Episodes
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Well, this is it friends. The end of the road. The last hurrah. We here at the PCFM Podcast are hanging up our podcasting shoes. We're putting our gear in a trunk and putting it in the closet until a mission comes up that only we can do.
This is our final podcast episode. We're taking an indefinite hiatus from the show to pursue other projects. We may do an occassional podcast here and there, but this is pretty much it. It's been a fun ride. We've loved all the support we've received from day one and thank each and every one of our listeners for following us, listening, and sending in episode ideas and questions.
Until next time. Cue music.
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Another one of our Patreon Exclusive episodes from last summer to tide you over until we're back with more new content for you.
Making art is hard. Whether that’s the time and effort that does into your favorite video game, the hours spent writing and rewriting (and then rewriting again) an amazing book, or the countless people that go into making a movie. But sometimes, the toll of the art creation takes a very dark, and real, turn and can lead to an actual death. Today Izzy and Cam wanted to cover some of the very real deaths that have happened in this crazy pop culture landscape.
Izzy takes his shot in a game called "As Good As Dead." How well can he remember 8 out of 8 of his favorite movies and games?!
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Missing episodes?
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A special episode for al our listeners! THis was the Exclusive Patreon episode we released last July. Enjoy!
In case anyone doesn’t know, there was recently an attempted coup in Russia by the Wagner mercenary group, no matter what Putin or anyone else says, they were marching to Moscow and shooting down helicopters and it was not going to be pretty. BUT, did you know there have been 3 other coup attempts this year? In Moldova, Sudan and Kyrgyzstan. There were 8 coup attempts last year globally. So these aren’t rare occurrences.
And for those not in the know, here is the definition of a coup: a sudden, violent, and unlawful seizure of power from a government. That can be via the military, which is often the case, or just anyone trying to get all violent and overthrow the government. Taster's choice, or rather, coup-er’s choice. They’re brutal, usually bloody and usually not good for the regular folks. But they also make for dramatic and fascinating pop culture. Izzy and Cam are going to run down the list of our favorite coup attempts in the land of fiction.
The episode caps off with a rousing game of "Coup or No Coup."
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Every now and again you hear a story so OUTRAGEOUS that you think there's no way in hell it isn't made up. Well, that counts double in the military where strange things are abound. Cam and Izzy focus their eagle-eyed attention during this week's episoe on all those stories that sound to incredible to possibly be true (but most of them are!).
They wrap out the episode with new-fangled game of “No Way That Happened!” Izzy tries his best at this video game focused game. Will he emerge victorious? Only time will tell.
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We’ve all experienced a movie, tv show, video game or book that when we reach the end we sit back and think….IS THAT ALL?! ARE YOU FRIGGIN’ KIDDING ME?!?!?! Unsatisfying endings or endings with cliffhangers that never get resolved can stay with us for, well… long enough for one to feel the need to make a podcast episode about. So Izzy and Cam are here to lament over some of their not so favorite endings in pop culture.
A near immaculate game of "All the Closure You Can Handle" caps off this sometimes bitter episode. It's deservedly bitter! Don't give us that look!
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Since its creation, storytelling has been a popular outlet for communicating feelings about certain climates in time. Movies, TV, books, art; they have all been used to portray emotions in a linear trajectory, but we are here to talk specifically about military movies. In our propaganda episode, Cam and Izzy talked about how Hollywood was a powerful tool used to sway public opinion. More recently, we have seen a shift in the message military movies communicate. This episode, Cam and Izzy are going to take a look at just how much military movies have changed over time.
Cam is challenged by a completely unrelated game of "Animals in Combat" to cap off this week's episode.
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Out of all the stories and representations of war in Pop Culture throughout the decades which ones are the BEST? That’s the question behind this episode today and Izzy and Cam are here to tell you which movie, television show, video game or book they think best represents a certain conflict. But what are the guideline the guide their decisions? Should it be the best encapsulation of the conflict overall? A personal account that communicates a message about the conflict? Should more weight be given to the artistic, the historically accurate? Listen up, because that's what they're here to discuss.
A classic game of "Two Truths and a Lie" wraps up this fun, extra-long episode.
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Bad guys. You love to hate them. You hate to love them. A good bad guy can make the good guy a better guy. A bad bad guy can make the good guys bad good guys. And the greatest bad guys make great good guys better than the best guy’s best friend’s guys. So today Izzy and Cam are rolling out their top 10 list of their picks for the greatest villains in pop culture. This is gonna be great… and by that we mean bad…which in this case…is good.
A dastardly game of "What Makes the Man?" puts the kibosh on this fun episode where things are ranked and everything is seemingly settled.
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Who doesn’t like a good monster? We’ll tell you who: monster hunters. That’s why they hunt them. Because they hate them and they want them dead. Whether it’s a werewolf, a Frankenstein-type of deal or a child predator, monster hunters are out there doing the lords work, and Izzy and Cam are here to talk about them.
A thrilling round of “On the Right Day, We’re All Monsters” ends this week's episode.
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What is it about a great plot twist that draws us in? Is it the surprise? Is it the twisting of the narrative at a moments notice? Is it the chewy red candy? No, those are Twizzlers. It's probably one of those first two, but whatever it is, Izzy and Cam are going to discuss it today and figure it out. Or at the very least, they're going to discuss it.
A twisty-turny round of “A Completely Normal Ga-PLOT TWIST” sends off our hosts this week.
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Crimes! Murders! Wire Fraud! These are all very exciting things to talk about. But do you know what makes them 1000 times MORE exciting? When they happen in the military. That’s right, today Cam and Izzy are going to be running their gums about military crimes, misdemeanors and whodunnits, both in pop culture and some real life stories. So put on your sleuthing shoes and let’s see if we can solve some of these- oh. They’ve all been solved already so we’re off the hook and we can just talk about them.
A game fittingly titled "Crimes And Misdemeanors" caps off the show. This one is educational AND fun, so it's a two for one type of deal.
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If you have worked a job and there was a movie or tv show that was made about that job, we guarantee you would find something that was misleading, inaccurate or possibly spot on about it. There's no shortage of military movies that feature service members deployed overseas, but how much of what is portrayed is accurate? Well that is exactly what Cam and Izzy are going to talk about today: real deployment vs. what you see in pop culture! Based on their experiences overseas, Izzy and Cam are going to discuss some great and not so great portrayals of deployment life.
This episode's game is called "How Long Was The War?" and it's, not to be too vulgar, a real ball buster.
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We recently did an episode on Insurgency in pop culture, but this week, we’re going to dive a little deeper with a man who spent a lot of blood, sweat and tears hunting for them in Iraq: Jack Treadway. His new book, Insurgent Hunter is out now.
JACK TREADWAY served as a Navy SEAL with SEAL Delivery Vehicle Team Two and SEAL Team Five, where he became a sniper. He was also a BUDS instructor. Later he earned his commission in the air force and served as a federal agent in the Air Force Office of Special Investigations (OSI). He investigated a sexual assault case that resulted in national coverage before he ran other operations such as narcotics. Next, he was assigned to an expeditionary detachment in Iraq, running confidential informants and conducting counterinsurgency operations—hunting insurgents.
To wrap up the episode, Jack tries his hand at a game called "This Quiz Will Make You (I)Raq Your Brains."
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The long talked about, finally realized interview with our legendary theme song singer, Stan Bush! Learn about Stan's life in music, some fun anecdotes about Van Damme and more. A little about Stan Bush:
Worldwide icon of melodic rock Stan Bush is best known for his song “The Touch,” made famous by Transformers: The Movie (1986). An anthem for Transformers fans around the world, “The Touch” was remixed in 2013 by High Moon Studios for their hit video game Transformers: Fall of Cybertron. It has also been featured on ABC’s The Goldbergs, NBC’s Chuck, FOX’s American Dad, in RBN’s Guitar Hero, Deep Silver’s Saints Row IV and in the motion picture Boogie Nights.
This fantastic interview caps off with a rousing game of “A Trivia Game Just For Stan Bush.” How much Stan Bush adjacent trivia does Stan Bush know? Listen to find out!
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What makes a certain character’s death so satisfying? We’ve been down this road. We’ve walked this walk and talked this talk. This is the sequel to our Season 2 Episode 20 The Killshot, talking about all of those suuuuper satisfying kills in film, tv and video games. Today Izzy and Cam are going to cover all the things we didn’t get around to the first time. The headshots, the explosions and all those tasty bits of revenge that makes a certain characters death all the more satisfying.
This episode wraps up with a spirited game of “Hey! Who’s Killing Who Here?” Izzy will be put through the paces and maybe he'll learn a bit about American history.
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Everyone loves a good underdog story. The scrappy band of misfits up against the world, and then ultimately, the misfits win. Insurgency and rebellion are like that. Usually a smaller force, fighting the good fight, up against a larger corrupt group. (Not always, but in pop culture, usually) And you want the little rebels to win. And that’s just what Cam and Izzy are going to discuss in today’s episode; the freedom fighters that could and some that couldn't.
Cam tries his hand at this week's game "Rebel WITH A Cause." It's a measure of how much of a rebel you are, or at the very least, rebel adjacent.
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SERE stands for Survival Evasion Resistance and Escape. Military schools with a long history rooted in WWII and Vietnam teach military personnel how to survive in the wilderness, evade enemy capture, resist their captors when taken and held by the enemy, and escape their imprisonment if possible. Izzy took SERE in the Special Forces Q Course and Cameron has been a student of survival for some time. This episode Izzy and Cam will talk about their personal experiences as well as how survival is portrayed in pop culture.
This week's game devolves into a lesson on the Code of the United States Fighting Force, which is both informative and fun.
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Welcome back to another episodes where we talk exclusively about games and gaming. It’s not secret that gaming is one of the biggest if not THE biggest hobbies out there. It’s big business. It’s in the culture and it’s definitely in the military. We’ve done episodes dealing with video games in seasons one and two. But let’s be honest, what true nerd is ever finished talking about video games. Izzy and Cam cover a lot of ground in this one, including the Halo franchise, 6 Days in Fallujah, Ready or Not, and much much more.
The game for this episode is “Video Game Excitement Super Fan Trivia Okay!” A true test of Izzy's nerdiness.
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With 2023 firmly in their rearview, it's time for Izzy and Cam to look back and take stock of the year. That's right, folks, it's the PCFM 2023 Year In Review. What were the highs? What were the lows? What pieces of pop culture took them to new heights and which abysmal pieces of crap sent them spiraling in a hate fueled rant, wishing death upon their creators?
This episode is tied with a lovely bow of a game called "Two Truths and a Lie - TV Show Edition." Can Cam see the lies or will he be blinded by the absurdity of the truth?
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This week in our continuing series of episodes focusing on one person or franchise, we’re turning our big PCFM spotlight onto Sylvester Stallone. If Arnold Schwarzenegger is the granddaddy of all action heroes, then Stallone is certainly the well-to-do uncle. Uncle Sly has been in his fair share of movies and at 77, he’s still making them. Certainly one of the great action icons of our time. Izzy and Cam breakdown everything Stallone and what makes the Italian Stallion such an icon.
To end this episode, we've brought back our most popular game (probably) "Who's One Liner Is It Anyway?" Can Izzy overcome his paralyzing fear of being wrong about movie quotes and emerge victorious?
Happy New Year PCFM Fam!
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