Episode 011: Fan Fiction with Kyla Neufeld

November 08, 2020 by Michael Boyce

In this week's episode, I'm talking fan fiction with poet and editor, Kyla Neufeld. We talk about the popularity and suspicion of fan fiction, where fan fiction fits in the overall hierarchy of fan culture, and the changing attitudes of creators towards fan fiction writers. We also discuss the gender-bias towards fan fiction and the ways fan fiction provides space for fans from marginalized communities to write themselves into their favourite fandoms.

You can follow Kyla on Twitter @kylaneufeld

You can follow me on Twitter @mwboyce to pass along feedback or ideas.

You can follow the podcast on Twitter @geek4pod and on Instagram @geek4pod

I respectfully acknowledge that I live in and work on Treaty One Territory and in the traditional homeland of the Métis nation.

Episode 010: Crossing Samurai Swords with Craig Terlson

November 01, 2020 by Michael Boyce

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In this week's episode, I'm talking with writer Craig Terlson, about our shared love of samurai films - from Kurosawa's classics Yojimbo (1961), Sanjuro (1962)and The Seven Samurai (1954) to Kobayashi's Harakiri (1963) and Beat Takeshi's Zatoichi (2003). Craig also disscusses how samurai films have influenced his latest novel.

You can follow Craig on Twitter @cterlson and on Instagram @cterlson

You can learn more about Craig's novels here.

You can follow me on Twitter @mwboyce to pass along feedback or ideas.

You can follow the podcast on Twitter @geek4pod and on Instagram @geek4pod

Episode 009: The Horror! with David Annandale

October 25, 2020 by Michael Boyce

In this episode, the last before Halloween, I chat with writer, scholar and horror aficionado, David Annandale. David describes his own history with horror (which starts, oddly enough, with My Three Sons) and discusses why people enjoy being scared.

You can follow David on Twitter and his website (davidannandale.com) and order his novels at Amazon

You can follow Geek4 on Twitter and Instagram

You can follow me on Twitter

Episode 008: Who you gonna call? Aaron Epp!

October 18, 2020 by Michael Boyce

There’s something strange in your neighbourhood. This week, we're talking Ghostbusters with Aaron Epp.

Aaron is a Winnipeg-based journalist, writing for Canadian Mennonite, a national church publication, as well as a regular column about volunteerism and philanthropy for the Winnipeg Free Press. And Aaron is a hardcore Ghostbusters enthusiast.

We talk about his early (and I mean early) love of The Real Ghostbusters cartoon, getting to see the movie, and how the whole Epp family got in on his fandom. We also talk the original vision of the film, the reboot, sequels and toys.

You can find Aaron on Twitter at @aaronepp. He’s promised to share the pictures he talked about.

You can follow me on Twitter @mwboyce

You can follow the podcast on Twitter @geek4pod

and Instagram @geek4pod

If you like the show, consider subscribing and please leaving a 5 star review on your podcatcher of choice, That helps the algorithms and allows others to find the show.

Episode 007: The Best Comedy Requires Work: On Inside Jokes, Monty Python, and the Value of Comedy

October 11, 2020 by Michael Boyce

This week’s episode is an audio essay about my love of the Monty Python and how trying to “get the jokes” impacted my life.

I’m very grateful to my friends Allison and Kyle at Mythos & Ink Publishing for permission to produce this expanded audio version and for including this essay in their upcoming book, Always Look Up (and Other Wisdom I Learned from Geek Culture that Changed My Life) — Area of Effect, Vol. 2 (coming Oct 2020).

So buy the book!!!!

Episode 006: To Boldly Go with Murray Leeder.

October 04, 2020 by Michael Boyce

If you’re talking traditionally geeky subjects, few things top Star Trek. This week I talk Star Trek with Dr. Murray Leeder - from the original series, to TNG and DS9, to Picard and the future of the franchise. Murray is a research affiliate at the University of Manitoba’s Institute of Humanities with a wide variety of interests. He’s published several academic and non-academic pieces on Star Trek.

Episode: 005: 1 Up with Allison Alexander

September 27, 2020 by Michael Boyce

This week we’re talking video games with my friend, writer and editor extraordinaire, Allison Alexander. Allison is the Editorial Director for Mythos and Ink, a small Winnipeg-based press with a passion for publishing great stories and the community built around them. We talk about her early love of Commodore 64 games, her deep and abiding love of Zelda, and being a female gamer.

Episode 004: DoubleEM, Melissa Martin

September 20, 2020 by Michael Boyce

Multi-award winning Winnipeg Free Press columnist Melissa Martin joins me to talk about the many things she nerds hard for: languages, history, Japan. Melissa and I have been social media friends for years, but this is the first time we sat down (virtually) to talk. And she didn’t disappoint. Melissa is supersmart and her enthusiasm for everything from Roman concrete to curling.

Episode 003: How Mystery Science Theater 3000 Saved My Life....

September 14, 2020 by Michael Boyce

This week’s episode is an audio essay about my love of the show Mystery Science Theater 3000 and how it helped create community while I was in University.

The original version of this essay appeared on the now defunt Area of Effect site. I’m very grateful to my friends at Mythos & Ink Publishing for permission to reproduce this expanded audio version and for including that classic version in their upcoming book, Always Look Up (and Other Wisdom I Learned from Geek Culture that Changed My Life) — Area of Effect, Vol. 2 (coming Oct 2020).

Episode 002: Ready for some football? Tara Maslowsky

September 08, 2020 by Michael Boyce

In this week’s epsiode, I talk to Tara Maslowsky, a lifelong fan of the Winnipeg Blue Bombers and, more broadly, Winnipeg sports. Winnipeg has a special relationship to its teams.

Tara also discusses how being a fan changed when her father, Jerry Maslowsky, joined the Blue Bomber organization as the Vice President of Saleasand Marketing and how it changed again with his untimely passing in 2016.