Serious Fun

It's NFL Draft week and that means football is on the collective mind - so what better time to talk about the history of video game football and the role it's played in the popular presentation and consciousness of the sport? As part of the Brown County Library's Football Fan-O-Rama, Bryan does just that, covering decades of history, anecdotes, and game design in like 45 minutes. From the early days of pen and paper and electric football all the way to the breathtaking realism and simulation of the Madden series, it's all in here - so strap on the pads and hit the field (or put on your headphones and hit play) for a new Serious Fun!

Independent pro wrestling is an experience that is part sports spectacle, part collaborative community theater, and wholly unique. This week on Serious Fun, Bryan sits down with TJ Bowles, long-time pro wrestling referee and General Manager of the Green Bay-based independent promotion Hybrid Wrestling Entertainment, to talk about what goes into a match from the moment fans enter the venue to the moment the last bell rings. Ever wondered what role a referee plays in a match? What about the importance of lighting and production values? How do wrestlers tell stories and engage with the crowd? How do wrestlers, referees, and promoters improvise on the fly when reality strikes? Whether you're a long-time "pro graps" fan, curious, or even skeptical, this week's show is for you. Check out Hybrid Wrestling Entertainment on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@HybridWrestlingEntertainment Thanks to Kevin MacLeod for the outro music: https://incompetech.com

A new(ish) era of Serious Fun kicks off with UWGB English professor Zack Kruse! Bryan and Zack talk about the work of the enigmatic and often misunderstood Steve Ditko, creator of characters like Spider-Man, Doctor Strange, and The Question, as well as Zack's must-read book "Mysterious Travelers: Steve Ditko and the Search for a New Liberal Identity". We'll discuss the complex ideological and philosophical framework that shaped Ditko's creative output, how it manifests in his most popular characters, and more! Special thanks to Marcus Moss for the intro and outro voiceovers, and Kevin McLeod for the outro music. Check out "Mysterious Travelers" here: https://www.upress.state.ms.us/Books/M/Mysterious-Travelers

It's the third and final episode of Serious Fun, live from the 2024 Brown County Library Pop Con! For the grand finale, Bryan sits down with Cofrin School of Business faculty Dr. Vallari Chandna and Anup Nair, as well as UWGB Communication professor Dr. Justin Kavlie, to talk through the greatest duos in pop culture! Why do we love these pairings? What makes a great duo? And which of the four twosomes is the greatest of them all? Tune in and enjoy the lively conversation that only comes after we've all been at a convention for a full day.

Goodness gracious, another Serious Fun! This is the second live episode from the 2024 Brown County Library Pop Con, and this week Bryan sits down with cosplay and convention expert (and former student) Nicole Rastia to provide a seasoned guide to convention survival and etiquette! Ever wondered how to put a cosplay costume together? Curious about convention etiquette? How to stay hydrated? What you get out of going? All these questions and so much more will be answered on this live episode of Serious Fun!

In the first of a trio of shows recorded at the 2024 Brown County Library Pop ConTM, Bryan sits down with best-selling, six-time Eisner Award-winning cartoonist Raina Telgemeier! Raina is the author and artist behind beloved books like “Smile”, “Guts”, “Ghosts”, and “Sisters”. With nearly twenty million copies of her work in print, Raina is one of the most popular YA authors in the world. In this episode, Raina talks about her life, her creative process, why autobiographical stories resonate with so many people, why kids can benefit from telling their own stories through comics, and so much more! Listen now! SHOW NOTES: Check out Raina's official website and stay up to date on all her work at https://goraina.com! To find out more about Shaquille O'Neal's gummy business, visit https://shaqalicious.com

On this episode of Serious Fun, we tie on our headband and take it to the streets with Grant Patterson, Head Sensei of the WNFC Esports Dojo and CEO of WNFC LLC. Grant sits down with us to talk about fighting games and how his organization uses them to teach kids skills like confidence, decision-making, and determination that can help them elsewhere in life – and how they could help you, too! We also nerd out about the golden age(s) of fighting games in the way only two middle-aged dudes who have been there since basically the beginning can. If you like fighting games, the scholarship of teaching and learning, philosophy or psychology – you'll find something to like in this one! Check out WNFC Esports Dojo at: Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCcUTvadMyz-n7L_V0xiM92Q Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/wnfcesportsdojo/ X: @wnightfightclub @wnfcdojo TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@wnfcesportsdojo Check out Pocket Pedagogy and everything else UWGB's Center for Games and Interactive Media at https://www.youtube.com/@uwgbCGIM

Video games! You love 'em! You know you do! But some games are more special to us than others. Some games inspired us, or challenged us. They made us see the medium and the world in a different way. Some even changed the entire industry. These are the GameChangers, and this week on Serious Fun Bryan sits down with Dr. Juli Case and Dr. Chris Williams of the UW - Green Bay English faculty to list and discuss the personal and historical significance of fifteen must-play games and why you should play them. And as this is the final of our three shows recorded at the 2023 Brown County Library Pop-Con, we also heard from fans and community members about which games they felt deserved the honor of being included on the list! That list spans RPGs to action games, small-scale personal narratives to massive franchises, and more. Did your favorite make it? Download and find out... SHOW NOTES: The full title of this episode was supposed to be "Episode 54: GameChangers - The Games That Made Us (or Games Where You Beat Up Your Dad) (w/ Juli Case and Chris Williams)" but it wouldn't fit. But you read the show notes, so now you know that. You have that treasured knowledge. Good for you! Thanks again to everyone at the Brown County Library for making this event possible and to Forever Friend of the Show Miriam Brabham for once again lending her help in managing the audience Q&A! Music Credits: Junichi Nakatsuru - Duelists/Mitsurugi's Theme (Soulcalibur) Darren Korb - No Escape (Hades) Nobuo Uematsu - Golden Saucer (Final Fantasy VII) Michiru Yamane - Dracula's Castle (Castlevania: Symphony of the Night) Takashi Tateishi - Ending Theme (Mega Man 2)

In our second live show from the Brown County Library Pop-Con, Bryan is joined by legendary author and master of kid-oriented horror R. L. Stine! In this wide-ranging interview in front of a massive live audience, we talk about writing horror for younger audiences, the impact Tales from the Crypt has on a young mind, tips and strategies for a prolific writing process, why comedy and horror are so closely linked, and so, so much more! Show notes: Check out all of Stine's work at https://www.rlstine.com Music credits: Jack Lenz - "Goosebumps Theme"

Serious Fun returns with another slate of live episodes from the 2023 Brown County Library Pop-Con! This week, Bryan sits down with Patrick and Savannah O'Connor of power pop band The Shake Ups and discusses their unique blend of cartoon and musical influences in front a live audience! This "animated" conversation also covers copyright and licensing, songwriting and musical arrangement, remix culture, and so much more! Download it already! Check out the Shake Ups' music, find their tour dates, and peruse their albums and merch at http://www.theshakeups.net Song credits: The Shake Ups - "Meddling Kids" The Shake Ups - "Robot Arm"

What can professional wrestling and its largest figurehead tell us about our social and political moment? Turns out - a lot! Author Abraham Josephine Riesman returns to Serious Fun for an in-depth discussion about her new book "Ringmaster: Vince McMahon and the Unmaking of America". Riesman breaks down McMahon, his empire, his connections to politics and business, and how his contributions to pro wrestling have created a new weighted form of synthetic reality she calls "neokayfabe" that permeates our social, political, journalistic, and media lives. SHOW NOTES: Learn more about the book at: https://www.ringmasterthebook.com Riesman's article on the Book of Job for Slate is here: https://slate.com/human-interest/2022/03/job-torah-story-despair-alternative-war-democracy-climate-apocalypse.html

In our final live Serious Fun from the 2022 Brown County Library Comic-Con, Bryan sits down with Zack Kruse (UW - Green Bay Sheboygan) and Miriam Brabham (UW - Green Bay Main Campus) to once and for all answer that question that gnaws at us literally and figuratively - who is the all time greatest, gnarliest, creepiest, most symbolically relevant monster of them all? Is it Dracula, lord of the vampires? The Wolfman, half-man half-beast? Frankenstein's monster, misunderstood brute? Or is it the humble zombie horde, shambling across the countryside? Delve deep into these monsters and what they represent with us - you might get scared, but you'll learn something! Check out Zack's book, Mysterious Travelers: Steve Ditko and the Search for a New Liberal Identity here: https://www.upress.state.ms.us/Books/M/Mysterious-Travelers

It's a spooktacular celebration of the craft of drawing on a new Serious Fun! In this live episode from the 2022 Brown County Library Pop-Con, Green Bay artist Robb Mommaerts talks about his style, influences, and work on properties like Klawde the Evil Alien Warlord Cat. Robb also demonstrates how to draw and create original characters from scratch in this fascinating live drawing demonstration! Check out Robb's Instagram here: https://www.instagram.com/robbmommaerts/?hl=en Check out his poster for the Brown County Library Comic-Con (which he donated to the library like the cool guy he is) here: https://www.instagram.com/p/CjAtoENOlMx/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link For you Tumblr fans: https://robbmommaerts.tumblr.com/ His blog is here: http://robbvision.blogspot.com/ Check out a couple photos from the event here: https://twitter.com/Learnonaut/status/1583514310122213377

Serious Fun returns with the first of three live episodes recorded in front of a live audience at the Brown County Library Pop Con on October 1, 2022! First, Bryan sits down with acclaimed, award-winning author Lori M. Lee to discuss her work on books like Pahua and the Soul Stealer, as well as representation in fantasy and science fiction, breaking into the industry, the responsibility that comes with adding Hmong culture to the genre, and more! We also talk a lot more about Kingdom Hearts than I think anyone expected. Check out Lori on Twitter at https://twitter.com/lorimlee, and get your copy of Pahua and the Soul Stealer, Forest of Souls, Broken Web, and the Gates of Thread and Stone series wherever books are sold!

This week, Serious Fun brings you what you've been craving - academic lectures! Recorded on April 18th, 2022 as part of the Climate Change Teach-In at UWGB, Bryan talks about the movie "Don't Look Up" and the broader question of pop culture metaphors for scientific and social issues. How do metaphors work? Is Don't Look Up a successful one? Are there better ones? How should pop culture talk about climate change? All this and more is yours should you download the new episode of Serious Fun!

If you were waiting for a new episode of Serious Fun, well...your wait is over. Also, maybe get some other things going on in your life? I mean, do what you will, just seems weird that you await this podcast with bated breath. That said, this is a real good episode! A great one, I daresay! The illustrious writer and author David L. Craddock joins us to talk about his latest tome, "Long Live Mortal Kombat: Round 1". Bryan and David talk about the history and legacy of Mortal Kombat, how public opinion has changed, the process of writing a decades-spanning book, the arcade scene in Bulgaria, and so, so much more in this jam-packed, wide-ranging episode. If you've ever spent your lunch period quickly scrawling down input codes for Fatalities, this episode is for you. SHOW NOTES: Check out the Kickstarter page for "Long Live Mortal Kombat" here: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/davidlcraddock/long-live-mortal-kombat-the-definitive-history-of-mk Music: Dan Forden - "In the Beginning" (Mortal Kombat 1 Arcade Soundtrack) The Immortals - "Techno Syndrome" Benjamin Wallfisch - "Techno Syndrome (2021)"

It's another Serious Fun! This week, Bryan dons his brightly-colored spandex and joins forces with artist Joe Hunter and returning guest writer Lan Pitts to talk about their series "Beast Heart Strikers" and its exciting new announcement, as well as the sentai genre and how their cultural influences have shaped the work. We also talk about a lot of other stuff, like He-Man and pro wrestling. Also Ray Romano drops by a couple times. It's a whole thing. Go ahead and listen, if you want. SHOW NOTES: Check out Beast Heart Strikers here: https://www.comixology.com/BEAST-HEART-Strikers-Vol-1-Volume-1/comics-series/141187?ref=c2VhcmNoL2luZGV4L2Rlc2t0b3Avc2xpZGVyTGlzdC90b3BSZXN1bHRzU2xpZGVy For more information on Sentai, Tokusatsu, etc.: - Watch Episode 1 of Marvel's 616 on Disney+ - "Japanese Spider-Man" - Netflix - "The Toys That Made Us" - Power Rangers and He-Man episodes MercuryFalcon's YouTube channel and its Tokusatsu documentary: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCIeWDKo2xp8rQ8rXwbqH0bg Vintage Henshin YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCZjy_fV84o2gOCo9nx6QzJw

Once again, Serious Fun goes into the breach and picks apart the latest offering from the Marvel monoculture – SHANG-CHI AND THE LEGEND OF THE TEN RINGS. This time, however, we have a very special guest – academic professional, martial arts and comic movie aficionado, and beloved spouse Pang Yang! Bryan and Pang talk about her experiences growing up in a media environment where she didn't see herself represented, where Shang-Chi fits into the MCU pantheon, as well as how the character represents an homage to classic martial arts cinema and marks a new stage in high-profile representation, as well as how it delves into lived experiences and topics blockbuster films seldom address. (Also we got the name of the hidden village wrong, it's Ta Lo.) Show Notes: Women's Media Center & BBC – SuperPowering Girls Study: https://www.womensmediacenter.com/reports/bbca-wmc-superpowering-girls GQ Interview – Tony Leung https://www.gq.com/story/tony-leung-tries-his-hand-at-hollywood Vox – Why Shang-Chi's success matters – and why it shouldn't https://www.vox.com/22638536/shang-chi-review-representation-simu-liu-awkwafina Music Credits: “Run It” – DJ Snake (feat. Rick Ross & Rich Brian) – Shang-Chi: The Album

Earlier this year, the Oshkosh Public Museum played host to “The Nostalgia Awakens”, a traveling exhibit that holds the distinction of being the largest public display of the original Star Wars action figures and toys ever in Wisconsin. Such a momentous occasion merits an equally momentous podcast – one that cannot be contained in a single show alone! So this week, Serious Fun crosses over with fellow Phoenix Studios network shows Canonball and Voyageur to talk about the Star Wars franchise and its merchandise, but also the broader concept of nostalgia, memory, and why we long for the characters and fun of our youth. It's a fun, sassy conversation about a topic near and dear to many of our hearts, so go on and listen already! Show notes: The Nostalgia Awakens homepage (with photos, comments from the curator, and more): https://www.starwarsexhibit.org/ Voyageur Podcast: https://www.uwgb.edu/podcasts/shows/voyageur/ Canonball Podcast: https://soundcloud.com/canonballpodcast

It's a new fall season of Serious Fun! This week, Bryan sits down with David and Nadia Oxford, retro gaming power couple and co-authors of the new book “Mega Man X: Maverick Hunter's Field Guide”. In this wide-ranging conversation, the trio discusses how video game fandom has changed since the early days of fansites and message boards, how the Mega Man series has evolved into new aesthetics and formats, and the work that goes into making a field guide for a fictional universe. We'll also answer listener questions and come up with a million-seller idea for the next Mega Man game. Come for the discussion of the book, stay for a bunch of old nerds talking about the good ol' days. Show Notes: This is the book with Bryan's Mega Man chapter in it: https://rowman.com/ISBN/9781442278127/100-Greatest-Video-Game-Characters Nadia's “Axe of the Blood God” Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/bloodgodpod Poison Mushroom Online: http://www.poisonmushroom.org/ The “Summer Carnival” Chill Penguin skin: https://www.rockman-corner.com/2020/07/rockman-x-dives-summer-carnival-starts.html Credits: Mega Man X “Title Theme” – Setsuo Yamamoto Mega Man X7 “Tornado Tonion Voices” – Jack Merluzzi

Serious Fun returns yet again with another group dissection session for a Marvel Disney+ streaming show! This time we're breaking down "Falcon and The Winter Soldier" with Serious Fun production assistant Emily Fecteau and, back by popular demand, it's UWGB History professor and Captain America superfan Dr. Clif Ganyard! Join us as we try to put the series into proper historical and canonical context, explore its intriguing character developments, and challenge whether it is equipped to handle its weighty themes of nationalism, legacy, and racial injustice, all while speculating on what it all means and where it's going. Bryan also marks out for the Dora Milaje, as we all should. Download it now! SHOW NOTES: We are indebted to some of the excellent writing on this show, particularly that of Charles Pulliam-Moore and Richard L. Newby. Read a great piece on the show from Pulliam-Moore here: https://io9.gizmodo.com/the-falcon-and-the-winter-soldiers-head-writer-tries-to-1846772211 And another, excellent take from Newby here: https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/heat-vision/falcon-and-the-winter-soldier-finales-moment-of-revolution A quick synopsis of the excellent "Truth: Red, White, and Black" can be found here: https://www.comicsbeat.com/the-marvel-rundown-truth-red-white-and-black/ The interview we refer to at the beginning can be found here: https://io9.gizmodo.com/the-falcon-and-the-winter-soldiers-director-breaks-down-1846785006

Lordy lordy, Serious Fun is 40...episodes in! So there's a little TV show called WandaVision. You might have heard of it. It's the talk of the town. This week's Serious Fun adds on to that talk as Bryan welcomes two special guests on to talk about the first proper Marvel Studios streaming TV show - the Director of Oregon State's General Psychology program and former UWGB faculty Regan Gurung as well as UWGB undergrad and Serious Fun research and production assistant Emily Fecteau. The trio discuss the psychology of the series and how we consume streaming media, how its use of old sitcoms as a framing device is more clever than you might think, and whether grief or love is the driving force beyond the strange events in WestView, NJ. And for the record: there are spoilers aplenty, so make sure you're caught up first! MUSIC CREDITS: "Agatha All Along" - Robert Lopez and Kristen Anderson-Lopez

We are living in a golden age for globalized pop culture – we have access to television, film, music, video games, books and comics from all over the world on a scale never before seen. Have you ever thought about what it takes to bring pop culture from one culture to another, though? Scott Strichart has – and as the Senior Localization Producer for the Yakuza series at Sega, he has had a hand in bringing some of the most daunting, complex, and beloved Japanese video games to Western audiences. In this episode, Bryan talks with Scott about the challenges and joys of localizing video games, from juggling unique spoken dialects to maintaining the cultural integrity of the original script to casting English voice actors to managing puns and humor. It’s a must-listen for Yakuza fans, video game fans, or anyone interested in managing creative works across cultures. And Bryan only fanboys out…a lot. Give it a listen! SHOW NOTES: This is the Twitter thread about the Kansai dialect we talked about: https://twitter.com/TriggerRedd/status/1355945513749676036 (Follow Scott at http://www.twitter.com/TriggerRedd/ too!) This is the editorial Bryan wrote for the CAHSS blog about Yakuza: https://cahsseffect.org/randomencounter/random-encounter-2-in-which-you-are-introduced-to-a-dragon/

Serious Fun is back and we're talking with journalist and author Abraham Riesman about his new book "True Believer: The Rise and Fall of Stan Lee" in a thought-provoking discussion about the fraught relationship between Lee and Jack Kirby, the role of copyright in maintaining celebrity mythology, and the elusiveness of a person's true nature (among lots of other things).

If a wrestling match happens in an arena and nobody's there to cheer - did it really happen at all? These and other questions will kind of be answered as Bryan sits down with Dr. CarrieLynn Reinhard, president of the Pro Wrestling Studies Association, to explore the challenges facing professional wrestling in the age of a pandemic. How are AEW and WWE differing in their approach? Can we still watch wrestling the same way? Should we? It's a great show, so download it already!

Serious Fun is back, and this time it's remote! Bryan sits down, at a comfortable distance, with the crew of Psych and Stuff (Ryan Martin and Georjeanna Wilson-Doenges) for another fantabulous crossover, recorded via the magic of the Internet. On the docket: what kind of media are we consuming during the pandemic curfew, and why does it bring us comfort?

It's a very special Life Day gift - a special documentary episode about Star Wars! For the final Serious Fun of 2019, Bryan asks a cadre of fans a simple question: "What does Star Wars mean to you?" The answers will surprise, amuse, and even beguile you! Or you'll find it an agreeable way to spend half an hour. Download it now! (Thanks to Kris Vespia, Georjeanna Wilson-Doenges, Alison Staudinger, Ben and Tony from Not Exactly Radio, Mai Lo Lee, and Justin Poirot for their contributions!) Audio: John Williams – A New Hope The Dune Sea of Tattooine/Jawa Sandcrawler Cantina Band John Williams – The Phantom Menace Duel of the Fates John Williams – Attack of the Clones Across The Stars John Williams – The Last Jedi Main Title and Escape Finale Christmas in the Stars – “What Do You Get A Wookiee for Christmas (When He Already Owns a Comb)" Various Star Wars voice clips/SFX Star Wars Holiday Special Intro (youtube.com/theobnoxiousweed) Check out Not Exactly Radio at https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/not-exactly-radio-2/not-exactly-radio

In 2013, the Red Cross issued a statement calling on the video game industry to reconsider how it presented war and war crimes. Six years later, after the controversial release of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare, how much has changed? Do video games accurately depict war crimes and their consequences? And as artificial intelligence trains on games like Starcraft, should we be worried about what these programs are learning? Bryan sits down with UWGB Democracy and Justice Studies professor Eric Morgan to talk about all these issues and more as part of the 2019 Common CAHSS Human Rights conference. Credits: Thanks to Scott Berg for producing this episode. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare audio copyright Activision, presented under fair use. Show notes: Beyond the Call of Duty: why shouldn’t videogame players face the same dilemmas as real soldiers? - https://www.icrc.org/en/doc/resources/documents/article/review-2012/irrc-886-clarke-rouffaer-senechaud.htm NPR - Red Cross Wants Video Game Companies to Get Real on War Crimes https://www.npr.org/sections/alltechconsidered/2013/10/12/232480753/red-cross-wants-video-games-to-get-real-on-war-crimes Modern Warfare "Highway of Death" controversy: https://www.polygon.com/2019/10/30/20938550/call-of-duty-modern-warfare-highway-of-death-controversy Modern Warfare White Phosphorous story: https://www.newsweek.com/call-duty-modern-warfare-white-phosphorus-killstreak-multiplayer-1451811 The DeepMind Starcraft 2 AI: https://www.theverge.com/2019/10/30/20939147/deepmind-google-alphastar-starcraft-2-research-grandmaster-level

Serious Fun wraps up Brown County Library Comic-Con 2019 with the third of its shows recorded live at the event! This week, doctoral candidate Marena Bridges and UWGB Psychology professor Dr. Ryan Martin sit down with Bryan to discuss representation in superhero media in light of the Academy Award-winning movie "Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse!"

Smell that pine tar and bubblegum, folks - the World Series is upon us! What better way to celebrate than to take some time to learn about the growing field of sport psychology with UWGB's resident experts Dr. Jana Fogaça and Dr. Alan Chu? Well, you could actually watch the game I guess but too bad, this is what we have. And it's a good one! A great one! Jana and Alan discuss mental conditioning, youth sports culture, growth mindsets, and more! I learned a lot, and so will you!

This week, Bryan sits down with Hugo and Nebula award-winning science-fiction and fantasy author Martha Wells to talk about her work, including her Hugo Award-winning Murderbot Diaries! Martha and Bryan discuss worldbuilding, getting inside characters' heads, writing for collectible card games, and so much more! This episode was recorded LIVE at the 2019 Brown County Library Comic-Con! Listen now! SHOW NOTES: Check out Martha's work at http://www.marthawells.com/!

Serious Fun makes its return to the Brown County Library Comic-Con in the first of a trio of shows recorded live at the event! This week, Bryan sits down with comics artist and writer and creator of the series “Mae”, Gene Ha. Gene talks about his life, his start in the industry, his major comics and storytelling influences, the challenges and benefits of publishing a book on Kickstarter, as well as some weird tangents about axe crimes and town perceptions. It’ll make sense when you hear it. Show notes: Check out Gene’s work and get a copy of MAE at http://geneha.com/! You can see the Marvel rejection letter he references here: https://twitter.com/Learnonaut/status/1182350618805133312

If you missed Serious Fun, good news - it's back! If you didn't - I'm very sorry! But this is the first new Serious Fun of the new season and we spend it with special guest Dr. Patty Williamson of the Central Michigan University School of Broadcast and Cinematic Arts. Bryan and Dr. Williamson talk about the summer in film, from the chokehold Disney has on the medium to the impact of streaming on the box office to some of the best movies this summer and the most interesting ones for this fall awards season. Plus, a lengthy discussion of the spate of classic rock-related films as well as Quentin Tarantino's latest, "Once Upon a Time in Hollywood"! (Apologies for the audio, we had some technical issues that resulted in Bryan recording this on an iPad.)

It only took them eleven years but finally a female hero is frontlining a Marvel Cinematic Universe movie! This week Bryan sits down with CU Boulder media studies professor and Captain Marvel superfan J. Richard Stevens to talk about the new movie, Carol Danvers' turbulent publishing history, and the feminist lessons the film provides for everyone. It's a whole flerken lot of fun! Sound credits: Audio from "Captain Marvel: Trailer 2" - Marvel Studios Pinar Toprak - "Captain Marvel", Captain Marvel Original Motion Picture Soundtrack

This special episode of Serious Fun is a recording of a February 27, 2019 discussion of the film "BlacKkKlansman" featuring Bryan and Dr. Vince Lowery. The discussion was recorded after a screening of the Academy Award-winning film, and covers a wide variety of topics concerning how the film talks about race and racism in our contemporary climate, how it performed at the Academy Awards, its historical context, and what we do next. You'll also hear from UWGB students, staff, and community members who stayed to be part of the conversation and give their thoughts on the film and its surrounding issues.

Professional wrestling and comics are perhaps two of the purest art forms known to humanity, and much like the proverbial peanut butter and chocolate, when smashed together end up being quite tasty indeed. This episode of Serious Fun speaks with Lan Pitts, one such confectioner of this treat and writer for Boom! Studios' WWE comics series. Bryan and Lan talk about writing for comics, finding the story in professional wrestling, the mythic storytelling possibilities of The Million Dollar Man and Razor Ramon, Pitts' original work, and so much more in a wide-ranging interview. Everyone has a price, but luckily yours...is free! Listen now. Music Credits: Jim Johnston - "It's All About the Money" Jim Johnston - "Bad Boy" World Wrestling Entertainment - "Million Dollar Man" clip

You've spent all season arguing about whether it was a Christmas movie, but is it possible Die Hard is...so much more? This week we're launching a new subfeature on Serious Fun just in time for the holidays called Overthinkin' It! Bryan is joined by Dr. Ryan Martin (UWGB Psychology) and Dr. Michelle McQuade Dewhirst (UWGB Music) for a deep-dive, overthought analysis of the action classic Die Hard in time for its 30th anniversary! Is Die Hard secretly a feminist action movie? What can it teach us about scripting and plotting? And is John McClane a spiritual descendant of Ludwig van Beethoven? All that and more in this super-sized episode! Put it on your MP3 player and enjoy the holiday!

After a brief and largely unplanned hiatus, Serious Fun is back! This time around, Dr. Carr talks to representatives from the UWGB Anime Club about anime, anime fandom, and more! Ntxhee Yee Thao and Jacob Huempfner share their favorite shows, talk about the business and process of creating anime, and reflect on their fandom and the friends they made along the way.

It’s a special all-Frankenstein, all the Franken-time episode of Serious Fun! This episode stitches together two of Bryan’s presentations on the legacy of Mary Shelley’s work as part of our on-campus celebration of the novel’s 200th anniversary. First, gasp as Bryan talks about the surprising way Shelley’s work has been reinterpreted by pop culture icons you might not expect! Then, thrill to a discussion of Frankenstein’s monster, copyright law, and the public domain! Get your Halloween started off right with this new episode of Serious Fun! NOTES: Zac Fanni’s incredible analysis of David from the Alien franchise as a stand-in for the Romantic elements of the Frankenstein story can be found here: http://www.audienceseverywhere.net/david-modern-frankenstein-romantic-analysis-alien-covenant/ Josh Corman’s discussion of the Alien franchise as ongoing Frankenstein allegory is here: https://bookriot.com/2017/06/06/the-alien-franchise-is-now-one-big-frankenstein-story/ Jonathan Bailey’s discussion of the copyright implications of Universal’s ownership of the Frankenstein monster is here: https://www.plagiarismtoday.com/2011/10/24/how-universal-re-copyrighted-frankensteins-monster/ Jae Prowse’s excellent tribute to Frankenstein makeup artist Jack Pierce can be read here: https://bloody-disgusting.com/editorials/3504334/can-human-jack-pierce-forgotten-monster-makeup-pioneer/ Credits: Sound effects courtesy the BBC’s Sound Effects database and are used under the RemArc license for non-commercial use. Sound effects are available at http://bbcsfx.acropolis.org.uk/. bbc.co.uk – © copyright 2018 BBC.

Another great year of Brown County Library Comic-Con episodes comes to a grand finale with a special Phoenix Studios crossover event! Bryan joins forces with the powerful minds over at Psych and Stuff (represented here by Dr. Ryan Martin and Dr. Chuck Rybak) to talk about supervillains, psychology, mental health, and political philosophy! Is Killmonger justified? Does Lex Luthor have a complex? Can we read Two-Face as a metaphor for depression? And what of Thanos? All that and Bryan airs his grievances with the Joker and Suicide Squad in a riotous, hopefully insightful hour of podcasting.

Serious Fun at the Brown County Library Comic-Con continues as Bryan sits down with the Scribe award-winning author John Jackson Miller! Miller, the writer of countless comics, novels, and more for franchises like Marvel, Star Wars, Star Trek, and the Simpsons talks about the challenges of working in established universes, the process of writing comics in a digital age, the perils of focusing too much on canonicity and continuity, and so much more in a wide-ranging and entertaining discussion that is a must-listen for any aspiring writer or fan. Come for the writing advice, stay for the snark about the Clone Saga - and check out JJM's new Battlestar Galactica comic, available at a shop near you!

The first of our three-episode series LIVE (to tape) from Brown County Library Comic-Con is here! Bryan sits down with local artist Carli Ihde to talk about her style, her experiences working in art forms ranging from murals to pumpkins, her time at the Kubert school and working in the comics industry, her advice for aspiring artists, and her thoughts on drawing powerful women. It's funny, it's inspiring, at points maybe even a little inappropriate - a great episode of Serious Fun with a fantastic artist. LINKS: We refer to Carli's work several times in this episode. You can check it out in lots of different places: Carli's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/carlieyed/?hl=en Carli's DeviantArt: https://www.deviantart.com/carliihde Carli's Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/carliihdeart/

The COUNTDOWN TO COMIC-CON at the Brown County Library continues on Serious Fun! This week - Bryan sits down with UWGB Psychology professor Dr. Regan Gurung to talk about comics and superheroes across borders as well as his own experience with the medium as a child growing up in India. What can Superman tell us about the immigrant experience? How can comics explain and find commonality across culture? What is the psychological payload of identity - dual or otherwise - in superhero media? And what is the impact of the rise of Afrofuturism as a genre and aesthetic? All this and more this week on Serious Fun! Music clips: Hans Zimmer - "Flight", Man of Steel (2013) Original Score John Williams - "Superman March", Superman (1978) Original Score

Serious Fun makes a triumphant return for a new season with the first part of the Countdown to Comic-Con event! With a plethora of new games, movies, and comics coming out this fall, Spider-Mania is alive and well - but what about Spider-Man makes him endure and why do we care about him as much as we do? CU-Boulder Media Studies professor J. Richard Stevens sits down with Bryan to talk about the character, his enduring faith in humanity, his origins as a borderline horror character, and why we love this spider-guy so much. Music and other clips: Michael Giacchino – Theme (from “Spider-Man”) [Original TV Series] – Spider-Man Homecoming Danny Elfman – Main Title, Spider-Man (2002) Original Motion Picture Score Audio from "Spider-Man" (2002), Dir. Sam Raimi, Sony Pictures

Serious Fun is proud to present another live panel show from UntitledTown 2018! This time around, Bryan moderates a panel on hybrid storytelling featuring "Bend in the River" creator BJ Hollars, and Appleton Storycatchers Tara Pohlkotte and Kathryn Gahl. They'll talk about their own work and how to go beyond prose and page to tell a great story - from podcasting to setting poetry to music and more.

Live from UntitledTown 2018, Bryan moderates a panel with "Imagine Wanting Only This" author & art director and New York Editor for "The Believer" magazine Kristen Radtke and Milwaukee-based comics artist, educator, and hip-hop MC Mistaloo Meff (creator of "Angry Kat: Zombie Protocol"). It's all about comics, from the mechanics of sequential art to breaking into the industry to representation and beyond!

The Serious Fun Women's History Month series concludes with a celebration of the unsung and underappreciated women in popular culture. Panelists Dr. Rebecca Nesvet, Dr. Kris Coulter, and Dr. Michelle McQuade Dewhirst cover female achievement in everything from screenwriting to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame to sports bras and hair care products, discuss ways to promote and celebrate women's accomplishments, and even call out Paul McCartney along the way. (Recorded live at the Common Grounds Coffeehouse on UWGB's campus, April 5 2017.)

Our special Women's History Month series continues with a discussion of gender issues and body image in popular culture, recorded live at the Common Grounds Coffeehouse at UWGB. Panelists Dr. Jana Fogaca, Dr. Christine Smith, Alison Gates, and Kwynn Carter share their own experiences with body image and explore where our obsession with the "perfect" female body comes from - from classical art history to the Kardashians and beyond. (NOTE: There are some sound issues for the first minute or so but it's better after that - apologies!)

Tired of convention panels on feminism and gender issues in media that are just dudes who look like Bryan? So is Serious Fun. As part of the celebration of Women's History Month, we're launching a three-part series about issues facing women in popular culture - all recorded live at the UWGB Common Grounds Coffeehouse with all-female panels. First up - the female action hero. Once a rarity, we're now seeing women take charge and punch faces more regularly in pop culture - but what does that mean for feminism and what does it mean to be an empowering character? Panelists Dr. Ioana Coman, Selena Deer, and Anna Katner talk about this issue from Wakanda to Wonder Woman and beyond.

In this Serious Fun, we dig into the cultural phenomenon that is Marvel Studios’ Black Panther. The movie has already made All Of The Money worldwide, but why is it resonating so strongly? What does it have to say about complex topics like the African diaspora, Black liberation, and the responsibility of a king and a country to its people and the world? And is Shuri a great character, or the greatest character? Bryan sits down with University of Oklahoma Journalism and Mass Communication professor Dr. Meta G. Carstarphen and UWGB Psychology Chair Ryan Martin for a wide-ranging discussion of all things Wakanda! (Note: this episode contains spoilers for the movie so get out and see it beforehand.) Music and other clips: Ludwig Göransson – “Wakanda”, Black Panther: Original Score Ludwig Göransson – “United Nations/End Titles”, Black Panther: Original Score Kendrick Lamar and SZA – “All the Stars”, Black Panther: The Album (Music From and Inspired By) Marvel Studios/Walt Disney Corporation - “Black Panther Teaser Trailer” SHOW NOTES: www.blackpantherchallenge.org for readings, lesson plans, and more. https://twitter.com/AngryBlackLady/status/965598447595171842 - Imani Gandy’s tweet chain on Black Panther Some of the editorials and think pieces mentioned: TaLynn Kel – “An American Monster in Wakanda” http://talynnkel.com/blog/2018/2/16/an-american-monster-in-wakanda Christopher Lebron – “Black Panther is Not the Movie We Deserve” http://bostonreview.net/race/christopher-lebron-black-panther#.Wom7odN6Y4Q.twitter Benjamin Dixon – “The Most Important Moment in Black Panther No One Is Talking About” http://progressivearmy.com/2018/02/18/important-moment-black-panther/ Charles Pulliam-Moore – “Black Panther is Marvel’s First Shakespearean Epic” https://io9.gizmodo.com/black-panther-is-marvels-first-shakespearean-epic-1822779133

Leading experts agree: last year was the most 2017 of any year yet. At least the video games were good. Join Bryan and returning guest Steve Watts as they talk about the best and brightest the year had to offer in digital interactive entertainment in the first-ever live streamed episode of Serious Fun!