Hard N.O.C. Life

Latest Episodes:

Episode 102: Pornsak Pichetshote Discusses 'Infidel' Feb 16, 2018

Show notes

Former Vertigo editor Pornsak Pichetshote comes to Hard NOC Life to talk about Infidel, his new comic series from Image!

Keith and Pornsak take a deep dive in to the comic book industry and discuss how comics have evolved into the dominant creative force of Hollywood. Later, they discuss the inspiration for Infidel and how to tell stories outside your own experience.

All this and more on Hard NOC Life! Watch it on your screen, hit "play," and check this. Subscribe to all of podcasts in the Hard NOC Media family on Apple Podcasts, Google Play, and NPR One!

As always, our official theme music is brought to you by the super team of Adam WarRock and Chops.

Episode 101: The Sunken Place to Wakanda Feat. Tananarive Due & Steven Barnes Feb 02, 2018

Show notes

With historic Oscar nominations for Get Out and record-breaking ticket pre-sales for Black Panther, 2018 is shaping up to be a watershed year for mainstream genre pictures that center Black characters. Acclaimed speculative fiction writers and educators Tananarive Due and Steven Barnes, who currently offer an online course dedicated to Jordan Peele's box office phenomenon, join Keith for a frank discussion of both films and their place in American popular culture.

But first, Laura Surikul joins to invite our listeners to the first of several Black Panther Blerd Meetups at the Scum and Villainy Cantina in Los Angeles. We are co-sponsoring with Black Girl Nerds, Geeks of Color, and a host of other Nerdy POCs including Fatman on Batman co-host Marc Bernardin!

All this and more on Hard NOC Life! Watch it on your screen, hit "play," and check this. Subscribe to all of the podcasts in the Hard NOC Media family on Apple Podcasts, Google Play, and NPR One!

As always, our official theme music is brought to you by the super team of Adam WarRock and Chops. Support us on Patreon!

Episode 100: Behind the Scenes at 'DC in D.C. 2018' Jan 20, 2018

Show notes

Over the Martin Luther King holiday weekend in the Nation's Capital, Warner Brothers and DC Entertainment held the first ever "DC in D.C." event, bringing together the stars and creators of television and comics to celebrate and honor the diversity of the DC Universe's superheroes. We also finally announce a Patreon and ask you for your support!

The Nerds of Color was lucky enough to get invited to participate, along with our friends from Joe and Patrick from New Release Wednesday. So for this special 100th episode of Hard NOC Life, we're giving you the sounds from the press room where we got to speak with Chris Chalk, who plays Lucius Fox on Gotham; David Harewood, who plays Martian Manhunter on Supergirl; Salim and Mara Brock Akil, the creators and showrunners of Black Lightning, novelist Alice Randall and artist Denys Cowan, who are both working to bring Milestone 2.0 back to comics; Brandon Routh, who plays Ray Palmer/The Atom on Legends of Tomorrow, Cress Williams, who plays Jefferson Pierec/Black Lightning on Black Lightning; and Oscar-winner John Ridley, who is writing The Other History of the DC Universe.

All this and more on Hard NOC Life! Watch it on your screen, hit "play," and check this. Subscribe to all of podcasts in the Hard NOC Media family on Apple Podcasts and Google Play! Please support Hard NOC Media on Patreon.

As always, our official theme music is brought to you by the super team of Adam WarRock and Chops.

Episode 099: The 'Genius' of Marc Bernardin Jan 12, 2018

Show notes

Writer, journalist, and podcaster Marc Bernardin returns to Hard NOC Life! Keith and Marc engage in a wide-ranging conversation about representation in media.

Together, they handicap the Oscar potential of films like Get Out, Logan, and Wonder Woman; investigate the balkanization of fandom; discuss how his Top Cow series Genius holds a mirror up to society; relive the summer he spent interning on Deep Space Nine; reveal what it was like writing for the upcoming Hulu series Castle Rock; and anticipate this summer's Avengers: Infinity War.

All this and more on Hard NOC Life! Watch it on your screen, hit "play," and check this. Subscribe to all of podcasts in the Hard NOC Media family on Apple Podcasts and Google Play!

As always, our official theme music is brought to you by the super team of Adam WarRock and Chops.

Episode 098: Breaking Down 'Star Wars: The Last Jedi' Dec 21, 2017

Show notes

All week, rabid Star Wars fans have been debating the merits of the most recent entry into the Skywalker saga, Star Wars: The Last Jedi. Directed by Rian Johnson and starring Daisy Ridley, Adam Driver, John Boyega, Oscar Issac, Kelly Marie Tran, Carrie Fisher, and Luke Skywalker, The Last Jedi has proven to be the most polarizing entry in the Lucasfilm canon. To break down what they thought of the movie, Keith invited his DC TV Classics co-host Britney Monae.

If you don't want to be spoiled, you can listen up to the 16:30 point. Afterwards, the hosts get into pretty spoilery territory! Otherwise, be sure to check out theses posts -- by comic scribes Brandon Easton and Gerry Conway, respectively -- that get referenced in the episode!

All this and more on Hard NOC Life! Watch it on your screen, hit "play," and check this. Subscribe to all of podcasts in the Hard NOC Media family on Apple Podcasts and Google Play!

As always, our official theme music is brought to you by the super team of Adam WarRock and Chops.

Episode 097: How Janina Gavankar Became the NOC Face of Star Wars Nov 29, 2017

Show notes

Since the NOC launched in 2013, actress Janina Gavankar has been one of the community's biggest celebrity boosters. Now, finally, Janina is able to join us on Hard NOC Life! In the intervening years, she has racked up the nerd bona fides by starring in Arrow, True Blood, and Sleepy Hollow. But now, she is part of the biggest nerd franchise of them all: as Iden Versio in the blockbuster game franchise Star Wars: Battlefront II.

Keith and Janina discuss her upbringing in an immigrant household in Illinois and her initiation as a drum corps geek as a teenager. Then, they talk about her gamer origins and what it's like coming on to projects while also being a fan of the properties. They also talk about how important it is to see a brown girl be the face of something like Star Wars and what it was like portraying a character as nuanced as Iden Versio. Later, she exposes the Desi Illuminati, endorses the Desi Geek Girls podcast, and shouts out everyone's Iden cosplay!

All this and more on Hard NOC Life! Watch it on your screen, hit "play," and check this. Subscribe to all of podcasts in the Hard NOC Media family on Apple Podcasts and Google Play!

As always, our official theme music is brought to you by the super team of Adam WarRock and Chops.

Episode 096: 'Justice League' and the Future of the DCEU Nov 27, 2017

Show notes

Two weeks ago, Justice League -- WB/DC's attempt at uniting all of its iconic heroes in a single movie -- fizzled at the box office, calling in to question the future of the DC Universe on film. To talk about the movie, and what it portends for the rest of the DCEU, Mashable movie reporter Angie Han joins the podcast to discuss where Justice League failed to deliver as a follow-up to Batman v Superman.

In addition to discussing Angie's essay on that very topic, she and Keith talk about the film's troubled production, the clashing of its two directors' visions, and the toxicity of some of the fandom surrounding the DCEU. They also explore the difference in approach between Marvel and DC and speculate what other films could be in store for Warner Brothers and DC Entertainment. Finally, they consider the necessity for another Batman franchise, while Keith once again makes a pitch for Armie Hammer to take over the role of Batman, mostly for the prospect of a de facto Man From U.N.C.L.E. sequel.

All this and more on Hard NOC Life! Watch it on your screen, hit "play," and check this. Subscribe to all of podcasts in the Hard NOC Media family on Apple Podcasts and Google Play!

As always, our official theme music is brought to you by the super team of Adam WarRock and Chops.

Episode 095: EW's Shirley Li on 'Crazy Rich Asians' Nov 02, 2017

Show notes

This weekend's cover story in Entertainment Weekly features Constance Wu and Henry Golding from next year's can't-miss romcom Crazy Rich Asians. Since Asian Americans on the cover of EW is so rare, we brought in the story's author, Shirley Li, to talk about her behind-the-scenes look at the movie all of Asian America is pinning its hopes and dreams on (no pressure, Jon Chu!)

All this and more on Hard NOC Life! Watch it on your screen, hit "play," and check this. Subscribe to all of podcasts in the Hard NOC Media family on Apple Podcasts and Google Play!

As always, our official theme music is brought to you by the super team of Adam WarRock and Chops.

Episode 094: #BeingLatinx on Supergirl Oct 27, 2017

Show notes

On the most recent episode of Supergirl, the producers doubled down on Maggie Sawyer's problematic Latinx identity.

To discuss the show's mishandling of this latest storyline, its whitewashed casting, and the Latinx community's history of under representation in Hollywood, Hard NOC Life brings back Desiree Rodrguez, and welcomes Latinx Geeks founder Alexis Sanchez, and writer Anthony Otero.

All this and more on Hard NOC Life! Watch it on your screen, hit "play," and check this. Subscribe to all of podcasts in the Hard NOC Media family on Apple Podcasts and Google Play!

As always, our official theme music is brought to you by the super team of Adam WarRock and Chops.

Episode 093: One-on-One with Yoshi Sudarso Sep 29, 2017

Show notes

On Hard NOC Life, Keith sits down with actor and stunt performer Yoshi Sudarso.

Keith and Yoshi discuss Iron Fist, the problem with whitewashing and why it's okay to cross-cast Asian ethnicities, and Buffalo Boys, the movie he's currently shooting in Indonesia. They also talk about his Daniel Wu fandom and Keith tries to get him cast on Into the Badlands by trying to trend #Yoshi4Badlands.

All this and more on Hard NOC Life! Watch it on your screen, hit "play," and check this. Subscribe on Apple Podcasts and Google Play!

As always, our official theme music is brought to you by the super team of Adam WarRock and Chops.

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