Fuel Your Fandom: Recent Episodes
Kevin Saint
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We nerds have been lucky enough to have not one, not two, but THREE awesome superhero epics to sink our teeth into in just the first half of 2025. The latest MCU installment landed first in the form of "Thunderbolts*", followed by "Superman" — the début of James Gunn's all-new DCU. Now Marvel's latest has arrived in the form of "Fantastic Four: First Steps". And wow, has it been refreshing to see what Marvel does when it manages to wrest its toys back from sticky rights agreements. This t̶h̶i̶r̶d̶ FOURTH-time-lucky reboot / redux is what fans of Marvel's First Family have been waiting for since Roger Corman first gave it a swing: The FF done right. So on this Half-Tank episode, Saint and Jim take a look at everything that made this such a rousing return to form. But, be warned: HERE THERE BE SPOILERS. So proceed with caution.
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He goes by many names: Snoop. Snoop Dogg. Snoop DOGGY Dogg. Snoop Lion. Even what his mama called him — Calvin Cordozar Broadus Junior. But no matter what name you use, one thing's for sure: Snoop Dogg is a renaissance man; a one-G entertainment empire who does it all, and does it well. He's an MC. He's an actor. He's a comedian. A roaster. A raconteur. And maybe even a couple of other things it might be less-than-delicate to mention. As such, Saint and Jim thought he deserved his own episode. So plug those earholes, spark one up (if you like), and partake of a little bit of Dee-Oh-Double-G.
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The internet has discovered a favorite game as of late. Specifically, quizzes that ask netizens to pick one thing from a list of available options, and eliminate the others. It's not a new concept at all, but it's nonetheless sparked some pretty intense debates across the digital landscape. In this edition of FYF, Saint and Jim thought it might be fun to take a swing at this from a musical perspective. How would you choose one band, song, or artist over another? And why? What criteria do you use? Especially when the range of options is about as diverse as the average new fall crop of DNC interns? Given the broad base of musical know-how these two guys have, the decisions aren't gonna be easy. So, what do YOU think? Earhole this one, and decide for yourself.
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Hey, Friends of Fandom. Saint and Jim initially planned a bye this week, but the nerd-o-sphere had other plans. A WHOLE NEW CINEMATIC UNIVERSE just kicked off, and man, is it Super good. And since one good launch deserves another, the boys decided to kick off / revive a new sub-show: The Half Tank. This ain't a full episode, but it's still packed with geekery. Here, your intrepid co-hosts skip the news and the catch-ups, and dive straight into the meat n' spuds. In this case: SUPERMAN. James Gunn has defied the cries of "superhero fatigue" by delivering his take on everyone's favorite Kryptonian, and the guys are gonna kick it around some. But a caveat: this is a VERY spoiler-heavy episode, even give its relative brevity. So if you somehow haven't seen the movie, GO DO IT AND COME BACK. For the rest of you, earholes it is.
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There's no denying it — "Weird Al" Yankovic is more culturally relevant now than ever. He's not JUST a peerless parodist and national treasure, either. He's also a straight-up documentarian of several distinct eras of popular culture. And nowhere is this more apparent than in his polka medleys; accordion-heavy pastiches that draw from some of the most popular songs of their respective eras to create magical mosaics that are always greater than the sum of their parts. So in the wake of Al's sold-out Madison Square Garden engagement (and since it's been a full 100 episodes since he's been a subject), Saint and Jim are wrapping up the Trilogy of Triumph by breaking down these polka-piles into discrete components, and holding them up to the mirror of history to see how they stand up. Spoiler Alert: STILL AWESOME.
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TV characters die for a lot of reasons. Sometimes their stories just run their course, and the larger narrative demands it. Maybe someone didn't renew their contract, or there was an on-set conflict that meant they got written out. Occasionally, the actor themselves passes, and it becomes inevitable. Whatever the reason, we've all had the experience of turning on one of our favorite shows, only to watch a key character suddenly take a dirt nap out of nowhere. In this episode of FYF, Saint and Jim look at some of the most memorable TV character departures that have ever hit the small screen. Of course, there's also news, tangents and shenanigans, because it wouldn't be Fandom without them.
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If you're reading this, chances are you grew up with cartoons. We all grabbed a bowl of Chocolate Frosted Sugar Bombs on Saturday mornings, and sat cross-legged in front of our family TVs as kids to watch generation-defining 'toons — ranging from Bugs Bunny to My Little Pony to He-Man. But at some point, "cartoons" crossed a tipping point and became "animation." The Flintstones, The Smurfs and Scooby-Doo evolved into South Park, Ren & Stimpy and The Simpsons. And just like that, cartoons weren't just for kids anymore. So to what do we attribute the staying power of animation? Is it nostalgia? Is it that we embrace our entertainment growing along with us? How did we get from Steamboat Willie to Pickle Rick? Pop this particularly wide-ranging edition of FYF into your earholes, and kick it around with the boys.
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Hey, have you ever seen a movie? If you're reading this, it's safe to say you probably have. So you know what a movie star is: those are the above-the-title, big-time A-listers who can pack butts into seats on opening weekend. But most movies only have one protagonist or hero. So what do you do when you need to fill the role of "Police Chief", "English Teacher" or "Scientist #2"? Well...you call a That Guy. That Guys are those awesome supporting character actors who flesh out a cast with talent and range; actors you've seen countless times before, but who aren't exactly household names. You know them. You love them. You just can't PLACE them. So on this episode, Saint and Jim give these incredible "Hey, it's THAT GUY!" performers some overdue love.
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Hey, do you eat food? If so, then this episode of FYF just might be for you. However, if you're not an ADVENTUROUS eater? If you have a traditional tongue, or a persnickety palate? Then prepare to have your mind (and taste buds) well and truly expanded. Because on this edition of the show, Saint and Jim are discussing food fads — those equal parts trendy and tasty goodies that are just as fresh imagination-wise as they are fresh out of the oven. We're talking innovative ingestibles like Sliders. Cronuts. Edible foams, creative cookies and crazy concoctions. Some took off, and made the great American plate. Others were literal flashes in the pan. But they all stretched the boundaries of the menu, and reminded us that food can be fun as well as fandom. So dig in.
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TVTropes.com defines a trope as, "a storytelling device a creator can assume is already present in the mind of the audience without needing to be explained." In other words, not a cliché, but more a narrative precept we've already seen before, and intrinsically understand the meaning of. Still, while it's a slightly sticky thing to define, it's an immediate thing to understand. In this episode, Saint and Jim spend some time kicking around their favorite tropes from modern entertainment. They're joined by astronomer, astrophysicist, and friend of fandom Dr. Robert Morehead, who kindly brings a truly universal perspective to an idea that's well beneath his education level. So give us your earholes...we want 'em.
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We all know this to be true whether we realize it consciously, or not: our sense of smell is the one of the core five most closely tied to our memory. If we pick up a particularly evocative scent (especially if it's been awhile), we're immediately transported to the last time we detected it. The reasons for this are complex biologically, but regardless — nothing has quite the power to produce nostalgia like a unique aroma, especially one from childhood. On this edition of FYF, Saint and Jim break down some of the weirdest, wildest and most wonderful smells that they (and others) can remember as being tied to specific memories, and encourage you to recall the same. Plus: all the news that's fit to nerd.
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English is a bizarre language; a savory stew of compound words, random spellings, garbled grammar and even terms borrowed from other tongues. But perhaps no aspect of English is odder than the idiom. In essence, an idiom is a universally understood phrase that refers to something else, often using language entirely unrelated to the thing itself. But once heard, it’s rarely forgotten. Think, “He’s holding all the cards,” “The cat got her tongue” or “By hook or by crook.” We all know what they mean. But WHY do they mean what they mean? On this episode, Saint and Jim look at the origins of these idiosyncratic idioms so that by and large, we can all go the whole nine yards and get our ducks in a row.
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Couple of heavy topics the last few weeks, huh? Well, as promised, Saint and Jim keep things a little bit lighter this week by playing one of the internet's favorite games. And it's a two-parter:
1.) Keep one human actor, and recast the rest of the movie with Muppets, or...
2.) Replace one human actor with a muppet, and keep the rest of the cast.
One of the reasons the Muppets are so beloved is because there's one for every role. And not just in the Muppet-verse, but EVERY role. So if you've ever thought Kermit would make a great Superman, or Miss Piggy would make a fantastic Ellen Ripley, you're not alone. So join the boys as they fall down the rabbit hole of speculating on which Muppets (or entire casts of them) could reliably step in for John Wick, Captain Kirk, The Wizard of Oz, and countless others. Waka-waka-waka!
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Nostalgia is a funny thing sometimes. If we get the idea to re-read our favorite book, re-play a beloved video game, or re-watch our comfort movie, we can usually manage that. But what if the thing you want to revisit is a place...and it doesn't exist anymore? What if you want to, say, browse the shelves at Blockbuster? Dig into some fried ice cream at Chi-Chi's? Head to Sears and pick up a set of Craftsman sockets? You can't. Because those places simply aren't around anymore. In this episode of FYF, Saint and Jim take a look into some of the long-gone stores and restaurants they used to visit during their misspent Gen-X youth, and wish they could stop into again. Chances are, you would, too. Did your favorite spot make the list?
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In the third and final installment of the Trilogy of Fail mini-series, Saint and Jim take a look at technological fails. These are hyped, touted and in some cases even anticipated tech products; products that were conceived, researched, prototyped, produced, marketed and sold...but that nonetheless made about as much impact as a wet fart in a windstorm. Among them: audio players absolutely nobody wanted, transportation devices that became punchlines, "Who is this for?!?" computer peripherals, and even undeniable missteps that faded fast, but still left equally miserable legacies — like terrible typefaces and TSA overreach. Will your (least) favorite tech flop make the list? Only one way to find out. Just realize that there's a reason this is particular format is called a "Podcast" and not a "Zunecast", and you've got a decent head start.
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Following their initial installment in this mini-series (famous film failures), Saint and Jim are moving on to the next step. Namely, legendary flops from the world of interactive entertainment. According to Wikipedia, 10% of published video games generated 90% of the industry's revenue. Meaning that for every one game that's a success, there are ten others in line behind it that don't even earn their budget back. Sure, there are still massive mega-hits like whatever the latest "Grand Theft Auto" or "Call of Duty" title might be. But countless games still fall flat on their face right out of the gate. And some fall so fast and so hard that they wind up buried under a few tons of sand in a landfill. Literally. So join the boys on this rundown of reek to sift through the rubble, and remember the digital disasters that ate dirt right from the jump.
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Today begins a triptych of episodes Saint and Jim are affectionately referring to as the "Trilogy of Fail." Because — lets face it — while nobody in entertainment ever sets OUT to make a turkey, sometimes it happens anyway. And since more than a few movies have fallen flat on their celluloid faces lately, they're gonna start with movies that underperformed. Movies can flop for any number of reasons. Maybe the director bailed mid-project, perhaps the studio meddled with the script, or it could be that the cast wasn't up to the challenge. Or, the whole thing could've just been doomed from the start. Whatever the reason, some movies just eat it right out of the gate. So in the first of a trio of installments, our boys break down the biggest box-office disappointments in cineplex history, all of which opened, and then immediately landed with a thud. So grab some popcorn and earhole it up.
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It may not have been a "Goonies" or "Ghostbusters"-level cultural touchstone of the time, but the Richard Pryor/John Candy flick "Brewster's Millions" is still a beloved '80s movie many of us remember with serious fondness. The plot was the sort of Reagan-era contrivance that could only have flown in the "Greed is good" decade: Pryor's character finds himself in possession of a $30 million windfall from a recently deceased relative. And if he can spend it all in 30 days with nothing tangible to show for it (e.g., real estate, cars or other assets), he'll inherit another $300 million. What follows? Your standard '80s-flavored zany madcap antics. So Saint and Jim got to thinking...how would THEY burn through the Benjamins in a similar situation? And for that matter, how would YOU? Let's dive into the vault Scrooge McDuck style and find out. Plus: news, natch.
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"We're gonna need a bigger boat." "There's no place like home." "Inconceivable!" The classic movie, TV or video game quote serves a very important purpose: it's a clearly defined, self-contained, and universally understood reference to a well-written piece of entertainment that can apply to any number of life situations. When well-placed, a sharp line can act as a timeless (and timely) conversational lubricant that acts like a pop-culture parfait of sorts — it's layered, easily digestible, and can serve as a sweet and satisfying finisher to a more substantial situation. Plus, you can see who else has eaten it up, then use it as a litmus test to find other people who share your taste. In this episode of Fuel Your Fandom, Saint and Jim do a rapid rundown of some of the most quotable quips from the world of nerd media. Did your favorite bon mot make the list? Only one way to find out! Friends, Romans, countrymen...Lend us your earholes.
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The Fuel Your Fandom podcast returns! Season seven launches with a round-up of all the news that's fit to nerd, the obligatory "This is not a political podcast" vitriol in reference to, well — gestures broadly at literally everything, and an "Old Men Bitchin' About Their Health" segment that's actually got some GOOD news for a change. Then — on to the walking dead. If you're a geek in 2025, you've got a zombie survival plan. What are you gonna wear? Eat? Are you more of a blunt melee weapon wielder, or a projectile person? And if you haven't done your cardio, you'd better hope the reanimated corpses you need to navigate and survive are the lumbering Romero types over the "28 Days" runners. No matter what, any plan is better than none. So bring your earholes over to the start of Season 7, and let us pump some undead dorkery into your BRAAAAAINS.
Thanks to our sponsor, Magic Mind! Get all of the brain-boosting details at www.magicmind.com/fyf20 to save 20% today!
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Saint and Jim are saying "so long" to season six with a bit of an odds-n'-ends episode. Reason being, sometimes they toss out possible topics that are intriguing, but not necessarily beefy enough to carry much of a look. F'rinstance, when exactly did the "Terminator" franchise jump the shark? Why were we all irrationally afraid of quicksand as kids? And what's more intimidating: hiking across Death Valley, or taking a casual sail through the Bermuda Triangle? No topic too big — but, um...maybe some are too small. Also: nerdy news they had to get out before the annual winter hiatus hit. So, see ya soon! But in the meantime: earholes.
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Now that Jame's Gunn's new Big Blue Boy Scout trailer has hit the interwebs, Saint and Jim thought it might be time to dig a little into The Supe You Think Of When You Think Of Supes — mostly 'cuz it's right there in his name. Not a bird, not a plane, but Kal-El himself. He's been depicted on-screen countless times, dating all the way back to '50s serials right up to yesterday. But who's YOUR Clark? Are you a Cavill person? Soft spot in your heart for Reeve? Or are you holding out "it means hope" for Corenswet? No matter whose "S" is your favorite, go ahead and lend the guys your earholes as they take a look at all the Supermen who have soared across your screens, then let 'em know who YOUR fave Son of Krypton is.
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Everyone needs a day off from time to time, whether that's due to fun activities, it unplanned family events requiring your attention. In this particular case, Ol' Jim needed the week off, so Saint recruited his lovely better half to step into the co-host chair to discuss the nature of fandom, how it can start, and what it even means. Plus news and memes galore! Fun times for all. Unless maybe if you drive a cybertruck. Then probably not.
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No matter what your feelings are on Disney, there’s no denying it: the Mouse House is a complete entertainment juggernaut. Movies, TV, video games…you name it, they do it, and well. But there’s one aspect of their entertainment empire that — despite being absolutely amazing — often gets overlooked. And that’s the music. Disney films have been responsible for some of the catchiest, ear-wormiest, toe-tappin’est tunes in cinema history. And even a couple of grizzled, cynical old-timers like Saint and Jim have to admit as much. From the bouncy “Bibbidi Bobbidi Boo” to the calypso-flavored “Kiss the Girl” to more modern classics like “Let it Go,” Disney ditties slap just as hard as any Billboard chart-topper. So in this episode, the boys break down some of the biggest bangers of Disneydom.
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Advertising. Even just saying the word makes people roll their eyes, since the culture has managed to find ways to cram ads into every bloody crevice in the universe now. We even pay extra just to skip them a lot of the time. But it wasn't always that way, was it? Back in the last golden age of advertising (in the '80s and '90s, which was basically the last best time for everything pop-cultural), ads were actually a form of entertainment in and of themselves. In this edition of FYF, Saint and Jim take a look back at the retro ads of their youth, which — despite being little but crass marketing — still have the ability to evoke a very specific brand of nostalgia. So get your skis shined up, grab a stick of Juicy Fruit, and put this in your earholes.
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Okay, so — total disclosure: Saint and Jim are still doing a little bit of a mood whiplash tour; flailing somewhere in the middle of blinding rage, crushing sorrow and pants-filling terror. But getting back to something that passes for normal (here during the calm before the storm period of the proceedings) seemed like a good idea. So they sincerely hope you're as consoled by hearing this episode on binge-able comfort media as they were in recording it. Things are probably gonna get weird here right quick, but they're still gonna do their best to bring you as much friendly noise as they can, as we all ride out yet another horrifyingly unprecedented period in history. Thanks for listening.
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Hot on the heels of Saint and Jim's controversial food takes last week, this edition of FYF digs through the Trick or Treat bag, and throws back to the halcyon haunts of history's Halloweens — before our boys' pancreases declared mutiny on their glucose levels. The topic? Candy. Which sugary nuggets from your repurposed pillowcases were trash, and which were treasure? Are you more of a sucker for Snickers, or bonkers for a Butterfinger? Are two Twix better than one KitKat? Will you trade us two Almond Joys for a Reese's? And who's eating the Circus Peanuts? Let's all use our sweet tooth to dig into some treat truth, and break down the best and worst of your begged-for bon-bons.
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There are a lot of weird quirks inherent to being human. Everyone has different fashion sense, different thought processes, and a different worldview. But one of the biggest things that truly makes us all individual? Our palates. One person's yum is another's yuck when it comes to all things food. On this edition of FYF, Saint and Jim break down controversial food opinions, e.g. — Does cilantro taste like soap to you? What are your feelings on tomatoes? Does pineapple belong on pizza? What's the most repulsive food in the world, and why is it mayonnaise? Plus, all the news that's fit to nerd. Eat up!
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A bit of trivia: did you know that the largest toy distributor in the world is way better known for selling billions of burgers? The humble McDonald's Happy Meal has been a staple of American kids' diets for decades. But as much as everyone loves McNuggets and fries, the real appeal of those brightly-colored little boxes has always been the plaything inside. Whether you preferred Barbies, Hot Wheels or Beanie Babies, there was always something cool in there to help fill up our toy box. In this edition of FYF, Saint and Jim take a look back at some of the best, worst, weirdest and most collectible Happy Meal toys of the last 50 years.
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What's the first film you think of when you see the words "Cult Movie"? Chances are, it's either some perennial classic full of fishnets, gold lamé shorts and rolls of toilet paper being lobbed at the screen, or a pulpy grindhouse thriller that's hardly ever seen the light of day — because it's only ever screened in seedy cinemas at midnight. Or, maybe it's even a deeply personal picture you and a small group of friends got together to watch over and over in college. That's really the beauty of the cult movie — any one can be a quotable quip-off that holds up to repeated viewing. On this edition of FYF, Saint and Jim take a look at the phenomenon of cult films, discuss what makes for the perfect flick-with-a-following, and go over some of the biggest movies to have ever earned the label.
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The world still isn't sure what to do with (or ABOUT) AI. On the one hand, you have breathless tech bros sinking trillions into "innovations" they swear will revolutionize the world, even as the coffers drain and the oceans boil from the power consumption. On the other, you have everyday folks wondering when the droids are gonna take our jobs, and if so, will we be able to get a little UBI for the trouble. And on yet a third hand, we have like seven or eight fingers. So nobody's really sure what's going to happen. At least in the meantime, we have some cool toys to play with! And on this episode, that's exactly what Saint and Jim get up to. SUNO is an AI music generator with the capability to create fully produced songs in any style, and about any subject, just based on a text description. They've played with it a bit on previous installments. But this time out, they decided to drop some impromptu prompts into it, and react to the results in real time. And like most things AI, the results are equal parts cool, fascinating, terrifying and a little unethical. But what the hell? It's the future. PLUS: Diddy, or didn't he?
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Wow. Episode #200 already?!? What else is there to say but "Thank You"? You the listener have helped the humble Fuel Your Fandom podcast reach this major milestone, and the gratitude on our side is truly massive. For their part, Saint and Jim kicked around a whole lot of ideas on possible ways to commemorate this benchmark...and then promptly chucked 'em all right straight out the window since SO MUCH HAPPENED THIS WEEK, and we had to get to it all. So earhole up for the triumphant return of the Nerd News Nexus — now with a snappy new theme song!
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"Billionaire." Even saying the word in 2024 prompts eye rolls, rants, and memes about guillotines. And when it comes to the real-world wealthy, it's possible that reaction isn't entirely unwarranted. But what about the filthy rich of fiction? Are they just as worthy of envy and ire, or are their considerable resources just as much detriments as they are literal assets? In this edition of FYF, Saint and Jim do a deep dive (like Scrooge McDuck into a vault of cash) into the finances of fiction's most fiduciarily fluid folks to see if they're using their gold for good, or...if they're more like the kind we actually have.
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Relationships are funny things. They can take a lot of forms, too. Family, romantic, friendship...even emnity counts. But the rise of the internet, celebrity culture and social media has give rise to a bizarre variant: the parasocial relationship. Loosely defined, a parasocial relationship is any one-sided situation wherein one individual invests time and emotion in the other, while party two is completely unaware of the first person's existence. Sometimes, these relationships are just fine: I like the singer, I went to the show, I bought the t-shirt. Other times, these bonds can border on worshipful, cult-like behavior. So, in the wake of some public figures (e.g. Chappell Roan) having to be pretty clear as of late about establishing clearer boundaries surrounding their public vs. private personas, Saint and Jim thought they'd take a look at some of the underlying issues surrounding parasocial behavior.
A month has passed. The spoiler moratorium is up. The movie made more than $1.2 billion. And listeners of this podcast have no doubt seen it twice already, just like Saint and Jim each have. So, it's time to talk about it. And if you somehow HAVEN'T seen it yet? Then you are hereby instructed to neither read, nor listen further — because the boys are gonna break it down. The action! The Easter eggs! The cameos! The story! The parts where there could've been more story! The parts that weren't even remotely necessary for the story, but were still pretty fun anyway! Sure, Wade & Logan's Excellent Adventure was a fanservice-filled romp, but there were still some chaotic head-scrathers to discuss as they make their way into the MCU, and leave the last shreds of the former Fox-verse in tatters. So LFG.
Sometimes, Saint and Jim talk about light, fluffy stuff like their favorite burgers, or whether or not the Hulk could beat up Superman. Other times, they get taken with the intricacies of a particularly hard-to-pin-down subject. This would be an episode of the second kind. “Monoculture” — at least in popular fiction — is a term often used to describe a given race, species, or group within the story. Specifically, one that exhibits a limited, universally common cultural trait their creators use to define them. Think, “Klingons are warlike,” or “Dwarves are good blacksmiths.” It's a way for writers to project aspects of human existence onto fantasy characters, usually in order to examine said aspects without the risk of the analysis hitting too close to home. So because they're diving into a complex subject, Saint and Jim knew they’d need a guest who was up to the task of helping them break it all down. And when it comes to examining nuanced concepts in fiction and how they apply to real life, there's just no better person to talk to than "Mission Log" co-host and friend of the show John Champion…since that's really his jam. So earhole it up with your intrepid co-hosts and their esteemed guest as they take a look at monocultures in storytelling, and puzzle out what they can teach us about our own idiosyncrasies.
Food. It's a fandom! As the boys say in every episode, everything is. We all have our favorites, whether that's simple, home-grown comfort food, or high-end fine dining and gourmet cuisine. But what if you knew your next meal was going to be your last? That's a pretty heavy choice. It's gonna be the final thing you'll ever eat, so you might as well make it count. And while not all of us get the luxury of knowing which plate will be our exit indulgence, it's exactly this momentous decision that faces many death row inmates. How could one possibly decide? On this edition of FYF, Saint and Jim take a look at the dank, delicious and downright daffy dishes some of these doomed souls selected as their final meal. Plus, the usual news and wandering tangents. You and your earholes know what's up.
In 2022, one-time BoingBoing.com editor Cory Doctorow coined the term "Enshittification" to describe a phenomenon with which every internet user is intimately familiar. Also referred to as "Platform Decay," enshittification is (according to Wikipedia): "a re-prioritization pattern where online product and service providers experience a decline in quality over time." In other words, That Thing You Like is great at first, and then morphs into a lesser version of itself. Think: apps that de-activate features, websites that install paywalls, DRM yoinking a book off of your e-Reader over rights issues, and video games that wedge in ads and microtransactions. Clearly, we can't have nice things. So in this episode of FYF, Saint and Jim take a look at the well-worn idea of "They changed it, now it sucks."
When it comes to digital entertainment, Saint and Jim have been eyebrow-deep in pixels since LONG before it was even called that. Videogaming is one of the biggest bricks that forms the foundation of fandom for each of them. But, just like movies, TV and comics, videogames are constantly evolving – and so are the people who are playing them. So in this edition of FYF, your intrepid co-hosts take a look at how games are changing, how the fandom is adapting, and what that means for the state of the hobby. Plus, Comic-Con happened. And there was no notable news there. So there's no reason to discuss any of THAT, or anything, right? Ooof.
Hey, Friends of Fuel. Saint and Jim are back from their summer vacation, and they're kicking off the second half of the season with a bang. As promised, FYF welcomes a very special guest for the first post-hiatus show. Jenny Stiven may well be the ultimate ascended fan. After growing up geek playing D&D, reading comics and watching Star Trek, Jenny eventually went to work as a marketer within some of the biggest nerd media that's ever hit pop culture — creating award-winning campaigns for titanic entities like 20th Century Fox, MGM, Star Trek, James Bond, Star Wars, DC, Stargate, Predator, Alien, Buffy, and tons more we just don't have the space to discuss. For the last decade, she's worked as a consultant liaison helping to build and manage relationships between content creators and their fandoms. As such, her insight on the state and nature of these communities is second-to-none. You do NOT want to miss the wisdom she drops about toxic fandoms, creator accountability, fan responsibility, and how it all comes together. So earhole it up with a quickness.
After their recent news note regarding the (only MILDLY suggestive) Deadpool and Wolverine popcorn bucket, Saint and Jim got to thinking about what other off-the-wall movie tie-in goodies might approach that level of bizarre. So, they went looking. And the internet did what the internet do. Specifically, it revealed a completely nutso underbelly of movie merch they never would've believed existed outside the freakish fever dreams of stimulant-addled studio execs. From "Do you want to smell like Iron Man" fragrance lines, to soundtrack albums to movies with no music, to novelizations of films that were based on books to begin with, there seems to be no end to the bizarro-world swag movie fans could snag to commemorate their fave flicks. So earhole this, and prepare to be confused. Because they were.
One of the most fascinating aspects of speculative science fiction is the tech. Whatever creators can dream up, futurenauts can use. Teleporters! Time Travel! Fantastic weaponry! Wouldn't it be great if we actually had this stuff for real? Well, not so fast. Heroes of fiction are just that: heroes. So they only tend to use this stuff for mostly altruistic reasons. If these things actually existed? There would be potential downsides. And BIG ones. In this episode, Saint and Jim break down why some of the sci-fi tech items of our dreams might actually be nightmares in tangible reality.
Hollywood is having a really difficult time as of late. It seems as tough for every "Barbie" or "Super Mario" that makes literally a billion dollars, there are a dozen flicks like "Furiosa" and "Garfield" that fall severely short in terms of critical reception and box office take. Movie theatres are suffering, studios are scrambling, and ultimately, it's the fans who pay the price. But what's causing it? COVID hangover? Sequel fatigue? Ticket prices? All of that and then some? On this episode, Saint and Jim take a look at some of the possible reasons behind the downward trends in the movie industry, and what might be done to address them. Of course, there's also more nerd news than you can shake a popcorn bucket at.
Fandom is a powerful thing. Hey, this entire podcast is built around it. Even so, we've all experienced moments where we stopped fueling certain fandoms, and they just...run out of gas. Sometimes that's a decision. Whether it's a dip in quality, a creator who disappoints you or a shift in priorities, we all walk away from things about which we were fromerly passionate over the course of our lives. But it's not always a conscious thing. Occasionally, we just lose interest in stuff, or get sidetracked by life and drift away. In this edition of FYF, Saint and Jim look at the idea of faded fandom, reminisce about some things they used to be into and now aren't, and examine some of the reasons why these things happen — whether via decision, overwhelm, or apathy. Plus, news aplenty.
There's no denying that the last couple of years have proven cape cinema to be not quite as bulletproof as the heroes on the screen. DC has been struggling with quality consistency, and even the once-foolproof Marvel has had some stumbles as of late. But can this be chalked up to (as critics have termed it) "superhero fatigue"? Or are there larger issues at play? On this edition of FYF, Saint and Jim try to crack open the underlying causes behind why tights-n'-flights flicks could be running out of steam. Plus: news, tangents musings and more.
Some weeks are just heavier than others when it comes to all the goings-on that are good to geek out over, and this was definitely one of those. So hereabouts, Saint and Jim do a rundown of what's up in niche nerd news — albeit with a specialized focus on whatever fresh hell seems to be plaguing the video game world as of late. Layoffs, studio closings and canceled titles seem to be the norm these days, despite the fact that digital entertainment as an industry still out-earns Hollywood, and companies like Microsoft and Sony seem to be doing better than ever on the ol' financial end. So cram this noise in your earholes, check out the headlines, and let the boys know what you think about all that's up in this deepest of dork dispatches.
The range of human motivations is complex and layered — as is the spectrum of human emotion. Still, for years, our entertainment focused on some pretty binary archetypes. Specifically: mustache-twirling black-hatted villains, and square-jawed white-hatted heroes. But at some point, the creators of our entertainment decided to give fictional characters more realistic ranges of feelings and agendas, thereby changing the storytelling game forever. In this episode of FYF, Saint and Jim break out some of their favorite examples of dramatic heel-face turns, face-heel turns, and flexible, antihero-style grey morality. Not to mention all the nerdiest news in the nexus.
Right up top: both content and trigger warnings are in full effect for this edition. Regular listeners of Fuel Your Fandom know that Saint and Jim first met while working as activists — fighting online child predation for the Perverted-Justice.com watchdog org as well as Dateline NBC's "To Catch a Predator." So when the Max limited series "Quiet On Set: The Dark Side of Kids TV" dropped, it was more or less required viewing...even if it was undeniably uncomfortable. In this episode, your hosts break down the content of the show from the perspective of people who spent a significant portion of their lives fighting exactly the sort of people and events that took place behind the scenes at Nickelodeon under the auspices of Dan Schneider's television empire, and offer the unique perspective of a couple of everyday schmucks who were involved in a broadcast-based movement that operated on the polar opposite of the same issue.
Iconic vehicles in entertainment is a uniquely western phenomenon, fueled by American "car culture" and a certain sense of gas-fueled adventure. Almost everyone who has ever seen a TV show or movie almost certainly has a favorite legendary ride that made them sit up and take notice, and maybe even wish they could borrow the keys for a joyride. Whether it was Doc Brown's "Back to the Future" DeLorean, The Gran Torino of "Starsky & Hutch" or even the Ghostbusters' ECTO-1, these cars were often characters themselves in their respective franchises, and deserve the same reverence as their human counterparts. In this edition of FYF, Saint and Jim kick the tires on Hollywood's most famous wheels, and take 'em out for a little speculative spin. Plus, all the nerdy news and tangents you've come to know and tolerate.
There are just so many amazing avenues of entertainment to be into these days, it can be hard to keep up. So admittedly, Saint and Jim have the odd blind spot when it comes to certain areas of fandom. One area in which they share somewhat of a collective question mark? Horror movies. So on today's episode of Fuel Your Fandom, the boys welcome Milwaukee's Maven of the Macabre, Katie Kadaver. She's not just a fan of horror films, she walks the walk 24/7. From performing in horror-themed burlesque with Grindhouse Tease, to heading to horror conventions to kick it with Lloyd Kaufman and the crew at Troma Films, to her co-hosting duties on "The VHS Vault" podcast, Katie knows horror like the inside of her eyelids — making her the perfect guest to come onto the show to give the neophytes a crash course in all things creepy. Shove this in your earholes...if you DARE.
Memory is a funny thing. Sometimes you'll hear a song, and it takes you right back to where you were the last time you heard it. Or maybe it's a scent — like baked goods, or a spring flower bloom — that makes your brain light up. But food-based nostalgia? That's a different animal entirely. If you eat something you haven't had in awhile, that can really set off the cranial fireworks. On this episode, Saint and Jim take a look at the discontinued snacks and beverages from years past that aren't available anymore, and that they'd really love to see make a return. So grab some Dunkaroos, Magic Middles and an OK Soda, and earhole this. PLUS: the nerdiest of news.
Saint and Jim usually like to keep things light around the ol' Fuel Your Fandom...dom. Still, there's no arguing that a lot of people are dealing with a lot lately. When a cute Muppet asks an innocuous "How is everybody?" on social media, only to be deluged with people in genuine pain? It's apparent we're all just ambulatory bundles of raw nerves just looking for anyone to support and listen to us. So for Episode #180, the FYF boys DO a bit of a 180°, and talk through some mental health stuff. Time to ask the listeners how YOU'RE doing, kick around some coping mechanisms, and maybe even get around to some hope. PLUS: the finals of our March (Madness) into Villainy evil-off, and plenty of nerd news.
If there's any one thing that unites us all, it's that sooner or later we're gonna shuffle off this mortal coil. And as long as we all have to check out of Hotel Earth at some point, why not do what we can to make our final moments in this realm as notable as possible? Granted, not everyone is in line for the luxury of knowing when the Reaper is gonna tap us on the shoulder and tell us it's time to go, but some of history's most notable people did have caregivers and loved ones hanging on their every word — right up to their last breath. So in this episode, Saint and Jim dig into what a smattering of these folks used that breath to say, from the poignant to the profound to the downright silly. Plus: all the news that's fit to nerd.
Kids' entertainment has always leaned pretty heavily toward the fantastic. Not only do young people have the sort of imaginations required to really appreciate the impossible, but since so much of kids' TV and movies tends to be (either literally or figuratively) animated, it's a good medium to explore some out-there concepts. That said, there's a pretty big difference between fanciful and farcical. Because while it's entirely plausible to accept, say...a prince who turns into a superhero when he holds a weapon aloft and says some magic words, it's a little less easy to swallow that nobody around him seems to realize that whenever the king's kid disappears, a guy who looks just like him (down to the identical haircut and green cat sidekick) just happens to show up. On this episode, Saint and Jim take a look at improbable concepts in kids' entertainment that felt like a teensy bit of a suspension (of disbelief) bridge too far.
Saint and Jim still aren't sports fans, but they can't give up on the March Madness runoff just yet. Reason being, there's another friendly neighborhood superhero — one with a baddie bracket so big, it takes a whole separate universe just to hold them all. Of course, we're referring to Spider-Man. The web-slinger. The wall-crawler. Peter Parker himself. With a fiend folio just as Robust as the Dark Knight's, it was necessary to break this out into a second edition to match up these miscreants into their own head-to-heads, and determine the best of the worst. So lets put them all in a jar, shake it up, and see who comes out on top. Plus: NEWS.
Look, Saint and Jim aren't sports fans. They're just not. BUT. That doesn't mean they're not totally into elimination-style matchups! So in honor of March Madness, the FYF boys are running their own brackets to determine a much-contested set of win/lose outcomes. BUT. Because this is nerd territory, the combatants aren't athletes. They're antagonists. And since geeks have argued since time out of mind over who has the better rogues' gallery — Batman or Spider-Man — this episode seeks to answer that question once and for all. In the first part of the contest, Batman's biggest baddies will square off to see who comes out on top. Next week, we'll hash out which of the friendly neighborhood wall-crawlers opponents is the best of the worst. Then it's a head-to-head Bat vs. Spider enemy duke-out to crown the crossover champ. Plus, as always, oodles of news. EARHOLE TIME.
Fuel Your Fandom touched on sitting in front of a full schedule of favorite Saturday-morning animation awhile back, and noted that the shows themselves were only part of the experience. After all, what's sitting criss-cross applesauce in front of a cartoon without some Apple JACKS and a cartoon on the front of the box? That's because somewhere along the line, Post, General Mills and Kellogg's figured out that if there was a cute character on their containers of cocoa-frosted sugar bombs, kids would be more likely to beg their parents for bowl after bowl of the stuff at the grocery store. And thus, cereal mascots were born. In this edition of FYF, Saint and Jim take a look at the flake-flogging powers of the Capn's, Tigers, Frogs and Toucans of yore with a milk-soaked spokescritter rundown. Plus, as always, all the biggest news from the Geek-O-Sphere.
Of all the things that it should be impossible to hurt yourself on, kids' toys should be the #1 item on the list. And yet, there have been COUNTLESS playthings that were created, marketed and sold to kids that have had the potential —and sometimes even the sad result — of causing harm to children who were just trying to amuse themselves. And we're not just talking about toys with sharp edges, projectiles, or parts that were choking hazards. We're referring to molten lead smelters. Model ovens that could deliver second-degree burns. Innocent-looking dolls whose rictus grins remained fixed even as they gnawed off your hair. And even science kits with ACTUAL RADIOACTIVE MATERIAL. It's a wonder any of us survived. Join Saint and Jim as they deep-dive into these deadly toys, plus — all the news that's fit to nerd.
Not every technology has what it takes to survive. As the inevitable progress of tech has unwaveringly marched on, we've seen countless types of storage media come and go. Punch cards gave way to refrigerator-sized disc drives, which in turn gave way to floppies, then smaller floppies, then magnetic drives, optical drives, solid state and now cloud and streaming data. It's all efficient, convenient, and cheap. That said, the slow death of physical media hasn't been without its share of problems. As long as a given piece of information only exists as ones and zeros in the ether somewhere, there exists rampant opportunity for chicanery – such as a gaming executive going on record as saying, "You'll need to get comfortable not owning your games." In this episode, Saint and Jim break down what the death of hard storage means to those of us who enjoy entertainment. And believe this: the irony of doing so on a podcast isn't lost on either of them.
Are you guys ready for Season 6? Saint and Jim have a whole bunch of fun surprises in store for their favorite Fuelers this time around, including awesome special guests, all-new takes on timeless topics, and even some stuff they can't really announce yet. And it all kicks off with this opener, where your intrepid hosts dive face-first into VR. But not in the hilariously physical way you see those people in the "fail" videos do it, where they destroy their televisions. Plus, the usual tangent-fests into superhero happenings, celebrity peccadilloes, and other nerdy news. EARHOLE THIS FOR SEASON 6!
It's the final episode of the season, and it's time to get meta. Surprising though it may sound, Saint and Jim have never before had occasion to actually talk about...podcasts. and although it may seem a little bit recursive to do so, they also couldn't think of a better way to put a cap on the year, or the season. Because they not only do a podcast (obviously), they also listen to plenty of them. All the better to continue immersing themselves in the most self-indulgent of "art" forms, right? However, since two guys hanging out on a podcast talking about podcasts wasn't enough of an audio fractal, they also welcome old friend and former fellow cyber-vigilante Matt Luria (a.k.a. Twitch streamer SoonerJetta) to add a dash of panache onto the top of the usual ouroboros of oral narrative. So let's all hunker down and say goodbye to 2023 with an episode so ridiculously introspective that it has to open its own mouth to see where it's going.
For every thousand fans of anything, there are always one or two people who go the opposite route. Not apathy — but rather, active opposition. Literally nothing that exists in pop culture is so innocuous that some busybody moron can't clutch their pearls and raise a high-heavens-level stink about it. Enter: the hater freakout. Sometimes it's the fact that a video game has a character of ambiguous gender. Other times, someone tilts their heads, squints, and decides something is about drugs or sex when it's obviously not. Ultimately, the rallying cry of "wOn'T aNyBoDy tHiNk oF tHe cHiLdReN?!?" is the pearl-clutching mantra these colossal killjoys hide behind when projecting their own dark desires and/or insecurities on people just trying to enjoy some light entertainment. In this edition of FYF, Saint and Jim look at some of the downright dumbest dustups — and maybe even one or two where they have to kinda admit that MAYBE the buzzkills might have had a point.
Fans are often conditioned to see layers of subtext within their favorite entertainment properties. That's because sometimes the creators are intentionally building in sneaky plot hints for sharp-eyed devotées to discover. Or, putting in subtle references or background events that point to larger symbolic meanings. But most of the time, the human tendency to indulge gestalt musings leads us to assume things that may or may not actually be there. Three years ago, Jim's first episode as a co-host of Fuel Your Fandom centered on looking at fan theories. And since they couldn't get to them all the first time around, Saint and Jim thought the milestone warranted another trek through this fertile topic. So get ready to hear pop cultures ideas about everything from the nature of super-spy secret identities, to whether dinosaurs might have been friskier than they were hungry, to how a beloved Muppet may have been somehow been involved in a nefarious terrorist attack. Earhole time.
Music is entertaining enough all by its lonesome. But the narrative histories of our favorite bands are often pretty compelling, as well. So Hollywood often dramatizes the stories of bands that don't really exist in order to tell similar stories. But since you can't tell a nonexistent band's tale without actual music to back it up, you sorta need to fill that gap with legit compositions and real-life performances. Enter the "Fake Band"; i.e., a musical project that exists in the liminal spaces between fictional and factual existence, but that's still more or less obligated to somehow produce real music. In this edition of FYF, Saint and Jim take a look at some of the best not-exactly-real-but-still-kinda groups in entertainment history, as well as the (often great) music they put out.
Spoilers. We've all seen 'em, and we all hate 'em. Part of the reason why so many blockbusters do such huge business on opening weekends is because fans are afraid some loose-lipped loser will blow the plot points of a highly-anticipated film before they have a chance to see 'em for themselves. Hell, friend of the show Smo rightfully hates spoilers so much he got his own interstitial jingle. But what happens when the spoilers come not from a big-mouthed fan, but from the studios themselves? On this edition of FYF, Saint and Jim take a look at some instances of massive disconnect between the creatives who make the movies, and the marketing and merch folks who promote them — the latter of which often miss the "no spoilers" memo when it comes to not divulging big story elements.
It's one of the few universal truths of television: every show has at least one absolutely detestable weasel; that one character who seems to exist in the narrative for the sole purpose of making everybody else look wonderful by comparison. Sometimes it's a character that was legitimately set up to be a villain. Other times, It's a persona we were supposed to identify with, but that nonetheless displays a less-than-likeable arc over time. Or maybe it's even a precocious kid the producers decided to add to infuse a shot of fresh blood into an atrophied cast dynamic. Regardless, there are certain characters viewers just gleefully loathe, and usually for good reason. The irony is, these characters are usually so hated because the actors portraying them are uncommonly good at being bad — so there's a double-edged sword of cognitive dissonance to a lot of how we feel about them. On this edition of FYF, Saint and Jim step up to the pump, and fill up an entire tank's worth of vitriol for these on-screen targets of deserved fandom ire...even as we celebrate (most of) the actors themselves.
It wasn't your family doctor that got you through being sick as a kid. It wasn't even the bed rest. Anyone who ever sat home sick from school with saltines, 7•UP and soup knows it was the Price is Right, Press Your Luck and The Pyramid that got ultimately us back on our feet. Game shows — once relegated to morning TV and syndicated UHF programming — have become a huge part of the American pop-culture fabric. And whether it's feeling smart because you can answer a question the contestants couldn't, or living vicariously when someone you're rooting for wins the Showcase Showdown, it's clear there are countless reasons why household names like Pat Sajak, Wink Martindale and Alex Trebek got to be household names in the first place. So let's go to the board with Saint and Jim, and see what the survey says.
Saint and Jim may be committed to doing the work to defying the evils of toxic masculinity, patriarchy and gun culture, but even so — some old habits die hard. Like being fans of "Die Hard". And "John Wick". And "Predator". And countless other action movies staring monosyllabic, muscle-bound turbo-bros who defy death as effortlessly as they deal it. So, maybe it's a guilty pleasure, but it's still a helluva lot of fun to watch. In this episode, the boys take a look at some of their favorite action heroes, and the landmark movies that introduced them to the cinemascape.
Your intrepid co-hosts decided to do something pretty special this week. Fate (and some pretty cool stuff they can't talk about yet) has seen fit to bring them together for their second in-person episode of the year! This time, Saint is in Jim's neck of the woods, mere moments from Milwaukee, WI. And that means beer, cheese, and debauchery are mandatory pursuits. Since there are so many (burp) unique delicacies that can only be had regionally, Jim takes it upon himself to stuff Saint silly, and then quiz him about his reactions to such hyper-local specialties as New Glarus beer, Blue Moon ice cream, fried cheese curds and more. So, so much more. So join them as they indulge in their second-favorite deadly sin all over Brew City.
There's been humorous music almost as long as there's been music. So when combining the power of song to entertain and the punch of comedy to amuse, the result is often just as memorable as it is hilarious. From the earliest days of tunes by Spike Jones, Tom Lehrer and Allan Sherman, right up through contemporary work from the likes of Tenacious D, Garfunkel and Oates, and the undisputed parody king himself "Weird Al" Yankovic, fans of funny music have been spoiled for choice for decades. On this installment of FYF, Saint and Jim do a deep dive into some of the funniest artists ever to make us laugh with their melodic mirth.
Hey, folks. Been a rocky couple of weeks in Fandom-Land as intrepid FYF founder Saint spent a bit of time, effort and no small amount of resolve fighting off some not-insignificant health bullshit. But fear not! He is VERY much on the mend, so he and Jim are back with another installment of full frontal nerdery. No real central subject this week, since they wanted to go a little easy on the dude — but SO much went on during the ol' mandatory medical leave that it had to get covered nevertheless. So stuff your earholes with this bite-sized (for them, anyway) toe-dip of an installment, and...thanks for sicking around.
After tackling their favorite cartoons last week, it occurred to your intrepid co-hosts that an integral part of the animation experience was the music. Every episode of Saturday morning TV not only had action, humor and engaging characters — it also had a theme song. And, let's be frank: some of them absolutely SLAPPED. So even though the music was PART of the experience, the opening themes to our favorite cartoons took on a life of their own over the decades. Think about it: you stop any rando on the street and ask them to sing a few bars of "The Flintstones" theme, and eight times outta ten, it's going to happen. So it's time once again to dive into the colorful world of cartoons. But this time, Saint and Jim are playing the hits. CONTENT WARNING: there are some sensitive subjects covered in the news segment. So nobody will be hurt if you skip ahead to the bouncy part.
Sometimes, a story takes more than one movie to tell properly. Or maybe the first one was so good, the audience demands more of the same. So, we get sequels. And a lot of the time, they can be great! But then there are the times when they just...aren't. Whether audiences are faced with uninspired writing, lazy acting, or obvious cash-grab-over-creativity motivations, we've all had the experience of grabbing tickets to see a subsequent installment of a film we love, only to sit in solemn silence while raw disappointment unspools on the screen in front of us. On this episode, Saint and Jim take a look at Hollywood sequels that were at least inessential, and at worst, soul-suckingly horrendous. Plus: nerd news and tangents aplenty. You know how they do.
We waited all week for it. Planned a complicated schedule of channel-hopping based on the proto-spreadsheets of the TV Guide. And even though it usually meant getting up earlier than we would have if we were going to (ugh) school, Saturday mornings were OUR time. Time to sit criss-cross applesauce on the floor with a bowl of cereal or three, right smack-dab in front of the television. And why? Because that was when what KIDS wanted ruled the airwaves. It was time for cartoons, baby. From the zany hijinks of classic Looney Tunes, to the fantasy adventures of He-Man, to the cutesy fun of the Smurfs, there was a little something on the tube for everyone. In this edition of the Fuel Your Fandom podcast, Saint and Jim take a trip back in time to those magical weekend mornings, and get a little misty about some of our most treasured childhood cartoon memories.
It's one of the only pieces of trite, bumper-sticker BS that's always true — the times, they are a-changin'. And nowhere this this more evident than in our entertainment. We've all had the same experience: we're re-watching a movie we love from a bygone era. And then it happens. There's a plot twist, a line, a joke, or a character that pops up on the screen, and our jaws drop open...because what's happening in the narrative is obviously casually misogynist. Racist. Homophobic. Or otherwise starkly bigoted in a way that may have been waved off at the time, but is nonetheless glaringly unacceptable within the hindsight-colored zeitgeist of a more-enlightened era. So what do we do? Shrug? Cringe? Feel good that we've evolved enough to be able to cast a gimlet eye on it now? There's no real right answer as a responsible fan. So, in this episode, Saint and Jim take a look at movies of old (and of alarmingly not-so-old) that included jokes, themes or material that are best left in the past — and try to unpack how best to deal with their problematic nature in retrospect.
What if we told you that every story — and we mean EVERY story — shared the same underlying structure, and only the surface details changed? If you're new to the idea of the Monomyth, have never heard the name "Joseph Campbell", or don't know why you should always Save The Cat, then prepare to have your mind blown. Because when it comes to storytelling (whether in film, TV, literature, video games and even prehistoric cave paintings), there's really only one tale; albeit one we've heard told countless different ways. On today's episode, Saint and Jim break down the building blocks for nearly every story in existence, and outline the reasoning behind why we cheerfully line up to hear it over and over and over. Get ready for the ultimate spoiler alert for all of pop culture as we know it.
Aliens? Hollywood strikes? Oof. The FYF boys have taken on some pretty heavy topics these last few weeks. But not to worry — on this episode, Saint and Jim go back to the frivolous side of fandom, and engage in a little speculative say-so. If you're a nerd (and we bet you are), chances are you've engaged in some schoolyard debates about fantasy superhero matchups. "Hulk could TOTALLY beat up Superman!" "Nuh-UH!" Well, why stop on the playground? Now that we're older, (theoretically) wiser, and steeped in more superhero media than ever, it's even MORE fun to theorize about super-powered slapfights. Especially when the slappers in question don't even live in the same universe. So, that's what FYF is doing today. And YOU are invited to dive in, nod, disagree, and then drop the guys a line with what YOU think about this super-sized spectacular. Fight on!
So. What's up with all this alien stuff, huh? 👽 Unless you've been living under a (third) rock, you've heard the news: after years of sci-fi, speculative fiction, and the powers-that-be dismissing anyone with an even passing interest in UFOs as a tinfoil-hatted crank, the tables have turned at long last. According to some high-ranking government officials who recently testified before a congressional sub-committee (and whose credentials totally check out), the U.S. is not only in possession of crashed non-Earth-origin spacecraft and off-world "biologics", but we've been in long-standing contact with the spacefaring civilizations who sent them. Obviously, this is A Big Deal, and a whole load of implications to wrap one's thinkmeats around. But Saint and Jim are at least going to scratch the surface of it all on this edition of the podcast. Plus — tangents! Because you know how they do.
All of Hollywood — both as an industry, and as a town — is currently at a standstill. It started with the Writers Guild of America (WGA), but it didn't stop there. Now, SAG-AFTRA (the Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists) have joined the scribes on the picket lines. The result of this combined work stoppage? Any television or film production that wasn't currently in post-production has completely shut down. And when you look at the reasons behind that, it becomes clear why they're doing it. In this edition of Fuel Your Fandom, Saint and Jim break down the reasons for why the people who create your entertainment are striking for better working conditions, and offer support — no matter how long it takes for all parties considered to get what they deserve. And all that implies.
We're back, baby! Saint and Jim's summer sabbatical is over, and they're tanned, rested and ready to tackle another timely topic: gaming console exclusives. We've long known that game hardware itself is often a loss leader; i.e., a financial hit that the Sonys, Nintendos and Microsofts of the world are willing to take in order to deliver the games. And that means one thing: exclusives. They're divisive, engender tribalism, and frustrate gamers who often have to decide between so-called killer apps like "Halo" and "Horizon." Plus, with the biggest players buying up third-party developers like big bargaining chips, it's only getting stickier. So let's dive in and kick it around. Also here: the latest superhero casting news, the strike of the whole damn entertainment industry, and trouble on the "Borderlands" film. EARHOLES NOW.
As much as we know we shouldn't, everyone stops at a fast food place here and there. And we do it because we largely know what to expect from the big "quick-service" chains. Specifically, (relatively) cheap, simple eats served up fast. Still, a lot of the fast-food giants have deviated from the traditional menu formula in ways that make that old reliable burger stop suddenly seem...unpredictable. On this episode, Saint and Jim tale a look at the many ways your local McRestaurant has swerved wildly out of their lane, even as they're asking you to stay in yours when you pull up to the drive-thru. PLUS: Zelda movie rumors, why Spider-Gwen is on Saudi Arabia's naughty list, and a whole new line of stuff we're gonna have to start collecting, now.
Wow. 150 episodes already? Seems like just yesterday that Saint and Jim were talking about their favorite cover songs on the very first ever episode they did together. Tempus fugit! Since then, they've notched live episodes, countless incredible guests, and at least one dripping-with-debauchery trip to Vegas. But they're not resting on their laurels, nor fobbing you off this week with some limp clip-show retrospective. Instead, they'll be talking to longtime friend of the show Mike "Smo" Smolarz, who is the guy to thank if you appreciate all the hard work they do avoiding pop-culture spoilers. So join us them as they dig into all the geek news, what's up with Xbox, and at least one overdue story about an embattled Hollywood provocateur. GIVE 'EM YOUR EARHOLES.
Love it or hate it, the internet's favorite video app is a force of nature. With more daily users than YouTube, a more dialed-in algorithm than Facebook and a bigger global reach than Instagram, it seems like it's here to stay. So why do so many people look at it crooked, including the U.S. government? In this edition of FYF, Saint and Jim break down what makes TikTok so popular, shout out some of their favorite creators, and examine why some people treat it like a digital punching bag. So stop scrolling, and lend 'em your earholes.
"Star Trek" truly is the gift that keeps on giving. Since first boldly going on the air in 1966, the Trek universe shows no signs of slowing down, with multiple series all offering fans an ongoing chronicle of Gene Roddenberry's original vision of an explorational space utopia. And breaking it all down episode by episode? The intrepid co-hosts of the venerable Mission Log podcast, friend of the show John Champion and the show's newest pal, Norman Lao. On this episode, Saint and Jim talk with them about the history and future of Trek, why it's still as vital as ever, and what it all means to fans. Beam this one up.
It's a good time to be a gamer. The latest "Legend of Zelda" to emerge from the world of Nintendo isn't just game of the year-worthy, it's one of the greatest games ever created. That's a bold statement, but Saint and Jim are prepared to defend it on this episode. The refreshed world map, new abilities, fresh items and unbelievable depth of inventiveness inherent to this game are like nothing else players have ever experienced. So earhole this (97% spoiler-free) edition of the podcast, and lets save the princess together. Plus: alt-rock news, more Marvel bumps, and more tangents than you can shake a Bokoblin arm at.
Saint and Jim might live on the internet, but that doesn’t mean they necessarily understand what it gets up to sometimes. Take, for instance, the idea of online altruism. In an era where GoFundMe is one of the nation’s biggest health care providers (and there’s increasing saber-rattling about taxing the ultra-rich to help provide services to the less-fortunate), you’d think a public figure who gave freely of their wealth would be a universal hero, right? Well, not necessarily. Enter Jimmy “Mr. Beast” Donaldson, a millionaire YouTuber who uses his resources to do things like buy cars for needy people, give houses away and even cure 1,000 people of blindness. Who could have an issue with that? You might be surprised. Check this one out if you ALSO can’t imagine who some people refer to this as “performative charity.”
We're living in a world of incredible tech acceleration. Moore's Law is on the verge of being broken, AI is terrifying everyone, and if you don't have a device in your hand, are you really even alive? One of the most interesting and most rapidly evolving technologies is 3D printing. From figurines to costume parts, cars to houses, it seems like there's nothing we're not trying to create with precision extrusion. But what are the limits? What are the dangers? And what's next? Also: Saint and Jim dive into all the news that's fit to nerd, including what Guardians of the Galaxy 3 could mean for the larger MCU, a rare moment of vulnerability for Microsoft, and what the writers' strike means for upcoming entertainment. Earhole time.
Welcome to another episode of "Fuel Your Fandom." Today, Saint and Jim are diving into the fascinating and rapidly evolving world of artificial intelligence, or AI. AI has been a buzzword in the tech industry for decades, but recent advancements in machine learning and natural language processing have brought it to the forefront of popular culture. In this episode, they'll be discussing what AI is, how it's being used today, and what its implications are for the future of our world. From chatbots and virtual assistants to self-driving cars and predictive analytics, AI is already transforming the way we live and work. But with great power comes great responsibility, and there are many ethical and societal implications of this technology that we must consider. So sit back, relax, and join them as they explore the fascinating world of AI on this episode of "Fuel Your Fandom." Oh, and all except for this very last sentence — an AI wrote this introduction.
We've all heard the cliché that "Hollywood is out of ideas." And while it's often been expressed as a cynical, eye-rolling sentiment, it's veering ever-further into self-fulfilling prophecy lately. "Everything old is new again" seems to simply be the direction for most entertainment, now. Given the astronomical expense inherent in producing films and television (not to mention the insane levels of competition given the state of modern streaming) most studios simply aren't willing to take the risk on original IPs anymore. The upshot is that re-makes, -boots and -treads are the only dishes left on the ol' entertainment buffet given their (assumed) pre-existing audiences. In this episode, Saint and Jim take a look at a whole slew of redux projects we'll all be expected to consume in the near future, and break down the reasons behind why that might be happening.
With their Vegas adventures in the rearview mirror, your intrepid co-hosts Saint and Jim dig into something of a post-mortem during this week's edition. Because while getting there is half the fun, sometimes getting BACK is a different story. From there, it's time to kick around a little "what might have been" when it comes to some of everyone's favorite movies — since some roles we very closely identify with iconic actors almost went to different people entirely. So join us for salacious stories of barking dogs, driving through tornadoes, and Magnum P.I., adventure archaeologist.
In this episode, you're invited to join Saint and Jim as they join each other — in MEATSPACE. That's right, for the first time in the history of not just the podcast, but the history of everything, your intrepid co-hosts are actually in the same room together. And in LAS VEGAS, to boot! Will wonders never cease? So, as long as they find themselves in the entertainment capital of the world, they've made the decision to make their setting their subject. Viva Las Vegas, baby! A lot of surprises in this one, so you'll definitely want to cram this edition way down deep in your ear holes.
The ongoing popularity of entertainment like Skyrim, Renaissance faires, "Lord of the Rings" and Dungeons & Dragons speaks to an extremely interesting facet of the human psyche. Specifically: we seem to like anything that lets us escape into fantasies of going medieval on someone's butt. Nowhere is this more apparent than within the organization known as the Society for Creative Anachronism (a.k.a. SCA). SCA devotées are dedicated to the preservation and advancement of all things middle-aged, including (but not limited to) costuming, food, weaponry and customs. And they delight in getting their swords n' sandals on as often as they can get away with it. Not only is our venerable co-host Saint a longtime SCA veteran, but so is our guest today, Chuck "Volk the Gray" Preston. So join us as we make our way back in time to the age of lords, ladies and leather, and peel back the red, velvet curtain on a truly fascinating hobby.
Animation and video games have been a huge part of the geek experience for as long as most of us can remember. And although a lot of work goes into producing quality media in these channels, one of the highest-profile aspects of games and cartoons? Their voices. Although voice acting as the definition of an "invisible" art, the performance of these actors is absolutely crucial for bringing these projects to life. Interestingly, the group of first-call artists responsible for performing these characters is a relatively small, and very elite club. And since you know their voices far better than their names or faces, we thought we'd take some time to highlight the people behind the performances. So tune into this episode as Saint and Jim take you on a tour of the folks responsible for bringing such rich sounds to the characters in digital and animated entertainment.
Kids' movies are a lot of fun, aren't they? Bright colors, engaging characters and wacky hijinks aplenty have always been a great way to keep youngsters entertained. HOWEVER. Those of us of a certain generation have distinct memories of certain "children's" movies that raise the question, "What the hell were they THINKING?!?" Sure, that animated film about bunnies or puppies may have LOOKED innocent on the surface. But when our parents plunked us down in front of them and left the room, we were nevertheless often subjected to themes and imagery that haunt us to this day. Depending on the movie, we had to deal with everything from cute horses dying of depression, to kidnappings by candy-waving maniacs, to straight-up body horror that wouldn't have been out of place in a Cronenberg or Carpenter production. So join Saint and Jim for this lively jaunt back in time for a look at some of the more traumatizing, nightmare-fuel kids' entertainment that your youthful self was in NO way prepared for.
If you're a geek (and chances are FAR better than fair that if you're reading this you qualify), then you're probably a fan of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. For nearly four decades (gulp!) these titanic terrapins have been entertaining audiences with their escapades across countless types of media. Comics. Toys. TV. Video games. And soon, a brand-new, star-studded animated feature from none other than über-nerd Seth Rogen. Of course, the last 40 years of turtle tales haven't been without ups and downs of controversy, and this latest iteration is no different. So join Saint and Jim for this episode as they break down the history, present and future of the half-shelled heroes. PLUS: "The Last of Us", more tech woes, and why the Peach isn't in the 'fridge for once.
Seems like every few years, a weird phenomenon happens in the popular culture: a nerdery purveyor will make a boo-boo in production, and then undertake drastic measures to literally bury their mistakes. It's not exactly a PATTERN, per se — but it's happened just often enough to be curious. To wit: the folks behind the ubiquitous Funko Pops — those impossibly proportioned chibi-style figurines depicting everything from rock stars to video game characters to your uncle's best friend — apparently overestimated how many toys they should make for the year. And rather than liquidate, donate, accumulate or procrastinate, the company opted for a much weirder solution: evacuate. Meaning they're just dumping the beady-eyed little bastards into a landfill. Yeah, really. And they're not the first geekufacturer to have done so. Want to know more? Give this episode a listen, and we'll dig into it together. PLUS: more Twitter takeaways, Marvel movements, and DC drama (both comics, and Washington).
Video game development is a famously arduous process. That's largely thanks to competing factors like time, budgets, and technological limitations. Still, video games are a multi-billion dollar business. So developers throughout the history of digital entertainment have had to find ways to work around obstacles that might otherwise impede their progress. And man, have they ever come up with interesting workarounds. In this episode, Saint and Jim look at some of the surprising ways he creators of games have discovered to get over their stumbling blocks in order to create experiences you'll treasure — in hopes that you won't notice the palette-swaps, pop-in, and NPCs wearing whole-ass trains as a hat. Plus: bonus rambling about revisionist literature edits, more "Velma" grief, and why the "Dilbert" dude is such a waste of space.
Let it never be said that we don't suffer for our art. This week, Saint and Jim take on a pretty unexpected subject: Kidz Bop. And not just Kidz Bop, but Kidz Bop bops that REALLY shouldn't exist. From laughable lyric changes, to subject matter that had to be so sanitized that it bears almost no resemblance to the original, to how useless it all ultimately is psychologically...your hosts try to look at every perplexing corner of these most inessential of pop-music cover versions. I mean, did we as a society really NEED a cherubic chorus of chirpy tweens offering us their squeaky-clean spin on "Lips of an Angel", "Thrift Shop" and "So What"? Well, no. But they exist. So we had to break them down. And since this one was such a nightmare to edit (due to both subject matter and the sheer number of clips necessary), we'd REALLY love you if you gave it a listen.
By now, it's hardly news that James Gunn and Peter Safran have been handed the reins of the newly rebranded, soon-to-be-unified DCU (which the powers-that-be are dropping the "E" from now in order to emphasize the continuity). That said, the news of the slate of projects they're focusing on first just dropped, and it's...interesting? On this edition of the Fuel Your Fandom podcast, Saint and Jim take a look at the announced plan for DC's on-screen direction, and engage in a whole lot of nerdy speculation as to what it could all mean for superhero media.
Hey, guys. Did you miss us? We sure as hell missed you. Saint and Jim return to the Fuel Your Fandom podcast for our Season 5 opener, and boy HOWDY did a lot of crazy stuff happen over our holiday hiatus. As such, we don't really have a theme for this installment other than playing catch-up on all the news that's fit to nerd. So if you feel like joining us for a lively bounce-around touching on video games, streaming stuff, movie happenings, superhero goings-on and the latest in sparkling consequences, then let's kick off our fifth run of shows with a bang — together.
Hey, Friends of Fandom. Saint and Jim don't really have a topic this week. They just wanted to spend a little time just before their holiday hiatus to reflect on a great year of guests, geekery, good times, and — most of all — gratitude. So that's what they did! Thanks to everyone who was a part of Fuel Your Fandom in 2022. We appreciate you all. And here's to Season 5 to come!
The Man. The Myth. The weirdest legend of them all. How has it taken Saint and Jim this long to get around to the national treasure that is Weird Al? Not only is he universally beloved and an undeniable creative genius, he’s also a peerless parodist, funny filmmaker, virtuoso squeezeboxer, and all around nice guy. On this episode, your intrepid co-hosts are joined by Al superfan Josh Bohmbach of The Benchwarmers Sports Trivia podcast. What results is less a “podcast” per se, and more just three nerds gushing endlessly about a legitimate icon. Couldn’t be helped. He’s just so awesome. So earhole it up, and let’s get weird.
Something curious has been happening in the land of live music lately. Cover bands and tribute acts have ascended to a level of draw (and ticket sales) previously only reserved for their "original" counterparts. Whether a given band is emulating a single celebrated act or representing a specific genre's greatest hits, the public's appetite for familiarity has never seemed higher. Is it nostalgia? Post-covid "comfort food"-style tendencies? Or something else? Today, Saint and Jim are joined by Kevin Sucher, Grammy-nominated producer and bandleader of America's favorite Yacht Rock band The Docksiders, to break this one down.
Few characters have captured the imaginations of escape-seekers like the ultimate gentleman spy. Y'know, 007. Bond. James Bond. The "license to kill" guy. In this episode, Saint and Jim are joined once again by friend of the show and host of the "Mission Log" Star Trek podcast, John Champion. In a Blofeld-worthy twist, he's actually not here to talk Trek this time. But he IS good enough to help us dive into some Bond-centered subjects that might leave you shaken AND stirred. Among them: how do we parse the misogyny of Bond's earliest outings with modern standards? Who was the best Bond? Is there a future for the character after "No Time to Die"? How much of a difference is there between Fleming vs. Broccoli? And how good is all that music, anyway?
First things first: MASSIVE SPOILER WARNING FOR THIS EPISODE. If you somehow haven't seen "Wakanda Forever" yet, then please save this one for later. Reason being, Saint n' Jim both saw it the weekend it opened, and were so moved by it that the usual months-out spoiler moratoriums are out the window. But if you HAVE seen it, then we hope you enjoy the breakdown of all the reasons why this film is one of the best the MCU has produced thus far. Among them: rich depictions of culture, incredible action, powerful Afro-futurism, touching tributes, inspiring depictions of Black excellence, and SO many implications for the MCU as a whole it'll make your head spin. Earhole it up!
There's no denying it: technology is an integral part of all of our lives. We all have smartphones in our pockets. We'd get lost without GPS. And most of us don't really remember much before the internet. But our reliance on tech isn't necessarily a net positive. As we've seen given some of the news stories that have recently surfaced involving Facebook, Twitter, layoffs, and other "we'd rather not think about it" kind of stuff, sometimes tech can be more trouble than it's worth. In this edition, Saint and Jim take a look at our over-reliance on tech, and what it means for the culture.
We all know that TV and movies aren't real life. And most contexts, it's a really good thing they're not. That's good for a lot of reasons. But one of the biggest ones is — let's face it — some of our favorite fictional characters would be horrible people to know in real life. And we don't even mean the sociopaths and supervillains. We're talking about beloved characters who just happen to be low-key horrible people. In this episode, Saint and Jim take a look at why we'd never actually be friends with these folks. Of course, they also dip into some news, tangents, and meandering. Like they do.
There's no doubt about it — there's never been a better time to be a nerd. Given the abundance of entertainment aimed directly at us these days, it's become obvious that the geek have truly inherited the earth. HOWEVER. How much of a good thing is TOO much? Given the frankly absurd proliferation of movies, comics, TV shows, video games and countless other channels of media, it's feeling ever more impossible to keep up with it all. In this edition of the FYF podcast, Saint and Jim take a closer look at just how bloated the nerd mediasphere has become, and how overwhelming it feels trying to keep up with it all. So if you can find the time (amid obsessing over your growing Netflix queue, stressing over your heavy Kindle backlog and sighing over the fact that they just announced 17 new "Assassin's Creed" games), we'd love it if you could earhole this one.
Some weeks, episode themes reveal themselves. Others, there's just so much nerd news, it can be hard to narrow it all down into one installment. This was one of the second kind. In this edition of the Fuel Your Fandom podcast, Saint and Jim face down an absolute deluge of newsworthy geek-o-sphere goings on, and hand-pick some of the biggest standouts. And in an unprecedented move, some late-breaking nerd news sent the boys back to their mics to record an addendum — since something absolutely huge happened just after they wrapped up. So get this in your earholes, and get plugged in to what's up.
Time travel is a sticky concept. While the IDEA of trekking through the timeline is totally feasible (especially given commonly accepted Einsteinian theory), the PRACTICE of traipsing across the ages can be complicated, indeed. What happens if you encounter yourself? Are you risking disrupting the timeline? Can you give yourself stock tips? How do quantum physics factor in? In this edition of Fuel Your Fandom, Saint and Jim are joined by time travel expert and filmmaker John Lampson, who breaks down the three types of temporal travel, his favorite on-screen examples of the concept, and why so many of the paradoxes that could theoretically arise for active chrononauts shouldn't be a real worry in reality.
Spoopy season is here, and Saint and Jim are celebrating with a special guest. Stephen King superfan Zach Dahlem joins us for a look into the bestselling horrormeister's career and catalogue, including both on-the-page and on-screen versions of his works. We'll take a look at King's early pulpy stuff, his mid-period "recovery" works, and how he's been taken more seriously in the third act of his arc — whether he wants to admit as much, or not. As per usual, we'll have some winding little tangents along the way. But you knew that already. Happy earholing!
Technology moves fast. Sometimes a little TOO fast. As such, for every overnight success in tech, there are countless overhyped "next big thing" gadgets and/or services that are announced, released, and then fall flat on their digital faces. Sometimes it's immediate, other times early adopters are left with slowly obsoleted zombie gear, and on occasion, something just ends up being vaporware that never sees the light of day. And then, there are those pieces of failed tech that still have devotées years later despite having fallen out of favor with the tech tastemakers. On this episode, Saint and Jim take a look at the long and winding road littered with the corpses of tech flops. As a "bonus", fans of meandering run-ups will also be subject to listening to them prattle on about racist snowflakes, the increasing speed of digital movie releases, and the coming rise of the "synthespian."
Love him or hate him, there's no denying that Gen-X icon Kevin Smith has had a storied and celebrated career bringing his special brand of foul-mouthed slacker authenticity to screens of various sizes for coming up on three decades now. So, in the wake of the release of his latest opus "Clerks III", Saint and Jim take the opportunity to look back on the oeuvre of The Garden State's "favorite" auteur. We probably should've saved this for episode #37, but oh well. Earhole it anyway.
Love him or hate him, there's no denying that Gen-X icon Kevin Smith has had a storied and celebrated career bringing his special brand of foul-mouthed slacker authenticity to screens of various sizes for coming up on three decades now. So, in the wake of the release of his latest opus "Clerks III", Saint and Jim take the opportunity to look back on the oeuvre of The Garden State's "favorite" auteur. We probably should've saved this for episode #37, but oh well. Earhole it anyway.
In terms of pop-cultural constants, there aren't many stalwarts more enduring than Saturday Night Live. Currently heading into its 48th season, SNL has launched more careers, catchphrases and comedy icons than any other American entertainment institution — and it isn't even close. On this episode, Saint and Jim are joined by Saturday Night superfan Stef Schoepple to kick around everything from one-on-one encounters with the cast, to moments of controversy, to why the all-too-frequent whine of "SNL isn't funny anymore" is complete bullshit.
In terms of pop-cultural constants, there aren't many stalwarts more enduring than Saturday Night Live. Currently heading into its 48th season, SNL has launched more careers, catchphrases and comedy icons than any other American entertainment institution — and it isn't even close. On this episode, Saint and Jim are joined by Saturday Night superfan Stef Schoepple to kick around everything from one-on-one encounters with the cast, to moments of controversy, to why the all-too-frequent whine of "SNL isn't funny anymore" is complete bullshit.
It's a fact — superheroes are everywhere these days. Movies, comics, video games...no matter what you're into, you can find capes and tights everywhere. But part and parcel of the long-running and wide-ranging storylines of superheroes is a sticky narrative question: how do we keep bulletproof gods who can literally fly somewhat grounded and vulnerable? Or at least enough so that we as the audience can still relate to them? On this episode, Saint and Jim break down the many flavors of Kryptonite, look at how Batman and Iron Man can hang despite having no actual superhuman powers (other than money), and what we can all learn from heroes of their eras, like Spider-Man and the X-Men. Plus, fans of tangents will enjoy a little of bit nerd news catch-up involving fantasy racism, the British Monarchy, and the fantastic Taylor Hawkins tribute show.
There's just something undeniable about the appeal of a classic pinball machine. The flashing lights, the casino-like sounds, and the tactility of the physics involved all add up to a "Sure, I can spare a couple of quarters" response in almost everyone when we see one in the wild. But — as it is with most things — there exists a hidden shadow realm of die-hard pinball aficionados who are not only walking historians of chrome spheres and flippers, but who have the experience to spank these marvels of entertainment engineering into total high-score submission. Today, Saint and Jim are joined by four of them: Christopher Franchi, Jeff Parsons, and Dr. & Mrs. Pin (of both the Super Awesome Pinball Show, and Mrs. Pin's Pinball Podcast). These folks are an absolute treasure trove of knowledge on pinball's past, present, and future. During this surprisingly wide-ranging conversation, they team up to offer us a glimpse into a world most of us aren't even aware of. So cram this in your earholes, and get ready for a masterclass on all things pinball.
There's just nothing quite like a good concert, is there? From catching an up-and-coming local act, to seeing a huge household name at the EnormoDome, to everything in-between — letting the power of live music wash over you can be an almost religious experience. In this edition of the FYF podcast, Saint and Jim do their best to break down the incomparable feeling of having your favorite music played 10 feet from your face while surrounded by 20,000 of your closest friends. And also, a little bit about what it feels like to be the ones onstage doing the playing.
LEGO. Even just saying the name conjures up images of endless childhood hours spent creating epic structures from the ever-popular colorful plastic bricks. But of course, much like video games and coloring books, LEGO has evolved right along with the kids that used to — and still do — love playing around. Today, incredibly complex licensed LEGO sets can run enthusiasts hundreds of dollars, involve dozens of build hours, and fetch exorbitant prices on the resale market. So in this episode, Saint and Jim take a closer look at what makes LEGO such a persistently compelling fandom.
We're truly in a golden age of video gaming. Near-photorealistic visuals, expansive worlds to explore, and incredible stories that unfold in satisfying ways are the norm. But it wasn't always that way. During the NES era, many developers assumed that the best way to add time (and therefore the perception of value) to a video game was the make it HARDER THAN DIAMOND-CRUSTED COLLEGE ALGEBRA. Games like "Ghosts N' Goblins, "Ninja Gaiden" and the infamous "Battletoads" absolutely HATED you, and wanted you dead in a frustrated fit of controller-snapping rage-quittery. Here, Saint and Jim dig into some of the best of the worst examples of classic "Nintendo Hard."
In the wake of the disappointing news about the summary (and seemingly arbitrary) cancellation of Warner Brothers' "Batgirl" film, Saint and Jim break down the intersectionally problematic reasons why the whole thing stinks like last week's leftovers, as well as throwing a spotlight on some other shelved projects that will likely never see the light of day, or the light of a screen. Plus, since we forgot to cover some post-hiatus catch-up news, fans of our rambly tangents will also get to hear us meander off in some random pop-culture directions. Earhole time.
We're Back! After an eventful summer break, Saint and Jim recap their summer vacations, cover some serious geek goings-on, and delve into the divisive world of directors' cuts. Are they always better? Why do fans feel entitled to them? Why do DIRECTORS sometimes feel entitled to them? We have our thoughts, but — as always — we'd love to hear from you.
From the dawn of digital entertainment, music has always been a massive part of the gaming experience. Beginning with the looping 8-bit Zelda and Mario-style chiptunes we can all still hum from memory, and culminating in the dozens-of-tracks-deep licensed soundtracks of the Grand Theft Auto and Tony Hawk Pro Skater games, it's next to impossible to imagine some experiences without the accompanying music. On this edition of FYF, Saint and Jim do a deep dive into some of the best.
We've all heard the fable of the Ship of Theseus, wherein we ask ourselves how many parts of an original thing can be replaced before it can no longer be considered the same overall whole. The same thought experiment applies to bands. How many members can a musical act replace before the band itself can't really be considered the same band anymore? Saint and Jim wondered the same thing. So hop on-board this episode where the sometimes contentious, often weird and occasionally even incestuous topic of replacement band members is kicked around to see what leaks out.
The internet landscape is a strange, fascinating and ever-changing place. From the early days of Geocities and web counters, to the modern era of social media and curated communities, web culture has always been an ever-changing, mercurial realm. But one of the ways netizens have always communicated their takes on the singular online experience? Memes. But what is a meme? Why do some things go viral and not others? What makes this seemingly-silly medium so potent? On this episode, Saint and Jim dig into the internet's most relatable art form in a wide-ranging discussion with historian and folklorist Tamlin Iverson. Earhole this!
You'd be forgiven for thinking it when you first heard about it: "Oh, Seth MacFarlane is doing a riff on 'Star Trek'? So, it'll be like if there were dick jokes on the Enterprise?" And honestly, he probably could've gotten away with that. But as anyone who's seen "The Orville" knows, it's so much more than what it seems at first glance. As equal parts inspired hómage, affectionate parody, and in-its-own-right masterpiece, the show has carved out its own place in an ever more crowded sci-fi multiverse...and it's done so on its own terms. So join Saint and Jim as they break open this particular jar of tasty galactic pickles and take a big, juicy bite.
For as long as they can remember, Saint and Jim have been enamored with stand-up comedy. Something about a fearless funny person standing in front of a brick wall — just them and a microphone, trying to make us all laugh — seems funny in and of itself. But when some humormonger is truly at the top of their craft, stand-up takes on the undeniable patina of art. On today's episode, your intrepid co-hosts chat with one such comic, the funny-for-a-living Kermet Apio. In doing so, a multitude of subjects are covered: the writing process, what touring is REALLY like, and how "cancel culture" has affected comedy among them (as a bonus, get ready for a crash course on Hawai'ian slack-key guitar!).
Deep-fried this. Sugar-frosted that. Chocolate-dipped the other thing. Look, no matter who we are, or how "healthy" we try to eat, some things are irresistible. Whether our weakness is crunchy, sweet, salty, chewy, or some combination of all of the above, everyone has a guilty pleasure when it comes to junk food. Saint and Jim are no different. So put us in your earholes, and try to get through this episode without reaching for the chips.
Remember the early days of streaming? When Netflix was chock-full of movies you wanted to watch, and it seemed like the future would be bright for in-home entertainment? Now, the streaming landscape has fragmented and fractured to the point where if you want to see every hot show and talked-about film, you're paying just as much as you used to to your local cable company, if not more. On this episode, Saint and Jim break down what makes streaming equal parts annoying and essential in the modern fandom landscape.
Pop culture really is a double-edged sword. Given the rise of the 24-hour news cycle, tabloid press and instant-gratification social media, we're all inundated with information. Sometimes, we don't actually WANT it, but there it is — ready to be consumed. To what extent do our fandoms give us the obligation or even the right to pry into the personal lives of the public figures who entertain us? On this episode, Saint and Jim tackle the thorny topic of celebrity, the extent to which the lifestyles of the rich and famous sometimes offer more drama than their professional projects, and what it all means to fandom as a concept.
Part 2 of Saint and Jim's dual-fold episode on MCU villains continues the run-down of brilliant bad guys by beginning with a mild tangent involving the ACTUAL runs, before finishing with the latest and greatest of the on-screen scoundrels and mystical miscreants of the MCU. Keep your tissues handy.
Any superhero is only as good as the baddies they fight. And there have been few villains as compelling as the antagonists of the Marvel Universe — and the MCU inspired by it. In this first segment of a two-part episode, Saint and Jim run down the list of the MCU's villains to date, and break down what makes them such a multi-versal delight to watch.
Most podcasts would take the opportunity of a milestone like this to hit you with a retrospective full of highlights and clips of past episodes. Not Fuel Your Fandom! In this, the first of our three-digit installments, Saint and Jim deliver an all-new tangent-filled ramblefest filled with advice on how to book your band, why all we'd need to do is kidnap and eat ONE billionaire for the others to snap into line, and which mutants will most likely be making their MCU débuts first. So, it's earhole time.
Fandom is a moving target sometimes. Depending on when you came to a certain band, movie franchise, video game series, comic book or what-have-you, it could be a ride-or-die/womb-to-tomb sort of deal. But then there are other fandoms we're super passionate about during earlier life phases that we eventually grow out of. Similarly, maybe we're cool on certain things (or even actively dislike them) in our younger years before coming around and appreciating the hell out of them as we get older. In this installment, Saint and Jim kick around the fluid nature of fandom, and why sometimes you need to be in a certain headspace to appreciate things. Or not. Whatever.
Well-being. It's a tough topic to talk about, especially since so many of us deal with so much...especially lately. But the subject of mental health is one that really needs to be de-stigmatized — particularly in light of some very highly-publicized issues some celebrity types are clearly dealing with. So, we dig into it. Then, in the back half, we kick around the subject of Kickstarter, and crowd-funding in general. Is it a good idea? And if you backed something that either never materialized, or showed up in diminished form, would that impact your opinion?
Is a Pop Tart a Ravioli? Is a hot dog a sandwich? And even if it isn't, should you put ketchup on it? Everyone has strong opinions when it comes to food — sometimes regional, sometimes cultural, and sometimes simply based on flavor — and Saint and Jim are no different. Join them as they break down some of the most pressing debates in food-based opinioneering. Also: today's tangents include a handheld gaming follow-up, The Batman, and what the hell is WRONG with you, Kanye?
It's no secret that we're living in a golden age of television. The rise of streaming — combined with covid-based mandatory shelter-in-place viewing — has expanded small-screen storytelling in a way we haven't seen in years. At least, not since original cable programming started stealing eyeballs from the networks. Meanwhile, many first-run movies (not to mention the people responsible for creating them) are committing to TV releases in large numbers as box office receipts continue to come up short. So what does this mean for the future of your neighborhood cineplex? Let's chew on that.
Remember the rush you got the first time you plugged "Tetris" into your Game Boy, and realized that you could finally take your gaming with you? Handheld gaming has been a signature joy for decades, and it's a trend that continues with mobile gaming today. In this edition of FYF, Saint and Jim dive into what makes on-the-go-gaming such an enduring hobby.
Simply put: Banning books is bad. Nobody throughout history who has ever banned a book has ended up on the right side of said history. To say nothing of the irony of banning books about people who banned books. So, Saint and Jim are gonna dig into that, as it pertains to the only graphic novel to ever win a Pulitzer Prize. Also: what the actual EFF, Spotify?!?
Saint and Jim revisit the topic of toxic fandom in this episode. They didn't want to have to. They SHOULDN'T have had to. But the backward butt-skulls of certain corners of deep geekery keep forcing their hand. Bottom line: nerd media is getting more colorful, more queer, and more gender-diverse ALL THE TIME. That's the way Stan Lee wanted it, that's the way Gene Roddenberry wanted it, and that's how it's supposed to be. And it's time for the dusty dinosaurs to get on the boat — or be left in the wake. So get woke, already.
A lot happened while Saint and Jim were on hiatus. We lost some truly treasured pop-culture icons, the world of digital entertainment got shaken up by some massive acquisitions, and all kinds of other tangent-worthy stuff went down. We're back, baby! So fill your earholes with our manic meandering as we do our best to stay focused for our Season Four debut.
Saint and Jim break down this week's deluge of geek news, reflect on some of their favorite moments of the last three seasons, and look ahead at what's in-store for season 4 after they return from their brief year-end hiatus. This one is equal parts warm fuzzies, unapologetic nerdery, and filthy euphemisms. So if you're into that, happy holidays! And if you're not, then what are any of us even doing here, anyway?
Hey, remember Jiffy Peanut Butter? Looney Toons? Or the Berenstein Bears? No the hell you don't. Because apparently, they never existed. At least, not in THIS timeline. "The Mandela Effect" is the name that the popular culture has given to what's either mass false memories, alternative realities, or gestalt theory. Can you trust your own memory? In this episode, Saint and Jim might have you questioning that.
The archetype of the antihero is almost as old as entertainment itself. The idea of a charming, relatable pseudo-protagonist who also gets up to some deeply evil stuff in the name of serving a (sometimes noble?) agenda often makes for a fascinating character study. But why do we relate so closely to, and so enthusiastically project ourselves onto these flawed people? Join Saint and Jim as they break down the appeal of gray morality.
It's a big day for esteemed "Fuel Your Fandom" podcast host Saint. His band Another Sentiment just dropped their latest LP, "Ascending the Abyss" — and it's a ferocious collection of personal, timely songs that absolutely crushes. So I (that is, co-host Jim) put him on the spot to stop promoting the work of others for at least one episode, and toot his own horn for a change. My boy worked hard on this record, so it's time for me to gas him up a little...which is appropriate, given the name of this podcast.
Plot holes...we've all noticed them. When a given movie breaks its own rules to the point that something impossible happens (or something possible should happen, but doesn't), it can really mess with our suspension of disbelief. So, which movies have plot holes you could drive a Mack truck through (here's looking at you, "Cars"), and which are at least somewhat able to be explained? In this edition of the podcast, Saint and Jim look for some of the biggest leaps in logic in film history, and try to puzzle them out them with raw geek reasoning. CONTENT WARNING: We also talk about some stuff at the top of the episode you may not want to listen to with your kids in the car.
Picture it: Indiana Jones with a fluffy mustache. "I'm on top of the world!" shouted with a Texas drawl. Walter White breaking bad, and also the fourth wall to ask you why you're still watching. Some of the most iconic roles in entertainment history came THIS--><--CLOSE to being portrayed by different actors entirely. In this episode, Saint And Jim try to envision a world where Forrest Gump is a Sweathog, Aragorn has to stop on the way to Mordor to steal the Declaration of Independence, and Michael Scott declares not just bankruptcy, but also his hatred of merlot.
It's here! The time has come to formally (and finally) kick off the "Fuel The Future" charity program, which helps gets comics, toys, and other geek paraphernalia into the hands of the next generation of fans. In this edition, Saint and Jim outline how it works, how to donate, and what the spirit of giving means to them. Let's help foster some fresh fandom!
In this edition, Saint and Jim fully intended to talk about their favorite horror movie killers during a Facebook Live broadcast. But it didn't EXACTLY work out that way. They do get to it eventually. But in classic FYF form, MANY tangents are meandered down — including, but not limited to:
• How Dave Chappelle keeps getting away with being all TERFy
• The nature of horror movies, both psychological and fantastical
• The infuriating futility of BOTH your intrepid co-hosts being in Facebook jail during a scheduled live event
• Goodness knows what else, so you'd better just listen.
Whoo — this is a sticky one. What happens when you love the work of a given creative person, but then you find out that said creative person happens to be, well...kind of awful? In the wake of the R. Kelly verdict, Saint and Jim take a look at the complicated nature of enjoying the work of people who aren't exactly deserving of respect. Is it still okay to dig the output of an artist who's dug themselves into a hole? And where do we draw the lines?
On this edition, Saint and Jim are joined in a very caffeinated convo by Jeff Ayers — media maven at the incredible Death Wish Coffee and the host of the "Fueled by Death" podcast. Thanks to the double shot of both beans and fuel, the topics bounce freely between why gatekeeping sucks, how our upbringing effects our fandoms, and even how the love of coffee is a fandom unto itself. So brew up a pot, and give it a listen.
Longtime friend and frequent guest Frankie finds his way back to Fuel Your Fandom to talk with Saint and Jim about the joy of cons, cosplay, and collecting, and the special community they engender in the nerdosphere. Also includes a bonus segment where your hosts complain about minor first-world inconveniences like the perils of dealing with intrusive web advertising, and the overwhelm felt by cord-cutters as we realize our cumulative streaming-service fees are adding up to be more expensive than cable ever was.
You just can't keep a good parallel dimension down. This has never been more true than when it comes to Star Trek. Trek's "mirror universe" is an oft-revisited, sometimes-bungled conceit that has yielded some interesting insights, but almost as many missed narrative opportunities. Join Saint and Jim as they once again welcome "Mission Log: A Roddenberry Podcast" co-host John Champion to the program to discuss the highs and lows of exploring the original sci-fi multiverse.
Art imitates life — but the inverse is also true. Today's tech often finds itself inspired by yesterday's entertainment. There's a definite line to be drawn between things like Star Trek's communicators and Bluetooth phones, as well as "replicators" and 3D printers. So what's next? What happens when things go wrong? And what fictional tech would YOU like to see become a reality? Put Saint and Jim into your earholes as they break down the gadgets that have made it from the world of entertainment into your hot li'l hands. CONTENT WARNING: things get a little bluer than usual in this installment, so please don't listen with your kids in the car.
Rarely has a major comic-book adaptation so swiftly gotten a reboot after a swing and a miss, but James Gunn's 2021 "The Suicide Squad" just got a chance to atone for the sins of David Ayer's 2016 "Suicide Squad" in a big way. So, how'd it go? Was it an improvement? And was Ayer's version really THAT bad? If so, why? Saint and Jim put 'em both through the wringer in this installment.
Time to put Saint and Jim back into your earholes — all the news that's fit to nerd is boomeranging back for another installment. In this edition, we're taking a look at ScarJo's "Black Widow" lawsuit, the nasty business happening with harassment among video game developers, some upcoming comic-based films and TV shows we can't wait to see, and more. So let's geek it up.
Join Saint and Jim for an info-packed episode about food, the eating thereof and other related challenges with dietician, professional eater and influencer Randy Santel. Randy is a veritable font of foodie facts in this edition, touching on subjects like how to mentally and physically prepare for massive caloric intake, the "belt of fat" theory, and what it does to your body to eat a pizza the size of a hula hoop. Dig in!
In light of some of the fan reaction to the new "Masters of the Universe: Revelations" series, Saint and Jim dig out their (self-aware) soapboxes once again to tackle the topic of toxicity in fandom. Liking things is supposed to be fun. So why all the bullying, entitlement, and outrage? They may not have all the answers, but they're certainly not afraid to ask the questions.
It's no secret that we're big fans of New Wave Toys around here. So when Saint and Jim reached out New Wave founder Shilo Prychak about scheduling a follow-up on last year's conversation, and he not only agreed, but asked if his friend — Q*Bert creator Warren Davis — could join us? "Excited" was not the word. If you're a fan of golden-age arcade games, you do NOT want to miss this episode!
If you grew up nerdy (and we're betting you did), then you've had those schoolyard debates: could The Hulk beat up Superman? Could Batman kick Wolverine's ass? In the spirit of these theoretical geek get-downs, Saint and Jim spend this episode looking at characters from different universes who share definite parallels, and try to objectively decide who's cooler overall. Please send your hate mail to fuelyourfandom@gmail.com.
In part 2 of our episode recalling the impact of geek heroes that are no longer with us, Saint and Jim take a look at more of the late pop culture heroes that left a mark on entertainment, and in our lives.
This week, the tabletop gaming world rejoiced at the news that original "Dungeons & Dragons" publishers TSR would be reforming, with the son of legendary founder Gary Gygax at the helm. Sadly, that joy was short-lived, as Ernie Gygax made the rounds on social media and proved himself to be a bigoted, transphobic pile of steaming hot subhuman garbage. And that was just the beginning. Join Saint and Jim as they dig out their ranty soapboxes, and use their big-boy words to tell Gygax the Lesser just exactly how far up his digestive tract he is welcome to cram his crusty, hate-filled opinions on trans personhood. Oh, and this episode contains even stronger language than usual, so make sure the kids aren't in the car.
We like to keep things pretty light around here. But life isn't always just sunshine and rainbows. Sometimes you have to spend a little time honoring the fallen. In this two-part series, Saint and Jim remember the lives and legacies of some titans of pop culture who are no longer with us.
In their first ever live episode, Saint and Jim wrestle with two big obstacles: First: who were the best actors ever to don the cowl and cape? And second: how in the hell do live podcasts even work? Also, be sure to stick around until the end for an exciting announcement on how we hope to Fuel the Future.
It's a great time to be a geek. With the pandemic rapidly receding into the rearview mirror, the world of entertainment is ramping up into overdrive status, making up for lost time in a big way. So it's time once again for Saint and Jim to rev up the Nerd News Nexus, and quick-shot all the news that's fit to 'cast.
Nothing unites people like the power of music. Saint and Jim — musicians themselves — know this all too well. And like most, they have bands they're incredibly passionate about. On this episode, they dream on and rhapsodize about all the reasons they love their own personal favorite bands, Queen and Aerosmith.
Star Wars is just one of those things — it's like pizza, or The Beatles. Some people are obsessives, some people are casual fans, but the "no thanks" camp is forever empty. That's what makes this episode so special. Saint and Jim do a deep dive into the Star Wars mythos, what it all means, and how it's impacted geekdom. Our special guest on this journey is writer, raconteur, and co-host of the Gentlemen Nerds podcast, Aaron de Orive. He may know a thing or two about Star Wars, too — but you'll just have to listen to find out.
It's a great time to be a geek. There's been so much happening in the fan-o-sphere as of late that it's been tough to keep up. Thankfully, Saint and Jim have your back. Join them for the maiden voyage of a new feature on Fuel Your Fandom: The Nerd News Nexus! We'll break down all the news that's fit to podcast.
Video games have undergone a ton of changes since first entering mainstream pop culture. And while the expansive open worlds and immersive experiences of today certainly have their appeal, it's hard to discount the draw of the pixels, cartridges and quarters era. Join Saint and Jim as they take a spin through the past, present and future of digital entertainment.
In this ultra-chonky (even for us) episode, Saint and Jim dig into the epic Disney+ series "The Falcon and the Winter Soldier." From surprising character arcs, to crucial plot points, to the considerable implications for the larger MCU as a whole, every aspect of this must-see series gets a closer look. So grab a snack, pop your favorite beverage, and settle in.
What would you rather see? A villain so completely unhinged and insane that there is no way he could ever make a valid point? Or a villain that seems like, in a certain light, might actually be right? What does it take to put us in the big armored shoes of a Thanos or the like? What makes a compelling villain? Join Saint and special returning guest Thomas as we discuss...was Thanos right?
Remember: everything we currently consider obsolete was cutting-edge at some point. 8-tracks, vinyl, older-generation game consoles, VHS, Laserdiscs, past-their-prime computers — we've all used a medium or a piece of tech that looks a little dusty by current standards. But there's a reason we loved them at the time, and why part of us still does. Join Saint and Jim as they take a look back at some bygone technologies, and wax a little nostalgic.
Few trends in entertainment have provoked as much debate as the "gritty reboot"; i.e., taking a general-audiences property, and trying to re-launch it as a violence- and coarse-language-filled "adult" entertainment entity. Sometimes it works, and sometimes it's "Batman vs. Superman." But where is the line? Join Saint and Jim as they get into the grist of the grit.
What is the nature of reality? Is fate predestined, or do we have free will? And how much do our choices affect our personal timelines, and the continuity of the world at large? Heavy questions, to be sure. In this edition of the Fuel Your Fandom podcast, Saint and Jim ruminate on these big-picture concepts as reflected through the lens of alternative realities in entertainment. What makes the idea of a mirror universe so appealing, anyway?
Superheroes. We all love 'em. And we'd love to have their abilities. Or...WOULD we? In this episode, Saint and Jim take a closer look at what it might REALLY be like to have traditional superpowers in a world where the standard rules of physics still apply. Watch your kneecap on that three-point landing, pal.
Imagine living in a world where superheroes exist, and having to deal with the frequent reality of buildings being leveled, entire cities getting levitated in the air, and the constant property damage that comes from larger-than-life figures working out their differences in your hometown. In this episode, Saint and Jim ask, "Does my insurance cover LITERAL acts of gods?"
Saint and Jim welcome "Mission Log: A Roddenberry Star Trek Podcast" co-host John Champion back to the show to talk "Discovery," social justice, utopian wishful thinking, and all things Trek. Let's boldly go.
Join Saint and Jim as they dig into the ouevre and inspirations of gothic ambient industrial artist Nuda, including her new album "Mindful Tragedies" (out today!), and the innovative "Welcome to the New Apocalypse" virtual tour that will be supporting it.
In this edition, Saint and Jim chew on the history, present and future of the phenomenon popularly known as "Cancel Culture." What's a fan to do when our geek heroes disappoint us by exhibiting problematic public behavior? Is it possible to separate the art we love from the sometimes-terrible artists who create it?
Hey, did you realize that KFC's marketing department is pants-on-head crazy? Because you're about to. In this edition of FyF, Saint and Jim take a look at the surprisingly deep, and completely bananas range of tie-ins the Colonel and Company have cooked up when they're not busy cooking the chicken.
In this episode, Saint and Jim discuss the historically woeful state of videogame-based films, and some of the reasons why they're so rarely successful. Also covered: a few that seem to buck the trend, and some upcoming efforts it might be safe to have higher hopes for.
Welcome to Season 3! Join Jim and I as we talk about the rather interesting month between seasons, we attempt to discuss new video game consoles, but we ultimately lean into punching Nazis...
Welcome to the season finale of The Fuel Your Fandom Podcast! In this episode, we talk about Bob's Burgers, we EAT Bob's Burgers, and we talk about oh so much more! Thank you from the bottom of my heart for making the podcast a part of your day, and we look forward to an even more exciting and engaging season 3!
In this episode, we talk with Cosplay aficionado and member of the Fighting 501st, Paul Haga! We talk about all of the crazy cool costumes he has created throughout the years, the projects he holds dear to his heart, and how awesome it is owning a DeLorean! I'M NOT JEALOUS, YOU'RE JEALOUS, GOSH!!!
In this episode, we talk with 99.9 KISW's Rock Goddess, Taryn Daly! We talk about what brought her into Radio Broadcasting, We talk Beer, We talk sports, and of course, we talk ROCK!
Fan theories...head cannon...whatever you wanna call it, Jim and I are here to talk about it! Join me and my new cohost as we discuss far out fan theories, and whether they hold any water, or if they are just so much junk!
Oh boy, was I waiting for this one! In this episode, Jim and I explore one of our own fandoms when we talk with New Wave Toys Founder Shilo Prychak! The build quality, the attention to detail...the surprises? You won't want to miss this one!
In this episode, I am joined by my bandmates in Another Sentiment, as we discuss the economic turmoil left in the wake of a global pandemic, the effect on music, and just random nonsense from diseased minds!
In this episode, my good friend Jim and I discuss cover music! What makes a good cover? What makes a bad cover? And this was an audience participation episode! Join us!
In this episode, Robert and I discuss the trauma and the sadness left in the wake of 1986's Transformers Animated Movie! The Bodycount, The Sadness...The Quest for more money!
Join me as I talk with Eric Horton, and we sink all of our geeky passion into Cobra Kai! From Youtube to Netflix, we gush over the fantastic continuation of The Karate Kid!
In this episode, Thomas and I discuss the incoming console generation, and the advantages and drawbacks of current generation gaming!
Man, there is so much focus on negativity and hate these days...Lets talk about someone you could NEVER hate! Keanu Reeves! Join AJ and I as we discuss this actor and his life, body of work, tragedy and triumph! Like, comment and subscribe! Tell me what you think! email at fuelyourfandom@gmail.com
On this episode, we chat with friend of the show, Ethan, about Character Shield, sometimes called Plot Armor, sometimes called Script Immunity. Where does it work, why does it exist? Where is it overused! And what the hell is up with the X-Men!
Welcome to the NEW home for the Fuel Your Fandom Podcast! In this episode, we talk with our good friend Mark Rahner about Comic Book movies, and Television Adaptations, and what they get right, and what they get wrong, and everything in between! In the midst of this we break down the Batman Character, Alfred Pennyworth, and discuss the new show on Epix!
In this breaking news, we learn that Sony pictures is bringing back an old nemesis of the Amazing Spider-Man...into the MCU! Leave a comment on our Facebook page, www.facebook.com/fuelyourfandom , tell us what you think, or drop us an email at fuelyourfandom@gmail.com! Thanks for listening!
Welcome to the Half-Tank! In this episode we cover Gerry Conway, creator of the Punisher among many others, and his stance on the current state of comic distribution! Let me know what you think! --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/FuelYourFandom/message
I'm this episode we catch up with an old friend, Todd, as we discuss what would happen if you woke up in a video game, and what movies would be improved by replacing the cast with Muppets. Here's a hint... Muppet violence and debauchery!--- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app· Charity Promotion: Democracy Works: This advertisement is part of a charitable initiative in partnership with Democracy Works. howto.vote--- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/FuelYourFandom/message
In this edition of the Half Tank, It's Preorder season! But were you one of the lucky, chosen few?
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Welcome to the inaugural episode of the Fuel Your Fandom Half Tank! Shorter segments to discuss breaking news and events! In this episode, we talk about Microsoft and their purchase of ZeniMax Media, parent company of Bethesda, and holder of so many game franchises that we all love, and what that acquisition will do to the video gaming landscape moving into a new console generation!
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This is it! The podcast so nice we recorded it twice! Join us as we talk with Roddenberry Podcast Network host John Champion, discussing the evolution of food in the Star Trek universe, from TOS to current, and discuss the technology that night get us there in the here and now!--- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app· Charity Promotion: Democracy Works: This advertisement is part of a charitable initiative in partnership with Democracy Works. howto.vote--- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/FuelYourFandom/message
Thomas and I (Welcome back, Thomas!) Discuss the console wars, nintendos place on it, if any, and their long history of gaming innovation!--- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app· Charity Promotion: Democracy Works: This advertisement is part of a charitable initiative in partnership with Democracy Works. howto.vote--- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/FuelYourFandom/message
In this episode, I talk with a longtime friend, Karama Blackhorn, and we discuss The J.K. Rowling situation, what her Trans Exclusionary policies are doing to her fanbase, and whether she can pull it back--- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app· Charity Promotion: Democracy Works: This advertisement is part of a charitable initiative in partnership with Democracy Works. howto.vote--- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/FuelYourFandom/message
In this episode, we talk with my very best friend, Dr. Robert Morehead! We talk about teaching, about how he night be the only one seeing the redemption of The Last Jedi, and out shared history spanning over 2 decades. --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app· Charity Promotion: Democracy Works: This advertisement is part of a charitable initiative in partnership with Democracy Works. howto.vote--- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/FuelYourFandom/message
In this episode, I'm joined again by my good friend Jim Schweitzer, as we talk about how we are coping with this new world order, things we're doing to stay sane, and reminiscing on how we met! --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app· Charity Promotion: Democracy Works: This advertisement is part of a charitable initiative in partnership with Democracy Works. howto.vote--- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/FuelYourFandom/message
In this episode, we talk with the host of Star Trek podcast Mission Log, Mr. John Champion! We discuss John's passions, what brought him to Trek, and we discuss representation in Trek and how it coincides with Gene Roddenberrys Dream! --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app· Charity Promotion: Democracy Works: This advertisement is part of a charitable initiative in partnership with Democracy Works. howto.vote--- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/FuelYourFandom/message
In this episode I talk with a longtime friend, Matt Luria, about how we met while being scary online vigilantes, adapting to teaching in an online environment, and building a community of friends you may never even meet irl. In this episode we also discuss the whitewashing of the Tulsa Race Massacre. You can find more information at the following link: https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smithsonian-institution/long-lost-manuscript-contains-searing-eyewitness-account-tulsa-race-massacre-1921-180959251/--- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app· Charity Promotion: Democracy Works: This advertisement is part of a charitable initiative in partnership with Democracy Works. howto.vote--- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/FuelYourFandom/message
In this episode we talk with PNW musician and mentor Skye Warden, of DK Zero and Abney Park fame! We discuss music, mentoring the next generation, and creativity in a time of quarantine!--- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app· Charity Promotion: Democracy Works: This advertisement is part of a charitable initiative in partnership with Democracy Works. howto.vote--- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/FuelYourFandom/message
In this episode, I have a conversation with local film producer Arthur Gonzales from Tahoma Films, about his new short film "Morning Cereal". We discuss making art in this time of quarantine, and why it is we do what we do!--- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app· Charity Promotion: Democracy Works: This advertisement is part of a charitable initiative in partnership with Democracy Works. howto.vote--- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/FuelYourFandom/message
In this episode, we talk with longtime music photographer Mike "Iron Mike" Savoia! We discuss where his love of photography developed (Ha, Photog Pun!), The bands he most likes to shoot, and just why does he always have a blue beard? --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app· Charity Promotion: Democracy Works: This advertisement is part of a charitable initiative in partnership with Democracy Works. howto.vote--- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/FuelYourFandom/message
In this episode, we talk with journalist, writer and Twilight Zone enthusiast Mark Rahner. We talk Trek, Twilight Zone, and how Rod Serling set the tone for so much pop culture! --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app· Charity Promotion: Democracy Works: This advertisement is part of a charitable initiative in partnership with Democracy Works. howto.vote--- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/FuelYourFandom/message
Join us as we talk with my ol' college buddy Anthony, as we discuss whether the Simpsons have the power to predict the future, the state of the movie biz, and so much more! --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app· Charity Promotion: Democracy Works: This advertisement is part of a charitable initiative in partnership with Democracy Works. howto.vote--- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/FuelYourFandom/message
In this episode, we talk with Strangely Alright frontman Regan Lane! We talk about music creation through isolation, how and when to be creative, and how we can come together and show the love!
--- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app· Charity Promotion: Democracy Works: This advertisement is part of a charitable initiative in partnership with Democracy Works. howto.vote--- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/FuelYourFandom/message
In this episode, we talk with Comics writer Brandon Jerwa! We cover his career in the comics industry, his current gig at Funko, and the responsibility creators have when working on material that has a built in fan base!
--- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app· Charity Promotion: Democracy Works: This advertisement is part of a charitable initiative in partnership with Democracy Works. howto.vote--- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/FuelYourFandom/message
With all of the negative things facing us in these uncertain times, We at the Fuel Your Fandom Podcast choose to focus on the positive! Join me as Thomas and new friend to the show Kristina talk about celebrity role models and shining examples of humanity!
--- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app· Charity Promotion: Democracy Works: This advertisement is part of a charitable initiative in partnership with Democracy Works. howto.vote--- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/FuelYourFandom/message
A Seattle mainstay for over twenty years, In this episode we talk with Seattle Radio legend BJ Shea! We talk about the evolution of mental health, Star Trek, and BJ's love of Tabletop and Board Gaming! Please forgive any audio imperfections as we work with technology to get distance interviews up and running! Thank you for your continued patience and support!
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In this episode, as we are self quarantined and hunkered down, Thomas, Daniella and I talk with the future of Fandom, my children William and Maria! It gets...Chaotic! Embrace the Chaos!
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Join us as we talk with Comic, Video Game and Tabletop RPG Writer Eric Trautmann! We discuss his career, we talk about the issue of Spoiler Culture, and we talk about how we can still embrace problematic media when it's well past its shelf life!
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In this episode, Thomas and I discuss the repercussions of COVID19, the dreaded coronavirus, The Star Wars Rise of Skywalker Novelizations revelations, and the upcoming Final Fantasy 7 remake!
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In this episode, we talk with Seattle/Tacoma music influencer Raymond Hayden! We talk about the state of local music, the need to inspire the next generation of musicians, and about, of course, his music!
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This isn't your typical episode of Fuel Your Fandom. In this episode, I take you into my own head, to talk about my anxiety, my depression, and hopefully open the doors for conversation for anyone who needs it. Take a trip inside my head. Let's remove the mask!
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In this episode, we talk with Tacoma Hip-Hop Mastermind, Mr. Von! We talk about Movies, we talk about Video Games, we talk about music! What a great conversation! Join us!
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In this episode, we chat with Frankie, Maria, and Wyatt about cyber bullying in an online gaming environment, how simple it is to make a positive mindset change, and setting goals towards finding our more positive side
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A First! Fuel Your Fandom interviews a family! Join us as we talk with the Thulin-Gizzi Family! We talk 3D Printing...we talk programming. We talk pop culture and science fiction! And then it gets real! Carbon emissions, Food Science, Virtual Reality as educational tools...this podcast truly has it all! Join us!
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In this episode, Thomas and I talk about the collected works of Kevin Smith, whose new movie Jay and Silent Bob Reboot just released on DVD and Blu-Ray! We talk about what its like meeting your heroes, and discuss the importance of getting out and making your art, no matter what.
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Welcome to Season 2! Today, we talk food, glorious food! Welcome Amanda and Steven! We also talk local nerd culture and various types of food related nerdery! Join the potluck!
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We live in the future! Welcome to Season 2 of the Fuel Your Fandom Podcast! This year! New topics! New Artwork! New Logo! More special guests! And new segments! I'm gonna expand this thing until the wheels fall off!
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Its the end of 2019! Finally! Join us as Thomas and I wrap up the year talking about Video Games, Star Wars, and the state of fandom as a whole! New Year! New Season! Lets kiss the old one goodbye!
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This week, we talk with my friend Ethan! We talk about Star Wars, a bit about representation, and about Video Games!
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Fuel Your Fandom joins forces with the Nerds Drink Whiskey crew to discuss the role of a villain...who they are, what makes them compelling? Join Mark, Jeff and Gabe as we discuss our favorite baddies!
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In this episode, we talk with Lee and Cary about all things Star Trek. Who was the better crew member, who was the best captain? We finally get to air the debate, and it was an amazing conversation! Jump on in! Leave us a message telling us who YOUR favorite crew was!
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In this episode, I talk with my long time friend, Jim about our shared passion for Retro Video Games, The pitfalls of turning a beloved video game into a movie or television show, and basically just geeking out over our love of collecting all things Video Gaming! Join us and geek out!--- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app--- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/FuelYourFandom/message
In this episode, my guests Rachael, Amanda, Thomas and I attempt to probe the rise of stronger representation in pop culture, and we discuss why it is so damned important. --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app--- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/FuelYourFandom/message
How much fandom is natural? How much is brought about by introduction by friends and family? In this episode we talk to Daniella, my lovely wife, and her brother, and frequent guest, Thomas.
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In this episode wee talk to Olympia metal band Another Sentiment! This is my name, and we discuss what fuels the creative process, what inspires us, and drives our passion! --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app--- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/FuelYourFandom/message
In this episode wee tackle what works and what doesn't work with connected Cinematic universes. I'm joined by Thomas, Patrick, Frankie and Maria! --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app--- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/FuelYourFandom/message
On this episode, my cohost Thomas and I discuss reboots, remakes, and retreads. The food, the bad and the ugly. --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app--- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/FuelYourFandom/message
I'm joined by my friends Frankie and Thomas, and we talk about the negative side of Fandom, and why it can be ok to hate things, but not too be a dick about it. --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app--- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/FuelYourFandom/message
Welcome to the Fuel Your Fandom Podcast! Everything is Fandom! This is the inaugural episode, and it's just me letting you know more what to expect in the future. Lets blaze this trail!
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