Ancient Geeks

Ancient Geeks, episode 7: Marvel Comics, Fantastic Four, and Thor

Make mine Marvel! In this episode, we talk about discovering Marvel Comics, what distinguished Marvel from DC comics. We focus on our first favorite characters, the Fantastic Four and Thor, which in many ways were the most over-the-top, cosmic of Marvel's stable of superheroes. 
From the down-to-earth family dynamics of the Fantastic Four, to the vast vistas of Asgard and outer space, it's all here. Plus, we describe how we grow to love Jack "King" Kirby, for both his wild imagination and his distinctive art style.
For feedback, contact someancientgeeks@gmail.com. You can also find us on Facebook, Reddit, and Bluesky. And if you like what you hear, please tell a friend.
© 2025 Tom Grant and Steven Taylor

Ancient Geeks, episode 6: Classic science fiction writers

Classic science fiction writers were essential parts of our early geek lives. The influential SF writers from the 60s, 70s, and early 80s were almost too many to list! Asimov, Clarke, Heinlein, Le Guin, Zelazny, Ellison, Bradbury, Herbert, Dick, and countless others...In novels and short stories, they filled our brains with big ideas, and left us wanting for more! 
In future episodes, we'll talk about many of these authors in greater depth. For now, let's take a galactic tour of classic science fiction.
For feedback, contact someancientgeeks@gmail.com. You can also find us on Facebook, Reddit, and Bluesky. And if you like what you hear, please tell a friend.
© 2025 Tom Grant and Steven Taylor

Ancient Geeks, episode 5: Other classic fantasy writers

We talked about Tolkien last episode, and now we're on a fantasy roll! We discuss the classic fantasy writers we discovered in our youth: The Arthurian legends, Roger Zelazny, Michael Moorcock, Robert E. Howard, Fritz Leiber, Piers Anthony, Poul Anderson, Ursula Leguin, and many more. It was a time when sword and sorcery dominated the genre, but there were lots of other good fantasy stories to be read, too.
Fantasy fiction in the 60s, 70s, and 80s was diverse, exciting, and fun – not just Tolkien imitators, but there were those, too. You'll hear about the best and worst from this time when fantasy laid down deep roots in geek culture. Plus, we talk about the differences between fantasy and science fiction, and whether those differences even matter. Look for future episodes that discuss these writers in greater depth.
For feedback, contact someancientgeeks@gmail.com. You can also find us on Facebook, Reddit, and Bluesky. And if you like what you hear, please tell a friend.
© 2025 Tom Grant and Steven Taylor

Ancient Geeks, episode 4: J.R.R. Tolkien

We're talkin' Tolkien! Steven and Tom discuss J.R.R. Tolkien, author of Farmer Giles of Ham, as well as lesser-known works like The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings. Follow us as we followed Bilbo and Frodo through these unforgettable, iconic books.
Come for the spectacularly detailed world-building and epic quests! Stay for singing elves, bad animated adaptations, the good live action movies, calendars, pirate editions of the trilogy, and more. Plus, can you guess which of us made it though The Silmarillion? And is Tom Bombadil really a merry old fellow?
For feedback, contact someancientgeeks@gmail.com. You can also find us on Facebook, Reddit, and Bluesky. And if you like what you hear, please tell a friend.
© 2025 Tom Grant and Steven Taylor

Ancient Geeks, episode 3: Star Trek The Original Series

Space, the final frontier...
These words started our lifelong love of Star Trek. In this episode, we talk about our first stage of that love affair, the original series (TOS).
The optimism about the future! The exploration of the unknown! The big ideas! The thinly-veiled social commentary! The original crew! The TOS best episodes! The TOS worst episodes! William Shatner at a jeans store opening! It's all here. 
Star Trek was pivotal in our young geek lives, and foundational for geek culture. This is an important episode that you don't want to miss!
For feedback, contact someancientgeeks@gmail.com. You can also find us on Facebook, Reddit, and Bluesky. And if you like what you hear, please tell a friend.
© 2025 Tom Grant and Steven Taylor

Ancient Geeks, episode 2: Superman in the 60s and 70s

Look! Up in the sky! It's the Superman episode!
Last time, we covered the Caped Crusader in the 60s and 70s last time. This episode, we talk about Superman in the same time period, on TV and in the comics.
See a man dangling from a zeppelin, in glorious black and white on The Adventures of Superman! Thrill as Superman fights Luthor, then he becomes a caveman, Jimmy turns into porcupine, and Lois demands his execution! Learn why, in spite of all these bizarre plots, Superman remained a beloved icon! And hear how the Superman movie catapulted the Man of Steel to even greater popularity!
For feedback, contact someancientgeeks@gmail.com. You can also find us on Facebook, Reddit, and Bluesky. And if you like what you hear, please tell a friend.
© 2025 Tom Grant and Steven Taylor

Ancient Geeks, episode 1: Batman in the 60s and 70s

WHAM! SOCK! POW!
We were big fans of the Caped Crusader in the 1960s and the 1970s, starting with both the TV show and the comics. In this episode, we focus on Batman during this pivotal era, when the TV show became hugely popular, and the comics started to grow out of their early Silver Age goofiness. You'll hear about what made us Batfans, the weird process of having to schedule your time around a TV show, the jaw-dropping greatness of Dennis O'Neil and Neal Adams' run on the comics, other terrific writers and artists from this period, and our favorite Batman merch.
For feedback, contact someancientgeeks@gmail.com. You can also find us on Facebook, Reddit, and Bluesky.
© 2025 Tom Grant and Steven Taylor

Ancient Geeks, episode 0: Our origin stories!

It all starts here! Welcome to Ancient Geeks, a podcast about the birth of geek culture, from two older geeks whose younger selves were there at the beginning.
In this inaugural episode, Tom Grant and Steven Taylor share their origin stories. Watching Batman, Star Trek, cartoons, and monster movies as kids. Reading classic science fiction and fantasy books by Tolkien, Burroughs, Asimov, and more. Being there at the premiere of Star Wars and Superman. Playing D&D and computer games. We were geek before it became chic.
What attracted us to all these shiny bits of popular culture? How did they all fit together into one big geek mosaic? And how do we feel about them today? That’s what we’ll be exploring in this podcast.
For feedback, contact someancientgeeks@gmail.com
© 2025 Tom Grant and Steven Taylor