Love the Venture Bros. cartoon but afraid of missing the myriad of historical references and layers of meaning behind each episode? Join pop culture and history experts Elana Levin (can one ever truly be a recovering art student?) and Steven Attewell (whose secret identity is that he’s an actual historian) for our Podcast examining each episode of Season 7 of this hit Adult Swim show.

This episode is about Season 7 Episode 2 “The Rorqual Affair”.

The Venture Bros. cartoon on Adult Swim references everything from Hannah-Barbara to Marvel, David Bowie to the Big Bopper, cult cinema to Scorsese, Oscar Wilde to Henry Kissinger. The show’s central theme is failure– the reality of life after the promises and optimism of the 60s space age have faded. But also the positive value of failure as a way to learn and grow, of making unpleasant realities better, and ultimately whether you can learn to keep the joyfulness of youth without its illusions.

Catch up on our podcasts of Season 6 right here (and on iTunes).

And our episode about the Season 7 premiere.