Alternative History Podcast Brian Fischer and Rodrigo Monico-Barros

The movie Reign of Fire staring Matthew McConaughey and future Batman Christian Bale came out in 2002 and revolves around a group of English and American survivors of a Dragon-a-pocalypse that has turned the world in a dour, ashen landscape. Set in the year 2020, the population has been decimated by fire breathing dragons, famine, and lack of hygene, which sounds like the worst possible 2020 ever, until 2020 actually happened. Join us as we discuss the movie and determine if a 2020 rife with fire breathing dragons who use humans as hors d'oeuvre is preferable to the shit show we actually got.

Because the assaults on precincts one through twelve proved wholly uneventful, John Carpenter started with Assault on Precinct 13. Made in 1976 for just around $11,000.00 (which is $11,000 more than the budget for this podcast) the original quickly became a cult classic. In 2005, (aka the year of the remake of 1976 movies, e.g. King Kong, The Fog, The Bad News Bears) the movie was remade with Ethan Hawke and Laurence Fishburne. Come join us for our last episode of the season as we discuss both movies, explain how Ice Cube references are more difficult than sub zero weather, and discuss the future. Listen to this original episode on Assault on Precinct 13  before it gets remade!

Whether you do it in an open field, a body of water, in a pot, in the morning or at night, at work or play, in a diaper while sitting in your brother’s bed, or in a litter box and blame it on the cat, everybody poops. From the Ancient Romans to our current public restrooms, we discuss the history of the public restroom, along with the shame some of us feel while doing our duty in public. Should there be any shame doing something we all do, and should there be exclusivity in regard to which bathroom you can use? Join us as Brian retells a horrific Goodwill bathroom experience and Rodrigo talks about El Salvadorian bathroom cockroaches. Listen and get the straight poop on public restrooms!

The Fall of Troy, The Battle of Waterloo, Custer’s Last Stand, and Hillary’s loss in the 2016 Presidential Election. All crushing defeats. But, if you live in the state of Wisconsin, they all pale in comparison to the 2014 NFC Championship Game, where our beloved Green Bay Packers took a crippling loss to the Seattle Seahawks after blowing a 16-0 halftime lead, and losing a chance for a trip to the Super Bowl. Played on January 18, 2015 the game pitted Green Bay’s top scoring offense vs. Seattle’s vaunted defense. What ensued was nothing short of a Russian novel, and would leave the Green Bay Packer fan base utterly destroyed. Was it Devine Intervention? Was it Russell Wilson and his NanoBubbles? Or did the Packers just choke in the second biggest game of the season? (For information on choking in the biggest game of the season, see: Super Bowl XLIX). Should the Green Bay Packer’s have won the 2014 NFC Championship Game? Listen and decide!

Oh, you better watch out, you better not cry, you better not pout, I’m telling you why…no, that’s not a quote from our top review on iTunes, it’s lyrics from the classic Christmas song, Santa Claus is Coming to Town. Although, not everyone believes that Santa is coming to town. On this episode we get to the bottom of whether or not Santa Claus is real. Have parents all over the world been perpetrating the greatest ruse the world has ever seen on unsuspecting children, or is there a Jolly Old Elf, equipped with an endless sack full of gifts and eight flying reindeer, who slides down your chimney leaving you gifts free of charge, and does all of this in one night? Both seem rather far fetched, unless of course…magic, because well…magic. Come join us as we get down to the bottom of the realness of Santa Claus!

Are you not entertained? Yes? Wait, yes as in you are not entertained, or yes as in you are entertained? Never mind, it’s a rhetorical question. Here’s a question that’s not rhetorical: Is Gladiator a better movie than Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon? The Academy Award voters in 2001 thought so (but they also thought Shakespeare in Love is better than Saving Private Ryan, so what the hell do they know?). Both movies came out in 2000, and both deal with warriors seeking revenge, but while Gladiator murders its way to redemption, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon shows the perils of seeking revenge and not being true to yourself. Should Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon have won the Best Picture Oscar, or did the academy get it right with Gladiator? Crouch your tigers and hide your dragons, because this episode is going to make you vexed, terribly vexed!