The world loves The Mandalorian! This week on Beltway Banthas, guests Josh Gilliland (The Legal Geeks Podcast) and Gio Insignares (WUSA Channel 9 DC) join to discuss the new Star Wars series on Disney+. We review the show itself, Baby Yoda and the legal questions raised by the entire profession of bounty hunting. Gilliland helps us understand The Mandalorian in a whole new way.

This week on Beltway Banthas, the one and only Kennedy of Fox Business joins the show to share her Star Wars stories. You know her from Fox News, or perhaps from her time as a VJ on MTV. Either way, the Force is strong with this one. Kennedy and Stephen talk about everything from Luke vs Han, Jar Jar and the Leia bikini to U.S. foreign policy and Deadliest Catch.

This week on Beltway Banthas, author Michael Harris joins the show to preview his upcoming book, "Welcome to the Rebellion: A new hope in radical politics. Michael and Stephen discuss how Star Wars can inspire a young, new-left movement to confront the most pressing issues of the day for progressives: capitalism, income inequality, climate, nationalism and more.

Welcome back for another great show! This week Riley Blanton of The Star Wars Report and Mouse & Castle joins the show for a whirlwind of political chatter about a galaxy, far, far away. If you noticed the international controversy surrounding the NBA and their handling of political statements about the Hong Kong protests, this issue extends far beyond pro basketball. Disney actively makes some of the same calculations and accommodations for the Chinese Communist Party.

During The Clone Wars a young Jedi turned against the war and Jedi Order's involvement in it. Convinced she had no other way to send a message of disaffection, Barriss Offee bombed the Jedi Temple and framed another Jedi for the act of terror. She was right about the war, and the Jedi, but did something very wrong. This week Danielle Adams, progressive and climate activist, joins the show as guest host to take us into the story of Barriss Offee and why it matters.

Hold on to something! This week we've got a bonus episode of Beltway Banthas, a conversation with Glenn Beck, radio show host and founder of Blaze Media. Stephen Kent met up with Glenn at FreedomFest in Las Vegas to talk about his earliest memories with Star Wars, lessons on the political power of fear, generational change and the evolution (plus consistency) of Star Wars' message.

The week on Beltway Banthas, in a 90-minute marathon run, we cover a lot of ground on Star Wars, politics and religion. In the main segment Stephen Kent is joined by Matthew Neugebauer to analyze Star Wars fandom and its troubles over the decades. A video from Wisecrack serves as the starting point for an analogy of fandom by understanding Protestant Reformation and the concept of a 'legitimation crisis'.

Welcome back Banthas! The Beltway Banthas podcast has returned with regular shows now through 2020. Starting off this new season of Star Wars & politics chatter, Stephen Kent is joined by guest host Nick DiColandrea for a dive into the political conscience of Padme Amidala. In Revenge of the Sith, she opens up to Anakin about her uncertainty with the Republic's democratic virtue. What got Padme to the point of questioning her entire political position and that of the "democracy" she has served?

Hello Banthas! Since it's launch in 2015 during the heat of the presidential primaries for 2016, Beltway Banthas has been a proud home of political discourse within Star Wars fandom. We've featured prominent politicians, journalists and political operatives on the show to explore how Star Wars impacted their worldview and careers. 70 official episodes and well over 120 episodes including interviews and bonus content.

Star Wars deals very directly with questions of justice and injustice. Mohammad Shakibnia wrote an article for ElevenThirtyEight on the messages of social, racial and economic justice than can be derived from the Clone Wars animated series. He joins the podcast this month to co-pilot the show and discuss these themes with host Stephen Kent.