Aces & Jokers: A Wild Cards Podcast

The very first episode of our podcast about Wild Cards. It lacks the high production values of the later episodes after it became hugely popular and successful and we hired a load of interns, but it's still surprisingly listenable. (Spoilers throughout.)

3/9/18 • 68:40

NOW WITH IMPROVED AUDIO!   In this episode we discuss the following stories from Wild Cards, Book One: Interlude One (George R R Martin) Captain Cathode and the Secret Ace (Michael Cassutt) Powers (David D. Levine) Shell Games (George R R Martin) Interlude Two (George R R Martin) The Long Dark Night of Fortunato (Lewis Shiner) Transfigurations (Victor Milán) Interlude Three (George R R Martin) Down Deep (Edward Bryant and Leanne C. Harper) Interlude Four (George R R Martin) Strings (Stephen Leigh (S. L. Farrell)) Interlude Five (George R R Martin) Ghost Girl Takes Manhattan (Carrie Vaughn) Comes a Hunter (John J. Miller) Epilogue: Third Generation (Lewis Shiner) [briefly] Appendix, The Science of the Wild Cards Virus, Excerpts from the Minutes of the American Metabiological Society Conference on Metahuman Abilities (all George R R Martin) Intrigued by American after-school horror TV specials for the under-12s? Watch The Red Room Riddle on YouTube:  Joey King is on Twitter Questions, comments, or corrections? Email us at acesjokerswildcards@gmail.com, or find us on Twitter.

3/16/18 • 84:12

In this episode we discuss the following stories from Aces High (Wild Cards Book 2): Pennies From Hell (Lewis Shiner) Jube (George R R Martin) Unto The Sixth Generation (Walter Jon Williams) Ashes To Ashes (Roger Zelazny) If Looks Could Kill (Walton Simons) Our fantastic theme tune is Ace Of Spades (8 Bit Remix Cover Version) by the great folks at 8 Bit Universe. Follow them on YouTube and Twitter. Full disclosure: "Space Yeast" is a term Angel probably lifted from Katie Rask's highly enjoyable Wild Cards re-read on Tor. Questions, comments, or corrections? Email us at acesjokerswildcards@gmail.com, or find us on Twitter.

3/23/18 • 59:43

In this episode we discuss the following stories from Aces High (Wild Cards Book 2): Jube (George R R Martin) Unto The Sixth Generation (Walter Jon Williams) Winter's Chill (George R R Martin) Relative Difficulties (Melinda Snodgrass) With a Little Help From His Friends (Victor Milán) By Lost Ways (Pat Cadigan) Mr Koyama's Comet (Walter Jon Williams) Half Past Dead (John J Miller) You can blame both of us for Ben's yelling voice in this one. He forgot to record using a monitor; Angel is too incompetent with Adobe Audition to understand how to fix it. Our fantastic theme tune is Ace Of Spades (8 Bit Remix Cover Version) by the great folks at 8 Bit Universe. Follow them on YouTube and Twitter. Questions, comments, or corrections? Email us at acesjokerswildcards@gmail.com, or find us on Twitter.

3/30/18 • 70:46

In this episode we discuss the first half of Jokers Wild (Wild Cards Book 3). The authors that contributed to this book are: Edward Bryant George R. R. Martin John J. Miller Leanne C. Harper Lewis Shiner Melinda M. Snodgrass Walton Simons Our fantastic theme tune is Ace Of Spades (8 Bit Remix Cover Version) by the great folks at 8 Bit Universe. Follow them on YouTube and Twitter. Need more croc cock? Take a gander at Alligator penis surprise. Questions, comments, or corrections? Email us at acesjokerswildcards@gmail.com, or find us on Twitter.

4/6/18 • 48:54

In this episode we discuss the second half of Jokers Wild (Wild Cards Book 3). The authors that contributed to this book are: Edward Bryant George R. R. Martin John J. Miller Leanne C. Harper Lewis Shiner Melinda M. Snodgrass Walton Simons Our fantastic theme tune is Ace Of Spades (8 Bit Remix Cover Version) by the great folks at 8 Bit Universe. Follow them on YouTube and Twitter. Gator AIDS. Is it in you? Questions, comments, or corrections? Email us at acesjokerswildcards@gmail.com, or find us on Twitter. You can also join the conversation over at Reddit.

4/13/18 • 64:14

In this episode we discuss the first half of Aces Abroad (Wild Cards Book 4). The authors that contributed to this book are: Carrie Vaughn Edward Bryant Gail Gerstner-Miller George R. R. Martin John J. Miller Kevin Andrew Murphy Leanne C. Harper Lewis Shiner Melinda M. Snodgrass Michael Cassutt Stephen Leigh (S. L. Farrell) Victor Milán Walton Simons Our fantastic theme tune is Ace Of Spades (8 Bit Remix Cover Version) by the great folks at 8 Bit Universe. Follow them on YouTube and Twitter. Questions, comments, or corrections? Email us at acesjokerswildcards@gmail.com, or find us on Twitter. You can also join the conversation over at Reddit.

5/11/18 • 75:37

In this episode we discuss the second half of Aces Abroad (Wild Cards Book 4). The authors that contributed to this book are: Carrie Vaughn Edward Bryant Gail Gerstner-Miller George R. R. Martin John J. Miller Kevin Andrew Murphy Leanne C. Harper Lewis Shiner Melinda M. Snodgrass Michael Cassutt Stephen Leigh (S. L. Farrell) Victor Milán Walton Simons Our fantastic theme tune is Ace Of Spades (8 Bit Remix Cover Version) by the great folks at 8 Bit Universe. Follow them on YouTube and Twitter. Thanks to Matthew E of Legion Abstract for his email this week. You too could get a shout-out in the show notes. Just email us with any questions, comments, or corrections at acesjokerswildcards@gmail.com, or find us on Twitter. You can also join the conversation over at Reddit.

5/18/18 • 71:52

In this episode we discuss the first half of Down and Dirty (Wild Cards Book 5). The authors that contributed to this book are: John J. Miller George R. R. Martin Roger Zelazny Leanne C. Harper Arthur Byron Cover Melinda M. Snodgrass Edward Bryant Stephen Leigh (S. L. Farrell) Pat Cadigan Walter John Williams Our fantastic theme tune is Ace Of Spades (8 Bit Remix Cover Version) by the great folks at 8 Bit Universe. Follow them on YouTube and Twitter. Thanks to @theealansmithee for his casting tweet which led to our discussion this week. You too could get a shout-out in the show notes. Just email us with any questions, comments, or corrections at acesjokerswildcards@gmail.com, or find us on Twitter. You can also join the conversation over at Reddit.   The Rachel Divide on Netflix The Telegraph didn't think highly of "The Queen's Hidden Cousins" Patton Oswalt Elijah Wood Donald Glover Donal Logue Eva Green Malcolm McDowell Gaten Matarazzo Michael Shannon Justin Long's voice in all its forms Whatshername from Twilight Tammy Faye says hey.

6/8/18 • 75:27

  In this episode we discuss the second half of Down and Dirty (Wild Cards Book 5). The authors that contributed to this book are: John J. Miller George R. R. Martin Roger Zelazny Leanne C. Harper Arthur Byron Cover Melinda M. Snodgrass Edward Bryant Stephen Leigh (S. L. Farrell) Pat Cadigan Walter John Williams Our fantastic theme tune is Ace Of Spades (8 Bit Remix Cover Version) by the great folks at 8 Bit Universe. Follow them on YouTube and Twitter. Thanks to F Douglas Wall, creator of the Adventures in Oz RPG, for his email, which contributed to our discussion this week. You too could get a shout-out in the show notes. Just email us with any questions, comments, or corrections at acesjokerswildcards@gmail.com, or find us on Twitter. You can also join the conversation over at Reddit. This article is the only Google result Angel found that identifies "Mr Dining Out" as a specific person, and that person is Bryan Miller. Here's a timeline of NYT restaurant critics, including Mr Miller. Have you seen our automated Twitter bot that generates bios for new Wild Carders? Ben has recently improved it and made it less noisy: @acesjokersbot Justin Long as Tusk says hi.

6/16/18 • 82:19

In this episode we discuss the first half of Ace in the Hole (Wild Cards Book 6). The authors that contributed to this book are: Walter John Williams Stephen Leigh (S. L. Farrell) Victor Milán Walton Simons Melinda M. Snodgrass Our fantastic theme tune is Ace Of Spades (8 Bit Remix Cover Version) by the great folks at 8 Bit Universe. Follow them on YouTube and Twitter. Thanks to @lord_anarchy and @Jvargasleal for their Twitter DMs, which contributed to our discussion this week. You can read Juliana's interview with Melinda Snodgrass here. You too could get a shout-out in the show notes. Just email us with any questions, comments, or corrections at acesjokerswildcards@gmail.com, or find us on Twitter. You can also join the conversation over at Reddit. Want to win a hardback UK edition of Knaves Over Queens? See this tweet for details of our competition (ends 4 July 2018). -------- YES, Angel knows there will be serious and terrible incest in the Jumper saga, but Ben doesn't. (If you're reading this and, like Ben, you're wondering where the incest is--well, just you wait.)

6/30/18 • 60:22

In this episode we discuss the second half of Ace in the Hole (Wild Cards Book 6). The authors that contributed to this book are: Walter John Williams Stephen Leigh (S. L. Farrell) Victor Milán Walton Simons Melinda M. Snodgrass Our fantastic theme tune is Ace Of Spades (8 Bit Remix Cover Version) by the great folks at 8 Bit Universe. Follow them on YouTube and Twitter. Congratulations to Matthew Elmslie on winning the hardback copy of Knaves Over Queens! Thanks to @SamuelSakker, @althusserian421, and @seb9884 for their Twitter outrage, which contributed to our discussion this week. You too could get a shout-out in the show notes. Just email us with any questions, comments, or corrections at acesjokerswildcards@gmail.com, or find us on Twitter. You can also join the conversation over at Reddit. -------- Odds and Ends We weren't being racist about Spain, I promise you. Until recently, the Spanish age of consent was 13. Read Ben's suitcase lady story at Vanity Fair. Read Angel's sports bag spy story on Wikipedia.  Learn more about that oddly devoted cellular network planner here. On listening back, Ben says that at some point in this episode he says “Barnett would lose” when he meant “Barnett would win.” Don’t @ us. -------- F Douglas Wall's notes on the Democratic Convention   The event that Ace in the Hole centers on is the Democratic National Convention, not the primary. The primaries are elections held in the individual states during the first part of the election year to determine how the states delegates will be apportioned at the convention proper.   In order for the party to nominate a candidate, they must have a majority of the delegates vote for them at the convention. If they secure enough delegates in the primary process, they are called the "presumptive" nominee.   Once the convention begins, the delegates, like Jack Braun, participate in one or more rounds of voting. The first round, the delegates must vote according to the primary vote in their state. So if Hartman won the California primary, Jack is obligated to vote for him in the first round.    But if Hartman (or any other candidate) can't get a majority of the votes, the delegates vote again, this time for whoever they want. Considering how many candidates are running (two more than in our history) this is probably what happens in the book. Multiple votes are held until one candidate gets 50% of the delegates. This is where all the wheeling and dealing comes in. (In our history, the last Democratic convention to have multiple rounds of voting was in 1952 and Micheal Dukakis won the first round of voting in 1988 with 70% of the delegate vote, Jesse Jackson coming in second. Thank you, Wikipedia.)   The Democratic party also uses "super delegates" who can vote however they want on the first round. This is typically used by the party as a "thumb on the scale" giving a stronger claim to establishment candidates or those seen as more electable. They only amount to 15% of the delegates, so they're best used to decide a close contest and don't have the power to upset a strong favorite.   The convention is also used to determine the party "platform," a statement of values and goals for the party over the next four years. Individual elements of the platform are called "planks," appropriately enough. So that's what the talk about the "Joker rights plank" in the book was about.   [Thank you Doug! Listeners, do you like games? Doug has a Wizard of Oz RPG that you should probably check out.]

7/6/18 • 58:54

In this episode we discuss the first half of Dead Man's Hand (Wild Cards Book 7). The authors that contributed to this book are: John J. Miller George R.R. Martin Our fantastic theme tune is Ace Of Spades (8 Bit Remix Cover Version) by the great folks at 8 Bit Universe. 

7/22/18 • 115:26

In this episode we discuss the first half of Dead Man's Hand (Wild Cards Book 7). The authors that contributed to this book are: John J. Miller George R.R. Martin Our fantastic theme tune is Ace Of Spades (8 Bit Remix Cover Version) by the great folks at 8 Bit Universe. Follow them on YouTube and Twitter. Please support us on Patreon, and/or leave us a rating and review wherever you get your podcasts. The more ratings we get, the more people are likely to find us. Thanks to F Douglas Wall for getting in touch again, which contributed to our discussion this week. You too could get a shout-out in the show notes. Just email us with any questions, comments, or corrections at acesjokerswildcards@gmail.com, or find us on Twitter. You can also join the conversation over at Reddit. -------- Odds and Ends We had some technical issues this week which meant we lost a lot of our introduction. Ben has been soundly beaten; he promises never to allow this to happen again. That Falcon Crest episode Ben mentions might be S2 E22, the very last entry discussed here. Here is the joker/ace taxonomy article we mentioned (not Tor, but Wild Cards World instead).

8/5/18 • 85:24

In this episode we discuss the first half of One-Eyed Jacks (Wild Cards Book 8). The authors that contributed to this book are: Walton Simons Chris Claremont Lew Shiner William F. Wu Victor Milán Stephen Leigh Melinda Snodgrass John Jos. Miller Carrie Vaughn Kevin Andrew Murphy George R.R. Martin (editor) Our fantastic theme tune is Ace Of Spades (8 Bit Remix Cover Version) by the great folks at 8 Bit Universe. Follow them on YouTube and Twitter. Please support us on Patreon to get exclusive Discord chat access, and/or leave us a rating and review wherever you get your podcasts. The more ratings we get, the more people are likely to find us. Email us with any questions, comments, or corrections at acesjokerswildcards@gmail.com, or find us on Twitter. You can also join the conversation over at Reddit. -------- Odds and Ends Marilyn Quayle looks like this.  Horse-faced or not? You decide.  Donald Trump was a Republican supporter in the 80s, although he later became a registered Democrat before returning to the Republicans. Here is a video of an interview with him at the 1988 Republican Convention: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Usb0iE5WiZI

8/23/18 • 91:25

In this episode we discuss the second half of One-Eyed Jacks (Wild Cards Book 8). The authors that contributed to this book are: Walton Simons Chris Claremont Lew Shiner William F. Wu Victor Milán Stephen Leigh Melinda Snodgrass John Jos. Miller Carrie Vaughn Kevin Andrew Murphy George R.R. Martin (editor) Our fantastic theme tune is Ace Of Spades (8 Bit Remix Cover Version) by the great folks at 8 Bit Universe. Follow them on YouTube and Twitter. Please support us on Patreon to get exclusive Discord chat access, and/or leave us a rating and review wherever you get your podcasts. The more ratings we get, the more people are likely to find us. Email us with any questions, comments, or corrections at acesjokerswildcards@gmail.com, or find us on Twitter. You can also join the conversation over at Reddit. -------- Odds and Ends "Eiffel Towering" Here's a little more about Obama's N-word clip, which is, of course, a quotation from another character in Dreams From My Father. Wikipedia has more about Project 100,000. The book Ben discusses is called McNamara's Folly. How did we miss this Kansas City Star article? If you're confused about the age of consent in Arkansas, don't worry--Fox News is desperately trying to figure it out for you. More about Matt Ruff's Set This House In Order More about the blind samurai, and Dans Le Noir? (the question mark is part of the name) Pia Zadora’s ignominy  Ben's panspermia guy And finally, here are the one-eyed jacks and the king with the axe.

9/9/18 • 74:49

In this episode we discuss the first half of Jokertown Shuffle (Wild Cards Book 9). The authors that contributed to this book are: Stephen Leigh John Jos. Miller Melinda Snodgrass Victor Milán Walter Jon Williams Lew Shiner Walton Simons George R.R. Martin (editor) Our fantastic theme tune is Ace Of Spades (8 Bit Remix Cover Version) by the great folks at 8 Bit Universe. Follow them on YouTube and Twitter. Please support us on Patreon to get exclusive Discord chat access, and/or leave us a rating and review wherever you get your podcasts. The more ratings we get, the more people are likely to find us. Email us with any questions, comments, or corrections at acesjokerswildcards@gmail.com, or find us on Twitter. You can also join the conversation over at Reddit. -------- Odds and Ends I can’t find the tweet suggesting that the homunculi are products of TIAMAT, so maybe you can tweet it yourself and then I’ll RT you from @acesjokerspod and then you can pretend it was your idea. Ben is feeling great on his Jordan Peterson-inspired all-meat diet, and so can you. (NB: do not do this.) Get your non-Wild Cards body-swap freak on with Demon by Jason Shiga.  

9/24/18 • 70:46

In this episode we discuss the second half of Jokertown Shuffle (Wild Cards Book 9). The authors that contributed to this book are: Stephen Leigh John Jos. Miller Melinda Snodgrass Victor Milán Walter Jon Williams Lew Shiner Walton Simons George R.R. Martin (editor) Our fantastic theme tune is Ace Of Spades (8 Bit Remix Cover Version) by the great folks at 8 Bit Universe. Follow them on YouTube and Twitter. Please support us on Patreon to get exclusive Discord chat access, and/or leave us a rating and review wherever you get your podcasts. The more ratings we get, the more people are likely to find us. Email us with any questions, comments, or corrections at acesjokerswildcards@gmail.com, or find us on Twitter. You can also join the conversation over at Reddit. -------- Odds and Ends CONTEST TIME! Send us your best and grossest Duncan Towers/Donald Trump fan-art, and one lucky winner will get Angel’s (paperback) reprint of One-Eyed Jacks, whch includes the new stories from Kevin Andrew Murphy and Carrie Vaughn. Immigrant toddler crackdown Fred Christ Trump The Woman Who Shot Andy Warhol, Veronica something-or-other, wrote a cute little manifesto for her girl friends It is very important that you GET YOUR SEXY PAP SMEARS, LADIES The Temptation of St Anthony Learn all the secrets of the Masons and get away with all your crimes Here Are Some Rules for Playing That Well-Known Drinking Game, the Devil’s Triangle

10/14/18 • 85:12

In this episode we discuss the first half of Double Solitaire (Wild Cards Book 10). The authors that contributed to this book are: Melinda Snodgrass George R.R. Martin (editor) Our fantastic theme tune is Ace Of Spades (8 Bit Remix Cover Version) by the great folks at 8 Bit Universe. Follow them on YouTube and Twitter. Please support us on Patreon to get exclusive Discord chat access, and/or leave us a rating and review wherever you get your podcasts. The more ratings we get, the more people are likely to find us. Email us with any questions, comments, or corrections at acesjokerswildcards@gmail.com, or find us on Twitter. You can also join the conversation over at Reddit. -------- Odds and Ends CONTEST TIME! Nobody won our contest, because you are all wimps with weak stomachs I GUESS. We'll attempt to figure out something more palatable for the next time we record. Other stuff: Ben mentioned the @gwern article about genetics in Dune. The appendix is about Race in My Little Pony Curious about chicken breeding for art? Angel and Ben went to see The Cosmopolitan Chicken Research Project from artist @KoenVanmechelen Why not get a flavour of EastEnders from their YouTube channel? Angel is especially fond of this promo This is pretty much what we see in our heads when we picture Blaise at his parade Why not take a gander at that Reddit post we quoted, then join us in the r/wildcards community? Aces & Jokers is a Spanish prog rock band who deserve better than we have given them in this episode. Lo sentimos, Ahces ee Hokehrs.

11/17/18 • 74:26

In this episode we discuss the second half of Double Solitaire (Wild Cards Book 10). The authors that contributed to this book are: Melinda Snodgrass George R.R. Martin (editor) Our fantastic theme tune is Ace Of Spades (8 Bit Remix Cover Version) by the great folks at 8 Bit Universe. Follow them on YouTube and Twitter. Please support us on Patreon to get exclusive Discord chat access, and/or leave us a rating and review wherever you get your podcasts. The more ratings we get, the more people are likely to find us. Email us with any questions, comments, or corrections at acesjokerswildcards@gmail.com, or find us on Twitter. You can also join the conversation over at Reddit. -------- Odds and Ends CONTEST TIME! Oh yeah, I forgot about that. First person to read this and email us to say they want the book wins the book. AHA! Other stuff: Arthur C Clarke book about a space elevator was The Fountains of Paradise, but there are a lot of them: Did We ALL Write a Book About Space Elevators? Why Unfortunate Coincidences Happen in Science Fiction Ken MacLeod’s book about religious robots is The Night Sessions. If you are reading these books you have read a lot about rape, and we talked briefly in this episode about the "rape is solely about power" trope and how dismissing the sexual aspect of rape can be harmful to people seeking a normal sex life after rape. If you have the stomach for further discussion around these ideas, please read this incredibly interesting paper by academic Beverly McPhail that "knits together five feminist theories into a comprehensive model that better explains the depth and breadth of the etiology of rape."

12/1/18 • 88:53

In this episode we discuss the first half of Dealer's Choice (Wild Cards Book 11).  Show Notes CONTEST TIME! Congratulations to Matthew Elmslie, who won the contest from last week's show notes. Oh, you didn't read the show notes? Maybe now you have learned your lesson. September 21st 1990 really was a Friday. I guess they learned their lesson after 15 Sept 1946 was accidentally a school day on a Sunday. It’s only in researching these show notes while editing the podcast that I realise we got the terms for Aboriginal people and the Dreaming completely wrong throughout this episode (and before now too). On the whole we are like Seinfeld: no hugging, no learning. We will break the second part of that rule in this case. Here’s the true story of the Steve Jackson Games raid, which was fictionalized in Dealer's Choice. "Some cultures do not distinguish between fiction and nonfiction – and instead talk of 'stories'. Is that a barrier to English-language writers and publishers? Or should they just learn to enjoy telling tales?" This story from The Guardian smells funny to Angel. Benedict Cumberbatch can’t say "Penguins" (just like Angel) Angel understated Snotman’s Croyd-given powers as The Reflector, but Ben got closer to the truth: he "developed the power to absorb any force directed against him and send it back at its source." Here’s info about the Kon-Tiki book; Angel is also a big fan of the 2012 film. Thoughts on "feeling 22, acting 17" from Richard Herring The "twin experiment with clocks" is more properly known as the Hafele-Keating experiment. Finally, 1-800-I-GIVE-UP would be 1-800-444-8387, which does seem to have been a real-world working number for some targeted framing advertisers in the 2000s. (I haven’t tried it to see if it works now as it's a little complicated from the UK. If you're in the US, why not try it and email us about your results?)   General Notes The authors that contributed to this book are: George R.R. Martin (editor/author) Melinda Snodgrass (assistant editor) Stephen Leigh Edward W. Bryant John J. Miller Walter Jon Williams Our fantastic theme tune is Ace Of Spades (8 Bit Remix Cover Version) by the great folks at 8 Bit Universe. Follow them on YouTube and Twitter. Please support us on Patreon to get exclusive Discord chat access, and/or leave us a rating and review wherever you get your podcasts. The more ratings we get, the more people are likely to find us. Email us with any questions, comments, or corrections at acesjokerswildcards@gmail.com, or find us on Twitter. You can also join the conversation over at Reddit.  

12/15/18 • 88:16

In this episode we discuss the second half of Dealer's Choice (Wild Cards Book 11).  Show Notes Are you aware of the Dunning Kruger effect? Are you capable of knowing whether you are aware of it? Read more about Christopher Duntsch if you dare! There's also a great podcast about him called Dr Death. Here's a discussion of the AI Alignment Problem that Ben mentioned. Brief note about how the laws of robotics need an update.  Ben said "World War 2" when he meant "World War 1" when discussing artillery. What a maroon.   General Notes The authors that contributed to this book are: George R.R. Martin (editor/author) Melinda Snodgrass (assistant editor) Stephen Leigh Edward W. Bryant John J. Miller Walter Jon Williams Our fantastic theme tune is Ace Of Spades (8 Bit Remix Cover Version) by the great folks at 8 Bit Universe. Follow them on YouTube and Twitter. Please support us on Patreon to get exclusive Discord chat access, and/or leave us a rating and review wherever you get your podcasts. The more ratings we get, the more people are likely to find us. Email us with any questions, comments, or corrections at acesjokerswildcards@gmail.com, or find us on Twitter. You can also join the conversation over at Reddit.

12/25/18 • 95:03

In this episode we discuss the first half of Turn of the Cards (Wild Cards Book 12). Show Notes Ringworm and Roland the Headless Thompson Gunner were the songs highlighted in this week's episode Gina Carano would make a perfect Hera Victor Milán wasn't joking about the Dutch and their curtain aversion. It has now been THIRTEEN YEARS since Guy Goma got interviewed on the BBC instead of a different Guy. A.D.I.D.A.S.  That brief moment when Madonna was linked to Jose Canseco Harry says sorry for dressing up as Nazi   General Notes The authors that contributed to this book are: Victor Milán George R.R. Martin (editor) Our fantastic theme tune is Ace Of Spades (8 Bit Remix Cover Version) by the great folks at 8 Bit Universe. Follow them on YouTube and Twitter. Please support us on Patreon to get exclusive Discord chat access, and/or leave us a rating and review wherever you get your podcasts. The more ratings we get, the more people are likely to find us. Email us with any questions, comments, or corrections at acesjokerswildcards@gmail.com, or find us on Twitter. You can also join the conversation over at Reddit.

1/20/19 • 95:26

In this episode we discuss the second half of Turn of the Cards (Wild Cards Book 12). Show Notes Short and sweet show notes this week: Please add to our Wild Cards Songs playlist on Spotify, and let us know (via email or on Twitter) your rationale for anything you do add. Section titles, implied lyrics, characters based on songs, songs explicit, implicit, and implied--we want them all. Are you an unpublished or independently published author with a manuscript burning a hole in your pocket? Please have a look at the Terms and Conditions of the First Novel Prize, then send it right over. Ben has asked me to say "it turns out the original M16 models did have full auto; it was limited to 3 round burst in the M16A2" so please don't get too upset for whatever gun thing he said in this podcast that was wrong. Thank you for your patience, listeners. We will see you again soon for Season 2, starting with Book 13, CARD SHARKS.   General Notes The authors that contributed to this book are: Victor Milán George R.R. Martin (editor) Our fantastic theme tune is Ace Of Spades (8 Bit Remix Cover Version) by the great folks at 8 Bit Universe. Follow them on YouTube and Twitter. Please support us on Patreon to get exclusive Discord chat access, and/or leave us a rating and review wherever you get your podcasts. The more ratings we get, the more people are likely to find us. Email us with any questions, comments, or corrections at acesjokerswildcards@gmail.com, or find us on Twitter. You can also join the conversation over at Reddit.

2/12/19 • 84:08

Hello Aces & Jokers! Here is a sneak preview of our upcoming Patron-Only episode covering Nightflyers episode 1, available only to our Patreon patrons. If you want to hear more, come on over to patreon.com/acesjokerspod to support the show.

2/27/19 • 02:40

In this episode we discuss the first half of Card Sharks (Wild Cards Book 13). Show Notes Here's that water supply article Ben was talking about, and the episode of Planet Money about the same subject that Angel mentioned. Never seen Breakfast at Tiffany's? Here's what they thought was appropriate makeup for Mickey Rooney. As promised, here's a Wikipedia link to Chinatown: Chinatown (1974 film) Like animals? You'll love this heartwarming zoo-based documentary. . . . just don't write any YA about it. Here's that Trouble With Centaurs cartoon, though if you heard the episode, the joke is spoiled, sorry. You can buy that cyberpunk poetry novella, Event Horizon by Zac Paup, right here. Finally, Ben has asked me to issue a formal apology on his part to the people of Spain. He says: “The power I had over the Spanish is that they admired me. And I wielded that power irresponsibly. I have been remorseful of my actions. And I’ve tried to learn from them. And run from them. Now I’m aware of the extent of the impact of my actions. I have spent my long and lucky podcasting career talking and saying anything I want. I will now step back and take a long time to listen. Thank you for reading.”   General Notes The authors that contributed to this book are: Roger Zelazny William F. Wu Kevin Andrew Murphy Laura J. Mixon Victor Milán Stephen Leigh Michael Cassutt George R.R. Martin (editor) Melinda M. Snodgrass (assistant editor/writer) Our fantastic theme tune is Ace Of Spades (8 Bit Remix Cover Version) by the great folks at 8 Bit Universe. Follow them on YouTube and Twitter. Please support us on Patreon to get early episode access and patron-only content, and/or leave us a rating and review wherever you get your podcasts. The more ratings we get, the more people are likely to find us. Email us with any questions, comments, or corrections at acesjokerswildcards@gmail.com, or find us on Twitter. You can also join the conversation over at Reddit.  

5/23/19 • 90:41

In this episode we discuss the second half of Card Sharks (Wild Cards Book 13). Show NotesAs we mention in the episode, "Cursum Perficio" (1993) was indeed Kevin Andrew Murphy's first contribution to a Wild Cards novel, although he contributed to the GURPS Wild Cards roleplaying game supplement "Aces Abroad" in 1991. The fictional book within Philip K Dick's novel "The Man In The High Castle" is called The Grasshopper Lies Heavy, not The Grasshopper Lies Quietly as Ben says in this episode.   General NotesThe authors that contributed to this book are: Roger Zelazny William F. Wu Kevin Andrew Murphy Laura J. Mixon Victor Milán Stephen Leigh Michael Cassutt George R.R. Martin (editor) Melinda M. Snodgrass (assistant editor/writer) Our fantastic theme tune is Ace Of Spades (8 Bit Remix Cover Version) by the great folks at 8 Bit Universe. Follow them on YouTube and Twitter. Please support us on Patreon to get early episode access and patron-only content, and/or leave us a rating and review wherever you get your podcasts. The more ratings we get, the more people are likely to find us. Email us with any questions, comments, or corrections at acesjokerswildcards@gmail.com, or find us on Twitter. You can also join the conversation over at Reddit.

6/10/19 • 77:19

In this episode we discuss the first half of Marked Cards (Wild Cards Book 14). Show Notes I'm tired so I'm phoning these in this week: Read William F Wu's Triple Dualities article now, please. Angel got gently and correctly dragged in a column about bisexuality and now is FULLY OUT ok. I need your clothes, your boots, and your motorcycle. Barbara Walters interviews Michael Jackson on 60 Minutes FUN FACT: Oprah went off the air in 2011—BUT she was on 60 Minutes for a while after that!  Finally, Ben has asked me to issue a formal apology on his part to bisexual people. He says: “The power I had over the bisexuals is that they admired me. And I wielded that power irresponsibly. I have been remorseful of my actions. And I’ve tried to learn from them. And run from them. Now I’m aware of the extent of the impact of my actions. I have spent my long and lucky podcasting career talking and saying anything I want. I will now step back and take a long time to listen. Thank you for reading.” General Notes The authors that contributed to this book are: Stephen Leigh Walton Simons Victor Milán Leanne C. Harper Walter Jon Williams Sage Walker Laura J. Mixon Melinda M. Snodgrass George R.R. Martin (editor) Our fantastic theme tune is Ace Of Spades (8 Bit Remix Cover Version) by the great folks at 8 Bit Universe. Follow them on YouTube and Twitter. Please support us on Patreon to get early episode access and patron-only content, and/or leave us a rating and review wherever you get your podcasts. The more ratings we get, the more people are likely to find us. Email us with any questions, comments, or corrections at acesjokerswildcards@gmail.com, or find us on Twitter. You can also join the conversation over at Reddit.  

6/25/19 • 80:22

In this episode we discuss the second half of Marked Cards (Wild Cards Book 14). Show Notes Please donate to Howard's Gofundme for his medical bills: https://www.gofundme.com/m5dwy-medical-bills-anything-helps and share it on social media. Ben's information on horse penises comes from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stallion#Reproductive_anatomy The song "Black Flanders" comes from the Episode One podcast: https://www.patreon.com/e1podcast Here is the song on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9cUgq-u6nZ0 and you can read the annotated lyrics on Genius: https://genius.com/13522692 The podcasts for the next book (Black Trump) will be for our Patreon backers only. Backers also get early access to all episodes, and special bonus episodes! So please back us at https://www.patreon.com/acesjokerspod General Notes The authors that contributed to the book are: Stephen Leigh Walton Simons Victor Milán Leanne C. Harper Walter Jon Williams Sage Walker Laura Mixon & Melinda Snodgrass George R.R. Martin (editor) Our fantastic theme tune is Ace Of Spades (8 Bit Remix Cover Version) by the great folks at 8 Bit Universe. Follow them on YouTube and Twitter. Email us with any questions, comments, or corrections at acesjokerswildcards@gmail.com, or find us on Twitter.

7/13/19 • 66:14

This is a preview of our premium episode discussing of the extra chapters in Tor's recent Jokertown Shuffle reissue. We didn't cover these stories in our main episode about the book, because they hadn't been published yet. To hear the complete episode, join our Patreon at the $2 per podcast level. This short episode is free to $2 patrons: you'll only be charged $2 for our regular episodes. You'll also get access to future episodes a day early, as well as instant access to existing premium content, like our commentary for Nightflyers episode 1. We're going to make our discussion of the next Wild Cards book, Black Trump, exclusive to our patrons, so now is a good time to subscribe so you don't miss out! That Patreon address is: https://www.patreon.com/acesjokerspod

7/20/19 • 01:26