Most Star Wars fans love the Empire. They’re orderly, professional, and have the best fashion sense in the Galaxy. But is our love for them misplaced and even a little weird?
To discuss this challenging topic, we spoke with Dr. Andrea Letamendi of Lattes with Leia & The Arkham Sessions podcast as well as Tyler Westhause of the Star Wars Podcast Alliance, two ardent Imperial fans. We discuss the extent to which we should take the fascist parallels seriously, why we all love the bad guys, and how the Empire can teach us about historical authoritarian regimes.
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Beltway Banthas #24: The Imperial Conundrum
You can find Dr. Letamendi and Tyler on Twitter @ArkhamAsylumDoc and @twesthause
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Politics and Star Wars fuse together on this unique and fascinating show! Beltway Banthas is your place for insightful political commentary featuring the galaxy far, far, away. Beltway Banthas is a Star Wars podcast about the intersection of fandom and the things that drive daily life. For hosts Stephen Kent & Swara Salih, one of those things is politics. Star Wars draws from our world’s politics just as much as it contributes to it by influencing policymakers, journalists and thought leaders.
On the show, you’ll learn about the politics within the Star Wars universe, from Alderaan & Naboo’s monarchies to the function of the Senate on Coruscant. In between episodes we feature interviews with real world change-makers, and talk with them about how Star Wars impacted their lives and view of the world.
Stephen Kent lives outside of DC with his wife and daughter. He works at a political non-profit that does outreach to millennials. He enjoys political podcasts, cosplay, and making jokes that only he thinks are funny.
Swara Salih is a true believer, in both The Force and the importance of politics. As an activist, writer and aspiring Jedi, Swara came to Beltway Banthas as a listener and is now with the show full time. He was with Newsweek, Huffington Post and now studies coding in Washington, DC.