Podcast
Links to the Have Mandolin Will Travel podcast which includes discussions of music, films, books, comics, theater, dinosaurs, and whatever else tickles my fancy. New episodes Mondays and (sometimes) Thursdays
​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
[ Spotify | Apple | Amazon | YouTube ]
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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 - 01/05/2025
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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 - 01/12/2025
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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.
