Podcast
Purely Academic with Jonathan Lack & Sean Chapman
Hosted by Jonathan R. Lack & Sean Chapman · EN
Critics and teachers Jonathan R. Lack and Sean Chapman host this monthly variety series where we talk about our favorite video games, movies, anime, and much more, having fun and maybe even learning something along the way. From the creators of The Weekly Stuff Podcast and Japanimation Station. Visit https://www.jonathanlack.com for more!
28episodes
Episodes
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Purely Academic #27 - The Top 10 Video Games of 2025
Jan 2203:39:40Tap to summarizeThe time has come, once again: Sean and Jonathan are here to count down the Top 10 Video Games of 2025. It was an undeniably weird year for the medium, with some exciting developments – like the launch of Nintendo’s Switch 2 and a strong first year of exclusive – marred by a lot of depressing industry upheaval, and the AAA space was largely pretty thin. We go quite a bit off the beaten path this year discussing our favorites, and while you’ve heard us talk about some of these before, there are a lot of surprises along the way. And this is the only Game of the Year podcast where you won’t hear anyone talk about Clair Obscur, because we simply didn’t play it. If nothing else, our lists are very unique. TIME CHART:Intro: 0:00:00 – 0:15:27#10: 0:15:27 – 0:32:00#9: 0:32:00 – 0:48:23#8: 0:48:23 – 1:03:48#7: 1:03:48 – 1:20:06#6: 1:20:06 – 1:44:22#5: 1:44:22 – 2:07:28#4: 2:07:28 – 2:21:02#3: 2:21:02 – 2:39:17#2: 2:39:17 – 3:06:48#1 GOTY Picks: 3:06:48 – 3:39:40 Read Jonathan Lack’s movie reviews and stay up to date with all our podcast projects at https://www.jonathanlack.comSubscribe to JAPANIMATION STATION, our podcast about the wide and wonderful world of anime: https://www.japanimation-station.com Read Jonathan’s book 200 Reviews in Paperback or on Kindle – https://a.co/d/bLx53vKSubscribe to our YouTube channels! Japanimation Station: https://www.youtube.com/c/japanimationstation Purely Academic: https://www.youtube.com/@purelyacademicpodcastSupport the show at Ko-fi ☕️ https://ko-fi.com/weeklystuffOriginal Music by Thomas Lack https://www.thomaslack.com/©2012 - Present Jonathan R. Lack & Sean Chapman
Transcribe →Purely Academic #26 - The Best Films of 2025 & Sean’s Digimon Adventures
Jan 1503:27:19Tap to summarizeFor our first show of 2026, we look back on the best movies of 2025, as Jonathan talks us through his list of the 20 best films to come out last year, from undisputed favorites like Paul Thomas Anderson’s One Battle After Another, to anime stunners like the Chainsaw Man and Kimetsu no Yaiba movies, to some weirder, smaller, and more personal picks. Then, Sean talks us through his busy winter vacation spent in the world of Digimon, reviewing the latest Digimon Story game, Time Stranger, alongside the 2021 Digimon anime Digimon Ghost Game and the first cours of the brand new Digimon Beatbreak. Finally, we round out the episode with a very depressing Monthly Ten where Sean is tasked with imagining ten ways we could sell our souls to become more popular podcasters.Enjoy, and come back next week for our Top 10 Video Games of 2025 episode! TIME CHART:Intro: 0:00:00 – 0:08:33News: 0:08:33 – 0:40:16 Jonathan’s Favorite Films of 2025: 0:40:16 – 1:58:40 Sean’s Digimon Adventures: 1:58:40 – 2:58:38The Monthly Ten: 2:58:38 – 3:27:20 Read Jonathan Lack’s movie reviews and stay up to date with all our podcast projects at https://www.jonathanlack.comSubscribe to JAPANIMATION STATION, our podcast about the wide and wonderful world of anime: https://www.japanimation-station.com Read Jonathan’s book 200 Reviews in Paperback or on Kindle – https://a.co/d/bLx53vKSubscribe to our YouTube channels! Japanimation Station: https://www.youtube.com/c/japanimationstation Purely Academic: https://www.youtube.com/@purelyacademicpodcastSupport the show at Ko-fi ☕️ https://ko-fi.com/weeklystuffOriginal Music by Thomas Lack https://www.thomaslack.com/©2012 - Present Jonathan R. Lack & Sean Chapman
Transcribe →Purely Academic #25 - Metroid Prime 4, Super Robot Wars, Netflix/WB Merger, and Improving Christmas
Dec 1803:52:10Tap to summarizeFair warning: this month’s episode starts out as a major bummer, what with news of the Netflix/WB merger and the pricing madness around RAM spelling doom for both Hollywood and the gaming industry, topics we dive deep on to make ourselves extremely sad. But once you get past all that, we start having some fun, as Jonathan reviews the flawed but extremely fun Metroid Prime 4: Beyond on Nintendo Switch and Sean talks at length about falling down the Super Robot Wars rabbit hole, which is an absolutely amazing segment. Then we finish things off with a very misanthropic – but very funny – Monthly Ten segment in which Jonathan lists 10 ways to improve Christmas in 2025, most of which involve taking aim at traditions people love. Pa rum pa pum pum. Enjoy! TIME CHART:Intro: 0:00:00 – 0:08:50Netflix/WB Merger: 0:08:50 – 0:26:50Star Wars News: 0:26:50 – 0:35:45Steam Machines: 0:35:45 – 0:51:42RAM Madness: 0:51:42 – 1:14:38Call of Duty and Game Award News: 1:14:38 – 1:54:35Metroid Prime 4: 1:54:35 – 2:38:02Ultraman Cosmos: 2:38:02 – 2:55:00Super Robot Wars: 2:55:00 – 3:24:04Monthly Ten: 3:24:04 – 3:52:10 Read Jonathan Lack’s movie reviews and stay up to date with all our podcast projects at https://www.jonathanlack.comSubscribe to JAPANIMATION STATION, our podcast about the wide and wonderful world of anime: https://www.japanimation-station.com Read Jonathan’s book 200 Reviews in Paperback or on Kindle – https://a.co/d/bLx53vKSubscribe to our YouTube channels! Japanimation Station: https://www.youtube.com/c/japanimationstation Purely Academic: https://www.youtube.com/@purelyacademicpodcastSupport the show at Ko-fi ☕️ https://ko-fi.com/weeklystuffOriginal Music by Thomas Lack https://www.thomaslack.com/©2012 - Present Jonathan R. Lack & Sean Chapman
Transcribe →Purely Academic #24 - The FRANKENSTEIN Episode: The Original Novel, The 1931 Film, and the 2025 Film
Dec 203:12:26Tap to summarizeFor our November topic – coming just in time for the start of December – we celebrate the release of Guillermo del Toro’s Frankenstein with a three-part retrospective on one of the most famous stories in the English language. First, we take a look at the original 1818 novel by Mary Shelley – which has been one of Sean’s favorite books, but was new to Jonathan – and celebrate its tremendous accomplishments, all of which still feel revelatory today. Then we talk about the classic 1931 Universal movie, directed by James Whale and starring Boris Karloff, which doesn’t take much from the book, but establishes much of the story’s endearing iconography. And finally, we give a full review of the brand new version, directed by the inimitable Guillermo del Toro, who leave his own original stamp on the material in ways that are very much worth discussing. Enjoy! TIME CHART:Intro: 0:00:00 – 0:19:29The Novel: 0:19:29 – 1:27:22The 1931 Film: 1:27:22 – 1:56:35The 2025 Film: 1:56:35 – 3:12:26 Read Jonathan Lack’s movie reviews and stay up to date with all our podcast projects at https://www.jonathanlack.comSubscribe to JAPANIMATION STATION, our podcast about the wide and wonderful world of anime: https://www.japanimation-station.com Read Jonathan’s book 200 Reviews in Paperback or on Kindle – https://a.co/d/bLx53vKSubscribe to our YouTube channels! Japanimation Station: https://www.youtube.com/c/japanimationstation Purely Academic: https://www.youtube.com/@purelyacademicpodcastSupport the show at Ko-fi ☕️ https://ko-fi.com/weeklystuffOriginal Music by Thomas Lack https://www.thomaslack.com/©2012 - Present Jonathan R. Lack & Sean Chapman
Transcribe →Purely Academic #23 - School Stories, Pokémon Legends Z-A, Ghost of Yōtei & Taylor Swift x Shakespeare Collabs
Nov 1403:31:16Tap to summarizeIn one of our most absolutely jam-packed Monthly Stuff installments to date, we live up to our moniker with a long discussion of teaching stories and curriculum planning (but it’s fun, we promise) before moving on to talk about the avalanche of games we’ve playing recently, including Ghost of Yōtei, Pokémon Legends Z-A, Hades II, Super Robot Wars Y, and the Dragon Quest I & II HD-2D Remake. Before all that, we discuss some recent news, including updates on Doctor Who, Halo, and One Piece, and we end the show with perhaps our best Monthly Ten segment to date, in which Sean Chapman, who had never listened to a Taylor Swift song before this month, imagines 10 future Taylor Swift songs based on dark and upsetting plot points in William Shakespeare plays. It’s a blast. Enjoy! TIME CHART:Intro: 0:00:00 – 0:04:48News: 0:04:48 – 0:54:29School Stories: 0:54:29 – 1:51:30Robert Eggers’ Nosferatu: 1:51:30 – 2:07:45Plur1bus: 2:07:45 – 2:14:40Ghost of Yōtei: 2:14:40 – 2:27:04Hades II: 2:27:04 – 2:35:35Pokémon Legends ZA: 2:35:35 – 2:54:30Super Robot Wars Y: 2:54:30 – 3:01:25Dragon Quest I & II HD-2D Remake: 3:01:25 – 3:07:14The Monthly Ten: 3:07:14 – 3:31:16 Read Jonathan Lack’s movie reviews and stay up to date with all our podcast projects at https://www.jonathanlack.comSubscribe to JAPANIMATION STATION, our podcast about the wide and wonderful world of anime: https://www.japanimation-station.com Read Jonathan’s book 200 Reviews in Paperback or on Kindle – https://a.co/d/bLx53vKSubscribe to our YouTube channels! Japanimation Station: https://www.youtube.com/c/japanimationstation Purely Academic: https://www.youtube.com/@purelyacademicpodcastSupport the show at Ko-fi ☕️ https://ko-fi.com/weeklystuffOriginal Music by Thomas Lack https://www.thomaslack.com/©2012 - Present Jonathan R. Lack & Sean Chapman
Transcribe →Purely Academic #22 - Reviewing Kyoto Animation’s CITY: THE ANIMATION
Oct 1503:29:22Tap to summarizeWe spent a full year chronicling the history of Kyoto Animation on our anime podcast, Japanimation Station, back in 2024, which means we are very excited to talk about CITY: THE ANIMATION, the latest anime series from the renowned studio. Directed by Violet Evergarden helmer Ishidate Taichi and based on the manga Nichijou author Arawi Keiichi, CITY is one of the absolute greatest series KyoAni has produced to date, a return not only to Arawi’s zany comic stylings, but to the bold, experimental spirit of KyoAni’s early work. Seamlessly blending wild, anarchical comedy with heartfelt, shockingly rich storytelling about friendship, nostalgia, and community, CITY isn’t just a triumph: it’s an outright masterpiece, and we couldn’t be happier to talk about it at length on today’s show. Enjoy! Read Jonathan Lack’s movie reviews and stay up to date with all our podcast projects at https://www.jonathanlack.comSubscribe to JAPANIMATION STATION, our podcast about the wide and wonderful world of anime: https://www.japanimation-station.com Read Jonathan’s book 200 Reviews in Paperback or on Kindle – https://a.co/d/bLx53vKSubscribe to our YouTube channels! Japanimation Station: https://www.youtube.com/c/japanimationstation Purely Academic: https://www.youtube.com/@purelyacademicpodcastSupport the show at Ko-fi ☕️ https://ko-fi.com/weeklystuffOriginal Music by Thomas Lack https://www.thomaslack.com/©2012 - Present Jonathan R. Lack & Sean Chapman
Transcribe →Purely Academic #21 - Hades II, Ghost of Yōtei, Xbox Pricing Madness, and more!
Oct 803:10:00Tap to summarizeWe’re back for the month of October with an exciting episode covering both the highs and lows of the video game industry in 2025. In terms of ‘low,’ we’ve got more Xbox Pricing Madness, as Microsoft once again hiked prices on Xbox hardware, before unveiling a full 50% raise to the price of Xbox Game Pass, a move that feels like the definitive end of the brand’s subscription model experiment. In terms of ‘highs,’ though, games are still great, and there’s way too many out there for us to play them all! Jonathan gives first impressions of Hades II from Supergiant, while Sean talks Ghost of Yōtei, Sucker Punch’s historical samurai sequel for the PS5. We also talk the latest Genshin Impact update, Super Robot Wars Y, and engage in a very fun, very silly Monthly Ten as we consider the lessons teenagers actually need to be taught before they get out of high school. Enjoy! Time ChartIntro: 0:00:00 – 0:03:18Xbox Pricing Madness & Other News: 0:03:18 – 1:21:14Ghost of Yotei: 1:21:14 – 1:37:50Hades II: 1:37:50 – 1:57:00Genshin Impact 6.0: 1:57:00 – 2:09:54 Super Robot Wars Y: 2:09:54 – 2:31:59The Monthly Ten: 2:31:59 – 3:10:00 Read Jonathan Lack’s movie reviews and stay up to date with all our podcast projects at https://www.jonathanlack.comSubscribe to JAPANIMATION STATION, our podcast about the wide and wonderful world of anime: https://japanimationstation.comRead Jonathan’s book 200 Reviews in Paperback or on Kindle – https://a.co/d/bLx53vKSubscribe to our YouTube channels! Japanimation Station: https://www.youtube.com/c/japanimationstation Purely Academic: https://www.youtube.com/@purelyacademicpodcastSupport the show at Ko-fi ☕️ https://ko-fi.com/weeklystuffOriginal Music by Thomas Lack https://www.thomaslack.com/ Read Jonathan Lack’s movie reviews and stay up to date with all our podcast projects at https://www.jonathanlack.comSubscribe to JAPANIMATION STATION, our podcast about the wide and wonderful world of anime: https://www.japanimation-station.com Read Jonathan’s book 200 Reviews in Paperback or on Kindle – https://a.co/d/bLx53vKSubscribe to our YouTube channels! Japanimation Station: https://www.youtube.com/c/japanimationstation Purely Academic: https://www.youtube.com/@purelyacademicpodcastSupport the show at Ko-fi ☕️ https://ko-fi.com/weeklystuffOriginal Music by Thomas Lack https://www.thomaslack.com/©2012 - Present Jonathan R. Lack & Sean Chapman
Transcribe →Purely Academic #18 - Reviewing Marvel’s THE FANTASTIC FOUR: FIRST STEPS
Aug 1, 202501:41:54Tap to summarizeAfter looking back over all the previous attempts to bring Marvel’s Fantastic Four to the big screen last month, we review the introduction to Marvel’s first family into the MCU: The Fantastic Four: First Steps, directed by Matt Shakman and starring Pedro Pascal, Vanessa Kirby, Ebon Moss-Bachrach, and Joseph Quinn. It’s easily the most these characters have ever been done justice on film, with great lead performances, excellent retro-futuristic production design, and a particularly fun second act in the depths of outer space. We discuss how the film could stand to take a few more risks and go a bit deeper with its characters and themes, as First Steps ultimately plays things safe in the way most Marvel movies do, but this is still the best film to come out of the MCU in a long time. Enjoy! Read Jonathan Lack’s movie reviews and stay up to date with all our podcast projects at https://www.jonathanlack.comSubscribe to JAPANIMATION STATION, our podcast about the wide and wonderful world of anime: https://japanimationstation.comRead Jonathan’s book 200 Reviews in Paperback or on Kindle – https://a.co/d/bLx53vKSubscribe to our YouTube channels! Japanimation Station: https://www.youtube.com/c/japanimationstation Purely Academic: https://www.youtube.com/@purelyacademicpodcastSupport the show at Ko-fi ☕️ https://ko-fi.com/weeklystuffOriginal Music by Thomas Lack https://www.thomaslack.com/©2012 - Present Jonathan R. Lack & Sean Chapman
Transcribe →Purely Academic #17 - Reviewing James Gunn’s SUPERMAN (Spoiler Discussion)
Jul 17, 202502:15:05Tap to summarizeWe’re back sooner than usual, with a special episode focused entirely on James Gunn’s SUPERMAN! The film is the official launch of the new DCU, but much more importantly, it’s an actual Superman movie, one that truly gets the character and his world in a way no live-action Superman film has in our lifetimes. Jonathan reviewed the film in writing last week at Fade to Lack, but we dive much deeper here with a full spoiler-filled discussion, breaking down all the characters, performances, themes, set pieces, and more! We have a few criticisms here and there, but for the most part agree this is a pretty wonderful superhero movie – and it’s truly awesome to finally have this much fun talking about Superman on a podcast. Enjoy! Read Jonathan Lack’s movie reviews and stay up to date with all our podcast projects at https://www.jonathanlack.comSubscribe to JAPANIMATION STATION, our podcast about the wide and wonderful world of anime: https://japanimationstation.comRead Jonathan’s book 200 Reviews in Paperback or on Kindle – https://a.co/d/bLx53vKSubscribe to our YouTube channels! Japanimation Station: https://www.youtube.com/c/japanimationstation Purely Academic: https://www.youtube.com/@purelyacademicpodcastSupport the show at Ko-fi ☕️ https://ko-fi.com/weeklystuffOriginal Music by Thomas Lack https://www.thomaslack.com/©2012 - Present Jonathan R. Lack & Sean Chapman
Transcribe →Purely Academic #16 - Xbox Layoffs, Switch 2 Adventures, Indiana Jones, Andor & More!
Jul 11, 202503:05:34Tap to summarizeFor the July installment of ‘The Monthly Stuff,’ we break down the news of Xbox’s latest round of devastating layoffs, give fuller impressions of the Nintendo Switch 2 after a full month of play, and discuss recent games and TV shows we’ve experienced. Jonathan gives thoughts on Fast Fusion and Raidou Remastered, alongside continued impressions of Mario Kart World, while Sean talks about playing Indiana Jones and the Great Circle on the PS5, watchingUltraman Gaia, and the second season of Disney+’s acclaimed Star Wars series Andor. And for The Monthly Ten, Jonathan counts down the 10 craziest ideas for superhero movies he could think of. A fun time is had by all. Enjoy! Time Chart: Intro: 0:00:00 – 0:03:35News: 0:03:35 – 0:59:35Indiana Jones and the Great Circle: 0:59:35 – 1:24:20Switch 2 Adventures: 1:24:20 – 2:06:57 Ultraman Gaia: 2:06:57 – 2:20:09 Andor: 2:20:09 – 2:33:37The Monthly Ten: 2:33:37 – 3:05:34 Read Jonathan Lack’s movie reviews and stay up to date with all our podcast projects at https://www.jonathanlack.comSubscribe to JAPANIMATION STATION, our podcast about the wide and wonderful world of anime: https://japanimationstation.comRead Jonathan’s book 200 Reviews in Paperback or on Kindle – https://a.co/d/bLx53vKSubscribe to our YouTube channels! Japanimation Station: https://www.youtube.com/c/japanimationstation Purely Academic: https://www.youtube.com/@purelyacademicpodcastSupport the show at Ko-fi ☕️ https://ko-fi.com/weeklystuffOriginal Music by Thomas Lack https://www.thomaslack.com/©2012 - Present Jonathan R. Lack & Sean Chapman
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