Six Mt Rushmores, One Foley Catheter
We open this week with the promise of an 18-day podcastathon — complete with a urologist's catheter and a rectal trumpet — before getting into what we've actually been consuming. Peter is working through The Iliad and saw Christopher Nolan's The Odyssey, which we both agree is a fine three-hour movie saddled with a divisive "wet fart" of an ending. He also brings new albums from Mastodon (Marrow Deep, a grief-soaked triumph) and Russian Circles (Nine), while Eden counters with gloriously bad movies (Dracula 3000), style-over-substance manga, and Marvel's horror-flavored Midnight Universe. The centerpiece is our no-prep game: building Mount Rushmores for six categories and landing on Columbo, Batman, Sherlock Holmes, and Jessica Fletcher for the last one.
Show Notes
- The Odyssey (2026): We both saw Christopher Nolan's Homer epic and think it a fine, overlong movie whose invented "wet fart" of an ending undercuts the text.
- The Iliad / The Aeneid: Peter is on a three-book run through the epics, starting with the one (not The Odyssey) that high school never assigned. The Iliad
- The Odyssey (1997 miniseries): Eden argues the Armand Assante version is the actually rewatchable take on Homer over Nolan's film.
- The Great Mental Models: Peter is chipping through Shane Parrish's series on thinking frameworks.
- Marrow Deep: Peter calls Mastodon's ninth album — recorded after Brent Hinds' death — a grief-processing triumph and their best since Crack the Skye.
- Nine: We both agree Russian Circles' ninth album cements them among the post-metal greats alongside Cult of Luna, Neurosis, and Isis.
- Dracula 3000: Eden breaks down the 2004 space-vampire disaster starring Casper Van Dien and Coolio, which ends on a startlingly abrupt sex-bot punchline.
- Spice and Wolf: Eden's mowing-and-audiobook companion about a traveling merchant and a shrewd wolf harvest goddess.
- Midnight Universe: Eden read early PDFs of Marvel's horror-themed line — Midnight X-Men, Midnight Fantastic Four, Midnight Spider-Man — ahead of its October 7 launch.
- Fields of Mistria: Eden is deep in the cozy farming sim and teases a possible second dragon in town.
- Mount Rushmore of sandwiches: PB&J, the deli Italian, BLT, and Reuben — international sandwiches disqualified.
- Mount Rushmore of doorstopper fantasy: Lord of the Rings, The Wheel of Time, A Song of Ice and Fire, and Dune (argued as much fantasy as sci-fi).
- Mount Rushmore of movie musicals: West Side Story, The Music Man, Singin' in the Rain, and Hello, Dolly!.
- Mount Rushmore of Western RPGs: Baldur's Gate II, Skyrim, Diablo II, and the first Mass Effect — janky and all.
- Mount Rushmore of pizza toppings: pepperoni, ham & pineapple, supreme, and plain cheese.
- Mount Rushmore of TV detectives: Columbo, Batman, Sherlock Holmes, and Jessica Fletcher as the Teddy Roosevelt fourth.