Best Nathan Russell Podcasts (2025)

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Russell T. McCutcheon, "Critics Not Caretakers: Redescribing the Public Study of Religion" (Routledge, 2023) 48:19

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6h ago48:19

48:19

Russell T. McCutcheon's essay collection Critics Not Caretakers: Redescribing the Public Study of Religion (Routledge, 2023) argues that the study of religion must be rethought as an ordinary aspect of social, historical existence, a stance that makes the scholar of religion a critic of cultural and historical practices rather than a caretaker of r…

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Late-Cycle Investment Theory: Foundations for the Coming Decade | Nicolas Colin 48:12

21m ago48:12

48:12

In Episode 455 of Hidden Forces, Demetri Kofinas speaks with Nicolas Colin, a former French Treasury official and the co-founder of a European startup accelerator whose work sits at the intersection of technology, markets, geopolitics, and global finance. In the first hour of their conversation, Kofinas and Colin break down Colin's "Late Cycle Inve…

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Jolyon Baraka Thomas and Matthew D. McMullen, "The New Nanzan Guide to Japanese Religions" (U Hawaii Press, 2024) 1:00:26

1d ago1:00:26

1:00:26

For nearly two decades, the Nanzan Guide to Japanese Religions (U Hawaii Press, 2024) has served as a valuable resource for students and scholars of religion in Japan. This exciting update expands the audience to include non-specialists of Japan while also complicating the notions of "Japan" and "religion." Asking the provocative question "why stud…

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David Newheiser et al., "Art-Making as Spiritual Practice: Rituals of Embodied Understanding" (Bloomsbury, 2025) 1:28:44

7h ago1:28:44

1:28:44

Art-Making as Spiritual Practice: Rituals of Embodied Understanding (Bloomsbury Academic Press, 2025), edited by Professor David Newheiser, is a new collection asks if it’s possible to consider art-making as a spiritual practice independent of explicit religious belief or content. Where earlier research has focused on the religious significance of …

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Naomi Ekperigan and Andy Beckerman 47:16

6h ago47:16

47:16

Comedians and podcasters Naomi Ekperigin (Broad City, Hacks, Mythic Quest) and Andy Beckerman (The Pete Holmes Show, Cedric’s Barber Battle, Couples Therapy) join Jameela Jamil for a messy dive into marriage superstitions, chaos goblins, and a truly staggering collection of micro-humiliations. Naomi relives the nightmare of meeting Andy’s parents f…

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Emiliano Rubens Urciuoli, "Citifying Jesus: The Making of a Roman Religion in the Roman Empire" (Mohr Siebeck, 2024) 56:20

1d ago56:20

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Religion and urban life are the most successful strategies of handling, enhancing, and capitalizing on human sociability. By integrating religious studies, archaeology, and spatial theory, Emiliano Rubens Urciuoli aims to re-describe the formation of Christ religion as urban religion in Citifying Jesus: The Making of a Roman Religion in the Roman E…

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Episode 1685 - Christmas Reviews! 21:41

1d ago21:41

21:41

Reviews: DC's I Saw Ma Hunkel Kissing Santa Claus, Spider-Man: Holiday Spectacular, Sanda, Disney's Hulu's Family Guy Hallmark Channel's Lifetime's Familiar Holiday Movie, Tinsel Town, A Very Jonas Christmas Movie, Shin Wooseok's Urban Fairy Tale: The Christmas Song - Part 1 & 2 Jimmy does his annual review of Christmas comics, TV and film. Wha…

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Why Most Investors Never Buy Their First Hotel (And How You Actually Can) | Brian Resendez E63 46:13

2d ago46:13

46:13

Why do so many people dream about buying a hotel but never actually close one? In this episode, Michael sits down with Brian Resendez, CEO of SVN Northwest Hotel Advisors. Brian has been involved in hundreds of hotel transactions across the Pacific Northwest and brings rare insight into what separates buyers who close deals from buyers who stall ou…

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Ben Wiggershaus, "The Man of Opened Eye: Ancient Near Eastern Revelatory Convention and the Balaam Cycle" (Gorgias Press, 2025) 19:04

7d ago19:04

19:04

Is it possible to read the Balaam narrative of Numbers 22-24 cohesively? Ben Wiggershaus says, “Yes,” and part of his solution is in reading the Balaam Cycle in light of its ancient Near Eastern context. Tune in as we speak with Ben Wiggershaus about his recent monograph, The Man of Opened Eye: Ancient Near Eastern Revelatory Convention and the Bal…

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Trump's National Security Strategy: A Plan to Contain China or Carve Up the World? | Jamie Metzl 1:08:10

6d ago1:08:10

1:08:10

In Episode 454 of Hidden Forces, Demetri Kofinas speaks with author, futurist, and U.S. foreign policy expert Jamie Metzl about the aims and objectives of the 2025 National Security Strategy and its implications for American prosperity and power in the 21st century. Jamie and Demetri spend the first hour of this conversation digging into the Trump …

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Christian Smith, "Why Religion Went Obsolete: The Demise of Traditional Faith in America" (Oxford UP, 2025) 36:52

7d ago36:52

36:52

Is traditional American religion doomed? Traditional religion in the United States has suffered huge losses in recent decades. The number of Americans identifying as "not religious" has increased remarkably. Religious affiliation, service attendance, and belief in God have declined. More and more people claim to be "spiritual but not religious." Re…

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Deanna Ferree Womack, "Re-Inventing Islam: Gender and the Protestant Roots of American Islamophobia" (Oxford UP, 2025) 1:01:06

8d ago1:01:06

1:01:06

From the end of the American Civil War to the start of World War II, the Protestant missionary movement unintentionally tilled the soil in which American Islamophobia would eventually take root. What ideas did missionaries in Islamic contexts pass on to later generations? How were these ideas connected to centuries-old Protestant discourses about M…

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Nathan McGovern, "Seeing Through Religion: An Introduction to the Study of Religion and Religions" (Routledge, 2025) 1:11:55

9d ago1:11:55

1:11:55

Seeing Through Religion is a cutting-edge textbook that gives students the tools to learn this valuable subject theoretically, McGovern argues that religion isn't a thing out there in the world; it's the glasses on your face through which you see the world, shaped by Western history and, in particular, Christianity. Learn more about your ad choices…

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Adam Rose and Kevin James Thornton 52:08

7d ago52:08

52:08

Adam Rose (LA’s Finest, Small Stupid Stuff podcast, YouTube) and Kevin James Thornton (Be Yourself special, Call Kevin podcast, YouTube) join Jameela to unpack a series of deeply questionable life decisions, including pet squirrels with boundary issues, cosmetic school as a financial strategy, and how to make it through a night in jail as a 16-year…

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Daniel K. Falk and Rodney A. Werline, "Prayer in the Ancient World Vol.1" (Brill, 2027) 35:14

8d ago35:14

35:14

Prayer in the Ancient World is the resource on prayer in the ancient Near East and Mediterranean. With over 350 entries it showcases a robust selection of the range of different types of prayers attested from Mesopotamia, Egypt, Anatolia, the Levant, early Judaism and Christianity, Greece, Rome, Arabia, and Iran, enhanced by critical commentary. Th…

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Global Resort Design CEO: Stop Wasting Capex on the Wrong “Upgrades” | Scott LaMont E62 49:49

13d ago49:49

49:49

Boutique hotel investors often lose money in the same place: they renovate what’s visible, and ignore what actually drives guest behavior. In this episode, we talk about design as a business tool, not a decoration budget. The goal is simple: create a guest experience that feels intentional, sells itself, and supports your NOI, even when you’re oper…

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Episode 1683 - Last Minute Gift Guide! 19:51

9d ago19:51

19:51

We interrupt the Thought Bubble Festival coverage once more. This time for a last minute holiday gift guide! Jimmy gives out some good suggestions of what to buy for the nerd in your life. And if that nerd is you, then that's great too! From comics to merch to gift cards, he has some awesome ideas for you. So give it a listen and get shopping befor…

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Yasmin Cho, "Politics of Tranquility: The Material and Mundane Lives of Buddhist Nuns in Post-Mao Tibet" (Cornell UP, 2025) 53:29

14d ago53:29

53:29

Politics of Tranquility: The Material and Mundane Lives of Buddhist Nuns in Post-Mao Tibet (Cornell University Press, 2025) concerns the Tibetan Buddhist revival in China, illustrating the lives of Tibetan Buddhist nuns and exploring the political effects that arise from their nonpolitical daily engagements in the remote, mega-sized Tibetan Buddhis…

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AI Bubble, Inflation, and the Limits of Monetary Policy | Jason Furman 46:56

10d ago46:56

46:56

In Episode 453 of Hidden Forces, Demetri Kofinas speaks with Jason Furman, the former chair of the Council of Economic Advisers, about the state of the U.S. economy, the AI Bubble, monetary policy, inflation, price controls, and much more. Jason and Demetri spend the first hour of their conversation exploring his economic framework, what he learned…

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John Tolan, "Islam: A New History from Muhammad to the Present" (Princeton UP, 2025) 51:29

14d ago51:29

51:29

A concise new narrative history of Islam that draws on the transformative insights of recent research to emphasize the diversity and dynamism of the tradition. Today’s Muslim world has been experiencing upheaval: legalists and mystics engage in intense debates, radical groups invoke Sharia, Muslim immigrants in the West face prejudice and discrimin…

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James Redfield, "Adventures of Rabah and Friends: The Talmud's Strange Tales and Their Readers" (Brown Judaic Studies, 2025) 48:55

15d ago48:55

48:55

Adventures of Rabbah & Friends offers a new reader-centered approach to some of the Talmud’s most challenging stories. The Talmud contains about two pages of some of the strangest tales in the rabbinic corpus. For centuries people have scratched their head over what they mean and why they are there. In his new book, James Adam Redfield illustrates …

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Anne Lawrence-Mathers, "The Magic Books: A History of Enchantment in 20 Medieval Manuscripts" (Yale UP, 2025) 59:14

17d ago59:14

59:14

Medieval Europe was preoccupied with magic. From the Carolingian Empire to Renaissance Italy and Tudor England, great rulers, religious figures, and scholars sought to harness supernatural power. They tried to summon spirits, predict the future, and even prolong life. Alongside science and religion, magic lay at the very heart of culture. In this b…

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Christopher Key Chapple, "Embodied Ecology: Yoga and the Environment" (Mandala Publishing, 2025) 44:13

15d ago44:13

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In Embodied Ecology: Yoga and the Environment (Mandala Publishing, 2025), Hindu Studies scholar Christopher Key Chapple explores how Hindu and Yoga traditions can inform contemporary discourse about the problems of environmental degradation both in India and globally. What do Hinduism and Yoga philosophy have to say about ecology and the environmen…

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Shapel Lacey and Aaron Branch 40:23

14d ago40:23

40:23

Comedians Shapel Lacey (Three Dads Two Moms special, current tour dates) and Aaron Branch (Unstable on Netflix, The Kevin Langue Show, The Forehead Tour) for an unforgettable episode full of wiener stories. Shapel bravely recounts the worst gig of his life, the cheer-camp sex he may never recover from, and the moment a stranger declared that his pe…

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The 3 Distress Signals That Make the Next 12 Months a Buyer’s Market | Suraj Bhakta E61 42:00

17d ago42:00

42:00

Is now a terrible time to buy a hotel, or the best buying window you will get this decade? In this episode, Michael sits down with Suraj Bhakta, CEO of NewGen Advisory, a national hotel brokerage that has closed deals in 44 states. Suraj explains what he is actually seeing in today’s market, from the SBA shutdown fallout to the quiet distress build…

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Susan Ashbrook Harvey, "Ministries of Song: Women’s Voices in Ancient Syriac Christianity" (U California Press, 2025) 1:27:31

20d ago1:27:31

1:27:31

Ministries of Song: Women’s Voices in Ancient Syriac Christianity (U California Press, 2025) is an open access tour-de-force study of the power of women's liturgical singing in late antique Syriac Christianity. Extending women's religious participation beyond the familiar roles of female saints and nobles, Syriac churches cultivated a flourishing b…

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Kent L Beck: You’re Ignoring Optionality… and Paying for It 49:31

17d ago49:31

49:31

Kent Beck: You’re Ignoring Optionality… and Paying for It In this episode of Maintainable, Robby speaks with Kent Beck, a foundational voice in modern software development and author of Tidy First?. Kent joins from California to explore why optionality is a central, often underestimated dimension of maintainable software. Kent begins by describing …

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Dainy Bernstein, "Artifacts of Orthodox Jewish Childhoods" (Ben Yehuda Press, 2022) 1:12:19

21d ago1:12:19

1:12:19

The culture of mainstream American childhood is vastly different than the culture of Orthodox Jewish childhood - which is itself a rich and varied landscape of texts, music, toys, and more, with nuanced shadings from one sect of Orthodox Judaism to the next. In Artifacts of Orthodox Jewish Childhoods: Personal and Critical Essays (Ben Yehuda Press,…

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Diagnosing the Metacrisis: Reality & Meaning in Modern Life | Iain McGilchrist 1:18:29

17d ago1:18:29

1:18:29

In Episode 452 of Hidden Forces, Demetri Kofinas speaks with Iain McGilchrist, a neuroscientist and author of The Master and His Emissary and The Matter with Things. His work on the divided brain has helped millions of people find wisdom, meaning, and guidance for living in the modern world. Iain and Demetri begin their conversation exploring McGil…

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Melanie McDonagh, "Converts: From Oscar Wilde to Muriel Spark, Why So Many Became Catholic in the 20th Century" (Yale UP, 2025) 52:12

23d ago52:12

52:12

The twentieth century is understood as an era of growing, inexorable secularism, yet in Britain between the 1890s and the 1960s there was a marked turn to Rome. In the first half of the century, Catholicism became an intellectual and spiritual fashion attracting more than half a million converts, including fascinating artists, writers, and thinkers…

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Elis James 49:05

20d ago49:05

49:05

Broadcaster, comedian, actor and Swansea City fan Elis James is the guest for the first episode of the relaunched official club podcast 'Way Down by the Sea'. The 45-year-old - who hails from Carmarthen - reveals how he came to follow the Swans, why his favourite moment watching Lee Trundle play wouldn't have been out of place in a pantomime, and t…

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Adam Silverstein, "Haman" (Princeton UP, 2025) 37:32

24d ago37:32

37:32

Haman, infamous as the antagonist in the book of Esther, appears as a villainous figure in virtually all varieties of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. In this “biography” of Haman (Princeton UP, 2025), Dr. Adam Silverstein traces the evolution of this villainous character from the ancient Near East to modern times, drawing on sources in a variety …

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Shawkat M. Toorawa, "The Devotional Qur'an: Beloved Surahs and Verses" (Yale UP, 2025) 1:00:42

24d ago1:00:42

1:00:42

The Devotional Qur'an: Beloved Surahs and Verses (Yale UP, 2025) is a beautifully curated and translated collection of the Qur'anic surahs and verses that are most cherished and memorized by Muslims the world over. Muslim devotional practices vary greatly over time and across regions, communities, and denominations, but they share core Qur'anic sur…

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Dan Schreiber and Andrew Hunter Murray 47:37

21d ago47:37

47:37

Comedy troublemakers Dan Schreiber (No Such Thing As A Fish, The Museum of Curiosity, author of The Theory of Everything Else) and Andrew Hunter Murray (No Such Thing As A Fish, The Naked Week, writer for Private Eye, author of A Beginner’s Guide to Breaking and Entering) join Jameela for an hour of friendship chaos, gig disasters, and stories that…

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Reading the Bible with AI?: A Conversation with John Kaag, Philosopher and Co-Founder of Rebind AI 42:40

26d ago42:40

42:40

Rebind combines reading with AI-chat to deepen learning and simulate the experience of conversing with some of the greatest scholars and thinkers. With Rebind, you can read A Tale of Two Cities with Margaret Atwood, Huck Finn with Marlon James, and Candide with Salman Rushdie. John and his team have recently launched the Rebind Study Bible, an inte…

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7 AI Tools To Help You Buy and Operate Hotels (With No Staff and No Time) | Jake Heller E60 59:00

25d ago59:00

59:00

Click here to start your free 7-day trial of the AI for CRE Collective. Most boutique hotel investors are running lean. No analyst team. No data department. No six-figure tech budget. Yet the demands of buying and operating hotels keep getting heavier. In this episode, I sit down with Jake Heller, founder of the AI for CRE Collective, to break down…

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Don MacKinnon: Why Simplicity Beats Cleverness in Software Design 50:31

27d ago50:31

50:31

Episode Highlights [00:00:48] What Makes Software Maintainable Don explains why unnecessary complexity is the biggest barrier to maintainability, drawing on themes from A Philosophy of Software Design. [00:03:14] The Cost of Clever Abstractions A real story from a Node.js API shows how an unused abstraction layer around MongoDB made everything hard…

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Miriam Toews Reads Raymond Carver 1:02:05

24d ago1:02:05

1:02:05

Miriam Toews joins Deborah Treisman to read and discuss “Elephant,” by Raymond Carver, which was published in The New Yorker in 1986. Toews has published ten books, including the novels “A Complicated Kindness,” which won the Governor General’s Award for Fiction; “All My Puny Sorrows,” “Women Talking,” and “Fight Night”—and the memoir “A Truce That…

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China Shock 2.0: State Capitalism at the Frontier | Dinny McMahon 52:58

24d ago52:58

52:58

In Episode 451 of Hidden Forces, Demetri Kofinas speaks with author and long-time China analyst Dinny McMahon about the Chinese leadership's efforts to redesign China's economic model in the face of structural headwinds to growth, mounting trade barriers, and growing concerns in Western capitals about Chinese economic and military domination. The f…

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John Kieschnick, "Buddhist Historiography in China" (Columbia UP, 2022) 49:10

28d ago49:10

49:10

Since the early days of Buddhism in China, monastics and laity alike have expressed a profound concern with the past. In voluminous historical works, they attempted to determine as precisely as possible the dates of events in the Buddha's life, seeking to iron out discrepancies in varying accounts and pinpoint when he delivered which sermons. Buddh…

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Episode 1677 - TBubs Pause For Reviews! 25:38

24d ago25:38

25:38

Reviews: DC KO #1/#2, DC/Marvel Batman/Deadpool #1, 1776 #1, Bat-Fam, Hazbin Hotel s2, Stranger Things vol 5, Guillermo del Toro's Frankenstein, In Your Dreams, Zootopia 2 We interrupt all of the Thought Bubble Festival interview goodness to review some recent comics, TV, film, streaming. Let us know if you've checked any out and your thoughts on t…

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Aparna Nancherla and Eliza Skinner 37:44

28d ago37:44

37:44

Comedy powerhouses, Aparna Nancherla (BoJack Horseman, Corporate, Mythic Quest) and Eliza Skinner (The Late Late Show with James Corden, Drop the Mic, and Earth to Ned), join Jameela for a perfect storm of humiliation, soft chaos, and stories that instantly make you feel better about your own life choices. Aparna kicks things off with a micro humil…

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Episode 1684 - Thought Bubble Festival: Barry Nugent! 48:41

29d ago48:41

48:41

While on holiday in the UK, Jimmy also attended the Thought Bubble Festival comic convention. He got 19 interviews total. In this episode, you'll hear his chat with his good pal/fellow podcaster Barry Nugent. Barry talks about his work as a writer and founding/hosting the Geek Syndicate podcast (and its spin-offs). He and Jimmy talk about the first…

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Episode 1682 - Getting Musical w/ Emma Vieceli! 48:26

29d ago48:26

48:26

While on holiday in the UK, Jimmy also attended the Thought Bubble Festival comic convention. He got 19 interviews total. He also visited friends on his way up to the convention. In this TBubs "adjacent" episode, you'll hear his interview with his friend Emma Vieceli. Emma couldn't attend the convention this year because she's been hard at work on …

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Episode 1681 - Thought Bubble Festival: Marc Ellerby! 32:05

29d ago32:05

32:05

While on holiday in the UK, Jimmy also attended the Thought Bubble Festival comic convention. He got 19 interviews total. In this episode, you'll hear his interview with Marc Ellerby. Marc talks about his 10 years doing Rick and Morty comics, becoming a better artist and what's next. Come back over the next week to hear the rest and go back a few w…

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Episode 1680 - Thought Bubble Festival: Avery Hill Special 2 - Karenza Sparks/Sara Kenney! 51:59

29d ago51:59

51:59

While on holiday in the UK, Jimmy also attended the Thought Bubble Festival comic convention. He got 19 interviews total. In this episode, you'll hear his talks with Karenza Sparks and Sara Kenney. Karenza chats about her grapic novel The Corus Wave, geology and her love of stamps. Sara discusses her book Acid Box, love of the 90s club scene and Wo…

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Episode 1679 - Thought Bubble Festival: Avery Hill Special - Donya Todd/Katriona Chapman! 44:47

29d ago44:47

44:47

While on holiday in the UK, Jimmy also attended the Thought Bubble Festival comic convention. He got 19 interviews total. In this episode, you'll hear his chats with Donya Todd and Katriona Chapman. Donya talks about her incredible graphic novel The Witch's Egg, the use of color in her work and inspirations. Kat takes Jimmy on a walking tour of the…

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Episode 1678 - Thought Bubble Festival: Lucy Sullivan/Sarah Gordon/Paul Cornell! 32:04

29d ago32:04

32:04

While on holiday in the UK, Jimmy also attended the Thought Bubble Festival comic convention. He got 19 interviews total. In this episode, you'll hear his talks with Lucy Sullivan, Sarah Gordon and Paul Cornell. Lucy talks about her involvement in the film The Thing with Feathers, her upcoming graphic novel and hanging w/ Cumberbatch. Sarah chats a…