The Weekly Artifact

The Weekly Artifact
  • 5.0 (3)
  • Society & Culture
  • Updated Bimonthly

Hello, and welcome to The Weekly Artifact. I’m Justin and I make this podcast with my co-host, Alex. We’re two former creative writing majors searching for meaning in a sea of content. Every other week we select one piece of content—an article, a video, another podcast—that we found particularly interesting and discuss it. Our comments are our own and are not associated with any institution. The show may contain explicit language or themes. See the show notes for specific content warnings.

  1. Aug 29

    Back from the Dead

    In this episode, we discuss "wokeness" and the movie Bugonia. Endnotes: 13:09 - https://www.cnn.com/2024/07/29/us/florida-ron-desantis-stop-woke-act-part-overturned/ 16:18 - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SFwAnMLBSOw 17:05 - https://www.tiktok.com/@kenklippenstein/video/7668764155263847693 18:11 - https://badfaith.libsyn.com/episode-601-woke-1-vs-the-catharsis-of-winning-w-fd-signifier Content Warnings: Racism, Spoilers for Bugonia, Suicide Follow us on Facebook and Instagram! Artwork by jasartstudios Music by Nicholas Puzzoto Links to the artifacts: Hunter, Tera W. "If 'Woke' Dies, Our Nation's Truths Die with It." Hammer and Hope, no. 2, Summer 2023. https://hammerandhope.org/article/florida-history-slavery-ron-desantis-woke

  2. Aug 5

    The Least Scrupulous People in Society

    In this episode, I discuss the state of (sports) media. Endnotes:07:45 - https://www.bomanijones.com/podcasts/10:00 - https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLp43H6Vt_yDoUarxNb_fVK9_6bSiA2aHo&si=hwwpWZgqfC6WB34l 19:00 - https://www.newyorker.com/news/the-lede/the-unprecedented-profiteering-revealed-by-donald-trumps-financial-disclosure Follow us on Facebook and Instagram! Artwork by jasartstudios Music by Nicholas Puzzoto Links to the artifacts: Phillips, Carron J. "Dan Le Batard Was Right--'Embrace Debate' Has Destroyed Sports Television." Deadspin, 5 July 2023. https://deadspin.com/bomani-jones-game-theory-sports-television-1850606271/

  3. 10/05/2024

    We Can't Anger This Many People All at Once

    In this episode, we discuss asexuality and queer life choices, Eddie Murphy and so-called "cancel culture," ego-fueled displays of fake charity, and zodiac signs. Endnotes: 15:18 - https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/13634607221085485 25:24 – Chapelle, Dave. Dave Chapelle: What’s in a Name? Netflix, 2022. 41:50 - https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x87yupp 42:53 - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kEe7_zgZbuI Content Warnings: Explicit sexual references, references to homophobia, references to transphobia, Follow us on Facebook! Artwork by jasartstudios Music by Nicholas Puzzoto Links to the artifacts: Khoo, Sydney. "Free Toy Included." AZE 1, no. 4, 2018. https://azejournal.com/article/2018/2/1/free-toy-included-sydney-khoo Zinoman, Jason. "Eddie Murphy Is Bringing Eddie Murphy Back." The New York Times, 26 Sept. 2019. https://www.nytimes.com/2019/09/26/movies/eddie-murphy.html

  4. 04/01/2024

    Sage Room (S4E2)

    In this episode, we discuss incels, Russiagate, the phrase "life isn't fair," and bringing back hobbies. Endnotes: 12:14 – Jordan Peterson appeared in a disheveled tuxedo on episode #1769 of The Joe Rogan Experience 15:50 - https://muse.jhu.edu/article/777134/pdf 36:45 – There used to be a popular online account known as “Ken M” who would frequently troll people with nonsensical but harmless comments meant to bait someone into taking him seriously. His comments were often revolved around obvious misunderstandings of science, history, social norms, etc. In 2011, he even began a regular column for College Humor called “The Troll.” He still posts on the site formerly known as Twitter @horseysurprise https://web.archive.org/web/20210508220213/https://redditblog.com/2015/10/03/ken-m-interview-internet-troll/ 38:35 – This episode was recorded at a time when blue check marks still indicated authenticity on the website formerly known as Twitter 40:45 – A reference to a classic Tweet from Nicki Minaj in which she claimed that a friend of her Trinidadian cousin took a COVID-19 vaccine and subsequently became impotent due to swollen testicles, and then his fiancée called off their impending wedding. The tweet was (obviously) determined to be false. https://twitter.com/NICKIMINAJ/status/1437532566945341441?lang=en 47:26 – At the time the US had conflict with Iran, stemming back to US’s belief that Iran was building up its nuclear weapons capabilities, and subsequent military conflict in the Persian Gulf. Venezuela was also in the news over the U.S.’s opposition to Venezuela’s then newly-elected leader, Nicolás Maduro. Perhaps not coincidentally, there was also a push for the U.S. to find a way to acquire Venezuela’s rich supply of lithium, used in many batteries. In 2020, for example, Elon Musk tweeted seeming support for a coup in Bolivia, which similarly has ample supplies of lithium, used in Tesla’s electric vehicles. https://www.peoplesworld.org/article/after-bolivia-elon-musk-says-capitalists-can-overthrow-any-government-they-want/. Based on these news items, it is funny that the authors just happen to single out Iran and Venezuela as troll farms. 49:08 – A reference to the Cleveland Browns signing Deshaun Watson following allegations of sexual misconduct 49:10 – This was the rule at time of recording. The rule has subsequently been changed for playoff games as a direct result of that game’s outcome. 52:30 – A reference to the plot of the 2023 game Hogwarts Legacy. 54:15 - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Z3MqJakNbI Content Warnings: References to racism, misogyny, and mental health issues Follow Us On Facebook! Artwork by jasartstudios Music by Nicholas Puzzuto Links to the artifacts: Contrapoints. "Incels." YouTube, 17 Aug. 2018, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fD2briZ6fB0 Linvill, Darren and Patrick Warren. "That Uplifting Tweet You Just Shared? A Russian Troll Sent It." Rolling Stone, 25 Nov. 2019, https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-features/russia-troll-2020-election-interference-twitter-916482/

  5. 10/28/2022

    The Beastly Artifact: Halloween Special 2022 (S4E1)

    In this episode we discuss body horror, "The Black Phone," Justin checking himself into a safe room, and Alex...uh...do you have an unsaferoom this year? Content Warnings: Violence, child abuse, mental health issues Follow us on Facebook!  Artwork by jasartstudios Music by Nicholas Pozzuto Links to the Artifacts: Hill, Joe, "The Black Phone," 20th Century Ghosts, Oct. 2005, https://havenner.weebly.com/uploads/2/0/5/7/20575006/theblackphone.pdf Zayd, Yhara, "The Catharsis of Body Horror," YouTube, 25 July 2022, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2VosvAUS8Ww

  6. 04/24/2022

    Our Victory Lap (S3E4)

    In this episode, we discuss gamergate and why not everything is culture wars. Endnotes: 2:51 – “politically incorrect” is actually a 4chan discussion board, not a subreddit 12:47 – Here are links to the three Grayson articles 1) https://archive.ph/WtK25 2) https://archive.ph/NeJis 3) https://archive.ph/tUlkm 14:15 – This article has some brief context for Cheong’s move from self-proclaimed “turbo-feminist” to far right commentator https://www.dailydot.com/debug/ian-miles-cheong-malaysia/ 31:15 – A Reference to Aaron Rodger’s November 5th 2021 comments on the Pat McAfee Show 31:42 – A Reference to Jordan Peterson’s January 25th2022 appearance on Joe Rogan Podcast Content Warnings: Homicide, misogyny, racism, sexual content Follow us on Facebook! Artwork by jasartstudios Music by Nicholas Pozzuto Link to the artifact: Innuendo Studios. "Why Are You So Angry? Part 4: An Autopsy on Gamergate" YouTube, 16 July 2015. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c6TrKkkVEhs

  7. 02/05/2022

    Female Frequency (S3E3)

    In this episode, we discuss the manosphere's hatred of feminist criticism, the utility of debate, made-up swear words, and daylight savings time. Endnotes: 5:22 - https://www.amherst.edu/system/files/media/1021/Laura%20Mulvey,%20Visual%20Pleasure.pdf 7:22 – Should say “re-using the male gaze” 11:02 - https://www.cbsnews.com/news/amy-cooper-christian-cooper-speaks-out-that-act-was-unmistakably-racist/ 11:30 – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JUWBoYwAgaE (note, this is not the original post)  12:42 – The channel creators at Feminist Frequency manually turned off their comments. The more recent change is that YouTube got rid of the ability to see dislikes for all videos on the site. You can still hit the dislike button and the creator can see how many dislikes they have, but users can no longer see dislikes on videos they did not upload.  15:05 – This Contrapoints video is, unfortunately, no longer visible  19:05 – I could not find the famous study the gamergate followers point to, but here is a link to the American Psychological Associations report https://www.apa.org/news/press/releases/2020/03/violent-video-games-behavior. 24:15 - https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/astroworld-satan-demonic-conspiracy-theory-1254878/ 28:09 - https://www.theverge.com/2017/2/22/14690718/milo-yiannopoulos-pedophilia-cpac-book-deal-resignation-timeline 30:38 - https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2018/08/the-peterson-family-meat-cleanse/567613/  32:19 - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5bixgOtkLao The exact example Zizek uses here is the U.S. army’s “politically correct” euphemism for torture as “enhanced interrogation.”  33:09 – Shohat, Ella and Robert Stam. “Critical Ethnic Studies, Identity Politics, and the Right-Left Convergence,” in Critical Ethnic Studies: A Reader, ed. Nada Elia et. al, Duke University Press, 2016, pp. 416-434. https://www.dukeupress.edu/critical-ethnic-studies  38:30 - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RLqXkYrdmjY The clip in question is from 3:50-4:28.  38:19 – It was https://www.newsweek.com/milo-yiannopoulos-reports-having-covid-shares-pic-ivermectin-this-not-fun-1624019  42:25 - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x69Y61ThyV0  44:28 - https://theoutline.com/post/7023/what-is-a-douchenozzle-swear-nerds  56:17 - https://www.ncsl.org/research/transportation/daylight-savings-time-state-legislation.aspx  57:06 - https://www.buzzfeed.com/alexisnedd/reasons-you-might-be-a-douche-canoe  57:54 - https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/kyle-rittenhouse-claims-supports-black-lives-matter-tucker-carlson-int-rcna6311 Content Warnings: misogyny, racism, sexual misconduct. Follow us on Facebook! Artwork by jasartstudios Music by Nicholas Pozzuto Links to the artifacts: Feminist Frequency. "Body Language & The Male Gaze - Tropes vs Women in Video Games," YouTube, 31 March 2016. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QPOla9SEdXQ Domise, Andray. "The Jordan Peterson–Slavoj Žižek Debate Was Good for Something," Macleans, 1 May 2019. https://www.macleans.ca/opinion/the-jordan-peterson-slavoj-zizek-was-good-for-something/

  8. 11/29/2021

    All I Do is Fart (S3E2)

    In this episode, we discuss "peopling," the app-ification of the criminal justice system, "cancel culture" as the rebirth of "frivolous lawsuits," and calling people stupid. Endnotes: 14:02 – As of April 2, 2019, Google shut down their Google+ social network. It launch June 28, 2011. 16:08 - https://www.vice.com/en/article/j5geay/dick-for-two-the-porn-ted-cruzs-account-liked-on-twitter-finds-huge-new-audience 20:06 - https://www.thecut.com/2021/06/courtney-stodden-chrissy-teigen-told-me-to-kill-myself.html(Note, that this is also what the “I have ADHD” line at the 43:14 mark references) 21:45 – Promise seems to at least still be raising money as of February of 2021, but it is unclear whether it has actually launched and/or been used and very little has been written about it since 2018 https://www.crunchbase.com/organization/promise/investor_financials 27:23 – Many people were upset with Jay-Z for nominally lending support to Kaepernick but also making deals with the NFL and defending his decision to work with the league as a business partner by suggesting that the Kaepernick situation was old news and that he could effectively make change from inside the system without articulating exactly what sort of change he could make by simply having his Roc Nation clients perform at NFL games. https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2019/08/jay-z-helps-nfl-banish-colin-kaepernick/596146/ 28:05 - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RM7lw0Ovzq0 30:19 - https://trashfuturepodcast.podbean.com/ 33:40 - https://www.flashforwardpod.com/2021/07/06/could-mind-control-end-crime/ 44:30 - https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/dig-cancel-culture-w-moira-weigel-nikhil-pal-singh/id791564318?i=1000520986272 47:18 - http://defamer.gawker.com/remember-when-38-year-old-jerry-seinfeld-dated-a-17-yea-1714153938 49:48 - http://www.espn.com/espnradio/podcast/archive/_/id/12563086 Content Warnings: mental health issues, homicide, sexual misconduct. Follow Us on Facebook! Artwork by jasartstudios Music by Nicholas Pozzuto Links to the Artifacts: Armstrong, Andrea.  "A Letter to Jay-Z: Don’t Keep This Promise," The Appeal,  10 Apr. 2018, https://theappeal.org/a-letter-to-jay-z-dont-keep-this-promise-93bee11e20bd/ Perry, Sarah. "The Essence of Peopling," Ribbon Farm, 8 Apr. 2015, ribbonfarm.com/2015/04/08/the-essence-of-peopling/

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5
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About

Hello, and welcome to The Weekly Artifact. I’m Justin and I make this podcast with my co-host, Alex. We’re two former creative writing majors searching for meaning in a sea of content. Every other week we select one piece of content—an article, a video, another podcast—that we found particularly interesting and discuss it. Our comments are our own and are not associated with any institution. The show may contain explicit language or themes. See the show notes for specific content warnings.

Information

  • Creator
    The Weekly Artifact
  • Years Active
    2019 - 2026
  • Episodes
    35
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © The Weekly Artifact
  • Show Website
    The Weekly Artifact