But Why Tho? the podcast

This week, we're doing things a little differently. Kate is joined by Luis Alamilla and Luis Gutierrez to talk about Summer Game Fest. Yes, we talk about our favorite games, but the focus is something more important: What it's like covering a game event as Latinos when ICE raids, protests, and violent police are surrounding you. It's an emotional and sensitive conversation, but we encourage you to listen, learn, and take action.  Organizations to support below. Union del Barrio: https://www.instagram.com/uniondelbarrio/ RAICES Texas: https://raicestexas.org/ Latinx In Gaming:  https://www.latinxingaming.com/    

This week, Alex, Kate, and guest Jess Cogswell from Gamespot discuss their types, the pluses and minuses of archetypes and stereotypes, and the importance of seeing people as full, complex people.

This week, Alex, Kate, and Matt discuss generative AI being used to revive the dead, the consequences of Fortnite's Darth Vader dupe, and what larger conversation we need to be having to prevent the worst of generative AI's consequences.

We're doing something a little different today! To celebrate Pride Month, we're launchign our new BL podcast called Yaoi Hands! Every week, Kate & Matthew talk about BL and bara. They dive into the tropes, what works, what doesn't, and why we're all so in love with reading messy, chaotic romances. From manga to manhwa and more, they go through it all. To get access to our premium version, head over to butwhytho.net/support and subscribe!  

This week, Kate, Alex, and Kapi talk about Soulslike games, where they first got into them, why they love them, and what "get good" really means in the context of Soulslikes.

This week, Alex and Adrian discuss the upcoming summer movie slate, what they're excited about, and what they wish summer movies were doing more of like they used to.

This week, Alex, Kate, and Matt discuss why disaster movies tend to always center major American cities and why the recent Argentinian series Eternaut is breaking the mold for the end of the world.

This week, Alex and Adrian discuss why they avoid trailers and hate feeling marketed to, versus experiencing media for themselves.

This week, Alex and Swara talk about what art could look like without the shackles of capitalism and how public arts funding would change what kind of art gets produced. 

Alex, Kate, and guest Jess Howard discuss dark humor during dark times, getting deep into what is making current times so dismal and how they approach it to survive via pop culture.

This week, Alex, Kate, and special guest Jess Howard discuss the consequences of the rising costs of hobbies, especially video games, including gatekeeping, a broken developer pipeline, and developers still not making a living despite those horrendous $80 price tags.

This week, Alex and Matt are joined by Jesse Vitelli, who previewed the Switch 2 last week and is here to discuss everything from the hardware and what's different to the games and their absolutely unjustifiable price tags.

This week, Alex, Kate, and Jason discuss fact, fiction, and memory in Ray Mendoza and Alex Garland's 'Warfare,' what "based on a true story" really means, and whether any movie could ever truly be completely objective.

This week, Alex, Adrian, and Neysha talk about the ugly, the bad, and the good of fandom, when fandoms rear their toxic heads, and when fandoms bring people together.

This week, Alex is joined by guests Brenda and Austin from the Secret Histories of Nerd Mysteries podcast to discuss the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movie, celebrating its 35th anniversary this year.

This week, Alex, Jason, and Swara talk about what Oscar bait really means, whether filmmakers can make good art while chasing awards, and what they're hopeful for in the future of the Academy.

This week, Alex, Kate, and Jason discuss comedy—what they find funny, how their senses of humor have evolved over time, and how they draw the line between offensive and comedic.

Alex, Kate, and Sarah discuss when content warnings go wrong and how to get them right.

Alex, Kate, and Matt discuss whether they ever really "add it to their list" when people give them recommendations, whether they even like giving or receiving recommendations, and then give plenty of their own along the way.

Alex, Kate, and Adrian discuss when posthumous releases go right and when they go wrong.

This week, Alex, Jason, and Swara have fun with data: "Wrappeds," stats, metadata tagging, and the secret to enjoying Letterboxd!

This week, Alex, Matt, and special guest Jesse Vitelli discuss the past, present, and future of consoles, including what might make the Switch 2 stand out.

Alex, Kate, and special guest Byron McKoy discuss the legacy of Universal Monster movies, the disaster of the Dark Universe, and what Kate thinks of 

Alex and Kate discuss casually viewing, what it means, and why they engage with it while Matt admonishes them for doing so.

Alex, Kate, and Matt dig into their resolutions, hopes, and dreams for 2025!

It's the end of 2024 (hooray?) and Alex, Kate, and Matt chat about the year's highs and lows from IP and AI to popcorn buckets and the media brining them joy.

Alex, Kate, and Swara discuss American live-action remakes, whether they can ever work, and if remaking foreign language films into English is ever a good idea.

This week, Alex, Kate, and Matt discuss the power of gaming to build community, the difference between watching people play games and playing co-op and multiplayer, and what we can learn about online gaming community from the documentary The Remarkable Life of Ibelin.

Kate and Matt are joined by guests Hayes and Joseph to discuss The Game Awards 2024 nominations.

Kate speaks with Hearthstone developers about bringing sci-fi to Warcraft in the latest Hearthstone expansion

Help But Why Tho? and consider donating to support independent journalism!   This week, Alex, Kate, and Jason talk about typecasting, character acting, and why we like when our favorite "That Guy" shows up as much as we hate when our least favorites do.

This week, Alex, Kate, and Neysha talk about the streaming-era TV show cancelation epidemic, why it's it's happening, what it means for the future of TV, and whether it's really any different now than it ever has been.

Alex, Kate, and Matt discuss how franchises are probably ruining everything, why Rebel Ridge is just copaganda, and why entertainment industries are stuck in such creative ruts right now.

This week, Alex, Kate, and Charles discuss what makes a "Golden Age," whether they're even real, and if we're in one for anything right now.

This week, Alex, Kate, and guest Andrea Shearon talk about how the South is portrayed in American media, what it gets right and mostly, what it gets wrong.

Beyond its tacos and color palettes of golds, greens, and reds, Dawntrail is a thoughtful expansion that doesn't just showcase cultures in all of their beauty. It also empowers its characters to tell universal stories, which can be seen deeply within the context of their voice actors' Latinidad. We spoke with Koana's voice actor, Luiz Bermudez, about the role, Dawntrail's impact, and what the voice acting landscape is like for Latinos.

This week, Alex, Adrian, and Neysha talk about media literacy, why it's so important, and perhaps why it's gone down the toilet over time.

Alex and Kate discuss 2010's The Myth of the American Sleepover and whether TV and movies actually do a good job depicting coming of age for anybody, let alone teens from different backgrounds.

This week we talked about what we were most excited for coming out of Summer Game Fest Play Days, what the experience was like, and what you can look forward to! And we do it all with the help of Baron (@baronj67) and Eric (@seamoosi)

Alex, Swara, and Charles talk about the Joy of Missing Out, why they miss things, and why sometimes that can feel pretty good.

This week, Alex, Jason, and Adrian talk about celebrities, what makes them, which ones they follow, and why.

This week, Alex, Adrian, and Neysha talk about lost media: what is it, why does it happen, and what lost media do they wish they could get back.

This week, Alex, Adrian, and Charles get into the power of music and how it impacts the way we experiences games, movies, and beyond.

Blood of Zeus Season 2 is out now and we sat down to speak with Elias Toufexis, the voice of Seraphim. From villain to a co-lead of the series, this season puts him on a path toward atoning for his past, without seeking redemption for himself in the process. Toufexis takes us into his process as an actor and how he sees Seraphim developing in Season 2 and the future.

After nearly four years, Blood of Zeus is finally here. Animated by Powerhouse Animation from creators/showrunners Charley & Vlas Parlapanides, the second season of the adult animated series hits even harder than the first. We talk Hades, Hera, Seraphim, Heron, and of course expanding the characters beyond expectations. 

This week, Alex, Kate, and Swara get in the boxing ring yet again to bout over binge models versus weekly models for television releases.

This week, Alex and Kate are joined by Mike Towndrow of Six One Indie and The Indie Council podcast to talk about the state of indie games.

After his panel at SXSW, I spoke to the actor-turned-studio head Abubakar Salim. Surgent Studios' debut game, Tales of Kenzera: ZAU, which is published under the EA Originals banner, is a story about grief. But unlike other forms of media tackling the subject, Tales of Kenzera: ZAU is a vibrant blend of Bantu mythology, each level taking the player through different emotions and quests to process their loss. We spoke with Abubakar Salim about creating Tales of Kenzera: ZAU, the importance of teaching young men that they can cry and feel pain, too, and ultimately, how grief can't be explained as just one emotion.

We interview director Goran Stolevski about his new movie Housekeeping for Beginners. He shares what it's like growing up in a crowded house, working with young and untrained actors, and the importance of throwing away the rules.

CW: This episode discusses child abuse and sexual abuse at great length. This week, Alex, Neysha, and Swara talk about the ongoing Cinema for Gaza fundraiser and the documentary "Quiet on Set."    

Developed by the Open Roads Team and published by Annapurna Interactive, Open Roads doesn't rest on its laurels, which are its lead actresses, Kaitlyn Dever and Kerri Russell. Instead the game's dialogue, choices, and immersive art style is core to this mother-daughter story. We spoke with the Open Roads Team developers which included Amy Fincher (Executive Producer), Noël Clark (Art Director), Aaron Freedman (Engineering Lead), Sarah Robertson (Operations Manager & Associate Producer), and Harrison Gerard (Graphic Artist). In our time together we discussed the story, what they hope audiences will take away from Open Roads as the developer, and the choice behind the game's use of 2D and 3D art styles.