Jonathan Lack
@jonathanlack.bsky.social
I'm critic, scholar, and podcaster Jonathan R. Lack, PhD. Follow my writing at https://www.jonathanlack.com. Links to podcasts and other socials at http://linktr.ee/jonathanrlack
Pinned
Pokémon Legends Z-A, Ghost of Yōtei & Taylor Swift x Shakespeare Collabs | Purely Academic #23
YouTube video by Purely Academic
youtu.be
New Purely Academic today, and it's absurdly packed, with big game reviews (Ghost of Yotei, Pokemon Legends, Dragon Quest, etc.), lots of news (Doctor Who, One Piece, Halo), and the funniest Monthly Ten segment we've done to date (please listen for this if nothing else).
youtu.be/VrHBAukdRgw?...
youtu.be/VrHBAukdRgw?...
Reposted by Jonathan Lack
Can’t believe the whole country has to suffer through the return of Dickensian childhood diseases because the worst, most ignorant attention-demanders decided other people’s expertise makes them feel bad
November 20, 2025 at 4:19 AM
Can’t believe the whole country has to suffer through the return of Dickensian childhood diseases because the worst, most ignorant attention-demanders decided other people’s expertise makes them feel bad
I’m tempted to cancel my lesson plans for today and just show Vanity Fair’s new career retrospective with James Cameron. Amazing fountain of insight on the craft of filmmaking, and candid in ways you don’t always get from him.
youtu.be/1Vjd6NmA9Hs?...
youtu.be/1Vjd6NmA9Hs?...
Every James Cameron Movie, Explained by James Cameron | Vanity Fair
YouTube video by Vanity Fair
youtu.be
November 20, 2025 at 3:37 PM
I’m tempted to cancel my lesson plans for today and just show Vanity Fair’s new career retrospective with James Cameron. Amazing fountain of insight on the craft of filmmaking, and candid in ways you don’t always get from him.
youtu.be/1Vjd6NmA9Hs?...
youtu.be/1Vjd6NmA9Hs?...
Reposted by Jonathan Lack
It would be tragic except that they voted for it.
November 20, 2025 at 11:52 AM
It would be tragic except that they voted for it.
Reposted by Jonathan Lack
“(CU) has definitely been repressing student activists, which is already in itself a horrible thing for them to do … but repressing journalists is a new low for them, honestly.”
Agreed.
www.dailycamera.com/2025/11/20/c...
Agreed.
www.dailycamera.com/2025/11/20/c...
CU Boulder bans student journalists from campus after they covered a pro-Palestine protest
The University of Colorado Boulder banned three student journalists from campus and charged them with code of conduct violations after they covered a pro-Palestine protest in October.
www.dailycamera.com
November 20, 2025 at 2:40 PM
“(CU) has definitely been repressing student activists, which is already in itself a horrible thing for them to do … but repressing journalists is a new low for them, honestly.”
Agreed.
www.dailycamera.com/2025/11/20/c...
Agreed.
www.dailycamera.com/2025/11/20/c...
Reposted by Jonathan Lack
Follow @wario64.bsky.social and repost for a chance to win 1 of 4 codes for Tomb Raider Definitive Edition for Nintendo Switch 2 (NA eShop Code) courtesy of @aspyr.com. Giveaway closes on Nov 21st, 6 PM PT.
Game is out now on Nintendo Switch & Switch 2 (no upgrade paths)
Game is out now on Nintendo Switch & Switch 2 (no upgrade paths)
November 18, 2025 at 5:00 PM
Follow @wario64.bsky.social and repost for a chance to win 1 of 4 codes for Tomb Raider Definitive Edition for Nintendo Switch 2 (NA eShop Code) courtesy of @aspyr.com. Giveaway closes on Nov 21st, 6 PM PT.
Game is out now on Nintendo Switch & Switch 2 (no upgrade paths)
Game is out now on Nintendo Switch & Switch 2 (no upgrade paths)
Reposted by Jonathan Lack
“Roberts has been embedding white-dominant authoritarianism into the country’s source code for two decades. It’s impossible to imagine today’s crisis without the Roberts court having first undermined the foundations of our democracy.”
This all on the leader of the MAGA #scotus ↘️
This all on the leader of the MAGA #scotus ↘️
This is all John Roberts’ fault
Trump owes his corrupt and abusive reign to one man.
www.motherjones.com
November 19, 2025 at 3:25 PM
“Roberts has been embedding white-dominant authoritarianism into the country’s source code for two decades. It’s impossible to imagine today’s crisis without the Roberts court having first undermined the foundations of our democracy.”
This all on the leader of the MAGA #scotus ↘️
This all on the leader of the MAGA #scotus ↘️
Reposted by Jonathan Lack
His entire wealth is supported by a self-driving fraud that has killed tens of Americans, on top of countless other crimes.
He is the face of the elite impunity that is destroying this country.
His freedom is one of the most important political issues of our time.
He is the face of the elite impunity that is destroying this country.
His freedom is one of the most important political issues of our time.
Again, it is unbelievable that this man is permitted to walk free after causing the deaths of potentially millions of people. www.nytimes.com/2025/11/18/u...
Musk Is Back in Politics. Does He Want to Stay a While?
www.nytimes.com
November 19, 2025 at 4:38 AM
His entire wealth is supported by a self-driving fraud that has killed tens of Americans, on top of countless other crimes.
He is the face of the elite impunity that is destroying this country.
His freedom is one of the most important political issues of our time.
He is the face of the elite impunity that is destroying this country.
His freedom is one of the most important political issues of our time.
Reposted by Jonathan Lack
*Every single* institution, organization, and individual who caved into Trump already looks worse for having done so.
And every one that stood up continues to look better.
And every one that stood up continues to look better.
Man, CBS must feel really stupid right now!
Just kidding, CBS wasn't settling a lawsuit. They were paying a bribe and they knew it.
Just kidding, CBS wasn't settling a lawsuit. They were paying a bribe and they knew it.
Eleventh Circuit throws out Trump's suit against CNN in a per curiam unpublished ruling. Meaning Trump's arguments were totally meritless, not even worthy of a published opinion. s3.documentcloud.org/documents/26...
November 18, 2025 at 9:26 PM
*Every single* institution, organization, and individual who caved into Trump already looks worse for having done so.
And every one that stood up continues to look better.
And every one that stood up continues to look better.
Showing POM POKO to my Miyazaki/Takahata class tonight, and I've got a real banger of an opening presentation ready to go, including this very stupid slide that brought be an unreasonable amount of joy to make. (Yes, there's a spinning animation and audio of Mario saying "Tanooki!")
November 18, 2025 at 10:13 PM
Showing POM POKO to my Miyazaki/Takahata class tonight, and I've got a real banger of an opening presentation ready to go, including this very stupid slide that brought be an unreasonable amount of joy to make. (Yes, there's a spinning animation and audio of Mario saying "Tanooki!")
Reposted by Jonathan Lack
I will never forget having to edit Jamal’s final, posthumous piece for the Washington Post, after he was murdered.
He was calling for free expression in the Arab world. You can read it here :
www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/glo...
He was calling for free expression in the Arab world. You can read it here :
www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/glo...
Opinion | Jamal Khashoggi: What the Arab world needs most is free expression
The Arab world needs a modern version of the old transnational media so citizens can be informed about global events.
www.washingtonpost.com
November 18, 2025 at 6:48 PM
I will never forget having to edit Jamal’s final, posthumous piece for the Washington Post, after he was murdered.
He was calling for free expression in the Arab world. You can read it here :
www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/glo...
He was calling for free expression in the Arab world. You can read it here :
www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/glo...
I desperately hope there is a Hell so this man, and every single person who aided and abetted him, can burn in it for eternity. Absolute fucking piece of shit.
Trump suggests Khashoggi had it coming: "You're mentioning someone that was extremely controversial. A lot of people didn't like that gentleman that you're talking about. Whether you like him or didn't like him, things happen. But he knew nothing about it. You don't have to embarrass our guest."
November 18, 2025 at 9:20 PM
I desperately hope there is a Hell so this man, and every single person who aided and abetted him, can burn in it for eternity. Absolute fucking piece of shit.
Reposted by Jonathan Lack
i will kind of accept this from some random person who barely pays attention. ben shapiro though? he's just lying
Ben Shapiro: “When the president said deport all the illegal immigrants, I never thought that he meant that literally”
November 18, 2025 at 7:41 PM
i will kind of accept this from some random person who barely pays attention. ben shapiro though? he's just lying
Reposted by Jonathan Lack
Things that will get you kicked out of academia forever:
- taking maternity leave at the wrong time
- spending too much time with your kids
- reporting harassment
- not moving every 2-3 years
- taking a partner's job/preferences into account
- mouthing off before tenure
- taking maternity leave at the wrong time
- spending too much time with your kids
- reporting harassment
- not moving every 2-3 years
- taking a partner's job/preferences into account
- mouthing off before tenure
A guy makes ONE tiny mistake (has a years-long friendship with the world's worst sex trafficker; brags about sexually harassing colleagues; is racist; says women are stupid) and his whole LIFE is blown up (does slightly fewer speaking engagements; keeps teaching at #1 university)??!?!?!?!?!
So Harvard is keeping this guy, but Claudine Gay had to step down over ginned up plagiarism accusations and bad-faith accusations of anti-Semitism.
Got it.
Got it.
November 18, 2025 at 3:52 PM
Things that will get you kicked out of academia forever:
- taking maternity leave at the wrong time
- spending too much time with your kids
- reporting harassment
- not moving every 2-3 years
- taking a partner's job/preferences into account
- mouthing off before tenure
- taking maternity leave at the wrong time
- spending too much time with your kids
- reporting harassment
- not moving every 2-3 years
- taking a partner's job/preferences into account
- mouthing off before tenure
As I wrote in my retrospective on this one, “Fuck this movie.” Now and forever. It’s the worst of the original 10, and it isn’t particularly close.
www.jonathanlack.com/p/star-trek-...
www.jonathanlack.com/p/star-trek-...
November 18, 2025 at 5:54 PM
As I wrote in my retrospective on this one, “Fuck this movie.” Now and forever. It’s the worst of the original 10, and it isn’t particularly close.
www.jonathanlack.com/p/star-trek-...
www.jonathanlack.com/p/star-trek-...
Reposted by Jonathan Lack
mr president sir theres a story coming about how you intervened to help a sex criminal. no sir, not that sex criminal you helped….no not that one either…sir, please stop guessing sex criminals that you helped. ill give you a hint sir, hes a trafficker. no sir, not that trafficker a different one
NEW: When Andrew Tate landed in the US, Customs & Border Protection seized his electronic devices. But @propublica.org found that a White House official told DHS to return the devices, emphasizing that the request came from the White House.
By @robert-faturechi.bsky.social & Avi Asher-Schapiro
By @robert-faturechi.bsky.social & Avi Asher-Schapiro
The White House Intervened on Behalf of Accused Sex Trafficker Andrew Tate During a Federal Investigation
Federal authorities were chided for seizing electronic devices from Tate and his brother, and told to return them, records and interviews show. Experts said the intervention was highly inappropriate.
www.propublica.org
November 18, 2025 at 1:10 PM
mr president sir theres a story coming about how you intervened to help a sex criminal. no sir, not that sex criminal you helped….no not that one either…sir, please stop guessing sex criminals that you helped. ill give you a hint sir, hes a trafficker. no sir, not that trafficker a different one
Easy, not easy, whatever, if you see one human being treat another human being this way, you are obligated to at least throw out a hearty “Fuck You.” The cowardice of journalists covering Trump continues to be astonishing. Stand the fuck ip for yourselves, if no one else.
I’m not going to pretend it’s easy to say something in the moment when you witness the president do this and you’re aboard Air Force One with all the uniformed officers and secret service and fancy wood accents, but this is really an instance where you should. people.com/donald-trump...
Donald Trump Snaps at Female Reporter Who Asks About Epstein Files: 'Quiet Piggy'
Donald Trump Says 'Quiet Piggy' to Female Reporter Asking About Epstein Files
people.com
November 18, 2025 at 7:57 AM
Easy, not easy, whatever, if you see one human being treat another human being this way, you are obligated to at least throw out a hearty “Fuck You.” The cowardice of journalists covering Trump continues to be astonishing. Stand the fuck ip for yourselves, if no one else.
Reposted by Jonathan Lack
It does feel like we're all going insane. We *know* he's implicated in Epstein's abuse. He's lashing out, in a misogynistic way, when questioned about it. We know. Why isn't every news stations 24hour coverage of the president being a child abuser? It should be wall-to-wall
"Quiet! Quiet, Piggy."
November 18, 2025 at 3:19 AM
It does feel like we're all going insane. We *know* he's implicated in Epstein's abuse. He's lashing out, in a misogynistic way, when questioned about it. We know. Why isn't every news stations 24hour coverage of the president being a child abuser? It should be wall-to-wall
At this point it seems off to call something like MOANA a live-action remake. Most of what you're looking at in this trailer is CGI. It's an animated remake, but with shittier, less artistic animation than the original, and some human beings composited into the image. youtu.be/QKYFfYLe5rs?...
Moana | Official Teaser
YouTube video by Disney
youtu.be
November 17, 2025 at 11:48 PM
At this point it seems off to call something like MOANA a live-action remake. Most of what you're looking at in this trailer is CGI. It's an animated remake, but with shittier, less artistic animation than the original, and some human beings composited into the image. youtu.be/QKYFfYLe5rs?...
We should all be talking more about just how great the PREDATOR BADLANDS score is. So rare to even have *good* scores in big franchise films today, let alone ones this impactful and memorable, *let alone* ones that sound like they are part of the mise-en-scene, inseparable from the film’s world.
November 17, 2025 at 11:23 PM
We should all be talking more about just how great the PREDATOR BADLANDS score is. So rare to even have *good* scores in big franchise films today, let alone ones this impactful and memorable, *let alone* ones that sound like they are part of the mise-en-scene, inseparable from the film’s world.
Loved PREDATOR: BADLANDS. An absolute treat.
Also: given how well Dan Trachtenberg writes for the Yautja here, I now really want to see him do a STAR TREK movie all about the Klingons (preferably fully in the Klingon language).
boxd.it/bKbyob
Also: given how well Dan Trachtenberg writes for the Yautja here, I now really want to see him do a STAR TREK movie all about the Klingons (preferably fully in the Klingon language).
boxd.it/bKbyob
A review of Predator: Badlands (2025)
FUCK YES that rocked. A simple but extremely satisfying, very well-told story, realized with great visuals and a flair for iconography, extremely creative and impactful action, and a wild musical scor...
boxd.it
November 17, 2025 at 4:15 AM
Loved PREDATOR: BADLANDS. An absolute treat.
Also: given how well Dan Trachtenberg writes for the Yautja here, I now really want to see him do a STAR TREK movie all about the Klingons (preferably fully in the Klingon language).
boxd.it/bKbyob
Also: given how well Dan Trachtenberg writes for the Yautja here, I now really want to see him do a STAR TREK movie all about the Klingons (preferably fully in the Klingon language).
boxd.it/bKbyob
Reposted by Jonathan Lack
Antisemitism is a lot like Qanon child abuse conspiracies in that there’s this real and bad phenomenon and, parallel to that, what can only be described as a large scale mass psychosis about a mostly fictional version of the same phenomenon
November 16, 2025 at 8:48 PM
Antisemitism is a lot like Qanon child abuse conspiracies in that there’s this real and bad phenomenon and, parallel to that, what can only be described as a large scale mass psychosis about a mostly fictional version of the same phenomenon
The lack of Prime 2/3 on Switch, alongside pretty minimal marketing (and a quiet December release window) for Prime 4, sure makes it feel like Nintendo has very little faith in MP4. The game could be great, I’m obviously excited - but Nintendo just doesn’t seem to be at all.
Absolutely wild that Prime 2 and 3 haven't received the Remaster treatment.
I was holding out on replaying then - like with Prime 1 Remastered - before picking up 4. I still feel like holding out, just in case!
Perhaps I should play the Wii Trilogy pack, though.
I was holding out on replaying then - like with Prime 1 Remastered - before picking up 4. I still feel like holding out, just in case!
Perhaps I should play the Wii Trilogy pack, though.
November 16, 2025 at 6:32 PM
The lack of Prime 2/3 on Switch, alongside pretty minimal marketing (and a quiet December release window) for Prime 4, sure makes it feel like Nintendo has very little faith in MP4. The game could be great, I’m obviously excited - but Nintendo just doesn’t seem to be at all.
Reposted by Jonathan Lack
Yes. Trump and Greene are both odious but it is objectively good for them to fight, particularly over an issue that is extremely bad for Trump and which has zero downside for Democrats.
It is how the Framers envisioned checks and balances would work, "ambition must be made to counteract ambition."
It is how the Framers envisioned checks and balances would work, "ambition must be made to counteract ambition."
People getting mad here about anyone saying it's good that MTG and Trump are fighting. I teach democratization every semester. The first slide says 'elite fracture.' That's always where it starts. It's good when people with bad politics are fighting one another.
I do not regret to inform you that we are going to win
November 16, 2025 at 3:59 PM
Yes. Trump and Greene are both odious but it is objectively good for them to fight, particularly over an issue that is extremely bad for Trump and which has zero downside for Democrats.
It is how the Framers envisioned checks and balances would work, "ambition must be made to counteract ambition."
It is how the Framers envisioned checks and balances would work, "ambition must be made to counteract ambition."
From Ben Shapiro trying to confront the Nazism he himself let in the door (from hiring Candace Owens to railing against 'woke cancel culture'), to MTG confronting the death threat brigades she herself cultivated, a lot of right-wingers have moved from 'sewing' to 'reaping,' and, you know, fuck 'em.
MTG: “.. “I am now being contacted by private security firms with warnings for my safety as a hot bed of threats against me are being fueled and egged on by the most powerful man in the world. .. The man I supported and helped get elected.”
@mediaite.com #GA14
www.mediaite.com/media/news/m...
@mediaite.com #GA14
www.mediaite.com/media/news/m...
November 15, 2025 at 9:55 PM
From Ben Shapiro trying to confront the Nazism he himself let in the door (from hiring Candace Owens to railing against 'woke cancel culture'), to MTG confronting the death threat brigades she herself cultivated, a lot of right-wingers have moved from 'sewing' to 'reaping,' and, you know, fuck 'em.
I’ve predicted this is where they’d go for months, because this is how EVERY Trump scandal goes. First they deny the behavior happened. Then they lash out at those uncovering the behavior. And when finally it’s incontrovertible, they have to defend the behavior as good, b/c Trump can never be bad.
Holy shit. They're really doing it. They're doing "actually pedophilia is good now." The debasement of the American Right is complete.
MEGYN KELLY IS RIGHT ABOUT EPSTEIN - Catholic League
Bill Donohue
www.catholicleague.org
November 15, 2025 at 8:45 PM
I’ve predicted this is where they’d go for months, because this is how EVERY Trump scandal goes. First they deny the behavior happened. Then they lash out at those uncovering the behavior. And when finally it’s incontrovertible, they have to defend the behavior as good, b/c Trump can never be bad.