Open World Chat

Mark and John give you an underachieving top 10 list - 9 movies that don't realize they're actually science fiction. Or are maybe in denial. We define sci fi and dive right in, perhaps taking a few liberties, which only makes it more fun. Have a listen and yell at the speaker when you don't agree!

Mark leads John and the audience on a discussion of the seminal sci-fi novel "A Canticle for Liebowitz" and the questions it raises about cycles of history, Catholicism, and the role of the state in it all. Highbrow stuff guys! Jump in!

From Nosferatu to Angel to Lestat and Blade and - oh yeah, that Dracula guy. What is our obsession with vampires?

Mark and John look at the ways fears of "the other" have informed the horror genre in the context of immigration - and it's a lot more than you think!

Dr. Leigh McKagen joins John and Mark (and puts up with some major audio issues) to talk about the sometimes inspiring and sometimes cringe-worthy history of women across the Star Trek franchise.

OPEN WORLD CHAT RETURNS! A little late to the convo, sure, but John and Mark still have a lot to say about the obnoxious disrespecting of Marvel films - and superhero films in general - levied by the mighty threesome of Martin Scorsese, Francis Ford Coppola, and (sadly) Quentin Tarantino.

It's geek bingo folks. We touch on an absurd number of sci fi movies, TV series, and comics discussing the nature of war in the "progressive" mediuym of science fiction with Dr. David Kyle Johnson of Kings College, author of Sci-Phi: Science Fiction as Philosophy and many more geek tomes.

AHOY Comics’ latest anthology is  PROJECT: CRYPTID, featuring writer Paul Cornell (and others). Jim (sans John) talks this and other projects (such as the Secret Invasion - the original comics story - novelization) with Paul. Very very fun interview. John is a real loser for missing it.

Seven Days film critic and editor Margot Harrison returns to OWC where we dare to ask whether the age of the giant tentpole blockbuster is winding down. The answer turns out to be a bit complicated.

Jim and John are joined by Hannibal Tabu and Quinn McGowan to unpack the modern fascination with evil Supermen and how it reflects our cultural mindset. And what a lot to unpack there is.

Jim and John have more fun than they deserve when they talk to legendary comics writers Gary Cohn and Dan Mishkin. Naturally we talk about their legendary creations Blue Devil and Amethyst Princess of Gemworld , but also other projects, their perspective on the industry then and now, a wacky Geoff Johns story, Halloween at Dan's house... even Leo Kottke comes up (?). Too much fun to squeeze i...

Jim goes AWOL as John talks horror stuff with Screambox publicist and Bloody Disgusting contributor Alex DiVincenzo. We get the 411 on the horror streaming service and move on to other topics, including Alex's own film work and website.

Jim and John are joined by John's ol' pal John Thornberry to discuss the recently-wrapped Picard series from soup to nuts, or rather from the Borg queen to the musical score. Three Trek nerds telling you how it is! How can anyone possibly say no??

Jim and John nerd out on artificial Intelligence and microbiological robots with PhDs-in-progess  Piper Welch and Kam Bielawski, who keep them from spiralling off into an oblivion they don't understand. Give it a listen and let Kam and Piper blow your minds for 40 minutes.

Mark Russell (Second Coming Trinity, Red Sonja, God is Disappointed in You, Fantastic Four, etc) talks with Jim and John about the latest issue of Second Coming Trinity and his other work, and reflects on his writing process and how Christianity has informed his work. Jim holds it all together as religion and sociology dork John goes off the rails a bit.

Grant Patterson of Champlain College's Wednesday Night Fight Club and the WNFC esports Dojo talks to Jim and John (well, mainly Jim because John is clueless about games) on competitive gaming, game culture, and what life lessons there are to learn from fighting games.

Jim and John are joined by Duke University Dean of Natural Sciences Dr. Mohamed Noor. We talk about his experience as a science advisor on the Star Trek franchise (including his role in "sciencing out" things like The Burn and Species 10-C), Star Trek's approach to science, and his experience using Star Trek in the classroom. Then we just geek out a lot.

Steven Morris of Shelfdust.com polled comics creators and critiques to compile the ultimate list of the Top 50 comics events of all time, and Jim and John invite him over to nitpick the result. Is your favorite in there? Is your favorite an "event?" What the hell is an "event," anyway? Have a listen for a look back at some cool comics, some bad comics, and in general the kind o...

John and Jim finish their look back at 2022, looking at the TV that was, genr. and otherwise 

With no guests to defer to, Jim and John tell the world what was (and is) what in 2022 without a filter. Listen to it now so you can sound like the smartest geek in the room while toasting in the new year! Everything but TV in this one, but part 2 is but two weeks away...

Anti-heroes are all the rage, but does everyone who uses that term mean the same thing? John talks with novelist, biographer and University of Vermont English professor Philip Baruth about what makes an anti-hero, and then John and Jim do a deeper dive into antiheroes and comics.

No podcast purporting to cover all things geek could possibly be complete without a geek science episode! John and Jim are joined by astronomy professor/teacher Jeffrey Adkins to cover the juicy pop science that all sci fi nerds love, from gravity waves to flash mobs, Niven-style! We also save some time to discuss Jeff's non-sci-fi book, The Boy Who Skipped .

Andrew Liptak, a veteran of Gizmodo, Grist, io9, Kirkus Reviews, Pando Daily, Polygon, Slate, The Verge and many many others (seriously) joins us to discuss his book Cosplay: A History: The Builders, Fans, and Makers Who Bring Your Favorite Stories to Life. 

No one else in the sandbox this time. Jim schools John on all the comics he's not reading, John whines about Star Trek, and all is as it should be. Actual guests will return next go-around...

Back in the day, John and former co-host Liane Allen hosted Tim Russ ostensibly to talk about diversity in Star Trek - which we did - before the conversation just kind of went off (and we learned Mr. Russ is a man of strong opinions). We talk telecom policy, the "Jackass" Party, and more... an hour and a half trimmed down to a nice bite-sized half hour.