It's hard to believe, but The Matrix is 20 years old this year. And its influence is all over the culture with bullet time and red pills and the "woah" meme and so much more.

We take the question of whether we're living in a simulation much more seriously than we did 20 years ago. We're much more attuned to the allegory for the trans experience that The Matrix might well have been.

And with John Wick 3 in theaters, Toy Story 4 out next week, Cyberpunk 2077out next year, and Bill & Ted 3 just beginning production, the Keanussance is upon us.

GUESTS:
River Donaghey - An associate editor at Vice, where he published the piece "Give Keanu Reeves Some Space, Everybody"
David Sims - A staff writer at The Atlantic and the cohost of the podcast Blank Check with Griffin and David
Emily VanDerWerff - The critic at large for Vox, where she published "How The Matrix universalized a trans experience -- and helped me accept my own"
Rizwan Virk - Executive director of Play Labs at M.I.T.; his new book is The Simulation Hypothesis: An MIT Computer Scientist Shows Why AI, Quantum Physics, and Eastern Mystics All Agree We Are in a Video Game

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

Colin McEnroe and Chion Wolf contributed to this show.

It's hard to believe, but&nbsp;<a href="http://www.whatisthematrix.com/">The Matrix</a>&nbsp;is 20 years old this year. And its influence is&nbsp;<a href="https://www.vulture.com/2014/03/15th-anniversary-the-matrix-appreciation.html">all over the culture</a>&nbsp;with&nbsp;<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hGOvIzIn2Ic">bullet time</a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a href="https://www.vulture.com/2019/02/the-matrix-red-pill-internet-delusional-drug.html">red pills</a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a href="https://www.vulture.com/2019/02/the-matrix-red-pill-internet-delusional-drug.html">the "woah" meme</a>&nbsp;and so much more.
We take the question of whether&nbsp;<a href="https://hackernoon.com/are-we-already-in-the-matrix-7492e89be433">we're living in a simulation</a>&nbsp;much more seriously than we did 20 years ago. We're much more attuned to&nbsp;<a href="https://www.vox.com/culture/2019/3/30/18286436/the-matrix-wachowskis-trans-experience-redpill">the allegory for the trans experience</a>&nbsp;that&nbsp;The Matrix&nbsp;might well have been.
And with&nbsp;<a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/arts-entertainment/2019/05/21/keanu-reeves-is-having-keanussaince-with-john-wick-series-did-he-ever-really-go-anywhere/">John Wick 3</a>&nbsp;in theaters,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/heat-vision/toy-story-4-how-keanu-reeves-became-duke-caboom-1217869">Toy Story 4</a>&nbsp;out next week,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.gamesradar.com/cyberpunk-2077-release-date-trailer-gameplay/">Cyberpunk 2077</a>out next year, and&nbsp;<a href="https://www.slashfilm.com/bill-and-ted-3-production-begins/">Bill &amp; Ted 3</a>&nbsp;just beginning production,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/qv7npq/give-keanu-reeves-some-space-everybody">the Keanussance is upon us</a>.
GUESTS:
<ul>
<li>River Donaghey&nbsp;- An associate editor at&nbsp;Vice, where he published the piece "<a href="https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/qv7npq/give-keanu-reeves-some-space-everybody">Give Keanu Reeves Some Space, Everybody</a>"</li>
<li>David Sims&nbsp;- A staff writer at&nbsp;<a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/author/david-sims/">The Atlantic</a>&nbsp;and the cohost of the podcast&nbsp;<a href="https://audioboom.com/channel/Blank-Check">Blank Check with Griffin and David</a></li>
<li>Emily VanDerWerff&nbsp;- The critic at large for&nbsp;Vox, where she published "<a href="https://www.vox.com/culture/2019/3/30/18286436/the-matrix-wachowskis-trans-experience-redpill">How&nbsp;The Matrix&nbsp;universalized a trans experience -- and helped me accept my own</a>"</li>
<li>Rizwan Virk&nbsp;- Executive director of Play Labs at M.I.T.; his new book is&nbsp;<a href="https://www.zenentrepreneur.com/more-info">The Simulation Hypothesis: An MIT Computer Scientist Shows Why AI, Quantum Physics, and Eastern Mystics All Agree We Are in a Video Game</a></li>
</ul>
Join the conversation on&nbsp;<a href="http://facebook.com/ColinMcShow">Facebook</a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/wnprcolin">Twitter</a>.
Colin McEnroe and Chion Wolf contributed to this show.

The Colin McEnroe Show is public radio’s most eclectic, eccentric weekday program. The best way to understand us is through the subjects we tackle: Neanderthals, tambourines, handshakes, the Iliad, snacks, ringtones, punk rock, Occam’s razor, Rasputin, houseflies, zippers. Are you sensing a pattern? If so, you should probably be in treatment. On Fridays, we try to stop thinking about what kind of ringtones Neanderthals would want to have and convene a panel called The Nose for an informal roundtable about the week in culture.

<a href="https://www.ctpublic.org/show/the-colin-mcenroe-show/about">The Colin McEnroe Show</a> is public radio’s most eclectic, eccentric weekday program. The best way to understand us is through the subjects we tackle: Neanderthals, tambourines, handshakes, the Iliad, snacks, ringtones, punk rock, Occam’s razor, Rasputin, houseflies, zippers. Are you sensing a pattern? If so, you should probably be in treatment. On Fridays, we try to stop thinking about what kind of ringtones Neanderthals would want to have and convene a panel called <a href="https://www.ctpublic.org/tags/the-nose">The Nose</a> for an informal roundtable about the week in culture.

Advertisement