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Dissecting Dragons

Dissecting Dragons

By: J.A. Ironside & M.E. Vaughan
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Authors J.A. Ironside and M.E. Vaughan talk about books, films and all aspects of speculative fiction, from the nuts and bolts of writing it, to its (occasionally) obscure origins.Copyright 2016 . All rights reserved. Art Literary History & Criticism
Episodes
  • Episode 449: The Crumbling Castle - Disney's Downward Spiral
    Jun 27 2025

    Disney, purveyors and creators of magical family friendly (mostly) entertainment have existed through an interesting and checquered 9 decades. The company is responsible for some of the most beloved fairytale retellings and pioneered the animated feature film. However, it's not all magic kingdoms and pixiedust. As with all multi billion dollar corporations, there's a dark side.

    The company has shapeshifted several times over the decades and interestingly, it seems to be undergoing a change again right now. Whether that will be for good or ill remains to be seen. This week the dragons look at why Disney might have a creativity problem and why the family friendly image is more of a facade than ever.

    Title music: Ecstasy by Smiling Cynic

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    1 hr and 37 mins
  • Episode 448: Unbelievably Popular - why do bad books become best sellers?
    Jun 6 2025

    Have you ever picked up a book, full of anticipation, only to quit 100 pages in? Or maybe you read the whole thing and were left annoyed and baffled when you reached the end? Welcome to the baked in cognitive dissonance of the bookish community. Uber hyped books can turn out to be...bad. Not just bad in your opinion but objectively bad when employing the metrics of writing skill, storytelling and production values. So why exactly are they selling millions of copies? This week, Jules and Madeleine delve into the roots of this question. Is it really a matter of opinion? Can you measure the fitness of a book based entirely on measurable considerations? Is it ever fair to call any book bad? Join the dragons as they interrogate their own beliefs on the subject.

    Title music: Ecstasy by Smiling Cynic

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    1 hr and 27 mins
  • Episode 447: Wit & Readability - 250 years of Jane Austen
    May 23 2025

    If you've noticed all the celebrations, new editions of Austen's work, new adaptations and not a few arguments over issues which seem to amount to 'who's the biggest fan?' then you may have an inkling that it is a major Jane Austen landmark this year.

    Celebrating the 250th year since Jane Austen's birth, the dragons have decided to do their own thing and judge a pageant of Jane Austen adaptations in film, TV, theatre and book form, in an effort to find their own favourite adaptation of Austen's work.

    Under the magnifying glass this week - 1995 Pride & Prejudice, Ang Lee's Sense & Sensibility, Bridget Jones' Diary and many more.

    Title music: Ecstasy by Smiling Cynic

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    1 hr and 11 mins

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