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A podcast by three red-headed fantasy authors talking about everything from academic mythology to dick jokes (and sometimes, both at once), as well as the role of fanfiction as an integral yet oft-overlooked part of the literary conversation and in the broader cultural context. It is, obviously, a podcast of extremely deep literary merit.
Episodes
Wednesday Aug 28, 2019
Wednesday Aug 28, 2019
On today's episode, we're discussing what exactly makes things funny. Hardly any dick jokes in this one, folks. (Get it? HARDly? it's a dick joke!) Anyway, our tentpoles (wink wink) this week are The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, The Emperor’s New Groove, and the Hamilton fanfic, “our gilded age” by screamlet.
What We’re Into Lately
Their Brilliant Careers by Ryan O’Neill
Which Witch by Eva Ibbotson
Lettered (writer in Schitt’s Creek and Harry Potter fandoms)
Other Stuff We Mentioned
Hannah Gadsby’s Netflix special Nanette and Ted Talk, “Three Ideas. Three Contradiction. Or Not.”
The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien
The Unspoken Name by A.K. Larkwood
To Say Nothing of the Dog by Connie Willis
Unseen Academicals by Terry Pratchett
In Other Lands by Sarah Rees Brennan
Pagan series by Catherine Jinks
Lymond series by Dorothy Dunnett
A Civil Campaign by Lois McMaster Bujold
Mark Reads, a video series by Mark Oshiro
For Next Time
"With Fire In Their Eyes" by Asuka Kureru
Transcription
The transcript for this episode can be found here. Have you written a love letter to your local scribes recently? :D
Wednesday Aug 14, 2019
Wednesday Aug 14, 2019
On this episode, we're talking about politics! It's gonna get.... kind of weirdly emotional. The tentpoles this week are “Corridors of Power” by blythely, “Hand in Unlovable Hand” by Annakovsky, and Cheesecake and the Art of Political Warfare by Sakana Sara.
What We’re Into Lately
Middlegame by Seanan McGuire
Slow Horses by Mick Herron
The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid
Semiosis by Sue Burke
Red White and Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston
“Lie Back and Think of Dinner” and “Still My Heart Has Wings” by jessthereckless
“By Definition” by idiopathicsmile
Tropic of Serpents by Marie Brennan
Other Stuff We Mentioned
The 7½ Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle by Stuart Turton
A Natural History of Dragons by Marie Brennan
A Choir of Lies and A Conspiracy of Truths by Alexandra Rowland
“Spin!” by weatherfront.
Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling
The Goblin Emperor by Katherine Addison
House of Cards, the UK TV mini-series
House of Cards by Michael Dobbs
The Traitor Baru Cormorant by Seth Dickinson
The Monster Baru Cormorant by Seth Dickinson
Vorkosigan Saga by Lois McMaster Bujold
A Deeper Season by lightgetsin, sahiya
What Passing Bells by lightgetsin, sahiya
For Next Time
The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams
Transcription
The transcript of this episode is available here. Thanks as always to our brilliant and extremely cute scribes! If you'd like to help compensate the scribes for their work, consider contributing a few dollars on Patreon!
Wednesday Jul 31, 2019
Wednesday Jul 31, 2019
*bangs on pots and pans* It's the Extravaganza! We're answering listener questions and definitely not sneaking in a question or two of our own! This is all completely legitimate and above-board!
What We’re Into Lately
Hither Page by Cat Sebastian
The Lady’s Guide to Celestial Mechanics by Olivia Waite,
Kaleidotrope podcast
Jenn Lyons’ Ruin of Kings
Lots of Good Omens stuff, including:
Raven (singlecrow)’s Good Omens fic
“Salinity (And Other Measures of Brackish Water)” by drawlight
“A Stone’s Throw From Jerusalem” by RC_McLachlan
“TwoFish” by Grindylowe
“the mortifying ordeal of being known (biblically)” by FlipSpring
Other Stuff We Mentioned
Queen of Attolia by Megan Whalen Turner
The Thief by Megan Whalen Turner
Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Bi, Episode 29 of Be the Serpent
Captive Prince by C.S. Pacat
astolat’s Steve/Sam stories
“Dangerous if Unbound” by astolat
astolat’s Game of Thrones fics
Tales from the Trunk, Hilary Bisenieks’s podcast
Freya’s story in Analog
BtS Episode 36 “There’s No Place Like Home”
The Legend of Zelda series, Breath of the Wild specifically
Hugo nominated fancasts:
For Next Time
"Cheesecake and the Art of Political Warfare" by Sakana Sara
Transcript:
The transcript of this episode is available here. As always, we are incredibly grateful to our scribes!
Wednesday Jul 17, 2019
Wednesday Jul 17, 2019
On this episode, we're talking wizards! We're comparing the magic systems of Brandon Sanderson's The Emperor's Soul and RB Lemberg's "Geometries of Belonging". Also, Freya has designed a fun game for Alex and Macey!
What We’re Into Lately
Silver in the Wood by Emily Tesh
The Name of All Things by Jenn Lyons
Chronin by Alison Wilgus
Catalyst by Jennifer Mace
A Memory Called Empire by Arkady Martine
Lots of Good Omens shit, including:
Alex’s Good Omens fanvids “Bohemian Rhapsody” and “Hallelujah”.
“vintage demon art, vape pens, & other treasures” by kyrilu
“Don’t Stop Me Now” and “My Best Friend” fanvids
"Making An Effort: Queer (Trans) Masculinity in the Ethereal & Occult Beings of Good Omens"
Much Ado About Nothing (2011)
Other Stuff We Mentioned
Oxford Time Travel series by Connie Willis
DA:I fanfiction
Analog July/August Issue (ft. Freya’s short story)
Wayward Children series
Freya’s fairy fic ‘Hood & Glove’
Machineries of Empire series by Yoon Ha Lee
The Birdverse section of R.B. Lemberg’s website
Kingdom (2019-)
“What We Named the Needle" by Freya Marske
Spinning Silver by Naomi Novik
The Elenium series by David Eddings
The Tamuli series by David Eddings
The Queen’s Thief series by Megan Whalen Turner
For Next Time
Nothing! It's the Episode 40 Extravaganza!
Transcript
The transcription for this episode can be found here. Thanks as always to our wondrous scribes, the lights of our life!
Wednesday Jul 03, 2019
Wednesday Jul 03, 2019
On this episode, we're doing a bird's-eye view of the six finalists from this year's Best Novel ballot of the Hugo Awards!
What We’re Into Lately
Luminous Dead by Caitlin Starling
Prince of Air and Darkness by M.A. Grant
Borne by Jeff Vandermeer
Annihilation by Jeff Vandermeer
The Flowers of Vashnoi by Lois McMaster Bujold
Good Omens (the miniseries)
Other Stuff We Mentioned
The Calculating Stars and The Fated Sky by Mary Robinette Kowal (Freya misquotes the second title as The Fated Stars)
Record of a Spaceborn Few and The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet by Becky Chambers
Chants from A Conspiracy of Truths by Alexandra Rowland
Ninefox Gambit, Raven Stratagem, and Revenant Gun by Yoon Ha Lee
Hannibal Lecter from The Hannibal Lecter series by Thomas Harris
Space Opera by Cat Valente
Saga Press
Eurovision 2019 Iceland
Eurovision 2019 Australia
The Starlit Wood (‘Navah Wolfe anthology’)
N.K. Jemisin’s The Broken Earth trilogy
For Next Time:
"Geometries of Belonging" by RB Lemberg
Transcription:
The transcript of this episode can be found here. Sing, muse, of the work of the scribes!!
Wednesday Jun 19, 2019
Wednesday Jun 19, 2019
On this week's episode, we're discussing ASSASSINS! Tentpoles this week are The Perfect Assassin by K.A. Doore, the television show Killing Eve, and the movie Mr. and Mrs. Smith.
What We’re Into Lately
The Calculating Stars by Mary Robinette Kowal
The Hating Game by Sally Thorne
A Duke in Disguise by Cat Sebastian
Gideon the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir
The Fisherman by John Langan
Ship of Smoke and Steel by Django Wexler
Proper English by K.J. Charles
Salt: A World History by Mark Kurlansky
“Episode 10: Spies & Disguise” from Technique Critique
Other Stuff We Mentioned
Think of England by K.J. Charles
“meditations ex post facto” by singlecrow
A Choir of Lies by Alexandra Rowland
A Conspiracy of Truths by Alexandra Rowland
Freya’s amazing new jacket
Ozimandais by Percy Bysshe Shelley
The Bourne series
Farseer by Robin Hobbe
BtS patreon
For Next Time
The entire slate of Best Novels from this year's Hugo Award ballot!
Transcript
The transcript for this episode is available here. The scribes are amazing! They're so good!! Yay for scribes!!!
Wednesday Jun 05, 2019
Wednesday Jun 05, 2019
On today’s episode we’re discussing magical houses! Are some of them sentient? How do they communicate? Is a haunted house a magical house? The tentpoles this week are: “House Proud” by astolat, House of Many Ways by Diana Wynne Jones, and The Veldt by Ray Bradbury.
What We’re Into Lately
Proper English by KJ Charles
A Prince on Paper Alyssa Cole
Sicily: An Island at the Crossroads of History by John Julius Norwich
Everything astolat
Salt: A World History by Mark Kurlansky
Other Stuff We Mentioned
Episode 40 Extravaganza!
TARDIS (from Doctor Who)
Victoria Schwab’s series (A Darker Shade of Magic by V.E. Schwab)
Howl’s Moving Castle and Castle in the Air by Diana Wynne Jones
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
Hieros gamos
The Illustrated Man by Ray Bradbury
Peter Pan by J.M. Barrie
The Tea Master and the Detective by Aliette de Bodard
The Popinjay’s Daughter by Anne Cross
The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson
Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë
Under the Pendulum Sun by Jeannette Ng
Foresight by Freya Marske
For Next Time:
The Perfect Assassin by KA Doore
Transcription:
The transcript of this episode is available here! Thanks as always to our amazing team of scribes.
Wednesday May 22, 2019
Wednesday May 22, 2019
On this week's episode, we're talking about space operas.... IN SPAAAAACE. The tentpoles this week are The Tea Master and the Detective by Aliette de Bodard, the fanfic A Deeper Season by lightgetsin and sahiya, and the pilot episodes of Farscape and Killjoys.
What We’re Into Lately
The London Celebrities series by Lucy Parker
Monty Don’s Italian Gardens
Detective L
"Quid Pro Quo" by Dira Sudis
Other Stuff We Mentioned
Ancillary Justice series by Ann Leckie
Noel Streatfield
Elementary
The Space Opera Renaissance by David Hartwell and Kathryn Cramer
Chilling Effect by Valerie Valdes
Dragonriders of Pern by Anne McCaffrey
Planetary romance
Jupiter Ascending
Vorkosigan Saga
Stargate: Atlantis
The Adventure Zone
Firefly
Babylon 5
The Goblin Emperor
Ancillary Justice
Firefly
Stargate: Atlantis
Splendor & Misery by clipping
Shards of Honor
“Right Answer” [second Deeper Season]
Ender’s Game
A Civil Campaign
The Expanse
Cowboy Bebop
Star Trek
Star Wars
Acorna books by Anne McCaffrey
Nimisha’s Ship by Anne McCaffrey
Philip Pullman’s His Dark Materials series
Space Opera by Cat Valente
Mobile Suit Gundam Wing
For Next Time
House of Many Ways by Diana Wynne Jones
Transcription:
The transcript for this episode is available here. Thanks as always to our brilliant scribal team!
Wednesday May 08, 2019
Wednesday May 08, 2019
On this episode, we're doing a deep-dive on a single tentpole, and we are extremely back on our bullshit. It's time to talk about astolat's Witcher fanfic, "Misethere"!
What We’re Into Lately
Amnesty by Lara Elena Donnelly
le Carré
Miranda in Milan by Katharine Duckett
Not for Use in Navigation by Iona Datt Sharma
Strange Grace by Tessa Gratton
A Taste of Honey by Kai Ashante Wilson
“Dreaming of Sunshine”
The Magicians
The Natural History of Dragons
Komarr
A Civil Campaign
The Tropic of Serpents
Lymond Chronicles
Other Stuff We Mentioned
“Drastically Redefining Protocol”
“Miserere” (song)
Witcher
Dragon Age
Gundam Wing
Person of Interest
Smallville
Sweet Valley High
Fantastic Four
Fast and Furious
Vetinari/Vimes from Terry Pratchett’s Discworld series
J.Y. Yang
And I Alone Have Escaped To Tell You by astolat
"A Year In Toussaint" by astolat
“The War of Silver and Ash” by astolat
“The Blooded Crown” by astolat [aka ‘the second one’]
BtS Episode “Cross Your Stars and Hope to Bi” [aka ‘Disaster Bisexuals’]
Xanatos Speed Chess
Vorkosigan Saga
The Warrior’s Apprentice
Master and Commander by Patrick O’Brian
“Duende” by astolat
Avengers
“Entanglements” by astolat
For Next Time
The Tea Master and the Detective by Aliette de Bodard
Transcription
The transcript for this episode can be found here. As always, thank you to our brilliant scribal team!
Wednesday Apr 24, 2019
Wednesday Apr 24, 2019
On this episode, we're discussing police procedurals! Who breaks the rules? Who goes by the book? Tentpoles this week are A Private Reason for This by femmequixoitc, Midnight Riot by Ben Aaronovitch, and the first episode of the TV show Luther.
What We’re Into Lately
My Sister, the Serial Killer by Oyinkan Braithwaite
Mrs. Martin’s Incomparable Adventure by Courtney Milan
Romance is a Bonus Book (2019)
The Unspoken Name by AK Larkwood (forthcoming, 2020)
Spectred Isle by KJ Charles
“Signals That Sound in the Dark” by Dira Sudis
The Warrior’s Apprentice by Lois McMaster Bujold
The Natural History of Dragons by Marie Brennan
Other Stuff We Mentioned
Brooklyn Nine-Nine!
Bones.
Criminal Minds
The Secret Casebook of Simon Feximal
Vorkosigan saga
Torchwood
Wire in the Blood
Val McDermid novels
Sherlock Holmes
Robert Galbraith’s Cormoran Strike novels
Poirot novels by Agatha Christie
Miss Fisher’s Murder Mysteries
Elementary
Guards! Guards! by Terry Pratchett
the shapeshifter character trope (mentioned on Story Grid podcast)
Hinterland
Miss Marples
The Killing
Pushing Daisies
iZombie
Komarr
Killing Eve
Witcher (though really this is for next time! ;) )
For Next Time:
Misethere by astolat
Transcription:
The transcript of the episode can be found here. Thank you once again to the scribes!!