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We're back baby! After a holiday respite, Pop & Locke has returned to break down all your favorite media with today's brightest minds.

Today on the show we're talking National Treasure, and ask, is it a 21st century classic or time wasting conspiracy crock? Is it QAnon for kids? And where could they go with a next installment? Here to answer that and more are my two guests: Deputy Managing Editor at Reason, Natalie Dowzicky and returning guest and now Cato-ite, Research Fellow on Technology Policy, Jennifer Huddleston.

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Fire up your hyperdrives and pack your kyber crystals because we are headed to a long, long time ago in a galaxy far, far away for another edition of Pop & Locke: Star Wars edition.

This week, Pat Eddington and Aaron Ross Powell join the show to break down Disney+'s latest offering in the Star Wars saga, Andor. How does the gritty prequel series to the sneaky hit Rogue One hold up? Who is the real evil in the series? And how does the Empire adopt the language of fascism to keep it's boot on the neck of the ever-growing resistance movement? All that--and more!

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“All men must serve,” as the saying goes—but whom must they serve? That’s the question posed by the new HBO series from the mind of George R. R. Martin, House of the Dragon. Set almost two centuries prior to the enormously successful Game of Thrones series, House of the Dragon sets up House Targaryen’s eventual fall from power, provides context for the fractured, feudal state of Westeros to come, and asks; who should have the right to rule?

Reason’s Natalie Dowzicky and Robby Soave join the show to point out how the series is an example of the failures of a government absent the constitutional rule of law, elite fears of populism, and crumbling institutions usurped by greed and power.

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“Clueless” as she may be, Cher Horowitz isn’t just a naive high school student. She’s a pro-immigration, free market friendly, drug decriminalization defender. But what about her tendency to assume what other people want or need?

Reason’s Katherine Mangu Ward and Natalie Dowzicky join the show to break down whether her well intentioned “helpfulness” is cover for more authoritarian tendencies, the possible decline of a car-centric culture’s notions of youthful freedom and agency, and the complicated legacy of the film’s depiction of gender roles.

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The Lord of the Rings trilogy is an epic adventure based on the novels written by J.R.R. Tolkien. Set in Middle-earth, the story follows the young Hobbit, Frodo Baggins, as he and the Fellowship embark on a quest to destroy the One Ring, to ensure the destruction of the Dark Lord Sauron. But what is the Lord of the Rings story really about? And, why is it so popular?

Whether it's The Ring of Power, The Hobbit, The Silmarillion, or the original trilogy, Tolkien's words are filled with lessons and insight all can learn from. In this classic Pop & Locke episode, guests Jacob Levy, Paul Meany, and Paul Matzko join us to dig into the religious roots of the work, the nature of power, and whether or not the eagles would have actually helped destroy the ring.

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In 1998 the Coen brothers released The Big Lebowski and the theaters were half-​empty. However, the film has since spurred a cult-​like following revolving around its protagonist, The Dude; a dopey but profound conscientious objector to all human conflict with his own special brand of zen. Part slacker manifesto, part sun-drenched noir, the film follows his quest to receive penance for a soiled rug and unravels into a wild goose chase involving all sorts of inherent vice.

In this classic episode from the Pop & Locke vault, Julian Sanchez and Akiva Malamet join us to discuss the essence of the Coen Brothers’ famous character, the hidden nods to Wagner, and what the film has to say about nihilist philosophy.

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