The Protagonist Podcast

Description It’s Cap-Wolf! Yes, in honor of the monster stories we tell around Halloween, we’re talking about the time that Captain America was turned into a werewolf. John Darowski joins Joe to discuss the “Man and Wolf” storyline, written by … Continue reading →

Description Joe and Producer Andrew are tackling a classic sci-fi film, Invasion of the Body Snatchers. We’re talking about pod people, paranoia, and alien invasions in 1950’s America as we discuss Don Siegel’s film starring Kevin McCarthy as Miles Bennell … Continue reading →

Description All-star guest Nik English joins Joe to discuss Austin Grossman’s debut novel Soon I Will Be Invincible. It tells the story of Dr. Impossible trying to take over the planet, while Fatale joins a team of superheroes to try … Continue reading →

Description Returning guest Kjerste Christensen joins Joe to play a game called Casting Emma. There are certain texts that have been adapted so many times, you could imagine swapping out actors and actresses from each version to build the ultimate … Continue reading →

Description Retuning guest Cavan Helps joins Joe to discussi Liz Lemon from the NBC sitcom 30 Rock. 30 Rock, created by Tina Fey, is set behind the scenes at a sketch comedy show and is inspired by Tina Fey’s time writing … Continue reading →

Description Joe and Producer Andrew are talking about the Marvel comic book series from Kurt Busiek and Mark Bagley. Citizen V, Meteorite, Mach-1, Songbird, Atlas, and Techno are a new team of superheroes who are out to fill a void … Continue reading →

Description First-time guest Merlin Salisbury joins Joe to discuss the film Joe Versus the Volcano. The first Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan pairing is an absurdist screwball romantic comedy about a man trying to briefly live life to the fullest … Continue reading →

Description Joe is joined by returning guest Charly Kueks to discuss Essun, Damaya, and Syenite from the N.K. Jemisin’s novel The Fifth Season. This is the first book in a fantasy series trilogy, and Jemisin’s series is the only time … Continue reading →

Description Returning guest John Darowski joins Joe and Andrew to play Truth or Lie: Children’s Media. Everyone chooses an existing piece of children’s media and then presents two facts about it. The others have to guess which is the truth … Continue reading →

Description Returning guest Norman Mitchell joins Joe and Producer Andrew to discuss the anime series Record of Ragnarok. The gods are ready to destroy all humans but before they do humans have a chance to defend themselves. There will be … Continue reading →

Description Returning guest John Darowski joins Joe to discuss the long-running comic book series Usagi Yojimbo. Created by the legendary writer/artist Stan Sakai, the series features anthropomorphic characters set in a world based on 1600s Japan. Miyamoto Usagi—a long-eared rabbit—is … Continue reading →

Description Joe and Producer Andrew are discussing the 1999 film The Mummy, starring Brendan Fraser and Rachel Weisz. This loose adaptation of the 1932 film of the same name channels the romantic adventure style of Indiana Jones to produce a fantastic blockbuster … Continue reading →

Description Returning guest Cavan Helps joins Joe for a game of Elevator Pitch. The mythical Protagonist Podcast channel is looking for content, and Joe and Cavan go head to head pitching ideas. Andrew will greenlight one of the options, and … Continue reading →

Description All-star guests Nik English and Branden Ushio join Joe to discuss the graphic novel The Adventure Zone: Murder on the Rockport Limited. Adapting story arcs from The Adventure Zone podcast in which the McElroy brothers (& father) play Dungeons … Continue reading →

Description Joe and Producer Andrew are talking about another Star Trek series (we’re not a Star Trek podcast, but we do love Star Trek). Star Trek: Voyager premiered in 1995, and we’re discussing the episodes “The Gift” and “Latent Image.” … Continue reading →

Description Returning guest Todd Robert Petersen joins Joe to discuss his novel Picnic in the Ruins. The novel tells the story of several people getting caught up in a web of antiquities theft and murder, with very few understanding why. … Continue reading →

Description First-time guest Jerome Wetzel joins Joe to discuss a segment from the It’s All Been Done Radio Hour podcast. It’s All Been Done Radio Hour features several recurring segments that are performed live in front an audience and then … Continue reading →

Description Returning guest Hannah Rogers joins Joe to discuss the Disney animated film Zootopia. We discuss the surprising trivia about the film’s long development and various titles around the world, the roles the characters represent, and the larger social issues … Continue reading →

Description Joe is joined by returning guests Kjerste Christensen and Todd Petersen to play a game about Fan Theories. Each has selected some fan theories about popular media and prepared a set of clues to reveal what the fan theory … Continue reading →

Description Legendary comic book writer Chris Claremont joins Joe to talk about the character of Storm from the X-Men comic books. We’re discussing Uncanny X-Men #159, written by Chris Claremont with pencils by Bill Sienkiewicz, inks by Bob Wiacek, letters by Tom … Continue reading →

“I am not a number! I am a free man!” Description Producer Andrew joins Joe to discuss the classic British tv show The Prisoner. Patrick McGoohan played Number Six, spy who quits his job and is then kidnapped and taken to … Continue reading →

Description Returning guest Hannah Rogers joins Joe to discuss a classic novel by Charles Dickens. Little Dorrit tells the story of a girl who was born and raised in a debtor’s prison and her family’s struggles with poverty and then also … Continue reading →

“Who hired this crew?” Description Returning guest Charly Kuecks joins Joe and Producer Andrew to talk about Muppet Treasure Island, a very loose adaptation of the Robert Louis Stevenson novel from 1883. There’s a lot of time spent singing the … Continue reading →

Description Returning guest Chris “Mav” Maverick joins Joe to play a game about the many, many X-Men characters in Marvel comics. Producer Andrew has selected a series of scenarios the X-Men might find themselves in. Then, Mav and Joe each … Continue reading →

Description First time guest Hal Lublin joins Joe and returning guest John Darowski to discuss Sparks Nevada, Croach the Tracker, Rebecca Rose Rushmore, and the Red Plains Rider from The Thrilling Adventure Hour. The Thrilling Adventure Hour, a staged production … Continue reading →