PODCAST · society
Critical Nonsense
by SYLVAIN
High-low brow conversations about anything and everything. Produced by SYLVAIN and hosted by Joey Camire, Aaron Powers, and Executive Producer/Nerd-Herder Jess Vander. SYLVAIN is a strategy and creative company solving hard, high-stakes problems. You know. Making work that works. Learn more at sylvain.co.
Episodes
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363! Being Observed
Why is observation so powerful? This week, Jess and Joey talk about particle physics, quarks, the emergence of consciousness and the breakdown of the bicameral mind, Santa, personal identity, and sportsball. They don’t talk about a Semi-Charmed Life. references Somebody's Watching Me…
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362! American Stuff
What are the things that best represent the United States of America to you? This week, Jess and Joey talk about dentures, cultural preferences, all-you-can-eat buffets, shared things, Super Soakers, and Shark Tank. They don’t talk about white supremacy, sexual predators or gun violence.…
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361! Waiting in Lines
What is actually worth waiting in line for? This week, Jess and Joey talk about froyo, pacing, theme parks, the TSA, the corruption of the Lightning Pass, and underwear. They don’t talk about line dancing. references Corrections Department: Gerry Rafferty Plato's Allegory of the Cave
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360! Being Scared of AI
What should I be affraid of, the robot or the people? This week, Jess and Joey talk about AI != robots, human extinction, Anthropic researcher Jacob Coxon, biological weapons, societal collapse, neuroticism, and increased persistence. They don’t talk about happy things. references corporeal AI…
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359! Books Everybody Loves
What happens when everybody loves something and you don’t? This week, Joey and Jess talk about sci-fi, curation, Rotten Tomatoes, autobiographical characters, leaving room for surprises, and fame. They don’t talk about Sweet Pickles books. references Hyperion by Dan Simmons The Expanse series...
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358! Reading
Is listening to a book the same thing as reading it? If so, why? And if not, why not? This week, Jess and Joey talk about audiobooks, purity testing, locked-in mode, ADHD, lectures, and celestial orbs. They don’t talk about Mychal Threats. references Reading Rainbow Yesteryear by Caro Claire…
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357! Good-Looking Food
How do you know if something's going to be good to eat by looking at it? This week, Jess and Joey talk about grilling, cheesesteaks, coffee, the burden of knowledge, authenticity, and mangoes. They don’t talk about Drunken shrimp. references Air Bud Smithsonian: Why Did Van Halen Demand Concert...
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356! Overbranding
When is there too much branding? This week, Aaron, Jess, and Joey talk about Arctic Glacier, private equity, Bala Cynwyd, apps, Sonic pellets, and water ice. They don’t talk about Redd Foxx. references Zootropolis 2 Bala Cynwyd, Pennsylvania How to Make Clear Ice at Home What Exactly Is...
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355! Reviews
When is a review worthwhile? This week, Aaron and Joey talk about IGN, reviews as entertainment, trust and authority, tribunals, and RuPaul's Drag Race. They don’t talk NHL '98. references Grape Lady Crimson Desert MOUSE: P.I. For Hire saros roguelike Wikipedia: IGN IGN Reviews American's Test...
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354! Early Birds and Night Owls
What is the best way for you to use the hours of the day? This week, Jess and Aaron talk about sleepiness, international travel, school start times, physical harmony, empathy, and small talk. They don’t talk about kākāpōs. references The New York Times: What’s Your Sleep Type?...
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353! Knowing Each Other
How are you using your relationships to discover yourself? This week, Joey and Jess talk about the Johari Window, observation, employee reviews, dudes not knowing about dudes, blind spots, and centipedes. They don’t talk about Professor Joseph Harrington at Wharton. references Johari Window Human...
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352! Writing
What is the best use of writing? This week, Jess, Joey, and Aaron talk about organizing mental chaos, description, recall, process vs. idea, songwriters, and formal logic. references Billie Eilish on Conan O'Brien Needs A Friend Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis Explosions in the Sky The Earth is Not a Cold...
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351! Trusting Our Instincts
How do you identify with your instincts? This week, Joey and Jess talk about storking, gut instincts, the Ship of Theseus, entity, background signal processing, and birds. They don’t talk about Uptown Girls. references The Origin Of Consciousness In The Breakdown Of The Bicameral Mind by Julian...
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350! Summer of Sillies
What are you looking forward to during the new summer of Silliness? This week, Aaron, Joey, and Jess talk about Scary Movie 6, Street Fighter, existential dread, edge lords, Dave Chappelle, and 702. They don’t talk about NASCAR. references Hey Dude Scary Movie 6 Don't Be a Menace to South Central...
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349! What's So Important?
What happens when something you liked becomes Important? This week, Joey and Jess talk about "Mr. Brightside", Nirvana, Adam Duritz, Owl City, and ennui. They don’t talk about Keisha Cole. references Glorious Indie Rock and Roll "God Only Knows" "Mr. Brightside" Grantland: "The Loneliness of the...
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348! Zombies
What happens if the Internet dies? This week, Joey, Jess, and Aaron talk about One Internet, Poob, attribution, destinations, AI Porn, and knowlege creation. They don’t talk about Fela Kuti. references Dead Internet theory "You can watch it on Poob." The New York Times: Anthropic’s Restraint Is a...
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347! Making People Laugh
When was the last time you felt destabilized in a safe environment? This week, Joey and Jess talk about dad jokes, child entertainment strategies, comedy, silliness support, two-legged stools, and butt pats. They don’t talk about Sô Yamamura. references Sure looks strange to me. Journal of...
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346! Hating the Player
When is it okay to hate the player, not the game? This week, Jess and Aaron talk about The Traitors, Chevy Chase, Kobe Bryant, villainy, Timothée Chalamet, and Omarosa vs. New York. They don’t talk about the late, the great, The Diabolical Biz Markie. references Wagon Wheel Watusi The Traitors…
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345! How We Learn
How should we learn beyond school? This week, Joey and Jess talk about framing work as learning, human observation, vocational training, osmotic learning, pen and paper, and the wheel. They don’t talk about Simple Machines Records. references You're only 16, Joey, you don't have a rep yet. Dr....
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344! Relationshipping
What fictional characters should we be shipping today? This week, Aaron and Jess talk about soap, fan fiction, Back to the Future, ensemble shows, reading the book vs. seeing the movie, and reimagined universes. They don’t talk about Such Great Heights. references Spirk The Traitors Who Framed...
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343! I Love You
Who can I say "I love you" to? This week, Jess and Joey talk about expressions of love, social and gender dynamics, rejection, promiscuous love giving, monoliths, and Bad Bunny. They don’t talk about the Pixies or Deee-Lite. references Eight Types of Love in Greek Philosophy Taj Mahal
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342! Wild Prognostications 2026!
What's to come in 2026? This week, Wild Prognostications returns! Jess, Aaron, and Joey make their predictions for the new year, discussing privacy as luxury [3:28], the romance resurgence [4:28], Avengers Doomsday flopping [13:29], paper as a smart signal [16:35], bird pets [18:31], medical...
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341! What You Doing?
What you doing and what you sharing? This week, Aaron, Joey, and Jess talk about battle rap, knitting, crochet, LitRPG, world building, and not finishing. They don’t talk about Fraggle Rock. references Dungeon Crawler Carl by Matt Dinniman Another Dimension of Us by Mike Albo Pretty Pretty Boys...
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340! Actuallys
When is the right time to actually? This week, Joey and Jess talk about corrections, status, intent, virtue, asymmetric information, and confidence intervals. They don’t talk about Thomas Brodie-Sangster. references Bear Grylls Patroclus
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339! Medical Experiments
How far would you be willing to go to experiment with your health? This week, Joey and Jess talk about peptides, biohacking, Silicon Valley libertarian culture, Bryan Johnson, exercise, and salt. They don’t talk about The Gelflings. references Confirmations Department: Yes, Tears for Fears...
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338! Short-Form Video
Why do we keep using short-form video? This week, Joey and Jess talk about dopamine culture, friction, flow state, floating, smoking, and green juice. They don’t talk about cannolis. references American Psychological Association: Feeds, Feelings, and Focus: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis...
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337! Dressing Up
How do you dress for success? This week, Aaron and Joey talk about fashion plates, professionalism, drag, archetyping, navigating differences, and respect. They don’t talk about Rufio. references Fashion plate Professionalism as a Racial Construct Economic Policy Institute: The CROWN Act Paris is...
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336! 2025 Wild Prognostications: A Year in Review!
This week, Aaron, Jess and Joey revisit their 2025 prognogs from Episode 296. They talk about the micro social media surge, cynicism, platform madness, informed styling, blockbusters, weaponized compliance, non-apocalyptic runaway AI moments, and our AI overlords. They don’t talk about eggprogs....
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335! Giving a Fart
What does your Zero Farts Land future look like? This week, Aaron, Joey, and Jess talk about fucks. And farts. references Empire: Jamie Lee Curtis Is Done Compromising – And She’s Not Slowing Down George Wallace (not George Wallace) Kenan Thompson on We Might Be Drunk with Normand and Morril...
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334! How to Strategy
How do you strategy? This week, Aaron and Joey talk about Elliott Kalan, the School of Let's Figure It Out, emotional distance from work, working in teams, meandering, and strategy that bleeds. They don’t talk about Jamesy P. references Pure Moods Joke Farming: How to Write Comedy and Other...
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333! Hanlon’s Razor
Why do we expect the worst? This week, Aaron and Jess talk about simple solutions, Karen moments, assuming malice, Thanos, Falkland's Law, and lemmings. They don’t talk about the famous former power forward for the Boston Celtics or the Hamburger Peddler's rhyming buddy. references Corrections...
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332! Remembering Important Details
How has technology made us less sure of ourselves? This week, Jess and Joey talk about technological change, Christmas cards, scraping, phone numbers, friendships, and FaceTime. They don’t talk about beepers. references Ski-ba-bop-ba-dop-bop Rolodex propinquity Don't lose that number, Jenny...
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331! Generalists
Is it better to generalize or to specialize? This week, Joey and Jess talk about polymaths, running, functional fitness, idea people, curiosity, and Starship Troopers. They don’t talk about dilettantes. references Specialization is for insects. Stardew Valley Forbes: Going Pi-Shaped: How To…
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330! Unlikely Internet Innovations
Are there actually interesting life innovations that are coming out of the content creation boom? This week, Joey and Jess talk about homemade pop tarts, learning letters, the power of song, TikTok, mastering movements, and apple dumplings. They don’t talk about Action Bronson. references The...
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329! Imprecise Language
How many other things do we have that we think of as imprecise but are actually pretty precise and agreed upon? This week, Joey and Jess talk about box plots, New York neighborhood names, Australian colloquialisms, measurement language, baking, and square roots. They don’t talk about The Smiths....
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328! Compromises
What if we've become less willing to sacrifice our pawns to take the queen? This week, Jess and Joey talk about Ezra Klein, Ta-Nehisi Coates, Obama, game theory, defaulting to passion, and nuclear weapons. They don’t talk about David Lightman. references The Ezra Klein Show: Ta-Nehisi Coates on...
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327! Notes-apalooza
What's in your notes? This week, Aaron and Jess talk about internet chalk, bottle lining, the Pantry Challenge, gold bars, word clothes, and golden milk. They don’t talk about Gold Bond powder. references Heinz Breakfast Ketchup Paris is Burning trailer The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller...
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326! Changing Personalities
How much do you think you can change your personality? This week, Joey and Jess talk about life satisfaction, sad auras, nominative determinism, nature versus nurture, Martin Seligman, magical meat sacks. They don’t talk about marinade bags. references Forbes: How Singer-Songwriter EJAE Found...
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325! Patterns of Wisdom
What are places where wisdom exists where it shouldn't? This week, Joey and Jess talk about the Benner Cycle, feng shui, jelly shoes, BMW dashboards, the bullshit asymmetry principle, and Hitchens's razor. They don’t talk about Christopher Robin. references Human League Benner Cycle Bagua...
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324! Waving
Why do we wave from trains and boats? This week, Aaron and Jess talk about kids, duck boats, kerchiefs, air travel, cruise ships, and roller coasters. They don’t talk about chucking the deuce. references Knott's Berry Farm Medieval Times New York Transit Museum L.A. Train Festival 2025 Some Kind…
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323! AI Defenses
How are you personally preparing mentally, psychologically for the increased engagement with AI? This week, Joey and Jess talk about AI psychosis, Blake Lemoine, the Turing Test, cognative security, red teaming, and hats. They don’t (yet) talk about NonsenseLLM. references Psycho Killer and the…
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322! Old
When is old good and when is old bad? This week, Jess, Aaron, and Joey talk about The Bible, first editions, berries, Final Destination, whiskey, and Rick Astley. They don’t talk about Flavor Flav. references Dayspring by Anthony Oliveira sarcophagus
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321! Clarity
How do you make sense? This week, Aaron, Jess, and Joey talk about intention, trust, assumption, context windows, synchronicity, and drinking. They don’t talk about Pal Joey. references Click, Clack, Moo in book form Click, Clack, Moo Read Aloud Palworld
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320! Doing Hard Things
Why do we do hard things? This week, Joey and Jess talk about the Baddie Performance Index, Barkley Marathons, fun types, self flagellation, dessert stomachs, and natural childbirth. They don’t talk about Saquon. references Barkley Marathons Running so far away
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319! Being Cool
Why is it so important to be cool? This week, Jess, Aaron, and Joey talk about Black culture, 21 Jump Street, social approval, bandwaggoning, alternative hierarchies, and Lauryn Hill. They don’t talk about Digable Planets. references Dru Hill's "5 Steps" Old Man, look at my life. Journal of...
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318! The Beach
How is it we've convinced ourselves sometimes that we like things that we don't really like? This week, Jess and Joey talk about the big light, the beach, group vacations, going to the movies, nature bathing, and bad drinks. They don’t talk about Mr. Nice Guy. references Rest easy, Brian Wilson...
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317! New Rules
What new rules should we have? This week, Joey and Jess talk about the Irish Goodbye, music at the beach, phones on the train, zipper merging, gift obligations, and desire paths. They don’t talk about Dua Lipa or New Rochelle. references Zipper Merging
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316! Possibility
How do y'all protect your sense of possibility? This week, Aaron, Joey, and Jess talk about optimism, imagination, resilience, cultural technology, escape rooms, and rules. They don’t talk about the endless persistence of existential dread. references A Thousand Miles to the Pink Pony Club…
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315! Going Analog
What are the important analog activities in an increasingly digital world? This week, Joey and Jess talk about luddites, handwriting, typewriting, mashing tomatoes, kinetic learning, and carbon dioxide. They don’t talk about Folkways Records. references Taki Taki Luddites Study: Handwriting but…
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In A Quiet So Loud
In April, SYLVAIN released an open letter of resistance in response to the chaos of the moment we're in. This is a live reading of that letter, and a reminder that resistance is ongoing. Too many in our industry have been quiet in the face of injustice and uncertainty. Too many important...
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ABOUT THIS SHOW
High-low brow conversations about anything and everything. Produced by SYLVAIN and hosted by Joey Camire, Aaron Powers, and Executive Producer/Nerd-Herder Jess Vander. SYLVAIN is a strategy and creative company solving hard, high-stakes problems. You know. Making work that works. Learn more at sylvain.co.
HOSTED BY
SYLVAIN
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Frequently Asked Questions
How many episodes does Critical Nonsense have?
Critical Nonsense currently has 378 episodes available on PodParley. New episodes are automatically indexed when they're published to the podcast feed.
What is Critical Nonsense about?
High-low brow conversations about anything and everything. Produced by SYLVAIN and hosted by Joey Camire, Aaron Powers, and Executive Producer/Nerd-Herder Jess Vander. SYLVAIN is a strategy and creative company solving hard, high-stakes problems. You know. Making work that works. Learn more at...
How often does Critical Nonsense release new episodes?
Critical Nonsense publishes regularly with 378 episodes available. Check the episode list for the typical release schedule.
Where can I listen to Critical Nonsense?
You can listen to Critical Nonsense on PodParley by clicking any episode. We provide an embedded audio player for direct listening, and you can also subscribe via your preferred podcast app using the RSS feed.
Who hosts Critical Nonsense?
Critical Nonsense is created and hosted by SYLVAIN.
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