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In their 500th episode, Tony Arsenal and Jesse Schwamb celebrate a decade of The Reformed Brotherhood by diving into one of Scripture's most overlooked parables — the Parable of the Growing Seed in Mark 4:26–29. Exclusive to Mark's Gospel, this four-verse passage packs a theological punch that is, as Tony and Jesse argue, unmistakably Reformed in its emphasis. The man scatters seed, goes about his life, and the earth produces — by itself — without his understanding or intervention. From this, the hosts draw out rich implications for evangelism, sanctification, ecclesiology, and eschatology. They argue that the kingdom of God advances by divine power alone, hidden from human sight, moving toward a certain consummation. The episode pairs deep theological reflection with the hosts' characteristic warmth, humor, and 10 years' worth of shared history. Key Takeaways Monergism is embedded in the parable itself. The growth of the seed is entirely God's doing. The man scatters and rests; the earth produces by itself — a picture of divine sovereignty that requires no human management or comprehension. The evangelist's only obligation is to scatter. This parable relieves believers of the anxious burden of producing spiritual fruit. Faithfulness in proclamation is the call; growth belongs to God. Sanctification is gradual, hidden, and God's work. The progression — blade, ear, full grain — mirrors the believer's sanctification, which proceeds by degrees imperceptible to the individual yet certain in God's design. The Kingdom of God is not dependent on any individual. Whether it's a ministry leader, a financial contributor, or a worship musician, no single human agent is load-bearing for the advance of God's kingdom. Primary and secondary causation work together without contradiction. God uses means — the farmer still sows, the earth still functions — but the means are instrumental, not efficient causes. God's providence encompasses and exceeds them. The harvest belongs to God, not the evangelist. Just as the man did not direct the growth, he is not the agent ultimately putting in the sickle. The consummation of the kingdom occurs in God's time and by God's initiative. This parable resists reduction. It cannot be flattened into a simple evangelism lesson or a single eschatological statement. It holds together personal sanctification, corporate ecclesiology, and cosmic eschatology within four verses. Key Concepts The Earth Produces By Itself: Monergism in the Parable The theological center of this parable is the Greek word automate — the earth produces "by itself," without external compulsion or human assistance. Tony and Jesse argue this is not incidental language but the thesis of the entire passage. The farmer is genuinely active — he scatters the seed — but his agency recedes almost immediately from view. He doesn't monitor the soil, apply nutrients, or trace the growth. He simply lives his life. This picture coheres precisely with the Reformed doctrine of monergism: that in regeneration and kingdom growth alike, the decisive cause lies entirely outside human capacity. As Jesse puts it, the mechanism of growth "belongs to God alone." The farmer's ignorance is not a failure — it is the point. We are not meant to understand the how; we are meant to trust the Who. Scatter, Then Rest: A Theology of Evangelism Without Anxiety One of the episode's most practically rich applications concerns the posture believers are called to adopt in evangelism. Tony observes that this parable is rarely preached as an encouragement to evangelists, yet that is precisely what it is. The sower's only active verb is scattering. After that, he sleeps and rises — the rhythms of ordinary life — while God does the work that no human strategy, method, or persistence can accomplish. This directly addresses what Tony calls the "anxiety around trying to ensure some sort of production." The Reformed vision of evangelism is not passive indifference but liberated faithfulness: scatter the seed of the gospel without bearing the impossible weight of manufactured outcomes. As Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 3:6–7, "Neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth." Blade, Then Ear, Then Grain: The Patience of Providence The threefold progression Jesus describes — blade, then ear, then full grain — is not decorative agricultural detail. It is a theological statement about the character of God's work in the world and in the soul. Growth is gradual, ordered, and unhurried. Jesse draws the direct application to sanctification: the believer cannot fully trace the work of grace in his own heart, yet it is real and it is God's doing. This ought to produce, as Jesse summarizes, "patient confidence rather than human striving or anxiety." The church, too, matures through stages. Neither impatience with slowness nor despair at imperceptibility is warranted — both misread the nature of divine providence. God is not behind schedule. He is, as always, working through means, in His time, toward a consummation He has already appointed. Memorable Quotes The earth produces by itself — we might even say the kingdom of God produces by itself. It's not dependent on anything except God's sovereign will and his sovereignty to execute all that he desires. - Tony Arsenal The mechanism of growth is strangely hidden from the human agent, and it belongs to God alone. - Jesse Schwamb The kingdom of God advances by God's own hidden power toward a certain appointed consummation — and this ought to produce patient confidence rather than human striving or anxiety. - Jesse Schwamb Full Transcript Jesse Schwamb: Welcome to the 10th Pentacost episode of the [00:01:00] Reformed Brotherhood. It's number 500. I'm Jesse Tony Arsenal: and I'm Tony, and this is the podcast that's been going for 10 years. Hey, brother.  Jesse Schwamb: Hey, brother. A happy 500th episode to you.  Tony Arsenal: I know, man. It's kinda crazy. It's kinda crazy, and we're not gonna do anything special 'cause we don't do that, but it is crazy that this is the 500th episode. That's a lot of podcasting.  Jesse Schwamb: It's absolutely wild.  Podcast Memories And Mishaps Jesse Schwamb: And as with any milestone, as I was thinking about this one occurring, it did draw my mind to all the crazy things that have happened on this podcast, some known, some unknown. Of course, there is the very infamous time that I spilled a whole bottle of kombucha on the desk while we were recording, but everybody knows about that. But I was, I was also thinking about the, the lesser-known ones, like the time you and I sat in the downstairs church, like so close to each other on the same side of the table- Yeah ... to record a episode, or the time [00:02:00] that a tow truck showed up while we were recording and I had to go run out and direct the tow truck 'cause I'd called it for the car. Tony Arsenal: Yeah.  Jesse Schwamb: And you paused the episode so that we could go do that, or the time that we had our favorite Lutherans on the podcast in what I think was, like, the hottest environment, and I just remember the sweat trickling down Chad Bird's beard. Like, like, like air being- Like the oil gloss ... mixed with oil. Yeah. It was so hot. So those are the ones that come to my mind. I don't know if there are any ones that come to you. We- we've had some great episodes, and by the way, they all live out for free in the world on reformedbrotherhood.com. So don't take our word for it. You can go all the way back to the beginning if you really want to, and you can hear this incredible journey that God has had us on these some 10 years. So I'm curious, like, do any episodes, topics, conversations, weird things come to your mind after all this time?  Tony Arsenal: Uh, the one I remember is when we recorded with Dad and we were waiting for the snow, the [00:03:00]snowplow- ... and we had to, like, wrap the episode up real quick because the snowplow was there and we had to go move cars. That's right. So there's been a fair amount of episodes where it's like something has interrupted us and we need to just get it over with real quick. That's right. Um, hopefully the listener doesn't hear that too much.  Patreon Support Check In Tony Arsenal: The other thing I was thinking about, you know, just as we're kinda thinking about the back catalog, we're not great at this. Uh, we tend to do our, what, what's they call the call to action. The experts call it the call to action. We do it at the very end of our podcast episodes, which is the worst place to do it. Uh, but we're gonna try to land it in the beginning here. So we, we've been supported by a number of, of people, uh, for basically the entire podcast. I don't remember exactly how early on it was that we started doing Patreon, but it's, it's been a long time. And what I noticed the other day, I went in to, to check on a couple things and make sure everything was working the way it's supposed to. There was some, like, account merge I had to do, and I've noticed that several people who've been supporting us, um, pretty much since the beginning- have their accounts listed in a declined status. [00:04:00] And what that means is that their, probably their credit card that they use, uh, has expired, and so now they're not, no longer supporting the show even though they think they are. So if you are a person who believes you're supporting the show, particularly if you've been supporting the show for a long time, and you wanna continue to support the show, uh, we would really appreciate if you took a minute to go into your Patreon account, double-check that the, you know, that you've been, um, contributing for the last couple months. Uh, double-check that the credit card you have on file is not, uh, expired or suspended or anything like that. Um, again, if you've made a decision that it's time to stop, uh, stop the show, or if this is the point where you realize, "I don't care enough to re-support to the show," um, that's fine. We love you. We've appreciated your support. We hope you keep listening. Uh, but if you do wanna continue to contribute, please do check that. And if you've never taken a chance to think through whether or not you want to support the show, uh, Jesse and I are so thankful for all the support we have.  Jesse Schwamb: Yes.  Tony Arsenal: Uh, but things are getting more expensive, and, um, you know, that's, that's [00:05:00] just a reality for all of us, and that includes things like podcasting hosting fees. Um, the cost of our, our editing software that we use has gone up. That's a subscription. Uh, the cost of hosting space has gone up. Um, all of that, uh, all of that has gone up, and so even though we've had steady supporters, it's kinda like we have lost supporters, um, financially because the money doesn't go quite as far. So if you've ever thought, "Maybe I should, uh, maybe I should contribute to the podcast," please do think about it. Even if just, uh, half of our audience went in and contributed $1 a month, um, that would be a substantial amount. That would really help us to keep the podcast going. And there's actually a number of projects and things Jesse have I, and I have wanted to do, um, that we would love to be able to, you know, to take a step on. Uh, we just don't have funding to do it, uh- Right ... because the funding we have is enough to keep the podcast going but not enough to stretch to something else. So I don't wanna, like, preload that too much, 'cause who knows if it's gonna happen, but there's some things that we wanna do [00:06:00] that would involve a little bit of upfront capital that we would need- Right to get some contrib- contributions on. So please do consider that. We appreciate you so much if you've been a supporter. We appreciate you so much if you've even considered it. Uh, and we appreciate you so much just for listening, uh, especially- Yes ... if you've been with us, you know, this is episode 500. That's a lot of podcasting- Yeah, it is ... directly in your ear hole. So thank you so much for that.  Jesse Schwamb: Yeah, we're so grateful.  Why We Keep Doing This Jesse Schwamb: It's fun just to think how many episodes we recorded, but also how many interesting conversations and topics, all the inside jokes. It really is a community. That's in part why we started this, is to sit down together and to bring other brothers and sisters into the fray, as it were, or maybe to bring us into your fray a little bit and to encourage and edify the church, the brothers and sisters, the saints around the world. And it is an around the world kinda podcast, which is remarkable too. So- Yes ... we're just gonna keep being here. As long as the Lord tarries and He allows us to do this, we'll just keep doing it. And again, we've recorded in closets, in cars on the way to things. We've done it at [00:07:00] the beach, and we've done it in cold environs, and we've done it in hot environs. And you're right, you reminded me of that time where we were desperately waiting as we were getting snowed in for the plow to come. And then it was all hands on deck, and we just dropped the recording equipment and said, "We gotta get out of here." And more often than not, the p- joy of this podcast is it just kinda finds its way into our normal rhythm of life. But it- Yeah ... comes out of our life, and out of a life that's been transformed by Christ. And so that's really what we come back to.  Mark Only Parable Preview Jesse Schwamb: In fact, that's the whole thing that we're in right now. We're going through all these parables. And this episode, we can't stop, won't stop. We're gonna continue to hit you with the content that we love, which is talking about Jesus. And so we're in one of the few... Well, it's a Markan parable that only appears in Mark. That's why I called it Markan, I guess. So extra bonus points to you, that's both extra and bonus, if you know which one it is before I say it. But there's a lot for us to talk about- ... because we're getting into this really, really short little story, but it's really chock-full, of course, as Jesus likes to do with all [00:08:00] kinds of spiritual truth. It's about a farmer chucking a seed on the ground, and then he goes about his business. He eats, he sleeps, he binge-watches the Jane equivalent of Netflix. He sleeps again, he wakes up. And while he does this, the seed is doing entirely its own thing without his help or understanding. He didn't make it grow. He can't explain how it grows. He just shows up at the end with a sickle to collect what God has already finished. Man, if there isn't a Reformed theological parable, I don't know what one is. Yeah. So we're gonna get to all of that on this 500th episode. I mean, it's something to be saying that even the US is only 250 years old, and- we've already recorded twice as many podcasts as there are years of experience in the US. But besides all of that, it wouldn't be- It's like- ... Reformed Brotherhood-  Tony Arsenal: I don't know if you've seen this. That reminds me of those things online where it's like, like, "Elon Musk is a billi- is a trillionaire. That means he could give every person on earth $1 billion- Oh, yeah and still would be a multi-billionaire." And you're like, "That's, that's not mathematically true." 'Cause when [00:09:00]you said that, I was like, "You mean the podcast is older than the country?"  Jesse Schwamb: Oh, math. I have a feeling we're gonna come back to that. Oh, math.  Tony Arsenal: Oh, math.  Affirm Or Deny Segment Jesse Schwamb: Now, of course, if you listen for any length of time, you know it wouldn't be an episode if we didn't have a time of affirming with or denying against. Of course, that is that time where we pick something that we like, we think everybody should be a part of, that we wanna recommend, and we affirm with it. Or on the opposite, instead we say, "We deny against this thing because it's just no good." So Tony, on this 500th episode, I'm just gonna keep saying it over and over again, so lest the listeners forget, what are you affirming with or denying against? Tony Arsenal: Yeah.  Scammer Payback Recommendation Tony Arsenal: I'm affirming, um, a little YouTube channel that I found. Uh, it takes a little bit of setup to explain it, but the, the channel is called Scammer Payback. Ooh. Um, and it's, it's a... I think most people have probably seen, like, the Gene Fieith- Gene Veith, um, like, where he, he gets a, some sort of scammer on the phone, and he sorta just, like, [00:10:00] trolls them and makes, kinda makes them sound dumb and, you know, pretends to play along just to see how long he can keep them on the phone. Those are really funny. These are funny, but they're on a whole different level of seriousness, which is a weird sentence. Um, basically what this is is a group of professional hackers, um, and there's, this is a serious kinda sting operation they have going. They don't use their real names on the channel. Um, there's one, there's one, um, where they interview, like, a social, um, a social engineer whose job is to... Her- she is a person who basically, uh, does social hacking, and she helps companies who, who their security people think, like, their executives are, um, susceptible to social engineering, social hacking. She'll actually call and, like, mess around with the CEOs and socially hack them. Um, they interviewed her, and the first thing she said when she sat down was the person she was talking to's first name, and the guy was just stunned. He's like, "I- we- we've never used my first name on the channel before." So they're very serious, and what they do is they identify [00:11:00] a scam or a g- usually a group of scammers, and they'll actually hack into and infiltrate the computer systems that they're using. And so they show you everything that they're doing. Um, they're, they're explaining the scam and how it's run. Um, and a lot of times they're actually actively intervening in, uh, in a scam, trying to stop a scam that's in progress because somebody is about to lose a lot of money. I mean, I think one of the things that's important about this is our audience, you know, mostly, mostly guys probably, like, age, I don't know, late 20s, early 30s, maybe early 40s, we kind of grew up and lived, lived in a world most of our adult lives or all of our adult lives where, like, fishing schemes and other kinds of, like, um, data s- data theft, like, that was just in the air. It was just normal. So we're... It's not like we're immune to it, but we're used to it, and we're ready for it, and we're looking for it. That means that most of us have parents that are in a generation who are particularly susceptible to this. [00:12:00] So I think it would be worth, worth people's time to take a look at this, uh, just as a educational piece, and then, yes, share it with your family members who are in this era. People get taken for a ton of money. Yeah. The reason that these older generation sort of bu- builder Boomer generations are targeted is not just because they're somewhat soft targets, but they also have the money. Um, most of, most of the wealth in our country is possessed by people in that generation. It's just an economic fact in a lot of places and a lot of areas, and so that's why they're targeted. So take a little bit of time, watch the show. It's... And it's entertaining. It's really well produced. It's funny. These are non-Christians, you know, who are, are being non-Christian, so there's a fair amount of salty language, especially when they're interacting directly with the scammers that they absolutely hate. Um, but it's, it's worth watching. And, and it... I think it'll... I think it's entertaining. Most of the time it's like a 15-minute video, so it's not too much of your time. Pop that on two times [00:13:00] speed on YouTube and, and you're all set.  Jesse Schwamb: And when you say salty you're not talking about Salty the Singing Songbook, right? Tony Arsenal: Correct. Yeah. Not P-S-A-L-T-Y. S-A-L-T-Y.  Jesse Schwamb: Just in case. I wouldn't want any of the loved ones to go and just be waiting for Salty to show up, like, in the mid- Which would be kind of epic in the midst of this, like, scamming shutdown, the sting operation. Like, Salty s- pops up and starts singing about restorative justice and- Yeah what it means that God restores all things. I mean, that would have a good place in this, but I just want that just to be clear. We don't, we don't want anybody to, to at us on that.  Tony Arsenal: Yeah, for sure. Well, Jesse, what are you affirming or denying tonight?  Jesse Loves Algebra Jesse Schwamb: I'm going to return to that beautiful intro you gave about mathematics and the whole Elon Musk thing. And so my affirmation is simply, like, just do... Just enjoy all the math you can. Use all the math that you know. So my wife and I were watching some kind of program on YouTube, and it was a program in which there are a couple [00:14:00]people competing in this kind of escape room situation, and as escape rooms are want to do, there came some kind of small math problem. And it goes something like this, is the best I can remember it. It was what number between one and nine when it is tripled and five is added to it is the same as that number being doubled and having one added to it? Now, as soon as that problem was read, we were watching intently, and I turned to my wife and I said, "Why do they need to say it's between, like, one and nine?" And she goes, "Well, how else would they know what the number was?" And I was like, "Well, like, this is a beautiful little algebra thing, like se- series of equations. Like, you have two equations here." And she's like... Just gave me a blank look. So I was like, "Oh, man." So she's like, "Okay. Do it then. Do it." So I was like, "Give me a piece of paper." So I, I was just like, this is gonna be such a beautiful thing. So I was like, "All this is, is, like, it's basically 3x minus five equals 2x plus one. You're solving for whatever this missing number is, and they've given you this beautiful setup, [00:15:00] which you rarely get in real life, but this beautiful setup is a system of equations. We have two things you know are gonna turn out to be the same. They've just been said in different ways, and that allows you enough space to figure out how to solve for them using a little bit of algebra." So I realized then this is why they said between one and nine, because the contestants then proceeded just to iteratively pick numbers until they found the answer, which is not a bad way. Like, that's a way to use, like, all the math you have. Certainly, that's a way. But I showed her how it was like, this is the answer, six, and you don't even need to know where to start because you don't need to start anywhere. You can actually figure this out. Still not really impressed. And then she said something to me that just, like, kind of rocked my world. I said, like, "Well, I'm sure this is familiar to, with, to you." And she's like, "Oh, yeah. Like, I learned algebra." And she goes, "Yeah, I, I know algebra. I just don't do it anymore. I just don't use it anymore." And I was like What, what I heard was, like, basically her saying to me, "I used to brush my teeth, but I just don't do it [00:16:00] anymore." 'Cause I was like, "This is such a beautiful thing." So then I got it in my head, well, well here's the problem. It's just a matter of seeing the results. So I was like, "Well, here's the amazing thing is yes, these are abstract concepts. Yes, it's like each of those is a function. It's, it's a representation of what he just said in the problem. But," and this is my grave mistake, Tony. But I was like, "Really, Descartes showed us that we can think about these not as abstractions, but we can plot them geometrically as lines on a Cartesian plane." And so I was like, "Really we can show that these are two lines and they have a relationship together." And then I was like, "Guess where they intersect? Guess where they intersect?" And she's like, "I w- that's impossible to even know. I have no idea where they intersect." I was like, "No, no. Just, just based on what we're saying, the beauty of this is they have a relationship. They're gonna come together at some point, like you and I in life. They're gonna, they're gonna come together. Guess where that would be?" And she's like, "That would be impossible to know." And I was like, "It's not, actually." So I showed her that, you know, left and right, up and down, X and Y, however you wanna speak [00:17:00] about it, those two lines are gonna intersect, at least on the X. The X spot is gonna be the number six. It's the same thing. Still nothing. So after all of that, I just appreciate my wife is such a brilliant lady, that she just doesn't need algebra. She goes through life just, like, crushing problems without... Like, because she'd like to do it, I think, just the, the more challenging, difficult, iterative way. And, uh, she doesn't use algebra anymore. Just no need for it. So in many ways I respect that. In other ways, again, the affirmation is like, use all the math you have available to you because it's a beautiful thing. I think basically at the end of that I ended up in, like, a very supreme place of doxology, and my wife was like, "Can we just go back to watching TV now?" So but I, I have to say, like, and I, I know you, you share my appreciation for math and stuff like this. Like, it's not even just puzzles. It's just the beauty that, like, we can do this, and that there's such a created order, like a supremely created order, that these rules of ma- mathematics aren't just impounded. They're like the fabric in which God has, [00:18:00] has basically woven all of reality such that we can do this kind of thing, and that even a simple problem in escape room can lead us to appreciate how intensely ordered and beautiful the world is, that we can go after knowledge and solve for explicit things that seem abstract beyond our comprehension and reason to begin with, but have been brought to a place we might understand them. That is, like, an insanely glorious thing to me. So algebra is great, loved ones. I've recommended before, but the side affirmation is go to Khan Academy if you wanna brush up on your algebra skills. I think algebra is, like, some of the most beautiful and intensely practical math ever. I love calculus, but calculus you don't get a lot of, like, use. You can use algebra to solve all kinds of things, whether it's like tips or... Like, it's gonna save you so much time. If you're ever in escape room, I'm just telling you, do not do this iteratively. Just get the, your system of equations down, and you will be, like, tearing out of that room, and then you'll look like a hero. Tony Arsenal: Yeah. Yeah.  Math In Everyday Life Tony Arsenal: I mean, I think, like, even the f- even the, the... How do I wanna say this delicately? Uh, [00:19:00] even the idea that we, quote, "don't use algebra" means people don't actually understand that we're using algebra all the  Jesse Schwamb: time.  Tony Arsenal: Exactly. Right. Like, I could buy I don't use calculus or I don't use trigonometry- Right or even I don't use geometry. Um, but to say I don't use algebra, like just basic. I mean, I know like basic equations are, I guess, technically arithmetic, but like how many times does someone have to, have to go, "All right, the tip, the, the bill is X number of dollars. The bill is-" Right ..."$100, and I wanna give a 15% tip, so what's the outcome?" Like, that's an algebraic equation, right? That's right. Um, or a more, I think a more common one would be like, "All right, the bill is this amount. I want my, uh, my final amount that I give billed to me to be an even number."  Jesse Schwamb: Right. " Tony Arsenal: And I also want to give at least 15%, 20%, whatever percent, so what's the number I need to use in order to get to a bill that is, or a [00:20:00] tip that is both 15% or higher and results..." Like, all of those things are algebraic equations.  Jesse Schwamb: Yes.  Tony Arsenal: So I think, yeah. I mean, even like, "I need to get to work by such and such a time. What time do I need to leave?" Right. "I know it takes-" Exactly. "... a certain amount of time." Right. So I think we, we all use algebra a lot more than we, we probably realize, and I think you're right. Like, when people say, "Well, I don't use my math anymore," what they're saying is like, "I don't use, I don't use the stuff that I had to show my work on anymore." Right. "I don't use the stuff that I have to do on paper anymore." But, um, it's funny, we had a, a conversation, by the way, Reformed Tele- Reformed Brotherhood Telegram chat is a thing. Uh, we had a conversation in the Reformed Brotherhood Telegram chat a little while ago. One of our members was trying to figure out some sort of, like- And it was a problem having to do with like a, an air conditioning throttle or whatever it's called. Some sort of like programming in an air conditioner. And we went through it, we figured out that one of the like relatively complex parts of the equation that he was trying to figure out actually no matter what values you [00:21:00] put in, uh, equated to one. And then the other one was like it was ti- and then it was times one. So it was like whatever you put in ended up to that times one was the rest of the equation. It was like a huge, or like a relatively large equation that resolved down to one. So it was like you're trying to figure out all this complicated math and really like that entire, uh, that entire complicated equation was doing nothing in the rest of the equation. Nice. It was doing absolutely nothing. Um, so we were able to sort of like figure out, all right, well now all we need to do is figure out what, what this relationship does. Right. Um, and even something like in that particular situation, there were some values that the equation couldn't possibly balance. Which again, you could plot that on a graph and see like there's a spot... I don't, I'm, I'm making this up, but I think this is probably not wrong. There's a spot where it's like this is a parabolic equation, and so at some point the parable, or the par- parable, I didn't even mean to do that. There we go. At some point the [00:22:00] parabola goes back up, and so like there is no point- Right ... when it reaches this number. So values that would be in that, in that zone or in that range- Right ... they, they don't work in the equation. So yeah, I think math, uh, algebra is, uh, you know, basic arithmetic obviously is, is relatively straightforward. Algebra's probably the most simple, uh, form of math that your average person uses on a regular basis.  Jesse Schwamb: For sure.  Trigonometry And Design Tony Arsenal: But it's funny, I remember the first time, um, the very first time that I realized trigonometry was not just some abstract thing that we would never use. And it's so funny, 'cause it's like the nerdiest, the nerdiest example. I was playing a tabletop RPG with my friends, we were in high school, and we were, we were learning trigonometry at the time. I was playing a tabletop RPG, and we were trying to figure out- Um, it was a, it was like a futuristic tabletop RPG, so we were using like, like laser guns or something like that that have a certain range. And we were trying to figure out if the thing that was flying in the air from us was within range or not.  Jesse Schwamb: Nice.  Tony Arsenal: And what we realized [00:23:00] is that's just a quadratic equation, right? Right, it is. I just need to calculate. I know how far away it is from me in a straight line, I know how high in the air it is, so I need to just- Right now I need to... Or not, not the quadratic. That's Pythagoras' theorem, right? Yep. I need to calculate the Pythag- or the, um, the hypotenuse.  Jesse Schwamb: I'm with you. I  Tony Arsenal: knew where you were going. Yeah. So, like, I remember distinctly, I, I mean, I remember where I was sitting in my friend's basement going, "Oh, my goodness, trigonometry actually has a practical application here." Um, you know, whether that's figuring out how much rope I need to be able to, to attach to a tree and still be able... Like, all of these different things ultimately are math, and, or as the, the Brits say, are maths. And, uh, the, it, it's just a beautiful thing. And I think you're right, like, this is evidence that the universe has a structure- And a designer because- Right you can describe the universe using this- Nice ... sort of universal numerical language that, um, in, for the most part, describes everything we can [00:24:00] see. I mean, obviously, like, they're still learning things. They're still figuring things out. But what we can see with our senses, we can also describe with math on some level. Even something like the colors that we see can be reduced to a, a number, a frequency, a wavelength. So yeah, I'm with you. Use your algebra. Find ways to use it.  Jesse Schwamb: Use it. It's the... I like what you said, that we're using it. We just don't realize it. There's a spiritual lesson in there, I think, as well, that it's, it's present all around us, and it's... I like what you said. It's, like, the, the most, like, grabbable. It's the thing that's pretty easy to grasp, yet has, like, some beautiful outworkings that are super complex. All the time I love to, like, mess with people, even people who are, like, say, like, "Oh, I'm not into math." I'm like, "That's okay." Like, it's... You're, you're living in a mathematical world, and you're certainly using it, but that, that's okay.  Imaginary Numbers Wonder Jesse Schwamb: But like, sometimes I'll just say to somebody, like, "How do you know, like actually know that, like a negative number times a negative number is a positive number?" Like, who came up with that, and how do you know? And why are we just trusting him? Why can't somebody just say, "You know what? For me, it's not. I'm gonna make that a [00:25:00] negative number"? And w- the reason is because algebra provides... There's a lot of proofs, but algebra provides the most simple, beautiful proof. And then once you, once you basically contravene that law, like, everything falls apart. I- it's... And the question we should be asking is why does everything fall apart if we contravene one simple law, wh- which is two negative numbers multiplied, the product of them has to be, must be, is always a positive number. And that's, like, not even getting into, like, the more crazy things. Like, everybody should go look up, like, what imaginary numbers are. That will kind of mess with your mind, but then we found ways to use imaginary numbers, which are exactly what they sound like- Yeah ... to solve, like, incredible problems. Where does that come from? It comes from the Lord. It comes from God's, like, creative ability that He's placed in mankind to go after and to take a dominion over the knowledge and the creative order in such a complex and creative way. It mimics and mirrors the creativity of our Heavenly Father, and it is altogether beautiful. So on this- Yeah ... 500 episode that has a lot of numbers associated with it, I [00:26:00] say go love the numbers. Go enjoy them. Wherever you are in life, whatever your enjoyment of math is, big or small, go try to find some way to enjoy it today. Tony Arsenal: Can I, can I throw in a, a weird relevant sub-affirmation to your affirmation? I  Jesse Schwamb: mean, please.  Tony Arsenal: This is our show, so I'll do what I want to. You can do what you want. First, when you say we live in a mathematical world, all I could think of was some Perry song of Material Girl. Material  Jesse Schwamb: World?  Tony Arsenal: Yeah.  Odd Squad Math Tony Arsenal: I am a mathematical boy, and I live in a ma- Anyway, um, there is a show that I watch with August, my son, who is almost five. Uh, he'll be five in March. And, um, it's called Odd Squad. And what Odd Squad is, is it's a sort of a s- like a spy-themed kids show with a touch of like, uh, almost like Twilight Zone. Like, there's so- It's they manage odd. Like, they're the Odd Squad because they, they respond to odd emergencies, so it's a lot of like weird monsters and aliens and like time travel paradoxes and strange stuff. But the answer [00:27:00] to the problem is always related somehow to a math principle. So they will talk about how like multiplication is just addition like many times over.  Jesse Schwamb: Sure.  Tony Arsenal: And that's actually why multiplying a negative number times a negative number is a positive number or, you know, like, or multiplying by a negative number is a negative number, right? And that's because like really what you're doing if you multiply two, uh, two times negative three is you're subjecting, you're subtracting two from two from two, which gives you, you know- Right ... a negative number. So it's, it's not, uh, it, it's for kids, but I actually have realized that I understand math better- because of watching the show.  Jesse Schwamb: I  Tony Arsenal: love it. And it's because they break it down in, you know, the, the audience- Yes ... the target audience is a little bit older than August. I think the target audience is probably like six to seven, maybe eight years old. Um, and so they're talking about math principles geared towards those groups. But they'll talk about things like [00:28:00] using a number line to be able to understand math, and so like visualizing it. Or they'll talk about how multiplication is really just groups of things. So yeah, check it out.  Why Math Matters Tony Arsenal: And again- Algebra is probably the most, uh, easy to grab of the disciplines, but that's because that's the one we are using every day all the time. Tony Arsenal: And we don't realize it. But again, like, calculus is a beautiful, a beautiful thing. Um, and there are some amazing things that exist in the world that can really only be understood and described in a certain sense by something like calculus or trigonometry. Um, my favorite, I, I wish I had, like, kept it up, but one of my favorites is geometry 'cause I think a lot of it is, that's, like, the closest to puzzles. Yes. Um, uh, so, like, I, I used to love doing proofs and axioms and stuff. So, and then of course logic is technically related to math. It's a related discipline to math- It is ... in that it, it's, it's actually, like, the language that underlies a lot of the mathematics is [00:29:00] logical formulas. So it's all relevant. It's all beautiful. It all describes God's creation, and it all redounds to His glory.  Jesse Schwamb: You got that right.  Mark Growing Seed Jesse Schwamb: And speaking of both His creation and His glory, and Jesus teaching of both of those things, we are, as we promised, hanging out in the Book of Mark, and we've got just four sentences. And what I love about this parable that we're about to read is it fits in so perfectly with something I think you and I have been saying from the very beginning, which is it's tempting when we think about the parables to consider, like, a single element or to distill them down to, like, a single word and say, "We hear the kingdom of God is this thing, this noun, this object, this person." But instead, the case we've been making is it's actually generally a series of verbs, or in this case, it's the whole four verses that Jesus is gonna give to us here. So let me just read Mark 4:26-29. That's all it is, loved ones. And it's a good thing because we're already knee-deep into this 500th episode. So this goes by various names. I've heard it called, [00:30:00] like, the Parable of the Growing Seed, or sometimes people call it, like, the Parable of the, The Secret Seed. I'm not sure that's really secret, but I suppose the increase is secret in a way, and that's really what Jesus is communicating to us in these verses. So Mark 4:26: "And Jesus was saying, 'The kingdom of God is like a man who casts seed upon the soil, and he sleeps and he rises night and day, and the seed sprouts and grows, how he himself does not know. The soil produces crops by itself, first the blade, then the head, then the mature grain in the head. But when the grain is ripe, he immediately puts in the sickle because the harvest has come.'" Tony Arsenal: Yeah. Yeah, this is, um, an interesting parable, and I'll be the first to admit, like, when you said, "Well, why don't we do the king- the parable of the growth next?" I was like, "I don't actually know what Jesse's talking about." So if you're in the same boat as I am and [00:31:00] you, uh, you are like, "Wait, there's the... This is a parable? Like, this exists in the Bible?" Um, you're not alone, and I think part of the reason is that, one, it's so short, but it also sort of, like, connects into the next parable thematically. I don't know necessarily- Hmm ... about the content and the meaning, but thematically it sort of blends into the next parable, which is the parab- Mark's version of, um, of the parable of the mustard seed. So it's, it's hard to delineate unless you're really thinking about it, but I'm glad that we're talking about it because I think this is probably one of those parables that doesn't get a lot of attention because it's so short and because it is, um, it is sort of thematically in a spot where I think it does sort of, I don't know, like seep into the next- Right parable.  Jesse Schwamb: Yeah, there's a tendency because you're right, it's sandwiched between the Parable of the Sower and the Parable of the Mustard Seed, both of which we've talked about from Matthew's perspective, that it seems like maybe the theme is redundant, but [00:32:00] it is altogether different with the emphasis. Uh, there, it's true I guess that all three of these parables are addressing that same underlying question the disciples in the early church were asking, which is, if Jesus truly inaugurates the Kingdom of God, then why does it seem so impressive? Why is it so slow or hidden in contrast to all the expectations that the Jews had for what they thought would be this dramatic, immediately visible rain? And so I like that there is a lot said within four verses. And again, from our perspective, this thing seems so distinctly reformed in its under- Yeah of course the whole Bible is that way, but maybe nothing more so than this, especially because we'll get to it, but the center of this parable being, and there's various translations, that this guy doesn't even know. He doesn't understand. He's totally ignorant to what is going on, and isn't that... I, I mean, I can only speak for my own test- that's the story of my life, uh, spiritually and otherwise. That again, if you wanna talk about God doing all the verbs, I guess Mark had it first. I thought maybe I coined that, but [00:33:00] turns out that Mark, well, actually Jesus, the Son of God himself, says it best here. So let, let's get into this because the beautiful thing is you and I can handle theoretically in the time allotted here, like three or four verses. That, that's theoretically possible for us to do, but we, we're only gonna h- see how far it goes. Um-  Tony Arsenal: Yeah ...  Hidden Kingdom Growth Jesse Schwamb: I think the first thing to say here is that we get that beautiful characteristic, like formula, like the controlling paradigm. It's that Kingdom of God again. And a- as I kinda set up, it's the Kingdom of God, though, launched into a bunch of, uh, verbs. Uh, this idea of like him casting, and then him sleeping, and then him waiting, and then him getting up, and then the growth happens, and then he comes again at the end, this character, this farmer, into kind of the consummation of that kingdom. And I think there's a lot here that's maybe to explain that tension. The kingdom is real and active. It's irresistibly moving towards some kind of fixed end, but it does not appear in its final glory, and that is something you kind of get with the other two parables. [00:34:00] But here it's just like so lovely. It's right in front of you. That, that's like the whole emphasis and thrust of what Jesus seems to be saying in this. Tony Arsenal: Yeah, and I think this one's interesting because, you know, generally in the parables, at least in, in... I, I would have to do a little bit more study to know if this is, like, distinctly Markan or whatnot. But in the, the, um, Matthew's parables, um, or Christ's parables reported in Matthew, um, primarily the main figure of the parable is, uh, is generally is God or, or more specifically is often Jesus himself. Jesse Schwamb: Right.  Tony Arsenal: Right? But in this parable, it wouldn't make sense for us to say that somehow g- you know, God or Jesus scatters seed, and then He doesn't know that it sprouts. Right. Right? So, so the, the parable implies that the one scattering seed, and again, we don't wanna over-interpret parables. Generally speaking, parables are teaching kind of a principle of some sort, a comparison of some sort, not, it's not an allegory. [00:35:00] In, in most cases it's not an allegory where each element has a direct representation of some sort. But it wouldn't make sense for this to be talking about God's perspective on scattering or Christ's perspective on scattering, 'cause obviously God and Jesus, even, even if we're talking about Jesus according to His humanity, um, has some sort of awareness of the workings of the Kingdom of God that is not the ignorance that the parable here seems- Right to present of the one scattering.  Scatter Then Rest Tony Arsenal: So I, I really do think this parable has more to say to us about- Our own perspectives on evangelism and on how the Kingdom of God will propagate. And I think, um, both in terms of, like, evangelism, there's an element here, an encouraging element of, you know, all your s- your job... And what's really funny is I, I don't recall this parable being used in my experience to sort of [00:36:00] encourage people that all, your own, your job is just to scatter. You don't need to worry about the growth. Mm-hmm. There's a, there's a passage in Paul about one person scatters, one person waters, and God brings the growth that is often used to sort of say, like, it's not your responsibility to make sure that the, the, the, um, the bud is, you know, c- comes to flowering and to fruiting. It's just your job to be faithful to scatter or to water or whatever step it's on. This, I think, has even more encouragement for us in that the one who scatters, um, i- is obviously God, but there's also this element that, like, we're scattering. The one scattering is not omniscient. But the one scattering, uh, he doesn't even know how or why or even that, I think, that the, um, that the f- the growth is occurring, and that's the most- Right remarkable part of this. Like, we're not talking about a normal farmer who is aware of how growth [00:37:00] occurs, is aware of the timing. He's constantly checking. He's making sure that he's checking the soil, that he's applying manure, that he's watering the crops. This is literally like some dude who just throws seed out, and then, then just goes back to his daily business of sleeping and rising and going about his day. And then all of the sudden, the earth, quote, "by itself produces." And I think that's the real key here is- There's something about the Kingdom of God and the seed that the Kingdom of God scatters. It's almost like the Kingdom of God itself is the one scattering here.  Jesse Schwamb: Right.  Tony Arsenal: Yep. The Kingdom of God and the seed that is scattered in and as a result of the Kingdom of God, it produces the outcome autonomously. It doesn't require us to input into it, at least in the context of this parable. Now, again, the Parable of the Talents would be very clear to us that we can't just rest on our loyals- laurels. God expects us to work and to be fruitful for the kingdom. [00:38:00] But there is this element here of, like, you are not the one responsible for the production of the seed and the fruiting and flowering of the seed. In fact, you're not even responsible for being aware that it occurs or how it occurs. Your only responsibility, the only active verb in this whole thing is... Well, there's a couple. The, the, the main active verb is the scattering. The other active verb is the sleeping. So, like- Right ... we, we scatter, and then we, we rest and we trust that God is going to do His work. Jesse Schwamb: Right. Even on the face, there's so much in this that does seem mysterious. Like, if you just take this parable and think about the act of agriculture, and I sometimes think about this because I do love plants, and we have a bunch of plants in our house, and I'm horrible at trying to get them to grow. And I think about what still a mystery it is. With all we know about science, just that you can still plant something, a seed, and water it, and the sugars will break down, and the seed will take root, and that something will grow and flower, and you think, "Oh, who is doing that?" And, and w- [00:39:00] I think we'll get into this, the first and second principles, first and second causes here, which are, I think, certainly something that Christ intends for us to consider here. But there is this idea that the man's action is simple and passive relative to what follows. He, like you said, just scatters the seed. And he's a real agent, but as the parable unfolds, it's almost like his entire agency recedes entirely from view. And that's what kind of sets for me, like this whole trajectory of the parable. It's that the mechanism of growth is strangely hidden from the human agent, and it belongs to God alone. And so you already stole it from me, but I'm gonna read 1 Corinthians 3:6-7, which is, coheres directly with what's happening, I think, in this parable. And this reads, or Paul writes, "I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth. Neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth." And so there is like an extension, I think, of that application inward though as well. Kind of like when you were speaking about that, what occurred to me is that we see in the [00:40:00] farmer's like day and night unawareness, this picture, I think, of this often gradual, imperceptible work of grace in our own hearts, in every believer's heart. Like that, that sanctification process, it proceeds by these degrees, and the Christian cannot fully trace even in himself, yet it is definitely real, and it's definitely God's doing. And then I think as well we might pull out a thread of this, you know, ecclesiological truth. You know, the church's growth is God's work, not the fruit of human strategy. And then by application even further into that, it's based upon a soteriological one, which is like the ordo salutis, which is maybe half of every episode we've recorded talks about the ordo salutis in some ways. That too is unfolding by this divine power, and it's hidden from the creature's full comprehension, and that's consistent in this parable and in all of Scripture, that this regeneration precedes and produces faith rather than the reverse. Tony Arsenal: Yeah. Yeah, and I, I think too there's also an element in this passage, you know, when you think about... Uh, [00:41:00] I'm not a farmer, uh, and I, I don't know that many farmers, but when you think about how f- how modern farming works, it's very different than, uh, ancient farming, right? Historically, ancient farming was, uh, I think probably a lot of just trusting the world to do what the world does and, and trusting God to do what, what God does. A- and I think that's probably why a lot of like- When you look at, um, pagan religion, the, the fertility cults and the sort of goddesses and gods of the harvest were all related because there was this mystery to it. And so the reason that there's so much, uh, cultic worship around fertility and harvest is because it is so mysterious, and you just kinda have to, like, trust that it's gonna happen. Jesse Schwamb: Right.  Tony Arsenal: Right? You sow your seed in, you sow the seed of your field in, you know, the fall, uh, and, or in the, the, you know, the summer, and then you wait several [00:42:00] months and just hope that the crop comes in. And our modern agricultural world is not all that different. We have better tools and we can measure things that, like the soil, the nutrients in the soil. We can, you know, we can do all sorts of different imaging to see of what's happening underground. But at the end of the day, even with all of the advances we have, the farmer still can't make the crop come in.  Jesse Schwamb: That's right.  Tony Arsenal: Either the crop comes in or it doesn't. And I, I think there's this element of trust here that I think is really useful for us. And again, I think you're right. This is like, uh, it feels almost wrong to say it this way, but it's like this is a super distinctively Reformed parable. Like, of all, all of the parables in the, the Gospels, this one is like, on the face of it, a Calvinist parable. Yeah. Exactly. Like, it's like God just grows the kingdom- Yes and nobody does anything about it.  Jesse Schwamb: Amen.  Tony Arsenal: And I don't need to go into more details than that. But there is this element for us, I think, as, uh, as those [00:43:00] who want to share the gospel, there can be an anxiety around trying to ensure some sort of production, some sort of produce, uh, and productivity from that, that is just not healthy. And I think, you know, we, we have a responsibility as Christians, um, to be faithful and diligent in doing what God has called us to do. But if, if we read this parable as the one who scatters is sort of like the evangelist, then the only responsibility we have as evangelists, and all of us are evangelists, right, lowercase E evangelists, um, all of us, the only responsibility we have is to scatter the seed of the gospel. Jesse Schwamb: That's  Tony Arsenal: right. And we're not responsible for the growth. We're not responsible for even really understanding how growth happens, uh, or even, even doing much about it until it's time to harvest that growth. And I think that's, we need to talk about what that means too, because again, like [00:44:00] this is a parable that I think is maybe not as, as clean and clear as some of the, uh, Methanian parables where it really does seem like there's a pretty clear symbolic representation on some things. This one feels like it's maybe a little muddier in that, um, the main character and the role of the s- the one who's scattering seems to sort of almost shift throughout the parable, which is crazy to say because it's only like four verses long.  Tony Arsenal: But it, it does seem like at some points the scatterer is God, at other points it can't be God, and then it seems like, well, who's harvesting? It's not really us, so it's gotta be God. So I think it's, it's important for us to hold this parable as more of a general principle about the Kingdom of God than it is about any sort of like really direct one-to-one teaching on the, on the Kingdom of God.  Jesse Schwamb: Yeah. That's a interesting distinction.  Providence And Causes Jesse Schwamb: Here's what I would say about that, I think, is let's equate this to, like, coffee. You like a good cup of coffee. I do. I like a good cup of coffee. I think if we were to take, let's [00:45:00] say, the Parable of the Prodigal, that would be for me like a big Dunkin' Donuts coffee. Like, it's delicious, mild-bodied, maybe a little bit light. This parable is like two shots of espresso- Yeah ... 'cause there's a lot in there, and we could probably take a lot of time even t- speaking about, like you're saying, the more shadowy eschatological truths that appear in verse 29 because those, this idea of, like, a sickle in the harvest, I mean, that's imagery drawn from Old Testament eschatological judgment texts. So that could be pretty heavy in its own right. I think what's critical, before we get to that, is to, like, tease out something you said, which is there is a lot in here about this doctrine of providence, like, this spontaneous self-originating action apart from external human causation. And we've talked a lot, like, we distinguish between primary and second causation. You know, the Earth is genuinely or generally has second- secondary causes, like an ordinary means through which God's ordinary providence operates, but the ultimate primary [00:46:00] cause of growth is God himself. And so here we see that. Like, there's no exclusion of the farmer's agency as an explanatory cause. The soil does what it does because God has ordained the natural order to function in this way. That is his prerogative. And so that threefold progression then, blade, ear, full grain, which by the way I had to look up because my understanding of, like, all kinds of different types of grains is very thin and I'm out of my depth here. But- ... I'm led to believe That that development is gradual, and of course it's ordered, but it's not instantaneous. And so the application here, I think, has traditionally been applied in this corporate individual spiritual growth we're talking about. Like, the church advances through stages of maturity, and so does the individual believer's sanctification, without warranting either impatience or despair at the process's slowness. This is how God works. He does it in His gracious and kind way. And again, He's using this, all of this agriculture to illustrate that purpose. So there's, like, this buildup, I think, [00:47:00] in verse 28 about the incredible providence of God, both like corporatively, personally, in His world, how He is the primary cause, but also uses secondary causes, not in a disjointed or divorced way, but in a way that encapsulates and magnifies His glory. And that is then what leads to or will lead to the reemergence in verse 29 of this whole deal of, like, well, if farmer comes back in, and now he returns, but only at the point of consummation, not at the point of growth.  Tony Arsenal: Yeah.  Harvest And Timing Tony Arsenal: Yeah, and, you know, we won't go into all of the ways that this ties into the other parables, but it's worth, uh, it's worth mentioning that in, in both, uh, the parable of the mustard seed, which follows this, and then also the parable of the sort of sower or the seeds, um, there is this element of this, the one who is sowing seeds is not fully cognizant or aware or, and, and absolutely not in [00:48:00] control of the outcome, right? In the parable of the sower, um, he scatters the seed promiscuously, right? And the- Right ... the outcome depends on what kind of ground the seed falls on. And in the parable of the mustard seed, it, it's more of a, like, idea that the, uh, the sower sows a seed that seems so small, but it, the growth of the seed is explosive and expansive because of the nature of the seed, not because of the skill of the sower. Jesse Schwamb: That's  Tony Arsenal: right. Right? In this instance, um- The only thing, again, the only thing that initially the sower is responsible for is the sowing of the seed, the scattering of the seed. But what I also think is interesting is then there is a point where the one who scatters the seed is now responsible to act once he's observed the seed coming to fruition, right? Now, now what exactly that means and how exactly that applies, I think there's a lot of different things we could talk about. Um, but again, [00:49:00] this is a parable that we have to be careful not to, uh, not to restrict just sort of crassly to, like, evangelism. Right. Exactly. Or, or even just to sort of, like, the eschatological harvest. Right. That's what's tricky about this parable, I think, that bears ... And I don't think we'll do it, we'll do it necessarily on the show. It'd be worth having more conversations about. But for our own personal study, it bears deeper reflection because this parable cannot be simply reduced to an eschatology parable about what God does in the end. Jesse Schwamb: Right.  Tony Arsenal: And it can't be simply reduced to a parable about evangelism because strictly speaking, like, we're not really the ones that harvest when the harvest comes in, right? I've, I have heard this parable, um, preached, you know, like I said, although I acknowledge that I, um, like forgot that it existed. I have heard this parable preached as though, like, "Well, our responsibility is to scatter seed. We're not responsible for [00:50:00] making it grow or making it take root. But when we see that it's taking root, we're responsible for jumping in and harvesting at the right time." I don't think we should draw that conclusion here. Although the, the harvester does see that the ear is ripe, that the grain is ripe, and he harvests it, it would be a weird sort of like shift in the parable to go from the person who scattered seed isn't responsible for its growth, doesn't even know that the growth is happening, but is actually responsible for knowing exactly when to harvest the grain. Right. So we have to think about this again in gen- in terms of general principles of how the Kingdom of God functions. And w- how it functions is it's mysterious, it is, uh, consistent, it happens on a, a scale and on a predictable outcome that we as individuals don't understand and don't have visibility to, and the harvest will occur in its [00:51:00] time, and it will h- occur consistently and reliably. So again, like this is... I hope that maybe like the one or two non-Reformed people that listen to the show aren't terribly offended at this, but like this just is Reformed theology, right? There, there is a seed that is sown, God is responsible for the growth, and the harvest necessarily will help it happen when it's supposed to happen, right? When the r- when the fruit is ripe, it will be harvested. That doesn't mean I'm responsible as the one who sows seed or scatters or m- witnesses to people from making sure that the, quote, "sickle is put in at the right time," or anything like that.  Jesse Schwamb: Right.  Tony Arsenal: The fact is that the sickle will always come in at the right time. The person who has the final kinda piece of the puzzle in evangelism, I think that's how it often happens. Someone hears the gospel repeatedly from multiple places. They have contacts and relationships that tie into how they [00:52:00]ultimately come to accept the gospel and trust Christ. But ultimately it's the Holy Spirit who brings all that into some sort of coherent, um, execution and application of redemption That will happen in God's time. So I wanna be careful not to, like, put too much responsibility on us. Right. And again, this is just a parable that I think bears a lot more reflection, that I think because, um, I think Mark in general, because it's so short, uh, gets, it gets overlooked by Christians. I think we would all do well to spend a little bit more time in Mark. But especially some of these really short pericopes. I think we just read through it, and it's like we read a chapter of Mark, like Mark 4 comes up in our Bible reading plan. Right. And if we're reading the Bible in a year, like, Mark 4 is one of three or four chapters that we read, and this is four verses of that. Right. We just read over it quick and we c- we just, we don't appropriate any of it.  Jesse Schwamb: Right. It sounds like he's just reiterating a point or he's recapitulating something that he's already said or is about to say, and you're like, "Okay, get on with it." But I'm with [00:53:00] you. This parable, like all of them, is for us. It's for our joy. It's for our satisfaction and our comfort. And I think from this, there is, like, a single controlling point that's emerging from our conversation, which is the Kingdom of God advances by God's own hidden power toward a certain appointed consummation. And this ought to produce, like, patient confidence rather than human striving or a- anxiety. In order to give us a sense of calm, a reminder that God's providence is real in all areas of life. Remarkably, we've gotten this far in the conversation, and neither of us has just, has used the M word, which just came to me, and I think we're contractually obligated to say it as a Reformed podcast, and that is this is a prime example of monergism and the sovereignty of grace. And as in regeneration, the decisive cause of kingdom growth lies outside human capacity and comprehension. I think sometimes the latter part of that seems wrong to us. It makes us fearful because we don't understand it. But the former part should make us feel very happy and [00:54:00] relieved, that the capacity belongs to God and God alone. That doesn't depend on me or you or anybody else that we know. And this parable, I think, is often been paired with John's image of the wind blowing where it wishes as this picture of the Holy

Material, Girl returns as Amanda starts her Fringe run and Susan comes bearing gifts!Like, share, and subscribe to @materialgirlcomedyMake sure to check out:Material Girl Podcast https://linktr.ee/materialgirlcomedyMaterial Girl Live shows https://linktr.ee/materialgirlcomedyMaterial Girl Newsletter https://substack.com/@materialgirlcomedyFollow Susan Riddell & Amanda Dwyer & Material Girl on socials:@susanriddellcomedian https://linktr.ee/susrid@amandadwyerrlolYou can follow Material Girl on Instagram and TikTok for clips, news and more! Leave a 5 star review!Email us your questions: materialgirlthepodcast@gmail.comA Rare Water PodcastEnquiries: lorenzo@rarewatermedia.com#podcast #comedy #podcastclips #funny #standupcomedy #jokes #fyp #womenincomedy #materialgirlcomedy #susanriddell #amandadwyer Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We're back from our Summer Break™ with an episode about Christopher Nolan's The Odyssey. It's not easy to tackle the zeitgeistiness of a poem that's been circulating for thousands of years, but leave it up to Hannah and Marcelle to try anyway. In this episode, we chat about the creation of Homeric epics, authorship, the cultural force of the so-called Western Canon, and the fluidity of The Odyssey as a culture text in and of itself.***To learn more about Material Girls, head to our Instagram at instagram.com/ohwitchplease! Or check out our website ohwitchplease.ca. We'll be back next week with a Material Concerns episode!Material Girls is a show that makes sense of the zeitgeist through materialist critique* and critical theory! Each episode looks at a unique object of study (something popular now or from back in the day) and over the course of three distinct segments, Hannah and Marcelle apply their academic expertise to the topic at hand.*Materialist Critique is, at its simplest possible level, a form of cultural critique – that is, scholarly engagement with a cultural text of some kind – that is interested in modes of production, moments of reception, and the historical and ideological contexts for both.Music Credits:“Shopping Mall”: by Jay Arner and Jessica Delisle ©2020Used by permission. All rights reserved. As recorded by Auto Syndicate on the album “Bongo Dance”.Works CitedBostick, Dani. “The Classical Roots of White Supremacy.” Learning for Justice. Southern Poverty Law Centre, 4 January 2021. https://www.splcenter.org/resources/stories/the-classical-roots-of-white-supremacy/. Hall, Edith. The Return of Ulysses: A Cultural History of Homer's Odyssey. London: I.B.Tauris, 2008. Kellman, Steven G. “The Literary Canon.” EBSCO Research Starters. 2023. https://www.ebsco.com/research-starters/literature-and-writing/literary-canon. Mahdawi, Arwa. “Why is Elon Musk so threatened by the casting of The Odyssey?” The Guardian 22 May 2026. https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2026/may/22/elon-musk-the-odyssey-casting. Mcleod, E.M. [@mcleodmouth]. “LUPITA GET BEHIND ME .” Instagram, 3 May 2026. https://www.instagram.com/p/DX4pI19pP0a/?hl=en. Wilson, Emily, trans. The Odyssey. New York & London: W.W. Norton & Company, 2018. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We're back from our Summer Break™ with an episode about Christopher Nolan's The Odyssey. It's not easy to tackle the zeitgeistiness of a poem that's been circulating for thousands of years, but leave it up to Hannah and Marcelle to try anyway. In this episode, we chat about the creation of Homeric epics, authorship, the cultural force of the so-called Western Canon, and the fluidity of The Odyssey as a culture text in and of itself.***To learn more about Material Girls, head to our Instagram at instagram.com/ohwitchplease! Or check out our website ohwitchplease.ca. We'll be back next week with a Material Concerns episode!Material Girls is a show that makes sense of the zeitgeist through materialist critique* and critical theory! Each episode looks at a unique object of study (something popular now or from back in the day) and over the course of three distinct segments, Hannah and Marcelle apply their academic expertise to the topic at hand.*Materialist Critique is, at its simplest possible level, a form of cultural critique – that is, scholarly engagement with a cultural text of some kind – that is interested in modes of production, moments of reception, and the historical and ideological contexts for both.Music Credits:“Shopping Mall”: by Jay Arner and Jessica Delisle ©2020Used by permission. All rights reserved. As recorded by Auto Syndicate on the album “Bongo Dance”.Works CitedBostick, Dani. “The Classical Roots of White Supremacy.” Learning for Justice. Southern Poverty Law Centre, 4 January 2021. https://www.splcenter.org/resources/stories/the-classical-roots-of-white-supremacy/. Hall, Edith. The Return of Ulysses: A Cultural History of Homer's Odyssey. London: I.B.Tauris, 2008. Kellman, Steven G. “The Literary Canon.” EBSCO Research Starters. 2023. https://www.ebsco.com/research-starters/literature-and-writing/literary-canon. Mahdawi, Arwa. “Why is Elon Musk so threatened by the casting of The Odyssey?” The Guardian 22 May 2026. https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2026/may/22/elon-musk-the-odyssey-casting. Mcleod, E.M. [@mcleodmouth]. “LUPITA GET BEHIND ME .” Instagram, 3 May 2026. https://www.instagram.com/p/DX4pI19pP0a/?hl=en. Wilson, Emily, trans. The Odyssey. New York & London: W.W. Norton & Company, 2018. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A new episode of Material, Girl brings positive news of dug-sitting, negative news of powerful men and educational news of the abundant power of Jupiter. Like, share, and subscribe to @materialgirlcomedyMake sure to check out:Material Girl Podcast https://linktr.ee/materialgirlcomedyMaterial Girl Live shows https://linktr.ee/materialgirlcomedyMaterial Girl Newsletter https://substack.com/@materialgirlcomedyFollow Susan Riddell & Amanda Dwyer & Material Girl on socials:@susanriddellcomedian https://linktr.ee/susrid@amandadwyerrlolYou can follow Material Girl on Instagram and TikTok for clips, news and more! Leave a 5 star review!Email us your questions: materialgirlthepodcast@gmail.comA Rare Water PodcastEnquiries: lorenzo@rarewatermedia.com#podcast #comedy #podcastclips #funny #standupcomedy #jokes #fyp #womenincomedy #materialgirlcomedy #susanriddell #amandadwyer Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The girls welcome the now infamous podcast legend Bella the dug to the studio and comb through Doggy liability insurance, The Emo urge to be atop a hill listening to "The Black Parade", Taylor Swift's wedding, road rage some brainstorming for a new tea & biscuits focused club for sad girls.Like, share, and subscribe to @materialgirlcomedyMake sure to check out:Material Girl Podcast https://linktr.ee/materialgirlcomedyMaterial Girl Live shows https://linktr.ee/materialgirlcomedyMaterial Girl Newsletter https://substack.com/@materialgirlcomedyFollow Susan Riddell & Amanda Dwyer & Material Girl on socials:@susanriddellcomedian https://linktr.ee/susrid@amandadwyerrlolYou can follow Material Girl on Instagram and TikTok for clips, news and more! Leave a 5 star review!Email us your questions: materialgirlthepodcast@gmail.comA Rare Water PodcastEnquiries: lorenzo@rarewatermedia.com#podcast #comedy #podcastclips #funny #standupcomedy #jokes #fyp #womenincomedy #materialgirlcomedy #susanriddell #amandadwyer Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this anniversary episode extravaganza, the girls celebrate with a new studio and a deep dive into the power of dandelions and the romance of Braehead Shopping Centre.Like, share, and subscribe to @materialgirlcomedyMake sure to check out:Material Girl Podcast https://linktr.ee/materialgirlcomedyMaterial Girl Live shows https://linktr.ee/materialgirlcomedyMaterial Girl Newsletter https://substack.com/@materialgirlcomedyFollow Susan Riddell & Amanda Dwyer & Material Girl on socials:@susanriddellcomedian https://linktr.ee/susrid@amandadwyerrlolYou can follow Material Girl on Instagram and TikTok for clips, news and more! Leave a 5 star review!Email us your questions: materialgirlthepodcast@gmail.comA Rare Water PodcastEnquiries: lorenzo@rarewatermedia.com#podcast #comedy #podcastclips #funny #standupcomedy #jokes #fyp #womenincomedy #materialgirlcomedy #susanriddell #amandadwyer Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

⚡Get into the groove cos it's time for a mix of classic 80s Madonna 12 inch versions! This one is for you Kev! BPM = 114 – 150 TRACKS:OPEN YOUR HEART (12 inch dance mix)WHERE'S THE PARTY (shep pettibone's you can dance extended mix)INTO THE GROOVE (shep pettibone's master mix)BORDERLINE (extended mix)LIKE A VIRGIN (extended dance mix)PAPA DON'T PREACH (extended remix)MATERIAL GIRL (extended mix)ANGEL (extended dance mix)DRESS YOU UP (the 12” formal mix)OVER AND OVER (you can dance mix)GAMBLER (extended dance mix) For further mechamix adventures check out:THE OFFICIAL WEBSITE:https://mechanism.podomatic.com THE OFFICIAL PATREON PAGE:https://patreon.com/THEOFFICIALMECHANISMPODCAST BUY ME A COFFEE:https://buymeacoffee.com/mechamix OFFICIAL MERCH STORE:https://mechamixstore.dashery.com MORE TO EXPLORE:https://linktr.ee/mechanismpodcast

Note: this episode contains spoilers for the movie Obsession!This week, we're bringing you an episode you're gonna be absolutely OBSESSED with (wink wink). In this episode, Marcelle and Hannah dig deep into the extremely zeitgeisty horror film Obsession (2026, dir. Curry Barker). Marcelle walks us through the movie's explosive popularity, its complicated ideas of consent, and the complexity of the horror genre's treatment of gender and setting. By examining the movie through the lens of “incel horror,” they examine the film's treatment of masculinity and the anxieties surrounding contemporary romantic relationships.Related listening:Spare x Tender MasculinityGet Out x Horrifying WhitenessBook 6, Ep. 3 | Rape CultureWorks Cited:Barasch, Alex. “The Twenty-Six-Year-Old Behind ‘Obsession,' a Terrifying Tale of a Crush Gone Awry.” The New Yorker. May 11, 2026. https://www.newyorker.com/culture/persons-of-interest/the-twenty-six-year-old-behind-obsession-a-terrifying-tale-of-a-crush-gone-awry. Accessed June 25 2026.Cieslik, Emma. “‘Obsession' and the Rise of Incel Horror: When Men's Entitlement Becomes the Monster.” Ms. Magazine. June 4, 2026. https://msmagazine.com/2026/06/04/obsession-incel-horror/. Accessed June 25 2026.Clover, Carol J. “Her Body, Himself: Gender in the Slasher Film.” Representations, no. 20 (Autumn 1987): 187–228. https://www.jstor.org/stable/2928507.Eqbal, Amelia. “Are Movie Audiences Smart Enough to Appreciate Obsession's Incel Horror Message?.” CBC. June 5, 2026. https://www.cbc.ca/arts/commotion/are-movie-audiences-smart-enough-to-appreciate-obsessions-incel-horror-message-9.7224800. Accessed June 25 2026Hamedy, Saba, and Greg Rosenstein. “How an Indie Horror Film Became a Box-Office ‘Obsession.'” NBC News. May 25, 2026. https://www.nbcnews.com/pop-culture/pop-culture-news/obsession-curry-barker-box-office-hit-focus-features-rcna346824. Accessed June 25 2026.Tudor, Andrew. “Why Horror? The Peculiar Pleasures of a Popular Genre.” Horror, The Film Reader, edited by Mark Jancovich, Routledge, 2001, pp. 47–55.***To learn more about Material Girls, head to our Instagram at instagram.com/ohwitchplease! Or check out our website ohwitchplease.ca. We'll be back next week with a Material Concerns episode!Material Girls is a show that makes sense of the zeitgeist through materialist critique* and critical theory! Each episode looks at a unique object of study (something popular now or from back in the day) and over the course of three distinct segments, Hannah and Marcelle apply their academic expertise to the topic at hand.*Materialist Critique is, at its simplest possible level, a form of cultural critique – that is, scholarly engagement with a cultural text of some kind – that is interested in modes of production, moments of reception, and the historical and ideological contexts for both.Music Credits:“Shopping Mall”: by Jay Arner and Jessica Delisle ©2020Used by permission. All rights reserved. As recorded by Auto Syndicate on the album “Bongo Dance”. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Note: this episode contains spoilers for the movie Obsession!This week, we're bringing you an episode you're gonna be absolutely OBSESSED with (wink wink). In this episode, Marcelle and Hannah dig deep into the extremely zeitgeisty horror film Obsession (2026, dir. Curry Barker). Marcelle walks us through the movie's explosive popularity, its complicated ideas of consent, and the complexity of the horror genre's treatment of gender and setting. By examining the movie through the lens of “incel horror,” they examine the film's treatment of masculinity and the anxieties surrounding contemporary romantic relationships.Related listening:Spare x Tender MasculinityGet Out x Horrifying WhitenessBook 6, Ep. 3 | Rape CultureWorks Cited:Barasch, Alex. “The Twenty-Six-Year-Old Behind ‘Obsession,' a Terrifying Tale of a Crush Gone Awry.” The New Yorker. May 11, 2026. https://www.newyorker.com/culture/persons-of-interest/the-twenty-six-year-old-behind-obsession-a-terrifying-tale-of-a-crush-gone-awry. Accessed June 25 2026.Cieslik, Emma. “‘Obsession' and the Rise of Incel Horror: When Men's Entitlement Becomes the Monster.” Ms. Magazine. June 4, 2026. https://msmagazine.com/2026/06/04/obsession-incel-horror/. Accessed June 25 2026.Clover, Carol J. “Her Body, Himself: Gender in the Slasher Film.” Representations, no. 20 (Autumn 1987): 187–228. https://www.jstor.org/stable/2928507.Eqbal, Amelia. “Are Movie Audiences Smart Enough to Appreciate Obsession's Incel Horror Message?.” CBC. June 5, 2026. https://www.cbc.ca/arts/commotion/are-movie-audiences-smart-enough-to-appreciate-obsessions-incel-horror-message-9.7224800. Accessed June 25 2026Hamedy, Saba, and Greg Rosenstein. “How an Indie Horror Film Became a Box-Office ‘Obsession.'” NBC News. May 25, 2026. https://www.nbcnews.com/pop-culture/pop-culture-news/obsession-curry-barker-box-office-hit-focus-features-rcna346824. Accessed June 25 2026.Tudor, Andrew. “Why Horror? The Peculiar Pleasures of a Popular Genre.” Horror, The Film Reader, edited by Mark Jancovich, Routledge, 2001, pp. 47–55.***To learn more about Material Girls, head to our Instagram at instagram.com/ohwitchplease! Or check out our website ohwitchplease.ca. We'll be back next week with a Material Concerns episode!Material Girls is a show that makes sense of the zeitgeist through materialist critique* and critical theory! Each episode looks at a unique object of study (something popular now or from back in the day) and over the course of three distinct segments, Hannah and Marcelle apply their academic expertise to the topic at hand.*Materialist Critique is, at its simplest possible level, a form of cultural critique – that is, scholarly engagement with a cultural text of some kind – that is interested in modes of production, moments of reception, and the historical and ideological contexts for both.Music Credits:“Shopping Mall”: by Jay Arner and Jessica Delisle ©2020Used by permission. All rights reserved. As recorded by Auto Syndicate on the album “Bongo Dance”. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

"I'm used to getting a good rumping from the critics. So what?" – MadonnaIn our final chapter on Madonna's film career, we're taking one last trip to the multiplex for three of her most infamous films: SHANGHAI SURPRISE, THE NEXT BEST THING, and SWEPT AWAY. We revisit the performances, the Razzie infamy, and the disappointing box office. Were her relationships with Sean Penn, Rupert Everett, or Guy Ritchie partially to blame?Then we shift gears as we prepare for our milestone 50th episode! Thanks to a listener's suggestion (that's Kevin!) we rank every closing number from Madonna's concert tours, starting with Material Girl, then Holiday, then Keep It Together and so on and so on!One last look back before we take our final bow, because THAT'S A WRAP ON MADONNA! (her film career, at least)Email us: TheCelebrationCelebration@gmail.comFollow us on Instagram: @TheCelebrationCelebrationPick up a copy of Eric's book: The Dancerhttps://a.co/d/0gAi3bePick up a copy of John's book: Baked! Sex, Drugs, and Alternative Comedy:https://amzn.to/3tUbvOMFor autographed copies:https://www.johnflynncomedian.com/bakedEdited by: John FlynnArtwork by Dyna Moe:https://www.nobodyssweetheart.com/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We can show you the world…of the pervasive colonialism in nostalgic Disney movies! In this episode, Marcelle and Hannah talk all about the Disney classic Aladdin. With the help of Abdul JanMohamed's manichean allegory—an aspect of Orientalist literature—Marcelle leads us through a conversation that digs into the history of the “Disney vault,” the American values implicit in the movie, the relationship between exploitation and representation, and much, much more!Whether you remember renting the movie on VHS from your local video store or you first watched Aladdin on streaming, this episode is for you.Related listening:Pirates of the Caribbean x American ExceptionalismBarbie x Petro-CapitalismSweet Potato Fries x Food ImperialismWitch, Please: Book 1, Ep. 2 | OrientalismWorks Cited:“Aladdin (1992 Disney Film).” Wikipedia. 2 June 2026. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aladdin_(1992_Disney_film)#. Accessed 3 June 2026. Cunningham, Andrew. “The Ultimate Collectors Guide To Disney VHS Tapes.” Our Departure Board. March 20, 2025. https://www.ourdepartureboard.com/blog/disney-vhs-ultimate-guide. Accessed 3 June 2026.“Disney Vault.” Wikipedia. 23 April 2026. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Disney_Vault. Accessed 3 June 2026.JanMohamed, Abdul R. “The Economy of Manichean Allegory: The Function of Racial Difference in Colonialist Literature.” Critical Inquiry 12, no. 1 (1985): 59–87. http://www.jstor.org/stable/1343462.Said, Edward. Orientalism. Vintage, 1979.“VHS.” Wikipedia. 2 June 2026. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/VHS. Accessed 3 June 2026.***To learn more about Material Girls, head to our Instagram at instagram.com/ohwitchplease! Or check out our website ohwitchplease.ca. We'll be back next week with a Material Concerns episode!Material Girls is a show that makes sense of the zeitgeist through materialist critique* and critical theory! Each episode looks at a unique object of study (something popular now or from back in the day) and over the course of three distinct segments, Hannah and Marcelle apply their academic expertise to the topic at hand.*Materialist Critique is, at its simplest possible level, a form of cultural critique – that is, scholarly engagement with a cultural text of some kind – that is interested in modes of production, moments of reception, and the historical and ideological contexts for both.Music Credits:“Shopping Mall”: by Jay Arner and Jessica Delisle ©2020Used by permission. All rights reserved. As recorded by Auto Syndicate on the album “Bongo Dance”. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We can show you the world…of the pervasive colonialism in nostalgic Disney movies! In this episode, Marcelle and Hannah talk all about the Disney classic Aladdin. With the help of Abdul JanMohamed's manichean allegory—an aspect of Orientalist literature—Marcelle leads us through a conversation that digs into the history of the “Disney vault,” the American values implicit in the movie, the relationship between exploitation and representation, and much, much more!Whether you remember renting the movie on VHS from your local video store or you first watched Aladdin on streaming, this episode is for you.Related listening:Pirates of the Caribbean x American ExceptionalismBarbie x Petro-CapitalismSweet Potato Fries x Food ImperialismWitch, Please: Book 1, Ep. 2 | OrientalismWorks Cited:“Aladdin (1992 Disney Film).” Wikipedia. 2 June 2026. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aladdin_(1992_Disney_film)#. Accessed 3 June 2026. Cunningham, Andrew. “The Ultimate Collectors Guide To Disney VHS Tapes.” Our Departure Board. March 20, 2025. https://www.ourdepartureboard.com/blog/disney-vhs-ultimate-guide. Accessed 3 June 2026.“Disney Vault.” Wikipedia. 23 April 2026. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Disney_Vault. Accessed 3 June 2026.JanMohamed, Abdul R. “The Economy of Manichean Allegory: The Function of Racial Difference in Colonialist Literature.” Critical Inquiry 12, no. 1 (1985): 59–87. http://www.jstor.org/stable/1343462.Said, Edward. Orientalism. Vintage, 1979.“VHS.” Wikipedia. 2 June 2026. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/VHS. Accessed 3 June 2026.***To learn more about Material Girls, head to our Instagram at instagram.com/ohwitchplease! Or check out our website ohwitchplease.ca. We'll be back next week with a Material Concerns episode!Material Girls is a show that makes sense of the zeitgeist through materialist critique* and critical theory! Each episode looks at a unique object of study (something popular now or from back in the day) and over the course of three distinct segments, Hannah and Marcelle apply their academic expertise to the topic at hand.*Materialist Critique is, at its simplest possible level, a form of cultural critique – that is, scholarly engagement with a cultural text of some kind – that is interested in modes of production, moments of reception, and the historical and ideological contexts for both.Music Credits:“Shopping Mall”: by Jay Arner and Jessica Delisle ©2020Used by permission. All rights reserved. As recorded by Auto Syndicate on the album “Bongo Dance”. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

"To say that I have great marketing savvy is ultimately an insult, because it undermines my power as an artist." — MadonnaIn this episode, we take a look at Madonna's long and fascinating history in commercials. Whether she's selling Pepsi, promoting luxury fashion, or simply selling the idea of Madonna herself, one thing is certain: nobody knows branding quite like the Material Girl.We're joined by Madonna fan, podcaster and copywriter TODD WERKHOVEN (Portland at the Movies & Mark and Toddcast) to break down the ads, the campaigns, and the moments when Madonna turned marketing into an art form.We also discuss her new song, the Times Square appearance, and CONFESSIONS II - THE FILM. Mother is feeding us!Follow Todd on Instagram and Facebook: @toddwerkhovenEmail us: TheCelebrationCelebration@gmail.comFollow us on Instagram: @TheCelebrationCelebrationPick up a copy of Eric's book: The Dancerhttps://a.co/d/0gAi3bePick up a copy of John's book: Baked! Sex, Drugs, and Alternative Comedy:https://amzn.to/3tUbvOMFor autographed copies:https://www.johnflynncomedian.com/bakedEdited by: John FlynnArtwork by Dyna Moe:https://www.nobodyssweetheart.com/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week the lassies talk teeth, pedicures and billionaire bunkersLike, share, and subscribe to @materialgirlcomedyMake sure to check out:Material Girl Podcast https://linktr.ee/materialgirlcomedyMaterial Girl Live shows https://linktr.ee/materialgirlcomedyMaterial Girl Newsletter https://substack.com/@materialgirlcomedyFollow Susan Riddell & Amanda Dwyer & Material Girl on socials:@susanriddellcomedian https://linktr.ee/susrid@amandadwyerrlolYou can follow Material Girl on Instagram and TikTok for clips, news and more! Leave a 5 star review!Email us your questions: materialgirlthepodcast@gmail.com#podcast #comedy #podcastclips #funny #standupcomedy #jokes #fyp #womenincomedy #materialgirlcomedy #susanriddell #amandadwyer Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

It's Austen Chat's third anniversary! To mark the milestone, we're delighted to share "Jane Austen: Material Girl"—a conversation between authors Paula Byrne and Hilary Davidson recorded at JASNA's 2025 Annual General Meeting. Both have written extensively about the significance of material objects in Austen's life and work. Tune in for their lively discussion of ordinary things—toothpick cases, lace cards, muslin shawls, flannel waistcoats, and more—and their extraordinary importance.*********Paula Byrne is a best-selling biographer, literary critic, and novelist. She is the author of The Real Jane Austen: A Life in Small Things, which explores her life through the objects around her; The Genius of Jane Austen: Her Love of Theatre and Why She Is a Hit in Hollywood; and the novel Six Weeks by the Sea, which blends fact and fiction to imagine Austen's visit to the seaside in 1801. As an Austen expert, she has also frequently appeared on television, broadcast on radio, and consulted on period dramas. Beyond her Austen scholarship, Paula has written best-selling biographies about Dido Elizabeth Belle, Mary Robinson, Barbara Pym, Kathleen "Kick" Kennedy, Evelyn Waugh, and Thomas Hardy.Hilary Davidson is a dress, textile, and fashion historian and curator, and Chair and Associate Professor in the School of Graduate Studies at the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York. She has curated exhibitions, lectured widely, and published extensively. Her books include Dress in the Age of Jane Austen: Regency Fashion, Jane Austen's Wardrobe, and A Guide to Regency Dress.For an edited transcript and show notes, visit https://jasna.org/austen/podcast/ep36*********Visit our website: www.jasna.orgFollow us on Instagram and FacebookSubscribe to the podcast on our YouTube channelEmail: podcast@jasna.org

This week the lassies talk Suing Revlon, Stretch studios and plant pervertsLike, share, and subscribe to @materialgirlcomedyMake sure to check out:Material Girl Podcast https://linktr.ee/materialgirlcomedyMaterial Girl Live shows https://linktr.ee/materialgirlcomedyMaterial Girl Newsletter https://substack.com/@materialgirlcomedyFollow Susan Riddell & Amanda Dwyer & Material Girl on socials:@susanriddellcomedian https://linktr.ee/susrid@amandadwyerrlolYou can follow Material Girl on Instagram and TikTok for clips, news and more! Leave a 5 star review!Email us your questions: materialgirlthepodcast@gmail.com#podcast #comedy #podcastclips #funny #standupcomedy #jokes #fyp #womenincomedy #materialgirlcomedy #susanriddell #amandadwyer Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Dust off your aprons and heat up your cast iron because it's finally time for one of our most requested episodes yet! In this episode, Hannah and Marcelle dig deep into the tradwife phenomenon. Using the viral tradwife influencer Ballerina Farm as a case study, Hannah leads us through a discussion about eugenics, replacement theory, and clean living movements. They also get into influencer culture, the performance of farm life, and…milk. Whew! That's a lot, and it's ALL relevant.This episode is for those of you who love to hate tradwives, are curious about their meteoric rise in popularity over the last few years, or have never even heard of them!Related listening:9 to 5 x Labour Feminism with Zena SharmanGet Out x Horrifying WhitenessWitch, Please: Book 7, Ep. 6 | EugenicsWorks Cited:Agnew, Megan. “Meet the queen of the ‘trad wives' (and her eight children.” The Times 20 July 2024: https://archive.ph/YHB08. “Clean living movement.” Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clean_living_movement. Accessed 14 May 2026. Elster, N., Parsi, K., & Caplan, A. Guest editorial. “Laundering Public Health: Using Autism to Revive Eugenics.” The American Journal of Bioethics (2026): 1–3. https://doi.org/10.1080/15265161.2026.2659519. “Eugenics and Scientific Racism.” National Human Genome Research Institute 18 May 2022. https://www.genome.gov/about-genomics/fact-sheets/Eugenics-and-Scientific-Racism. Accessed 14 May 2026. Luse, Brittany. “Mormon Moms: Unpacking a national obsession.” It's Been A Minute (NPR) 12 November 2024: https://www.npr.org/transcripts/1212541651. Moskin, Julia. “Tycoon or Tradwife? The Woman Behind Ballerina Farm Makes Her Own Path.” The New York Times 3 December 2024: https://archive.ph/Q9j2J#selection-489.0-489.70. Petersen, Anne Helen. “The Edenic Allure of Ballerina Farm.” Culture Study 10 February 2022: https://annehelen.substack.com/p/the-edenic-allure-of-ballerinafarm. Sykes, Sophia and Dr Veronica Hopner. “Tradwives: The Housewives Commodifying Right-Wing Ideology.” Global Network on Extremism & Technology 7 July 2023: https://gnet-research.org/2023/07/07/tradwives-the-housewives-commodifying-right-wing-ideology/. Valverde, Mariana. The Age of Light, Soap, and Water: Moral Reform in English Canada, 1885-1925. Toronto: McClelland & Stewart, 1991.***To learn more about Material Girls, head to our Instagram at instagram.com/ohwitchplease! Or check out our website ohwitchplease.ca. We'll be back next week with a Material Concerns episode, but until then, go check out all the other content we have on our Patreon at Patreon.com/ohwitchplease! Patreon is how we produce the show and pay our team!Material Girls is a show that makes sense of the zeitgeist through materialist critique* and critical theory! Each episode looks at a unique object of study (something popular now or from back in the day) and over the course of three distinct segments, Hannah and Marcelle apply their academic expertise to the topic at hand.*Materialist Critique is, at its simplest possible level, a form of cultural critique – that is, scholarly engagement with a cultural text of some kind – that is interested in modes of production, moments of reception, and the historical and ideological contexts for both.Music Credits:“Shopping Mall”: by Jay Arner and Jessica Delisle ©2020Used by permission. All rights reserved. As recorded by Auto Syndicate on the album “Bongo Dance”.Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Dust off your aprons and heat up your cast iron because it's finally time for one of our most requested episodes yet! In this episode, Hannah and Marcelle dig deep into the tradwife phenomenon. Using the viral tradwife influencer Ballerina Farm as a case study, Hannah leads us through a discussion about eugenics, replacement theory, and clean living movements. They also get into influencer culture, the performance of farm life, and…milk. Whew! That's a lot, and it's ALL relevant.This episode is for those of you who love to hate tradwives, are curious about their meteoric rise in popularity over the last few years, or have never even heard of them!Related listening:9 to 5 x Labour Feminism with Zena SharmanGet Out x Horrifying WhitenessWitch, Please: Book 7, Ep. 6 | EugenicsWorks Cited:Agnew, Megan. “Meet the queen of the ‘trad wives' (and her eight children.” The Times 20 July 2024: https://archive.ph/YHB08. “Clean living movement.” Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clean_living_movement. Accessed 14 May 2026. Elster, N., Parsi, K., & Caplan, A. Guest editorial. “Laundering Public Health: Using Autism to Revive Eugenics.” The American Journal of Bioethics (2026): 1–3. https://doi.org/10.1080/15265161.2026.2659519. “Eugenics and Scientific Racism.” National Human Genome Research Institute 18 May 2022. https://www.genome.gov/about-genomics/fact-sheets/Eugenics-and-Scientific-Racism. Accessed 14 May 2026. Luse, Brittany. “Mormon Moms: Unpacking a national obsession.” It's Been A Minute (NPR) 12 November 2024: https://www.npr.org/transcripts/1212541651. Moskin, Julia. “Tycoon or Tradwife? The Woman Behind Ballerina Farm Makes Her Own Path.” The New York Times 3 December 2024: https://archive.ph/Q9j2J#selection-489.0-489.70. Petersen, Anne Helen. “The Edenic Allure of Ballerina Farm.” Culture Study 10 February 2022: https://annehelen.substack.com/p/the-edenic-allure-of-ballerinafarm. Sykes, Sophia and Dr Veronica Hopner. “Tradwives: The Housewives Commodifying Right-Wing Ideology.” Global Network on Extremism & Technology 7 July 2023: https://gnet-research.org/2023/07/07/tradwives-the-housewives-commodifying-right-wing-ideology/. Valverde, Mariana. The Age of Light, Soap, and Water: Moral Reform in English Canada, 1885-1925. Toronto: McClelland & Stewart, 1991.***To learn more about Material Girls, head to our Instagram at instagram.com/ohwitchplease! Or check out our website ohwitchplease.ca. We'll be back next week with a Material Concerns episode, but until then, go check out all the other content we have on our Patreon at Patreon.com/ohwitchplease! Patreon is how we produce the show and pay our team!Material Girls is a show that makes sense of the zeitgeist through materialist critique* and critical theory! Each episode looks at a unique object of study (something popular now or from back in the day) and over the course of three distinct segments, Hannah and Marcelle apply their academic expertise to the topic at hand.*Materialist Critique is, at its simplest possible level, a form of cultural critique – that is, scholarly engagement with a cultural text of some kind – that is interested in modes of production, moments of reception, and the historical and ideological contexts for both.Music Credits:“Shopping Mall”: by Jay Arner and Jessica Delisle ©2020Used by permission. All rights reserved. As recorded by Auto Syndicate on the album “Bongo Dance”.Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week the lassies talk geese, sunbeds and prickly heatLike, share, and subscribe to @materialgirlcomedyMake sure to check out:Material Girl Podcast https://linktr.ee/materialgirlcomedyMaterial Girl Live shows https://linktr.ee/materialgirlcomedyMaterial Girl Newsletter https://substack.com/@materialgirlcomedyFollow Susan Riddell & Amanda Dwyer & Material Girl on socials:@susanriddellcomedian https://linktr.ee/susrid@amandadwyerrlolYou can follow Material Girl on Instagram and TikTok for clips, news and more! Leave a 5 star review!Email us your questions: materialgirlthepodcast@gmail.com#podcast #comedy #podcastclips #funny #standupcomedy #jokes #fyp #womenincomedy #materialgirlcomedy #susanriddell #amandadwyer Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week the lassies talk doggy heaven, codeine and abscessesLike, share, and subscribe to @materialgirlcomedyMake sure to check out:Material Girl Podcast https://linktr.ee/materialgirlcomedyMaterial Girl Live shows https://linktr.ee/materialgirlcomedyMaterial Girl Newsletter https://substack.com/@materialgirlcomedyFollow Susan Riddell & Amanda Dwyer & Material Girl on socials:@susanriddellcomedian https://linktr.ee/susrid@amandadwyerrlolYou can follow Material Girl on Instagram and TikTok for clips, news and more! Leave a 5 star review!Email us your questions: materialgirlthepodcast@gmail.com#podcast #comedy #podcastclips #funny #standupcomedy #jokes #fyp #womenincomedy #materialgirlcomedy #susanriddell #amandadwyer Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Smells like the commodification of teen spirit! In this episode, we welcome beloved friend of the pod and returning guest Marshall Watson (he/him) to talk all about Nirvana and the grunge culture of the 90s.Together, Marcelle, Hannah, and Marshall dig into the anti-establishment ethos of Nirvana, the grunge genre as an act of musical resistance, and what happens once counter-culture becomes mainstream. To do this, they've obviously gotta dig into Adorno and Horkheimer's theory of the culture industry (and talk a little bit about Reagan, which they only do when Marshall is here…).If your young adult years were soundtracked to Nevermind or you just love railing against the mainstream, you're going to dig this episode.Related listening:Golden Girls x Sex Positivity with Marshall WatsonThe Craft x Feminist RageWorks Cited:Adorno, Theodore, and Max Horkheimer. 2019. “The Culture Industry: Enlightenment as Mass Deception,” in Philosophers on Film from Bergson to Badiou: A Critical Reader, ed. Christopher Kul-Want (Columbia University Press, 2019), 80-96.“Bleach (Nirvana album).” Wikipedia. May 11 2026. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bleach_(Nirvana_album).“David Geffen.” Wikipedia. April 23 2026. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Geffen.“Geffen Records.” Wikipedia. May 2, 2026. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geffen_Records.Scarborough, Joe. 2014. “Reagan: A Legacy of Optimism and Common Sense.” TIME. June 4, 2014. https://time.com/2815630/reagan-a-legacy-of-optimism-and-common-sense/.***To learn more about Material Girls, head to our Instagram at instagram.com/ohwitchplease! Or check out our website ohwitchplease.ca. We'll be back next week with a Material Concerns episode, but until then, go check out all the other content we have on our Patreon at Patreon.com/ohwitchplease! Patreon is how we produce the show and pay our team!Material Girls is a show that makes sense of the zeitgeist through materialist critique* and critical theory! Each episode looks at a unique object of study (something popular now or from back in the day) and over the course of three distinct segments, Hannah and Marcelle apply their academic expertise to the topic at hand.*Materialist Critique is, at its simplest possible level, a form of cultural critique – that is, scholarly engagement with a cultural text of some kind – that is interested in modes of production, moments of reception, and the historical and ideological contexts for both.Music Credits:“Shopping Mall”: by Jay Arner and Jessica Delisle ©2020Used by permission. All rights reserved. As recorded by Auto Syndicate on the album “Bongo Dance”.Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Smells like the commodification of teen spirit! In this episode, we welcome beloved friend of the pod and returning guest Marshall Watson (he/him) to talk all about Nirvana and the grunge culture of the 90s.Together, Marcelle, Hannah, and Marshall dig into the anti-establishment ethos of Nirvana, the grunge genre as an act of musical resistance, and what happens once counter-culture becomes mainstream. To do this, they've obviously gotta dig into Adorno and Horkheimer's theory of the culture industry (and talk a little bit about Reagan, which they only do when Marshall is here…).If your young adult years were soundtracked to Nevermind or you just love railing against the mainstream, you're going to dig this episode.Related listening:Golden Girls x Sex Positivity with Marshall WatsonThe Craft x Feminist RageWorks Cited:Adorno, Theodore, and Max Horkheimer. 2019. “The Culture Industry: Enlightenment as Mass Deception,” in Philosophers on Film from Bergson to Badiou: A Critical Reader, ed. Christopher Kul-Want (Columbia University Press, 2019), 80-96.“Bleach (Nirvana album).” Wikipedia. May 11 2026. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bleach_(Nirvana_album).“David Geffen.” Wikipedia. April 23 2026. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Geffen.“Geffen Records.” Wikipedia. May 2, 2026. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geffen_Records.Scarborough, Joe. 2014. “Reagan: A Legacy of Optimism and Common Sense.” TIME. June 4, 2014. https://time.com/2815630/reagan-a-legacy-of-optimism-and-common-sense/.***To learn more about Material Girls, head to our Instagram at instagram.com/ohwitchplease! Or check out our website ohwitchplease.ca. We'll be back next week with a Material Concerns episode, but until then, go check out all the other content we have on our Patreon at Patreon.com/ohwitchplease! Patreon is how we produce the show and pay our team!Material Girls is a show that makes sense of the zeitgeist through materialist critique* and critical theory! Each episode looks at a unique object of study (something popular now or from back in the day) and over the course of three distinct segments, Hannah and Marcelle apply their academic expertise to the topic at hand.*Materialist Critique is, at its simplest possible level, a form of cultural critique – that is, scholarly engagement with a cultural text of some kind – that is interested in modes of production, moments of reception, and the historical and ideological contexts for both.Music Credits:“Shopping Mall”: by Jay Arner and Jessica Delisle ©2020Used by permission. All rights reserved. As recorded by Auto Syndicate on the album “Bongo Dance”.Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week the lassies talk inanimate object empathy, theme song nostalgia and miceLike, share, and subscribe to @materialgirlcomedyMake sure to check out:Material Girl Podcast https://linktr.ee/materialgirlcomedyMaterial Girl Live shows https://linktr.ee/materialgirlcomedyMaterial Girl Newsletter https://substack.com/@materialgirlcomedyFollow Susan Riddell & Amanda Dwyer & Material Girl on socials:@susanriddellcomedian https://linktr.ee/susrid@amandadwyerrlolYou can follow Material Girl on Instagram and TikTok for clips, news and more! Leave a 5 star review!Email us your questions: materialgirlthepodcast@gmail.com#podcast #comedy #podcastclips #funny #standupcomedy #jokes #fyp #womenincomedy #materialgirlcomedy #susanriddell #amandadwyer Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week the lassies talk stalkers, psychics and DottamanLike, share, and subscribe to @materialgirlcomedyMake sure to check out:Material Girl Podcast https://linktr.ee/materialgirlcomedyMaterial Girl Live shows https://linktr.ee/materialgirlcomedyMaterial Girl Newsletter https://substack.com/@materialgirlcomedyFollow Susan Riddell & Amanda Dwyer & Material Girl on socials:@susanriddellcomedian https://linktr.ee/susrid@amandadwyerrlolYou can follow Material Girl on Instagram and TikTok for clips, news and more! Leave a 5 star review!Email us your questions: materialgirlthepodcast@gmail.com#podcast #comedy #podcastclips #funny #standupcomedy #jokes #fyp #womenincomedy #materialgirlcomedy #susanriddell #amandadwyer Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week the lassies talk Japanese head massage fails, phone nazis and assassination fatigueLike, share, and subscribe to @materialgirlcomedyMake sure to check out:Material Girl Podcast https://linktr.ee/materialgirlcomedyMaterial Girl Live shows https://linktr.ee/materialgirlcomedyMaterial Girl Newsletter https://substack.com/@materialgirlcomedyFollow Susan Riddell & Amanda Dwyer & Material Girl on socials:@susanriddellcomedian https://linktr.ee/susrid@amandadwyerrlolYou can follow Material Girl on Instagram and TikTok for clips, news and more! Leave a 5 star review!Email us your questions: materialgirlthepodcast@gmail.com#podcast #comedy #podcastclips #funny #standupcomedy #jokes #fyp #womenincomedy #materialgirlcomedy #susanriddell #amandadwyer Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week the lassies talk nuclear footballs, coils and Zack Polanski Like, share, and subscribe to @materialgirlcomedyMake sure to check out:Material Girl Podcast https://linktr.ee/materialgirlcomedyMaterial Girl Live shows https://linktr.ee/materialgirlcomedyMaterial Girl Newsletter https://substack.com/@materialgirlcomedyFollow Susan Riddell & Amanda Dwyer & Material Girl on socials:@susanriddellcomedian https://linktr.ee/susrid@amandadwyerrlolYou can follow Material Girl on Instagram and TikTok for clips, news and more! Leave a 5 star review!Email us your questions: materialgirlthepodcast@gmail.com#podcast #comedy #podcastclips #funny #standupcomedy #jokes #fyp #womenincomedy #materialgirlcomedy #susanriddell #amandadwyer Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Definitively our most Canadian conversation yet!In this episode of Material Girls, we once again take a look at Heated Rivalry — this time focusing on the Canadian-ness of the show. We were joined in February by sister of the pod, Hope Rehak, to think through the show's popularity as it relates to puritanism. This time around, we brought in John Batt (he/him), the brilliant mind behind the Instagram account @canada.gov.ca,* to help us think through the show as CanCon (Canadian content).Together, Marcelle, Hannah and John consider what it means for something "to be Canadian." They broach the myth of Canadian culture as a monolith and do a historical deep dive on The Massey Commission to get a better sense of how CanCon became institutionalized as a nationalist endeavor. If you like Canada Corner™ you'll love this episode about Canadiana with Canadian treasure, John Batt."This is a great episode for someone who recently got into hockey." - Gaby Iori, someone who recently got into hockey*If you don't know it already, go follow the account for curated stories from the obscure and often bizarre side of Canadian history and culture!Related ListeningHeated Rivalry x The Puritanical Eye with Hope RehakBook 4, Episode 2: The Nation State (from Witch, Please podcast)Trade Movies Podcast (clip mentioned by John Batt)Works Cited“Canadian Content.” Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation. Feb 8, 2026. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canadian_content#:~:text=Current%20Canadian%20content%20percentages%20are,multicultural%20formats%20have%20lower%20percentages).“Canadiana.” Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation. Mar 29, 2026. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canadiana.Litt, Paul. 1992. The Muses, the Masses, and the Massey Commission. University of Toronto Press.Morrison, Catherine. 2026. “Culture Minister Says Hockey Romance Heated Rivalry Is a Cancon Triumph.” CBC. January 15, 2026. https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/heated-rivalry-cancon-triumph-9.7046368.“Peak Hockey Romance, Brought to You by Canadian Taxpayers.” 2023. Turbotax. 2023. https://turbotax.intuit.ca/tips/heated-rivalry-canadian-culture-funding?srsltid=AfmBOopyhhXtfaL9EN-cTEedVftFvXbkfs1oCdrNbNbWI_U1xD9embi3.Support Material GirlsTo learn more about the show, head to our Instagram at instagram.com/ohwitchplease! Or check out our website ohwitchplease.ca (you can also find transcripts here!). Want to support the podcast and our tiny, hard-working team? Check out all the content we have on our Patreon at Patreon.com/ohwitchplease. Bonus episodes, bloopers, merch, watch-alongs, and more! Need a last minute gift for a friend or family member? You can gift a Patreon subscription at this link: https://www.patreon.com/ohwitchplease/gift!Music Credits:“Shopping Mall”: by Jay Arner and Jessica Delisle ©2020Used by permission. All rights reserved. As recorded by Auto Syndicate on the album “Bongo Dance”. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Definitively our most Canadian conversation yet!In this episode of Material Girls, we once again take a look at Heated Rivalry — this time focusing on the Canadian-ness of the show. We were joined in February by sister of the pod, Hope Rehak, to think through the show's popularity as it relates to puritanism. This time around, we brought in John Batt (he/him), the brilliant mind behind the Instagram account @canada.gov.ca,* to help us think through the show as CanCon (Canadian content).Together, Marcelle, Hannah and John consider what it means for something "to be Canadian." They broach the myth of Canadian culture as a monolith and do a historical deep dive on The Massey Commission to get a better sense of how CanCon became institutionalized as a nationalist endeavor. If you like Canada Corner™ you'll love this episode about Canadiana with Canadian treasure, John Batt."This is a great episode for someone who recently got into hockey." - Gaby Iori, someone who recently got into hockey*If you don't know it already, go follow the account for curated stories from the obscure and often bizarre side of Canadian history and culture!Related ListeningHeated Rivalry x The Puritanical Eye with Hope RehakBook 4, Episode 2: The Nation State (from Witch, Please podcast)Trade Movies Podcast (clip mentioned by John Batt)Works Cited“Canadian Content.” Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation. Feb 8, 2026. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canadian_content#:~:text=Current%20Canadian%20content%20percentages%20are,multicultural%20formats%20have%20lower%20percentages).“Canadiana.” Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation. Mar 29, 2026. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canadiana.Litt, Paul. 1992. The Muses, the Masses, and the Massey Commission. University of Toronto Press.Morrison, Catherine. 2026. “Culture Minister Says Hockey Romance Heated Rivalry Is a Cancon Triumph.” CBC. January 15, 2026. https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/heated-rivalry-cancon-triumph-9.7046368.“Peak Hockey Romance, Brought to You by Canadian Taxpayers.” 2023. Turbotax. 2023. https://turbotax.intuit.ca/tips/heated-rivalry-canadian-culture-funding?srsltid=AfmBOopyhhXtfaL9EN-cTEedVftFvXbkfs1oCdrNbNbWI_U1xD9embi3.Support Material GirlsTo learn more about the show, head to our Instagram at instagram.com/ohwitchplease! Or check out our website ohwitchplease.ca (you can also find transcripts here!). Want to support the podcast and our tiny, hard-working team? Check out all the content we have on our Patreon at Patreon.com/ohwitchplease. Bonus episodes, bloopers, merch, watch-alongs, and more! Need a last minute gift for a friend or family member? You can gift a Patreon subscription at this link: https://www.patreon.com/ohwitchplease/gift!Music Credits:“Shopping Mall”: by Jay Arner and Jessica Delisle ©2020Used by permission. All rights reserved. As recorded by Auto Syndicate on the album “Bongo Dance”. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week we're learning lessons from blockbusters: the latest, Project Hail Mary, and a classic, Jurassic Park. With the help of Hannah McGregor, the author of the brilliant “Clever Girl” and co-host of the podcast, Material Girls (do go and subscribe), we decipher the messages about care, chaos and lady monsters which lay under the wobbly surface (get it? that's a Jurassic Park reference) of these popcorn movies. References Buy Clever Girl by Hannah McGregor hereMaterial Girls podcast Kodak's Verita film, used on Euphoria season 3John Travolta's novel on Good Reads

Feast your magic-loving ears on THIS! Today we are doing something very exciting. We are re-publishing the first-ever episode of the original run of Witch, Please. Back in 2015, Hannah and Marcelle were just two hot young things working in academia living in a world a bit different from the one we're in today… and they decided to create a podcast about the Wizarding World of Harry Potter. Many of our listeners joined us while that show was on air — but a good number of you arrived after the fact! These episodes have been available to the public through our main Material Girls feed, but starting this month, we are transferring them to our Patreon page. If you're a regular listener of the original run, not to fear, the episodes are still available for free and now without ads over on Patreon.com/ohwitchplease. Please enjoy this jump back in time to Valentine's Day 2015 when Hannah and Marcelle began their joint podcasting journey. Here's what you should know before listening to the OG run: We used language then that we don't use now. We think it's important to learn in public and to stay accountable to past errors in judgment or ignorances so if you hear something you don't like in the original run, we understand and we hope you find our more recent episodes are held to a higher standard of care and intention. We edited these episodes ourselves. If you're like, “hey why does this sound worse than current episodes,” that's because our reboot and the shows that followed involve the labor of a producer and a sound engineer who we pay through Patreon.We have transcripts for our reboot seasons! If you'd like a transcript of an original run episode, email us at ohwitchplease@gmail.com with the subject line: TRANSCRIPTION REQUEST. We'll aim to get you what you've requested within 4 weeks.Head over to our WP OG Run chat on Patreon if you'd like to discuss with other listeners! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Feast your magic-loving ears on THIS! Today we are doing something very exciting. We are re-publishing the first-ever episode of the original run of Witch, Please. Back in 2015, Hannah and Marcelle were just two hot young things working in academia living in a world a bit different from the one we're in today… and they decided to create a podcast about the Wizarding World of Harry Potter. Many of our listeners joined us while that show was on air — but a good number of you arrived after the fact! These episodes have been available to the public through our main Material Girls feed, but starting this month, we are transferring them to our Patreon page. If you're a regular listener of the original run, not to fear, the episodes are still available for free and now without ads over on Patreon.com/ohwitchplease. Please enjoy this jump back in time to Valentine's Day 2015 when Hannah and Marcelle began their joint podcasting journey. Here's what you should know before listening to the OG run: We used language then that we don't use now. We think it's important to learn in public and to stay accountable to past errors in judgment or ignorances so if you hear something you don't like in the original run, we understand and we hope you find our more recent episodes are held to a higher standard of care and intention. We edited these episodes ourselves. If you're like, “hey why does this sound worse than current episodes,” that's because our reboot and the shows that followed involve the labor of a producer and a sound engineer who we pay through Patreon.We have transcripts for our reboot seasons! If you'd like a transcript of an original run episode, email us at ohwitchplease@gmail.com with the subject line: TRANSCRIPTION REQUEST. We'll aim to get you what you've requested within 4 weeks.Head over to our WP OG Run chat on Patreon if you'd like to discuss with other listeners! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week Amanda wins Billy Connelly and they discuss sanatoriums and Lego propagandaLike, share, and subscribe to @materialgirlcomedyMake sure to check out:Material Girl Podcast https://linktr.ee/materialgirlcomedyMaterial Girl Live shows https://linktr.ee/materialgirlcomedyMaterial Girl Newsletter https://substack.com/@materialgirlcomedyFollow Susan Riddell & Amanda Dwyer & Material Girl on socials:@susanriddellcomedian https://linktr.ee/susrid@amandadwyerrlolYou can follow Material Girl on Instagram and TikTok for clips, news and more! Leave a 5 star review!Email us your questions: materialgirlthepodcast@gmail.com#podcast #comedy #podcastclips #funny #standupcomedy #jokes #fyp #womenincomedy #materialgirlcomedy #susanriddell #amandadwyer Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week the lassies talk all female communes (apply in comments), Amanda's arse disorder and ''voodoo dolls" Like, share, and subscribe to @materialgirlcomedyMake sure to check out:Material Girl Podcast https://linktr.ee/materialgirlcomedyMaterial Girl Live shows https://linktr.ee/materialgirlcomedyMaterial Girl Newsletter https://substack.com/@materialgirlcomedyFollow Susan Riddell & Amanda Dwyer & Material Girl on socials:@susanriddellcomedian https://linktr.ee/susrid@amandadwyerrlolYou can follow Material Girl on Instagram and TikTok for clips, news and more! Leave a 5 star review!Email us your questions: materialgirlthepodcast@gmail.com#podcast #comedy #podcastclips #funny #standupcomedy #jokes #fyp #womenincomedy #materialgirlcomedy #susanriddell #amandadwyer Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The rescue continues...   You do NOT need to listen to Overture to enjoy Anthem! If you have the appetite to listen to both, we recommend starting with Anthem, then going back to listen to Overture!   Gain access to an exclusive campaign, Shroud Over Saltmarsh, over on Patreon: https://legendsofavantris.com/patreon The Crooked Moon, a folk horror supplement for 5e, is available for preorder! Get the Crooked Moon at: https://thecrookedmoon.com/ Watch more D&D adventures in the world of Avantris live on Twitch: https://www.twitch.tv/legendsofavantris Check out our merch store: https://shop.legendsofavantris.com  Join our community on Discord: https://legendsofavantris.com/discord Watch our many campaigns on YouTube: https://legendsofavantris.com/youtube  All other links: https://linktr.ee/legendsofavantris   Watch the full episode here: https://youtu.be/IPkD5Mem5lE?si=Siz0OhlF__O_v61C

Pixel is in trouble! The crew rushes to save her...   You do NOT need to listen to Overture to enjoy Anthem! If you have the appetite to listen to both, we recommend starting with Anthem, then going back to listen to Overture!   Gain access to an exclusive campaign, Shroud Over Saltmarsh, over on Patreon: https://legendsofavantris.com/patreon The Crooked Moon, a folk horror supplement for 5e, is available for preorder! Get the Crooked Moon at: https://thecrookedmoon.com/ Watch more D&D adventures in the world of Avantris live on Twitch: https://www.twitch.tv/legendsofavantris Check out our merch store: https://shop.legendsofavantris.com  Join our community on Discord: https://legendsofavantris.com/discord Watch our many campaigns on YouTube: https://legendsofavantris.com/youtube  All other links: https://linktr.ee/legendsofavantris   Watch the full episode here: https://youtu.be/IPkD5Mem5lE?si=Siz0OhlF__O_v61C

Unstructured conversation! Teenage Feelings! Flesh walls! Abjection! Jacob Elordi's Jacob Elordi-ness! Arguments about the purpose of adaptation! THE GREAT AND VERY SMART MARGARET WILLISON! This bonus episode's got it all. So listen on as three English Majors with various levels of affection for the source text talk about horny aspic, the melodramatic imagination, Romeo + Juliet, pseudo race-blind casting, the 2005 Pride & Prejudice, and whether director Emerald Fennell is enough of a perv (no). Even if you haven't seen Wuthering Heights, this is a much larger conversation about adaptation, contemporary film, casting, the feelings we're looking for when we go to the movies, and much more. And if you have seen it, wow do we have more to talk about in the comments. So enjoy this bonus episode — and tell us what bonus episodes (with similar, loose-but-text-based-focus) you'd like to see in the future! (And if you'd like access to this paid podcast-subscriber-only episode, you can upgrade your Culture Study subscription SO EASILY here. If you have any issues, just email me at annehelenpetersen @ gmail) ! Quick Show Notes:Follow Margaret on IG here — and you should definitely sign up for her newsletter here so you can find out about her forthcoming Pride & Prejudice class!!!I mention Amanda Montei's excellent piece re: "Wuthering Heights isn't feral enough"Re: abjection — Margaret cited this incredible episode of Material Girls on "goblin mode"Is Heathcliff White?From BFI: Emerald Fennell on 7 films that influenced her version of Wuthering HeightsThe Vogue look at the costumes of Wuthering HeightsAllison Willmore's great review in Vulture Melody mentions Sarah Chapelle's piece on the fashion of the movie and its press tour

The trio dives headfirst into the 2026 Grammys Runway Rundown— delivering their signature takes on the good, the bad, the ugly, and the unforgettable “fire the stylist!” moments. The show kicks off with their classic intro before reminding listeners they can book an Armenian Coffee Reading at PolAtteu.com — virtually or live in West Hollywood — and grab a SnowWhite90210 SnowBubu (the ultimate glam accessory for your Birkin, backpack or shelf). Then it's straight to fashion fireworks. Chappell Roan stuns in a bordeaux cape moment that transforms from understated elegance to bold art reveal — complete with nipple rings. Pol praises the risk; Patrik debates the appropriateness. Art vs. shock value sets the tone for the episode. Chaka Khan in Christian Siriano sparks heated discussion: corsetry, coke feathers, mesh boots and gold nails. Glam icon? Yes. Modern? Debatable. The proportions and dated structure divide the room.  Benson Boone (Armani) brings black-on-black layering lessons, prompting a masterclass on dye lots and fabric depth. Meanwhile, Angelique Kidjo in Louis Vuitton velvet is declared powerful, polished, and perfectly proportioned — head wrap, double-breasted suit and all. Adrienne Bailon Houghton's crystal architectural gown reads vintage flapper fantasy, while Addison Rae's Alaïa white tiered plunge feels more Met Gala than Grammys. Sticky tape fashion tips ensue. Jennifer Hudson earns rave reviews for her ruched leather Killian Koerner gown with dramatic shoulder and cascading slit — Grammy edge done right. Jewelry layering advice follows. Justin & Hailey Bieber deliver coordinated black Balenciaga/Alaïa cool. Sexy, confident, curated sloppy. Justin's stripped-down performance ignites debate: raw genius or missed theatrical moment? Karol G's pistachio lace Paolo Sebastian gown divides over tassels vs. sultry silhouette. Yungblud in Chrome Hearts revives rock energy with leather, chains and a cross pendant. Sombr's iridescent Valentino suit with “Happy Rose” lace is called one of the night's best — shimmering, daring and Grammy-perfect. Pol even volunteers to recreate it.  Sabrina Carpenter (Valentino couture) looks beautiful but “Emmys, not Grammys." Rosé in Giambattista Valli feels elegant yet lacking edge. Paris Hilton channels Material Girl in bugle-beaded Nicholas Jebran with opera gloves and diamonds. Accessory masterclass unlocked.  Miley Cyrus (Celine) gets labeled “rock mom office-core,” while Lady Gaga's feathered Matières Fécales creation is praised as theatrical Grammy fantasy — thousands of feathers, Maleficent collar, full commitment.  Kesha's white feather Atelier Versace is deemed poorly constructed and overwhelming, while Doechii in Cavalli purple confection feels Moulin Rouge meets prom curtain. Darren Criss (Tanner Fletcher brocade) impresses but needs a brooch moment. Billie Eilish (Hodakova) delivers inside-out conceptual tailoring — authentic and Grammys appropriate and Audrey Nuna (Thom Browne couture) is admired artistically but “the outfit wore her.” Finally, Teyana Taylor in Tom Ford closes the fashion segment flawlessly — sculpted, confident, fully accessorized diva energy. This is another Hurrdat Media Production. Hurrdat Media is a podcast network and digital media production company based in Omaha, NE. Find more podcasts on the Hurrdat Media Network by going to HurrdatMedia.com or the HurrdatMedia YouTube channel!   Subscribe to our audio: linktr.ee/undressedpod Follow Pol Atteu:  Instagram: @polatteu  Tiktok: @polatteu  Twitter: @polatteu  www.polatteu.com Follow Patrik Simpson:  Instagram: @patriksimpson  Tiktok: @patriksimpson www.patriksimpson.com Follow SnowWhite90210: Instagram: @snowwhite90210 Twitter: @SnowWhite9010 www.snowwhite90210.com Watch Gown and Out In Beverly Hills on Prime Video.  www.gownandoutinbeverlyhills.com #UndressedPodcast  Armenian Coffee Reading SnowWhite90210 SnowBubu is a Perfect gift! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This audio was originally recorded live at The Rio Theater in Vancouver on July 3rd, 2025. Folks we are thrilled to be sharing our Daddy Live Show with you as a belated Valentine's Day gift! As you may recall, Material Girls did our first-ever in-person show last summer. Our theme was the term "daddy," and we were lucky enough to be joined by Helen Zaltzman and Martin Austwick.The show kicks off with a live rendition of our theme song, Shopping Mall, from Vancouver band, Auto Syndicate. The show that follows is part regular format episode, part sing-a-long, part game and a whole lot of theory. In listening to the recorded audio, you may miss some visual gags (like a paddle that says "Dad or Daddy" which we used to vote during the game — or the singular paddle used by Coach that said "no time" and "wait, take that again."). One other thing to note: At the ~55 minute mark when we play a game called Dad or Daddy there were some essential accompanying slides. Click the link to follow along.Otherwise, as mentioned in the show, be sure to check out Helen's podcast The Allusionist and Zena Sharman's upcoming book, Staying Power. And DEFINITELY check out the Daddy Really Cares music video Martin Austwick made especially for you— and listen to the song on his bandcamp here where you can also do a close-reading of the genius lyrics. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Welcome back to Pitty Party! Marcelle is back, baby! There's so much to talk about in this episode, from various workplace disease hazards to some juicy dynamics between our favorite characters. Plus, they dig into some medical terminology 101…and a tragically suspenseful cliffhanger. We'll be back next week to talk all about season 2, episode 6, 12:00 PM.And an update: We have returned to our regularly scheduled Material Girls episodes (released on Tuesdays!). That means the Pitty Party fun has moved over to Patreon! If you join our Patreon at any tier (http://patreon.com/ohwitchplease) in the month of February, you'll get 50% off your first month with the code RINGWATCH. This support is HOW we are able to continue producing the show and paying our team. We've already seen a huge influx of supporters and it means soooo much to us to be able to finish out this recap season strong — so thank you! And... we have some very fun stuff planned if we hit 1200 paid supporters (we're only 75 away!) — so spread the word about Pitty Party and make the leap to a paid Patreon tier today!Support the Show!Follow us on Instagram at instagram.com/ohwitchplease and become a free or paid Patreon supporter at patreon.com/ohwitchplease.Music Credits:“Shopping Mall”: by Jay Arner and Jessica Delisle ©2020Used by permission. All rights reserved. As recorded by Auto Syndicate on the album “Bongo Dance”. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Roseanne Barr is now known as a reactionary cancel-culture warrior, but she was once a beloved comedian and champion of working-class politics. What exactly happened? And, in the middle of her rocketship ride to the moon of superstardom, she co-starred in a movie with Meryl Streep! What?! And the movie is really good???? Laci and Matt tell the story of She-Devil (1989), director Susan Seidelman's black comedy that pits Barr against Streep and Ed Begley Jr., with Barr as an avenging angel for neglected and forgotten women everywhere. It's a very funny and poignant comedy that critics largely dismissed at the time. Especially British critics, who compared it unfavorably to the 1986 BBC miniseries adaptation of The Life and Loves of a She-Devil. That's right, this all starts with a seminal work of feminist literature by author Fay Weldon. We also tell that story, including her 2017 legacy sequel to She-Devil and her sad eventual evolution into a TERF. Then, we dive into She-Devil the film, heaping endless praise of Meryl Streep's hilarious physical comedy, Ed Begley's smarmy nice-guy evilness, and Roseanne's up-and-down performance in her first film role.  Next week's episode (Feb. 13, 2026): When Harry Met Sally... (1989) Time stamps: 00:03:00 — History segment: Original She-Devil author Fay Weldon, an important British feminist writer, and her later unfortunate turn toward TERFdom; director Susan Seidelman's career and experience working with Meryl Streep and Roseanne Barr; career overview of Roseanne Barr, from early working-class comedy roots to sad turn toward reactionary pro-Trump politics and cancel culture warriordom  00:52:06 — Movie discussion 01:58:07 — Final thoughts & star ratings   Sources: "Fay Weldon: 'Feminism was a success, but then you lose a generation'" by Claire Armistead | The Guardian (2017) - https://bit.ly/4kfFIAx  "She-Devil returns: Fay Weldon writing 'transgender' sequel to feminist classic" by Sian Cain | The Guardian (2016) - https://bit.ly/3YVLiOt    "Transgender people become women for 'fashion or clothes', says novelist Fay Weldon" by Niamh McIntyre | The Independent (2017) - https://bit.ly/4qzcL4D  "Fay Weldon: transgender people become women for 'frivolous' reasons such as 'fashion' and 'clothes'" by Rozina Sabur & Olivia Rudgard | The Telegraph (2017) - https://bit.ly/4k2zOSW    "Desperately Seeking Something: A Memoir About Movies, Mothers, and Material Girls" by Susan Seidelman | https://amzn.to/4a3C6ww  "Roseanne: My Life As a Woman" by Roseanne Barr | https://amzn.to/4roXRya  Review of She-Devil by Roger Ebert | The Chicago Sun-Times (1989) - https://bit.ly/4k3EtnT    Artwork by Laci Roth.   Check out Laci's coloring videos on YouTube! https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC-kKLhWb2g0bKA-RrvvLh0Q/  Matt has a monthly spin-off podcast covering the James Bond films! Check out PodJob: A James Bond Podcast on Apple Podcast (https://bit.ly/4jRL2K1), Spotify (https://bit.ly/4a8jM6E), and YouTube (https://youtube.com/@podjob007).   Music by Rural Route Nine. Listen to their album The Joy of Averages on Spotify (https://bit.ly/48WBtUa), Apple Music (https://bit.ly/3Q6kOVC), or YouTube (https://bit.ly/3MbU6tC).   Songs by Rural Route Nine in this episode: "Winston-Salem" - https://youtu.be/-acMutUf8IM "Snake Drama" - https://youtu.be/xrzz8_2Mqkg "The Bible Towers of Bluebonnet" - https://youtu.be/k7wlxTGGEIQ    Follow the show!  Twitter: @1weekrental | @MattStokes9 | @LRothConcepts Facebook: @1weekrental Instagram: @1weekrental TikTok: @1weekrental | @mattstokes9 Letterboxd: @loadbearinglaci | @mattstokes9 Bluesky: @1weekrental.bsky.social   1-Week Rental used to be Load Bearing Beams.

Welcome to Pitty Party, a recap podcast for The Pitt!Material Girls is going on winter break for the month of January and in its stead we bring you this show! Hosted by Gaby, Marcelle and Zoe, Pitty Party will recap new episodes of the Pitt as they come out week by week. To begin, Gaby, Marcelle, and Zoe look back at season one of the show and dig into what they're most excited about in season two. They talk about their favorite characters and storylines, their respective history with medical dramas, what they expect from season two, and so much more.We'll be back next week to recap the first episode of The Pitt Season 2: 7:00 AM.*Note: This episode contains spoilers for season one of The Pitt.*Support the Show!Follow us on Instagram at instagram.com/ohwitchplease and become a free or paid Patreon supporter at patreon.com/ohwitchplease. You'll find hours of bonuses — and bloopers for THIS episode — over there!Music Credits:“Shopping Mall”: by Jay Arner and Jessica Delisle ©2020Used by permission. All rights reserved. As recorded by Auto Syndicate on the album “Bongo Dance”. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

To make sense of the recent resurgence in point-and-shoot cameras, we're returning to French philosopher and cultural theorist Roland Barthes! We begin with a conversation about the major technological shifts that have occurred in photography between 1980 (when Barthes published Camera Lucida) and today. Hannah then leads us in a theory section all about "the Punctum." Together, she and Marcelle parse Barthes' understanding of what makes photography distinct from other mediums and how Time is entangled with our emotional relationship to snapshots captured on camera. If you've never heard of "the Punctum," let this episode be your introduction to one of Barthes' more moving contributions to our theory tool belt!***Happy holidays from the Material Girls team! We'll be back next week with an Hour-Long All-Team Material Concerns episode! To learn more about the show, head to our Instagram at instagram.com/ohwitchplease! Or check out our website ohwitchplease.ca (you can also find transcripts here!).Want to support the podcast and our tiny, hard-working team? Check out all the content we have on our Patreon at Patreon.com/ohwitchplease. Bonus episodes, bloopers, merch, watch-alongs, and more!Need a last minute gift for the holidays? You can gift a Patreon subscription at this link: https://www.patreon.com/ohwitchplease/giftWorks Cited: Barthes, Roland. Camera Lucida: Reflections on Photography. Trans. by Richard Howard. New York: Hill and Wang, 1981. Cooke, Alex. “The Rise and Fall of the Point-and-Shoot Camera.” FStoppers 6 November 2025. https://fstoppers.com/historical/rise-and-fall-point-and-shoot-camera-715387. McLennan, Tara. “Hashtag ‘Sunset': Smartphone Photography and the Punctum of Time.” The International Journal of the Image 7.1 (2016): 33-43. https://doi.org/10.18848/2154-8560/CGP/v07i01/33-43 Murashima, Claire. “Why Gen Z loves the digital compact cameras that millennials used to covet.” NPR 10 December 2024. https://www.npr.org/2024/12/09/nx-s1-5209770/gen-z-digital-compact-cameras-millennials-trendy. Music Credits:“Shopping Mall”: by Jay Arner and Jessica Delisle ©2020Used by permission. All rights reserved. As recorded by Auto Syndicate on the album “Bongo Dance”. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We always nerd out, but in this episode we're joined in our geek sesh by the incredibly charming, brilliant and funny Lindy West (she/her) and Meagan Hatcher-Mays (she/her) to discuss (drumroll!) The Lord of the Rings trilogy. As you may already know, Hannah and Marcelle share a love of JRR Tolkien's world and in this episode they finally get to discuss Peter Jackson's adaptation from the early aughts.The episode begins with an overview of the books' popularity in the middle of the 20th century and their lasting impact on fantasy and science fiction literature, television and film. Hannah then offers some context for the release of The Fellowship of the Ring. Together, we consider the desire by the public to escape in a post 9/11 world and the fantasy of a pastoral utopia! Hannah then offers some theory! We're talking Arcadia people!This episode is a perfect listen for fans of The Lord of the Rings, as well as anyone who has ever fantasized about knitting in a cottage away from the hustle and bustle of industrialized cities!Works CitedFrey, Angelica. “Cottagecore Debuted 2,300 Years Ago.” JSTOR Daily 11 November 2020. https://daily.jstor.org/cottagecore-debuted-2300-years-ago/. Huffstutter, P.J. “Not Just a Tolkien Amount.” LA Times 24 October 2003. https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2003-oct-24-fi-frodoecon24-story.html. Kruske, Kyle. “Lord Of The Rings' Hobbiton Shire Set Took A Whole Year To Make.” Screenrant 18 December 2021. https://screenrant.com/lord-rings-hobbiton-shire-set-one-year-build/. Lois, Gemma. “‘The Lord of the Rings': A Thematic Echo Of The Industrial Revolution – Extended Edition.” A Musing Clio 23 June 2025. https://gemmahistory.home.blog/2025/06/23/the-lord-of-the-rings-a-thematic-echo-of-the-industrial-revolution-extended-edition/. Sanders, Sam. “Tolkien Acknowledged That Black People Exist in Arda, So Why Can't Everyone Else?” Vulture 16 September 2022. https://www.vulture.com/article/rings-of-power-black-hobbits-lord-of-the-rings-amazon.html. Shanahan, Paula. “Authentic Fantasy: The Representation of the Shire as a Nostalgic Arcadia.” Thesis. Submitted to the Department of Design and Visual Arts in candidacy for the Bachelor of Arts Degree in Design for Stage and Screen, 2023. https://illustro-iadt.figshare.com/articles/thesis/Authentic_fantasy_The_representation_of_the_Shire_as_a_nostalgic_arcadia_Astudy_of_the_visual_and_design_references_within_the_shire_in_the_film_adaption_of_The_Lord_of_the_Rings/25435744?file=45129961. Wikipedia, the encyclopedia of the people. 2025. More Info:For more Lindy and Meagan, check out Text Me Back! — one of Hannah McGregor's all-time favorite podcasts! You can also follow them on Substack here! Be sure to pre-order Lindy West's upcoming book Adult Braces: Driving Myself Sane.To learn more about Material Girls, head to our Instagram at instagram.com/ohwitchplease! Or check out our website ohwitchplease.ca.We'll be back next week with a Material Concerns episode, but until then, go check out all the other content we have on our Patreon at Patreon.com/ohwitchplease!Music Credits:“Shopping Mall”: by Jay Arner and Jessica Delisle ©2020Used by permission. All rights reserved. As recorded by Auto Syndicate on the album “Bongo Dance”. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In today's episode, we jumped right back on the Emerald City Express with third-time guest, Leena Norms (she/her). Leena joined us for our episode Wonka x Antisemitism and Censorship in January 2024 and then again in December 2024 for our episode Wicked x Paratexts. Now she's back to help us make sense of Wicked: For Good. Marcelle leads the episode beginning with a quick conversation about femslash, a subgenre of fan fiction which, broadly-speaking, focuses on romantic/sexual relationships between female fictional characters. Before jumping deeper into the history of femslash, Hannah, Marcelle and Leena discuss the essential question: how gay is this sequel? From there, Marcelle takes us into a conversation about subtext and representation. As always, the episode ends with a perfectly sound thesis and discussion of the movie, the media storm around the film, how Glinda is positioned as a hero, queerbaiting and revolutionary politics.Follow Leena on Youtube here! Instagram here! And Substack here! You can support Leena's Patreon here!Works Cited“Femslash.” Ultimate Pop Culture Wiki. Fandom, Inc. 2025. https://ultimatepopculture.fandom.com/wiki/Femslash.Hall, Margaret. 2025. “Wicked: For Good Is for the Gelphie Shippers.” Playbill. November 21, 2025. https://playbill.com/article/wicked-for-good-is-for-the-gelphie-shippers.Russo, Julie Levin. 2014. “Textual Orientation: Queer Female Fandom Online.” The Routledge Companion to Media and Gender. Carter, Cynthia, Linda Steiner, and Lisa McLaughlin, eds. London: Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203066911.***To learn more about Material Girls, head to our Instagram at instagram.com/ohwitchplease! Or check out our website ohwitchplease.ca. We'll be back next week with a Material Concerns episode, but until then, go check out all the other content we have on our Patreon at Patreon.com/ohwitchplease! Music Credits:“Shopping Mall”: by Jay Arner and Jessica Delisle ©2020Used by permission. All rights reserved. As recorded by Auto Syndicate on the album “Bongo Dance”. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Happy SWEET NOVEMBER! In this episode, we're talking about LOAD-BEARING MAN Keanu Reeves. What do we mean when we say load-bearing? You'll have to listen to the episode to find out! Tune in for a conversation about Reeves' extensive and varied catalogue of (at least) 76 films! You'll learn all about Marcelle's admiration for this celebrity whose star image is colored by the public's sense of his "goodness." We talk feminism, masculinities, and Tanya Horeck's brilliant essay, “‘Too Good for This World:' Keanu Reeves, God of the Internet." Happy listening!Works CitedHoreck, Tanya. 2022. “‘Too Good for This World:' Keanu Reeves, God of the Internet.” Celebrity Studies vol. 13, no. 2, pp. 143–58. https://doi.org/10.1080/19392397.2022.2063395. “Keanu Reeves.” Wikipedia. 2025. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Keanu_Reeves. Middlemost, Renée and Sarah Thomas. 2022. “Introduction to the Special Issue: Keanu Reeves as Palimpsest.” Celebrity Studies vol. 13, no. 2, pp. 137–42. https://doi.org/10.1080/19392397.2022.2063394.***To learn more about Material Girls, head to our Instagram at instagram.com/ohwitchplease! Or check out our website ohwitchplease.ca. We'll be back next week with a Material Concerns episode, but until then, go check out all the other content we have on our Patreon at Patreon.com/ohwitchplease! Patreon is how we produce the show and pay our team!Material Girls is a show that makes sense of the zeitgeist through materialist critique* and critical theory! Each episode looks at a unique object of study (something popular now or from back in the day) and over the course of three distinct segments, Hannah and Marcelle apply their academic expertise to the topic at hand.*Materialist Critique is, at its simplest possible level, a form of cultural critique – that is, scholarly engagement with a cultural text of some kind – that is interested in modes of production, moments of reception, and the historical and ideological contexts for both.Music Credits:“Shopping Mall”: by Jay Arner and Jessica Delisle ©2020Used by permission. All rights reserved. As recorded by Auto Syndicate on the album “Bongo Dance”. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We're throwing it back to the 1996 cult classic film The Craft just in time for Halloween! We begin with a conversation about Hannah and Marcelle's teenage witch phases (of course they both had them), before digging into the filmic landscape of the 90s. Hannah argues that The Craft's interest in girlhood and power was a catalyst that paved the way for pop culture to come, like Buffy and Charmed and Practical Magic. Hannah then draws on Stacy Gillis and Rebecca Munford's “Genealogies and Generations: The Politics and Praxis of Third Wave Feminism" and Jessica Rosenberg and Gitana Garofalo's “Riot Grrrl: Revolutions from Within" to help understand the resonance of film. If you too went through a witch phase, or indeed are still a practicing witch, then this episode is for you!***Works CitedBastién, Angelica Jade. “The Profound, Enduring Legacy of The Craft.” Vulture 27 October 2017. https://www.vulture.com/2017/10/the-craft-its-enduring-legacy.html. Gillis, Stacy, and Rebecca Munford. “Genealogies and Generations: The Politics and Praxis of Third Wave Feminism.” Women's History Review 13.2 (2004): 165–82. https://doi-org.proxy.lib.sfu.ca/10.1080/09612020400200388 Heywood, Leslie and Jennifer Drake, eds. Introduction. Third Wave Agenda: Being Feminist, Doing Feminism. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 1997. Jacobs, Matthew and Julia Brucculieri. “Relax, It's Only Magic: An Oral History Of ‘The Craft.'” Huffpost 20 May 2016. https://www.huffpost.com/entry/the-craft-oral-history_n_5734f7c9e4b060aa7819d362. Walker, Rebecca. “Becoming the Third Wave.” Ms. Magazine January/February 1992.***To learn more about Material Girls, head to our Instagram at instagram.com/ohwitchplease! Or check out our website ohwitchplease.ca. We'll be back next week with a Material Concerns episode, but until then, go check out all the other content we have on our Patreon at Patreon.com/ohwitchplease! Patreon is how we produce the show and pay our team! Material Girls is a show that makes sense of the zeitgeist through materialist critique* and critical theory! Each episode looks at a unique object of study (something popular now or from back in the day) and over the course of three distinct segments, Hannah and Marcelle apply their academic expertise to the topic at hand.*Materialist Critique is, at its simplest possible level, a form of cultural critique – that is, scholarly engagement with a cultural text of some kind – that is interested in modes of production, moments of reception, and the historical and ideological contexts for both.Music Credits:“Shopping Mall”: by Jay Arner and Jessica Delisle ©2020Used by permission. All rights reserved. As recorded by Auto Syndicate on the album “Bongo Dance”. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

~ This episode contains some spoilers about The X Files ~This week we dive into beloved television series, The X Files (1993-2002), with Leigh Dyrda! Leigh (she/her) is an academic whose research interests include EcoGothic, a field that probes the eerie overlap of ecocriticism and Gothic. We figured Leigh would be a perfect guest to dig into this show about alien-human hybrids, monsters that defy taxonomical definition, and cancers courtesy of government microchips.In our first segment, Marcelle explains the show was distinctly of its time. She considers its popularity in relation to the backdrop of Clinton era politics, post-Watergate government distrust, television viewing practices of the 90s and the early days of the internet. She then leads Leigh and Hannah through some theory. Drawing on Charles Soukup's 2002 article, Television Viewing as Vicarious Resistance: The X-Files and Conspiracy Discourse, Marcelle examines the way the show's mytharc and monster-of-the week narratives allowed audiences to feel as if by watching the show, they were "doing something."If you're a fan of The X Files or you've never really watched it, no matter. Come for the theory, stay for the thesis — and let us know what you think in an Apple Review or a comment on Spotify!***To learn more about Material Girls, head to our Instagram at instagram.com/ohwitchplease! Or check out our website ohwitchplease.ca. We'll be back next week with a Material Concerns episode, but until then, go check out all the other content we have on our Patreon at Patreon.com/ohwitchplease! Patreon is how we produce the show and pay our team! Thanks again to all of you who have already made the leap to join us there!***Material Girls is a show that makes sense of the zeitgeist through materialist critique* and critical theory! Each episode looks at a unique object of study (something popular now or from back in the day) and over the course of three distinct segments, Hannah and Marcelle apply their academic expertise to the topic at hand.*Materialist Critique is, at its simplest possible level, a form of cultural critique – that is, scholarly engagement with a cultural text of some kind – that is interested in modes of production, moments of reception, and the historical and ideological contexts for both. Materialist critique is interested in the question of why a particular cultural work or practice emerged at a particular moment. Music Credits:“Shopping Mall”: by Jay Arner and Jessica Delisle ©2020Used by permission. All rights reserved. As recorded by Auto Syndicate on the album “Bongo Dance”. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Sometimes an episode is such a longtime coming that the enthusiasm from our hosts is palpable! Such is the case with this episode about The Simpsons, a TV show that pervaded Marcelle's childhood due in part to...you guessed it... syndication! In this episode, Marcelle reminds the audience how television worked before streaming and the nature of syndication. Together, she and Hannah think through the influence of The Simpsons' first 300 episodes between 1997 and 2003 (Marcelle's teen years). They explore the attractive quality of the sitcom as a genre, the reproducibility of Bart Simpson (and others) as an icon, and the show's criticism of and self-aware complicity in capitalism and consumerism. This episode is for The Simpsons NERDS and casual viewers alike. Happy listening.***To learn more about Material Girls, head to our Instagram at instagram.com/ohwitchplease! Or check out our website ohwitchplease.ca. We'll be back next week with a Material Concerns episode, but until then, go check out all the other content we have on our Patreon at Patreon.com/ohwitchplease! Patreon is how we produce the show and pay our team! Thanks again to all of you who have already made the leap to join us there!***Material Girls is a show that makes sense of the zeitgeist through materialist critique* and critical theory! Each episode looks at a unique object of study (something popular now or from back in the day) and over the course of three distinct segments, Hannah and Marcelle apply their academic expertise to the topic at hand.*Materialist Critique is, at its simplest possible level, a form of cultural critique – that is, scholarly engagement with a cultural text of some kind – that is interested in modes of production, moments of reception, and the historical and ideological contexts for both. Materialist critique is interested in the question of why a particular cultural work or practice emerged at a particular moment. Music Credits:“Shopping Mall”: by Jay Arner and Jessica Delisle ©2020Used by permission. All rights reserved. As recorded by Auto Syndicate on the album “Bongo Dance”. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.