August 2021 Episode Guide

Music and Mythology
Countless times, K-pop, J-pop, and C-pop artists have drawn inspiration from Greek mythology. This episode features seventeen examples, and it tells the corresponding origin stories of the gods, goddesses, and symbols they reference in their work.

“STAY Tuned” Ep.10
The first-ever legislation that regulates the use of CGI social media stars, the company making medical equipment that replaces annoying beeping sounds with pleasant ones, a new reality show for Gen Z songwriters, and more of the latest headlines in the worlds of music and technology! 

Do Re Miyavi Fa Solia
The reasons behind the shortest debut-to-disbandment period ever, a new Netflix film worth checking out, some updates on romances, and more of the latest K-pop and J-pop news!

NCT Talk, Vol. 9​
Decoding the details in the first round of STICKER Era teasers!

Jolin Tsai’s Galaxy
From revenge-themed horror stories to adorable romances, mandopop icon Jolin Tsai’s music videos are as varied as they come. This variation applies to her sound as well, which ranges from gothic to upbeat, industrial to electronic. Yet there is a core element in Tsai’s work that remains consistent: each release is another testament to the power of storytelling. Beneath the colorful and elaborately detailed fiction stories, there are raw and powerful truths told about body image, equality, and other serious topics. Social commentary is paired with attention-grabbing visuals to make each of Tsai’s musical personas unforgettable.

This episode covers a timeline of Jolin Tsai’s career, takes a close look at the meanings of the lyrics in her most profound songs, summarizes the plots of her best music videos, and overall pays tribute to an artist whose work is endlessly entertaining and inspiring.

On Your Mark, Get Set, (We) Go
Hope predicts the futures of (G)I-DLE and CLC members, shares her VMAs dream scenarios, reveals the most interesting excerpts from a new set of Weverse magazine interviews, and much more! 

BTStudy Guide #7: Haruki Murakami
In Kafka on the Shore, a 15-year-old runs away from home and meets a cast of quirky characters, including Colonel Sanders, a man who talks to cats, and a woman who at one point reverts back into her younger self. In 1Q84, an assassin's life is forever linked to a ghostwriter's life, as they both run and hide from a common enemy. These stories might sound starkly different, but they have more themes in common than one would expect: a distortion of the concept of time and fears surrounding the breakdown of social norms, just to name a few. After comparing and contrasting the plots of and characters in these two stories, Hope compares and contrasts their themes with those present in BTS's music video universe. Part book review and part philosophy lesson, this conclusion of the "BTStudy Guides" series of episodes explains what the works of both BTS and Haruki Murakami are ultimately trying to say.

BTStudy Guide #6: Louder Than Bombs
Louder Than Bombs is a film about grief, love, lies, and selective memory. The questions this movie provokes are also the ones provoked by the song “Louder Than Bombs” by BTS, as well as some BTS music videos. By understanding the many parallels in the ways this film and BTS’s work tell stories of life and loss, it becomes clear how BTS takes the heavy emotions communicated by movies and applies them to their own lives in powerful ways.

Back in the BLINK of an Eye
BABYMETAL's bizarre "disappearance," a K-pop company's response to plagiarism accusations, updates on legal cases, major changes to the Melon Charts, and more of the latest headlines. 

ASTROBOTS
Commentary on a cool new fan contest, the BTS ad for Boston Dynamics, and more of the latest K-pop news stories.

Best of July 2021
A ranking and review of the twenty best new K-pop, J-pop, and C-pop releases!

BTStudy Guide #5: The Owl Service
This is the fifth episode in a 7-episode series that explores the literature and cinema BTS references in their music video universe! This episode summarizes both The Owl Service by Alan Garner and the Welsh myth on which it is based. By making sense of both versions of this story, the meaning of the “I Need U” chapter in BTS’s story becomes clearer.

On How to Stan

Industry Plants
When an artist becomes massively popular all of a sudden, it’s not uncommon for rumors of being an “industry plant” to follow. But what does that term actually mean? Is there ever any truth to accusations that artists’ underdog origin stories are entirely fabricated? Why have the artists who have been accused of being “plants” been targeted with the accusation? This episode seeks to answer these questions, using both historical context and recent examples of artists having to respond to claims of being “industry plants.”

SpongeBob
A countdown of the ten best episodes of SpongeBob SquarePants! These episodes make the list for being great examples of how the characters and storylines in SpongeBob contain more layers and social commentary than people remember.