Supercontext: an autopsy of media

Hosted ByChristian Sager & Charlie Bennett

A podcast autopsy of media: how we consume it and how it informs our everyday culture.


All Episodes

I Cut The Big Five From My Life

This 2019 series of Gizmodo articles and videos by Kashmir Hill look into how difficult it actually is to stop using The Stacks: Google, Amazon, Facebook, Apple, and Microsoft. We place Hill’s research within our larger understanding of Big Tech and med

Lone Wolf and Cub

This epic 1970s manga series is celebrated for its influence on other stories. We look at the conditions that produced it and how the comic represents Japanese history, revenge, gender, and the irredeemable hero on the road to Hell.

Fly By Night

This 1975 rock album began to define Rush’s identity after the late Neil Peart joined the band on drums and lyrics. We look at how they treated their band as a business to try to understand the particular blend of instrument solos and libertarian ideolo

The Goldfinch

This 2013 novel generated a cantankerous debate in the world of literary criticism over the quality of fiction and how we define it. We look at Tartt’s writing process and themes to try to understand whether this book deserved the praise and awards it rec

Trout Mask Replica

This 1969 double-album has been described as both “unlistenable” and “one of the greatest albums of all time.” We discuss its volatile production while trying to understand its composition and how it influenced another fifty years of weird music.

Ravenous

This 1999 cannibal-horror-comedy film went through three directors in a troubled production. We discussed how it successfully critiques American consumption and Manifest Destiny despite its financial failure.

Batman Odyssey

This comic book series by Neal Adams is a strange combination of talent and narcissism, along with the realization that its lead character and its creator aren’t as in control as they want to be. We discuss gun violence, Expanding Earth theory, and genera

Basquiat

This 1996 film is a purported biopic about a famous painter by another famous painter, Julian Schnabel. We ask whether the narrative this movie presents is an inaccurate portrayal of its subject because it exploits him or because the director is commentin

Repost of M.R. James, Ghost Stories of an Antiquary

In our 2016 holiday episode, we looked at the forgotten Christmas Eve tradition of telling ghost stories. M.R. James’ work from over a hundred years ago best represents this Victorian trend, so in his honor we brought horror to academia and safe spaces.

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