The first season of Strength Check concludes this week with a talk about our on demand culture and what it’s doing to us and how that influences how we consume art. Also, a preview of what’s to come in the future of the show.
Play for Progress on Discord…
Episode 13: Lost Together
This week we talk about Giuseppe Petrosino and the label of Sherlock Holmes. Why aren’t there more of them today? We also talk about mental health and dealing with the sense that we aren’t doing enough when we very much (probably) are.
Play for Progress …
Episode 12: Let the Past Die
This week, we introduce the Black Hand Society, an organization that terrorized the U.S. in the early 20th century and talk about the development of gangs in America. We also talk about nostalgia and why we feel nostalgic about things and what it means, …
Episode 11: Anarchy and Dreams
What kind of world can we envision if not this one? Following up on our discussion of the assassination of President McKinley, we talk about what anarchy actually stands for and why it is that people think it is nothing but chaos. We also talk about the …
Episode 10: Keep Star Wars Day In Your Heart All Year
We’re recording on Star Wars Day, so this week’s episode is a love letter to one of the most important stories in modern American mythology.
The comic I mentioned: https://www.amazon.com/Star-Wars-Darth-Imperial-Machine/dp/1302907441/
Star Wars: Alwa…
Episode 9: Power in the Past
The Assassination of President McKinley seems like it should be an event that every American child is taught about, and that McKinley should be someone who is memorialized and maybe even deified in American culture. So why isn’t he? What could possibly b…
Episode 8: Epic Fails
Gaming can teach us a lot about failure, and it’s a lot more than just learning that you can’t win all the time. Games can also show us that sometimes the system is rigged against us and that we’re going to fail no matter how hard we try. And that’s OK! …
Episode 7: Thanos Snapped
What is it that makes some people rise up in the moment? This week, we talk about how superhero stories are modern American mythologies and what these characters represent to us in the 21st century. Spoilers: it’s more than just a throwaway popcorn movie…
Episode 6: Making Choices
It’s really common for people to feel constrained by the choices they’ve made and limited in the choices they can make in the future. In reality, we have a lot more options than we tend to realize we do. This is especially important for people who are su…
Episode 5: Stress, School, and Stanford White
It’s ok to admit you’re stressed and under a lot of pressure, and so this week we’re going to talk about the power of taking inventory of your work and why it matters. Talking about our mental health publicly before the pressure gets too great can be hel…