Star Wars

Today is maybe the most insane episode of Talking Bay 94 ever: a jam-packed, three parter featuring my in-person, roundtable interviews with the cast and crew of ANDOR … live from Lucasfilm headquarters in San Francisco. Hear from Tony Gilroy (Showrunner), Alan Tudyk (K-2SO), and Margit Pfeiffer (Supervising Sound Editor).

Needless to say, this was potentially one of the greatest experiences of my life. I am joined in these conversational roundtables by Charlotte and Caitlin from Skytalkers and Brad and Sarah from Friends of the Force, as well as some key moderation by (former guest) Kristin Baver.

I want to give a huge thank you to Lucasfilm for this incredible opportunity, especially to Lillian, Logan, Pete, Ian, and Kristin for making it all run as seamless as possible. Another thank you to my fellow Group 2 members for being collaborative and incredible partners. The other participants of the day (Blast Points, Star Wars Explained, Children of the Watch, and Triad of the Force) have their OWN group interviews with all three of these talented people, so go seek those out too.

And, finally, thank you to all, the listeners of this show. I truly would not have these opportunities without your sharing and support and it really is incredibly humbling that you trust me as part of your Star Wars experience.

Star Wars Encyclopedia from DK Books is out and can be ordered now. My next book, The Star Wars Encyclopedia of Starfighters and Other Vehicles can be pre-ordered now, coming out this fall!

Next week is my sit-down interview with Charles Soule (returning!), as we dive into the end of The High Republic.

Today is part two of my interview with my co-authors on the recent Star Wars Encyclopedia from DK.  Today’s episode is with Dan Zehr, Amy Ratcliffe (returning!), and Megan Crouse.

I am so lucky that my first official Star Wars book involved working alongside these super talented and super kind people, and it is my honor to bring you their stories!

• Dan Zehr’s Website: www.coffeewithkenobi.com
• Amy Ratcliffe’s Website: www.amyratcliffe.com
• Let’s Talk About Writing Non-Fiction IP
• Megan Crouse’s Bluesky: www.bsky.app/profile/fullofwords.bsky.social

Star Wars Encyclopedia from DK Books is out and can be ordered now. My next book, The Star Wars Encyclopedia of Starfighters and Other Vehicles can be pre-ordered now, coming out this fall!

Next week is about to be one of the craziest experiences of my life, so be on the lookout starting Monday on my social media … and very soon on this feed!

If you’re enjoying the show, please head to Apple Podcasts or wherever you listen to these episodes and leave us a five-star rating and review! It means the world.

This is part one of my interview with my fellow co-authors on the recent Star Wars Encyclopedia from DK.  Today’s episode is with Amy Richau, Kelly Knox and Dan Brooks, while next week will focus on the rest of the talented team!

I am so lucky that my first official Star Wars book involved working alongside these super talented and super kind people, and it is my honor to bring you their stories! So, thank you so much to Amy, Kelly, and Dan for their time and advice, both for me over the past few years, and In this episode specifically.

• Amy Richau’s Website: http://amy.richau.org/
• Kelly Knox’s Twitter: https://x.com/kelly_knox
• Dan Brooks’ Twitter: https://x.com/dan_brooks

Next week is my interview with the other half of this co-hort of fellow authors, so I hope you tune in then!

Star Wars Encyclopedia from DK Books is out and can be ordered now. My next book, The Star Wars Encyclopedia of Starfighters and Other Vehicles can be pre-ordered now, coming out this fall!

If you’re enjoying the show, please head to Apple Podcasts or wherever you listen to these episodes and leave us a five-star rating and review! It means the world.

Today is my interview with Marti Matulis, the creature performer and actor who portrayed Vane in The Mandalorian and Skeleton Crew, live from the hallways of Star Wars Celebration Japan 2025.

Marti was so great to talk with and has so much passion and energy for both his profession and for the Star Wars galaxy. It was such a thrill to talk with him, and a highlight of my trip to Tokyo. I hope you enjoy this short conversation as much as I did!

So, thank you so much to Marti for being so generous with his time during Celebration. I can’t wait to see what he does next, and where the character of Vane goes from here! We definitely need the Black Series figure, starting the petition now.

Next week begins our two-part episode, featuring the full author line-up of the recent Star Wars Encyclopedia.

Star Wars Encyclopedia from DK Books is out and can be ordered now. My next book, The Star Wars Encyclopedia of Starfighters and Other Vehicles can be pre-ordered now, coming out this fall!

If you’re enjoying the show, please head to Apple Podcasts or wherever you listen to these episodes and leave us a five-star rating and review! It means the world.

Today is my interview with the legendary ILM animation director Rob Coleman, live from Star Wars Celebration Japan 2025.

This is the recording of the official TB94 panel on the Holonet News Stage, which occurred on Saturday morning of Celebration. Mr. Coleman has topped my list for potential interview subjects for years now, so this was a real dream come true. This being a live conversation, there are some audio issues, but I was genuinely moved to tears several times, and I hope you are equally inspired by Mr. Coleman’s story.

Thank you so much to Mr. Coleman for taking the time, and trusting me with his story. Thank you to Ian Kintzle and the PR team at Industrial Light & Magic for making this happen, and for the trust, as well. Thank you to my wife, Maggie Hunter Wainerdi, who was the producer for this episode and made it all happen, to Jason Kauzlarich for the last minute and incredible graphics.

A special thank you to all who attended the live presentation, and who are immortalized in this episode as well. This was a real highlight for the podcast, and, again, a dream come true.

Upcoming episodes include Marti Matulis, and the full author line-up of the recent Star Wars Encyclopedia.

In other news, I co-wrote an official Star Wars book. I cannot believe it. Star Wars Encyclopedia from DK Books is out and can be ordered now. My next book, The Star Wars Encyclopedia of Starfighters and Other Vehicles can be pre-ordered now, coming out this fall!

If you’re enjoying the show, please head to Apple Podcasts or wherever you listen to these episodes and leave us a five-star rating and review! It means the world.

Today is an interview with the incredibly talented model maker and visual effects artist, Fon Davis.

My wife and I took Fon and his girlfriend out for some Texas BBQ (LeRoy and Lewis, please sponsor the show) while they were in Austin for South by Southwest … and then we sat around with a beer or two and chatted all about Fon’s time working on the Special Editions and the prequel trilogy while at Industrial Light & Magic.

I hope you enjoy this conversation … it’s really a blast, and Fon is such a wealth of knowledge and stories. I really appreciate Fon accepting the invite and hanging out with me on a Monday night. It was such a joy for me.

For more information about Fonco Studios, head to their site, and follow Fon on his social media!

In other news, Talking Bay 94 is headed to Japan! I will be hosting a live recording of this podcast on Saturday, April 19 at 10AM, with a special guest and special surprises. I hope to see you there!

And in other other news … I co-wrote an official Star Wars book. I cannot believe it. Star Wars Encyclopedia from DK Books is out and can be ordered now. My next book, The Star Wars Encyclopedia of Starfighters and Other Vehicles can be pre-ordered now, coming out this fall!

Today is an interview with extremely talented artist, Naboo citizen and Resistance soldier, Nathan Hamill.

This is such a fun conversation about art and inspiration, as well as, of course, Star Wars cameos. We are then joined by Nathan’s co-author Eric Filipkowski to talk about their new book collecting their comic strip, Two Dumb Dinos.

A fun interview right in time for the holidays, come hang out.

Thank you so much again to Nathan, as well as Eric, for coming on and talking shop with me. Two Dumb Dinos, the book, is available now from Titan and Two Dumb Dinos, the comic strip, is available online.

Purchase your copy of Two Dumb Dinos here, right in time for the holidays.

In other news … I co-wrote an official Star Wars book. I cannot believe it. Star Wars Encyclopedia from DK Books is out and can be ordered now.

Today is an interview with the legendary Dr. David West Reynolds.

This is such an incredible conversation, delving into Dr. Reynold’s iconic film archaeology work in Tunisia, as well as the creation of the original DK Visual Dictionaries, The Phantom Menace teaser trailer, and so much more. It’s a real thrill of an episode for me.

So thank you so much again to Dr. Reynolds for taking the time to tell his stories and impart incredible advice. His kickstarter for Chasing Raiders is live until December 27, 2024. I have donated, and I encourage you to do the same: support here.

In other news … I co-wrote an official Star Wars book. I cannot believe it. Star Wars Encyclopedia from DK Books is out and can be ordered now.

Today is an interview with the closest I have ever gotten to a real life Jedi: best-selling author Steven Barnes.

In addition to an incredible amount of science fiction books and stories, Star Wars fans will know Mr. Barnes best as the author of 2004’s Star Wars: The Cestus Deception novel and now, 20 years later, this week’s Mace Windu: The Glass Abyss.

Thank you so much again to Mr. Barnes for taking the time to impart such passion, wisdom, and inspiration in such a short time. Really just mind-boggling stuff.

His latest novel, The Glass Abyss came out yesterday, and I highly recommend it. Thank you to Meghan at Random House Worlds for setting all of this up. You can buy the book here.

In other news … I co-wrote an official Star Wars book. I cannot believe it. Star Wars Encyclopedia from DK Books is coming out next month and can be pre-ordered now. More info to come, believe me.

Today is an interview I have wanted to record since I was 8 years old – the incredibly talented Ahmed Best. He, of course, played Jar Jar Binks beginning with Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace, as well as Jedi Master Kelleran Beq beginning with Star Wars: Jedi Temple Challenge and most recently in Star Wars: The Mandalorian.

He changed movie-making forever, and is currently working to change the rest of the world too.

This was recorded live at this summer’s Rebel Scum Con and was a true dream come true.

Thank you so much to Mr. Best for taking the time to impart such passion, wisdom, and inspiration in such a short time. Thank you as well to manager Zach Avino and Alliance Appearance Agency for making this happen. Their next appearance together will be at SpaceCon San Antonio.

In other news … I co-wrote an official Star Wars book. I cannot believe it. Star Wars Encyclopedia from DK Books is coming out next month and can be pre-ordered now. More info to come, believe me.