Fruitless

Josiah Sutton

A series of conversations about history, politics, faith, media, and the internet hosted by Josiah Sutton. Aiming for at least two interviews and one bookclub episode per month. Artwork by Kipp Paulsen. More content can be found on Patreon https://www.patreon.com/user?u=11922141 read less
Society & CultureSociety & Culture

Episodes

Drawing Dinosaurs (feat. Tyler Stone)
5d ago
Drawing Dinosaurs (feat. Tyler Stone)
Tyler Stone (@TylerStoneArt) joins Josiah to discuss his work as a freelance paleoartist. Paleoart (scientific illustration of prehistoric life) is a field with an interesting relationship between art and hard sciences. They discuss this relationship and the nitty gritty of the business side of paleoart, before delving into the challenges of being a science communicator in a field that attracts conspiracy theories, and how AI image generation is impacting the field.Follow Tyler on Twitter @TylerStoneArt // TikTok @TylerStoneArt // Instagram @TylerStoneArtFind more of Tyler's work: https://tylerstoneart.wordpress.comBecome a Fruitless Patron here: https://www.patreon.com/user?u=11922141Check out Fruitless on YouTubeFind more of Josiah’s work: https://linktr.ee/josiahwsuttonFollow Josiah on Twitter @josiahwsuttonMedia referencedTyler's animation of the evolution of whales, "From Feet to Flippers: The Evolution of Whales," https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UKbC7QSjWfEOld episode of Very Legal, Very Cool, "sh*tty creationism," where we discussed the Creation Museum and the Ark Encounter, https://share.transistor.fm/s/96070284A short video by Tom Scott about the Crystal Palace dinosaurs Tyler discusses briefly, "The Scientifically Inaccurate Dinosaurs That Must Stay That Way," https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QWItLyDzMyE. I'm including this in case you'd like a visual of them.Episode of QAnon Anonymous that I (Josiah) reference briefly, "The Tartarian Empire," https://soundcloud.com/qanonanonymous/episode-273-the-tartarian-empireThe Paleoartist's Handbook: Recreating Prehistoric Animals in Art by Mark P. WittonOne Million Years B.C. (1966) directed by Don ChaffeyJurassic Park (1993), directed by Steven SpielbergJurassic World (2015), directed by Colin TrevorrowPrehistoric Planet, Apple TV+, produced by Jon Favreau & Mike Gunton.Music & audio creditsYesterday – bloom.Crumble – Dinosaur Jr. (The only reason I put this song in the end is because of the artist's name. That's the dumb joke there. Nothing deeper or more thoughtful.)
A Hollywood in Our Backyard (feat. Will Sloan)
Mar 16 2024
A Hollywood in Our Backyard (feat. Will Sloan)
Josiah is joined by Will Sloan (@WillSloanEsq, Important Cinema Club, Michael & Us) to discuss Motern Media and the artistic philosophy of Matt Farley and Charles Roxburgh. Follow today’s guest on Twitter.Check out the Important Cinema Club and Michael & UsBecome a Fruitless Patron here: https://www.patreon.com/user?u=11922141Check out Fruitless on YouTubeFind more of Josiah’s work hereFollow Josiah on Twitter @josiahwsuttonReferencesThe Paperboy (1999), directed by Matt Farley & Charles RoxburghSammy (2002), directed by Charles RoxburghAdventures in Cruben Country (2002), directed by Matt FarleyDruid Gladiator Clone (2003), directed by Matt FarleyDruids Druids Everywhere (??), directed by Charles RoxburghObtuse Todd (2006), directed by Matt FarleyFreaky Farley (2007), directed by Charles RoxburghMonsters, Murder, and Marriage in Manchvegas (2009), directed by Charles RoxburghDon't Let the Riverbeast Get You! (2012), directed by Charles RoxburghLocal Legends (2013), directed by Matt FarleySlingshot Cops (2016), directed by Charles RoxburghHeard She Got Married (2021), directed by Charles RoxburghMetal Detector Maniac (2021), directed by Charles RoxburghMagic Spot (2022), directed by Charles RoxburghHeard She Got Murdered (2023), directed by Charles RoxburghBoston Johnny (2023), directed by Charles RoxburghMusic and audio creditsYesterday – bloom.In My Dreams – bloom.Opening clip is from Ep 5 of Lessons From a Middle Class Artist, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rXnK9Xl3zzE.
The End of the End of History (feat. Luke Savage)
Feb 7 2024
The End of the End of History (feat. Luke Savage)
Josiah is joined by Luke Savage (@LukewSavage, Michael & Us, Jacobin) to reflect on the last fifteen years of U.S. electoral politics in light of the current election year: the failures of the Obama administration, the hyperpolitics of the Trump administration, and the attempted 'return to normalcy' of Biden's first term. Follow today's guest on Twitter @LukewSavageCheck out Michael & Us here: https://soundcloud.com/michael-and-usLuke Savage in Jacobin: https://jacobin.com/author/luke-savageBecome a Fruitless Patron here: https://www.patreon.com/user?u=11922141Check out Fruitless on YouTubeFind more of Josiah’s work here: https://linktr.ee/josiahwsuttonFollow Josiah on Twitter & Bluesky @josiahwsuttonReferencesThe Dead Center: Reflections on Liberalism and Democracy After the End of History by Luke SavageSeeking Social Democracy: Seven Decades in the Fight for Equality by Ed Broadbent, Jonathan Sas, Frances Abele, and Luke Savage.Leave the World Behind (2023), directed by Sam Esmail."Everything is Hyperpolitical," Anton Jäger in The Point, https://thepointmag.com/politics/everything-is-hyperpolitical.Trust the Plan: The Rise of QAnon and the Conspiracy That Reshaped the World by Will Sommers"The Biden Era's Defining Characteristic: Anti-Politics," Luke Savage in Jacobin, https://jacobin.com/2023/09/biden-administration-anti-politics-trump-books-media-coverage. This is the article discussing political book sales and online news engagement during the Trump admin vs. the Biden admin that Luke references.The Day One Agenda, The American Prospect, https://prospect.org/day-one-agenda."Why Liberals Pretend They Have No Power," Luke Savage in The Atlantic, https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2020/10/why-liberals-feign-powerlessness/616644.Everything Was Forever, Until It Was No More: The Last Soviet Generation by Alexei Yurchak"The Ultimate Election Year: All the Elections Around the World in 2024," Koh Ewe in Time, https://time.com/6550920/world-elections-2024.MusicYesterday – bloom.In My Dreams – bloom.
Morbid Symptoms (feat. Jesse D. Goodman)
Jan 8 2024
Morbid Symptoms (feat. Jesse D. Goodman)
Josiah is joined by Jesse Goodman (@platofan402, Post-Cultural Amnesiac) to discuss 2023. Beginning with a focus on 2023 in personal media consumption, the conversation evolves into a broader discuss of the anecdotal "vibe shift," the sense of living in a hyperpolitical age, and the difficulty of talking about film or art while genocide and war unfolds in the background. Correction: I (Josiah) briefly discuss the strange Osama Bin Laden going viral on TikTok situation and suggest that we will eventually find out who is behind that. We already have. It was Yashar Ali who platformed it. Follow today's guest on Twitter @platofan402Check out Jesse's Substack, Post-Cultural Amnesiac, here: https://jessedgoodman.substack.com.Some of Jesse's poetry can be found in issues 17 and 24 of Wild Roof: https://wildroofjournal.com.An essay by Jesse in Litro US: https://www.litromagazine.com/usa/2023/06/baltimore-by-the-mid-morning-light.Become a Fruitless Patron here: https://www.patreon.com/user?u=11922141Check out Fruitless on YouTubeFind more of Josiah’s work here: https://linktr.ee/josiahwsuttonFollow Josiah on Twitter & Bluesky @josiahwsuttonReferencesPoor Things (2023), directed by Yorgos Lanthimos."Everyone Is Beautiful and No One Is Horny," R.S. Benedict in Blood Knife, https://bloodknife.com/everyone-beautiful-no-one-horny."The Strange Undeath of Middlebrow," Phil Christman in The Hedgehog Review, https://hedgehogreview.com/issues/who-do-we-think-we-are/articles/the-strange-undeath-of-middlebrow. An edited version of this essay appears in his collection, How to Be Normal."Everything is Hyperpolitical," Anton Jäger in The Point, https://thepointmag.com/politics/everything-is-hyperpolitical.If We Burn: The Mass Protest Decade and the Missing Revolution by Vincent Bevins"An Issue of Concern," John Ganz in Unpopular Front, https://www.unpopularfront.news/p/an-issue-of-concern."Eyeless in Gaza," Death Is Just Around the Corner, https://www.patreon.com/posts/199-eyeless-in-90901189.Tweet Josiah paraphrased: https://twitter.com/LukewSavage/status/1270048044881502209."Salvador Allende's Brief Experiment in Radical Democracy in Chile 50 Years Ago Today," Interview with Marian Schlotterbeck in Jacobin, https://jacobin.com/2020/09/salvador-allende-chile-coup-pinochet.MusicYesterday – bloom.In My Dreams – bloom.
Children of Men, or The Fruitless Christmas Special
Dec 30 2023
Children of Men, or The Fruitless Christmas Special
It's the Fruitless Christmas special. Chris Barker and Alien (aka Stewie Griffin DJ) join Josiah to discuss Children of Men (2006), the incredible craft behind the film, and the politics of hope and futurity. Become a Fruitless Patron here: https://www.patreon.com/user?u=11922141Check out Fruitless on YouTubeFind more of Josiah’s work here: https://linktr.ee/josiahwsuttonFollow Josiah on Twitter & Bluesky @josiahwsuttonReferencesChildren of Men (2006), directed by Alfonso Cuarón.Capitalist Realism: Is There No Alternative? by Mark FisherThe Possibility of Hope, an archival documentary about Children of Men on the Arrow Blu-Ray release.There Is No Future, video appreciation about Children of Men by Philip Kemp on the Arrow Blu-Ray release."Count-Down to Dystopia," Armond White https://www.nypress.com/news/count-down-to-dystopia-DGNP1020080109301099976.O-Bi O-Ba, The End of Civilization (1985). I (Josiah) kind of mischaracterized the ending of this movie. It's a lot more ambiguous than that, and I kind of projected a hopeful ending on a dreamy, weird final scene. Watch it for yourself and decide what the ending means: http://exmilitai.re/film.html."Why Children of Men haunts the present," Gavin Jacobson, https://www.newstatesman.com/culture/film/2020/07/children-of-men-alfonso-cuaron-2006-apocalypse-coronavirus.No Future: Queer Theory and the Death Drive by Lee EdelmanOut of the Red Closet, https://files.libcom.org/files/out-of-the-red-closet-kasama-pamphlet_0_0.pdf.Music & Audio creditsChildren of Men (2006)Interviews with James Lovelock, Slavoj Zizek, and Naomi Klein from The Possibility of Hope, an archival documentary about Children of Men on the Arrow Blu-Ray release.O Come, O Come Emmanuel, played by Kaleb Brasee, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gLnlhpXV5IM.Yesterday – bloom.In My Dreams – bloom.
How Europe Underdeveloped Africa (Bookclub #3)
Dec 20 2023
How Europe Underdeveloped Africa (Bookclub #3)
This is the third installment of the Fruitless Bookclub, a show-within-a-show, featuring Chris Barker and Jake the Lawyer, where we read all those nonfiction books we've been meaning to read. Today's episode is about How Europe Underdeveloped Africa by Walter RodneyNext month: Ramp Hollow: The Ordeal of Appalachia by Steven StollBecome a Fruitless Patron here: https://www.patreon.com/user?u=11922141Check out Fruitless on YouTubeFind more of Josiah’s work here: https://linktr.ee/josiahwsuttonFollow Josiah on Twitter @josiahwsuttonOther references"Reconsidering a Classic: Walter Rodney's 'How Europe Underdeveloped Africa,'" Vanderbilt University on YouTube, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SCiuFRiOW28.Debt: The First 5000 Years by David GraeberStamped from the Beginning: The Definitive History of Racist Ideas in America by Ibram X. KendiChildren of God's Fire: A Documentary History of Slavery in Brazil, edited by Robert Edgar Conrad, quote from Section 2.9. "There Are Plantations Where the Slaves Are Numb with Hunger": A Medical Thesis on Plantation Diseases and Their Causes (1847). We got the quote from a smarter person than us on an r/AskHistorians thread, which is here https://www.reddit.com/r/AskHistorians/comments/ztoexl/comment/j39waqr/."One Giant Leap: Emancipation and Aggregate Economic Gains," Richard Hornbeck and Trevon Logan, Becker Friedman Institute, https://bfi.uchicago.edu/insight/research-summary/one-giant-leap-emancipation-and-aggregate-economic-gains. This is the UChicago article about how slavery is, in fact, unprofitable--the worst thing in the world to UChicago."Oh Dearism," directed by Adam Curtis. I (Josiah) kept referencing the "oh dear" sentiment from this six-minute Curtis documentary but forgot to actually bring it up, so it's right here for the citation perverts reading these notes: https://thoughtmaybe.com/oh-dearism.MusicYesterday – bloom.In My Dreams – bloom.
The Home Town Curse (feat. Brian Alford)
Dec 13 2023
The Home Town Curse (feat. Brian Alford)
Josiah is joined by Brian Alford (@SpocksBrian) from The Worst of All Possible Worlds to discuss HGTV's Home Town, the Napier family, and Laurel, Mississippi, alongside Showtime's new series, The Curse. Follow today’s guest on Twitter.Check out The Worst of All Possible WorldsBecome a Fruitless Patron here: https://www.patreon.com/user?u=11922141Check out Fruitless on YouTubeFind more of Josiah’s work hereFollow Josiah on Twitter @josiahwsuttonReferencesThe Curse, Showtime. Season 1, Episodes 1 - 5 are out at time of recording.Reddit thread about Home Town's race problem, https://www.reddit.com/r/HGTV/comments/il7bet/home_town_seems_like_white_town."Behind the Scenes on ‘Home Town’: A Season 4 Participant Spills the Details," Claudine Zap in Realtor, https://www.realtor.com/news/trends/behind-the-scenes-home-town."The dark side of Home Town," Jim Cegielski in The Laurel Leader Call, https://www.leader-call.com/opinion/columnists/the-dark-side-of-home-town/article_48770330-a7c6-11e8-bbf4-333e68883245.html. In the episode, Josiah flounders a bit because he's dumb and didn't re-read the article before the episode, but the gist is that Greg Burroughs, a man with a repeated history of abuse, had allegedly murdered his girlfriend, Katherine Sinclair. He called the local judge (who he was friends with) before he called 911 and multiple other strings were pulled to get him out of trouble. The author of the opinion piece, Jim Cegielski, claims he had local advertisers pull out because he chose to cover the story. His point is that there is a very clear monied class in Laurel that everyone is pretending doesn't exist. After this article was published, Greg Burroughs was acquitted."Southern Newlywed: At Home with Erin and Ben Napier," Southern Weddings, https://southernweddings.com/2014/06/06/southern-newlywed-home-lucky-luxe. This is the interview that got the attention of an HGTV producer and led to the show."‘Home Town’ Reflects an Incomplete Picture of Laurel’s History of Disenfranchisement," Jonathan Odell in Mississippi Free Press, https://www.mississippifreepress.org/35581/home-town-reflects-an-incomplete-picture-of-laurels-history-of-disenfranchisement."Here's Why 'Home Town' Star Erin Napier Has Been Silent About Black Lives Matter on Social Media," Kelly Wynne in Newsweek, https://www.newsweek.com/heres-why-home-town-star-erin-napier-has-been-silent-about-black-lives-matter-social-media-1508776."'Home Town' Star Erin Napier Gets Flooded With Comments After Sharing Parenting Rule," Katie Bowlby in Country Living, https://www.countryliving.com/life/entertainment/a42321936/home-town-erin-napier-parenting-rule-fan-reactions.Napiers' nonprofit to get kids off social media, OSPREY, https://ospreykids.com/about."'Home Town' Star Erin Napier Shares "Terrifying" Instagram Post that Has Fans Flooding Her with Support," Katie Bowlby in Country Living, https://www.countryliving.com/life/entertainment/a39903660/erin-napier-terrifying-instagram-post-fan-reactions.Episodes of Home Town watchedS1E1 Big Renovations in a Small TownS2E1 Home Town Holiday SpecialS3E10 Small Budget, Big StyleS4E3 The Church HouseS5E10 Retreat YourselfS6E5 Grand Millennial S7E2 The Family Tree (only Brian got around to this one)Music & audio creditsYesterday – bloom.In My Dreams – bloom."Home Town" CBS Segment https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gYscsBliWZ8