The Incomparable Mothership

Pixar’s latest film, “Inside Out,” tells the unlikely story of the conflict of emotions inside the head of a young girl. Join us as we draw a circle around our own parental sadness and instead focus on the joy of an instant Pixar classic.

Old Movie Club reconvenes to watch two films based on the works of Dashiell Hammett: 1934’s “The Thin Man” and 1941’s “The Maltese Falcon.” We appreciate the drunken aplomb of Nick and Nora and the shifty glory of Peter Lorre and Sydney Greenstreet, all while taking in the faint scent of gardenias.

Time to once again wrap up the TV season as a whole and “Game of Thrones” in particular. First we discuss shows we’ve enjoyed watching this year (including the final seasons of “Justified” and “Mad Men”), and then we fire off the Spoiler Horn and talk about the controversial fifth season of “Game of Thrones.”

Time for our annual review of the Nebula Award nominees for the best SF or Fantasy novel of the year, with podcasters from Skiffy and Fanty, SF Signal, and The Three Hoarsemen! We’ll cover (in a spoiler-light fashion) books about space stations, alien invasions, empires, mushrooms, and tea ceremonies. There’s even a deadly incident involving a Zeppelin!

Draw a beard on your face with a Sharpie, prepare to learn math via touch, and we’ll take you to the second level! Our trek into films of questionable quality continues with John Boorman’s 1974 sci-fi epic “Zardoz,” starring Sean Connery in a red diaper and a floating stone head. Even the writer/director/producer can’t explain what happened, and neither can we—except maybe for Glenn.

After a season full of comic-book superhero TV shows, we’re here to chart the highs and lows of “The Flash,” “Arrow,” “Agents of SHIELD,” “Agent Carter,” “Daredevil,” and “Constantine.” Some of them were great, some quite surprising, and others crushing disappointments. (This episode contains light spoilers—nothing we consider completely earth-shattering, but if you wish to be completely spoiler free, listen after watching or consult the time code in our show notes.)

Professor Siracusa’s Anime 102 is in session! This week we’re discussing the 1995 anime classic “Ghost in the Shell” and touching on its follow-up TV series, “Stand Alone Complex.” This is a cyberpunky action story about cyborgs and the meaning of life, and it’s full of guns, car chases, ninjas, weird outfits, and exposition.

On the occasion of David Letterman’s retirement after 33 years of hosting a late-night talk show, Jason Snell presents his take on Letterman’s significance, told with the help of a few friends.

This episode is all about assigned reading from our school days. Stuff we loved and, more importantly, stuff we hated. Does Jason hate all French literature, or just Emma Bovary? Whose teachers assigned Ursula LeGuin and Kurt Vonnegut? And will Charles Dickens tear our friendly group of podcasters apart? Be sure to do the reading—there might be a quiz tomorrow.

Six members of The Incomparable panel went to see “Avengers: Age of Ultron” together, in person! And afterward we convened at Dan Moren’s house to discuss it over pizza and beverages. This is that conversation.