The Stubbed T.O.E. Podcast

In this one we discuss an interesting article I read online about a 15 year ban from a popular video game and the enforcement of blasphemy laws even from those who claim no religion. Yes…it is evident even in the world of media and entertainment that there is no neutrality to be had and we need to stop pretending that there is. It’s time for Christians to wake up to this fact and embrace it rather than shy away from it. This one is rather interesting and I hope that it makes you think! God bless!

I recorded this a few days ago and haven’t been able to upload it til today. But in this one we deal with the fact that entertainment as a whole is so taken for granted nowadays it has become cheap and has become cheapened. To make my point, providentially with the Oscars just a few days ago, would anyone have noticed that they were on if Will Smith hadn’t lost his temper and slapped Chris Rock? No. Is that a good thing? Yes. The whole idea of the Oscars has devolved into a woke self congratulatory exercise. But it still highlights the fact that entertainment has radically shifted because those who make their careers by it do not matter much anymore. But let’s look at this from the perspective of video games… I hope you enjoy and I hope it makes you think! God bless!

In this one we take a little trip down memory lane and talk about those shows that used to come on Saturday morning. They always had to be “Entertaining and Informative”. Some of them were great, but some were very cringey. And I’m thoroughly convinced that people on the internet do it better. 😆 Entertainment online has kinda naturally tended to go that way even in spite of all the stupid viral videos and other nonsense. There’s a place for that, but the people who are truly creating something special have tended to be better than the artificial Educational and Informative stuff of yesteryear.

Idk what’s up with the background noise but anyway… I read a few things I wanted to talk about today. Namely the fact that Russia has stated Meta is an extremist group and banned Facebook and Instagram and also an interesting poll on the rapid decline of foreign films (yay 😂). Anyway this increased division has grown more and more prevalent in recent years. This Russian ban is not simply a political move I think but is simply a logical conclusion of where we have been headed for quite a while (although it may have been accelerated). But more division has simply been inevitable for a long time and more will come…and it will have a dramatic impact on entertainment moving forward.

In this 4th and last installment of my interview with Joshua Hussain, we finally get to talk about his brand new album that dropped last week called “Sketches 3”. It is fascinating to hear about his process and what inspires him to make music and I hope that you check him out after this! I hope you enjoy! God bless!

This is part 3 of the interview I had with my friend Joshua Hussain. In this one we get down to the nitty gritty of the Christian music industry, the disturbing trends we see in it, and the nature of spiritual warfare. This has a ton of information and commentary packed into this 30 minute episode so you are not gonna want to miss a second of it! I hope you find it entertaining, I hope it makes you think, and most of all I hope you enjoy! God bless!

This is the second part of my interview with my friend Joshua Hussain where we continue to discuss the state of Christian entertainment, theology, and the idolatry that is RAMPANT within the industry. Also we start to discuss the idea of promoting Christian excellence within the arts. Christians can and should do better. But anyway I hope it makes you think and I hope you enjoy! God bless!

In this one we have part 1 of my interview with my friend Joshua Hussain who recently released a new album called “Sketches 3”. While we don’t get to talk about it much in this one, this ended up being a LONG conversation where we talk about everything from The Beatles to the Christian rap and entertainment industry to a rather in depth discussion about the ultimate purpose of mankind. You are NOT gonna want to miss any of this! I hope it makes you think and I hope you enjoy! God bless!

In this one I have been fighting with technology and watching Tech Videos and it shows… I discuss a few different dichotomies such as Apple and Android, AMD and Intel, as well as mobile tech and desktops. This one is less theological and more technological, but we live in an age of technology so we must understand what supports our entertainment infrastructure. I’m not any sort of expert but this should give you something to think about anyway! I hope you find this interesting and I hope you enjoy it! God bless!

Continuing the conversation started yesterday on emulation, we take a look at what it takes to do the right thing, and also what happens when you tie peoples’ hands. Case in point: A new report dropped today that the Russian Government has suspended it’s copyright laws. And I get the feeling this is only the beginning…. I hope this extra long episode makes you think and I hope you enjoy! God bless!

In this one we discuss video game emulation. Some love it, some hate it. But the fact is that for some games this is the only way to experience them…PERIOD! So videogame companies want to complain that they don’t get any money out of it when they don’t offer the product anyway. That makes perfect sense… Anyway let’s talk about it! I hope it makes you think and I hope you enjoy it! God bless!

In this episode of the Stubbed T.O.E. Podcast, we have a quick layman level overview of the DMCA, discuss why I think it is harmful to today’s content creators, and how we can fix it all while using our new content to support our favorite artists using their copyrighted content. When the DMCA was written is different than the context now with the widespread adaptation of streaming. While it does help prevent some fraud, the fact is that there is a potential mutual benefit for both the content creator and the musical artist whose work they are using and it comes down to this one simple solution... Hope it makes you think and I hope you enjoy it! God bless!

This episode I dive into the world of radio shows, shock jocks, and podcasts. Just as visual media has evolved over the years so has audio and we are in a wonderful time for that! We have the best of both worlds in that we have the greatness of the past we can pull from and the variety of the present as we work towards the future of audio entertainment. Hope this makes you think and I hope you enjoy! God bless!

In this episode we take a closer look at the history of how entertainment was produced and where it seems to be leading. It started out as the massive film productions of yesteryear then to radio shows then to blockbuster TV shows and music videos and eventually YouTube. However more and more we see the prevalence of social media in our lives and I think that this will inevitably lead to a change in how we perceive entertainment. Or maybe it already has 🧐… Hope it makes you think and I hope you enjoy! God bless!

In this latest episode of The Stubbed T.O.E. Podcast, I discuss the jump scenes in both versions of Gone in 60 Seconds, the decline of real actors and stunts due to overuse of CGI, and the necessity of authenticity. People nowadays can smell a fake or faker a mile away. We need to get back to the “real”. I hope this makes you think and I hope you enjoy it! God bless

In today’s episode we discuss why I think one of my all time favorite quotes has application to social media and entertainment as a whole. Then I talk about the inevitable decentralization of entertainment and why I’m excited about what LOOR and The Daily Wire are doing. Hope you enjoy and that this makes you think. God bless!

A pastor I remember seeing preach numerous times had a saying: “God cares about how you eat your waffles.” Or in the case of Cowboy Bebop: “God cares about how you eat your bell peppers and beef…even if it doesn’t have any beef.” And He does. It is a heart of gratitude that is pleasing to God and this goes not just for waffles but everything else too. We kinda take some winding roads but eventually make it full circle. I hope I’ve given you something to think about and I hope you enjoy it. God bless!

It should obviously go without saying, but in the present “cancel culture” where apologies are demanded at every turn…it must be said. This short and sweet episode builds on what was discussed yesterday about the shame we can feel at times and the necessity of an apology. However shame and the demanding of apologies has been weaponized into a club used to beat down dissenting opinions. Do not give into the temptation to give in just to get along or play nice or make it stop. We have to live unapologetically at times. We need to develop a backbone. Myself included. Hope you enjoy and that this makes you think. God bless!

In this kinda rambling episode of The Stubbed T.O.E. Podcast, we discuss the need for pride (and sometimes shame) in your work. Necessarily if you are doing everything as unto the Lord, then you must try your very best. This also means that occasionally you are gonna fall short or do something wrong. And that is when it is good and proper to have shame. People make mistakes. It’s kind of our thing. Case in point: Skillet putting out a song for the movie “The Shack” and the repentance that has happened since. It’s a short one but I hope you enjoy it! God bless!

We are still talking about that elusive “it” factor in music and eventually make it to the heart of the matter in this one. By God’s common grace, human beings have been blessed with the ability to speak to the human condition and communicate it in such a way as to convey truth and testify to the glory of God….even when they do not intend to. When even the heavens declare the glory of God, human beings cannot help but testify to the truth. And when we do that, we also recognize it as great content. I also give some examples from many different genres that you have GOT TO LISTEN TO…after you listen to this first of course 😉. Also HUGE SHOUTOUT TO JOSHUA HUSSAIN FOR THE KILLER THEME MUSIC!! Check him out on iTunes, Apple Music, and Spotify!

In this one we are continuing the theme of the “it” factor. We take a look at Dashboard Confessional’s new album and in particular a song called “Me and Mine”.

Music does have a certain subjectivity to them, but everyone knows when they are listening to something special, when it has that “it” factor. Since truth, beauty, and honesty are not subjective, but are instead objective, we can understand how some music is actually better than others. In this one we start to explore that concept a bit. Most people don’t really think about music in this way….but maybe it’s time that we did.

In this episode we take a look at truth social, terms of service, and the crumbling liberal social order. We discussed why I do not think truth social will last long, we look at the stranglehold that most terms of service hood on free speech and the ability of people to live out their beliefs. And then we take a look at the liberal social order and why it needs to die.

In this episode we put down the notion of neutrality in the public square and explore why you should lean into your faith and why you should be defined by it. The only way to fight is not to assume neutrality but to walk with the Lord and be open about it.

Finally decided on a new podcast name! But, after that quick announcement, we deal with Christianity and video games, specifically games such as Dead by Daylight. Then we move to the macro and look at games in general as interactive art and how Christians have approached it in the past and how we should moving forward. Lots of good stuff to think about in this one! I hope you enjoy! God bless!

*Random audio spikes because my AirPods hate me* In the last episode we talked about how it’s ok to have fun….but what is fun? In this one, we dive into what it means to have a biblical worldview that is all encompassing and informs everything that we do. From video games to TV to movies to literally everything that we do is informed by our beliefs. So are we really having fun as God would prescribe it or are we reveling in sin? That’s what we explore today and I hope it makes you think. I hope you enjoy! God bless!

It really is OK to have fun. Really. Not everything that you do has to have some deep epic meaning behind it. However we should recognize that deep things (our beliefs and values) do inform our sense of fun. So we must recognize that our beliefs and values have to be rightly calibrated in order to really enjoy what God has designed and deemed for us to enjoy! In other words, loving what God loves and hating what He hates. Some of this wasn’t said in the podcast, but this will be familiar ground for us moving forward cause we’re just getting started. Hope you enjoy! God bless!

We dive a bit deeper into this idea of narrative, specifically on the aspect of “self discovery”. Most of the time this is assumed to be a good thing when it is actually a not. It actually has a lot of baggage and unchristian ideas mated to it. I hope you enjoy it! God bless!

I’ve been on a John Denver kick and he has me thinking about the importance of narratives, understanding the power they have, and how woefully underutilized and even rejected this is by many modern Christians.

In this very first episode, I wanna give a little backstory of where I am coming from, where I’m at, and what I want to explore with this project. In the spirit of redeeming the time given to us, these are recorded on my drive in to work and there is road noise, but the isn’t about the spit and polish. Rough truths are better than sweet lies anyway 😂. I hope you enjoy! God bless!

This is just a short introduction to my newest project called The Brandon Raby Podcast (for lack of a better name 🤣). But unlike it’s name, the content is gonna be great! We are gonna cover a lot of topics ranging from Christian doctrines to entertainment and video games. I want to develop a theology of entertainment that is very much needed nowadays. I hope you will come alongside me as we dive in and explore what it means to look at entertainment and life from a distinctly Christian perspective. I hope you enjoy it! God bless!