Critical Nonsense

What is the best use of writing? This week, Jess, Joey, and Aaron talk about organizing mental chaos, description, recall, process vs. idea, songwriters, and formal logic. references Billie Eilish on Conan O'Brien Needs A Friend Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis Explosions in the Sky The Earth is Not a Cold Dead Place Go With Elmo Lovano: Why Linda Perry Gave ‘Beautiful’ to Christina Aguilera The New York Times Magazine 30 Greatest Living American Songwriters Song Exploder: Episode 61: Courtney Barnett “Depreston”

Why do we keep using short-form video? This week, Joey and Jess talk about dopamine culture, friction, flow state, floating, smoking, and green juice. They don’t talk about cannolis. references American Psychological Association: Feeds, Feelings, and Focus: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis Examining the Cognitive and Mental Health Correlates of Short-Form Video Use Designing Friction Bad UX World Cup The Perfect Date Picker Soy Boy Face / Soyjak Canelé

This week, Aaron, Jess and Joey revisit their 2025 prognogs from Episode 296. They talk about the micro social media surge, cynicism, platform madness, informed styling, blockbusters, weaponized compliance, non-apocalyptic runaway AI moments, and our AI overlords. They don’t talk about eggprogs. references If I ruled the world ... People: Bob Mackie Says 'People Were Horrified' by Cher's 'Naked' 1974 Met Gala Dress, Even Ripping Her Photo off Magazine Covers Tasting ultra-aged eggnog America's Test Kitchen: How to Make the Absolute Best Eggnog Louis Pasteur Memphis Group Conan O'Brien Needs A Friend Podcast: Conan Blames Jason Bateman For His Dad's Death Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 Split Fiction AAA (video game industry) quod erat demonstrandum The New York Times: Gonzo Fans Have Made ‘Dungeon Crawler Carl’ Into a Global Blockbuster Michiko Kakutani's 1995 The New York Times book review of Wicked: Let's Get This Straight: Glinda Was the Bad One? (paywall) Bloomberg: OpenAI's Nvidia, AMD Deals Boost $1 Trillion AI Boom With Circular Deals (paywall) The Food Lab: How to Roast the Best Potatoes of Your Life

How do you strategy? This week, Aaron and Joey talk about Elliott Kalan, the School of Let's Figure It Out, emotional distance from work, working in teams, meandering, and strategy that bleeds. They don’t talk about Jamesy P. references Pure Moods Joke Farming: How to Write Comedy and Other Nonsense by Elliott Kalan 99% Invisible Podcast Episode 646: Interview with Elliott Kalan Corrections Department: Les has never ever ever heard, touched, or even seen a copy of Pure Moods and now fears his colleagues do not understand him at all.

How has technology made us less sure of ourselves? This week, Jess and Joey talk about technological change, Christmas cards, scraping, phone numbers, friendships, and FaceTime. They don’t talk about beepers. references Ski-ba-bop-ba-dop-bop Rolodex propinquity Don't lose that number, Jenny Sternberg’s Triangular Theory and The 8 Types of Love Mr. Postman Desiigner "LOD Freestyle"

Are there actually interesting life innovations that are coming out of the content creation boom? This week, Joey and Jess talk about homemade pop tarts, learning letters, the power of song, TikTok, mastering movements, and apple dumplings. They don’t talk about Action Bronson. references The recipe is the sooonnggg. cool.missp: ABCs Turn Up EBITDA What Are Popovers And What Do They Taste Like? Pepperidge Farm Bakery Frozen Spiced Apple Dumplings Pastry