{"podcast":{"title":"The Podcast for Social Research","slug":"the-podcast-for-social-research-1078639","podcast_index_feed_id":1078639,"rss_url":"https://thebrooklyninstitute.libsyn.com/rss","website_url":"http://thebrooklyninstitute.com","image_url":"https://static.libsyn.com/p/assets/1/b/0/8/1b08a8952871520588c4a68c3ddbc4f2/5947113344_copy_4.jpg","author":"Brooklyn Institute for Social Research","episode_count":100,"summary":"From Plato to quantum physics, Walter Benjamin to experimental poetry, Frantz Fanon to the history of political radicalism, The Podcast for Social Research is a crucial part of our mission to forge new, organic paths for intellectual work in the twenty-first century: an ongoing, interdisciplinary series featuring members of the Institute, and occasional guests, conversing about a wide variety of intellectual issues, some perennial, some newly pressing. Each episode centers on a different topic and is accompanied by a bibliography of annotations and citations that encourages further curiosity and underscores the conversation's place in a larger web of cultural conversations.","last_synced_at":"2026-07-04T04:20:23.099438+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-podcast-for-social-research-1078639"},"episode":{"title":"(Pop) Cultural Marxism, Episode 19: Ghost of Yotei - A Specter is Haunting Ezo","slug":"pop-cultural-marxism-episode-19-ghost-of-yotei-a-specter-is-haunting-ezo","published_at":"2025-10-31T18:29:00+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-podcast-for-social-research-1078639/pop-cultural-marxism-episode-19-ghost-of-yotei-a-specter-is-haunting-ezo","show_page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-podcast-for-social-research-1078639","url":"https://thebrooklyninstitute.libsyn.com/pop-cultural-marxism-episode-19-ghost-of-yotei-a-specter-is-haunting-ezo","audio_url":"https://traffic.libsyn.com/secure/thebrooklyninstitute/PCM_10.31.25_Parts12_BISR_V1.mp3?dest-id=85319","summary":"In episode 19 of (Pop) Cultural Marxism, Isi and Ajay are joined by fellow BISR faculty Joseph Earl Thomas to discuss Ghost of Yotei , Sucker Punch Productions' much-anticipated sequel to Ghost of Tsushima . To kick off the episode, Isi and Ajay chat about recent cultural news and highlights, from the Japanese government calling on OpenAI to refrain from using anime and manga as training data, to the #SwiftiesAgainstAI campaign, to Paul Thomas Anderson's One Battle After Another (2025). Turning to Ghost of Yotei , Isi, Ajay, and Joseph consider where the game succeeds (its strong start, visual beauty, sharp soundtrack, and the satisfying chunkiness and texture of its combat scenes) and where it doesn't (its loadout system, simplistic puzzles, dearth of opportunities for stealth mode, and social and political quandaries its narrative and design raise). They explore the films and television shows that influenced Yotei —from Lady Snowblood and Samurai Champloo to the films of Takashi Miike, Akira Kurosawa, and Sergio Leone) and ask whether and where the game successfully incorporates cinematic techniques and conventions into its storyline. Along the way, they discuss the game's dicey depiction of the Ainu and the colonization of Hokkaido, consider whether the pleasure of open-world gaming has diminished or transformed in the years between Yotei and Tsushima , and interrogate the shape of the game's revenge plot. (Pop) Cultural Marxism is produced by Ryan Lentini. Learn more about upcoming courses on our website . Follow Brooklyn Institute for Social Research on Twitter / Facebook / Instagram / Bluesky . Show notes On Japan and OpenAI: https://www.ign.com/articles/japanese-government-calls-on-sora-2-maker-openai-to-refrain-from-copyright-infringement-says-characters-from-m…","meta_description":"In episode 19 of (Pop) Cultural Marxism, Isi and Ajay are joined by fellow BISR faculty Joseph Earl Thomas to discuss Ghost of Yotei , Sucker Punch Produc…","key_points":[],"chapters":[],"topics":[],"duration_seconds":10305,"processing_state":"not_requested","actions":[{"name":"request_transcript","method":"POST","url":"https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/the-podcast-for-social-research-1078639/episodes/pop-cultural-marxism-episode-19-ghost-of-yotei-a-specter-is-haunting-ezo/transcription-requests","description":"Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode."},{"name":"read_markdown","method":"GET","url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-podcast-for-social-research-1078639/pop-cultural-marxism-episode-19-ghost-of-yotei-a-specter-is-haunting-ezo.md","description":"Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource."}]}}