The Desert of the Reel Podcast

Casino Royale (2206) Jason hates action movies and especially hates James Bond
But we still dive deep on topics like trust, free will, and why treating women as 'disposable pleasures' is straight-up unethical. New ep out now!
open.spotify.com/episode/0u2q...

Freedom or Justice? The Moral Madness of STONEHEARST ASYLUM (2014) - Desert of the Reel Jason's Choice #20

“Must a man be broken to be made whole?”

In our latest episode on Stonehearst Asylum, we debate whether suffering:
• Refines us
• Radicalizes us
• Or simply damages us

Does misery clarify conviction — or distort it?

Listen now and tell us where you land.

open.spotify.com/episode/5sqE...

Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (2016) - Empathy Is Stronger Than Magic - DOTR #111

Fantastic Beasts (2016)! aka Jason Forgot the Whole Movie (But We Found Philosophy Anyway)

“Worrying means you suffer twice.”

Is Newt Scamander secretly an absurdist philosopher?

Empathy over power

And why the world doesn’t need another macho hero

Animal rights

open.spotify.com/episode/7bIa...

It never came to my hometown :(

There's a reason this movie is forgotten about

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 (2011) Harry Didn’t Win Because of Magic. He Won Because of Trust. Desert of the Reel #110

Deathly Hallows Pt 2 is a rare thing: a franchise ending that actually means something.
This movie isn’t about spells.
It’s about karma, care, and how to handle when devastation hits.
Endings aren’t about winning.
They’re about what kind of person survives

open.spotify.com/episode/1PYF...

Jason wanted to know why the characters don’t use House Elves to solve all their problems. Finding people, aperating, and elf magic

Want to see this one!
Didn’t know about it until the Corridor Crew talked about it

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1 (2010) - Desert of the Reel #109

Deathly Hallows part 1!
Is it only good for fans that have read the book?
We explore Brechtian distancing, the philosophy of sacrifice, whether it is better to die or lose your memory, and many other elements of the film.

open.spotify.com/episode/1OYw...

Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince (2009) - Desert of the Reel #108

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
The worst one? This one feels different than the rest.
We examine its structure, ethical choices characters make, and how evil, fear, and self-confidence originate within us.
What are your thoughts?
open.spotify.com/episode/4uHO...

Interstellar (2014) - Do Not Go Gently - Jason's Choice #19

Jason decided to watch Interstellar after years of students asking him
We discuss love, death, sacrifice, good, evil, free will, lying, time, gravity, the nature of knowledge, auteur theory, and a bunch of other stuff in one of our longest episodes ever!
open.spotify.com/episode/5NBI...

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (2007) Is it Time to Revolt? DOTR # 107

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
We discuss: The importance of asking WHY? Defending our brains, look at the dangers of bureaucracy, the power of fear, go over some of the differences from the book, and use the Mind-Body theory (posthuman) lens!
open.spotify.com/episode/6KUz...

a man in a space suit with the words this little maneuver 's gonna cost us 51 years above him ALT: a man in a space suit with the words this little maneuver 's gonna cost us 51 years above him

Jason's next "Jason's Choice" is going to be Interstellar!
He has told students for years that he "refuses to watch it" because they can't believe he's never seen it.

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire-DOTR #106

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire!
We discuss rule-bound ethics, rebellion against unjust or illogical laws, death studies, and the need for us to be aware of our strengths and weaknesses, effective in life, and have the power to attack the injustice in the world.
open.spotify.com/episode/1WBH...

We are on Christmas break as teachers, but we will still get out our next episode (back to Harry Potter) next week!
Merry Christmas!

Been trying to spend less time on social media, but we are still working on giving you podcasts every week!

War for the Planet of the Apes (2017) - Desert of the Reel #105

War for the Planet of the Apes (2017)
The "logical flaws" of the sewer system drive Jason crazy, but we discuss the essential nature of logos and pathos in our quest to de-other, and we examine the ethics of the Colonel's choice to kill his son

open.spotify.com/episode/3cMg...

Was not a fan of The Monkey, but like Longlegs
This will be a tiebreaker

Will always hate on Anora any chance I get

Dawn of the Planet of the Apes (2014) an incredible sequel with lots of ideas and ethics to explore.
We explore some ideas of rewiring our brain to "de-other," inaction vs action, weaponizing love, rewiring our brains, and what makes someone truly human?

open.spotify.com/episode/5oiC...

Netflix spent $320 million on The Electric State, they know what they’re doing

DOTR #103 - Rise of the Planet of the Apes (2011) When do We Need Rage?

Rise of the Planet of the Apes (2011): The beginning of one of the most underrated trilogies of all time?
We discuss the importance of rage, use Critical Animal Studies, and explore various ethical schools of thought about animal testing.

open.spotify.com/episode/7GI4...

Small but this makes us very happy!

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! 🦃🍗🙏

Fan art of Batman, Columbo, Benoit Blanc, Batman and Hercule Poirot

Happy gentleman sleuths day #benoitblanc #wakeupdeadman

Just in time for Thanksgiving!

Prisoner of Azkaban (2004)!
Is this the best one?
We talk about overcoming fear, film form, the lens of the “Fantastic,” looking at motifs, and more!

open.spotify.com/episode/30sp...

It’s like Ready Player One, but the bad guys won

As an English teacher, we are forced to always be looking out for AI written essays