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PODCAST

A More Civilized Age: A Star Wars Podcast

A More Civilized Age

Join Rob Zacny, Natalie Watson, Ali Acampora, and Austin Walker as they dive headfirst into the fall of the Galactic Republic, debate which Jedi is messiest, and dig into the themes and politics of The Clone Wars. Cover Art by @XeeceeVEVO on Twitter. Email us questions for our Patreon Q&As at: amorecivilizedage@gmail.com!

tv & film after shows

All Episodes

02:15:02

25: Heroes on Both Sides & Pursuit of Peace (Clone...

A More Civilized Age: A Star Wars Podcast ·

2021/12/01

There is an energy today. Can you feel it? Can you anticipate the shouting? The laughter? The grinding of teeth? The discussion of interest rates, privatization of public goods and services, and the strategic neoliberal moving of goal posts? All of this, plus Star Wars continues to dip its toe into antisemitic caricature, and our last real confrontation with Clone Wars' chopped up timeline. Oh, and I guess Anakin says some fashy stuff too. It's a big one. Enjoy? You can support the show and gain

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02:16:32

24: Hutts and the Underworld Arc (Clone Wars 51 - 53)

A More Civilized Age: A Star Wars Podcast ·

2021/11/17

If you only knew where this series of episodes began, you might expect quite a different podcast than what we deliver to you today. What begins as an arc about the power (and limit) of prophecy quickly turns into something else. Sure, we get to debate the limits of Padme's boilerplate political rhetoric for a bit, but before long there's a the return of an old antagonist. The only question is, who hates this guy more: us or the people who came up with him in the first place. You can support the show

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01:52:16

23: Corruption & The Academy (Clone Wars 49 - 50)

A More Civilized Age: A Star Wars Podcast ·

2021/11/03

I will not lie to you, friends. On paper, this is a hell of an arc. A return to Mandalore, now starving because of Separatist pressure and Republic failure? Duchess Satine and Senator Amidala as confidants and heroines? Ahsoka, sent to ferret out a secretive black market? How could anyone possibly be left unsatisfied? Well... NEXT TIME: Episodes 51 - 53 ("Assassin," "Evil Plans," and "Hunt for Ziro") Show Notes Clone Deaths: None, for once? Tummy Aches: Many. Hosted by Rob Zacny (@RobZacny)

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02:01:55

22: Supply Lines & Sphere of Influence (Clone Wars...

A More Civilized Age: A Star Wars Podcast ·

2021/10/20

Sometimes on this show, we (Natalie especially) will talk about the "morsels" of world building that are delivered to us. Deep inside an episode about an evil Hutt lord or a lost lightsaber, maybe there's a brief mention of some aspect of the socio-political reality of the Star Wars world. And, things being what they are, we have found ourselves content with these morsels. But today? Today we feast. Neither of these episodes is a stone cold classic, don't get us wrong. But both shine lights into the

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02:04:09

21: The Kamino Arc (Clone Wars 45 - 46)

A More Civilized Age: A Star Wars Podcast ·

2021/10/06

We return from hiatus to find a pair of episodes built to answer some of our most potent and long running questions about the clones and their war: How are they trained? ? What's their relationship to Kamino? How soon can they start getting sick haircuts? Where's the Jango Juice kept? What? Don't say you didn't miss us. NEXT TIME: Episodes 47 - 48 ("Supply Lines" and "Sphere of Influence") Show Notes Fallen Clones: Havoc, Colt, and 99 Hosted by Rob Zacny (@RobZacny) Featuring Alicia Acampora

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03:29:47

20: The Boba Fett Arc (Clone Wars 42-44)

A More Civilized Age: A Star Wars Podcast ·

2021/09/08

Finally, we've come to the end of The Clone Wars Season 2. And, appropriate for a season subtitled "Rise of the Bounty Hunters," we do so with a trio of episodes about future fan favorite hunter Boba Fett (co-starring Aurra Sing and Bossk, two other fan favorite mercs). It's an imperfect arc in many ways, but it succeeds in at least one important metric: getting us to talk for too damned long about them. In any case, some news before you get to the episode: We'll be taking a break for our next

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01:51:55

19: The Zillo Beast (Clone Wars 40-41)

A More Civilized Age: A Star Wars Podcast ·

2021/08/25

A two episode Godzilla and King Kong inspired arc? Certainly that couldn't leave us with enough material to go for more than 70, 80 minutes tops. Talk about the monster design, the War on Terror allegory, maybe even sneak in a conversation about the ongoing pacing and structure of the series? In an out, righ- I'm being handed a piece of paper. It says "they went for two hours." Ah. Well, nevertheless. NEXT TIME: Episodes 42 - 44 ( "Death Trap," "R2 Come Home," and "Lethal Trackdown") Show Notes

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02:37:03

18: Senate Murders, Cat and Mouse, and Bounty Hunters...

A More Civilized Age: A Star Wars Podcast ·

2021/08/11

After last episode's cohesive and sumptuous Mandalore Arc, today's follow up was going to have a high bar to clear. And, unfortunately, all three of today's episodes come up short. That's not to say there's nothing of note here: the opening "Senate Murders" gives us some back room politicking and a little extra insight into senatorial processes, but it raises more questions than it answers. The other two episodes of the bunch have their charms too--especially if you're a sucker for tense submarine

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03:16:19

17: The Mandalore Arc (Clone Wars 34 - 36)

A More Civilized Age: A Star Wars Podcast ·

2021/07/28

As far back as the Clone Wars movie, when Obi-Wan Kenobi first bantered with Asajj Ventress, we knew that the bearded Jedi Master had a romantic side. Today, we see that part of him in full bloom--and perhaps in full wither--as he reconnects with the Duchess Satine Kryze. To say there are fireworks is an understatement. We've got a whole damned powder keg here. There's bickering. There's flirting. There's face touching. And at the heart of it, there's a debate about pacifism, sovereignty, and duty

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02:45:29

16: The Saleucami Arc & Lightsaber Lost (Clone Wars...

A More Civilized Age: A Star Wars Podcast ·

2021/07/14

Let's not beat around the bush: We have three episodes today, but one of them towers over the others. It's great to see our favorite Separatist general in "Grievous Intrigue" and it's fun to meet a new, Columbo-esque Jedi elder in "Lightsaber Lost," but over a year ago, it was "The Deserter" that confirmed just how fun doing a Clone Wars podcast might be. And boy, were we ever right. NEXT TIME: Episodes 34 - 36 ("The Mandalore Plot," "Voyage of Temptation," "Duchess of Mandalore") Show Notes Fallen

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02:35:54

15: Return to Geonosis Arc Pt. 2 (Clone Wars 28 - 30)

A More Civilized Age: A Star Wars Podcast ·

2021/06/30

There are many reasons to be excited for this trio of episodes. There's the way the arc slides effortlessly from genre to genre, all while maintaining an overall sense of narrative continuity. There's the way that the lighting and effects work in these episodes show how far the production team have come since season one. There's the further development of characters like Luminara Unduli and Barris Offee, quickly becoming some of our favorites. But maybe more than anything, there is for the first

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01:50:28

14: Return to Geonosis Arc Pt. 1 (Clone Wars 26 - 27)

A More Civilized Age: A Star Wars Podcast ·

2021/06/16

Today we begin our first multi-part arc, starting with the series' first attempt at a cloak-and-dagger romantic thriller, "Senate Spy" (an episode which unfortunately lives up to neither "cloak-and-dagger" nor "romantic thriller.") Then, we head to Geonosis for the war film inspired "Landing at Point Rain," where clones die by the dropship-load, Geonosians face the wrath of Republic flamethrowers, and Jedi once again serve less as generals and more as ego-driven quarterbacks. NEXT TIME: Episodes 28

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02:35:03

13: Hostage Crisis & The Children of the Force Arc...

A More Civilized Age: A Star Wars Podcast ·

2021/06/03

Nope, you're not wrong. That guy in the hat? He is extremely cool. And extremely evil. We've finally reached one of Clone Wars great, break out original characters: Cad Bane. He's here to remind us that villains can be extremely competent, Jedi can be entirely too confident, and plot arcs absolutely coherent. Yup. It's a good day to be a Civilian. Well... except for the audio issues. NEXT TIME: Episodes 26 & 27 (Senate Spy & Landing at Point Rain) Show Notes Fallen Clones: Todo 360 (Honorary)

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02:10:03

12: The Ryloth Arc (Clone Wars 19 - 21)

A More Civilized Age: A Star Wars Podcast ·

2021/05/19

“Another armed occupation is not a free Ryloth. How long before I am fighting you, master Jedi?” -Cham Syndulla On and above the Twi'lek homeworld of Ryloth, battles rage between Separatist and Republic forces. This three part, anthology-style arc gives us different perspectives on the conflict, and that's true in more ways than one. These episodes offer us both our most paternalistic, simple minded vision of racial harmony yet and our first de facto "radical" figure. Oh, and no, before you write

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01:44:19

11: The Blue Shadow Virus Arc (Clone Wars 17 & 18)

A More Civilized Age: A Star Wars Podcast ·

2021/05/05

After the highs and lows of Revenge of the Sith, it felt like we were due to even back out with some mid-tier content. And hey, good news, the Blue Shadow Virus is nothing if not mid. One one hand, it spends some solid time characterizing nearly every one of our leads. On the other, its combination of mad scientist stock villain, half-developed Bermuda Triangle planet, and bio-terror plot just don't mesh together into anything especially elevated or memorable. But with just one more arc to go in the

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04:30:01

10: Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith

A More Civilized Age: A Star Wars Podcast ·

2021/04/21

With what can only be described as "season finale energy," today we detour from our Clone Wars journey in order to (re)visit the final film in George Lucas' much derided Prequel Trilogy: Revenge of the Sith. Do we debate at length where the final blame for Anakin's downfall lies? Yes. Do we dream up ways that things could have gone differently? Absolutely. Do we find ways to talk ourselves into circles? Oh, without a doubt. Join us for this four and a half our dive into Revenge of the Sith. If you

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02:25:16

09: Trespass and The Hidden Enemy (Clone Wars 15 & 16)

A More Civilized Age: A Star Wars Podcast ·

2021/04/07

Content warnings: Discussion of sex and drug use. It should've been a simple episode. Two stand alone stories, each filled to the brim with the sort of political world building and philosophical question raising content that we thrive on. And, for what it's worth, we roll right into all of that. But then, perhaps because the tracks had been greased a little too well, perhaps because of hubris, or perhaps because of the ever-present will of the force, we go way off the rails. And frankly, we were

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01:35:13

08: The Lurmen Arc (Clone Wars 13 & 14)

A More Civilized Age: A Star Wars Podcast ·

2021/03/24

If there is one leading question this podcast has raised so far, it's "What role do the Jedi really serve in the Galactic Republic?" It's fair to say that we've been pretty critical of this ancient order of religious space cops, and fortunately, the writers of Clone Wars have decided to bring our skeptical perspective into the show directly. Someone who can speak truth to power. Someone who can confront the hypocrit- Sorry, sorry. One second. I'm being handed a note. Ah! Well. Nevertheless, Next

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01:45:28

07: The Florrum Arc (Clone Wars 11 & 12)

A More Civilized Age: A Star Wars Podcast ·

2021/03/10

"Maybe there's a lesson to be learned here..." -Obi-Wan Kenobi What are some things you'd love to see in a Clone Wars arc? Obi-Wan, Anakin, and Count Dooku forced to work together? Check. The introduction of a new, series regular space pirate? Yup. A lot of people getting absolutely roasted? Absolutely. This week's episode pairing has all the ingredients to be a delicious dish. And yet... Next time: Episodes 13-14 Show Notes Fallen Clones: Mack Hosted by Rob Zacny (@RobZacny) Featuring Alicia

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02:55:20

06: The Nute Gunray Arc (Clone Wars 08-10)

A More Civilized Age: A Star Wars Podcast ·

2021/02/24

"This is a mission of peace. I put my faith in diplomacy. We can't solve all of our problems by throwing troops at them." -Padmé Amidala Before we get into the episode today, big news: We've launched our Patreon! Just go over to patreon.com/civilized (lol) to support us and gain access to our monthly Q&A podcast. We're keeping it super simple for now. A single tier, a single reward. We don't want to bury ourselves in work. But we also have some ideas for how we'd want to expand this down the road,

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