In this episode of Watch.Read.Listen., we are joined again by our friend author Ian Michael Everett to discuss the representation of minorities in fiction, especially those with mental illnesses. After our "This Week" section, we fail to actually explain the Hugo Awards kerfuffle, so you should probably just read George R.R. Martin's Livejournal posts about it. Next, we get into how some white males freak out when non-white people play some characters (eg. Idris Elba possibly playing James Bond, or actually playing Roland from The Dark Tower). Then, we focus on Ian's work to depict shizo-affective disorder in the novel he is currently revising, Pillarbreaker, and the how his friend Emmett helped him understand mental illness better.

Check out Emmett's blog at My Journal of Psychotic Illness for a powerfully personal description of the struggles people with mental illness encounter on a daily basis.

Follow Ian Michael Everett at Twitter and Facebook to keep up with when his new novel will be out, and see his blog for samples of his work.

Listen in as Duane and David countdown the Top 10 things that they Watched, Read, or Listened to for the year 2015!

In the most random episode of Watch.Read.Listen., we start 2016 right as we are joined by David’s best friend Justin K. Goodpasture, who moved from Houston to Seattle relatively recently. In This Week, we discuss how people actually do discuss the weather in real life, how Hugh Jackman makes Wolverine’s overuse not annoying, and how baldness is now a plot twist. In the main bit, we wander through a series of topics as this episode is just friends talking about stuff. Enjoy!

This Week:

Justin’s - Chuck Palahniuk short stories, Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, Crimson Peak

Duane’s - X-Men: Apocalypse trailer, Avengers: Age of Ultron, Star Wars Rebels,

David’s - The Projection Booth (podcast)

Topics covered in this podcast of stuff:

Disney V. Tarantino over 70mm of The Hateful 8

Daredevil (and Duane’s failure as a nerd to watch things in a timely fashion)

Jurassic World (and David’s hatred of it) - What’s the message?

Chris Pratt - Parks and Rec, Guardians of the Galaxy

Bryce Dallas Howard or Jessica Chastain?

Batman: Arkham Knights

Next-gen consoles and Old-gen Windows

Music - Miss May I, Bring Me the Horizon, old punk rock is winter music, State of Alert, Grey Matter (Steve Niles)

Steve Niles comics

30 Days of Night

Twilight (and who threw up that one time?)

Tolkien, wordiness, and Robin Hood

Mel Brooks (esp. Robin Hood: Men in Tights)

Star Wars Holiday Special and Popcorn Poops (and #ShittyStarWars)

Ingress and Moon Tower Inn

Terribleness of Working Retail

#WheresRey

Listening to podcasts versus music at work

In this episode of Watch.Read.Listen., we discuss the creation of fictional worlds in movies, comics, books, and even music. In This Week, we wonder how New Zealanders are so good at horror-comedy and how Doctor Who can actually be the star of his own show sometimes. Remember to check out http://watchreadlisten.net for our past episodes, subscribe to us in iTunes and Stitcher, like us on Facebook, and follow us on Twitter @WRLPodcast to keep up-to-date on everything Watch.Read.Listen.

In the third episode of Watch.Read.Listen., we're joined by Shoe Coble to discuss Star Wars: The Force Awakens! In the This Week segment, we discuss podcasts that raise questions and those whose hosts are questionable as well as how to watch both the Original Trilogy and the Prequels. In our main segment, we start with a spoiler-free discussion of The Force Awakens, especially how it succeeds where the Prequels failed, before moving to the Spoiler Segment where we discuss the characters, themes, and plot of The Force Awakens with as much depth as one viewing can warrant.

Spoiler warning starts at 37:30 and ends at 37:40.

In our second episode, author Ian Everett (@IanMEverett) joins us as we discuss hype and its influence on our enjoyment of media. We discuss Star Wars, including the hype for The Force Awakens versus The Phantom Menace, when hype goes wrong, and how hype is dependent on the consumer.

In the inaugural episode of Watch.Read.Listen, we discuss: over-analyzing A Song of Ice and Fire, New Zealand comedy-horror, James Bond movies that Duane forgot about, the awesomeness of the comic Preacher, and music by Emery and Faith No More. We then delve into our top ten influences (as of this recording) from the worlds of movies, music, books, and comics, all in no real order and subject to change at a moment's notice.

Go to the Watch.Read.Listen. site for the complete list and links to everything discussed in the episode.