GT Radio - The Geek Therapy Podcast

About GT Radio - The Geek Therapy Podcast

Geek out, do good. Join us every week as we explore the potential benefits of comics, games, TV shows, and movies through the practice of Geek Therapy. Hosted by Lara Taylor, Link Keller, and Josué Cardona.

Publisher

Geek Therapy Network

Category

health & fitness · society & culture

Language

en

Explicit

No

First episode

17 Jul 2012

Latest episode

17 Dec 2024

Latest episodes

393 episodes in the feed.

1. 

   17 Dec 2024

   UnOrdinary Ways To Get Over It

   #366 Marc, Lara, and Josué discuss the webcomic UnOrdinary, and other examples of characters trying to process past traumatic experiences. They relate these examples to how people avoid, ruminate, and attempt to process their own difficult emotions and unexpected triggers. Characters / Media Discussed: UnOrdinary by Uru-chan (2016-ongoing, webtoon) Down to Earth by Pukki Senpai (2020-ongoing, webtoon) Let's Play by "Mongie" Leeanna M. Krecic (2016-2022, webtoon) My Hero Academia Advice Not Given: A Guide to Getting Over Yourself by Mark Epstein (2018) Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004) La La Land (2016) New Moon by Stephanie Meyer (2006) doesthedogdie.com Shrinking (2023-ongoing) Zuko / Avatar the Last Airbender (2005-2008) Themes, Topics, and Relatable Experiences Discussed: * Change * Consequences * Difficult emotions * Fear * Feeling alone * Finding Oneself/Identity Development * Guilt * Love * Moral dilemma * Power struggle * Resilience * Redemption * Taking responsibility for one’s actions * Working with others * Abuse * Acceptance * Breakup * Clarity/Understanding * Coming of age/Getting older * Depression * New Life Event (New Rules) * Trauma Questions? Comments? Discuss this episode on the GT Forum. (https://forum.geektherapy.com/) — Links / Social Media Check out the GT Network: network.geektherapy.com (http://network.geektherapy.com/) GT Forum: forum.geektherapy.org (https://forum.geektherapy.org) GT Discord: geektherapy.com/discord (https://geektherapy.org/discord) GT Facebook Group: facebook.com/groups/geektherapy (http://facebook.com/groups/geektherapy) Find us at GeekTherapy.org (https://geektherapy.org/) | @GeekTherapy (https://bsky.app/profile/geektherapy.bsky.social) | Lara: @GeekTherapist (https://bsky.app/profile/geektherapist.bsky.social) | Link: @CHICKENDINOSAUR (https://bsky.app/profile/chickendinosaur.bsky.social) | Josué: @JosueACardona (https://bsky.app/profile/geektherapist.bsky.social) Ask us anything through the Question Queue (http://www.geektherapy.org/qq) and we’ll answer on the show: geektherapy.org/qq (http://www.geektherapy.org/qq) Join the Conversation! Traditionally there would be an engagement question here, but I (Link) think it's a travesty that my team failed to mention the very aptly named video game Getting Over It With Bennett Foddy (2017) which is a perfect mechanical exploration of perseverance when faced with disappointing set-backs.

2. 

   13 Dec 2024

   Processing the News Through Pop Culture

   #402: In this episode of GT Radio, Josué Cardona is joined by Marc Cuiriz, Lara Taylor, and Link Keller for a timely conversation about how pop culture helps us process current events. Rather than focusing on news facts alone, the group explores how movies, TV shows, games, and memes give people shared language, emotional distance, and symbolic frameworks to make sense of complex, painful, or overwhelming realities. Josué opens by reflecting on how different generations consume and interpret the news, especially through memes and fictional references. From his niece’s understanding of current events via pop culture to viral comparisons between real-world figures and fictional villains or heroes, the group notes how storytelling fills gaps that traditional news coverage often can’t. A major thread centers on how stories create shortcuts for moral reasoning. Lara highlights how Wicked has become a powerful tool for discussing fascism, propaganda, and complicity. Characters like Elphaba, Glinda, and Fiyero offer an accessible way to talk about oppression, performative goodness, and quiet resistance—especially with younger audiences and clients. The group also discusses reactions to violence tied to systemic injustice, including how people use fiction to explain their emotional responses. Josué points to a widely shared scene from Spider-Man 2, where everyday people protect Spider-Man, as a metaphor for why some refuse to “snitch” on figures seen as acting against an unjust system. The conversation examines how archetypes—especially heroes—shape public empathy more than facts alone. Link adds that not all versions of a hero function the same way. The Sam Raimi-era Spider-Man is contrasted with modern MCU heroes, who often protect the status quo rather than challenge it. This leads into a broader discussion about how large media companies influence which stories get told—and which revolutionary narratives get softened or reframed. Robin Hood emerges as a recurring archetype: an oppressed figure stealing from the powerful to help the vulnerable. While less visible as a standalone character today, the group identifies Robin Hood’s DNA in characters like Killmonger from Black Panther, insurgent groups in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, and even certain video game narratives. Marc draws parallels between these stories and real-world debates about violence, revolution, and whether change can happen within systems that consistently fail people. The episode also touches on how fiction recontextualizes long-beloved stories. Josué shares a moment challenging his niece’s view of Luke Skywalker as a flawless hero by asking her to consider the human cost of the Death Star’s destruction in Star Wars: A New Hope. These reframings, the group agrees, aren’t about ruining stories—but about revisiting them with more mature, critical lenses. Humor and satire play a significant role throughout the discussion. From fake corporate social media posts to meme culture and gallows humor, the hosts note that levity has become a primary coping mechanism in an era where trust in institutions, media, and authority is deeply eroded. Laughing doesn’t mean people don’t care—it often means they care a lot. The episode closes with reflections on rewatching favorite media, including Attack on Titan, through the lens of recent global events. Stories change as we change, and revisiting them can offer new insights into power, violence, resistance, and survival. Characters / Media Mentioned: Wicked Breaking Bad Spider-Man 2 Black Panther Star Wars: A New Hope The Falcon and the Winter Soldier Attack on Titan Assassin’s Creed Law & Order Themes / Topics Discussed: Pop Culture as a Coping Tool Processing Current Events Heroes, Villains, and Moral Archetypes Systemic Injustice Fascism and Propaganda Vigilante Justice Media Literacy and Reinterpretation Humor and Gallows Humor Revolution vs. Reform Corporate Control of Storytelling Relatable Experiences: Using Movies or Shows to Explain Real Events Rewatching Media That Feels Different After Major Life Changes Feeling Anger at Systems Rather Than Individuals Coping With Bad News Through Humor or Memes Arguing About Whether a Character Is “Actually the Villain” Seeing Yourself or Others in Fictional Characters Feeling Seen by a Story at the Right Moment Losing Trust in Institutions and Authority Join the discussion on the GT Forum at https://forum.geektherapy.org (https://forum.geektherapy.org/) and connect with the Geek Therapy Network through the links at https://geektherapy.org (https://geektherapy.org/). What fictional story has helped you process real-world events lately? Have you ever rewatched something and realized you see it completely differently now? Which hero or villain best captures how you’re feeling about the world right now?

3. 

   6 Dec 2024

   Grief, Stories, and the World After

   #401: In this episode of GT Radio, Josué Cardona is joined by Link Keller and Lara Taylor to discuss Station Eleven (Emily St. John Mandel’s novel and the Max limited series). What begins as a conversation about a “post-apocalyptic” story quickly becomes a deeper exploration of grief, memory, meaning-making, and the way stories keep us human—especially after loss. Link revisits Station Eleven years after first watching the show during the early pandemic. This time, reading the novel (and reflecting on the adaptation) highlights the story’s real center: not survivalism, zombies, or collapse—but how people hold on, let go, and rebuild identity when the world—or someone important—ends. Josué connects the themes to his mother’s death and the way grief looks different even among siblings who shared the same person. He notices how each family member keeps a relationship with the dead in distinct ways—through photos, daily reminders, or by not doing those things at all. Lara shares her own grief lens, describing herself as a “collector of things,” especially the irreplaceable objects tied to her mom. She reflects on how physical items can become anchors for memory—both comforting and heavy. She also names the tension that can arise when it feels like others “move on” differently, and how that can create a quiet sense of betrayal or loneliness in mourning. Content note Lara calls out that Station Eleven can be emotionally triggering, especially for anyone still carrying heavy pandemic anxiety. The early episodes echo pandemic chaos in ways that can feel uncomfortably real. Viewers may want to pace themselves, take breaks, or skip if they’re not in a good place for that material. Characters/Media mentioned: Station Eleven Novel: by Emily St. John Mandel Series: streaming on Max Walking Dead (referenced) Shakespeare's works (referenced) King Lear Hamlet Themes/Topics Discussed: Grief and loss, and the ripple effects of one person's death Societal collapse Art in survival Media as shared language Survival through community Stories within a story Relatable Experiences: The death of a society/world (the pandemic collapse), and the collective grief that follows. Generational memory ("there is no before"). Holding on vs. living in the present Processing grief (personal loss, collective loss, identity loss) Join the discussion on the GT Forum at https://forum.geektherapy.org (https://forum.geektherapy.org/) and connect with the Geek Therapy Network through the links at https://geektherapy.org (https://geektherapy.org/). What did you hold on to after loss—and what helped you let go?

Reach and audience

Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.

Apple Podcasts (US)

4.9 / 5

49 ratings