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Around the Podosphere #4: Podcasts of Note for 1/19/15

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The holidays are long over, but there’s still time to catch up on some of your favorite podcasts!  Here are some of our favorites from the last week or so: On Genre: The latest Coode Street Podcast features legendary author Guy Gavriel Kay as a special guest to talk about writing and genre history. The first episode of a brand new podcast entitled The Adventures of Yellow Peril and the Magical Negro just dropped. It’s all about representation and sf/f media, so it’s sure to provide the fix you’ve been craving. Interviews: The fine folks at Sword and Laser talk to Daniel H. Wilson about his new story/app, Mayday: Deep Space. Lev Grossman joins the Speculate! podcast to talk about his trilogy of novels and writing genre. Susan Jane Bigelow joins Julia on The Outer Alliance Podcast to talk about her latest novel, The Seeker Star. Justin Landon uses his magic to interview Brian Staveley on Rocket Talk. The latest episode of Midnight in Karachi features an interview with Megan Abbott, the Queen of Noir. On Movies: The latest episode of We Hate Movies tackles the film adaptation of Winter’s Tale. On Games: The Incomparable dedicates an entire episode to a discussion about Portal.  A whole friggin’ episode! On Comics:  Rachel and Miles X-Plain the X-Men have as a guest G Willow Wilson, creator of the Ms. Marvel comic. And there you have it.  What are you listening to?

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The Disquieting Guest: On “As Above, As Below” (2014) and Theatrical Horror in 2014

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I didn’t get the chance to read as many books or watch as many films as I would like this year, and so any ruminations on my part about what might or might not constitute the best of the year should be taken with a Dead Sea’s worth of salt. My impression is that by and large, this has not been a stellar year for horror movies in the theatres. The box office returns tend to confirm that perception, which leads to Scott Mendelson’s gloomy appraisal of the situation here. But what needs to be factored in, regarding horror’s relatively poor showing in terms of numbers, is how few of this year’s films are actually any good. Compounding the problem is the fact that the two recent movies receiving the most glowing acclaim — Ana Lily Amirpour’s A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night and Jennifer Kent’s The Babadook — have received criminally minimal distribution. Last I heard, The Babadook, which by all accounts is absolutely terrifying and would be leading my Best-Of list had I been able to see it, has only played in a single theatre in all of Canada. I hope to catch both of these films in 2015, but as I have yet to see them, I can’t say anything else about them in the context of this column other than express my anticipation. And here, have a trailer.

The Skiffy and Fanty Show Podcasts

248. Ernest Saves Christmas (1988) — A Holiday Special Torture Cinema “Adventure”

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http://media.blubrry.com/skiffyandfanty/dts.podtrac.com/redirect.mp3/archive.org/download/SandFEpisode248TortureCinemaMeetsErnestSavesChristmas/SandF%20–%20Episode%20248%20–%20Torture%20Cinema%20Meets%20Ernest%20Saves%20Christmas.mp3Podcast: Play in new window | DownloadSubscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Android | iHeartRadio | Podchaser | Podcast Index | Email | TuneIn | Deezer | RSSBad driving, failed children’s television, and Varney, oh my!  Shaun, Julia, Mike, Rachael, Paul, and David join forces for this very special holiday edition of Torture Cinema, featuring the listener-selected flick, Ernest Saves Christmas (1988).  We watched it so you don’t have to suffer through it for Christmas (because you were totally going to do that, right?).  What more could you ask for? We hope you enjoy the episode, and have a great holiday, whatever you may celebrate! Note:  If you have iTunes and like this show, please give us a review on our iTunes page, or feel free to email us with your thoughts about the show! Here’s the episode (show notes are below): Episode 24 — Download (MP3) Show Notes: Ernest Saves Christmas (1988)(IMDB) Our new intro music is “Time Flux” by Revolution Void (CC BY 3.0). That’s all, folks!  Thanks for listening.  See you next week.

The Skiffy and Fanty Show Podcasts

246. Canadian SF at LonCon3 — #WorldSFTour

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http://media.blubrry.com/skiffyandfanty/dts.podtrac.com/redirect.mp3/archive.org/download/SandFEpisode246CanadianSFAtLonCon3/SandF%20–%20Episode%20246%20–%20Canadian%20SF%20at%20LonCon3.mp3Podcast: Play in new window | DownloadSubscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Android | iHeartRadio | Podchaser | Podcast Index | Email | TuneIn | Deezer | RSSSpace hockey, Martian curling, and Quebec, oh my!  Recorded at LonCon3 / Worldcon, this panel on Canadian SF features the voices of Eric Choi, Kate Heartfield, Ira Nayman, Hayden Trenholm, Caitlin Sweet, and Marjolaine Lafreniere.  They tackle Canadian publishing, the history of Canadian SF, thematic differences, and more. We hope you enjoy the episode! Note:  If you have iTunes and like this show, please give us a review on our iTunes page, or feel free to email us with your thoughts about the show! Here’s the episode (show notes are below): Episode 246 — Download (MP3) Show Notes:

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Diversity in SF Film: Things to Come (1936)

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This is my third post on diversity in Science Fiction films. I started with Metropolis (1927), and then skipped two decades to The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951). Largely, my reason was that there weren’t any options for the 30s or 40s available on Netflix. Apparently, there aren’t very many SF films within that twenty year period.[1] I’ve decided to skip Frankenstein — although the novel is one of the first, if not the first, SF novels — because the classic film has more in common with horror than SF. I feel much the same about King Kong. Therefore, I settled on Things to Come (1936), which is based upon the H.G. Wells’ novel published in 1933 entitled The Shape of Things to Come. I know I’m risking a bit of confusion by going backward here, but I felt it was too important to skip. Also:  keep in mind that I don’t think I read the novel. At least, I don’t remember having read it.[2] So… Things to Come.

The Skiffy and Fanty Show Podcasts

243. The Marvel Cinematic Universe Panel at CONvergence

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http://media.blubrry.com/skiffyandfanty/dts.podtrac.com/redirect.mp3/archive.org/download/SandFEpisode243MarvelCinematicUniversePanelAtCONvergence/SandF%20–%20Episode%20243%20–%20Marvel%20Cinematic%20Universe%20Panel%20at%20CONvergence.mp3Podcast: Play in new window | DownloadSubscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Android | iHeartRadio | Podchaser | Podcast Index | Email | TuneIn | Deezer | RSSKickass heroines, Marvel-ous universes, and ants, oh my!  Recorded at CONvergence, this panel on the Marvel Cinematic Universe is akin to a blast from the past.  Featuring the voice talents of Lyda Morehouse (a.k.a. Tate Hallaway), Allyson Cygan, Shaun Duke, John Seavey, and Neil Anderson, the panel discusses the current Marvel film canon, upcoming projects, and our hopes for the future (some of which Marvel has kindly answered). Here is the panel description: Thor: The Dark World and Captain America: The Winter Soldier have been out, and Agents of SHIELD, Guardians of the Galaxy, The Defenders, and Ant Man are on the horizon. How do they all compare? What do you want to see next? We hope you enjoy the episode! Note:  If you have iTunes and like this show, please give us a review on our iTunes page, or feel free to email us with your thoughts about the show! Here’s the episode (show notes are below): Episode 243 — Download (MP3) Show Notes: The Panelists: Lyda Morehouse / Tate Hallaway Lyda/Tate’s Twitter John Seavey Neil Anderson Allyson Cygan Shaun Duke Shaun’s Twitter Our new intro music is “Time Flux” by Revolution Void (CC BY 3.0). That’s all, folks!  Thanks for listening.  See you next week.

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