Remember Shuffle

The fundamentals of our economy are… present. Welcome to Remember Shuffle’s ongoing multi-part series on the financial crisis of 2008 and the ensuing Great Recession. The Shuffle Bois begin with some table setting to explain the complex financial instruments and deregulation that led to the crisis - mortgage backed securities, collateralized debt obligations, credit default swaps, and synthetic collateralized debt obligations - and introducing the rogues gallery of characters for this story. They then go beat-by-beat through the collapsing economy of 2008 and trace the decisions that were made by those running the banks as well as by those in power. They close, as always, with some themes and big ideas - including the separation of risk from incentive and the failures of neoliberal deregulation - before turning to the echoes in the culture, which are profound for this topic. Check out our website to search for episodes at: remembershuffle.com Give Remember Shuffle a follow on Twitter⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ And on Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠@RememberShufflePod⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ to interact with the show between episodes. It also makes it easier to book guests. And be sure to check out our Patreon! Bibliography: Andrew Ross Sorking, Too Big to Fail (New York: Viking), 2009 Bethany McLean and Joseph Nocera, All the Devils are Here (New York: Penguin), 2011 George W Bush, Decision Points (New York: Crown Publishers), 2010 Michael Lewis, The Big Short (San Francisco: Hyperink), 2012 Adam Tooze , Crashed: How a Decade of Financial Crises Changed the World, 2018 Here is the chart Ben describes in the episode: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Subprime_mortgage_crisis#/media/File:Subprime_crisis_-_Foreclosures_&_Bank_Instability.png

Join us on the patreon to hear the full 67 minute episode. https://www.patreon.com/c/RememberShuffle What ahre ye doin in mah slop? Remember this one folks? It’s Shrek, the 2000s postmodern fairy tale created to spite the traditional source of children’s animation. Remember Shuffle delves into all 4 of the Shrek movies, and talks about the wide swaths of memes and Shrek deconstruction that exist online for this middle-brow phenomenon. Jordan Peterson, Dada-ism, and the male id–no one has ever done Shrek analysis like this before. Give Remember Shuffle a follow on Twitter⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ And on Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠@RememberShufflePod⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ to interact with the show between episodes. It also makes it easier to book guests.

The Shuffle Bois, and returning guest Isaac, return to the well of comic book super hero fare to discuss the 2000s X-Men films. Being the pre-MCU, paleo-super hero films that they are, they can't help but be somewhat different from and more interesting than what came after. After summarizing the plots of the three main X-Men films from the decade, the Shuffle Bois talk themes - assimilation vs exclusivity, marginalization, and the LGTBQ allegory of these films, before closing out with a description of style and echoes in the culture. Huge thanks to Isaac for guesting on this episode! Check him out @coexist.inc on instagram, as well as ⁠his podcast, Coexist Inc., here⁠, and on twitter as @⁠coexistinc⁠ Check out our website to search for episodes at: ⁠remembershuffle.com⁠ ⁠Give Remember Shuffle a follow on Twitter⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ And on Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠@RememberShufflePod⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ to interact with the show between episodes. It also makes it easier to book guests.

Do you like Remember Shuffle? Their early work was a little too derivative for my tastes, but when Epic Bacon Reddit Guy came out in '23, I think they really came into their own, commercially and artistically. The whole episode has a clear, crisp sound, and a new sheen of consummate professionalism that really gives the riffs a big boost. They’ve been compared to The Rewatchables, but I think Remember Shuffle has a far more bitter, cynical sense of humor. Anyways, here’s the American Psycho episode on Brett Easton Ellis’ mise-en-scene satire of 80s yuppie culture. Check out our website to search for episodes at: remembershuffle.com Give Remember Shuffle a follow on Twitter⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ And on Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠@RememberShufflePod⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ to interact with the show between episodes. It also makes it easier to book guests.

This is a demo, check out the full episode at: ⁠patreon.com/RememberShuffle⁠ Remember Shuffle turns to one of their favourite kinds of film that we don't seem to get many of anymore: mid-budget, middle brow popcorn films, in the form of Steven Spielberg's 2002 film "Catch Me If You Can." The Shuffle Bois use this film as a springboard to discuss the state of Boomer Culture and Boomer Nostalgia in 2002. After describing the plot of the film, they do a mini-book review of the "source material," the lying, bragging, horny memoir of Frank Abegnale Jr, before turning to the themes and big ideas behind the film including family dynamics, the American dream, and Boomer culture. Give Remember Shuffle a follow on Twitter⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠And on Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠@RememberShufflePod⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ to interact with the show between episodes. It also makes it easier to book guests.

What happens when the exploitative and unethical world of fashion modelling meets the exploitative and unethical world of reality TV? The results may not surprise you. Remember Shuffle returns to the world of reality TV with a deep dive on America’s Next Top Model, featuring former contestant Sarah Hartshorne as expert guest correspondent. After tracing the history of the show and placing it in its particular historical moment, when every celebrity job was getting the reality show treatment, they dig into two retrospective sources on the show - Sarah’s book and a recent Netflix documentary, before turning, as always, to the major themes and big ideas behind the show and its echoes in the culture. Give Sarah a follow on Instagram! Find all the deets on Sarah’s book and where to buy it here. The new ANTM documentary Sarah mentions is called Dirty Rotten Scandals, and you can check it out here on the USA Network’s player if you can log in through your TV provider. And don’t forget to give Remember Shuffle a follow on Twitter⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ and on Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠@RememberShufflePod⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ to interact with the show between episodes. It also makes it easier to book guests. Check out our website to search for episodes at: ⁠remembershuffle.com⁠

With the campaign of Barack Obama in 2007-2008, the U.S. saw a resurgence in interest in Nelson Mandela, with Americans projecting a parallel with our own first black president. You can almost hear the gears turning in Clint Eastwood’s mind watching 2009’s Invictus–hoping to goad Obama towards symbolic reconciliation rather than expropriative redistribution. We look at Obama’s initial posturing and discuss whether or not he was doing the Mandela affect. Huge thanks to Isaac for guesting on this episode! Check him out @coexist.inc on instagram, as well as his podcast, Coexist Inc., here, and on twitter as @coexistinc Check out our website to search for episodes at: remembershuffle.com Give Remember Shuffle a follow on Twitter⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ And on Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠@RememberShufflePod⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ to interact with the show between episodes. It also makes it easier to book guests.

Welcome to our O.C. episode, Bitch! The Shuffle Bois are joined by Dan (IG: @troop_hater ) to discuss an incredible piece of teen melodrama, postmodern comedy, and Trojan horse for character-driven drama, The O.C. After briefly describing the backstory of the show's creation, they analyze the show's memorable characters and do episode deep dives on three of their favourites. They then turn to the show's many themes - class conflict, race, religion, and politics. They close out with a discussion of the show's style and incredible soundtrack. And, as always, give Remember Shuffle a follow on Twitter⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ And on Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠@RememberShufflePod⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ to interact with the show between episodes. It also makes it easier to book guests. And don’t forget to check out our patreon!

/this is a demo, check out the full episode at: patreon.com/RememberShuffle Another listener suggestion yields beautiful, ripe fruit for the pod as we follow up our last episode on Cyberwarfare with a movie whose plot is essentially the fictionalization of the warnings in the book “This is how they tell me the world ends”. Much to ponder on this Intellectual Property reboot whose buddy cop pairing is…a Boomer and a Millenial. Give Remember Shuffle a follow on Twitter⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ And on Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠@RememberShufflePod⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ to interact with the show between episodes. It also makes it easier to book guests.

New military industrial complex just dropped! In this spiritual sequel to our drones episode, the Shuffle Bois take you, the listener, into the exciting cloak-and-dagger world of the black market cyber weapons trade. After defining key terms - hackers, vendors, clients, and zero days - they trace the history and developments of this new field of warfare through the 2000s. They then analyze some of the themes and big ideas that underlie this topic - globalization, the lack of regulation in the tech sphere, and the role of the deep state in creating this problem. They close by looking at what it means to live in this new and exciting world of cyberweapons and cyberwarfare. And, as always, give Remember Shuffle a follow on Twitter⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ And on Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠@RememberShufflePod⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ to interact with the show between episodes. It also makes it easier to book guests. And don’t forget to check out our patreon!

This is a Patreon demo. Join to hear us do a deep dive into the end of the Cold War in Germany, Ostalgie, and the most internationally famous film in the artistic movement, Good Bye, Lenin! Sometimes, you need to gaslight your sick mother for the greater good. Remember Shuffle is joined by Nick of the Corner Späti podcast for their first foray into foreign film, 2003's Good Bye Lenin, the best known instance of Ostalgie in film internationally. After recapping the plot of this halfway-zany, sitcom-style tragicomedy, the Shuffle Bois discuss what role nostalgia plays in contemporary Germany, the wild historical moment that was reunification and its disastrous consequences for the East, and how people react in the face of massive historical change. Listen for some fun tidbits on contemporary Germany, including: the prevalence of tanning bed guys, FKK (nude beach culture), Western Europeans' fixation with Native Americans, and East German ghost towns. Be sure to check out Corner Späti here: https://www.operationglad.io/corner-spati/ As well as their patreon here: https://www.patreon.com/cornerspaeti And, as always, give Remember Shuffle a follow on Twitter⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ And on Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠@RememberShufflePod⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ to interact with the show between episodes. It also makes it easier to book guests.

What’s the only thing that can stop 80 Bad Guys with a Gun? 1 Good Guy with A Lot of Guns. The year is 2006 and the adolescent Baby Boom Echo is about to be treated to a variety of brainless action options at the cinema. Come explore two of the latter-decade’s finest genre movies–unapologetically themselves and honest about what they are offering: cartoonish aestheticized violence. ⁠Give Remember Shuffle a follow on Twitter⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ And on Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠@RememberShufflePod⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ to interact with the show between episodes. It also makes it easier to book guests. And don't forget to check out our Patreon! Use remembershuffle.com to find episodes

"We have to go back! (?)" Remember Shuffle turns to one of the premiere network TV dramas of the 2000s, ABC's "Lost," proof that you can't quite fit the round peg of creator-driven, prestige-style drama into the square hole of a traditional TV network. After introducing the ensemble cast of melodramatically tragic characters, the Shuffle Bois + Sam do season-long plot recaps of a show that became increasingly unhinged as it went on, going from a survival drama to an alternate-universe, time-travelling, metaphysical quest between good and evil. They then analyze the very obvious themes of this show - faith, fate, leadership, and morality - before describing the unique style of this particular cultural artifact. Give Sam a follow at @Thank_u_for_shopping (Follow her here: ⁠instagram.com/thank_u_for_shopping⁠ ) ⁠Give Remember Shuffle a follow on Twitter⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ And on Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠@RememberShufflePod⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ to interact with the show between episodes. It also makes it easier to book guests. And don't forget to check out our ⁠Patreon⁠! Use ⁠remembershuffle.com⁠ to find episodes

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays from the Shuffle Bois! It’s your yearly Christmas episode drop, and this year we’re taking a look at two instant classics from the 2000s, Robert Zemeckis' “Polar Express” (2004) and “Christmas Carol (2009). These two films represent Robert Zemeckis’ attempt to transcend the limits of the fleshy human body through the power of computers and technology. And they stink. In this episode, you’ll hear the Shuffle Bois describe and analyze the phenomenon of “The Uncanny Valley” and how these films fall into it. They also discuss Charles’ Dickens’ rad-lib politics, the changing nature of Christmas in the 19th century, Boomer nostalgia, and once again roast Hollywood’s insane accounting and overreliance on the newest technological fad. ⁠Give Remember Shuffle a follow on Twitter⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ And on Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠@RememberShufflePod⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ to interact with the show between episodes. It also makes it easier to book guests. And don't forget to check out our Patreon! Use remembershuffle.com to find episodes

This is a Patreon demo. Join to hear us close out our Lord of the Rings series with our Return of the King episode! Get in loser, we’re going to Elf Heaven. Remember Shuffle closes out its review of Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings trilogy with a Return of the King Review. The Shuffle Bois do a quick plot recap of this sprawling entry to the trilogy before discussing the film’s style and themes - including sacrifice, decadence, and feminism in Tolkein’s world. They then close out with a more freeform conversation that includes a discussion on WWI, the history of archaeology and the British Museum, a review of the state of the city of London, and holding George RR Martin accountable for yet another unfinished product. Thank you as always for being a Patreon subscriber! ⁠⁠https://www.patreon.com/c/RememberShuffle ⁠⁠⁠ And make sure you sign up through the browser–not through the app, to save yourself 50%! Give Remember Shuffle a follow on Twitter⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ And on Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠@RememberShufflePod⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ to interact with the show between episodes. It also makes it easier to book guests.

“Remember when” is the lowest form of conversation–we put that theory to the test on this episode on the pokemania of the late 90s and early 2000s. After unexpected success in Japan, Pokemon launches in America in late 1998 and becomes ubiquitous in America soon after as not a single media, but as an entire world accessible through video games, TV, cards, movies, and plush toys. We discuss the globalocalization of Pokemon by Nintendo, Kawaii and the Otaku in this episode. ⁠Give Remember Shuffle a follow on Twitter⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ And on Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠@RememberShufflePod⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ to interact with the show between episodes. It also makes it easier to book guests. And don't forget to check out our Patreon! Use remembershuffle.com to find episodes

This is a Patreon demo. Join to hear part one of our book club on the history of the Soviet Union as well as a Return of the King episode in two weeks! Part 1 of our 2 (?) part series on Sheila Fitzpatrick’s ‘The Shortest History of the Soviet Union’. In this part 1, we cover the years 1860-1960 starting from the emancipation of the serfs to the end of Kruschev. ⁠⁠https://www.patreon.com/c/RememberShuffle ⁠⁠ And make sure you sign up through the browser–not through the app, to save yourself 50%! Give Remember Shuffle a follow on Twitter⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ And on Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠@RememberShufflePod⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ to interact with the show between episodes. It also makes it easier to book guests.

For their 100th episode spectacular the Shuffle Bois turn to what might be the most influential piece of media from the 2000s, The Apprentice. Since 2015 we have lived in a world dominated by the toxic runoff of a 2004 game show. The Shuffle Bois continue their discussion of reality TV they began with Survivor to talk about the many noxious societal effects of this dumb, exploitative genre. After tracing the history and explaining the format of the show, they do a recap of the show's first season as well as its first "celebrity" iteration. They then discuss themes and big ideas behind the show, including branding, middle management training, the mechanics of reality TV, racism, and sexism. ⁠Give Remember Shuffle a follow on Twitter⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ And on Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠@RememberShufflePod⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ to interact with the show between episodes. It also makes it easier to book guests. And don't forget to check out our Patreon! ⁠Give Remember Shuffle a follow on Twitter⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ And on Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠@RememberShufflePod⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ to interact with the show between episodes. It also makes it easier to book guests. And don't forget to check out our Patreon!

Part 1 of our 2 part series on Mark Burnett. Survivor took over American culture by storm, becoming a dominant fixture of TV that changed the economics of TV production for the worse. We dig into themes of the desert island as ideal, orientalism, and labor bargaining. The Apprentice coming next week for episode 100! Give Remember Shuffle a follow on Twitter⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ And on Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠@RememberShufflePod⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ to interact with the show between episodes. It also makes it easier to book guests.

The Shuffle Bois turn for the first time to the world of fashion and analyze the rise and fall of the iconic teen fashion brand of the 2000s, Abercrombie & Fitch. To do so, they are joined by Colettte Shade, author of “Y2K: How the 2000s Became Everything (Essays on a future that never was.” They discuss the meteoric rise of this teen fashion icon, the alleged sex criminals that formed its brain trust, and what the types of marketing targeted at young people said about consumerist aspirations in the 2000s. Huge shoutout to the book “The Abercrombie Age: Millennial Aspiration and the Promise of Consumer Culture,” by Myles Ethan Lascity, which was one of our main sources for this episode. ⁠Give Remember Shuffle a follow on Twitter⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ And on Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠@RememberShufflePod⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ to interact with the show between episodes. It also makes it easier to book guests. For more on Colette Shade, check out her website and give her a follow on BlueSky.