Deep Thoughts About Stupid Sh*t: A Pop-Culture Podcast

Tracie Guy-Decker & Emily Guy Birken
  • 4.6 (10)
  • TV & FILM
  • UPDATED WEEKLY
Deep Thoughts About Stupid Sh*t: A Pop-Culture Podcast

Ever had something you love dismissed because it’s “just” pop culture? What others might deem stupid shit, you know matters. You know it’s worth talking and thinking about. So do we. We're Tracie and Emily, two sisters who think a lot about a lot of things. From Twilight to Ghostbusters, Harry Potter to the Muppets, and wherever pop culture takes us, come overthink with us as we delve into our deep thoughts about stupid shit. 

  1. Weird Science: Deep Thoughts on Pygmalion, Women's Agency, and Why 1980s Movies Thought Computers Were Magic

    5D AGO

    Weird Science: Deep Thoughts on Pygmalion, Women's Agency, and Why 1980s Movies Thought Computers Were Magic

    Send us a text So, what would you little maniacs like to do first? This week, Tracie takes a deep dive into Weird Science: yet another of the John Hughes movies that helped to define Gen X pop culture. This 1985 teen comedy is a modern retelling of Pygmalion, the Greek myth that finds a sculptor falling in love with his artwork that comes to life. Except in this version, Anthony Michael Hall's Gary and Ilan Mitchell-Smith's Wyatt create Lisa (played by Kelly LeBrock) via Memotech MTX 512 microcomputer, because 1980s movies taught us computers are magic. While Tracie was pleased to find the raunchy comedy isn't as bad as she expected—Lisa, as a benevolent agent of chaos, has more agency than anyone else, which is a definite improvement over Galatea in the original Greek myth and Eliza Doolittle in My Fair Lady—the movie struggles to universally apply the message that you don't have to change to be worthy of love. And like many movies continue to do in 2025, Weird Science treats Gary and Wyatt's teenage love interests as prizes to be won.  On the bright side, now we know that computers can't magic Kelly LeBrock from the ether. No need to wear a bra on your head. Just some headphones will do. This episode was edited by Resonate Recordings. Our theme music is "Professor Umlaut" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Learn more about Tracie and Emily (including our other projects), join the Guy Girls' family, secure exclusive access to bonus episodes, video versions, and early access to Deep Thou​​ghts by visiting us on Patreon or find us on ko-fi: https://ko-fi.com/guygirls We are Tracie Guy-Decker and Emily Guy Birken, known to our family as the Guy Girls. We have super-serious day jobs. For the bona fides, visit our individual websites: tracieguydecker.com and emilyguybirken.com We're hella smart and completely unashamed of our overthinking prowess. We love movies and tv, science fiction, comedy, and murder mysteries, good storytelling with lots of dramatic irony, and analyzing pop culture for gender dynamics, psychology, sociology, and whatever else we find.

    55 min
  2. Independence Day: Deep Thoughts About American Exceptionalism, Sci Fi Disaster Movies, and Jeff Goldblum in a Flight Suit

    JUL 1

    Independence Day: Deep Thoughts About American Exceptionalism, Sci Fi Disaster Movies, and Jeff Goldblum in a Flight Suit

    Send us a text Welcome to Earth. The 1996 Roland Emmerich-helmed film Independence Day was one of the touchstone movies for Emily's generation, so her flabber was absolutely gasted to learn Tracie had never seen it until a few years ago. Just in time for the 4th of July, Emily walks Tracie through what made this movie such a monumental hit in the U.S. and abroad, despite its jingoistic American exceptionalism and skin-deep application of science fiction storytelling tropes.  Both in 1996 and again in 2025, Emily appreciated feeling seen as an American Jew via the characters of David and Julius Levinson (played by Jeff Goldblum in his absolute prime and Judd Hirsch, respectively) and she loved the way German-born Emmerich celebrates America's diversity as our greatest strength. That celebration of diversity includes Emmerich's behind-the-scenes fight to have Will Smith in the lead role when the executives balked at a Black leading man.  But this mashup of disaster and sci-fi movies also appeals to some ugly stereotypes Americans believe about the rest of the world while refusing to ask any deeper questions about how aliens or people would react to enormous, world-changing events. Release…me…   by listening in to this episode! Mentioned in this episode: Space Opera by Catherynne Valente This episode was edited by Resonate Recordings. Our theme music is "Professor Umlaut" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Learn more about Tracie and Emily (including our other projects), join the Guy Girls' family, secure exclusive access to bonus episodes, video versions, and early access to Deep Thou​​ghts by visiting us on Patreon or find us on ko-fi: https://ko-fi.com/guygirls We are Tracie Guy-Decker and Emily Guy Birken, known to our family as the Guy Girls. We have super-serious day jobs. For the bona fides, visit our individual websites: tracieguydecker.com and emilyguybirken.com We're hella smart and completely unashamed of our overthinking prowess. We love movies and tv, science fiction, comedy, and murder mysteries, good storytelling with lots of dramatic irony, and analyzing pop culture for gender dynamics, psychology, sociology, and whatever else we find.

    51 min
  3. Encyclopedia Brown with Adam Gwon: Deep Thoughts About Potatoes, Problem Plays, and Pop Culture Expectations for Detective Stories

    JUN 24

    Encyclopedia Brown with Adam Gwon: Deep Thoughts About Potatoes, Problem Plays, and Pop Culture Expectations for Detective Stories

    Send us a text 25 cents per day, plus expenses. No case too small! Adam Gwon, Emily's childhood friend and award-winning musical theater writer, joins the Guy sisters today to share how Donald Sobol's Encyclopedia Brown had an outsize influence on his understanding of storytelling. The delightful format of each short Encyclopedia Brown mystery--which gave the reader all the same information the boy detective had and invited you to test your wits against that of the sleuth before checking the answer in the back of the book--taught Adam how to curate information when telling a story. These mystery stories also gave children a needed sense of order and rules for the world. But when the boy detective grows up, can pop culture grapple with the mysteries that have no answers? If you're ready to test your observational skills against the boy detective, throw on your headphones, turn to page 119, and take a listen! Learn more about Adam at his website Follow Adam on Instagram Mentioned in this episode The Boy Detective Fails by Joe Meno The Lamplighters by Emma Stonex This episode was edited by Resonate Recordings. Our theme music is "Professor Umlaut" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Learn more about Tracie and Emily (including our other projects), join the Guy Girls' family, secure exclusive access to bonus episodes, video versions, and early access to Deep Thou​​ghts by visiting us on Patreon or find us on ko-fi: https://ko-fi.com/guygirls We are Tracie Guy-Decker and Emily Guy Birken, known to our family as the Guy Girls. We have super-serious day jobs. For the bona fides, visit our individual websites: tracieguydecker.com and emilyguybirken.com We're hella smart and completely unashamed of our overthinking prowess. We love movies and tv, science fiction, comedy, and murder mysteries, good storytelling with lots of dramatic irony, and analyzing pop culture for gender dynamics, psychology, sociology, and whatever else we find.

    52 min
  4. Rosemary's Baby with Ryan Cunningham: Deep Thoughts About Gaslighting, Monstrous Men, and Satanism in Pop Culture

    JUN 17

    Rosemary's Baby with Ryan Cunningham: Deep Thoughts About Gaslighting, Monstrous Men, and Satanism in Pop Culture

    Send us a text This is no dream! This is really happening! On this week's episode, Tracie and Emily are delighted to welcome award-winning writer/director and producer Ryan Cunningham to talk about Rosemary's Baby, the film that most influenced her own filmmaking and storytelling--but also made her wonder if she was a bad feminist considering the terrible deeds Roman Polanski later went to commit. The conversation covers the absurdity of two Jewish men shaping the idea of Satanism in pop culture, the mundane evil of how pregnant women are routinely gaslighted by the "guys" and doctors in their lives, and the complexity of admiring Polanski's genius. Also: Ruth Gordon as Minnie Castevet is delightful. We won't make you eat the mouse. Just take a listen! Content warning: Brief mentions of sexual assault and statutory rape Learn more about Ryan here. And see her TED talk here. Mentioned in this episode:  Rebecca Solnit on Women’s Work and the Myth of the Art Monster This episode was edited by Resonate Recordings. Our theme music is "Professor Umlaut" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Learn more about Tracie and Emily (including our other projects), join the Guy Girls' family, secure exclusive access to bonus episodes, video versions, and early access to Deep Thou​​ghts by visiting us on Patreon or find us on ko-fi: https://ko-fi.com/guygirls We are Tracie Guy-Decker and Emily Guy Birken, known to our family as the Guy Girls. We have super-serious day jobs. For the bona fides, visit our individual websites: tracieguydecker.com and emilyguybirken.com We're hella smart and completely unashamed of our overthinking prowess. We love movies and tv, science fiction, comedy, and murder mysteries, good storytelling with lots of dramatic irony, and analyzing pop culture for gender dynamics, psychology, sociology, and whatever else we find.

    1h 20m
  5. Poltergeist: Deep Thoughts About the Feminine Archetype in Pop Culture, Dubious Parenting Decisions, and Respect for the Dead

    JUN 10

    Poltergeist: Deep Thoughts About the Feminine Archetype in Pop Culture, Dubious Parenting Decisions, and Respect for the Dead

    Send us a text They're heeeeere! In a moment that would echo through the 42 years that followed, Tracie and Emily's father let the girls watch the 1982 film Poltergeist on TV sometime in 1983, when the sisters were only 7 and 4 years old. This classic of pop culture horror drew the Guy girls in because of 5-year-old Heather O'Rourke, the adorable blonde-and-blue-eyed actress who played Carol Ann, who is sucked into the TV by the poltergeists. By the time the truly terrifying stuff appeared--including a tree that tried to eat Carol Ann's brother and a clown doll that came to life--Tracie and Emily were too scared to leave the room and their Dad was too invested to turn off the film. This week, Emily finally revisits this traumatizing pop culture phenomenon, and finds a lot to enjoy. Not only does she recognize a number of movies that were influenced by this film--which was penned by Steven Spielberg, who again shows off his storytelling chops--but it offers a fascinating and feminist examination of the relationships between women and the roles of mothers and daughters. Although, some of the behind-the-scenes information she learned about the film makes it clear the filmmakers really didn't understand the film they were making. You don't need to hang back. We won't jam your frequency while you listen in! This episode was edited by Resonate Recordings. Our theme music is "Professor Umlaut" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Learn more about Tracie and Emily (including our other projects), join the Guy Girls' family, secure exclusive access to bonus episodes, video versions, and early access to Deep Thou​​ghts by visiting us on Patreon or find us on ko-fi: https://ko-fi.com/guygirls We are Tracie Guy-Decker and Emily Guy Birken, known to our family as the Guy Girls. We have super-serious day jobs. For the bona fides, visit our individual websites: tracieguydecker.com and emilyguybirken.com We're hella smart and completely unashamed of our overthinking prowess. We love movies and tv, science fiction, comedy, and murder mysteries, good storytelling with lots of dramatic irony, and analyzing pop culture for gender dynamics, psychology, sociology, and whatever else we find.

    53 min
  6. Firefly and Serenity: Deep Thoughts About Storytelling, Strawberries, and Sci Fi Cowboys

    JUN 3

    Firefly and Serenity: Deep Thoughts About Storytelling, Strawberries, and Sci Fi Cowboys

    Send us a text May have been the losing side. Still not convinced it was the wrong one. When Tracie first encountered the fan-favorite Western-in-space television show Firefly 20 years ago, she was delighted by Joss Whedon's subversion of tropes, his mastery of the written word, and his commitment to excellent storytelling. At the time, Whedon was heralded as a modern feminist and Firefly (and its follow up film Serenity) were presented as proof of his feminism bona fides. This franchise gave us kick-ass women like Zoe, Inara, Kaylee, and River and a future society where sex work is revered.  But in hindsight, Whedon's storytelling shows a few cracks--from the weird absence of any Asian characters (despite everyone speaking Mandarin) to the sometimes toxic romance tropes. There are still plenty of delights in store for the modern viewer, including cultural commentary on how humans will continue to be awful to each other in space, as well as the beloved crew of misfits and outlaws who navigate the horrors with aplomb and cunning hats. Everything's shiny, Captain! Just throw on those headphones and take a listen. CW: Mentions of sexual violence This episode was edited by Resonate Recordings. Our theme music is "Professor Umlaut" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Learn more about Tracie and Emily (including our other projects), join the Guy Girls' family, secure exclusive access to bonus episodes, video versions, and early access to Deep Thou​​ghts by visiting us on Patreon or find us on ko-fi: https://ko-fi.com/guygirls We are Tracie Guy-Decker and Emily Guy Birken, known to our family as the Guy Girls. We have super-serious day jobs. For the bona fides, visit our individual websites: tracieguydecker.com and emilyguybirken.com We're hella smart and completely unashamed of our overthinking prowess. We love movies and tv, science fiction, comedy, and murder mysteries, good storytelling with lots of dramatic irony, and analyzing pop culture for gender dynamics, psychology, sociology, and whatever else we find.

    54 min
  7. The Dark Crystal: Deep Thoughts About False Binaries, World Building, and What Emily Isn't Willing to Accept From Her Puppets

    MAY 27

    The Dark Crystal: Deep Thoughts About False Binaries, World Building, and What Emily Isn't Willing to Accept From Her Puppets

    Send us a text What was sundered and undone shall be whole–the two made one. On today's episode of Deep Thoughts About Stupid Sh*t, Emily returns to a beloved film from the Guy girls' childhood: Jim Henson's 1982 epic fantasy The Dark Crystal. Though the film's main character Jen the Gelfling follows the familiar beats of the hero's journey, baby Emily didn't understand the allegory of divine beings that are incomplete as Mystics and Skeksis without each other–and for good reason. Jim Henson drew inspiration from the book Seth Speaks by psychic medium Jane Roberts, which he claimed not to completely understand. But Henson's masterful attention to world building, his willingness to create a scary story for children, his exploration of spirituality through fiction, and his loving creation of ugly characters, all made for a meaningful--if imperfect--film. Listen, Gelfling, there is much to be learned. So throw on your headphones and begin! Mentioned in this episode The Hero’s Journey The Virgin’s Promise This episode was edited by Resonate Recordings. Our theme music is "Professor Umlaut" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Learn more about Tracie and Emily (including our other projects), join the Guy Girls' family, secure exclusive access to bonus episodes, video versions, and early access to Deep Thou​​ghts by visiting us on Patreon or find us on ko-fi: https://ko-fi.com/guygirls We are Tracie Guy-Decker and Emily Guy Birken, known to our family as the Guy Girls. We have super-serious day jobs. For the bona fides, visit our individual websites: tracieguydecker.com and emilyguybirken.com We're hella smart and completely unashamed of our overthinking prowess. We love movies and tv, science fiction, comedy, and murder mysteries, good storytelling with lots of dramatic irony, and analyzing pop culture for gender dynamics, psychology, sociology, and whatever else we find.

    50 min
  8. Splash: Deep Thoughts About Mermaids, Male Masturbatory Fantasies, and How Pop Culture Created the Name Madison

    MAY 20

    Splash: Deep Thoughts About Mermaids, Male Masturbatory Fantasies, and How Pop Culture Created the Name Madison

    Send us a text All my life I've been waiting for someone and when I find her, she's... she's a fish. When Tracie and Emily saw the 1984 Ron Howard film Splash as little girls, they fell in love with the badass mermaid played by Daryl Hannah. She was smart, determined, and romantic--and she had a gorgeous tail she could unfurl in Tom Hanks' bathtub. But on revisiting the movie this week, Tracie found some rather ugly and sexist assumptions bundled together with the romantic notions. Madison the mermaid learns how to be a human woman by shopping and her devotion to Allen makes very little sense. But like Disney's The Little Mermaid, it's possible to look at Splash as a trans allegory, which makes their romance and Allen's decision to join her in the sea a much more subversive story. Sit back, relax, soak your fins, and take a listen! Mentioned in this episode: Why Magic Pixie Dream Girl Movies Are Uncomfortably Dark This episode was edited by Resonate Recordings. Our theme music is "Professor Umlaut" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Learn more about Tracie and Emily (including our other projects), join the Guy Girls' family, secure exclusive access to bonus episodes, video versions, and early access to Deep Thou​​ghts by visiting us on Patreon or find us on ko-fi: https://ko-fi.com/guygirls We are Tracie Guy-Decker and Emily Guy Birken, known to our family as the Guy Girls. We have super-serious day jobs. For the bona fides, visit our individual websites: tracieguydecker.com and emilyguybirken.com We're hella smart and completely unashamed of our overthinking prowess. We love movies and tv, science fiction, comedy, and murder mysteries, good storytelling with lots of dramatic irony, and analyzing pop culture for gender dynamics, psychology, sociology, and whatever else we find.

    53 min
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4.6
out of 5
10 Ratings

About

Ever had something you love dismissed because it’s “just” pop culture? What others might deem stupid shit, you know matters. You know it’s worth talking and thinking about. So do we. We're Tracie and Emily, two sisters who think a lot about a lot of things. From Twilight to Ghostbusters, Harry Potter to the Muppets, and wherever pop culture takes us, come overthink with us as we delve into our deep thoughts about stupid shit. 

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