Sep 3, 2026 · 41 min
Tupac’s case meets a detour through PTA’s musical world
Bonus Episode: Tupac Shakur Case Closed?
The episode pairs an unresolved question about Tupac Shakur’s murder with a sharp discussion of how Paul Thomas Anderson builds atmosphere through music.
- 1The episode revisits whether Tupac Shakur’s murder is truly solved, framing the case as an open question.
- 2Licorice Pizza receives a strong defense despite its limited COVID-era release and weak commercial performance.
- 3Paul Thomas Anderson’s soundtracks emerge as a collaboration between needle drops, in-scene music, and composers Jon Brion and Johnny Greenwood.
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The episode’s most distinctive turn comes when a discussion of Tupac’s case gives way to a detailed analysis of how Licorice Pizza uses songs and score to create atmosphere.
The brief
The bonus episode returns to the question of whether Tupac Shakur’s murder is truly solved, while listener messages give the conversation a looser, more personal frame.
Jake responds to a funny Dolly Parton story, points back to After Party, and recalls seeing Brainiac perform before discussing the band singer’s death.
The conversation then turns to Licorice Pizza, whose limited COVID-era release and weak commercial performance sit uneasily beside the hosts’ conviction that the film is excellent.
Jake praises Paul Thomas Anderson’s prominent needle drops and compares their atmospheric force with Spike Lee’s filmmaking, including the interplay between score and songs within scenes.
The discussion traces Anderson’s move from Jon Brion to Johnny Greenwood and considers recent work involving Geese, Benny Safdie, and Cameron Winter.