Spider-Man, Spider-Man does whatever a spider can... So if you're the kind of person who listens to this show, you no doubt know that a new Spider-man movie, Spider-Man: Brand New Day. Probably many of the podcasts you listen to are even talking about it. Well, we don't want to spoil it, so rather than do a review of the movie, we're want to talk all about the character of Spider-man overall. On this week's episode Hannah, Maybe and Mav welcome returning guests John Darowski and George Tsakiridis to discuss how he became one of the most enduring characters in all of popular culture. Join us as we talk all about what makes Spider-Man great, from powers to personality to storylines. Listen and let us know your thoughts in the...
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- Tuesday, August 4, 2026
e432. The Odyssey and Greek Myth: The Enduring Legacy of Ancient Classics
By Christopher "Mav" Maverick, Hannah Lee Rogers, Nicole Freim and Angeline Chiu
/ July 27, 2026
Unless you've been living under a rock, you probably know that the biggest movie in the world for the last week has been Christopher Nolan's The Odyssey. Despite a concerted right-wing campaign to pretend that no one is interested in the film, it appears to be wildly successful. This is hardly a surprise; Nolan is a very famous and talented director. However, The Odyssey is hardly the only recent incarnation of Greek myth. In fact, they've been almost constant in the world of film and other media. So, on this week, Mav and Hannah are joined by Classic Literature professors Nicole Freim and Angeline Chiu to talk about the legacy of Greek myth and why it remains culturally relevant today. From The Odyssey to Percy Jackson to Clash of the...
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e431. Henchmen, Heavies, Minions & Muscle: Narrative Dynamics of the Hired Goon
By Christopher "Mav" Maverick, Hannah Lee Rogers, Monica Geraffo and Josh Stroud
/ July 20, 2026
Behind every great villain is... frankly, well, often there's another bigger villain pulling the strings. But the truth is, while we often celebrate "the big bad" some of the most interesting villainy comes from the lieutenants that the hero meets along the way to facing the big bad. Sometimes, these henchmen might even eclipse the big bad himself. However, we don't really think about them much. At least not classically. On the other hand, there's literally a huge animated movie in theaters right now, all about little characters whose job is to assist a greater villain. So on this week's episode, we thought we'd talk about the very idea of henchmen and minions and what exactly makes them tick. Hannah, Maybe and Mav are joined by returning guest Josh Stroud...
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e430. Tyrant: Dinosaurs and the Evolution of Indie Comics
By Christopher "Mav" Maverick, Wayne Wise, Stephen R. Bissette and Jim Rugg
/ July 13, 2026
To a lot of people "comics" seems to mean superheroes. So much that "comic book movies" is the term that we sometimes use for what should properly be called "superhero movies". This makes sense, given the stranglehold that DC and Marvel comics have had over the American comic publishing industry for nearly a century. However, the vast majority of comics published are not superheroes at all. In fact, they mostly don't even come from Marvel and DC. On this week's episode, Wayne and Mav are joined by legendary indie comics creators Jim Rugg and Stephen Bissette to talk about Bissette pioneering indie comic, Tyrant, and the eveolution of indy comic publishing in general. Listen and let us know your thoughts in the comments below. Citations and Links: Order Tyrant on...
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e429. Out of this World: Alien Archetypes in Pop Culture
By Christopher "Mav" Maverick, Hannah Lee Rogers, Monica Geraffo and Blake Collins
/ July 6, 2026
Aliens are one of the most enduring concepts in popular culture. It makes sense really. If we know there are other planets then it stands to reason that we might wonder what's on them. There's no shortage of books, films, TV shows and video games that explore this. So it's kind of weird that we haven't gotten around to doing a show on such an obvious topic so far. Well, it's certainly time to fix that. On this week's episode, Maybe, Hannah and Mav are joined by returning guest Blake Collins to talk all about aliens from Xenomorphs to Yoda and everything in between. We debate why humanoid aliens are treated as more relatable while non-humanoid ones become “monsters.” alien linguistics, sexuality and reproduction assumptions, post-humanism and colonialism, and govermment...
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Call For Comments: Superhero Origins (and ours!)
March 26, 2018
From Mav: One of my most favorite things to do as an academic is presenting at conferences. Part of this is just because being an academic means presenting your research. That’s a big part of the job. But for me, conferences are the most fun because it means linking up with other people with similar…