NO GPS

NO GPS | The end of a Golden Era? | Ep15

Mez & Aharon are back for their first pod of 2024. The guys get into the thick of things when they start out with the recent trade of Pascal Siakam. They speculate to the effect this trade and that of OG Anunoby to Atlantic Division rivals the New York Knicks - yes, the Raptors have finally went all in on a rebuild (our hope: that it is done with taste, Indiana Pacer style) - will have on the Afro-Diasporic formation of the Raptors squad. 
 
Could Toronto be the new San Antonio? Spreading a more multicultural and liberal model? A new system of player and coach development that spreads its DNA to the rest of the NBA for decades to come.
 
And lastly, is this the end of the Golden era of the Golden State Warriors? The guys think so and are deflated at the thought of it all being over. They have some interestingly off the cuff insights on the team or teams that can take the mantle.
 
Welcome back to NO GPS! 
 
Produced by Soker.
Music by TrethWest.
 

After Sunset | Home Alone for the Holidays | EP 3

The John Hughes produced 1990 film Home Alone is a Christmas Holiday classic. A staple in the holiday film diet of millions of people, maybe even billions. But I have a sneaking suspicion that the film is not simply a feel-good spectacle meant for the anchor spot in Christmas movie marathons. I think it speaks to our present life situation in very interesting and revelatory ways.
But why is it such an apt expression of our current plight of loneliness in this age of hyperconnectivity? Why is it the perfect analog for our times? 
In this episode I describe why...you filthy animals. And oh yeah, Happy Holidays from us at Soker!
Produced by Soker.
Music provided by TrethWest.

After Sunset | Draymond the Raging Intellectual | EP 2

In this episode Aharon delivers commentary and deep analysis into the current world zeitgeist via the innovative, albeit sometimes troublesome, play and post-game analysis of Draymond Green. 
 
In a very discreet way Aharon shows what casual forces may be behind the current crisis in personal and group identity - and why choosing your identity, not simply going by what the world determines you to be, is the norm in the world today.
 
At the end of the episode Aharon explains why we are all becoming more and more like Draymond - who Aharon has dubbed The Raging Intellectual.
 
Recommended reading: https://open.substack.com/pub/soker/p/draymond-green-reaching-for-infinity?utm_source=share&utm_medium=android&r=17h7cm

After Sunset | One Piece of a Parentless World & Techno-Cultural Fallacies | EP 1

In this inaugural episode of NO GPS After Sunset Aharon is going in on our new Techno Feudal Lords. He figures out, in episode 1 (the gall of this guy!), that the meaning of life is to find meaning in life - in his usual roundabout way.
A Podcast related article to read is: https://open.substack.com/pub/soker/p/re-post-around-the-world-in-a-day?utm_source=share&utm_medium=android&r=17h7cm
Show produced by Matt J.Music by TrethWest (Aharon - All In: https://spotify.link/lAqnp3XU8Db)

NO GPS AfterSunset | Trailer

NO GPS After Sunset is a bi-weekly show hosted by Aharon. It will work as a compliment to the flagship NO GPS show with co-host Mez. This show will take a look at current world affairs and the hottest topics of the day. Aharon will be discussing everything you think he shouldn't be discussing! Hold on to your seats and enjoy the ride.
 
Intro: 0:00-0:28, Paid Promo (Spoof): 0:29-1:31, AfterSunset Promo: 1:35-2:29
 
Produced by: Matt J.
Music provided by: TrethWest

Part 3 - The Soul Rebel Generation | Ep14

In today's episode Mez & Aharon get into the last part of Daniel McNeil's magistral book 'Thinking While Black'. McNeil's book does away with the binary Black progressive vs. Black conservative conceptual framework while discussing both Armond White and Paul Gilroy's work as cultural critics. What we get is an expansive overview of Black thought that is elucidating and instructive.
Join us as both Mez & Aharon nerd out on a vast array of ideas that make the Black Atlantic, well, the Black Atlantic.
Podcast produced by Matt J.
Cover art by Matt J.
Music provided by TrethWest.

Underdogs on Top - NBA Playoffs Recap | Ep13

Today's NO GPS episode with Mez & Aharon has the guys discuss the NBA playoffs, the Draft Lottery, the head coaches playing musical chairs with each other and the NBA Finals. Enjoy this one! The guys were in rare form.
Podcast episode produced by Matt Joseph.
Music provided by TrethWest.

Part 2 - The Soul Rebel Generation | Ep12

In part 2 of The Soul Rebel Generation Mez & Aharon talk about the intellectually provocative cultural critic Armond White in great detail. Time stamps: (1:05) Detroit & the genius and formative years of Armond White
(8:15) Armond the rebel outsider
(13:48) Armond's & Pauline Kael's uncommon common American Americans and their humanism
(18:54) Armond's grand philosophy: Art isn't about seeing yourself, it's about seeing other people and how they are like you!
(23:14) suspicious liberal foxes lurk on every ghetto corner - again, Armond won't be bought!
(27:12) Armond the outcast black intellectual that never gets invited to the cookout
(30:04) Gilroy & Armond both call out the black careerist who use the gains of the civil rights movement for their own profit gain. Armond calls them race hustlers (the Chris Rock's, Cornel West's and Spike Lee's of the scene).
(35:39) The bad but good American movies that Armond loves and thinks that you should love too
(40:17) The issue with Marvel movies for Armond is they have no finite endings and therefore cannot give people a moral worldview to embrace.
(41:32) Mez pushes back against this idea and reveals why Marvel in fact brings people together in the way Armond suggests good films should do.
Corrections: Aharon refers to Armond White's The Resistance: Ten Years of Pop Culture That Shook the World as The Resistant Years. He pleads mea culpa and tells us he was in the throws of battling the flu when recording this podcast episode. Aharon, do better! Hahaha
Podcast produced by Matt J.Music provided by TrethWest.

The Soul Rebel Generation | Ep11

In this episode of NO GPS Mez & Aharon talk about Daniel McNeil's fascinating new book 'Thinking While Black'. The book is a unique interdisciplinary study of Black cultural critics Armond White and Paul Gilroy that spans continents and decades of rebellion and revolution.
Join us as we take a journey through the Black Atlantic!
Disclaimer: Aharon's microphone blew in the middle of this recording. Due to that the audio for this episode is not up to the usual standard we ascribe to. But we thought the content was just too good to scrap. Enjoy and apologies from the NO GPS crew, namely Aharon!
Podcast produced by Matt J.
Music provided by TrethWest

The West is a Mess, or the Best? | Ep10

Mez & Aharon, with the help of producer man Matt, talk about who won and lost in the most eventful NBA tradeline ever on this latest episode of the NO GPS podcast. They discuss the Hollywood antics of the now better equipped Los Angeles Lakers (2:01), the now disbanded Basquait painting Brooklyn Nets squad (11:23) and Aharon’s beloved & underperforming Toronto Raptors (14:54). 
 
Everything from how restless and perpetually unsatisfied elite NBA players (free agent - 33:47) persistently seeking out greener pastures is analogous to the digital nomadic lifestyles of privileged Millennials & Gen Z’ers who roam the world searching for idyllic landscapes and the most plaint of populaces to satiate their fantasies & libidinal desires is discussed (consider this a knock on the passport bro movement). You’ll love this episode of NO GPS because the guys are bringing you novel takes, comedic segues and seering cultural analysis.
 
0:00 Intro
2:01 Lakers
9:35 Basketball Styles/Preference 
11:23 Nets
14:54 Raptors
22:13 Phoenix & Dallas 
29:38 Denver, Playoffs and the West
33:47 Free Agent Nomads 
44:58 Popular Justice 
56:57 Golden State
1:00:00 Closing
 
Art by Matt
Music by TrethWest