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Words To That Effect

Words To That Effect

Conor Reid

Words To That Effect: Stories of the Fiction that Shapes Popular Culture. WTTE is a narrative storytelling show, hosted and produced by Conor Reid, that explores the intriguing places where fiction, history, science, and popular culture intersect and inspire. From the Victorian past to utopian futures, dinosaurs to detectives, zombies to mummies, how does literature shape our understanding of popular culture? Find out more at https://wttepodcast.com. WTTE is a part of the HeadStuff Podcast Network. Support the show and get bonus episodes and more by joining HeadStuff+ (https://headstuffpodcasts.com/show/words-to-that-effect) .
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Top 10 Words To That Effect Episodes

Goodpods has curated a list of the 10 best Words To That Effect episodes, ranked by the number of listens and likes each episode have garnered from our listeners. If you are listening to Words To That Effect for the first time, there's no better place to start than with one of these standout episodes. If you are a fan of the show, vote for your favorite Words To That Effect episode by adding your comments to the episode page.

Words To That Effect - 59: Robin Hood

59: Robin Hood

Words To That Effect

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04/30/22 • 32 min

From medieval ballads to the poetry of John Keats, stage productions to children’s songs, novels to comic books, silent movies to glorious technicolour, Disney classics to Kevin Costner blockbusters to Mel Brooks parodies to gritty reimaginings and lots, lots more, Robin Hood is certainly one of the most recognisable characters in all of western popular culture.
Joining me to explore the legendary outlaw is Prof Valerie Johnson, from the University of Montevallo, Alabama.
WTTE is part of the HeadStuff Podcast Network. You can support the show and get bonus content and more by becoming a member of HeadStuff+. Go to HeadStuffPodcasts.com
For full transcripts, links, references, and more the home of the podcast is wttepodcast.com

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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Words To That Effect - 45: Mashups, Remixes, and Frankenfiction
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11/10/20 • 25 min

Remix, mashup, sample, adaptation, parody, homage, knock-off. The lines between these, and so many other similar terms, are not always very clear.
In one sense, all culture is a remix, nothing exists in a vacuum. On the other hand, some people may take a dim view of lifting almost the entire text of Pride & Prejudice and republishing it with additional zombie action. Which is where Seth Grahame-Smith’s best-selling 2009 classic, Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, comes in.
For lots more details, links, transcripts, and more, head to the Words To That Effect website

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Words To That Effect - 55: A History of Dragons

55: A History of Dragons

Words To That Effect

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01/25/22 • 31 min

Dragons have been around for a very long time.
They are one of the very few mythological creatures that have become absolutely central to popular culture; everyone knows what a dragon is. There are other important and well-known mythological creatures, but none are as ubiquitous as dragons, which can be found in Europe and the Americas, in classical and Biblical traditions, in ancient Indian tales and across Asian mythology.
So where do dragons come from? Why are they so common across cultures, and what do they mean to us today?
I chat to Professor Scott Bruce, author of the recently published Penguin Book of Dragons and an authority on dragons from antiquity to the present day.
WTTE is part of the HeadStuff Podcast Network. You can support the show and get bonus content and more by becoming a member of HeadStuff+. Go to HeadStuffPodcasts.com
For full transcripts, links, references, and more the home of the podcast is wttepodcast.com

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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Words To That Effect - 56: Arthurian Romance

56: Arthurian Romance

Words To That Effect

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02/08/22 • 28 min

Knights in shining armour, damsels in distress, castles, chivalry and courtly love, heroic quests, dragons.
King Arthur, Camelot, Merlin, the Knights of the Round Table, the Holy Grail.
Think of King Arthur and the medieval romance and a huge number of images and tropes and cliches spring to mind.
Where does all this come from?
WTTE is part of the HeadStuff Podcast Network. You can support the show and get bonus content and more by becoming a member of HeadStuff+. Go to HeadStuffPodcasts.com
For full transcripts, links, references, and more the home of the podcast is wttepodcast.com

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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Words To That Effect - WTTE Season 6 Update

WTTE Season 6 Update

Words To That Effect

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07/01/22 • 4 min

Unfortunately there aren't going to be any new episodes for a little while but have a listen to this short update letting you know what's going on at WTTE and where things are heading next.

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Words To That Effect - 27: Post-Apocalyptic Fiction

27: Post-Apocalyptic Fiction

Words To That Effect

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02/11/19 • 30 min

What would happen if humanity ceased to exist?

Well, assuming, of course, that earth itself has not been destroyed in this hypothetical apocalypse, the world would continue quite happily without us.

People have long speculated about what would happen in the weeks, months, and years after the end of humanity. There is an obvious perverse pleasure in seeing the world we have destroyed, and continue to destroy, getting its revenge. There’s a misanthropy in this type of speculation, what’s sometimes called “catastrophe porn”, but there’s also a humble recognition that ultimately we are, as humans, largely insignificant in the vast scale of things.

Whatever we feel, we are definitely attracted to exploring the idea; apocalyptic and post-apocalyptic fiction has been around for a long time. We like to imagine the end of the world, but it’s quite hard to write a narrative with no people, so what we also like to do, is to imagine what would happen if just a small number of people remained. Not quite the end of the world, but the end of world as we know it.

Post-apocalyptic stories combine so many fascinating elements: there’s the speculation about the future, the frequent sense of adventure and problem solving in a new and dangerous world, the science fictional world building, the appeal to our curiosity about the future of our species. And the profound, complex questions about us, about our relationship with our planet, and with each other, and the huge societal issues that we face.

In conversation with Professor Heather Hicks, from Villanova University, this episode explores the end of the world, from plagues to nuclear war, drought to zombie hordes, Mary Shelley’s The Last Man to the best contemporary post-apocalyptic fiction.

For links, pictures, a full transcript and more head to wttepodcast.com

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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Words To That Effect - Season 3 Preview

Season 3 Preview

Words To That Effect

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01/10/19 • 2 min

Words To That Effect is back! Season 3 kicks off next Monday, Jan 14th. In the meantime, have a listen to a preview of what's in store for the season.

The music heard in this episode was "Polydrug" by Forrests. You can check out their music here

Words To That Effect is a member of the Headstuff Podcast Network. You can listen to previous episodes, and lots of other great podcasts here.

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Words To That Effect - A Word To That Effect: Serendipity (Bonus Ep)
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03/22/22 • 8 min

A Word To That Effect is a new series of bonus mini-episodes about a single word or phrase with a distinctly literary origin. This week: serendipity.
WTTE is part of the HeadStuff Podcast Network. You can support the show and get bonus content and more by becoming a member of HeadStuff+. Go to HeadStuffPodcasts.com
For full transcripts, links, references, and more the home of the podcast is wttepodcast.com

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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Words To That Effect - WTTE - 011 - Cesare Lombroso & The Born Criminal
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11/13/17 • 18 min

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Words To That Effect - Introduction

Introduction

Words To That Effect

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06/22/17 • 3 min

An Introduction and a Preview.
Welcome to Words To That Effect, a new podcast that tells stories of the fiction that shapes popular culture. This is a short introduction to the podcast, telling you a little bit about the format, the guests, and what you can expect...

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FAQ

How many episodes does Words To That Effect have?

Words To That Effect currently has 74 episodes available.

What topics does Words To That Effect cover?

The podcast is about Society & Culture, Documentary, Podcasts, Books and Arts.

What is the most popular episode on Words To That Effect?

The episode title 'WTTE Season 6 Update' is the most popular.

What is the average episode length on Words To That Effect?

The average episode length on Words To That Effect is 23 minutes.

How often are episodes of Words To That Effect released?

Episodes of Words To That Effect are typically released every 14 days.

When was the first episode of Words To That Effect?

The first episode of Words To That Effect was released on Jun 22, 2017.

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