The Fandom Apprentice
Fandom Apprentice
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About This Podcast
Even the biggest nerds haven't seen it all- join Ryn and Sam on a guided journey through classic media that shaped our childhoods. A nostalgic romp for lifelong fans, and a perfect companion for anyone starting a fandom journey of their own. New episodes every other Tuesday!
Season 3: Make the jump to hyperspace and join us in a galaxy far far away as we explore Star Wars! Sifting through the expansive universe of material, Ryn has constructed a machete order for Sam's first trip through the galaxy designed to cause maximum emotional damage. Along the way, we'll dive deeper into historical contexts, influences, visual and audio choices, and the world that Star Wars has grown into over the last 50 years!
Season 2: We leave Middle Earth and head for the Corporation Rim with The Murderbot Diaries by Martha Wells! We follow everyone's favorite heartless killing machine that just wants to watch Space Netflix through a queernormative world where capitalism is always the bad guy, sarcasm and snark abound, and the starships have Opinions!
Season 1: a queer reading of the Lord of the Rings novels! We dive deep into this famously dense series with Ryn as our guide, examining Tolkien's historical and mythological influences, concocting our own theories on Hobbit masculinity, and speculating about what exactly Aragorn has going on under his tunic.
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Recent Episodes
S3E2 Ep 3.2- The Helmet Stays On
We roll into Mando's Monster of the Week era, get drunk on shrimp alcohol, fight a Disney Princess, wax poetic about Connor Storrie's ass, the art of tight storytelling, Kurosawa, and spoiler culture…
S3E1 Ep 3.1- Daddylorian
We enter the galaxy far far away in something of an unexpected spot with our favorite bounty hunter, and discuss his ascent into Daddy-hood, how Jawas are the Minions of the Star Wars galaxy, the…
S3 Season 3 Intro- I Have A Very Good Feeling About This, Actually
Hello there everyone and welcome back! We've missed you, but we're back now with a whole new season! Join us as we make the jump to hyperspace and set course for a galaxy far far away to discuss Star…
S2E14 Ep 2.14- Murderbot, End Message
Finishing out our coverage of the Murderbot Media current available, we discuss worker's rights, music, special effects, sexual tension, and as a special bonus, Ryn has a Biologist Moment!Also stay…
S2E13 Ep 2.13-Boldness is All!
There's a place beyond the wormholes... we haven't found it yet but come search with us! We have reached the Murderbot TV show! We talk visual decisions, casting, story adaptation, throuples,…
S2E12 Ep 2.12- Get Booped, Motherfucker
The last Murderbot book episode and we struggled a bit here keeping up with the action, but we still love it! Murderbot is having, as per usual, a bad time, and Ryn and Sam are having an excellent…
S2E11 Ep 2.11- Round Hatches Are Scarier
We're back! Took an unexpected break, but we're back with a new episode, which is great for us, and Murderbot is back on the planet, which is terrible for it! Ryn and Sam discuss the first half…
S2E10 Ep 2.10- There Is No Protocol For This
Ryn and Sam finish out Network Effect and boy howdy is Murderbot having a Bad Time! And so are the other SecUnits. Wait, other SecUnits? We have commentary on such topics as naming conventions, queer…
S2E9 Ep 2.9- Home Is Where The ART Is
ART is alive and Murderbot gets to stop running through the stages of grief! Problem is it stopped on Anger, which it has every right to tbh. Ryn and Sam talk ART and Murderbot's relationship (and…
S2E8 Ep 2.8- Climb on the DarkMagic School Bus
Step inside (your best friend's corpse), it's a fucked up ride (through the wormhole)! Amena wishes this was a normal field trip, but with SecUnit? No way! Take your second right past Mars and join…
S2E7 Ep 2.7- Panic! at the Arts Festival/Conference/Religious Observance
Not all is well with Murderbot, but when is it ever? Ryn and Sam follow our favorite rogue SecUnit through the first three chapters of Network Effect, the first novel in the Murderbot Diaries! Topics…
S2E6 Ep 2.6- Cyberpunk Sherlock, Solarpunk Lestrade
here's been a murder! And despite what you might expect, it wasn't Murderbot's fault. It promises. And we promise topics including sleeper agents, queer assimilation, translation, and things that go…
S2E5 Ep 2.5-Shorts: Drabbles, novelettes, flash fics, anecdotes
So, as it turns out, there are there are also some short stories in the Murderbot Universe! We get to dig into the minds of some side characters, learn more about the origins of constructs, and talk…
S2E4 Ep 2.4- You Beat Me To Hoopy Frood
Murderbot has to go find some old friends! We're entirely normal about it acknowledging PresAux as friends. Other topics include consent, gender presentation/human-passing, the self and the body as…
S2E3 Ep 2.3- A Protocol of Rogues and Robots
Ryn and Sam are wildly unfocused, probably because we are simultaneously monitoring two dozen intel drones, HubSystem, and Episode 372 of The Rise and Fall of Sanctuary Moon! And also being slightly…
S2E2 Ep 2.2- Be Queerplatonic, Do Crime
Murderbot travels to RaviHyral to investigate... well, murder. That it may or may not have been responsible for. Join us as we grapple with concepts of non-human personhood, gender, terrible bosses,…
S2E1 Ep 2.1- Pass the (Preservation) Aux
Welcome to season 2! We begin with everyone's favorite heartless killing machine that just wants to watch Space Netflix and unfortunately keeps having emotions! Join Ryn and Sam as we discuss aliens,…
Season 2 Intro- Sufficiently Advanced Podcasting is Indistinguishable from Magic
Hello everyone, and welcome to the next phase of the Fandom Apprentice! If you're new to the pod, this is a great place to start- get (re)introduced to us as the hosts, our background with sci-fi,…
Interlude- I Sit Beside My Computer And Think...
Ryn and Sam know absolutely nothing about poetry. Neither of us took a single college-level English course. That will not, of course, stop us from having opinions on Tolkien's poetry and songs. This…
S1E38 Ep 1.38- This Podcast Is A Gift
A gift to the foes of Mordor. Why not listen? Long have Ryn and Sam, the hosts of this podcast, overanalyzed the Lord of The Rings series. We come to the last of the movies today, so join us as we…
Frequently Asked Questions
The Fandom Apprentice has published 65 episodes since October 2023, covering topics in Arts, Books.
The Fandom Apprentice is currently highly active with new episodes every 2 weeks. Average episode length is 1h 20m.