Exploring Humanity Through Sci-Fi

Anthony Daniels on Return of the Jedi Audio

This archival episode reaches all the way back to 1996 for a rare and insightful conversation with Anthony Daniels, the iconic performer behind C‑3PO. At the time, Daniels had just wrapped his work on the Return of the Jedi radio drama, once again lending his unmistakable voice and personality to the galaxy’s most anxious protocol droid.

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Alitha Martinez: The Art Behind OMNI

In this episode, we sit down with legendary comic book artist Alitha Martinez to explore her latest work on OMNI, a graphic novel from Humanoids that blends science fiction, social commentary, and kinetic storytelling. With over two decades in the industry, Alitha brings a wealth of experience and insight to the conversation — from her early days as an assistant to Joe Quesada at Marvel Comics in the 1990s to her groundbreaking contributions across major franchises.

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🧪 Inside Lab Rat: Trust, Deception, and the Future of AI

I explore Lab Rat, a taut near‑future sci‑fi thriller where a group of scientists find themselves locked in a room with a chilling revelation: one of them is an AI in disguise — and it has been lying to them. With no way out until they uncover the truth, paranoia rises, alliances fracture, and the line between human and machine blurs in unsettling ways.

Tony sits down with the filmmaker to unpack the film’s provocative concept, its claustrophobic tension, and the creative journey that led to Lab Rat being selected to premiere on Dust, one of the most influential platforms for boundary‑pushing sci‑fi storytelling.

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Aleks Paunovic From Percy Jackson

🌀 Becoming a Cyclops, Surviving the Heat, and Stepping Into Legends

In this episode, Tony connects over Zoom with actor Aleks Paunovic, whose towering physicality and grounded emotional presence have made him a standout across genre television. Most recently, he brings the iconic Polyphemus to life in Percy Jackson and the Olympians, delivering a performance that’s equal parts monstrous, tragic, and unexpectedly human.

🔍 What We Dive Into

• 👁️ Transforming into Polyphemus The prosthetics, the costume, and the artistry behind creating a believable cyclops on screen.

• 🔥 Heat, endurance, and on‑set challenges How extreme weather conditions shaped the shoot and tested his stamina.

• 🎭 Finding character beneath the creature Aleks’ approach to performance when his face is partially obscured by makeup.

• 🥊 His time on Reacher 

• 🐐 Stepping into The Greatest Why the Muhammad Ali story resonates with him and what audiences can expect from the new series.

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Memory: The Origin of Alien

🧠 Unearthing the Mythology Behind a Masterpiece

In this episode of Exploring Humanity Through Sci‑Fi, Tony dives into the documentary Memory: The Origin of Alien, directed by acclaimed filmmaker Alexandre O. Philippe. More than a behind‑the‑scenes chronicle, the film excavates the artistic, cultural, and psychological roots of Alien — revealing how one of cinema’s most iconic creatures emerged from a collision of mythology, personal trauma, and collective fear.

This documentary became the first major release from Legion M, the fan‑owned entertainment company reshaping how genre films are financed and supported. To explore why Memory was such a defining project for them, Tony sits down with Paul Scanlan and Jeff Annison, the co‑founders of Legion M, for a conversation that blends film history, fandom, and the power of community‑driven storytelling.

🌟 Why This Episode Matters

Memory: The Origin of Alien isn’t just a documentary — it’s a meditation on how stories evolve, how art reflects our deepest anxieties, and how a single film can reshape an entire genre.

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Orville's Peter Macon

🎙️ Finding Truth Beneath the Prosthetics: A Conversation with Peter Macon

In this episode of Exploring Humanity Through Sci‑Fi, Tony chats with the incomparable Peter Macon — an actor whose commanding presence and emotional intelligence have made him one of the most compelling performers working in genre today.

Macon is widely known for his role as Lt. Commander Bortus on The Orville, where he brings humor, gravitas, and cultural nuance to one of the series’ most beloved characters. More recently, he portrayed Raka, the wise and empathetic orangutan in Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes, adding another layer to his legacy of playing characters who challenge audiences to rethink what it means to be “other.”

This conversation was recorded during a special event at the Museum of Science Fiction, where Macon joined Tony for a candid, thoughtful discussion about race, representation, and the power of science fiction to hold a mirror to society.

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Batman: Year One

🦇 Gotham Begins: Corruption, Courage, and the Birth of a Partnership

In this episode of Exploring Humanity Through Sci-Fi, we examine Batman: Year One, the animated adaptation of Frank Miller and David Mazzucchelli’s seminal comic arc. Directed by Lauren Montgomery and Sam Liu, the film reimagines Gotham not as a playground for capes and villains, but as a decaying city teetering on the edge — where two men, unaware of each other’s mission, begin reshaping its future.

🎙️ Featured Voices

Bruce Timm — Producer

Recorded live at New York Comic Con, Bruce Timm reflects on the challenge of adapting such a grounded, noir-infused story into animation. 

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Inside Lumon: Set Decoration on Severance with Andrew Baseman

🗂️ Designing the Divide: How Set Decoration Shapes the Severed Mind

This episode steps into the unnervingly pristine halls of Lumon Industries with Andrew Baseman, the Emmy‑nominated set decorator behind the unforgettable visual language of Severance. His work transforms sterile corporate architecture into a psychological battleground — one cubicle, corridor, and curated object at a time.

Baseman breaks down how set decoration becomes a storytelling engine in a world where employees live two lives: the “innie” trapped in Lumon’s labyrinth of productivity, and the “outie” who remains blissfully unaware. Every stapler, desk toy, and piece of outdated tech becomes a clue to identity, control, and rebellion.

🏢 Why Lumon’s World Matters

Severance isn’t just a workplace thriller — it’s a meditation on identity, labor, and the spaces we inhabit. Andrew Baseman’s work gives the series its emotional texture, grounding its sci‑fi premise in tactile, lived‑in detail. This episode offers a rare look at how design choices shape the story’s most haunting questions.

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REWIND — Colony Season Two - The Cost Of Survival

Inside the Occupation, the Resistance, and the Cost of Survival

Season Two of Colony deepens everything that made the series one of the most compelling dystopian dramas of the last decade. Set in a fractured, authoritarian Los Angeles under alien rule, the show sharpens its focus on loyalty, rebellion, and the impossible choices ordinary people face when their world is carved up by occupiers and collaborators.

Interviews include:

Josh Holloway as Will Bowman

A former Army Ranger and FBI agent, Will is now working inside the Transitional Authority. His job gives him access, leverage, and danger in equal measure — especially as he uncovers the truth about the Hosts’ plans.

Sarah Wayne Callies as Katie Bowman

Katie, owner of The Yonk — a New Orleans–style bar — remains deeply embedded in the Resistance. 

🧩 Power Brokers and Survivors

Season Two widens its lens to explore the political and personal forces shaping life under occupation.

Adrian Pasdar — Nolan Burgess

Pasdar portrays Nolan Burgess, a key figure in the Transitional Authority’s upper ranks. Burgess is a master of political maneuvering — a man who understands that proximity to the Hosts means power, privilege, and peril. 

Amanda Righetti — Madeline “Maddie” Kenner

Righetti plays Maddie, Katie’s younger sister, whose journey reflects the compromises ordinary people make to survive. 

Tory Kittles — Eric Broussard

Kittles discusses stepping into the role of Broussard, a former U.S. Marine Recon officer and CIA paramilitary operator who later worked as a private military contractor. 

Peter Jacobson — Alan Snyder

Jacobson breaks down the psychology of Snyder, the Proxy Governor of Los Angeles. Snyder is a master of survival — a collaborator who answers directly to the Hosts, navigating ambition, fear, and the shifting politics of occupation.

Sarah Wayne Callies & Josh Holloway — Katie and Will Bowman

In this episode, you’ll also hear your conversation with Sarah Wayne Callies and Josh Holloway, who reflect on portraying a couple caught between loyalty, secrecy, and the crushing weight of an occupied world. 

 

Rewind — Michael A. Levine on Crafting Iconic Sounds

On Rewind, Tony Zooms with Emmy‑nominated composer Michael A. Levine, a creator whose musical fingerprints are everywhere—from the instantly recognizable Kit Kat Bar jingle to the haunting, otherworldly soundscape of Freeform’s hit series Siren.

In this conversation, Levine pulls back the curtain on his creative process, revealing how he blends experimentation, emotional intuition, and a deep respect for sonic storytelling. One of the most fascinating insights: how he wove real whale vocalizations into the DNA of the Siren main theme, transforming natural marine communication into a musical language that feels both ancient and eerily new.

This episode also features musical cues throughout, giving listeners a rare chance to hear Levine’s ideas in context as he discusses them.

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