What Do You Want to Talk About?

Jan 30 2025 36 ep. 53 mins
What Do You Want to Talk About? Podcast artwork

Talking About What Moves Us as Comic/Cultural Archivist/Theologian/Humans. I (Samuel Lee) am Korean-American who grew up in New York. Joy Nam grew up in Bolivia as a Korean missionary kid, but has been all over the globe so if you ask her where she is from, she would say "everywhere and nowhere." Maybe all these markers are not useful identifiers; but they are our vantage points --that are constantly moving. These moving diverse vantage points create interesting conversations. So pour yourself wine (Joy's preferred drink) or a glass of Bourbon (mine), and join us for a chat!

  Society & Culture
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Danger of Self and Identity

Jan 30 2025 53 mins  
We talk about the modern veneration of the self, and how its sold to us in self-help industry. Is there another way to see ourselves other than this atomistic self? What does it mean to have healthy boundaries. We reflect on a philosophy podcast and the book, Magnificent Rebels, a book on the invention of Self that happens in the quiet town of Jenna in Germany at the end of 18th ce

Attack on Titan - Near Perfect Story

Jan 13 2025 33 mins  
Isiyama is a beast, to tell this complex story so well. Joy watched it and loved it. Have you watched it. Just an amazing work of artistry. But at the end what does such story do? Entertain? Yes. But does it change people's heart and mind? What power does a good story have?

Anime, a story form for complex story telling

Dec 17 2024 51 mins  
Joy is moving to London, I am getting ready for a joke battle, and we talk about anime and what it brings as a legitimate form for telling complex stories. Japanese anime is not just Dragonball. They have used it to tell difficult stories. It is not just a cheaper way to do cool visuals. Even if today's CGI can replicate visuals of anime in a live version, it is still not the same

On Friendship & a little bit on Will Farrell

Nov 25 2024 50 mins  
As we catch up we ruminate on friendship (& romantic relationships), why we choose some people to be friends, and what value we are seeking or giving? And then a little bit on Will Farrell's Mark Twain prize acceptance speech. Joy thought one part of it was cringy. Can any material work if you have the right delivery?

Reading Han Kang Nobel Prize Winner

Oct 25 2024 57 mins  
Joy and I read two poems by Han Kang, a Korean author, who just won the Nobel Prize. Reading the poem, we experience the inadequacies of any translation simply because the power of words is no simply in the definition, but his emotional relationship with other words in the language and the world of that language.

Matt Rife's Crowd Work his Fuck You to his Critics

Oct 11 2024 53 mins  
This episode Joy and I discuss Matt Rife's Crowd Work special, his fuck you to his critics, and whether the crowd-work script actually is more therapeutic than your very expensive therapy sessions. Join us!

The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock - Funnier than you think

Sep 17 2024 51 mins  
Joy and I (Sam Lee), read through this poem that started the modern poetry movement and launched T.S. Eliot's career. Reading it, you find it funny and the character pitiful, but also the artistry is definitely praisworthy! If you don't like poems, this podcast might make you fall in love with it! Seriously!

Why Americans Talk So Much About Themselves & Reading Open City

Aug 13 2024 62 mins  
A summer break, Joy & Sam get back to talk about why American are so full of themselves (Whiteman, the rhetoric of self as the epic story) & Reading Open City by Teju Cole. Such a fun conversation, join us & let us know what you think!

Inside Out 2 the movie, and emotions and self

Jul 09 2024 41 mins  
We review the movie (did you enjoy the movie?), but more than just review, how does the movie reflect our current understanding of self and what constitutes our identity. Join us!

Urban Design - Ramy Yousseff - Dave Chappelle

Jun 27 2024 55 mins  
Talking about stand up (on of our favorite art), but of course starts with a meandering through urban design (the 99 percent visible design that affects our lives), its a tour de force! And Joy thinks Dave is meh...but acknowledges his cultural influence...what do you think?