Episode 81: The Rise (and Fall) of Skywalker

In an episode that was recorded in late May before the protests started, we took a break from COVID talk to give our thoughts on the final movie in the Star Wars saga. We discussed how it was similar to or different from ancient epic, medieval romance, and Icelandic sagas, but mostly we talked about the ways it failed to bring together the many threads of the Star Wars story.

Given current events, and the protests against police brutality and systemic anti-Black racism, we urge our white and non-Black listeners to continue their education on these subjects and, if you’re able, donate to support people fighting for justice. One good podcast series is “Seeing White” from SceneOnRadio, and there are anti-racism reading lists here and here; you can donate to Black Lives Matter or The National Bail Out Fund, or any of the many causes that need funds right now.

We also have two episodes on race and racism in medieval studies and classics; they’re several years old now, but may be of interest for thinking about issues of race in our particular fields, and the role our disciplines have played in supporting structural racism in Europe and North America. EPISODE 51: RACE & RACISM IN ANCIENT & MEDIEVAL STUDIES, PART ONE: THE PROBLEM and EPISODE 52: RACE & RACISM IN ANCIENT & MEDIEVAL STUDIES, PART TWO: RESPONSES.

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Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge: Black Spire Cookbook

Lyceum

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Episode 41: Arrival, Linguistics, & Time

We're declaring this the first episode of Season 3 of the podcast! In this episode, long after everyone else has talked about it, we review the movie Arrival and discuss the linguistic and philosophical issues that it raises, including of course the infamous Sapir-Whorf hypothesis. Oh, and check out our attempt at creating a theme cocktail!

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Episode 36: Looking for the Legend in Guy Ritchie's King Arthur

We discuss how the recent Guy Ritchie movie King Arthur: Legend of the Sword fits into the history of adaptations of the Arthur legend. What kind of Arthur does it present, how does it interact with the Arthurian tradition, and what themes does it explore? And who has the biggest...er...elephants?

Show Notes

Anglo-Saxon Invasion video

"What is the Earliest English Word?" video

King Arthur Cocktail

King Arthur 2017

Excalibur

King Arthur 2004

History of English podcast episode on the English King Arthur

More reading:

"Color in Ritchie's Legend of the Sword"

"Will the Real King Arthur Please Rise"

"Lock, Stock, & Two Smoking Broadswords"

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Episode 26: Rogue One

We're joined by Sam McLean to discuss Rogue One's connections to Germanic heroism, Norse thautr, Roman epic, Terry Pratchett, heist films, &  The Dirty Dozen. Following up last year's conversation about The Force Awakens, we're interested in seeing how the newest Star Wars film changes genres and develops new themes.

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Show Notes

Episode 9: The Force Awakens

Sam McLean

British Naval History