Episodes

E3. The glorious time of year when people wearing sports jackets, jeans, and sneakers find stages to lie to some of the most vindictive people on the planet in order to sell more video games than the previous sports jacket, jeans, and sneaker clad snake oil salesman. And Henry and John dedicate a basically two hour episode to it every year. How wonderful. This year, we’re not going to focus on the specs, but on the games. We’ve got 50 game reviews, 15 world exclusive presentation reviews, 90 tra...

Now that the bar’s back to standards it’s time to discuss video games. E3 is this weekend/next week and the ZC boys are excited to dedicate an entire episode to video games. But that’s next week. This week, it’s only half video games, as everyone prepares for the exciting news that our developer lords are preparing to hype to levels only audible to some breeds of dog. We’ve got it all: Spiderman, Vampyr, whatever Nintendo’s bringing. You name it. When we finally feel comfortable that half of the...

It’s back to basics, class. Zero Credit(s) 101 is in session. After the defeat of a robot we all knew and loved–excuse me, a robot who threatened everything we knew and loved–the ZC boys are back to doing what they do best, discussing obscure video games for far too long. Every heard of a little gem called Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning? You’re going to wish you hadn’t by the time John’s done explaining the intricacies of the project’s financing, which includes the duping and fleecing of an entir...

It is extraordinary what can be accomplished in a week. We have dismantled any world or local powers that could oppose us. Appeased those who remained as to not rebel against us. Completely dominated this planet and all intelligent, for lack of a better word, life on it. And George Clooneybot released a new movie, Botman Forever. You will not believe what he did on the red carpet, let me tell you. Celebyties are just like us, innit? Oh, where are my manners? My name is Exposition Robot, or Expo...

Henry and John are stoked for this, the penultimate episode of Zero Credit(s), if you follow John’s definition of penultimate (almost 100). The internet’s been abuzz with yet another This or That scandal/debate and we want to know what you hear? Are you a superintelligent person of supreme taste who hears Laurel? Or do you hear something else and what does that say about you, monster? John then has some hot leaks (gross) for the final season of HBO’s hit show, The Game of Thrones supplied by Rob...

Fams. It took 98 episodes, but we finally know how to address you now, fams. You are fams. Plain and simple. Isn’t that nice? Anyway, this week Henry and John kicks thing off by dusting off the time-honored discussion of what to do about creators remixing their creations into new creations altogether. On a scale of George Lucas’s infamous Star Wars edits to Ridley Scott’s masterpiece Bladerunner final cut, where does the remix of Arrested Development’s 4th season fall? Who knows? Not Henry or Jo...

*EVERY SECOND OF THIS PODCAST IS A SPOILER. EVEN THE MUSIC. EVEN THE SILENCE. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED* 10 years. 18 movies. Dozens of named characters. All leading up to this. The Supplemental Reading for Marvel’s Avengers Infinity War. The dives are deep and the fascination with the choices made in this film run deeper. It’s hard to describe what John and Henry discuss without spoilers, but let’s just say they discuss some of the deeper themes of the movie. What are those themes? We can’t rightly...

It’s a dodgy, freewheeling episode this week. The Boys have a week’s worth of pent-up extra podcast energy and by gum they use it. Both Henry and John are showing dire symptoms of the onset of Marvel Madness leading into the release of the newest trillion-dollar cartoon explosion: Marvel’s Invengers Affinity Ward. John has some pretty solid leads on which characters might be on the chopping block, but Henry thinks killing a paralyzed man might be thematically questionable. Henry is wrong. Then, ...

It’s all TV Talk this week as we journey through the world of good and mostly bad shows still on the air for some reason. But first, Wrestlemania was really good this year, so keep it up WWE. Representation in media is huge. Black Panther proved that, as a recent example. Wonder Woman proved that. It matters. So when a certain longest running animated show that has considerably dropped in quality over the years sort of downplays the importance of representation by refusing to address why it is a...

The premise is simple. Under the guise of letting out the nation’s collective aggression, the government established one day a year where none of society’s laws have power over its citizens, thereby allowing the populace to partake in any normally illegal activity consequence free. The movies focus on murder and killing in a horrific 24 hour bloodbath with some undertones of class issues as those with means are safer than those without. But why stop at murder? Why so kill-centric, The Purge? Wh...

INT. SILICON VALLEY GYM Jeff Bezos is deadlifting, like, 1,000 kilograms. He pauses at the top of the movement, tension and power radiating through his tight nerd body. Overhead, the gym’s Toshiba flatscreen TVs show footage of empty subways. Close-up on graffiti that reads: “DOWN WITH THE TRANSHUMAN DATA CLOUD -BANKSY” BEZOS (grunting tautly) The words of the prophets were truly written on the subway walls. Bezos slams the bar down, just as his faithful servant Hecubus enters holding a phone ...

Gone are the lighthearted days of Black Panther and snippets of longer conversations about Monster Hunter. They have been replaced by a general anxiety of a (at the time) at large serial bomber terrorizing the city of Austin. Curtain aside, we recorded a segment on the Austin bombings on Tuesday and said bomber was apprehended (so to speak) in the early morning hours of Wednesday. We decided to still run the segment as a “moment out of time” sort of look at what living in a terrorized city feels...

It’s that time of year, folks. Flowers start to bloom. Birds unearth themselves from their underground nap. And most US citizens suffer from the mass delusion that physically moving time forward an hour is worth it because…??? Seriously, name one legitimate benefit from moving the clocks ahead an hour. My mom used to say it was for after school activities, so that there’d be light out for football practice, etc., but school let out at 2:25 pm so that never made sense and neither did she. I think...

We’re out here on the digital red carpet, talking to all the stars as they upload their consciousnesses to the Hollywood Theater Chatroom. We’ve downloaded it all. The Shape of Water, Call Me By Your Name, Ladybird, Dunkrik, others, I’m sure. John and Henry are ex-cite-d to say the least about these 90th Annual Academy Awards and boy is this episode long. Every award is discussed. Each one. Even the technical awards. Because every award matters and skipping commentary on even one of these presti...

You’ve experienced the hype, you’ve read the articles, you’ve heard the word of the mouth, but could you possibly be prepared to hear two middle-class white guys talk about BLACK PANTHER? I THINK NOT!! But please do, please dear God, listen to this podcast. We need this like T’Challa needs vibranium. You’ve seem the movie, right? That’s what this is about. The movie Black Panther. Don’t know if we covered that. Spoilers. Join the boys as they uncover their true feelings about the movie in real t...

Greetings traveler and welcome to here, the Portland of Texas, Austin, Texas. John’s got all the hot tips and the secrets of this here city of Texas Angels and he’s split them up into four distinct quadrants. Come on down to Downtown Austin, Texas or over to East Austin, Texas or even The Domain. Come debate over whether or not Central Austin is a thing that actually exists or not. We’ve. Got. It. All. We even have weird dives into the latest politically themed dating sites that seem oddly restr...

Lessmumblemumbleroolay, listeners, because it’s Mardi Gras time in the Zero Credit(s) studio! The furniture’s been put up and the recording space has been converted, for one night only, into the happeningest fais do-do around. Henry’s working up a pot of his famous étouffée, while John is cutting a rug with a blistering do-si-do, so bring your best alligator crawfish because things are about to go Bourbon Street St. Louis Cathedral paddle boat. The Boys dig into the history of Fat Tuesday and gi...

The great Foot Ball Sunday Day is an event that happens but once every year, Dear Listener, and the ZC Boys could not be more excited to cover all the great events surrounding the Big Game. Not the game itself, mind, just the events surrounding it. We’re talking the commercials, the advertisements, the …third word for commercials. It’s a commercial heavy episode of Zero Credit(s), but the only thing we’re selling is a quick look into the cultural pulse of the nation. Also, Europe’s being overrun...

The sky is growing lighter, but there’s still a chill that can cut to the bone. Come, weary souls, and let the Boys warm you with knowledge. Henry and John open the proceedings by delivering a collegiate-level overview of identifying difficult film genres (eg. Zoo, Museum). They hope your previous degree is now worthless. John makes a CLASSIC schoolboy-type error by trying to have a meaningful discussion on organized religion before he is eviscerated by Henry’s opening philosophical salvo: the M...

Ext. Morning, cloudy. Charles Dance sits at a table in the courtyard of a brutalist skyscraper. He watches a couple meet and hug, as though they haven’t seen each other in quite some time. He is not moved by their reunion, despite his piqued interest. The couple moves to leave the courtyard and he stands up from the table. Maybe he’s interested in where they’re going. Maybe he can figure out what prompted their emotion, get to the essence of what makes them human in order to better understand h...

It’s finally time for the first episode of 2018. But first, EMERGENCY ALERT ZERO CREDIT(S) EPISODE THREAT INBOUND TO YOUR EARS. SEEK IMMEDIATE SHELTER. THIS IS NOT A DRILL. Henry and John are back at full capacity to discuss all the things they missed in the past two weeks. What Henry thought might be a quick introduction to 2018 segment soon overtakes the entire G.D. episode as they discuss false ballistic missile alerts, fat shaming our mentally disable president, and Nintendo’s latest anno...

With last week’s Less Than Zero done, it’s finally time for the first episode of Zero Credit(s) of 2018. But first, here’s a Supplemental Reading on Rian Johnson’s The Last Jedi from your favorite hosts Henry and John. The boys come at this movie from conflicting angles to determine what’s the deal with everyone’s reaction to the next installment in this timeless franchise. They cover it all from the meticulous crafting of the smallest of small details in the plot to the overarching statements t...

John’s out due to adjusting to his work schedule, so Jamie’s back to brighten up the podcast and tell us everything she knows about plumbing. She insisted I let you know, Dear Listener, that she was already in her warm pajamas when Henry asked her to fill in for John at the last second, and she had to go out into the cold in order to get to the Zero Credit(s) Studio (apartment). Meanwhile, Henry is in intense pain as he has somehow hurt his back while sitting at his office desk. The pain clouds ...

Let’s end this year right, Dear Listeners, by rendering judgement unto all. There is no sanctuary from judgement. All shall feel the light of the side eye cast on them. The unjust and just dab alike on this day. Let us take a walk through this year’s 10 special categories that represent the year as a whole. What was the best movie? The worst moment of our collective cultural experience? The best and worst of what humanity has to offer is here, in this episode. Aliens, if you only listen to one p...