Nearly everyone has a story about that one cartoon or movie they watched as a child that gave them nightmares, whether it was an “Elephants on Parade” acid trip or a “Why’d I’d watch this when I was seven?” childhood trauma. But even as adults, there are stories that lodge deep in the psyche, that…
Read MoreNearly every long-running series has at least a few episodes that seem to be “killing time.” Sometimes they are unique one-off stories. Sometimes they are humorous character studies. And sometimes they are just plain weird. How are we to react to these filler episodes? To dig into this question, hosts Timothy Deal and Nick Hayden…
Read MoreIt’s easy to complain about derivative plots and copycat characters, to want something fresh and new that doesn’t recycle the same old tropes. But this can obscure that fact that sometimes we like repetition–if it’s done well. I mean, who doesn’t want to see Lucy pull the football away from Charlie Brown one more time?…
Read MoreOther possible titles for this episode: Food and Fiction. Scumptious Stories. Delectable Dramas. Mouth-watering Myths. Belly-satisfying Books. Yummy Yarns. You get the idea. We all eat. Most of us every day, even several times a day. It’s understandable, then, that food shows up in the stories we consume (pun intended). But what is the role…
Read MoreThe Christmas season means Christmas movies, and one constant of Christmas movies is the need to believe. You must have faith in the Christmas spirit, or belief in Santa Claus, or even trust in the promises of God. Each of these are labelled belief or faith, and yet they can make for very different stories….
Read MoreWe’ve all woken from some strange, disorienting dream and wondered, “What was that all about?” In stories, we also sometimes encounter strange dream sequences, and sometimes we still ask, “What was that all about?” In this episode, hosts Timothy Deal and Nick Hayden examine these strange interludes to determine when a dream sequence is beneficial…
Read MoreHosts Timothy Deal and Nick Hayden tackle light use of dark subjects in stories, Halloween puns, and fictional ghosts.
Read MoreYou’ve heard the story before–a young man from a remote village is thrust into the larger world because he takes on the responsibilty of a great quest, where he’ll have great adventure and meet strange creatures. You know, Star Wars. I mean, The Lord of
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