204 | Seven Eat Nine
The Economy of Nothing Podcast
In this episode, The Captain and Mr. Green drift from skull pirates and JJ Abrams mystery boxes into a brutal breakdown of modern media, celebrity overexposure, and an economy that refuses to let anything die. They unpack why franchises feel exhausted, why streaming platforms keep buying IP they can’t actually use, and how Hollywood’s risk aversion mirrors a broader system built on debt, middlemen, and artificial scarcity. From insurance scams and “act of God” loopholes to the cult of constant productivity and celebrity branding, the conversation circles one core idea: everything keeps...
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203 | Tech's in the Cradle
The Economy of Nothing Podcast
Check out the Visual Radio: Did some interesting things In this episode, the hosts explore a range of topics starting with the arbitrary nature of awards and how adding challenging criteria would make them more meaningful. They then move on to discuss the broader implications of societal structures, emphasizing how norms and regulations often make life more challenging. The conversation touches on media's role in shaping perceptions, criticizing the lack of valuable content in the current era, and how giant corporations impact everyday life. They question the value of work driven by...
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202 | You’re Still Expected to Participate
The Economy of Nothing Podcast
Mr. Green and Captain Tracy are back at the dispatch, riding an elevator and talking through passive income apps, gambling platforms, and why participation now feels mandatory across work, media, sports, and entertainment. The conversation moves from apps like Go Jackers and the normalization of sports betting into a broader discussion about the attention economy, work culture, and systems that keep running without delivering resolution. Streaming, gaming, and media all start to blur together, revealing the same engagement-driven logic underneath. Along the way, they explore the idea of an...
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201 | Speculative Labor
The Economy of Nothing Podcast
After a long break, The Economy of Nothing returns with Episode 201. Mike and Captain Tracy break down the Stranger Things Season Five finale, mystery-box storytelling, and why modern television seems increasingly unable to finish what it starts. What begins as a critique of plot holes and fan theories expands into a broader conversation about streaming-era TV, overlong runtimes, franchise exhaustion, and Hollywood’s growing reliance on familiarity over risk. Along the way, they explore speculative labor, artificial scarcity, Pokémon card markets, and the economics of carrying value...
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123 | All Systems Nominal
The Economy of Nothing Podcast
Everything works. Nothing feels intentional. We sat down for a quick warm-up and ended up deep in platform anxiety, VR flow states, consciousness-as-interface talk, and the realization that modern systems are designed to operate — not to mean anything. We talk about how the show gets made, why platforms feel broken even when they’re functioning perfectly, how media turns noise into content, and what it’s like posting into systems that don’t care whether you’re there or not. No clean thesis. No big resolution. Just the system running. In this episode of The Economy of Nothing...
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122 | Stranger Things Have Happened
The Economy of Nothing Podcast
We opened with a space-truck under fire, drifted into astral projection, tore apart modern vampire movies, and somehow ended up asking whether Netflix should be allowed to buy Hollywood. Check out the Animation in the Visual Radio: https://youtu.be/SYFQN1MtCyc In this episode of The Economy of Nothing, Captain Tracy and Mr. Green unpack: • why “stakes” don’t matter in movies anymore • how Stranger Things lost the plot • why Sinners feels like an Oscar movie (and why that’s weird) • the Netflix / Warner Bros rumor spiral • Silicon Valley’s slow takeover of Hollywood • and...
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121 | The J.J. Abrams Mystery Box Episode
The Economy of Nothing Podcast
This week on The Economy of Nothing, Mike Allen (Mr. Green) and Captain Tracy spiral through one of the most chaotic episodes of the year. We kick things off with Mr. Green’s Portfolio Update — Nvidia, Google, semiconductors, GLP-1 drugs, international dividends, and a full breakdown of the “secret AI war” that may or may not be happening against China. Then the Captain goes nuclear on JJ Abrams, the Mystery Box, Tarantino, and Hollywood’s bad habit of pretending narrative tension is the same as storytelling. It escalates. Quickly. We also dive into: Hamilton, historical...
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120 | My First Day: Mr. Green's Pilot School Pilot
The Economy of Nothing Podcast
This week in The Economy of Nothing, the Captain attends his first day at Pilot School — and Mr. Green immediately regrets opening enrollment. We dig into the Scrubs pilot “My First Day” and break down why it works, how it builds character relationships, and how it accidentally becomes Nothing Corp’s official training video. We talk Steadman disappearing mid-episode, Cox and Kelso as dueling mentors, JD’s guilty conscience, and the infamous Janitor Penny conspiracy. Along the way, we spiral through the abandoned-hospital economy, the Turkish Disney castle ghost town, why real estate...
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119 | Fantastic Four (2025) Review — The Blandtastic Four Are a Fantastic Bore
The Economy of Nothing Podcast
Marvel’s First Family is back — and somehow more boring than ever. In this week’s episode of The Economy of Nothing, Mike and Mike break down the new Fantastic Four (2025), a film that manages to be ambitious, confused, and shockingly uneventful all at once. They dig into the movie’s strange pacing, Reed Richards’ complete lack of stretching, and the bizarre decision to open with a pregnancy test. The conversation also covers Marvel’s ongoing identity crisis, the era of reshoots-as-plot, and why every scene now feels written for people who are only half watching. The episode...
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118 | ONE TRILLION DOLLARS
The Economy of Nothing Podcast
The Captain and Mr. Green dive into the trillion-dollar economy of modern villainy — from Elon Musk’s $1 trillion pay package to the expanding shadow of the Nothing Corporation and the rise of the Dark Orbit. We talk: • Trillion-dollar compensation and the myth of genius • Government shutdowns as content strategy • Gil’s golden shield — the rise of the nepotism cyborg • The Dark Orbit — building the universe’s villain council • Gremlins 3, The Mummy, and nostalgia as economic fuel It’s an hour of improvised worldbuilding, late-stage capitalism, and the comforting...
info_outlineEverything works.
Nothing feels intentional.
We sat down for a quick warm-up and ended up deep in platform anxiety, VR flow states, consciousness-as-interface talk, and the realization that modern systems are designed to operate — not to mean anything.
We talk about how the show gets made, why platforms feel broken even when they’re functioning perfectly, how media turns noise into content, and what it’s like posting into systems that don’t care whether you’re there or not.
No clean thesis.
No big resolution.
Just the system running.
In this episode of The Economy of Nothing podcast, hosts Mike Alan, aka Mr. Green, and Captain Tracy, aka the Kanye West of Cartoony Mike, dive into a series of entertaining and thought-provoking conversations. They discuss the merits of modern media, the potential impact of AI on filmmaking with a focus on the Avatar series, and explore the concept of existence as influenced by societal constructs and capitalism. As they gear up for Christmas, the duo also shares insights on upcoming podcast plans, including a statement about taking a break and coming back with Season 3. Join them for a humorous and reflective episode, perfect for the holiday season.
Chapters:
00:00 Introduction and Media Discussion
00:41 Holiday Plans and Podcast Schedule
01:59 Avatar 3 Release and AI in Movies
02:43 Podcast Introduction and Hosts 0
3:29 Avatar 3 and James Cameron's Impact
04:15 Philosophical Musings on Society and Religion
08:58 Existential Thoughts and VR Experiences
13:55 Creative Ideas and Podcast Skits
15:12 YouTube and Streaming Services
16:43 Theories on Hollywood and Celebrity Culture
16:59 The Trump Dinner Conspiracy
19:25 Discussion on Society and Media
27:02 Instagram and Social Media Algorithms
30:49 Reflections and Future Plans