Third Person: A Storytelling Podcast

In an effort to change things up, Bryan has decided to start allowing other people to have some say in the topics of choice. Stephen is first up this week, and has been inspired by the Batman v Superman trailer to discuss the concept of tone in storytelling. Why the recent appetite for the tonally dark and grim? How can tone subvert expectations? Has Abigail actually been reading anything this week? These questions and more will be answered before your very ears! Also, Stephen does a killer George Lucas impression.If you want to get in touch with us, check us out on Twitter, or send us an e-mail at ThirdPersonShow@gmail.com. We promise not to yell at you, and will actually be really appreciative!Our theme song is "Three's Company", composed and arranged by Bryan Kelly

So bad news. Stephen's dead. The good news is we managed to build a replacement! Parker Crow (aka, Stephen 2.0) joins Abigail and Bryan in their discussion/incoherent chattering about some of their weirdest and least popular opinions on storytelling. Bryan spends most of his time defending the arguably indefensible (ex. Revenge of the Sith and Frozen) while Abigail spends most of *her* time laughing at nothing in particular. Parker takes it all in with his trademark cool, though this may just be him wondering why he ever agreed to come on in the first place.If you want to get in touch with us, check us out on Twitter, or send us an e-mail at ThirdPersonShow@gmail.com. We promise not to yell at you, and will actually be really appreciative!Our theme song is "Three's Company", composed and arranged by Bryan KellyAdditional sound effects and music are from freesound and Incompetech.Audio clips are included from Dark Souls II and Frozen.

Whoa! Stephen's back! It turns out he didn't abandon us to a fate of misery and sorrow after all! To celebrate, we discuss a genre near and dear to our formerly absent friend's heart: high fantasy. The origins, virtues, and pitfalls of the sub-genre are all discussed, as is Bryan's firm but baseless claim that Star Trek is categorically stupid. (He's actually right.)If you want to get in touch with us, check us out on Twitter, or send us an e-mail at ThirdPersonShow@gmail.com. We promise not to yell at you, and will actually be really appreciative!Our theme song is "Three's Company", composed and arranged by Bryan Kelly

Stephen is mysteriously absent this week, so Bryan and Abigail take this advantage to have a surprisingly coherent discussion! The topic is twofold: the use of nonfiction to enrich storytelling and the use of storytelling to enrich nonfiction. The first step is to define just what exactly these two concepts mean, which leads to a comparative study of the works of Tolkien and C.S. Lewis. Also discussed: how Resident Evil teaches us about powerlessness as a technique in horror and why Friends isn't a complete waste of time!If you want to get in touch with us, check us out on Twitter, or send us an e-mail at ThirdPersonShow@gmail.com. We promise not to yell at you, and will actually be really appreciative!Our theme song is "Three's Company", composed and arranged by Bryan Kelly

There are times in stories where the protagonists seem a slave to the narrative's whims, losing their sense of individuality and personality in an effort to keep the plot moving. This is The Puppet Problem. We discuss this, as well as the larger issue of character agency in general, doing our best to sound well-informed, educated, and totally aware of what the heck "character agency" even means. I think we do a pretty darn good job of it.If you want to get in touch with us, check us out on Twitter, or send us an e-mail at ThirdPersonShow@gmail.com. We promise not to yell at you, and will actually be really appreciative!Our theme song is "Three's Company", composed and arranged by Bryan Kelly

So! Turns out not talking about books was really fun. Stephen, Bryan and Abigail have decided it's time to expand their horizons and take the show in a new, broader direction. Kicking this movement off, they introduce the hot new segment "What Have You Been Narratively Involved With?" and go on to discuss different storytelling mediums and their preferences. Books, movies, TV shows, puppet shows... it's all fair game now in the Third Person world, and we couldn't be more excited. (FINE. YES WE COULD BUT I LIKE TO USE HYPERBOLE SOMETIMES OKAY?)If you want to get in touch with us, check us out on Twitter, or send us an e-mail at ThirdPersonShow@gmail.com. We promise not to yell at you, and will actually be really appreciative!Our theme song is "Three's Company", composed and arranged by Bryan Kelly

This Episode: The Book Thief: The MovieAfter talking about books for, like, three whole episodes, the Third Person crew decided it was time to kick back and watch a movie about a book instead. Turns out, and this might be a spoiler, movie adaptions of books aren't always that great. But nevertheless, Stephen, Bryan and Abigail try to dissect *why* The Book Thief movie isn't that great, and do what they can to shed some positive light on what it does right.If you want to get in touch with us, check us out on Twitter or send us an e-mail at ThirdPersonShow@gmail.com. We promise not to yell at you, and will actually be really appreciative!Currently Reading: The Golem and the Jinni, Chapters 1-10Our theme song is "Three's Company", composed and arranged by Bryan Kelly

This Episode: The Book Thief, Part 7-EpilogueThings finally wrap up for The Book Thief with one bombshell of an ending! Abigail and Bryan come fresh off of finishing it, which gives Stephen a chance to come off as comparatively well-composed as they discuss their final thoughts about this first book.If you want to get in touch with us, check us out on Twitter or send us an e-mail at ThirdPersonShow@gmail.com. We promise not to yell at you, and will actually be really appreciative!Currently Reading: The Golem and the JinniOur theme song is "Three's Company", composed and arranged by Bryan Kelly

Following up on their hit episode about Endings and Third Acts, the Third Person crew returns to discuss Beginnings and First Acts to ring in the new year. Turns out how you start a story is pretty important, and discussions include what distinguishes a first act from a prologue, the flow of reaction to action as a story progresses, and other splendidly relevant topics!If you want to get in touch with us, check us out on Twitter or send us an e-mail at ThirdPersonShow@gmail.com. We promise not to yell at you, and will actually be really appreciative!Currently Reading: The Book Thief, Part 7-EpilogueOur theme song is "Three's Company", composed and arranged by Bryan Kelly

This Episode: The Book Thief, Part 4-6The adventurous trio continue their way through the Book Thief as Bryan leads them across several tangents, whose meaning even he isn't sure of. Stephen and Abigail do their best to provide some sense to the discussion, however, and interesting points are made all around. How is Death progressing as a narrator? What's the value of Max and Liesel's relationship? Does Rudy really need to exist at all? These are just some of the questions we mostly answer. Or at least bring up.If you want to get in touch with us, check us out on Twitter or send us an e-mail at ThirdPersonShow@gmail.com. We promise not to yell at you, and will actually be really appreciative!Currently Reading: The Book Thief, Part 7-EpilogueOur theme song is "Three's Company", composed and arranged by Bryan Kelly

After a long bout of way too much careful consideration about this episode's name, the Third Person crew decided on "Endings and Third Acts", primarily because they were going to be talking about Endings and Third Acts. They stuck admirably to this game plan, as they picked apart what endings really need to do, how many stories fall short in this, and explore some specific examples. (Warning: There is way too much critical discussion of Frozen, despite Bryan's best efforts to avoid it. HE LIKES FROZEN, OKAY?!)If you want to get in touch with us, check us out on Twitter or send us an e-mail at ThirdPersonShow@gmail.com. We promise not to yell at you, and will actually be really appreciative!Currently Reading: The Book Thief, Part 4-6Our theme song is "Three's Company", composed and arranged by Bryan Kelly

This Episode: The Book Thief, Part 1-3Stephen, Bryan and Abigial try out this whole "having a recorded conversation about books thing" as they run down The Book Thief's cast of characters, discussing the role of a narrator, purple prose, character archetypes and where this story might be going in the pages to come.If you want to get in touch with us, check us out on Twitter or send us an e-mail at ThirdPersonShow@gmail.com. We promise not to yell at you, and will actually be really appreciative!Currently Reading: The Book Thief, Part 4-6Our theme song is "Three's Company", composed and arranged by Bryan Kelly 

View fullsize Bryan, Stephen, and Abigail kick off their first episode with a great question! Why do they like books and storytelling to begin with? Probably something worth knowing if they're going to keep talking about it every week. The conversation flows easily from there as the trio share their mutual musings about their long-held love of fiction, why it's such an integral facet of humanity, and whether Bryan actually knows what he's doing hosting this show.If you want to get in touch with us, check us out on Twitter or send us an e-mail at ThirdPersonShow@gmail.com. We promise not to yell at you, and will actually be really appreciative!Currently Reading: The Book Thief, Part 1-3Our theme song is "Three's Company", composed and arranged by Bryan Kelly