Ask A Genius 1564: Cheap Homes, Credit Arbitrage & AI Media

Rick Rosner and Scott Douglas Jacobsen discuss bargain housing from the Oklahoma Panhandle to Raton and St. Louis, contrasting sub-$100k fixers with Los Angeles’s high per-square-foot prices. Rosner explains credit card arbitrage —rolling 0% balance transfers, modest fees, and HELOC backups —while warning about post-teaser rates near 19%. They shift to media’s future as TV, games, VR, and AR converge, with AI generating personalized, believable content—think Is It Cake? Realism on demand. Rosner notes rising debt, stagnant wages, and how apps raise dating standards and shrink connections. Jacobsen frames a culture of immersive “second lives” monetized through subscriptions within favourite franchises.

Ask A Genius 1549: Good Movie Dialogue: Cut Ruthlessly, Show Don’t Tell 

Rick Rosner tells Scott Douglas Jacobsen that sharp movie dialogue comes from cutting: show, don’t tell, and dodge clichés like “We’ve got company” or “Chop, chop.” Keep audiences oriented through action, not exposition. He riffs on Bond’s implausible durability and imagines alternatives—a centuries-old vampire spy, or a post–near-death Bond with OCD who grades every move—fresh premises that justify survival without speeches. Rosner cites The Accountant as adjacent but abrasive. Big franchises second-guess scripts for precision. Great actors prefer fewer, stronger lines; compress three sentences into one natural beat. Concision, novelty, and situational clarity make dialogue land and performances sing too.

Ask A Genius 1492: Television, Writing, Alien, and the Poetry of Physics

In this in-depth conversation, Rick Rosner reflects on how five years of watching well-written television with his wife, Carole, has sharpened his writing skills and ability to anticipate dialogue and plot twists. He shares insights on Noah Hawley’s upcoming Alien series, the evolution of science fiction horror, and the role of originality in storytelling. Rosner also discusses Mel Brooks’s creative longevity, his own struggles with writing about the future amid AI and political upheaval, and broader reflections on cosmology, intelligence, and scientific discovery. With humor and humility, he compares himself to Feynman, Gamow, and Darwin—highlighting the complexity of intelligence.

Ask A Genius 1425: The Death of Plot-Driven Porn: Amateur Content, OnlyFans, and Modern Sexual Culture

Rick Rosner argues that the rise of amateur, quick adult content killed story-driven porn, replaced by platforms like OnlyFans prioritizing clips over plots. They discuss Channel 4’s Naked Attraction and evolving body standards, note younger generations’ declining sexual activity amidst political turmoil, and reflect on media tech and AI’s role.

Ask A Genius 1398: Prostate Health, Male Sexuality, and Academic Anecdotes: Rosner’s Unfiltered Insights

Scott Douglas Jacobsen and Rick Rosner advises regular prostate checkups, PSA tests, digital exams; frequent ejaculation for prostate health, sharing humorous personal anecdotes. They discuss male sexuality’s evolutionary background, Rosner’s first-grade Columbus essay rejecting myth, his dry-hand sex practices, and his favorite academic challenges in algebra and statistics, highlighting pattern recognition and data privacy.

Ask A Genius 1237: Tripartite Religion of the H-1B

Scott Douglas Jacobsen: Do you think Twitter has been devolving since Musk took it over? Rick Rosner: It has. Twitter went downhill after Musk bought it. What, three years ago? It used to be where I followed hundreds of comedians and saw hundreds of jokes daily. It was fun and less political. When Musk came …

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Ask A Genius 1235: The Lord of the Rings and PodTV

Scott Douglas Jacobsen: Did you ever watch The Lord of the Rings? Rick Rosner: Parts of it—it puts me to sleep. Superhero movies do the same thing. I fall asleep for about an hour and 20 minutes, sleep for 10 minutes, and wake up refreshed, but still not caring about what I missed. It's even …

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Ask A Genius 1205: ‘I’m in the Writers Guild’

Rick Rosner: So, I'm in the Writers Guild and the TV Academy. That means I can vote in certain Emmy categories and for the Writers' Guild Awards. I get invited to screenings of TV shows and movies, and I can bring Carol along. Someone from the production team, or even a few people, will often …

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