Everyone thinks God of War (2018) was destined to be a masterpiece. But at the time, it was a huge gamble.We watched Raising Kratos, the documentary about how Santa Monica Studio tried to reboot a beloved franchise, change its entire tone, reinvent Kratos as an actual character, and show it all off live at E3 with a demo that could’ve face-planted in front of the whole industry. Five years of “are we geniuses or idiots?” energy.We got into how games get made, what devs give up to ship something this ambitious, why creative teams crumble and regroup, and also… what ever happened to E3?→ Next episode: Brandy Hellville & The Cult of Fast FashionTimestamps!
00:00 - Intro
01:39 - Synopsis
02:30 - Documentary review
46:17 - Tangents
01:33:15 - Green room
Boeing had one job: build planes that don’t fall out of the sky.
We watched Downfall: The Case Against Boeing (on Netflix), a documentary about how one of the world’s most trusted companies messed up badly. Two crashes, hundreds of lives lost, and a bunch of execs pretending everything was fine.
We got into what went wrong, how greed took over, and why the system basically set Boeing up to fail. Also… why are their whistleblowers suddenly dying?
→ Next episode we’ll review Raising Kratos (God of War documentary), can't wait to discuss that one with y'all. It’s free on YouTube if you want to watch it!
Timestamps!
00:00 - Intro
01:25 - Synopsis
03:02 - Discussion starts
10:35 - Tangent 1 & 2: Fiduciary responsibility & why Boeing and Mcdonnell-Douglas merged
25:00 - Tangent 3: The Teflon & Dupont lawsuits
54:28 - Tangent 4: Why are the whistleblowers dying?
1:24:00 - Green Room starts (off-topic discussions)
We finally found a documentary we don’t recommend watching.
The Mark of the Bell Witch tells the story of a haunting in 1817 Tennessee, but somewhere between folklore and filmmaking, it loses the plot. We talked about why humans are drawn to ghost stories, what makes folklore powerful, and how this documentary missed the mark (pun intended).
We also got into what the filmmakers could’ve done differently: from tone to pacing to credibility, and why throwing more money at films isn’t always productive.
→ On the next episode, we’ll be discussing “Downfall: The Case Against Boeing” which you can watch on Netflix.
Timestamps!
00:00 - Intro
02:25 - Synopsis
03:28 - Discussion starts
38:48 - Tangent 1: What makes a good scary film?
49:53 - Tangent 2: Southern Gothic vibes and its origin
1:09:18 - Tangent 3: Why are some movies so bad they’re good?
1:19:17 - Tangent 4: The biggest reasons this documentary didn't work
1:31:00 - Green Room starts (off-topic discussions)
We finally found a documentary we don’t recommend watching.
The Mark of the Bell Witch tells the story of a haunting in 1817 Tennessee, but somewhere between folklore and filmmaking, it loses the plot. We talked about why humans are drawn to ghost stories, what makes folklore powerful, and how this documentary missed the mark (pun intended).
We also got into what the filmmakers could’ve done differently: from tone to pacing to credibility, and why throwing more money at films isn’t always productive.
→ On the next episode, we’ll be discussing “Downfall: The Case Against Boeing” which you can watch on Netflix.
Timestamps!
00:00 - Intro
02:25 - Synopsis
03:28 - Discussion starts
38:48 - Tangent 1: What makes a good scary film?
49:53 - Tangent 2: Southern Gothic vibes and its origin
1:09:18 - Tangent 3: Why are some movies so bad they’re good?
1:19:17 - Tangent 4:
1:31:00 - Green Room starts (off-topic discussions)
Aliens, cover-ups, and government secrets... or just a fun collective act of storytelling?
We watched two long-form UFO video essays by YouTuber LEMMiNO: The Unknowns: Mystifying UFO Cases and Extraordinary Until Proven Otherwise. Together, they explore decades of sightings, official investigations, and the line between credible evidence and mass delusion.
We talked about misinformation, conspiracy thinking, and why UFOs have fascinated people since 1947.
How do you tell what’s real when everything online feels designed to mislead? And what does the UFO story say about how we search for truth in the internet age?
→ Next episode: The Mark of the Bell Witch, an indie doc about a 19th-century haunting
Timestamps!
00:00 - Intro
1:50 - Synopsis
02:52 - Discussion starts
32:01 - Tangent 1: The world after The Manhattan Project
45:01 - Tangent 2: The meteor in Portugal
47:45 - Tangent 3: Pentagon report summary from 2023
49:57 - Tangent 4: Escapism
59:47 - Tangent 5: The amorphous mental model of a UFO
1:08:35 - Green Room starts (off-topic discussions)
Three babies. Three different families. One secret experiment.
We watched Three Identical Strangers (streaming on Netflix and Prime Video) and talked about nature vs nurture, the ethics of social science, and how far researchers will go to get answers. We dug into class, identity, parenting, and what happens when someone else decides the path your life will take.
If you’ve ever wondered how much of who you are comes from your genes and how much comes from your upbringing… you’ll probably like this documentary.
→ Next episode we’ll be discussing 2 UFO video essays by @LEMMiNO on YouTube. One’s called “The Unknowns: Mystifying UFO Cases” and the other is called “Extraordinary Until Proven Otherwise”.
Timestamps!
00:00 - Intro
01:51 - Doc synopsis
02:57 - Discussion starts
27:24 - Tangent 1: Ethics vs Morals
44:48 - Tangent 2: Why did they hide the psychiatric issues in the doc? Why didn’t they talk about Bobby’s run-in with the law?
1:07:27 - Tangent 3: Is Drake and Leonardo Dicaprio’s preference for younger women a genetic thing?
1:12:57 - Tangent 4: What matters more, nature or nurture?
1:30:28 - Green Room starts (off-topic discussions)
Jiro Ono is the GOAT of sushi chefs. But of course he is; he’s been making it every day since he was 9. We watched Jiro Dreams of Sushi (streaming on Netflix) and talked about what drives someone to chase mastery for decades.
We got into obsession, parenting, Japanese culture, and how this quiet little sushi counter became a global symbol of craftsmanship. We also talked about bigger stuff like capitalism, collectivism vs individualism, and what it means to build a life around your art…including the sacrifices you need to make. Or do you?
If you’ve ever been drawn to people who care a little too much about their work... you’ll probably like this documentary.
→ Next episode’s documentary: ‘Three Identical Strangers’ (and what matters more: genetics or environment) Timestamps!
(00:00) - Intro
(01:10) - Discussion starts
(01:59) - Discussion actually starts
(30:00) - Tangent 1: Japanese people’s unspoken love
(35:42) - Tangent 2: Japan’s “evaporated people” and its unique flavor of capitalism
(1:02:19) - Discussion returns
(1:05:51) - Pics of Chris as a kid in Japan
(1:06:20) - Discussion strikes back
(1:17:30) - Tangent 3: Achieving greatness in Japan vs US
(1:23:30) - Oh right, we should probably explain how this podcast works
(1:24:25) - The Green Room starts (off-topic discussions)
(1:24:58) - Grant likes keyboards
(1:30:30) - Katie’s forehead vein
(1:32:48) - We compliment each other
(1:36:24) - Chris likes cameras
(1:40:38) - Mo likes Conan O’Brien
(1:43:54) - Why nearsightedness is increasing
(1:55:15) - Are you still watching?