On the Culture's Crest

Caught in the Net

This week, Jake and Richard dive headlong into the world of YouTube and video content creation, reminiscing about old favorites, the joys of discovery in the information age, the transition from passion-led projects to sponsored corporate backing, and how to face the seeming unending sea of content as a new creator. (Recorded 5/17/2025) Show Notes: "Billy Mays vs Ben Franklin" by Epic Rap Battles of History: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TAaE7sJahiw "The Good Old Days" by FlyingPringle: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WUM3xUfvdvM "Goodbye" by Outdoor Boys: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VwC8jwnXfo4 "How Did We Get Here?" (2022): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tsa90kL0xWU "They stole $1.7 million" by The Game Theorists: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ACNhHTqIVqk Iron.Age Media: https://ironage.media/ ANVIL Iron Age Magazine: https://anvilmagazine.com/ Twitter/X: https://x.com/ironagemedia 365 Infantry: Ride for 2024. LIVE ON KICKSTARTER! https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/jakecalta/365-infantry-ride-for-2025/ Jake's Linktree: https://linktr.ee/JacobCalta

Sailing The Electric Seas

This week, Jake and Richard turn their eye to one of the great keystone mediums in modern entertainment: video games. Lucrative, widespread, and often controversial, there's never a dull moment in the world of interactive media. Topics include the many surprises brought by the Nintendo Switch 2, the dynamic between game-makers and game-players, and the question eternal: are video games art? (Recorded 4/17/2025) Show Notes: "Naughty Dog has completely lost the plot" by Legendary Drops: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ADYFW7vWvVg "Why 'Diverse' Games Fail - The Myth of Needing to See Yourself" by Aydin Paladin: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z_10img_Gfw "What Is Xbox Even Doing?" by KnowledgeHusk: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e0bDHwF2NdU Iron.Age Media: https://ironage.media/ ANVIL Iron Age Magazine: https://anvilmagazine.com/ Twitter/X: https://x.com/ironagemedia 365 Infantry: Ride for 2024. LIVE ON KICKSTARTER! https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/jakecalta/365-infantry-ride-for-2025/ Jake's Linktree: https://linktr.ee/JacobCalta

Sound Waves

Music has often found itself on the bleeding edge of trends in media distribution and popular culture. Jacob and Richard explore some of the many changes this time-honored medium has endured, from the proliferation of "lo-fi study beats" to the fractured pop landscape to issues of the future of music streaming and more. (Recorded 3/2/2025) Show Notes: "Jon, Take Me With You" by Jacadamia (Music By JW Francis): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UOielb7YW5o "Pop Is Dead. Long Live Pop." by Jacob Calta: https://astounding.substack.com/p/pop-is-dead-long-live-pop "Music Will COST MORE in 2025...Here's Why" by hadji: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0hF1nD1QEXo "I am BEGGING you to Stop Caring" by DJ Peach Cobbler: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rnFQd-8ULgM Iron.Age Media: https://ironage.media/ ANVIL Iron Age Magazine: https://anvilmagazine.com/ Twitter/X: https://x.com/ironagemedia Jake's Linktree: https://linktr.ee/JacobCalta 365 Infantry: Ride for 2024. LIVE ON KICKSTARTER! https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/jakecalta/365-infantry-ride-for-2025/

Wading Out

Jacob and Richard flow into the new show, asking whether mainstream entertainment is even built to last, chatting about how atomization has changed our engagement with finding new work, and the pitfalls of "right wing art/entertainment." (Recorded 2/2/2025) Show Notes: "Slop Economics" by Pillar of Garbage: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xl-edCJVFfA "I Quit Music Streaming For A Month" by Mic The Snare: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T45zcgkgMzs "Why I Curate" by Jacob Calta: https://astounding.substack.com/p/why-i-curate Iron.Age Media: https://ironage.media/ ANVIL Iron Age Magazine: https://anvilmagazine.com/ Twitter/X: https://x.com/ironagemedia Jake's Linktree: https://linktr.ee/JacobCalta