Beltway Banthas: Star Wars, Politics & More

BONUS EPISODE! Beltway Banthas Contributor John Liang chats with author Max Brooks about Star Wars and the lessons that can be applied to today's modern military. Brooks wrote "Strategy Strikes Back: How Star Wars Explains Modern Military Conflict"

The Empire is coming for your moisture farm! Today on the show we discuss politically charged deleted scenes that never made it into the final cut of Star Wars films. Our main focus is a discussion between Biggs and Luke Skywalker about the "imperialization" of industry. Abby Gleason fills in for Swara and we are joined by Brittany Hunter to talk socialism in space, bourgeois Biggs and more.

We're back! Stephen and Swara are back to discuss whether President Trump treats the media like Palpatine treated the Jedi Order during the Clone Wars. Both institutions are meant to be a positive check on power and injustice, but has Trump succeeded in changing the public narrative against the media as Palpatine did with the Jedi? T

We have a jam-packed episode for y'all before our hiatus! First Stephen and Swara give their review of Solo. We then present Swara's conversation with Matt Rogers (@Politodope) to talk about the politics of the Resistance on the Left and parallels we find with Star Wars, all from the prequels to the sequels. Finally the hosts give their final Bantha Fodders for the season before our two month hiatus!

Mark Hamill is a Hollywood legend for his depiction of Luke Skywalker in the Star Wars movies. He is also a staunch believer in speaking on about politics. In this weeks episode we look at Mark Hamill's public stand on gun control, President Trump and how he balances Star Wars with politics alongside the fans. This is part of a larger conversation on pop culture and whether or not our hyper politicized society has made it harder to enjoy art

The Star Wars franchise has been becoming more visibly diverse on the screen, but will LucasFilm go further on issues of representation? Swara, the hosts of Book Wars Pod and Rebel Grrrl, are joined by Star Wars: Last Shot author Daniel Jose Older and others to discuss this topic. The online campaign that emerged as a result of this effort is called #SWRepMatters.

Abby and Swara discuss and analyze the life of one of their favorite fictional politicians of all time, the wonderful and estimable Bail Organa of Alderaan. What drove him to sacrifice so much for the good of the galaxy? How can we learn from his amazing example? Why does he give us so many feels?!? Listen to find out!

Beltway Banthas turned two this month! The experiment of blending Star Wars and politics has turned into an adventure the likes of which we could never has anticipated. THANK YOU for sticking with us all this time and making it so much fun.  We are excited on this May 4th, Star Wars Day, to announce the addition of new hosts to the show: Brittany Hunter and Abby Gleason. On this episode we get to know Abby and Brittany and talk about the past and future of Beltway Banthas.   Get in touch with everyone on the show! Leave us a review on iTunes and tell us what you think of the show! Subscribe and connect with us on Twitter: @SwaraSalih1 | @Stephen_Kent89 | @AbbyGleason | @Britt_the_wit Please share our show with a friend, review us on iTunes and shoot us some feedback. We grow in quality every time someone reaches out to tell us what they liked. We want to hear from you! You can send us your thoughts on the show and topics at BeltwayBanthas@gmail.com. If you like this episode, check out our previous one!  

Finally we discuss the man, the Sith Lord, the Emperor, Sheev Palpatine! What lessons on democracy and our political institutions can we draw from our dear Uncle Palpy and his political career? Stephen and Swara delve into the political life of their favorite Star Wars politician to discuss!

We join our friends at Tosche Station and the Book Wars Podcast to talk about Star Wars Multimedia Empire at Awesome Con! How do the books and comics in the  Expanded Universe differ from the current canon books? Why do we read these books when we have the film? How do the books deepen and enrich politics in the Galaxy Far, Far Away?

DJ has a bad reputation after selling out our heroes in The Last Jedi. Some have said he embodies the self interested nature of libertarianism, Ayn Rand and a school of thought known as Objectivism. Today we go into the weeds with Brittany Hunter of FEE to learn a bit about Objectivism, rational self interest and how DJ does or does not fall into that category.

This past weekend we were at Awesome Con in Washington DC! Stephen and John join Nanci Schwartz, Brian Larsen and Bria Lavorgna of Tosche Station, and Jay Shah of Eleven-ThirtyEight to discuss the theme of redemption in the galaxy far, far away. If Vader can be redeemed, can anybody? Is Kylo Ren able to truly atone for the crimes he's committed? Tune in for a rich panel discussion of one of the franchise's major themes. Redemption has been a crucial part of Star Wars since 1983, but how often do we pause to think critically about what it entails? We believe this panel may answer some questions you may have on the topic. Major thank you to Brian of Tosche Station for capturing and sharing this audio, and to Bria Lavorgna for having Beltway Banthas on the panel.   Get in touch with everyone on the show! Leave us a review on iTunes and tell us what you think of the show! Subscribe and connect with us on Twitter:@Stephen_Kent89 | @JuanJohnJedi | @nancipants | @LaneWinree | @chaosbria Please share our show with a

Poe Dameron, beloved ace pilot of The Resistance, is he a sexist as some fans have claimed? Or was it simply his frustration under pressure and Vice Admiral Holdo's secrecy that led him to mutiny in The Last Jedi ? Let's talk gender politics in The Last Jedi! We welcome back our good friend Kate Sanchez of But Why Tho? The Podcast to discuss!

On this week's episode, we welcome Jon Lovett, one of the co-hosts of Pod Save America and host of Lovett or Leave It. Lovett explains to us how he got into Star Wars with the Special Editions, why he loves Rogue One and what motivates his political activism

In a super light and not-at-all serious discussion this week (JK!), we dig into the First Order and extremism! How did George Lucas, JJ Abrams, and others envision the main bad guys of the Original Trilogy and Sequel Trilogy? Have they grown beyond the label of "Space Nazis" at all? Where do communism, fascism, terrorism, and other extremist ideologies come into play? Join the discussion on Beltway Banthas!

Dan Wallace is the author of beloved Star Wars books "The Jedi Path" "Book of the Sith" and "Imperial Handbook". Now he has penned another behind the scenes manuel for the Rebellion and joins the show to talk about it. John Liang interviewed Wallace last week and got the scoop on what the book reveals about the rebellion, galactic politics and more.  Stephen and Swara also convene in the start of this episode to review the finale of Star Wars Rebels on Disney XD.

Rey and Kylo are seemingly total opposites...until the events of The Last Jedi. Through the Force and circumstance, these two foes connect in a way they never expected. Turns out - they have a lot in common. This week we are joined by Caitlin and Charlotte of the Skytalkers Podcasts to discuss "Reylo" and how it might relate to our own worlds broken politics

Let's get political! This week on Beltway Banthas we are rejoined by Republican pollster Kristen Soltis Anderson of The Pollsters Podcast. Kristen is a huge Star Wars fan and came on to talk with Stephen about Rotten Tomatoes scores and how trolls factor into public perception of a movie.

Swara and guest host Heath Williams of Rogue Podron discuss parallels between US presidents throughout American history and the various chief executives of Star Wars. From Chancellors Vallorum to Villecham, we trace the trends of executive leadership and how they compare to various occupants of the White House.

Hello Banthas! This week we are joined by radio producer and head writer for Glenn Beck, Mr. Stu Burguiere.  Stu is a big time Star Wars fan and all around enjoyable radio personality. We thought you'd enjoy this behind the curtain conversation with a notable conservative radio personality and fan. Stephen and Stu discuss his career trajectory, working with Beck, Star Wars role in his life and how the theme of the new films is exposing frauds.  Every other week we try to introduce our listeners to people in politics or media for whom Star Wars has made a difference in their lives. This mission spans the political spectrum and we hope you'll check out this interview to learn something new. You check out Stu's take on The Force Awakens and his belief that it is A New Hope rehash here, and then listen to Stephen of Beltway Banthas challenge that theory on his show here.  Get in touch with everyone on the show! Leave us a review on iTunes and tell us what you think of the show! Subscribe and connect with us on T