PODCAST · education
Triple Bladed Sword
by Mike Perschon
A podcast about the Fantasy, Science Fiction, and Horror we read, watch, and play. Your host is Mike Perschon, a professor of English at MacEwan University. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Episodes
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Conan the Barbarian
We kick off our journey through fantasy film from the 1980s to the 2020s with Conan the Barbarian, the much-maligned box-office hit that kicked off a plague of direct-to-video loincloth knockoffs. Yet it's an important moment in the history of fantasy film, with production design anticipating the...
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From Dorothy to Willy Wonka
It's the start of a new series on fantasy film from the 1980s to today! This week, I deliver a brief history of fantasy film along with the reason why we're starting in the 1980s and not back in the silent era. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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Women Won Steampunk
Early in her career, naysayers told Gail Carriger her books "weren't steampunk enough." A little over a decade later, Carriger and a host of female writers are the "top of the pops" on Steampunk lists on Goodreads. This week, I'm talking about how we approach researching literature, and how...
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A Crash Course in Reading (Steampunk) Comics
Leaning heavily on Scott McCloud and his excellent Understanding Comics, I give a quick breakdown of some of the tools we can use to analyze comics, using Marjorie Liu and San Takeda's brilliant steampunk fantasy, Monstress. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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Second Wave Steampunk
While steampunk's first wave (or trickle?) was mostly narrative, its second wave jumped beyond page and screen and into the real world: from fashion to to music to Maker spaces, steampunk was no longer a fantastic imaginings - you could wear it, work on it, or, in the case of steampunk culture,...
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Miyazaki Invented Steampunk - Anime and ”the Paris of our Dreams”
Just like Disney, Hiyao Miyazaki's films represent a huge influence on the development of the steampunk aesthetic. While early American steampunk writers were developing a literary subgenre, Miyazaki was doing the same in cinema, from Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind to Howl's Moving Castle,...
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Disney Invented Steampunk
This lecture takes a look at the influence of Walt Disney and film adaptations of Jules Verne and H.G. Wells's works as a significant influence on the growth of first and second-wave steampunk.Thumbnail Photo by Brian McGowan on Unsplash Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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Steampunk Before it Was Cool
A retrospective of the first wave of steampunk, from antecedents to inception to the madcap assortment of comics, games, books, and films that formed the genre's early years. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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Steampunk Star Wars: Defining Steampunk
Using steampunked Star Wars art, this lecture identifies three key features of steampunk narratives and art: technofantasy, retrofuturism, and hyper vintage.Thumbnail image by Bjorn HurriMusic: "Freedom Fighters" by Machinimasound Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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To Write is to Revise
Whatever anyone tells you about Jack Kerouac, the rest of us need more than one draft to get it right. Revision is the last step in the writing process, and we need to make sure we give ourselves the time to do it. Photo by Edward Howell on Unsplash Opening and closing music: "Ground Control" by...
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Using Your Own Voice
The idea that academic writing needs to be dense and difficult is outdated. While you'll always have profs who want that sort of writing, the world at large will demand that we be interesting, accessible, and direct. Instead of writing in a way that obscures meaning, let's focus on communicating!...
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What‘s Your Point?
We've likely all either told a story or heard one where we kept thinking, "Is there a point to this?" I've asked the same question while writing papers in my undergrad and while reading student papers as a professor of English. We need to do more than have a great thesis and solid evidence - we...
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How to write a Research Paper - Planning
Now that we've spent a semester writing a research paper in slow motion, it's time to speed things up and write one in real time. This lecture breaks down some of the first steps to writing a research paper: namely, gathering sources, reading them, and then determining our focus to come up with a...
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Writing Introductions and Conclusions
Here's my new and improved lecture on how to write introductions and conclusions for essays! Now with fancy slides and examples based on Godzilla and the history of the Hiroshima bombing. Thumbnail Photo by Raimond Klavins on UnsplashOpening and closing music: "Ground Control" by Andrea Baroni at...
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Coherence in Writing
We've got all the right words in all the wrong places, and we need to get them in the right ones. How do we do that? How do we go about guiding our reader through our ideas as though our written argument were a journey? It's all about transitions! Thumbnail photo by yns plt on Unsplash!Opening…
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Planting a Naysayer
When we're arguing a point in our research papers, why would we choose to include a skeptic? Why would we give voice to our opposition? As it turns out, planting a naysayer in our writing not only helps us kick off our arguments, but it can also strengthen how convincing that argument is.…
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Three Ways to Respond
After several weeks focused on what "they say," we're finally talking about how we bring our voice to a paper. How can what "I say" respond to what "they say"? The answer is far simpler than you assume, though there's lots of room for complexity in these four little words: Yes, No, and Okay, But....
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How to Write a Synthesis
How do we write a paper when we only have two sources to work with and we're told to craft our thesis from what they say rather than our own opinion? How do you build an argument while delivering information someone else has said? That's what writing a synthesis is all about! It's all about…
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The Writing Process, Part 1: Planning
Too often, students will rush ahead of the Planning phase of the Writing Process, constructing a thesis, writing their paper, and then finding sources to jam into their writing as support for their views. This isn't reseach, though -- it's prooftexting. And if we take time to properly Plan our...
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Starting With What Others Are Saying
As we begin a research paper, it's crucial to start with what others are saying, rather than just rushing to create a thesis based solely on our opinions or limited knowledge. This week, I talk about the first step in research using Chapter 1 of They Say I Say: Starting with What Others Are…
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Entering the Conversation
Analysis and Argument, Part 2 - Entering the Conversation. Literary theorist Kenneth Burke compared scholarly writing and research to an ongoing conversation. This week, we talk about the first stage of writing a research paper, when we gather ideas and determine focus, and how that's easier to…
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How to Write a Summary
A lecture from my English 102 Analysis and Argument course about how to write a summary, based on A Brief Guide to Writing From Readings by Stephen. W. Wilhoit and They Say, I Say by Gerald Graff and Cathy Birkenstein. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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The Book ISN‘T Always Better
One year of podcasting! This is my first anniversary episode, and I'm devoting it entirely to the triple blades that make up Linda Hutcheon's adaptation theory: telling, showing, and interacting, or as I always say here, read, watch, and play. You'll learn why the book isn't always better than…
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Spoiler Alert! Spoilers don't Spoil: Office Hours 2021 Episode 10
This may come as a surprise, but surprises aren't as big a deal to your enjoyment of a movie or book as you might think. Taking a look at our spoiler-obsessed culture through the lens of the Alien franchise of films, books, and games. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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Little Green Men and Fire-Breathing Dragons: Office Hours 2021 - Episode 9
This week I bore you all to tears by explaining my approach to course design, using a Speculative Fiction course on aliens and dragons as a case study. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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What Can You Do With an English Degree? Office Hours 2021 - Episode 8
I thought I'd answer this perennial question for my commencement speech to our English grads this year. Bonus poetry and Terry Pratchett! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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Dungeons and Detentions: Office Hours 2021 - Episode 7
With a new Dungeons and Dragons movie in production, I got thinking about why movies about games often fail as adaptations, while shows like Critical Role and Harmonquest succeed. What do the streamers have that Hollywood doesn't? The answer lies in an unholy synthesis of '80s teen flicks and…
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Dopamine and Dragons: Office Hours 2021 - Episode 6
Contrary to what the madness of the "Satanic Panic" of the 1980s taught me, it turns out tabletop roleplaying games like Dungeons and Dragons don't cause suicide, but might just be a really great prescription for robust mental health. How can a game involving mind flayers and intellect devourers…
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Indigenous Voices: Short Fiction and Uncertainty: Office Hours 2021 - Episode 5
This week I'm contemplating the question I've been asking myself, "Should I celebrate/observe/cancel Canada Day" through the lens of Indigenous writer Richard Van Camp's brilliant short fiction. As with some of the great literary short stories, the epiphanies are left to the listener! Hosted on...
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Superheroes Bright and Shiny, Dark and Gritty: Office Hours 2021 - Episode 4
Today I'm talking about the last two DCEU movies, Wonder Woman 1984 and Zack Snyder's Justice League, and how both work to give us epic meditations on loss and grief. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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To Boldly Go From Homophobe to Ally: Office Hours 2021 - Episode 3
In honour of Pride Month, a reflection on my journey from homophobia to allyship via Star Trek: The Next Generation, Clive Barker's dark fantasy novels, and Gandalf! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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Paperback Crush: Children's Fiction beyond Narnia: Office Hours 2021 - Episode 2
This week, I'm talking about Gabrielle Moss's totally tubular Paperback Crush: The Totally Radical History of '80s and '90s Teen Fiction, teaching Children's fiction in University, and how looking at teenage paperbacks might lead us to learning about really important moments in the representation...
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How to Do Nothing: Office Hours 2021 - Episode 1
I'm back! I needed a break, and while I was doing nothing for a while, I was reading Jenny Odell's How to Do Nothing. It got me thinking about my days as a pastor, but also how painting fantasy minis is how I currently practice Sabbath, or the art of doing nothing. This is the first in my "Office...
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Station Eleven Part 11: "After the Plague" and "Station Eleven"
We come to the end of our journey in the postapocalyptic wastelands of books, comics, films, and games with T.C. Boyle's short story "After the Plague" and the final part of Station Eleven. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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100 Years of Horror, Part 11: It Follows:
This week, we look at David Robert Mitchell's brilliant twist on so many conventions of earlier horror films, from the slasher to the zombie to the supernatural curse in It Follows. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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Station Eleven Part 10: "The Prophet" and Mad Max: Fury Road
Another study of film language, this time using George Miller's high-octane masterwork, Mad Max: Fury Road. We'll see how the movie and Station Eleven share the same story while looking at how each narrative addresses the theme "Survival is Insufficient." Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy…
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100 Years of Horror, Part 10: The Ring
Ghost stories and an adaptation of Japanese Horror this week as we hit the 2000s. Relying exclusively on film language, I analyze the way Gore Verbinski's The Ring hems in its narrative to provide the ultimate fake out ending. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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Station Eleven, Part 9": The Terminal" and Stranger Planet
This week, we look at making the familiar unfamiliar in the seventh part of Station Eleven, bringing it into conversation with Craig Raine's riddle poem "A Martian Sends a Postcard Home" and Nathan Pyle's webcomic, Stranger Planet. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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100 Years of Horror, Part 9: Scream
When I originally envisioned my 100 Years of Horror, I didn't think I'd include a film, to underscore that many see it as a low point in the history of the horror film. But by popular acclaim, friends and student wore me down with the question, "What about Scream?" The answer is finally here, and...
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100 Years of Horror, Part 8: The Thing
In this episode, I get to talk about one of my favourite movies of all time, John Carpenter's The Thing. And as you might expect, I go on a little long about body horror, great edits, shooting on location, and a discussion of how the direct horror of showing the Thing results in a little…
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Station Eleven Part 8: Game Narrative and "The Airplanes"
This week I get reflective about possible worlds and forking paths with a discussion of part 7 of Emily St. John Mandel's Station Eleven and a few apocalyptic and postapocalyptic games, including the video game Plague Inc., the board game Pandemic, and the storytelling game The Quiet Place along...
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Station Eleven, Part 7: "Toronto" and The Walking Day: Days Gone Bye
Since Station Eleven is about comics and a few critics compare Emily St. John Mandel's novel to more violent postapocalyptic narratives like The Walking Dead, I thought it would be worth taking a look at Robert Kirkman and Tony Moore's brilliant graphic novel, Days Gone Bye. Hosted on Acast. See...
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100 Years of Horror, Part 7: The Exorcist
Director William Friedkin, Screenwriter William Peter Blatty, and actor Linda Blair have all called The Exorcist a "theological thriller," refusing to admit that the top grossing horror movie of all time is really a horror film. Looking at how the film using editing to build a narrative of...
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The Texas Chain Saw Massacre: 100 Years of Horror, Part 6
This week we hit the 1970s, which for my money, is the greatest decade of horror film yet. So great, that I had to examine two movies, starting with Tobe Hooper's notorious The Texas Chain Saw Massacre. What makes this film one of the greatest horror movies ever? And why was it banned in Britain...
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Station Eleven Part 6: "The Starship," Calvin and Hobbes, and How to Read Comics
This week, I don't really talk much about Station Eleven, but instead talk about one of its great moments of intertextuality (besides every other academic's favourite from this novel, Shakespeare): Bill Watterson's beloved and brilliant comic strip, Calvin and Hobbes. I use some strips to discuss...
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Station Eleven Part 5: ”I Prefer You with a Crown” and James P. Blaylock’s ”War of the Worlds”
This week we explore the idea of "everyday apocalypse" at length by reading Part 3 of Station Eleven, "I Prefer You With a Crown" in concert with James P. Blaylock's short story "War of the Worlds." Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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100 Years of Horror, Part 5: Night of the Living Dead
We arrive at the point that many horror film scholars have called the beginning of the modern horror film: George A. Romero's seminal zombie flick, Night of the Living Dead. This time, the blood is chocolate syrup, but the guts are real, and the monsters are the neighbors--literally. Come find…
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Station Eleven Part 4: "A Midsummer Night's Dream" and "The Portable Phonograph"
This week we learn about Alfred Korzybski's idea that "The Map is Not the Territory," as we head into the postapocalyptic future of Station Eleven, comparing the second part, "A Midummer Night's Dream" with Walter Van Tilburg Clark's dark short story, "The Portable Phonograph." Hosted on Acast.…
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100 Years of Horror, Part 4: Horror of Dracula
Welcome to the 1950s, the decade of atomic horror in America, and Hammer Horror in the UK! This week, we look at Hammer Films' Dracula (1958) aka Horror of Dracula in the United States. We've got full-colour gore! Low budgets and low necklines! And Grand Moff Tarkin at his most energetic.…
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Station Eleven Part 3: The Stand and The Theatre
This week, we turn to the prologue to Stephen King's post-apocalyptic epic, The Stand to act as a contrast to Emily St. John Mandel's Station Eleven. We also learn about Poe's Theory of the Unity of Effect and delve further into the joys of Intertextuality. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy...
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Frequently Asked Questions
How many episodes does Triple Bladed Sword have?
Triple Bladed Sword currently has 66 episodes available on PodParley. New episodes are automatically indexed when they're published to the podcast feed.
What is Triple Bladed Sword about?
A podcast about the Fantasy, Science Fiction, and Horror we read, watch, and play. Your host is Mike Perschon, a professor of English at MacEwan University. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
How often does Triple Bladed Sword release new episodes?
Triple Bladed Sword has 66 episodes. Check the episode list to see recent publication dates and frequency.
Where can I listen to Triple Bladed Sword?
You can listen to Triple Bladed Sword 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 Triple Bladed Sword?
Triple Bladed Sword is created and hosted by Mike Perschon.
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