
Current Season
[Season Three]
Native Son
Guest: Ben Fox
Joe and Mark talk to Ben Fox, entrepreneur and creator of the book discovery site, Shepherd. They discuss the classic, Native Son, by Richard Wright and the impact it had on a teenage Ben.
Crab Village
Guest: Candas Jane Dorsey
Mark and Joe are joined by science fiction and fantasy author and editor, Candas Jane Dorsey. They fall back into their childhoods to discuss influential books like Crab Village, by Julia Clark.
Ambient Electronic Music
Guest: John Scalzi
Joe and Mark are joined by the super successful and super-fun science fiction writer, John Scalzi. They learn all about John’s amazing career in science fiction, and the three examine the value of creating art, just for the joy of it.
John Scalzi,
The Sequel
Guest: John Scalzi
Joe and Mark listen to an old interview that Joe did with John Scalzi, at Torcon 3, a science fiction convention in 2003. This sets off a bit of reminiscing and discussion of the experience of going to a WorldCon.
Chrono Trigger
Guest: Catherine Fitzsimmons
Catherine Fitzsimmons, publisher, science fiction and fantasy author and editor, talks with Mark and Joe about her work. The founder and publisher of Brain Lag discusses the narrative possibilities of video games.
René Magritte
Guest: Michael Antman
Author and critic Michael Antman joins the lads to discuss how seeing an exhibition of René Magritte’s art at the Art Institute of Chicago shaped him as a young man and writer.
Alice in Wonderland
Guest: Jenn Thorson
Mark and Joe welcome the author Jenn Thorson, who has written humor, humorous science fiction and two novels set in wonderland. They talk about the original Alice in Wonderland books by Lewis Carroll.
Duck Soup
Guest: Ira Nayman
Writer and editor Ira Nayman returns to the podcast to help the lads appreciate and understand the early movies of the Marx Brothers, including Duck Soup, Horse Feathers, Monkey Business and Animal Crackers.
Fahrenheit 451
Guest: Abigail Grimes
Joe and Mark host Abigail Grimes, a writer, poet and spoken-word artist, to discuss the classic Ray Bradbury tale. How well does the science fiction story hold up, and what can we learn from it today?
The Versifier
Guest: Bruce Sterling
Mark and Joe host the legendary cyberpunk author, Bruce Sterling, to discuss The Versifier. Based on a 1959 short story by Primo Levi, the device is “probably the most prophetic object that Italian science fiction has every produced.”
Little Shop of Horrors
Guest: Blair Young
Actor and university friend of Mark, Blair Young joins the podcast to talk about life as a thespian. He also discusses the play that inspired him to become an actor and keeps him enthused about the profession.
Nick Patterson
Guest: Tom Bradley
Joe and Mark welcome “one of the most criminally underrated writers on the planet” to the podcast to discuss the art of Nick Patterson. The Canadian artist has frequently collaborated with Tom and Tom has fascinating insights into Nick’s work.
The War of the Worlds
Guest: Hugh A. D. Spencer
Canadian science fiction writer Hugh A. D. Spencer joins the lads to talk about one of his favorite bits of audio – the original radio play of The War of the Worlds.
The Gates
Guest: Lisa Brandt
Mark and Joe are joined by the writer and broadcaster, Lisa Brandt, to discuss massive environmental art installation by Bulgarian artist Christo Yavacheff and French artist Jeanne-Claude, known jointly as Christo and Jeanne-Claude.
The Wire
Guest: Tony Schwartz
Joe and Mark host Tony Schwartz, who had a long career in film and television as a freelance second director and line producer. He’s on the podcast to make the case for why everyone should watch The Wire.
Yellowface
Guest: Robert Runte
Editor and writer Robert Runte joins Mark and Joe on the podcast to encourage everyone to read R. F. Kuang’s satire of the publishing industry, Yellowface.
Soul Twin Messiah
Guest: Kip Baldwin &
Evan Gary Hirsch
Joe and Mark are joined by Evan Gary Hirsch and Kip Baldwin, who make up the duo Soul Twin Messiah (STM), who have an inspiring message of love and unity for the human family.
Ravi Shankar
Guest: Christopher Guerin
Christopher Guerin, poet and music aficionado, is on the podcast to champion the work of classical Indian musician Ravi Shankar.
The Chronicles of Amber
Guest: Peter Darbyshire
Mark and Joe fellow Canadian author, Peter Darbyshire, to discuss the classic Roger Zelazny’s fantasy series. The books changed the way he thought about writing and set him on the path to becoming an author.
Veronica Mars
Guest: Jen Prince
Producer and director Jen Prince joins the lads to have a fabulous conversation about the early aughts series, Veronica Mars. The groundbreaking TV show influenced Jen in her own work in the film and television industry.
Ruth Abernethy
Guest: Ruth Abernethy
Ruth Abernethy, sculptor of some of the most iconic public art in Canada, joins the podcast to discuss her work with Mark and Joe. She takes them through the process of creating bronze sculptures and how she started her career in the theatre.
The Very Thought of You
Guest: Cathi Bond
Joe and Mark are joined by Cathi Bond, Canadian writer, broadcaster and novelist. The former “video diva” and CBC colleague of Joe is on the show to explain how early-mid-20th-century classics such as Ten Cents a Dance and The Very Thought of You influenced her writing.
Billy Joel’s Vienna
Guest: Lauren LoGrasso
The singer, podcaster and producer Lauren LoGrasso drops by to talk about one of her favorite pieces of music, Vienna, by Billy Joel. The song is having a renaissance in the TikTok world for its age-positive message and it had a huge influence on Lauren’s own work in music.
Ray Charles
Guest: Spencer Evans
Spencer Evans is a working musician in Kingston Ontario. He joins Mark and Joe to discuss the influence that Ray Charles had on him as piano player and entertainer, as well as the impact Charles had on the history of music in America and the world. He’s an old Queen’s Players pal of Marks, and it’s a rollicking conversation!
Seven Samurai
Guest: Christian Gossett
The lads are joined by writer, director, comic book artist and creator Christian Gossett. Christian is on the show to champion the groundbreaking Akira Kurosawa film, Seven Samurai (1954).