Episode 10: Format Wars, Beer Cans & Unblack Metal

Susurrus

What happens when communication slips beneath the surface? In this whisper-filled episode of Matt Talks Media, the crew explores the strange, hidden, and often overlooked ways humans have sent messages across distance, time, and even the boundary between life and death. Dr. Matt Dorr investigates Electronic Voice Phenomena (EVP), the eerie recordings that believers claim capture messages from the dead, tracing the phenomenon's history from spiritualist experiments to paranormal television and internet communities. Steven Doughty digs into the fascinating world of pneumatic tube systems, the forgotten networks of rushing air that once carried messages, documents, and even cash beneath bustling cities and businesses. Finally, Dr. Nolan Meditz examines whistle languages from around the globe, with a special focus on El Silbo, the remarkable whistled language of the Canary Islands that transformed speech into sound capable of traveling across mountains and valleys. From ghostly voices and underground message networks to languages carried on the wind, this episode follows the many ways humans have found to communicate when ordinary conversation simply won't do. Some messages are spoken. Others are whispered. A few may not belong to the living at all. Music Featured in Episode: https://seaton.bandcamp.com/album/too-long-to-say-goodbye-2 [https://seaton.bandcamp.com/album/too-long-to-say-goodbye-2] https://treeswilltell.bandcamp.com/album/negative-results [https://treeswilltell.bandcamp.com/album/negative-results] https://secret-wars.bandcamp.com/album/social-punishment-demo-2020 [https://secret-wars.bandcamp.com/album/social-punishment-demo-2020]

The Anarchist Cookbook, Space Invaders & Tifo

On this gloriously chaotic episode of Matt Talks Media, the crew ricochets between underground controversy, arcade history, and sports fandom spectacle like a shopping cart with one bad wheel. Dr. Matt Dorr dives into the strange and controversial legacy of The Anarchist Cookbook, exploring its history, cultural panic, media reputation, and how the book became a kind of outlaw artifact passed through generations of counterculture curiosity. Steven Doughty blasts into the pixelated past with a discussion on Space Invaders, unpacking how the arcade phenomenon helped shape video game culture and turned blinking aliens into a worldwide obsession. Meanwhile, Dr. Nolan Meditz explores the world of tifo, fan choreography, and the emotional symbolism behind retired jersey numbers, from legendary athletes to deeply personal acts of remembrance. It’s part media archaeology, part cultural deep dive, and part late-night conversation at a gas station arcade that somehow turned academic. Music featured on this episode: Anti-Hero: https://ripcordrecords.bandcamp.com/album/drumsticks-of-doom-soundtrack [https://ripcordrecords.bandcamp.com/album/drumsticks-of-doom-soundtrack] H-Self: https://anarchymax.bandcamp.com/album/maze-maze-dont-make-me-get-the-can [https://anarchymax.bandcamp.com/album/maze-maze-dont-make-me-get-the-can] Startle: https://startle.bandcamp.com/album/terrible-zero-stars [https://startle.bandcamp.com/album/terrible-zero-stars]

Milkpocalypse!

On this utterly calcium-fortified episode of Matt Talks Media, the crew unintentionally dives headfirst into the strange cultural afterlife of milk in media, folklore, and underground print culture. Steven Doughty explores the unsettling history of missing children appearing on milk cartons and how the campaign blurred the line between public service messaging and mass media spectacle. Dr. Nolan Meditz shifts gears into the world of comic poetry, including a bizarre milk-themed example that proves dairy and literature make a surprisingly cursed combination. Finally, Dr. Matt Dorr examines the infamous underground zine Kurt Cobain Was Lactose Intolerant, unpacking conspiracy culture, alternative media, and the strange humor that circulated through late-1990s zine communities. It’s weird. It’s academic. It’s probably shelf-stable. Welcome to Milkpocalypse! Music featured in the episode: https://korgansteinke.bandcamp.com/album/tattoo [https://korgansteinke.bandcamp.com/album/tattoo] https://dangerousways.bandcamp.com/album/high-anxiety [https://dangerousways.bandcamp.com/album/high-anxiety] https://gayagainstyou.bandcamp.com/ [https://gayagainstyou.bandcamp.com/]

Urban Legends and Constructed Languages

In the shadows of folklore and the scaffolding of language, Matt Talks Media returns for Season 2 with a deep dive into how stories are built, shared, and believed. Dr. Matt Dorr explores the evolution of urban legends from whispered cautionary tales and campfire lore into a form of niche media shaped by online communities, participatory culture, and digital circulation. What happens when folklore stops being just “told” and starts being produced? Then, Dr. Nolan Meditz steps into the world of constructed languages, unpacking how creators like Tolkien and the architects of Klingon have engineered entire linguistic systems for media. Along the way, he examines the friction between constructed and natural languages—where authenticity, usability, and cultural meaning collide. From haunted highways to invented vocabularies, this episode maps the strange terrain where storytelling and structure meet. Music featured in this episode (support the artists!): https://mothercain.bandcamp.com/album/unreleased [https://mothercain.bandcamp.com/album/unreleased] https://campwinapooka.bandcamp.com/album/capture-the-flag [https://campwinapooka.bandcamp.com/album/capture-the-flag]

Ep. 12: Hockey Blogs & Witch Hunts

This episode of Matt Talks Media skates straight from medieval paranoia to modern sports analytics. Dr. Matt Dorr explores the history and origins of the Malleus Maleficarum, the infamous 15th-century text that fueled witch hunts across Europe. We unpack how this ominous book shaped fear, authority, and media narratives long before the digital age. Dr. Nolan Meditz shifts the ice under our feet with a deep dive into the rise of hockey blogs, particularly those that specialized in breaking down NHL salary caps. From fan-driven analysis to influencing mainstream coverage, we look at how blogging communities reshaped hockey discourse. Music featured in this episode: Scepter of Eligos https://scepterofeligos.bandcamp.com/ [https://scepterofeligos.bandcamp.com/] Soul Annihilation https://soulannihilation.bandcamp.com/ [https://soulannihilation.bandcamp.com/] From medieval manuals to cap-space spreadsheets, this episode traces how texts shape power, panic, and fandom.