Jackal and Josiah catch up on some current events before we launch into Horror Month in October. We discuss an article about the LAPD conducting a pot raid, Mark Robinson's "black Nazi" scandal, Israel's attack on Lebanon, and the fearmonger over Haitian immigrants before zooming in on the indictment of Eric Adams and why being the Mayor of New Yor…

THIS IS A PREVIEW. IF YOU WANT TO LISTEN TO THE FULL EPISODE, CHECK OUT FRUITLESS ON PATREON HERE: https://www.patreon.com/user?u=11922141 EPISODE ON PATREON: https://www.patreon.com/posts/112810434 It's the music exchange! This month, Josh and I discuss Christmas Island by AJJ and Atomizer by Big Black. Also Josh talks about going to Riot Fest. Mu…

THIS IS A PREVIEW. IF YOU WANT TO LISTEN TO THE FULL EPISODE, CHECK OUT FRUITLESS ON PATREON HERE: https://www.patreon.com/user?u=11922141 EPISODE ON PATREON: https://www.patreon.com/posts/112681845 Joseph (@gross_online) joins Josiah, Josh, and James (@cigarette_liker) to finally accomplish the dream of having four J names on one episode, and also…

Alt title: The Iconic Movie Where John Goodman Voices a Parrot With the help of neutral observer, Kelli (@Kellitoris444), Josiah and Caleb (@theboghog) meet their inner child by watching a forgotten Australian adventure film from the 90s where a parrot helps a young boy find treasure: The Real Macaw (1998). Become a Fruitless Patron here: https://w…

THIS IS A PREVIEW. IF YOU WANT TO LISTEN TO THE FULL EPISODE, CHECK OUT FRUITLESS ON PATREON HERE: https://www.patreon.com/user?u=11922141 EPISODE ON PATREON: https://www.patreon.com/posts/111921570 James (@cigarette_liker), Josh, and I don our baptismal rompers and continue our discussion of The Righteous Gemstones by taking a look at season 2. Sh…

THIS IS A PREVIEW. IF YOU WANT TO LISTEN TO THE FULL EPISODE, CHECK OUT FRUITLESS ON PATREON HERE: https://www.patreon.com/user?u=11922141 EPISODE ON PATREON: https://www.patreon.com/posts/111152705 It's the music exchange! This is a monthly series where Josh Christianson and I exchange an album that's meaningful to us, and then compare and contras…

On today's episode, James C. Liker (@cigarette_liker), Josh Christianson, and Josiah are running through the house with a pickle in their mouth to kick off a series of episodes on The Righteous Gemstones. This month, we discuss the first season and introduce the show; over the next months or two, we'll be discussing the rest of the show on the Patr…

Alt title: Getting Queerbaited by God. Note: We will be spoiling this whole show. Caleb (@theboghog) tries to explain Supernatural to Josiah and Jackal by throwing them into the deep end: the big God reveal. Become a Fruitless Patron here: https://www.patreon.com/user?u=11922141 Check out Fruitless on YouTube Find more of Josiah’s work: https://lin…

On today's episode, Jack Mirkinson (@jackmirkinson, The Nation, Discourse Blog) joins Josiah to discuss the "vibe shift" in electoral politics over the past two months from Biden dropping out to the Veepstakes. In a lot of left wing circles, there seems to be a real resurgence of hope, but does this vibe shift represent anything different for Gaza?…

THIS IS A PREVIEW. IF YOU WANT TO LISTEN TO THE FULL EPISODE, CHECK OUT FRUITLESS ON PATREON HERE: https://www.patreon.com/user?u=11922141 EPISODE ON PATREON: https://www.patreon.com/posts/109460562 I'm in Colorado Spring, Colorado with Leo Dickenson to see The Worst of All Possible Worlds live. We recorded this little conversation about Adventures…

THIS IS A PREVIEW. IF YOU WANT TO LISTEN TO THE FULL EPISODE, CHECK OUT FRUITLESS ON PATREON HERE: https://www.patreon.com/user?u=11922141 EPISODE ON PATREON: https://www.patreon.com/posts/worshipful-109038929 It's August now, but Fruitless is still stuck in Christian Rock Summer for one little encore. Nate Thiessen (@NateT93) joins Josiah to discu…

THIS IS A PREVIEW. IF YOU WANT TO LISTEN TO THE FULL EPISODE, CHECK OUT FRUITLESS ON PATREON HERE: https://www.patreon.com/user?u=11922141 EPISODE ON PATREON: https://www.patreon.com/posts/saint-of-ccm-108989125 Here it is: the fifth and final episode of Christian Rock Summer, a month long exploration of the fringes of Christian music with Josh Chr…

It's Christian Rock Summer! This is the fourth episode in a month long exploration of the fringes of Christian music with Josh Christianson joining Josiah as co-host. However, we're pivoting away from rock and roll in the second half of the month to focus our hearts and minds on the Lord. We're talking worship music. On today's episode, Kim Hensley…

Taking a brief* intermission from Christian Rock Summer, this is the fifth installment of the Fruitless Bookclub, a show-within-a-show, featuring Chris Barker and Jake the Lawyer, where we read all those nonfiction books we've been meaning to read. Today's episode is about If We Burn: The Mass Protest Decade and the Missing Revolution by Vincent Be…

THIS IS A PREVIEW. IF YOU WANT TO LISTEN TO THE FULL EPISODE, CHECK OUT FRUITLESS ON PATREON HERE: https://www.patreon.com/user?u=11922141 EPISODE ON PATREON: https://www.patreon.com/posts/grieving-son-of-107912223 It's Christian Rock Summer! This is the second episode in a month long exploration of the fringes of Christian music with Josh Christia…

It's Christian Rock Summer! This is the second episode in a month long exploration of the fringes of Christian music with Josh Christianson joining Josiah as co-host. We're talking "not a Christian band, just Christians in a band." We're talking Christianity being more of a relationship than a religion. On today's episode, Nathan Thiessen (@NateT93…

It's Christian Rock Summer! This is the beginning of a month long exploration of the fringes of Christian music with Josh Christianson joining Josiah as co-host. We're talking "not a Christian band, just Christians in a band." We're talking Christianity being more of a relationship than a religion. On today's episode, James (@cigarette_liker) joins…

Hey everyone! Something came up and so I won't be able to release another free episode in June. To make up for that, I'm releasing this Patreon episode to the main feed. If you want a bit more detail, you can check out this Patreon post: https://www.patreon.com/posts/defeat-107021276 I kind of regretted pay-walling this one anyway, especially since…

THIS IS A PREVIEW. IF YOU WANT TO LISTEN TO THE FULL EPISODE, CHECK OUT FRUITLESS ON PATREON HERE: https://www.patreon.com/user?u=11922141 EPISODE ON PATREON: https://www.patreon.com/posts/106929475 It's the music exchange! This is an monthly series where Josh Christianson and I exchange an album that's meaningful to us, and then compare and contra…

Josiah is joined by Jason Kirk (@jasonkirk_fyi, Shutdown Fullcast, VBS Podcast) to discuss his novel, Hell is a World Without You, as well as growing up evangelical, the world of Christian alternative music, and the good news of universalism. Follow Jason Kirk on Twitter @JasonKirk_fyi // Bluesky @Jasonkirk.fyi // Instagram @Jasonkirk.fyi Jason Kir…

Josiah is joined by two members of Iowa CCI: Caitlin Golle, a farming & environment community organizer with the organization, and Julie Duhn, a board member who joined CCI to combat the construction of a factory farm in her town of Eldora, IA. We discuss the impact of factory farming and pipelines on the state, particularly their impact on the wat…

THIS IS A PREVIEW. IF YOU WANT TO LISTEN TO THE FULL EPISODE, CHECK OUT FRUITLESS ON PATREON HERE: https://www.patreon.com/user?u=11922141 EPISODE ON PATREON: https://www.patreon.com/posts/im-wide-awake-mx-104674422 It's another music exchange! This is an monthly series where Josh Christianson and I exchange an album that's meaningful to us, and th…

Finch and Alien discuss the evangelical masterpiece, God's Not Dead (2014). Follow us on Twitter @Mammonburgpod Join the Mammonburg Discord Audio Credits God's Not Dead - Newsboys Shine - Newsboys My Life is in Your Hands - Kirk FranklinAv Finch and Alien

Austin Frerick joins Josiah to discuss his book, Barons: Money, Power, and the Corruption of America's Food Industry and the politics of food production in Iowa and around the country. Follow Austin on Twitter @AustinFrerick // Facebook @AustinFrerick Find more of Austin's work: https://www.austinfrerick.com Become a Fruitless Patron here: https://…

This is the audio for a video essay on YouTube. If you choose to listen here, you will only get half the experience. For the full experience, check out Fruitless on YouTube. The video essay: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u_HQIbyJuuA The Youtube channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCIZWDsDrQ0XvDQFWzE6s2gg ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★…

THIS IS A PREVIEW. IF YOU WANT TO LISTEN TO THE FULL EPISODE, CHECK OUT FRUITLESS ON PATREON HERE: https://www.patreon.com/user?u=11922141 EPISODE ON PATREON: https://www.patreon.com/posts/103466040 Josh Boerman (@boshj, The Worst of All Possible Worlds) joins me on a last minute "emergency" episode about the Palestinian solidarity protests at Colu…

THIS IS A PREVIEW. IF YOU WANT TO LISTEN TO THE FULL EPISODE, CHECK OUT FRUITLESS ON PATREON HERE: https://www.patreon.com/user?u=11922141 EPISODE ON PATREON: https://www.patreon.com/posts/veggies-derechos-103210759 Chris Barker and Josiah talk about "environmental history." We talk a bit about Guns, Germs, and Steel by Jared Diamond, the ecology o…

THIS IS A PREVIEW. IF YOU WANT TO LISTEN TO THE FULL EPISODE, CHECK OUT FRUITLESS ON PATREON HERE: https://www.patreon.com/posts/people-who-eat-1-103024783 EPISODE ON PATREON: https://www.patreon.com/posts/101162953 This is a part of a new monthly series on Fruitless called the Music Exchange (MX), featuring Josh Christianson. Every month, Josh and…

Tyler Stone (@TylerStoneArt) joins Josiah to discuss his work as a freelance paleoartist. Paleoart (scientific illustration of prehistoric life) is a field with an interesting relationship between art and hard sciences. They discuss this relationship and the nitty gritty of the business side of paleoart, before delving into the challenges of being …

Wesley Klingele (@MannnMiami) joins Josiah to discuss his new short film, Somnium, and the artistic themes he finds compelling. They talk about dreams, coming of age in your 20s, how religion and spirituality intersects with film, slow cinema vs. montage, and Wes' connection to the Pacific Northwest. Special thanks to Phil Cozzi for providing the m…

This is the fourth installment of the Fruitless Bookclub, a show-within-a-show, featuring Chris Barker and Jake the Lawyer, where we read all those nonfiction books we've been meaning to read. Today's episode is about Ramp Hollow: The Ordeal of Appalachia by Steven Stoll. We talk peasants. We talk agrarians. We talk about peasants and agrarians get…

Alien aka Stewie Griffin DJ joins Josiah to discuss Synecdoche, New York and whether or not life is worth living. Happy Good Friday! Follow today's guest on Bluesky @stewiegriffindj.bsky.social Become a Fruitless Patron here: https://www.patreon.com/user?u=11922141 Check out Fruitless on YouTube Find more of Josiah’s work here: https://linktr.ee/jo…

THIS IS A PREVIEW. IF YOU WANT TO LISTEN TO THE FULL EPISODE, CHECK OUT FRUITLESS ON PATREON HERE: https://www.patreon.com/user?u=11922141 EPISODE ON PATREON: https://www.patreon.com/posts/101162953 Josiah catches up with his brother, Caleb aka The Bog Hog. We talk about what we've been watching and listening to, and get a little into the history o…

THIS IS A PREVIEW. IF YOU WANT TO LISTEN TO THE FULL EPISODE, CHECK OUT FRUITLESS ON PATREON HERE: https://www.patreon.com/user?u=11922141 EPISODE ON PATREON: https://www.patreon.com/posts/101034575 Chris Barker returns to talk to Josiah about the war in Ukraine, reflect on the episode they did about the conflict in 2022, see what ways their views …

Josiah is joined by Will Sloan (@WillSloanEsq, Important Cinema Club, Michael & Us) to discuss Motern Media and the artistic philosophy of Matt Farley and Charles Roxburgh. Follow today’s guest on Twitter. Check out the Important Cinema Club and Michael & Us Become a Fruitless Patron here: https://www.patreon.com/user?u=11922141 Check out Fruitless…

THIS IS A PREVIEW. IF YOU WANT TO LISTEN TO THE FULL EPISODE, CHECK OUT FRUITLESS ON PATREON HERE: https://www.patreon.com/user?u=11922141 EPISODE ON PATREON: https://www.patreon.com/posts/mumbling-safdies-99383330 Dylan Weaver (@DJWeaver29, WODFAMCHOCPOD) joins me in a final defense of Mumblecore (I promise I'll drop this subject next month) by di…

Josiah is joined by AJ Ditty (@thefuzzymask, The Worst of All Possible Worlds) to discuss The Puffy Chair (2005) and how Mumblecore can actually be pretty good sometimes. Follow today’s guest on Twitter. Check out The Worst of All Possible Worlds Become a Fruitless Patron here: https://www.patreon.com/user?u=11922141 Check out Fruitless on YouTube …

THIS IS A PREVIEW. IF YOU WANT TO LISTEN TO THE FULL EPISODE, CHECK OUT FRUITLESS ON PATREON HERE: https://www.patreon.com/user?u=11922141 EPISODE ON PATREON: https://www.patreon.com/posts/98462326 Francis Cooper (@AttnFrancis) joins me to talk about how he ended up at a Jimmy Dore show and the strange political comedy he witnessed. Music by SHADE0…

Josiah is joined by Finch (@santo_pinzon, Mammonburg) to talk about Society of the Snow (2023) and the discourse around the film in the Spanish-speaking world. Finch’s essay about the film and Catholic spirituality on Substack: https://jmkazmierczak.substack.com/p/a-voice-cries-out-in-the-wilderness Follow today's guest on Twitter @santo_pinzon Che…

This is an unlocked episode from the Fruitless Patreon, originally published 1/12/2024. Enjoy! James (@cigarette_liker) joins Josiah to talk about Idiocracy (2006). Yes, it's a eugenicist movie. Yes, it is a product of the smug, upper class liberalism of the Bush years, and it was popular during the resurgence of that sentiment during the Trump yea…

Josiah is joined by Luke Savage (@LukewSavage, Michael & Us, Jacobin) to reflect on the last fifteen years of U.S. electoral politics in light of the current election year: the failures of the Obama administration, the hyperpolitics of the Trump administration, and the attempted 'return to normalcy' of Biden's first term. Follow today's guest on Tw…

THIS IS A PREVIEW. IF YOU WANT TO LISTEN TO THE FULL EPISODE, CHECK OUT FRUITLESS ON PATREON HERE: https://www.patreon.com/user?u=11922141 EPISODE ON PATREON: https://www.patreon.com/posts/96745407 Alien (aka Stewie Griffin DJ) returns to discuss two Aughts-era films about sex: Kissing on the Mouth (2005) and Shortbus (2006). They talk about Joe Sw…

After some positive reception, I've decided to release this Patreon episode from 12/18/2023 to the free feed as a resource. Enjoy! Keanu Heydari returns to teach Josiah the strange history of Christian Zionism and the story of how the United States became obsessed with Israel. Follow today’s guest on Twitter, and remember to check out his podcast a…

Josiah is joined by Jesse Goodman (@platofan402, Post-Cultural Amnesiac) to discuss 2023. Beginning with a focus on 2023 in personal media consumption, the conversation evolves into a broader discuss of the anecdotal "vibe shift," the sense of living in a hyperpolitical age, and the difficulty of talking about film or art while genocide and war unf…

It's the Fruitless Christmas special. Chris Barker and Alien (aka Stewie Griffin DJ) join Josiah to discuss Children of Men (2006), the incredible craft behind the film, and the politics of hope and futurity. Become a Fruitless Patron here: https://www.patreon.com/user?u=11922141 Check out Fruitless on YouTube Find more of Josiah’s work here: https…

[Releasing this a day late because I (Josiah) forgot to edit the episode while busy with the holidays. My bad. Enjoy.] In today's episode without Josh, we discuss the Best Episode of Law & Order: SVU according to a few best-of lists we found. We decide whether it really is the best SVU episode or not. Email us at TheGoodApplesPod@gmail.com and we m…

This is the third installment of the Fruitless Bookclub, a show-within-a-show, featuring Chris Barker and Jake the Lawyer, where we read all those nonfiction books we've been meaning to read. Today's episode is about How Europe Underdeveloped Africa by Walter Rodney Next month: Ramp Hollow: The Ordeal of Appalachia by Steven Stoll Become a Fruitles…

Josiah is joined by Brian Alford (@SpocksBrian) from The Worst of All Possible Worlds to discuss HGTV's Home Town, the Napier family, and Laurel, Mississippi, alongside Showtime's new series, The Curse. Follow today’s guest on Twitter. Check out The Worst of All Possible Worlds Become a Fruitless Patron here: https://www.patreon.com/user?u=11922141…

In today's episode without Josh, we discuss an episode about someone becoming a pedophile from a brain tumor and then an episode where Kyle MacLachlan shoots a psychopathic kid. They explore the strange, biologically essentialist notion of crime in both episodes and interrogate the category of "psychopath." Also there's a guy who really likes pee. …

THIS IS A PREVIEW. IF YOU WANT TO LISTEN TO THE FULL EPISODE, CHECK OUT FRUITLESS ON PATREON HERE: https://www.patreon.com/user?u=11922141 EPISODE ON PATREON: https://www.patreon.com/posts/94255461 Josiah is joined by his college roommate, Evan Sand, to reminisce about the good old days. And also discuss life in Des Moines, IA and Rapid City, SD af…