Strange Days, Here We Come: Pop Culture, Dystopia & Collapse

SFX makeup artist & creative influencer Aleena Averly joins me to discuss two films that portray dystopian futures against a backdrop of ecological collapse, Blade Runner 2049 and Elysium. We talk about how technology, AI, surveillance, inequality, and class oppression—but also pockets of heroism and sacrifice—are portrayed in both films, how the real world is racing alarmingly fast towards both futures, and why the fight to st...

Horror has always mirrored our real-world fears—and important socio-political issues. In this Halloween double feature, host The Pop Mythologist and special guest Sapient, from the blackened death metal band Abomnium, explore NIGHTBREED (1990) and A QUIET PLACE (2018) as dystopian allegories of fascism, oppression, survival, and strategic resistance. From Clive Barker's underground outcasts of Midian to John Krasinski’s silent surv...

In this episode of Strange Days, Here We Come, we dive into SHIN GODZILLA and GODZILLA MINUS ONE to explore their themes of collapse by way of bureaucracy, inaction, war, and failed leadership—comparing the films' depictions of effective and ineffective governance and the power of direct civilian action amid crisis (e.g., natural disasters, climate change, pandemics, war, and nuclear devastation).  

⚠️Spoilers: Shin Godzilla (201...

We discuss Kathryn Bigelow’s Strange Days (1995) to explore its chillingly relevant themes of police brutality, surveillance, and AI-created fake memories. Drawing parallels to our real world — from the L.A. riots to Midjourney — we ask why this dystopian sci‑fi noir feels more relevant and unsettling than ever and how its ideas connect to today’s anxieties about over-policing, propaganda, and the way AI technology may soon reshape...

(This podcast was formerly titled THIS IS THE END: POP CULTURE & COLLAPSE.)

Well, it's been... a while. In this, the first new episode in over two years, I share a bit of the personal story behind why this podcast has been dormant for so long and how it relates to what I call "personal collapse." But just as with societal collapse, personal collapses don't necessarily have to be a permanent end state.  I also share why I've ...

(Note: This episode was originally released under the old podcast title "This is the End: Pop Culture & Collapse." As of July 2025 the show is now titled, "Strange Days, Here We Come: Pop Culture, Dystopia & Collapse.") NOTE: This episode was recorded in Dec. of 2022 but I've only gotten around to editing it now. Since then I've become much better acquainted with ChatGPT and so, yes, I know its name (whereas at the time of...

(Note: This episode was originally released under the old podcast title "This is the End: Pop Culture & Collapse." As of July 2025 the show is now titled, "Strange Days, Here We Come: Pop Culture, Dystopia & Collapse.")

PopMythology.com film critic and novelist Jess Kroll joins me to have a conversation about 10 different movies that depict collapse in some way. In this episode, Part 1, we discuss the first five. 

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(Note: This episode was originally released under the old podcast title "This is the End: Pop Culture & Collapse." As of July 2025 the show is now titled, "Strange Days, Here We Come: Pop Culture, Dystopia & Collapse.")

In this episode, I interview political commentator, former congressional candidate, and now regenerative farmer Haven Scott McVarish, author of LAST CHANCE TO SAVE AMERICAN DEMOCRACY. Haven talks about his...

(Note: This episode was originally released under the old podcast title "This is the End: Pop Culture & Collapse." As of July 2025 the show is now titled, "Strange Days, Here We Come: Pop Culture, Dystopia & Collapse.")

This is a longer version of a talk I recently gave at San Diego Comic Con 2022 as part of a panel on Marvel's street-level characters (Daredevil, Jessica Jones, etc.) moderated by Dr. Scott Jordan as part ...

(Note: This episode was originally released under the old podcast title "This is the End: Pop Culture & Collapse." As of July 2025 the show is now titled, "Strange Days, Here We Come: Pop Culture, Dystopia & Collapse.")

We're joined by Dr. Shelly Clevenger, professor of criminology and victim studies, and chair of the Department of Victim Studies at Sam Houston State University, to discuss BITCH PLANET, the feminist dysto...

(Note: This episode was originally released under the old podcast title "This is the End: Pop Culture & Collapse." As of July 2025 the show is now titled, "Strange Days, Here We Come: Pop Culture, Dystopia & Collapse.")

In this episode, I interview Jim Carey, host of ‘The Left is Dead,’ a podcast about news, politics, and culture from a leftist lens. We discuss one of Jim’s favorite works of fiction, the novel LES MISERAB...

(Note: This episode was originally released under the old podcast title "This is the End: Pop Culture & Collapse." As of July 2025 the show is now titled, "Strange Days, Here We Come: Pop Culture, Dystopia & Collapse.") In this episode I interviewed four amazingly talented songwriters from the U.S., Germany, and Brazil who have written music on the subject of collapse, and who discuss what they feel are the important roles...

(Note: This episode was originally released under the old podcast title "This is the End: Pop Culture & Collapse." As of July 2025 the show is now titled, "Strange Days, Here We Come: Pop Culture, Dystopia & Collapse.") In this episode, I talk to Dr. Sørina Higgins, a professor of English literature at Signum University. We discuss how speculative fiction can teach us to take care of our planet, both ecologically and socie...

(Note: This episode was originally released under the old podcast title "This is the End: Pop Culture & Collapse." As of July 2025 the show is now titled, "Strange Days, Here We Come: Pop Culture, Dystopia & Collapse.") **No spoilers** for any of the works discussed in this episode.

LINKS:

• Breaking Down: Collapse "Episode 70 - Pop Culture & Collapse" https://collapsepod.buzzsprout.com/1403161/9909499

• ...

(Note: This episode was originally released under the old podcast title "This is the End: Pop Culture & Collapse." As of July 2025 the show is now titled, "Strange Days, Here We Come: Pop Culture, Dystopia & Collapse.") Since the very day of its release, Don’t Look Up has been spurring intense discussion and debate about its symbolic depiction of climate change as an existential threat, and the struggle of climate activist...

(Note: This episode was originally released under the old podcast title "This is the End: Pop Culture & Collapse." As of July 2025 the show is now titled, "Strange Days, Here We Come: Pop Culture, Dystopia & Collapse.") We interview Dr. Althea Rizzo, Geological Hazards Program Coordinator, of the Oregon Office of Emergency Management (OEM), about WITHOUT WARNING! WILDFIRE, a comic book produced in partnership between OEM a...

(Note: This episode was originally released under the old podcast title "This is the End: Pop Culture & Collapse." As of July 2025 the show is now titled, "Strange Days, Here We Come: Pop Culture, Dystopia & Collapse.") In this episode, we talk to Muncie Central High School English teacher Katey O'Connor about teaching V FOR VENDETTA and how her students practiced civil disobedience when their class projects, which drew pa...

(Note: This episode was originally released under the old podcast title "This is the End: Pop Culture & Collapse." As of July 2025 the show is now titled, "Strange Days, Here We Come: Pop Culture, Dystopia & Collapse.") Content Warnings: Extreme climate change, Ecological/societal collapse, Natural disasters, Hurricanes (loss of shelter, power), Past personal crises

Spoiler Warning: FOUNDATION S1 E1, “The Emperor’s Peace...