The Protagonist Podcast

Description Returning guest Andrew Deman joins Joe to discuss Wolverine, the iconic X-Men character. We are looking at a story titled “Wounded Wolf” that was contained to a single issue, Uncanny X-Men #205. This issue was created by Chris Claremont … Continue reading →

Description Joe and Producer Andrew have an informal chat about media, gratitude, and the podcast.

Description Returning guest Ryan Haupt joins Joe and Producer Andrew to discuss the 1993 Disney adaptation of The Three Musketeers. Starring Chris O’Donnell, Charlie Sheen, Keifer Sutherland, and Oliver Platt, this film is a fun—if loose—adaptation of the 1884 Alexandre … Continue reading →

Description First-time guest Zach Weinersmith joins Joe to talk about the graphic novel Bea Wolf. Written by Zach Weinersmith with art by Boulet, the story is a middle-grade retelling of the epic poem Beowulf. There are adorable child protagonists, an … Continue reading →

Show Notes Returning co-founder Todd Mack and returning guest Todd Petersen join Joe and Producer Andrew for their annual Halloween special. This year, they each submitted lists of spooky words, then 4 words were selected at random to serve as … Continue reading →

Description Returning guest John Darowski joins Joe and Andrew to discuss the Marvel’s horror special Werewolf by Night, which was released on Disney+ in October 2022. Directed by Michael Giachinno, it starred Gael Garcia Bernal as Jack Russell and Laura … Continue reading →

Description Returning guest Allison Epstein joins Joe to discuss the 2001 film A Knight’s Tale. This medieval jousting comedy stars Heath Ledger as William Fletcher. The film features anachronistic comedy elements, which helps make it stand out, but also has … Continue reading →

Description Returning guest Norman Mitchell joins Joe and Producer Andrew to discuss the comic book series Paper Girls. The series is a collaboration between writer Brian K. Vaughan, artist Cliff Chiang, colorist Matt Wilson, and letterer Jared K. Fletcher. It … Continue reading →

Description Producer Andrew and Joe are discussing The Spirit of Lonely Places, a podcast campaign in Beyond the Map: A World of Darkness Series. Adam Carnevale runs the campaign and plays all the NPCs, Joel Zammit plays as Warren Birch, … Continue reading →

Description Returning guest Kestra Darowski joins Joe to play a game called Disney Heist. Despite its name, we are not trying to break into the Disney Vault (side note….circle back to that idea). Producer Andrew has given us a list … Continue reading →

Description We’re talking about the stop-motion duo of the human Wallace and the dog Gromit. The Wrong Trousers tells the story of a villainous penguin trying to misuse one of Wallace’s inventions to pull off a heist. A Close Shave … Continue reading →

Description Returning guest Nicole Freim joins Joe to discuss the comic book series The Stuff of Legend. The series has a story by Mike Raicht and Brian Smith, illustrations by Charles Paul Westover, and design and colors by Jon Conkling … Continue reading →

Description First time guest Nicole Freim joins Joe to discuss the 1944 film Gaslight. This film is the origin of the term “gaslighting” (which we explain in depth). Starring Ingrid Bergman and Charles Boyer, Gaslight tells the story of a … Continue reading →

Description Returning guest Kate Darowski joins Joe to discuss one of the most popular novels of recent years. Lessons in Chemistry was written by first-time author Bonnie Garmus and tells the story of Elizabeth Zott, a brilliant chemist, single mother, … Continue reading →

Description Returning guest Anna Peppard joins Joe to discuss Kyra Nerys from the tv show Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. DS9 was the third Star Trek television series. We’re focusing on the episode “Duet” which sees Kyra capture a Cardassian … Continue reading →

Description Returning guest Anna Peppard joins Joe to talk about the Ever-Lovin’ Blue-Eyed Thing, charter member of the Fantastic Four and beloved fixture of Marvel Comics. We’re discussing the 2021 mini-series written by Walter Mosley with art by Tom Reilly … Continue reading →

Description Returning guest Chris “Mav” Maverick joins Joe and Producer Andrew to map out movies to watch during the year. We each select a movie that feels right to watch for every month. Please feel free to let us know … Continue reading →

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 →