Superhero Ethics

Latest Episodes:

EP 57 - KHAAAAANNNNN Oct 25, 2018

Show notes

What can you learn from the no-win scenario? Is Star Fleet a military organization? And are those REALLY Ricardo Montalbán's pec muscles.
Jacob & Matthew watched Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan and then talked about the ethical questions it raised.
Agree or disagree with what we talked about, or want to add your own thoughts? Let us know! We recently started a Superhero Ethics Facebook Group, which is the best way to join in the conversations. You can also find us on Twitter or email us at superheroethics@gmail.com

Ep 56 - OMG, Daredevil Season 3 Oct 11, 2018

Show notes

Jacob and Matthew are just a little excited about the upcoming new season of Daredevil. They dive into some of the questions they hope to see explored in this new season, such as did time in prison change Wilson Fisk, why was Veronica such an important character, and will we see more of her, and why Matt’s faux death at the end of Defenders bothered us so much.
Agree or disagree with what we talked about, or want to add your own thoughts? Let us know! We recently started a Superhero Ethics Facebook Group, which is the best way to join in the conversations. You can also find us on Twitter or email us at superheroethics@gmail.com

Ep 55 - Violence Sep 20, 2018

Show notes

Does a Superhero movie need a good fight scene? Jacob and Matthew look at the role of physical violence in the stories we love, asking questions of both the characters and the writers. Can you tell a hero story without violence? Do our heroes too often resort to their fists? And why do so many heroes see fighting as flirtation?
You can download the episode with a right click and clicking "save link as" or subscribe by searching for Superhero Ethics on Itunes or on Stitcher.
Agree or disagree with what we talked about, or want to add your own thoughts? Let us know! We recently started a Superhero Ethics Facebook Group, which is the best way to join in the conversations. You can also find us on Twitter or email us at superheroethics@gmail.com
This is the voter registration website we mentioned during the PSA at the end.

Ep 54: Supernatural Road Trip Sep 13, 2018

Show notes

What better place to discuss the cross country antics of the Winchester Brothers than the open road? While driving cross country, Jacob and Matthew took some time to talk Supernatural, examining the moral value of different kinds of non-humans, the relationship between Sam and Dean, and their willingness to make any and all sacrifices to save each other.
Our schedules haven’t allowed us the chance to record under our normal conditions, and while talking about Supernatural while driving down the highway seems rather fitting, we know that the sound quality is a lot lower than what we like to provide you. Thank you for bearing with us, and we will be back to our normal recording conditions (and sound quality!) for our next episode.
Agree or disagree with what we talked about, or want to add your own thoughts? Let us know! We recently started a Facebook Group, which is the best way to join in the conversations. You can also find us on Twitter or email us at superheroethics@gmail.com

Ep 53 - Jessica Jones S2 Aug 16, 2018

Show notes

Jacob and Matthew explore the second season of Jessica Jones on a number of levels, looking at the decisions of both the characters and the writers. How should the law treat someone like Alissa? What responsibility does Jessica hold for her mother’s actions? How do we view Trish’s actions, and the writers' decisions to put so much conflict between her and Jessica?
You can download the episode with a right click and clicking "save link as" or subscribe by searching for Superhero Ethics on Itunes or on Stitcher.
Agree or disagree with what we talked about, or want to add your own thoughts? Let us know! You can find us on Twitter, Facebook, or email us at superheroethics@gmail.com

Ep 52 - Ethics of Fandom Jul 26, 2018

Show notes

This week, we take a step back from the things we are fans of, to talk about fandom itself. What rights or ownership do we as fans have over the properties we love? What is the interaction between media, and the fan-created things it inspires, such as fan fiction? And why do fan responses to media sometimes turn so horribly toxic?
Agree or disagree with what we talked about, or want to add your own thoughts? Let us know! You can find us on Twitter, Facebook, or email us at superheroethics@gmail.com

Ep 51: Kingpin is a Hand Puppet Jul 10, 2018

Show notes

This week we dive into questions from our listeners and fans! inspired by our friends at the MCUCast, we start with a lengthy discussion about Kingpin and The Punisher, what separates them and what makes them similar. Why do we cheer for one, and root for the other to be taken down, or do we? From there we dive into listener questions about Civil War, Cap, the portrayal of mental illness in genre fiction and a number of other topics.
Agree or disagree with what we talked about, or want to add your own thoughts? Let us know! You can find us on Twitter, Facebook, or email us at superheroethics@gmail.com

Ep 50: Don't Make Me Turn This Podcast Around Jun 26, 2018

Show notes

Here it is, our 50th episode! All three hosts, Paul, Jacob, and Matthew, come together to re-examine some of our favorite questions and discussions from past episodes. We talk about the Joker, different ways of understanding violence, when heroes can or should kill, humorous vs. serious portrayals of heroes, and plan for the eventual ascension of our robot overlords.
You can download the episode with a right click and clicking "save link as" or subscribe by searching for Superhero Ethics on Itunes or on Stitcher.
Agree or disagree with what we talked about, or want to add your own thoughts? Let us know! You can find us on Twitter, Facebook, or email us at superheroethics@gmail.com
Also of note- we were a bit punchy for this episode. It led to a great, and funny, discussion, but also a few slips of the tongue- including Matthew’s references at various points to “Chris Kapernick” and “Stuporman.” Please forgive those errors.
Here are the podcast episodes we referenced:
Ep 3: Suicidal Villains: Suicide Squad and the Nature of Bad Guys.
Ep 4: Vengeance! Exploring Desperado
Ep 10: Killing President Luthor
Ep 19: Why so Serious? The Joker
Ep 24: Logan on Logan
Ep 33: Ethics of our Robot Overlords
Ep 39: Thor and the Value of Fluff

Ep 50 (ish): What Makes a Hero? Jun 06, 2018

Show notes

What makes someone a hero? Does it matter if they choose their path is chosen, or it is assigned to them? Does a hero have to have something terrible happen to them, to inspire them to become heroic? And which villains come the closest to being heroes in their own right?
To celebrate our 50th episode, we got all three hosts, Paul, Matthew, and Jacob, on the line to look back at some of our past discussions. Unfortunately, there were technical issues, and we lost a lot of that conversation. We will be trying again soon, but meanwhile this is a shorter teaser episode, in which we look at the question that underlies so much of this podcast- what is a hero?
Stay tuned for a full version of our 3 way conversation coming as soon as we are able to re-record it. (And all learn when to hit the record button!)
You can download the episode with a right click and clicking "save link as" or subscribe by searching for Superhero Ethics on Itunes or on Stitcher.
Agree or disagree with what we talked about, or want to add your own thoughts? Let us know! You can find us on Twitter, Facebook, or email us at superheroethics@gmail.com

Ep 49: Do we Trade Lives? The Ethics of Infinity War May 17, 2018

Show notes

*** SPOILER WARNING ***
Even our show notes have spoilers
Is Cap’ right to claim “We don’t trade lives?” Could Thanos have been stopped if our heroes made different choices? What role does hubris play when heroes don’t want to make tough choices? And how much of an idiot was Peter Quill?
In this episode, Jacob and Matthew dive deep into the questions that came out of Avengers: Infinity War, exploring Thanos himself, the various ways the Avengers tried to stop him, and our hopes for where things go in the coming movies and tv shows.
Agree or disagree with what we talked about, or want to add your own thoughts? Let us know! You can find us on Twitter, Facebook, or email us at superheroethics@gmail.com
Note- We recorded this episode live again, which led to a great discussion, but also caused some sound issues. Jacob did a heroic job cleaning things up, but we know it is still not up to our normal standards. Please know we are aware of that, and and are taking steps to ensure we return to our normal quality in upcoming episodes.

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