The Incomparable Mothership

Our Book Club begins our walk through awards shortlist reading with two Nebula Awards nominees for best novel, “The Mountain in the Sea” by Ray Nayler and “Spear” by Nicola Griffith. One’s a near-future thriller about sentient octopi, the other’s an Arthurian fantasy with a few twists. Next time we’ll be reading Nettle & Bone by T. Kingfisher and Legends & Lattes by Travis Baldree. If you’re on Go...

Everyone laughed at the title, and many laughed at the over-the-top violence, but 1987’s “RoboCop” turned into a sleeper hit that kickstarted a major franchise. We revisit Paul Verhoeven’s first and best big-budget sci-fi satire. Antony Johnston with Erika Ensign, Steve Lutz and Moisés Chiullán.

Sure, she’s a human lie detector, but she’s also a murder magnet who’s running from a guy who seems to want her dead. We enter the world of Rian Johnson’s “Poker Face,” where Natasha Lyonne is both Columbo and The Fugitive. Shelly Brisbin with Antony Johnston, Annette Wierstra, David J. Loehr and Ken Ray.

Old Movie Club throws itself into the turning wheels of justice with two legal films from 1957, “12 Angry Men” and “Witness for the Prosecution.” Jason Snell with Dr. Drang, Shelly Brisbin, Randy Dotinga and Philip Michaels.

Grab a backpack and get ready to siphon some gas—we’re setting out from the safe zone on a quest to find opinions about the first season of HBO’s video game adaptation, “The Last of Us.” Cicero Holmes with Annette Wierstra, Erika Ensign and Guy English.

Avoid stepping on butterflies, step into your time machine, and go kill your grandfather—it’s time for our Time Travel Movies Draft! We select favorite films from all corners of the time-travel genre, from time loops to historical shenanigans to nonsensical plot twists. Jason Snell with James Thomson, Glenn Fleishman, Erika Ensign, Moisés Chiullán, Annette Wierstra and Monty Ashley.

Our Book Club reads “Sea of Tranquility” by Emily St. John Mandel, a beautifully written story set in multiple timelines that—like her earlier novel “Station Eleven”—frustrated some, but not all, of our panelists. We also recommend a lot of other books to read! Jason Snell with Erika Ensign, Aleen Simms, Deborah Stanish and Scott McNulty.

We wrap up our seven-year walkthough(!) of the seven seasons of “Buffy the Vampire Slayer.” The show is slowly grinding to a halt, but are there gems to be discovered? Buffy’s got a speech about that. Maybe the real Big Bad was the friends we made along the way! Jason Snell with Aleen Simms, Jean MacDonald, Quinn Rose, Mattie Cox and Steve Lutz.

This week we’re drafting Disney Princesses! There are two simple rules: They must be Disney, and they must be princesses. How far will our intrepid panelists go to stretch those rules? Join us to find out. Annette Wierstra and Kathy Campbell with James Thomson, Rosemary Orchard, Moisés Chiullán, Monty Ashley and Glenn Fleishman.

Wednesday Addams is not the girl of your dreams — she’s the stuff of your nightmares. Our group of outcasts gathers in our secret library to conjure our thoughts on the first season of “Wednesday”, streaming on Netflix. We discuss what we love about the show, while also trying to figure out, is it really meant for us? Tiff Arment with Brian Hamilton, Glenn Fleishman and Kathy Campbell.

Put on your home-built Iron Man suit and whisper into some beads, because it’s time to discuss “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever.” Our panel talks about how the movie leaves space to grieve Chadwick Boseman and T’Challa while also providing a platform for a bunch of black women to take the lead in a geopolitical battle involving the charismatic Namor, the U.S. government, and… the French? We drift i...

Our Book Club reconvenes to discuss R.F. Kuang’s “Babel.” It’s a story about magic and empire and revolution, and our feelings about it are similarly complicated. Plus: A whole bunch of book suggestions! Our next Book Club selection: “Sea of Tranquility” by Emily St. John Mandel. Jason Snell with Aleen Simms, Dan Moren, Glenn Fleishman, Deborah Stanish, Erika Ensign and Scott McNulty.

Get in line to order a hero sandwich—not so fast, sidekick! We’re here to talk about 2005’s thoroughly delightful Disney movie “Sky High,” featuring superhero action and teen drama that are both full to the brim—but never quite over the top. Jason Snell with Glenn Fleishman, Jean MacDonald, Erika Ensign, Aleen Simms and Dr. Drang.

This week, we’re drafting some spies, secret agents, and con artists. Con artists? Why not? They all use similar skills—sometimes, it’s impossible to tell the difference. From fiction to spoof to inspired by real life, we’ve got it all. Also, is that Cate Blanchett or Tilda Swinton? Good luck, Jim. This episode will self destruct in five seconds. David J. Loehr with Tom McGrath, Chris Klimek and N...

Put on your headset and get ready to jump into a polt, because we’re going to discuss “The Peripheral,” Prime Video’s adaptation of William Gibson’s novel. What makes its approach to certain famous sci-fi tropes unique? How interesting are the accents? Why is there an invisible car? We’ll answer those questions as soon as we flee to another stub. Jason Snell with Dan Moren, Erika Ensign, Lisa Schm...

Store up some mana and watch out for maleficers and maw-mouths! We’re going to discuss Naomi Novik’s Scholomance trilogy, which takes the familiar story of a school for teenage magicians and does some very different things with it! Before the Spoiler Horn, we talk generally about the books and why you should read them. Then we dig into some of the details of how the series changes as it comes to i...

Our favorites from 2022, plus a few clips. Jason Snell with Moisés Chiullán, David J. Loehr, Dan Moren, Erika Ensign, Monty Ashley, Shelly Brisbin, Glenn Fleishman, Chip Sudderth, Tony Sindelar, Jean MacDonald, Cicero Holmes and Lisa Schmeiser.

The Knight before Christmas this year is David Lowery’s 2021 film “The Green Knight.” This year’s final Mothership episode is a game inside a gift inside a game, much like the movie. Is every episode featuring Glenn secretly (or not-so-secretly) about Zardoz? What secrets of the exotic West Midlands does Antony have to reveal? Find out as we champion diverging from the path as the most direct rout...

Our annual Kilmas tradition leads us to watch the questionable 2000 sci-fi film “Red Planet,” in which Val Kimer is at his best, and several other actors are also present. Also, the main plot points of this film are so similar to “The Martian” that we’re now convinced Andy Weir must have seen this film and vowed to do it better. But if you’ve ever wanted to watch a dumber version of “The Martian,”...

Star Wars gets serious with “Andor,” a show that gives us exactly what we needed (but didn’t know we wanted?) from the venerable franchise. We break down the plots, characters, and storytelling choices, live from John Siracusa’s living room! Jason Snell with Dan Moren, Tony Sindelar and John Siracusa.

At midnight on New Year’s Eve, the S. S. Poseidon, enroute from New York to Athens, met with disaster and was lost. A handful of podcasters follow the challenges faced by a handful of Oscar winners and other assorted stars from the 1970s to celebrate that 50th anniversary of this classic disaster flick. This is their story. Jean MacDonald with Steve Lutz, Shelly Brisbin and John Chidgey.

Are you calling us funny? Are we like a clown? Do we amuse you? More than thirty years later, “GoodFellas” still stands up. In honor of the late Ray Liotta, we break down Martin Scorsese’s classic film about street-level gangsters. Jason Snell with John Siracusa, Philip Michaels and Monty Ashley.

Put on a magic bangle and pick up your briefcase, because it’s time for us to discuss two Marvel Disney+ series that push the universe in some new and interesting directions, “Ms. Marvel” and “She-Hulk: Attorney at Law.” Jason Snell with Erika Ensign, Cicero Holmes, Moisés Chiullán and Chip Sudderth.

“Weird” is the direct-to-Roku movie that accurately chronicles every aspect of Al Yankovic’s life. This podcast accurately chronicles every aspect of the movie. Lex Friedman with Quinn Rose, Kelly Guimont and Brian Hamilton.

We watched “Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power” and “House of the Dragon” and have thoughts. Jason Snell with Moisés Chiullán, John Siracusa, Joe Rosensteel and Erika Ensign.