Show overview
The Protagonist Podcast has been publishing since 2014, and across the 12 years since has built a catalogue of 601 episodes. That works out to roughly 640 hours of audio in total. Releases follow a weekly cadence.
Episodes typically run an hour to ninety minutes — most land between 57 min and 1h 10m — and the run-time is fairly consistent across the catalogue. None of the episodes are flagged explicit by the publisher. It is catalogued as a EN-US-language Arts show.
The show is actively publishing — the most recent episode landed 4 days ago, with 22 episodes already out so far this year. Published by Dueling Genre Productions.
From the publisher
Each week we discuss a great character in a great story. Hosted by Joseph J. Darowski.
Latest Episodes
View all 601 episodesKent, Beck, and Miriam from Escape! (novel 2025)
The ensemble from Arrested Development (TV 2003)
Kara Zor-El and Ruthye Marie Knoll from Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow (comic 2021)
Butch, Sundance, and Etta from Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (film 1969)
Star Wars and Transmedia Storytelling (Special 2026)
Emma Lion from The Unselected Journals of Emma M. Lion
MaoMao from The Apothecary Diaries (TV 2023)
Sun Yi, Rose, and Tessa from Feeding Ghosts (comic 2024)
Hans Beckert from M (film 1931)
Description Returning guest Ryan Haupt joins Joe to discuss the film M. This is director Fritz Lang’s first sound film, and is a clear demonstration of how sound is going to forever alter the film medium. This haunting noir film … Continue reading →
Jan and Marcia Brady from The Brady Bunch (TV 1969)
Description Returning guest Chris “Mav” Maverick joins Joe to discuss the classic sitcom The Brady Bunch. We’re discussing the episodes “The Not So Ugly Duckling” and “Getting Davy Jones.” But we also discuss the Brady Bunch’s place in pop culture … Continue reading →
Ryland Grace and Rocky from Project Hail Mary (novel 2021)
Description Producer Andrew joins Joe to discuss Andy Weir’s novel Project Hail Mary. This novel tells the story of the human Ryland Grace and the alien Rocky in an unexpected sci-fi buddy comedy adventure with the stakes of all life … Continue reading →
Genre and Categorization (special 2026)
Description Returning guest Kjerste Christensen joins Joe for an open-ended discussion about genre. Why do genres labels exist, what purposes do they serve, whom do they benefit? We cover a lot of ground on this broad topic, and fortunately Kjerste … Continue reading →
Pippin Dale from Welcome to the Maynard (comic 2025)
Description Returning guest John Darowski joins Joe to discuss Pippin “Pip” Dale from the comic book Welcome to the Maynard. This mini-series by writer James Robinson, artist J. Bone colorist, and letterer Jim Campbell tells the story of a new … Continue reading →
James Bond from Skyfall (film 2012)
Description Returning guest George Tsakiridis joins Joe to discuss James Bond from the film Skyfall. Because we’re talking about an extremely successful multimedia franchise, we spend a lot of time discussing trivia. Then we tackle our favorite James Bond film, … Continue reading →
Wilbur and Charlotte from Charlotte’s Web (novel 1952)
Description Returning guest Kestra Darowski joins Producer Andrew and Joe to discuss E.B. White’s classic children’s novel Charlotte’s Web. We chose to cover this novel because Kestra and Andrew’s kids were reading Charlotte’s Web for school, and we had no … Continue reading →
Ron Swanson from Parks and Rec (TV 2009)
Description First-time guest Alasdair Green joins Joe to discuss Ron Swanson from Parks and Rec. Parks and Rec aired 125 episodes between 2009-2015 and Nick Offerman’s Ron Swanson was an iconic character from the series. Support Patreon Show Notes Parks … Continue reading →
The Unnamed Antagonist from “This Man…This Monster” in Fantastic Four #51 (comic 1966)
Description Returning guest Nik English joins Joe to discuss one of the classic Fantastic Four stories by Jack Kirby and Stan Lee, “This Man…This Monster!” It tells the story of an unnamed antagonist who takes the place of the Thing … Continue reading →
GoundPod Day 2026 (special)
Description It’s GroundPod Day! Every year, Nicole Freim, Chris “Mav” Maverick, Andrew Darowski, and Joe Darowski get together to discuss Groundhog Day. This year, we are joined by special guest Chris Bingham to once again analyze the classic film.
Snow White in Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (film 1937)
Description Returning guest Kestra Darowski joins Producer Andrew and Joe to discuss the iconic 1937 film, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. After talking about lots of trivia and then the evil Queen for a good while, they do get … Continue reading →
Harry Houdini in Imprisoned with the Pharoahs (short story 1924)
Description Returning guest John Darowski joins Joe to discuss a short story about Harry Houdini being captured in Egypt and having a (potentially supernatural) adventure. Though credited to Houdini at the time of publication in the pulp magazine Weird Tales, … Continue reading →