Phil Nichols - Bradburymedia

Thursday, May 15, 2025

New podcast episode: It Came From Outer Space!

Sometimes the podstreams just cross, and this episode is a prime example. When Colin Kuskie, co-host of my other podcast suggested reviewing It Came From Outer Space, the classic 1953 science fiction movie created by Ray Bradbury, it was right up my alley - and so this new episode of Bradbury 100 is a crossover with the new episode of Science Fiction 101!

The discussion ranges from Bradbury's contribution to the screenplay to the quality of the 3D, and takes in your humble hosts' views on whether or not screen creatures should be revealed or concealed.

I also express my amazement that Kathleen Hughes gets such prominent billing at the end of the film, despite having hardly any dialogue or close-ups in the film itself. I also give the real reason why she is featured in this way.

In which way? Why, in this way, of course:

Also mentioned in the episode:

The recently completed OMSI Film Festival, Oregon
Which US states have the best chance of surviving an alien invasion?
75 years of Ray Bradbury's The Martian Chronicles
Science Fiction 101 podcast
Colin's other pod, Take Me To Your Reader

I also mentioned in the episode that I would provide links to other Bradbury-related pods that Colin Kuskie and I have taken part in. So here they are - they're all episodes of Take Me To Your Reader, and consist of a comparative review of book versus movie:

Finally, here's the new episode... or look for it in your podcast app of choice (see list of possible pod sources below).

Bradbury 100 · Bradbury 100 - episode 64 - It Came From Outer Space

Please subscribe to the Bradbury 100 podcast - it's totally free on all platforms. Where to find it:

Main platforms:

Apple Podcasts - Soundcloud - Spotify

Other platforms include:

Amazon Music - Audible - Bullhorn - Castbox - Deezer - Listen Notes - Player FM - Pocket Casts - Podbean - Podcast Addict - Podcast Index - Podcast Republic - Podchaser - Podfriend - Podlink - TuneIn

Thursday, May 01, 2025

New podcast episode: The First Geeks!

The new batch of my Bradbury 100 podcast kicks off today, with an interview with Orty Ortwein, author of the book The First Geeks.

The book tells the story of three young men in the 1930s - Ray Bradbury, Ray Harryhausen and Forrest J Ackerman - and how they joined the nascent Science Fiction League and went on to be professionals in their respective fields.

If you've listened to Bradbury 100 before, you will have heard much about Ray Bradbury the young fan, with his fanzine Futuria Fantasia. And in my "Chronological Bradbury" strand, you will have heard of his exploits as a fan writer who rapidly broke into writing professionally.

In my interview with Orty, you will hear more about this, and about how Orty conducted his research into the early science fiction world of the 1930s. And, of course, you can find out even more in his book - see the purchasing links below.

Among the things mentioned in this episode:

The First Geeks by Orty Ortwein (at Amazon US, and at Amazon UK)
FANAC, the free online archive of science fiction fandom
The Waukegan History Museum at the (thanks to Ray) famous and now-renovated Carnegie Library
Los Angeles' Clifton's Cafeteria, where science fiction fans of the 1930s hung out
Hugo Gernsback, the man who coined the term "scientifiction", later replacing it with "science fiction"

Here's the new episode...and you can also get it wherever good pods are given away (see below for a list of selected podcast platforms).

Bradbury 100 · Bradbury 100 - Episode 63 - The First Geeks with Orty Ortwein

Please subscribe to the Bradbury 100 podcast - it's totally free on all platforms. Where to find it:

Main platforms:

Apple Podcasts - Soundcloud - Spotify

Other platforms include:

Saturday, April 26, 2025

Bradbury 100 Podcast - new episodes coming soon!

It's been away a couple of months, but it's back: my Bradbury 100 podcast returns on 1st May 2025. Listen to the trailer for a taste of what's coming soon...

Bradbury 100 · Bradbury 100 Returns - 1st May 2025!

Please subscribe to the Bradbury 100 podcast - it's totally free on all platforms. Where to find it:

Main platforms:

Apple Podcasts - Soundcloud - Spotify

Other platforms include:

Wednesday, February 12, 2025

New podcast episode: Ray Bradbury and Leigh Brackett

Time for a new episode of my Bradbury 100 podcast - and this time I focus on Ray Bradbury's friend and mentor, Leigh Brackett.

Leigh Brackett (1915-1978) was a short story writer, novelist and screenwriter. She has sometimes been called the "Queen of the Pulps" because of her substantial contribution to science fiction magazines such as Planet Stories. But she also collaborated with Nobel Prize-winning author William Faulkner on the screenplay for the classic movie The Big Sleep - and ended her career by writing the first draft of the screenplay for Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back.

Leigh was also Ray's mentor. He credited her with teaching him how to properly construct a story, and with influencing the stories he wrote between about 1942-1944.

All this and more is covered in the podcast, which you can play below, or find on your podcast app.

Useful links:

Watch the film The Vampire's Ghost, Leigh Brackett's first effort as a Hollywood screenwriter
Learn more about Leigh Brackett's contribution to The Empire Strikes Back in this episode of my other podcast, Science Fiction 101
Read "Lorelei of the Red Mist", the Brackett story that Bradbury finished. Can you tell where Bradbury takes over the writing?
From 16th February 2025, enjoy Planet Zoom Players' audio dramatisation (with pictures) of Leigh Brackett's Terror Out Of Space!

Bradbury 100 · Bradbury 100 - Episode 62 - Ray Bradbury and Leigh Brackett

Please subscribe to the Bradbury 100 podcast - it's totally free on all platforms. Where to find it:

Main platforms:

Apple Podcasts - Soundcloud - Spotify

Other platforms include:

Thursday, January 30, 2025

Ray Bradbury on Radio: SUSPENSE

Here's another new episode of my Bradbury 100 podcast. This time, I look at the early years of Ray's professional career, which saw him not only mastering the craft of short story writing and putting together his first book, but branching out into media - in particular, getting his stories and scripts onto national radio shows such as CBS's Suspense.

Over a span of a dozen years, Suspense produced no fewer than eleven shows based on Bradbury stories, with some of the stories being produced multiple times. I argue that this early media presence - which included a number of stories previously unpublished - helped cement Bradbury's growing popularity and reputation.

Here's the pod:

Bradbury 100 · Bradbury 100 - Episode 61 - Ray Bradbury and Radio's SUSPENSE!

And if you'd like to hear full episodes of Suspense, here's a complete set of links to the best quality recordings, held on the Old-Time Radio Researchers website:

1947: Riabouchinska
1948: Summer Night
1948: The Screaming Woman, version 1
1950: The Crowd
1955: The Screaming Woman, version 2
1955: Zero Hour, version 1
1955: The Whole Town's Sleeping, version 1
1955: Kaleidoscope
1958: Zero Hour, version 2
1958: The Whole Town's Sleeping, version 1
1960: Zero Hour, version 3

Please subscribe to the Bradbury 100 podcast - it's totally free on all platforms. Where to find it:

Main platforms:

Apple Podcasts - Soundcloud - Spotify

Other platforms include:

Tuesday, December 24, 2024

Ray Bradbury and The Simpsons

Time for another new Bradbury 100 podcast episode!

A few weeks ago, there was a new episode of The Simpsons which was entirely based on the works of Ray Bradbury. "Simpsons Wicked This Way Comes" is not the first time Ray has been referenced by the show. In fact, the number of Bradbury allusions across all of The Simpsons (i.e. on TV, in comics, and in books) now totals: thirteen.

In this episode I detail them all!

Many of them are represented by audio clips. But there are a few gags which are purely visual, including the comic-book and book appearances, and so I'll present a few of them below. (Click on the images to embiggen!)

Also below - of course - is the podcast episode itself. But you can also pick it up using any decent podcast app, or via any of the podcast platforms listed at the bottom of this post.

"The Coffin" adapted for comics

Fahrenheit 451 referenced in comic

Element Rb = Ray Bradbury

"All Hail!" in comic

The wicker store

Ray, Illustrated Man, Richard Matheson

Bradbury 100 · Bradbury 100 - Episode 60 - Ray Bradbury and The Simpsons!

Please subscribe to the Bradbury 100 podcast - it's totally free on all platforms. Where to find it:

Main platforms:

Apple Podcasts - Soundcloud - Spotify

Other platforms include:

Wednesday, December 11, 2024

Time for another Bradbury 100 podcast episode!

"Lazarus Come Forth" (1944) is one of a handful of early Ray Bradbury stories to have slipped into the public domain. It's also one of two Bradbury stories set on board a "morgue ship" - a space ship that cleans up after space battles, collecting dead astronauts to (presumably) bring them back home for proper burial or cremation.

Later in his career, Ray would dismiss these stories as being too derivative of the stories of his friend Leigh Brackett. He also completely derided the notion of a "morgue ship", saying that it would make far more sense to leave the bodies in space.

In this episode, I bring you the background behind the story, and a complete reading of it. As usual, you can listen below, or pick it up on your podcast app (check the list of podcast providers at the bottom of this post).

Bradbury 100 · Bradbury 100 - Episode 59 - "Lazarus Come Forth"

Please subscribe to the Bradbury 100 podcast - it's totally free on all platforms. Where to find it:

Main platforms:

Apple Podcasts - Soundcloud - Spotify

Other platforms include:

Wednesday, November 27, 2024

New podcast episode: Ray Bradbury on Stage!

It's been a while, but I'm back with a new series of Bradbury 100 podcast episodes.

I get things started with a look at Ray Bradbury as a playwright, tracing his career as a theatre writer from the 1950s to the 2010s. I cover both successes and failures, and discuss both "faithful" and "playful" adaptations of his own work.

I have touched on some of this before - see episode 12, where I talked about Colonial Radio Theatre's audio performances of Dandelion Wine and Something Wicked This Way Comes, which both used Ray's plays (rather than his books).

And elsewhere on Bradburymedia you will find a review of a performance of Fahrenheit 451.

Coming up in future episodes of the podcast, I'll have more in the Chronological Bradbury strand, a look at some lesser-known Bradbury films, and some Bradbury fiction.

Here's the new episode - and, of course, you can also listen via any decent podcast app (see the bottom of the page for some of the options).

Bradbury 100 · Bradbury 100 - Episode 58 - Ray Bradbury on Stage

Please subscribe to the Bradbury 100 podcast - it's totally free on all platforms. Where to find it:

Main platforms:

Apple Podcasts - Soundcloud - Spotify

Other platforms include:

Monday, September 02, 2024

Something Wicked: Exaggerated Claims Resurface...

An article about the 1983 film Something Wicked This Way Comes is doing the rounds, and perpetuates the myth that Ray Bradbury directed the film. Regular readers of Bradburymedia and listeners to Bradbury 100 will know that this claim - originating with Ray Bradbury himself - is at best a wild exaggeration of the truth, and at worst an outright falsehood.

Something Wicked suffered at the hands of a preview audience, and producers at Disney decided it needed substantial re-shoots to make it work, delaying the release for about a year. Bradbury was involved in devising some new material to rescue the film, and late in life Ray's own recounting of these events gradually shifted with each re-telling from the plausible "I helped with the re-shoots and re-edit" to "I more or less directed the re-shoots" to the preposterous "I directed Something Wicked". (These are not exact quotes; I'm paraphrasing.)

The problem with the article at CBR.com is that it relies on a single account, that given by Sam Weller in 2005's The Bradbury Chronicles, who in turn merely repeats what Ray has told him.

Let's set the matter straight.

I thoroughly researched the making of Something Wicked for my 2017 PhD thesis, which examined Bradbury as a screenwriter. From primary research using the Bradbury papers (held at the Ray Bradbury Center at Indiana University Indianapolis), I was able to reconstruct the timeline of the re-shooting and re-editing of Something Wicked, and I determined that Bradbury's claim to have directed the film is false.

True, Bradbury was present during some of the re-shooting - but so was the film's credited director Jack Clayton. However, true artistic control over the film during this re-shoot phase was vested in neither Bradbury nor Clayton, but in the Disney special effects department (with Lee Dyer supervising on set, and Tom Wilhite overseeing production).

I have written and lectured extensively on this topic. You can find a brief account on this very website, here: https://bradburymedia.blogspot.com/2020/05/lockdown-choice-something-wicked-this.html

You will also find my detailed podcast episode on the "re-making" of Something Wicked here: https://podcasts.apple.com/ie/podcast/bradbury-100-episode-45-rescuing-something-wicked-this/id1521151939?i=1000613486403

Finally, the full account of my findings can be found in chapter 4 of my Liverpool University PhD thesis, available here (third download link): https://livrepository.liverpool.ac.uk/3009310/

Friday, August 23, 2024

Bradbury 100 LIVE: 2024 Edition!

On Thursday 22 August 2024 - what would have been Ray Bradbury's 104th birthday! - I went live once again with my Bradbury 100 podcast.

I talked about the "Chronological Bradbury" series of episodes, and went through all the steps I usually take in putting together such an episode: the books I consult, how I compare different versions of the same story, and how to track down the rarer Bradbury stories.

I also showed some of the statistics about Ray's stories, went into questions about copyright, and looked at some of the Bradbury books which have come out in the last twelve months.

The livestream was via my Facebook page, and the recording can still be viewed there: https://www.facebook.com/bradburymedia/videos/476381738570690

The livestream was also relayed to my YouTube channel, and the recording can still be viewed there (https://www.youtube.com/@bradburymedia100) - and also here:

...and the audio from the livestream is also available as a conventional audio podcast episode (without pictures, of course). Check your podcast app, and you should now find it available to listen. Or you can listen right here:

Bradbury 100 · Bradbury 100 - Episode 57 - Bradbury 100 LIVE for 2024

Please subscribe to the Bradbury 100 podcast - it's totally free on all platforms. Where to find it:

Main platforms:

Apple Podcasts - Soundcloud - Spotify

Other platforms: