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PODCAST

Canonical Nonsense: A Podcast Where Two Best Friends Talk About Some Books

Jo and JoJo explore different canons within modern fiction. This season focuses on the evolution of the dragon in modern Sci-fi and Fantasy. Canonical Nonsense: A Podcast Where Two Best Friends Talk About Some Books is made with Jetpack Podcast. Full show notes and every episode at https://canonicalnonsense.com/

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All Episodes

87:13

Episode 23: After the Dragons by Cynthia Zhang

Canonical Nonsense: A Podcast Where Two Best Friends... ·

2026/09/02

On today’s pod, the Jos read After the Dragons by Cynthia Zhang. A novella that asks the question: what would a world with dragons look like if dragons lost their mythological and religious significance? It left the Jos with more questions than answers. Listen as they work through it on another exciting episode of Canonical […]

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123:50

Episode 22: Blood of an Exile by Brian Naslund

Canonical Nonsense: A Podcast Where Two Best Friends... ·

2026/08/05

For a first on the pod, Jo and JoJo enter the world of grimdark in the fantasy epic Blood of an Exile by Brian Naslund. What happens when a tech bro emperor tries to kill all the dragons, and the only people who can stop him are a hot scientist princess and a drunk dragon […]

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97:16

Episode 21: Sanctuary by Mercedes Lackey

Canonical Nonsense: A Podcast Where Two Best Friends... ·

2026/07/01

Canonical Nonsense returns to Mercedes Lackey’s Joust series for a third and final time with Sanctuary. The story picks up just after the ending of Alta, as our heroes make a new life for themselves and their dragons in the ruins of the forgotten city of Sanctuary. Every book in this series has been a […]

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95:32

Episode 20: The Saint of Dragons by Jason Hightman

Canonical Nonsense: A Podcast Where Two Best Friends... ·

2026/06/03

This month on the pod, Jo and JoJo are reading their first listener suggested book with The Saint of Dragons by Jason Hightman. This is another retelling of the myth of Saint George and the Dragon. There are some really cool dragons in this one, so join the Jo's as they discuss one more entry in nonsensical dragon canon.

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86:56

Episode 19: If We Wrote Fourth Wing, a Noncanonical...

Canonical Nonsense: A Podcast Where Two Best Friends... ·

2026/05/06

Today on the pod, Jo and JoJo decided to do something a little different. Fourth Wing has good ideas and good bones, but falls flat in execution. After reading it, the Jo’s had so many ideas for how to fix it that they created a Google doc to flesh out a new plot. Half fanfic, […]

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115:58

Episode 18: Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros (Chapters...

Canonical Nonsense: A Podcast Where Two Best Friends... ·

2026/04/01

Today on the pod, we finish Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros. When we left off, Violet had just bonded not one but two dragons! But becoming a dragon rider isn’t the finish line; it’s actually the start of a new journey with new allies and old enemies. We had a LOT of thoughts about this […]

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127:52

Episode 17: Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros (Chapters 1...

Canonical Nonsense: A Podcast Where Two Best Friends... ·

2026/03/04

Today, on the pod Jo and JoJo finally get around to reading the biggest dragon book in the world, Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros. The Jo’s are trying to bring a new lens to this well-worn path. People have talked about the sex, people have talked about the romance, people have talked about the pens, […]

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57:33

Episode 16: Hatching Magic by Ann Downer

Canonical Nonsense: A Podcast Where Two Best Friends... ·

2026/02/04

This month, Jo and JoJo read one of the books that sparked Jo’s love of dragons. While she is now old enough to understand its flaws, this book still holds a special place in her heart. The Jos also discuss books made for children, the origin of dragons in different cultures, and how the most […]

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102:31

Episode 15: Alta by Mercedes Lackey

Canonical Nonsense: A Podcast Where Two Best Friends... ·

2025/12/23

In this episode, Jo and JoJo read their first sequel! Alta by Mercedes Lackey depicts our main character, formerly Vetch now Kiron, and his dragon, Avatre, as they return to their home country of Alta. However, all is not as it seems, and the utopia that Kiron has dreamt of starts to crumble as he […]

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119:46

Episode 14: Joust by Mercedes Lackey

Canonical Nonsense: A Podcast Where Two Best Friends... ·

2025/11/12

This month, Jo and JoJo were looking for fast and furious with dragons, but instead stumbled upon an underrated gem from a well known fantasy author, Mercedes Lackey. In Joust, Mercedes Lackey takes us to a desert land where two nations are engaged in an intractable war as one tries to colonize the other. Caught […]

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105:55

Episode 13: The Priory of the Orange Tree (Parts 4-6)...

Canonical Nonsense: A Podcast Where Two Best Friends... ·

2025/10/08

Today on the podcast, the fighting continues in The Priory of the Orange Tree by Samantha Shannon. Ead, Tané, Loth, and Niclays race toward a final fight with the Nameless One while being bombarded on all sides by the Damsels of the Orange Tree, the witch Kalyba, and some good old fashion pirates. Jo and […]

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111:01

Episode 12: The Priory of the Orange Tree (Parts 1-3)...

Canonical Nonsense: A Podcast Where Two Best Friends... ·

2025/09/08

Today on the podcast, we find ourselves divided. This month’s book, The Priory of the Orange Tree by Samantha Shannon, is a world divided by East and West. We find this discussion divided. . . into two separate podcast episodes. Parts 1-3 are discussed here, parts 4-6, in next month’s episode. And finally, we find […]

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20:49

Canonical Nonsense Goes to the Movies: How to Train...

Canonical Nonsense: A Podcast Where Two Best Friends... ·

2025/08/20

In this very special mini episode, Jo and JoJo go to the movies! But not a great and wonderful movie like How To Train Your Dragon (the animation). Instead, they went to see How To Train Your Dragon (the live action). Listen in as we discuss what worked and what did not in this remake […]

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76:23

Episode 11: How to Train Your Dragon by Cressida Cowell

Canonical Nonsense: A Podcast Where Two Best Friends... ·

2025/08/06

This week, on a kid-friendly episode of Canonical Nonsense, we continue our exploration of the nonsensical dragon canon with How to Train Your Dragon by Cressida Cowell. We explore the differences between the book and the film franchise it inspired. Join us as we delve into the silly, shouty, snotty Isle of Berk as Hiccup […]

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119:20

Episode 10: The Summer Dragon by Todd Lockwood

Canonical Nonsense: A Podcast Where Two Best Friends... ·

2025/07/02

For this episode, Jo and JoJo take a close look at The Summer Dragon, by Todd Lockwood, and fall completely in love with the world of the Evertide. This book follows Maia, the daughter of a dragon breeder, as she battles wild dragons, zombie monstrosities, and a colonizing army set on taking away her home. […]

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113:51

Episode 9: Seraphina by Rachel Hartman

Canonical Nonsense: A Podcast Where Two Best Friends... ·

2025/06/04

As we have said many times, this is a pro-horse girl podcast. This month’s episode is for all those special girls (and guys) out there. Seraphina by Rachel Hartman centers a plucky, talented, 16-year-old girl with a dangerous secret in a world where dragons can hide as humans. Join us as we explore the kingdom […]

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124:17

Episode 8: Tooth and Claw by Jo Walton

Canonical Nonsense: A Podcast Where Two Best Friends... ·

2025/04/02

This month on the pod, Jo and JoJo read Tooth and Claw by Jo Walton (no relation). A book that can only be described as what if Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice had a baby with Jonathan Swift’s A Modest Proposal, and that baby was a dragon. It was one of the more toe-curling books […]

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115:02

Episode 7: His Majesty’s Dragon by Naomi Novik

Canonical Nonsense: A Podcast Where Two Best Friends... ·

2025/03/05

Today, Jo and JoJo read His Majesty’s Dragon, the first book in the Temeraire series by Naomi Novik. It is an alternate history that asks the question: What if the Napoleonic wars had dragons? This episode was a joy to make and we hope it encourages you to pick up this series!

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148:46

Episode 6: Eragon by Christopher Paolini

Canonical Nonsense: A Podcast Where Two Best Friends... ·

2025/02/05

Jo and JoJo are flashing back to their childhood in the early 00s to read the famous story of a farm boy turned dragon rider, Eragon by Christopher Paolini. Eragon may not have been the book we remembered it to be, and that certainly was the case for Jo, but we still had a lot […]

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185:58

Episode 5: Dragon Prince

Canonical Nonsense: A Podcast Where Two Best Friends... ·

2025/01/08

On today’s episode, Jo and JoJo dive into a world of intense political intrigue and interpersonal drama in Dragon Prince by Melanie Rawn. We had a lot to say about the good and the bad, the ups and the downs of this book. We hope you’ll join us on this deep dive into another dragon-filled […]

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