Purely Academic with Jonathan Lack & Sean Chapman Podcast By Jonathan R. Lack & Sean Chapman cover art

Purely Academic with Jonathan Lack & Sean Chapman

Purely Academic with Jonathan Lack & Sean Chapman

By: Jonathan R. Lack & Sean Chapman
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Critics and teachers Jonathan R. Lack and Sean Chapman host this monthly variety series where we talk about our favorite video games, movies, anime, and much more, having fun and maybe even learning something along the way. From the creators of The Weekly Stuff Podcast and Japanimation Station. Visit https://www.jonathanlack.com for more!© Jonathan R. Lack & Sean Chapman, 2012 - Present Art Science Fiction
Episodes
  • Purely Academic #30 - RESIDENT EVIL REQUIEM Review & Discussion
    Mar 12 2026

    There’s very little we enjoy talking about more than Resident Evil here at Purely Academic, as the series has been on one of the most amazing hot streaks in the history of gaming over this past decade. The latest entry, Resident Evil Requiem, is a stirring summation of everything these games have done well as of late, combining the survival horror and bombastic action the series has perfected across Resident Evil 7 and Village and the Resident Evil 2 and 4 remakes all into one incredible package. With a great new protagonist in Grace Ashcroft and a new story for series favorite Leon S. Kennedy, Requiem is as good a time we’ve had playing – or talking about – a game in a very long time.

    Enjoy!

    TIME CHART:

    Intro: 0:00:00 – 0:04:36

    Jonathan Talks Twin Peaks & Alamo Drafthouse: 0:04:36 – 0:34:46

    Sean Talks Nioh 3: 0:34:46 – 0:55:22

    Resident Evil Requiem Review: 0:55:22 – 02:43:27

    Read Jonathan Lack’s movie reviews and stay up to date with all our podcast projects at https://www.jonathanlack.com

    Subscribe to JAPANIMATION STATION, our podcast about the wide and wonderful world of anime: https://www.japanimation-station.com

    Read Jonathan’s book 200 Reviews in Paperback or on Kindle – https://a.co/d/bLx53vK

    Subscribe to our YouTube channels!

    Japanimation Station: https://www.youtube.com/c/japanimationstation

    Purely Academic: https://www.youtube.com/@purelyacademicpodcast

    Support the show at Ko-fi ☕️ https://ko-fi.com/weeklystuff

    Original Music by Thomas Lack https://www.thomaslack.com/

    ©2012 - Present Jonathan R. Lack & Sean Chapman

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    2 hrs and 43 mins
  • Purely Academic #29 - The Decimation of Gaming, the Destruction of Hollywood, and the Dawn of Ditto
    Mar 5 2026

    It’s been a big – and depressing – few weeks of news in the entertainment industry, so we’re back for the March ‘Monthly Stuff’ episode to break it all down. First up we have Sony’s sudden (and infuriating) closure of Bluepoint, the studio behind many top-of-the-line remakes and remasters including 2020’s Demon Souls, which prompts a broader discussion about the issues Sony has had during the PS5 generation. Then we have the news of Phil Spencer’s retirement at Xbox, and the installation of one of Microsoft’s AI executives into the job. And then there’s the matter of Netflix bowing out of their proposed acquisition of Warner Bros., leaving the road open for Paramount (and the Ellison family) to gobble up Hollywood’s oldest, most storied institution. With all that terrible news, we needed a pick-me-up at the end, which comes in the form of a very silly Monthly Ten, in which Sean imagines 10 games that steal the premise of Pokémon Pokopia by putting a Ditto front and center in the middle of the action.

    TIME CHART:

    Intro: 0:00:00 – 0:05:22

    Bluepoint & PlayStation News: 0:05:22 – 1:01:12

    Xbox News: 1:01:12 – 1:33:31

    Video Game News: 1:33:31 – 1:57:52

    Anime News: 1:57:52 – 2:10:20

    Hollywood News: 2:10:20 – 2:28:45

    Monthly Ten: 2:28:45 – 2:51:16

    Read Jonathan Lack’s movie reviews and stay up to date with all our podcast projects at https://www.jonathanlack.com

    Subscribe to JAPANIMATION STATION, our podcast about the wide and wonderful world of anime: https://www.japanimation-station.com

    Read Jonathan’s book 200 Reviews in Paperback or on Kindle – https://a.co/d/bLx53vK

    Subscribe to our YouTube channels!

    Japanimation Station: https://www.youtube.com/c/japanimationstation

    Purely Academic: https://www.youtube.com/@purelyacademicpodcast

    Support the show at Ko-fi ☕️ https://ko-fi.com/weeklystuff

    Original Music by Thomas Lack https://www.thomaslack.com/

    ©2012 - Present Jonathan R. Lack & Sean Chapman

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    2 hrs and 51 mins
  • Purely Academic #28 - Sony State of Play News, Classic Dragon Quest Games, and Resident Evil Spin-off Ideas
    Feb 20 2026

    In a very video game-centric episode of the podcast, we talk all the news out of this month’s Nintendo Direct Partner Showcase and Sony State of Play, including the announcement of a God of War trilogy remake, a new Castlevania game from the Dead Cells team, and more! Sean fills us in on the controversies surrounding Yakuza Kiwami 3, and we commiserate over the continued desecration of the video game market due to AI gobbling up the RAM supply. Jonathan talks about playing through Dragon Quest IV and Dragon Quest V, the latter for the first time – if you haven’t heard, it’s a masterpiece – while Sean tells us about his adventures going to San Antonio for a conference. And finally, for The Monthly Ten, Jonathan pitches Capcom on 10 increasingly silly ideas for Resident Evil crossovers and spin-offs, in honor of next week’s release of Resident Evil Requiem.

    Enjoy!

    TIME CHART:

    Intro: 0:00:00 – 0:09:45

    Lucasfilm/Star Wars News: 0:09:45 – 0:32:50

    Assorted Video Game News: 0:32:50 – 1:11:22

    Nintendo Direct: 1:11:22 – 1:25:00

    Sony State of Play: 1:25:00 – 2:09:25

    Sean’s Conference Adventures: 2:09:25 – 2:42:02

    Jonathan’s Dragon Quest Adventures: 2:42:02 – 3:09:17

    The Monthly Ten: 3:09:17 – 3:34:44

    Read Jonathan Lack’s movie reviews and stay up to date with all our podcast projects at https://www.jonathanlack.com

    Subscribe to JAPANIMATION STATION, our podcast about the wide and wonderful world of anime: https://www.japanimation-station.com

    Read Jonathan’s book 200 Reviews in Paperback or on Kindle – https://a.co/d/bLx53vK

    Subscribe to our YouTube channels!

    Japanimation Station: https://www.youtube.com/c/japanimationstation

    Purely Academic: https://www.youtube.com/@purelyacademicpodcast

    Support the show at Ko-fi ☕️ https://ko-fi.com/weeklystuff

    Original Music by Thomas Lack https://www.thomaslack.com/

    ©2012 - Present Jonathan R. Lack & Sean Chapman

    Show more Show less
    3 hrs and 35 mins
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