Official OLS Episodes – One Last Sketch: Recent Episodes
Michal Wojcik
We chat about Kushiel’s Dart by Jacqueline Carey (2001), the epic fantasy novel that asks: What if a woman was very sexy?
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Marie’s website
Source of our theme song
We hash out our Big Canadian Feelings about Margaret Atwood’s 1985 novel The Handmaid’s Tale. Atwood looms large over the Canadian literary landscape, but this foray into science fiction might be her best-known work. We discuss Atwood’s vision of a near future dystopia, praise her writing style, and stumble over some truly awful neologisms.
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Marie’s website
Source of our theme song
Marie and I are contractually obligated to discuss any book with dragons on the cover, so in the end, we couldn’t avoid chatting about the publishing phenomenon Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros (2023). While it’s not entirely to our tastes, we also wonder if the backlash to the novel might be for all the wrong reasons, and try to identify why the book is so popular as well as the right reasons for grumbling about it.
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Marie’s website
Source of our theme song
We look back on the things we most enjoyed in 2025, covering films, games, books and whatever else strikes our fancy.
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Marie’s website
Source of our theme song
Stuff we mention* Cory has a poetry collection! * By-the-Bywater podcast * Save Your Game podcast * If Books Could Kill podcast * Kimimi the Game-Eating She-Monster * Beaverton podcast * Mayday * Vaporama Vision
Over 20 years have passed since I first read 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea by Jules Verne (1869-1870), so I roped in Cory and Marie for a re-read. We find 20,000 problems with the science and struggle through 20,000 lists of underwater species, but they never obstruct the fun. Additionally, Marie “does a Zork.”
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Marie’s website
Source of our theme song
We wander through a vast mansion full of looming statues in Piranesi by Susanna Clarke (2020).
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Marie’s website
Source of our theme song
We try to get the jump on Canada Reads by discussing Bird Suit by Sydney Hegele (2024), the first pick for our 2025 book club. This southern Ontario gothic novel tells a story of generational trauma in a tourist town that also happens to have some bird-people living nearby. Opinions are decidedly mixed. We talk through our impressions of the book, and answer the important question: “How Canada?”
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Marie’s website
Source of our theme song
That’s some very specific wording, right there.We decide to finally discuss something J.R.R. Tolkien-related on our podcast, but in the stupidest way possible: by comparing the 2024 animated film The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim to 1980’s The Return of the King. This episode has been a long time coming, but as the orcs might say, where there’s a whip, there’s a way!
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Marie’s website
Source of our theme song
As the end of 2024 draws ever closer, we reflect on our favourite arts and culture from the past year.
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Marie’s website
Source of our theme song
Some things we mentioned* Invincea and the Warriors from Hell * Orchard House * Folding Ideas * Drumeo * Goebelins * Stories from my Gay Grandparents * Münecat * Nick Lewis
Our 2024 book club concludes with Roger Zelazny’s 1963 novelette “A Rose for Ecclesiastes”, wherein a poet goes to Mars and discovers he’s not very good at describing dances.
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Marie’s website
Source of our theme song
We have only good things to say about The Annual Migration of Clouds by Premee Mohamed (2021), though that doesn’t extend to the term “hopepunk” used in the marketing copy. Is this post-apocalyptic novella set in Alberta the best specifically Canadian piece of science fiction out there? We make the case that it is.
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Marie’s website
Source of our theme song
90s fantasy is back, baby! We discuss The Priory of the Orange Tree by Samantha Shannon (2019).
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Marie’s website
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Will we survive the fungal infestation that lurks beneath Toronto in The Marigold by Andrew F. Sullivan (2023)?
This horror/near-future science fiction/fantasy novel is packed with ideas and has plenty of relevant criticism of the direction Canada is heading, but doesn’t bring things together in a satisfactory way for the three of us. We talk about what we liked about the book, and the many (many) things that we didn’t.
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Marie’s website
Source of our theme song
In the dying days of 2023, we came together to reflect on the best things that we read, watched, listened to and played this year. Tune in to the end for our “dishonourable mentions” as well, where we consider…the opposite.
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Marie’s website
Source of our theme song
We wrap up our 2023 book club with a recent release, The Terraformers (2023) by Annalee Newitz. This throwback to the fix-up novel explores a lot of big ideas about ecology, biology and society, but do all the many, many elements work together as a whole? And what’s up with all the references to Canada? We discuss.
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Marie’s website
Source of our theme song
Mentioned in this episode:
Our Opinions are Correct podcast with Charlie Jane Anders and Annalee Newitz
Tech Won’t Save Us podcast
A working-class memoir? In this day and age? We sit down to discuss Ducks: Two Years in the Oil Sands (2022) by Kate Beaton.
Warning: Includes mentions of sexual assault and workplace harassment.
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Marie’s website
Source of our theme song
We talk about Parable of the Sower (1993) by Octavia Butler, which begins in the far-future year of 2024. And yet somehow, this still seems like a shockingly plausible representation of what next year could like. Download the Podcast (archive.org page) Marie’s website Source of our theme song
We discuss Ficciones by Jorge Luis Borges, and marvel at how much literature you can pack into so few pages.
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Marie’s website
Source of our theme song
Just before the holidays, we’re back for a reflection on culture we experienced over the past year. Books, comics, films, TV, games – we talk about them all!
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Marie’s website
Source of our theme song
Some things we mentioned:* Order of the Stick * Tigress Queen * Honbarian * From a Knight to a Lady * The Remarried Empress * Critical Role * You’re Wrong About * The Triple Click Podcast * Tech Won’t Save Us
We triumphantly re-convene after over a year’s absence to talk about The Cyberiad by Stanisław Lem, a book of fairy tales for robots, by robots, about robots. Download the Podcast (archive.org page) Book Depository page for The Cyberiad Marie’s website Source of our theme song
Despite the title, we are in fact talking about movies. But also books. Because this episode is all about adaptations! Download the Podcast (archive.org page) Marie’s website Source of our theme song
A short discussion about Raya and the Last Dragon (2021). Part of this episode references the YouTube video “Raya’s Moral ISN’T A Good Lesson to Learn” by La’Ron Readus. Download the Podcast (archive.org page) Marie’s website Source of our theme song
After 5 years of people yelling at me to see this film, we finally watch The Witch (2015). Books mentioned: Witches and Neighbours: The Social and Cultural Context of European Witchcraft by Robin Briggs (1998). Download the Podcast (archive.org page) Marie’s website Source of our theme song
Marie watched the Netflix adaptation of The Witcher! Michal indulges in his teenage obsessions. We end up comparing The Witcher to Dealing with Dragons. Correction: At one point, we make it sound like Dandelion is the English translation of Jaskier. This is incorrect. Jaskier in fact means Buttercup. Download the Podcast (archive.org page) Marie’s website My […]
…There’s a new Kwisatz Haderach in town. We talk Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind by Hayao Miyazaki. Download the Podcast (archive.org page) Marie’s website Source of our theme song
Recording this episode cost us an arm and a leg. We talk Fullmetal Alchemist. Download the Podcast (archive.org page) Marie’s website Source of our theme song
We were supposed to record an episode about Fullmetal Alchemist, but we got distracted by Cybersix, an animated Canadian TV show from 1999 that should not exist. Download the Podcast (archive.org page) Marie’s website Source of our theme song
We finally talk about Bone. Download the Podcast (archive.org page) Marie’s new website Source of our theme song
Marie talks about Marie Brennan’s Memoirs of Lady Trent series, which begins with A Natural History of Dragons. I am also present, largely to provide colour. Download the Podcast (archive.org page) Marie’s blog (Podcast Marie, not Brennan Marie) Source of our theme song
We remember the internet being a lot more fun a decade ago. Why did our attitude change, and what major milestones did internet culture experience between now and the time we first logged on? Download the Podcast (archive.org page) Marie’s blog Source of our theme song
A reflection on the life and works of Ursula K. Le Guin in light of her recent passing. Download the Podcast (archive.org page) Marie’s blog Cory’s blog Source of our theme song
So little of 2017 left, but just enough time to post our year in review! We discuss media we enjoyed this year, whether it was objectively good or not, including the University of Alberta murder-mystery-but-not-really-a-murder-mystery The Next Margaret, Haruki Murakami’s slow melancholy, Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind (again!), Roger Zelazny’s fiction, and more. Download the […]
In which we speak of books we never finished, or wish we had never finished. Normally, I would provide a list of the novels we talked about. But this time, I think it’s better if you go in blind. Download the Podcast (archive.org page) Marie’s blog Cory’s blog Source of our theme song
We settle down to talk about another classic work of fantasy: Ursula K. Le Guin’s Earthsea series, specifically the first three novels, A Wizard of Earthsea, The Tombs of Atuan and The Farthest Shore. Also: dragons. Download the Podcast (archive.org page) Marie’s blog Cory’s blog Source of our theme song
We take a break from civilized life and get our barbarian groove on with a discussion of Robert E. Howard’s character Conan, focusing on the 1936 serialized novel The Hour of the Dragon. Topics include the wide-ranging influence of these stories, reprehensible anthropological themes within them, the enduring appeal of the character, approaches to world-building, and Hobbes’ Leviathan. […]
What does heaven look like? We find out by reading Steven Brust’s novel To Reign in Hell (1984). Download the Podcast (archive.org page) Marie’s blog Cory’s blog Source of our theme song
Japan makes lots of cartoons, so our planned cartoon episode ended up being all about anime junk: Kill la Kill, Neon Genesis Evangelion, The Vision of Escaflowne, and The Girl Who Leapt Through Time. Download the Podcast (archive.org page) Marie’s blog Cory’s blog Source of our theme song
I already did my year-end blog post, but my usual podcast hosts haven’t, so here’s the podcast edition! We talk about all the movies, books, television shows, comics, anime and art gallery shows we enjoyed this year. Download the Podcast (archive.org page) Marie’s blog Cory’s blog Source of our theme song
The Giver by Lois Lowry is the one book on elementary/high school reading lists that Canadians our age remember fondly. Why is this, and why is the cover so darn memorable? Download the Podcast (archive.org page) Marie’s blog Episode 26: Get Urras back to Anarres (Discussion of The Dispossessed) Source of our theme song
The internet has provided ways for artists to skirt around traditional channels to get their work out to the public; web series are one of the more ambitious examples. We chat about our favourite web series and the idiosyncrasies of the medium. Download the Podcast (archive.org page) Marie’s blog Episode 8: Eeee! Source of our theme song […]
We’re back! This time, we’re talking about adolescence, isolation and social anxiety in the anime series No Matter How I look at It, It’s You Guys’ Fault I’m not Popular! AKA, WataMote. Includes verbatim readings of entries from the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders and plenty of cringing. Download the Podcast (archive.org page) Marie’s blog “Anxiety, Anger […]
We egoize about Ursula K. Le Guin’s 1974 classic, The Dispossessed. Download the Podcast (archive.org page) Marie’s blog Episode 10 – The Left Hand of Podcasts Source of our theme song Incidental Music: Danse Macabre – Big Hit 1 Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0
A short, impromptu review of The Witches of Lublin, the holiday radio play “by Ellen Kushner and a bunch of other people in the cast.” Download the Podcast (archive.org page) Marie’s blog The Witches of Lublin website
After suffering through TSR’s gamebooks, we decide to try one that’s actually good: Ring of Thieves by S. John Ross. Dice will be rolled! Blood will spilled! Genies will be petulant! Download the Podcast (archive.org page) Get Ring of Thieves for free! Risus: The Anything RPG Incidental Music: Danse Macabre – Big Hit 1 Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: […]
The Dungeoneering Edition™ reaches its conclusion (Thank God) with Circus of Fear, and there is much rejoicing. Download the Podcast (archive.org page) Marie’s blog Theme song: Five Armies by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons Attribution 3.0.
Our ill-advised experiment drags on as we play our way through Revolt of the Dwarves and The Dragon’s Ransom. Despite covering two books, this might well be our shortest episode yet. Only one more book remains before this series draws to a definite and unavoidable close. Apologies for the intermittent background noise! Download the Podcast (archive.org page) Marie’s blog Theme […]
The Dungeoneering Edition™ of the podcast continues with Light on Quests Mountain. (We’re sorry. We’re so, so sorry.) Download the Podcast (archive.org page) Marie’s blog Theme song: Five Armies by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons Attribution 3.0.
I found a stack of TSR Endless Quest Books at the dump. After that, this podcast was inevitable. Download the Podcast (archive.org page) Marie’s blog Theme song: Five Armies by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons Attribution 3.0.
Young Adult literature is a Thing now, but it wasn’t when Marie and I grew up! Join as as we talk about the books we read as teenagers and realize with dawning horror that we had terrible, terrible taste. Warning folks, this one’s a long one. Download the Podcast (archive.org page) Marie’s blog Blog post: Underground […]
Cross-posted with Iatropexy. Thus the dueling theme songs. We watch Doc Zone’s last documentary, Volunteers Unleashed. Then…we rant. Download the Podcast (archive.org page) The documentary! (Video available for Canadians only) Pippa Biddle’s blog post: “The Problem with Little White Girls (And Boys): Why I stopped being a Voluntourist” Source of my theme song Source of Marie’s theme song