189: Using Computers to Impress Girls

The Incomparable Mothership

Jason Snell

Arts, Tv & Film, Leisure

4.8 • 694 Ratings

🗓️ 5 April 2014

⏱️ 120 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Warm up your modem and turn your nuclear-launch key—it’s time to play Global Thermonuclear War! We discuss “WarGames,” the 1983 John Badham film starring Matthew Broderick, Dabney Coleman, and Ally Sheedy. Is this the ultimate film for computer nerds like us? How do the film’s Cold War themes contrast with its anti-technology themes? Can a computer make moral decisions? Why is there so much nerd shaming and sexism? And why do they let tour buses into the heart of America’s nuclear command? So many questions, Professor Falken, and so few remote-controlled pterodactyls.

Transcript

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0:00.0	This episode is brought to you by Squarespace, the all-in-one platform that makes it fast and easy to create your own professional website or online portfolio.
0:09.4	For a free trial and 10% off, go to Squarespace.com and use offer code geeky.
0:18.7	The incomparable, number 189, April 2014.
0:25.8	Welcome back to The Inconparable Podcast.
0:27.7	I'm your host, Jason Snell, and we're going to talk about a movie, a classic movie.
0:32.3	Not an old movie.
0:33.8	We're not going to call it old.
0:34.8	I don't know what the cutoff is for old, but it precedes 1980. And this movie is from 1983, so we're not going to call it old, but it is a movie we think of,
0:42.5	I believe, think of Fonley. It is John Batham's 1983 techno-thriller, Cold War Techno-thriller,
0:52.6	shall we say, war games.
0:55.5	And here to join in talking about global thermonuclear war are my guests, David Lur.
1:02.4	Hello.
1:03.0	Hello.
1:04.1	Good to have you.
1:04.9	As always.
1:06.0	John Syracuse is also here.
1:07.4	Hi, John.
1:08.0	Hi, Jason.
1:08.5	I just want to say that I love the 80s.
1:10.3	Yeah.
1:11.7	They're totally awesome. That's what I say. Uh, Greg Dynette is here. Hi, Greg. Hi, Jason. Good to have you.
1:18.1	Did you like to play a game? Uh, how about a nice game of volleyball? So not one of the options?
	...

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