{"id":74,"date":"2009-09-08T16:33:06","date_gmt":"2009-09-08T16:33:06","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/wpzoom.com\/magnet\/demo\/?page_id=2"},"modified":"2026-09-16T14:04:50","modified_gmt":"2026-09-16T21:04:50","slug":"about","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/theculturednerd.org\/?page_id=74","title":{"rendered":"About TCN"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"The Cultured Nerd<\/strong> was first established in early 2013 as a branch of Waking Ideas, a digital production group that began in 2005. Its goal was to provide daily breaking news content, weekly editorials, and a bi-weekly podcast.\u00a0<\/p>\n

As time passed, a video production group called “Sweet Bagel Productions” was implemented, with the intention of creating original video shorts and maintaining the podcast and eventual evolution into a video podcast.<\/p>\n

In December 2015, TCN’s founder and editor-in-chief, Taylor Murphy, was offered a role in a predominant and recently launched news site. After much discussion with the team, a decision was made to close up shop temporarily. But that was short-lived; in July 2016, Taylor parted ways with the site and decided to take a break from the industry.<\/p>\n

In 2017, TCN’s Instagram was established, and now, due to popular demand, TCN is coming back in full swing. With the website relaunch taking place in October 2019 and the podcast, video podcast, and exclusive videos due to follow quickly after, TCN aims to bring back what drew the team to start this passion project to begin with.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The Staff<\/strong><\/h1>\n\n\n

Taylor Murphy <\/strong>– Founder – Editor-in-Chief – IG Admin<\/em> – Instagram @TheCulturedNerd<\/a> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Aside from the info stated above, I spend most of my time with my wife, son, and working in the medical field. I grew up in the world of Hollywood: my great-grandpa was a backdrop painter for WarnerBros. in the 1930s\/1940s, and the family all worked for WB in some capacity after that. I love movies, videogames, comics, and all things nerd culture. TCN is a passion project, and I look forward to giving everyone what they hope to see. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Adam Birney<\/strong> – SR.<\/em> Editor<\/em> – News<\/em>, Reviews & Features<\/em> – Instagram @agbirney<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I have always been fascinated by the transformative power of storytelling and how seeing the world through different perspectives can inspire us to become more than ourselves. So, I wanted to become a storyteller. After high school, I earned a Certificate in Motion Picture Arts, then studied Philosophy for two years to inform my screenwriting. I quickly became enthralled with the mysteries of the mind and consciousness, which eventually led me to earn a B.A. in Cognitive Systems: Mind, Language, and Computation in hopes of answering them. However, healthy curiosity always and only leads to more questions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nowadays, I am the Managing Editor at\u00a0SoundGuys<\/a><\/em>, where I share my passion for music and technology to help people find the right audio gear for their needs. I also work as a Film Critic and regularly attend press screenings, which I often review for TCN’s Instagram page. I’ve always been a fan of DC Comics, with Batman as my favorite superhero, but I embrace all narratives within the Superhero Mythos.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jason Carmona <\/strong>– Editor – Videogames<\/em> – Instagram @MOSESivviOC<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Directly out of high school, Jason went to work in the videogaming industry, cutting his teeth and getting his break as an arcade coin-op repairman at the local Golfland. If you ever found an unlimited free game on idle, you have Jason to thank. Shortly after managing very high-profile gaming retail establishments to great success, he landed every young boy\u2019s dream job of working at Sony as a seminar advisor for their Aibo (digital creature\/ robotic dog) and PlayStation departments. This afforded him to make many professional comrades and friends in the gaming, film and music industries, as well as other genres of entertainment. He has also attended multiple accredited professional media events over the last 20 years, including CES, SDCC & E3, to name a few. He\u2019s also worked in an editorial and freelancing capacity for various gaming outlets, such as WTFGamersOnly, The Gaming Addiction, and GameFanatics, among others. Everything considered, Jason still loves a great, well-crafted game, from sophisticated mega-opus games like Metal Gear Solid<\/em> to the most basic of gameplay mechanics found in titles like Journey <\/em>and Tetris<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI\u2019m very eager and excited to share all my gaming excitement and tidbits to a brand-new audience and help to produce new content for you all to enjoy! Please feel free to shout at me online, and let\u2019s spread some of that love for film and gaming!” <\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

TJ Bravo <\/strong>– Editor<\/em> – Instagram<\/a>\/Twitter<\/a> @TCN808<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Former UCSB film major, experienced extra for Hawaii 5-0.<\/em> I now spend my time back home in Hawaii. Always had a love for movies, games, TV, comics, and books . . . I mean, who doesn\u2019t love entertainment, right? I can\u2019t name my favorites of any because they\u2019re forever changing, but ask me and I\u2019ll tell you what they are at that moment. My writing style is probably inspired by Hunter S. Thompson and Quentin Tarantino, and I couldn\u2019t be happier to be a part of the TCN team \ud83e\udd19\ud83c\udffd.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Michael Wayne <\/strong>– Editor <\/em>– Twitter @Michael_Wayne__<\/a> Instagram @michael_wayne_<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hey, I\u2019m Mike! I\u2019m 22, and I\u2019m a huge fan of all things DC. Some of my favorite superheroes are Jessica Cruz, The Flash, and of course The Dark Knight himself. I\u2019ve been writing for almost a year and half now, and I started out reviewing movies because movies are awesome, obviously. My all-time favorite movie is The Godfather<\/em>. And I\u2019m excited to have the opportunity to write for TCN. I\u2019m also a big fan of video games. My favorite games to play are Pok\u00e9mon,<\/em> The Legend of Zelda<\/em>, and any of the Elder Scrolls<\/em> games.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Contributors<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Joshua Winchester<\/strong> – Writer <\/em>– Instagram @triple_c_podcast<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I am a graduate of Columbia College Chicago with a BA in radio broadcasting. I admired TCN for its dedication to superb journalism, which led me to joining its staff. I am a life-long nerd and fan of all things pop culture, especially comic books, sci-fi, cartoons and classic movies. I am the founder\/co-host of the weekly geek show “The CCC Podcast.” I am dedicated to making the world a better place through the power of radio\/podcasting and comics.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Gabe Gutierrez<\/strong> – Contributor<\/em> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sorry, I had to rewrite this a few times, kept thinking it was a Tinder bio I was writing.<\/em> I come from a large family where the first nerddom was Star Wars. Mom saw that day one, and it got passed down to us kids. Then came the Spider-Man comics, early 90’s cartoons, and [insert stereotypical media here], but I think I have navigated this analog to digital transition quite well. As the “angry nerd tio” (uncle), I will try to give all new things a chance but don’t be surprised when I tell those kids to “get off my lawn” . . . metaphorically. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Amanda MacDougall <\/strong>– Contributor<\/em> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

A weapons enthusiast with a passion for the finer things in life: B-list action movies and entomology. Tr\u00e9buchets, PCs, arthropodia, and long-winded rants about weapons logistics coming your way. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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