Cultured, But... Not Really

2022 was a MASSIVE year for the video game industry, and one of those long-anticipated games was FromSoftware's Elden Ring. If you are interested in playing this fantasy action role-playing game, give a listen to Brian break down the major plot points of this incredible game.

We return from our break with an episode about one of our favorite things, games! We've done video games before, so today's episode is dedicated to all those other types of games out there.

William Shakespeare is arguably the most influential writer in all of the English language. However, large pieces of his life are a mystery, but his contribution to our modern culture is monumental. 

Have you ever looked at a piece of art in the art deco style and wondered, where did that come from? In this episode we explore the style and just how far it spread!

Narnia is a magical world that has transcended the book series it belongs to. How did C. S. Lewis create this mystical land, and (most importantly) what exactly is the order to read these books in?

Stephen surprised Brian with a bracket tournament of video games. Video games face each other for the most culturally relevant video game of all time. Who will it be? Super Mario 64? The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time? Super Smash Bros. Melee? Or something else?

Happy pride month! It's no secret that Brian loves the art of drag, but this artform is not as young as you think. Spoilers... it's pretty old. Like... ancient!

What is Stephen's favorite place he's never been? La cité de Paris! Come take a walk with us around one of the oldest cities in the world and learn more about it!

What are your favorite video games? A bit of history and a bit of our favorites to give this episode a true CBNR feel.

Something that we talk about in our personal lives is the musicals we've both participated in and enjoyed. Today we talk about our favorites... and not so favorite... musicals!

This week we do a deep dive into one of Brian's favorite verbs. Nobody was safe, especially not the Catholics.

This week we decided to skim through our library and talk about our favorite books!

When a game or a series of games become an adjective... it must be good. Brian takes us into the universes of Demon Souls, Dark Souls, Bloodborne, Sekiro, and Elden Ring.

Today, we wanna talk about us! We each have so many hobbies, but today is about our favorites!

DISCLAIMER: This episode discusses topics that may not be suitable for all audiences. Battle Royale's story depicts extreme violence, sexual abuse, and other heinous crimes. Listener discretion is advised.

Although it took some time for its popularity to spread due to its outrageous plot, Battle Royale is a novel that has gone on to not only inspire artists to create various renditions of it, but sparked a new genre.

There are so many pieces of literature that have gone on to impact our culture in more ways than one. L. Frank Baum's The Wonderful Wizard of Oz has inspired so many films, television shows, musicals, and other books that we simply must talk about it.

Paris was (and still is) a cultural capital of the world, especially in the 20th century. Art truly flourished then, and the painters Robert and Sonia Delaunay helped to trailblaze a new style of art taking the Parisian galleries by storm.

Happy New Year! Are you someone who sets a New Year's resolution? Let's ring in the new year talking about this ancient tradition!

It's the holiday season, and to Brian... that means lots and lots of Anime!

In honor and memory of Stephen Sondheim, today we celebrate the life of one of the greatest musical composers of our modern age... possibly ever.

When fairytales just aren't cutting it anymore, Pixar is there to give you some "incredible" animated films that keep you entertained and educated about the world around us. Join us as Brian tells Pixar's story and their rise to success.

For so many of us living on this planet today, the films, shows, and parks of Walt Disney have played a tremendous part in our lives. Today, we aim to explore Disney as a studio, briefly talking about the creation of the studio and the various divisions and films.

What do a talking car, a helpful fish, a suave fox, and a courageous little boy have in common? They each star in their own adventure game developed by Humongous Entertainment! Gather round and listen as Brian and Stephen relive the games of their childhood.

For people of our age, Final Fantasy is one of the most well known game, but it is so much more than just a popular video game.

We're huge nerds, but today Stephen nerds out over his favorite genre of pretty much everything, fantasy [insert sparkle noise here]!

There are things out there in this world that are simply unexplainable. Luckily for us, the strange anomalies secured by the SCP foundation are NOT REAL, but they are real stories created by creative people all around the world.

The Olympic Games is an athletic festival originally created by the ancient Greeks to celebrate their gods, but it disappeared for hundreds of years, but now it's one of the world's largest events.

Anybody who lived through the 90s can tell you a thing or two when you say Buffy the Vampire Slayer. This television show has left a giant cultural footprint and paved the way for television of today.

The music of Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky is some of the most iconic and recognizable music all around the world. Let's listen to some music and discover where we may have heard some of Tchaikovsky's most famous scores!

While the religion of the of the Old Norse are no longer widely practiced, the stories of their gods and monsters still live on in our modern culture. The Norse myths have been the inspiration for a great many artistic endeavors, from Richard Wagner's Der Ring des Nibelungen to Santa Monica Studio's 2018 God of War. Let's see just how imbedded these stories are in our daily lives.

Video games are a staple to our modern culture. We certainly have many people to be thankful for that, but there's one person in particular who we want to celebrate today, and that is game designer Roberta Williams.

Although the 2021 Eurovision Song Contest has already passed, we wanted to continue the fun by introducing it to our U.S. audience! 

Bread has been engrained into our American culture that we often forget its cultural significance, not only to the US but to so many countries around the world! What is bread? Where did it come from? What does the future of bread look like? All will be answered!

Whatcha say that we learn a little bit about the woman who revolutionized the pop music scene? That's right! It's Imogen Heap!

Welcome to the very first full episode of Cultured, But... Not Really! When preparing for this podcast, we sat down to practice with some topics we were really interested in, and we decided to share one of those episodes with you! This episode on Frank Lloyd Wright and is ad-free. Because of all these factors, we decided to make this our Episode "0" because we really upped our game for our first episode. We hope you enjoy!