Cerebro (podcast)

Last updated

Cerebro
Cerebro podcast logo.jpg
Presentation
Hosted byConnor Goldsmith
LanguageAmerican English
Production
No. of seasons4
No. of episodes118
Related
Website www.connorgoldsmith.com/cerebro

Cerebro is an audio podcast hosted by writer and literary agent Connor Goldsmith. Each episode, Goldsmith talks with a guest about a single X-Men character and their entire history, going "through the byzantine maze of continuity that inevitably builds up over 60 years of storytelling," often with a queer lens. [1] His guests have included authors, comedians, a Pulitzer winner, an Emmy nominee, as well as his own personal friends. [2] Entertainment Weekly listed it in their article "The 10 Best Podcasts of 2021." [3]

Contents

History

Goldsmith, a senior literary agent at Fuse Literary, [4] started the podcast in 2020 as a way to keep from going stir crazy during the COVID-19 pandemic lockdowns. After encouragement from a friend, he decided to start with an interview with then- Excalibur writer Tini Howard about Betsy Braddock. [2] The podcast is named after Cerebro, a device in the Marvel Comics universe that amplifies the user's telepathic abilities. [5]

In April 2024, the podcast hit one hundred episodes and over 300 hours of content. [6] Niko Stratis of Autostraddle stated, "It’s got a long backlog of episodes, but it’s a really fun, joyfully chaotic listen through a joyfully chaotic timeline of messy mutants." [7]

Format

Each episode highlights a different character in the X-Men comics, with Goldsmith and his guest often discussing themes of LGBTQ+ and how the character relates to the X-Men's minority metaphor. Entertainment Weekly described it as them "excavat[ing] the many queer allegories that are possible with these colorful characters." [3] He will often talk about the character's history chronologically, before stopping for a brief segment called the "Cerebro Character File" - an abridged version of the character's history - and then resuming his discussion with the guest. The end of the episode has Goldsmith and his guests answer questions from listeners. [6]

Episodes

As of July 30, 2025, the podcast has aired 122 episodes, with a number of bonus episodes.

Season 1

No.TitleLengthOriginal release date
1"Betsy Braddock (feat. Tini Howard)"1:21:00September 1, 2020 (2020-09-01)
2"Kurt Wagner (feat. Daniel Kibblesmith)"1:34:00September 8, 2020 (2020-09-08)
3"Emma Frost (feat. Alex Abad-Santos)"2:18:00September 15, 2020 (2020-09-15)
4"Piotr Rasputin (feat. Mattie Lubchansky)"1:51:00September 22, 2020 (2020-09-22)
5"Ororo Munroe (feat. Rashida Renée Ward)"1:46:00September 29, 2020 (2020-09-29)
6"Scott Summers (feat. Jay Edidin)"1:47:00October 6, 2020 (2020-10-06)
7"Dani Moonstar (feat. Darcie Little Badger)"1:39:00October 13, 2020 (2020-10-13)
8"Bobby Drake (feat. Anthony Oliveira)"2:28:00September 8, 2020 (2020-09-08)
9"Warren Worthington III (feat. Jay Jurden)"2:28:00October 27, 2020 (2020-10-27)
10"Raven Darkhölme (feat. Patrick Sullivan)"2:27:00November 3, 2020 (2020-11-03)
11"Hank McCoy (feat. Spencer Ackerman)"2:23:00November 10, 2020 (2020-11-10)
12"Brian Braddock (feat. Jordan D. White)"2:40:00November 17, 2020 (2020-11-17)
13"Logan (feat. Gerry Duggan)"2:26:00November 24, 2020 (2020-11-24)
14"Opal Luna Saturnyne (feat. Tini Howard)"2:51:00December 1, 2020 (2020-12-01)
15"Jean Grey (feat. Sara Century)"2:46:00December 8, 2020 (2020-12-08)
16"Erik Magnus Lehnsherr (feat. Spencer Ackerman)"2:58:00December 18, 2020 (2020-12-18)
17"Anna Marie (feat. Cass Morris)"3:09:00December 30, 2020 (2020-12-30)
18"Meggan Puceanu (feat. A.R. Moxon)"2:55:00January 5, 2021 (2021-01-05)
19"Tessa (feat. Valentine M. Smith)"2:49:00January 21, 2021 (2021-01-21)
20"Lorna Dane (feat. Cori McCreery)"2:38:00January 19, 2021 (2021-01-19)
21"Mortimer Toynbee (feat. Tim Platt)"2:20:00January 26, 2021 (2021-01-26)
22"Doug Ramsey (feat. Annalise Bissa)"2:56:00February 3, 2021 (2021-02-03)
23"Cassandra Nova (feat. Patrick Willems)"2:31:00February 9, 2021 (2021-02-09)
24"Alex Summers (feat. Allison Senecal)"2:50:00February 19, 2021 (2021-02-19)
25"Kitty Pryde (feat. Stephanie Burt)"3:31:00February 26, 2021 (2021-02-26)
26"Adam Neramani (feat. Fabian Nicieza)"1:51:00March 2, 2021 (2021-03-02)
27"Moira MacTaggert (feat. Zach Rabiroff)"3:12:00March 10, 2021 (2021-03-10)
28"Alison Blaire (feat. Evan Narcisse)"3:25:00March 19, 2021 (2021-03-19)
29"Rachel Summers (feat. Sara Century)"3:23:00March 25, 2021 (2021-03-25)
30"Stryfe (feat. Anthony Oliveira)"3:07:00March 30, 2021 (2021-03-30)
31"Armando Muñoz (feat. Angélique Roché)"2:08:00April 8, 2021 (2021-04-08)
32"Mojo (feat. Ann Nocenti)"1:37:00April 13, 2021 (2021-04-13)
33"Regan & Martinique Wyngarde (feat. Alex Abad-Santos)"2:38:00April 28, 2021 (2021-04-28)
34"Megan Gwynn (feat. Josh Cornillon)"3:23:00May 5, 2021 (2021-05-05)
35"Sally Blevins (feat. Jordan Blum)"2:45:00September 8, 2020 (2020-09-08)
36"Monet St. Croix (feat. Tini Howard & Kendra James)"3:38:00May 16, 2021 (2021-05-16)
37"Sarah Rushman (feat. Steve Orlando)"1:20:00May 21, 2020 (2020-05-21)
38"Joanna Cargill (feat. Mike Carey)"2:20:00May 27, 2021 (2021-05-27)
39"Xuân Cao Manh (feat. Sara Century)"3:48:00June 7, 2021 (2021-06-07)
40"Jean-Paul Beaubier (feat. Steve Foxe)"3:34:00June 17, 2021 (2021-06-17)
41"Julio Richter (feat. Louis Lopez)"2:42:00June 28, 2021 (2021-06-28)
42"Gaveedra Seven (feat. Luke Ruddick)"2:33:00July 10, 2021 (2021-07-10)
43"Roxy Washington (feat. Stephanie Williams)"2:25:00July 16, 2021 (2021-07-16)
44"Roberto da Costa (feat. Alex Segura)"2:05:00July 29, 2021 (2021-07-29)
45"Sam Guthrie (feat. Zoe Tunnell)"3:06:00August 5, 2021 (2021-08-05)
46"Everett Thomas (feat. Kendra James)"2:33:00August 11, 2021 (2021-08-11)
47"Jamie Madrox (feat. Elana Levin)"3:30:00August 22, 2021 (2021-08-22)
48"Paige Guthrie (feat. Karen Charm)"3:20:00August 27, 2021 (2021-08-27)
49"Remy LeBeau (feat. Chris Robinson)"2:28:00August 31, 2021 (2021-08-31)
50"Charles Xavier (feat. Spencer Ackerman)"3:41:00September 7, 2021 (2021-09-07)

Season 2

No.TitleLengthOriginal release date
51"Nathan Christopher Summers (feat. Vishal Gullapalli)"3:17:00September 29, 2021 (2021-09-29)
52"Candy Southern (feat. Sara Century)"4:37:00October 7, 2021 (2021-10-07)
53"Angelo Espinosa (feat. Terry Blas)"2:21:00October 18, 2021 (2021-10-18)
54"Theresa Rourke Cassidy (feat. Valentine Smith)"4:33:00October 24, 2021 (2021-10-24)
55"Selene Gallio (feat. Alex Abad-Santos)"4:38:00October 31, 2021 (2021-10-31)
56"Illyana Rasputina (feat. Leah Williams)"3:51:00November 5, 2021 (2021-11-05)
57"Sooraya Qadir (feat. Khaliden Nas)"4:26:00November 11, 2021 (2021-11-11)
58"Warlock (feat. Stephanie Burt)"2:57:00November 21, 2021 (2021-11-21)
59"Karl Lykos (feat. James Goldsmith)"3:24:00November 30, 2021 (2021-11-30)
60"Valerie Cooper (feat. Patrick Sullivan)"3:50:00December 8, 2021 (2021-12-08)
61"Bennet du Paris (feat. Anthony Oliveira)"3:14:00December 18, 2021 (2021-12-18)
62"David Alleyne (feat. Ash Alleyne)"3:11:00December 26, 2021 (2021-12-26)
63"Nate Grey (feat. Zack Jenkins)"2:46:00December 31, 2021 (2021-12-31)
64"Arkady Rossovich (feat. Ben Percy)"2:06:00January 4, 2022 (2022-01-04)
65"Laura Kinney (feat. Zoe Tunnell)"3:05:00January 16, 2022 (2022-01-16)
66"Callisto (feat. Spencer Ackerman)"2:49:00January 23, 2022 (2022-01-23)
67"Irene Adler (feat. Nola Pfau)"2:39:00January 31, 2022 (2022-01-31)
68"Shiro Yoshida (feat. Justin Park)"2:36:00February 7, 2022 (2022-02-07)
69"Miranda Leevald (feat. Josh Cornillon)"3:09:00February 16, 2022 (2022-02-16)
70"Victor Creed (feat. Victor LaValle)"2:04:00February 28, 2022 (2022-02-28)
71"Jono Starsmore (feat. Kat Overland)"2:45:00March 15, 2022 (2022-03-15)
72"Sophie, Phoebe, Irma, Celeste, & Esme (feat. Charles Pulliam-Moore)"4:13:00March 18, 2022 (2022-03-18)
73"Kwannon (feat. Caroline Bird)"3:16:00April 3, 2022 (2022-04-03)
74"Sean Cassidy (feat. Thom Dunn)"3:16:00April 10, 2022 (2022-04-10)
75"Eleanor Murch & Peter (feat. Zeb Wells)"2:21:00April 18, 2022 (2022-04-18)

Season 3

No.TitleLengthOriginal release date
76"Nathaniel Essex (feat. Kieron Gillen)"3:02:00May 22, 2022 (2022-05-22)
77"John Proudstar (feat. Nyla Rose & Steve Orlando)"1:36:00May 30, 2022 (2022-05-30)
78"Cecilia Reyes (feat. Stephanie Williams)"2:39:00June 14, 2022 (2022-06-14)
79"Abigail Brand (feat. Al Ewing)"4:06:00June 2, 2022 (2022-06-02)
80"Rita Wayword (feat. Jordan Blok)"3:06:00June 29, 2022 (2022-06-29)
81"Rahne Sinclair (feat. Rebecca Gault)"3:55:00July 14, 2022 (2022-07-14)
82"Amara Aquilla (feat. Alex Abad-Santos)"3:57:00July 28, 2022 (2022-07-28)
83"St. John Allerdyce (feat. Anthony Oliveira)"4:06:00August 8, 2022 (2022-08-08)
84"Maria Callasantos (feat. Darryl Ayo)"2:52:00September 8, 2022 (2022-09-08)
85"Lila Cheney (feat. Margot Mutter)"2:41:00September 15, 2022 (2022-09-15)
86"Colin McKay (feat. Sam Guido)"1:54:00September 24, 2022 (2022-09-24)
87"Pietro Maximoff (feat. Luke Ruddick)"3:56:00October 2, 2022 (2022-10-02)
88"Andrea & Andreas von Strucker (feat. Spencer Ackerman)"3:51:00October 22, 2022 (2022-10-22)
89"Tabitha Smith (feat. Leah Williams)"3:54:00October 27, 2022 (2022-10-27)
90"Melody Jacobs (feat. Jordan Blok)"5:09:00November 4, 2022 (2022-11-04)
91"Eden Fesi & Gateway (feat. Kaetun Khlynne)"4:29:00November 19, 2022 (2022-11-19)
92"Tom Cassidy (feat. Eoin Higgins)"3:34:00December 6, 2022 (2022-12-06)
93"Amahl Farouk (feat. Khaldoun Khelil)"3:24:00December 16, 2022 (2022-12-16)
94"Longshot (feat. Nola Pfau)"3:53:00December 31, 2022 (2022-12-31)
95"Jubilation Lee (feat. Jason Loo)"4:24:00January 14, 2023 (2023-01-14)
96"Forge (feat. Josh Trujillo)"4:58:00January 29, 2023 (2023-01-29)
97"Sebastian Shaw (feat. Steven Attewell)"4:25:00February 11, 2023 (2023-02-11)
98"Jamie Braddock (feat. Holly Raymond)"5:12:00February 21, 2023 (2023-02-21)
99"Annie Ghazikhanian (feat. Chuck Austen)"2:35:00March 17, 2023 (2023-03-17)
100"Madelyne Pryor (feat. Sara Century)"18:03:00April 15, 2023 (2023-04-15)

Due to the extra-length nature of this episode, it was broken up into five parts, each named after a section of the crossover "Inferno":

  • "Prologue: Vanities!" 4:15:00
  • "Part the First: Strike the Match!" 3:27:00
  • "Part the Second: Fan the Flames!" 3:57:00
  • "Part the Third: Burn!" 3:21:00
  • "Part the Fourth: Ashes!" 3:03:00

Season 4

No.TitleLengthOriginal release date
101"En Sabah Nur (feat. Jonathan Hickman)"3:35:00May 30, 2023 (2023-05-30)
102"Nekra Sinclair (feat. Jordan Blok)"6:41:00June 24, 2023 (2023-06-24)
103"Calvin Rankin (feat. Chad Anderson)"3:49:00July 16, 2023 (2023-07-16)
104"Amanda Sefton (feat. Anna Peppard)"6:51:00October 10, 2023 (2023-10-10)
105"Cain Marko (feat. Anthony Oliveira)"6:56:00November 25, 2023 (2023-11-25)
106"Laurie Collins (feat. Alex Abad-Santos)"3:56:00December 15, 2023 (2023-12-15)
107"Candra (feat. Kat Driscoll)"5:56:00February 2, 2024 (2024-02-02)
108"Hepzibah (feat. Jordan Blok)"9:32:00February 27, 2024 (2024-02-27)

Due to the extra-length nature of the episode, it was divided into two:

  • "Part One: Stepmutha Has Arrived" 4:51:00
  • "Part Two: Skunk, Interrupted" 4:41:00
109"Arcade (feat. Annalise Bissa)"3:42:00April 13, 2024 (2024-04-13)
110"Trish Tilby (feat. Patrick Sullivan)"3:50:00May 10, 2024 (2024-05-10)
111"Eva Bell (feat. Karen Charm)"3:04:00May 28, 2024 (2024-05-28)
112"Gloria Dolores Muñoz (feat. Alex Segura)"4:09:00June 18, 2024 (2024-06-18)
113"Hope Summers (feat. Kieron Gillen)"4:10:00July 15, 2024 (2024-07-15)
114"Namor McKenzie (feat. Spencer Ackerman)"4:57:00September 17, 2024 (2024-09-17)
115"Jeanne-Marie Beaubier (feat. Sara Century)"6:06:00September 30, 2024 (2024-09-30)
116"Victor Borkowski (feat. Jay Jurden)"3:12:00November 7, 2024 (2024-11-07)
117"Yuriko Oyama (feat. Jordan Blok)"8:54:00December 24, 2024 (2024-12-24)
December 26, 2024 (2024-12-26)

Due to the extra-length nature of the episode, it was divided into two:

  • "Part One: A Lady Deathstrike Christmas" 4:04:00
  • "Part Two: Heavy Metal & Reflective" 4:50:00
118"Lilandra Neramani (feat. Josh Trujillo)"5:38:00January 31, 2025 (2025-01-31)
119"Idie Okonkwo (feat. Murewa Ayodele)"2:49:00February 26, 2025 (2025-02-26)
120"Pete Wisdom (feat. Dan Grote)"4:25:00May 1, 2025 (2025-05-01)
121"Mariko Yashida (feat. Justin Park)"8:44:00June 8, 2025 (2025-06-08)
June 27, 2025 (2025-06-27)

Due to the extra-length nature of the episode, it was divided into two:

  • "Part One: Wolverine no Baka" 4:07:00
  • "Part Two: Honor, Duty, and Whatnot" 4:37:00
122"Gatecrasher & Technet (feat. Jadzia Axelrod)"4:42:00July 30, 2025 (2025-07-30)

See also

References

  1. Hassan, Chris (April 24, 2023). "X-Men Monday #200 - Giant-Size Anniversary Spectacular". AiPT. Retrieved December 18, 2024.
  2. 1 2 Opam, Kwame (July 27, 2022). "Podcasts About Marvel's 'X-Men' Resonate With L.G.B.T.Q. Fans". The New York Times. Retrieved December 18, 2024.
  3. 1 2 C.H. (December 14, 2021). "The 10 best podcasts of 2021". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved December 18, 2024.
  4. "Connor Goldsmith, Senior Agent | Fuse Literary" . Retrieved December 18, 2024.
  5. "CEREBRO Episode 001: Betsy Braddock (feat. Tini Howard)". Connor Goldsmith. September 1, 2020. Retrieved December 20, 2024.
  6. 1 2 McDermott, Jim (March 6, 2023). "Celebrating 100 episodes of the deep-dive queer X-Men podcast Cerebro from Connor Goldsmith". Popverse. Retrieved December 18, 2024.
  7. Stratis, Niko (September 1, 2022). "Gutter Talk: I Promise This Is About Comics". Autostraddle. Archived from the original on September 1, 2022. Retrieved December 18, 2024.