Purely Academic with Jonathan Lack & Sean Chapman

Jonathan R. Lack & Sean Chapman
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Critics and teachers Jonathan R. Lack and Sean Chapman host this monthly variety series where we talk about our favorite video games, movies, anime, and much more, having fun and maybe even learning something along the way. From the creators of The Weekly Stuff Podcast and Japanimation Station. Visit https://www.jonathanlack.com for more!

  1. AUG 29

    Purely Academic #19 - How I Spent My Summer Vacation: Dark Souls, Dexter, Donkey Kong & More!

    Our August episode of Purely Academic is one of our busiest recordings to date, as Sean and Jonathan break down how they spent their summer vacations, and talk about the start of the new school year. Sean tells us about some of the legal insanity affecting education in Texas, while Jonathan explains why he created a bunch of feature-length anime fan edits for various classes he’s teaching this semester. We discuss a bunch of video games both old and new, from Donkey Kong Bananza and Mafia: The Old Country, to Sean falling down the Dark Souls rabbit hole again and Jonathan finding himself many hours into a new playthrough of the original Pokémon Blue. Jonathan also talks about binging the entire run of Showtime’s Dexter, and finally, Sean is up for The Monthly Ten, counting down the Top 10 podcast topics he would most dread doing.  Time Chart Intro: 0:00:00 – 0:08:50 News: 0:08:50 – 0:35:33 School Talk: 0:35:33 – 1:27:31 Jonathan’s Anime Edits: 1:27:31 – 1:48:20 Dexter: 1:48:20 – 2:16:53 Berserk & Dark Souls: 2:16:53 – 2:44:57 Pokémon Blue: 2:44:57 – 2:52:28 Donkey Kong Bananza: 2:52:28 – 3:01:57 Mafia: The Old Country: 3:01:57 – 3:17:06 The Monthly Ten: 3:17:06 – 3:40:13 Read Jonathan Lack’s movie reviews and stay up to date with all our podcast projects at https://www.jonathanlack.com Subscribe to JAPANIMATION STATION, our podcast about the wide and wonderful world of anime: https://japanimationstation.com Read Jonathan’s book 200 Reviews in Paperback or on Kindle – https://a.co/d/bLx53vK Subscribe to our YouTube channels!  Japanimation Station: https://www.youtube.com/c/japanimationstation   Purely Academic: https://www.youtube.com/@purelyacademicpodcast Support the show at Ko-fi ☕️ https://ko-fi.com/weeklystuff Original Music by Thomas Lack https://www.thomaslack.com/ ©2012 - Present Jonathan R. Lack & Sean Chapman

    3h 40m

  2. AUG 1

    Purely Academic #18 - Reviewing Marvel’s THE FANTASTIC FOUR: FIRST STEPS

    After looking back over all the previous attempts to bring Marvel’s Fantastic Four to the big screen last month, we review the introduction to Marvel’s first family into the MCU: The Fantastic Four: First Steps, directed by Matt Shakman and starring Pedro Pascal, Vanessa Kirby, Ebon Moss-Bachrach, and Joseph Quinn. It’s easily the most these characters have ever been done justice on film, with great lead performances, excellent retro-futuristic production design, and a particularly fun second act in the depths of outer space. We discuss how the film could stand to take a few more risks and go a bit deeper with its characters and themes, as First Steps ultimately plays things safe in the way most Marvel movies do, but this is still the best film to come out of the MCU in a long time.   Enjoy!  Read Jonathan Lack’s movie reviews and stay up to date with all our podcast projects at https://www.jonathanlack.com Subscribe to JAPANIMATION STATION, our podcast about the wide and wonderful world of anime: https://japanimationstation.com Read Jonathan’s book 200 Reviews in Paperback or on Kindle – https://a.co/d/bLx53vK Subscribe to our YouTube channels!  Japanimation Station: https://www.youtube.com/c/japanimationstation   Purely Academic: https://www.youtube.com/@purelyacademicpodcast Support the show at Ko-fi ☕️ https://ko-fi.com/weeklystuff Original Music by Thomas Lack https://www.thomaslack.com/ ©2012 - Present Jonathan R. Lack & Sean Chapman

    1h 42m

  3. JUL 17

    Purely Academic #17 - Reviewing James Gunn’s SUPERMAN (Spoiler Discussion)

    We’re back sooner than usual, with a special episode focused entirely on James Gunn’s SUPERMAN! The film is the official launch of the new DCU, but much more importantly, it’s an actual Superman movie, one that truly gets the character and his world in a way no live-action Superman film has in our lifetimes. Jonathan reviewed the film in writing last week at Fade to Lack, but we dive much deeper here with a full spoiler-filled discussion, breaking down all the characters, performances, themes, set pieces, and more! We have a few criticisms here and there, but for the most part agree this is a pretty wonderful superhero movie – and it’s truly awesome to finally have this much fun talking about Superman on a podcast.  Enjoy!  Read Jonathan Lack’s movie reviews and stay up to date with all our podcast projects at https://www.jonathanlack.com Subscribe to JAPANIMATION STATION, our podcast about the wide and wonderful world of anime: https://japanimationstation.com Read Jonathan’s book 200 Reviews in Paperback or on Kindle – https://a.co/d/bLx53vK Subscribe to our YouTube channels!  Japanimation Station: https://www.youtube.com/c/japanimationstation   Purely Academic: https://www.youtube.com/@purelyacademicpodcast Support the show at Ko-fi ☕️ https://ko-fi.com/weeklystuff Original Music by Thomas Lack https://www.thomaslack.com/ ©2012 - Present Jonathan R. Lack & Sean Chapman

    2h 15m

  4. JUL 11

    Purely Academic #16 - Xbox Layoffs, Switch 2 Adventures, Indiana Jones, Andor & More!

    For the July installment of ‘The Monthly Stuff,’ we break down the news of Xbox’s latest round of devastating layoffs, give fuller impressions of the Nintendo Switch 2 after a full month of play, and discuss recent games and TV shows we’ve experienced. Jonathan gives thoughts on Fast Fusion and Raidou Remastered, alongside continued impressions of Mario Kart World, while Sean talks about playing Indiana Jones and the Great Circle on the PS5, watchingUltraman Gaia, and the second season of Disney+’s acclaimed Star Wars series Andor. And for The Monthly Ten, Jonathan counts down the 10 craziest ideas for superhero movies he could think of. A fun time is had by all.  Enjoy!  Time Chart:  Intro: 0:00:00 – 0:03:35 News: 0:03:35 – 0:59:35 Indiana Jones and the Great Circle: 0:59:35 – 1:24:20 Switch 2 Adventures: 1:24:20 – 2:06:57  Ultraman Gaia: 2:06:57 – 2:20:09  Andor: 2:20:09 – 2:33:37 The Monthly Ten: 2:33:37 – 3:05:34  Read Jonathan Lack’s movie reviews and stay up to date with all our podcast projects at https://www.jonathanlack.com Subscribe to JAPANIMATION STATION, our podcast about the wide and wonderful world of anime: https://japanimationstation.com Read Jonathan’s book 200 Reviews in Paperback or on Kindle – https://a.co/d/bLx53vK Subscribe to our YouTube channels!  Japanimation Station: https://www.youtube.com/c/japanimationstation   Purely Academic: https://www.youtube.com/@purelyacademicpodcast Support the show at Ko-fi ☕️ https://ko-fi.com/weeklystuff Original Music by Thomas Lack https://www.thomaslack.com/ ©2012 - Present Jonathan R. Lack & Sean Chapman

    3h 6m

  5. JUN 27

    Purely Academic #15 - Fantastic Four x Four: Reviewing Every Fantastic Four Movie

    With Marvel’s ‘first family’ finally joining the Marvel Cinematic Universe next month in The Fantastic Four: First Steps, we thought it would be a good time to look back at the theatrical history of this extremely troubled franchise. There have been three attempts across four movies to make the Fantastic Four work on the silver screen, from the unreleased 1994 Roger Corman production, to the two Tim Story-directed films at 20th Century Fox in 2005 and 2007, to the ill-fated production of 2015’s Fant4stic, which might just be the worst superhero movie ever made. Some of these movies are better than their reputations suggest – the Tim Story films, with a charming cast and good sense of tone, are fine, if not particularly special – but on the whole, Hollywood has never known what to do with these characters, and surveying these 30 years of failed attempts to bring the Fantastic Four into the cinematic mainstream makes for a fun and fascinating conversation.  Enjoy!  Read Jonathan Lack’s movie reviews and stay up to date with all our podcast projects at https://www.jonathanlack.com Subscribe to JAPANIMATION STATION, our podcast about the wide and wonderful world of anime: https://japanimationstation.com Read Jonathan’s book 200 Reviews in Paperback or on Kindle – https://a.co/d/bLx53vK Subscribe to our YouTube channels!  Japanimation Station: https://www.youtube.com/c/japanimationstation   Purely Academic: https://www.youtube.com/@purelyacademicpodcast Support the show at Ko-fi ☕️ https://ko-fi.com/weeklystuff Original Music by Thomas Lack https://www.thomaslack.com/ ©2012 - Present Jonathan R. Lack & Sean Chapman

    2h 50m

  6. JUN 13

    Purely Academic #14 - Nintendo Switch 2 First Impressions + Doctor Who Season 2 Review

    It’s a jam-packed ‘Monthly Stuff’ episode for June as we give our first impressions of the Nintendo Switch 2 at launch and react to the latest season of Doctor Who. First, Sean gives us his review of Doom: The Dark Ages, while Jonathan talks about watching the classic Takahata Isao anime Heidi, Girl of the Alps. Then we go through some not-E3 2025 news, including the announcement of a Persona 4 remake and Xbox’s first branded handheld, before diving into all things Nintendo Switch 2. Jonathan had the system for about 3 days before recording, and played a ton of games, from brand new experiences like Mario Kart World to upgraded classics like Breath of the Wild. There’s a lot to like here, and a lot to talk about. And finally, we break down what the hell happened with this year’s Doctor Who episodes, as the series fully melted down on its way to a surprise regeneration and desperate last-minute twist.  Time Chart:  Intro: 0:00:00 – 0:05:22 Doom: The Dark Ages: 0:05:22 – 0:19:58 Heidi, Girl of the Alps: 0:19:58 – 0:40:53 Not-E3 2025 News: 0:40:53 – 1:20:36 Nintendo Switch 2 Impressions: 1:20:36 – 2:24:14 Doctor Who Season 2: 2:24:14 – 3:32:18 Monthly Ten: 3:32:18 – 3:55:24  Read Jonathan Lack’s movie reviews and stay up to date with all our podcast projects at https://www.jonathanlack.com Subscribe to JAPANIMATION STATION, our podcast about the wide and wonderful world of anime: https://japanimationstation.com Read Jonathan’s book 200 Reviews in Paperback or on Kindle – https://a.co/d/bLx53vK Subscribe to our YouTube channels!  Japanimation Station: https://www.youtube.com/c/japanimationstation   Purely Academic: https://www.youtube.com/@purelyacademicpodcast Support the show at Ko-fi ☕️ https://ko-fi.com/weeklystuff Original Music by Thomas Lack https://www.thomaslack.com/ ©2012 - Present Jonathan R. Lack & Sean Chapman

    3h 55m

  7. MAY 23

    Purely Academic #13 - The DOOM Episode! Classic DOOM Retrospective!

    Purely Academic continues its new format, with our second episode for May focusing on the month’s topic: In this case, we’re celebrating the release of DOOM: The Dark Ages with a retrospective on the original PC DOOM games from the 1990s. Over 30 years later, we still find the original DOOM and DOOM II utterly captivating, and we wanted to finally devote a podcast to discussing why they remain such great, singular staples of the first-person shooter genre. And if that wasn’t enough, we also decided to torture ourselves by watching the DOOM movie from 2005, starring Karl Urban and The Rock, which mostly has nothing to do with DOOM, but has one kinda-sorta interesting first-person sequence. It’s bad. But DOOM itself – the real DOOM – is anything but.  Enjoy!  Read Jonathan Lack’s movie reviews and stay up to date with all our podcast projects at https://www.jonathanlack.com Subscribe to JAPANIMATION STATION, our podcast about the wide and wonderful world of anime: https://japanimationstation.com Read Jonathan’s book 200 Reviews in Paperback or on Kindle – https://a.co/d/bLx53vK Subscribe to our YouTube channels!  Japanimation Station: https://www.youtube.com/c/japanimationstation   Purely Academic: https://www.youtube.com/@purelyacademicpodcast Support the show at Ko-fi ☕️ https://ko-fi.com/weeklystuff Original Music by Thomas Lack https://www.thomaslack.com/ Read Jonathan Lack’s movie reviews and stay up to date with all our podcast projects at https://www.jonathanlack.com Subscribe to JAPANIMATION STATION, our podcast about the wide and wonderful world of anime: https://japanimationstation.com Read Jonathan’s book 200 Reviews in Paperback or on Kindle – https://a.co/d/bLx53vK Subscribe to our YouTube channels!  Japanimation Station: https://www.youtube.com/c/japanimationstation   Purely Academic: https://www.youtube.com/@purelyacademicpodcast Support the show at Ko-fi ☕️ https://ko-fi.com/weeklystuff Original Music by Thomas Lack https://www.thomaslack.com/ ©2012 - Present Jonathan R. Lack & Sean Chapman

    2h 1m

  8. MAY 9

    Purely Academic #12 - Xbox Price Hikes, Assassin’s Creed Shadows, Outlandish Nintendo Switch 2 Accessories & More!

    Purely Academic has a new format starting this month, where we’ll be releasing two episodes a month: One focused on a specific topic, and the other featuring all the other up-to-date variety of News, ‘Show n’ Tell,’ the Monthly Ten, and more! The latter, which we’re nostalgically calling ‘The Monthly Stuff,’ is what you’re listening to today, and it’s a busy one! There was some big video game news with Nintendo Switch 2 preorders and enormous Xbox price hikes; Sean has been playing some big PS5 games in Monster Hunter Wilds and Assassin’s Creed Shadows; and Jonathan is in charge of May’s ‘Monthly Ten,’ sharing with us 10 increasingly ridiculous ideas for Nintendo Switch 2 accessories that probably won’t happen, but would be very funny if they did.  Enjoy, and join us again in 2 weeks for May’s topic, which is all about the classic DOOM games from the 1990s!   Time Chart:  Intro & Housekeeping: 0:00:00 – 0:17:40 News: 0:17:40 – 1:15:02  Thunderbolts: 1:15:02 – 1:28:37 Monster Hunter Wilds: 1:28:37 – 1:49:25 Forza Horizon 5 on PS5: 1:49:25 – 1:58:20  Assassin’s Creed Shadows: 1:58:20 – 2:35:15  The Monthly Ten: 2:35:15 – 3:00:59 Read Jonathan Lack’s movie reviews and stay up to date with all our podcast projects at https://www.jonathanlack.com Subscribe to JAPANIMATION STATION, our podcast about the wide and wonderful world of anime: https://japanimationstation.com Read Jonathan’s book 200 Reviews in Paperback or on Kindle – https://a.co/d/bLx53vK Subscribe to our YouTube channels!  Japanimation Station: https://www.youtube.com/c/japanimationstation   Purely Academic: https://www.youtube.com/@purelyacademicpodcast Support the show at Ko-fi ☕️ https://ko-fi.com/weeklystuff Original Music by Thomas Lack https://www.thomaslack.com/ ©2012 - Present Jonathan R. Lack & Sean Chapman

    3h 1m
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Critics and teachers Jonathan R. Lack and Sean Chapman host this monthly variety series where we talk about our favorite video games, movies, anime, and much more, having fun and maybe even learning something along the way. From the creators of The Weekly Stuff Podcast and Japanimation Station. Visit https://www.jonathanlack.com for more!

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