Metal

Episode 142 – Free For All

Every creative work is the product of someone’s hard work and imagination. That’s why there’s copyright laws. Storytellers of all kinds should be paid for their work and own their ideas. However, at some point, all stories enter the public domain. What is public domain? What’s the role of public domain in creativity? How does…

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Episode 128 – I Ain’t No Hero

Not every hero is squeaky clean. Not every hero wants to save the world and then go back to living a decent, unassuming life. Some heroes cheat. Some heroes kill. Some heroes, in other circumstances, might be considered the bad guy. What do we do with these so-called anti-heroes? Do we celebrate them for being…

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Episode 119 – Genres Gone Wild?

Here at Derailed Trains of Thought (your premiere podcast on storytelling for the creator and consumer), we like to talk about genre fiction. You know, science fiction, fantasy, mysteries, superheroes, blah, blah, blah. But the heart of story is character

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Episode 101 – Apocalypse as Popcorn

If there’s one thing everyone knows about the end of the world, it’s that it’s pretty cool to watch on the big screen. There’s nothing like destruction, chaos, and extinction-level events to make us sit back and think, “Man, this is awesome.” Guest Nathan

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Episode 47 – The SFW ‘NSFW Episode’

You know what makes a story real? What makes it intelligent and high-minded? Sex. Also, unflinching violence. Then probably more sex. Or at least another pint of blood. But is this true? At what point do these things become gratuitous? Or are they always

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Episode 37 – DEEEEEEP Hurting

Ever had one of those days when you wake up late, spill hot coffee on yourself, accidentally sever your hand in the car door, and then witness the utter destruction of everything you know and love by a trans-dimensional blitzkrieg? Me, either. But if you’

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Episode 26 – Capers, Chaos, and Pythons…Oh My!

KA-POW! In this episode of Derailed Trains of Thought, Tim and Nick–BAM!–fight their way through the–BANG!–dangerous question of what–RAT-TAT-TAT!–makes action awesome. TICK. And what makes it–SNICK! ARGHHH!–just a mess of dead bodies. TICK. Also,

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Episode 11 – Hate the Sin, Love the Villain

Relentless. Ruthless. Witty retorts. A rockin’ theme song. Villains often captivate us with their acts of savagery and urbane smiles. Why do we love a good villain? In this episode, Tim and Nick explore the lure of villainy, the idea of justice for antago

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Episode 10 – I Need a Hero!

Strong. Noble. Honest. The hero grips sword in hand, righteous and determined, and sets upon his quest to right the wrongs of the world. Will he succeed? And why do we care? In our milestone 10th podcast, Tim and Nick discuss what makes a hero heroic, com

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