J Hutch Talks Too Much

The Passion of Joan of Arc (1928) is one of my favourite movies and is currently the oldest movie on my all-time favourites list. I discuss why I like it so much as well as why I think silent movies are worth watching.

I argue that Canada should be pushing for a diplomatic solution to the conflict in Ukraine and to resolve Russia's illegal invasion. Instead, it seems to be increasing the threat of violence. My apologies for taking this down yesterday but I had to make a small edit.

We finish our Kafka marathon (begun in January) with yet another unfinished classic, The Castle. In an unplanned turn of events, I am joined in the last half hour or so by Ryan Cook who helps me sum up Kafka. You can find Ryan's musical projects and live concert performances here: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC5TaGNPeOhQy22GZNekxfNg

My cousin and friend Maggie McLean joins me to talk about the great 90s comedy, Waiting For Guffman.

Daniel Demois returns for his third guest appearance to talk about one of my all time favourite movies, Martin Scorsese's Goodfellas.

I've gotten irritated enough with the claim that Noam Chomsky's stance can be boiled down to "America bad," that I am devoting an episode to not only debunking it, but also to explaining why the basic principle behind his stance is the right one.

Continuing with our look at Kafka's most well known works, I will talk about one of my favourites of his, his short story, In the Penal Colony.

These aren't necessarily obscure movies nor are they usually considered bad movies. They just aren't considered good enough to make typical Best Of lists. But they're on mine!

Cousin, friend, and independent theatre owner Daniel Demois comes on to talk about one of the great all time comedies, The Marx Brothers' Duck Soup.

Philosophy scholar and friend Ryan Cook joins me to discuss one my favourite novels, Franz Kafka's The Trial. You can find Ryan's musical projects and live concert performances here: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC5TaGNPeOhQy22GZNekxfNg

While I was ideologically opposed to the Ottawa protest, I also opposed Trudeau's use of the emergency act to end them; I join the condemnation of Putin's invasion of Ukraine and I also oppose NATO expansion. Anders Bergstrom joins me to discuss why it is good to have nuanced politics.

Forrest Miller and J. Andrew World from Movie Night Extravaganza join me to talk about The Maltese Falcon.

My friend Mike joins me to discuss the recent events in Ottawa and what the left can potentially do.

Beginning our conversation on the author Franz Kafka with a couple of his shorter works, The Judgement and Metamorphosis. Here is a link to the Art of Darkness podcast on Kafka that goes into more depth about his biography: https://artofdarkpod.com/franz-kafka-goes-to-hot-topic/

Conan Neutron from Conan Neutron's Protonic Reversal and Movie Night Extravaganza will join me to memorialize Peter Bogdanovich by discussing his 1971 masterpiece The Last Picture Show. Conan's podcast, Protonic Reversal, can be found here: https://www.protonicreversal.com/ and here: https://www.youtube.com/c/ProtonicReversal Movie Night Extravaganza can be found here: https://www.youtube.com/c/MovieNightExtravaganza Conan's music can be found here: https://neutronfriends.bandcamp.com/

Anders Bergstrom from 3 Brothers Film returns to talk about the perennial Christmas classic, A Christmas Carol, starring Alastair Sim. You can follow the writings of 3 Brothers Film here: https://3brothersfilm.com/ You can listen to their podcast here: https://3brothersfilm.com/3brothersfilmcast

A discussion on the new 7+ hour re-cutting of the 1970 Let It Be film.

Joe Lasko and I discuss Wes Anderson's second movie - 1998's Rushmore.

The floods in BC are a good example of human-influenced climate change. So what can we do to prevent future ecological disasters?

Philosophy scholar Ryan Cook joins me to discuss Plato's Republic. As mentioned in the podcast, Ryan's great music can be found here: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC5TaGNPeOhQy22GZNekxfNg

My first returning guest, Anders Bergstrom, from 3 Brothers Film and 3 Brothers Filmcast, joins me to discuss Michael Mann's 1981 neo-noir film, Thief. 3 Brothers Film: https://3brothersfilm.com/ 3 Brothers Filmcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/3-brothers-filmcast/id1545629335

A chat with my friend and brother-in-law Matt Manzano about the role of social media in contemporary politics. Here is a link to Freddie deBoer's article, "I'm Still Here" that we are discussing: https://freddiedeboer.substack.com/p/what-happened-to-you-motherfucker

Cousin, friend, and independent theatre owner Daniel Demois and I discuss one of my all-time favourite movies, The Night of the Hunter.

A chat with Matt Ivanowich and Scott Edwards about one of my favourite movies starring my all time favourite band.

I discuss a classic 1932 film starring Paul Muni about a war veteran's experiences within an abusive prison system. Here is "Remember my Forgotten Man" from Gold Diggers of 1933: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fzNcT7wfHj4 Here is the mesmerizing sequence from Footlight Parade that I discussed in the podcast: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FRqcZcrgPaU

Why is it The Odyssey such a fascinating read that seems to stand the test of time? As noted in the episode, I have used research for my discussion. One important one that I describe in the video comes from the In Our Time podcast that I will link to here. It is also where I got the example of comparing Achilles's line from The Iliad ("I hate that man like the very Gates of Death who says one thing but hides another in his heart") with Odysseus who is precisely that man. Here is the link to that podcast: https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/p004y297

The majority of Canadians support the NDP wealth tax but the country voted for the parties that blocked it. What's the deal with that?

I discuss what I think makes Homer's Iliad such an interesting book.

With an upcoming Canadian election, I discuss strategy and tactics and how they relate to voting. Chomsky on voting: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A6dpiZWJrug Finkelstein on activism: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KkB18NPtxqY

Educator Joe Lasko and I discuss the merits of self-directed education.

Film scholar from the 3 Brothers Film and 3 Brothers Filmcast Anders Bergstrom joins me in a discussion on one of my favourite movies of all time, Vittoria de Sica's 1948 Italian neorealist classic, Bicycle Thieves. You can find Anders and his brothers talking about film here: https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/3-brothers-filmcast/id1545629335 And here: https://3brothersfilm.com/

To kick things off, we talk about one of the oldest stories on record, The Epic of Gilgamesh. I summarize the story but also talk about why it might be an enjoyable and worthwhile book to read on your own.

Welcome to my podcast where I will discuss literature, movies, politics, and more? The question mark was purposeful.