Geeky Stoics

This week on Beltway Banthas, Robby Soave of Reason Magazine joins the show to talk the politics of Episode I: The Phantom Menace. We cover trade disputes, slavery on Tatooine, the aloof Jedi Order and Vladimir Putin.  Robby and Stephen get into the weeds of Star Wars Episode I and also share thoughts on the Gillette controversy, the Women's March and what is like to write a book.  Follow Robby So...

This week on Beltway Banthas, a discussion of the prequel trilogy as George Lucas' broadside against the neoliberal world order and capitalism. Stephen is joined by his brother, Michael Kent of the Toxic Schlock horror movie podcast to discuss and debate Lucas' critique of neoliberalism since the 1980's and how well he executed his analysis in Star Wars.  Michael and Stephen also chat about the ro...

Dr. Andrea Letamendi ( Lattes with Leia, The Arkham Sessions ) joins Swara as they discuss not only one of the central themes of Star Wars, but also redemption and the grievance of galactic victims, both individual and galaxy wide. Does the franchise do a good job of exploring trauma of aggrieved parties like Rey, Luke, and Leia? What causes villains like Darth Vader and Kylo Ren to commit egregio...

Jar Jar Binks changed the course of galactic history during the Star Wars prequel trilogy. Love him or hate him, this bumbling alien is important. This week we review Jar Jar Binks rise and fall in politics, the impact he made and what we as citizens in a republic can learn from his story. Swara and Stephen also react to some new Star Wars books, talk trash about some real-world politicians and op...

Rogue One contains a powerful message about engaging in the world around you. Jyn Erso accepted oppression as a status quo while Cassian Andor was raised in the fight for freedom. On this weeks show we are joined by Kate Sanchez of But Why Tho? for a discussion of Cassion Andor's complex, the midterm elections and why people get involved in politics.  We also react to news of a new Cassian Andor s...

Were the Jedi sincere in their pursuit of balancing the Force? Luke Skywalker didn't seem to think so in The Last Jedi when describing the Jedi Order to an impressionable Rey. He sees balance as allowing for light and dark to co-exist, compliment and challenge the other. How far can one take this before people get hurt?  In this episode, Swara and Stephen discuss the wildly varied outcome of the 2...

Welcome back! This week Swara Salih and producer John Liang dig into the new Star Wars series "Resistance". There are several rich political elements in the background of the animated series, and we leave no stone unturned.  Also, Star Wars author Chuck Wendig was fired by Marvel and taken off the future Star Wars comics. He presumably won't be used by LucasFilm and Disney for books in the future....

Are Russian bots behind the divide around The Last Jedi? Stephen chatted with researcher Morten Bay to discuss the results of his study on Twitter reaction to the film. Swara and Stephen discuss whether or not Russian bots and trolls amplified the negative reaction to the film.  Stephen and Swara also hash out their reactions to the new animated series Resistance, dish out their Bantha Fodder, and...

Welcome back to Beltway Banthas and brace yourself for a ride through hyperspace in higher quality audio with host, Stephen Kent . The show had some hiccups this week with the whole team migrating to new homes and getting unpacked, but Stephen found a closet and an article in SyFyWire about Star Wars politics to review.  Ana Marie Cox and Cher Martinetti sounded off on how RD-D2 and other characte...

Welcome back to Beltway Banthas! Swara and Stephen are BOTH moving this week to new homes and this was as good a time as any to share some audio from over the summer. Stephen met up with New York Times op-ed columnist Ross Douthat for a discussion on Star Wars and politics. It's a well rounded conversation with a lot of focus on Star Wars strengths AND weaknesses. We hope you enjoy and aren't dist...

Bethany Lacina is an associate professor of political science at the University of Rochester and she took a dive into "Star Wars Twitter" to get a better understanding of fandom and why it's so toxic.  She looked at the vitriol surround Kelly Marie Tran and wrote "How common is such harassment? In my research, I have investigated this phenomenon on Twitter, where offensive language and hate speech...

Hello Banthas! Swara and Stephen are back for Episode 60 to with some exclusive audio from Dragon Con 2018, a great panel on Crime & Politics in Star Wars. We also riff on the bombshell anonymous op-ed in the New York Times by a member of the Trump administration about the work being done on the inside to restrain his worst impulses from the inside. Is there a Star Wars tie-in? You bet there is! A...

BONUS EPISODE! Beltway Banthas Contributor John Liang chats with author Max Brooks about Star Wars and the lessons that can be applied to today's modern military. Brooks wrote "Strategy Strikes Back: How  Star Wars  Explains Modern Military Conflict" This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.geekystoics.com/subscribe

The Empire is coming for your moisture farm! Today on the show we discuss politically charged deleted scenes that never made it into the final cut of Star Wars films. Our main focus is a discussion between Biggs and Luke Skywalker about the "imperialization" of industry. Abby Gleason fills in for Swara and we are joined by Brittany Hunter to talk socialism in space, bourgeois Biggs and more. Also...

We're back! Stephen and Swara are back to discuss whether President Trump treats the media like Palpatine treated the Jedi Order during the Clone Wars. Both institutions are meant to be a positive check on power and injustice, but has Trump succeeded in changing the public narrative against the media as Palpatine did with the Jedi? Tune in to find out! We also discuss the state of toxic fandom as...

We have a jam-packed episode for y'all before our hiatus! First Stephen and Swara give their review of Solo. We then present Swara's conversation with Matt Rogers (@Politodope) to talk about the politics of the Resistance on the Left and parallels we find with Star Wars, all from the prequels to the sequels. Finally the hosts give their final Bantha Fodders for the season before our two month hiat...

Mark Hamill is a Hollywood legend for his depiction of Luke Skywalker in the Star Wars movies. He is also a staunch believer in speaking on about politics. In this weeks episode we look at Mark Hamill's public stand on gun control, President Trump and how he balances Star Wars with politics alongside the fans. This is part of a larger conversation on pop culture and whether or not our hyper politi...

The Star Wars franchise has been becoming more visibly diverse on the screen, but will LucasFilm go further on issues of representation? Swara, the hosts of Book Wars Pod and Rebel Grrrl , are joined by  Star Wars: Last Shot  author Daniel Jose Older and others to discuss this topic. The online campaign that emerged as a result of this effort is called #SWRepMatters. Come check out and join the co...

Abby and Swara discuss and analyze the life of one of their favorite fictional politicians of all time, the wonderful and estimable Bail Organa of Alderaan. What drove him to sacrifice so much for the good of the galaxy? How can we learn from his amazing example? Why does he give us so many feels?!? Listen to find out! We also dig into the Donald Glover's appearance on SNL, his "This is America" m...

Beltway Banthas turned two this month! The experiment of blending Star Wars and politics has turned into an adventure the likes of which we could never has anticipated. THANK YOU for sticking with us all this time and making it so much fun.  We are excited on this May 4th, Star Wars Day, to announce the addition of new hosts to the show: Brittany Hunter and Abby Gleason. On this episode we get to...

Finally we discuss the man, the Sith Lord, the Emperor, Sheev Palpatine! What lessons on democracy and our political institutions can we draw from our dear Uncle Palpy and his political career? Stephen and Swara delve into the political life of their favorite Star Wars politician to discuss! At the start of the show we also talk about French President Macron's US visit and the prospect of internat...

We join our friends at Tosche Station and the Book Wars Podcast to talk about Star Wars Multimedia Empire at Awesome Con! How do the books and comics in the  Expanded Universe differ from the current canon books? Why do we read these books when we have the film? How do the books deepen and enrich politics in the Galaxy Far, Far Away? How can Lucasfilm do better with diversity and inclusion? We dis...

DJ has a bad reputation after selling out our heroes in The Last Jedi. Some have said he embodies the self interested nature of libertarianism, Ayn Rand and a school of thought known as Objectivism. Today we go into the weeds with Brittany Hunter of FEE to learn a bit about Objectivism, rational self interest and how DJ does or does not fall into that category.  Before the main topic we talk about...

This past weekend we were at Awesome Con in Washington DC! Stephen and John join Nanci Schwartz, Brian Larsen and Bria Lavorgna of Tosche Station , and Jay Shah of Eleven-ThirtyEight to discuss the theme of redemption in the galaxy far, far away. If Vader can be redeemed, can anybody? Is Kylo Ren able to truly atone for the crimes he's committed? Tune in for a rich panel discussion of one of the f...

Poe Dameron, beloved ace pilot of The Resistance, is he a sexist as some fans have claimed? Or was it simply his frustration under pressure and Vice Admiral Holdo's secrecy that led him to mutiny in The Last Jedi ? Let's talk gender politics in The Last Jedi! We welcome back our good friend Kate Sanchez of But Why Tho? The Podcast to discuss! Stephen, Swara, and Kate also discuss the March For Our...