The Incomparable Mothership

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841: There's a Ton of Normal Movies Oct 30, 2026

Show notes

For Halloween we watched a… not particularly spooky movie. It’s the 30-year-old supernatural comedy “The Frighteners,” starring Michael J. Fox and directed by Peter Jackson, who was about to embark on making many “Lord of the Rings” movies. We are not sure we see the connection! But this movie… is not normal. Who is the target audience? Why does Jeffrey Combs appear, mid-film, combing it up at 100%? How many ghosts of loved ones would you want at your hot date at the Medieval Times? We have lots of questions, but very few answers!

"The Frighteners" (1996)

Host Jason Snell with Monty Ashley, Tiff Arment, and Steve Lutz.

Referenced Works

The Frighteners

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840: Back Up the Money Truck Again Oct 23, 2026

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Put on your shin guards and get out on the pitch, because we’re tackling the return of “Ted Lasso” for a fourth season after it seemingly ended with season 3! What did we think of the new story arcs? Was the villain obvious and did it matter? Is Roy Kent the Fonzie of “Ted Lasso?” Follow the money.

"Ted Lasso" season 4

Host Jason Snell with Chip Sudderth, Erika Ensign, Kathy Campbell, Moisés Chiullán, Casey Liss, and Brian Warren.

Referenced Works

Ted Lasso

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Support this show and other shows like it on The Incomparable network by becoming a member. Members get early access to podcasts, bonus episodes, and more.

839: The Weather is the Bad Guy Oct 16, 2026

Show notes

In Jason’s absence, Shelly indulges her fondness for disaster movies, a genre that peaked in the 1970s. And what better way to revel in disaster than with a draft? From shipwrecks to nuclear war to runaway planes and trains, we’ve got you covered in cinematic mayhem. There’s even a zeppelin.

Disaster Movie Draft!

Host Shelly Brisbin with David J. Loehr, Monty Ashley, and Micheline Maynard.

Show Notes & Links

David: Airplane!, Failsafe/Dr. Strangelove, Dante’s Inferno, Night of the Lepus
Monty: Airport 1975, Stop That Train!, Beyond The Poseidon Adventure, The Day After Tomorrow
Micki: All of Titanic, The Perfect Storm, San Francisco, Submersion of Japan
Shelly: The Towering Inferno, The Last Voyage, Lifeboat, Dirigible

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838: And I'm All Outta Dinosaurs Oct 09, 2026

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Inhale deeply of the intoxicating gases and get ready to discuss the “Star Trek: Strange New Worlds” season gone by. Our panel of puppets, “Casablanca” characters, badmirals, and high fantasy types have opinions on the genre-shifting penultimate season. Too much Kirk, or just enough? What’s up with La’an’s journey? Beam us up, Scotty, but only if you’re not still experimenting with the transporter…

"Strange New Worlds" season 4

Host Jason Snell with Dan Moren, Erika Ensign, Moisés Chiullán, and Shelly Brisbin.

Referenced Works

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds

Show Notes & Links

"Vulcan Hello" SNW S4 wrap panel

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837: Thoughts About a Fictional Bakery Oct 03, 2026

Show notes

Helene Wecker’s third Golem and Jinni novel, The Gates of Midnight, is now available! Jason asks her about her multi-decade journey to get to the end of the trilogy, how research has changed along the way, the themes of the three books, and what she might do next.

"The Gates of Midnight"

Host Jason Snell with Helene Wecker.

Referenced Works

The Gates of Midnight

[Amazon] [Apple]

The Golem and the Jinni

[Amazon]

The Hidden Palace

[Amazon] [Apple]

Show Notes & Links

(There are some mild thematic spoilers for the final book in the trilogy, but nothing too bad!)

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836: Tea, Blankets, and Murder Sep 25, 2026

Show notes

Once a subcategory for mysteries, “cozy” feels like the latest craze in publishing with every genre getting in on the act. Is it really a new thing? Are authors able to take sci-fi or horror and turn it into something to be read while cuddled into a warm blanket with a cup of tea at one’s elbow? Our panel discusses what makes a piece of media cozy, drafts a few books (sometimes with media tie-ins), and then throws it open to anything that gives us that cozy feeling. David includes tea pairings with his choices and Antony tells us how he ended up writing a cozy mystery series.

Cozy Draft

Host Shannon Sudderth with Antony Johnston, Annette Wierstra, Shelly Brisbin, David J. Loehr, and James Thomson.

Show Notes & Links

Annette: “A Council of War” cozy mysteries inspired by Elizabeth Peters (series with Amelia Peabody and Vicky Bliss), Veronica Speedwell mysteries by Deanna Raubourne, Jaya Jones mysteries by Gigi Pandian
David: the Gervase Fen series by Edmund Crispin
Antony: the Miss Marple books by Agatha Christie
James: The Impossible Garden of Clara Thorne by Summer N. England
Shelly: the Night Soldiers series by Alan Furst
Shannon: The Spellshop by Sarah Beth Durst
Annette: A Spare Man by Mary Robinette Kowal
David: To Say Nothing of the Dog by Connie Willis
Antony: the Wayfarers books by Becky Chambers
James: Someone You Can Build a Nest In by John Wiswell
Shelly: the Bridgerton novels by Julia Quinn
Shannon: the Cat Who… mysteries by Lilian Jackson Braun
Annette: outdoor lights on my patio
David: the Jeeves and Wooster series by P.G. Wodehouse
Antony: Journey (videogame) by Thatgamecompany
James: Fallout 4 (videogame) by Bethesda Game Studios
Shelly: my cozy reading nook with my Incomparable blanket, Mom’s cozy furniture, various cats, and “Murder, She Wrote” playing in the background
Shannon: revisiting children’s books/media: The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett, the Little House series by Laura Ingalls Wilder, Colin Thompson picture books, Disney fairy tales

Antony’s rec list of fellow cozy authors:

Poppy Denby mysteries by Fiona Veitch Smith
Cressida Fawcett mysteries by Fliss Chester
The Dales Detective Agency series by Julia Chapman
The Inspector Chopra mysteries and the Malabar House series, both by Vaseem Khan
The Bloody Christmas mysteries by Jo Middleton
Various books by Janice Hallett

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835: Team Whammer Sep 18, 2026

Show notes

The Summer of Sundance comes to an end with “The Natural,” a story of a legendary baseball player—no, we’re not talking about Joe Don Baker as The Whammer, or are we? It’s Bernard Malamud’s take on baseball as American mythology, filtered through the mind of Barry Levinson. Barbara Hershey shocks and confuses, Glenn Close glows, Wilford Brimley is very old and near retirement despite being younger than us, and Robert Redford is so versatile he can play a teenager and a man in his mid-thirties despite being in his late forties.

"The Natural"

Host Jason Snell with Philip Michaels, Micheline Maynard, John Siracusa, and David J. Loehr.

Referenced Works

Robert Redford

The Natural

Show Notes & Links

Support this show and other shows like it on The Incomparable network by becoming a member. Members get early access to podcasts, bonus episodes, and more.

834: Dial-a-CIA-computer Sep 11, 2026

Show notes

The Summer of Sundance continues with the paranoid thriller, “Three Days of the Condor.” A devastatingly handsome nerd goes out to buy sandwiches for the office, and the next thing he knows he’s on the run and kidnapping Faye Dunaway…

"Three Days of the Condor"

Host Jason Snell with David J. Loehr, Shelly Brisbin, Paul Weimer, Glenn Fleishman, and Dan Moren.

Referenced Works

Three Days of the Condor

Robert Redford

Show Notes & Links

Support this show and other shows like it on The Incomparable network by becoming a member. Members get early access to podcasts, bonus episodes, and more.

833: She Thought She Heard the Ice Cream Truck Sep 04, 2026

Show notes

Now the curtain is going up, “The Sting” is starting the show! Snappy patter and jokes, along with the star power of Robert Redford and Paul Newman, drive this story of an elaborate con that goes right—or does it?! Also there’s a lot of Scott Joplin music.

"The Sting"

Host Jason Snell with Micheline Maynard, Dr. Drang, Monty Ashley, and David J. Loehr.

Referenced Works

Robert Redford

The Sting

Show Notes & Links

Support this show and other shows like it on The Incomparable network by becoming a member. Members get early access to podcasts, bonus episodes, and more.

832: Likeable Goblins Aug 28, 2026

Show notes

Eleven books later, our Awards Book Club has finally reached the end of the line. In this episode we cover our last uncovered book, “Shroud” by Adrian Tchaikovsky, recommend some Hugo-nominated short fiction, and rank all eleven books. Plus: What are we reading other than shortlisted novels?! See you next year.

2026 Awards Book Club, final chapter

Host Jason Snell with Erika Ensign, Aleen Simms, Heather Berberet, and Scott McNulty.

Referenced Works

Shroud

[Amazon] [Apple]

Show Notes & Links

What are we reading?

Erika: Wooing the Witch Queen by Stephanie Burgis and Dungeon Crawler Carl by Matt Dinniman
Aleen: The Book Witch by Meg Schaffer, The Geomagician by Jennifer Mandula
Heather: The Bright Sword by Lev Grossman, Dark Earth by Rebecca Stott
Scott: There Is No Antimemetics Division by qntm, The Dentist by Tim Sullivan
Jason: Palaces of the Crow by Ray Nayler, The Faith of Beasts by James S.A. Corey

The Incomparable Book Club Awards final rankings

The Everlasting (4 first-place votes) - Average place: 1.7
The Incandescent 3.2
Shroud (1) 3.8
A Drop of Corruption 4.8
The Raven Scholar 5.2
Wearing the Lion 6.2
Katabasis 6.7
When We Were Real 7.7
Death of the Author 8.0
The Buffalo Hunter Hunter (1) 8.3
Sour Cherry 10.5

Support this show and other shows like it on The Incomparable network by becoming a member. Members get early access to podcasts, bonus episodes, and more.

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The Frighteners

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Ted Lasso

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Star Trek: Strange New Worlds

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"Vulcan Hello" SNW S4 wrap panel

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The Gates of Midnight

The Golem and the Jinni

The Hidden Palace

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Robert Redford

The Natural

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Three Days of the Condor

Robert Redford

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Robert Redford

The Sting

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Shroud

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