Tag: Jack Ward

DNA Podcast 072 – Time Travel in Popular Culture

The Department of Nerdly Affairs
The Department of Nerdly Affairs
DNA Podcast 072 - Time Travel in Popular Culture
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In this week’s episode, Rob and Don sit down to talk about time travel! The pair discuss the past, present, and future of time travel stories, how time travel seems to have developed fictional “rules” that everyone agrees on (but have no basis in fact), and what some of their favorite time travel stories are.  All this, and a voice from the future drops by, in this episode of The Department of Nerdly Affairs.

Closing Music:

Ode to Joy performed by Oliver Eckelt

Things Discussed:

BBC Online Time Travel Possible
Doctor Who
HG Wells: The Time Machine
Asmiov’s Three Rules of Robotics
Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure
Natsu no Arashi
Doctor Strange (Movie)
Memoires of the 20th Century
The Warp Drive
Star Trek
The Fey Folk
John Carter of Mars: A Princess of Mars
Ano 7603
Mysterious Universe Podcast
Jack Ward’s Borrowed Time Audio Drama
List of Time Travel Stories from Wikipedia
Edge of Tomorrow (movie)
Daylight TV Series (Day Break, actually.)
The Sound of Thunder
Lest Darkness Fall
The Door Into Summer
All You Zombies
Captain Z-Ro
Mr. Peabody and His Boy Sherman
Max the 2000 Year Old Mouse
The Ghost of Slumber Mountain
Once Upon a Time Man…
Frequency
Steins Gate
The Time Traveller’s Wife
About Time
The Restaurant at the End of the Universe
Back to the Future
Somewhere in Time
Time Bandits
The Undead by Roger Corman
Journeyman TV Series
A Conneticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court
Unidentified Flying Oddball
The Shadow out of Time
12 Monkeys
Travellers TV Series
Quantum Leap
Legends of Tomorrow
Twilight Zone: Walking Distance
Twilight Zone: The Execution
Twilight Zone: The Incredible World of Horrace Ford
Terminator
Timelapse


DNA Podcast 67 – Intelligence in Popular Culture

The Department of Nerdly Affairs
The Department of Nerdly Affairs
DNA Podcast 67 - Intelligence in Popular Culture
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In this episode, Don and Rob sit down with Jack Ward to discuss portrayals of Intelligence in popular culture. The three delve into the hows and whys of the way smart people are portrayed the way they are in the media, the difference between wisdom and intelligence, and how it’s all linked with the ways the human brain works. All this, and why Daniel Kahneman is the most important person you’ve never heard of, is waiting for you in this episode of the Department of Nerdly Affairs.

Closing Music:

Ode to Joy performed by Oliver Eckelt

Things Discussed:

The Great Gazoo
Mr. Myxlpltzk
Professor Jordan Peterson
Marcus Brody (Indiana Jones)
Geeks vs Nerds Podcast
Confucianism
Andy Griffith
Mr. Smith Goes to Washington
TRON
Reboot TV
Thinking Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahneman
Rabbit Brain – Tortoise Brain (actually called “Hare Brain Tortoise Mind.“)
Sliders TV
E-Sports
The Dark Web
Doogie Howser MD
Death Note
Being There (Movie)
John Grisham
Lee Child
DNA Nerd Episode
Cyberpunk
Kramer vs. Kramer
Glengary Glen Ross
The S.P.I.N.E. of a Good Story (from Rob’s blog)
Epic Rap Battles: Steven Spielberg vs Alfred Hitchcock
Invisible Ink by Brian MacDonald
Inciting Incident
Ferris Bueller’s Day Off
Stephen Hawking
Dirty Harry
Charles Bronson


DNA Podcast 055 – Making the Biff Straker RPG

The Department of Nerdly Affairs
The Department of Nerdly Affairs
DNA Podcast 055 - Making the Biff Straker RPG
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In this episode, Don and Rob sit down with their friend Jack Ward to help him construct a tabletop RPG system for his Audio Drama series Spaceways Starring Biff Straker. In the process, the trio discuss the benefits of different dice systems, damage systems, character design approaches, and how to bring the feels to an RPG. All this, and the My Little Pony RPG, are waiting for you in this episode of the Department of Nerdly Affairs.

Closing Music:

Ode to Joy performed by Oliver Eckelt

Things Discussed:

Spaceways Starring Biff Straker
Champions RPG
Doc Savage
Jake Samson
Car Wars
Cartoon Action Hour
GURPS
Morrow Project
Vampire the Masquerade
The D6 System
Xena the Warrior Princess
Shadowrun
Cyberpunk
Space 1889
Star Trek FASA RPG
My Little Pony RPG
Battletech
Star Wars (West End Games)
Mekton (First Edition)


DNA Podcast 037 – Death and the Nerdly Arts

The Department of Nerdly Affairs
The Department of Nerdly Affairs
DNA Podcast 037 - Death and the Nerdly Arts
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BillandTedBogus

Rob, Don and Jack Ward explore the place of death in the nerdly arts. From superheroes who never die, to the real life celebrities who do (for now), and how our own fears of death shape our entertainment of choice, the trio head down a funerary rabbit hole. It’s an episode of grave humour, and sober considerations about the future of the kind you’ll only find on the Department of Nerdly Affairs.

    Closing Music:

Ode to Joy performed by Oliver Eckelt 

Things Discussed:

The Princess Diarist
Nicholas Hammond
Rocket Robin Hood
King Arthur
Edward Snowden
Bill and Ted play Chess with Death
Millenial Problems
Japanese Don’t Have Sex
Japanese VR Sex Toys
The Venus Project
Basic Minimum Income
Randi Cartier


DNA Podcast 035 – The Hero’s Journey Strikes Back!

The Department of Nerdly Affairs
The Department of Nerdly Affairs
DNA Podcast 035 - The Hero's Journey Strikes Back!
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In this episode, Rob and Don are joined by Jack Ward for a spirited debate about Joseph Campbell’s Hero’s Journey. Does Campbell’s opus really hold the key to writing satisfying stories? Jack thinks so, but Rob and Don aren’t so sure, and this leads to a long discussion involving comparative mythology, newspaper comic strips, 1970’s vampire hunting reporters, and more sitcom references than an 80’s flashback! All this, and Don’s unhealthy fixation with the obscure scifi comedy Quark are waiting for you in this, the 35th episode of the Department of Nerdly Affairs.

    Closing Music:

Ode to Joy performed by Oliver Eckelt 

Things Discussed

The Hero with a Thousand Faces (book)
Glove and Boots Heros Journey (in 5 minutes, with puppets)
The Power of Myth Bill Moyers/Joseph Campbell
Christopher Vogler Hero’s Journey Memo
Kishotenketsu For Beginners (Alternate Japanese Story Structure)
Buck Rogers
Mary Worth
Snuffie Smith
Blondie
Cousin Oliver/Brady Bunch
The Story Toolkit Podcast
Eating Raoul (trailer)
Captain Blood (Errol Flynn, trailer)
Quark (first episode)
Law and Order
Kolchak the Night Stalker
Understanding Comics by Scott McCloud
Who’s the Boss?


DNA Podcast 028 – The Nature of Nerdliness

The Department of Nerdly Affairs
The Department of Nerdly Affairs
DNA Podcast 028 - The Nature of Nerdliness
/

nutty-prof

In this episode, Rob and Don sit down with guest Jack Ward to discuss what it means to be a nerd. The trio discuss exactly what nerds are, where they came from, and whether nerds as a concept is even still relevant in modern culture.  All this, and why The Nutty Professor was the great nerd hero of the 20th century are waiting for you in this episode of the Department of Nerdly Affairs.

    Closing Music:

Ode to Joy performed by Oliver Eckelt 

Things Discussed:
Nerds
The Anarchist movement
The IT Crowd
Oscar Wilde
The Nutty Professor (trailer)
Trekkie
Science Fiction Conventions
Our Gang
Otaku
Zines
Fanzines
Fanfiction
Starfleet Command Fan Organization
Mysterious Universe
Snake Theory of Human Evolution
Metal- A Headbanger’s Journey (trailer)
Led Zeppelin and Tolkien
Star Wars and Flash Gordon
Easy Riders – Raging Bulls
Howard the Duck (movie review)
C-3PO’s Cereal (video review)
B.A.D.D.
Heavy Metal Magazine
Custer’s Revenge (video review)
The Nintendo Power Glove (video review)
Oliver Twist
The Picwick Papers
Hammy Hamster’s Adventures on the Riverbank (video)


DNA Podcast 015: Podcasting Audio Drama

The Department of Nerdly Affairs
The Department of Nerdly Affairs
DNA Podcast 015: Podcasting Audio Drama
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In this episode, Don and Rob are joined by Jack Ward of the Sonic Society podcast to talk about Jack’s experiences hosting the Internet’s greatest audio drama showcase for over a decade and the thrills and frustrations of being an audio drama producer in the podcast age. Slap on your Podjectors and Flip the switch to join us in this, the 15th episode of the Department of Nerdly Affairs!

Closing Music: Ode to Joy performed by Oliver Eckelt 

Things Discussed:

Podcasting
Adam Curry (The Podfather!)
The Sonic Society
Decoder Ring Theatre
Serial Podcast
The Black Tapes Podcast
Welcome to Night Vale
Electric Vicuna Podcast
Firefly: Old Wounds
Radio Drama
Willis Cooper’s Lights Out
Broken Sea Audio Productions
Darker Projects
Power Records
Patreon
Audio Drama Lovers Facebook Group
Icebox Radio Theatre
Scott Sigler
Destructamundo Podcast (ending the world, one show at a time!)
Host Your Own Old Time Radio Drama (by Craig Robotham)
Chatterbox Audio Theatre
We’re Alive
Midnight Radio Theatre- The Woman in the Basement (listen to it at night with the lights out at night, we double dog dare you!)
Podcast Directories
Boxcars711 Old Time Radio Showcase


DNA Podcast 008 – Are Superhero Movies Bad for Us?

The Department of Nerdly Affairs
The Department of Nerdly Affairs
DNA Podcast 008 - Are Superhero Movies Bad for Us?
/

openforuminfantilization

Welcome Operatives to the Department of Nerdly Affairs. In this episode, Rob and Don are joined by indomitable Jack Ward, host of the Sonic Society Podcast, to discuss actor/writer Simon Pegg’s article about the infantalization of popular culture and society. The trio go deep into the topic, and come out having discussed Nazis, Adult Films of the 70s, and the Honeymooners. All this, and how “Free to Be You and Me” affected our childhoods in this episode of The Department of Nerdly Affairs.

Closing Music: Ode to Joy performed by Oliver Eckelt 

Things Discussed:
The Sonic Society Podcast
Simon Pegg’s Infamous Article
Brave New World vs. 1984
Amusing Ourselves to Death (Video interview with the author.)
The Odessa File
Free to Be You and Me
Deep Throat
BADD
Flesh Gordon
Alice in Wonderland: An X-Rated Musical Comedy
Caligula (film)
Episodes TV Series
Jackie Gleason and UFOs
The Canadian Conspiracy