MOVIE NIGHT! Join Tom, Dan & Sarah as the Marathon takes a lap around Luc Besson's sci-fantasy epic, "The Fifth Element", a classic tale of good vs evil, sentient hell planets vs perfect day-old babes, and/or capitalist greed vs noble hobbit priests. Everyone's favourite tank-top wearing action hero, Bruce Willis, teams up with humanity's sexiest hope for survival Milla Jovovich in a whirlwind cyberpunk adventure, all of which pales in comparison to the immaculate perfection of Chris Tucker's radio-sex-DJ. Can our heroes survive the hordes of campy rubber suit monster mercenaries? Is any of this tits-forward romp socially acceptable anymore? Listen to find out! Contained within: Colin Hanks Beta-types, 90s fantasy eugenics, and Jean-Baptiste Emmanuel ZORG.

Join us on a wild ride through the 2000 classic, "How the Grinch Stole Christmas," (or in Tom's words "How the Cringe stole Milfmas") featuring Jim Carrey and directed by the mischievous Ron Howard. Uncover the sticky and pear-shaped mysteries of Whos, as we reveal Ron Howard's 6-hour makeup torture on Jim Carrey. We argue that Carrey's Grinch, a furry fusion of the Mask and Ace Ventura, turns Dr. Seuss into a confusing mix of fudge, ass-closeups, and boomer humor—much to Sarah's dismay and the revelation of the true meaning of Cringemass. Hold tight to your eggnog hats as we delve into Martha May Who's iconic furry awakening, adding a layer of bizarre brilliance to this holiday masterpiece. Digressions include Scooby Doo's butthole, whoville mating ritual theories, and Batman Returns.

Hop in the way way back machine with Paragon Marathon! This week, we're tackling the oldest story civilization has, The Epic of Gilgamesh. Join us to learn of the ancient king, He who saw the deep, revel in the wisdom and the super-jacked, bro'd up wrestlemania he found along the way. Contained within these clay-fired podcast-tablets; mythical sex marathons, copious cubit conundrums, and the self-actualizing contentment that comes from accepting your inevitable demise.

Get ready for a frightening vore-ay into Tom, Dan and Sarah's deepest fears! (Please do not use them against us). This episode, we point our shaking flashlights at the mysteries of darkness and the unknown, slither into the world of snakes, and dish on the fear of being eaten, bone-in or chewed. Join us as we uncover the origins of these fears, comparing the concept of horror vs terror with "Jaws" (1975) and "Deep Blue Sea" (1999), "Nope" (2022), and "The Monkey's Paw" by WW Jacobs (among a few other terrifying texts). Listener beware: you're in for a scare(d trio of dorks).

Operation GOODBYE-HELLO-GOODBYE is a go: All Paragons report to Marathons. Welcome to the Paragon Marathon Season 1 Finale and Retrospective! Join Tom, Dan & Sarah as they reflect on their time podcasting together over the past two years, and make plans to return to the world of Literature, Mythology and Pop Culture after a much-needed break. Contained within: Mario noises, Canonical Shreks, and Dan's Dune Den. Thank you for listening along with us!

MOVIE NIGHT! Join Tom, Dan & Sarah as they YIPPEE-WAHOO their way through the 1993 cult classic and misunderstood masterpiece, "Super Mario Bros." The inscrutable decisions of a string of troubled directors are put under the patented Marathon Microscope as the team discusses the exact kind of stuff you'd expect in a Mario movie: cyberpunk dystopias, fascist police, and copious amounts of (alleged) on-set drinking. Bob Hoskins and Jon Leguizuigi easily manage to steal our hearts, but can the indulgent dinosaur fantasy of the Koopa Kingdom hold up after a full thirty years? Contained within: why men are dogs, twink meat Luigizamo, and motorboat subterfuge. (YAHOO!)

Paragon Marathon is baguette it again. Join Tom, Dan and Sarah as they put the Marathon (and the Paragons?) back in the titular Para-Mara with a très grand exploration of Alexander Dumas' "The Three Musketeers." The adventure begins with a look into Dumas' background before Tom puts Dan and Sarah on trial with his French History quiz. Upon their escape from the Bastille of Ignorance, the group follows in the footsteps of D'Artagnan to unpack this modern take on Chivalric Romance and place it in the contextual frame of other texts they've examined (as well as the cultural frame of Late Revolutionary France, when it was first published). Contained within: cursed misophonia bits, supernatural Gascons, mortal and superficial stabbings, and a Fancy French Cat parade. Image link for pic discussed at 46:27

MOVIE NIGHT! Join Tom, Dan & Sarah as they seek out the dark forces and join their hellish crusade in the 1993 sequel-masterpiece, "Addams Family Values!" Strap yourself in for a delightful exploration of 90s nostalgia, goth origins, and a criminally underrated satire of the conservative status quo. The marathon runs the well-trod path of Gomez and Morticia's unapologetically loving and enthusiastic partnership, (relationship goals? more like CREMATION-ship GHOULS) before getting into a serious examination of Cusacks on this week's "Cusack Corner." Contained within: Michael Jackson Mysteries, failed Nanaimo Magicians, and the Lost Sumerian Dog-Bar joke.

We're back with Part 2 of our deep dive into the Earthsea Archipelago. (We hit a COVID snag last month--sorry for the delay!) Join Tom, Dan, and Sarah as they discuss the main themes of the first three books in Ursula Le Guin's opus before ending with a conversation on the author's changing views of feminist fantasy through "Tehanu," the fourth novel in the series (and one of the best fantasy novels ever written). The discussion this week focuses on comparing Le Guin's concise storytelling to other well-worn fantasy tropes, (aka "commodified fantasy") and unpacking the impact of a bildungsroman where violence and power aren't the be-all-end-all. Contained within: ageless Rudds and Ruffalos, permanent hallucinogenic trances, and the wind waker music again because it's too good.

Only in silence the word, Only in dark the light. Only in an oversaturated YA Fantasy market, the ascension of a talentless loser like J.K. Rowling. Join Tom, Dan, and Sarah in the first part of their exploration of Ursula K. Leguin’s fantasy opus, “A Wizard of Earthsea.” Striking out from Gont Port into the seas of the Archipelago, the intrepid siblings navigate serene straits of functioning magical metaphor, but also brave the deluge of discourse with a quiz examining the history of wizard schools in fantasy canon. This episode gives an overview of Leguin’s life and background before explaining the foundational aspects of the Earthsea novels, setting up for a look at The Tombs of Atuan, The Farthest Shore, and Tehanu in Part 2. Contained within: boy wizard intellectual theft, weed grandma thinks celibacy is for dorks, wind waking, and literally hitting the griddy.