Geeky Stoics

"For over a thousand generations the Jedi were the guardians of peace and justice in the Old Republic." Were the Jedi effective were they as galactic peacekeepers? Should they have been so beholden to Republic law? This week with guests Steele Saunders of the Steele Wars podcast and Mark Eldridge of the Jedi Archives podcast and ElevenThirtyEight, we discuss this topic and much more! We go through...

LIES! DECEPTIONS! In our latest interview episode, John Liang speaks with Vince Houghton, historian and curator at the International Spy Museum. He's a massive Star Wars fan. They talk about how he he fell in love with Star Wars, why he thinks Princess Leia is the most famous fictional rebel spy in history, and all the great lies and deceptions in Star Wars spy craft! This is really unique convers...

The First Order are an ideological and vicious military organization dedicated to one thing: making the galaxy great again. But for whom? This week with guest Ross Brown of FanGirlBlog.com we look at how the First Order rose to be such a threat to the galaxy.   In the wake of the events in Charlottesville, VA - we thought it necessary to talk about a how cultural resentment and political ideology...

Seth Masket, political scientist and professor at the University of Denver, sees something ominous in the background of the Star Wars Holiday Special . He wrote about the politics of the campy Star Wars program in Mischiefs of Faction , a blog for Vox. The piece is called Amusing Ourselves Into Tyranny, sound familiar?  Before the interview, Swara and Stephen react to news of Disney pulling out of...

Today on Beltway Banthas, Swara and Stephen reconcile a dispute. Representation and diversity on screen is the hot topic of the day and it's more charged than ever. We discuss a disagreement had off the air in total transparency. Our goal was to better understand some feelings about identity politics in pop-culture.   The reason we say feelings, and not arguments, is because there is a time for fo...

This week for our interview series, Stephen sits down with David Barnes of Generation Opportunity and Al Downs of Americans for Prosperity. Barnes is a former guest of the show and Al is a first timer. Both come with a deep love and knowledge of Star Wars.  We discuss the political message of the prequels, libertarianism and how it does or does not fit into Star Wars and also how vulnerable Americ...

Today on Beltway Banthas we shine our politician spotlight on the greatest politician the Star Wars universe has ever known, the beloved Princess, Senator and General...Leia Organa. Our very special guests are Charlotte Errity and Caitlin Plesher of the Skytalkers Podcast  and show producer John Liang. Together we discuss the history, politics and power of Star Wars most iconic politician/princess...

The latest in our interview series! Swara interviews staff writer at the New Republic magazine, Graham Vyse! We cover everything from his fandom, to Virginia politics, national politics, Star Wars parallels and more! The New Republic is one of the oldest progressive publications in the U.S., and Graham is one of their best new writers. We had a great discussion about the origin of his fandom, how...

To welcome July 4th, Stephen, Swara, and Brittany Elisa discuss the concept of freedom in the Star Wars universe. We discuss what it might mean to different characters such as Luke, Rey, Jyn Erso, and even Emperor Palpatine! In the spirit of our Independence Day celebrating freedom, this is a free-flowing discussion touching upon all things from freedom of opportunity, economic freedom, the abilit...

Andrew Heaton is a comedian in NYC who is a growing staple of libertarian media. He worked with John Stossel at Fox Business and now at Reason Magazine working on The Mostly Weekly Show. Andrew is an incredibly funny guy and uniquely deep Star Wars fan that go on and on with anyone about the politics, philosophy and humor at length. He has a voice for radio and TV that could have only been made by...

This week, Stephen and Swara are joined by good friend of the show, blogger at BrownsReview.com and Fangirlblog.com , Ross Brown! We discuss the politics of Timothy Zahn's novel Thrawn . The Banthas discuss insights into Imperial social hierarchy, the Empire's alien policy, the meteoric rise of Grand Admiral Thrawn and Governor Pryce and much more!  We also discuss what we think of Colin Trevorrow...

This weeks interview is with Dave Summers of Americans for Prosperity, a grassroots organization affiliated with the Koch brothers. Dave is a huge Star Wars fan and a Governor Tarkin enthusiast. Stephen and Dave talk about his fandoms roots, why Tarkin is so awesome and how a strong corporate culture like that of the Koch's could have helped Tarkin succeed in his most desperate hour. If you enjoye...

Is Star Wars different in the era of Disney? In this episode we look at how the internal politics of Disney impact creative and business choices for Star Wars. Amy Ratcliffe of Lattes With Leia joins us for the discussion and shares her insights on how Disney functions and what motivates their thinking on issues of the day.  This is a fun conversation you don't want to miss. Stay up to date with B...

BONUS EPISODE! Today on this special release of Beltway Banthas Stephen & Swara talk about the Vanity Fair Star Wars spread, are joined by Stephen's daughter and discuss fan theorizing. Next, AdmiralNick22 (follow him on Twitter) of the ElevenThirtyEight blog joins Stephen to talk about his recent piece outlining the political cartography of the galaxy after Return of the Jedi. It's a fascinating...

Stephen and Swara discuss the role of money in politics in the Star Wars universe. The discussion covers the role of the Trade Federation in The Phantom Menace, and how the concern of money in politics is plays out in our own world. George Lucas' message in prequel trilogy on the dangers of money in politics was pretty clear. We discuss the roots of that message and how average Americans feel abou...

This week on Beltway Banthas we continue our interview series, where one of our hosts interview someone of note who works in or around politics about their fandom of Star Wars.  Stephen went to Hillsdale College's Kirby Center to chat with Ben Domenech , host of The Federalist Radio Hour and publisher of The Federalist. We talk about Ben's deep Star Wars roots, why Star Wars continues to be cultur...

It's time again form Star Wars politics! This week Swara and guest host Carly Lane (Nerdist, Syfywire, Supergirl Radio) delve into the history, political philosophy and escapades of the leader of the Rebel Alliance, Mon Mothma. Senator/Chancellor/Commander-in-Chief Mon Mothma has been through and seen it all in the Star Wars universe. From her time in the Old Republic, denouncing Palpatine’s autho...

Our good friend John Liang (@JuanJohnJedi) was in Orlando for Star Wars Celebration (SWCO), where he was part of a panel discussing the military history of the Star Wars universe. He joined Thomas Harper, who led the panel, and Jason Fry to discuss the galaxy's history of military engagement, background on weapons and armaments, military justice in the Star Wars universe, and more! Follow these pa...

Like so many Star Wars fans, Swara of Beltway Banthas was Orlando last weekend for Star Wars Celebration (SWCO)! It goes without saying that the Force was strong there, and so was a love of politics. Huddled together in a hotel room in Orlando, Swara brought together a group of friends and fans to talk about Star Wars, politics and escapism. Swara's round table featured Carly Lane (Supergirl Radio...

This week we’re discussing the most exciting and most invigorating you could think of: budgets! Specifically, military appropriations and government spending in the Star Wars universe! We’re joined by our friend John Liang, military journalist and mega Star Wars fan, to discuss how fiscal battles played out during the Clone Wars, and how we see that in our own politics. We also discuss John and Sw...

No character captures intergalactic and real world politics better than Padme Amidala Naberrie of Naboo. This week we dive into the political ideals of Padme and also her legacy with fans. Allyson Gronowitz (The Mary Sue, Polygon) joins the show to help break down why Padme is beloved, but also divisive for so many fans. Spoiler: It has something to do with politics. Perfect for an episode of Belt...

It’s our second Comic-Con panel! Stephen and Swara are joined by friend of the show Nick Dicolandrea of Coffee With Kenobi to discuss “Star Wars goes to Washington,” and a bit of the international perspective of Star Wars as well. In our live panel at Oak City Comic-Con, we discuss political use of Star Wars from the 1980s to modern day, why it resonates with people of various political persuasion...

To inaugurate 25 episodes of Beltway Banthas, we sit down to talk about the evolution of the podcast. In a fun and free-wheeling conversation we share some of our favorite moments doing this show and what we have learned along the way. Also on the menu for this weeks episode, Stephen and Swara dig into Star Wars news and updates including The Last Jedi, Empires End and the upcoming Thrawn novel. S...

Most Star Wars fans love the Empire to one degree or another. They’re orderly, professional, and have the best fashion sense in the Galaxy. But is our love for them misplaced? Are we so enamored with Emperor Palpatine, Darth Vader, and their subordinates that we forget they were based on real life fascist regimes? Why do we love villains anyway if they’re so awful? To discuss this challenging topi...

The next in our interview series! This week, we speak with Alexandra Petri, columnist and satirist for The Washington Post. She and Swara talk about keeping up with the crazy politics of the day, how it affects satire, her love of Star Wars, parallels between the real and Star Wars political worlds, and so much more! Listen to the conversation that is sure to lighten up your day and make the daily...