The Occasionalists Podcast

History Lesson: Sneakers Part 2

To wrap up our first History Lesson, we take a look at how sneakers modernized and become a cultural force unto themselves.
From the innovations to the shoe itself to the business model around shoe endorsement, its influence in hip-hop culture, and the domination of Nike and athletes becoming synonymous with their shoes. 
Hope those Omnis are pumped, we got some ground to cover.

History Lesson: Sneakers Part 1

We're kicking off June, our History Lesson month, with the first of a two-parter looking at the history and key moments in the development of the sneaker.
In part one, we look at how ancient footwear went from simple woven coverings to flip-flops and even radically enormous high heels. We note some important innovations ranging from ancient times all the way up to the Industrial Revolution, and discuss the first athletes with their own shoes. Hint: you definitely know one of them.
We even discuss history's first sneakerheads: wealthy Romans, of course.
Lace-up, we got a lot to talk about!

Movie May: Battlefield Cinema IV - Things To Come Review

We move on to the next Battlefield Cinema installment with a movie review of the 1936 classic, Things To Come. Based on the shockingly prescient book by HG Wells, Things To Come follows the collapse of society after a devastating world war and its rise to utopia, 100 years later.
So strap on your big light bulb helmets and fire up that Peace Gas, we got a space gun to shoot and a right-wing mob to stop!

Movie May: Battlefield Cinema III - Centurion

Battlefield Cinema rolls on with a review of a speculative fiction war movie about the fabled 9th Roman Legion that was lost to history around 120 AD. 
That's right, we're talking about Centurion! Directed by Neil Marshall, starring Michael Fassbender, Dominic West, Olga Kurylenko, and a host of other British actors you've definitely seen in something before.
How does this movie's ancient battle stack up to others? How many meet-cutes can you recall that starts with public urination? Could Peter Jackson sue for this movie containing too many overhead shots of people running? Was this actually the correct movie?
Find out all of that and more!

Movie May: Battlefield Cinema II - Battle Breakdown

We are back on a Monday to kick off the new week with a look at 9 different battle scenes, mostly from film but a few tv scenes sneak in as well. They are as follows: The Messenger: The Story of Joan of Arc, Gladiator, 300, A Bridge Too Far, Apocalypse Now, Saving Private Ryan, Black Sails, Game of Thrones, and Children of Men.
We go over some (general) rules that make a great battle scene and discuss the key moments and elements from these 9 selections. We find out what was done wrong, what was done right, and if maybe there was a way to do things better.
We cover it all, from ancient battles to future urban warfare.

Movie May: Battlefield Cinema I

We are back baby!
Another packed month has delayed our usual celebration of all things film, but we are off and running with the first of 5, yes you read that correctly, 5 action-packed episodes about how wars are captured on film.
We kick off this week with an in-depth look at some of the reasons why war movies are almost universally enthralling, the rules many of them have to obey, the movies that can get away with bending those rules, and a whole lot of war information you didn't necessarily ask for but definitely signed up for by agreeing to listen to this podcast.
We'll see you on the beach! 

Man Tears

We are finally back after a long delay with a single episode to start and begin our April theme, Man Tears.
In this episode, we explore what makes men cry, why crying has significant physiological differences between men and women, the societal/cultural acceptance of crying, and of course...we talk about some media that gets dudes a little weepy.
Grab your hanky and get your best excuse ready, we're about to do some crying, boys!

In The March of Minisodes: Opening Day Trivia

In The March of Minisodes concludes with a celebration of MLB Opening Day! Starting today, there is baseball for 26 consecutive weeks. Hallelujah! 
So we get into some interesting baseball facts and have a few trivia questions for you to ponder in this episode, which will be answered tomorrow over on Instagram. You should probably follow us there: @the_occasionalists_podcast.
So tighten up your spikes, loosen up the arm, check your cup and get ready for some high heat, Occasionalists style.