Pod Culture [Oz]

This episode is all about endings. We contemplate finishing moves - what makes good endings, and why are so many ending so very bad.

We discuss our favourite endings, and why they work for us. And then look at the bad - and the terrible - to work out why they fail to engage with audiences.

In this special Summer Edition episode, we contemplate the past year & what we liked and didn't like..

We look at our current pop culture pet peeves, have a rant or two, and discuss what we are looking forward to in future episodes.

In this year's Halloween episode, we are joined again by our friend Fred as we look look at the perennial horror trope, the vampire. Flip throws out the claim that modern vampires are no longer scary, leading to them being 'de-fanged'.

We discuss the history of fanged fiction, from Polidori's s novel The Vampypre, through to Bram Stoker's Dracula, and into cinema depictions including Max Shrek and Bela Lugosi. In the late 20th century, there was a vampire resurgence, and vampires moved from antagonists to protagonists, removing the horror in the process. We discuss how this change in perspective impacted vampire stories, look at current stories beyond paranormal romances, and speculate on what the future of vampire stories might be.

Do you agree, have vampires been de-fanged?

In this episode, we finally dive into the massive fantasy genre. We explore the ideas in Gail Carriger's book The Heroine's Journey as an alternative story structure to the more well known hero's journey, and how that works in different fiction formats

We also look at Farah Mendelson's four different types of fantasy - portal quests, immersion, intrusion and liminal - and we also speculate on what the future of fantasy will be in the current dark times. Plus Nick declares that The Epic Is Dead. What do you think?

In this episode, we examine the often-overlooked moments before an impending apocalypse, which have a special drama of their own. And we are here for that drama... do people come together in the face of impending doom, or do they crumble under the weight of inevitable disaster?

We look at different types of impending doom - natural disasters that can't be averted, external agents such as aliens and robot overlords (you know we want to talk about Cylons and Reapers again!), and of course, looming man-made disasters that may or may not be averted. Nick is back with more Neon Genesis Evangelion (of course!), plus Flip has a WHOLE NEW WAY to examine Westworld!

In this special Summer Edition episode, we contemplate what we are calling the ‘long year’ of the pandemic, and assess if we have reached the goals that we set in our first episode.

We also look at pet peeves in pop culture, literature of the pose, why lit fic and the western cannon suck, and what we are looking forward to discussing in future episodes.

In this year's Halloween episode, Dave throws out the theory that "Ghosts are NOT horror", and challenges Nick and Flip to prove or disprove it.

We discuss ghosts with unfinished business, ghosts with curses, Japanese ghosts specifically, and the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man. So, what is your take on ghosts as horror?

In this fairy tale inspired episode of Pod Culture [Oz], we joined by romance novelist Renee Dahlia as we discuss how fairy tale tropes can be translated across into fiction.

We explore how fairy tale retellings are used in modern stories, which fairy tales are most popular, the connection between fairy tales and romance, and how marginalised authors can use them to leverage their stories for a wider audience.

Are you a fan of fantasy, sci fi, cyberpunk or zombies? Do you like deep dives into tropes related to genre?

Each month at Pod Culture [Oz] we different aspects of genre fiction in pop culture across literature, film, television and gaming.

In the second part of our long-promised Westworld-inspired episode of Pod Culture [Oz], we are once again joined by our friend Fred as we discuss how artificial intelligence tropes are used in fiction.

We explore the fascinating theory of the Bicameral Mind, explore Golems and Murderbots, what is Rampancy and the repercussions of it, and the differences between Humans and Artificial Intelligence - if you can't tell the difference, does it even matter?

It is finally here! In this long-promised Westworld-inspired episode of Pod Culture [Oz], we are once again joined by our friend Fred as we discuss how artificial intelligence tropes are used in fiction.

We discuss the difference between machine learning and artificial intelligence, the gendered nature of AI work in fiction, and the implications of when AIs outgrow their programming and the ways in which they grow rampant.

In this episode of Pod Culture Oz we are joined by author and game designer Christian D. Read from Crowland Publishing as we discuss the politics of superheroes (part 1).

We discuss Alan Moore's recent controversial interviews and criticism about the state of superhero movies, and consider the concept of privatising world peace, and look at the point of R-rated superheroes.

In our first official collab (part 3), in this episode of Pod Culture Oz we are joined by Tom (aka Robots) from the Fallout Lorecast as we discuss MMOs for World Peace and how gaming is depicted in popular media.

In this episode we look at the concept of gamer identity, the darker side of gaming, and how gamers can become professional without being in the elite tier of e-sports players. We also explore how marketers now consider gamers a key target audience, and the ways they try (or fail) to advertise to them.

In our first official collab (part 2), in this episode of Pod Culture Oz we are joined by Tom (aka Robots) from the Fallout Lorecast as we discuss MMOs for World Peace and how gaming is depicted in popular media.

In this episode we look at the how gamers used the internet to build an international community, and how gaming culture went mainstream in the 2000s. We also explore how windows and mirrors theory by Rudine Sims Bishops applies to gamers, and look at the 'Critical Role effect'. 

This episode of Pod Culture [Oz] looks at the perennially popular zombie trope, from the vintage film White Zombie, to the revival film Night of the Living Dead, to the modern dystopian 28 Days Later and The Walking Dead. And we mustn't forget To The Lake...

Our Mighty Trio face down the apocalypse - through movies, tv, and games - and examine the personal and the political of zombie dystopias.  We break it down into what we are calling the Three Phases of Modern Zombie Storytelling (isn't that a mouthful!). Then we take a look at the politics of zombie dystopias, which countries get zombies, and why Snow Plough Guy is the hero we all need.

This episode of Pod Culture [Oz] looks at the works of Jesuit Priest Pierre Teilhard de Chardin, and his monumental work on the evolution of humanity, which he called the Omega Point.

Our gallant trio of hosts, along with special guest host Fred, examine the concept in different formats of fiction - books, tv, and games - and look at what it means to be human and where evolution may take us. The primary texts examined are the Wachowski's Netflix show Sense8, Julian May's Saga of the Exiles and Galactic Milieu series, and anime series Neon Genesis Evangelion, but we also visit many other works along the way.