PODCAST · fiction
Penny Men
by Penny Men
Penny Men is the podcast starring Ben, Tom, and Gregory: three experts on cartooning, storytelling, and having a good time! We give a penny for our thoughts, and throw in our two cents, as we tackle new topics and writing pitches every week!
Episodes
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#137 - 'Marvel Animated Universe' (Part 3)
The Penny Men are back to rank the 1990s Marvel Animated Universe animated series! X-Men takes the crown, Spider-Man swings into second, and the Fantastic Four get a surprisingly enthusiastic defense! Meanwhile: The Hulk is sentenced to punching tanks in the desert Iron Man won't stop having...
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#136 - 'Marvel Animated Universe' (Part 2)
The Penny Men return for Hour Two of their journey through the Marvel ’90s animated universe! This time we finally get around to Fantastic Four, Silver Surfer and the Avengers, while somehow getting sidetracked by: Graggle Simpson Beverly Hillbillies continuity Men in Black Ren & Stimpy Cadillacs...
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#135 - 'Marvel Animated Universe' (Part 1)
The Penny Men dive into the interconnected world of Marvel’s 1990s animated universe! We’re talking X-Men, Spider-Man, Hulk, Iron Man, Fantastic Four, Silver Surfer, Spider-Man Unlimited, and apparently enough Captain America appearances to make you wonder why there was never a Captain America...
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#134 - Fantasy Draft Lineup: 'The Magnificent 7' of Video Game Characters (Part 2)
The Fantasy Draft Lineup Podcast returns as Ben, Greg, and Tom tackle one of their most ambitious fantasy drafts yet: building the ultimate Magnificent Seven... using only video game characters! Inspired by The Magnificent Seven, Seven Samurai, A Bug's Life, and every great "assemble the team"...
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#133 - Fantasy Draft Lineup: 'The Magnificent 7' of Video Game Characters (Part 1)
This week, the Penny Men saddle up for a special Fantasy Draft Lineup episode inspired by one of the greatest ensemble stories ever told! Starting with Akira Kurosawa's Seven Samurai and its legendary Western remake, The Magnificent Seven, the guys break down what makes the perfect seven-person...
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#132 - Rogues' Gallery Roll Call: The Fantastic Four (Part 2)
The Penny Men continue their Fantastic Four Rogues Gallery Roll Call and things immediately spiral out of control! The boys discuss the Wizard and the Frightful Four, debate whether Paste-Pot Pete is the greatest supervillain name of all time, and somehow end up comparing Medusa to Godiva! Along...
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#131 - Rogues' Gallery Roll Call: The Fantastic Four (Part 1) / Aquaman
The Penny Men blast off into the cosmic chaos of the Fantastic Four’s legendary rogues gallery! Tom guides Ben and Gregory through the history of Marvel’s First Family, from cosmic rays and family dysfunction to Stan Lee, Jack Kirby, and the birth of the Marvel Universe itself! Along the way they...
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#130 - Rogues' Gallery Roll Call: Iron Man (Part 2) / 'The Totally Tubular Trivia...Today!' Quiz
The Penny Men complete their descent into the armored madness of Iron Man’s rogues gallery with a journey through communist unicorns, mafia counts, microwave men, giant robots in loincloths, and dragons from space wearing pants! Naturally, this somehow leads to discussions about: Bomber jackets...
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#129 - Rogues' Gallery Roll Call: Iron Man (Part 1)
This week's Rogues' Gallery Roll Call crashes into the armored world of Iron Man, and the Penny Men immediately derail into catchphrases, Smurf psychology, Rankin-Bass discourse, and the eternal mystery of why Tony Stark ever needed a nose! Ben, Gregory, and Tom dig through the tangled continuity...
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#128 - Rogues' Gallery Roll Call: X-Men (Part 2)
In the second hour of Rogues Gallery Roll Call, the Penny Men descend even deeper into the X-Men villain ecosystem—where powers are less “cool super abilities” and more “how annoying would this be in a fight if you actually had to animate it properly”! We return to the Mystique-era Brotherhood of...
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#127 - Rogues' Gallery Roll Call: X-Men (Part 1)
Welcome to The Penny Men: Cracking open the adamantium vault and immediately getting sidetracked inside it! In this episode, Ben, Gregory, and Tom kick off a “Rogues Gallery Roll Call” focusing on the world of the X-Men—specifically the villains who define the franchise as much as the heroes do!...
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#126 - Rogues' Gallery Roll Call: Superman (Part 2)
The Penny Men continue their journey through the bizarre depths of Superman’s rogues gallery, leaving behind the famous villains and diving headfirst into radioactive weirdos, magical nuisances, and whatever exactly Lobo is supposed to be! This episode covers the physical powerhouse villains like...
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#125 - Rogues' Gallery Roll Call: Superman (Part 1)
The Penny Men finally tackle the impossible question: does Superman actually have a good rogues gallery, or are people just thinking of Lex Luthor and calling it a day? Ben, Gregory, and Tom spiral through decades of comic history discussing why Batman and Spider-Man villains get all the love…
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#124 - You Can't Have These Comics (Part 9) [Classic Children's Comics]
The Penny Men return from the wilderness to discuss comics... probably! Along the way they: Uncover the TRUE meaning of the Larry Bird Rule Pitch a McDonaldland battle tournament Accidentally map the multiverse of Captain N (again!) And contemplate the psychological damage required to watch every...
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#123 - Fantasy Draft Lineup: Saturday Morning Cartoon Blocks (Part 3)
The Penny Men continue their Saturday morning cartoon programming war—and Ben unveils the full master plan behind his Alien Animal ‘90s Alternative Action Block! 🛸🐭🦈 Starting with a lineup of deep cuts and cult favorites like: Men in Black Rude Dog and the Dweebs Space Ghost Banana Splits...
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#122 - Fantasy Draft Lineup: Saturday Morning Cartoon Blocks (Part 2)
Welcome back to The Penny Men’s Saturday Morning Cartoon Programming War! 📺🥣 Last week Tom threw down the gauntlet with his dream cartoon lineup—but now Ben and Greg step up to the network executive desk to pitch their own blocks of animated glory! Greg spins up “Gumby’s Wheel of Cartoons,” a...
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#121 - Fantasy Draft Lineup: Saturday Morning Cartoon Blocks (Part 1)
This week, Ben, Gregory, and Tom travel back to the golden age of cereal-fueled television to build their dream Saturday morning cartoon blocks! Remember when cartoons only existed between 8 AM and noon? When you had to wake up early, guard the remote, and pray your show wasn’t up against…
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#120 - Forward-Thinking Retrospective
We made it! 120 episodes of The Penny People Podcast—and to celebrate, we immediately forget to do a retrospective and instead spiral into cartoon voices, deep-cut Hanna-Barbera lore, and whether any animated character has ever had an original voice! Is Yogi Bear just doing Art Carney? Is Fred...
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#119 - The History of Comics (Part 2) [Character Archetypes]
Part two of The Penny People Explain the History of Comics somehow begins with Andy Griffith, detours through Rebecca, and ends up mapping the entire DNA of superhero archetypes! Ben, Tom, and Greg set out to break down the Justice Society… and instead spiral into a loving, exhaustive taxonomy of...
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#118 - The History of Comics (Part 1) [The Ages]
It starts with a gripe! Ben doesn’t like variant covers—but connected covers? Those he can get behind! That complaint spirals into a full-blown comics epic as Tom, Greg, and Ben crack open Justice League Spectacular #1 (1992), debate the morality of selling the same issue five times, and relive…
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#117 - You Can't Have These Comics (Part 8) [Justice League of America]
The guys go full comic-shop mode and trace the tangled history of the Justice League—from the original core lineup to Detroit-era experiments, International weirdos, and the underrated 2006 'Justice League of America' run that finally nailed the balance between icons and cult favorites! Along the...
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#116 - The DC Comics Super Quiz (of Light!)
Welcome to the only game show brave enough to be powered by an Excel spreadsheet! Ben hosts Gregory and Tom in the DC Super Quiz of Light, Peace, and the Quickening, a hyper-competitive trivia showdown built around one bizarre discovery: the Justice Society, Justice League, and Super Friends each...
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#115 - 'The Life and Times of The Super Mario Bros.' Pitch (Part 7) / Shared Video Game Universe (Part 4)
What starts as a debate over Koopa Troopas quickly mutates into a full-blown Mario cosmology breakdown! This episode includes: Whether Koopa Troopas are a species or Bowser’s first conquered army The reptile family tree linking Koopas, Troopas, and Yoshis Dinosaur canon confusion across the Mario...
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#114 - 'The Life and Times of The Super Mario Bros.' Pitch (Part 6) / Shared Video Game Universe (Part 3)
Is Mario from Brooklyn… or from beyond reality itself? This week, The Penny Men descend head-first into warp pipe cosmology as Tom unveils a unified theory that finally reconciles every layer of Mario canon — the cartoons, the arcade origins, Odyssey’s Metro Kingdom, Captain N, WarioWare…
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#113 - 'The Life and Times of The Super Mario Bros.' Pitch (Part 5)
Hour five of "The Life and Times" is where the Penny Men stop politely theorizing and just start building a Mario cosmology with power tools! Ben, Greg, and Tom lock in the multi-era, master timeline, stretch it all the way to 1996, and finally explain why Mario ends up living in a house instead…
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#112 - 'The Life and Times of The Super Mario Bros.' Pitch (Part 4)
Hour four of "The Life and Times " is where things officially get unhinged! The Penny Men pick up exactly where they left off and begin reinforcing the Mario timeline with fresh cartilage, connective tissue, and possibly forbidden star magic! Using Tom’s original 12-issue framework as the…
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#111 - 'The Life and Times of The Super Mario Bros.' Pitch (Part 3)
The Penny Men continue their increasingly unhinged attempt to construct a unified Mario canon! Picking up right where we left off, Tom unveils Issue #9 of his 12-issue “Life and Times of Mario” epic, covering: The Super Mario Bros. Super Show era The plumbing years The celebrity years And the...
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#110 - 'The Life and Times of The Super Mario Bros.' Pitch (Part 2)
The Penny Men attempt to responsibly outline a 12-issue prestige comic chronicling the entire life of Mario! Instead, they unleash a multiversal lore spiral involving: Star Children Brooklyn Italians Yoshi adoption laws Frank Zappa as a Mario brother (locked in) Koopa royal politics Arranged…
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#109 - 'The Life and Times of The Super Mario Bros.' Pitch (Part 1)
This week, the Penny Men attempt the impossible: a unified, chronological Mario canon! From Yoshi’s Island to Brooklyn, instruction manuals to cartoons, manga to coloring books, and time travel rules that mostly make sense, Tom unveils his long-gestating “Life and Times of Mario” project! Ben...
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#108 - 'Super Friends' (Part 2)
The Penny Men return to the Hall of Justice for part two of their Super Friends deep dive! Ben, Gregory, and Tom break down the Challenge of the Super Friends era, including the debut of the Legion of Doom, the rotating Hanna-Barbera formats, and the legal headaches that led to Black Vulcan,...
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#107 - 'Super Friends' (Part 1)
The Penny Men dive headfirst into the wobulous, Hanna-Barbera-fueled world of Super Friends, where cosmic legends fight injustice, censorship fights punches, and Wonder Dog somehow outranks Krypto! The Penny Men lead you through a surprisingly dense exploration of Super Friends lore—covering the...
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#106 - Fantasy Draft Lineup: Batman (Part 2)
Holy draft board, Penny People! The full Penny Men ensemble assembles — Ben, Gregory, Tom, Michal, and even Kit Kat (Jar Jar emphatically not invited) — for a batarang-loaded Batman Classics Fantasy Draft! With the Phantom Jar looming and George Lucas apparently letting himself into the studio…
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#105 - Fantasy Draft Lineup: Batman (Part 1)
Cousins Ben and Michael finally unite East and West in this long-awaited crossover: The Pennymen meet The Pennymen West Coast for the sacred, years-teased mission — the Batman Episode! They trace their Bat-origins from one-inch metal figurines, McDonald’s tie-ins, and grocery-store spinner racks…
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#104 - 'Flash Gordon' (Part 2) [The Movie Serials, The Movie, and Beyond!]
This week on The Penny Men, we accidentally record 20 minutes of Muppet calendars, Beatles bootlegs, and obscure Marvel villains before remembering we were supposed to talk about Flash Gordon. So naturally, we kept all of it! Cold Open Highlights (aka: Things No One Asked For But You Got Anyway):...
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#103 - 'Flash Gordon' (Part 1) [The Comic Strip]
This week on The Penny Men, Tom, Greg, and Ben broadcast live from the newly-renamed Artist Formerly Known as Ben’s Apartment (formerly Skywalker Ranch II: Special Edition, formerly Ben’s Apartment)! The boys nod politely, kiss a baby, and immediately fall apart! What follows is a heroic attempt…
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#102 - 'One Saturday Morning' (Part 2)
Grab your cereal, kids, because we’re taking a nostalgia-powered plunge into the chaotic, colorful world of Saturday morning cartoons! In this episode, Ben, Tom, and Gregory dissect, debate, and reminisce about the shows that defined a generation—both the hits and the weird, slightly forgotten...
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#101 - 'One Saturday Morning' (Part 1)
Welcome to the Ultimate Donkey Kong Fan Cast… sorta! This week, we’ve traded barrels for backpacks and explored the magical, chaotic, totally legitimate world of Disney’s One Saturday Morning! Join Ben, Greg, and Tom as they take you on a nostalgia-fueled ride through: How much stuff can an...
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#100 - 100 Questions
It’s the 100th episode spectacular! Ben, Gregory, Tom, and West Coast cousin Michael gather at last — the four heads of the Penny Men Mount Rushmore — for a centennial celebration of nonsense, nostalgia, and nerdom! The guys attempt to recall anything they’ve ever said across 99 episodes, but...
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#99 - What's So Great About Star Wars? (Part 22) ['Star Wars: The Clone Wars']
Ladies and gentlemen, we’ve done it 98 times—and we’re doing it one more time! The Penny People are back in the galaxy far, far away for The Clone Wars, the animated fever dream where every Jedi gets a haircut and every clone gets feelings! Ben, Gregory, and Tom take the long way ‘round…
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#98 - What's So Great About Star Wars? (Part 21) [Star Wars Expanded Universe Continued cont. 3]
The Penny Men are still trapped in Ben's apartment — or possibly Skywalker Ranch 2: Special Edition — and discover George Lucas has been hiding a Wookie jar, a Red Tails podcast, and several unproduced sequels to Strange Magic! Meanwhile, Ben, Tom, and Gregory try to remember the entire Star Wars...
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#97 - What's So Great About Star Wars? (Part 20) [Star Wars Expanded Universe Continued cont. 2]
The Penny Men continue their 24-hour Star Wars binge and quickly lose track of time, space, and pizza delivery etiquette! George Lucas lurks in the corner Watto and Jar Jar fight for stage time Somehow a Hungry Howie’s girl sneaks into The Skywalker Ranch Greg and Tom debate the video game canon...
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#96 - What's So Great About Star Wars? (Part 19) [Star Wars Expanded Universe Continued cont.]
The Penny Men return from their longest break yet and find the party at The Skywalker Ranch 2 hasn’t slowed down! Ben, Gregory, and Tom kick things off with a debate over Clueless and the great teen rom-com continuum before sliding back into their booth at the galaxy’s most chaotic cantina!…
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#95 - What's So Great About Star Wars? (Part 18) [Star Wars Expanded Universe cont.]
The Penny Men are back, this time broadcasting live from an alien dive bar where the comedy lineup is as unpredictable as the Star Wars Expanded Universe itself! Jar Jar Binks takes the stage as “Yuck Yuck Binks” with a new set of groaners, George Lucas lurks in the corner heckling his own...
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#94 - What's So Great About Star Wars? (Part 17) [In-Universe, Chronological Recap]
Welcome back to The Penny Men, live (sort of) from what used to be Ben’s apartment and is now apparently an alien supper club, nightclub, and George Lucas vanity project! There’s a line out the door, Jar Jar Binks is headlining under his new stage name Yuck Yuck Binks, and Dexter Jettster is...
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#93 - What's So Great About Star Wars? (Part 16) ['Episode III - Revenge of the Sith' cont.]
It’s the Revenge of the Sith episode of The Penny Men, and somehow it’s also amateur night at the George Lucas Comedy Club! We came here to do a clean, straightforward lightning-round recap of Episode III, but between Yakko Warner singing Gilbert & Sullivan, surprise Animaniacs geography lessons,...
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#92 - What's So Great About Star Wars? (Part 15) ['Star Wars: Clone Wars' and 'Episode III - Revenge of the Sith']
The Penny Men return for their 15th episode—this time with a live audience, three Orange Whips on the table, and a floor show courtesy of none other than Jar Jar Binks himself! George Lucas has turned Ben’s apartment into some kind of intergalactic supper club, complete with menus, Metro D…
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#91 - What's So Great About Star Wars? (Part 14) ['Episode II - Attack of the Clones' cont.]
There are a lot of Star Wars movies, folks, and we’re doing them all! This is hour two of our deep-dive into Attack of the Clones, the alleged favorite of George Lucas himself (is that true? we may never know)! Your hosts — Wicket W. Warwick, Figurine Dan, and Droopy McCool — are joined, as…
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#90 - What's So Great About Star Wars? (Part 13) ['Episode II - Attack of the Clones']
🎙️ The Penny Men are back in a galaxy far, far away, but this time it’s the prequels — brighter, clunkier, and full of baffling Jedi logic! Gregory, Tom, and Ben dive into The Phantom Menace, where podracing rules, Sith reveal themselves with double-bladed sabers, and young Anakin is either the...
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#89 - What's So Great About Star Wars? (Part 12) ['Episode I - The Phantom Menace' cont.]
The Penny Men return to Tatooine, where things are as sandy, strange, and slave-collared as ever! Qui-Gon Jinn is out here negotiating with Watto like he’s on Pawn Stars, waving Republic credits around while the Toydarian tells him to take a hike! Padmé, meanwhile, is doing her best “shocked...
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#88 - What's So Great About Star Wars? (Part 11) ['Episode I - The Phantom Menace']
The Penny Men return, but they’re not alone! George Lucas has crashed the recording yet again, dragging Jabba, Seinfeld, and half of the extended muppet-verse into Ben’s apartment! They swear this time it’s going to be an “official” episode, but between Ewoks in the guest room, Christopher Walken...
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ABOUT THIS SHOW
Penny Men is the podcast starring Ben, Tom, and Gregory: three experts on cartooning, storytelling, and having a good time! We give a penny for our thoughts, and throw in our two cents, as we tackle new topics and writing pitches every week!
HOSTED BY
Penny Men
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Frequently Asked Questions
How many episodes does Penny Men have?
Penny Men currently has 105 episodes available on PodParley. New episodes are automatically indexed when they're published to the podcast feed.
What is Penny Men about?
Penny Men is the podcast starring Ben, Tom, and Gregory: three experts on cartooning, storytelling, and having a good time! We give a penny for our thoughts, and throw in our two cents, as we tackle new topics and writing pitches every week!
How often does Penny Men release new episodes?
Penny Men publishes regularly with 105 episodes available. Check the episode list for the typical release schedule.
Where can I listen to Penny Men?
You can listen to Penny Men on PodParley by clicking any episode. We provide an embedded audio player for direct listening, and you can also subscribe via your preferred podcast app using the RSS feed.
Who hosts Penny Men?
Penny Men is created and hosted by Penny Men.
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