A podcast dedicated to the DC Animated Universe including Batman the Animated Series, Superman TAS, Justice League, JLU, Batman Beyond, Static Shock, and more
Join Joshua Unruh, author, storyteller, and superhero scholar, as he walks you through deep dives into some of the best superhero storylines of the past eighty years. The characters and story arcs will change, but the infotaining analysis will always be top quality.
Join Joshua Unruh, professional storyteller and superhero scholar, as he takes a trip back in time to the magical dawn of superheroes to discover just how bizarre and, frankly, off putting the earliest days of superhero comics could be. Every episode, $#!+ will get weird in a way that will leave you wondering WTF, Golden Age?
In Listen Up A-Holes, narrative nerd Lani Diane Rich of Chipperish Media and super hero scholar Joshua Unruh of Pulp Diction Productions apply their wit, expertise and enthusiasm the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
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86. An Animated Discussion – TNBA: Love is a Croc
27:05
27:05
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It is vengeance! It is the night! It is…An Animated Discussion! Join superhero scholar Joshua Unruh and film critic extraordinaire Caleb Masters as they fight a war on crime! Caleb and Joshua continue a rough series of New Batman Adventures episodes with Love is a Croc, an episode that somehow manages to take everything already wrong with Torch Son…
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85. An Animated Discussion – STAS: Speed Demons
34:50
34:50
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Yes, it’s An Animated Discussion, strange podcast from another planet! Join superhero scholar Joshua Unruh and film critic extraordinaire Caleb Masters as they fight a never-ending battle for Truth and Justice! It’s a race between Caleb and Joshua to decide who enjoyed this episode more. Joshua talks about different Flashes and which one might be b…
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84. An Animated Discussion – TNBA: Torch Song
31:13
31:13
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It is vengeance! It is the night! It is…An Animated Discussion! Join superhero scholar Joshua Unruh and film critic extraordinaire Caleb Masters as they fight a war on crime! Caleb and Joshua discuss Torch Song, another episode about toxic masculinity and just as toxic fandom. This episode wants to be so hot, but it so is not. Pulp Diction Producti…
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83. An Animated Discussion – STAS: The Prometheon
28:00
28:00
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Yes, it’s An Animated Discussion, strange podcast from another planet! Join superhero scholar Joshua Unruh and film critic extraordinaire Caleb Masters as they fight a never-ending battle for Truth and Justice! Caleb and Joshua look at another Kirby influence, although one that’s a bit more oblique than usual. They also discuss kaiju, disaster stor…
We don’t feel so good, Mr. Stark… Listen Up A-Holes is going on hiatus! So this episode, Lani and Joshua spend a little time explaining why LUA is going on hiatus, they look back on what made the experience thus far so worthwhile for each of them, and then look forward to how they’ll be spending their time in the future. Download the mp3 here. Subs…
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82. An Animated Discussion – TNBA: Over the Edge
40:54
40:54
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It is vengeance! It is the night! It is…An Animated Discussion! Join superhero scholar Joshua Unruh and film critic extraordinaire Caleb Masters as they fight a war on crime! It’s time for Joshua and Caleb to talk about the most BTAS episode of The New Batman Adventures. In this pod, they’ll discuss masterful storytelling, excellent characterizatio…
We always bounce back. For our final season of Agents of SHIELD, Joshua takes us on a spy-fi retrospective through the decades. Then he and Lani take a step back and just appreciate the magic that is Agents season 7. Download the mp3 here. Subscribe to the show! iTunes • RSS • Stitcher Show Notes: More about Lani Diane Rich. More about Joshua Unruh…
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81 An Animated Discussion – STAS: Blasts From the Past Pt. 1&2
30:42
30:42
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Yes, it’s An Animated Discussion, strange podcast from another planet! Join superhero scholar Joshua Unruh and film critic extraordinaire Caleb Masters as they fight a never-ending battle for Truth and Justice! Caleb and Joshua are more interested in questions of grammar, the glow up of the Fortress of Solitude, and what could have been instead of …
We are a cautionary tale to steer children away from crime and excess. For the sixth season of Agents of SHIELD, Joshua explains the 616 antecedent to the Chronicoms and then Lani enjoys Joshua’s less than enthusiastic reaction to the sixth season. Download the mp3 here. Subscribe to the show! iTunes • RSS • Stitcher Show Notes: More about Lani Dia…
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80. An Animated Discussion – TNBA: The Demon Within
30:00
30:00
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It is vengeance! It is the night! It is…An Animated Discussion! Join superhero scholar Joshua Unruh and film critic extraordinaire Caleb Masters as they fight a war on crime! Things get a little mystical and a little diabolical as Caleb and Joshua discuss The Demon Within. It’s a fantastic episode, a great take on Arthurian legend, and an excuse fo…
There’s nothing you can do to get us to join your Evil League of Evil. It’s a rough ride as Lani and Joshua close out this season. But before they hit the trail of narrative chicanery, Joshua tells Lani all about superheroes and their annoying offspring from the future. Download the mp3 here. Subscribe to the show! iTunes • RSS • Stitcher Show Note…
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79. An Animated Discussion – STAS: Two’s A Crowd
23:54
23:54
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Yes, it’s An Animated Discussion, strange podcast from another planet! Join superhero scholar Joshua Unruh and film critic extraordinaire Caleb Masters as they fight a never-ending battle for Truth and Justice! It’s the return of the Parasite! And almost none of the previous appearance’s promises are delivered upon! Joshua and Caleb take a look at …
We Don’t Half-Hit People. For an introduction to the Lighthouse, Joshua talks about what agency looks to space in the 616 and then Lani discusses all the time, and story, out of joint. Download the mp3 here. Subscribe to the show! iTunes • RSS • Stitcher Show Notes: More about Lani Diane Rich. More about Joshua Unruh Support Pulp Diction Production…
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78. An Animated Discussion – TNBA: Mean Seasons
46:22
46:22
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It is vengeance! It is the night! It is…An Animated Discussion! Join superhero scholar Joshua Unruh and film critic extraordinaire Caleb Masters as they fight a war on crime! Another season, another reason for taking lame third tier villains, giving them a gender swap and a decent motivation, and turning them into something truly spectacular. Joshu…
Rain or shine, the man with the umbrella’s always ready. Joshua tells Lani about Villain Worlds and how they’re different from Bizarro Worlds and makes some recommendations of Villain Worlds to read and others to avoid. Then they dive hard into the Framework to discuss returns of favorite and less favorite characters, ships that were a bad idea, an…
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77. An Animated Discussion – STAS: Tools of the Trade
42:29
42:29
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Yes, it’s An Animated Discussion, strange podcast from another planet! Join superhero scholar Joshua Unruh and film critic extraordinaire Caleb Masters as they fight a never-ending battle for Truth and Justice! Caleb and Joshua are teased with fantastic Fourth World stuff and then dive deep into the problem of copaganda and superheroes. Pulp Dictio…
We are freakin’ robots. For the LMD arc, Joshua points out two knock-off Captains America as well as the shell game that is LMDs and Doombots in the 616. Then Lani leads the conversation about identity, bad girl shenanigans, ill conceived ships, and the missed opportunities in LMD. Download the mp3 here. Subscribe to the show! iTunes • RSS • Stitch…
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76. An Animated Discussion – TNBA: Growing Pains
36:33
36:33
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It is vengeance! It is the night! It is…An Animated Discussion! Join superhero scholar Joshua Unruh and film critic extraordinaire Caleb Masters as they fight a war on crime! Does TNBA mischaracterize Batman as a jerk with no compassion and a mediocre father at best? Or does the DCAU take Batman on a purposeful emotional arc? And why does it have t…
We know what a good light source is. A guy with a flaming head. It’s a vengeance fueled story arc on Agents of SHIELD as they introduce GHOST RIDER! Joshua and Lani dive into the more mystical end of the Marvel comics before freaking out about how cool a flaming skull in a Dodge Charger is. Download the mp3 here. Subscribe to the show! iTunes • RSS…
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75. An Animated Discussion – STAS: The Main Man parts 1 & 2
43:19
43:19
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Yes, it’s An Animated Discussion, strange podcast from another planet! Join superhero scholar Joshua Unruh and film critic extraordinaire Caleb Masters as they fight a never-ending battle for Truth and Justice! Caleb and Joshua discuss what makes Lobo great satire of the 80s while so typifying, much to our great dismay, the 90s. They also discuss a…
We’re running. Very Fast. Away. Just like real life, it is a cavalcade of difficult topics for Joshua and Lani discuss. Slavery, both fictional and otherwise, the misuse of police powers, and more are mixed into the usual, and enjoyable, spy and relationship shenanigans. Download the mp3 here. Subscribe to the show! iTunes • RSS • Stitcher Show Not…
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74. An Animated Discussion – TNBA: Joker’s Millions
30:49
30:49
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It is vengeance! It is the night! It is…An Animated Discussion! Join superhero scholar Joshua Unruh and film critic extraordinaire Caleb Masters as they fight a war on crime! It’s another workmanlike Joker episode (and we mean that in a good way!). But it’s maybe a little unfortunate that one of the B plots is at least as interesting as the A plot …
We’ll discuss the consequences of your little science fair later. As we pick back up with the Agents, Joshua discusses the thematic overlap between Inhumans and the X-Men. Then Lani and Joshua kick around the various couples and how their relationships impact the arc. Download the mp3 here. Subscribe to the show! iTunes • RSS • Stitcher Show Notes:…
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73. An Animated Discussion – STAS: Stolen Memories
47:21
47:21
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Yes, it’s An Animated Discussion, strange podcast from another planet! Join superhero scholar Joshua Unruh and film critic extraordinaire Caleb Masters as they fight a never-ending battle for Truth and Justice! It’s the triumphant return of Krypton’s Last Mechanical Son, Brainiac! He’s here with two different Faustian deals, one for Lex and one for…
We’re leaving because of witches. Welcome to the new Dark Ages. Joshua discusses the many and deadly foes of Spider-Man while defending secret identities. Then, Lani and Joshua discuss how this could have been two great Spidey movies instead of one good one. Download the mp3 here. Subscribe to the show! iTunes • RSS • Stitcher Show Notes: More abou…
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72. An Animated Discussion – TNBA: Double Talk
31:01
31:01
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It is vengeance! It is the night! It is…An Animated Discussion! Join superhero scholar Joshua Unruh and film critic extraordinaire Caleb Masters as they fight a war on crime! It’s psychological horror as you like it with the departure, then return, and then departure again of the villain known as Scarface (and his Ventriloquist too, natch). And alo…
Until this exact moment, we thought you were Build-A-Bear. At last! The ending of one of the greatest cinematic achievements of all time! Lani and Joshua talk about the end to the Thanos Saga as well as the mixed bag of endings some of our original Avengers received. Joshua also goes back to the DC Universe of the mid 1990s to try and explain the t…
Yes, it’s An Animated Discussion, strange podcast from another planet! Join superhero scholar Joshua Unruh and film critic extraordinaire Caleb Masters as they fight a never-ending battle for Truth and Justice! Caleb and Joshua dive into some big philosophical questions thanks to the evolution of John Corben into METALLO. What would you trade to ne…
We go higher, further, faster, baby! LET’S GET READY TO RUMBLE as Joshua and Lani have a bit of a disagreement over CAPTAIN MARVEL. Lani hates it, Joshua loves it, but who will win? YOU DECIDE! Download the mp3 here. Subscribe to the show! iTunes • RSS • Stitcher Show Notes: Joshua’s Superhero University about Captain Marvel and the episode that be…
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70. An Animated Discussion – TNBA: You Scratch My Back
25:55
25:55
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25:55
It is vengeance! It is the night! It is…An Animated Discussion! Join superhero scholar Joshua Unruh and film critic extraordinaire Caleb Masters as they fight a war on crime! With the first season of HARLEY QUINN behind us, it’s time to return to Gotham City and, with that, the return of Catwoman! Caleb and Joshua discuss the near perfect double cr…
Look at the hairdo. We’re all business. For an adventure this size, Joshua and Lani discuss the Winsome Wasp, the power of charm, and quantum sized Ulta. Download the mp3 here. Subscribe to the show! iTunes • RSS • Stitcher Show Notes: More about Lani Diane Rich. More about Joshua Unruh Support Pulp Diction Productions on Patreon! Support Chipperis…
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69. An Animated Discussion – Harley Quinn: S1E10-13
2:32:10
2:32:10
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Quit clowning around! it’s time for An Animated Discussion! Superhero scholar Joshua Unruh is joined by critic Sara Century and screenwriter Avishai Weinberger to discuss the DC Universe original, HARLEY QUINN! Joshua, Sara, and Avishai are here with the jumbo sized, possibly overstuffed Big Finish! Does the HARLEY QUINN finale deliver on all its p…
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68. An Animated Discussion – Harley Quinn: S1E7-9
1:09:29
1:09:29
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Quit clowning around! it’s time for An Animated Discussion! Superhero scholar Joshua Unruh is joined by critic Sara Century and screenwriter Avishai Weinberger to discuss the DC Universe original, HARLEY QUINN! Joshua, Sara, and Avishai come back together to look at the next set of three episodes for HARLEY QUINN. We’re entering the back half the s…
We’re not looking for forgiveness and we’re way past asking permission. For INFINITY WAR, Lani and Joshua discuss what happens when you think of Thanos as being METAL and then proceed to get real philosophical about this allegedly big dumb superhero story. Download the mp3 here. Subscribe to the show! iTunes • RSS • Stitcher Show Notes: More about …
One honey cone for the bear, one dragonfly ripple for the frog. Don’t get ‘em mixed up. For their first look at a feature length project, Joshua and Lani dig into THE MUPPET MOVIE. How do the Muppets’ particular brand of chaos transfer from skits and gags to the big screen? Pretty well, honestly, but not without some bumps in the road. Download the…
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67. An Animated Discussion – Harley Quinn: S1E4-6
1:47:44
1:47:44
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Quit clowning around! it’s time for An Animated Discussion! Superhero scholar Joshua Unruh is joined by critic Sara Century and screenwriter Avishai Weinberger to discuss the DC Universe original, HARLEY QUINN! Joshua, Sara, and Avishai come back together to look at the next set of three episodes for HARLEY QUINN. They dive into the good, the probl…
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66. An Animated Discussion – Harley Quinn: S1E1-3
1:21:55
1:21:55
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Quit clowning around! it’s time for An Animated Discussion! Superhero scholar Joshua Unruh is joined by critic Sara Century and screenwriter Avishai Weinberger to discuss the DC Universe original, HARLEY QUINN! DC Universe has been kind of a mixed bag when it comes to original offerings. But HARLEY QUINN is one show that utterly gobsmacked Joshua w…
WAKANDA FOREVER! For BLACK PANTHER, Joshua and Lani discuss the joy of stories so full of amazing women and people of color, the history of Wakanda, both fictional and metatextual, and even dip their toes into afrofuturism and the Parliament Funkadelic. Are you hip to Easter Island? Download the mp3 here. Subscribe to the show! iTunes • RSS • Stitc…
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65. An Animated Discussion – STAS: My Girl
31:25
31:25
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Yes, it’s An Animated Discussion, strange podcast from another planet! Join superhero scholar Joshua Unruh and film critic extraordinaire Caleb Masters as they fight a never-ending battle for Truth and Justice! In their last discussion, Caleb and Joshua discussed a villain who sucks Superman’s powers. This time, they talk about an episode that just…
We know him! He’s a friend from work! In this episode, Joshua and Lani talk about post-colonialism, the humor of indigenous people, and feminine rage. Oh, and Lani decides she loves Thor. It’s a Ragnarok miracle! Download the mp3 here. Subscribe to the show! iTunes • RSS • Stitcher Show Notes: More about Lani Diane Rich. More about Joshua Unruh Sup…
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64. An Animated Discussion – TNBA: Never Fear
41:39
41:39
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It is vengeance! It is the night! It is…An Animated Discussion! Join superhero scholar Joshua Unruh and film critic extraordinaire Caleb Masters as they fight a war on crime! Caleb and Joshua are afraid they have to break the news: Scarecrow looks amazing! Not only that, but the master of fear is here with a plot that gave our hosts the opportunity…
We do whatever a spider can! For Homecoming, Lani and Joshua talk about the angry origins of Spider-Man, their appreciation for superheroes that don’t murder, and why the Vulture is one of the MCU’s great villains. Download the mp3 here. Subscribe to the show! iTunes • RSS • Stitcher Show Notes: More about Lani Diane Rich. More about Joshua Unruh S…
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63. An Animated Discussion – STAS: Feeding Time
36:03
36:03
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Yes, it’s An Animated Discussion, strange podcast from another planet! Join superhero scholar Joshua Unruh and film critic extraordinaire Caleb Masters as they fight a never-ending battle for Truth and Justice! Caleb and Joshua introduce a new villain to the DC Animated Universe with the Parasite. So, does he suck away Superman’s power or does he j…
We were told you people were conceited douchebags, but that isn’t true at all. For Guardians of the Galaxy v. 2, Joshua and Lani are joined by Rob Heiret of STAR WARS podcast Metaphors Be With You to discuss, as Lani puts it, “space stuff.” And thank goodness he’s here to help bear the load because this movie is…not great. But the Four Color Facts …
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62. An Animated Discussion – TNBA: Cold Comfort
41:44
41:44
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It is vengeance! It is the night! It is…An Animated Discussion! Join superhero scholar Joshua Unruh and film critic extraordinaire Caleb Masters as they fight a war on crime! It’s the return of Mister Freeze! We saw him content if not happy at the end of SUBZERO, but we all knew that couldn’t last. Caleb and Josh discuss how Mister Freeze is always…
We once stood in your place. We, too, were disrespectful. For DOCTOR STRANGE, Joshua and Lani are joined by their other favorite doctor, Kelly Jones! They discuss origins, Stark biting Strange’s style, the joys of magical pedagogy, and Kelly flips out over libraries. Download the mp3 here. Subscribe to the show! iTunes • RSS • Stitcher Show Notes: …
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61. An Animated Discussion – STAS: A Little Piece of Home
31:55
31:55
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Yes, it’s An Animated Discussion, strange podcast from another planet! Join superhero scholar Joshua Unruh and film critic extraordinaire Caleb Masters as they fight a never-ending battle for Truth and Justice! Joshua and Caleb mostly enjoy the introduction of Kryptonite, but it does have some…weaknesses. For Superman, A Little Piece of Home might …
We want to punch you in your perfect teeth. For Civil War, Joshua and Lani figure out whether you should read the source material, hash out a philosophy of superpowers, and discuss mind control and culpability. Download the mp3 here. Subscribe to the show! iTunes • RSS • Stitcher Show Notes: More about Lani Diane Rich. More about Joshua Unruh Suppo…
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60. An Animated Discussion – DCAU – The New Batman Adventures: Sins of the Father
49:03
49:03
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It is vengeance! It is the night! It is…An Animated Discussion! Join superhero scholar Joshua Unruh and film critic extraordinaire Caleb Masters as they fight a war on crime! Ring in the new year with Batman, Caleb, and Joshua! It’s a new status quo, a new Robin, and the return of an old familiar face in Sins of the Father. Pulp Diction Productions…
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59. An Animated Discussion – DCAU – Superman the Animated Series: Fun and Games
34:30
34:30
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Yes, it’s An Animated Discussion, strange podcast from another planet! Join superhero scholar Joshua Unruh and film critic extraordinaire Caleb Masters as they fight a never-ending battle for Truth and Justice! Joshua and Caleb get out all their toys for the introduction of a definitely weird but unexpectedly creepy member of Superman’s rogues gall…