Stride & Saunter

In this episode, we welcome guest Mike Jest to discuss how comedy and storytelling often work in conjunction with one another. We examine some of the basic forms of comedy, as well as the structure of several sitcoms. We also discuss variations on interweaving story-lines and some of the fundamental rules and tips in comedy. Finally, we look at comedy as a means of social and political satire.

In this episode, we reflect on art as a human product, and the effects it has on us. We discuss the intentions of artists as well as the uses art has found historically and politically.

We are joined in this episode by Issa, who discussed some of his favorite horror movies, his appreciation for the genre, and how they instill and explore various fears. We also examine what these fears say about us as people and what we look for in horror movie experiences.

In this episode, Lucas joins us to express his passions for both hip hop and cooking. In doing so, he also elaborates on what links the two together, how both are social and self-reflective. He describes his personal exploration of both while also offering suggestions on how one could improve either as a craft.

In this episode, we discuss "friendliness" as an idea which refers to strategic kindness and sympathy shown towards others primarily out of interest in social standing rather than genuine concern. We discuss how this phenomenon, conceived by Michael Moffatt, an anthropology professor at Rutgers in the 1980's, operates and what validity we ascribe to it.

In this episode, we discuss some of our memories of home, how we define "home" as a place and as a set of ideas. We also consider how changes in environments affect our perceptions of home and what we seek in a home.

In this episode, we wanted to discuss our introductions to music, how our musical tastes developed and how we pursue new music and share our favorites with others.

Given our shared love of and interest in video games, we wanted to begin talking about some of their characteristics and so we chose to first examine the characters we control - protagonists in video games. We discuss some of our favorites as well as how we relate to or sympathize with them.

In this episode, we give a reading of "Don't Sweat the Small Stuff" and discuss some topics which Dr. Carlson mentions in his book, focusing on patience, listening in humility.

In this episode we welcome our second guest, Samuel Adam Graf, who was kind enough to speak with us about his experiences with percussion, and his thoughts on the topic.

As we gradually move away from our own experiences and onto larger topics, we wanted to consider the first jobs in our lives, who we worked with and what we learned during those initial experiences.

One of Kip's favorite videos, we felt it would be worthwhile for both of us to watch and consider its implications. We discuss the various ideas brought up in the speech and examine the video as an evocative medium

As we reflect on our respective years thus far, our first a capella and improv performances stand out as defining moments for both ourselves and our groups. We wanted to discuss some of the ideas and preparations that go into the days and weeks leading up to the first shows.

In this episode we welcome our first guest and friend of the show, Armand Hernandez, who wanted us to discuss ideas surrounding censorship. We actually cover self-censorship, some of the benefits of censorship and what we learn about those that restrain or withhold certain ideas.

In this episode, we wanted to continue with some of the Halloween spirit and discuss some of the things which haunt us, both trivial and serious.