The Department of Nerdly Affairs

In this episode, Don and Rob are back exploring how movies and television took martial arts from being weird and forbidden arts practiced by a select few to the McDojos of the 1990s. Along the way, they discuss how the Shaw Brothers changed everything, how Bruce Lee never dies, and why American Ninja ruled the […]

In this episode, Rob, Don and Jack Ward take a trip back to the 1970s and 1980s, when a floundering Marvel Comics was saved by barbarians, vampires, giant robots and toys soldiers. It’s the story of product tie-ins brought life back to the dying comics company, and in the process reinvented the comics industry for […]

In this episode, Rob and Don revisit their childhoods as they talk about the time when capitalism and animation joined together to create one of the greatest marketing forces known to mankind – the half-hour animated toy commercials of the 1980s! Strawberry Shortcake! HE-MAN and the Masters of the Universe! GI JOE! The Transformers! JEM! […]

In this episode, Don and Rob do their best Vin Diesel impressions and spend the whole episode talking about family. They talk about what family really is, its place in society over time, and most importantly, its place in drama up until today. All this, and why “Punch and Judy” was the original socially destabilizing […]

In this episode, Rob and Don look back at the past of humanity’s relationship with Artificial Intelligence and ponder where it will be going in the future. The duo discuss recent innovations in AI, how people’s concept of what AI is has changed over the years, and why AI might not want to wipe us […]

In this episode, Rob and Don are joined by Jack Ward to discuss the 20th century versions of the iconic staple of U.K. science fiction – Doctor Who. The trio discuss how they first met The Doctor, the various incarnations and evolutions of the series, and how it affected their lives. All this, and which […]

In this episode, Don and Rob discuss the thorny issue of why people break up with their media darlings. The two delve into the reasons why people and the properties they love might go their separate ways, and explore whether that’s a good or bad thing. Along the way, the duo discuss heavy metal, isekai, […]

In this episode, Rob asks for Don’s help in brainstorming the setting for a story about caravan guards – the unspoken heroes of the fantasy world whose job it is to keep the goods flowing despite attacks by monster, bandits, and rats. Lots of rats. Along the way, the duo discuss real caravan guards in […]

In this episode, Don and Rob head to the mall to discuss capitalism and the place of malls in popular culture for the past hundred years. Along the way, the duo discuss the history of shopping, the origins of malls, and how malls reshaped capitalism. All this, and why the 80s were the peak of […]

In this episode, Don and Rob discuss the psychology of comic books. The two delve deep into the unconscious desires of comic book readers, discuss why Manga failed to find an audience in 1980s America, and probe how comics are linked to human needs. All this, and why British girls comics are the anti-manga, is […]

In this episode, Rob and Don walk the path of meifumado and explore the golden age of Samurai television on Japanese TV during the 70s and 80s. Along this path to hell, Rob discusses what he learned after watching way too many Japanese jidaigeki period TV shows, why he loves them so much, the different […]

In this episode, Don and Rob explore the intersection of reality and human perception and how these two things often fail to match up. Along the way they discuss Don’s four ways reality and humanity tend to disagree, how the internet has been both a help and destructive force in determining reality, and more high […]

In this episode, Don and Rob sit down to talk about tabletop roleplaying’s relationship with anime and manga, and the many successful and failed attempts to simulate anime style adventures through RPGs. Along the way, the duo discuss Rob’s four types of anime RPGs, how anime and RPGs have both evolved over time, and the […]

In this episode, Rob and Don are joined by Jack Ward to discuss the issue of gatekeeping in our culture. Along the way, the three discuss who the new gatekeepers are, if they’re any different than the old ones, and why people feel the need to censor and monitor the expression of others. All this, […]

In this episode, Don and Rob explore how the way that injuries are portrayed in a story has a bit effect on how the audience perceives both stories and reality. Along the way, the two discuss how movies, role playing games, and comics have shown injuries, and what it says about their presentations of reality. […]

In this episode, Rob and Don sit down with comic book writer Peter Gillis to discuss his career writing comics for Marvel, First Comics and DC Comics during the 1980s and 90s. Along the way, the three discuss how Peter got into comics, his time writing for the big three, and his legendary works Strikeforce: […]

In this episode, Rob and Don sit down with comics artist and animator Doug Rice to discuss Doug’s long and fascinating career in comics and animation. Along the way, the trio discuss how Doug got into comics, his experiences working at FIRST Comics and MARVEL during the 1980s, and his crowning achievement – the comic […]

Hey guys and ghouls! In this episode, Don and Rob explore the dark and ghoulish history of horror hosts in comic books. From the EC classics like Tales from the Crypt to Judge Edwina Strange (from Judge Dredd’s own horror anthology) the pair talk about the role that “hosts” have played in the history of […]

In this episode, Don and Rob sit down with author of over 50 light novels, Brandon Varnell. The three discuss whether books written in English can really be light novels, how Brandon got into writing, and Brandon’s techniques for writing his books. All that, and more harem stories than you can shake a stick at, […]

In this episode, Don and Rob sit down again with UK comics historian Richard Sheaf to talk about how American comics were received across the pond in the UK. The trio discuss the experience of being a fan of American comics in the UK, how US comics were changed to suit UK publication, and UK […]

In this episode, Don and Rob sit down with Jonathan Solis, author and publisher of original English light novels at Novel Horizons. The three discuss Jonathan’s philosophy about publishing light novels, the challenges of being a publisher, and Novel Horizons’ unique strategies for promoting their books. All this, and the ancient war between “plot” and […]

In this episode Don and Rob sit down with Eamonn Clarke of the Mega City Book Club podcast to talk about the legendary UK Comic magazine 2000AD. The trio discuss the origins of 2000AD, how Judge Dredd took over the magazine, and some of 2000ADs better and lesser known stories and strips. All this, and […]

In this episode, Rob and Don sit down with Jimmy Shi, co-founder of Moonquill Publishing to talk about his company and his experiences as a independent book publisher specializing in light novels. The three discuss the English webnovel community, the challenges of running Moonquill, and why Jimmy needs to be more evil. All this, and […]

In this episode, Don and Rob sit down with UK Comics blogger Richard Sheaf to explore the fascinating world of UK Comic books. The three discuss how being weekly (as opposed to monthly) took UK comics in a totally different direction than American comics, how Pat Mills was UK’s version of Stan Lee (but with […]

In this episode, Rob and Don explore how war is presented in popular culture – from books, to music, movies, and games. Working from the difference between Protest stories and Propaganda stories, they discuss how this dichotomy shapes almost all stories related to war. From there, they talk a lot about heavy metal, fantasy literature, […]