The VoxPopcast Vox Populorum

(Note from Mav. This is an episode about A.I. and Academic writing… so I decided to just let Descript‘s A.I. take a stab at writing the show notes all by itself. Parentheticals are by me. So here’s how it did!)







This episode of VoxPopcast explores the multifaceted impact of artificial intelligence, especially ChatGPT, on academia and education. Hosts Christopher Maverick, Katya, Annette Vee (Annette should be listed as a guest not a host), and others(there are no others just the three of us) engage in a nuanced discussion on AI’s role in academic writing, the challenge of maintaining academic integrity, and the potential for AI to revolutionize teaching and learning methods in higher education. The conversation spans the opportunities for enhancing educational processes through AI, the ethics of AI usage, and the importance of fostering digital literacy among students. A shift toward utilizing AI for creative and critical engagements in educational contexts is advocated, along with a curriculum that is aware and inclusive of AI technologies. A specific focus is placed on innovative projects that integrate AI into learning, such as teaching AI to understand Gen Z slang, and the potential for AI to be a tool beyond mere plagiarism prevention. The podcast episode emphasizes the importance of adapting to technological advancements in education and encourages listener engagement and contributions on the subject.







(Not bad. Not perfect, but serviceable I guess. I don’t think it really has much personality and it doesn’t feel great for our show. But still, it’s something, and at least it didn’t use a billion emojis like the Call For Comments. So, I also let it generate a prompt to generate the episode artwork… Here’s the prompt it came up with)







“Create an engaging and visually striking thumbnail for a podcast episode titled ‘e318. A.I. in Academia: Balancing Technology and Traditional Learning’. The design should feature a balanced mix of traditional academic elements (such as books, a classroom, or a graduation cap) and modern A.I. technology symbols (like a computer, code snippets, or robotic figures). Incorporate vibrant colors to catch the eye, but ensure the academic and technological aspects are equally represented to reflect the episode’s discussion on integrating A.I. into academic settings. Add text for the episode title in a clear, legible font.”







(Not so much with the clear legible font. It really wanted to include the title I guess, but Playground AI wasn’t great at figuring it out. A lot of the “e318” attempts just… didn’t work. And any attempt to “do text” was pretty much just greeking, even though it knew what text it was supposed to use. It probably would have been better with one of the more advanced pay ArtGen AIs, but I didn’t really care for this. Also, it took some serious tweaking of Playground AI to get the artwork I am using and I had to train it on our regular logo, but I figured it’d also be fun to include some of the other suggestions in the gallery below. I will note that AI art generation SERIOUSLY prefers random white people for academic podcast artwork I guess.)







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Sometimes when the world is on fire, you just want to watch a dumb feel good sports movie. Right now the world is on fire, so we thought maybe we’d talk about dumb feel good sports movies. BUT, are they really as dumb as we make them out to be? On this week’s episode Mav and Monica are joined by returning guest Les Kay, to delve into how sports movies reflect and influence societal values, challenges, and dreams. The discussion covers classics like Rocky and Bad News Bears, alongside newer films such as Challengers and Creed, analyzing themes of teamwork, individualism, adversity, and the darker sides of sports culture, including racial dynamics, gender roles, and the impact of commercialization. Listen and let us know your thoughts in the comments.







Citations and Links:









* Thank you to Maximilian’s thoughtForm Music for our theme







* Follow Mav on Twitter: @chrismaverick







* Follow Monica on Instagram: @monicamarvelous







* Follow Les on Substack: LesKay.substack.com







* Follow us on Twitter: @voxpopcast







* Follow us on Facebook: http://facebook.com/voxpopcast







* Subscribe to our YouTube channel







* Make sure you subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Spotify or wherever podcasts are found and please leave us a review!

It’s been four years since movies shut down for the beginning of the pandemic in 2020. It’s probably been too long to say we’re still “rebuilding” the box office. We also don’t have last year’s abbreviated season due to the dual Hollywood Writing and Acting strikes. So, for the first time in quite some time we’re probably going to have what can best be described a “normal summer movie season.” But what does that mean? On this Mav and Hannah take a deep dive into the summer movie season for 2024, blending personal stories with sharp analysis of upcoming films. Join us as we talk about everything from The Fall Guy, to Inside Out 2 to Deadpool and Wolverine. The conversation also explores the evolving movie-going experience post-pandemic, including ticket prices and viewing habits, while assessing the impact of academic schedules and subscription services on their movie-watching. Then let us know if you’re excited or dreading the same films we are in the comments below.







Citations and Links:









* Thank you to Maximilian’s thoughtForm Music for our theme







* Follow Hannah on Twitter: @hannahleerogers







* Follow Mav on Twitter: @chrismaverick







* Follow us on Twitter: @voxpopcast







* Follow us on Facebook: http://facebook.com/voxpopcast







* Subscribe to our YouTube channel







* Make sure you subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Spotify or wherever podcasts are found and please leave us a review!

So did you know there was a new remake of The Crow coming out? If you did then chances are, at least according to the internet, that you’re probably outraged by it for… some reason. The new Crow doesn’t look like the one from 30 years ago. Shocker?!? Also, did you know there was a remake of Roadhouse a couple weeks ago. It’s also different from the original. On this week’s episode of VoxPopcast, Mav and Wayne are joined by returning guest Nicole Freim to explore the nuances of remaking and rebooting beloved movies, TV shows, and other media. We discuss their impacts on original content, evolving audience expectations, and the importance of updating narratives for today’s audience. Why do remakes often provoke strong fan reactions? How can they balance honoring original material with introducing new interpretations? Listen and let us know your thoughts in the comments.







Citations and Links:









* This episode’s Call For Comments







* A Theory of Adaptation by Linda Hutcheson











* Thank you to Maximilian’s thoughtForm Music for our theme







* Follow Nicole on Twitter: @nfreim







* Follow Mav on Twitter: @chrismaverick







* Follow Wayne on Instagram: @tetroc2017







* Follow us on Twitter: @voxpopcast







* Follow us on Facebook: http://facebook.com/voxpopcast







* Subscribe to our YouTube channel







* Make sure you subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Spotify or wherever podcasts are found and please leave us a review!

On this week’s show, all five co-hosts are online to celebrate six years of producing a weekly pseudo academic roundtable of pop culture analysis with drinking and swearing. It isn’t too often that we can get the entire gang together these days, so this week we thought we’d do so with no strict agenda other than to catch up on things going on in our lives and our personal obsseverations of culture. So join Mav, Wayne, Katya, Hannah and Monica as we somehow start with discussing Hannah’s new dog and that takes us down an eclectic path of topics, from the trivialities of weather differences to movie releases and to the impact of social media and the shared passions and whimsies of the hosts. We’ve been doing this for six years, so join us for our anniversary and see where the hour takes us.







Citations and Links:









* If you are struggling with mental health and thoughts of suicide, please know that there are people who love you and want to help. Call or text 988 within the United States for the suicide prevention hotline.







* Thank you to Maximilian’s thoughtForm Music for our theme







* Follow Hannah on Twitter: @hannahleerogers







* Follow Mav on Twitter: @chrismaverick







* Follow Katya on Instagram: @justthatnerdkid







* Follow Monica on Instagram: @monicamarvelous







* Follow Wayne on Instagram: @tetroc2017







* Follow us on Twitter: @voxpopcast







* Follow us on Facebook: http://facebook.com/voxpopcast







* Subscribe to our YouTube channel







* Make sure you subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Spotify or wherever podcasts are found and please leave us a review!

On this week’s special epsiode we take one last look at this year’s Popular Culture Association conference in Chicago with a look at papers from one of the panels in the Comics Studies group. Mav is joined by Joseph and John Darowski who will be appearing with him in the upcoming book Adapting X-men from McFarland Press to present scaled down versions of their chapters from that book. Joe begins by discussing how storytelling franchises, like the X-Men, spread their narratives beyond the original comic book medium with a detailed analysis of the 1992 Uncanny X-Men trading card series, highlighting the complexities and artistic considerations in transitioning comic book narratives into trading cards. Then, Mav discusses the TV show ‘The Gifted’, examining its portrayal of Otherness and its approach to racial allegory within the X-Men universe. Finally, John presents on the crossover between Star Trek and X-Men in the novel ‘Planet X’, exploring the novelty of such a crossover and the implications of combining these two distinct franchises in a novel format.







Together, these presentations offer insights into the challenges and intricacies of adapting and expanding narratives across various media, showcasing the X-Men franchise as a case study. They also give you a pretty good taste of what it’s like to be at an academic conference like PCA. At least we think so, listen and let us know if you agree in the comments.







Citations and Links:









* Thank you to Maximilian’s thoughtForm Music for our theme







* Listen to Joe (and occasionally John) on The Protagonist Podcast and follow Joe on Twitter: @jdarowski







* Follow Mav on Twitter: @chrismaverick







* Follow us on Twitter: @voxpopcast







* Follow us on Facebook: http://facebook.com/voxpopcast







* Subscribe to our YouTube channel







* Make sure you subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Spotify or wherever podcasts are found and please leave us a review!