Aggressive Negotiations: A Star Wars Podcast

The Mandalorian Chapter 14: The Jedi. As we continue our countdown to The Mandalorian & Grogu, John & Matt celebrate the Season 2 episode of The Mandalorian, Chapter 13: The Jedi. This episode ties the lore of the Star Wars galaxy ever closer together as Ahsoka Tano joins live action, and we learn that she’s still in pursuit of Grand Admiral Thrawn. Share the episode that changed Star Wars...

The Mandalorian Chapter 13: The Siege. Counting down to The Mandalorian & Grogu, Matt & John delve into the Season 2 episode of The Mandalorian, Chapter 12: The Siege. We learn the Empire is not dormant at all, but rather active in trying to resurrect itself…and maybe someone else! Host John Mills and Matthew Rushing  You’ve found the best Star Wars podcast with one-of-a-kind discussions i...

The Mandalorian Chapter 11: The Heiress. As we continue our countdown to The Mandalorian & Grogu, Matt & John delve into the third episode of Season 2 of The Mandalorian, Chapter 11: The Heiress. This episode roots the series even further into the larger Star Wars lore, bringing in Bo-Katan Kryze, a core legacy character from animation, showing clues of the Imperial Remnant’s increasing vi...

The Mandalorian Chapter 10: The Passenger. As we continue our countdown to The Mandalorian & Grogu, Matt & John delve into the next episode of Season 2 of The Mandalorian, Chapter 10: The Passenger. Leaving Tatooine, we take on a slow passage through space. Along the way we encounter a frozen planet, X-Wings, Republic laws, creepy ice spiders, and ethical questions that tortured the fanbas...

The Mandalorian Chapter 9: The Marshal. As we race toward the release of The Mandalorian & Grogu, Matt & John revisit Season 2 of The Mandalorian, starting with the season premiere episode. Chapter 9: The Marshal takes us back to Tatooine where we experience a new adventure centered around a mining town, the chaos after the Galactic Empire’s fall, the Tuskens, and some armor that’s been a...

Galactic Companies, Galactic Problems. Running a company’s tough. Running a galaxy-wide company’s got to be near impossible with all the different considerations and concerns you have to navigate. John & Matt spend this week wondering about how companies would have to navigate burdensome and difficult regulations, rampant corruption, and clashes of cultures in the quest to make enough credits...

What if Dooku Played to Win? Was Dooku’s big mistake that he didn’t play to win? John and Matt wonder about how and when Dooku failed as a Sith apprentice and how he could have won. Host John Mills and Matthew Rushing You’ve found the best Star Wars podcast with one-of-a-kind discussions in the spirit of fun! While you’re here, look around our creator-focused network of podcasts with all the best...

Star Wars: Rise of Filoni. Now that Lucasfilm has Dave Filoni as a new leader, John & Matt chat about the opportunities for a new Star Wars era of storytelling and audience engagement.  They also debate if Disney has smartly set him up for success by installing him at a critical point when so many fan-favorite character projects are about to launch. Perhaps most importantly, they touch on the...

Build Batuu Better. Now that Disney is updating Batuu at Galaxy’s Edge, Matt & John discuss what they should do to make the most of this legendary opportunity to revisit and enhance the signature Star Wars theme park experience! You’ve found the best Star Wars podcast with one-of-a-kind discussions in the spirit of fun! While you’re here, look around our creator-focused network of podcasts wit...

Star Wars History. Obi-Wan Kenobi famously counseled Luke that “many of the truths we cling to depend greatly on our own point of view.” Our own points of view are also shaped by our understanding of history and how it’s taught to us. With that in mind, Matt and John explore how the varying versions of history taught on a thousand thousand worlds would have shaped galactic conflict, relationships...

Writing in Star Wars. It’s hard enough reading Aurebesh, the onscreen universal language of #StarWars. But what was it like to write it, and further…how do you read ancient texts from a thousand thousand worlds in a galaxy full of tech that talks back and uses universal characters?  John & Matt try to figure out handwriting, inherited knowledge, and reading in a Galaxy Far, Far Away. You’ve fo...

An Alternate Episode VIII. Ten years ago, in movie theaters down the street…. Star Wars: Episode VII: The Force Awakens relaunched the franchise with insane box office returns, a galaxy load of goodwill, and the promise of questions answered in the NEXT episode. But many were bewildered by the path they wandered down in Episode VIII. Jedi Masters Matt and John, joined by their fellow Jedi Master Y...

10 Years of The Force Awakening. Ten years after Star Wars: The Force Awakens, the franchise finds itself again at a crossroads. So we decided re-examine our reactions and memories to the 2-billion-dollar behemoth film event, with the benefit of hindsight on everything that came after and the expectations that were set on that December in 2015. John and Matt are joined by noted droid builder, Dr....

THX-401K. How does retirement planning work in the Star Wars galaxy? When could anyone retire from being a stormtrooper, or what pension plans were there for factory workers on Corellia? Your friends at Aggressive Negotiations, Matt & John, explore everything from the likelihood of insane stock exchange trading hours to the most likely stock tips on the Coruscant exchange! Hosts John Mills and...

Thanksgungan 2025. It’s time for THANKSGUNGAN! Matt & John have a long list of what they’re most thankful for from Star Wars in 2025, from anniversary celebrations to fresh content they found to be delightful and well made. What are you most thankful for from everyone’s favorite Force-filled franchise! Most of all, they’re thankful once more for all the joy and friendship they’ve found through...

Blue Glow Binders. The issue this week for Aggressive Negotiations is…those funky binders that they put on Force users in the Star Wars galaxy! John & Matt have always wondered how and WHY they worked, when the Force is in all living things and Force users have the ability to tap into, and harness its energies. Will their attempts to construct head canon run afoul of actual lore? Do you have a...

A New Hope for 2026. In this special episode of Aggressive Negotiations, John & Matt explore what appears to be hampering Star Wars’ success in 2025: the corporate mindset! Has Lucasfilm been lost in a byzantine mess of board meeting profit discussions, causing new projects to falter and promises to wane?  But the two Jedi Masters wonder, have we now wandered the wilderness and see a brighter...

Galaxy of Terror. Inspired by Spooky Season, John and Matt discuss the story possibilities of scary stories in the Star Wars Galaxy Far, Far Away! With a thousand thousand worlds spread across the expanse and joined by hyperspace lanes, what would a ghost story look like? Would Force Ghosts and Force users form the backbone of what people thought was possible, or would skepticism win the day? And...

Galaxies, Portals, and…Sybok?. John and Matt discuss the story possibilities of the new galaxy shown in the Ahsoka series. They look at where we’ve gone so far, the clues and hints that exist already in the Clone Wars animated series, and the possibilities to weave it an important role in the founding of the primary galaxy we’ve known since 1977. They even stumble on a way that it could even tie t...

The Importance of 1997. Matt and John discuss the impact and importance of the Star Wars Special Edition’s release in 1997, and why it was such a successful and important move for George Lucas and Lucasfilm, and the franchise as a whole. They discuss memories, nostalgia, bold experiments, and their thoughts on what it all means decades later. They revisit the 1990s, a decade dominated by a long bu...

It’s been long enough! John and Matt try to figure out WHO Snoke was before we encountered him in the Star Wars sequel trilogy. Lawrence Kasdan dropped a hint in The Force Awakens press tours that there was a history to the character, but it seems we’ll never get it. So John and Matt put on their thinking caps and try to bridge this maddening gap in Star Wars history. Hosts John Mills and Matthew...

Star Wars Political Talk. Matt & John discuss how free the political speech of that Galaxy Far, Far Away was (or wasn’t), and how it would have been disbursed. Did the Empire tolerate political dissent for its own nefarious goals? Did people get arrested for sharing controversial content? They explore these issues as well as the fun possibilities there were for how the Holonet must have looked...

Greetings from Coruscant Park. John & Matt discuss whether there were Theme Parks in the Star Wars galaxy far, far away! They agree there must have been, but what did they look like? How can you bring a thrill to beings who travel through hyperspace? What kind of waivers did you need to sign to ride the Podrace Express Coaster? Let’s discover what thrills, chills and roller coaster hills there...

Why Did Vader Fly Away? John & Matt discuss the possible reasons Darth Vader kept flying away from Yavin 4 after gaining control of his ship at the end of the original Star Wars. In light of the might displayed at the end of Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, why didn’t we see Vader strike back a little more immediately than we got onscreen? Hosts John Mills and Matthew Rushing You’ve found the bes...

Galen’s Revenge. John & Matt ponder why the Death Star even had a trash compactor in the first place, and chat about possible reasons to justify it, in the way that it exists. They stumble on one idea that’s just poetic enough to make sense, disturbing enough to be possible, and at the same time honors the small acts of rebellion someone like Galen Erso could have made along the way. Hosts Joh...