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Episode 68 - Hardwired Part 1

The High Tech Low Life Podcast: A Cyberpunk Media Retrospective

Release Date: 11/13/2024

Episode 95 - Season 2 Wrap-Up show art Episode 95 - Season 2 Wrap-Up

The High Tech Low Life Podcast: A Cyberpunk Media Retrospective

I know, podcast "seasons" are dumb, nevertheless we are about to take a break and figured we'd kick out one more episode to cover the insane dystopian week we've had and read a few listener questions and comments.  Enjoy the heat and stay safe out in them streets! The High Tech Low Life Podcast is a retrospective of cyberpunk fiction across all forms of media. Film, Television, Literature, Games, and Music are all on the table. In each episode we will revisit the property, it's influences, it's prescience, and enshrine it in the chrome and neon halls of Neo Valhalla. Bluesky: ...

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Episode 94 - The Hunger Games: A Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes show art Episode 94 - The Hunger Games: A Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes

The High Tech Low Life Podcast: A Cyberpunk Media Retrospective

This week ya boys dip their toe into one of the more popular dystopias of the modern era: The Hunger Games, specifically the prequel A Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes.  And like any good quest into uncharted territory, they dare not go alone.  Thankfully, Kristen from the Astronomica podcast has been kind enough to join us and lend her considerable expertise.  Yes, I'm aware that Josh is actually quite familiar with the franchise but will you just let me have the metaphor?  Writing these things every week isn't as easy as it looks.  Anyway, lets get hungry! The High...

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Episode 93 - Sneakers show art Episode 93 - Sneakers

The High Tech Low Life Podcast: A Cyberpunk Media Retrospective

While it may not be very cyberpunk, Sneakers is still well worth a watch and does kinda share some vibes skirting the edges of the genre.  Who doesn't like a good caper?  Who doesn't like this cast?  Who doesn't like watching a blind man drive a panel van full throttle over a multi-level parking lot?  Cyberpunk it isn't, but a fun and well-made movie it very much is. The High Tech Low Life Podcast is a retrospective of cyberpunk fiction across all forms of media. Film, Television, Literature, Games, and Music are all on the table. In each episode we will revisit the...

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Episode 92 - Captain Laserhawk show art Episode 92 - Captain Laserhawk

The High Tech Low Life Podcast: A Cyberpunk Media Retrospective

What a strange bit of media Captain Laserhawk is.  Basically an extended commercial for a video game company, ripping off every cyberpunk trope in the book, you might expect it to be straight garbage.  Against all odds, however, it actually pulls off a fun and interesting little tale with some depressingly familiar dystopian world building.   Kudos to Ubisoft, I guess! The High Tech Low Life Podcast is a retrospective of cyberpunk fiction across all forms of media. Film, Television, Literature, Games, and Music are all on the table. In each episode we will revisit the...

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Episode 91 - In Time show art Episode 91 - In Time

The High Tech Low Life Podcast: A Cyberpunk Media Retrospective

In Time has an awesome concept.  What if time was literally currency?  What if centuries were horded by an elite that used the market to control and subjagate the majority of the population who had to toil and stress for every hour in the day?  Sounds like fertile ground for cyberpunkery!  Unfortunately this story is not told very well, and the result is kind of boring and hamfisted, and certainly not helped by some of the worst performances given by actors that we usually expect much better of.  In the end, 2 hours of your life watching this movie feels like you...

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Episode 90 - Screamers show art Episode 90 - Screamers

The High Tech Low Life Podcast: A Cyberpunk Media Retrospective

Screamers is a solid little under-the-radar, mid 90's sci fi film.  It has some quality dialogue, interesting story adapted from a Phillip K Dick novella, and some surprisingly solid special effects from a time period when the effects on low budget movies were frequently less than special. The High Tech Low Life Podcast is a retrospective of cyberpunk fiction across all forms of media. Film, Television, Literature, Games, and Music are all on the table. In each episode we will revisit the property, it's influences, it's prescience, and enshrine it in the chrome and neon halls of Neo...

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Episode 89 - The Fifth Element Part 2 show art Episode 89 - The Fifth Element Part 2

The High Tech Low Life Podcast: A Cyberpunk Media Retrospective

After a freshly recorded introduction to discuss the various horrors and delights of the week, we rejoin our podcast in progress recapping The Fifth Element.  The back half of the movie is even more insane than the front, due in no small part to the introduction of Chris Tucker's Ruby Rhod, famous space radio DJ?  Twitch streamer? Podcaster?  We're gonna call him a podcaster. I know I'd like and subscribe. The High Tech Low Life Podcast is a retrospective of cyberpunk fiction across all forms of media. Film, Television, Literature, Games, and Music are all on the table. In each...

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Episode 88 - The Fifth Element Part 1 show art Episode 88 - The Fifth Element Part 1

The High Tech Low Life Podcast: A Cyberpunk Media Retrospective

The Fifth Element only skirts the edges of cyberpunk, but after the gruelling slog that was Pluto Nash, we feel like we've earned something a little more fun.  Between the story, characters, costumes, and problematic director, however, there is far just too much to cover in one episode, so this one is a two-parter. The High Tech Low Life Podcast is a retrospective of cyberpunk fiction across all forms of media. Film, Television, Literature, Games, and Music are all on the table. In each episode we will revisit the property, it's influences, it's prescience, and enshrine it in the chrome...

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Episode 87 - The Adventures of Pluto Nash show art Episode 87 - The Adventures of Pluto Nash

The High Tech Low Life Podcast: A Cyberpunk Media Retrospective

Surely it can't be that bad, right?  It's just negative hype!  It's just people piling on a movie that may not be great by any means, but isn't 6% Rotten Tomatoes worthy.  Maybe there are some moments that make it worth the time investment.  Maybe it's the critics who are wrong. Nope!  This movie is B-A-D which stands for Boring As Dick (Dick is a guy I know and he's super boring). I wish it was fun-bad but it isn't, it's just bad-bad.  Best forgotten, sorry we dredged it up, this was all a mistake.  Enjoy listening to us regret our choices! The High Tech Low...

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Episode 86 - All Tomorrow's Parties Part 2 show art Episode 86 - All Tomorrow's Parties Part 2

The High Tech Low Life Podcast: A Cyberpunk Media Retrospective

We are back to finish up our recap of All Tomorrow's Parties.  Listen and marvel at how, in the interest of time, Josh is forced to skip half the notes he painstakingly took, and yet we still manage to go way long.  Tune in to see what happens to Lainey, Rydell, Chevette, and most imporantly, Boomzilla.  Once again thanks to Geoff from Astronomica podcast for the assist. The High Tech Low Life Podcast is a retrospective of cyberpunk fiction across all forms of media. Film, Television, Literature, Games, and Music are all on the table. In each episode we will revisit the...

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More Episodes

This week we are recapping the incredible cyberpunk novel by Walter John Williams: Hardwired.  Though it may have flown under our radar, its influence can be seen throughout the entire cyberpunk genre, and it's a crime that we haven't gotten to it sooner.  Seeing as it is the first week in November, 2024, we also do some incredibly dystopian election talk, the entirety of which is available on our patreon (the free tier, no money required).  Thanks to Geoff from the Astronomica podcast for joining us on this one!

The High Tech Low Life Podcast is a retrospective of cyberpunk fiction across all forms of media. Film, Television, Literature, Games, and Music are all on the table. In each episode we will revisit the property, it's influences, it's prescience, and enshrine it in the chrome and neon halls of Neo Valhalla.

Astronomica: http://www.astronomicapodcast.com

Twitter: http://twitter.com/johnny60seconds

Patreon: http://patreon.com/hightechlowlife

Theme music by http://www.nihilore.com