The Protagonist Podcast

Description Returning guest Virginia McAlister joins Joe to discuss the film That Thing You Do! Written and directed by Tom Hanks, the film stars Tom Everett Scott as Guy and Liv Tyler as Faye. It tells the story of a … Continue reading →

Description Producer Andrew joins Joe to discuss Susanna Clarke’s 2020 novel, Piranesi. Only Clarke’s second novel—her first was Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norell—this novel had near-universal praise when it was released. The novel tells the story of a man lost … Continue reading →

Description Returning guest Virginia McAlister joins Joe to talk about the tv series Stargate SG-1. A continuation of the Stargate film, this series and its spin-offs was one of the most successful sci-fi television franchises of the 1990s and early … Continue reading →

Description Producer Andrew and Joe are discussing one of the formative stories in the early Marvel Comics universe. We talk about the legendary pairing of Jack Kirby and Stan Lee as storytellers, and some of the significance of this cosmic … Continue reading →

Description Returning guest Chris “Mav” Maverick joins Joe and Producer Andrew to talk about love and hate in fandom. It seems that some portions of fandom love nothing more than to complain about the media they claim to love, but … Continue reading →

Description Producer Andrew and Joe discuss a cult classic film that features some amazing Ray Harryhausen stop motion animation. The Valley of Gwangi tells the story of cowboys capturing a dinosaur and bringing it back to an Old West show … Continue reading →

Description Protagonist Podcast co-founder Todd Mack joins Joe to discuss two short stories, “Los Ojos Verdes” by Spanish Romantic author Gustavo Adolfo Bécquer and “The Tell-Tale Heart” by American Romantic author Edgar Allan Poe. “The Green Eyes” tells the story … Continue reading →

Description First-time guest Francis Agnoli joins Joe and Producer Andrew to discuss the episode “Zuko Alone” from Avatar: The Last Airbender. Zuko was introduced as an antagonist in the first season of Avatar: The Last Airbender, but serves as the … Continue reading →

Description Protagonist Podcast co-founder Todd Mack joins Joe to discuss Mafalda, an Argentinian comic strip by an artist named Quino. Mafalda is a 6-year-old girl with lots of big questions and concerns about the world around her. The comic strip … Continue reading →

Description Joe and Producer Andrew are joined by returning guest Ben Phillips to play a game of Truth or Lie. We’ve each found a handful of examples of obscure media that has actually been produced (despite some of these sounding … Continue reading →

Description Returning all-star guests Branden Ushio and Nik English join Joe and Producer Andrew to talk about the 1999 film Galaxy Quest. It tells the story of group of actors from an old sci-fi show who are mistaken by an … Continue reading →

Description Joe and Producer Andrew are talking about a classic dime novel. Nick Carter appeared in thousands of stories in dime novels, pulp magazines, and paperback novels from the 1800s until 1990. The character, as a detective and a spy, … Continue reading →

Description Returning guest Ben Phillips joins Joe to talk about the sitcom Scrubs. Airing on NBC and ABC from 2001-2009, Scrubs was part of a wave of single-camera sitcoms that changed the tone and style of comedy on American network … Continue reading →

Description Returning guest Kjerste Christensen joins Joe to talk about the Bechdel Test. We have an open-ended conversation about what the test is, what issues exist with its application, and why it is an important topic to consider. Support Patreon … Continue reading →

Description First-time guest Wayne Wise joins Joe to talk about the comic book series Giant Days. Telling the story of three college roommates, the series by John Allison, Max Sarin, and Lisa Treiman captures the feelings and drama of figuring … Continue reading →

Description Returning guest Kjerste Christensen joins Joe to talk about the 1999 film Sliding Doors. This is an interesting case of a film where the title and concept have exceeded the actual story and characters in terms of cultural awareness. … Continue reading →

Description Returning guest Charly Kueks joins Joe to discuss F. Scott Fitzgerald’s classic novel The Great Gatsby. One of the great American novels, The Great Gatsby is a modernist novel telling the story of Nick Carraway getting pulled into the … Continue reading →

Description Producer Andrew joins Joe to discuss one of the most iconic tv series of all time (and a consistent answer in trivia games everywhere). M*A*S*H* aired from 1972-1983, and we’re discussing two episodes, “Adam’s Ribs” and the series finale … Continue reading →

Description Returning guests Norman Mitchell and Cavan Helps join Joe and Producer Andrew to discuss storytelling in Tabletop Role-Playing Games. This type of game, like Dungeons & Dragons for examples, requires collaborative storytelling between the Dungeon Master (or Game Master) … Continue reading →

Description Producer Andrew joins Joe to discuss one of Marvel’s most unexpected break out stars. Rocket Raccoon was first created in 1976, and we’re talking about a 4-issue mini-series written by Bill Mantlo with art by Mike Mignola that was … Continue reading →

Description Returning guest Ryan Haupt joins Joe and Producer Andrew to discuss the 1997 film George of the Jungle. Starring Academy Award winner Brendan Fraser (not for this film, though he is great in it), the film tells the story … Continue reading →

Description Author Allison Epstein joins Joe to talk about her novel, A Tip for the Hangman. The historical fiction novel tells the story of playwright Christopher Marlowe and his time as a spy for Queen Elizabeth. Epstein uses what we … Continue reading →

Description Returning guest Norman Mitchell joins Joe to talk about the Japanese television show Jetman. A super sentai series, Jetman features a team of humans who can power up and drive robots to fight various monsters. For American audiences, this … Continue reading →

Description Returning guest Christopher “Mav” Maverick joins Joe to talk about Will Eisner’s classic graphic novel, A Contract with God. We’re discussing Chapter 1, “A Contract with God” and Chapter 2, “The Street Singer.” Eisner uses a monochromatic, caricatured cartooning … Continue reading →

Description Returning guest Rachel Armstrong and first-time guest Matt Armstrong join Joe to discuss the 2007 film starring Hilary Swank and Gerard Butler. We discuss the positives of the film (most of it), point out a couple flaws (mostly just … Continue reading →

Description Producer Andrew joins Joe to discuss Cloud Cuckoo Land, a recent novel by Anthony Doerr. The novel tells the story of various people scattered across centuries and then slowly reveals how their lives unexpectedly intersect. Support Patreon Show Notes … Continue reading →

Description It’s our annual special, where on February 2 we release an episode discussing the film Groundhog Day. Joe, Producer Andrew, Chris “Mav” Maverick, and Nicole Freim visit Punxsutawney and talk about the film, what a great year 1993 was … Continue reading →

Description Returning guest Christopher “Mav” Maverick joins Joe to talk about one of his favorite films, the 1993 western Tombstone. Telling the story of Wyatt Earp and the shootout at the O.K. Coral, Tombstone features an all-star cast including Kurt … Continue reading →

Description Returning guest John Darowski joins Joe to discuss the manga series Spy x Family by Tatsuya Endo. The series tells the story of a spy who must create a fake family for a mission, and unknowingly adopts a telepathic … Continue reading →

Description Returning guest John Darowski joins Joe to discuss Phil Hartman’s character, Bill McNeal, from the tv show NewsRadio. Newsradio was an ensemble workplace comedy that aired on NBC from 1995-1999. We discuss the status of NBC sitcoms in the … Continue reading →

It’s the start of the year so it’s time to make our picks for our annual Fantasy Box Office game. Joe and Producer Andrew pick the films they think will make the most money this year. The players get the … Continue reading →

Description Joe and Producer Andrew look back at the last year of media, and look ahead at the next year of podcasting. Listeners, please make suggestions for episodes you would like to hear!

Description Returning guest Virginia McAlister joins Joe to talk about one of the oldest stories we know of in human history. The Iliad is an epic poem composed by Homer and passed down orally for centuries before being written down … Continue reading →

Description Last month, we were saddened to learn of the passing of Kevin Conroy, an actor best-known for his voicework playing Bruce Wayne/Batman. Returning guest Chris “Mav” Maverick joins Joe and Producer Andrew to talk about what made Conroy’s performance … Continue reading →

Description Long-time listeners know the rules. Producer Andrew sends Todd Mack and Joe a list of Christmas movie titles, and they each have to invent a plot based on the title alone. Andrew picks his favorite made-up plot after each … Continue reading →

Description Joe and Producer Andrew are talking about Hawkeye, one of Marvel’s Disney+ mini-series. This series sees the return of Jeremy Renner as Clint Barton, Florence Pugh as Yelena, and Vincent D’Onofrio as Kingpin, and the introduction of Hailee Steinfeld … Continue reading →

Description Producer Andrew joins Joe to discuss A Muppet Family Christmas, a special that is the Avengers: Infinity War of the Jim Henson’s muppet creations. Bringing together the Muppets, Sesame Street characters, and the Fraggles into one hour of Christmas … Continue reading →

Description Returning guest Rachel Armstrong joins Joe and Producer Andrew to talk about the stories we love and have returned to at different points in our lives. We also talk about media that we associate with certain times of the … Continue reading →

Description Patron Tim asked us to discuss Jim Henson’s The Storyteller, and this series is a delight. Returning guest John Darowski joins Joe to talk about three episodes: “Hans, My Hedgehog,” “A Story Short,” and “The Soldier and Death.” John … Continue reading →

Description Protagonist Podcast co-founder Todd Mack is back! Todd joins Joe to discuss Pushing Daisies, a magical tv series about a man who can bring the dead back to life. We’re discussing the pilot episode, titled “Pie-lette,” which is a … Continue reading →

Description Protagonist Podcast co-founder Todd Mack and returning guest Todd Petersen join Joe for their 8th annual Halloween Special. They’ve been given unexpected pairings of story elements (like “Time Travel and Demon” or “Cryptid and Film Noir”) and they each … Continue reading →

Description Joe is joined by Producer Andrew to talk about about Fred, Daphne, Velma, Shaggy, and Scooby from Scooby-Doo, Where Are You? This is the first of MANY series to feature Scooby Doo and friends. We talk about this franchise’s … Continue reading →

Description Joe is joined by returning guest John Darowski to discuss the 1979 novel Bunnicula: A Rabbit-Tale of Mystery. The story, about a cat and dog who are convinced a new pet bunny is actually a vampire that drinks the … Continue reading →

Description First-time guest Ryan Haupt joins Joe and Producer Andrew to discuss Jurassic Park, the classic Steven Spielberg adaptation about man’s hubris. And dinosaurs. Really awesome dinosaurs. We discuss alternate universe versions of the film with different casts, what works … Continue reading →

Description Returning guest John Darowski joins Joe to talk about Beasts of Burden, a comic book series created by Evan Dorkin and Jill Thompson. It tells the story of a group of dogs (and a couple cats) that protect the … Continue reading →

Description Returning guest Norman Mitchell joins Joe to talk about One Piece: Film Z, the twelfth film from the (very) long-running anime adaptation of the manga series. We discuss the history of the anime, the characterization of Luffy and his … Continue reading →

Description Producer Andrew and Kestra Darowski join Joe to talk about storytelling at theme parks. We sometimes do special episodes where we discuss a unique style of storytelling, and the immersive experiences at theme parks certainly counts as a distinct … Continue reading →

Description Producer Andrew joins Joe to discuss Washington Irving’s class short story “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow.” We discuss the prominence of the Headless Horseman in folklore, where the whole flaming pumpkin part of the story came from, and also … Continue reading →

Description Returning guest Anna Peppard joins Joe to discuss Michael and Fiona from the tv series Burn Notice. The tv series about a spy who is cut off from his former agency and resources was a staple series on the … Continue reading →

Description Returning guest Anna Peppard joins Joe to discuss Jennifer Walters and her superheroic alter-ego She-Hulk. She-Hulk was co-created by Stan Lee and John Buscema in 1980 and has had several solo series in the subsequent four decades. Featuring writing … Continue reading →