Critical Nonsense

High-low brow conversations about culture, science, and tech. With hosts Joey Camire, Aaron Powers, and executive producer/nerd herder Jess Vander. SYLVAIN is a strategy and design company.

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Recent Episodes

211! Question Asking

Posted March 6, 202300:44:51

How do you ask a good question? 

This week, Jess and Aaron talk about 5-cent vs. 25-cent questions, tempo, performance question-asking, prioritizing...

210! Metering Confidence

Posted March 1, 202300:31:09

What's the best way to encourage people to own their confidence and speak their minds? 

This week, Jess and Joey talk about flatness, self consciousness,...

209! Defining Cool

Posted February 22, 202300:35:16

What is "cool"? 

This week, Joey and Aaron talk about kinetic energy, Obama, privilege and power, nerds, Blackness, and fish sauce. They don’t...

208! The Exquisite Euphemism Corpse

Posted February 15, 202300:48:44

What do you think are the right places to deploy euphemisms, or should we abandon them altogether? How harmful is it to use euphemisms, and why not...

207! Competence, Constitution, and Control

Posted February 8, 202300:36:52