Almost Nerdy with The Happy Hipsters

In this episode we discuss the themes and the fandom of Wandavision.

In this episode we discuss the themes on racism found in The Falcom and Winter Soldier.

In this episode we discuss Wonder Woman and the importance of the writer's room ; why we need more diversity there. 

In this episode we discuss Captain Marvel and how the movie breaks away from "male service". 

We kick off our brand new series on Male gaze with a look into Birds of Prey. 

In this episode we discuss the tools of Fascism that we see in the Hunger Games series. 

Today we explore the conditions that create a pathway for fascism as seen in the Star Wars prequels. 

In this episode we look into how The Harry Potter movies touch on enablers of fascism and what motivates them. 

On this episode we discuss Vampires vs the Bronx and it’s creative take on gentrification 

In this episode we dive into the world of Lovecraft Country. We discussed it’s unique approach to the horror genre and authentic telling of Black stories.

In our final episode of this series we look at the consequences colonization.

On this week’s episode, we compare the way Skeksis colonized Thra to the way Zimbabwe was colonized. Much of this show is rooted in actual tactics used in the colonization process. 

Were the scientists just as bad as the military when it comes to colonizing Pandora? Is Jake Sulley a white savior? Do colonists always want to ruin nature? We ask these questions and more as we on this episode of Almost Nerdy.

This topic may seem old school and irrelevant, but it’s a theme that we’ve been finding in many sci-fi and fantasy movies. On this episode we have a guest who explains indigenous culture’s reflection in media and ways she would like to see it reflected correctly.

For our final episode of this series we discuss how people approach crisis in different ways. 

In this episode we discuss crisis and politics

We’re gonna need a bigger boat! On this week’s episode we focused on government and authority’s response to crisis. This covers everything from determining levels of threats to valuing the work of scientist. 

On this episode we introduce our new topic of crisis before diving into 3 of our all time favorite movies. After living during a pandemic, this topic and what movies show us about human behavior during a crisis, this topic seemed all too relevant. 

This week we concluded our Black Stories series by paying tribute to Chadwick Boseman. We reflected on what he did as an actor to inspire children as well as the cultural impact of character of Black Panther. Rest in Power.

Sweet Christmas! This episode is all about the one and only Power Man...Luke Cage. On this episode we discuss themes pulled from season one and two of Luke Cage on Netflix. This includes gentrification, policing and toxic masculinity. 

This week we discussed Sorry to Bother You. This movie opens the conversation into code switching, corporate greed, protesting and much more. We relate these topics to what we’re seeing in American culture today.

Princess and the Frog

This week we discussed how Disney’s Princess and the Frog represented Black stories. We looked into writers, producers and voice actors as well as how Tiana has been incorporated into Disney World. 

In this Episode we kick off our new series on Black Stories in the Sci-Fi and Fantasy movie industry. We discuss why Black Stories matter and how the reflect and influence society. 

This episode is all about The Return of the King! We discussed battle cries, why Sam is the ultimate hero and why elves are so dramatic. 

We have this movie 4.75 out of 5 stars, check out this episode to find out why. 

This episode is all about The Two Towers! We discuss our why Frodo is so insistent on trusting Gollum, if ents make decisions too slowly and Gandalf’s power up! This movie also has some of our favorite quotes and yes, we did read them all!

This week’s hot take is that Theodon should have executed Wormtongue for his crimes instead of letting him go.

We have this movie 4.75 out of 5 stars, check out this episode to find out why.

This episode is all about The Fellowship of the Ring! We discuss our love for Hobbit culture, how Sam’s the true hero of this tale and if Galadriel exasperated the tension between Frodo and Boromir. 

This week’s hot take is that Boromir is completely justified in his desire to use the ring against Sauron. 

We have this movie 4.75 out of 5 stars, check out this episode to find out why. 

This episode is all about The Hobbit: The Battle of Five Armies! We can summarize this movie in 7 words: five armies battle and Bilbo goes home. This week’s topics include dragon sickness, treasure and the disintegration of Thorin’s character.

This week’s hot take is that Thorin had every right to turn away the people of Laketown and the Mirkwood elves when they came for the treasure at Erebor.

We have this movie 3.4 out of 5 stars, check out this episode to find out why.

This episode is all about The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug! The topics for this week include: why we think Bombur is the most attractive dwarf, what’s Orlando Bloom doing in this movie and the feud between elves and dragons.

This week’s hot take is that Thorin’s journey to Erebor is pointless and they should have let the sleeping dragon lie.

We have this movie 3/5 stars, check out this episode to find out why.

We’re going on an adventure! This first episode is all about The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey. On this episode we discuss if expanding on a story and characters is how fans show respect or if it’s completely out of line with a classic story like The Hobbit. We also touch on dwarf make up and Gandalf’s use of moths.

This week’s hot take is Bilbo is completely unqualified and it was reckless of Gandalf to have him be the the burglar.

On this episode we discuss which Hallow we’d like to own, remorse leading to redemption and the secrets that Dumbledore and Snape kept hidden away.

This week’s hot take is that the house system at Hogwarts is toxic and should be changed.

All this and more on this week’s episode!

On this episode we discuss the ethicalness of the Slug Club, the minimization of Ginny’s role and luck potions!

This week’s hot take is that Hagrid and Arthur Weasley are better father figures than Sirius Black.

All this and more on this week’s episode!

Dementors, thestrals and Umbridge...oh my! Harry has quite a depressing year at Hogwarts. On this episode we discuss one of our most despised characters, Dumbledore ignoring Harry and the introduction of Luna!

This week’s hot take is that Cho is actually awesome and our perception of her is tainted by Harry’s lack of emotional intelligence.

All this and more on this week’s episode!

“HARRY! DID YOU PUT YOUR NAME IN THE GOBLET OF FIRE?!?!??” Dumbledore said calmly...yes, we discuss this line as well as House Elf Rights and Barty Crouch Jr’s seedy past.

This week’s hot take is about if the Ron and Hermione are toxic.

All this and more on this week’s episode!

On this week’s episode we discuss the use of dementors, fighting boggarts and time travel.

This week’s hot take is about Trewlawny. Is she legit or is she a fraud?

All this and more on this week’s episode!

On this week’s episode we follow Harry as he’s accused of being the Heir of Slytherin. We also solidify the opinion that Hagrid has questionable pet choices and gush over the new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher.

This week’s Harry Potter Hot Take topic is about how Lockhart’s character is meant to reflect “Hollywood-fying” characters to sell them instead of trusting in the story’s worth itself.

All this and more on this week’s episode!

On this week’s episode we’re swept out of our dreary muggle existence and into the magical wizarding world of Harry Potter. We follow him through his first year at Hogwarts where we discover which wizarding families we should trust, learn about a three headed dog and save the Sorcerer’s Stone!

This week’s Harry Potter Hot Take topic is “Not all Bad wizards come from Slytherin”

All this and more on this week’s episode!

Only Baby Yoda could prompt a bonus episode of Almost Nerdy! On this episode we discuss favorite characters, the best episodes and where we hope the future of the Mandalorian goes next fall.

The saga comes to an end! We discuss everything from CGI to favorite parts to family trees. We let you know what we liked and what we thought was missed in this final episode of Star Wars.

The Last Jedi

Poe gets a bit of a smack down, Rey hones her skills with the Force and is Kylo a redeemable character? All this and more on this episode!

A new saga begins with a whole new cast of characters in a galaxy that we love. On this episode we dive into initial reactions to the newest Star Wars trilogy and some hotly contested criticism of this movie.

Obi-Wan finally has to fess up to his “certain point of view” and Luke has to chose between his friends and the dark side! Our resident nerd, Joe, is back to explain the prophecy that has spanned the Star Wars saga as well as some of his predictions for Rise of Skywalker.

Yoda, Yoda, Yoda!!! We finally get to talk about Yoda in depth! If you say you love this episode, we’ll say “I know”

On this week’s episode we get to talk about Shalom’s favorite villain...Darth Vader! We also discuss Obi Wan’s tendencies towards lies, R2D2’s sassy attitude and more!

Joe Tetreault takes us deep into deep space as we discuss the significance of Solo to the Star Wars universe. We also explore the dark-side to the rebellion.