“Is Fantasy The Greatest Genre?” From ancient legends, to Tolkien, to now the genre has split and subdivided over and over until it’s a new species from what crawled out of the primordial myth soup. Is the simple tale of “the boy who would be king” old hat in the age of the female driven “romantasy?” Is Tolkien still the best to ever do it? Are the present fantasy authors playing a way different, and less artistic, game than Tolkien? Is fantasy in a medieval state of arrested development? Why do so many new fantasy books lean so hard on…hard ons. All will be discussed in this blunt, hilarious examination of Ron’s favorite (and Ed’s least favorite) genre.

Our first ep back after hiatus is titled “Our Greatest Moments in Fandom”. It’s the whole gang of Ed, Ron and Producer Bill, breaking down the moments, movies, and magazines that turned us into such nerds. This is almost Patreon-esque in how personal we get. However, the vast array of pop ephemera that we talk about here will surely cause you to take your own trips down memory lane. It’s good to be back. New eps every Monday. Labor Day didn’t count! Bye!

We ask, “Will Fantastic Four or Superman be The Greatest?”, in the box office and pop-cultural battle that looms this summer. They both herald a back to basics approach in a market where people have convinced themselves there’s no more places to go. Leave it up to two originals to prove them wrong…maybe. After all, these characters are as retro as they are forward thinking, as wholesome as they are powerful. Is this what the people want? Hell is this approach actually PERFECT for these fractured times? Listen and find out!!!

In this supersized spoiler chat, we debate whether the one two punch of Thunderbolts* and Daredevil : Born Again represents “Marvel’s Greatest Comeback.” Ed and Producer Bill ask, can these street level heroes and super spies cement the new foundation for the Fantastic Doomsdays to come? Is Daredevil great, wildly uneven, or both? Are the Thunderbolts* really able to replace the Avengers? Listen to us try to figure it out babay!!

The Reboot Crew is back! After a 4 year hiatus, the internet’s favorite development team has landed a new gig with one of Hollywood’s most controversial figures: David Zaslav. Their first assignment: a whole new take on Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith....and ONLY Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith! With Episodes 1, 2, and 4-9 staying intact, the Reboot it Crew will have to work within the tightest constraints they’ve ever had. We all know Anakin Skywalker will turn into Darth Vader, but how we get there is about to look a whole lot different! The Reboot It Crew is: BILLY BUSINESS ED GREER RON SWALLOW PRODUCER BILL HOT TAKES W/ BILLY BIZ:    / billybusiness   THE GREATEST POD: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast... THE GREATEST POD PATREON:   / thegreatestpod   MUSIC: https://www.purple-planet.com Credit to ”nanobuds” on nexusmods.com for the Battle Damaged Darth Vader images Please leave a 5 star review on your podcast app, it really helps! Subscribe and like our videos on YouTube and Please share our stuff.   Support our Patreon here: https://www.patreon.com/TheGreatestPod to get exclusive pods on subjects we can’t tackle here and also physical art prints. Watch REBOOT IT, our YouTube Show where we update your favorite franchises alongside Fandom Producer Billy Business here: https://www.youtube.com/channel/REBOOTITSHOW https://www.youtube.com/@ronswallow Buy Ron’s album here: https://www.amazon.com/s?k=on+the+wing+of+a+dragon+ron+swallow&i=digital-music&crid=19V9JSITSY4QX&fbclid=IwAR1pNRvTsJXRfyPj0hu4MFINx6bUXy9KTdy7_3_UJZNB9Zr8j7fe8FUIiVA&sprefix=%2Cdigital-music%2C187&ref=nb_sb_ss_recent_1_0_recent https://music.apple.com/us/album/on-the-wings-of-a-dragon/1687418796

“Our Greatest Reboots” features the gang reunited, including Billy Business of Hot Takes with Billy Biz and the YouTube Channel “Reboot It”! By the way, our sister show “Reboot It” is coming back. In this primer episode of The Greatest Pod, we discuss the “art” of the reboot, if such a thing exists. Also, much of this episode is looking back on OUR best reboots on the channel. Some real life reboots that were made during our hiatus were pretty similar to “our” imaginary versions. Barbie is in the same genre and nearly the same tone as our He-man Pitch. Our episode about The Universal Monster is maybe our most popular piece but the Blumhouse Universal monster movies are hit and miss so far. Are we better than Leigh Whannell? NO. But it’s interesting how often we think like the best of the big boys. Overall this conversation asks almost, what evolutionary purpose is there to reinterpret stories this much. Is our present proclivity to remake rather than create stunting that evolution? Reboots are gonna happen. We’re trying to use our powers for good. Is that possible? Find out every week on Reboot It coming this summer back to YouTube.  Link below! Check out the episodes we reference in the ep and subscribe so you get the new ones first!   Please leave a 5 star review on your podcast app, it really helps! Subscribe and like our videos on YouTube and Please share our stuff.   Support our Patreon here: https://www.patreon.com/TheGreatestPod to get exclusive pods on subjects we can’t tackle here and also physical art prints. Watch REBOOT IT, our YouTube Show where we update your favorite franchises alongside Fandom Producer Billy Business here: https://www.youtube.com/channel/REBOOTITSHOW https://www.youtube.com/@ronswallow Buy Ron’s album here: https://www.amazon.com/s?k=on+the+wing+of+a+dragon+ron+swallow&i=digital-music&crid=19V9JSITSY4QX&fbclid=IwAR1pNRvTsJXRfyPj0hu4MFINx6bUXy9KTdy7_3_UJZNB9Zr8j7fe8FUIiVA&sprefix=%2Cdigital-music%2C187&ref=nb_sb_ss_recent_1_0_recent https://music.apple.com/us/album/on-the-wings-of-a-dragon/1687418796 https://www.youtube.com/@REBOOTITSHOW

In fictional universes somebody has to break the news.  “The Greatest ‘Fake News’” is Ed, Ron and Producer Bill imagining what the media landscapes are in two of the most popular fictional universes. Why are superheroes attracted to the news? How intense would the politicization of Superman be? What jobs would you pick if you knew certain “the real deal” about the universe you lived in? Would you be a henchman? In this economy? Would people in superhero universes be even more sick of the tights, capes and lack of consequences than we seem to be in our world? What does the “triumph of the human will” mean in a world of demigods on TV? This one gets philosophical but remains pretty damn funny throughout. Dive in.   Follow us! Here’s everybody’s Twitter: https://twitter.com/NerdGoatPodcast (Our Twitter account) https://twitter.com/EdGreerDestroys Please leave a 5 star review on your podcast app, it really helps! Subscribe and like our videos on YouTube and Please share our stuff.   Support our Patreon here: https://www.patreon.com/TheGreatestPod to get exclusive pods on subjects we can’t tackle here and also physical art prints. Watch REBOOT IT, our YouTube Show where we update your favorite franchises alongside Fandom Producer Billy Business here: https://www.youtube.com/channel/REBOOTITSHOW https://www.youtube.com/@ronswallow Buy Ron’s album here: https://www.amazon.com/s?k=on+the+wing+of+a+dragon+ron+swallow&i=digital-music&crid=19V9JSITSY4QX&fbclid=IwAR1pNRvTsJXRfyPj0hu4MFINx6bUXy9KTdy7_3_UJZNB9Zr8j7fe8FUIiVA&sprefix=%2Cdigital-music%2C187&ref=nb_sb_ss_recent_1_0_recent https://music.apple.com/us/album/on-the-wings-of-a-dragon/1687418796

”The Greatest Superheroes That Aren’t” is our crew, Ed, Ron, and Professor Bill, dissecting those movies and TV shows that center on someone with a superpower but nobody admits it! All types of heroic stories from Commando to Colombo feature heroes with superior powers that must fight unbeatable odds and we discuss these characters comparing and contrasting them with conventional super heroic fare. Follow us! Here’s everybody’s Twitter: https://twitter.com/NerdGoatPodcast (Our Twitter account) https://twitter.com/EdGreerDestroys Please leave a 5 star review on your podcast app, it really helps! Subscribe and like our videos on YouTube and Please share our stuff.   Support our Patreon here: https://www.patreon.com/TheGreatestPod to get exclusive pods on subjects we can’t tackle here and also physical art prints. Watch REBOOT IT, our YouTube Show where we update your favorite franchises alongside Fandom Producer Billy Business here: https://www.youtube.com/channel/REBOOTITSHOW https://www.youtube.com/@ronswallow Buy Ron’s album here: https://www.amazon.com/s?k=on+the+wing+of+a+dragon+ron+swallow&i=digital-music&crid=19V9JSITSY4QX&fbclid=IwAR1pNRvTsJXRfyPj0hu4MFINx6bUXy9KTdy7_3_UJZNB9Zr8j7fe8FUIiVA&sprefix=%2Cdigital-music%2C187&ref=nb_sb_ss_recent_1_0_recent https://music.apple.com/us/album/on-the-wings-of-a-dragon/1687418796

“The Greatest Pasts” features the whole crew talking about period pieces from our iconoclastic perspectives. We don’t go gaga when you put a few period cars in the shot and have everybody say “gee whiz”, it takes more than that to get us feeling like we’re in the past. We discuss our favorite examples in this banger of an ep. *This is the last one where Ed’s audio is a bit bad because he was visiting his mom in the south and didn’t take his podcasting equipment. He and we are back babay!!

“The Greatest Futures” is mostly Ed and Ron trying to not talk about the dystopia we currently live in and failing BUT we do touch on some of the greatest futures in pop culture.  From Star Trek to Total Recall we examine how fictional futures dramatize the concerns of the present. We discuss how we’d fare in certain futures like being blood boys in Mad Max, or what virtual pleasures we would or would not partake in if we were living in certain futures. What parts of these fictional futures have already invaded our present. Enjoy.     The companion episode to this will be on our Patreon by the time you hear this.  And the Patreon art should be in the mail.  We back babay! Follow us! Here’s everybody’s Twitter: https://twitter.com/NerdGoatPodcast (Our Twitter account) https://twitter.com/EdGreerDestroys https://twitter.com/dorkyswallow Please leave a 5 star review on your podcast app, it really helps! Subscribe and like our videos on YouTube and Please share our stuff.   Support our Patreon here: https://www.patreon.com/TheGreatestPod to get exclusive pods on subjects we can’t tackle here and also physical art prints. Watch REBOOT IT, our YouTube Show where we update your favorite franchises alongside Fandom Producer Billy Business here: https://www.youtube.com/channel/REBOOTITSHOW https://www.youtube.com/@ronswallow Buy Ron’s album here: https://www.amazon.com/s?k=on+the+wing+of+a+dragon+ron+swallow&i=digital-music&crid=19V9JSITSY4QX&fbclid=IwAR1pNRvTsJXRfyPj0hu4MFINx6bUXy9KTdy7_3_UJZNB9Zr8j7fe8FUIiVA&sprefix=%2Cdigital-music%2C187&ref=nb_sb_ss_recent_1_0_recent https://music.apple.com/us/album/on-the-wings-of-a-dragon/1687418796

“The Greatest Cops In Fiction Part Two” is us continuing to build our portfolio of powerhouse porcine patrolmen.This one features some great pulls by the gang and more specific examples of what we consider exemplary cops in fiction. Our personal philosophy is that there’s a difference between action fantasy heroes with badges versus actual police people in good stories.This ep has us defending our positions and having some big laughs about some of the most compelling characters in fiction.   Follow us! Here’s everybody’s Twitter: https://twitter.com/NerdGoatPodcast (Our Twitter account) https://twitter.com/EdGreerDestroys https://twitter.com/dorkyswallow Please leave a 5 star review on your podcast app, it really helps! Subscribe and like our videos on YouTube and Please share our stuff.   Support our Patreon here: https://www.patreon.com/TheGreatestPod to get exclusive pods on subjects we can’t tackle here and also physical art prints. Watch REBOOT IT, our YouTube Show where we update your favorite franchises alongside Fandom Producer Billy Business here: https://www.youtube.com/channel/REBOOTITSHOW https://www.youtube.com/@ronswallow Buy Ron’s album here: https://www.amazon.com/s?k=on+the+wing+of+a+dragon+ron+swallow&i=digital-music&crid=19V9JSITSY4QX&fbclid=IwAR1pNRvTsJXRfyPj0hu4MFINx6bUXy9KTdy7_3_UJZNB9Zr8j7fe8FUIiVA&sprefix=%2Cdigital-music%2C187&ref=nb_sb_ss_recent_1_0_recent https://music.apple.com/us/album/on-the-wings-of-a-dragon/1687418796

Tis the season…to discuss crime and punishment in movies! “The Greatest Cops In Fiction Part One” is us dissecting the concept of law enforcement in this dystopian future we call the present. We talk about how cops are depicted in movies and TV and we try to get our heads around the sly thrill of watching various levels of copaganda since we were kids. We discuss several of your faves and some I bet you never thought of, I’ll guarantee you. This is funny and insightful and only one half of the massive conversation we had. You can get the other half NOW if you join our Patreon.The link is below. Follow us! Here’s everybody’s Twitter: https://twitter.com/NerdGoatPodcast (Our Twitter account) https://twitter.com/EdGreerDestroys https://twitter.com/dorkyswallow Please leave a 5 star review on your podcast app, it really helps! Subscribe and like our videos on YouTube and Please share our stuff.   Support our Patreon here: https://www.patreon.com/c/TheGreatestPod to get exclusive pods on subjects we can’t tackle here and also physical art prints. Watch REBOOT IT, our YouTube Show where we update your favorite franchises alongside Fandom Producer Billy Business here: https://www.youtube.com/channel/REBOOTITSHOW https://www.youtube.com/@ronswallow Buy Ron’s album here: https://www.amazon.com/s?k=on+the+wing+of+a+dragon+ron+swallow&i=digital-music&crid=19V9JSITSY4QX&fbclid=IwAR1pNRvTsJXRfyPj0hu4MFINx6bUXy9KTdy7_3_UJZNB9Zr8j7fe8FUIiVA&sprefix=%2Cdigital-music%2C187&ref=nb_sb_ss_recent_1_0_recent https://music.apple.com/us/album/on-the-wings-of-a-dragon/1687418796

“The Greatest Thanksgiving Special” is Ed, Bill, and the returning Ron Swallow talking about pieces of pop culture we are thankful to have experienced at particular times in our lives. These are some of the art and the culture around said art that would form us into the weirdos you know and love. Ed talks Mack Bolan novels, Ron talks rollerblading and skate videos, while Bill reveals a past as a prominent purveyor of fan fiction in the early days of the internet. Thanks to all the people listening and to our Patrons. For you, we are eternally thankful.

We had an impromptu convo about “The Greatest Space Characters” and it ended up NOT being “sTaR wArS vS. sTaR tReK” and more about why there will be rednecks in space and why can’t the Green Lanterns finally be truly cool. Ed and Producer Bill get into a debate about whether most science fiction aliens are “human plus” or “human minus”. We pitch some amazing “fixes” for certain characters while also showing a surprising appreciation of original loner in space folks like Flash Gordon and Buck Rogers. This is one is a true trip into outer and inner spaaaaacce. Enjoy!  Follow us! Here’s everybody’s Twitter: https://twitter.com/NerdGoatPodcast (Our Twitter account) https://twitter.com/EdGreerDestroys https://twitter.com/dorkyswallow Please leave a 5 star review on your podcast app, it really helps! Subscribe and like our videos on YouTube and Please share our stuff.   Support our Patreon here: https://www.patreon.com/TheGreatestPod to get exclusive pods on subjects we can’t tackle here and also physical art prints. Watch REBOOT IT, our YouTube Show where we update your favorite franchises alongside Fandom Producer Billy Business here: https://www.youtube.com/channel/REBOOTITSHOW https://www.youtube.com/@ronswallow Buy Ron’s album here: https://www.amazon.com/s?k=on+the+wing+of+a+dragon+ron+swallow&i=digital-music&crid=19V9JSITSY4QX&fbclid=IwAR1pNRvTsJXRfyPj0hu4MFINx6bUXy9KTdy7_3_UJZNB9Zr8j7fe8FUIiVA&sprefix=%2Cdigital-music%2C187&ref=nb_sb_ss_recent_1_0_recent https://music.apple.com/us/album/on-the-wings-of-a-dragon/1687418796

With Ron Swallow away on his honeymoon, Ed and Producer Bill discuss “The Greatest Recastings in Pop Culture Movies”. We do all the hits, Bats, Supes, Spidey, Bond and many others that aren’t as obvious.  The debates come fast and furious, and the discussions get deep as we interrogate what it means to do a serial character “correctly.” Can someone be, say, the best recast Bond without being in the best Bond movies?  What are the intrinsic values that are central to these characters and what makes one interpretation be seen as superior in our estimation? Another trip into the minds of some of the best pop culture analysts in the business babay!! Follow us! Here’s everybody’s Twitter: https://twitter.com/NerdGoatPodcast (Our Twitter account) https://twitter.com/EdGreerDestroys https://twitter.com/dorkyswallow Please leave a 5 star review on your podcast app, it really helps! Subscribe and like our videos on YouTube and Please share our stuff.   Support our Patreon here: https://www.patreon.com/TheGreatestPod to get exclusive pods on subjects we can’t tackle here and also physical art prints. Watch REBOOT IT, our YouTube Show where we update your favorite franchises alongside Fandom Producer Billy Business here: https://www.youtube.com/channel/REBOOTITSHOW https://www.youtube.com/@ronswallow Buy Ron’s album here: https://www.amazon.com/s?k=on+the+wing+of+a+dragon+ron+swallow&i=digital-music&crid=19V9JSITSY4QX&fbclid=IwAR1pNRvTsJXRfyPj0hu4MFINx6bUXy9KTdy7_3_UJZNB9Zr8j7fe8FUIiVA&sprefix=%2Cdigital-music%2C187&ref=nb_sb_ss_recent_1_0_recent https://music.apple.com/us/album/on-the-wings-of-a-dragon/1687418796

Follow us! Here’s everybody’s Twitter: https://twitter.com/NerdGoatPodcast (Our Twitter account) https://twitter.com/EdGreerDestroys https://twitter.com/dorkyswallow Please leave a 5 star review on your podcast app, it really helps! Subscribe and like our videos on YouTube and Please share our stuff. Support our Patreon here: https://www.patreon.com/TheGreatestPod to get exclusive pods on subjects we can’t tackle here and also physical art prints. Watch REBOOT IT, our YouTube Show where we update your favorite franchises alongside Fandom Producer Billy Business here: https://www.youtube.com/channel/REBOOTITSHOW https://www.youtube.com/@ronswallow Buy Ron’s album here: https://www.amazon.com/s?k=on+the+wing+of+a+dragon+ron+swallow&i=digital-music&crid=19V9JSITSY4QX&fbclid=IwAR1pNRvTsJXRfyPj0hu4MFINx6bUXy9KTdy7_3_UJZNB9Zr8j7fe8FUIiVA&sprefix=%2Cdigital-music%2C187&ref=nb_sb_ss_recent_1_0_recent https://music.apple.com/us/album/on-the-wings-of-a-dragon/1687418796

Follow us! Here’s everybody’s Twitter: https://twitter.com/NerdGoatPodcast (Our Twitter account) https://twitter.com/EdGreerDestroys https://twitter.com/dorkyswallow Please leave a 5 star review on your podcast app, it really helps! Subscribe and like our videos on YouTube and Please share our stuff. Support our Patreon here: https://www.patreon.com/TheGreatestPod to get exclusive pods on subjects we can’t tackle here and also physical art prints. Watch REBOOT IT, our YouTube Show where we update your favorite franchises alongside Fandom Producer Billy Business here: https://www.youtube.com/channel/REBOOTITSHOW https://www.youtube.com/@ronswallow Buy Ron’s album here: https://www.amazon.com/s?k=on+the+wing+of+a+dragon+ron+swallow&i=digital-music&crid=19V9JSITSY4QX&fbclid=IwAR1pNRvTsJXRfyPj0hu4MFINx6bUXy9KTdy7_3_UJZNB9Zr8j7fe8FUIiVA&sprefix=%2Cdigital-music%2C187&ref=nb_sb_ss_recent_1_0_recent https://music.apple.com/us/album/on-the-wings-of-a-dragon/1687418796

In this super sized episode Ed, Ron, and Producer Bill discuss and debate “The Greatest Mentors In Pop Culture.” We interrogate the different expressions of the mentor. Some are father or mother figures, some started out as replacement parents and became trusty butlers. Some are space wizards you meet for a week, or alien holograms or long dead uncles. DIfferent mentors make different heroes so in essence we are tracing the in world origins of the greatest pop culture protagonists.

“Is ‘The Boys’ The Greatest Superhero Show?” You might think, “Well obviously that’s madness…right?” I’d say surely we’ve seen something about superheroes that was more hopeful. Maybe funnier? Maybe more life affirming? But better? I don’t know man. The show  manages to do pretty decent super action on a budget and the characters are pretty damn cool. Their mission to kill/neutralize “superheroes” is at direct odds with every other show or movie on the subject. It’s almost the only story in pop culture media that shows superpowers as something that doesn’t automatically make anything better. Yes, it’s got edgelord tendencies and sometimes seeks to shock as it satirizes but the fact that the average superhero story doesn’t spend ANY time thinking about the physical and mental collateral damage superheroes would leave in their wake is pretty embarrassing. That it is one of the only things in the entire genre that seems interested in interrogating the idea that manufactured corporate demigods on cereal boxes might cause fundamental and detrimental changes to the average person’s psyche is shocking.  So yeah, we think it’s the best.  Listen to more reasons why by pressing play. Follow us! Here’s everybody’s Twitter: https://twitter.com/NerdGoatPodcast (Our Twitter account) https://twitter.com/EdGreerDestroys https://twitter.com/dorkyswallow Please leave a 5 star review on your podcast app, it really helps! Subscribe and like our videos on YouTube and Please share our stuff.   Support our Patreon here: https://www.patreon.com/TheGreatestPod to get exclusive pods on subjects we can’t tackle here and also physical art prints. Watch REBOOT IT, our YouTube Show where we update your favorite franchises alongside Fandom Producer Billy Business here: https://www.youtube.com/channel/REBOOTITSHOW https://www.youtube.com/@ronswallow Buy Ron’s album here: https://www.amazon.com/s?k=on+the+wing+of+a+dragon+ron+swallow&i=digital-music&crid=19V9JSITSY4QX&fbclid=IwAR1pNRvTsJXRfyPj0hu4MFINx6bUXy9KTdy7_3_UJZNB9Zr8j7fe8FUIiVA&sprefix=%2Cdigital-music%2C187&ref=nb_sb_ss_recent_1_0_recent https://music.apple.com/us/album/on-the-wings-of-a-dragon/1687418796

You can’t trust Producer Bill and Ed Greer to do the “boring” thing of just dryly recapping this monumental San Diego Comic Con, Of course we talk Fantastic Four news, Robert Downey Jr., Mcfeel, and the Russos coming back…and some stuff from DC too. All of that’s great but we think it’s prime time to think about the comic book movie as an organism. It seems to have evolved to survive in a post spoiler world where the biggest movies have to organize their stories like a stream of billion dollar breadcrumbs. And if we are following a trail of mixed metaphors we seem to have doubled back on the path that worked after a brief period of trying to make “fetch” happen. Listen to this for the thinking person’s unpacking of ComicCon and stay till the end for some truly unexpected predictions for next year.      Follow us! Here’s everybody’s Twitter: https://twitter.com/NerdGoatPodcast (Our Twitter account) https://twitter.com/EdGreerDestroys https://twitter.com/dorkyswallow Please leave a 5 star review on your podcast app, it really helps! Subscribe and like our videos on YouTube and Please share our stuff.   Support our Patreon here: https://www.patreon.com/TheGreatestPod to get exclusive pods on subjects we can’t tackle here and also physical art prints. Watch REBOOT IT, our YouTube Show where we update your favorite franchises alongside Fandom Producer Billy Business here: https://www.youtube.com/channel/REBOOTITSHOW https://www.youtube.com/@ronswallow Buy Ron’s album here: https://www.amazon.com/s?k=on+the+wing+of+a+dragon+ron+swallow&i=digital-music&crid=19V9JSITSY4QX&fbclid=IwAR1pNRvTsJXRfyPj0hu4MFINx6bUXy9KTdy7_3_UJZNB9Zr8j7fe8FUIiVA&sprefix=%2Cdigital-music%2C187&ref=nb_sb_ss_recent_1_0_recent https://music.apple.com/us/album/on-the-wings-of-a-dragon/1687418796