The Protagonist Podcast

Description Returning guest Ryan Haupt joins Joe and Producer Andrew to discuss the 1997 film George of the Jungle. Starring Academy Award winner Brendan Fraser (not for this film, though he is great in it), the film tells the story … Continue reading →

Description Author Allison Epstein joins Joe to talk about her novel, A Tip for the Hangman. The historical fiction novel tells the story of playwright Christopher Marlowe and his time as a spy for Queen Elizabeth.  Epstein uses what we … Continue reading →

Description Returning guest Norman Mitchell joins Joe to talk about the Japanese television show Jetman. A super sentai series, Jetman features a team of humans who can power up and drive robots to fight various monsters. For American audiences, this … Continue reading →

Description Returning guest Christopher “Mav” Maverick joins Joe to talk about Will Eisner’s classic graphic novel, A Contract with God. We’re discussing Chapter 1, “A Contract with God” and Chapter 2, “The Street Singer.” Eisner uses a monochromatic, caricatured cartooning … Continue reading →

Description Returning guest Rachel Armstrong and first-time guest Matt Armstrong join Joe to discuss the 2007 film starring Hilary Swank and Gerard Butler. We discuss the positives of the film (most of it), point out a couple flaws (mostly just … Continue reading →

Description Producer Andrew joins Joe to discuss Cloud Cuckoo Land, a recent novel by Anthony Doerr. The novel tells the story of various people scattered across centuries and then slowly reveals how their lives unexpectedly intersect.  Support Patreon Show Notes … Continue reading →

Description It’s our annual special, where on February 2 we release an episode discussing the film Groundhog Day. Joe, Producer Andrew, Chris “Mav” Maverick, and Nicole Freim visit Punxsutawney and talk about the film, what a great year 1993 was … Continue reading →

Description Returning guest Christopher “Mav” Maverick joins Joe to talk about one of his favorite films, the 1993 western Tombstone. Telling the story of Wyatt Earp and the shootout  at the O.K. Coral, Tombstone features an all-star cast including Kurt … Continue reading →

Description Returning guest John Darowski joins Joe to discuss the manga series Spy x Family by Tatsuya Endo. The series tells the story of a spy who must create a fake family for a mission, and unknowingly adopts a telepathic … Continue reading →

Description Returning guest John Darowski joins Joe to discuss Phil Hartman’s character, Bill McNeal, from the tv show NewsRadio. Newsradio was an ensemble workplace comedy that aired on NBC from 1995-1999. We discuss the status of NBC sitcoms in the … Continue reading →

It’s the start of the year so it’s time to make our picks for our annual Fantasy Box Office game. Joe and Producer Andrew pick the films they think will make the most money this year. The players get the … Continue reading →

Description Joe and Producer Andrew look back at the last year of media, and look ahead at the next year of podcasting. Listeners, please make suggestions for episodes you would like to hear!

Description Returning guest Virginia McAlister joins Joe to talk about one of the oldest stories we know of in human history. The Iliad is an epic poem composed by Homer and passed down orally for centuries before being written down … Continue reading →

Description Last month, we were saddened to learn of the passing of Kevin Conroy, an actor best-known for his voicework playing Bruce Wayne/Batman. Returning guest Chris “Mav” Maverick joins Joe and Producer Andrew to talk about what made Conroy’s performance … Continue reading →

Description Long-time listeners know the rules. Producer Andrew sends Todd Mack and Joe a list of Christmas movie titles, and they each have to invent a plot based on the title alone. Andrew picks his favorite made-up plot after each … Continue reading →

Description Joe and Producer Andrew are talking about Hawkeye, one of Marvel’s Disney+ mini-series. This series sees the return of Jeremy Renner as Clint Barton, Florence Pugh as Yelena, and Vincent D’Onofrio as Kingpin, and the introduction of Hailee Steinfeld … Continue reading →

Description Producer Andrew joins Joe to discuss A Muppet Family Christmas, a special that is the Avengers: Infinity War of the Jim Henson’s muppet creations. Bringing together the Muppets, Sesame Street characters, and the Fraggles into one hour of Christmas … Continue reading →

Description Returning guest Rachel Armstrong joins Joe and Producer Andrew to talk about the stories we love and have returned to at different points in our lives. We also talk about media that we associate with certain times of the … Continue reading →

Description Patron Tim asked us to discuss Jim Henson’s The Storyteller, and this series is a delight. Returning guest John Darowski joins Joe to talk about three episodes: “Hans, My Hedgehog,” “A Story Short,” and “The Soldier and Death.” John … Continue reading →

Description Protagonist Podcast co-founder Todd Mack is back! Todd joins Joe to discuss Pushing Daisies, a magical tv series about a man who can bring the dead back to life. We’re discussing the pilot episode, titled “Pie-lette,” which is a … Continue reading →

Description Protagonist Podcast co-founder Todd Mack and returning guest Todd Petersen join Joe for their 8th annual Halloween Special. They’ve been given unexpected pairings of story elements (like “Time Travel and Demon” or “Cryptid and Film Noir”) and they each … Continue reading →

Description Joe is joined by Producer Andrew to talk about about Fred, Daphne, Velma, Shaggy, and Scooby from Scooby-Doo, Where Are You? This is the first of MANY series to feature Scooby Doo and friends. We talk about this franchise’s … Continue reading →

Description Joe is joined by returning guest John Darowski to discuss the 1979 novel Bunnicula: A Rabbit-Tale of Mystery. The story, about a cat and dog who are convinced a new pet bunny is actually a vampire that drinks the … Continue reading →

Description First-time guest Ryan Haupt joins Joe and Producer Andrew to discuss Jurassic Park, the classic Steven Spielberg adaptation about man’s hubris. And dinosaurs. Really awesome dinosaurs. We discuss alternate universe versions of the film with different casts, what works … Continue reading →

Description Returning guest John Darowski joins Joe to talk about Beasts of Burden, a comic book series created by Evan Dorkin and Jill Thompson. It tells the story of a group of dogs (and a couple cats) that protect the … Continue reading →