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A philosopher, an actor, and a sci-fi writer talk about media and how we consume it.

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PMP#78: Chess Is Having a Moment w/ J.J. Lang

January 20, 2021 by Mark 2 Comments

https://podtrac.com/pts/redirect.mp3/traffic.libsyn.com/secure/partiallyexaminedlife/PMP_78_1-16-21.mp3

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The high level of interest in The Queen’s Gambit has brought this most popular game back to the forefront of pop culture. Chess expert/teacher J.J. (who’s also a grad student in philosophy) joins Mark, Erica, and Brian to consider chess culture, what gives this game its edge on other contenders (why not Terra Mystica?), player personality characteristics, and the effect of chess media. We consider gender, genius, and other issues in Gambit, plus Pawn Sacrifice, Searching for Bobby Fisher, The Luzhin Defense, and The Coldest Game.

A few articles and lists:

  • “Five Myths About Chess” by Jennifer Shahade
  • “Queen’s Gambit Beauty Debate Explained” by Constance Grady
  • “The Fatal Flaw of the Queen’s Gambit” by Sarah Miller
  • “16 Things You Probably Didn’t Know About ‘The Queen’s Gambit’” by Janaki Jitchotvisut
  • “10 Essential Movies About Chess” by Tim Grierson
  • “10 Movies to Watch About Chess if You Liked Netflix’s The Queen’s Gambit” by Jake Dee
  • “‘Genius’: 10 Films That Explore the Brilliant Mind” by Kat Sommers
J.J. fails to consult the ceiling for his next move.

Watch J.J. on stream on Twitch. Other interviews he’s done: Perpetual Chess, Friends and Enemies, Aakaash 

This episode includes bonus discussion (covering more chess films, among other things) you can access by supporting the podcast at patreon.com/prettymuchpop.

This podcast is part of the Partially Examined Life podcast network and is curated by openculture.com.

Filed Under: Film, TV Tagged With: Board Games, chess, culture podcast, entertainment podcast, J.J. Lang

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Comments

  1. Conner Fields says

    January 27, 2021 at 6:41 am

    You should cover the stop-motion films of Sam Elliot.

    Reply
  2. Conner Fields says

    February 22, 2021 at 3:43 am

    Okay I get the feminist angle on this…I like the detail with the music. Gabor Szabo. I think I listened to him on youtube before. Totally 60s.

    Reply

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Pretty Much Pop brings together philosophers, artists, comedians, and other smart folks to talk about media and how we consume it: TV, film, music, novels, games, comics, comedy, theater, podcasts, and more. Most of what (other) people like is pretty weird when you think about it, so thinking about it is what we do.

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