Glen Weldon

Last updated
Glen Weldon
OccupationWriter
NationalityAmerican
Alma mater Southampton College [1]

Glen Weldon is an American writer, cultural critic, and podcaster. He has written for publications such as The Washington Post , The New York Times , Slate , The Atlantic , and McSweeney's . Weldon currently writes for the NPR Arts Desk and is a panelist on the podcast Pop Culture Happy Hour.

Contents

Career

Weldon currently writes for the NPR Arts Desk and is a panelist on the podcast Pop Culture Happy Hour with Linda Holmes, Stephen Thompson, and Aisha Harris. [2]

In his work, Weldon often draws on his life experience as a gay man [3] and a self-described "nerd". [4] In addition to shorter fiction work appearing in anthologies and publications, he is the author of two non-fiction pop culture histories about comic book superheroes and nerd culture. [2] Superman: The Unauthorized Biography, published in 2013, chronicled the history of Superman and his role as an iconic American figure. [5] [6] 2016's The Caped Crusade covered Batman's relevance through decades of popular culture. [7] [8] [9]

Weldon has earned an Arts Journalism Fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts, a Pew Fellowship in the Arts for Fiction, a Ragdale Writing Fellowship, and an Amtrak Writers' Residency. [3] [2]

Personal life

Weldon grew up in West Chester, Pennsylvania. [10] He attended Southampton College and graduated with a degree in marine biology. [11] On his NPR bio page, it is stated that he was "a completely inept marine biologist and a slightly better-ept competitive swimmer." [12]

Works

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Batman</span> Comic book superhero

The Batman is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger, and debuted in the 27th issue of the comic book Detective Comics on March 30, 1939. In the DC Universe continuity, Batman is the alias of Bruce Wayne, a wealthy American playboy, philanthropist, and industrialist who resides in Gotham City. Batman's origin story features him swearing vengeance against criminals after witnessing the murder of his parents Thomas and Martha as a child, a vendetta tempered with the ideal of justice. He trains himself physically and intellectually, crafts a bat-inspired persona, and monitors the Gotham streets at night. Kane, Finger, and other creators accompanied Batman with supporting characters, including his sidekicks Robin and Batgirl; allies Alfred Pennyworth, James Gordon, and Catwoman; and foes such as the Penguin, the Riddler, Two-Face, and his archenemy, the Joker.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">A Death in the Family (comics)</span> 1988 Batman comic book storyline

"A Death in the Family" is a 1988 storyline in the American comic book Batman, published by DC Comics. It was written by Jim Starlin and penciled by Jim Aparo, with cover art by Mike Mignola. Serialized in Batman #426–429 from August to November 1988, "A Death in the Family" is considered one of the most important Batman stories for featuring the death of his sidekick Robin at the hands of his archenemy, the Joker.

<i>Batman: Dead End</i> 2003 film by Sandy Collora

Batman: Dead End is a superhero fan film written and directed by Sandy Collora that premiered on July 19, 2003 at the San Diego Comic-Con, and on the internet shortly thereafter. The film crosses over the DC Comics superhero Batman with the Alien and Predator science fiction film franchises.

<i>Batman</i> (franchise) Franchise based on DC comics character, Batman

Since his first appearance in 1939, Batman has been adapted into various media such as film, radio, television, and video games, as well as numerous merchandising items. The Batman franchise has become one of the highest-grossing media franchises of all time.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Daniel Alarcón</span> Peruvian-American novelist, journalist and radio producer

Daniel Alarcón is a Peruvian-American novelist, journalist and radio producer. He is co-founder, host and executive producer of Radio Ambulante, an award-winning Spanish language podcast distributed by NPR. Currently, he is an assistant professor of broadcast journalism at the Columbia University Journalism School and writes about Latin America for The New Yorker.

Neda Ulaby is an American reporter for National Public Radio, covering arts, cultural trends and digital media. She lives in Washington, D.C.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mike Pesca</span> American journalist

Mike Pesca is an American radio journalist and podcaster based in New York City. He is the host of the daily podcast, The Gist, and the editor of Upon Further Review: The Greatest What-Ifs in Sports History.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Superhero fiction</span> Fiction genre

Superhero fiction is a genre of speculative fiction examining the adventures, personalities and ethics of costumed crime fighters known as superheroes, who often possess superhuman powers and battle similarly powered criminals known as supervillains. The genre primarily falls between hard fantasy and soft science fiction spectrum of scientific realism. It is most commonly associated with American comic books, though it has expanded into other media through adaptations and original works, the comic book publishers of DC Comics and Marvel Comics, greatest characters including Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Spider-Man, Hulk and many others.

Dina Temple-Raston is a Belgian-born American journalist and award-winning author. She is a member of NPR's Breaking News Investigations team and was previously the creator, host, and correspondent of NPR's "I'll Be Seeing You" radio specials on technologies that watch us. She also created, hosted and reported an Audible podcast called "What Were You Thinking," which Entertainment Weekly named as one of the best new podcasts of 2018 Feb 23 issue, saying it was "a provocative series which tells the stories of teenagers who've made the worst kinds of choices -- joining ISIS, planning a school shooting -- before analyzing the impulses behind them." In a review, The Washington Post wrote that it was "the podcast every parent needs to hear."

Maximum Fun is an independent podcast and radio show production organization founded and run by Jesse Thorn. The organization originated with Thorn's college radio show The Sound of Young America which continued in an adapted format and with a new name, Bullseye with Jesse Thorn. Maximum Fun has since grown to include several other programs.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Guy Raz</span> American journalist

Guy Raz is a journalist, correspondent and radio host, currently working at National Public Radio (NPR). He has been described by The New York Times as "one of the most popular podcasters in history" and his podcasts have a combined monthly audience of 19.2 million downloads.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Aaron Sagers</span> American journalist

Aaron Sagers is an American television presenter, journalist — including a self-described "paranormal journalist" — podcast host, and expert of geek culture and paranormal media. He is also an author, social media micro-influencer, and founder of ParanormalPopCulture.com, a website which covers paranormal topics in popular culture.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Danyel Smith</span> American journalist (born 1965)

Danyel SmithWilson is an American magazine editor, journalist, and novelist. Smith is the former and first African-American editor of Billboard and Vibe magazine, respectively. She is author of two novels and a history of African-American women in pop music.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shankar Vedantam</span> American journalist, writer, and science correspondent

Shankar Vedantam is an American journalist, writer, and science correspondent. His reporting focuses on human behavior and the social sciences. He is best known for his Hidden Brain family of products: book, podcast, and radio program.

<i>Invisibilia</i> Radio program and audio podcast

Invisibilia is a radio program and podcast from National Public Radio, which debuted in early 2015 and "explores the intangible forces that shape human behavior—things like ideas, beliefs, assumptions and emotions." The program's title comes from Latin, meaning "all the invisible things." The Guardian ranked Invisibilia among "the 10 best new podcasts of 2015." As of their seventh season, the program is hosted by Kia Miakka Natisse and Yowei Shaw; previous seasons were also hosted by Lulu Miller, Alix Spiegel and Hanna Rosin.

Shereen Marisol Meraji is an American journalist, podcaster and educator. She is an assistant professor of race in journalism at the UC Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism, and is an alum of the Nieman Fellowship at Harvard University. She was the founding co-host and senior producer of Code Switch, a critically acclaimed podcast covering race, culture and identity, one of NPR's highest charting podcasts in 2020.

Linda Holmes is an American author, cultural critic, and podcaster. She currently writes for NPR and hosts their podcast Pop Culture Happy Hour; Holmes also edits the Pop Culture Happy Hour blog on NPR.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Aisha Harris</span> American writer, editor, and podcaster

Aisha Harris is an American writer, editor, and podcaster. She was a staff writer, editor and podcast host at Slate before moving to the New York Times in 2018 as an editor. Since 2020, she has been a co-host and reporter for the NPR show Pop Culture Happy Hour.

The Chosen One, also known as The One or The Chosen, is a narrative trope where one character, usually the protagonist, is framed as the inevitable hero or antihero of the story, as a result of destiny, unique gifts, and/or special lineage. The trope is similar to the Hero's journey template, where the main difference is that The Chosen One usually doesn't have a choice because of destiny. Chosen One narratives often incorporate Bildungsroman, following the growth of a character from childhood to adulthood. The character's gifts, lineage or destiny are often unknown at the start of the plot or presented to the audience as dramatic irony. The Chosen One trope is rooted in religion and mythology, and often appears in speculative fiction that uses elements of mythology.

References

  1. Thorn, Jesse; Morris, Jordan (4 December 2018). "Ep 560: Lovitz Again with Glen Weldon". Jordan, Jesse GO! (Podcast). Maximum Fun. Retrieved 2 September 2019. yeah absolutely 100 percent this is my degree from Southampton College 1990.
  2. 1 2 3 "Glen Weldon". NPR.org. NPR. Retrieved 2019-09-02.
  3. 1 2 "Bio". Tumblr. Retrieved 2019-09-02.
  4. Weldon, Glen (2013-02-17). "Man Of Tomorrow: Superman, Orson Scott Card And Me". NPR.org. Retrieved 2019-09-02.
  5. VanDerWerff, Emily Todd (2013-04-01). "Glen Weldon: Superman: The Unauthorized Biography". AUX. Retrieved 2019-09-02.
  6. "Glen Weldon knows what makes Superman soar". CBR. 2013-06-06. Retrieved 2019-09-02.
  7. Senior, Jennifer (2016-03-23). "Review: 'The Caped Crusade' and Batman's Reach Beyond — Gasp! — Comic Book Lore". The New York Times. Retrieved 2019-09-02.
  8. "The Caped Crusade: Batman and the Rise of Nerd Culture". Publishers Weekly. 22 March 2016. Retrieved 2019-09-02.
  9. Mikula, Jeremy (2016-03-22). "'The Caped Crusade' details the cultural history of Batman". chicagotribune.com. Retrieved 2019-09-02.
  10. Weldon, Glen (9 July 2009). "Fringe-Blogger Profile: Weldon". Washington City Paper. Retrieved 31 December 2020.
  11. "#107 - Popping the culture — Yakking with NPR's Glen Weldon". It's All Journalism. 15 August 2014. Retrieved 31 December 2020.
  12. "Glen Weldon". NPR .
  13. Taylor, Chris (October 5, 2017). "'Star Wars: From a Certain Point of View': You'll laugh, you'll cry, you'll sigh". Mashable . Ziff Davis.