Poema S11 012 | Superman 2025, Hope & Being Human with Mario Francisco Robles

This week my friend Jenna returns to the show and in this episode we discuss the most recent series of Doctor Who, and the show as a whole. Jenna and I explore the themes of grief, fear and power which come up in the recent series and the 15th Doctor's journey.  We also talk about how we've seen these themes come up in the show with previous Doctors and how they impact the Doctor's overall story. And how seeing the Doctor experience these things inspires and encourages us on our journey. We then move on to share the reasons we love the show and what it means to us and to many others, and our hopes for its future.

This week we're talking James Gunn's "Superman" with my friend, podcaster Mario Francesco Robles, host of the "Superman on Film" podcast. We talk about the themes of hope, identity, and being human which Superman embodies and are explored in the movie. We also discuss our own experiences of the movie, how it inspired us & where it stands in the echelon of Superman movies. This was such good fun!

My friend Jonathan Bregel is a filmmaker and creator. He's recently shot a documentary on a retreat designed solely to help people grieve, which he's hoping to release soon. He's also made a short film about grief about 18 months ago. Today we discuss his experiences making these films, and his own experiences of grief. Jonathan shares what he has learned about grieving and death, and how its impacted him and his own journey, and relationships with others. This episode is a moving insight into one man's personal journey of grief.  ***** You can support the movie and see the trailer here. 

Author and friend Jim Woods returns to the podcast today, to discuss his latest work, the creative process, power of story and what he's learned as an author coach.  We talk about the challenges which every creative person faces, with Jim sharing some of his own story, why these happen, and how to overcome them. We also explore the dangers of pursuing our art and how we can keep our integrity whilst still creating great art to share with the world. He shares his inpsiration for his recent series of novels and how the research and writing of these books changed him. This was such a fun conversation, and I'm sure you're going to love it. ___________ You can find Jim's books on Amazon, and access to all his work at JimWoodsWrites.com   Jim's books, including several nove are all available on Amazon

Today my friend Justin return to the podcast. In this episode they talk about their advocacy and lived experiences as a bi and ace racialised person and how the developments in the USA have impacted their lived experience. We both share stories about how healthy community can help us survive through difficult times, in a world of prejudice and hate, and what healthy community should - and can - look like.  Justin is a person who inspires hope in me, and I'm sure they will in you too. Check out their work here: Medium: jancheta25.medium.com Bluesky: @jancheta25.bsky.social Website: www.justinanchetawriter.com

My beloved friend Brandan Robertson returns to the podcast today to talk about his latest book, "Queer & Christian: Reclaiming the Bible, Our Faith, and Our Place at the Table".  We talk about how Brandan revisited the scriptures and discovered there are several Queer saints within it, more than you'd expect. He also explored the usual "clobber" verses used against LGBTQIA community and unpacked their true contextual meaning.  He shares his vision of a Biblically supported, fully inclusive, loving joyful Christian faith, and its very compelling. 

This week Jenna DeWitt is back on the podcast, this time we discuss the MCU movie "The Marvels", the sequel to Captain Marvel, the MCU's leading female superhero currently.  Jenna shares how this movie and the journey of the lead characters in it, have been really impact for her as a queer, asexual woman. She also talks about how the movie covers themes of grief and loss, something often found in these type of movies, and identity.  This was such a fun conversation, hope you enjoy it. ***** You can find more of Jenna's work at invisiblecakesociety.com

This week my dear friend MJ joins us to share the story of her autism diagnosis, how she first realised she may be autistic, the process of getting her diagnosis, and how her life has changed since.  This is a powerful, challenging and encouraging story. 

Today I'm joined by author and speaker Alice Hewson to discuss autism in the work place. Alice talks about the challenges of being neurodivergent in the world we live in, which isn't set up for neurodivergent people, and how this can often translate into the work place.  She shares her own experiences and also offers some practical ideas for both employers and neurodivergent people themselves, for how neurodivergent people can feel safe and protected in the work place. She also shares some thoughts and examples of how neurodivergent people can build structures and processes which will help them thrive in the work place rather than be overwhelmed, and to avoid potential meltdowns You can read more about this in her book "Neurodiversity in the Workplace" which is available wherever books are sold. 

This week, as part of a new series, Dr Amy Maschall PsyD returns to the podcast to talk about people's lived experiences with autism and in particular the experience of justice sensitivity.  Dr Amy is autistic herself, and works with autistic people on a regular basis, and a qualified expert, so has a lot of both lived experience and academic knowledge of autism. She shares this with us, and talks about how autistic people can be more sensitive about injusitces, big and small, and feel them more acutely, often seeing injustice and how to stop it in a binary way. I myself share my experiences of this as an autistic person too, and we explore how autistic people can navigate the challenges this bring, and how it impacts our day to day lives.  Dr Amy has so much knowledge and insight on this subject, this is well worth a listen. ____ Find more of Dr Amy's work, including her many books on neurodiversity on her website here.