We talk about our first sci-fi/fantasy/comic convention experiences and delve into our conceptions (and misconceptions) about the process of gathering in the name of geek. GWC listener (and active community member) Julie joins us to tell us about losing her con virginity at the biggest fan con of ‘em all, Dragon*Con. And we run down the week in geek, including a serious discussion (no, really) about the upcoming not-trying-to-be-cheesy sci-fi porn flick Horizon (and what defines porn), some drooling (and whining) over the Nike Mag (read: Back to the Future) sneakers, and lots of upcoming TV goodness.

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We ask the question: What kind of geek are you? We discuss the Conan backlash. And we run down the week in geek, including, well, lots of geek-related news and awesomeness.

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Charles Brownstein introduces us to the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund, and we discuss cultural differences in fandom. Sean digs into Deus Ex: Human Revolution. And we run down the week in geek, including GameStop’s broken seal game modifications, new news on Underworld 4, Superman’s new outfit (or lack thereof), and Jurassic Park-themed sex roleplay.

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We offer some just-back-from-the-theater commentary on the new ‘Apes movie. And we run down the week in geek, including Sean’s Dragon Siege 3 experience, an early take on Conan (now with 100% more Momoa), the scornful Forza 4 Walmart Mini, the wisp of new Babylon 5 production possibility, and big Blade Runner news.

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We continue our discussion of sci-fi vehicles focusing on pilot-able giant robots. And we run down the week in geek, including Warehouse 13′s renewal, Eureka’s cancellation sega, Sean’s Cowboys and Aliens impressions, SyFy’s web series Mercury Men, the new season of The Guild, Fox’s upcoming show Terra Nova, and fan reactions to the new less-pleather-more-tactical Catwoman suit. We’re joined by our friend (and long-time GWCer) Shooter.

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We’re joined by MIT and USC’s Dr. Henry Jenkins, who shares his thoughts on the significance of Pottermore. Chuck and Audra discuss the recent Cowboys & Aliens release. And we run down the week in geek, including possible new Cosmos episodes from the folks at Fox, new awesome design tools in Forza Motorsports, Mass Effect 3′s box-cover-leading femShep, Eureka’s six-episode season six order (and the possible end of the show), and a new answer to the ‘bot question “can you frak it?”

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We’re just back from San Diego Comic Con and we talk about our experiences there and some of the awesome new news to come out of the world’s biggest geekfest. We take you right into the ‘con, too, with an audience participation podcast segment recorded at the Friday night SDCC GWC meetup. And we run down the week in geek, including new Ford mobile audio options and lots more.

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We continue our vehicles in sci-fi arc with a discussion of aircraft — how they differ from spacecraft and what makes them special. Audra teases out the origins of Chuck’s Halo Scorpion fetish. And we run down the week in geek. If you’re in San Diego for Comic Con, we’d love to meet you. Check out our forum for Friday night meetup information. Hope to see you there!

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We delve into what takes a vehicle out of the ordinary and makes it stick in our minds for years to come. We wrap up Fantasy Sci-Fi League 3.0 with some well-deserved participant awards. And we run down the week in geek including widespread outrage over the Netflix price increase and our awesome casting pics for a (sadly, hypothetical) Police Academy remake.

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We kick off a discussion of vehicles in sci-fi by defining the term “vehicle” and delving into why they’re so important to us both on and off the screen. We talk “state of the podcast” and give you a glimpse of some of our future plans for the cast and site. And we run down the week in geek, including the pre-order availability of the Honorverse-extending book A Beautiful Friendship, ABC’s licensing of All My Children for continued production and online delivery (and what this might mean to the future of sci-fi), the awesomeness of a special edition of Dorkness Rising, and the final launch of America’s Space Shuttle program.

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Audra and Chuck offer an hour’s worth of commentary over the live NASA TV feed. They pick up around 15 minutes before the launch and wrap up with an approximately 30 minute post-launch discussion of the future of the space program. We hope you enjoy this bonus content! And if you’re a first-time GWC listener, you might want to back up to #278 as a better example of a normal GWC podcast.

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Machinema magician Ian Chisholm joins us as we discuss his trilogy-completing feature film Clear Skies 3. We present the final round of fantasy sci-fi league 3.0. And we run down the week in geek, including a True Blood update, a cool little-known game called Trenched, the car-building slickness of Forza Motorsport 4, and Audra’s ideas for casting the new He-Man movie.

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