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Matt Talks Media

Matt Talks Media

by Matthew Dorr

Music Society & Culture

Season 2

Hauntology

👻 Hauntology 👻 What lingers after something is gone? In this episode of Matt Talks Media, we explore the concept of hauntology and the ghosts that inhabit culture, memory, and media. Steven Doughty introduces us to the work of philosopher Jacques Derrida and the origins of hauntology, unpacking how the past continues to haunt the present. Dr. Nolan Meditz turns to the world of sports, examining curses, legends, and the lingering specters that shape fan communities and athletic identities. Finally, Dr. Matt Dorr explores alternative media, arguing that zines, DIY publications, and community media function as hauntological artifacts: echoes of media systems that once were, or perhaps visions of what mass media could have been. Join us for a discussion of memory, absence, nostalgia, and the strange ways old ideas refuse to stay buried. Some ghosts don't haunt houses. Some haunt culture itself. 📻📚👻

Antarctica

Grab your parka and your conspiracy board because this week, Matt Talks Media heads to the coldest place on Earth. Steven Doughty explores how Antarctica evolved from mythical Terra Australis to the frozen continent we know today, tracing its fascinating history through centuries of maps and speculation. Dr. Nolan Meditz uncovers the unique hybrid English accent that has emerged among researchers living and working on the ice, proving isolation can shape language in surprising ways. Finally, Dr. Matt Dorr dives into Willis George Emerson's The Smoky God, examining its connections to Antarctica, the Hollow Earth theory, and one of alternative media's most enduring conspiracy narratives. Whether you're here for cartographic mysteries, linguistic oddities, or hidden civilizations beneath the polar ice cap, this episode has something to melt your brain. Music featured in this episode: Coprofagi, Decade of Defecating ⁠https://coprofagi.bandcamp.com/album/decade-of-defecating-2⁠ Helslave ⁠https://helslave.bandcamp.com/music⁠ Leper Colony, Those of the Morbid ⁠https://leper-colony.bandcamp.com/album/those-of-the-morbid⁠

Susurrus

What happens when communication slips beneath the surface? In this whisper-filled episode of Matt Talks Media, the crew explores the strange, hidden, and often overlooked ways humans have sent messages across distance, time, and even the boundary between life and death. Dr. Matt Dorr investigates Electronic Voice Phenomena (EVP), the eerie recordings that believers claim capture messages from the dead, tracing the phenomenon's history from spiritualist experiments to paranormal television and internet communities. Steven Doughty digs into the fascinating world of pneumatic tube systems, the forgotten networks of rushing air that once carried messages, documents, and even cash beneath bustling cities and businesses. Finally, Dr. Nolan Meditz examines whistle languages from around the globe, with a special focus on El Silbo, the remarkable whistled language of the Canary Islands that transformed speech into sound capable of traveling across mountains and valleys. From ghostly voices and underground message networks to languages carried on the wind, this episode follows the many ways humans have found to communicate when ordinary conversation simply won't do. Some messages are spoken. Others are whispered. A few may not belong to the living at all. Music Featured in Episode: https://seaton.bandcamp.com/album/too-long-to-say-goodbye-2 https://treeswilltell.bandcamp.com/album/negative-results https://secret-wars.bandcamp.com/album/social-punishment-demo-2020

The Anarchist Cookbook, Space Invaders & Tifo

On this gloriously chaotic episode of Matt Talks Media, the crew ricochets between underground controversy, arcade history, and sports fandom spectacle like a shopping cart with one bad wheel. Dr. Matt Dorr dives into the strange and controversial legacy of The Anarchist Cookbook, exploring its history, cultural panic, media reputation, and how the book became a kind of outlaw artifact passed through generations of counterculture curiosity. Steven Doughty blasts into the pixelated past with a discussion on Space Invaders, unpacking how the arcade phenomenon helped shape video game culture and turned blinking aliens into a worldwide obsession. Meanwhile, Dr. Nolan Meditz explores the world of tifo, fan choreography, and the emotional symbolism behind retired jersey numbers, from legendary athletes to deeply personal acts of remembrance. It’s part media archaeology, part cultural deep dive, and part late-night conversation at a gas station arcade that somehow turned academic. Music featured on this episode: Anti-Hero: https://ripcordrecords.bandcamp.com/album/drumsticks-of-doom-soundtrack H-Self: https://anarchymax.bandcamp.com/album/maze-maze-dont-make-me-get-the-can Startle: https://startle.bandcamp.com/album/terrible-zero-stars

Milkpocalypse!

On this utterly calcium-fortified episode of Matt Talks Media, the crew unintentionally dives headfirst into the strange cultural afterlife of milk in media, folklore, and underground print culture. Steven Doughty explores the unsettling history of missing children appearing on milk cartons and how the campaign blurred the line between public service messaging and mass media spectacle. Dr. Nolan Meditz shifts gears into the world of comic poetry, including a bizarre milk-themed example that proves dairy and literature make a surprisingly cursed combination. Finally, Dr. Matt Dorr examines the infamous underground zine Kurt Cobain Was Lactose Intolerant, unpacking conspiracy culture, alternative media, and the strange humor that circulated through late-1990s zine communities. It’s weird. It’s academic. It’s probably shelf-stable. Welcome to Milkpocalypse! Music featured in the episode: https://korgansteinke.bandcamp.com/album/tattoo https://dangerousways.bandcamp.com/album/high-anxiety https://gayagainstyou.bandcamp.com/

Urban Legends and Constructed Languages

In the shadows of folklore and the scaffolding of language, Matt Talks Media returns for Season 2 with a deep dive into how stories are built, shared, and believed. Dr. Matt Dorr explores the evolution of urban legends from whispered cautionary tales and campfire lore into a form of niche media shaped by online communities, participatory culture, and digital circulation. What happens when folklore stops being just “told” and starts being produced? Then, Dr. Nolan Meditz steps into the world of constructed languages, unpacking how creators like Tolkien and the architects of Klingon have engineered entire linguistic systems for media. Along the way, he examines the friction between constructed and natural languages—where authenticity, usability, and cultural meaning collide. From haunted highways to invented vocabularies, this episode maps the strange terrain where storytelling and structure meet. Music featured in this episode (support the artists!): https://mothercain.bandcamp.com/album/unreleased https://campwinapooka.bandcamp.com/album/capture-the-flag

Censorship

This week, Matt Talks Media takes on one of the oldest battles in communication: who gets to decide what can be said? 📚🚫 With Steven Doughty exploring Italy this week, Dr. Matt Dorr and Dr. Nolan Meditz dive into two very different sides of censorship and expression. Matt examines the remarkable history of samizdat, the underground publishing movement that secretly documented life inside the Soviet Union and exposed the realities of the Gulag system despite relentless government censorship. Nolan shifts the conversation to the fascinating world of profanity, exploring why taboo words exist, how they evolve across languages, and what our favorite four-letter words reveal about culture and communication. From forbidden books passed hand to hand to the surprisingly complex science of swearing, this episode explores how language has always found a way to survive, adapt, and occasionally tell authority exactly where it can go. Music Featured: https://zouka.bandcamp.com/album/demo https://heresiarkhes.bandcamp.com/album/ad-extirpanda

Season 1

Ep. 12: Hockey Blogs & Witch Hunts

This episode of Matt Talks Media skates straight from medieval paranoia to modern sports analytics. Dr. Matt Dorr explores the history and origins of the Malleus Maleficarum, the infamous 15th-century text that fueled witch hunts across Europe. We unpack how this ominous book shaped fear, authority, and media narratives long before the digital age. Dr. Nolan Meditz shifts the ice under our feet with a deep dive into the rise of hockey blogs, particularly those that specialized in breaking down NHL salary caps. From fan-driven analysis to influencing mainstream coverage, we look at how blogging communities reshaped hockey discourse. Music featured in this episode: Scepter of Eligos https://scepterofeligos.bandcamp.com/ Soul Annihilation https://soulannihilation.bandcamp.com/ From medieval manuals to cap-space spreadsheets, this episode traces how texts shape power, panic, and fandom.

Episode 11: Scarves, Emulators and Bigfoot

This episode of Matt Talks Media stitches together sports culture, retro gaming tech, and legendary creatures into one beautifully strange conversation. Dr. Nolan Meditz explores the history of fan scarves, especially in soccer and hockey cultures. From stadium identity to ritual and belonging, we look at how a simple piece of fabric became a powerful symbol of loyalty and community. Steven Doughty dives into the world of video game emulators—what they are, how they work, and why they matter for preservation, access, and gaming history. Dr. Matt Dorr rounds things out with a look at NOBRO, a Bigfoot research organization based in Oklahoma. We talk regional cryptid lore, grassroots research communities, and why Bigfoot refuses to step out of the cultural imagination. Music featured in this episode: Copulatory Wounding – “Exquisite Entwinement of Aborted Innards” CIA Hippie Mind Control – “An Eternal Stream” Alhymor – “The Illusion Falters” Three topics. Three rabbit holes. One episode.

Episode 10: Format Wars, Beer Cans & Unblack Metal

On this episode of Matt Talks Media, we’re cracking open a three-part deep dive into the weird corners of media history, design culture, and underground music. First, Steven Doughty takes us back to the legendary format war that divided living rooms everywhere: JVC’s V/H/S vs. Sony’s Betamax. We dig into what the fight was really about (tech, timing, marketing, and consumer habits), and how this battle shaped the way people interacted with media at home for decades. Next, Dr. Nolan Meditz steps up to the bar and delivers a surprisingly fascinating history of the beer can, then dives headfirst into the world of craft beer can design. From branding aesthetics to visual storytelling, we explore how cans became tiny metal billboards, and why craft breweries treat packaging like art. Finally, Dr. Matt Dorr closes things out with a spotlight on The Unblack Archive: a fascinating database dedicated to Christian extreme metal artists. We talk about what “unblack metal” is, why it matters, and how scenes like this complicate the easy assumptions people tend to make about genre, ideology, and community. 🎧 Music featured in this episode: Oak of Weeping – “Job 3: Job Curses the Day He Was Born” ⁠https://oakofweeping.bandcamp.com/track/job-3-job-curses-the-day-he-was-born⁠ Alaretin – “Psalm 66: How Awesome Is He” ⁠https://alaretin.bandcamp.com/track/psalm-66-how-awesome-is-he-alaretin⁠ Majesty – Exaltation I-IV ⁠https://majestyofficial.bandcamp.com/album/exaltation-i-iv⁠ If you like media archaeology, design nerdery, and extreme music rabbit-holes, this one’s for you.

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