In this week's podcast host Annalee Newitz talks with fantasy author Claire Light about this week's unusual subjects: Irish folklore, Mad Sweeney and historical figure (and possible ancestor of Laura Moon), Essie. Also in this podcast, Ars features editor Nathan Mattise interviews actor Bruce Langley about his character Technical Boy.…

In this week's double-mega-sized podcast, host Annalee Newitz first recaps episode six with Ars senior editor and gun enthusiast Lee Hutchinson. Then we join writer Genevieve Valentine in New York City for her interviews with actors Orlando Jones (Mr. Nancy) and Ricky Whittle (Shadow Moon) as they discuss all things American Gods.…

In this week's podcast, host Annalee Newitz talks with author and UC Berkeley / U. Colorado at Boulder professor Jackson Crawford, who writes, translates (e.g. "drengr" = "badass") and teaches old Norse. They talk viking lore, Odin and the gods, and how the show depicts (or deviates from) old Norse mythology and poetry.…

In this week's podcast, host Annalee Newitz talks with Paula Gaetos, author at The Tokusatsu Network, about American Gods episode 4. Subjects discussed: Laura's backstory and resurrection, her awful personality, her relationship with Shadow, the insane blood-fight, and how she and her story differ from the book (hint: lots).…

In this week's podcast, host Annalee Newitz talks with Locus and Rhysling award-winning writer and critic Amal El-Mohtar about episode 3 of American Gods. They also discuss the portrayal of middle-eastern characters in fiction/tv, and the integration of fantasy elements in narrative storytelling.Di Ars Technica

On this week's podcast, host Annalee Newitz talks with io9.com critic and comic book writer Evan Narcisse about how American Gods fits into a comic book tradition. Also discussed: Orlando Jones' incredible performance in this week's intro; the importance of Shadow's race; the identities of all the gods so far; and of course, the art of the slaughte…

The Ars Decrypted podcast continues with the new Starz series American Gods, based on Neil Gaiman's popular novel. In this week’s show, Ars Technica's tech culture editor/host Annalee Newitz talks with Ars culture reporter Sam Machkovech about how the show compares to the novel: the characters, the tone, and what the showrunners got right, or not-s…

In this week's podcast, Jonathan Gitlin talks with Ars Techinca culture editor Annalee Newitz about this season's finale: how the future of the series will relate to the books; what will Fred Johnson's next move be; what is Avasarala's fate on Mao's ship; and what in the universe is Project Caliban up to?…

In this week's podcast, Ars Technica's Jonathan Gitlin talks with Ars Video Producer Jennifer Hahn about episode 12, "The Monster and the Rocket": Errinwright makes a bold move that can't be taken back; Avasarala tries diplomacy on Mao's fancy yacht-ship; Naomi tries to help refugees off Ganymede with tragic consequences; and Holden-as-Ahab continu…

On this week's podcast, Ars Technica's Jonathan Gitlin recaps The Expanse S02 Episode 11: things go from bad to worse for the Roci crew on Ganymede, Bobbi Draper takes a stand against Mars by defecting to Earth, as things heat up in the Mars/Earth conflict. Then Ars Technica science editor John Timmer talks with authors Amanda Hendrix and Charles W…

On this week's podcast, Ars Technica's Jonathan Gitlin talks with Ars Business Editor Cyrus Farivar, who is a huge fan of the show. Last year, Cyrus held a live talk with Nick Farmer, the linguist who invented the Belter language for the TV show and became intrigued. Cyrus talks about how his interest grew out of being a fan of shows like BSG, and …

On this week's podcast, Ars Technica's Jonathan Gitlin talks with actor Wes Chatham about his character Amos on The Expanse. Wes talks about being a fan of the books before being offered the role on the show, how he approaches this unusual character, and the discussion veers off into Blade Runner territory (which version is Wes' favorite?). Jonatha…

In this week's podcast, Jonathan Gitlin talks with Ars Technica's space editor Eric Berger about NASA and the possibilities of space travel and colonization. Jonathan also recaps this week's episode: we meet Praxideke Meng, a refugee scientist from Ganymede who becomes key to finding out what happened there; the Belters rebel against Fred Johnson a…

On this week's podcast, Ars Technica's Jonathan Gitlin is joined by linguist Nick Farmer who created the spoken language of Belter for The Expanse. Last year, Nick was our first Ars Live guest at Oakland's Longitude bar, and he's back to speak with us one-on-one. Jonathan also recaps season 2, episode 7: as the UN leaders argue about what to do abo…

On this week's podcast, Ars Technica's Jonathan Gitlin is joined by Ars' very own science editor John Timmer, as we discuss a particular science fiction trope he can't stand, and recap the latest goings-on with Eros, the UN on Earth, and the Mars soldiers on Ganymede. John also speaks with Dominique Tipper, who plays Naomi Nagata, whom he interview…

In this week's podcast, Ars Technica's Jonathan Gitlin recaps season 2, episode 5 of The Expanse, as we follow Miller on his journey to stop Eros from hitting Earth with the help of an old "friend"; the UN puts their plan into action to stop Eros, as the powerless Roci crew does what they can to support Miller, the UN and Fred Johnson's plans to sa…

In this week's podcast, Ars Technica's Jonathan Gitlin recaps season 2, episode 4 of The Expanse, as we join the crew as they commence their plan to take the Nauvoo on its mission to Eros, and the noose tightens on Protogen and its allies back on Earth, thanks to everyone's favorite UN badass, Avasarala. Jonathan also talks with award-winning sci-f…

In this episode of Decrypted: The Expanse, Ars Technica's Jonathan Gitlin recaps season 2 episode 3: The Rocinante crew and Fred Johnson deal with the aftermath of Miller's decision, Mars soldiers gear up for a fight, and Earth's government tries to figure out the OPA's motives. Jonathan also talks with showrunner Naren Shankar about creating the s…

In this episode of Decrypted: The Expanse, we join the Syfy show in its second season. Ars Technica's Annalee Newitz and Jonathan Gitlin talk about the show's many layers, themes and the adaptation from the books. Jonathan also talks to Daniel Abraham and Ty Franck, the authors of the books (under the pen name James SA Corey), about the challenges …

Topics discussed: We just don't care that William and MIB are the same person (seriously why is this such a big deal); how Maeve's final revelation completely sold her character short (and also made no sense given her past actions); why Bernard why (you were our favorite character and now you're a blob); the differences between Arnold and Ford's id…

This week's guest is Norman Chan, co-founder of Tested, where he writes and makes videos about science, technology, and pop culture. He is a huge fan of Westworld, and has some fascinating observations about which robot characters are the most realistic. Topics discussed: The big reveal about Arnold (and what this says about Ford's plans); timefram…

Topics discussed: Why the MIB is really looking for the maze (he wants a game with consequences), what makes the gameplay in Westworld so unsatisfying (there's no Minecraft element to it), Jane's so-crazy-it-just-might-work theory about who the MIB really is (and what the maze really is too!), how many timelines are floating around inside Dolores' …

Topics discussed: Metafiction (AKA fiction about fiction), what the hell with the Bernard reveal (really, what the hell), the challenge of telling a story that feels familiar yet surprising (and how Westworld did it), whether the robots are just like humans or radically different (yes and no), Ford's real motivations (it's complicated), how intelle…

Topics discussed: The unregistered robots (Ford's robot family is seriously creepy), the true meaning of the maze (and why Teddy has gotten so boring), Maeve's attribute matrix (and the greatest scene in the entire show), what it means to be trapped in a narrative (male and female roles for robots are both terrible), when will a guy have sex with a…

Topics discussed: The state of Dolores' mind (Arnold and a bunch of other things are in her head), Ford's freaky conversation with the MIB (a treat to watch), the economics of Westworld (it's hemorrhaging cash), the economics of the real world (MIB says it's peachy, but the poor med tech Felix is terrified he'll lose his job), the two faces of Lawr…