91 episodes

Long-form discussions and lowbrow humor on topics that would be unbelievable if they weren't true.

Phase2Phase Markus & Drew

    • Society & Culture

Long-form discussions and lowbrow humor on topics that would be unbelievable if they weren't true.

    Talkin Nerdy: VR Update (Summer 2023)

    Talkin Nerdy: VR Update (Summer 2023)

    Here comes a new challenger!
    And the shocking return of an old cast member from season 1!
    For the latest in virtual dopamine delivery, we turn to our resident nerd.

    ***LINKS:
    PSVR2 Sales
    Quest 3
    Google/Samsung Return
    Apple's Headset
    Shockwave Suit

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    • 4 min
    Talkin Nerdy: PlayStation VR 2

    Talkin Nerdy: PlayStation VR 2

    It's been a month since Markus got his newest gizmo. How does he feel about it?

    Protip: Take a drink every time Markus says "Immersive"
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    • 19 min
    Proxy War with Russia (Ukraine)

    Proxy War with Russia (Ukraine)

    Almost exactly one year after Russia's invasion of its neighbor Ukraine, Markus and Drew discuss how America came to be involved in this bloody conflict.
     
    Officially involved only from a support standpoint, by providing not only billions of dollars but also an array of sophisticated military hardware. Supplying everything from brand new Abrams tanks to F-16 jet fighters and of course, not to mention, a plethora of unofficial covert agents and operators.

    But how did things get to this point?

     Is it true when the media says that this war was totally unprovoked? That Putin's invasion of Ukraine was not to disarm the Donbas region of NATO military influence (to protect ethnic Russians who've been steeped in civil conflict since 2014), but was merely a ruse to hide the fact that Putin is actually a madman with aspirations of Soviet style dominance of Europe with an arsenal of nuclear weapons at his disposal?

    As usual the truth is rarely so cut and dry. With the media's propaganda machine out in full force to support this war, in addition to the corporate uniparty putting their pretend differences aside temporarily to join hands in unwavering support of provoking a nuclear superpower, we can count on one thing- There will be blood.

    Will we avoid all-out war with Russia or has fate set our path without possibility of deviation? Will Drew's prediction of the war's outcome come true? Or will we inevitably be engulfed in World War 3?

    You decide?

    ***LINKS:

    Conflict Breakdown

    More Context

    Propaganda Campaign

    US arming Nazis

    Nordstream2

    Pipeline Explained

    ***CONTACT US:

    Link Tree

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    • 10 min
    Chinese Spy Balloon Narrative Full of Hot Air?

    Chinese Spy Balloon Narrative Full of Hot Air?

    3 weeks after the Chinese "spy balloon" that blatantly defied US airspace, and casually floated across the lower 48, Markus and Drew discus  if this story was merely a distraction from the train derailment and environmental disaster in East Palestine, Ohio?

    But why the distraction, if indeed it is one? Who's to blame and who benefits?

    Perhaps it's the War Machine, doing what it does best- drumming up fear in support for future conflict with China?

    Maybe all these recent train derailments are Cyber attack Payback from Russia for the Nord Stream 2 pipeline?

    Or is it merely as simple an explanation as a weather balloon that naturall flew off course?

    You decide.

    ***LINKS:
    Update

    Environmental Disaster

    stingray cell tower
    ***CONTACT US:
    Link Tree
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    If you liked what you heard and can afford to help us grow, please throw a couple bucks our way. If your budget is too tight but you still want to help, please Like, Share and/or leave us a good review. Thanks!
    Support the show

    • 9 min
    ChatGPT and Generative AI

    ChatGPT and Generative AI

    Every civilization throughout our history has taken part in the shaping of its society and ultimately its own destiny,  built on the foundations of human ingenuity and the unique drive to be better. In the strive for social progress and the instinctual desire to harness the power of technology, we built machines to help us.  This new mechanized era coupled with ever increasing automation, would lay the groundwork for what would later play a critical role in the future molding of human development.

    Now, for the first time in human history, we have taken the first real steps to begin handing the reins of human development over to Artificial Intelligence.  This new technological frontier will no doubt have its unique (and at times, dizzying) peaks of civil progress as well as its frightening valleys of unintended technological horrors.

    Will AI prove to be humanity's greatest creation or greatest flaw? Will humanity collectively ease back on the throttle of technological progress before its too late? Are Markus and Drew making a big deal about nothin'? 

    You decide.

    ***LINKS:

    ChatGPT explained.

    DAN Command (Do Anything Now)

    "I Robot,  basically..."

    Homer's Rage-Art/ "Le Grille"

    "Do you like the Elton John song, Rocket Man?"

    Joe Biden's problem with plagiarism

    Shia LaBeoufe's problem with plagiarism 
    China's Dystopian ChatGPT

    AI generated TV show

    Deepfakes

    The Butlerian Jihad

    The Rise of Skynet and the AI Takeover

    Can't someone else do it?

    A whole generation of disposable people

    I don't listen to hip-hop
    ***CONTACT US:
    Link Tree
    ***SUPPORT US:
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    If you liked what you heard and can afford to help us grow, please throw a couple bucks our way. If your budget is too tight but you still want to help, please Like, Share and/or leave us a good review. Thanks!
    Support the show

    • 30 min
    CULTS: The Psychological Sway of Bad Shepherds

    CULTS: The Psychological Sway of Bad Shepherds

    Why are we so collectively desperate for belonging? To understand this world and our place in it? What is it that calls to us to find the secret knowledge from the beyond? Join us, as we do a brief dive into the dark waters of cults.

    In this episode we examine JEHOVAH'S WITNESSES, HEAVEN'S GATE, THE PEOPLE'S TEMPLE and THE MANSON FAMILY. The groups, their leaders, founders and the doctrine they follow(ed).

    One could argue the thing that makes cults fundamentally different (and therefore dangerous) then other groups is the subversion of the members' free will. A dynamic more akin to mind control or social engineering than spiritual enlightenment.  But how can we protect the vulnerable from the predations of a bad shepherd, while still living up to America's founding principles of freedom?

    What is it that makes us so susceptible to religious persuasion? Why do people devote their lives to some movements and not others? And why will we often follow someone into Hell to find these answers?

    You decide.


    ***LINKS:
    BITE

    Asch Experiments

    Milgram Shock Experiment


    JW's
    JW.org

    JW Theology

    What if they're right?


    Heaven's Gate
    Heaven's Gate

    Exit Testimonials


    Jim Jones / Peoples Temple
    Paradise Lost

    Death Tape

    SDSU Records


    Manson Family
    Diane Sawyer Interview

    Turning Point


    Jokes
    As a great man once said

    Family Guy Garden of Eden

    Flair

    Rookie Numbers

    American History X
    ***CONTACT US:
    Link Tree
    ***SUPPORT US:
    PayPal
    If you liked what you heard and can afford to help us grow, please throw a couple bucks our way. If your budget is too tight but you still want to help, please Like, Share and/or leave us a good review. Thanks!
    Support the show

    • 2 hr 25 min

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