Pairing Podcast

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Episode 100: The Silmarillion

It's the end of the journey, and the beginning of another. Feels very Tolkien, right? In this 100th, and possibly last, episode of Pairing, Emma and Winston return to Pairing's origins to discuss another of Tolkien's works, The Silmarillion. We reflect on our experience making Pairing and Emma's wine philosophy. We're here for a good time, not a long time, so let's enjoy it. Plus: blending mythologies, committing to an emotional experience, Big Ahab Energy, musicality and wine, #notallchardonnay, and the orc violist fanfiction.

Thank you to everyone who made Pairing possible.

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Here’s your Mission, should you choose to accept it! Emma’s showing off a bottle of Pedro Parra’s Vinista, which is 100% País, aka Mission! She’s been super into the wines of Chile recently, which we talk about in Episode 99: Critical Role! Also featured: some photos of wine that Emma paired with different CR characters. Make sure to listen to our penultimate episode before our hiatus! #wine #dnd #criticalrole #chileanwines #pedroparra #pais https://www.instagram.com/p/CgdYQM6uDyb/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

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Episode 99: Critical Role

Emma and Winston sit down to discuss their latest and greatest obsession: Critical Role. We wax poetic about the talents of Matt Mercer and the gang's storytelling and voice acting abilities, and Emma pairs wine with the characters of Vox Machina and The Mighty Nein. Featuring: wine-themed tongue twisters, Mollydooker for Mollymauk, Rogue Vine Wines, collecting dice sets, wine by Tool, Dancing Leitz, great character design, and your país should you choose to accept it.

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Episode 98: Merlin (with Ariela Rotengold)

Emma is joined by her dear friend Ariela Rotengold to discuss their favorite adaptation of the Arthurian Legends: the BBC's Merlin. We talk about our deep love for and deep frustration with the show, and our history and relationships to different Arthurian content. Plus: creature lore and mythic traditions, the greatest bromance on television, giving Uther some therapy, great British character actors, justice for Guinevere, Chrètien de Troyes (from Troyes), and John Hurt: the dragon making wine in his cave. 

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Episode 97: Winston's History Corner

At long last, Winston gets to nerd out about history! Winston and Emma chat about their favorite podcasts, historical epics, documentaries, books, and more. The takeaway? We need more diverse voices in the telling of history. Plus: the white guy history nerd starter kit, the myth of sulfites, oral tradition, Kingdom of Heaven, Galadriel's boo, gushing about Gettysburg, Ken Burns' Civil War, control of historical narrative, and Epic Rap Battles of History!

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Episode 96: Witcher Book Club (with Ester Ellis, Brenna Galvin, and Anthony Pinggera)

Over the past year+, Emma read The Witcher Book Series with a book club, and they were kind enough to come on Pairing and share their experience of reading these books! Emma, Ester Ellis, Brenna Galvin, and Anthony Pinggera discuss the ups and downs of these books, and why we're all glad that we read them as a book club. We also talk about the Netflix series and the video games from CD ProjektRed, but we focus on the books by Andrzej Sapkowski. Featuring: the Wine of the Witcher, himbo Geralt, the true translation of "Jaskier," our favorite (non-Regis) characters, resisting genre tropes, coping with trauma, and, of course, the stuffed unicorn.

Special thanks to Ester Ellis for helping record this episode!

Some spoilers in this episode. Content warning: discussion of upsetting topics, including violence, abuse, and sexual assault.

If you're looking for a podcast to fill the void once Pairing goes on hiatus, check out Anthony's new podcast, I'm a Sophisticate and So Can You! Join Anthony and co-host Sydney Painter, two queer millennials with ADHD, as they explore "the canon." Follow them on Twitter @SophisticatePod

Ester does a million things in audio, but make sure to check out Dungeons and Daddies, which she edits, and Station Blue, which she writes and performs in. Follow Ester on Twitter @EsterTheEsper

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Episode 95: The Land of Two Thousand Grapes Part Two- The Red Wines of Italy

Emma and Winston sit down to bring you a long-anticipated sequel: now you get the red wines of Italy! Emma explains some of the major (and minor) red grapes of Italy, and we pair them with the games that we've been playing and nerdy things we've been consuming (namely, God of War, Legend of Vox Machina, and Warhammer). Featuring: paradoxical grapes, sexy chaos gods, Emma's first wine (probably), Winston-splaining, pizza wines, elves getting trashed, and Gork & Mork's Fork: A Goblin Mobster Restaurant.

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Episode 94: A Sundered Throne (with Philippa Werner aka Moira Katson)

Emma is joined by Philippa Werner (aka Moira Katson) to discuss her upcoming high fantasy novel, A Sundered Throne! Emma and Philippa give a spoiler-free rundown of the novel, by pairing wine with the characters and sharing their dream casts, including William Jackson Harper, Shohreh Agdashloo, and Tom Hardy. Plus: a fantasy Greek empire, Bin Bons, Papa Bear vibes, clairette v. claret, and slightly chaotic interpretation of "good."

Content warning: brief discussion of suicide.

Want to help fund the audiobook of A Sundered Throne (which Emma will be a narrator for), and get early access to the novel? Back it here on Kickstarter! 

You can hear a sneak preview of Emma narrating a chapter on her Patreon or the Pairing Patreon.

Last but not least: check out and subscribe to Moira's blog on ghostwriting, Indie Ghostwriting! 

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Happy Holidays, and welcome to the @wolf359radio reunion episode of Pairing! Commander Sherr-Ziarko talks with (almost all) of the cast & crew of Wolf 359, as we share our favorite memories of making the show. Featuring: Noah's slates, Hilbert's commercial reads, & Funzo. (Swipe to see what wine Emma was drinking during this episode.) Special thanks to Communications Officer @zachvalenti for his assistance in recording and editing this episode! Hidden in this joyful episode is some bittersweet news about the future of Pairing. Emma has decided, after almost four years, that once we reach 100 episodes, the show will go on an indefinite hiatus. She’ll talk more about why in the coming weeks, but for now enjoy the episode! #wolf359 #podcasts #fictionpodcasts #wine https://www.instagram.com/p/CX6ob-3JH3W/?utm_medium=tumblr

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Episode 93: Wolf 359 (with the Cast and Crew of Wolf 359)

Merry Christmas, and Happy 4-year Anniversary to the finale of Wolf 359! To celebrate, Pairing Commander Emma Sherr-Ziarko gathered (most) of the cast and crew of the show for a reunion. We reminisce about our favorite memories of making this show, what episodes we loved most, and we discuss what we think our characters would drink. Plus: Noah's slates, Zach Valenti breaking into song, recording at Spaceman, building and living in a character, Hilbert's commercial reads, forgetting episode titles, Horse Wines, predicting the future, Alan's track titles, Gabriel the master synthesizer, How Could Dare You, and, of course, Funzo.

This episode features: Julian Silver, Scotty Shoemaker, Zach Valenti, Ariela Rotengold, Noah Masur, Michelle Agresti, Sarah Shachat, Zach Libresco, Michaela Swee, Cecilia Lynn-Jacobs, Alan Rodi, and Gabriel Urbina. It also features music by Alan Rodi.

Special thanks to Zach Valenti for helping edit this episode! Zach is doing a Wolf 359 re-listen starting December 25th, 2021, at 3:59pm EST. Join him at wolf359.fm/relisten!

If you would like to access an ad-free feed of Wolf 359, check out the newly relaunched Wolf 359 patreon.

Emma humbly asks that you sign up for the pre-launch of Moira Katson's new book, A Sundered Throne, which Emma is on deck to narrate if we raise enough money from the kickstarter. It's free to sign up, and you get a sneak peek of the first 8 chapters!

You can also find Emma as an acting coach on SkillsHub, a website founded by another commander (Jennifer Hale). Check out her website and patreon for more info on what she's up to!

You can also hear Emma on a new Audio Drama called Wolfwhistle: In New York City in 1934, two idealistic radio hosts battle shadowy forces for the soul of America. Listen on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and more, and follow @104_wpr on Twitter.

Make sure to catch up and be ready for the fourth and last season of Wooden Overcoats!

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Episode 92: Gilmore Girls (with Brooke Jennett)

Emma is joined by Brooke Jennett (Thirteen, Olive Hill) to discuss the beloved and problematic show from our youth, Gilmore Girls. Brooke has some seriously hot takes, and we have some delightful headcanons of these characters being friends with winemakers. Plus: TV writing trends, a Tempranillo Man, Budweiser & Bordeaux, our Beaujolais King, and, mostly, Justice for Lane!

Content Warning: discussion of sexual assault, consent, bodily autonomy, homophobia, and fatphobia/body shaming.

Make sure to follow Brooke on Twitter and Instagram @oats_mcgoats, and make sure to follow and listen to Thirteen @PodThirteen!

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Episode 91: Hallowine Part II (with John-Paul Cirelli)

John-Paul Cirelli returns to Pairing for a second edition of our Hallowine series! This time we talk more about the holiday of Halloween itself: the history of the holiday, and our own personal traditions. Plus: haunted wineries, illegal UFO landings in wine country, a pairing for candy corn, Hell-ebrating, "Demon Wine" with Tom Waits, near-death experiences, and wine from a sippy cup.

Make sure to buy John-Paul's new collection of short stories, The Feeling a Good Bar Can Give You and Other Stories, check out his blog at Mondo Vulgare, listen to his music on Spotify, The Video Tramps on Spotify, and listen to his curated playlist of 666 minutes of Halloween music. Also make sure to catch up on Celluloid Bastards, which will return in January!

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Episode 90: The Expanse

Emma and Winston talk about one of the coolest sci-fi space shows out there: The Expanse! We talk about the sophisticated politics and cool physics of the show, and also make fun of Tom Jane's hair. Plus: writing and winemaking duos, wine that tastes like bacon, a Leviathan tangent, Shohreh Agdashloo's amazing cursing, new wine regions, and Winston's belt story.

Emma is now available to book as an acting coach on SkillsHub! Come check it out, and tell your friends!

Follow Emma on Twitch to watch her play video games!

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Episode 89: Ted Lasso

Get ready for a feel-good episode about a feel-good show and some feel-good wines: Emma and Winston are talking about Ted Lasso! We talk about what makes this show so uniquely wonderful, and we do some pretty bad English accents. Plus: carbonic maceration, fathers and sons, toxic sports fandoms, wines from around the world, and a new game: is it a Cru of Beaujolais or a Dwarf from The Hobbit?

Follow Emma on her new Twitch Channel!

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Episode 88: Eldritch Horror

Emma and Winston discuss their favorite board game, Eldritch Horror. On top of talking about what makes this game so fun, we also talk about H.P. Lovecraft and the genre of Eldritch Horror itself. Plus: alcohol curing insanity, dusty wines, goat-related wine, Cthulhu's drink of choice, Lovecraft Country, and Winston's fanfic.

Check out Emma's new Patreon, where she will be posting non-Pairing related content, such as voice acting, sneak peeks, and video game rants!

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Episode 87: Star Trek: The Next Generation

Emma and Winston discuss their favorite iteration of the beloved sci-fi franchise, Star Trek: The Next Generation! We discuss how the show deals with representation in both a progressive and problematic way, and Emma gives some Hot Tips on Bordeaux. Plus: wine is a drink for sharing, exploring identity, representation and stereotypes, silly costumes, luxury gay space communism, and Darmok and Jalad at Tanagra.

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Episode 86: Marvel TV

Emma and Winston sit down to discuss their hot takes on the three Marvel TV shows thus far: Wandavision, The Falcon and Winter Soldier, and Loki. We discuss using form as a method of storytelling and criticism, and appreciate some of the ambitiousness of these shows. Plus: love for Kathryn Hahn, Daniel Brühl, and Owen Wilson, attacks on Pinot Grigio, Loki's queerness, great acting, political rants, and handsome nerds.