The Middle of Culture

Hot Take Factory

Peter and Eden run through a rapid-fire list of pop culture hot takes covering movies, TV, music, books, and games. The Star Wars watch order debate kicks things off (original trilogy only for Peter, release order for Eden), Eden defends Batman & Robin and F-Boy Island as unironically great, both agree the Beatles are played out, and they end on a shared appreciation for Alpha Centauri as the peak of the Civilization franchise. Show Notes What Eden's Been Into * K-pop roundup: LE SSERAFIM [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Le_Sserafim]'s new album, aespa [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lemonade_(Aespa_album)]'s Lemonade LP, and ITZY [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Motto_(EP)]'s Motto EP (featuring solo tracks from each member) * Reading: The web novel Long Awaited Feelings [https://www.novelupdates.com/series/my-feelings-can-wait/] (1,900 pages about a woman who time-travels after her death) and rereading How Do We Relationship? [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/How_Do_We_Relationship%3F] (completed 14-volume yuri romance manga — "the best romance comic I've ever read") * Games: Finished PowerWash Simulator [https://store.steampowered.com/app/4229450/PowerWash_Simulator_2__STAR_WARS_Pack/] (excited for the Star Wars DLC), played Loddlenaut (cute 5-hour pixel-art ocean cleanup game), and the Wuthering Waves x Cyberpunk: Edgerunners [https://wutheringwaves.kurogames.com/en/main/news/detail/4739] crossover event What Peter's Been Into * Diablo 4: Finished the Vessel of Hatred campaign as a Warlock ("killing demons by summoning your own demons is a good time") * Reading: 82% through Anji Kills a King [https://torpublishinggroup.com/anji-kills-a-king/] by Evan Leikam (BookTuber debut from Tor) — enjoying it but struggling with the prickly protagonist * Music: New Khemmis [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Khemmis_(band)] self-titled album (Denver doom metal), Cult of Luna [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cult_of_Luna]'s new single "In the Shadow of Your Shadow" (album out November), and The Ocean [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Ocean_(band)]'s "Light Pollution" from upcoming Solaris — allaying fears after the post-Holocene lineup change Hot Takes — Movies * Star Wars watch order: Peter says 4, 5, 6 + maybe Rogue One, skip everything else. Eden says release order (4, 5, 6, 1, 2, 3, Rogue One) to preserve cultural/historical context * Eden defends Batman & Robin [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Batman_Forever]: "It's the second best Batman movie. George Clooney's a bad Batman, he's got nipples on the Batsuit, he's got the Bat credit card — it's great." * Eden declares Saving Private Ryan [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saving_Private_Ryan] a bad movie to the horror of everyone at the comic book shop * Best Pixar: Eden picks Ratatouille [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ratatouille_(film)] (doesn't like most Pixar). Peter picks The Incredibles [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Incredibles_(2004_film)] * Correct max runtime: 90 minutes (Eden) vs 120 minutes (Peter) — anything longer needs to earn it * Sequel that's better: Peter says Captain America: Winter Soldier > First Avenger. Eden says Tokyo Drift is the best Fast & Furious movie * Citizen Kane [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Citizen_Kane]: Eden concedes it's the rare masterpiece that actually earns its reputation — a bunch of first-time filmmakers who didn't know the rules Hot Takes — TV * Shows that stayed too long: The Simpsons (Peter). Nearly every comedy past season 3 (Eden) * Best series finale: M*A*S*H's "Goodbye, Farewell and Amen" [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Goodbye,_Farewell_and_Amen] and Babylon 5 [https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0517691/] (Eden). Brooklyn 99 (Peter) * Worst series finale: Battlestar Galactica [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battlestar_Galactica_(2004_TV_series)] (new) — "the most incomprehensible finale you'll ever watch" (Eden). Seinfeld (Peter) * Reality TV worth defending: F-Boy Island [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FBoy_Island] — 24 guys, half are "nice guys" and half are fuckboys, the women pick, and the fuckboys can steal the $100k at the end. Nice guys get a villa; fuckboys get a literal prison camp on the beach * Adult animation vs prestige drama: Eden says Bob's Burgers [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bob%27s_Burgers] is the only good adult animation show right now. Prestige TV is in a nadir of expensive Game of Thrones clones Hot Takes — Music * Never need to hear again: The entire Beatles discography (both agree) * Best decade by genre: 80s for rock/pop, 90s for alt, aughts for indie, right now for K-pop (Eden). 2010s for metal — the genre found its stride again after a grim 90s (Peter) * Bands that should have stopped: Dream Theater after Awake (Eden). Opeth's last 15 years are all misses (Eden). Peter agrees on both * Greatest live album: Rush — Exit...Stage Left [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Exit...Stage_Left] (Peter). The Bang on a Can recording [https://bangonacan.bandcamp.com/album/terry-riley-in-c] of Terry Riley's In C (Eden — "the finest version I've ever seen") * Albums > playlists: Both firmly team albums. Eden has a 16-hour "K-pop Brain Rot" playlist for shuffling, but that's the exception Hot Takes — Books * Audiobooks = reading? Leans yes from both, but acknowledges the research is contradictory (small sample sizes, brain scan studies on both sides) * E-readers vs physical: Peter goes digital 9 times out of 10 (lighter, portable, side-lit). Eden does physical for comics, e-books for prose (form factor matters less for text, but hates reading comics on a screen) Hot Takes — Games * Favorite game of all time: Mass Effect 2 [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mass_Effect_2] (Peter — tighter gameplay than ME1, loyalty missions, assembling the crew). Doom (1993) [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doom_(1993_video_game)] (Eden — infinitely replayable with new WADs [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doom_modding] every day, nothing feels as fluid) * Best console generation: Xbox 360 / PS3 era (both) — Halo 3 LAN parties, Gears of War couch co-op, Mass Effect, Dragon Age, Fallout 3/NV, Viva Piñata, and yes, Sneak King * Open world vs linear: Both prefer a tight 20-hour experience over a 100-hour open world * Franchise that peaked early: Age of Empires II [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Age_of_Emires_II] (Peter — nothing since comes close). And Eden's shitpost answer of the day: Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sid_Meier%27s_Alpha_Centauri] is better than every Civilization game that came...

You're Under Arrest (Zero Arrests)

Eden makes Peter watch the 1994–95 OVA You're Under Arrest [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/You%27re_Under_Arrest_(manga)], a four-episode anime about two traffic cops in Tokyo. Peter goes in skeptical but comes out admitting it was fun, charming, and visually stunning. The siblings unpack what makes 90s hand-drawn animation special, how the direct-to-video OVA format enabled lavish production values, and why the 2017 revival is a cautionary tale in digital downgrades. Plus: Peter wraps up Dungeon Crawler Carl book 8, Eden makes a pilgrimage to giant troll sculptures in Iowa, a hotel bed that doesn't suck, and Peter's genuine enthusiasm for the new I Built the Sky album. Show Notes * You're Under Arrest OVA (1994–95) [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/You%27re_Under_Arrest_(manga)]: A four-episode direct-to-video anime about traffic cops Natsumi Tsujimoto and Miyuki Kobayakawa at Bokuto Station in Tokyo. Despite the title, zero arrests occur across all four episodes — the show is closer to a workplace slice-of-life comedy. Created by Kōsuke Fujishima [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/K%C5%8Dsuke_Fujishima]. * The OVA format explained [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Original_video_animation]: Original Video Animation — direct-to-video releases that bypassed broadcast TV. In the 90s, OVAs were often more lavish than TV anime because VHS tapes sold for $40–$70 per episode, guaranteeing ROI. OVAs also had fewer content restrictions than broadcast — though You're Under Arrest stays remarkably tame. * Kōsuke Fujishima's broader work [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/K%C5%8Dsuke_Fujishima]: Beyond You're Under Arrest, Fujishima created Oh My Goddess! [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oh_My_Goddess!] and served as lead character designer for multiple Tales [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tales_(video_game_series)] games, including Tales of Phantasia, Symphonia, Abyss, Vesperia, and Berseria. * The infamous "silly goose" meme [https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/silly-goose]: Eden discovered that a reaction image she's been seeing online for 20 years — a character sticking out her tongue with hands on her head — originates from You're Under Arrest (character Yoriko in episode 3). * English dub vs. subtitles: Peter found the English dub surprisingly good — the dialogue was looser and more entertaining than the literal subtitle translations. Eden watched subbed. Peter says the dub actually improved the experience for a light show like this. * The 2017 revival: Eden showed Peter the opening to the 2017 You're Under Arrest series [https://yua.fandom.com/wiki/You%27re_Under_Arrest_(2017_TV_series)] — cheap digital animation, worse music, and gratuitous bikini volleyball shots. A textbook example of how 90s hand-drawn cel animation aged better than early digipaint. * Dungeon Crawler Carl Book 8: A Parade of Horribles [https://mattdinniman.com/books/a-parade-of-horribles/]: Peter finished it. Covers floors 10 and 11 — down to 23 crawlers alive from an initial ~2 million. Bleak but sets up the final book. Peter's verdict: good, but he mainlined too many DCC books in a row and needs a break. * Anji Kills a King [https://www.instagram.com/reel/DJpcYIwBKCM/] by Evan Leikam: Peter's next read — a debut fantasy novel from a book influencer he follows. A one-off palate cleanser before diving into Discworld. * Forza Horizon 6 [https://forza.net/forzahorizon6]: Set in Japan, released May 2026. Peter earned his legendary gold wristband. Won the Titan (14.4-mile cross-country race) in a Koenigsegg but hasn't cracked the 54-mile Goliath loop yet. * I Built the Sky — Promise Me You'll Thrive [https://ibuiltthesky.bandcamp.com/]: Solo guitarist Rohan Stevenson's latest. Instrumental, joyful, heavy in places. Peter's been listening on repeat since it came out and calls it "next level" — it made him love guitar-centric instrumental music again. * Evergrey — Architects of a New Weave [https://evergrey.bandcamp.com/album/architects-of-a-new-weave]: The Swedish progressive metal band's 15th album, out June 5, 2026 via Napalm Records. Peter describes them as melancholy progressive power metal — never cheesy. Tom Englund's voice "could sing the Hallelujah chorus and you'd still be like, this is so sad." * Godthrymm — Projections [https://profoundlorerecords.com/godthrymm-complete-work-on-new-album-projections/] (2026): British doom metal, third album via Profound Lore. Pulls from the My Dying Bride vein — former MDB vocalist Aaron Stainthorpe guests on a track. (Peter refers to their 2020 debut Reflections [https://godthrymmdoom.bandcamp.com/album/reflections] and 2023 follow-up Distortions [https://godthrymmdoom.bandcamp.com/album/distortions].) * The Apothecary Diaries Vol. 16 [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Apothecary_Diaries]: Eden devoured it in a day and a half. Their endorsement: "You want something fun and simple and light and still intriguing? Apothecary Diaries is it." * Thomas Dambo trolls in Clinton, Iowa [https://www.growclinton.com/dambo/]: Danish artist Thomas Dambo [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Dambo] builds giant recycled-material troll sculptures worldwide. Clinton has three prominent trolls plus a fourth hidden in a park — the extra one exists because locals were so helpful Dambo had spare time. * Moxy Hotels [https://www.marriott.com/brands/moxy-hotels.mi]: Marriott's quirky sub-brand. No check-in counter — the bartender handles it with a complimentary drink. Rooms include a guitar and amp. Bedtime stories available by phone. Eden declares the bed the most comfortable hotel bed they've ever slept in. * The Lodi Pencil Sharpening [https://lotipencil.wordpress.com/]: The 5th annual sharpening of a giant pencil at Lake of the Isles in Minneapolis. Happened Saturday, June 6, 2026. Eden and Cassi attended for the second year. * PowerWash Simulator 2 [https://store.steampowered.com/app/2790710/PowerWash_Simulator_2/]: Eden's catharsis game of choice. Currently 71% through a very large barn. * The Batman (2022) [https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1877830/]: Eden rewatched it at the hotel. Still great, still too long — three hours, with "a whole fifth act that didn't need to be there." Cassi fell asleep. The bed was comfortable, so it balanced out.

The Worst Covers in History

Peter and Eden kick off with a leisurely check-in — outdoor Godzilla screenings, Eden's miniature laundry room diorama with a 1/12-scale mahjong set, Peter's Amon Amarth/Dethklok concert recap, and new releases from Periphery and LE SSERAFIM. Then, with an assist from ChatGPT's Codex, Peter has assembled roughly 45 of the internet's most-agreed-upon worst album covers for a tier list ranking — S being the most catastrophically bad. The resulting hour-ish is essentially an appreciation of outsider art, deeply cursed Photoshop, and the specific chaos that was '90s rap cover design. Key revelation: the Rednecks, who made Sex and Violins, are Swedish, and that is the Cotton Eye Joe. SHOW NOTES * Outdoor Movie Night Gone Right: Eden's projector plan collapsed due to daylight, so they wheeled the TV outside and screened the 1998 Godzilla with Matthew Broderick — which Eden argues holds up better than its reputation suggests. Friend L contributed an observation about American Godzilla's gender presentation that Peter and Eden both find compelling. * Daikon 3 & 4 / Studio Gainax Origin Story: Eden showed friends the legendary fan animations made for the early-'80s Daikon convention circuit — blatant copyright-violating anime crossovers that nonetheless launched the careers of the people who would go on to found Gainax (Neon Genesis Evangelion) and later Trigger (Delicious in Dungeon, Season 2). * Roombox 3 Progress: Eden's current miniature diorama project is a laundry room featuring a vending machine, an arcade cabinet, and a complete 1/112-scale Chinese mahjong set (all 144 tiles). Models are being dressed in fabric soft clothing rather than left as bare plastic. * LE SSERAFIM New Album: Eden's favorite K-pop act has a new record out. The second track samples La Macarena, which prompted a mild generational crisis at the comic shop when the younger staff noted it predates them. * Dungeon Crawler Carl / Discworld Detour: Peter is finishing Book 8 of Dungeon Crawler Carl (narrated by Jeff Hayes, whose per-character voice work Peter genuinely enjoys despite usually disliking that approach) and has resolved to go into Terry Pratchett's Discworld next as a pressure valve from heavy genre fiction. * Amon Amarth / Dethklok Concert: Peter drove to Salt Lake for the Amon Amarth/Dethklok tour. Amon Amarth was a highlight — Johan Hegg commanding a full audience Viking rowing session — while Dethklok left Peter cold; the Metalocalypse spectacle on screen keeps the audience at arm's length from the music. Castle Rat opened and was a solid short set. * Forza Horizon 6: Peter is ~15 hours in on the Japan-set new installment and finding it an ideal low-commitment diversion. Fits easily into 20-minute sessions or longer stretches. * Periphery — A Pale White Dot: New album from the djent-adjacent prog-metal band. Peter's read: fewer peaks but also fewer low points than usual — more consistent, somewhat more middling. Flagged as interesting rather than essential. * Bad Album Art Tier List: The main event. Peter used Codex to compile ~45 covers from various internet "worst of" lists into a tier list app, with S = truly worst. Notable rankings: The Faith Tones' Jesus Use Me nearly got its own tier above S; Rednex' Sex and Violins landed S upon discovering the band is Swedish and responsible for the definitive Cotton Eye Joe; Iron Maiden's Dance of Death — described as looking like "Baby's first Blender" — is an A despite being one of their best 21st-century albums; Badfinger's Ass (donkey with headphones, hand holding a carrot) closed the list as a deserved S. * Creed Sidebar: Human Clay cover triggers a genuine conversation about Creed's arc — good debut, one-and-a-half good albums, then nothing. Peter credits Alter Bridge as the redemptive outcome.

Music Palooza Episode

Peter and Eden kick off a chaotic week — Eden's dealing with the Shiny Hunters ransomware attack on Canvas (the university LMS that runs basically everything, currently being held hostage for the second time) while Peter is just weary from step counts. The bulk of the episode is a genre-spanning music deep dive: Eden assigns four critic-darling albums neither of them would normally reach for (Robyn, Ella Langley, Wendy Eisenberg, and Mandy Indiana), Peter assigns one desert-island pick Eden hasn't heard yet. Between the new releases, a Diablo 4 expansion, Cobalt lore, and the Dungeon Crawler Carl comic selling out on Free Comic Book Day, it's a very full episode. SHOW NOTES * Canvas Ransomware Crisis — Eden, who works in university IT, breaks down the Shiny Hunters attack on Canvas, the dominant learning management system used by ~54% of schools. The attackers took the platform down twice, demanded ransom, and threatened to release data from 9,000+ schools by May 12th. Eden spent Free Comic Book Day week in Zoom calls, prepping faculty for a likely third outage. * New Metal Releases — Peter covers recent drops: new Sevendust (pretty okay, Lajon Witherspoon sounds great), Draconian's Insomnolent Ruin (gothic death-doom, better than their 2020 album), and a Testament remaster of Practice What You Preach — which apparently had notoriously bad 80s mastering on every prior version. * What Else Peter's Been Into — Currently watching The Good Place (season two, laughing out loud), reading the new MurderBot novella System Collapse (more existential ennui, building toward a Preservation vs. Barishastranza showdown), and very much hooked on Vampire Crawlers, a $10 roguelike deck-builder with a dungeon crawl structure that he calls at least as good as Slay the Spire. * Free Comic Book Day at Eden's Shop — The comic shop where Eden works had its best day ever — beating last year's record by ~$3K. The Dungeon Crawler Carl issue zero sold out by 11:15 AM and was flipping on eBay for $30+. Eden's boss is now planning to order ten copies of the forthcoming OGN. * Eden's Media Check-In — Went back to Wuthering Waves (best combat of any free-to-play open world; Cyberpunk Edgerunners crossover incoming), read They Were Eleven by Moto Hagio (70s shoujo sci-fi, recently translated, thoroughly recommended), and briefly installed/uninstalled Neverness to Everness after the devs were caught using AI-generated assets and their "replacement" assets were also AI-generated. * The Music Listening Project — Robyn, Sexistential — Eden's clear favorite of the four assigned albums. Robyn's first album in eight years sounds like Body Talk Part 4, which is exactly what she apparently aimed for. Both hosts agree it goes down smooth and does exactly what dance-pop is supposed to do. Peter's pick of the bunch. * Ella Langley, Dandelion — Peter's least favorite ("I fucking hated every note on this shitty ass shit album"), not softened much by the 19-song runtime. Eden also wanted to like it more than they did. Peter's wife, who has a master's in vocal performance, concurred on the voice. Both prefer Kacey Musgraves's Middle of Nowhere, which dropped right after Eden finalized the listening list. * Wendy Eisenberg, self-titled — A folk/chamber-folk record Eden found genuinely enjoyable, especially in quieter guitar-forward moments. Peter couldn't get past what he describes as chronically unsupported vocals (no diaphragm engagement). Mid-episode, Eden Googles and discovers Wendy uses they/them pronouns — quick correction mid-stream. * Mandy Indiana, URGH — Noise rock with French lyrics; alienating by design, and for once that assessment is meant charitably. Peter could see putting it on if he just wants sound, not music. Eden started strong but felt bludgeoned by the end. Album art apparently smears skulls and faces across the screen in real time — which tracks. * Cobalt, Slow Forever (2016) — Peter's desert island pick, his most-listened album of the last two years. Eden had never heard it and came away genuinely impressed. Peter gives a brief history: Cobalt's Gin (2009) as foundational American black metal, the band's turmoil around the previous vocalist's behavior, Charlie Fell (of Lord Mantis) stepping in, Eric Wunder doing all instruments himself, and the resulting pivot from black metal to progressive sludge with blackened overtones. Peter closes with a passage from "King Rust." Eric Wunder passed away earlier this year — Slow Forever as a final statement.

The Nostalgia Hits Too Hard - GI Joe

Peter and Eden dive into the first four issues of Larry Hama's classic G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero comics — a Kickstarter Peter may have regretted until roughly issue three, when a self-reassembling mech changed his mind. Before getting to Cobra, they cover Eden's return to Final Fantasy XIV and a crash course in Riichi Mahjong, Peter's take on Dungeon Crawler Carl Book 7 (enthusiastically defended as entertainment, explicitly not art), the emotional weight of the new At the Gates album The Ghost of a Future Dead, and a handful of other metal releases. The G.I. Joe discussion turns into a genuinely good riff on comics history, the widescreen movement, and what it feels like to read a 1982 military action comic with 2025 eyes. SHOW NOTES * Eden returns to Final Fantasy XIV: The new expansion Everkold was announced and Eden is skeptical of the premise. They made a new character on a new data center with a self-imposed gimmick — only picking classes that use magic, which leads to some fun justifications for Dark Knight and Reaper. * Riichi Mahjong crash course: Eden attended a learn-to-play Mahjong event at a local board game lounge and has been practicing at the Gold Saucer in FFXIV. The tiles are described as resembling Haribo frogs — thick, satisfying, extremely edible-looking. * Eden's reading: Clematis and Wisteria series: A contemporary fantasy series set in a majocracy where healers are second-class citizens bonded to mages. Features two prickly, genuinely unlikable protagonists in a slow-burn enemies-to-lovers arc. Eden is several books in and very much into it. * Dungeon Crawler Carl Book 7: Peter finished it and reaffirmed his position that it is not art — it is McDonald's. A fun, genre-appropriate palate cleanser, nothing more. This generated at least one spirited reply from a listener on social media that Peter declined to further engage with. * Dresden Files Book 18 (Cold Days): Peter is halfway through and pleasantly surprised by how contemplative and low-action it is so far — Harry processing trauma rather than punching things. He expects crazy stuff by the end. * Metal roundup: Peter covers several recent releases — Grief Collector's The Death of All Dreams (classic doom), A Dream of Poe's Katabasis: A Marriage Among Ashes (gothic/symphonic doom from Portugal, came with a personal thank-you email from the artist), Avertat's Dead End Life (death-doom), and Sepultura's swan-song EP The Cloud of Unknowing. Peter delivers a hot take defending post-Max Sepultura and does not mince words about the Cavalera brothers. * At the Gates — The Ghost of a Future Dead: The most affecting music note of the episode. Lead vocalist Tomas Lindberg was diagnosed with adenoid cystic carcinoma, recorded demo vocals for the entire album in one day before surgery, and ultimately died from the disease. The band completed the album using those recordings. Peter calls it a real banger and a worthy send-off. * G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero (Issues 1–4): The main topic. Both Peter and Eden started skeptical — Peter "made a hundreds of dollars mistake" on the Kickstarter — but came around by issue three when a self-rebuilding mech shows up. Eden provides a solid comics theory digression on the widescreen movement, Silver Age overexplaining, and where 1982 G.I. Joe sits in that history. Larry Hama's background (Asian American, invented characters alongside Hasbro, writing it into his 60s) gets discussed, as does the book's period-typical racism and sexism, Snake Eyes' ambiguous deal, and Cobra's complete lack of motivation. * Free Comic Book Day plug: Eden reminds listeners that Free Comic Book Day is the following Saturday. The Dungeon Crawler Carl zero issue will be available. Eden also shouts out G.I. Joe: Silent Missions and a single issue written by friend-of-the-shop Phil Hester.