Joe and Mark reflect on the Re-Creative journey so far, after two complete seasons, and over forty episodes. 

For more information, check out the show notes for this episode. 

Re-Creative is produced by Donovan Street Press Inc. in association with MonkeyJoy Press. 

Contact us at joemahoney@donovanstreetpress.com

"If you could write – and consume – only one of these genres of science fiction, what would you pick? Space opera. Post-Apocalyptic. Or Cyberpunk?" This is the diabolical question that Mark poses to Joe and their guest, renowned Canadian science fiction writer, Robert J. Sawyer. 

Everyone has an answer and it connects with the piece of art that Rob has chosen to talk about – the 1968 science fiction classic, Planet of the Apes.

For Rob, the film (and book it was based upon) shows how science fiction can tackle the most pressing and important issues of the day. In the case of Planet of the Apes: race relations and nuclear war.

Mark, Joe and Rob have an engaged and engaging conversation about Planet of the Apes, science fiction in general, and Rob's career in particular.

 Fans won't want to miss this conversation!

For more information, check out the show notes for this episode. 

Re-Creative is produced by Donovan Street Press Inc. in association with MonkeyJoy Press. 

Contact us at joemahoney@donovanstreetpress.com

Joe and Mark are joined by a veritable Swiss Army Knife of writers, Mark Leiren-Young.

Mark has written in multiple genres and formats, including television, animation, journalism, comedy, theater, and film. And he loves him some Spider-Man.

Oh, and Kurt Vonnegut too, so you know that Mark LY gets along with both the lads like a house on fire!

They NERD OUT in this podcast, talking about how Vonnegut influenced Mark LY in his writing. The three discuss Mark LY’s career, which has included stints writing for television, animation, and they even get into how he became the media’s go-to guy for discussions of how to save the Orca.

Lately, Mark has been teaching at the University of Victoria, doing courses on the storytelling in Pixar, DC and Marvel universes, which gives the three an opportunity to talk about the Batman too.

Listen in on this fun and rollicking conversation!

For more info, check out the show notes for this episode. 

Re-Creative is produced by Donovan Street Press Inc. in association with MonkeyJoy Press. 

Contact us at joemahoney@donovanstreetpress.com

The lads are joined by Noah Chinn, a Canadian writer of SFF, contemporary fiction and retro mysteries. (The latter two under the pen-name Noah J.D. Chinn.)

Mark kicks off the podcast by asking Joe and Noah if there was anything weird happening to their hair in the 90s, which is also when the groundbreaking science fiction series, Babylon 5 ran.

Noah loved that the series treated each episode as a chapter in a longer story, which was unusual in television at the time. And yes, there was a character with big hair in the show.  

Noah tries to convince Mark, who never saw the show in the 90s, why he should check it out now. They talk about where it's similar to The Expanse, and where it differs, and how it had an impact on Noah's own writing.

In the end, Noah makes a strong case!

For more info, check out the show notes for this episode. 

Re-Creative is produced by Donovan Street Press Inc. in association with MonkeyJoy Press.

 Contact us at joemahoney@donovanstreetpress.com

Joe and Mark are joined this week by D.G. Valdron, a Canadian writer of science fiction, fantasy and non-fiction.

The topic of this week's discussion is Doctor Who, in particular the expansive, creative and fascinating world of fan-produced films, plays and fiction that honor the Doctor.

D.G. talks about this fandom with great affection and knowledge, something that he's been a part of as a fan, but also as a writer. He's written about the first female Doctor – not Jodi Whittaker, but Barbara Benedetti, the first woman to play the Doctor, through a series of four, unlicensed half-hour adventures in the 80s – plus many of the other hundreds of loving fan takes on the BBC series.

Writ large, the discussion is a history of fandom; D.G. also explains why it's worthy of our time and attention.

A fascinating discussion for fans of Doctor Who in particular, but for those who stan fandom in general!

For more info, check out the show notes for this episode.

Re-Creative is produced by Donovan Street Press Inc. in association with MonkeyJoy Press. 

Contact us at joemahoney@donovanstreetpress.com

Rock journalist and biographer Steve Rosen joins the lads to talk about guitar legend Edward (Eddie) Van Halen.

 Steve began his career in 1972 and has interviewed hundreds of recording artists over the years, including some of his favorites: Jeff Beck, Jimmy Page, Paul Kossoff, Peter Frampton, Steve Winwood, Brian Wilson, Pete Townshend, Keith Moon, John Entwistle, Jack Bruce, Supertramp, and Bad Company, just to name a few.

But it was Steve's relationship with Edward that really stood out. They met in 1977, before Van Halen's first album came out, and immediately forged a connection.

Steve points out  some of the techniques that made Edward special as a guitar player: "He made the guitar a language all of its own. He had a sound he defined as the 'brown sound' that nobody else ever had. On top of all that, he built all his own guitars, forever changing the landscape of custom guitars."

The three dive into a great exemplar of Edward's virtuosity in the single, "Hear About It Later," from Van Halen's fourth studio album, Fair Warning (1981).

Fans of rock, music, and sufferers of GAS (guitar acquisition syndrome) will love this interview.

For more info, check out the show notes for this episode.

Re-Creative is a co-production of Donovan Street Press Inc. and MonkeyJoy Press.

Contact us at joemahoney@donovanstreetpress.com

Joe and Mark are joined by London, Ontario author and journalist, Mark Kearney, to talk about an early pioneer of Hollywood, Al Christie.

Christie went to Hollywood in 1911, when it was just a village, some fruit trees and farms. “There had been a few directors shooting in and around Los Angeles, but Christie was the first to film in Hollywood,” Mark says.

Christie became famous for his short comedies. The boys discuss one of these comedies, which is typical of Christie’s work, Know Thy Wife, in some detail, and the three have a fascinating conversation about the early days of Hollywood, how the film industry worked and developed, and the nature of comedy.

For more info, check out the show notes for this episode.

Re-Creative is a co-production of Donovan Street Press Inc. and MonkeyJoy Press.

Contact us at joemahoney@donovanstreetpress.com

Deck the halls with boughs of … horror!

Joe and Mark are joined by Jeff Preston, PhD, an associate professor of disability studies at King’s University College. In addition to being a professor, Jeff is a webcomic creator, activist and co-host of the podcast Invalid Culture.

“The real story of disability is being able to bend the world around you to fit your needs, and about the real pain, angst and injustice you feel when the world refuses to bend, when the world refuses to change. That is the real disabling experience,” Jeff says.

Jeff brings forward the 1984 cult classic, Christmas Evil, which is apparently John Waters’s favorite Christmas movie. Mark admits to being strangely compelled by the flick, mostly because of the performance of the lead, Brandon Maggart. “But it is a frickin’ mess,” Mark adds.

Joe asks Jeff to make the case for watching the flawed film.

“I love crap movies,” Jeff admits. He says it’s worth watching bad movies that use disability as part of their narrative, because it’s easier to spot the tropes and how they don’t actually make sense.

A merry (and evil) Christmas indeed!

For more information on Jeff Preston's work and the movie Christmas Evil, please check out the show notes for this episode. 

Re-Creative is co-produced by Donovan Street Press Inc. and MonkeyJoy Press. Reach us at joemahoney@donovanstreetpress.com