The Desert of the Reel Podcast

Back to the Future Part II (1989) Can money buy happiness? We're exploring the philosophy of happiness, Postmodernism, and how you don't need a time machine to change your future. It's a lot of fun! open.spotify.com/episode/4xQ4...

Top Gun (1986) Do rules limit our freedom—or make freedom possible? Maybe the movie's message is more complicated than it realizes. Jason HATES Tom Cruise, but we DID manage to find big ideas. - 80s - America - Othering - Rules - Danger Zone open.spotify.com/episode/5u1n...

What About Bob? (1991) A hilarious film that has surprising philosophical depth! (Also, it is Jason's favorite movie!) open.spotify.com/episode/79Wb...

Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows (2011) Does intelligence make you a good person? Not as good as the last movie, but still a fun time overall. What are your thoughts? open.spotify.com/episode/2SJ7...

We have an episode going over RDJ's first outing of Sherlock Holmes! Are we ruled by fear? It's a good time! open.spotify.com/episode/6Xmj...

Arlington Road (1999) If a system is doing something wrong, do we have an obligation to resist it? This week on The Desert of the Reel: Henry David Thoreau, civil disobedience, conspiracy theories, and one of the best twist endings of the '90s into the conversation. open.spotify.com/episode/6AAU...

Tron: Ares (2025) What are your thoughts? We discuss what it means to be human, and specifically, what AI's role should be in the future of humanity. We also return to our discussion of The Other and thinking critically (aka avoid being programmed). open.spotify.com/episode/69GO...

Jurassic World: Dominion (2022) This week, we discuss billion-dollar franchises, hyperreality, and whether we've stopped expecting great art from Hollywood. It made us sad. Do you agree? open.spotify.com/episode/3ZZN...

This week, we use Jurassic Park III to explore a bigger question: should we judge people by their intentions or by the motivations behind them? Plus: Spinosaurus memes, Mr. Noodle, and whether this sequel is actually better than The Lost World. open.spotify.com/episode/0wpJ...

Jurassic Park (1993)! A perfect movie (unless you agree with Jason about the tree thing), but there is so much to talk about and love from this amazing film! open.spotify.com/episode/1MYB...

How can one choice affect your whole life? We watched Locke (2013) this week! Can one crack bring down a building? What about a person? Hop in the car with us and listen to this week's episode! podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/t...

We don't have to wait until next March to decide to do Wes Anderson

Would The Batman (2022) be better… without Batman? We dive into: Noir storytelling Batman as a flawed symbol The ethics of vengeance vs. hope POV shots that trap us in Bruce’s mindset 🎙️ New episode out now! open.spotify.com/episode/0CKY...

Is Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon a perfect movie? What about the best action movie of all time? open.spotify.com/episode/33PQ...

No Time To Die (2021) We ask: Is Bond finally alive… or just reacting? Is comfort better than freedom? And what does it actually mean to live, not just exist? Also: Jason nearly threw up during the ending All this and more! open.spotify.com/episode/7FfO...

Skyfall (2012) best villain, most thoughtful, best BOND movie ever? • Revenge and suffering • How trauma shapes who we become • The philosophy behind Silva’s character • Why Bond chooses duty instead of bitterness open.spotify.com/episode/28Pi...

🎡 The figures on the Siena Wheel of Fortune are drawn in a particularly compelling way, clutching onto the wheel for dear life while the spokes take the form of pillars. Check out this fascinating essay!👇 🗃️ #arthistory #art #skystorians 🏺 #mosaicmonday ideasroadshow.substack.com/p/the-art-of...

There’s a moment in Diamonds are Forever where an elephant pulls a slot machine lever and wins. It shakes its head and trumpets

Is James Bond actually a moral hero… or just the least bad person in the room? Quantum of Solace (2008) we ask: • Is revenge driving Bond? • Why do people crave power? • Are ordinary people more moral than Bond? Listen now 🎙️ open.spotify.com/episode/2uUt...

Jason LOVED the Jack White theme for Quantum of Solace. The rest of the movie? Not so much

Casino Royale (2206) Jason hates action movies and especially hates James Bond But we still dive deep on topics like trust, free will, and why treating women as 'disposable pleasures' is straight-up unethical. New ep out now! open.spotify.com/episode/0u2q...

“Must a man be broken to be made whole?” In our latest episode on Stonehearst Asylum, we debate whether suffering: • Refines us • Radicalizes us • Or simply damages us Does misery clarify conviction — or distort it? Listen now and tell us where you land. open.spotify.com/episode/5sqE...

Fantastic Beasts (2016)! aka Jason Forgot the Whole Movie (But We Found Philosophy Anyway) “Worrying means you suffer twice.” Is Newt Scamander secretly an absurdist philosopher? Empathy over power And why the world doesn’t need another macho hero Animal rights open.spotify.com/episode/7bIa...

Deathly Hallows Pt 2 is a rare thing: a franchise ending that actually means something. This movie isn’t about spells. It’s about karma, care, and how to handle when devastation hits. Endings aren’t about winning. They’re about what kind of person survives open.spotify.com/episode/1PYF...

Jason wanted to know why the characters don’t use House Elves to solve all their problems. Finding people, aperating, and elf magic

Deathly Hallows part 1! Is it only good for fans that have read the book? We explore Brechtian distancing, the philosophy of sacrifice, whether it is better to die or lose your memory, and many other elements of the film. open.spotify.com/episode/1OYw...

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince The worst one? This one feels different than the rest. We examine its structure, ethical choices characters make, and how evil, fear, and self-confidence originate within us. What are your thoughts? open.spotify.com/episode/4uHO...

Jason decided to watch Interstellar after years of students asking him We discuss love, death, sacrifice, good, evil, free will, lying, time, gravity, the nature of knowledge, auteur theory, and a bunch of other stuff in one of our longest episodes ever! open.spotify.com/episode/5NBI...

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix We discuss: The importance of asking WHY? Defending our brains, look at the dangers of bureaucracy, the power of fear, go over some of the differences from the book, and use the Mind-Body theory (posthuman) lens! open.spotify.com/episode/6KUz...

Jason's next "Jason's Choice" is going to be Interstellar! He has told students for years that he "refuses to watch it" because they can't believe he's never seen it.

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire! We discuss rule-bound ethics, rebellion against unjust or illogical laws, death studies, and the need for us to be aware of our strengths and weaknesses, effective in life, and have the power to attack the injustice in the world. open.spotify.com/episode/1WBH...

We are on Christmas break as teachers, but we will still get out our next episode (back to Harry Potter) next week! Merry Christmas!

Been trying to spend less time on social media, but we are still working on giving you podcasts every week!

War for the Planet of the Apes (2017) The "logical flaws" of the sewer system drive Jason crazy, but we discuss the essential nature of logos and pathos in our quest to de-other, and we examine the ethics of the Colonel's choice to kill his son open.spotify.com/episode/3cMg...

Dawn of the Planet of the Apes (2014) an incredible sequel with lots of ideas and ethics to explore. We explore some ideas of rewiring our brain to "de-other," inaction vs action, weaponizing love, rewiring our brains, and what makes someone truly human? open.spotify.com/episode/5oiC...

Rise of the Planet of the Apes (2011): The beginning of one of the most underrated trilogies of all time? We discuss the importance of rage, use Critical Animal Studies, and explore various ethical schools of thought about animal testing. open.spotify.com/episode/7GI4...

Small but this makes us very happy!

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! 🦃🍗🙏

Happy gentleman sleuths day #benoitblanc #wakeupdeadman

Chamber of Secrets! Jason thinks the basilisk is inconsistent but we talk about choices vs ability and look at the movie with a post-humanist Lens. Is this one of the worst HP movies? Or is it not too bad? open.spotify.com/episode/5Bcv...

On our new Harry Potter episode, we talk about personality tests, the magic system, and philosophical ideas we find like love, power, and character archetypes. open.spotify.com/episode/2Gpf...

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone (2001) We actually find a lot of big ideas in this film. Jason argues the rest of the franchise is this story repeated but we think this one starts off strong! podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/t...

For our 100th episode, we recorded a special episode dedicated to showing and discussing Bluey with Jason! open.spotify.com/episode/4Lrx...

We had some disagreements about whether Kiri was interesting/a good character or not in Way of Water. What do you believe? open.spotify.com/episode/3vUQ...

Avatar The Way of Water! After Jason loved the first one, did he like the second one? No! We spend a long time debating if it is good or not. What do you think? We examine Media Ecology/Techno theory, Narrative Theory, character development, and growth. open.spotify.com/episode/3vUQ...