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Joe is joined by returning guest Charly Kueks to discuss Essun, Damaya, and Syenite from the N.K. Jemisin’s novel The Fifth Season. This is the first book in a fantasy series trilogy, and Jemisin’s series is the only time each book in a trilogy has won the Hugo Awards for best novel in three consecutive years.  The Broken Earth trilogy is set on a world where some people have powers to manipulate rocks and earth, but the world is periodically wracked by catastrophic climate changes called fifth seasons. Jemisin balances world building, character developing, addressing complex themes, and narrative surprises to craft a satisfying read. 

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Returning guest John Darowski joins Joe and Andrew to play Truth or Lie: Children’s Media. Everyone chooses an existing piece of children’s media and then presents two facts about it. The others have to guess which is the truth and which is the lie. There’s some strange media that has been produced through the years, and we dig into the obscure (rememer a 1970’s cartoon called Pandamonium?) to the popular (guess which one is a real plot of a Power Rangers episode).

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Returning guest Norman Mitchell joins Joe and Producer Andrew to discuss the anime series Record of Ragnarok. The gods are ready to destroy all humans but before they do humans have a chance to defend themselves. There will be 13 one-on-one battles between a god and a human, and if the humans can win 7 battles they will not be destroyed. Norman adds lots of context about tournament-style anime, the adaptation process from manga to anime, and the tropes that are being used in this story.

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Returning guest John Darowski joins Joe to discuss the long-running comic book series Usagi Yojimbo. Created by the legendary writer/artist Stan Sakai, the series features anthropomorphic characters set in a world based on 1600s Japan. Miyamoto Usagi—a long-eared rabbit—is a wandering ronin who gets into all sorts of adventures. We’re primarily discussing a story called “Grasscutter” which follows a quest to obtain a sword that has been lost for hundreds of years.

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Joe and Producer Andrew are discussing the 1999 film The Mummy, starring Brendan Fraser and Rachel Weisz. This loose adaptation of the 1932 film of the same name channels the romantic adventure style of Indiana Jones to produce a fantastic blockbuster film. 

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Returning guest Cavan Helps joins Joe for a game of Elevator Pitch. The mythical Protagonist Podcast channel is looking for content, and Joe and Cavan go head to head pitching ideas. Andrew will greenlight one of the options, and whoever gets the most pitches greenlit wins the game.

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All-star guests Nik English and Branden Ushio join Joe to discuss the graphic novel The Adventure Zone: Murder on the Rockport Limited. Adapting story arcs from The Adventure Zone podcast in which the McElroy brothers (& father) play Dungeons and Dragons, the graphic novels feature art by Carey Pietsch. Murder on the Rockport Limited is the second graphic novel in the series and is a classic murder mystery blended with the fantasy genre.

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Joe and Producer Andrew are talking about another Star Trek series (we’re not a Star Trek podcast, but we do love Star Trek). Star Trek: Voyager premiered in 1995, and we’re discussing the episodes “The Gift” and “Latent Image.” Captain Janeway is played by Kate Mulgrew, Seven of Nine is played by Jeri Ryan, and the Doctor is played by Robert Picardo.

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• Star Trek: Voyager – Wikipedia
• Star Trek: Voyager: IMDB

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Returning guest Todd Robert Petersen joins Joe to discuss his novel Picnic in the Ruins. The novel tells the story of several people getting caught up in a web of antiquities theft and murder, with very few understanding why. We talk about the novel’s themes, how different characters’ points of view affect the storytelling, and the complicated issues of history, preservation, and ownership.

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First-time guest Jerome Wetzel joins Joe to discuss a segment from the It’s All Been Done Radio Hour podcast. It’s All Been Done Radio Hour features several recurring segments that are performed live in front an audience and then later released as podcast episodes. Universe Journey started as a Star Trek parody, but after years of stories and performances has become its own world with lore, characters, and emotional weight. We’re discussion a special musical episode of Universe Journey.

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