Chelsea Zukowski, What Does Star Wars Mean to You?
Chelsea Zukowski (Space Wizards Book Club) shares what Star Wars means to her!
@spacewizardsbookclub on Instagram
Chelsea Zukowski is a journalist and historian who has been a reporter since college. She has covered everything from theme park openings and rocket launches to presidential campaigns. She’s a freelance writer mainly covering entertainment, including two books-focused social media pages. Her interest in space led to her working on her first historical non-fiction manuscript, a field guide to space history sites in the south. But it’s her love for Star Wars that brings her here today because she created and runs the weekly newsletter SPACE WIZARDS BOOK CLUB.
Twitter and Instagram @StarWarsMean2U
Star Wars may have the largest and most diverse fanbase in all the galaxy—but every fan has their own certain point of view. So, tune your comlinks and join Star Wars enthusiasts, Dave (an OT kid) and Elora (a PT kid), every week for an in-depth conversation with a different devotee from all walks of life across the Star Wars fandom universe. Plus, it’s just FUN to talk about Star Wars. To bring balance to the fanbase, each episode we’ll delve into our guests’ personal Star Wars fandom story, and from that point of view, we’ll celebrate the power of the Force. Strap in, ignite your passion for the galaxy far, far away, and find out: What Does Stars Wars Mean To You?
Music composed & performed by Gregory Bromfield
Copyright 2025 David H.
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Transcript
Want to feel something like I want
Speaker:to. Yeah. Really feel like
Speaker:the full gamut of emotions.
Speaker:Like I will probably watch Revenge
Speaker:of the Sith or Rogue One.
Speaker:Hello there.
Speaker:This is Dave, and I'm an original
Speaker:trilogy kid.
Speaker:And this is the Laura.
Speaker:I'm a prequel trilogy kid and
Speaker:welcome it Too much to Star Wars
Speaker:mean to you. The show where we talk
Speaker:to all kinds of fans of Star Wars to
Speaker:take the heat out of the debate and
Speaker:look at the franchise from a certain
Speaker:point of view.
Speaker:One fan at a time.
Speaker:Now, our guest today is a journalist
Speaker:and historian who has been a
Speaker:reporter since college.
Speaker:She has covered everything from
Speaker:theme park openings and rocket
Speaker:launches to presidential campaigns.
Speaker:She's a freelance writer, mainly
Speaker:covering entertainment, including
Speaker:two books focused social
Speaker:media pages.
Speaker:Her interest in space led to
Speaker:her working on her first historical
Speaker:nonfiction manuscript, a Field
Speaker:Guide to Space History Sites in the
Speaker:South. But it's her love for Star
Speaker:Wars that brings her here today
Speaker:because she created and runs the
Speaker:weekly newsletter, Space Wizards
Speaker:Book Club.
Speaker:Please give a warm hello there to
Speaker:Chelsea Zoo Koski.
Speaker:Hello there.
Speaker:Me.
Speaker:So happy to be here.
Speaker:Thanks for joining us.
Speaker:We're very excited to have a fellow
Speaker:space book nerd
Speaker:on the podcast.
Speaker:Great.
Speaker:I can talk all about
Speaker:Star Wars and space
Speaker:for myself.
Speaker:Well, I guess you've
Speaker:already answered this question, but
Speaker:Chelsea, are you ready to share with
Speaker:the world what does Star Wars mean
Speaker:to you?
Speaker:I am absolutely.
Speaker:Ready.
Speaker:That is our favorite answer around
Speaker:here. We love to start with
Speaker:fire with the force.
Speaker:So this is like our five
Speaker:rapid fire questions just to get
Speaker:like your Star Wars saga Baseline,
Speaker:Which movie is your go to favorite?
Speaker:It's honestly a toss
Speaker:up between The Phantom Menace or
Speaker:Attack of the Clones.
Speaker:Those were the.
Speaker:The movies that.
Speaker:I saw, like in the theaters,
Speaker:like the first Star Wars movies that
Speaker:I saw in the theaters.
Speaker:And I just I have
Speaker:like vivid memories of like,
Speaker:watching Attack of the Clones
Speaker:and like, Padman and Akins wedding.
Speaker:So they they both bring such comfort
Speaker:to me.
Speaker:And the audience did not see my
Speaker:face, but I.
Speaker:Think I just like short circuited.
Speaker:With that answer. I was so excited
Speaker:that you just said Target the Clones
Speaker:because that's secretly my favorite.
Speaker:It's all definitely
Speaker:a prequel kid as well.
Speaker:I mean, those are just like
Speaker:my go to is I love them so much,
Speaker:even though like I know how it all
Speaker:ends. I also love Revenge of the
Speaker:Sith, for sure.
Speaker:Like I would make that clear.
Speaker:I love all of the
Speaker:prequel movies, even
Speaker:though every time I watch I'm
Speaker:like, He's going to not turn to
Speaker:the dark side this time.
Speaker:Like this time like he
Speaker:did do it again.
Speaker:He still has a chance.
Speaker:Like, don't do it.
Speaker:And again. And then he does.
Speaker:And I'm like, Well.
Speaker:It's okay.
Speaker:Boys will be boys.
Speaker:No. Yeah.
Speaker:Okay. Yes.
Speaker:I love the unapologetic.
Speaker:Like these are my favorites
Speaker:because the prequels get so much
Speaker:hate and the like.
Speaker:The greater fandom.
Speaker:That's awesome.
Speaker:Who or what is
Speaker:your favorite?
Speaker:And for this adapting Surreal 86
Speaker:for me.
Speaker:Because I don't have three.
Speaker:Okay.
Speaker:Bounty hunter.
Speaker:my gosh.
Speaker:Assad's ventress.
Speaker:Okay.
Speaker:Yeah, yeah, yeah,
Speaker:yeah.
Speaker:She was a bounty hunter at one
Speaker:point. That's literally the first
Speaker:person that came to mind besides
Speaker:Boba Fett. And I
Speaker:like Sarge Avengers more.
Speaker:She is everything to me.
Speaker:I love her so much.
Speaker:She's been getting a lot of love on
Speaker:our pod recently.
Speaker:Yes.
Speaker:Yeah. And for her.
Speaker:And for.
Speaker:Good reason. She deserves it.
Speaker:Like she deserves the world and
Speaker:deserves to be happy.
Speaker:Like just doing her own thing,
Speaker:living forever.
Speaker:So I love that.
Speaker:What is your favorite line to quote?
Speaker:It is from the Phantom Menace
Speaker:and it is by calling
Speaker:on Jen and is your
Speaker:focus determines your reality.
Speaker:good one.
Speaker:good.
Speaker:I actually have a I mean you
Speaker:listeners can't see this but I have
Speaker:like this little mouse pad
Speaker:type thing that I got from Disney
Speaker:World that says like in Pretty
Speaker:Scroll, your focus determines your
Speaker:reality.
Speaker:I was literally just thinking that
Speaker:needs to be like cross stitched and
Speaker:like framed and like in the opening
Speaker:entry hall of like my house or
Speaker:something that.
Speaker:Yeah, yeah.
Speaker:Like a light saber.
Speaker:Like a.
Speaker:Flower. It's coming out of the
Speaker:lightsaber, maybe.
Speaker:Yes, that's my.
Speaker:That's my tattoo.
Speaker:Besides the movies, what is your
Speaker:favorite Star Wars content?
Speaker:And this can be anything from, like,
Speaker:TV shows to comic books to games.
Speaker:Obviously, novels are fair game
Speaker:as well.
Speaker:And it's the books.
Speaker:Yeah, it's the books.
Speaker:Yeah, that's pretty obvious.
Speaker:But yes, it is.
Speaker:It is the books.
Speaker:I have a favorite book.
Speaker:Or is that like.
Speaker:I can, I can not.
Speaker:It's like taking a favorite child.
Speaker:I can, I could name
Speaker:top five.
Speaker:I could probably do that.
Speaker:But like.
Speaker:It switches in the number one spot.
Speaker:Like. Like depending on what I'm
Speaker:thinking about or working on.
Speaker:But my immediate
Speaker:answers are usually Dark Disciple
Speaker:Lost Stars and
Speaker:Inquisitor. Rise of the Red Blade.
Speaker:Yeah.
Speaker:Interesting.
Speaker:No, I mean, I understand.
Speaker:That would be like Dave asking me
Speaker:to, like, write my favorite Taylor
Speaker:Swift songs.
Speaker:So then I.
Speaker:Would find difficulty with that too.
Speaker:Depends on.
Speaker:Really depends on your.
Speaker:Mood. It does so well.
Speaker:Yeah.
Speaker:And the books are a reflection of
Speaker:that. Yeah.
Speaker:And it's also kind of like movies
Speaker:where you're like, Well, I
Speaker:just feel like something warm and
Speaker:cozy. So I'm going to watch Attack
Speaker:of the Clones, or I want something
Speaker:really thrilling. So I'm going to
Speaker:watch Revenge of the Jedi, Revenge
Speaker:of the Sith.
Speaker:So it's just kind of like
Speaker:part of that that all these
Speaker:favorites are kind of
Speaker:partial to mood.
Speaker:100%.
Speaker:If I want to feel something like I
Speaker:want to. Yeah, really feel like
Speaker:the full gamut of emotions.
Speaker:Like I will probably watch Revenge
Speaker:of the Sith or Rogue One.
Speaker:I mean, Rogue One gives me
Speaker:chills every single time.
Speaker:And it just. It just.
Speaker:It's a banger like.
Speaker:It is, you know, it's.
Speaker:It's one of the better.
Speaker:Films they made.
Speaker:Okay. Last of the five with the
Speaker:Force. What?
Speaker:Star Wars literary
Speaker:character. Which you say you most
Speaker:relate to.
Speaker:Wow.
Speaker:Honestly, first person that jumped
Speaker:into my mind was Eleazar
Speaker:Mann from Republic
Speaker:Republic. Yeah, he's probably not as
Speaker:well known outside of people who
Speaker:read The High Republic.
Speaker:But this man, he is.
Speaker:He is definitely like our bellboy
Speaker:IMO, baby girl.
Speaker:He gets put through it and he is
Speaker:still going through it and he just
Speaker:he tries so hard and he really
Speaker:wants to be a good Jedi.
Speaker:And like, he keeps, you know, like
Speaker:like anybody, he makes mistakes.
Speaker:And he's he's so.
Speaker:Hard on himself.
Speaker:It sounds like he's.
Speaker:Just like the resilience.
Speaker:Yeah. Like.
Speaker:Really just he, like, he wants
Speaker:to be good.
Speaker:He wants to be good and.
Speaker:Help people and, like, be happy.
Speaker:And he he almost feels like he has
Speaker:to, like, punish himself.
Speaker:Yeah. But, like, I love him so much,
Speaker:and I'm like, I don't know what that
Speaker:says about me.
Speaker:It's like, I can.
Speaker:Really get her.
Speaker:I can relate to
Speaker:the.
Speaker:The feeling of, like, not being good
Speaker:enough, you know, like, I can I can
Speaker:relate to that.
Speaker:Yeah. I think everyone sitting here
Speaker:right now could.
Speaker:Yes.
Speaker:So also, he's always trying
Speaker:and he, like you said, he wants to
Speaker:do better.
Speaker:Yes. He is really dedicated.
Speaker:And yes.
Speaker:Second to that, too, is
Speaker:Reath Silas from the High Republic.
Speaker:I, I relate to him
Speaker:too, on the level
Speaker:of him being, like, obsessed with
Speaker:the library and like the
Speaker:Jedi archives and like,
Speaker:be loving history and
Speaker:like, not wanting to go out on
Speaker:adventures and just wanting to,
Speaker:like, stay at home and like, read.
Speaker:So like, I definitely, like, relate
Speaker:to him there.
Speaker:He's the introvert Jedi, which
Speaker:I think I would be, too.
Speaker:Yes.
Speaker:So that's your part with the force.
Speaker:And we'll touch upon all this as we
Speaker:talk. But can
Speaker:you take us through your first
Speaker:Star Wars experience, like what it
Speaker:does due to Star Wars and.
Speaker:Well.
Speaker:My dad introduced me to Star Wars.
Speaker:I think a lot of people's dads.
Speaker:That was their kind of introduction
Speaker:to Star Wars.
Speaker:My dad, like so many other
Speaker:dads, watched Star Wars in 1977
Speaker:when it came out, and he loved it.
Speaker:I don't think that he realized
Speaker:realized then.
Speaker:He doesn't realize now that
Speaker:he, to quote
Speaker:Jedi masters, you know,
Speaker:the The Apprentice has like
Speaker:surpassed the year.
Speaker:I am like
Speaker:tenfold the fan like
Speaker:my dad is like my dad loves Star
Speaker:Wars. But even
Speaker:now he's like, you read
Speaker:a lot of Star Wars.
Speaker:But you know.
Speaker:You know, if he has questions like
Speaker:if he's watching a new new show
Speaker:or know one of the new movies,
Speaker:he's like, what about the like, I
Speaker:thought of this happened.
Speaker:I was like, actually, no, dad, wait.
Speaker:Let me pull up my my
Speaker:handy reference
Speaker:book here. And just going through
Speaker:stuff and explaining stuff to him.
Speaker:So, yeah, that was my dad
Speaker:introduced me to Star Wars and
Speaker:I don't remember exactly when
Speaker:I watched the original trilogy,
Speaker:but I do remember
Speaker:seeing The Phantom
Speaker:Menace and especially the Talk of
Speaker:the Clones.
Speaker:In theaters.
Speaker:That is, like, the most vivid memory
Speaker:I have as a young kid
Speaker:watching a Star Wars movie in
Speaker:theaters.
Speaker:And then over the years,
Speaker:I was more of a casual Star Wars
Speaker:fan. I liked it.
Speaker:I wasn't actively,
Speaker:you know, obsessing over it like I
Speaker:do now
Speaker:and the where I
Speaker:am now.
Speaker:Really has roots and
Speaker:the the hype
Speaker:for The Force Awakens coming out.
Speaker:And what was that?
Speaker:2015.
Speaker:Yes. 2015.
Speaker:Yes. Ten years next.
Speaker:Year.
Speaker:My God.
Speaker:Can you believe.
Speaker:In no time?
Speaker:I hate to sound like
Speaker:that's so crazy.
Speaker:And I look back at like
Speaker:the year like 2015, like, so
Speaker:many, like, awesome things happened
Speaker:for me in that year.
Speaker:Like, I met my now husband,
Speaker:The Force Awakens came out, you
Speaker:know, that really kind of like
Speaker:ignited my my love,
Speaker:like deep love for Star Wars.
Speaker:And I was working at
Speaker:my local newspaper at the time.
Speaker:And of course, like the world was
Speaker:excited for a new Star Wars movie.
Speaker:It's like a thrill event, right?
Speaker:Yeah. So I was
Speaker:working in the features department
Speaker:and my coworker at the time,
Speaker:she was a huge Star Wars fan and
Speaker:had read like all the books, all the
Speaker:legends books and things like that.
Speaker:So we teamed up
Speaker:and did like a bunch of fun, like
Speaker:featuring stories ahead of
Speaker:the movie's release that grew
Speaker:into a group of us
Speaker:being like the Star Wars movie
Speaker:crew. So like, every time
Speaker:a new Star Wars movie came out, we
Speaker:would go on opening night altogether
Speaker:together.
Speaker:Yes. Yeah, the new.
Speaker:Star Wars movie.
Speaker:And so that kind
Speaker:of grew from there.
Speaker:And then four years
Speaker:ago, I left
Speaker:working in local news, like daily
Speaker:local news started freelancing,
Speaker:and I was introduced to the High
Speaker:Republic. And
Speaker:now here I am.
Speaker:I, I never thought
Speaker:I look back at photos from,
Speaker:you know, especially like ten years
Speaker:ago, like at my shelf of like,
Speaker:yeah, 4 or 5 Star
Speaker:Wars folks like my little little
Speaker:shelf. And then I'm like, I
Speaker:have counted my Starbucks looks that
Speaker:I have now, and I'm like, This is
Speaker:insane.
Speaker:I think I have hundreds.
Speaker:It's it's so crazy and like,
Speaker:thinking about all of the Star Wars
Speaker:books that I read even in
Speaker:the last four years.
Speaker:It's it's a lot.
Speaker:It is a lot.
Speaker:They've they've, they've put out so
Speaker:many and I feel like it's about a
Speaker:I feel like it's like a book a
Speaker:month.
Speaker:At one point really.
Speaker:Whether it's young adult
Speaker:or regular
Speaker:and.
Speaker:Regular.
Speaker:I one take one step backwards.
Speaker:After you saw the movies with your
Speaker:dad, the prequels,
Speaker:and you said you kind of
Speaker:weren't a superfan then, but you
Speaker:liked them, did did you have
Speaker:a daily or
Speaker:a regular relationship
Speaker:with Star Wars in the sense of like,
Speaker:you know, I had this
Speaker:action figure that I always kept on
Speaker:my desk or
Speaker:something like that.
Speaker:Did you interact with Star Wars on a
Speaker:daily basis at all, or was it
Speaker:not until The Force Awakens
Speaker:really kind of, quite frankly,
Speaker:reawakened your feelings,
Speaker:your fandom?
Speaker:Well.
Speaker:I would I would say
Speaker:I would say the latter.
Speaker:I think it was.
Speaker:And after watching the prequels,
Speaker:I do remember having a
Speaker:Padmé Amidala doll like
Speaker:a Barbie doll.
Speaker:And I remember wanting
Speaker:like, the toys and like the
Speaker:plushies.
Speaker:And I was like, yeah.
Speaker:And so I wanted all of those things.
Speaker:So I think I also had like some
Speaker:sort of like Jar Jar Binks, like
Speaker:Doll or Boy or something like
Speaker:that. But I think, I think it was
Speaker:mainly if Star Wars
Speaker:was on TV, we would watch
Speaker:it. You know, it comes on.
Speaker:We were going to watch it.
Speaker:I think my dad would occasionally
Speaker:rewatch them, but not
Speaker:a like daily relationship
Speaker:with with Star Wars.
Speaker:And now thinking back,
Speaker:I'm like, Man, I really wish I
Speaker:would have, like, picked up those,
Speaker:like, Star Wars books for kids, you
Speaker:know, like the Galaxy of Year or
Speaker:the Junior Jedi Knights, you know,
Speaker:things like that. I'm like that.
Speaker:I wish I would have read those then,
Speaker:even though I can still appreciate
Speaker:them now.
Speaker:Sure. Yeah.
Speaker:And then you were talking
Speaker:about you had like before you really
Speaker:got into the High Republic, I
Speaker:believe you had maybe like four
Speaker:Star Wars books.
Speaker:Do you remember what like your early
Speaker:collection consisted of
Speaker:and your thoughts about them?
Speaker:Yes, I had a I think
Speaker:I still have it a like thick mass
Speaker:market paperback of the like
Speaker:original trilogy Novelizations.
Speaker:I had that and I
Speaker:read a New Hope and Empire Strikes
Speaker:Back before I transitioned to
Speaker:listening to the audiobooks because
Speaker:they're like, really good.
Speaker:They are the stories.
Speaker:Audiobooks, Yes.
Speaker:no.
Speaker:And I had
Speaker:random paperback copy of Air to the
Speaker:Empire that was like among
Speaker:the first Star Wars books that I
Speaker:read.
Speaker:And I love telling
Speaker:the story because it's so funny to
Speaker:think about now.
Speaker:Seeing that Lost Stars is
Speaker:one of my favorite Star Wars books
Speaker:of all time.
Speaker:It's one of the best Star Wars
Speaker:books ever written.
Speaker:I mean, it's incredible book.
Speaker:And that's.
Speaker:Ray, right?
Speaker:Yes. Claudia Gray, Master
Speaker:Star Wars writer.
Speaker:She's amazing.
Speaker:Yes.
Speaker:It was only called like Force
Speaker:Friday or something like that
Speaker:ahead of Before The Force
Speaker:Awakens came out.
Speaker:They had like Target.
Speaker:Wal-Mart had those like, midnight
Speaker:release parties for, like, the toys
Speaker:and stuff.
Speaker:Yes. Yeah.
Speaker:Kind of from I.
Speaker:Remember going to
Speaker:a local target that was having it
Speaker:again. I was like a journalist at
Speaker:the time. So I'm like, I'm going to
Speaker:go and like, cover it and
Speaker:I want to go see.
Speaker:Come on it.
Speaker:Yeah.
Speaker:I mean, obviously I was going to buy
Speaker:stuff, but
Speaker:I remember standing in line, it was
Speaker:a huge line and like wrapped around
Speaker:Target.
Speaker:And by the time
Speaker:I got to the point,
Speaker:like the Star Wars section where I
Speaker:could go pick out something to buy,
Speaker:all of the things that I thought
Speaker:I wanted were gone.
Speaker:And, you know, all the pop goes,
Speaker:yeah, even like the shirts,
Speaker:you know, like figurines,
Speaker:all that stuff was gone.
Speaker:The only things that were left
Speaker:were books.
Speaker:So I'm like, Well, I want something.
Speaker:I want to buy something.
Speaker:And so I
Speaker:picked up like one of the
Speaker:last copies of Lost
Speaker:Stars.
Speaker:And I was like, okay, well, I
Speaker:don't know what this is about, but
Speaker:like, I'm going to buy something.
Speaker:It's fine. Like, and then I got my
Speaker:little commemorative Force awakens
Speaker:tote bag and went home and
Speaker:I, I, I wish I could remember
Speaker:when I started actually reading the
Speaker:book, but as I was reading
Speaker:it, I'm like, I am so glad I
Speaker:picked this up.
Speaker:Yes, this is incredible.
Speaker:Like, why is nobody else talking
Speaker:about how incredible this book is?
Speaker:Everybody's obviously talking about
Speaker:the toys and the collectibles
Speaker:and and stuff like that.
Speaker:But I'm like.
Speaker:This is so good.
Speaker:So I love telling that story.
Speaker:Like being like, Yeah, well,
Speaker:all I got was a book and a.
Speaker:Lot of my.
Speaker:Favorite Star Wars books ever.
Speaker:It was faded, it was.
Speaker:Faded. And when you picked
Speaker:up that book and you read it, did
Speaker:that spur on you to go?
Speaker:And did I use that word right?
Speaker:Spurn Did that encourage you to go
Speaker:and read more books,
Speaker:look for more Claudia Gray books,
Speaker:look for more Star Wars books?
Speaker:How did that kind of change
Speaker:your trajectory?
Speaker:absolutely.
Speaker:And I actually think I listened to
Speaker:the audiobook of it at
Speaker:the time. I had
Speaker:a, a little bit of a commute
Speaker:and I also,
Speaker:you know, had like a later shift
Speaker:at the paper. So I would
Speaker:spend my day like not
Speaker:getting ready but like, so my day at
Speaker:home doing other stuff.
Speaker:And then as I was getting ready, I'm
Speaker:like, I want to I want to listen to
Speaker:something. I want to, like, read a
Speaker:book. So I would turn on like
Speaker:a Star Wars audiobook and
Speaker:law stars was one of them, not
Speaker:heir to the empire.
Speaker:But I
Speaker:listen to the Last
Speaker:Jedi novelization of an audiobook
Speaker:that got me into like
Speaker:when Phasma came out.
Speaker:I listened to that on audiobook and
Speaker:and I think Lost Stars really
Speaker:was like that, like catalyst for
Speaker:me, really getting into Star
Speaker:Wars books and the audiobooks
Speaker:specifically were like so immersive,
Speaker:you know, they have sound effects.
Speaker:Like it wasn't Mark Thompson
Speaker:who never, who narrated Lost
Speaker:Stars, but like Mark Thompson
Speaker:is like the premiere
Speaker:or like Star Wars audiobook
Speaker:narrator. And he just incredible
Speaker:work with the different voices
Speaker:and things like that.
Speaker:So it is it is always so
Speaker:thrilling whenever I, like, turn on
Speaker:a new Star Wars audiobook because
Speaker:you get that like movie,
Speaker:the movie in your ears, you get the
Speaker:like a long time ago and a galaxy
Speaker:far, far away and then the the music
Speaker:and really you're like, wow,
Speaker:this is.
Speaker:I mean I the people.
Speaker:On this, I'm going to have to like
Speaker:download Audible again.
Speaker:I'm not normally an audiobook
Speaker:girl, but this is making me want
Speaker:to jump back in like.
Speaker:And that, and that's really like.
Speaker:I.
Speaker:Know that I wasn't an audiobook
Speaker:person and but I really do
Speaker:credit the Star Wars audiobooks
Speaker:for really getting me more into
Speaker:audiobooks because
Speaker:of just the production value that
Speaker:goes into Star Wars one
Speaker:specifically.
Speaker:And honestly, like they're, they're
Speaker:just incredible. Like they're so
Speaker:immersive and you feel like you're,
Speaker:you're listening to a movie, like
Speaker:you're getting like, pictures, like
Speaker:old people.
Speaker:Radio, like progress.
Speaker:To the radio dramas.
Speaker:Yeah, it's just like that.
Speaker:That's really rad.
Speaker:I'm excited to we're
Speaker:going to have to listen to a few and
Speaker:do a mini sat on that day.
Speaker:Of course. Yeah.
Speaker:Yeah I did.
Speaker:I, I feel like my ADHD
Speaker:makes it hard for me to listen to
Speaker:audiobooks. A friend of.
Speaker:Mine listening to a movie.
Speaker:Yeah, that's great,
Speaker:right?
Speaker:Yeah. Like, you know, obviously I
Speaker:had I.
Speaker:yeah. All the Star Wars movies.
Speaker:So it was like, really easy for me
Speaker:to, like, listen to The Phantom
Speaker:Menace because I already knew what
Speaker:was happening.
Speaker:I could picture it already.
Speaker:Yes.
Speaker:But even with like, the
Speaker:novelizations of the the
Speaker:audiobooks of the novelizations,
Speaker:like you're getting like a little
Speaker:bit more story like sprinkled
Speaker:in.
Speaker:So getting it feels like bonus
Speaker:content.
Speaker:And you also have the
Speaker:even if it's a new novel,
Speaker:you might know the characters and,
Speaker:you know, like Dark Disciple is
Speaker:like, you know, Ventress, you know,
Speaker:I forget the
Speaker:her lover in it.
Speaker:Gwen Lynn Boss.
Speaker:Quinlan Vos.
Speaker:But you know these characters, so
Speaker:when they're talking about them,
Speaker:it's easy to follow along.
Speaker:I have a friend who's
Speaker:who reads along as he's
Speaker:listening to it, and I'm like, I
Speaker:think I would have just it just
Speaker:anchors me into the
Speaker:tension.
Speaker:Yeah.
Speaker:I wanted to because we're
Speaker:talking so much about how
Speaker:much these books have been so
Speaker:impactful for you and obviously
Speaker:became such an important like piece
Speaker:and like in your life.
Speaker:And I'm curious
Speaker:because you are also very much
Speaker:into space travel.
Speaker:You're literally going to write the
Speaker:book on on
Speaker:space
Speaker:and space dates in the South.
Speaker:It feels like
Speaker:Star Trek might have been
Speaker:like because they do a lot more kind
Speaker:of I don't know, I feel like it's a
Speaker:bit more like space travel oriented.
Speaker:I'm not a Star Trek person, but
Speaker:yeah, it gave you maybe.
Speaker:Well, it's it. Star Trek tends to be
Speaker:like the more hard sci
Speaker:fi, like people more interested
Speaker:in Nassau tends towards
Speaker:Star Trek.
Speaker:But I find it interesting that you
Speaker:you're, you're interested
Speaker:in or should I say, fascinated in
Speaker:space.
Speaker:But you.
Speaker:I feel like you have more of a Star
Speaker:Wars passion.
Speaker:Yeah, same.
Speaker:So like, what is it about the like
Speaker:the Star Wars that's
Speaker:so significant and we might be
Speaker:getting ahead of our ending question
Speaker:here. But
Speaker:as it relates to your love of space,
Speaker:I.
Speaker:I would say I don't even
Speaker:know the reason why
Speaker:when I look at the
Speaker:like, John, of books, like obviously
Speaker:I love to read beyond Star Wars
Speaker:books and looking back
Speaker:at my favorite genres,
Speaker:they have always been
Speaker:at least somewhat in the fantasy,
Speaker:in the fantasy genre.
Speaker:You know, there's subgenres and
Speaker:things like that of fantasy.
Speaker:And Star Wars for me
Speaker:has always been able
Speaker:to like touch on like multiple
Speaker:genres even
Speaker:at the same time.
Speaker:You know, I don't consider
Speaker:Star Wars to be just
Speaker:sci fi or just fantasy.
Speaker:It doesn't seem to fit in either.
Speaker:One is, you know, it's
Speaker:space opera.
Speaker:And there's there's books,
Speaker:there's movies, there's TV shows
Speaker:that lean really
Speaker:into kind of sci
Speaker:fi even
Speaker:like, you know, political thriller
Speaker:type with like Andor.
Speaker:And then you.
Speaker:Have more like fantasy,
Speaker:like even like the acolyte.
Speaker:I would consider that more like
Speaker:fantasy because you have
Speaker:this.
Speaker:Yeah.
Speaker:Magic, which is the force,
Speaker:you know, and like, which in mystery
Speaker:and things like that.
Speaker:I think that's what really draws me
Speaker:to Star Wars, is that it, it hit.
Speaker:The.
Speaker:The things that I love about fantasy
Speaker:and sci fi.
Speaker:And I, I've been.
Speaker:Trying to get more into.
Speaker:All the
Speaker:strictly.
Speaker:Like hardcore sci fi and like
Speaker:high fantasy because I
Speaker:really do love those elements.
Speaker:And I'm reading
Speaker:both like hard sci fi and
Speaker:and high fantasy books.
Speaker:And I see Star Wars in both of them,
Speaker:which is cool.
Speaker:That is where.
Speaker:I'm trying to make my way
Speaker:through the Storm Light Archive by
Speaker:Brandon Sanderson.
Speaker:And so I recently read
Speaker:and finished The Way of Kings and
Speaker:I was reading about
Speaker:they have the Knights Radiant and
Speaker:in this from my archives, The Way of
Speaker:Kings. And they're describing like
Speaker:their morals and like their goals.
Speaker:And I'm like, this is the Jedi
Speaker:like this.
Speaker:Yeah.
Speaker:That I But with actual
Speaker:swords.
Speaker:Sure.
Speaker:And in a fantasy world and
Speaker:not in space with light
Speaker:saber.
Speaker:Yeah.
Speaker:So and you know, I
Speaker:read something like Pierce Brown's
Speaker:Red Rising series and I'm like,
Speaker:that. That's definitely political
Speaker:hard sci fi, more like
Speaker:futuristic dystopian type
Speaker:sci fi. And I'm like, that's Star
Speaker:Wars like that.
Speaker:That's for sure. Star Wars.
Speaker:So I love that I can find
Speaker:a little Star Wars and everything.
Speaker:What a great answer.
Speaker:Except it really
Speaker:is.
Speaker:Well, and also just how applicable
Speaker:the Star Wars, the Greater Star
Speaker:Wars universe and
Speaker:story is to
Speaker:to like the different facets of
Speaker:ourselves, like the things that we
Speaker:enjoy as entertainment or the things
Speaker:that we want to reflect on in our
Speaker:own lives or the things that we want
Speaker:to see reflected
Speaker:about the world that kind of like
Speaker:will hopefully make people think,
Speaker:you know.
Speaker:And.
Speaker:That like it kind of encompasses all
Speaker:of that in a way that I think your
Speaker:dad. On so many
Speaker:other franchises don't
Speaker:or haven't successfully, even if
Speaker:they've maybe tried.
Speaker:Yeah. I mean, Star Wars,
Speaker:Star Wars has always
Speaker:reflected, you know,
Speaker:so many different facets of like,
Speaker:our culture and
Speaker:our world and things like that.
Speaker:And yeah, like any sort
Speaker:of genre or
Speaker:franchise or fandom that
Speaker:does that, you know, see, like
Speaker:I love history and anything
Speaker:that like touches that and like,
Speaker:you know, kind of educates about
Speaker:our own real history
Speaker:in a, you know, a fantasy world
Speaker:or in like kind of like a sci fi,
Speaker:spacey realm like I'm
Speaker:here for and that those stories
Speaker:like will resonate more with.
Speaker:Yeah.
Speaker:Yeah. Now what
Speaker:what kind of motivated you to start
Speaker:Space Wizards Book club.
Speaker:Ooh yeah.
Speaker:It was actually my husband's
Speaker:suggestion to
Speaker:start a newsletter.
Speaker:I have been a
Speaker:a freelance writer, freelance
Speaker:entertainment writer since
Speaker:2020, end of 2020 when I
Speaker:left local news.
Speaker:And I
Speaker:was finding that not everything
Speaker:that I wanted to, like, write about
Speaker:everything I wanted to say would fit
Speaker:at different outlets
Speaker:and things like that.
Speaker:I felt like I had more that I wanted
Speaker:to say, and I was, you
Speaker:know, sharing my love for
Speaker:Star Wars folks, specifically
Speaker:on social media, on Instagram.
Speaker:And my first
Speaker:skill is like writing.
Speaker:I'm still I'm not
Speaker:as comfortable in front of like
Speaker:a camera. I'm not great like audio
Speaker:or video editing.
Speaker:That's why I've always been a guest
Speaker:on podcast.
Speaker:I'm running my own
Speaker:and I'm like, What's
Speaker:stopping me from having like
Speaker:a newsletter and
Speaker:kind of I have this community
Speaker:of followers that come to
Speaker:me and like love my content
Speaker:that I make already.
Speaker:Like, yeah.
Speaker:I will write reading guides
Speaker:and I will do Star Wars book reviews
Speaker:here and I will like post
Speaker:like breaking Star Wars Book News
Speaker:and like it took
Speaker:off and I was like.
Speaker:The people like it.
Speaker:Cool. Yeah. Yes,
Speaker:this is.
Speaker:Great news.
Speaker:Yeah, it is a great newsletter.
Speaker:I do highly recommend it.
Speaker:Yeah, I've got I've
Speaker:got to pick random questions for
Speaker:you. For a lot of people,
Speaker:their spouses may or may not be into
Speaker:Star Wars. Is your husband
Speaker:into Star Wars?
Speaker:Yes, Without as much as me.
Speaker:Yeah.
Speaker:That's awesome.
Speaker:That is awesome.
Speaker:We are a house not
Speaker:divided, but
Speaker:he is more Marvel
Speaker:and I am Star Wars.
Speaker:Wait as much as me.
Speaker:Sorry.
Speaker:So yeah, he
Speaker:he.
Speaker:He likes Star Wars, but not
Speaker:as much as.
Speaker:Me I got. Yeah, I miss her, dad.
Speaker:Okay.
Speaker:And about how many
Speaker:how many books do you go through in
Speaker:a month?
Speaker:Gosh. Well, I look at my
Speaker:good reads.
Speaker:Are we talking specifically Star
Speaker:Wars Books are just books.
Speaker:And, you.
Speaker:Know, just in books in general.
Speaker:Okay. I think I'm averaging
Speaker:like, maybe 8 to 10 books.
Speaker:Wow.
Speaker:My.
Speaker:Tell me. Like that depends.
Speaker:I think I do feel like
Speaker:this month was a little difficult
Speaker:because I had
Speaker:finished reading like The
Speaker:Way of Kings, which is like a
Speaker:thousand, over a thousand pages.
Speaker:So it depends on the length
Speaker:of the book.
Speaker:Yeah.
Speaker:But I feel like
Speaker:it's now picking up because I'm
Speaker:like, man, I have
Speaker:a Star Wars book that I need to like
Speaker:finish reading and then write a
Speaker:review by Tuesday.
Speaker:And then I have this other project
Speaker:that I'm working on that's like Star
Speaker:Wars book related.
Speaker:So I know I need to make sure that I
Speaker:like read these three
Speaker:over here in time and.
Speaker:Yes.
Speaker:Yeah. So it can, it can pick up
Speaker:quite a bit in the next month.
Speaker:Wow. Well, plus you're writing your
Speaker:own book.
Speaker:Because I'm newer to the
Speaker:novelization of Star Wars.
Speaker:In fact, even I like a sneak peek to
Speaker:the listener. Stephen, I have been
Speaker:chatting about like how we want to
Speaker:kind of evolve our like mini
Speaker:episodes as well.
Speaker:And we're thinking about doing like
Speaker:a book corner and like
Speaker:doing like reviews once
Speaker:a month or something of books that
Speaker:we're reading.
Speaker:And so one of our favorite questions
Speaker:to ask those who have like
Speaker:really dove in to the
Speaker:Star Wars novelization is like, how
Speaker:would you recommend someone new Jump
Speaker:in? Like, where would you start
Speaker:if you were just starting out now
Speaker:with everything you know, that was a
Speaker:bad way. Yeah.
Speaker:Question That was like so backwards.
Speaker:Okay, how would you recommend I
Speaker:start right now?
Speaker:Yeah.
Speaker:That's a great question.
Speaker:I love getting that question no
Speaker:matter how many times I get it.
Speaker:I love recommending people
Speaker:who like want to get into Star Wars
Speaker:books.
Speaker:We talked a little bit about the.
Speaker:Audiobooks.
Speaker:And I think it's a great
Speaker:place to start for a lot of people
Speaker:is the novelizations, whether that's
Speaker:the audio books or just reading the
Speaker:novelizations.
Speaker:Yeah, because more
Speaker:likely they've already watched the
Speaker:movie.
Speaker:So if they're like, I
Speaker:don't really know who that Star Wars
Speaker:character is, I don't really
Speaker:understand like
Speaker:the setting of that Star Wars book
Speaker:because it's not a movie or a TV
Speaker:show or it has unfamiliar
Speaker:characters. Starting with the
Speaker:Novelizations is
Speaker:a great place to
Speaker:begin a Star Wars reading journey
Speaker:and of being a prequel
Speaker:kid. I highly recommend
Speaker:the prequel books, the
Speaker:Novelizations, especially Revenge
Speaker:of the Sith that is like the
Speaker:greatest Star Wars
Speaker:movie novelization.
Speaker:I did read that one.
Speaker:You can see.
Speaker:I'm like, my God.
Speaker:That's so great.
Speaker:It is incredible.
Speaker:Like, I can't believe
Speaker:how hard the author went.
Speaker:Like.
Speaker:yes, this.
Speaker:Is a novel was Asian.
Speaker:This is actually no, it's more than
Speaker:novelization.
Speaker:It is. It feels
Speaker:like it stands on its own
Speaker:and adds like so much
Speaker:emotional depth.
Speaker:So and again,
Speaker:like.
Speaker:So much.
Speaker:In a way that like you always
Speaker:as a prequel kid, like I always
Speaker:felt torn on my
Speaker:feelings about, you know, kind of an
Speaker:intense journey to the dark side.
Speaker:Like I was such a fan of his as a
Speaker:character, as a kid.
Speaker:As I get older, you know, you watch
Speaker:the rest of the series, you're like,
Speaker:God, Darth Vader is this like
Speaker:morally reprehensible
Speaker:person, like human being
Speaker:or half machine.
Speaker:This gave me so
Speaker:gave me back my, like,
Speaker:understanding and like love for
Speaker:animation. When I read this book.
Speaker:I I'm right there with you.
Speaker:And honestly, the books have
Speaker:given me so much
Speaker:more love for characters
Speaker:that I either
Speaker:didn't really like or I just did.
Speaker:I was just like, and they're fine,
Speaker:like, and even with animation,
Speaker:you know, like I was like I was
Speaker:a young girl and I had a crush on
Speaker:him. Yeah.
Speaker:I was circling around that.
Speaker:Yeah.
Speaker:Yeah.
Speaker:Like, of.
Speaker:Course, it's it's pretty much a
Speaker:given, but yeah, even
Speaker:like, watching Revenge of the Sith,
Speaker:like, for the first time, I'm like,
Speaker:Wait a minute.
Speaker:Like, even.
Speaker:Though, like, you know, like in your
Speaker:head, like, this is.
Speaker:This is what these movies are about.
Speaker:Reading Revenge of the Sith is
Speaker:it feels so essential
Speaker:to fully understanding
Speaker:and Akin's character or like just
Speaker:and again Skywalker overall
Speaker:also reading
Speaker:Star Wars Brotherhood by Mike Chan.
Speaker:Yeah that yeah is.
Speaker:Such a great book about the
Speaker:like evolution of mannequin and
Speaker:obi-wan's like relationship
Speaker:from master and apprentice to like
Speaker:brothers.
Speaker:And then like once you read that and
Speaker:then you watch Revenge of the Sith,
Speaker:you're like, my gosh.
Speaker:Like they were brothers.
Speaker:You know, they loved each other so
Speaker:much. And then, of course, you watch
Speaker:the Kenobi show and you're like.
Speaker:Yeah, like my dad.
Speaker:Just like putting
Speaker:me up like that.
Speaker:That moment in the kind
Speaker:of Obi show of just like,
Speaker:Yeah, here's
Speaker:Obi-wan's face and also mine.
Speaker:No, I love that recommendation.
Speaker:Yeah.
Speaker:I was such a fan of the Cannabis
Speaker:Show and we've even had some guests
Speaker:on our show that weren't and that's
Speaker:okay. That was from their point of
Speaker:view. But like I do feel
Speaker:like it got a little bit too much
Speaker:hate for I think it was pretty
Speaker:wonderful.
Speaker:Yeah, I can understand why
Speaker:people don't like it.
Speaker:I try to understand
Speaker:why people if people don't
Speaker:like a certain show or a book or
Speaker:whatever, I at least try to
Speaker:understand like, okay, well I see
Speaker:why maybe you don't like it.
Speaker:I like that.
Speaker:But like, you know.
Speaker:That's why that wasn't for you.
Speaker:Yeah, I can understand that.
Speaker:I consider
Speaker:the Kenobi show the
Speaker:best kind of fan service.
Speaker:I feel like people think of fan
Speaker:service as just kind of like, icky
Speaker:or just like, cringing or whatever,
Speaker:and I can see where if they
Speaker:got it, it may got a little too like
Speaker:cutesy or cringing or whatever,
Speaker:or like they're trying too hard.
Speaker:But I mean, that was just like
Speaker:that whole, the whole journey
Speaker:and the arc like it added
Speaker:so much to just Kenobi's
Speaker:character of like, this is
Speaker:like how he got to be here and
Speaker:like the emotional devastation
Speaker:that we didn't get to see
Speaker:afterwards after Revenge of the
Speaker:Sith. Yeah.
Speaker:So he's just ends up being kind of
Speaker:this hermit in the desert and yeah
Speaker:you know, you can have a
Speaker:contextual understanding as to why,
Speaker:but like you're right at it, There's
Speaker:so much more depth brought in
Speaker:through that.
Speaker:Yeah.
Speaker:Yeah.
Speaker:And there was a certain closure for
Speaker:his understanding of who Anakin had
Speaker:become, which was kind
Speaker:of nice to see. What I liked about
Speaker:Obi-Wan and I have friends who will
Speaker:disagree with me, but what I liked
Speaker:about it was it felt like a story
Speaker:that deserved to be told as
Speaker:opposed to a story that just
Speaker:wants to be.
Speaker:Or a.
Speaker:Story that is just fun to tell.
Speaker:This felt like a story that fit
Speaker:within the time.
Speaker:Within the time zone
Speaker:were within the era
Speaker:of the era.
Speaker:It was a life that was
Speaker:compelling and interesting
Speaker:and necessary.
Speaker:Yeah, I.
Speaker:I feel like it did a good
Speaker:job of
Speaker:and I don't even know if it like set
Speaker:out to do this, but I think
Speaker:there has been and
Speaker:I'm sure other fans are like this
Speaker:too. There's there's a disconnect
Speaker:between Anakin Skywalker and Darth
Speaker:Vader and like that's purposeful.
Speaker:But it's sometimes it's hard
Speaker:to reconcile that
Speaker:like it is the same person
Speaker:physically, but like not the
Speaker:same person because we don't have.
Speaker:Sith.
Speaker:In our universe.
Speaker:So we don't have that.
Speaker:We don't have the force.
Speaker:Well, I mean, I would argue we have
Speaker:some type of the force, but
Speaker:it's hard to reconcile
Speaker:that. Like, you know,
Speaker:I think I came here, which maybe it
Speaker:was, but I think, you know, Darth
Speaker:Vader at some point says like Anakin
Speaker:Skywalker is dead, you know, like.
Speaker:Yes. And then in the Kenobi show,
Speaker:he says, like, you didn't
Speaker:kill. And again, I
Speaker:did. And it's like literally like,
Speaker:okay, no, this is not just
Speaker:Anakin is like
Speaker:going through something and,
Speaker:you know, like he's he's literally
Speaker:like a different person.
Speaker:He has been almost taken
Speaker:over by Darth
Speaker:Vader, this persona, this like
Speaker:personality.
Speaker:And I think that really helps,
Speaker:like fans, viewers
Speaker:and also Obi-Wan, like
Speaker:in the show.
Speaker:Yes. Yeah.
Speaker:And it's actually like just
Speaker:almost a not a throwaway line, but
Speaker:in Return of the Jedi, when he said,
Speaker:no, I think I guess it was a new
Speaker:hope where Obi-Wan says,
Speaker:Darth Vader betrayed and murdered
Speaker:your father.
Speaker:And that's like he's like, he was
Speaker:not wrong.
Speaker:No, he was not wrong.
Speaker:That's really great.
Speaker:That's really fascinating.
Speaker:I love that.
Speaker:And I love when Star Wars kind of
Speaker:like explains little
Speaker:not little details, but almost
Speaker:throwaway lines like that where
Speaker:I mean, I just think Star Wars is
Speaker:rife with that. Sorry, I'm going
Speaker:into my own code.
Speaker:No, I understand.
Speaker:I, I just wax
Speaker:poetic all day.
Speaker:Yeah. Like the,
Speaker:the the changes in, like, the Jedi
Speaker:and, like, the Sith.
Speaker:I'm like, I'm fascinated, endlessly
Speaker:fascinated by, like,
Speaker:this idea of, like, falling
Speaker:to the dark side and
Speaker:becoming a star.
Speaker:You know? What is a Sith Lord like?
Speaker:Yup.
Speaker:Like, I wouldn't consider
Speaker:Assad's ventress to be a
Speaker:sinner, you know, like she, though,
Speaker:you know, worked in the dark side,
Speaker:but like, she wasn't ever a Sith and
Speaker:like, you know, what is the spectrum
Speaker:of like.
Speaker:Where's that line and the.
Speaker:Yeah, yeah.
Speaker:And you could even argue that for
Speaker:like the Jedi as well like, yeah,
Speaker:well it's not black and white.
Speaker:It's not like you are a force
Speaker:user and you're a Jedi.
Speaker:You know, you have Ahsoka Tano.
Speaker:Like I say, she's not perfect
Speaker:example. Yeah.
Speaker:Like she's not a Jedi anymore.
Speaker:And she doesn't identify as a Jedi.
Speaker:But, you know, they they call her
Speaker:that because they're like, Well,
Speaker:everybody that I have seen
Speaker:use the force and will The light
Speaker:saber is a Jedi.
Speaker:And it's like.
Speaker:That's.
Speaker:You know, not exactly true.
Speaker:When I also not to like get too deep
Speaker:but one of my favorite like
Speaker:teasers is into like the future
Speaker:of the Star Wars saga is, is
Speaker:at the end of the prequel trilogy
Speaker:when, you know, the kid moves the
Speaker:broom with his, you know,
Speaker:with the with the force.
Speaker:But like, yeah. And I think that's
Speaker:like kind of touching on where
Speaker:you're getting at is like there's
Speaker:going to be this spectrum of force
Speaker:usage in the galaxy and
Speaker:like, what is that going to look
Speaker:like that I'm really excited for?
Speaker:But when you get back to talking
Speaker:about you, I'm sorry.
Speaker:I was going to say.
Speaker:All of this conversation is
Speaker:like all of this like passion that I
Speaker:have for like, talking about these
Speaker:things is is really because of
Speaker:the books, because we get
Speaker:so much of those, like, questions
Speaker:answered and so much of that like
Speaker:kind of deeper look into
Speaker:like personas and perspectives
Speaker:and different characters
Speaker:than we would than we usually get
Speaker:in, you know, either TV shows
Speaker:or movies.
Speaker:A fan deserves his own storyline
Speaker:in a book, if not anything else.
Speaker:yeah, they all do.
Speaker:He got a little gypped, in my
Speaker:opinion. But anyway, so I agree.
Speaker:One of the things you mentioned was
Speaker:you were talking about the force in
Speaker:real life is like, well,
Speaker:I believe we all kind of have it.
Speaker:How do you mean by
Speaker:that? What does that look like to
Speaker:you?
Speaker:The force of your life.
Speaker:Yeah.
Speaker:That is a deep philosophical
Speaker:question.
Speaker:Yeah, I have those.
Speaker:I really.
Speaker:I really thought.
Speaker:Thought too much about it, but.
Speaker:I.
Speaker:Like.
Speaker:How am I. How do I even explain
Speaker:that? Like, to me, like,
Speaker:Star Wars isn't real, but it
Speaker:is real.
Speaker:I mean.
Speaker:The world of Star Wars, Jedi.
Speaker:Those things, they are real.
Speaker:That galaxy far, far
Speaker:away is not in our
Speaker:universe.
Speaker:But it it is like Star
Speaker:Wars is real for us, and it does
Speaker:have a way of impacting
Speaker:our own worlds.
Speaker:The stories that it tells when even
Speaker:though, like all fictional, like all
Speaker:of this is fictional, like
Speaker:inevitably, like fiction
Speaker:are things like that.
Speaker:Popular culture, entertainment.
Speaker:It is. It is real because
Speaker:it is in even the smallest
Speaker:ways. It is reflecting our own
Speaker:world events,
Speaker:thoughts and feelings like issues,
Speaker:things like that.
Speaker:I mean, obviously the original Star
Speaker:Wars inspired by
Speaker:that, the Vietnam War,
Speaker:I believe, and I'm like,
Speaker:I can't believe it. Just like blanked
Speaker:on that. I should know that.
Speaker:No, no, no.
Speaker:It's but I.
Speaker:Got names and stuff on here all the
Speaker:time. Yeah. Yeah.
Speaker:I always that one gen I think.
Speaker:Yeah. Yeah.
Speaker:So I think of it like that.
Speaker:It's like both real and not real.
Speaker:Depending on your, your
Speaker:definition of, of real.
Speaker:It is going to like reflects
Speaker:or reflect our own world, even in
Speaker:like a small way.
Speaker:Yeah.
Speaker:Yes. Yeah.
Speaker:No, that totally makes sense.
Speaker:And it's very true that
Speaker:it is.
Speaker:I mean the human element is the
Speaker:opera in it, right.
Speaker:In space opera.
Speaker:Thinking about it in that way then
Speaker:what are three elements that make
Speaker:Star Wars? Star Wars two you.
Speaker:Love.
Speaker:For sure. Okay.
Speaker:Yeah.
Speaker:Hope.
Speaker:And light.
Speaker:Okay. Yeah, yeah.
Speaker:Yeah, yeah.
Speaker:Like three words.
Speaker:Yeah. To sum up.
Speaker:So Star Wars.
Speaker:Definitely love.
Speaker:Yeah, yeah.
Speaker:It's one of the greatest love
Speaker:stories ever told.
Speaker:Yeah.
Speaker:And in so many facets of the word.
Speaker:Yeah.
Speaker:When I was thinking about,
Speaker:you know, coming on and talking to
Speaker:you guys today, I knew that you were
Speaker:going to ask, like, what does Star
Speaker:Wars mean to you?
Speaker:Yeah, yeah.
Speaker:Like I'm just like, what does it
Speaker:mean to me? I mean, so many things.
Speaker:And whenever I think of
Speaker:like, you know, what is like the
Speaker:core of like, Star Wars
Speaker:and like it, it all has
Speaker:to do with love in some
Speaker:form, whether that is
Speaker:romantic love or platonic love
Speaker:or real
Speaker:other.
Speaker:Yeah.
Speaker:Now for family and friends
Speaker:and just love for like, life
Speaker:and like the rest of the galaxy.
Speaker:Love, you know, empathy for other
Speaker:people and wanting peace
Speaker:and just, you know, prosperity
Speaker:and things like that.
Speaker:It all boiled down
Speaker:to like a love of something.
Speaker:Even when you look at like the the
Speaker:worst of the worst villains.
Speaker:Yes, I, I don't necessarily
Speaker:think like Emperor Palpatine
Speaker:loved anyone
Speaker:in particular in that way that with
Speaker:the bad events.
Speaker:Of is what creates.
Speaker:Yeah it's like the.
Speaker:You know either apps know absence of
Speaker:love too much love and
Speaker:then almost like the absence
Speaker:of love turned into just like this.
Speaker:Like desire and passion
Speaker:for power.
Speaker:Sure. Yes.
Speaker:So yes.
Speaker:Or yeah. Or a love of power that
Speaker:that's a yeah.
Speaker:Yeah. Completely.
Speaker:Perhaps the absence of love is
Speaker:a desire for power.
Speaker:I don't. I don't know.
Speaker:I feel like there's something there
Speaker:and. But but
Speaker:you really just answered our last
Speaker:question. Yeah.
Speaker:Does Star Wars mean to you?
Speaker:I, I don't know if we'll
Speaker:get anything.
Speaker:More wonderful
Speaker:and profound is.
Speaker:Yeah. Yeah.
Speaker:Talking about it.
Speaker:No. I mean, go for it.
Speaker:Yeah.
Speaker:Yeah.
Speaker:That's so great.
Speaker:No, I mean it really.
Speaker:I like.
Speaker:That's what I just think about.
Speaker:And I'm like, We wouldn't have Star
Speaker:Wars without love, you
Speaker:know? We wouldn't have obviously,
Speaker:like, you in back to just like
Speaker:you know me. Skywalker's love for
Speaker:her song.
Speaker:Yeah, that.
Speaker:Yeah. You know, however you want to
Speaker:believe he came in to this world,
Speaker:you know, she loved him
Speaker:and he loved her just as
Speaker:fiercely, if not more so.
Speaker:And.
Speaker:And then his love for Padmé
Speaker:and then not really knowing how
Speaker:to, like, navigate that love
Speaker:and that, you know,
Speaker:ignorance of of love.
Speaker:Not even like a lack of it, I,
Speaker:I don't think Anna can ever lacked
Speaker:for love
Speaker:at all.
Speaker:There was never a absence of it,
Speaker:except when he,
Speaker:you know, fell to dark, became Darth
Speaker:Vader.
Speaker:And I think that was like the
Speaker:core of why Darth
Speaker:Vader was also just so
Speaker:angry. And he was just so sad
Speaker:all the time. Like, this is a broken
Speaker:man, even though like he was
Speaker:and sanely powerful.
Speaker:And, you know, Palpatine really,
Speaker:like, took advantage of that.
Speaker:Absolutely, I think.
Speaker:I think Palpatine definitely took
Speaker:advantage of Anna Kim's
Speaker:love and his life and his like,
Speaker:propensity for love.
Speaker:Like, I mean.
Speaker:This.
Speaker:Anna like love to like
Speaker:he did. And it was a hard, gradual
Speaker:thing. Yeah, it.
Speaker:Was all out.
Speaker:Yeah, it was all or nothing for him.
Speaker:And I think that's also reflected in
Speaker:his like, fall to the dark side.
Speaker:It's all or nothing.
Speaker:Yeah. I mean, he's not just going
Speaker:to, like, dabble in it just to
Speaker:save Padmé and be like, All right,
Speaker:I'm good. You know that?
Speaker:Yeah. No, no.
Speaker:He was.
Speaker:Both.
Speaker:Phedon Yeah.
Speaker:He did it for a bit.
Speaker:Chelsea, thank you so much for
Speaker:joining us tonight and telling us
Speaker:what Star Wars means to you.
Speaker:I, I loved this conversation.
Speaker:I did, too.
Speaker:Thanks for having me. This was
Speaker:great.
Speaker:So fun.
Speaker:I'm so glad.
Speaker:Where can people find you?
Speaker:How people can find me a couple of
Speaker:different places so you can find me
Speaker:on my space Wizards Book Club
Speaker:newsletter.
Speaker:That is also the name of my
Speaker:Instagram page.
Speaker:And I have an Etsy shop of like, fun
Speaker:Star Wars.
Speaker:Yes. And merch.
Speaker:Go. You can look.
Speaker:There. Did not know that right
Speaker:now.
Speaker:You'll like it. You'll like it.
Speaker:So newsletter Instagram.
Speaker:I am on TikTok not a space
Speaker:wizard book club I'm under
Speaker:Chelsea reads there
Speaker:but I talk about Star Wars books all
Speaker:the time on there as other as well
Speaker:as other genres, sci fi and fantasy
Speaker:and then yeah that's
Speaker:that's where.
Speaker:You can find me.
Speaker:Yeah.
Speaker:All those links will be in the
Speaker:podcast notes.
Speaker:So if someone wants to just go and
Speaker:pop down in there, they can click
Speaker:right over to you
Speaker:again.
Speaker:Thank you so much.
Speaker:This is like I felt like this hour
Speaker:went too far. You know.
Speaker:I actually like I was like, my God,
Speaker:I can't believe it's already been an
Speaker:hour.
Speaker:I meant to plug
Speaker:Star Wars Insider because I also
Speaker:write for them.
Speaker:Yeah.
Speaker:Yeah. So where do you want to fit
Speaker:that in?
Speaker:I am occasionally
Speaker:in the pages of Star Wars Insider.
Speaker:I've done a few articles
Speaker:last year and I'm working
Speaker:on my next one right now,
Speaker:so I will have.
Speaker:I'll be sharing with you.
Speaker:Give us.
Speaker:About that.
Speaker:Sue and I
Speaker:did, you.
Speaker:Know, sneak in those sneak peek
Speaker:and exclusive.
Speaker:Super secret but
Speaker:it is it does have to do with
Speaker:Star Wars video games.
Speaker:fine.
Speaker:Yes.
Speaker:Fantastic.
Speaker:Well, can't wait to read that.
Speaker:I really appreciate your time.
Speaker:We really do.
Speaker:Yeah. Thank you so much for having
Speaker:me. This was so fun
Speaker:and happy to come on any time.
Speaker:If you end up doing those little
Speaker:book mini, we.
Speaker:Sure.
Speaker:Would. Would love that.
Speaker:We should all.
Speaker:Be happy.
Speaker:To have you back when we started
Speaker:kicking those off because I would
Speaker:love. I've really enjoyed your
Speaker:perspective a lot.
Speaker:Yes. This is Joy.
Speaker:May the force be with you.
Speaker:Man. Last year. With you to.
