metanarratives

Black and white photo of a gothic style mansion at night with clouds over the moon

Episode 21: Women in white – Gothic Halloween special

This year’s Halloween special sees us joined by Australian horror author Kyla Ward as we talk all about the women in white: gothic fiction – what is is, and is it still relevant after nearly 300 years. In this episode, Kyla provides us with an overview of the history of gothic fiction, including the infamous …

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Red dragon breathing fire

Episode 16: Heroines, Witchers, Dragons and Heists – Beyond the Monomyth

In this episode, we finally dive into the massive fantasy genre. We explore the ideas in Gail Carriger’s book The Heroine’s Journey as an alternative story structure to the more well known hero’s journey, and how that works in different fiction formats We also look at Farah Mendelson’s four different types of fantasy – portal …

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Asteroid on collision course with earth

Episode 15: Nukes, Supernovas, Meteors & Pandemics – Welcome to the Pre-Apocalypse!

In this episode, we examine the often-overlooked moments before an impending apocalypse, which have a special drama of their own. And we are here for that drama… do people come together in the face of impending doom, or do they crumble under the weight of inevitable disaster? We look at different types of impending doom …

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Sydney Harbour and Sydney Opera House

Episode 14: Scandi Noir, Reality TV, Remakes & Pandemic Brain

Or: The Long Year Reviewed   In this episode, we contemplate what we are calling the ‘long year’ of the pandemic, and assess if we have reached the goals that we set way back in our first episode. We also look at pet peeves in pop culture, literature of the pose, why lit fic and …

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Rocket ship in space

Episode 13: Rockets, Billionaires & Space Cowboys

In this space-inspired episode of Pod Culture [Oz], we joined by special guest Marta Troicka as we discuss Nick’s claim that all modern space movies suck. We look at three different types of space movies, spacecraft as a form of public transport, and space stories as frontierism. You can listen to this episode on our …

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Child dressed as a ghost

Episode 12: Ghosts are NOT horror

In this year’s Halloween episode, Dave throws out the theory that “Ghosts are NOT horror”, and challenges Nick and Flip to prove or disprove it. We discuss ghosts with unfinished business, ghosts with curses, Japanese ghosts specifically, and the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man. So, what is your take on ghosts as horror? That’s almost tautological: …

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Robot with mechanical body

Episode 10: Rampancy of the Artificial Mind Pt 2

“Have you ever questioned the nature of your reality?” In the second part of this long-promised Westworld-inspired episode of Pod Culture [Oz], we are once again joined by our friend Fred (previously seen in Episode 2: Omega Point, sensates and space cannibals) as we discuss how artificial intelligence tropes are used in fiction. We explore …

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White robot with green eyes holding hands in the air

Episode 9: Rampancy of the Artificial Mind Pt 1

“Bring yourself back online…” It is finally here! In this long-promised Westworld-inspired episode of Pod Culture [Oz], we are once again joined by our friend Fred (previously seen in Episode 2: Omega Point, sensates and space cannibals) as we discuss how artificial intelligence tropes are used in fiction. We discuss the difference between machine learning …

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