Turbulent times, spreading love, and finding hope, oh my! Shaun Duke, Trish Matson, and Jennifer Brozek join forces to share the things they loved in 2025 and the things they’re looking forward to in 2026! We discuss books, movies, geeky things, experiences, and much more! Plus, we share some VERY important announcements about the show!

Thanks for listening. We hope you enjoy the episode!

Show Notes:

• 2025 Things:
  • Shaun:
    • Susana Morris’ Positive Obsession: The Life and Times of Octavia E. Butler 
    • All of the independent films Daniel and I got to watch and write or talk about (thanks Strike Media and Deaf Crocodile!)
    • The two podcasts I got to be on to talk about movies I genuinely love: Reserved Recommendations with Hugh Dingwall (on Nightbreed) and Fine Beats and Cheeses (on Mac & Me)! 
  • Trish:
    • Death of the Author: A Novel by Nnedi Okorafor
    • Andor S2: aired April 22, 2025 through May 13, 2025, 12 episodes. Mad props to producer Tony Gilroy.
    • Revolutions Podcast Season 11 (Mars), by Mike Duncan: aired October 2024 to June 2025, 30 eps
  • Jennifer:
    • Overgrowth by Mira Grant (best book I read all year)
    • Sinners. Such an amazingly good/original movie
    • Hades 2. Great storytelling and replayability. It’s a thing I do with the Husband.
  • Daniel:
    • Uncertain Sons and Other Stories by Thomas Ha and Lost in the Dark and Other Excursions by John Langan
    • Hundreds of Beavers (2022) Directed by Mike Cheslik
    • AGFA Secret Society
  • Sandra:
    • A Witch’s Guide to Magical Innkeeping by Sangu Mandanna (the perfect romance at the perfect time when I read it)
    • The Great Flood (dir. Kim Byung-woo); not without its problems but I give it kudos for being the disaster flick I hadn’t expected to be a scifi flick
    • Draw Steel (an interesting change from D&D 5e)
  • Paul:
    • Duology: The Witch Roads and the Nameless Land, a duology of fantasy novels from Kate Elliott. Set in a new and rich fantasy worlds, Elliott hitting all the power chords. 
    • Plur1bus: Aired in Fall/Winter 2025 on Apple TV. Constantly surprisingly, interesting, thought provoking, with some great acting
    • BallxPit, a rogue like game inspired by Balatro, Vampire Survivors and Arkanoid (for those who remember it).
• 2026 Things:
  • Shaun:
    • The Republic of Memory by Mahmud El Sayed OR The Subtle Art of Folding Space by John Chu
    • All of the independent films Daniel and I are going to get to watch and write and talk about this year, some from the very same places I’ve already mentioned.
    • Seeing how Capricon will go, as I was head of programming this year (with Cassandra Moritz as my honorable and most excellent 2nd).
  • Trish:
    • The Faith of Beasts by James S.A. Corey, 2nd in The Captive’s War series, coming in April, because I loved the first book, The Mercy of Gods.
    • Murderbot S2 
    • Other: 13th Icon RPG, starting in February on Arvan Eleron’s Twitch channel. PrinceJvstin will GM, and I’m playing a dragonborn druid in it, along with Darcie Little Badger as a human rogue, Kathleen de Vere as a human paladin, and Mur Lafferty as a goliath barbarian.
  • Jennifer:
    • Strixhaven: Omens of Chaos by Seanan McGuire
    • Old Gods of Appachalia: Long Shadows, Season Six podcast
    • Finishing Eberron Oracle of War, Can*Con in Ottawa, Oberon’s Post Club
  • Daniel:
    • Partially Devoured by Daniel Kraus
    • Evil Dead Burn (2026; dir. Sébastien Vaniček)
    • Blood Feast and the Films of Herschell Gordon Lewis (AGFA Restorations)
  • Sandra:
    • Platform Decay by Martha Wells
    • Murderbot S2, but also Slow Horses S6 (which is totally fantasy lol)
    • Bouchercon (Calgary)
  • Paul:
    • Children of Strife by Adrian Tchaikovsky. The latest in his Children series, I want to see where his rich world of human and post-human sapients, from spiders to crows, will go next. 
    • The Odyssey movie. I just want to see what Nolan will do with one of the ur-texts of the Western Tradition. And it can’t be worse than the early 2000’s Troy (which tackled The Iliad)  It just CAN’T.
    • Death Valley photography trip in December 2026. Am I a good photographer? No, but I enjoy doing photography and this is a chance to do it in a place every photographer wants to go.
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