Machine Readable

Episode 045 - After the Heat Death of the Universe

aldmachinereadable@gmail.com — Tue, 26 Feb 2013 19:06:00 +0000

Well, the time has come. The final episode of the Machine Readable podcast. But like some sort of mythical bird that none of us are well-educated enough to name, we shall rise from these ashes. Follow us on twitter (@jasongiardino, @markusespar, @mazer_nickham) for the exciting detaily details about our next podcasty project!

Episode 044 - Charles Dickens Invented the Warp Drive

aldmachinereadable@gmail.com — Sat, 12 Jan 2013 20:19:00 +0000

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Join a very tired Mark, Nick and Jason as they discuss A Christmas Carol (three weeks too late), Iain M. Banks' The Hydrogen Sonata, and the Fantasy Flight board game Android.

Episode 043 - The Land of Ire

aldmachinereadable@gmail.com — Mon, 17 Dec 2012 23:06:00 +0000

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The most likely possibility for John Harrison's true identity.

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This week we talk about Jason's trip to Ireland, William Alexander's Goblin Secrets, and our anticipation for the (then-forthcoming) film adaptation of The Hobbit. Also this episode was edited by Mark in the throes of a 102+ degree fever. He bears no responsibility for any colossal disasters that may exist within.

Main Items:

Goblin Secrets by William Alexander ALD | WorldCat

The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien ALD | WorldCat

Other Items:

Benedict Cumberbatch is JOHN HARRISON in Star Trek: Into Darkness

Star Trek: Into Darkness trailer

Man of Steel trailer

After Earth trailer

Episode 042 - Manic Pixie Dream Episode

aldmachinereadable@gmail.com — Sun, 02 Dec 2012 22:09:00 +0000

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After a long holiday and post-MileHiCon hiatus, Machine Readable is back. This week we discuss Robin Sloan's Mr. Penumbra's 24 Hour Bookstore, and then throw book and TV recommendations at Nick and Jason.

Main items:

Mr. Penumbra's 24 Hour Bookstore ALD | WorldCat
Cat's Cradle by Kurt Vonnegut ALD | WorldCat
Dr. Who ALD | WorldCat
Farscape ALD | WorldCat
The Twilight Zone ALD | WorldCat

News:

Battlestar Galactica: Blood and Chrome on YouTube

Asteroid on track to collide with Earth? Just veer it off course with paintballs.

Someone made Settlers of Catan-inspired fashion garments

The Wii-U was released and Mark wants one for some reason, let’s mock him

Episode 041 - Leaving MileHiCon, pt. 3

aldmachinereadable@gmail.com — Sun, 11 Nov 2012 20:14:00 +0000

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Our MileHiCon 2012 coverage concludes with interviews with Expanse authors Daniel Abraham and Ty Franck, and the gregarious and amazing CJ Henderson.

Daniel Abraham and Ty Franck - 22:10
CJ Henderson - 58:30

Episode 040 - Not Even Remotely Live from MileHiCon, pt. 2

aldmachinereadable@gmail.com — Sun, 04 Nov 2012 21:03:00 +0000

Jason Giardino: serious reporter.

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Mark, Nick, Jason and Jeremiah gather to talk about Cloud Atlas, Disney buying Lucasfilm, and Nanowrimo 2012.

We also continue our lineup of MileHiCon 2012 interviews. This week we feature the brilliant Paolo Bacigalupi, the multi-talented Terry Kroenung, and the utterly fantastic Steven Brust.

Paolo Bacigalupi - 14:30
Terry Kroenung - 57:45
Steven Brust - 01:22:25

Episode 039 - Not Actually Live from MileHiCon, Pt. 1

aldmachinereadable@gmail.com — Sat, 27 Oct 2012 21:29:00 +0000

Jason and Nick, loving life.

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Join us live (well, not exactly) from the floor of MileHiCon 2012! In this episode, we interview Cherie Priest, Matt Rotundo, Jon Keeyes, and Melinda Snodgrass. They're comprehensively guaranteed to be more interesting than we are.

Interview start times:

Cherie Priest - 06:15
Matthew Rotundo - 38:40
Jon Keeyes - 01:12:15
Melinda Snodgrass - 01:36:30

Machine Readable Podcast visits MileHiCon 2012

aldmachinereadable@gmail.com — Fri, 26 Oct 2012 16:46:00 +0000

Machine Readable recently graced MileHiCon's presence with a slew of forthcoming author interviews and our charming witticisms. To tide you all over until those episodes are ready, here's the end result of giving a camcorder to our proud supporters/significant others Jessie and Bridget. Enjoy!

Episode 038 - The National Currency Is Riddles

aldmachinereadable@gmail.com — Tue, 16 Oct 2012 02:56:00 +0000

He-Man and video games: what this podcast is apparently all about.

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Mark, Nick and Chris talk about the Humble eBook Bundle, Cory Doctorow's Pirate Cinema, Warren Ellis' Transmetropolitan, and the illustrious career of non-existant fantasy author Rocco Jordane.

Main items:

Humble E-book Bundle
Pirate Cinema by Cory Doctorow ALD | WorldCat
Transmetropolitan series by Warren Ellis ALD | WorldCat
How do epic fantasy and video games continue to satiate you as an adult?

Other items:

Episode 037 - Robert Kirkman's "The Walking Squid"

aldmachinereadable@gmail.com — Thu, 11 Oct 2012 02:28:00 +0000

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Jason, Chris, Nick and Mark discuss our new theme song, the low-octane thriller Looper, Brandon Sanderson's Mistborn Trilogy, and the upcoming MileHiCon 2012.

Episode 036 - Various Street Fighter Announcers Say "Japan!"

aldmachinereadable@gmail.com — Sun, 30 Sep 2012 17:42:00 +0000

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Mark, Jason and Jeremiah gather in Nick's absence to discuss Saladin Ahmed's Throne of the Crescent Moon, more of the latest season of Doctor Who, and the glorious new indie game FTL: Faster Than Light.

Episode 035 - Jet Lag Is A Thing

aldmachinereadable@gmail.com — Fri, 21 Sep 2012 03:06:00 +0000

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These folks have single-handedly reaffirmed Mark's faith in humanity.

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International travelers Nick, Mark, and Jason regale each other with past, present, and future stories of their trips. Listen while we question Jason's nerditude for not having read Vonnegut, why Nick would make a decent Chekov, and why Mark thinks that farting aliens are the 47%.

Main items:

Sirens of Titan by Kurt Vonnegut WorldCat
"Asylum of the Daleks" and "Dinosaurs on a Spaceship" - new Dr. Who
Total Recall (1990) ALD | WorldCat
Total Recall (2012) ALD
Trek in the Park

Other items:

Player Piano by Kurt Vonnegut WorldCat
Schwarzenegger commentary on Total Recall Blu-Ray
Hugo Awards Announced
Hugo Awards copyright kerfuffle
J.J. Abrams' Revolution pilot
Wizards vs. Aliens
Follow us on Twitter, we'll embarrass ourselves by performing some Star Trek ourselves
@aldmachine

Episode 034 - Defecting to the Oprah Book Club

aldmachinereadable@gmail.com — Sun, 02 Sep 2012 17:12:00 +0000

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Steve McQueen, who doesn't need to win a contest to be awesome.

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Sneaking in an episode between vacations, perpetually friendzoned Mark, Nick and Jeremiah discuss Charles Yu's Sorry Please Thank You, Patrick Rothfuss' The Wise Man's Fear, video games featuring robot dinosaurs, and a whole bunch of news that has nothing to do with presidential politics.

Main items:

Sorry Please Thank You by Charles Yu ALD | WorldCat
Telltale's The Walking Dead video game
The Wise Man's Fear by Patrick Rothfuss ALD | WorldCat
Transformers: Fall of Cybertron video game

Other items:

A man named Craig Queen has won the Ready Player One contest (our bad, we said Steve Queen. Trying to project even further greatness upon him).
Joss Whedon S.H.I.E.L.D. television show happening on ABC
DC's Justice League film may be our introduction to the new Batman
Season 7 of Dr. Who premiered

Episode 033 - An Interview With Steven Gould

aldmachinereadable@gmail.com — Thu, 16 Aug 2012 22:25:00 +0000

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Acclaimed author Steven Gould (Jumper, Reflex, 7th Sigma) joins us to discuss his novels, the Viable Paradise writer's workshop, and the 2008 film adaptation of his novel Jumper. He also offers compelling evidence that an obsession with martial arts is the best outcome to a midlife crisis.

Alternate titles for this episode included Nothing Gould Can Stay, All That Glitters Is Not Gould, Gouldfinger, A Return to the Gould Standard, Super Goulds and Ghosts, and No Jay: The Steven Gould Story. Mr. Gould, our sincerest apologies.

Visit Steven Gould online at http://eatourbrains.com/steve/

Main items:

The Touch of their Eyes Part 1 [audio] | Part 2 [audio]
Jumper by Stephen Gould WorldCat
Jumper [film] ALD | WorldCat
Reflex by Steven Gould WorldCat
Jumper: Griffin's Story by Steven Gould ALD | WorldCat
7th Sigma by Steven Gould ALD | WorldCat
Viable Paradise

Other items:

Machine Readable Visits The Denver County Fair!

aldmachinereadable@gmail.com — Thu, 16 Aug 2012 22:24:00 +0000

We were delighted to go to the second ever Denver County Fair to check out the Geek Pavilion! We'd like you to take a visual tour of hosts Nick and Mark frolicking about with and around nerdy things. If you had pictured us as even more attractive as is seen in these photos, we apologize in advance.

Mark and his wife Anna-Liisa making friendly with robots!


Entrants for homemade robot contest!

Crow T. Robot joining Tom Servo


Nick looking particularly steamy in one of many steampunk tents.


Nick is re-registered to vote in Denver county! Thanks vote bot!


Judging from this and Scalzi's recent Redshirts, we should probably be wary of their imminent revenge.

Tough to see, but this booth let you buy nerf darts to shoot at a guy in a Stormtrooper costume. Genius.

Mark threatened to Joust Nick. The threat was empty.

Episode 032 - The Dead House Thing From Outer Space Under the Hill of the House of the Witch of the Dead of Cthulhu

aldmachinereadable@gmail.com — Tue, 07 Aug 2012 22:09:00 +0000

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Unspeakable banjo-wielding monstrosity Chris Rippey joins Mark, Nick, and Jason as they discuss John Scalzi's Redshirts, I.N.J. Culbard's adapation of H.P. Lovecraft's At the Mountains of Madness, Alphas Season Two, and the many, many reasons Russell Crowe should have nothing to do with The Dark Tower film adaptation. Or anything else, really.

Main items:

Curiosity lands on Mars!
Redshirts by John Scalzi ALD | WorldCat
At the Mountains of Madness by I.N.J. Culbard and H.P. Lovecraft ALD | WorldCat
Alphas season two ALD [season one] | WorldCat [season one]

Other items:

Phalanx
Curiosity parachuting
Mansions of Madness
Arkham Horror
De Profundis
Sequel to X-Men: First Class will be X-Men: Days of FuturePast
X-Men: The Animated Series WorldCat
The Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes ALD | WorldCat
Dark Tower adaptation just might feature Russell Crowe asRoland
Conclusion to epic DC's Who's Who battle between Mark and Nick

Episode 031 - Faster Than The Finest Helicopter

aldmachinereadable@gmail.com — Thu, 02 Aug 2012 18:04:00 +0000

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Jason, Nick, and Mark gather around the ol' proverbial campfire to discuss Jo Walton's Among Others, Walter Miller's A Canticle for Leibowitz, the B-movie documentary Popatopolis, and the dregs of the DC universe.

Main items:

Among Others by Jo Walton ALD | WorldCat
Popatopolis - A B Movie Documentary
A Canticle for Leibowitz by Walter M. Miller WorldCat
Who's Who of DC Comics inspires Nick/Mark showdown

Other items:

Make Your Own Damn Movie by Lloyd Kaufman ALD [documentary] | WorldCat [book]
The Hobbit will be three films?

@aldmachine
@markusespar
@jasongiardino
@mazer_nickham

Episode 030 - The Robcast

aldmachinereadable@gmail.com — Tue, 24 Jul 2012 19:30:00 +0000

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Some fancypants European named Rob Wuest joins Nick and Mark for a discussion of The Dark Knight Rises, Deus Ex: Human Revolution, and the differences between cowboys and dinosaurs.

Main items:

The Dark Knight Rises (spoiler-free at beginning, spoiler talk at the end)
Deus Ex: Human Revolution
Man of Steel trailer

Other items:

Arabian Nights
Essen Spiel
Wasabi
Power Grid
BANG!
Grant Morrison is making Dinosaurs vs. Aliens
Dinosaucers
Denver, the Last Dinosaur
New Dr. Who has an episode entitled "Dinosaurs on aSpaceship"
Y the Last Man awesome fan video
50 Shades of Grey Dutch translation (Thanks for the Dutch news, Rob!)

Episode 029 - Neo-Jungian Jingoism

aldmachinereadable@gmail.com — Wed, 18 Jul 2012 22:32:00 +0000

War of the Wizzes courtesy of Fantasy Flight Games

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In this episode: Nick, Mark, Jeremiah and Bridget get together and use collegiate words to discuss Canadian graphic novelist Jeff Lemire's oeuvre of work. Also mentioned when we're on point: Jeremiah's Ed McMahon sensibilities, Greg Rucka on writing women, and why Benedict Cumberbatch has too many syllables in his name.

Main items:

Jeff Lemire's oeuvre:

Essex County ALD | WorldCat
Sweet Tooth ALD | WorldCat
Animal Man vol. 1: The Hunt ALD | WorldCat
Underwater Welder ALD | WorldCat

Other items:

Episode 028 - Let's Buy Chris a Car!

aldmachinereadable@gmail.com — Wed, 11 Jul 2012 02:02:00 +0000

This is what listening to this episode feels like.

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Join us as we discuss pulled pork, Kim Stanley Robinson's 2312, Alan Moore's Swamp Thing, and the most detailed plot synopsis of the 1982 Knight Rider pilot in the history of the internet.

Main items:

2312 by Kim Stanley Robinson ALD | WorldCat
Knight Rider ALD | WorldCat
Swamp Thing by Alan Moore ALD | WorldCat
Lord Foul's Bane by Stephen R. Donaldson WorldCat

Other items mentioned:

Fiasco
Red Mars by Kim Stanley Robinson ALD | WorldCat
Foundation Trilogy by Isaac Asimov ALD | WorldCat
Mr. T pities the fool who watches the new A-Team film
Dial H for Hero by China Mieville
Swamp Thing animated series
Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons
Warren Ellis' GI Joe
Marvel attempts a reboot
Neal Stephenson makes his Kickstarter goal for sword simulation

Episode 027 - The Beheadysburg Address

aldmachinereadable@gmail.com — Mon, 02 Jul 2012 19:41:00 +0000

20th Century Fox

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YA Librarian Bridget Kiely joins Nick Taylor, Jason Giardino and Mark Mullis for a discussion about Abraham Lincoln - Vampire Hunter, Brandon Sanderson's Mistborn novels, and the real life easter egg hunt inspired by Ernest Cline's Ready Player One. Which Jason is currently losing. GET ON IT, JASON!

Main Items:

Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter IMDb
(Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter by Seth Grahame-Smith ALD | WorldCat)
Brave IMDb
Mistborn by Brandon Sanderson WorldCat

Other items:

Episode 026 - A Gentlemanly Debate About Diphthongs

aldmachinereadable@gmail.com — Mon, 25 Jun 2012 17:20:00 +0000

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Mark, Nick, and Jason compare Denver's recent heat wave to the classic Twilight Zone episode "Nightmare at 2000 Feet" (or "The Midnight Sun" or something, they're all pretty much the same thing). They also find time to discuss Brian Evenson's Immobility, Pixar's Brave, and the many parallels between Larry Ellison and Tony Stark.

Main items:

Immobility by Brian Evenson ALD | WorldCat
Brave IMDb

Other items mentioned:

Twilight Zone - "The Midnight Sun"
Star Trek: The Return by William Shatner ALD | WorldCat
A Canticle for Leibowitz by Walter Miller WorldCat
Ray Bradbury passed away
Error code 451 in honor of his passing
Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury ALD | WorldCat
Futurama Season 7 starts awesome
Michael Bay's TMNT reboot slated for 2014
Rumors of Twilight reboot
Principal photography on Ender's Game film finished
Larry Ellison bought a Hawaiian island

Episode 025 - Three Terrible Eddie Vedder Imitations

aldmachinereadable@gmail.com — Tue, 19 Jun 2012 17:12:00 +0000

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Mark, Nick, Jason and Chris argue the merits and demerits of Prometheus and Stephen King's The Wind Through the Keyhole. Jason tells us why he hated Suzanne Collins' The Hunger Games trilogy, and Chris does various accents. It's a little something we like to call "entertainment."

Main items:

Prometheus IMDb
The Wind Through the Keyhole Dark Tower Book 4.5 by Stephen King ALD | WorldCat
The Hunger Games Trilogy by Suzanne Collins ALD | WorldCat

Other items and news mentioned:

Brian's Winter by Gary Paulsen ALD | WorldCat (alternate ending to Hatchet in which the poor kid is still stuck in the wilderness)
Snow Crash film adaptation
Neal Stephenson wants to make a sword simulation video game
Two guys from Andromeda making new Space Quest-y game
World War Z filming not going well
Feed by Mira Grant ALD | WorldCat
Legend ALD | WorldCat

Episode 024 - Everyone Is Fired

aldmachinereadable@gmail.com — Tue, 12 Jun 2012 03:33:00 +0000

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At long last, we are back! This episode is a week old, a relic from the pre-Prometheus world, when people were still playing Diablo III and LeBron James didn't do well in playoff games. Sports!

Mark Mullis, Nick Taylor, Jason Giardino and Chris Rippey discuss Battleship, the Maker Faire, China Mieville's "Railsea," and more.

Battleship IMDb
G.I. Joe: Retaliation pushed back Source
(Porkchop Sandwiches)
Sherlock second series ALD | WorldCat
Maker Faire 2012
R2D2 Bulder's Club
High Schoolers make BSG Viper
The Difference Engine by William Gibson and Bruce Sterling ALD | WorldCat
The Golden Compass by Philip Pullman ALD | WorldCat
Railsea by China Mieville ALD | WorldCat
Lord Foul's Bane by Stephen Donaldson WorldCat
Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell by Suzanna Clarke WorldCat
2011 Nebula Awards Announced:
Among Others by Joan Walton ALD | WorldCat
The Freedom Maze by Delia Sherman WorldCat
Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World serial killer alternate ending
Dan Harmon kicked as showrunner from Community
Space X launched Dragon Capsule
@aldmachine
@jasongiardino
@henonthetown
@ChrisRippey
chrisrippey.com

Episode 023 - A Wind Named Froederick

aldmachinereadable@gmail.com — Thu, 10 May 2012 02:09:00 +0000

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The venerable Christopher Rippey (who has watched the entirety of Star Trek: Voyager on YouTube) joins Mark, Nick, and Jason for a bat-discussion, The Avengers, Patrick Rothfuss' The Kingkiller Chronicles, Caitlin Kiernan's The Drowning Girl, and, uh, Neil Diamond.

Items mentioned:

Batman: The Cult by Jim Starlin WorldCat
Batman: Arkham Asylum and Batman: Arkham City Wikipedia
The Black Mirror by Scott Snyder WorldCat
Batman: Hush by Jeph Loeb ALD | WorldCat
The Dark Knight Returns by Frank Miller WorldCat
The Dark Knight Rises Trailer
Marvel's The Avengers IMDb
The Avengers vol. 1 by Brian Michael Bendis ALD | WorldCat
The Cabin in the Woods IMDb
John Carter IMDb
The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss ALD | WorldCat
The Wise Man's Fear by Patrick Rothfuss ALD | WorldCat
Shadow & Claw by Gene Wolfe ALD | WorldCat
The Drowning Girl by Caitlin Kiernan ALD | WorldCat
American version of The IT Crowd Wikipedia
Benedict Cumberbatch will be Khan in Star Trek sequel Source
Star Trek ALD | WorldCat
Chakoya's Rock - YouTube
Webcomic Ax Cop to be adapted to cartoon on Fox Source
Disney picks up Graveyard Book film rights Source
Pitch Black ALD | WorldCat
Jason wants to talk about impressive DIY car repair, ties it to Firefly
Brother From Another Planet WorldCat
The Unincorporated Man by Dani and Eyton Kollin ALD | WorldCat