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PODCAST

Up Your Nerd Cred

Casual Host CiCi, Expert Host AM Diaz

Did you used to know everything happening in the Marvel and DC universes? Did finding out that some superheroes are from Marvel and some are from DC blow your mind? Has keeping track of everything happening there… and then realizing we’re talking about the comics universe, not the cinematic ones… and the different universes with their own multiversal crisesses has gotten a little bit out of hand, don’t worry. Up Your Nerd Cred is here to talk about gods cosplaying as men, men cosplaying as gods, and

leisure animation & manga

All Episodes

00:28:00

Don't Worry-He's Only "Mostly Dead" | UYNC S3 Ep 15

Up Your Nerd Cred ·

2026/10/05

Nobody stays dead in comics… except Bucky, Jason Todd, and Uncle Ben.Well. About that.This week, CiCi is getting into the many, many flavors of comic-book death: actually dead, presumed dead, retconned dead, resurrected, restored, undead, and “technically I survived the explosion, but things have not exactly been going great since.”We’re looking at what happened when Superman died—and why bringing him back didn’t erase what happened while he was gone. Then we get into Marvel Zombies, DCeased, and

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00:38:53

Monet St Croix: Perfect isn't Easy | UYNC S 3 Ep 14

Up Your Nerd Cred ·

2026/09/28

Monet St. Croix: Perfect Isn't Easy | Up Your Nerd CredMonet St. Croix has money, beauty, brains, confidence, and enough mutant powers to make “pick a lane” feel like a reasonable request.But being the girl with all the gifts doesn’t mean life has been particularly kind to her.CiCi is flying solo this week to dig into Monet’s extremely complicated history: one of the messier character debuts in X-Men history, an even messier family tree, Marius/Emplate, Penance, the sisters who decided impersonation

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00:59:00

Okay, Fine, You Were Right: Uncanny Was Awesome| UYNC...

Up Your Nerd Cred ·

2026/09/21

For literal years, AM has been telling CiCi that she needed to go to the Uncanny Experience. And for literal years, CiCi has basically responded, “That sounds fun! Have a great time!”Turns out she was missing out. Fine. AM was right.This week, we’re recapping the Uncanny Experience 2026: the X-Mansion, the professors, the classes, the Houses, Madripoor Nights, the drag show, the Cyclops and Phoenix wedding, celebrity guests, incredible cosplayers, and the general experience of being surrounded by

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00:38:45

The Good, the Bad, and the Donna Troy: When Retcons...

Up Your Nerd Cred ·

2026/09/04

In Part 2 of The Good, the Bad, and the Donna Troy, CiCi and AM keep digging into retroactive continuity—starting with some of the cleverest examples of writers changing what a story means without pretending the original story never happened.Swamp Thing gets one of comics’ great existential rewrites when Alan Moore asks a deeply uncomfortable question: what if Alec Holland didn’t become Swamp Thing at all? What if Alec died—and the thing walking around with his memories only thought it was him?Then

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01:00:06

The Good, the Bad, and the Donna Troy: Retcons Done...

Up Your Nerd Cred ·

2026/08/31

Retcon has become a dirty word in nerd spaces—but some of the things we consider absolutely essential to our favorite characters weren’t there in the first draft.This week on Up Your Nerd Cred, CiCi and AM are talking about the fine art of retroactive continuity: when changing the past makes a character richer, a universe more coherent, or a story considerably better. The goal? A nice, neat laparoscopic retcon. Tiny incision, repair the problem, respect the surrounding anatomy, and please do not

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00:47:18

Your Movie Will Hold Up Better if You Punch Up, Brah...

Up Your Nerd Cred ·

2026/08/24

Did the movie stop holding up, or did we finally notice who it was stepping on?This week on Up Your Nerd Cred, CiCi is solo and talking about old movies, nostalgia, comedy, and the difference between a joke that punches up and one that punches down. The question is not whether every old story needs to be perfect. The question is: what are we being asked to laugh at?We look at movies and shows that still make room for people’s humanity, including The Birdcage, To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything

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00:32:17

She Can't Go on a Date with You, She's Gotta Finish...

Up Your Nerd Cred ·

2026/08/17

Why does pop culture keep asking whether teenage girls are “mature enough” for adult men instead of asking why those men are pursuing teenagers in the first place?In this solo episode, CiCi looks at how books, movies, television, celebrity coverage, and fandom have normalized—or occasionally challenged—wild age gaps and major power imbalances. From the persistent misreading of Lolita and the manipulation at the center of An Education to The Crush, Hard Candy, American Beauty, Buffy the Vampire

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00:24:34

When the Movie is Made with Love... We Know | UYNC S3...

Up Your Nerd Cred ·

2026/08/03

This week on Up Your Nerd Cred, we’re closing out our toyetic movie trilogy with part two of our conversation with film producer Ben from Disrupt Entertainment.After talking through the early chaos of toy movies and the producer-side logic of adaptations, CiCi, AM, and Ben get into what happens when the movie finally stops acting embarrassed by the source material.We talk Barbie, Masters of the Universe, millennial wish fulfillment, Ryan Gosling’s Ken doing the most, Barbie as blank slate and

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00:49:24

Respect the Toy Box if You Want the Cash! |UYNC S3 Ep 7

Up Your Nerd Cred ·

2026/07/20

This week on Up Your Nerd Cred, we’re continuing our toyetic movie conversation with film producer, distributor, sales agent, and friend of the pod Ben from Disrupt Entertainment.After talking last week about movies built from toys, games, comics, and merch machines, we’re getting into what happens when those adaptations grow up a little. Or at least try to.CiCi, AM, and Ben talk through Captain America 1990 versus Captain America: The First Avenger, the deeply chaotic 1993 Super Mario Bros. movie

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00:54:04

Bro, We Could Tell Y’all Were Embarrassed By This......

Up Your Nerd Cred ·

2026/07/07

This week on Up Your Nerd Cred, we’re talking about the merch grab of it all. From Care Bears and Clue to Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, Mortal Kombat, Pokémon, and Battleship, we’re looking at what happens when movies come from toy aisles, board games, arcade cabinets, comic shelves, and full-blown brand ecosystems.Because here’s the thing: a movie being made to sell toys, games, cards, Happy Meals, action figures, or tickets is not automatically the problem. Sometimes

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00:38:32

How Long Do They Stay Heroes Without the Heart? |...

Up Your Nerd Cred ·

2026/07/01

This week on Up Your Nerd Cred, CiCi is flying solo and talking about one of the most disrespected team roles: the Heart.Sure, the Leader gets the speeches, the Brain gets the plans, and the Lancer gets to be correct in an irritating way, but what happens when a team loses the person keeping everyone connected to the mission, to each other, and to the people they’re supposed to protect?We’re looking at Ma-Ti from Captain Planet, Sailor Moon, Steven Universe, Phil Coulson, the Flash, and Green Arrow

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00:29:05

Give Your Brain Enough Enrichment or They’ll Tear Up...

Up Your Nerd Cred ·

2026/06/23

Some dogs need puzzle toys, long walks, and enrichment activities or they’ll eat your couch. Some comic book geniuses need the same thing, except when they get bored, lonely, or isolated, they tear up the multiverse.In this solo episode of Up Your Nerd Cred, CiCi digs into the Brain trope and why the smartest person on the team still needs a team. From Charles Wallace in A Wrinkle in Time to Dark Mercury in Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon, Kang the Conqueror, Lex Luthor, Beast, the Maker, Doctor Doom,

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00:34:44

You Can Have My Sword... and My SASS | UYNC S3 Ep 3

Up Your Nerd Cred ·

2026/06/15

This week, CiCi is flying solo and circling back to one of the ensemble roles that deserves a little more respect: the lancer.What makes someone a good second voice in a group? Not the rival trying to take the leader’s spot, not the hater who just wants to be difficult, and not the chaotic teammate making everything worse for fun. A real lancer is trusted opposition: the person who can tell the leader they’re being stupid and still stand beside them when the fight starts.CiCi breaks down the trope

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00:38:51

Ensembles Pt 2: We Need A Heart and A Brain and... |...

Up Your Nerd Cred ·

2026/06/08

We’re back with Part 2 of our season opener on why ensembles hit harder than one-off team-ups.This week, CiCi and AM pick up the conversation with the roles that keep superhero teams from becoming just a pile of costumes and trauma responses. We talk about why every team needs a brainiac, why the genius should probably not be left alone with a whiteboard and no emotional supervision, and how characters like Reed Richards, The Maker, and Beast show what can happen when brilliance starts outrunning

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00:52:19

The Fastball Special, and Other Reasons Ensembles are...

Up Your Nerd Cred ·

2026/06/01

After a surprise hiatus, Up Your Nerd Cred is back — and we’re kicking things off with the first half of a two-part conversation about why ensembles hit harder than one-off team-ups.This week, CiCi and AM dig into the difference between a fun crossover and a true ensemble: the kind of team where the characters don’t just fight together, but learn each other’s rhythms, weaknesses, emotional damage, and extremely questionable coping mechanisms. From the Avengers and X-Men to the Bat-Family, Teen

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00:46:23

You Swear You Want Originals… But Nostalgia Keeps...

Up Your Nerd Cred ·

2026/04/28

You say you want original characters… but do you actually support them?This week on Up Your Nerd Cred, we’re digging into one of the biggest contradictions in fandom: everyone claims they’re tired of reboots, remakes, and multiverses—but when brand new characters show up, they rarely get the same attention, time, or support.From characters like Moon Girl and Naomi to Mosaic, Sideways, and Escapade, we take a look at what happens when comics actually do create original heroes—and why so many of them

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00:49:02

How to Survive Comic-Con Without Missing...

Up Your Nerd Cred ·

2026/04/13

How to Survive Comic-Con Without Missing Everything | UYNC S2 Ep __What actually happens when you go to a comic convention—and how do you make sure you don’t waste the experience?In Part 2 of our con series, we’re breaking down what it really feels like to step onto the floor of a Comic-Con for the first time. From panels vs the show floor, to the chaos of con lines, to the unspoken rules of cosplay etiquette, this episode is your survival guide to navigating the madness without missing what

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00:42:02

Cons and Pros: How Comic-Con Built Nerd Culture (Part...

Up Your Nerd Cred ·

2026/04/06

This week we're time traveling from early sci-fi meetups and zines to the massive spectacle of modern Comic-Con culture.We’re talking about how fandom sustained itself before the internet, how conventions like San Diego Comic-Con became industry powerhouses, and why studios now treat cons as targeted marketing goldmines. From Hall H reveals to regional cons across the country, this episode dives into how community-driven spaces became global cultural events.And of course, not every con is a success

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01:07:21

We’ve Been Here the Whole Time: Women in Nerd Culture...

Up Your Nerd Cred ·

2026/03/30

Who built nerd culture?If you’ve ever been made to feel like women “entered” comics, fandom, or nerd spaces late, this episode is here to gently (and not-so-gently) correct the record.Because women didn’t just show up—we’ve been reading, writing, editing, organizing, and sustaining nerd culture from the beginning.This week, CiCi and AM Diaz dig into the history that gets overlooked, from the rise of romance comics in the 1940s and 50s, to the steady presence of readers who kept shops afloat, to the

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01:04:25

Can a Good Person Be a Good Leader? | UYNC S2 Ep11

Up Your Nerd Cred ·

2026/03/23

Can a good person actually be a good leader? Or does leadership force people to compromise what makes them “good” in the first place?This week on Up Your Nerd Cred, CiCi is joined by longtime friend Matthew to break down one of the most quietly complicated questions in nerd culture: are great leaders born… or made?From Jean-Luc Picard’s unwavering moral code, to Delenn’s impossible wartime choices, to Faith Lehane learning morality through circumstance—and even Lady Jessica’s role in shaping a

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