The Monster Professor

Fantasy and science-fiction indie filmmaker Ron Newcomb shares his insights on how you can get your own indie project off the ground—films, shows, comic books, you name it—and some of the new media platforms he’s helping to pioneer. We discuss the wide and passionate appeal of otherworldly storytelling and why monsters are necessary for it. E-mail Ron at [email protected] and find out more at these links http://thefantasy.network and https://www.theforgestudios.com

Subscribe to The Monster Professor, a show in which we discuss and explore monsters in literature, myth, film, games, folklore, culture, and beyond. Podcast host: Josh Woods, author, editor, professor, and monster expert: joshwoodsauthor.com

https://joshwoodsauthor.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/conversation-with-ron-newcomb.mp3

Alluring and mysterious in both mythic poems and historical records, they will sing to you of secrets and storms, and you will listen at your own peril.

Subscribe to The Monster Professor, a show in which we discuss and explore monsters in literature, myth, film, games, folklore, culture, and beyond. Podcast host: Josh Woods, author, editor, professor, and monster expert: joshwoodsauthor.com

https://joshwoodsauthor.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/sirens-and-mermaids.mp3

Joseph Nigg is perhaps the world’s leading expert on fabulous beasts, and he is a personal inspiration of mine. His books include The Phoenix: An Unnatural Biography of a Mythical Beast (University of Chicago Press), Sea Monsters: A Voyage Around the World’s Most Beguiling Map (University of Chicago Press), The Book of Fabulous Beasts (Oxford University Press), Wonder Beasts (Libraries Unlimited), How to Raise and Keep a Dragon (Barron’s Educational Series), The Book of Dragons & Other Mythical Beasts (Barron’s Educational Series), A Guide to the Imaginary Birds of the World (Apple-wood Books), and The Book of Gryphons (Apple-wood Books). Find out more about him on his Website, http://www.josephnigg.com/

Subscribe to The Monster Professor, a show in which we discuss and explore monsters in literature, myth, film, games, folklore, culture, and beyond. Podcast host: Josh Woods, author, editor, professor, and monster expert: joshwoodsauthor.com

https://joshwoodsauthor.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/conversation-with-joseph-nigg.mp3

I get to talk with a television horror hero of mine, Mac Kelly, host of Wolfman Mac’s Chiller Drive-In! We talk monsters, retro spook shows, haunted houses, and more.

Subscribe to The Monster Professor, a show in which we discuss and explore monsters in literature, myth, film, games, folklore, culture, and beyond. Podcast host: Josh Woods, author, editor, professor, and monster expert: joshwoodsauthor.com

https://joshwoodsauthor.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/conversation-with-mac-kelly-of-wolfman-macs-chiller-drive-in.mp3

It’s time to dedicate an episode to the storytelling phenomenon that is still going strong after 200 years.

Subscribe to The Monster Professor, a show in which we discuss and explore monsters in literature, myth, film, games, folklore, culture, and beyond. Podcast host: Josh Woods, author, editor, professor, and monster expert: joshwoodsauthor.com

https://joshwoodsauthor.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/frankenstein.mp3

From the Temple of Solomon to the dunes of Arrakis lurk fabulous and monstrous worms.

Subscribe to The Monster Professor, a show in which we discuss and explore monsters in literature, myth, film, games, folklore, culture, and beyond. Podcast host: Josh Woods, author, editor, professor, and monster expert: joshwoodsauthor.com

https://joshwoodsauthor.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/worms.mp3

Strangling vines, bewitching forests, bloodthirsty houseplants–they’re mean and green, and they are bad.

Subscribe to The Monster Professor, a show in which we discuss and explore monsters in literature, myth, film, games, folklore, culture, and beyond. Podcast host: Josh Woods, author, editor, professor, and monster expert: joshwoodsauthor.com

https://joshwoodsauthor.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/botanical-monsters.mp3

In this episode I respond to the common request to clarify how I define “monster,” and I explain how that relates to my theory about the fundamental story-telling structure of Horror.

Subscribe to The Monster Professor, a show in which we discuss and explore monsters in literature, myth, film, games, folklore, culture, and beyond. Podcast host: Josh Woods, author, editor, professor, and monster expert: joshwoodsauthor.com

https://joshwoodsauthor.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/monster-definition-and-horror-theory.mp3

It’s finally time to discuss just some of monsters that J.R.R. Tolkien created and showcased in The Lord of the Rings, these two being among the most relevant monsters to appear in the 20th Century.

Subscribe to The Monster Professor, a show in which we discuss and explore monsters in literature, myth, film, games, folklore, culture, and beyond. Podcast host: Josh Woods, author, editor, professor, and monster expert: joshwoodsauthor.com

https://joshwoodsauthor.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/ring-wraiths-and-barrow-wights.mp3

Just because it’s not there doesn’t mean it’s not there.

Subscribe to The Monster Professor, a show in which we discuss and explore monsters in literature, myth, film, games, folklore, culture, and beyond. Podcast host: Josh Woods, author, editor, professor, and monster expert: joshwoodsauthor.com

https://joshwoodsauthor.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/invisible-monsters.mp3