Graphic Policy Radio

“The Empire cannot win. You’ll never feel right unless you are doing what you can to stop them.” Andor season 2. Bridging the gap between Star Wars’ Andor and the real life history and theory of antifascist movements, organizer Anthony Vidal Torres from the Get Free movement and critic Klaudia Amenábar join me to cover the first two arcs of Andor season 2.  Join Project Fulcrum: a Star Wars fan ac...

“Do you think this Eric Frankenstein is into crypto?” “This Frankenstein probably invented crypto” “Frank-coin?” National security journalist Nicholas Slayton joins me to talk about James Gunn's DC animated series for HBO, Creature Commandoes. We've got gothic horror, geopolitics and an impressive soundtrack. This episode opens with a spoiler-free conversation on whether the show is worth your tim...

A Team-Up with Referential Podcast 's Dr. Khaliden Nas to talk through our feelings about the state of X-Men comics. The first half, taped in September covers the Fall of X and the end of the X-Men's 'First Krakoan Age'. In December we met again to talk about the state of the X-Office and relaunched slate of X-Men comics under the 'From The Ashes' banner.  Follow me on Bluesky - @Levin In This Epi...

We’ve been forced to migrate podcast hosting platforms. You might need to resubscribe to the pod at a new RSS feed. If you don’t see new episodes in February visit https://graphicpolicy.com/category/podcasts/graphic-policy-radio/  to find the new podcast feed.  Is Tony Stark a comrade? Spencer Ackerman, award winning national security journalist and author of the book “Reign of Terror: How the 9/1...

Is Tony Stark a comrade? Spencer Ackerman, award winning national security journalist and author of the book "Reign of Terror: How the 9/11 Era Destabilized America and Produced Trump”, brings his knowledge of geopolitics, corporate power, and deep Iron Man lore to writing the new Iron Man series.    This podcast is for folks new to the character as well as long time fans. We open with an overview...

“I love that Star Trek continues to change and adapt. And that includes an animated comedy show,” John Arminio.  Film critic and lifelong Trekkie John Arminio joins me to say farewell to Lower Decks, the animated Star Trek series we've grown to love.   We open with a spoiler-free conversation about how this show won us over. You’ll have plenty of warning before we enter a full spoilers, in depth c...

"Batman spends more time fighting the cops than helping them" - Leslie Lee III "The most corrupt Gotham Police Department of any Batman media" -- Me...and I am here for that!  Animated Batman is some of the best Batman. Does this new series from legends like Paul Dini, Ed Brubaker & Greg Rucka deliver? Leslie Lee III of the leftist culture podcast Sruggle Session returns to talk about Batman C...

"less about, China versus America..what he really believes is the power of community".  Award winning co-creator of The Good Asian, sak Pichetshote returns to talk about his visonary new project for Image Comics: a series of five one-shot comic books titled The Horizon Experiment. Each has a unique creative team inventing an original protagonist from a marginalized background set in genres such as...

“The philosophy that leads to AI is the same philosophy as 19th Century imperialism and colonialism,” Kieron Gillen. Writer Kieron Gillen returns to reflect on the end of his time contributing to the X-Men's First Krakoan Age and the start of The Power Fantasy, his new series with Caspar Wijngaard for Image Comics.  Subscribe to Kieron's delightful newsletter (especially if you're into TTRPGs) htt...

"Alex Ross' work is really like outstanding community theater” - Steve Darnall and Alex Ross join me to talk about the rerelease of their groundbreaking policital graphic novel, Uncle Sam as well as Alex's Fantastic Four: Full Circle.  "Timed for this year’s election, UNCLE SAM by Steve Darnall and Alex Ross makes its return after nearly a decade of being out of print. It's a vibrant, hallucinator...

"I really want to protect my ability to keep making my gay little comics. That's the important thing to me."- Cartoonist Hazel Newlevant makes art that shows us how to protect our future and understand our past. Whether its their new anthology Becoming Who We Are: Real Stories About Growing Up Trans or their free zine, What's Up With Covid and How to Protect Yourself 2024 Edition (featuring advanc...

"Mr. Sinister is obsessed with genetic purity and then this disaster bi bowling league shows up and stomps his ass," - Artist and Art Director Ethan Gould joins us to talk about the finale arc of Disney's X-Men '97 animated series. Episodes: Bright Eyes - Tolerance Is Extinction.  We go deep on Bastian and Operation Zero Tolerance in the animated series and comics. The original 1992 animated serie...

Covering the X-Men ’97 TV series, episodes 3-6: Fire Made Flesh, Motendo, Lifedeath and Remember It with my Deep Space Dive co-host, education research consultant and former Shakespeare professor Sarah Daniel Rasher. We’ve got: 90's politics explained The love rhombus is really a hexagonEvery day the Shi'ar are Thinking About The Roman Empire What makes a good InfernoSuggestions for the X-Men’s PR...

Space dads, space witches, and redemption arcs abound in the final season of Star Wars the Bad Batch and in the Tales of the Empire animated miniseries.  Holly Raymond Phd, the poetess, professor, and reader of All The Star Wars Ever has returned to share her insights on these animated Star Wars shows on Disney + We cover a lot of ground in this spoiler-filled episode: Animation stylesBiology is n...

This is an audio remastered version of an episode of The Venture Bros podcast originally recorded in 2016. One way we're memorializing my late friend and co-host Steven Attewell is by improving the audio quality of the earliest episodes of our podcast. Here's a favorite episode with new improved sound. * * * * * * Season 6 of the Venture Brothers: "Tanks for Nothing" and "It Happening One Night."...

Award winning mystery writer Alex Segura is co-launching hardboiled 1930’s detective Dick Tracy’s latest incarnation. We discuss Chester Gould's iconic comic detective from Dick Tracy's roots in the funny pages, the character's surprising sci-fi twists to Segura's new comic book series. We even touch on Warren Beatty’s underrated 1990 movie adaptation that featured Steven Sondheim musical numbers...

One of my greatest friends and frequent collaborator Steven Attewell has died. Here are some thoughts about his work and his history that I wanted to share with the fan community.  You can make donations in his honor to the Emergency Workplace Organizing Fund https://workerorganizing.org/  Maester Steven's Legendary Tumblr: Race for the Iron Throne https://racefortheironthrone.tumblr.com/  https:/...

“Do not make me let you down” - Magneto  From Henry Gyrich and the Great Replacement Theory to anti-mutant medical discrimination here's our conversation about the debut of the new X-Men '97 animated TV series.  Steven Attewell brings a historian’s perspective to X-Men ’97 — the exciting revival of the animated X-Men show of our youth. We do a deep dive into the show’s impressive politics and sign...

Film Noir has been a cultural touchstone for nearly a century, and Deep Space Nine revels in it in season 2 episode 8. In "Necessary Evil" we flashback to Odo and Kira's very uncute meet-cute during the Occupation. Join us as we discuss Sarah Daniel Rasher’s favourite DS9 episode, unpacking all of its references and allusions while tackling some of its hard hitting substance. From Ferengi Casablan...

"Everything you're doing is a perfectly logical way to save your own life" Horror author and cultural critic Jude Ellison S. Doyle returns to the podcast to talk about his new comic book series, The Neighbors with art byLetizia Cadonici and Alessandro Santoro.  A queer family moves to a small town in this tale of folk horror published by Boom Studios. The comic is rich with Celtic mythology. It wr...

Jadzia Dax is a woman in science, a member of a structurally gender fluid species, and a batleth swinging badass. She has one of the best coming out as trans scenes. She's lived many lives and she’s the emotional glue that holds the crew together. Dax is a beloved Star Trek Deep Space Nine character and she shares a name (and more) with a fanastic writer who joins as our guest: Jadzia Axelrod is t...

Who lives to tell the tale of our favorite queer pirate romance/comedy? OFMD returned for a second (and final?) season on HBO Max. Linda Codega, journalist (and sailor!)  joins me to discuss: What’s up with Blackbeard tourism IRL?Is Buttons a sea druid? Can we make Calypso’s Birthday the new queer Halloween? The pirate polycule? Why we really need season 3! Linda H. Codega is an award-winning ente...

"Power doesn't shatter on impact with journalism," - Pulitzer Prize Winning Journalist Spencer Ackerman. Ackerman returns to talk about the thrilling conclusion of his DC comics debut, Waller Vs. Wildstorm, the role of journalism in social movements, blogging antiwar protests, why Tim Drake is the best Robin, and share some of his favorite Wildstorm comics.  For a spoiler-free introduction to the...

Deep Space Nine inspired us as nonbinary people. On this episode the hosts (we're both nonbinary) delve into DS9 characters read through a nonbinary lens, especially Ezri Dax, Jadzia Dax, Odo and Pel, the Ferengi. Find out: Is it nonbinary to be a Bajoran hawk? Odo's “I can't get the ears right” is extremely trans. If you’re a shapeshifter why not make yourself a cooler shirt? The limits of langua...

"like a medieval manuscript full of demon sex...' but also written by an anime Mel Brooks." - H.A's stunning graphic novel is all this and more. H.A joins me to talk about his debut graphic novel, The Chromatic Fantasy available from Silver Sprocket Press.  About the book: Jules is a trans man trapped in his life as a nun. The devil that the convent guards against offers him a deal to escape: an i...