What Does Star Wars Mean To You?

Droids! They aren't just machines doing mundane tasks, they're the back bone of Star Wars storytelling! From the astromech and protocol droid that started it all, to the disposal battle droids of the Prequel era and to the emerging personalities of the Disney Era, Elora and Dave cover R2-D2, C-3PO, KS-20, B2EMO, BB-8, D-0, L3-37, SM33 and chat how they aren't just a part of the story, they carry S...

Elise (inlfuencer, @JustTahtStarWarsGirl) chats what does Star Wars mean to her! From living the Star Wars lifestyle, to reading every novel and collecting all kinds of Star Wars memorabilia, Elise shares how fandom became a source of healing, community and creativity! She discusses how she derives insipiration from characaters like Rey, Qui-Gon Jinn and Ahsoka. Though we’re chatting Star Wars, we...

This week we’re talking Emmy snubs, Star Wars streaming & revisit our conversation with Christopher Giroux – it’s the Episode Between Episodes! First we look back on our chat with Christopher Giroux and how what Star Wars meant to him affected us! We explore why fandom matters, highlighting Christopher’s impactful insight that the central question of the franchise is “Where do I belong?”. The...

Filmmaker Christopher Giroux shares what Star Wars means to him! We chat wearing out VHS tapes of The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi as a kid to sharing The Mandalorian with his wife at 4 a.m. viewings during the pandemic! We also chat Star Wars fandom, misfit heroes & guilty pleasure movies from the franchise! We pitch various movie ideas, including Star Wars Rom-Coms and his drea...

It’s our 100th episode! Celebrate with Elora and Dave as Dave finally answers the question we’ve asked over 60 guests: What Does Star Wars Mean to You? We revisit our Eric Clayton conversation on spirituality and Star Wars philosophy, highlighting our favorite moments from last week’s chat! Then we Elora poses the question to Dave, diving into his fandom from Kenner action figures, making it throu...

Author Eric Clayton ( My Life with the Jedi , Canonnball Moments ) chats what Star Wars means to him! At the intersection of Jesuit spirituality and Star Wars storytelling, Eric explores the enduring appeal of the galaxy far, far away. We discuss fan favorites like Rogue One , Solo , and Lost Stars , the wisdom of Qui-Gon Jinn , and influence of The Ewok movies. Eric unpacks the Ignatian concept o...

This week, we look back on our chat with Lisa Stevens and Vic Wertz, mega-collectors who own The Imperial Archives, and discuss their heart-felt take on what Star Wars means to them. Inspired by the first item in their collection, a Power of the Force Boba Fett, Dave subjects Elora to watching the first appearance of Boba Fett in the Star Wars Holiday Special short, The Faithful Wookie! We discuss...

They own The Imperial Archives, one of the largest Star Wars Memorabilia collections in the world. We chat with mega-collectors Lisa Stevens and Vic Wertz to find out what does Star War mean to them! We talk about fandom, collecting, and the creation of the Saga Museum of Star Wars Memorabilia —a fan-driven Star Wars museum initiative that will combine the collections of Steve Sansweet, . From the...

It’s the episode between episodes! Elora and Dave chat what stood out to them after their chat with Tom Hoeler, Editorial Director at Random House Worlds! Inspired by their convo with Tom, they decide to deep dive into the Marvel adaptation of Return of the Jedi (1983). The Saga Musuem Website Julien's Star War Memorabilia Website We also have a sneak peek at next week’s episode with Lisa Stevens...

Star Wars novel fans have we got a show for you! We sit down with Tom Hoeler, Editorial Director at Random House Worlds, to explore storytelling, fandom, and Star Wars publishing all at once. From his childhood love of Return of the Jedi and I, Jedi to shepherding modern classics like The Star Wars: Reign of the Empire (Mask of Fear) and the Star Wars: From a Certain Point of View anthologies, Tom...

Josh Huffines (Producer) joins us to share what does Star Wars mean to him. A superfan with roots in rural Oklahoma, Josh has a lifelong love of the galaxy far, far away! Josh shares how A New Hope became his sick-day comfort movie, how The Last Jedi became his surprising favorite for its daring choices, and why John Williams' Star Wars score is the emotional soundtrack to his life. We chat about...

From A New Hope to Andor, Star Wars has always had a political statement to make. Author Dr. Chris Kemphsall (The Rise and Fall of the Galactic Empire, The History and Politics of Star Wars: Death Stars and Democracies) join Elora & Dave to talk about his book The History and Politics of Star Wars and how real world politics affected the expanded universe as well as Disney canon. We talk about...

Elora and Dave talk about what Joey From Outpost 77's interview meant to them! Inspired by the story of his uncle being in the paint shop of Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back and Star Wars Episode VI: The Return of the Jedi, the Elora and Dave discuss practical special effects in the Original Trilogy and how they compare to the CGI effects of The Prequel Trilogy. And in How We Star Wars...

Joey of Outpost 77 joins Elora & Dave to chat what does Star Wars mean to him! During covid, Joey and his friends began work on creating Outpost 77 our in the California desert. Feeling like you’re visiting the outer rim, it’s a fully immersive location to cosplay as your favorite Star Wars character.  Joey also shares his deep Star Wars roots, including family ties to the original f...

It's the episode between episodes! This week Dave & Elora look back on their conversation with Bryan Ward and what it meant to them! Then, they dive into the datapad with special guest, Space Mom herself, Vanessa Marshall (Star Wars Rebels' Hera Syndulla & Pod of Rebellion co-host) who shares her adventures at Star Wars Celebration Japan 2025. She shares what it was like to host the Stars...

He's the Photoshop artist behind countless viral Star Wars memes, now Bryan Ward (Graphic Designer) joins us to chat about his journey through that galaxy far, far away. Bryan shares how Star Wars shaped his life and career, why he champions "weird Star Wars" like Dexter Jettster, and how the infamous line “Somehow Palpatine returned” became a creative cornerstone for him. We discuss the impact an...

It’s the episode between episodes when Elora and Dave discuss what their guests Star Wars journey means to them! We look back at Juan Montes and how Star Wars VHS was his intro to the galaxy far, far away, how his adventures in Alaska became a Hoth encounter and how what Star Wars means to him inspired his journey from imaginative kid to a professional creative! We also welcome special guests, Cas...

Juan Montes shares what Star Wars means to him! From his dad buying him the Original Trilogy on VHS to seeing The Phantom Menace, Attack of the Clones & The Revenge of the Sith in theaters and how that has cemented his love of film! We chat about his time in an Alaskan Dry Cabin and pretending it was Hoth, as a journalist, what Star Wars story he would be chasing, creating his own characters a...

 Last week we chatted with Mark Newbold (Fantha Tracks Editor-in-Chief), now we discuss what our conversation with him meant to us! We were inspired by his self-motivation, his ability to jump in and make Star Wars Insider last second interviews happen as well as his love for all kinds of fandoms and exactly what Star Wars means to him! Plus, we deep-dive into our spoiler-filled review of And...

Mark Newbold (editor-in-chief & co-founder Fantha Tracks, journalist) joins us to share what Star Wars means to him. A longtime contributor to Star Wars Insider and StarWars.com . Mark takes us on his journey through his first encounter with Star Wars: A New Hope in 1978, discovering comics, novels, and action figures in the UK before the film hit local cinemas. From being determined to buy th...

In this Episode Between Episodes we react to our conversation with new Star Wars fan Rose Hawk (@roromuffins), the TikToker who took the internet by force with her first time reaction videos to the franchise! We talk about the questions she had for us about the Star Wars Prequels! We also chat about her observation onthe political representation of Star Wars in our current IRL life. Then, SPOILER...

Rose Hawk (@roromuffins) joins us to chat her brand-new perspective on the Star Wars universe – having just started watching the franchise for the first time in 2025. With the unique insight of a first-time viewer, Rose dives into how the prequel trilogy, especially Attack of the Clones and Revenge of the Sith , sparked an unexpected and powerful emotional connection. Her shoot from the hip a...

In this episode between episodes, we look back on our discussion with Marc Thompson , the legendary voice actor behind some of the most iconic Star Wars audiobooks . The narrator of such fan favorites like Heir to the Empire , Dark Disciple , and The High Republic series, we chat about Marc's thoughts on the philosophy of Star Wars , what gives him his force fix, and how Rogue One plays into it al...

Marc Thompson , fan favorite voice actor of over 40 Star Wars audiobooks joins Elora and Dave to share what Star Wars means to him. We discuss his journey from childhood Star Wars fandom to narrating iconic stories like Heir to the Empire and The Rise of Skywalker . We talk about the art of voice acting , his approach to voicing legendary characters like Luke Skywalker, Thrawn, and Yoda , as well...

Elora and Dave take a look at Star Wars from a historian’s perspective , as we chat about Dr. Chris Kempshall , his book The Rise and Fall of the Galactic Empire, Star Wars Galaxies , and the franchise’s historical parallels . The discussion also dives into Star Wars Galaxies , highlighting the Battle of Tatooine , a player-organized war that lasted 36 hours . This MMORPG allowed fans to create th...