Small Beans

“What kind of cop are you?” That’s a real loaded question, game studio ZA/UM. First, I’m not a cop. Who said I was a cop? And second, maybe to answer that question we’ll have to get into 1800s-esque geopolitical fiction. And maybe make Michael cry. That’s right! This game opened the floodgates of both Michael’s physical tear ducts and the more philosophical ethical sparring of our hosts, Mike and Adam. Listen to hear what they think and where they disagree. Michael Swaim: https://twitter.com/SWAIM_CORP Adam Ganser: https://twitter.com/therealganz Support Small Beans and access Additional Content: https://www.patreon.com/SmallBeans Check our store to buy Small Beans merch! https://www.teepublic.com/stores/the-small-beans-store?ref_id=22691

Adam brings the heat with 1995’s Heat. A discussion about how within Michael Mann’s apparent action film follows the beats and scene work of a family drama. Adam elaborates the bag of tricks the director uses to sneakily get you involved in the interpersonal relationships even amongst sweeping thrills. The conversation starts with a discussion of musical theater for some reason, and even before that, it appears our MC has turned into a ghost. Features: Adam Ganser: https://twitter.com/therealganz Abe Epperson: https://twitter.com/AbeTheMighty Support Small Beans and access Additional Content: https://www.patreon.com/SmallBeans Check our store to buy Small Beans merch! https://www.teepublic.com/stores/the-small-beans-store?ref_id=22691

In the last of our three LIVE from UCLA episodes, co-hosts Ivette Ale and Dahlia Ferlito talk with Justino Mora and Karla Estrada on immigration. We talk about borders, the DREAM Act, American foreign policy, and policy reform efforts. You can find full show notes, including useful links and recommended reading, at patreon.com/smallbeans.

HOW COULD YOU HAVE FORGOTTEN MAGGIE MAE’S MONKEY MADNESS MOVIE MONTH?!?! It’s May! At Small Beans, this apparently means we’ll be covering TWO movies this month with our long time collaborator Maggie Mae Fish! And guess what? They both have monkeys in them! And it’s May! What a time to be alive. This episode, we cover the film Monkeybone and discuss its semi-cult status as well as how this insane film was made. Features: Maggie Mae Fish: https://twitter.com/MaggieMaeFish Michael Swaim: https://twitter.com/SWAIM_CORP Abe Epperson: https://twitter.com/AbeTheMighty Support Small Beans and access Additional Content: https://www.patreon.com/SmallBeans Check our store to buy Small Beans merch! https://www.teepublic.com/stores/the-small-beans-store?ref_id=22691

It’s a mailbag episode! That means the star is you! You’re the awkward one! But down worry, Sarah and Bridgett open up about being bullies in school. Yes, they feel terrible about it and it wasn’t cool but in their defense they’re horrible. Then, we go through your emails and bask in your delicious rough stuff like schadenfrude-pigs in your awkwardness mud. Stay tuned until the end of the episode when Bridgett and Sarah have a HUGE announcement! Sarah tries to intro the announcement in a charming way and on-brand Bridgett misses her cue and sneezes. I love Bridgett so much. It’s at timecode 1:11:20 and I want everyone to hear it. Features: Sarah Griffith: https://twitter.com/sk_griffith Bridgett Greenberg: https://twitter.com/BridgettTweets Rough Stuff Pod: https://twitter.com/roughstuffpod Support Small Beans and access Additional Content: https://www.patreon.com/SmallBeans Check our store to buy Small Beans merch! https://www.teepublic.com/stores/the-small-beans-store?ref_id=22691

Michael has been waiting for this one! He loves Salem’s Lot! Can’t get enough of it! Abe brings him back to Earth by reminding him that this TV movie, the second film/TV adaptation of Stephen King’s career, had a small budget, the director was their second choice, and the production attempted to shoot a TV miniseries and a theatrical version at the same time. So, you know, it already looks good on paper. It’s about vampires taking over a town! Features: Michael Swaim: https://twitter.com/SWAIM_CORP Abe Epperson: https://twitter.com/AbeTheMighty Support Small Beans and access Additional Content: https://www.patreon.com/SmallBeans Check our store to buy Small Beans merch! https://www.teepublic.com/stores/the-small-beans-store?ref_id=22691

Abe is out of control. He must be stopped. He just talked for an hour about how The Mask utilizes a very specific color strategy in its set decoration, props, costumes, and make up. Who is this podcast for? Why would you listen to this podcast? Because you gotta. Features: Abe Epperson: https://twitter.com/AbeTheMighty Adam Ganser: https://twitter.com/therealganz Support Small Beans and access Additional Content: https://www.patreon.com/SmallBeans Check our store to buy Small Beans merch! https://www.teepublic.com/stores/the-small-beans-store?ref_id=22691

Oh my Malkovich! Our resident Charlie Kaufman scholar, Brooks Brown, returns for the first major Kaufman feature release, Malkovich. The trio discusses the writer’s humble beginnings in comedy, his collaboration with Spike Jonze, and ultimately what separates his early scripts from his later scripts and direction. It’s truly a Malkovich you don’t want to miss, Malkovich! Features: Brooks Brown: @quarantine_collective Michael Swaim: https://twitter.com/SWAIM_CORP Abe Epperson: https://twitter.com/AbeTheMighty Support Small Beans and access Additional Content: https://www.patreon.com/SmallBeans Check our store to buy Small Beans merch! https://www.teepublic.com/stores/the-small-beans-store?ref_id=22691

Michael and Adam considered all their friends and determined that the best Rocket Leaguer of them all is Abe Epperson. Turns out, he’s also bad! They’re all bad! Considering it’s a six-year-old game that still appears to be streamed by many, you’d expect they’d get a guest who’s better at the game. Though it doesn’t help that it’s one of the most challenging learning curves in modern gaming. So let’s chat about what makes Rocket League special and why it still remains relevant. Michael Swaim: https://twitter.com/SWAIM_CORP Adam Ganser: https://twitter.com/therealganz Abe Epperson: https://twitter.com/AbeTheMighty Support Small Beans and access Additional Content: https://www.patreon.com/SmallBeans Check our store to buy Small Beans merch! https://www.teepublic.com/stores/the-small-beans-store?ref_id=22691

As voted on by our patreon “Show Me” producers, this episode features Maggie and Adam’s picks of their nightmare fuel movie. What does Maggie find terrifying? What would Adam never wish to show his mother? Adam and Maggie talk about their failing brains and arms. If you patronize us, feel free to email us suggestions for episodes at any time at magsandganz@gmail.com. Adam Ganser: https://twitter.com/therealganz Maggie Mae Fish: https://twitter.com/MaggieMaeFish Support Small Beans and access Additional Content: https://www.patreon.com/SmallBeans Check our store to buy Small Beans merch! https://www.teepublic.com/stores/the-small-beans-store?ref_id=22691

Adam walks us through the vision of the Hughes Brothers and the techniques deployed so the film’s final twist isn’t doesn’t feel so hard to swallow. It succeeds and fails in different ways, but there’s plenty of craftsmanship in this extremely flawed film. Sometimes it’s about what you don’t see, you see. It’s like jazz. Sweet, sweet Denzel-Washington-clapping-a-bar-full-of-hooligans-with-a-scimitar jazz. Features: Adam Ganser: https://twitter.com/therealganz Abe Epperson: https://twitter.com/AbeTheMighty Support Small Beans and access Additional Content: https://www.patreon.com/SmallBeans Check our store to buy Small Beans merch! https://www.teepublic.com/stores/the-small-beans-store?ref_id=22691

Here’s the deal. Our very bean Michael Swaim and Gamefully Unemployed’s David Christopher Bell have decided to create a dream team. A supergroup. The Traveling Wilburys of podcasting. The Cream of audio. So get in here and listen to this audio cream! The whole concept at play here is that Michael and Dave realized that every Futurama episode has a corresponding Star Trek: The Next Generation episode. In other words, whether it be basic plot devices or philosophical questions at the heart of the episode, these two shows trekked the same space (where I guess someone had gone before). If you’re a nerd, you’re going to love this audio cream. This show will release 50-50 between both Gamefully Unemployed and Small Beans, but this one is for everyone, baby! Wimmy Wam Wam Wozzle! Features: Michael Swaim: https://twitter.com/SWAIM_CORP representing https://www.patreon.com/SmallBeans David Bell: https://twitter.com/MovieHooligan representing https://www.patreon.com/GamefullyUnemployed Support Small Beans and access Additional Content: https://www.patreon.com/SmallBeans Check our store to buy Small Beans merch! https://www.teepublic.com/stores/the-small-beans-store?ref_id=22691

Last week on 1upsmanship, Michael got Adam to play Psychonauts, a beloved game from his childhood. This week on Frame Rate, Michael gets to wax poetic about Dark City, the Alex Proyas film that is basically The Matrix and pre-dated the Matrix by about a year. Twitch streamer Alebrelle joins the party and the three investigate the meaning of this mind-bending noir. They also take cheap shots at it because you know, it’s not like it’s The Matrix or anything. Features: Alebrelle: https://twitter.com/alebrelle Michael Swaim: https://twitter.com/SWAIM_CORP Abe Epperson: https://twitter.com/AbeTheMighty Support Small Beans and access Additional Content: https://www.patreon.com/SmallBeans Check our store to buy Small Beans merch! https://www.teepublic.com/stores/the-small-beans-store?ref_id=22691

Ah yes, the personification of the Stephen King everyman: Arnold Schwarzenegger. As we’ve learned, King’s protagonists are often nerds, dweebs, heck, even goofballs. So when the producers of the film approached Schwarzenegger with the adaptation of The Running Man, penned by King’s nom de plume, you know King was ecstatic about it. Michael and Abe discuss the outrageous and basic parody that permeates dystopian films as well as fondly remember that time a man named Buzzsaw got chainsawed in the balls. Features: Michael Swaim: https://twitter.com/SWAIM_CORP Abe Epperson: https://twitter.com/AbeTheMighty Support Small Beans and access Additional Content: https://www.patreon.com/SmallBeans Check our store to buy Small Beans merch! https://www.teepublic.com/stores/the-small-beans-store?ref_id=22691

Child Michael Swaim visits this episode of 1upsmanship and demands that his co-host plays his favorite game from his formative years. Adam, who wants everyone to know that he does not like Final Fantasy and “sparkly anime boys,” and while that has nothing to do with Psychonauts, would not play this game if left to his own devices. Will Adam break child Michael’s heart and hate this game or will the stars in Swaim’s eyes win over his cold heart? Or is Michael completely wrong and this game can be deleted from history? Listen to find out! Michael Swaim: https://twitter.com/SWAIM_CORP Adam Ganser: https://twitter.com/therealganz Support Small Beans and access Additional Content: https://www.patreon.com/SmallBeans Check our store to buy Small Beans merch! https://www.teepublic.com/stores/the-small-beans-store?ref_id=22691