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The Create Unknown

The Create Unknown

Unknown Media & Studio71

293 episodesEN

Show overview

The Create Unknown has been publishing since 2018, and across the 8 years since has built a catalogue of 293 episodes, alongside 4 trailers or bonus episodes. That works out to roughly 450 hours of audio in total. Releases follow a fortnightly cadence.

Episodes typically run an hour to ninety minutes — most land between 1h 15m and 1h 47m — though episode length varies meaningfully from one episode to the next. It is catalogued as a EN-language Society & Culture show.

The show is actively publishing — the most recent episode landed 3 days ago, with 23 episodes already out so far this year. The busiest year was 2021, with 50 episodes published. Published by Unknown Media & Studio71.

Episodes
293
Running
2018–2026 · 8y
Median length
1h 27m
Cadence
Fortnightly

From the publisher

The Create Unknown interviews the most successful online creators to reveal how they got started and how they keep going. iDubbbz. Vsauce. Casey Neistat. iJustine. PsychicPebbles. We talk to the YouTubers, artists, and streamers who exemplify our mantra of “Make Something. Mean Something.” Part high-level analysis, part hopelessly stupid, Kevin Lieber and Matt Tabor from Vsauce2 dissect the complex business, the unpredictable drama, and the uncertain future of creating online. We’ll see you in The Create Unknown, Space Cowboys. For advertising opportunities please email [email protected] We wanna make the podcast even better, help us learn how we can: https://bit.ly/2EcYbu4 Privacy Policy: https://www.studio71.com/us/terms-and-conditions-use/#Privacy%20Policy

Latest Episodes

View all 293 episodes

The He-Man Movie Is Weird.

Jun 26, 20262h 29m

The Vsauce2 Video I Got Wrong

Jun 19, 20261h 32m

Elfing Will Save Your Writing

Jun 12, 20261h 22m

Youtube is Fake

May 29, 20261h 48m

Is YouTube Really Dead?

May 22, 20262h 3m

Does Stephen King’s Carrie Hold Up?

May 15, 20262h 28m

The Impossible Persona of Hulk Hogan

May 8, 20262h 34m

The Magical Simplicity of Redwall

May 1, 20262h 35m

The Explosive Art of Phil Summers

Apr 25, 20261h 24m

It’s Time to Start Slowmaxxing

Apr 21, 20261h 54m

David Zucker’s 15 Rules of Comedy

Apr 12, 20261h 18m

The Death of Normal Life

Thanks to MAINGEAR for speeding up everything for us. Check out the VYBE line that’s making up the core of Matt’s new studio -- and use code CREATE for a free additional year of warranty on desktops: https://maingear.com/ref/656/ Join Our Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/thecreateunknown We open up this week’s episode with a bang by examining the earth shattering, barrier breaking collision of worlds between American and Japanese Twitter. With such an explosive cultural exchange happening before our very eyes, it makes us reflect on our own experiences in Japan, and leads us into some careful consideration of the culture shock and stressful social situations that ensued. After that, we dive into a much bigger topic that’s been brewing in our minds: the idea of a “Real World Summer Camp.” What would it look like to teach kids the kinds of skills that used to just…happen naturally? Even simple skills like navigation, talking to strangers, or figuring things out without a screen seem to be falling behind across the board, which raises a bigger question: are these skills actually disappearing? We also dig deep into the “free range kids” philosophy, and the recent shift away from independence. If kids aren’t being exposed to the real world in the same way, what kind of long-term effects does that have, if any? And is this overcorrection, or just the natural result of a changing world? From there, we get into the multitude of experiences that actually build confidence. Grocery shopping, cooking, talking to older generations – there are a massive number of these small interactions that seem insignificant, but they probably matter more than you think. We also explore the important, yet ever-blurring line between “internet life” and real life. If so much of growing up now happens through screens, are we missing something fundamental? What do you lose when everything becomes messages instead of experiences? By the end, we’re left wondering… is this something that needs to be “fixed”? Or are we just watching a new version of reality take shape in real time? Big thanks to our patrons, we’ll see you next week. You love anime. You love tea. Get 10% off your order with code CREATE at The Dragon's Treasure: https://www.thedragonstreasure.com/ Buy our T-shirts: https://www.thecreateunknown.com/store/ Join our Discord to talk with artists, creators, and fans of the finer things in online life: discord.gg/vnRnr3rCzt Apple: http://bit.ly/TheCreateUnknownApple Spotify: http://bit.ly/TheCreateUnknownSpotify Google Podcasts: http://bit.ly/TheCreateUnknownGooglePodcasts CREDITS: Hosts: Kevin Lieber and Matt Tabor Executive Producer: Ben Webster Editor: Spencer Vann "Created in the Unknown" theme by Basswaite: https://linktr.ee/Basswaite Theme by Mega Drive → http://megadrivemusic.com Opening Animation: Kidmograph City Animation: Eric Langlay "The Create Unknown" is produced by Unknown Media. CONNECT WITH US: » Chat with us on DISCORD: https://discord.gg/qAQV3Jw » Follow us on TWITTER: http://twitter.com/createunknown » Follow us on INSTAGRAM: http://instagram.com/thecreateunknown » Follow us on FACEBOOK: http://facebook.com/thecreateunknown » View our website: https://thecreateunknown.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Apr 4, 20261h 37m

Passion is Overrated

Thanks to MAINGEAR for speeding up everything for us. Check out the VYBE line that’s making up the core of Matt’s new studio -- and use code CREATE for a free additional year of warranty on desktops: https://maingear.com/ref/656/ Join Our Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/thecreateunknown We’re divining into this episode on MLB Opening Day, and Kevin kicks off the 2026 season by reflecting on his long-standing connection to baseball, recounting a quiet summer in 2004 when watching the Red Sox became much more than just entertainment. He also drops some knowledge on what makes baseball fans so unique. That takes us into a tribute to legendary broadcaster Vin Scully, whose unique emphasis on storytelling blurred the line between commentary and narrative. But we find out that Scully may have just tapped into something that had always been there from the start as we pick apart the ways that baseball lends itself particularly well to storytelling. From there, we pivot briefly to the legacy of Paul Ehrlich before landing on a broader frustration with creative advice. Kevin questions the usefulness of half-baked questions like “where do you get your ideas?” That leads us to an actually valuable question: if everyone’s workflow is different, does any advice even matter? We also wonder… why do so many people seem drawn to the idea of being creative more than the act itself? Are routines helpful tools or just aesthetic rituals? And when does a hobby quietly shift into something more serious? Kevin also explores the tension between making things for yourself versus making things that actually reach people. We reflect on his character “Jerry Bloop” and how Fred Seibert’s blunt yet accurate advice changed the way Kevin viewed creating forever. That advice leaves us with some larger questions: are most creatives building businesses or just jobs that depend entirely on them? What happens when the work stops the moment they do? We close things out by putting our foot down and challenging two pieces of common creative advice. That leaves us asking ourselves – is ignoring feedback actually protective or just avoidance? And if turning something you love into work risks draining it of meaning… what are you supposed to follow instead? Big thanks to our patrons, we’ll be back next week! You love anime. You love tea. Get 10% off your order with code CREATE at The Dragon's Treasure: https://www.thedragonstreasure.com/ Buy our T-shirts: https://www.thecreateunknown.com/store/ Join our Discord to talk with artists, creators, and fans of the finer things in online life: discord.gg/vnRnr3rCzt Apple: http://bit.ly/TheCreateUnknownApple Spotify: http://bit.ly/TheCreateUnknownSpotify Google Podcasts: http://bit.ly/TheCreateUnknownGooglePodcasts CREDITS: Hosts: Kevin Lieber and Matt Tabor Executive Producer: Ben Webster Editor: Spencer Vann "Created in the Unknown" theme by Basswaite: https://linktr.ee/Basswaite Theme by Mega Drive → http://megadrivemusic.com Opening Animation: Kidmograph City Animation: Eric Langlay "The Create Unknown" is produced by Unknown Media. CONNECT WITH US: » Chat with us on DISCORD: https://discord.gg/qAQV3Jw » Follow us on TWITTER: http://twitter.com/createunknown » Follow us on INSTAGRAM: http://instagram.com/thecreateunknown » Follow us on FACEBOOK: http://facebook.com/thecreateunknown » View our website: https://thecreateunknown.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Mar 28, 20262h 7m

Reality is Dead

Thanks to MAINGEAR for speeding up everything for us. Check out the VYBE line that’s making up the core of Matt’s new studio -- and use code CREATE for a free additional year of warranty on desktops: https://maingear.com/ref/656/ Join Our Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/thecreateunknown This week Kevin kicks things off by revealing to us his recent feelings of UTTER DEFEAT, and that leads us to a pretty important question…what happens when people stop engaging with reality altogether? He describes for us a recent incident that transcended simply arguing opinions into debating the very fabric of reality itself. When basic relevance becomes the debate, where do you even start? We take that tension and channel it into a dissection of some recent studies into early education that suggest a sharp decline in basic childhood skills, specifically highlighting kids who… can’t use the bathroom on their own. If children are struggling with things that used to be automatic, what changed? Is it technology? Is it shoddy parenting? Or is it something deeper? From there, the conversation turns to Timothée Chalamet’s recent analysis of Hollywood, opera, and ballet. People are up in arms, but… what did he ACTUALLY say? And why did it spark such a strong reaction? After that, we dive back into our conversation on the idea of “zombie art forms”—creative mediums that persist, but only through institutional support. Is that preservation, or is it just a slow decay? And when people reacted to Chalamet, were they responding to his point of view, or was it a knee-jerk reaction to something else entirely? We round things out by taking a bird’s eye view on culture at large. If certain cultural institutions are shrinking, is that a failure of the medium, or just a natural tendency for change? We’re also left wondering… if people claim to want more accessibility for the arts… would they actually like what that looks like? Or does mass appeal destroy the very thing they value? Big thanks to our patrons, we’ll be back soon! You love anime. You love tea. Get 10% off your order with code CREATE at The Dragon's Treasure: https://www.thedragonstreasure.com/ Buy our T-shirts: https://www.thecreateunknown.com/store/ Join our Discord to talk with artists, creators, and fans of the finer things in online life: discord.gg/vnRnr3rCzt Apple: http://bit.ly/TheCreateUnknownApple Spotify: http://bit.ly/TheCreateUnknownSpotify Google Podcasts: http://bit.ly/TheCreateUnknownGooglePodcasts CREDITS: Hosts: Kevin Lieber and Matt Tabor Executive Producer: Ben Webster Editor: Spencer Vann "Created in the Unknown" theme by Basswaite: https://linktr.ee/Basswaite Theme by Mega Drive → http://megadrivemusic.com Opening Animation: Kidmograph City Animation: Eric Langlay "The Create Unknown" is produced by Unknown Media. CONNECT WITH US: » Chat with us on DISCORD: https://discord.gg/qAQV3Jw » Follow us on TWITTER: http://twitter.com/createunknown » Follow us on INSTAGRAM: http://instagram.com/thecreateunknown » Follow us on FACEBOOK: http://facebook.com/thecreateunknown » View our website: https://thecreateunknown.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Mar 20, 20262h 22m

Smiling Friends Is Over.

Thanks to MAINGEAR for speeding up everything for us. Check out the VYBE line that’s making up the core of Matt’s new studio -- and use code CREATE for a free additional year of warranty on desktops: https://maingear.com/ref/656/ Join Our Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/thecreateunknown We kick off today’s episode with a recap of Matt’s most recent trip abroad, and the strong opinions he brought back with him about…McDonalds’ newest burger. After our extensive Big Arch review, we get a little somber as we discuss the passing of author Dan Simmons. Kevin reflects on how Simmons reignited his love of reading, and how Simmons’ legacy is a sobering reminder that we all still have plenty of time to create. Then we turn our attention to some shocking news: Smiling Friends is ending its historic run after just three seasons. That makes us ask ourselves… why end a beloved show with such widespread acclaim, seemingly at its peak? Is it better to walk away early and on top rather than roll the dice on a slow decline? As we mull that over, we broaden our horizons a little bit. Is there a reason why some shows fade into self-parody while others end on their own terms? Is the typical American model of running successful shows indefinitely actually WORSE for quality than the shorter British approach? And what happens when creators remain deeply involved instead of handing a series off to a larger machine? This takes us straight into a near-surgical examination of fandoms and the pressures they can provide. When every popular show becomes a battleground for online takes, speculation, and moral panic, how do creators stay focused on the work itself? Even as Smiling Friends comes to a close, we discuss how this is probably just the beginning for everyone who was involved. If the team behind it brought this level of craft and perspective to animation, what could they do next? Comedy? Horror? Something completely unexpected? Thanks so much to our patrons, we’ll be back soon! You love anime. You love tea. Get 10% off your order with code CREATE at The Dragon's Treasure: https://www.thedragonstreasure.com/ Buy our T-shirts: https://www.thecreateunknown.com/store/ Join our Discord to talk with artists, creators, and fans of the finer things in online life: discord.gg/vnRnr3rCzt Apple: http://bit.ly/TheCreateUnknownApple Spotify: http://bit.ly/TheCreateUnknownSpotify Google Podcasts: http://bit.ly/TheCreateUnknownGooglePodcasts CREDITS: Hosts: Kevin Lieber and Matt Tabor Executive Producer: Ben Webster Editor: Spencer Vann "Created in the Unknown" theme by Basswaite: https://linktr.ee/Basswaite Theme by Mega Drive → http://megadrivemusic.com Opening Animation: Kidmograph City Animation: Eric Langlay "The Create Unknown" is produced by Unknown Media. CONNECT WITH US: » Chat with us on DISCORD: https://discord.gg/qAQV3Jw » Follow us on TWITTER: http://twitter.com/createunknown » Follow us on INSTAGRAM: http://instagram.com/thecreateunknown » Follow us on FACEBOOK: http://facebook.com/thecreateunknown » View our website: https://thecreateunknown.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Mar 13, 20261h 42m

Writing is Dumb.

Thanks to MAINGEAR for speeding up everything for us. Check out the VYBE line that’s making up the core of Matt’s new studio -- and use code CREATE for a free additional year of warranty on desktops: https://maingear.com/ref/656/ Join Our Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/thecreateunknown As Matt recovers from an illness he likely picked up at some auction for 19th century farm equipment, Kevin flies solo to give us some new insights on his ongoing novel “Sleep Warrior.” To be more specific, he’s cracking down on why most writing advice doesn’t survive contact with a complicated book, and why tips from fellow authors often fall flat. We take some time for a deep dive into the plethora of writing structures and methods out there, which leads us to a bigger question: why do so many authors struggle to finish their books? Well, Kevin thinks he has a solution. He introduces us to his “sandbox theory” that just might reveal the root cause of what’s bogging all these writers down. On a more candid note, Kevin talks about how the pace of his writing has changed over the last few months, and how a recent discovery completely changed his perspective on his entire workflow. After that, we confirm a hotly contested issue as a universal truth: LENGTH MATTERS…in writing books, that is. That takes us into an analysis of Brandon Sanderson’s advice, and how it completely flipped the way Kevin views the relationship between the reader and every chapter of a story. We round things off with a sobering question: Who cares? Is writing fiction in 2026 completely irrational? But, perhaps more importantly and in spite of all that…why doesn’t Kevin care? Thanks so much to our patrons, we’ll be back soon! You love anime. You love tea. Get 10% off your order with code CREATE at The Dragon's Treasure: https://www.thedragonstreasure.com/ Buy our T-shirts: https://www.thecreateunknown.com/store/ Join our Discord to talk with artists, creators, and fans of the finer things in online life: discord.gg/vnRnr3rCzt Apple: http://bit.ly/TheCreateUnknownApple Spotify: http://bit.ly/TheCreateUnknownSpotify Google Podcasts: http://bit.ly/TheCreateUnknownGooglePodcasts CREDITS: Hosts: Kevin Lieber and Matt Tabor Executive Producer: Ben Webster Editor: Spencer Vann "Created in the Unknown" theme by Basswaite: https://linktr.ee/Basswaite Theme by Mega Drive → http://megadrivemusic.com Opening Animation: Kidmograph City Animation: Eric Langlay "The Create Unknown" is produced by Unknown Media. CONNECT WITH US: » Chat with us on DISCORD: https://discord.gg/qAQV3Jw » Follow us on TWITTER: http://twitter.com/createunknown » Follow us on INSTAGRAM: http://instagram.com/thecreateunknown » Follow us on FACEBOOK: http://facebook.com/thecreateunknown » View our website: https://thecreateunknown.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Feb 20, 20261h 4m

Why We Hate Everything

Thanks to MAINGEAR for speeding up everything for us. Check out the VYBE line that’s making up the core of Matt’s new studio -- and use code CREATE for a free additional year of warranty on desktops: https://maingear.com/ref/656/ Join Our Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/thecreateunknown We kick off this week’s episode with news of a celebrity death, which serves as a morbidly important reminder for everyone to create while you still can. That leads us right into our main topic of the day: why does it feel like so many people don’t “like” anything anymore? Are things really that bad, or have we entered a sort of… cultural depression? Kevin enlightens us with all the telltale signs of modern media burnout – and though the odds may seem stacked against you, we’re here to equip you with some powerful tools to help fight it. But this makes us wonder… why is it that so many of us are feeling that burnout in the first place? Is it a reflection of the slop-o-sphere, or is there a larger issue at play? To round things out, we turn inward for some much needed self-reflection. What happens when you stop consuming almost entirely and just… make things? Can repetitive physical work interrupt mental spirals better than entertainment can? Is “hating everything” really about the content itself, or is it more of a personal issue? Big thanks to our patrons, we’ll be back next week! You love anime. You love tea. Get 10% off your order with code CREATE at The Dragon's Treasure: https://www.thedragonstreasure.com/ Buy our T-shirts: https://www.thecreateunknown.com/store/ Join our Discord to talk with artists, creators, and fans of the finer things in online life: discord.gg/vnRnr3rCzt Apple: http://bit.ly/TheCreateUnknownApple Spotify: http://bit.ly/TheCreateUnknownSpotify Google Podcasts: http://bit.ly/TheCreateUnknownGooglePodcasts CREDITS: Hosts: Kevin Lieber and Matt Tabor Executive Producer: Ben Webster Editor: Spencer Vann "Created in the Unknown" theme by Basswaite: https://linktr.ee/Basswaite Theme by Mega Drive → http://megadrivemusic.com Opening Animation: Kidmograph City Animation: Eric Langlay "The Create Unknown" is produced by Unknown Media. CONNECT WITH US: » Chat with us on DISCORD: https://discord.gg/qAQV3Jw » Follow us on TWITTER: http://twitter.com/createunknown » Follow us on INSTAGRAM: http://instagram.com/thecreateunknown » Follow us on FACEBOOK: http://facebook.com/thecreateunknown » View our website: https://thecreateunknown.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Feb 13, 20261h 40m

Has Authenticity Left Hollywood?

Thanks to MAINGEAR for speeding up everything for us. Check out the VYBE line that’s making up the core of Matt’s new studio -- and use code CREATE for a free additional year of warranty on desktops: https://maingear.com/ref/656/ Join Our Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/thecreateunknown This week we’re exploring how small shifts in media consumption over time may have quietly fractured our once “shared culture.” We kick off that discussion with a deep dive into what was once the most ubiquitous medium, one that many of us knew and loved growing up – cable TV. We talk about how such limited options can create such strong cultural reference points, and how that stacks up to the fragmented nature of today’s algorithm-driven feed. As it turns out, we might all be living in separated media universes Then we call upon an old topic from a Vsauce2 video, one that explains how people can only meaningfully track a limited number of relationships or, in this case, shows: Dunbar’s Number.When everyone once pulled from the same pool, cultural overlap was inevitable. With streaming abundance, two people can consume constantly and still share almost nothing. That has some seeerious implications on cultural memory. After that, we set our sights on an area where this shift is becoming increasingly impossible to ignore: film education.. How can we teach film students with an ever-dwindling attention span the true value of “Unc Slop?” From there, Kevin talks about “slopflation,” how declining overall quality can make once mocked content, like the Star Wars prequels, feel better in hindsight. To round things out, we tackle the scourge of “millennial writing,” a style marked by snarky, self-aware dialogue that flattens characters into interchangeable voices. That leads us to a single, broader thesis, one that continues to ring true as time marches on: as authenticity increases in online content, it may be disappearing from scripted entertainment. That leaves us wondering… if people aren’t looking for authentic stories in TV and film, where are they trying to find it? Big thanks to our patrons! We’ll be back soon. You love anime. You love tea. Get 10% off your order with code CREATE at The Dragon's Treasure: https://www.thedragonstreasure.com/ Buy our T-shirts: https://www.thecreateunknown.com/store/ Join our Discord to talk with artists, creators, and fans of the finer things in online life: discord.gg/vnRnr3rCzt Apple: http://bit.ly/TheCreateUnknownApple Spotify: http://bit.ly/TheCreateUnknownSpotify Google Podcasts: http://bit.ly/TheCreateUnknownGooglePodcasts CREDITS: Hosts: Kevin Lieber and Matt Tabor Executive Producer: Ben Webster Editor: Spencer Vann "Created in the Unknown" theme by Basswaite: https://linktr.ee/Basswaite Theme by Mega Drive → http://megadrivemusic.com Opening Animation: Kidmograph City Animation: Eric Langlay "The Create Unknown" is produced by Unknown Media. CONNECT WITH US: » Chat with us on DISCORD: https://discord.gg/qAQV3Jw » Follow us on TWITTER: http://twitter.com/createunknown » Follow us on INSTAGRAM: http://instagram.com/thecreateunknown » Follow us on FACEBOOK: http://facebook.com/thecreateunknown » View our website: https://thecreateunknown.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Feb 6, 20261h 47m

Why You Should Eat Unc Slop

Thanks to MAINGEAR for speeding up everything for us. Check out the VYBE line that’s making up the core of Matt’s new studio -- and use code CREATE for a free additional year of warranty on desktops: https://maingear.com/ref/656/ Join Our Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/thecreateunknown This week we kick things off with a truly cursed recommendation: a RoboCop TV show so strange, sanitized, and unintentionally hilarious it leaves us asking… how did this come from one of the most violent sci-fi films ever made? Along the way, we tease some big changes coming to the podcast, so STAY TUNED. Then we take it all the way back to 1994 – A time when everyone seemed to be watching, referencing, and understanding the same things? We ask what happened between then and now, and how we went from shared touchstones to a cultural free-for-all where nothing feels foundational, which makes us wonder – was that really the cultural high water mark? From there, we introduce the idea of “Unc-slop,” a freshly coined term describing content that looks informed on the surface but lacks any real grounding. What does it mean to be a fan of something if you’ve skipped the basics? And how much depth can you really have if your taste is built entirely by algorithms instead of by the people who actually lived with the medium? We dig into why foundations matter, why classics still hit harder, why modern audiences are often shocked by competent storytelling, and why refusing to engage with the past is not the mold-breaking move you might think it is. From there, we dive into the enormous loss that occurs when human curation disappears, when recommendations come from machines instead of mentors, and when students of a craft feel no obligation to study its history. By the end, we’re left with some nagging questions: can culture even exist at all without these shared experiences? Can it function when building real connections requires more homework than some people might be ready for? The good news? Us two Uncs just might be ready to assign some. Big thanks to our Patrons, we’ll be back soon! You love anime. You love tea. Get 10% off your order with code CREATE at The Dragon's Treasure: https://www.thedragonstreasure.com/ Buy our T-shirts: https://www.thecreateunknown.com/store/ Join our Discord to talk with artists, creators, and fans of the finer things in online life: discord.gg/vnRnr3rCzt Apple: http://bit.ly/TheCreateUnknownApple Spotify: http://bit.ly/TheCreateUnknownSpotify Google Podcasts: http://bit.ly/TheCreateUnknownGooglePodcasts CREDITS: Hosts: Kevin Lieber and Matt Tabor Executive Producer: Ben Webster Editor: Spencer Vann "Created in the Unknown" theme by Basswaite: https://linktr.ee/Basswaite Theme by Mega Drive → http://megadrivemusic.com Opening Animation: Kidmograph City Animation: Eric Langlay "The Create Unknown" is produced by Unknown Media. CONNECT WITH US: » Chat with us on DISCORD: https://discord.gg/qAQV3Jw » Follow us on TWITTER: http://twitter.com/createunknown » Follow us on INSTAGRAM: http://instagram.com/thecreateunknown » Follow us on FACEBOOK: http://facebook.com/thecreateunknown » View our website: https://thecreateunknown.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Feb 4, 20262h 1m

Are Movies Becoming Zombie Art?

Thanks to MAINGEAR for speeding up everything for us. Check out the VYBE line that’s making up the core of Matt’s new studio -- and use code CREATE for a free additional year of warranty on desktops: https://maingear.com/ref/656/ Join Our Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/thecreateunknown This week, we take the next step on our ever-expanding “unc-slop” journey, starting with the Mayor of Kingstown and what it reveals about attention-heavy TV in an age of half-watching. Why do some shows demand your full focus, and why does that feel increasingly rare? Along the way, we talk about Taylor Sheridan’s ever-expanding TV empire, Jeremy Renner’s strange app-era detour, and the uncomfortable future of AI celebrity companions that feel just a little too real. That spirals into a bigger question: what happens when creators stop engaging with the foundations of their medium? From film students who don’t watch movies, to algorithmic taste replacing human curation, we explore the growing need for what we’re calling “Unc-slop Sherpas.” We dig into why classics still hit harder, why modern storytelling often over-explains itself, and how second-screen habits are reshaping what gets made. We also wrestle with blockbuster economics, franchise fatigue, and whether roller-coaster cinema can coexist with art that actually sticks. Is culture becoming a comfort noise? Are movies headed toward “zombie art” status? And in a world optimized for scrolling, what does it mean to truly pay attention? By the end, we boil everything down to one simple but uncomfortable question: in a world full of easy content, why is it important to try and make things a little harder for ourselves? Big thanks to our patrons, we’ll be back soon! You love anime. You love tea. Get 10% off your order with code CREATE at The Dragon's Treasure: https://www.thedragonstreasure.com/ Buy our T-shirts: https://www.thecreateunknown.com/store/ Join our Discord to talk with artists, creators, and fans of the finer things in online life: discord.gg/vnRnr3rCzt Apple: http://bit.ly/TheCreateUnknownApple Spotify: http://bit.ly/TheCreateUnknownSpotify Google Podcasts: http://bit.ly/TheCreateUnknownGooglePodcasts CREDITS: Hosts: Kevin Lieber and Matt Tabor Executive Producer: Ben Webster Editor: Spencer Vann "Created in the Unknown" theme by Basswaite: https://linktr.ee/Basswaite Theme by Mega Drive → http://megadrivemusic.com Opening Animation: Kidmograph City Animation: Eric Langlay "The Create Unknown" is produced by Unknown Media. CONNECT WITH US: » Chat with us on DISCORD: https://discord.gg/qAQV3Jw » Follow us on TWITTER: http://twitter.com/createunknown » Follow us on INSTAGRAM: http://instagram.com/thecreateunknown » Follow us on FACEBOOK: http://facebook.com/thecreateunknown » View our website: https://thecreateunknown.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Feb 4, 20261h 41m
Unknown Media, LLC & Studio71