On Pretty Much Pop, a philosopher, an actor, and a sci-fi writer (often with entertainment industry guests) talk about media and how we consume it: TV, film, music, novels, games, comics, comedy, theater, podcasts, and more. Most of what (other) people like is pretty weird when you think about it, so thinking about it is what we do.
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The high level of interest in The Queen’s Gambit has brought this most popular game back to the forefront of pop culture. Chess expert/teacher J.J. (who’s also a grad student in philosophy) joins Mark, Erica, and Brian to consider chess culture, what gives this game its edge on other contenders (why not Terra Mystica?), player personality characteristics, and the effect of chess media. We consider gender, genius, and other issues in Gambit, plus Pawn Sacrifice, Searching for Bobby Fisher, The Luzhin Defense, and The Coldest Game.
A few articles and lists:
- “Five Myths About Chess” by Jennifer Shahade
- “Queen’s Gambit Beauty Debate Explained” by Constance Grady
- “The Fatal Flaw of the Queen’s Gambit” by Sarah Miller
- “16 Things You Probably Didn’t Know About ‘The Queen’s Gambit’” by Janaki Jitchotvisut
- “10 Essential Movies About Chess” by Tim Grierson
- “10 Movies to Watch About Chess if You Liked Netflix’s The Queen’s Gambit” by Jake Dee
- “‘Genius’: 10 Films That Explore the Brilliant Mind” by Kat Sommers
Watch J.J. on stream on Twitch. Other interviews he’s done: Perpetual Chess, Friends and Enemies, Aakaash
This episode includes bonus discussion (covering more chess films, among other things) you can access by supporting the podcast at patreon.com/prettymuchpop.
This podcast is part of the Partially Examined Life podcast network and is curated by openculture.com.
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