Beltway Banthas

Swara and guest host Heath Williams of Rogue Podron discuss parallels between US presidents throughout American history and the various chief executives of Star Wars. From Chancellors Vallorum to Villecham, we trace the trends of executive leadership and how they compare to various occupants of the White House.

Hello Banthas! This week we are joined by radio producer and head writer for Glenn Beck, Mr. Stu Burguiere.  Stu is a big time Star Wars fan and all around enjoyable radio personality. We thought you'd enjoy this behind the curtain conversation with a notable conservative radio personality and fan. Stephen and Stu discuss his career trajectory, working with Beck, Star Wars role in his life and how the theme of the new films is exposing frauds. 

Every other week we try to introduce our listeners to people in politics or media for whom Star Wars has made a difference in their lives. This mission spans the political spectrum and we hope you'll check out this interview to learn something new. You check out Stu's take on The Force Awakens and his belief that it is A New Hope rehash here, and then listen to Stephen of Beltway Banthas challenge that theory on his show here.

 Get in touch with everyone on the show!

Leave us a review on iTunes and tell us what you think of the show! Subscribe and connect with us on Twitter:

@Stephen_Kent89 | @SwaraSalih1 | @WorldOfStu

Please share our show with a friend, review us on iTunes and shoot us some feedback. We grow in quality every time someone reaches out to tell us what they liked.

We want to hear from you! You can send us your thoughts on the show and topics at [email protected].

In our latest episode delving into the politics of The Last Jedi, we are joined by Entertainment Weekly's Anthony Breznican to discuss populism in the film! Do we use this term correctly? Are we actually seeing what is traditionally known as "populism" in the film? What does it really mean for common people to rise to power? We tackle all these questions and more!

Hello Banthas! This week we are excited to be joined by renowned science-fiction and fantasy author Ken Liu.  His short stories have appeared in F&SF, Asimov's, Analog, Lightspeed, Clarkesworld and he recently debuted in Star Wars canon helming The Legends of Luke Skywalker. Ken joined our producer John Liang for a call where they discuss his background, Asian themes in Star Wars and the experience of adding to the new universe.

It's the first of our in-depth discussion on The Last Jedi. This week we discuss the politics of Canto Bight! Joining us to discuss is political scientist Seth Masket! We discuss war profiteering, socioeconomic inequality, whether we think the sequence carries apt allegories, partisan interpretations of the sequence, and much more!

Hello Banthas and welcome to our first interview of 2018! This week we had the distinct honor of meeting the real humans behind the curtain of @RealTrumpatine, Twitters most prolific Star Wars and politics account. Every day the Emperor Trumpatine account pumps out amazing comedic content echoing whatever President Trump is Tweeting that day. It has kept us laughing from 2015 to today. This has been a year in the making, so meet Dan Udell and Tom Hunt, the two halves of the Trumpatine brain.

We’re back from our holiday hiatus! Stephen and Swara FINALLY offer their first spoiler-filled thoughts on The Last Jedi. This is the first of many episodes we’ll be having on this deeply layered film. In this episode, we touch all our favorite parts and hangups. We also overview its many political themes and list out what we’ll be talking about in the coming weeks.

In this episodes Bantha Fodder segment, we kick off our new Patreon Bantha Fodder series patron Isaiah Leslie, who sent in his own Fodder from his home out in California. 

 

Get in touch with everyone on the show!

Leave us a review on iTunes and tell us what you think of the show! Subscribe and connect with us on Twitter:

@Stephen_Kent89 | @SwaraSalih1

Please share our show with a friend, review us on iTunes and shoot us some feedback. We grow in quality every time someone reaches out to tell us what they liked.

We want to hear from you! You can send us your thoughts on the show and topics at [email protected].

If you like this episode, check out our previous one!

Beltway Banthas is all about bringing people together - so this week we did just that. Past guests of the show, GOP pollster Kristen Soltis Anderson (host of The Pollsters Podcast), Ben Domenech (The Federalist), Tamara Keith & Scott Detrow (NPR Politics) gathered at the Arlington library in Virginia to share their love of Star Wars.

What did the Empire do in the days and weeks following Return of the Jedi? It's not a simple happy ending. The Emperor left orders for Operation Cinder, a brutal campaign that would leave countless dead and the groundwork laid for the First Order. This week we discuss Operation Cinder and real world parallels.

The galaxy is total upheaval! The events of Episode VII left the political order of Star Wars in a fascinating state of disarray. This week on Beltway Banthas the crew looks at The Last Jedi and it's political questions. This is an episode of speculation, intrigue and analysis about a movie we are all dying to see.