​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
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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.

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Season 2

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​Episode 1  - A Year of Dracula, Part 1 - The Novel and the Ballet - 04/06/2026
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The first of three in a series looking at Dracula and its adaptations. This episode is about Bram Stoker's 1897 novel with a bonus addendum about Michael Pink's 1996 ballet adaptation.

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Episode 2  - A Year of Dracula, Part 2 - The Last Voyage of the Demeter (2023) - 04/13/2026
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The second of three in a series looking at Dracula and its adaptations. This episode is about the 2023 horror film The Last Voyage of the Demeter, an under-seen gem. This movie flopped pretty hard in theaters but really is quite good.

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Episode 3  - A Year of Dracula, Part 3 - Bram Stoker's Dracula (1992) and Dracula (1931) - 04/16/2026
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The last in a series looking at Dracula and its adaptations. This episode is about Francis Ford Coppola's 1992 film Bram Stoker's Dracula and the classic 1931 Dracula starring Bela Lugosi. Both really interesting adaptations, but #wheresMina

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Episode 4  - Survival, Faith, and Xenomorphs - Dead Orbit  and Sacrifice - 04/20/2026
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A look at two excellent graphic novels set in the Aliens universe: Dead Orbit by James Stokoe and Sacrifice by Peter Milligan and Paul Johnson.  These two standalone stories are very different from each other but they both capture aspects of the Alien franchise that I really like.

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Episode 5  - Wanting to Slap a Fool - A Look at Two Werthers - 04/27/2026

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An exploration of Opera Orlando's 2025 production of "Werther" and the book it's adapted from: Goethe's 1774 novel "The Sorrows of Young Werther." Spoilers: Both versions are quite good, but I want to punch Werther in the face. "Horrible incel sh*t, Mason"

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Episode 6  - A Big Housecleaning - Yojimbo (1961) and A Fistful of Dollars (1964) - 05/04/2026

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A deep dive into the Spaghetti Western "A Fistful of Dollars (1964)" and the film it is a direct remake of, Akira Kurosawa's samurai film "Yojimbo (1961)." (Like "got sued" direct remake.)

 

Spoilers: Both are good, but I think "Yojimbo" is better.

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Episode 7  - Old Sports and Green Lights - Orlando Ballet's The Great Gatsby - 05/11/2026

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A deep dive into Orlando Ballet's May 2026 production of The Great Gatsby where I talk about the performance and the ballet as an adaptation of F. Scott Fitzgerald classic novel.

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Spoiler: The ballet is quite good.

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Episode 8  - Pelagic Horror and Nihilism - Moby Dick- 05/18/2026

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The first in a three part series about Herman Melville's novel Moby Dick and its adaptations. This episode is a deep dive into the novel itself, looking at its structure, its writing, and its themes.

 

I *really* like this book.

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Episode 9  - 2 Moby 2 Dick - Moby Dick (1956) - 05/25/2026

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The second in a three part series about Herman Melville's novel "Moby Dick" and its adaptations. This episode looks at the surprisingly great 1956 film starring Gregory Peck.

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Episode 10  - Moby Dick: Tokyo Drift - The 2o17 Graphic Novel - 05/28/2026

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The last in a three part series about Herman Melville's novel "Moby Dick" and its adaptations. This episode talks about Christophe Chaboute's 2017 black and white graphic novel. Spoiler: It's a really good read and is a good adaptation.

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Episode 11  - Impaled on a Sharpened Stake - The White Buffalo (1977) - 06/01/2026

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A deep dive into the 1974 Western The White Buffalo, a film adaptation of Richard Sale's 1975 pulp novel of the same name starring Charles Bronson. This film is kind of a train wreck, but a really interesting one to do an autopsy on.

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This ended up being the first entry in a two part series about The White Buffalo.  I was so fascinated by this film that my friend James bought me a copy of the out of print novel as a joke. It's *way* better than the film, as in "actually pretty good" and it inspired me to write part 2. (See the next episode)

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Episode 12 - A Return to the Black Hills - The White Buffalo (novel) - 06/04/2026

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Part 2 of my series on "The White Buffalo." This one both takes an even deeper dive into the novel which, spoilers, is actually pretty good, and revisits the film adaptation with some enlightenment after having read the source. (I recant some of my theories from the previous episode on why the film is the way it is.)

 

It makes me sad that this book is out of print. Again: it's pretty good.

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Episode 13 - Remorse and Bitter Tears - Opera Orlando's Lucia di Lammermoor - 06/08/2026

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A look at Opera Orlando's 2024 production of Lucia di Lammermoor, an 1835 opera by Gaetano Donizetti. The opera is based on Sir Walter's Scott's 1819 novel The Bride of Lammermoor.

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Episode 14 - No Muckle on the Spule Bane - The Bride of Lammermoor - 06/11/2026

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Inspired by Opera Orlando's production of the tragic opera Lucia di Lammermoor.  I read the book it was adapted from: Sir Walter Scott's novel The Bride of Lammermoor.

 

The book is pretty good and, weirdly, often quite funny which is *very* different than the opera. It was an interesting read, especially after having seen the opera.

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