I found this great podcast. It's a bit like a mystery. It's trying to determine the exact moment a cuddle begins. To this end, a high tech investigative team focused on the actions of a brindle pitbull named Sugarplum. Sugarplum loves to jump onto people's laps, loves to lick people's faces, and surely loves being petted and scratched and rubbed. True Cuddle attempts to determine if a cuddle begins in the mind, or is it to be marked at the moment of body contact. And what if someone doesn't like dogs? If a dog tries to cuddle a cat person, is it really a cuddle? Sure, the cat person might accept the dog upon their lap for the sake of politeness-but is that a true cuddle? What of the dog lover who thinks back to the time they've spent cuddling with Sugarplum-does a memory of a cuddle count as a true cuddle? And what of imaginary cuddles-'notional cuddles' as they are called in the relevant literatures of expertise-that may occur as conscious anticipations of actually cuddling with Sugarplum? Do notional cuddles count? Drama breaks out among the research team between the faction that believes in counting notionals/anticipatories/dreams of cuddles as legitimate and the faction that consists of strict physicalists who only recognize body-to-body contact as eligible for the official tally. Barricades are erected. Bunkerization of mentalities ensues. The consequential war is both brutal and total. Few survive. Good omni-folk soundtrack done in the post-ironic, pre-panic style. I especially appreciated the backing vocals provided by Sugarplum herself. Pacing issues, but I recommend it. A moderate recommend. 7 out of 10.
