The Incomparable Mothership

We’ve drafted many things on many episodes of this podcast, but we’ve never drafted podcasts! You get it: Panelists share (and draft!) their favorite podcasts, in categories like Comedy, Narrative, Fiction, Entertainment, and more. Podcast draft Lex Friedman with Brian Hamilton, Monty Ashley, Shelly Brisbin and David J. Loehr Show Notes & Links Comedy: * Shelly: ICYMI * Brian: The Flophouse * David: No Such Thing As A Fish * Lex: Judge John Hodgman * Monty: Comedy Bang Bang Narrative: * Shelly: Ear Hustle * Brian: The Dream * David: If I Go Missing: The Witches Did It * Lex: Over My Dead Body * Monty: Cocaine and Rhinestones Fiction: * Shelly: Bronzeville * Brian: Alice Isn’t Dead * David: Give Me Away * Lex: Hello From The Magic Tavern * Monty: Off Book: The Improvised Musical Podcast Entertainment: * Shelly: Gates McFadden Investigates * Brian: The Besties * David: Films To Be Buried With * Lex: Smartless (not Conan, HDTGM, or WTF) * Monty: Blank Check Wildcard: * Shelly: NitrateVille Radio [You Must Remember This, Crimetown, NYT Book Review, Hit Parade] * Brian: My Brother, My Brother, and Me [You’re Wrong About, We Have Concerns] * David: The Memory Palace [99% Invisible, Twenty Thousand Hertz, Infinite Monkey Cage, A Degree Absolute ] * Lex: Threedom [Missing Richard Simmons, The West Wing Weekly, Reply All] * Monty: Bonusnanas for Bonusnanza [Bonanas for Bonanza, Conan O’Brien Needs a Friend, Podcast: The Ride, Good Christian Fun] Support this show and other shows like it on The Incomparable network by becoming a member. Members get early access to podcasts, bonus episodes, and more.

Get out your pocket knife and stick to the Wheel—we’re a traveling band of podcasters who move from town to town to re-enact conversations from before the apocalypse! Or at least that’s who we’d be in our version of the HBO Max miniseries, “Station Eleven.” We discuss the moving, optimistic post-apocalyptic tale that is told in a fractured time sequence and features lots of Shakespeare and a suspiciously powerful self-published graphic novel. And though there’s definitely no “Station Twelve” on the horizon, we can’t help but imagine what other stories are there just waiting to never be told. "Station Eleven" (miniseries) Jason Snell with Aleen Simms, Annette Wierstra, Jean MacDonald and John Siracusa Referenced Works Station Eleven Show Notes & Links Support this show and other shows like it on The Incomparable network by becoming a member. Members get early access to podcasts, bonus episodes, and more.

Let’s hold hands and sneak through some eerie city ruins. Video game club is back in session to discuss “Little Nightmares II”, the creepy prequel to the beloved spooky platformer, Little Nightmares. We play as Mono, a bag-faced boy, as he and his companion navigate a world of puzzles and monsters lurking in the dark, only to be led to his own nightmare. Little Nightmares 2 Tiff Arment with James Thomson and Brian Hamilton Referenced Works Little Nightmares II Show Notes & Links Recently Played: Little Nightmares Little Nightmares II on Wikipedia Tarsier Studios Support this show and other shows like it on The Incomparable network by becoming a member. Members get early access to podcasts, bonus episodes, and more.

This episode features a book with fantasy zombies and a book with alien hive minds. Talk about range! Our Book Club reconvenes to discuss the fantasy mystery “Witness for the Dead,” a standalone book set in the world of “The Goblin Emperor”, and “A Desolation Called Peace,” the conclusion of the duology begun in the award-winning “A Memory Called Empire.” Plus: What are we reading? Book Club: "A Desolation Called Peace" and "Witness for the Dead" Jason Snell with Dan Moren, Glenn Fleishman, Scott McNulty and Erika Ensign Sponsors Want extended versions of The Incomparable with no ads? Become a member today. Referenced Works Witness for the Dead [Amazon] [Apple] A Desolation Called Peace [Amazon] [Apple] Show Notes & Links What are we reading? Scott: A Practical Guide to Conquering the World - KJ Parker Jade Legacy - Fonda Lee Light From Uncommon Stars - Ryka Aoki Erika: Across the Green Grass Fields - Seanan Maguire City of Stairs - Robert Jackson Bennett Glenn: Palatino: The Natural History of a Typeface - Robert Bringhurst Index, A History of the - Dennis Duncan The Glass Key - Dashiell Hammett Dan The Liar’s Knot (Rook and Rose) - M.A. Carrick Braking Day - Adam Oyebanji The Steerswoman - Rosemary Kirstein Jason: A Master of Djinn - P. Djeli Clark The Last Graduate - Naomi Novik The Shattered Skies - John Birmingham Family Trade / Merchant Princes series - Charles Stross Time codes for skippers: 00:32:35 - Discussion for “A Desolation Called Peace” 00:58:54 - “What Are we Reading?” Support this show and other shows like it on The Incomparable network by becoming a member. Members get early access to podcasts, bonus episodes, and more.

Remember that cool bounty hunter from The Empire Strikes Back? What happens when you give him his own show? “The Book of Boba Fett” is the answer—or is it? After all, parts of this show are really episodes of a different, arguably better show. Our panel discusses the seven-episode season and tries to figure out if this mess is hot or cold. "The Book of Boba Fett" Dan Moren with Erika Ensign, Chip Sudderth and Kathy Campbell Referenced Works The Book of Boba Fett Show Notes & Links Support this show and other shows like it on The Incomparable network by becoming a member. Members get early access to podcasts, bonus episodes, and more.

In this episode we break down the final season of Prime Video’s “The Expanse.” Was it too abrupt? What was all that Laconia stuff? Then, after a brief intermission for TV viewers to depart, we discuss “Leviathan Falls” and the end of the Expanse book series. One story, so many endings! "The Expanse" season 6 and "Leviathan Falls" Jason Snell with Dan Moren, Aleen Simms, Jen Burt and Chip Sudderth Referenced Works The Expanse (TV series) The Expanse (Book Series) [Amazon] Show Notes & Links Support this show and other shows like it on The Incomparable network by becoming a member. Members get early access to podcasts, bonus episodes, and more.

In this six-hundredth episode of The Incomparable, recorded across two separate sessions, we talk about a whole bunch of novels—namely, our picks for the best SF/F novels of the first decade of The Incomparable, the 2010s! For our purposes, we’re designating the “decade” as 2010-2019. Along the way, we may ponder the most important question a reader should ask: Are there Zeppelins? 2010s book draft Jason Snell with Scott McNulty, Dan Moren, Glenn Fleishman, Aleen Simms, Erika Ensign and David J. Loehr Show Notes & Links Round One: Scott - The Dream of Perpetual Motion by Dexter Palmer Dan - The Rook - Daniel O’Malley Glenn - This Is How You Lose the Time War - Amal El-Mohtar & Max Gladstone Jason - Among Others - Jo Walton Aleen - The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet - Becky Chambers Erika - A Closed and Common Orbit - Becky Chambers David - The Human Division - John Scalzi Round Two: Scott - My Real Children - Jo Walton Dan - Caliban’s War - James S.A. Corey Glenn - The Night Circus - Erin Morgenstein Jason - 11/22/63 - Stephen King Aleen - The Calculating Stars - Mary Robinette Kowal Erika - The Goblin Emperor - Katherine Addison David - The Haunting of Tram Car 015 - P. Djeli Clark Round Three: Scott - Luna: New Moon - Ian McDonald Dan - Rivers of London - Ben Aaronovitch Glenn - The Magician’s Land - Lev Grossman Jason - A Memory Called Empire - Arkady Martine Aleen - The Fifth Season - N.K. Jemisin Erika - Borderline - Mishell Baker David - The Quantum Thief - Hannu Rajaniemi Round Four: Scott - Sixteen Ways to Defend a Walled City - KJ Parker Dan - Captain Vorpatril’s Alliance - Lois McMaster Bujold Glenn - The Golem and the Jinni - Helene Wecker Jason - Station Eleven - Emily St. John Mandel Aleen - Strange Practice - Vivian Shaw Erika - Libriomancer - Jim C. Hines David - Day of the Doctor - Steven Moffat Round Five: Scott - New York 2140 - Kim Stanley Robinson Dan - City of Miracles - Robert Jackson Bennett Glenn - The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms - N.K. Jemisin Jason - Gnomon - Nick Harkaway Aleen - Hollow Kingdom - Kyra Jane Buxton Erika - Delia’s Shadow - Jamie Lee Moyer David - Noir - Christopher Moore Also Mentioned/Not Picked (Compiled by Listener AJ): Glenn: Uprooted - Naomi Novik (also Jason, Erika) Spinning Silver - Naomi Novik How to Live Safely in a Science Fictional Universe - Charles Yu Exhalation: Stories (including The Lifecycle of Software Objects) - Ted Chiang Scott: Ninefox Gambit - Yoon Ha Lee Barsk - Lawrence M. Schoen (also Jason) Ancillary Justice - Ann Leckie Three Parts Dead - Max Gladstone Dan: Gideon the Ninth (but not so much Harrow the Ninth) - Tamsyn Muir The Martian - Andy Weir The “Penric and Desdemona” series of novellas, starting with Penric’s Demon - Lois McMaster Bujold The Ocean at the End of the Lane - Neil Gaiman (also Aleen) The 7 1/2 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle - Stuart Turton Foundryside - Robert Jackson Bennett Jason: The Galaxy and the Ground Within - Becky Chambers (also Dan) The Strange Case of the Alchemist’s Daughter - Theodora Goss Tiamat’s Wrath - James S A Corey A Psalm for the Wild-Built - Becky Chambers (2020s) Aleen: The Ghost Bride - Yangsze Choo (also the Netflix series) The Caledonian Gambit - Dan Moren Erika: The Midnight Bargain - C. L. Polk (bonus 2020s pick!) Summer in Orcus - T Kingfisher Terminal Alliance - Jim C. Hines School for Sidekicks - Kelly McCullough David: Stories of Your Life and Others - Ted Chiang (also kind of Glenn, on his blog) The Paper Menagerie - Ken Liu Blackout (but maybe not All Clear, which is the second half of the same book?) - Connie Willis Six Wakes - Mur Lafferty Trail of Lightning - Rebecca Roanhorse Alif the Unseen - G Willow Wilson The Ballad of Black Tom - Victor LaValle The Light Brigade - Kameron Hurley Support this show and other shows like it on The Incomparable network by becoming a member. Members get early access to podcasts, bonus episodes, and more.

It’s time to channel that Tired Dad Energy, because we’re going to discuss Marvel’s “Hawkeye,” bro. Kate Bishop! Yelena! Echo! Surprise cameos, including one by an owl! It’s a TV series nobody watching “The Avengers” would have ever wanted, yet a worn and exasperated Jeremy Renner as the mentor to a young woman with strong archery skills ends up being a delightful holiday adventure. "Marvel's Hawkeye" Jason Snell with Cicero Holmes, Dan Moren, Chip Sudderth and Lisa Schmeiser Referenced Works Hawkeye Show Notes & Links Support this show and other shows like it on The Incomparable network by becoming a member. Members get early access to podcasts, bonus episodes, and more.

We’ve rounded up a posse and are saddling up to discuss the Netflix original film “The Harder They Fall,” a revisionist western starring Idris Elba, Jonathan Majors, and Regina King. This movie is more ornery than a pole cat with a hangnail! We ride at noon! "The Harder they Fall" Cicero Holmes with Nathan Alderman and Shareef Jackson Referenced Works The Harder They Fall Show Notes & Links Edited by Steven Schapansky. 'The Resurrection of Bass Reeves' Support this show and other shows like it on The Incomparable network by becoming a member. Members get early access to podcasts, bonus episodes, and more.

Get your college applications ready and prepare to gross out about organic web shooters—it’s time for us to discuss “Spider-Man: No Way Home,” the conclusion of Tom Holland’s origin trilogy as the web-slinging hero… and a surprisingly substantial follow-up to five other Spider-Man movies, too. It’s “Spider-Man: Endgame,” and with great podcasts, there must also come great responsibility… to talk about Spider-Man. "Spider-Man: No Way Home" Jason Snell with Dan Moren, Chip Sudderth and Kelly Guimont Sponsors Wix: Create a website you’re proud of. Referenced Works Spider-Man: No Way Home Marvel Cinematic Universe Spider-Man Show Notes & Links Support this show and other shows like it on The Incomparable network by becoming a member. Members get early access to podcasts, bonus episodes, and more.