protector’ as last refuges of hegemonic masculinity? 1:01:16 Huge contrast in both gendered aspect, cultural cache of jobs depicted in Foxy and Highway 1:03:27 Disentangling ‘bikini’ from ‘barista’ in our cultural expectations; links b/w sex and ‘women’s work’ 1:04:41 Double-edged nature of sex work (freedom on the market vs. commodification of women’s bodies) 1:06:25 Returning to cultural cache of different occupations 1:08:15 Skills involved in being a (bikini) barista 1:11:10 Why wasn’t this show successful? Bad luck or bad show? 1:13:46 Show likely intended for broadcast, but doesn’t seem to have been picked up 1:14:19 Where JS thought they went wrong 1:18:04 Final thoughts and last-minute grievances 1:18:38 Announcing next month’s episode 1:19:49 Last call for listener’s choice poll (on Facebook) 1:21:09 Usual stuff: email, site, rate/review, subscribe

Intro/outro music: “Gay Bar Videogame” by The Wildbunch http://freemusicarchive.org/music/The_Wildbunch/Gay_Bar/Gay_Bar_videogame 2:38 Introducing this month’s show 4:18 Concept and structure 6:30 JS loved ‘slo-mo’ rendition of Seagal’s ‘hyper-vision’ 8:04 Mike didn’t catch more serious cases in later episodes, which coloured his views 9:02 Seagal’s background as martial artist and action movie star 10:14 Seagal’s long history of allegations regarding physical and sexual assault (and Putin fanboy-ism) 11:45 Taking a Google Image break to laugh at his recent photos 13:00 His ridiculous Southern ‘accent’ and further clarification on his ‘credentials’ 14:35 Segueing towards our prior experience with COPS (which this shamelessly rips off) 16:00 Comparison with other police-themed TV shows 17:22 Subgenre’s curated nature – JS surprised to see fairly severe crimes in this one 19:15 Show’s Hobbesian and authoritarian law-and-order worldview 20:42 JS mentions instances that go against the grain and show some ‘community policing’ 23:20 Why Mike wasn’t buying ‘softer’ human-interest segments 24:38 How Seagal’s segments give this a different spin with an implied advocacy of ‘vigilante’ self-defense 26:35 Elephant in the room – treatment of race 28:11 Contradictory views on carrying guns (often according to race of person carrying it) 29:01 Many crimes (particularly in first half that Mike saw) didn’t seem to matter all that much 30:30 Demographics of criminal suspects 31:50 Mike discusses police response to parking lot fight 33:17 Discussing choice b/w force and diplomacy 35:01 Seagal is not calling the shots – in case it wasn’t clear 35:48 The question of authenticity – how presence of camera affects actions of participants 36:49 Propagandistic quality associated with this subgenre 38:25 Segueing to this month’s article 39:07 JS thought article’s emphasis on police’s ‘lack of control’ was interesting 40:09 Mike thought this show stressed that aspect even more with ‘vigilante’ self-defense message 40:52 Article’s treatment of Foucault and spectacle 42:16 Article even mentions 80’s action and how popular fiction dovetails with ‘law-and-order’ message 43:15 Why does this narrative persist even as violent crime levels have fallen over past 20 years? 45:12 JS highlights role of media narratives in stoking fears 46:14 Appeal of crime fiction narratives in modern Western culture – gives world a sense of agency 47:35 ‘Comfort’ of ‘law-and-order’ scapegoating – readily identifiable source of disorder and easy remedy 48:38 Show also taps into popularity of ‘vigilante’ narrative in American society 49:55 Is there a genuine appeal to Steven Seagal outside the unintentional comedy? 50:50 Seagal’s persona and how it relates to traditional ideas of masculinity 52:47 Our final thoughts and recommendations 53:19 Vote in our listener’s choice poll 55:21 Announcing our next episode 57:04 Usual stuff: email, rate/review, and subscribe

Intro/outro music: “Gay Bar Videogame” by The Wildbunch http://freemusicarchive.org/music/The_Wildbunch/Gay_Bar/Gay_Bar_videogame 1:32 Mike gets something off his chest 2:45 Introducing our show 3:20 Complaining about the length 4:03 How did this get renewed? 4:33 Structure and format – comparing to Idol and Voice 7:30 Show’s structure killed all narrative build-up 9:12 Background narratives hit (or try to hit) familiar ‘beats’ 10:22 The judges and host 11:15 #MeToo allegations and Charlie Walk 13:04 The performance venue 14:18 Many singers had semi-professional backgrounds 17:16 Returning to the judges 17:55 Between-the-scenes banter 19:17 JS’s judge power rankings 20:22 Mike thought judges killed this show 21:06 What JS liked about American Idol 23:03 Investment in contest v. music 24:45 Different flavors of badness – Mike’s surprise at his hatred 25:35 Production style was too ‘loud’ and ‘quick’ 26:56 Mike was irritated by how forced it was – banter, ‘trash talk’, catch-phrases 28:49 Grievance train stop #3: Charlie Walk’s namedropping 29:56 Mike hated irrational and capricious voting system 32:16 Singers were too uniform 33:35 JS’s musical background 35:10 Mike’s musical background 38:10 JS’s personal definition of pop music 39:49 Mike adds his two cents 41:54 What should pop music aim for? Financial success or artistic value? 44:55 We try out some constructive criticism 45:15 JS’s expectations and idea for a different battle format 47:10 Mike’s idea – have contestants perform original material 48:28 Show needed more musical diversity 49:42 Original material as ‘leaning in’ to semi-pro status of these artists 50:55 An advert for hit songs and careers of judges 51:27 Would’ve been improved with different judges (obligatory Kanye mention) 53:10 Is this specific format salvageable? 54:56 Mike’s critique of music contests 58:18 JS pushes back, thought some contestants took risks 1:00:20 Mike points out that unique contestants lost in semis to more conventional singers 1:01:30 Our article for this episode 1:03:13 Emphasis on American Dream as 'superstardom' 1:04:36 Our current cultural obsession with seeking fame for purpose of being famous 1:05:20 Reality TV as pioneer of ‘democratization of fame-seeking’ 1:06:09 How music industry shifted since Idol – innovations in technology, distribution 1:08:35 Persisting appeal even after relevance as tastemaker has faded 1:09:46 Importance of success narrative to the appeal and why it doesn’t carry over afterwards 1:11:59 Situating this into larger reality TV narratives 1:13:24 Drilling down to specific appeal of this show (as opposed to music contests in general) 1:14:30 Short length and quick pace might have been a feature, not a bug? 1:15:52 Trying to be the ‘hipper’ version of Idol 1:17:30 Final thought: Mike won’t be checking out Season 2 (unless someone wants to send $$$) 1:18:06 JS’s blockbuster pick for next episode 1:20:12 Announcements: email, rate/review, subscribe 1:20:47 Bonus PSA: Check out our poll on Facebook

Intro/outro music: “Gay Bar Videogame” by The Wildbunch http://freemusicarchive.org/music/The_Wildbunch/Gay_Bar/Gay_Bar_videogame 1:12 Our returning guest host 2:01 Introducing this month’s show 2:30 Concept and format – modeling competition with a twist 3:48 Examples of activities 6:00 Activities were microcosms for overall journey 6:57 Unique structure of the ‘competition’ 8:47 How lack of eliminations affected our view of overall narrative 9:39 Our impressions of host, Brooke Hogan 11:48 The four judges and their role 15:24 Familial atmosphere was striking 16:38 Overall impressions of contestants as a group 17:27 Striking focus on the collective as opposed to the individual 18:52 Diversity of cast was notable, esp. in comparison to other reality shows 21:55 Finalists – Stacey, Tanashay, Heidi, and Revic 26:52 Difference how we view male models opposed to female models? 28:10 Discussing worldview more explicitly – ‘democratization of beauty’ 28:56 Tension b/w show’s egalitarian ethos and relationship of fashion industry to capitalism? 31:03 Mike calls back to our first episode with a comparison 33:06 Show really illustrated level of control producers have in enforcing the ‘reality’ in reality TV 34:10 Dave thought explicit ideological agenda normally not found in reality TV was unique 34:53 Show often went to sometimes comical lengths to build drama 36:18 Talking about sincerity of guests on show 38:14 Mike observes similarity b/w this and hypothetical show he mentioned during our Survivor episode 39:17 Introducing the article 39:52 Main points of article 41:36 Show rarely peered into private rooms or treated contestants as commodities – with one exception (discordant DQ moment) 45:05 Similarities to conventional reality TV – focus on therapy of the self, advertising for products – but with activist message 47:28 In absence of antagonist characters, antagonism derives from personal insecurities and societal prejudices that must be overcome 48:09 Can utopian harmony be entertaining? Particularly within context of reality TV? 49:52 Show often changed rules at the last second, staged weird ‘mock eliminations’ to generate drama 51:14 Mike thought reality TV clichés the contestants leaned on in their confessionals were funny 52:12 How cooperation was baked into judging criteria, contestants often acted anti-competitively 53:01 Demographic appeal of show 53:53 Conflict b/w reliance on stereotypes in reality TV and burgeoning cultural progressivism of millennial women? 54:36 Show fits well into current cultural zeitgeist – Trump, #MeToo, etc. 55:26 Conflict b/w utopian positivity of show and base entertainment value one expects from traditional reality TV? 57:39 Dave’s chief complaint: heavy-handed nature of show’s message 58:43 Are we more forgiving of exaggerations and heavy-handedness in relentlessly cutthroat shows? 1:00:03 Our advice for improvements going forward 1:02:01 How drama/personal conflict could be incorporated into show 1:02:56 ‘Friendly competition’ b/w judges a la The Voice? 1:04:17 Despite flaws, sincerity and positivity of show was refreshing 1:04:48 Is it still OK to crave cattiness and trashiness of reality TV? 1:05:45 This show did change how Mike viewed possibilities of fashion 1:07:18 Announcing the next episode 1:08:06 The usual: email, rate/review, and subscribe

Intro/outro music: “Gay Bar Videogame” by The Wildbunch http://freemusicarchive.org/music/The_Wildbunch/Gay_Bar/Gay_Bar_videogame 1:17 Apologies for the delay on the last episode 1:56 Introducing this month’s show (it’s on Netflix) 2:49 Does JS have a soft spot for this sub-genre? 4:03 Our personal feelings on the show 4:45 Show concept 7:37 Jamie Davis, the owner 9:52 The main employees 12:01 The ‘bit players’ and Jamie’s son, Brandon 15:27 Short snippets with the truck drivers 16:28 Two modes: Crash sites and workplace politics 17:18 Mike thought relationship aspect of show was weak 19:08 JS had different expectations, didn’t mind focus on work/business 19:56 JS’s theory as to why show didn’t delve into personal lives 21:53 Authenticity – seemed to be dichotomy b/w crash scenes and ‘office’ scenes 24:08 Mike wasn’t convinced by two specific subplots (rivalry and Kevin’s outburst) 25:33 JS agrees that rivalry was exaggerated, but disagrees on Kevin’s outburst 28:56 Are these outbursts associated with blue-collar work or is Mike very cautious in his disposition? 30:18 Show hit predictable narrative ‘beats’ of typical ‘blue-collar’ reality show 33:17 Segueing into the article for this month 34:45 Concept of ‘retributive man’; recasting working-class identity as individualistic masculinity 36:52 Praising working-class men in abstract sense, but doesn’t challenge socioeconomic hierarchy 38:00 JS thinks there is a certain ‘blue-collar mentality’ that dovetails with ‘blue-collar TV’ worldview 39:06 Jamie as ideal of both blue-collar worker and scrappy entrepreneur 40:21 Jamie’s broader appeal is central to his role as chief protagonist 41:44 Mike was disappointed in how show dealt with the broader emotional impacts of this type of work 44:00 Brandon’s earrings: Subversion of traditional masculinity or evolution of it? 46:06 Blue-collar men and cultural conservatism 47:11 Show’s emphasis on stoicism 49:00 Is ‘retributive man’ ideal more closely linked to blue-collar men in post-industrial society? 50:31 Getting even more meta – podcast affected Mike’s viewing of show 51:06 North America and ‘car culture’ 54:22 How highway system relates to ‘heroic positioning’ of show’s narrative 55:26 Mike was struck by the visceral and spectacular nature of crash footage 56:45 Show’s nostalgic appeal reminded Mike of Dual Survival 58:17 Comparing/contrasting to Dirty Jobs 1:02:14 Jamie as modern version of Jeffersonian ‘yeoman farmer’ 1:03:20 Linkage b/w decline of trad masculinity and rise of service economy 1:04:50 Role of the narrator 1:08:46 Circling back to our personal reactions 1:09:38 Mike didn’t find it offensive exactly, but brought some Trump-shaped baggage 1:11:55 Mike’s own worldview about work is opposite of this show 1:12:43 JS thinks there is different sort of pride associated with physical labor 1:14:39 Introducing the next couple shows 1:16:45 Usual announcements: email, rate/review, and subscribe

Intro/outro music: “Gay Bar Videogame” by The Wildbunch http://freemusicarchive.org/music/The_Wildbunch/Gay_Bar/Gay_Bar_videogame 1:55 Introducing this month’s show 3:24 Initial thoughts on show’s enjoyment factor 4:23 Why Mike picked this show 4:52 Our background with ‘scared straight’ shows 7:15 Concept and structure 9:24 JS runs down the recap 10:37 Our main takeaway 11:26 JS’s brief tangent on Star Trek: TNG 12:30 Sheriff Joe Arpaio and his (infamous) record 15:27 Sheriff Joe’s lack of presence in the show 16:31 JS breaks down difference b/w jails and prisons 18:01 The dumb parade and the yokels that show up at it 18:57 Sgt. Irby – institutional center of the show 20:12 Show didn’t do good job differentiating b/w the ‘inmates’ 21:23 Also features American inmates in short, snippet interviews 22:23 Narrator failed UK version of SAT Analogy section 23:35 Cultural differences b/w UK/US – ‘Tent City’ as ‘Wild West’ justice 25:14 The stagecraft involved in ‘scared straight’ experience 28:44 Show emphasizes controlling, totalizing nature of prison regime but also expects us to accept these events as authentic and spontaneous 29:23 Mike struck by how much show emphasized common stereotypes about prison life 31:25 Mission statement of show – is it accurate? (A: No.) 31:51 Link b/w harsh prisons and recividism 33:00 Comparing US prison practices to Norway 34:10 History of ‘Scared Straight’ and how it doesn’t work 35:45 Cultural questions of punishment vs. rehabilitation 37:02 Is support for harsh punishment linked to belief in ‘American Dream’? 38:58 A final coda – ‘Bloody Code’ in UK failed at deterrence 39:32 Joe’s record in detail (lots of lawsuits/scandals) 41:10 Segueing into the article 42:27 Article’s five-part definition of ‘gonzo rhetoric’ 44:36 Joe Arpaio as symptom of broader media and political practices 45:45 Despite lack of evidence, ‘gonzo rhetoric’ effective b/c it is simple, swims with broader cultural tide 47:40 Our ‘bonus’ article 48:16 Returning to appeal of harsh punitive practices – simple solution to complex problem 49:26 Idea of ‘willful nostalgia’ in penal practice – comparing ‘Tent City’ to ‘Make America Great Again’ 50:32 Brief aside on Sheriff Joe’s botched ‘Jail Cam’ 50:58 Criminal justice reality TV as commodity/spectacle 53:52 Mike recaps fleeting instances where show stops being propaganda and actually gets real 55:01 How show fits into the larger ‘scared straight’ genre 55:40 JS’s theory of show’s specific appeal to UK audience 56:05 Returning to our enjoyment (or, in Mike’s case, lack thereof) 57:41 Mike would have liked this more if it was shot like Toddlers & Tiaras 58:08 This would’ve been better if it was shorter, less repetitive 1:00:14 Don’t vote for Joe Arpaio 1:00:24 Introducing show and article for next month’s episode 1:01:54 Usual announcements: email, rate/review, and subscribe

Intro/outro music: “Gay Bar Videogame” by The Wildbunch http://freemusicarchive.org/music/The_Wildbunch/Gay_Bar/Gay_Bar_videogame 1:52 Introducing this month’s show 3:20 Concept + episodic structure 7:23 Previous experiences with show 8:36 Introducing this month’s article 11:02 Stereotypes: commodities, victims, and victimizers 12:36 Jorge and Anfisa 18:05 Most stereotypical/least sympathetic of storylines 19:07 Russian women as “victimizers” 20:21 Russian sex ratio imbalances 22:02 Jorge and Anfisa on tell-all episode 23:24 Matt and Alla 27:31 Cultural differences around marriage b/w Alla and Matt’s family 29:37 Is Alla “victimizer” stereotype like Anfisa or is this different? Is stereotype rooted in anxieties about modern marriage? 31:40 Presence of child makes couple more sympathetic 33:20 Chantel and Pedro 35:40 Runs counter to traditional ‘mail-order bride’ narrative 37:37 Show’s ‘male gaze’ 39:30 Are we more sympathetic b/c of cultural bias toward romantic love? 42:15 Departing from standard narrative in terms of age, gender and race 44:06 But still traditional conception of gender and marital roles 45:53 Nicole and Azan 50:34 Should Azan have been surprised about Nicole’s weight? 52:44 Hard to read Azan b/c he didn’t come off as “eager for a green card” 54:15 Cultural differences: religion, PDA, and gender roles 56:17 Contrasting depiction of their families 58:23 Praising counter-stereotypical portrayal of Morocco 58:57 Contrasts b/w main series and Happily Ever After 1:00:12 Over-the-top style of spin-off made Mike question some of the authenticity in main series 1:01:32 JS’s instinctive read on show’s authenticity 1:02:44 More examples of possible producer manipulation; Mike’s Grand Unified Theory on show’s authenticity 1:04:57 Role of technology, particularly video chat 1:08:32 JS thinks show’s appeal lies in authentic portrayal of both success and failure 1:10:35 Mike thought show was most interesting when it was more ambiguous than straight success/failure dichotomy 1:12:01 Does show have a message regarding these kinds of marriages? 1:15:58 Debuting our totally original rating system 1:16:11 Upcoming episodes 1:18:49 Announcements: email, rate/review, and subscribe

Intro/outro music: “Gay Bar Videogame” by The Wildbunch http://freemusicarchive.org/music/The_Wildbunch/Gay_Bar/Gay_Bar_videogame 1:15 One last ‘War on Christmas’ joke 1:30 Introducing this month’s episode 2:39 Mike’s middle-school memories, show’s cultural influence 4:01 JS’s first impressions (he had no experience) 5:12 Quality of recordings we watched on YouTube 5:54 Concept and structure of show 7:47 Main strategy of show – setting up incompatible couples 8:45 The big draw – animations and graphics 11:36 Structure of televised show vis-à-vis our YouTube version 13:29 Show’s humor and its reliance on various stereotypes 15:25 Stereotypes often shorn of context – heavy amount of editing 16:36 ‘Damned if they do, damned if they don’t’ 18:25 Show’s usage of racial/ethnic stereotypes – might get someone fired today 19:35 JS thought animations were too heavy-handed and intrusive 21:00 Mike enjoyed them, but agrees some humor was problematic and offensive 22:22 We liked humor more when it made fun of what they did rather than who they were 24:55 Talking about show’s heteronormativity 25:45 Segueing into the article we read 26:47 Quick summary of article’s thesis 28:02 Mike thought it really honed in on relationship b/w stereotypes and production humor 29:08 Show narrows expectations to median of standard bell curve 30:40 JS reads two lines from article on consumerism 33:39 JS thought humor was too obvious/easy to be funny; Mike offers (qualified) defense as channel for genuine anxieties 35:32 Delving into specific dates, how they depart/conform to the mold 37:56 JS’s favorite segment – OK with show making fun of terrible people 39:54 Selection of contestants and show’s racial diversity 41:45 One time where ‘racial’ humor kind of worked – Asian who thought she was ‘hood’ 42:42 Appeal of show, why it was successful 44:07 Mike thought ‘lowest common denominator’ aspect was a strength 45:00 Comparing humor of show to Bridezillas 48:10 How our different expectations shaped our enjoyment 48:52 Does JS gravitate more towards celebrating success as opposed to relishing failure? 51:03 Mike is prob opposite – more forgiving of trashy, mean-spirited humiliation fests 52:35 Introducing next month’s episode 53:52 Announcements: email, rate/review, and subscribe

Intro/outro music: “Gay Bar Videogame” by The Wildbunch http://freemusicarchive.org/music/The_Wildbunch/Gay_Bar/Gay_Bar_videogame 1:05 Introducing a very special episode 2:00 Revisiting our conception of reality TV 2:31 Mike’s takeaway: Even less reality in reality TV then he thought, some shows out-and-out staged 4:25 JS’s takeaway: He was surprised by the diversity of the genre, but still thinks his initial analysis holds 5:57 Mike agrees, tone of reality TV reminds him of melodrama 7:47 JS didn’t expect to have such strong reactions (both good and bad) 8:45 Top 3 Shows 9:13 JS’s #3 10:45 Mike’s #3 12:42 JS’s #2 14:25 Mike’s #2 15:14 JS’s #1 18:09 Mike’s #1 19:30 This also tied for JS’s best Podcast Discussion 20:30 Bottom 3 Shows 21:19 JS’s #3 22:25 Mike’s #3 was the same 24:33 JS’s #2 26:40 Mike’s #2 was the same (perhaps appropriately?) 29:24 JS’s #1 30:35 Mike’s #1 33:38 Mike’s overachiever (JS reacts with dismay) 37:39 JS’s overachiever 39:05 Mike’s underachiever 40:08 JS’s underachiever 42:24 JS’s pick for Best Discussion 43:32 Mike’s pick for Best Discussion 44:45 Format and release schedule for our next season 47:11 Usual announcements: email, rate/review, and subscribe

Intro/outro music: “Gay Bar Videogame” by The Wildbunch http://freemusicarchive.org/music/The_Wildbunch/Gay_Bar/Gay_Bar_videogame Bonus intro music: “spooky outro” by transient http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Transient/heart_fin_lake/transient-06-spooky_outro 1:28 Introducing this week’s show 3:20 Antecedent – MTV’s Fear 4:12 Concept and episode formula 7:28 ‘Heart of the Haunting’ 8:17 Borrows heavily from horror tropes/narratives 9:18 Celebrity aspect of show 10:29 We never see production crew, but they are out there (unlike the ghosts) 11:08 Many celebs there as product placement for other VH1 reality shows 11:51 Types of celebs differed by gender 14:00 Many narratives appear to be invented 14:42 The shenanigans of the ‘ghosts’ (aka the PA’s) 17:15 Our favorite obviously producer-planted ‘relics’ 19:12 Questionable physics behind ‘ghost catcher’ 20:13 Re-enactments 22:20 Comparing tone to other paranormal shows 23:20 Authenticity of reactions 24:32 Strong correlation b/w celebs who already believe and those who find ‘evidence’ 25:25 Heightened suggestibility 26:00 Mike’s storytime and JS’s jump scare 28:40 A few celebs express skepticism 29:37 Plausibility (or lack thereof) of ghosts in general 30:54 Last Thursdayism 32:05 Odd cultural specificities of American ‘ghost stories’ 33:40 Nobody suggests looking for ghosts in Auschwitz 34:11 The ‘Finding Bigfoot’ Problem 35:48 Gendered nature of ‘freak-outs’ – Did selection play a role? 37:23 Examples of women behaving against the grain 38:28 One male celeb is called a ‘little girl’ 39:05 Objectification of female celebs reminiscent of many horror flicks 41:00 Comparing to Monica 43:52 Unlike Monica, you don’t need to buy into paranormal to enjoy 45:34 High points depended on specific celebs, but too much bland ‘eye candy’ 47:45 Comparing show’s failure to (relative) success of predecessor 48:45 JS pitches a CPP All-Star reunion show 50:33 Why only 8 episodes? 51:58 Production costs and logistical difficulties 55:30 Announcement: holiday break, new release schedule for next year 56:45 First episode of next season 58:18 Usual stuff: email, Facebook, rate/review, subscribe

Intro/outro music: “Gay Bar Videogame” by The Wildbunch http://freemusicarchive.org/music/The_Wildbunch/Gay_Bar/Gay_Bar_videogame 1:10 Guest host 2:03 Introducing this week’s show 2:53 High concept 4:10 Our impressions of the cast 4:35 Travis – comic relief 6:00 The ‘One-Eyed Turtle’ 7:00 Pat – leader of the group 8:21 Jessie – the enforcer 10:04 Rachel – the wild child 11:05 The ‘lost episode’ (at least by Tubi TV) 12:41 Chance and Brooke – friends with benefits 14:46 Quick hit summaries: Eps 1 + 2 15:37 Eps 3 + 4 17:03 Ep 5 17:58 Eps 7 + 8 18:56 How constructed are these narratives? 19:44 A strange mix of the real and the manufactured 20:30 Narratives seemed a little too clean, like a sitcom 22:25 How real was the ‘college party’? 23:23 Implausibility of Puerto Rico trip 24:24 Travis’ ‘nude modeling’ session 25:02 Mike brings up Jersey Shore (again) 25:46 Dave thought show was less manipulative than most reality TV 26:36 Discussing the confessionals 27:08 The antecedent for this show, Satan Since 2003 28:00 Dave’s impressions 28:38 Mockumentary synopsis 30:08 Mike’s impressions 31:17 How it informed our reading of reality show 32:55 Stereotypes and reality TV 33:47 Dave thought it complimented the show well 34:39 It confirmed Mike’s feelings about show’s structure 35:12 How (sub)cultural specificity can inform what reality TV producers are(n’t) able to do 35:56 This lacked the ‘villain edit’ found in many reality shows 36:42 Optimism and positive portrayal reflective of broader cultural changes 38:10 Target demographic and worldview 39:05 Much of the content cut against ‘carefree’ worldview the group is selling 40:40 Comparing the show to our (admittedly hazy) recollections of Jackass 41:50 Moments where show touches on social class 42:43 Does this have the legs for a second season? 44:42 It was entertaining, but a little bit generic 45:40 How much overlap b/w ‘interesting’ and ‘marketable’? 46:13 Show was pretty tame and inconsequential despite antics and squabbles 47:00 Does a reality TV show need a villain to be entertaining? 48:05 Would missing episode have given us a fight with actual consequences? 48:50 Returning to ‘villain edits’ 50:19 Coming back to idea of reality TV as ‘hanging out’ 51:17 Introducing the next episode 52:41 Ending with announcements: email, Facebook, rate/review, and subscribe

Intro/outro music: “Gay Bar Videogame” by The Wildbunch http://freemusicarchive.org/music/The_Wildbunch/Gay_Bar/Gay_Bar_videogame 1:20 Numerologists – wrong for once (shocker) 2:45 Introducing this week’s show 3:40 Concept of the show 4:43 JS goes down Memory Lane 6:48 Impressions of our host 8:02 ‘Expert witnesses’ 8:55 Judge’s legalistic demeanor 10:08 More distant than Judge Toler 10:59 Mike hoped this would be more interesting/distinct 13:13 Ep 1 – foster family 14:33 Ep 2 – eviction dispute 15:41 Quite a bit of legal explanation 16:40 Tonal variation – much more realistic 17:23 Motif of ‘informal agreements’ 18:45 Claimants and social class 19:31 Case ruling 20:28 Difficult situation of claimants 21:43 Ep 3 – serious look at light-hearted matter 22:45 Crossover exposure 24:40 Economics of court TV and reputation 26:20 Laptop case from Ep 4 27:18 JS’s favorite case – Tinder scam artist 29:29 Plaintiff’s occupation and social class stood out 31:06 Brief aside on demographics 31:44 Legal merits of ruling 33:21 Difference b/w arbitration and regular court 34:20 Ep 7 – thefts and theatrics 35:12 How much was this choreographed? 36:40 Episode’s humorous tone 37:07 Possibly dubious ruling? 39:01 2nd half – possibly sponsored? 39:56 Wrinkle to the case 40:48 Ep 8 – accident claim dispute 41:33 Most interesting and realistic case 42:37 Discussing complexity of ruling 44:24 Ep 9 – tent revival in a courtroom 45:41 This seemed like a weird outlier 46:38 Did the actual case even matter? 47:30 Strong reflection of what target audience craves? 48:53 ID theft case in Ep 10 50:43 Problematic nature of ‘law as entertainment’ 51:58 Similar to ‘CSI Effect’? 53:03 Any potential redeeming value to courtroom reality TV? 54:51 Does show’s greater ‘realism’ give it more potential to mislead viewers? 55:30 Does inherent complexity of law subtly bias system against less educated? 58:32 JS argues legal system attempts to take this into account 1:00:35 Potential to alienate poor citizens who rely on ‘informal agreements’? Can law be made more ‘user-friendly’? 1:01:54 Law is often complex because society is complex 1:02:53 Brief aside on class issues and show’s ‘law-and-order’ perspective 1:04:53 JS wraps up with some reflection on how his barometer has changed 1:05:15 Introducing show for next episode 1:06:45 Announcements: email, rate/review, and subscribe

Intro/outro music: “Gay Bar Videogame” by The Wildbunch http://freemusicarchive.org/music/The_Wildbunch/Gay_Bar/Gay_Bar_videogame 1:31 Introducing this week’s show 2:21 JS - Worst show he’s ever seen 2:52 Mike’s alternate take 4:41 Show concept 7:08 Not the first ‘rodeo’ for many of these families 9:28 Awards ceremony (and ridiculous award names) 10:40 These parents don’t accept second place 12:00 Pageant judges and directors 14:15 Show’s POV 14:52 Editing choices were revealing 16:41 Money is a frequent topic 17:13 Bribing kids with sugar and caffeine 19:33 Parsing difference b/w disapproving of parents and pageant 22:27 Mike’s theory on why pageant footage is edited differently 24:02 Intended audience 25:09 Possibly geared towards moms 27:19 Beauty/gender standards 28:08 Artificiality of beauty standard was revealing 29:04 Amplifying problematic messages of adult beauty pageants 31:24 Two objections to child beauty pageants: consent and sexualization 34:12 Ritualistic aspects of child beauty pageantry 36:17 JS poses a question to Mike 37:38 Coming back to traditionalist gender roles and Southern regional aspect 39:07 Relationship b/w social conservatism and beauty pageant culture 41:45 Our (limited) experience with (adult) beauty pageants 43:24 Social class and economics 44:40 Mike noticed positive correlation b/w wealth and winning 45:15 JS begrudgingly gives show his one kudos 46:06 Vast amounts of money spent on dresses 46:47 Seems to be no real monetary return 49:03 Economics of holding a beauty pageant (WARNING: Baseless speculation ahead) 51:08 We’d call it a con, but parents seem to have no illusions of wealth 52:02 Exploring the motivations: validation, living vicariously, and ‘winning’ (not ‘confidence’) 55:45 Does this show have social value or is it wallowing in titillation? 57:15 JS thought social value was held back by bigger problems in the world 59:40 Is there inherent tension between sensationalism and exposé? 1:01:17 Response to this show would depend on the viewer (and could be quite disturbing) 1:01:55 Mike found show both more interesting and more depressing than expected; thought it would be goofy camp 1:02:53 Comparing to other modeling reality shows; objectionable in how it puts children into an adult setting 1:05:12 Announcing the next episode 1:08:50 The usual: email us, rate/review, and subscribe

Intro/outro music: “Gay Bar Videogame” by The Wildbunch http://freemusicarchive.org/music/The_Wildbunch/Gay_Bar/Gay_Bar_videogame 1:30 Introducing this week’s show 2:46 Our experiences with Jersey Shore 4:20 History behind the show 6:32 Concept and different episode types 8:52 Form factor 10:47 Mike makes comparison to ‘YouTubers’ 11:46 Minimalistic production 13:49 Returning to form factor 15:37 Target demographic 17:22 Show’s aesthetic (‘not a mothering show for your mother’) 18:52 Hosts and their evolution since Jersey Shore 21:55 Discussing whether you should curse in front of your kids 23:01 Back to the hosts 24:46 Show’s relation to previous one; acknowledgement mixed with distance 25:45 Jersey Shore’s relationship to other reality shows 27:45 Shifting depictions of millennials as they age and settle down 29:02 The perennial complaint of ‘kids these days’ is misguided 30:15 Recent cultural shifts around parenting 30:44 Show was stronger because it wasn’t a rehash of what came before 32:36 Briefly touching on affluent lifestyle depicted in show 33:35 Does this connect with fathers as well as mothers? 35:45 Show as ‘feminine’ space; traditionalism of its portrayal of domestic life 37:50 ‘Non-traditional’ nature of hosts made show interesting 38:28 Mike appreciated its depiction of family life 39:12 Authentic nature of show 41:03 Mike’s nostalgia for the characters, returning to idea of reality TV as ‘hanging out’ 41:57 JS appreciated lack of product placement and honesty in product reviews 43:07 Returning to social class and its relation to show’s target demographic 46:17 Closing with the appeal of authenticity 49:01 Fact that this wasn’t done by MTV made show feel more authentic and less produced 50:25 Introducing our next show 52:08 Announcements: email, rate/review, and subscribe

Intro/outro music: “Gay Bar Videogame” by The Wildbunch http://freemusicarchive.org/music/The_Wildbunch/Gay_Bar/Gay_Bar_videogame 2:02 Introducing this week’s show 3:27 High concept 5:00 Cast of characters 8:46 Episode recaps 10:03 Really playing up that flat tire 11:18 Theme of ‘race against winter’ 13:34 ‘Rick the Lumberman’ 15:04 Fingerprints of producers all over 16:18 The ‘junkman’ and other ‘rough’ characters 18:22 The bartering ‘goose chase’ 19:15 DVDs and rural Alaska 20:10 Barter as emblem of bush culture 20:30 Wrapping up cabin-building arc 21:50 Briefly summarizing ‘boat’ episode 22:45 The ‘clip’ episode aka ‘No, it’s real! Really!’ 23:23 The dentist’s office 24:05 Different reactions to believability of hospital care for barter 26:06 Our first impressions of show’s authenticity 28:40 Residency fraud charges 30:00 Walmart DUI 30:39 Family’s history with technology 31:52 Evolution of show’s authenticity 32:18 Presence of fakery didn’t surprise Mike, but level of fakery did 33:00 Final thoughts on the family’s ‘bush skills’ 33:47 Definition of reality TV vis-à-vis the documentary 34:34 What is line b/w documentary and reality TV? 35:02 JS defines it as level of producer involvement in action as it is happening 37:38 Nanook of the North and staged scenes 39:45 Mike defines difference in the marketing and purpose 40:54 How important is ‘reality’ is to ‘reality TV’? 43:15 JS thinks even ‘fake’ reality shows qualify because they at least set up certain expectations 45:21 Theme of self-reliance and freedom juxtaposed to civilization 46:20 JS thought inauthenticity undermined this message 47:33 Is freedom from civilization really freedom or just subjugation to whims of nature? 49:10 Show’s idealization and romanticization of ‘bush culture’ 50:05 Masculine focus and tone of many ‘outdoor’ oriented shows 51:13 A brief digression on Billy’s and Ami’s marital and family history 52:55 Interesting blend of familiarity and exoticism in portrayal of Browns 53:53 Alaska’s place in US mental geography 54:22 Importance of the Brown’s whiteness to show’s appeal 57:28 Mashup b/w 1850’s nostalgia and 1950’s nostalgia 57:55 Show sells image of Alaskan rugged individualism, but there are cracks in that image 59:56 JS talks about appealing aspects of show 1:01:05 Mike thought show would have been better w/o hype (and fakery, obv) 1:01:40 Gemeinschaft and Gessellschaft 1:03:15 Reification and Utopia in Mass Culture 1:06:25 Relationship b/w reality TV and subcultures 1:07:23 Results of our listener’s choice poll 1:08:45 The boilerplate: email, Facebook, rate/review, subscribe

Intro/outro music: “Gay Bar Videogame” by The Wildbunch http://freemusicarchive.org/music/The_Wildbunch/Gay_Bar/Gay_Bar_videogame 1:40 Introducing this week’s show 2:20 The concept 8:09 The hosts 11:20 Mike thinks there wasn’t enough difference b/w hosts 13:46 Show’s relation to PUA 15:30 The interludes 16:37 Contestants are also very similar 18:03 Mike the Magician and Hot Body Jason – ‘brains’ v. ‘brawn’ 21:00 Mike agrees episode was more interesting, but still thinks it fits into worldview 21:33 An episode that left a sour taste for Mike – ‘nice guy’ v. ‘jerk’ 23:18 Worldview of show (and PUA) 24:31 ‘Negging’ 25:30 JS liked challenges that put guys in a bind 26:02 The perennial question – How real is all this? 26:33 Unsourced allegations, but no smoking gun 27:18 How did audio pick up so clearly? 28:10 Not many blurred faces 29:07 Guys aware of ‘hidden’ cameras 29:38 Lots of women show up more than once – what are the odds? 31:05 Mike was unconvinced by kissing 32:08 Evidence for some level of ‘authenticity’ 32:58 If women know beforehand, how authentic are actual reactions? 33:42 Multiple takes let producers tell whatever story they want 36:40 Keys as a Foucauldian educational institution 39:25 Dated nature of PUA culture and this show 41:13 Discussing PUA culture more broadly 42:14 The dumb terms and acronyms (yes, they are all real) 43:59 Influence of NLP 46:19 Assumptions of PUA ideology 48:21 Don’t you think women would catch on to dumb hats, canned lines? 49:04 JS makes ‘Devil’s Advocate’ argument for PUA 50:05 The ‘numbers game’ aspect of PUA (and a brief aside on Tinder) 51:56 PUA about power not pleasure 53:18 Debunking pop evo psych arguments 54:38 Chimps and bonobos are different, despite being more genetically similar than humans 55:07 Digression into chimp mating and relation of sex to status in chimp society 56:27 The evolution of PUA into nastier incarnations 58:03 Mike reads a quote from Alen and JS responds 59:40 Show ultimately about reaffirming traditional masculinity 1:00:50 Is this show about success or failure? (We both conclude the latter) 1:02:57 We never rooted for contestants 1:03:25 Educational emphasis centers narrative around failure 1:03:52 How this could have been better (it takes a lot) 1:05:24 Women are always ‘targets’ and stereotypes 1:06:30 Our final thoughts 1:07:46 Introducing next show 1:08:38 The usual announcements: Facebook, website, email, review, subscribe

Intro/outro: “Gay Bar Videogame” by The Wildbunch http://freemusicarchive.org/music/The_Wildbunch/Gay_Bar/Gay_Bar_videogame Skit: “Piano Sentiment 1” by Cory Gray http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Cory_Gray/Music_For_Film__TV/Piano_Sentiment_1 2:48 Introducing the show 3:28 Mike’s overwrought simile 4:16 Show’s concept 6:10 42 Minutes of Reality Masterpiece Theater 11:02 The ‘eerie’ FX 12:00 Cast of characters 12:50 Monica’s best friend, Krista 15:27 Ann, the ‘skeptic’ 17:08 Monica’s parents 18:27 Doesn’t anyone notice the cameras? 19:27 A questionable blind date 20:44 Producer magic at the ‘necktie party’ 21:38 Does her mediumship really scare off the guys? 23:19 The reading in the clothing store 25:06 Two pillars of show: readings and college life 26:43 Mike’s strategies for making it through 27:37 College aspects were a bit more bearable (and ethical) 29:00 Strongest segment of show 30:21 Discussing ‘Freeform’ 32:45 JS rants about inane marketing speak 33:45 ‘Wholesome’ nature of college life 35:50 Are millennial stereotypes gendered? 38:02 Show plays on both extraordinary and familiar 40:42 Show’s unsung hero 42:30 Transition from college to mediums 43:33 We thought readings were cold, but arranged in advance 47:17 ‘Cold reading’ 50:10 Motivated reasoning 52:40 ‘Shotgunning’ and other common techniques 55:05 ‘Hot reading’ 56:43 Role of editing 59:53 Appeal of medium shows 1:01:24 Mike discusses tragic stories of clients 1:02:06 Difficulties of processing sudden, premature death 1:03:08 Comparing to religion – desire for rationality and order 1:04:32 Role of emotion in belief 1:06:26 Ethics of mediumship (or lack thereof) 1:09:10 Monica’s motives, our take on her – delusional or duplicitous? 1:10:22 Hybrid format of show 1:11:30 How much did college milieu contribute to show’s success (and ultimate failure)? 1:13:00 Extreme emphasis on uplift was interesting, distinct (although we didn’t like it) 1:14:50 A dichotomy b/w uplift and humiliation? 1:15:36 Introducing next episode 1:17:12 Last call for our Facebook poll 1:18:17 Contact us, rate us, or subscribe

Intro and outro music excerpted from the song “Gay Bar Videogame” by The Wildbunch http://freemusicarchive.org/music/The_Wildbunch/Gay_Bar/Gay_Bar_videogame 2:30 This week’s show 3:15 Concept of Survivor 7:48 Cast of characters 8:26 Richard – the ‘villain’ 9:24 Bringing up the ‘alliance’ 11:08 Show’s treatment of Richard’s gay identity 13:30 Kelly – the ‘hero’ (?) 15:25 A digression into age and sex (Disadvantage in physical challenges?) 17:39 Rudy – a bit of a bigot, but an affable – and quotable – bigot 19:00 Susan – the Wisconsin ‘redneck’ 20:43 Praising the cross-section of social backgrounds 22:15 Sean – the real villain 23:08 Dirk – the religious archetype 25:45 Weight and preparation 27:10 Contestants struck JS as being much more ‘innocent’ 28:27 Early innocence begins to fade as show progresses 29:10 Formation of alliance much more spontaneous and contingent than Richard let on 30:47 Emphasis on ‘generation gap’ stuck out 33:00 JS doesn’t like ‘mercenary’ aspect of reality TV, appreciated its relative absence 35:00 Lack of careerism as a function of show’s historical position 36:20 Talking about continuities as well as disjunctions (product placement, leading questions, misleading soundbites) 37:45 A possibly scripted moment? 39:31 Back to differences: editing style and presentation 40:58 Influence of ‘MTV’ on quick-cut editing and sound production 42:18 Survivor – originally a summer slotted show 43:17 The novelty factor and over-explanation 45:00 Jeff Probst, bomb thrower 45:47 The ‘Orientalist’ faux-primivitist aesthetic: Mish-mash of loosely related Western stereotypes 49:15 Appeal of ‘the Other’ to Western audiences (How much did this contribute to show’s success?) 54:15 Mike: Once location was decided upon, only ‘natural’ that show would incorporate stereotyping 54:40 JS locates roots of aesthetic in ‘Robinson Crusoe’ tradition 57:14 One time when locals are featured 59:15 Show’s construction of a Hobbesian and Machiavellian ‘human nature’ 1:01:05 How differing incentives would have led to different behavior 1:02:35 Is there an appeal to seeing the worst in people? 1:03:15 JS thinks appeal is double-sided; emphasizes both competition/cooperation, uplift/deceit 1:05:42 Was it successful in navigating tightrope b/w authenticity and strategy? 1:07:33 Could format be tweaked? Did later shows have more ‘level playing field’? 1:09:08 JS thinks incentives work best when contestants are separated into tribes 1:11:30 Mike: When alliances are so firmly in place, competition seems arbitrary 1:13:20 JS thought novelty of alliance strategy was interesting in of itself 1:13:34 More brainstorming of format tweaks 1:14:20 Strengths + weaknesses of different competition models 1:15:15 Next episode 1:17:28 Vote in our Facebook poll! 1:18:45 Announcements you know and love

Intro and outro music excerpted from the song “Gay Bar Videogame” by The Wildbunch http://freemusicarchive.org/music/The_Wildbunch/Gay_Bar/Gay_Bar_videogame 1:58 Introducing the show 3:30 Concept of this sub-genre 5:06 Optimistic narrative arc show is trying to sell us 6:02 The host, Gordon Ramsay 7:45 Emphasis on ‘celebrity’ in celebrity chef 8:22 Differences in Ramsay’s presentation in US and UK versions 10:15 US version struck us as much more heavily produced 11:20 Starting our detailed breakdown of La Galleria 33 12:50 General arc and reoccurring themes 15:22 Mike fills in couple spots in typical episode arc that JS missed 17:38 Show often implies owners are chiefly at fault 18:40 Episodes are similar; many blended together for Mike 19:02 Mama Maria’s 20:05 The motif of frozen v. fresh 21:24 Nostalgia is a common refrain 22:06 Common dynamic of multiple owners conflicting over new changes 23:53 Amy’s Baking Company 25:19 JS can’t contain his giddy excitement over this episode 27:40 This episode breaks typical narrative arc of show 28:47 Internet fallout and how it affected the business 29:52 Difference b/w Amy and other recalcitrant owners: others would at least ‘play ball’ 30:40 Where does this fall on the spectrum of ‘reality’ in reality TV? 31:40 Some notable disclaimers in the credits 32:42 The diners being brought in; ‘playing to the camera’ 33:25 Restaurant near JS went through one of these shows, he talks about process of collecting diners 35:23 After Mike mentions lawsuit, JS explains mandatory arbitration 37:05 Despite lawsuit, our feeling is that this is prob not TOWIE or Bridezillas 37:37 Narrative of hate-to-love came off to JS as producer coached 38:12 Rags-to-riches theme of US version reminds Mike of a Horatio Alger tale 39:38 Message of US show may not correspond perfectly with real world; UK version seemed more realistic 40:52 Restaurant as symbol of American Dream – often an immigrant success story 42:00 US show very focused on personal/family backgrounds of owners 42:53 Different center of focus in the two versions: owners v. kitchen staff 44:00 US focus on individual success and responsibility; UK focus more on overall team 46:12 Centrality of food and ‘dining out’ in Western society 47:09 Combination of accessibility and specialized insight 48:15 Allure of reality TV success and overcoming difficulties 49:38 Many owners go in w/o specialized business training 50:38 Mike preferred realism of UK to idealism of US 51:42 Contrasting afterwords as an example of this 52:38 How does Amy’s Baking Company fit into this show’s appeal? 54:00 Was Amy’s Baking Company really a failure? 55:20 Even something as simple as location can doom a restaurant 56:10 This show perhaps looks at the industry through rose-tinted glasses 57:43 We will never open a restaurant, even if we win the lottery 58:30 Show's focus on individual control and responsibility 1:00:48 Appeal of show’s Prodigal Son narrative, but how realistic is it? 1:02:00 Facebook page; please take part in our listener poll 1:04:02 Announcing the next show 1:05:16 Contact us, rate/review, subscribe

Intro and outro music excerpted from the song “Gay Bar Videogame” by The Wildbunch http://freemusicarchive.org/music/The_Wildbunch/Gay_Bar/Gay_Bar_videogame 1:03 JS makes his triumphant return 1:45 Introducing this week’s show 2:46 The ‘high concept’ 3:35 Typical arc divided in 2 episodes (brilliant) 4:37 Surprised that more reality shows didn’t adopt this format 5:35 Larger tropes and stereotypes of the show 6:48 Typical Bridezilla – demanding + incompetent 8:05 We both found this show highly entertaining 9:30 Haley and her in-laws 10:16 Ariel and Brook 12:34 Ariel and sexual ‘TMI’ 13:40 A questionable piece of ‘creative editing’ 14:08 Ariel’s episode as template for show 16:28 An example of a minor variation 16:56 Dezjuan and Tyler 17:26 A ‘romantic’ dinner gone wrong 19:00 Dezjuan’s grandma – she was great 20:11 Dezjuan’s trainwreck wedding 21:14 Show tries to tease us into thinking weddings will fall through 21:37 Amanda from Texas – JS began to suspend his disbelief 22:46 She was pretty frank about faking an illness 23:38 Jumping to Eps 19-20; Angela and Eric 25:44 Main theme – conflict with groom’s sister 26:13 Mai-Lee and Tomas 26:55 JS liked the more laid-back, carefree grooms 28:02 Mike’s favorite Mai-Lee moment 28:25 Adrienne and Waylon 29:15 Waylon was great – zombie weddings and waxing 30:18 This show may not be meant to be taken at face value 31:09 42minofreality.wordpress.com for interview 31:48 Show sets up moments and does retakes 33:15 How show has evolved to be less 'real' 34:45 By Season 10, everyone clearly in on it 35:52 Discussing financial compensation 36:46 Weddings filmed for show based on optics of narrative being pushed 38:00 A reoccurring character who shows up at opportune times 39:05 Fights seem to be patched up rather quickly for ‘reality’ 39:45 A call back to our discussion of ‘scripted reality’ (This is how it’s done, TOWIE!) 41:10 Our favorite sound production moments 42:45 This show has an awesome narrator 44:10 Mike relives his favorite quips 45:04 Music and graphics are also really funny 46:50 An unfortunate Bridezilla’s legal trouble 48:27 Angela’s reaction to the final product 49:36 Mike’s theory of this show’s appeal: It deals with our cultural anxieties about marriage 52:43 Exaggeration, humor, and catharsis 53:25 JS compares gender relationship to traditional sitcoms 55:55 This show reflects genuine stress about wedding planning 57:20 Sexist nature of the ‘Bridezilla’ stereotype, relationship to our gendered expectations around weddings 59:13 How this show both subverts and reinforces our idealized views of weddings 1:02:07 Watching these trainwrecks can make us feel better about our milder shortcomings (Is this a public service?) 1:03:39 Introducing the next show 1:04:55 A quick scheduling announcement 1:06:00 The usual announcements: email, rate/review, and subscribe

Intro and outro music excerpted from the song “Gay Bar Videogame” by The Wildbunch http://freemusicarchive.org/music/The_Wildbunch/Gay_Bar/Gay_Bar_videogame 1:04 A new sidepiece + mandatory ballbusting 1:58 This week’s show 2:45 High concept 4:10 Episodic formula 7:20 Impressions of Patti 8:26 Ross does his best Kellyanne Conway 9:28 Mike didn’t think Patti was good at her job 12:05 Elephant in the room: the $$$ 14:00 A high-end escort service – only for marriage 15:03 Patti’s old-fashioned worldview 16:45 Some of her advice is good – but she never follows it! 17:50 Patti’s personal life 19:42 Relentless superficiality was odd – isn’t this about love and marriage? 21:33 Patti emphasizes change, but refuses to meet clients halfway 23:16 Ross argues that coaching sometimes nudged client towards subtle positive change 24:43 Is this about fairytales or disasters? (Hint: that’s a rhetorical question) 26:39 A fairy-tale episode with a real-life prince 27:40 If there’s an issue, the date will bring it up (some coaching?) 29:12 Dates edited to emphasize the efficacy of Patti’s advice 30:20 Each bad date has ‘explanatory moment’ where it goes off the rails 31:36 Two ‘hot tub’ moments, two different results 34:00 Patti’s annoying self-righteousness about client’s criminal past 35:05 Briefly comparing two religious clients 36:45 Mike liked Patti once – ‘Bibles and Boobies’ 38:50 Two categories of clients 40:20 Patti’s issues with introverted men 43:35 Awkward first date moments 45:20 Patti’s great relationship with 'the gays’ (just like Trump with ‘the blacks’!) 46:42 Dates seem like job interviews (Lots of awkward talk about marriage and kids) 49:12 Novelty of extended dating before marriage 50:18 Ross offers Mike a nice pint of hemlock 51:02 Philosophy is reminiscent of ‘The Rules’ 52:56 Fake smiles and applause at mixers 54:09 So much for karmic justice… 56:18 Douchebags are portrayed ‘learning their lesson’ – we’re skeptical 56:40 An aside on the BS occupations 57:10 Awkward pool party mixer 58:28 Patti’s gendered double standards 59:05 Patti’s dumb ‘tests’ 1:00:27 Tests give her opportunity to blame clients 1:00:50 Cardinal sin of show: challenging Patti 1:01:30 Shauna the ‘crazy cougar’ 1:02:30 Producer magic in Shauna’s entrance? 1:04:25 Mike’s impressions of ‘reunion’ 1:05:57 Tie-ins with other Bravo properties 1:06:48 At least Shauna knows some image management 1:07:13 Tangent about Patti’s reboot 1:09:15 Laughing about dumb crap that Patti believes in 1:11:20 Creepy investment banker and his disaster date 1:12:42 Get those freebies while you can 1:13:28 Duck embryos…dude 1:14:17 A satisfying comeuppance 1:17:05 Suitors seem more interested in status than love 1:18:58 ‘New money’ background of clients 1:19:25 High-end escort service in Floating City 1:21:01 These women struck Mike as similar 1:22:39 Façade of ‘career women’ in elite circles 1:23:35 Show reflects American norms about individual responsibility 1:24:08 Patti often tried to suppress people’s personality quirks 1:24:57 Mike felt conflicted about this show; is this Bravo’s brand? 1:26:00 Ross found this distinct compared to Bravo’s other reality shows 1:26:57 Mike felt Patti was millstone around the show’s neck 1:27:43 What Mike would want from another host 1:28:54 Show could have worked as is; needed more distance, less taking itself so seriously 1:29:55 Would more sincere matchmaking show be as successful? 1:31:07 Mike disliked clients with potential being set up for failure 1:32:23 Bravo’s lifestyle (Would show work better if more clients fit image? Or do you need diversity?) 1:34:53 Usual announcements: email, rate/review, subscribe

Intro and outro music excerpted from the song “Gay Bar Videogame” by The Wildbunch http://freemusicarchive.org/music/The_Wildbunch/Gay_Bar/Gay_Bar_videogame 1:30 Introducing the show 2:08 High concept 3:18 Cody Lundin – our barefoot hero 4:08 Joe Teti – our military badass 5:13 JS’s prior knowledge of this show 5:44 How the hosts’ differences defied Mike’s expectations 6:42 Main difference in philosophies: Risk-reward 7:40 To what extent are the producers influencing decisions? 8:20 72-hour scenarios 10:06 Mike wonders if military aspect is essential or appeal to a demographic 11:30 JS thinks military is good training for situation, even if not as thorough as survival school 13:47 Were Joe’s risks questionable for real survival situation as opposed to TV survival situation? 14:56 Choreography of survival TV – what’s spontaneous and what’s presented by producers? 15:50 An example of clear producer intervention 18:32 A clarification on Joe’s background 19:45 Many clips were re-used for behind-the-scenes special 20:36 Each episode structured loosely around background scenario 22:01 The merits (or lack thereof) of drinking your own urine; psychology v. physiology 23:26 Educational segments – ‘Art of Self Reliance’ 23:59 Intro of risk v. reward – go up for water or go down for better air? 24:57 Rare instance where Mike found Joe’s risk-tasking realistic 26:14 JS doubted the authenticity of the poachers 26:49 Mike’s rant about ‘white savior’ conservationist narratives 27:42 Poachers driven by poverty, not love of killing endangered species 28:30 Mike doubted sincerity of Joe’s comments about the poachers 30:14 JS’s doubts stemmed from a steady accumulation of disbelief 32:06 The camps might be legit, but probably had been abandoned for some time 32:34 This show misunderstands the role of violence in organized crime 34:06 Role of safety in the series as a whole 34:51 A rescue of questionable authenticity 36:22 JS’s LOL moment 37:05 Comparing hosts to Hollywood stuntmen 38:14 Main risk is mechanical injury, not dehydration or starvation 38:40 Mike found the heightened stakes detracted from the spontaneity 40:02 JS liked the show, would watch it outside the podcast (Finding Bigfoot without the BS) 41:30 The hosts’ disagreement over the rotting steer 44:48 The boar hunt – authentic and fabricated aspects 46:42 Mike found crew’s masculine hero-worship over the top; JS was impressed by the technical skill 48:25 The staged nature of the rescues 50:44 The gendered appeal was noteworthy 51:27 Appeal of survival shows to those living comfortably 52:33 Mike thought show’s aesthetic would appeal to suburban/rural over urban 54:01 Frederick Jackson Turner – frontier thesis 54:36 Appeal of the survival genre – vicariously overcoming physical hardship and adversity 55:39 Tension b/w show’s educational and entertainment mission 59:30 Cody’s criticism of survival TV 1:00:20 The ‘behind the scenes’ drama 1:02:10 Behind-the-scenes tension never cropped up in the final product 1:03:33 Introducing the next show – impromptu style 1:04:36 Signing off

Intro and outro music excerpted from the song “Gay Bar Videogame” by The Wildbunch http://freemusicarchive.org/music/The_Wildbunch/Gay_Bar/Gay_Bar_videogame 1:07 Introducing the show 2:26 High concept 4:24 Fabricated nature of the ‘courtroom’ 5:08 Format of a typical episode 6:36 Comparing Judge Toler to other TV judges 9:00 Comparing the rulings to other court shows 10:11 This show could easily be called ‘Relationship Counselor’ 11:04 Discussing her qualifications to give relationship advice 15:14 A brief primer on the show’s history 16:11 Judge Toler’s intros 16:38 Ep 1 – Anger problems and familial chaos 17:45 Episode is pretty realistic – set our expectations accordingly 19:15 Actual money on the line – a rarity in this series 20:04 Why Mike had JS keep watching until Episode 7 20:55 The difference in the intros and outros in different seasons 22:05 Ep 2 – Alcoholism and social class 22:45 Stuck out to Mike as optimistic 23:43 Ep 3 – Body image and small difficulties 24:40 JS thought this was most realistic episode 25:10 JS praises Judge Toler’s advice 26:07 Couple’s youth stuck out to JS 26:38 Ep 4 – Cohabitation and animosity 27:19 Judge Toler indulges in a bit of apophasis 27:56 Role of sex in the show 28:29 Stood out as couple who will not work out 29:23 Ep 5 – ‘Redbones’ and bingo 31:36 Does this couple even want to split up? 32:09 ‘Ghetto’ stereotypes, ‘pull up your pants’ 33:11 Brief digression into appearance fees 34:12 Role of embellishment in wackier episodes 35:15 If we had only watched Eps 1-4, this podcast would be completely different 35:59 The relationships covered are all over the map 37:43 Ep 6 – Colorful claimants, realistic problems 40:05 How social class influenced the claimants’ different attitudes towards money 40:35 We didn’t know what to make of this couple’s prospects 41:58 Ep 7 – Crazytown 42:20 Judge Toler’s odd intro 43:31 Just wanted to be on TV – openly cracking up 45:02 Candy house, ‘nuff said 46:57 If you watch one episode, watch this one 47:14 Role of social media 50:30 Prevalence of traditional views on gender roles 53:28 Social class of claimants 55:22 Middle and upper class families have more to lose in a real divorce court 57:30 Court TV can often be win-win situation in open-and-shut case 1:00:08 JS thought structure of show made it weaker than other court shows 1:01:31 Demographics of the claimants 1:02:48 Comparing percentages of African-Americans in US to percentage on show 1:04:45 Overrepresentation of poor African-Americans in media 1:06:30 Race and ‘implicit bias’ 1:07:16 Transitioning to exploration of audience 1:08:25 Chicken or egg situation? 1:09:13 Hulu algorithms and audience demographics 1:11:24 Starkness of the demographics confounded our expectations 1:13:28 Probably many causes, but seems difficult to get to 70% w/o some bias 1:14:07 Social distancing 1:16:41 The show’s optimistic core – idea of being able to fix any marriage with enough heart 1:17:10 The paradoxical (?) appeal of conservatism to the poor 1:20:00 How social class impacts the ‘punishment’ for bad decisions 1:22:09 Our differing reactions to the show’s mediocrity 1:23:33 Introducing the next show

Intro and outro music excerpted from the song “Gay Bar Videogame” by The Wildbunch http://freemusicarchive.org/music/The_Wildbunch/Gay_Bar/Gay_Bar_videogame 1:39 Introducing this week’s show 2:30 High concept – pretty self-explanatory 3:15 Breaking down the particulars 4:34 Mike sampled the entire BFF oeuvre 6:00 The ‘little star’ aka the snitch 6:18 Show is brilliant at getting contestants to go at each other’s throats 6:45 The show’s lexicon 8:26 ‘Real and Fake Challenge’ 9:28 Mike’s confession 10:03 Discussing the contestants – mostly from Middle East and wealthy backgrounds 12:12 Bassant – at least she’s honest 12:55 Mike found these women bland and interchangeable 13:24 Amy – not here to make friends 13:54 Dina – Mike couldn’t figure out why others hated her 14:46 Reem – seemed to be most ‘traditional’ 14:57 ‘Cosmopolitan’ backgrounds of many contestants 16:33 JS discusses how Branka and Reem depart from the mold 17:15 A belated mention of what episodes we watched 18:30 Reem stuck out to JS as more authentic than the others 19:35 The troubled legal history of the show 20:58 Why the hell weren’t the cameras on more often? 23:19 Talking about INSANE level of product placement 24:54 Comparing Paris’s level of involvement to other seasons 26:28 A brief digression into the font world 27:32 Show’s reliance on ridiculous ‘1001 Arabian Nights’ stereotypes 29:18 Why Mike picked this show (other than the absurdity) 29:44 Talking about the role of local authorities and how it had to change to be compatible with local cultural mores 31:06 Mike’s views on the fraught relationship between Western and non-Western cultures and how they’ve evolved since college (book he forgot = Modernity At Large) 32:20 Why Mike thinks Reem won 33:44 JS hoped there would be more interaction between Paris and broader culture 36:43 One praiseworthy aspect – goes beyond crude stereotypes of religious fanaticism 37:14 Mike’s experiences with Muslims in Kenya 39:25 Show gives a view beyond monochromatic depiction of war and suffering 40:14 Shows cosmopolitan side of Middle East that Western viewers may not know about 41:41 This emphasis is both a strength and weakness 42:34 Focusing on those in Middle East who are ‘more like us’ may have been only entry point for target audience 43:34 JS hoped it would be more like ‘An Idiot Abroad’ 44:08 It does once poke fun at Western stereotypes, even as it relies on them 45:32 Paris Hilton’s background and career history 48:23 Discussing the temporal specificity of her fame 48:58 Paris Hilton as a seminal figure in reality TV 50:21 ‘One Night in Paris (Hilton): Wealth, Celebrity, and the Politics of Humiliation’ 51:20 Is her fame driven by love or hate? Who is doing the loving and hating? 52:41 Trying to pin down her class appeal; Mike thinks of (pre-politics) Trump 55:20 Moving from humiliation to adulation and the cult of celebrity 57:35 Seemed a little North Korean – particularly the penthouse décor 58:58 Trying to figure out motivations of contestants – no tangible grand prize 59:30 Paris has no real accomplishments 1:00:28 JS thinks they went in with no illusions – maybe hoped for connections or a good word 1:02:12 What the show is selling the audience 1:02:38 Overconfidence as motivator 1:03:32 Wrapping up with how it could have been better 1:04:08 Yet another digression into shoddiness of post-production 1:04:50 Mike wishes focus was on contestants’ backgrounds (Did production problems play a role?) 1:06:05 Even those from outside Middle East could be interesting 1:06:55 ‘Story challenge’ – gave a little more depth to a couple contestants 1:07:35 JS wonders if similarity of the contestants was a weakness 1:09:03 We both agree they should have been filled out some more 1:09:41 Mike thinks most interesting thing is contestants’ hybrid backgrounds and navigating ‘tradition’ and ‘cosmopolitanism’ 1:10:50 Dina and ‘Americanization’ 1:12:40 Announcements: Stitcher + new website 1:13:30 Next week’s show

Intro and outro music excerpted from the song “Gay Bar Videogame” by The Wildbunch http://freemusicarchive.org/music/The_Wildbunch/Gay_Bar/Gay_Bar_videogame 1:04 Getting our equipment ready 1:34 Mike tearfully recounts his betrayal at the hands of Jimmy Wales 2:18 Introducing the show 3:42 Still can’t believe they haven’t found Bigfoot after 11 seasons 4:01 Brief episode synopses 7:11 The typical episode formula 8:44 The characters, in order of lucidity 9:39 Bobo – drug use in his history? 10:58 We aren’t questioning their sincerity 11:32 Are these people really qualified? 12:22 Matt Moneymaker, founder of BFRO 13:25 Two types of pseudoscientific practitioners: genuine believer and con artist 14:42 Cliff as most intelligent of the three ‘believers’ 16:13 Ranae – Force for good or cynical veneer of credibility? 17:56 Ranae’s social intelligence 19:46 Mike has a story about lunch with a 9/11 truther 21:57 Ranae’s family background as motivator 22:25 JS thinks they could have found someone more willing to toe the ‘company line’ 23:53 The constructed nature of the town halls 25:35 Town hall demographics 26:30 How many are there for entertainment purposes? 28:08 Ethnic and cultural diversity of witnesses 30:16 Discussing overall sincerity of the witnesses 31:10 Less credible witnesses often Bigfoot ‘researchers’ 31:48 The terrible CGI 32:14 Witnesses that stuck out to JS as particularly sincere or insincere 34:01 Some flaws in the witness testimonies stuck out to Mike 37:42 The ‘smartphone camera’ problem 38:19 Unreliability of eyewitness testimony 39:45 Eyewitness testimony related fallacies 41:09 The ridiculous night investigations 43:40 No rationale for their methods – except maybe it’s good TV? 44:26 Finding Bigfoot: Rejected Evidence 44:48 The hosts’ willingness to interpret random noises as Bigfoot 45:49 How they could do an actual investigation 46:21 Making it up as they go along – Bigfoots attracted to music? 46:53 The ‘fever dream’ quality of night vision 48:23 The sine waves the producers throw up on screen 48:59 No consistency in methodology or interpretations – Bigfoots trying to be found or not? 50:10 Comparing squatching to hunting 51:00 JS explains hunting methods for all you liberal coastal elites 52:27 Mike reminds JS about all the witnesses 52:37 All their theories about sasquatches are based on assumptions 53:22 No consistency in eyewitness testimony or physical ‘evidence’ 54:25 Going crazy over ‘thermal blips’ – until they turn out to be something else 55:40 Hosts more interesting than the investigations? 57:03 JS talks about why he picked the show 57:50 1000s of social animals living in groups across vast areas with no physical evidence? 59:30 Ecological diversity makes it more likely that these creatures would be more easily found since they would require advanced intellectual and social capabilities 1:00:41 JS gives a capsule review of the book Neanderthal 1:02:09 Mike butchers his Greek: pareidolia and apophenia 1:03:17 Baiting the Internet cranks 1:04:33 We are exposed as part of the Marxist conspiracy! 1:06:29 JS takes a page from the JREF, minus the filthy lucre 1:06:54 The decline of educational TV 1:07:20 Memories of TLC and Discovery in the 90’s 1:08:00 An inevitable by-product of capitalism? Supply or demand? 1:10:12 JS makes the demand-driven case 1:11:04 Prevalence of conspiracy theories in US 1:11:49 Mike makes a qualified case for supply 1:15:02 Is the desire to believe a part of Western culture’s celebration of exploration and discovery? 1:16:19 Does the increasing complexity of scientific theory contribute to the proliferation of these shows? 1:18:22 Cryptozoology is accessible and tangible to general audiences 1:20:03 Is there a solution? 1:20:20 JS is optimistic; perhaps pseudoscientific beliefs will decline along with traditional religion 1:21:20 Mike is Debbie Downer; religion isn’t disappearing but changing 1:22:47 Announcing the next episode – with a bonus advert for Tubi TV

Intro and outro music excerpted from the song “Gay Bar Videogame” by The Wildbunch http://freemusicarchive.org/music/The_Wildbunch/Gay_Bar/Gay_Bar_videogame 1:03 Introducing this week’s show 1:53 The high concept of the show (Flub 1: Essex = SE, not SW) 2:25 A quick peek behind the scenes of 42 Minutes of Reality 3:52 Back to the high concept 5:33 Quoting The Guardian’s TV Critic 6:11 We hated this show 7:55 The ‘Waiting for Godot’ of reality TV 8:35 We summarize the only non-relationship parts we remember from first 3 episodes 9:40 Mike thinks there are too many people on this show, compares unfavorably to Jersey Shore 10:23 JS talks about the rapid and formulaic editing structure 12:16 Mike talks about ‘padding’ 13:40 ‘Plot’ summary - such as it was 15:26 JS notes only one holdover from first season – but archetypal continuity 16:29 The sound mixing was awful 17:00 We both needed closed captioning 17:25 Mike did like the ‘montage’ style intros of some of the episodes 18:23 JS finds a synthesis of our views on the pace 19:18 Swears v. bleeps 20:12 We get into definitional issues – this is an edge case 20:45 ‘Scripted reality’ 21:24 Mike thinks the term ‘reality TV’ is ironic, because it isn’t truly real, but how far is too far? 22:08 Comparing structure to Curb Your Enthusiasm – is this a ‘bad soap opera’ with no script? 22:44 Mike compares to Cheaters, which is even more fake, but actually entertaining 23:13 A pro wrestling analogy 23:29 Are the producers next leveling us? 23:39 The camerawork is quite good – perhaps TOO good… 25:18 Goes against artificial reality TV conventions – shared house + confessional – which paradoxically made it less real 26:47 JS talks about some suspicious audio in the break-up scene 28:47 The abortion that was TOWIE Live 30:10 Some of the people have been on other reality TV programs 30:52 Even with all these caveats, is this still reality TV? 31:25 JS gives a hard ‘no’ 32:37 Mike thought it was horseshoes of reality TV – close enough 33:57 JS believes that there should be something authentic, even if manipulation behind the scenes 35:46 This show lacked that authenticity for JS 36:28 Mike thinks possibly some authenticity ‘beyond the camera’, but mostly thinks this because the show is so boring and obviously faked stuff is more exciting 37:13 Talking about the lack of variety in the subject matter 38:35 Maybe not real in the literal sense, but ‘based on a true story’ 38:52 How did these people all get off work at the same time to go on holiday? 39:42 The people on this show seemed to be living in an invisible bubble. Where is everyone else in Essex? (Flub 2: Essex has 1.5 mil, but not millions – point still stands) 41:09 This week and last week’s show are different, but both share a worldview that plays on stereotypes 41:46 Controversy and pushback from Essex residents, double-edged nature of stereotypes 42:52 Mike busts out his Wikipedia research and has JS play a guessing game 43:07 ‘Essex girl’ 44:52 ‘Essex man’ 46:44 Mike’s Theory of the Week – are these stereotypes connected? 47:33 Is there a ‘nouveau riche’ component to Essex stereotypes? Even in S1, these people seem to have no jobs, but lots of disposable income 51:33 Piggybacking on last week’s discussion – why has this gone on so long? 52:28 A clarification on ‘seasons’ in the UK (?) context 53:08 A doomsday scenario 53:36 TOWIE in the context of the ‘soap opera’ genre 55:09 JS drops some soap opera knowledge 56:31 Mike noticed a pattern in the Hulu ads – Gender component to the target demo? 57:17 Or is the main component age (and class?) 59:10 Is the banality of the show the key to its popular appeal? 1:03:05 People are more likely to encounter weightier issues in life as they age 1:04:46 Is the appeal escapism – lots of drama, but nothing serious behind it? 1:07:24 Announcing next week’s show 1:09:00 We are on iTunes and have an email address

Intro and outro music excerpted from the song “Gay Bar Videogame” by The Wildbunch: http://freemusicarchive.org/music/The_Wildbunch/Gay_Bar/Gay_Bar_videogame Notes 1:20 Introducing our show’s format and goals 3:32 Experiences with reality TV JS: Survivor, American Idol, COPS Mike: Blind Date, The Jerry Springer Show, Jersey Shore 9:22 Preconceptions and stereotypes of reality TV 12:23 America’s Next Top Model 13:11 High concept 14:14 Judges 14:50 The ‘point’ of the show 15:34 Questions about the interview process 16:10 This is not a show about merit 17:00 Pacing issues and timescale questions 18:23 Body politics 20:53 Back on topic 26:25 Gender and ‘dumb model’ stereotypes 27:37 Mike’s theory on the ideology of reality TV 29:20 Celebrates modeling industry despite poking fun at stereotypes, Product placement 31:13 Mean-spiritedness of show’s humor; is it a hallmark of reality TV? 33:24 Mike preferred the meanness being channeled into zany challenges rather than mean comments (He also forgot to mention the commercials they had to film while taking an ice-cold shower, that was funny too) 34:41 Being put off by some of the gender politics, particularly Mary Alice’s dismissive response to concerns about being approached by male strangers (she’d get pilloried on Twitter if this show aired today) and Ben Stein’s creepy leering 36:03 They’d have to take the smartphones away if they re-did this show today 37:35 Reveling in the shittiness of this show’s video post-production quality 39:20 The bipolar attitude towards sex, Mike thinks Mary Alice needs to get off her high horse 41:30 Mike thought that the attempt to change gears and get us to sympathize with the participants in the finale was a failure 42:06 JS compares the narrative arc of reality TV competition to horror 42:57 Finale 45:15 Who we found (kind of) sympathetic, our difficulties sympathizing with the contestants 47:13 Mary Alice’s myopic attitude towards non-modeling interests 51:23 Reality TV as a ‘springboard’ to notoriety 52:43 The Calvinball-esque quality of the competition element, Mary Alice’s odd “If you’re not cheating, you’re not trying” attitude and strange judging criterion 54:31 Mike has a grander theory about the show; JS is skeptical 55:14 Discussing why this show was not renewed; JS thinks lack of fair competition undermined the show’s prospects 57:32 Would playing it straighter have helped? 57:57 The ‘Borat’ problem; if the show is successful, it’s harder to replicate because everyone is in on the joke 59:02 Is the show too gimmicky to sustain itself beyond a season? 1:00:04 JS thinks celebrating success is an integral part of effective reality TV 1:00:51 Mike thinks the show lost steam because it became more of a ‘regular’ modeling show as it went on, but thought it had fun moments with the creative challenges; JS thought best moments were challenges that forced the contestants to be creative 1:03:50 The answer to what would make this show succeed: America’s Next Top Model 1:04:30 Is this the ‘novelty Christmas album’ of reality shows? Does that have an appeal? 1:05:10 Why people come back to new seasons of reality TV shows; this show doesn’t celebrate success, but failure 1:07:13 Mike liked this show more than JS because he likes watching people fail 1:08:06 Trade-offs of focusing on humor v. competition, accessibility vs. sustainability 1:10:01 Failure can be sustainable, but needs variation 1:10:46 Mike found some weeks worked better than others on a merit-level, but the unfairness sometimes led to entertaining results 1:11:41 Discussing the humor of the quirks of some of the contestants 1:15:02 Reality TV humor and ‘creative editing’ 1:16:09 Mike goes on a tangent about Jersey Shore (get used to this) 1:17:10 JS picks on the poor women and their laughter 1:18:42 Signing off and announcing next week’s show