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Explore your favorite fictional worlds from unique perspectives and find new stories to enjoy with author Arthur McMahon. In each episode we explore a fantasy universe together and pull apart its building blocks. Every creation from Harry Potter to Star Wars will be put under the microscope. Creative influences, author intentions, and social impacts will be referenced. We will look at why these worlds were constructed and how they evolved over time. Support this podcast: https://podcasters.s ...
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Better Hiker motivates hikers to improve themselves and the trails they walk through the adventurous tales of notable outdoor legends like John Muir, Gertrude Bell, and Henry David Thoreau. Join us as we study trail wisdom and philosophy, learn new skills, and become inspired by courageous real life stories of the women and men who explore wild lands. Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/history-of-adventure/support
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Theodore Roosevelt's American Pioneer Heroes - Better Hiker Podcast
30:38
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Theodore Roosevelt— the man, the myth, the legend— served as the 26th Presdident of the United States from 1901 to 1909. As a public figure, he was defined by his robust masculinity and exuberant personality. He was a man who wrote the book on being a manly man, he was a man of virtue, of intelligence, a man who embraced the strenuous life, betteri…
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Jerusalem to Petra with Gertrude Bell - Better Hiker Podcast
41:59
41:59
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Gertrude Bell was a world traveler remembered for her superior intellect, unrivaled enthusiasm, and thirst for adventure— Bell befriended many of the individuals she encountered in her travels, but she was also thought to be stubborn and unwavering in the face of adversity, never allowing another to cross her without a fight. In this episode we fol…
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Springtime with Henry David Thoreau - Better Hiker Podcast
56:52
56:52
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Henry David Thoreau was a transcendentalist author who believed in the inherent goodness of people and nature. Best known for his guide to outdoor-living and self-reliance that is Walden, or perhaps his essay on Civil Disobedience, Thoreau praised the power of the individual while condeming the corruption of societal institutions. In this episode w…
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John Muir's Letters - Better Hiker Podcast
1:01:42
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John Muir has had a lot named after him, everything from Mountain Passes to streets and libraries. He’s also found all over social media. The man simply loved nature. He loved the hell out of it. His political and conservational efforts earned him the nickname “Father of the National Parks” and still today we can see the effects of his passion. Bor…
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eSports is an untapped well of creativity and storytelling. The competitive gaming scene is growing at an exponential rate, so where are the stories? In this episode I look into the rise of eSports, both as a competitive sport and a new setting for fiction. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/paracosms/support…
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Some authors live to write, and some write to live. Others fall somewhere in between, and a few just seem to fall into it. Mark Twain, author of multiple Great American Novels such as The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, encapsulates all of those traits, yet somehow also exists outside of them, or, perhaps, above them. In this episode we will learn …
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The Hero’s Journey in the Writer’s Toolbox
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The monomyth, now more popularly known as the Hero’s Journey, is a common structural pattern that serves as the foundation for countless stories. It has been a basic form of storytelling for as far back as humanity can remember, laying down the plot structure for ancient epics like Gilgamesh and in many of today’s New York Times best sellers and Ho…
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Game of Thrones- When is the Next Book Out?
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Ever since Game of Thrones was published in 1996, fans of George RR Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire series have ceaselessly asked “Hey Georgie boy, Georgie from the block. Mr. R.R. Martin, when’s the next book coming out?” His responses, summed up, have been usually something like “Heh. Well, soon. Not yet, sorry about that.” Years of effort are pu…
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In celebration of the upcoming release of Deceit of Humanity, the second book in my Shadow Assassin series, I am giving you a quick look into my own imaginary universe and creative process. As a special treat, you also get to listen to the audiobook of Vengeance of Humanity, my first Shadow Assassin book, for free! Thank you to the wonderfully tale…
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H.R. Giger is the father of the Xenomorph. We call it an alien, we call it a monster, but to Giger his creation was beautiful, no matter how many people it raped and killed. Known for its interspecies sexual domination and wanton destruction, the xenomorph is not unlike ourselves. Perhaps we are the real monsters.--- Support this podcast: https://p…
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I was never invited to Hogwarts. In this episode I offer you the Wizarding World as seen from an outsider’s perspective. This is a muggle’s story. Yes, it’s true. I’m one of the few people out there who doesn’t know all there is to know about Harry Potter. I haven’t read all of the books, nor have I seen all of the movies. I don’t know the wizardin…
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Ghost in the Shell is an American Horror Story
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Masamune Shirow's Ghost in the Shell franchise can be summed up in two words: fear and philosophy. The story became a success because it mirrored real American fears during a time when Cold War tensions were rising and the Internet was still a mystery to most. Full Transcript In 1989 I was three years old. My experience with technology was limited …
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Discworld is perhaps the quintessential example of worldbuilding. Decades of imagination by the late author Terry Pratchett went into creating a land so rich with depth that it has become a lens into our own world--- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/paracosms/support
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The Legend of Zelda is a Modern Fairytale
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The Legend of Zelda has used the fairytale formula to create memorable settings and characters that will stick in our memories for ages to come, but it has also added a new layer of complexity to the method in the form of interactivity, the game mechanics. Full Transcript The Legend of Zelda is one of the most well known video game franchises acros…
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AMC says that the Walking Dead franchise has the potential to last as long as Star Trek has. I have an issue with that. In comparing the Walking Dead's decade of success to the fifty years that Star Trek has been around, I don't have much faith in the franchise's longevity. But there is a chance. The Walking Dead's narrative exploration of human na…
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Marvel’s Cinematic Universe – Where the Villains Don’t Matter
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The Marvel Cinematic Universe highlights its heroes and neglects its villains. Why is this? Marvel has a history of creating complex comic book villains with rich character depth, but the MCU movies display the bad guys as hollow shells of their true selves, nothing more than stepping-stones for the heroes to show their own growth. But there is one…
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J.R.R. Tolkien did not write his books for you or for me. Middle-earth was a personal project, firstly created for himself and his family. Tolkien originally wrote The Hobbit as a story for his own children, but after his breakout book became a great success he was convinced by his publisher and fans to create a sequel to Bilbo Baggins' adventure. …
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