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Dan Renton Skinner on Anarchic Comedy (SCP Mini)

Posted onAuthorLee TyrrellLeave a comment

For our latest SCP Mini (compressed editions of our regular podcasts), we’ve used our interview with Dan Renton Skinner as a source. As someone with a wealth of experience within British comedy, he had much to say on the subject. I took particular interest, when speaking to him, in the anarchic nature of certain comedies of the early 90’s. Thanks to his widespread work with Vic Reeves and Bob Mortimer, it’s something he clearly understands. In more modern times, some of the punk has disappeared from our national humorists. As Skinner himself notes, they simply don’t allow that aesthetic on syndicated television anymore.…   [continue reading]

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Predator: 420 (A Secret Cave Podcast Mini)

Posted onAuthorLee TyrrellLeave a comment

For this SCP Mini, we haven’t drawn from outside materials or our interview guests. Instead, for the first time, we’ve used clips from our very first season of podcasts. Within that season, we were a rather different beast. Season Two almost entirely consists of interviews with other creatives about their work. In our first episodes, Benjamin and I simply recorded casual conversations about pre-set topics. It was a very formative time for us, but I still feel there are some interesting relics there. It makes for the most entertaining listening when the two of us argued, which would usually feature my explosive temper.…   [continue reading]

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Two SCP Minis: David Liebe Hart and Professor Elemental

Posted onAuthorLee TyrrellLeave a comment

This week saw the release of two more SCP Minis; compressed editions of our podcasts curated by Benjamin. In these, we’ve drawn from interviews we conducted with David Liebe Hart and Professor Elemental. In certain ways, these act as short-form signposts to the original conversations. That said, we try wherever we can to make sure they stand on their own. Because our guests are often so insightful on a variety of topics, much of their commentary is comfortable in its own context. However, sometimes a guest can be so enigmatic, as a whole, that grander threads appear in their dialogue:

David Liebe Hart on Aliens

When I spoke to Liebe Hart for our podcast, his appearance was so surreal and unique that it birthed a 3,000 word article on the nature of his personality.…   [continue reading]

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Stefan Bohacek on AI and Pareidolia (SCP Mini)

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This week, Benjamin brought out an SCP Mini based around his interview with Stefan Bohacek. As the founder of BotWiki, he’s someone with an impressive knowledge on the nature of artificial intelligence. In this video, he highlights an interesting phenomenon. Pareidolia is the force in our minds which makes us see faces in toast, or on the surface of Mars. When applied to interaction with bots, it can have a profound impact on our perspectives. Despite knowing that an AI is a construct, with clear limits to its capability, we can easily project humanity onto them regardless.

However, the uncanny valley always snaps us out of it eventually.…   [continue reading]

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WOO! (A Secret Cave Podcast Mini)

Posted onAuthorLee TyrrellLeave a comment

Recently, over at our YouTube, we’ve been putting out bite-sized editions of our regular podcasts. This is a concept I have to give credit to Benjamin for, though I have contributed in small ways. The thrust behind these is threefold. Firstly, it’s a good exercise for editing skills. Secondly, we thought it would be intriguing to present small snippets of our interviews in, occasionally, new contexts. As a final, and more cynical, drive, it merely makes it easier to digest a source material that often exceeds an hour in length.

Chopped down to a strict limit of no more than two minutes and twenty seconds (comment with your thoughts on why we chose this length!), these titbits get in and out without too much bother to the idle scroller.…   [continue reading]