s08e08 Saint Maud – The Good Robot Andys

Content warning for discussion of a film featuring severe mental health problems and suicide.

Discussion (with spoilers) of Saint Maud. Andy B thinks it’s an Emma Thompson movie about a boarding school but Andy C puts him straight: it’s a heightened drama horror about a woman who believes she is acting on God’s orders and descends into terrible destruction.

Creative Commons LicenceThe Good Robot Andys podcasts and web site by Andy Balaam and Andy Cockerill are licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Music: I dunno by grapes (c) copyright 2008 Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution (3.0) license. Ft: J Lang, Morusque

s08e07 Relic – The Good Robot Andys

Discussion (with spoilers) of Relic. Andy B thinks it’s a rollicking Disney adventure about some mice who can breathe under water, which is an interesting commentary on religion, but Andy C explains it’s a subtle horror that explores generational trauma and the pain of caring for someone with dementia.

Creative Commons LicenceThe Good Robot Andys podcasts and web site by Andy Balaam and Andy Cockerill are licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Music: I dunno by grapes (c) copyright 2008 Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution (3.0) license. Ft: J Lang, Morusque

s08e06 Encryption – The Good Robot Andys

Discussion of what that little padlock symbol next to a web address means, and some vague suggestions as to how it works. Andy C questions Andy B, who fails to understand and effectively communicates that failure.

For further reading, check out these Wikipedia links:

Creative Commons LicenceThe Good Robot Andys podcasts and web site by Andy Balaam and Andy Cockerill are licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Music: I dunno by grapes (c) copyright 2008 Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution (3.0) license. Ft: J Lang, Morusque

s08e05 Host – The Good Robot Andys

Discussion (with spoilers) of Host. Andy B basically thinks it’s The Haunting, but it’s not at all: Andy C explains it’s a lockdown-created Lockdown Zoom Horror, British-made and independent.

[Content warning: a couple of brief mentions of suicide.]

That games site Andy B is working on is smolpxl.artificialworlds.net.

Creative Commons LicenceThe Good Robot Andys podcasts and web site by Andy Balaam and Andy Cockerill are licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Music: I dunno by grapes (c) copyright 2008 Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution (3.0) license. Ft: J Lang, Morusque

s08e04 Best Scenes – The Good Robot Andys

Andy and Andy share some of their favourite scenes from some of their favourite movies.

That podcast by our friends that we think you’ll like is The Disc Dump Podcast. Give it a try!

That games site Andy B is working on is smolpxl.artificialworlds.net.

Those software recommendations were:

Creative Commons LicenceThe Good Robot Andys podcasts and web site by Andy Balaam and Andy Cockerill are licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Music: I dunno by grapes (c) copyright 2008 Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution (3.0) license. Ft: J Lang, Morusque

s08e03 The Visit – The Good Robot Andys

Discussion (with spoilers) of The Visit. Andy B thinks it’s a sophisticated thriller starring Michelle Pfeifer, but Andy C explains it’s a fun, short creepy horror from good old M. Night Shyamalan.

That podcast by our friends that we think you’ll like is The Disc Dump Podcast. Give it a try!

That games site Andy B is working on is smolpxl.artificialworlds.net.

Creative Commons LicenceThe Good Robot Andys podcasts and web site by Andy Balaam and Andy Cockerill are licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Music: I dunno by grapes (c) copyright 2008 Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution (3.0) license. Ft: J Lang, Morusque

s08 Everybody Now (special)

Everybody Now – Climate Emergency and Sacred Duty

The Good Robot Andys are proud to share with you:

We’ve caused a turning point in the Earth’s natural history. Everybody Now is a podcast about what it means to be human on the threshold of a global climate emergency, in a time of systemic injustice and runaway pandemics. Scientists, activists, farmers, poets, and theologians talk bravely and frankly about how our biosphere is changing, about grief and hope in an age of social collapse and mass extinction, and about taking action against all the odds.

On 19th October 2020, Everybody Now is being released by podcasters all over the world as a collective call for awareness, grief and loving action.

With contributions from:

Dr. Gail Bradbrook – scientist and co-founder of Extinction Rebellion
Prof. Kevin Anderson – Professor of Energy and Climate Change at the University of Manchester
Dámaris Albuquerque – works with agricultural communities in Nicaragua
Dr. Rowan Williams – theologian and poet, and a former Archbishop of Canterbury
Pádraig Ó Tuama – poet, theologian and conflict mediator
Rachel Mander – environmental activist with Hope for the Future
John Swales – priest and activist, and part of a community for marginalised people
Zena Kazeme – Persian-Iraqi poet who draws on her experiences as a former refugee to create poetry that explores themes of exile, home, war and heritage
Flo Brady – singer and theatre maker
Hannah Malcolm – Anglican ordinand, climate writer and organiser
Alastair McIntosh is a writer, academic and land rights activist
David Benjamin Blower – musician, poet and podcaster

Funding and Production:

This podcast was crowdfunded by a handful of good souls, and produced by Tim Nash and David Benjamin Blower

Permissions:

The song Happily by Flo Brady is used with permission.
The song The Soil, from We Really Existed and We Really Did This by David Benjamin Blower, used with permission.
The Poem The Tree of Knowledge by Pádraig Ó Tuama used with permission.
The Poem Atlas by Zena Kazeme used with permission.
The Poem What is Man? by Rowan Williams from the book The Other Mountain, used with permission from Carcanet Press.

Creative Commons LicenceThe Good Robot Andys podcasts and web site by Andy Balaam and Andy Cockerill are licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Music: I dunno by grapes (c) copyright 2008 Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution (3.0) license. Ft: J Lang, Morusque

s08e02 Snowpiercer – The Good Robot Andys

Discussion (with spoilers) of Snowpiercer. Andy B thinks it might be a live-action ear-piercing-as-a-metaphor-for-emotional-growth movie set in the Frozen universe, but Andy C patiently explains that it’s a Sci Fi where the last remnants of humanity live on a socially-divided train.

The book of lockdown poems Andy B mentioned is Breathing Space.

That games site Andy B is working on is smolpxl.artificialworlds.net.

Creative Commons LicenceThe Good Robot Andys podcasts and web site by Andy Balaam and Andy Cockerill are licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Music: I dunno by grapes (c) copyright 2008 Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution (3.0) license. Ft: J Lang, Morusque

s08e01 Proxima – The Good Robot Andys

Discussion (with spoilers) of Proxima, which is a story about an astronaut overcoming personal circumstances to train for a mission to Mars. Andy B speculates that it features a robot who eats human flesh, but Andy C puts him right: it’s highly recommended because the story is engaging and the performances are excellent.

That games site Andy B is working on is smolpxl.artificialworlds.net.

Creative Commons LicenceThe Good Robot Andys podcasts and web site by Andy Balaam and Andy Cockerill are licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Music: I dunno by grapes (c) copyright 2008 Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution (3.0) license. Ft: J Lang, Morusque

s07e13 A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood – The Good Robot Andys

Discussion (with spoilers) of A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood, which is a story without any nasty surprises about the nice man being horrible, but instead a chance to watch an angry man helped by being shown some kindness and empathy. Apparently it’s not as bad as it sounds.

Creative Commons LicenceThe Good Robot Andys podcasts and web site by Andy Balaam and Andy Cockerill are licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Music: I dunno by grapes (c) copyright 2008 Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution (3.0) license. Ft: J Lang, Morusque

s07e12 The Invisible Man – The Good Robot Andys

Discussion (with spoilers) of The Invisible Man. We love Elisabeth Moss (and, it turns out later, Elisabeth Banks) and this stars her (Banks, that is) as a woman terrorised and gaslighted by a controlling husband who just happens to have invented an invisibility suit. Andy C says it’s good and Andy B seems satisified that it handles the inherent creepiness in a reasonable way.

Creative Commons LicenceThe Good Robot Andys podcasts and web site by Andy Balaam and Andy Cockerill are licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Music: I dunno by grapes (c) copyright 2008 Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution (3.0) license. Ft: J Lang, Morusque

s07e11 The Lighthouse – The Good Robot Andys

Discussion (with spoilers) of The Lighthouse. From the title, Andy B thinks it’s a Finnish water-painted animation, with splashes of colour in the mist, but Andy C explains it’s a tense horror film with a couple of mermaids, but mainly two men stuck in a scary place, losing it.

Creative Commons LicenceThe Good Robot Andys podcasts and web site by Andy Balaam and Andy Cockerill are licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Music: I dunno by grapes (c) copyright 2008 Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution (3.0) license. Ft: J Lang, Morusque

s07e10 Denis Villeneuve – The Good Robot Andys

Discussion (with spoilers) of the films of Denis Villeneuve, notably Prisoners, Enemy, Sicario, Arrival, and Blade Runner 2049. He seems to make dreamy and thoughtful films that are also visually interesting and action-filled enough to be popular.

Check out Andy B’s “other podcast”: Justice Worriers, slogan “Continually worrying about Justice, sometimes from a Christian perspective”.

Creative Commons LicenceThe Good Robot Andys podcasts and web site by Andy Balaam and Andy Cockerill are licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Music: I dunno by grapes (c) copyright 2008 Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution (3.0) license. Ft: J Lang, Morusque

s07e09 Jacob’s Ladder and Angel Heart – The Good Robot Andys

Discussion (with spoilers) of Jacob’s Ladder and Angel Heart, two films that nearly made it into our series: best horror movies of the 20th century, but Andy C explains the flaws that kept them out.

If you were at all interested in Andy B’s new TODO list program, you can sign up at listsync.artificialworlds.net/ui/signup, or you can help code it at gitlab.com/listsync.

Creative Commons LicenceThe Good Robot Andys podcasts and web site by Andy Balaam and Andy Cockerill are licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Music: I dunno by grapes (c) copyright 2008 Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution (3.0) license. Ft: J Lang, Morusque

s07e08 Leave No Trace – The Good Robot Andys

Discussion (with spoilers) of Leave No Trace. Andy B correctly guesses it involves woods, but is otherwise wrong. Andy C explains it’s a story of a father and daughter trying to operate as what they need in their lives begins to diverge. In the woods.

Creative Commons LicenceThe Good Robot Andys podcasts and web site by Andy Balaam and Andy Cockerill are licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Music: I dunno by grapes (c) copyright 2008 Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution (3.0) license. Ft: J Lang, Morusque

s07e07 Bait – The Good Robot Andys

Discussion (with spoilers) of Bait. Andy B thinks it’s a mockumentary with a romantic comedy storyline running through it, an idea that Andy C find inexplicably difficult to understand. Finally, Andy C explains it’s a story of gentrification in Cornwall, created using venerable cinema techniques.

You can watch Bait on Amazon Video, Apple, Curzon or the BFI Player.

Creative Commons LicenceThe Good Robot Andys podcasts and web site by Andy Balaam and Andy Cockerill are licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Music: I dunno by grapes (c) copyright 2008 Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution (3.0) license. Ft: J Lang, Morusque

s07e06 Wes Anderson – The Good Robot Andys

Discussion of the highly-stylised films of Wes Anderson:

Here is a summary of the places you can watch these movies (green=available, red=unavailable):

All of them are also available on DVD from online retailers.

Creative Commons LicenceThe Good Robot Andys podcasts and web site by Andy Balaam and Andy Cockerill are licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Music: I dunno by grapes (c) copyright 2008 Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution (3.0) license. Ft: J Lang, Morusque

s07e05 Doctor Sleep – The Good Robot Andys

Discussion (with spoilers) of Doctor Sleep. Andy B fails to summon the energy to even say something silly at the beginning, but things warm up after Andy C explains this is a classic Stephen King horror that is a clever sequel to The Shining.

Creative Commons LicenceThe Good Robot Andys podcasts and web site by Andy Balaam and Andy Cockerill are licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Music: I dunno by grapes (c) copyright 2008 Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution (3.0) license. Ft: J Lang, Morusque

s07e04 Jojo Rabbit – The Good Robot Andys

Discussion (with spoilers) of Jojo Rabbit. Andy B declares it features the worst performance by Emma Thompson in her career, but Andy C suggests that if he had seen the film he might understand that she is not in it, and that it is an audacious comedy about a member of the Hitler Youth and his Jewish friend.

Creative Commons LicenceThe Good Robot Andys podcasts and web site by Andy Balaam and Andy Cockerill are licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Music: I dunno by grapes (c) copyright 2008 Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution (3.0) license. Ft: J Lang, Morusque

s07e03 “Hope vs. Hate” – The Good Robot Andys

Discussion, tapping again into the wisdom of Frances Buontempo and inspired by Johan Norberg‘s book Progress about whether we can be hopeful about the future, or whether we are doomed. Also, if we are doomed will it be hatred, disease or climate blindness that kills us? But really, it’s about how much good stuff so many of us have, and how it’s worth fighting for a good life for everyone. Or something.

Creative Commons LicenceThe Good Robot Andys podcasts and web site by Andy Balaam and Andy Cockerill are licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Music: I dunno by grapes (c) copyright 2008 Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution (3.0) license. Ft: J Lang, Morusque