What do Moomintrolls, Tolkien, 1978, and reindeer steaks have to do with Jukka Halme?  In my third Interviewing the Fans feature, I talk to Jukka Halme about becoming an sf/f fan, the works that influenced him, the changing technological landscape, and Finland.

We also talk briefly about the Helsinki bid for the 2017 Worldcon.  As a reminder, if you’re turning in a site selection ballot from home, they need to be in the hands of the site selection folks by August 10th. So you need to get your votes in ASAP!  Details here.

You can find out more about Jukka on his blog and his Twitter account.

Enjoy the episode!  You can download the MP3 here or stream the file below.

Intro and outro music comes from “Pyro Flow” by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com); licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0

The Secret of Roan Inish, the pastoral, and the child!!

Filling in for David, Jen Zink joins me to discuss the state of Marvel’s Cinematic Universe and our main event film, The Secret of Roan Inish (1994).  We explore The Secret of Roan Inish‘s treatment of its child protagonist, the conflict between the modern world and the pastoral world, and Irish culture and folklore.  Needless to say, it’s a lively discussion!

We’re also still working on our Subscriber Drive so we can add a second regular episode to the show.  Help us spread the word!

Enjoy!

Download Episode 007 (Jurassic Park and Jurassic World)(MP3)

Show Notes:

* The Secret of Roan Inish (IMDB)

*  Resources:

* “The Secret of Roan Inish Review” by Stephen Holden

* The Secret of Roan Inish Wiki Page

* Our next film:

* Last Night (1998) (we’ll have a post up tomorrow about how to watch it!)

The Turing test, eccentric billionaires, and the singularity, oh my!  In this special edition of Shoot the WISB, Alex takes Shaun and Paul on a journey through Alex Garland’s directorial debut, Ex Machina.  We explore the film’s treatment of AI, its themes, its women, and much more!

We hope you enjoy the episode!

Note:  If you have iTunes and like this show, please give us a review on our iTunes page, or feel free to email us with your thoughts about the show!

Spoiler Alert:  the following podcast contains spoilers for the film being reviewed; if you wish to see the film without having it ruined for you, download this podcast and save it for later.

Download the Episode here.

Show Notes:.

Ex Machina (2015)(IMDB)

Our new intro music is “Time Flux” by Revolution Void (CC BY 3.0).

That’s all, folks!  Thanks for listening.  See you next week.

What do Transformers, unicorns, and Rachael Acks have in common?  In the latest edition of my Interviewing the Fans feature, I talk to Rachael about how she became a fan, how genre has influenced her, dystopia fatigue, and more.

You can find out more about Rachael and her work on her website and her Twitter account.

Enjoy the episode!  You can download the MP3 here or stream the file below.

Intro and outro music comes from “Pyro Flow” by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com); licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0

Mics, audio flukes, and giggly hosts, oh my!  Are you interested in starting a podcast?  Well, a few weeks ago, we recorded a panel on podcasting at CONvergence with a whole bunch of awesome podcasting people!

We didn’t cover everything we could, so feel free to send an email if you have any questions.

We hope you enjoy the episode!

Note:  If you have iTunes and like this show, please give us a review on our iTunes page, or feel free to email us with your thoughts about the show!

Here’s the episode (show notes are below):

Episode 277 — Download (MP3)

Show Notes:

* Our Fair City

* OFC Twitter

* The Icebox Radio Theater

* IR Facebook

* IR Twitter

* IR Lisbyn

* Michael Damian Thomas

* Michael’s Twitter

* Uncanny Magazine

* SF Squeecast

* Support us on Patreon!

Our new intro music is “Time Flux” by Revolution Void (CC BY 3.0).

That’s all, folks!  Thanks for listening.  See you next week.

Alien messages, space debris, and space women, oh my!  The Robogoblins descend upon CONvergence to discuss Gravity and Contact.  We tackle how each film addresses religion, science, trauma, and female characters, and we explore the optimism of Contact versus the pessimism of Gravity.

We hope you enjoy the episode!

Note:  If you have iTunes and like this show, please give us a review on our iTunes page, or feel free to email us with your thoughts about the show!

Here’s the episode (show notes are below):

Episode 276 — Download (MP3)

Show Notes:

* Contact (1997)(IMDB)

* Gravity (2013)(IMDB)

* Support us on Patreon!

Our new intro music is “Time Flux” by Revolution Void (CC BY 3.0).

That’s all, folks!  Thanks for listening.  See you next week.

…in which I continue this podcast thing on my new website by talking to Paul Weimer about how he became an sf/f fan.

In this episode:

* I interview Paul Weimer about his first books, his genre influences, and his development as a reader.

Enjoy the episode!  You can download the MP3 here or stream the file below.

Blockbuster Spectable and Reconstituting the Family!

We take our first stab at a blockbuster hit — the incredibly influential Jurassic Park (1993).  We discuss the film’s visual effects and influence, its treatment of corporations and family, and the film’s legacy.  Plus, we spend a considerable amount of time discussing Jurassic World (2015) and its place within the franchise.

We’re also still working on our Subscriber Drive so we can add a second regular episode to the show.

Enjoy!

Download Episode 007 (Jurassic Park and Jurassic World)(MP3)

Show Notes:

* Jurassic Park (1993)

* Jurassic World (2015)

*  Resources:

* Steven Spielberg’s America by Frederick Wasser

* Citizen Spielberg by Lester D. Friedman

* The Dinosaur Filmography by Mark F. Berry

* The Making of Jurassic Park by Don Shay and Jody Duncan

* Steven Spielberg by John Baxter

* The Films of Steven Spielberg edited by Charles L. P. Silet

* Steven Spielberg by Joseph McBridge

* Our next film:

* Last Night (1998) (we’ll have a post up tomorrow about how to watch it!)

…in which I talk about things some people don’t want to write.

In this edition:

* A discussion of the value of negative book reviews and why I think many people, including me, are hesitant to write them.

Enjoy the rambles!

You can download the mp3 directly from this link or stream the episode below.

Glaives, cosmic monsters, and flaming Clydesdales, oh my!  The Childhood Destruction editions of Torture Cinema continue with Krull.  Mike Martinez is the “victim” this week, but you may be surprised to know who really gets it good in this monstrous episode of epic fantasy glory!

We hope you enjoy the episode!

Note:  If you have iTunes and like this show, please give us a review on our iTunes page, or feel free to email us with your thoughts about the show!

Here’s the episode (show notes are below):

Episode 275 — Download (MP3)

Show Notes:

Krull (1983)(IMDB)

Mike’s Website

Mike’s Twitter

Mike’s Books

The Venusian Gambit (Mike’s new book!)

Our CONvergence schedules!

Our new intro music is “Time Flux” by Revolution Void (CC BY 3.0).

That’s all, folks!  Thanks for listening.  See you next week.