​Season 1

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​Episode 1 - Introduction - 11/03/2025 
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A short introduction about what to expect from the Have Mandolin Will Travel podcast. 

Spoiler: Discussions on music, film, books, live theater, comics, and (likely) dinosaurs.

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​Episode 2 - Picking Poor Robin Clean - Sinners (2025)  - 11/03/2025
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A look at Ryan Coogler's fantastic 2025 film Sinners where I talk about the filmmaking and its themes and ideas.

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​Episode 3 - Light my Làzhú - Opera Orlando's La Boheme (2025)  - 11/10/2025
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My deep dive into Opera Orlando's 2025 production of La Boheme set in 1930s Shanghai. I look at the Opera Orlando production in specific and the opera in general.  Spoiler: A great production of a great opera.

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Episode 4 - Lazarus Music Project  - 11/13/2025
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A quick rundown / re-introduction to my ongoing classical music project, where I resurrect nearly forgotten pieces of music that have no extant recordings.

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Episode 5 - Superman in Comics - A Deep Dive - 11/17/2025
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A deep dive into Superman, my favorite superhero, focused on how he appears in his comics. I talk about his character, his humanity, and what he stands for as well  a bunch of stuff I like about him, including stuff that people who only know him from pop culture osmosis may not know.

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Episode 6 - Waiting for a Denouement - Anna Karenina - 11/24/2025
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A look at Leo Tolstoy's masterful Anna Karenina, one of my favorite novels.  I talk about the writing mechanics and share some thoughts about the title character.

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Episode 7 - The Lorem Ipsum Christmas EP, Part 1 - 12/01/2025
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A look at the conception, songwriting, and arranging of my Lorem Ipsum Christmas EP.​ This episode talks about the EP in general, then focuses on "Here Comes Santa Claus" and "O Holy Night."

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Episode 8 - The Lorem Ipsum Christmas EP, Part 2 - Maybe Next Year (Christmas 1914) - 12/01/2025
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Part 2 of my look at the Lorem Ipsum Christmas EP, this one focused on the writing of my original song "Maybe Next Year (Christmas 1914).

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Episode 9 - The Lorem Ipsum Christmas EP, Part 3 - The 12 Tyrannosaurs of Christmas - 12/01/2025
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Part 3 of my look at the Lorem Ipsum Christmas EP, this one focused on the writing, arrangement and paleontology of my song "The 12 Tyrannosaurs of Christmas."

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Episode 10 - Completely Enveloped in an Atmosphere - Orlando Ballet's Casanova - 12/08/2025
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A review and analysis of Orlando Ballet's May 2024 US premier performance of Kenneth Tindall's "Casanova"

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Episode 11 - Love Thy Neighbor - Opera Orlando's Treemonisha - 12/11/2025
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A look at Opera Orlando's  May 2025 performance of Scott Joplin's Treemonisha.  Treemonisha was lost for decades before being resurrected in the '70s.  This was the Florida premier performance.

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Episode 12 - Zack Snyder's Superman, Part 1 - Man of Steel (2013) - 12/15/2025
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Part 1 of a two part series looking at the Superman of Zack Snyder's now defunct DCEU.  This is a look at Man of Steel (2013) a movie I both kind of like and think maybe isn't all that good...

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Episode 13 - Zack Snyder's Superman, Part 2 - Batman v Superman (2016) - 12/18/2025
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My traumatic experience watching both versions of Zack Snyder's 2016 disaster Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice. I take a close look at the myriad writing problems and filmmaking issues with this train wreck. And I say the f word a lot...

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Episode 14 - The Real Punk Rock -  Superman (2025) - 12/22/2025
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Finally, the good one!  A deep dive into James Gunn's 2025 film Superman. Spoiler: I love it.  I think it's the best Superman film by a good margin and it's probably my favorite movie in quite a while.

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Episode 15 - Ghosts and Demons in Medieval Japan -  Ugetsu (1953) and Onibaba (1964) - 12/29/2025
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A look at two Japanese period films, both of which deal with war and its consequence on regular folk. Ugetsu is explicitly a ghost story and Onibaba is about desperation and moral degradation with an ambiguous supernatural element.

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Episode 16 - Enter Four Murderers -  M4cbeth - 01/05/2026
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A look at four film versions of William Shakespeare's Macbeth. I was originally just going to watch 1 version, but lost control of the assignment and watched Macbeth (1979), The Tragedy of Macbeth (2021), Macbeth (2015), and Macbeth (1971) in a week.

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This is the first in a series of 4 episodes about the play and its adaptations.

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Episode 17 - Fill the Chalice with the Choicest Wine -  Opera Orlando's Macbeth - 01/12/2026
[ Spotify | Apple | Amazon | YouTube ] 

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My review / analysis of Opera Orlando's 2024 production of Giuseppe Verdi's Macbeth. I look at the Opera Orlando production in specific and the opera as an adaptation of Shakespeare's play.​​

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This is the second in a series of 4 episodes about the play and its adaptations.

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Episode 18 - You Murdering Ministers -  Orlando Shake's Macbeth - 01/15/2026
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A look at Orlando Shakes's 2024 production of Macbeth. Spoiler: It was good and interesting and I really enjoyed it. (As much as one can "enjoy" the subject matter of Macbeth)​​

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This is the third in a series of 4 episodes about the play and its adaptations.

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Episode 19 - Macbeth in Japan -  Kurasowa's Throne of Blood - 01/19/2026
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A deep dive into Akira Kurosawa's 1957 film Throne of Blood, an adaptation of Shakepeare's Macbeth set in feudal Japan.  Spoiler: this movie rules. 

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This is the fourth and final part of my Macbeth-a-thon. (For now. Dun dun dun)

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Episode 20 - Painting Her Own Reality -  Opera Orlando's Frida - 01/26/2026
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A deep dive / historical record of Opera Orlando's January 2024 performance of Frida, Robert Xavier Rodriguez's 1991 opera about Mexican artist Frida Kahlo. There's not much about this opera online and I enjoyed it a lot, so this is my contribution to posterity.

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Episode 21 - If Looking Liking Move -  Romeo + Juliet (1996) - 02/02/2026
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A deep dive into Baz Luhrmann's 1996 Romeo + Juliet starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Claire Danes. I take a look at the source play and then the adaptation itself.  Spoiler: I don't think it's very good, but it is an interesting movie that's worth seeing.

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This is the first of 3 episodes about Romeo and Juliet adaptations. 

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Episode 22 - Dancing Shoes with Nimble Souls - Orlando Ballet's  Romeo and Juliet  - 02/09/2026
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A look at Orlando Ballet's 2024 production of Romeo and Juliet, music by Sergei Prokofiev and choreographed by James Sofranko. Spoilers: It was really good and a really good adaptation of the play.

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This is the second of 3 episodes about Romeo and Juliet adaptations.

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Episode 23 - The Lark That Sings - Romeo and Juliet (1968) - 02/12/2026
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A look at Franco Zeffirelli's Romeo and Juliet from 1968 starring Olivia Hussey and Leonard Whiting. Spoiler: This is the gold standard of Romeo and Juliet film adaptations.

 

This is the third of 3 episodes about Romeo and Juliet. 

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Episode 24 - Carriage Rides and Shipwrecked Sailors - Flaubert's Madame Bovary - 02/16/2026
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A deep dive into Gustave Flaubert's masterful 1856 novel Madame Bovary.  Spoiler: It's masterful.