71 episodes
The Monster Professor Josh Woods
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- Arts
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4.8 • 20 Ratings
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The Monster Professor: a show in which we discuss and explore monsters in literature, myth, film, games, theater, folklore, culture, and beyond. Podcast host: Josh Woods, author, editor, professor, and monster expert.
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Leatherface vs. The Shape, with Pinckney Benedict
Pinckney Benedict and I debate Leatherface vs. The Shape, as well as their films, Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974) vs. Halloween (1978). We end up analyzing, contrasting, and praising more than fighting, but we make progress nonetheless. The YouTube version has full video, including scenes from the films and Pinckney in his monstrous form, which is … Continue reading Leatherface vs. The Shape, with Pinckney Benedict
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The Four Schools of Monster Studies
There is one tradition of including or rendering monsters in tales, but there is a second tradition of directly analyzing and studying monsters. In this episode, I lay out what I consider to be the four distinct schools of studying and analyzing monsters, from ancient times to modern academia. The Monster Professor: a show in … Continue reading The Four Schools of Monster Studies
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Obscure Horror Movie Influences
From Jason in a hockey mask to a recent Ghostbuster, with plenty of weirdness in between, I discuss retro-horror movie influences that are so obscure some of the films’ own directors might not even be fully aware of them. Here is the list of movies discussed: The Monster Professor: a show in which we discuss … Continue reading Obscure Horror Movie Influences
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The Riddle of the Hydra
The many-headed monster of Classical mythology holds a secret that is revealed in the fuller story of Herakles, and it might still be relevant today. The Monster Professor: a show in which we discuss and explore monsters in literature, myth, film, games, theater, folklore, culture, and beyond. Podcast host: Josh Woods, author, editor, professor, and … Continue reading The Riddle of the Hydra
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Shapeshifters and Ghost Investigations with John Kachuba
From prehistory and ancient myth to modern-day reports of real encounters, shapeshifters and ghosts surround us, so I dig into them with John Kachuba, author of several ghosthunting guides as well as the recent book Shapeshifters: A History (University of Chicago Press). Find more on John Kachuba here: http://johnkachuba.com The Monster Professor: a show in … Continue reading Shapeshifters and Ghost Investigations with John Kachuba
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Halloween 1978
As a last-minute Halloween treat, I discuss the utter brilliance of the original 1978 film Halloween.
Customer Reviews
F*CK YEAH, MONSTERS!!
The Monster Professor fulfills a desire that I didn’t know I had— everything I wanted to know about monsters (in literature, in pop culture, in film, etc.) is now in one place. This podcast is informative and entertaining, and its host is clearly an authority on the subject.
Entertaining and educational
If college literature courses were more like this, classrooms would be packed. Literate, funny, and extremely useful whether you plan to fight monsters or just want to know more about them. The host is learned, self-effacing, and funny, and that’s a rare combination.
Awesome Podcast
Very entertaining and educational. One always reads about various types of monsters in all kinds of fiction and it is very useful for this podcast to talk about what they mean in the larger sense of the story. Very helpful.