The Great Big Beautiful Podcast

One of the distinct pleasures of having an interview-focused podcast is, obviously, the many conversations I'm fortunate enough to have with so many incredibly talented people. And believe me, over the past few years and couple hundred episodes, I've had a LOT of great conversations. The best of those, however, are the ones that go so far off script that I just toss out my questions and discussion points. And this episode is a phenomenal example of when that happens and something absolutely brilliant results. On this episode, we talk about Geeks Doing Good, Worldbuilders, why he supports Heifer International, crazy people online, billionaires, shrinking attention spans versus thousand-page epics, the Three Little Pigs, writing for smart people, and T.S. Eliot's - ahem - manhood.

On this episode, we chat with Ron Jones about his years at Hanna-Barbera, how he got involved with Star Trek, his experiences on the show, the creative freedom he had there (versus the limitations placed on other composers), and working with Seth MacFarlane for over a decade on Family Guy (Jones wrote the theme and has scored more than 100 episodes of that show).

Today, we're chatting with Dennis McCarthy, who might just be the only person to be involved in all 25 seasons of Star Trek from The Next Generation through Enterprise. Certainly, no one else had the magnitude of creative output as he had during his 18 years on Trek. No one else - no one - wrote as much music for Star Trek as Dennis McCarthy. In addition, he's also the only person to have made the jump from TV to the big screen. He scored 1994's Star Trek Generations, the seventh feature film and first to feature the TNG cast. On this episode, we chat about his early musical career, how he initially came to Trek, the creative restrictions and challenges he had on the various shows over the years, his work on Generations, how he sometimes pays it all back by scoring fan productions, and so much more.

Life is like a hurricane! That's right, faithful listeners. We're back in Duckburg this week, talking to the one and only Webigail Vanderquack, er...I mean, Kate Micucci! Kate is the voice of Webby on the relaunched DuckTales, which sports one of the most impressive casts in animation today. On this episode, we chat about DuckTales, how she auditioned to be a duck, stepping into the role made famous by Russi Taylor, how she parlayed a childhood dream to be a toy designer into an acting career, her musical career with Garfunkel and Oates, and why the world NEEDS a Webby/Velma team-up show.

This week marks the beginning of a mini-marathon of Star Trek composers. Over the next several weeks, we're going to turn the spotlight onto the four composers responsible for nearly all of the music in televised Star Trek (except for the original series). In fact, three composers - Jay Chattaway, Dennis McCarthy, and Ron Jones - wrote a vast majority of the score heard in The Next Generation, Deep Space Nine, Voyager, and Enterprise. And you'll hear from all of them right here. On this episode, we talk to Jay Chattaway about his early musical career with the U.S. Navy Band, scoring documentaries and National Geographic specials, coming into Star Trek three seasons in, the massive creative restrictions he had to work within, source music and the ability to break out of the Trek mold, differences among the shows, "The Inner Light," and so much more.

This week, we're talking about the Cold War, surprise reveals, and alternative history with Kyle Higgins and Stephen Mooney - the creative team behind The Dead Hand from Image Comics. If you haven't already jumped on board with this title, what are you waiting for? The Dead Hand might seem like it follows a familiar trope. Namely, retired Cold War-era superspy is now the sheriff of a small town, and everything seems peaceful until his past catches up with him. Except all is not as it seems. Not by a longshot. Higgins and Mooney dive headfirst into this alt-history story, and the first issue not only sucks you in but also establishes a world filled with mysteries and mysterious characters (undoubtedly to be explored more fully in future issues). I'll admit that this one caught me by surprise, but I'm all in. On this episode, we talk about The Dead Hand, whether the Dead Hand program was a real thing that actually existed in the Soviet Union, how research informs (but also stifles) alt-history stories, the vast differences between creator-owned works and work for hire, working across the Atlantic, and which came first: the chicken or the egg?

You may not know Bob Alley's name, but you know his work. I guarantee it. Working under the name R.W. Alley, he's been the sole illustrator of Paddington Bear (in all formats, on both sides of the Atlantic) for 20 years! Not many people are privileged enough in their careers to be the sole caretaker of a national icon, but Alley assumes the role with perfect grace and kindness. On this episode, we chat about how a degree in art history (rather than art) helped him, his early career illustrating greeting cards for Hallmark, Paddington (of course), collaborating with Michael Bond, and what would happen if Paddington met Winnie the Pooh. (Spoiler: not much.)

Jane Yolen is a force to be reckoned with. If you have kids, odds are you're familiar with her How Do Dinosaurs books. But she's written much more than that. So much more. An obscene number of books, actually. She recently published her 366th book! What's even more impressive is how her career started (almost like a fairy tale) at 22. Since then, she's written novels, chapter books, picture books, board books - you name it. She's been awarded the Caldecott Medal, two Nebula Awards, a World Fantasy Award, a National Book Award nomination, and literally dozens more honors. On this episode, we talk to Yolen about the career she practically fell into, how her generation began to shatter the glass ceiling, how she manages to keep writing after publishing 366 books, why dinosaurs are so compelling, how the industry has changed, and the creative road she has no intention of leaving.

After three years, we've talked to a lot of writers. And they all have unique stories and journeys to success. However, I'm going to go out on a limb here and say that Charles Soule has one of the most unusual creative paths of the writers we've talked to.

He graduated from the University of Pennsylvania with a degree in Asian Studies, went on to Columbia Law, opened his own law firm (specializing in immigration law), and has ended up writing top-tier characters at Marvel and DC. In short, he's no dummy. On this episode, we talk about his debut novel The Oracle Year, his unique path to writing success, living in China, jumping between the various headspaces required to be as incredibly prolific as he is, and how he makes it all work.

Today on the show, we chat with the Childlike Empress herself, Tami Stronach. Even though she embraces her role in 1984's The Neverending Story and doesn't shy away from it, it certainly doesn't define her. She's the founder of Tami Stronach Dance company and Paper Canoe Company. On this episode, we talk to Stronach about her amazing childhood as the daughter of two archaeologists in Iran and Israel, her brief stint in the movies, her work with Paper Canoe Company, and the joys of exposing kids to art as early as possible.