Category Archives: Podcast

Podcast Posts

VoK 76: Metanarrative in the Game of Thrones (Part 2) – Martin and Tolkien (audio essay)


Robert_Rhaegar
In this followup episode to VoK 23, Valkyrist continues to look at postmodern theory in George R. R. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire series. However, where part 1 dealt with the story and characters, part 2 focuses on structure, and how Martin’s fantasy texts contrast with the more traditional writing of J. R. R. Tolkien.

Contains spoilers for all published books in A Song of Ice and Fire

Credits:
Written and Edited by Valkyrist
Music from HBO’s Game of Thrones soundtrack

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Links:
The Postmodern Condition: A Report on the Understanding of Knowledge (by Jean-François Lyotard)
VoK 23: Metanarrative in A Game of Thrones (Part 1)

VoK 75: The Hedge Knight (by George R. R. Martin)


hedgeknight1

The Vassals raise their pavilions at Ashford Meadow to discuss The Hedge Knight, the first story in George R. R. Martin’s Tales of Dunk and Egg series of novellas. Topics include the role of smallfolk in Westeros and the main story, knights and knighthood, how coinage and the economy of Westeros functions, the age old question of who has a right and claim to rule, and why fahrenheit is better than celsius. Zach (Alias), Bina (Bina007), Vikram (FortyTwo), Amanda (MiddleCyclone), Michael (Mordion), Leigh (LordManderblee) and Nadia (Nadia) also consider various theories that the story has spawned and how they relate to the A Song of Ice and Fire world at large.

Credits:
Edited by Zach (Alias)
Music excerpts taken from the soundtrack of HBO’s Game of Thrones, composed by Ramin Djawadi

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Links:
Legends (The Hedge Knight)
The Hedge Knight Graphic Novel
Legends II (The Sworn Sword)
The Sworn Sword Graphic Novel
Warriors (The Mystery Knight)

VoK 74: Vikings (History Channel series) – Season 1


vikings_img

Vikram (Fortytwo) is joined by Brett(White Raven) and Nadia to review and discuss Michael Hirst’s Epic Saga Vikings. The crew try to puzzle out navigation by sun dial, women in Viking society, what was the point of the priest character Athelstan, Effect of Vikings on England and then finish it all off with One Nite/marry/kill game.

Credits:
Edited by Vikram (Fortytwo)
Outro music was Fever Ray’s If I had a heart

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VoK 73: Twin Peaks (ABC series)


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Join Katie (Lady Griffin), Bina (Bina007), and Saad (saad164) at the RR Diner for a cup of black coffee and a slice of cherry pie in this special Twin Peaks episode. The vassals decide their scariest Lynch moment, debate Dale Cooper’s terrible white knight status, cross themselves at the arcane horror that is Leo Johnson’s ponytail, and cap it all off with a game of “Marry, One Night, or Wrapped In Plastic.”

Spoilers for all episodes of the 1990-1991 television series Twin Peaks. Spoilers also for the films Muholland Drive (2001), Lost Highway (1997), Blue Velvet (1986), and Inland Empire (2006). The 2004-2010 television show Lost is discussed with minor spoilers.

Credits:
Edited by Katie (Lady Griffin)

Intro Music: “Twin Peaks Theme” by Angelo Badalamenti (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5f_1d2zyjaI)

“Sycamore Trees” by Angelo Badalamenti and performed by Jimmy Scott (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sr-hiJscLTo)

Outro Music: “Laura Palmer’s Theme” by Angelo Badalamenti (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=khMlcTE7lw8)

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VoK 72: Interview with Remy J. Verhoeve (author of “Waiting for Winter”)


WaitingForWinter
In this episode, Valkyrist interviews author and blogger, Remy J. Verhoeve, about his new book – Waiting for Winter: Re-Reading “A Clash of Kings,” Part I. Topics covered include: the politics of the A Song of Ice and Fire fandom; fresh insights and lingering mysteries in book 2; and the culture of “fan theorizing” that Martin’s series has inspired.

Due to equipment problems, the audio quality is not the best, but it has been cleaned up as much as possible. The episode also features several cameo appearance’s from Remy’s infant son.

Warning: Contains #SPOILERS# for all published books in the A Song of Ice and Fire series, as well as the 2005 film Oldboy (???)

Credits:
Edited by Valkyrist

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Links:
Waiting for Winter: Re-Reading “A Clash of Kings,” Part I (Amazon)
Stormsongs (Remy’s Blog)
Jaime, Azor Ahai & the God of War

VoK 71: Jean Cocteau Cinema (Q & A)


jean_cocteau

Travis (travisotraviso from the forums) went to one of the Game of Thrones showings at GRRM’s Jean Cocteau Cinema in Sante Fe, and talks through the experience with Brian (Ikswarum). Travis went on the night where Maisie Williams visited, and he plays the audio from the Q&A sessions that George and Maisie held. Hear about Maisie’s dream role, what she learned most during filming, and her thoughts on which character has most influenced Arya. GRRM shares the experience that inspired Tyrion’s loss of nose, and stick around for the after show, where Travis and Brian stumble through understanding the “Pop Vinyl” figures.

Credits:
Edited by TravisoTraviso

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VoK 70: Frozen [2013] (Review)


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Join our (whatever the collective noun is for snowmen) of Vassals and special guest host Amin from A Podcast of Ice and Fire, to discuss Disney’s super-hit, the Oscar winning Frozen. We take a semi-serious look at the issues of feminism, LGBT rights and depictions of race in Disney.  We also take a not very serious look at whether Hans is gay, whether A Song of Ice and Fire could have a happy fairytale ending, and what kind of protection one might need in dating Elsa.

Naturally this is full of spoilers for Frozen, but also Mulan, Pocahontas, Brave and assorted other Disney princess movies.

Podcasters: Amin; Nadia; Bina; Duncan (Valkyrist); Julia (No True Lady); Michal (Inkasrain); Saad (Saad164); Zach (Alias) and Elena (Lady Grey).

Edited by Bina007 using excerpts of music from the wonderful, and now Oscar-winning, original soundtrack to the movie.

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VoK 69: SoccerCast (Vol.1)


Soccer-01

Bina007 is joined by Linecom1, Lordmanderblee, and Pod’s Plight from the APOIAF forums to discuss the World Cup, British Snobbery, the English Premier League, and the EPL to Westeros Converter.

Credits:
Edited by Linecom1

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VoK 68: House of Cards (Netflix series) – Seasons 1 & 2


HOUSE-OF-CARDS-CAST

Beware of Spoilers, the following podcast discusses Season 1 and 2 of House of Cards in detail.

Join the Vassals as they review and discuss the first and second season of Netflix Original Series “House of Cards”. Quorum includes Fortytwo, FTWard, Mordian, Shellfish and Bina007.

Credits:
Edited by Vikram aka Fortytwo
Outro is “Whatever Became of Hubert” by Tom Lehrer

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VoK 67: LOTR ReRead (Part 6) – The War of the Ring


WitchKing

The Fellowship of Vassals record their best reread yet, covering the Siege of Minas Tirith; the Ride of the Rohirrim; and the Battle of Pelennor Fields. Naturally, this podcast is chock-full of spoilers for all of Tolkien’s works.

02:30 – White Raven recaps Chapters 1 (Minas Tirith) and Chapter 2 (The Grey Company).  Shellfish accuses Aragorn of being a usurper and MiddleCyclone accuses Gandalf of knowing less than the average Gondorian. Bina007 defends Eowyn’s decision to abandon her people and ride to war, and Nadia supports the manliness of archers.

35:00 – Shellfish recaps Chapter 3 (The Muster of Rohan), in which it is discusses how good orcs are at math; how scary it must be to watch people lay siege upon you; and the difference between Book and Movie Eomer.

50:20 – Teddard recaps Chapter 4 (The Siege of Gondor), including the attack from the Mordor Air Force. White Raven argues that Faramir is baked and Bina007 plays devil’s advocate for Denethor.

1:12:00 – Nadia recaps Chapter 5 (The Ride of the Rohirrim), inciting the mantra, “Theoden is magnificent here, but also really stupid”.

1:28:00 – Middlecyclone recaps Chapter 6 (The Battle of the Pelennor) Fields, the coolest chapter in perhaps ALL of literature. Fact! But we all have a bit of a rant about how the movie handles the Army of the Dead.

1:45:57 – Bina007 recaps Chapter 7 (The Pyre of Denethor), and discusses what would happen if an Eagle took the ring, and more seriously, the overtly religious nature of this chapter (and the twisted love Denethor has for Faramir).

Credits:
Edited by Bina007

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VoK 66: Sherlock (BBC series)


sherlock

Julia (No True Lady), Nadine (Erinyes), Nadia, Bina, and special guest Kyle (from APOIAF) ruminate on the triumphs, missteps and the future of BBC’s smash hit Sherlock. Guest starring Kyle’s little birds and Julia’s surprise dinner guests.

Credits:
Edited by Julia aka No True Lady

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VoK 65: Fall of Giants (by Ken Follett)


FOG

*Spoiler warning to potential fans of Ken Follett*

Mordion (Michael) and Dagos_Rivers (Glen) discuss the 2010 book release, ‘Fall of Giants’ by Ken Follett, decide to spoil every single sentence in the book, discuss other adult authors like ‘Child Lee’, Dan Brown and Jeffrey Archer, and discuss and value for money when using Audible.

Other topics of discussion:
-Marry, one night or join the Russian Army
-Scottish Referendum
-The perils of Downton Abbey-esque Housemaids
-TV adaptations

Credits:
Edited by Dagos_Rivers

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VoK 64: LOTR ReRead (Part 5) – Forum Feedback Discussion


Anduril

In this episode our Fellowship of Vassals takes a break from carrying the Ring into Mordor in order to discuss all the fantastic feedback the four previous episodes have had in the Podcast of Ice and Fire forums.

Podcasters: Shellfish (Peter), WhiteRaven (Brett), Teddard (Eddie), MiddleCyclone (Amanda), Scilens (Tanja) and Bina007 (also editing, using music from the Brobdingnanian Bards and Chicago.)

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VoK 63: Writer’s Workshop


QuillFive Vassals sit down to discuss the craft of writing and share some of their own work. Join Steven (SJLee), Michal (inkasrain), Zach (Alias), Duncan (Valkyrist), and Ace (SomeNewGuy), as they share their insights into writing, offer feedback to one another, and discuss their latest projects.

Ace shares an inspired-by-real-life comedy of life overseas in the Peace Corps. Zach and Duncan discuss their early foray into fantasy fiction. Michal’s unique cop drama, set in a world of drug-addicted dragons, captures the interest of her fellow hosts. And Steven describes his post-apocalyptic novel, which is nearing completion. The conversation covers many areas of writing:

1:55 – Part 1: General Discussion on Writing
23:15 – Part 2: Roundtable Conversation on Work [Gardeners vs. Architects; Breaking down the Fantasy Genre; Plot vs. Character; Female Characters and “Unlikeable” Protagonists; World-building; Writing Post-Apocalyptic Fiction; Publishing your Work]
1:58:10 – Part 3: Advice to Fellow Writers [including a defense for Fan Fiction]

Credits:
Edited by SJLee

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Links:
The Anxiety of Writers
Year of the Dragon by inkasrain (extract)
Quincy’s Tale by SomeNewGuy
The Knight of Leafport by Valkyrist (extract)
A Shattered World by SJLee (extract)

VoK 62: LOTR ReRead (Part 4) – The Journey into Mordor


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Join our Fellowship of Vassals as they Journey Into Mordor, and discover that the much-dreaded Book Four of Lord of the Rings has more to it than just ‘more walking’.  Not least, many spoilers for all of Tolkien’s oeuvre.

 

  1. 02:45 Shellfish aka Peter describes The Taming of Smeagol, and his deep and abiding fascination for Elvish rope.
  2. 12:45 JoThirteen aka Joanna taks us through The Dead Marshes, and asks what exactly the magicks are that are preserving the bodies.
  3. 19:20 EastTexasDirewolf aka Shane leads us to The Black Gate, in which  we debate whether the black gate is, in fact, just a big gate.
  4. 28:40 Middlecylones aka Amanda speaks Of Herbs and Stewed Rabbit in which we discuss  the coolness of armoured elephants.
  5. 45:30 Bina007 gasps in awe at Faramir in The Window On the West, and gets excited about how the Dalai Lama could use the Ring to take over India.
  6. 57:50 Teddard aka Eddie watches over The Forbidden Pool and asks if Frodo was a victim of creaking doors.
  7. 1:01:30 WhiteRaven aka Brett takes a Journey To The Crossroads, in which there are some cool staves and a Venn diagram of doucheyness.
  8. 1:04:45 Nadia leads us into Cirith Ungol and Shelob’s Lair where we discuss Orc technology, Beren and Luthien and whether Frodo is Lord of the Rings.
  9. 1:19:00 Shellfish aka Peter describes the Choices of Master Samwise, as Frodo continues his habit of being stabbed by new and exotic things, this time off-screen, and Shelob Occupies Wall Street
  10. 1:30:00 Outro.

 

Editing credits: Bina007 using music from the original soundtrack to The Two Towers composed by Howard Shore.

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VoK 61: The Winds of Winter – Preview Chapters (by George R. R. Martin)


TheWindsOfWinter
Cold winds rise as the Vassals dive into the first 8 preview chapters of George R. R. Martin’s The Winds of Winter. Jon Vikram (fortytwo), Bina, Duncan (Valkyrist), Nadia and Zach (Alias) as they discuss the Battle of Winterfell, the Siege of Meereen, and Aegon’s Second Landing.

Before going through the chapters, however, the hosts have a general debate over what constitutes a spoiler in contemporary culture. After that, its wild, unmitigated book 6 speculation (and the occasional bit of intelligent analysis).

Due to the episode’s length, each segment has been time-stamped with a short musical cue:

3:23 – “Spoilers” in Pop Culture
32:15 – Theon I
1:00:23 – Tyrion I & II
1:12:25 – Victarion I
1:37:52 – Barristan I & II
2:13:58 – Arianne I & II
3:00:55 – ????

Warning: This episode contains spoilers for the sixth (unpublished) book in George R. R. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire.

Credits:
Edited by Valkyrist
Various tracks owned by The Walt Disney Company, Universal Music Group, Warner Music Group, and Sony Music Entertainment.

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Links:
Theon I (full reading) [released Dec 2011]
Victarion I (partial reading) [recorded Mar 2012]
Arianne I (full reading) [released Jan 2013]
Barristan I (full reading) [published Oct 2013]
Summaries for Unreleased Chapters

VoK 60: LOTR ReRead (Part 3) – The Treason of Isengard


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The ongoing quest to re-read Tolkien’s fantasy classic continues as the Fellowship of Vassals tackles Book Three of Lord of the Rings aka The Treason of Isengard.

In this  third episode, Nadia, Eiffel aka Matt, Shellfish aka Peter, Amanda aka MiddleCyclones,  Joanna aka JoThirteen, Brett aka Whiteraven and Bina007 enumerate their love for all things Rohan!

Beware of Spoilers: This podcast discusses Lord of the Rings, The Hobbit and the Silmarillion in detail.

00:00 Introduction to the Fellowship and Bina’s geeky key stats.

05:00 JoThirteen leads a discussion on Chapter One – The Departure of Boromir – Should this chapter have been in the previous book? How were orcs and trolls made? Why does Aragorn keep Boromir’s betrayal secret?

13:00 Eiffel leads a discussion of Chapters Two and Five – The Riders of Rohan and The White Rider – Is Saruman deliberately trying to look like Gandalf? How come Gimli is happy to ‘ride bitch’? Is Aragorn every funny? Does Gandalf know about the Entmoot? Is it weird that Saruman is abroad before battle?

49:00 Whiteraven leads a discussion of Chapters Three and Four – The Uruk-Hai and Treebeard – is cutting off a hand harder than swinging a sword? Poor Orcs! Did the movie misrepresent Ents?  What happened to the Entwives?

1:05:00 MiddleCyclones leads a discussion of Chapter Six – The King In The Golden Hall – in which we express our Hama-love for seemingly hours; Theoden compared to Mufasa and/or the Arthurian Fisher-King;  why do they let Wormtongue go?

1:22:00 Nadia leads a discussion of Chapter Seven – Helm’s Deep – Do the movies rob Treebeard and Theoden of their agency? The Elves show up! Erkenbrand doesn’t! The absurdity of Aragorn parlaying with the Orcs!

1:45:00 Bina007 leads a discussion of Chapters Eight and Nine – The Road to Isengard and Flotsam and Jetsam – On the new no-nonsense Gandalf the White and the importance of chilling out.

1:54:00 Shellfish leads a discussion of Chapter Ten – The Voice of Saruman and Chapter Eleven – The Palantir – what is the nature of Saruman’s power? Would Theoden have fallen?  How Theoden has all the best lines. Does Saruman know Gandalf has the Ring? Was Saruman always bad? Is it credible that Gandalf doesn’t know about the Palantir?

Edited by Bina007 using extracts of music from the official soundtrack to The Two Towers composed by Howard Shore.

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VoK 59: Full Cast(le) Recording #1 – We Need to Talk About Kevan


KittensGuard
In the inaugural episode of the “Full Cast(le) Recording” series, the Vassals of Kingsgrave don their mummer’s masks to perform a dramatic reading of the Epilogue from A Dance with Dragons.

And don’t forget to hang around backstage, as the vassals discuss the chapter, debate the morality of Kevan Lannister, and agree that Varys is hella creepy.

1:40 – Chapter Reading
39:53 – Aftershow Discussion

The Cast:
Michal (inkasrain) – Narrator
Leigh (LordManderBlee) – Ronnet Connington / Randyll Tarly
Duncan (Valkyrist) – Kevan Lannister / Tywin Lannister
Peter (Shellfish) – Mace Tyrell
Steven (SJ Lee) – Maester Pycelle
Paul (Pod’s Plight) – Harys Swyft
Brooke (Asha Greatjoy) – Cersei Lannister
Elena (Lady_Grey) – Novice / Varys
Chloe (Lady_Grey’s daughter) – Tommen Baratheon

The Crew:
Michal (inkasrain) – Host
Duncan (Valkyrist) – Editor

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VoK 58: Blade Runner [1982] (DVD Commentary)


blade_runner_final_cut

The Vassals dream of electric sheep in this audio commentary for Ridley Scott’s 1982 science-fiction classic Blade Runner (The Final Cut). Join Katie (Lady Griffin), Bina (Bina007), and Duncan (Valkyrist) as they debate whether or not Deckard is a replicant and (maybe) drive off into the mountains for a happy ending.

The movie should be synced from 7:00 to 2:05:00, and the commentary itself will begin exactly 1 minute into the movie, due to minor recording issues.

Credits:
Edited by Katie
Audio clips owned by Warner Bros. Entertainment.

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VoK 57: Theories of Ice and Fire (Vol.1)


Jon Snow
The Vassals gather around the fabled roundtable of Kingsgrave, this time to discuss theories both serious and crackpot. Join Michal (inkasrain), Nadia, Duncan (Valkyrist), Peter (Shellfish), and Dan (witless chum) for a fiery debate over what is really going on in George R. R. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire. This is hopefully the first of many episodes on House Manwoody’s “Theories of Ice and Fire”.

Because of the episode’s length, each segment has been time-stamped with a short musical cue:

2:25 – Stannis is the Third Head of the Dragon [concerning Stannis Baratheon’s destiny, and why he doesn’t even get to be the star of his own theory]
19:08 – Arya is Batman [concerning the character development of Arya Stark, and the true function of the Faceless Men]
47:38 – Brandon + Ashara [concerning the relationship between Brandon Stark and Ashara Dayne, and the child who never was]
1:16:32 – House Stark is descendent from the Others [concerning the arcane origins of the Kings of Winter, and their knowledge of ice magic]
1:54:54 – I(lyrio)+S(erra)=A(egon)B(lackfyre) [concerning the ancestry of Aegon-called-Targaryen, and the source of Ilyrio Mopatis’ “western ambitions”]

Warning: Contains spoilers for all published works in George R. R. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire.

Credits:
Edited by Valkyrist
Various tracks owned by Song Music Entertainment and Universal Music Group.

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