The James Bonding Podcast Is Back!

Delving into the world of Bond fandom has certainly been a curious and illuminating experience for me these past few years. Once you start typing and publishing your thoughts on any franchise, you’ll quickly find that there are a lot of hardcore fans out there, “lifers” who grew up on that franchise and treat it as a kind of gospel. There are Bond fans who’ve made knowing all the details and trivia and ephemera a lifelong project. There are hardcore collectors running down vintage Aston Martin parts online. And there’s the faction of fans who gravitate to the, well, the conservative leanings of Bond’s creator, and see the franchise as some last holdout against political correctness. For many, 007 is Serious Business™.

But there are other, less self-serious Bond fans out there - people no less dedicated to the franchise, but with enough clarity to have a little fun with it. People who can appreciate the more ridiculous facets of the series (#pigeondoubletake #kanangaballoon), but who also just get it when I say I had to take my powder blue terrycloth playsuit to the tailor for a second fitting. Those are my people, and I’m lucky to have found a few over the years. 

Two of those people are podcast raconteurs Matt Gourley and Matt Mira, and I was honored and humbled to be asked to join them for an episode of their essential 007 podcast James Bonding, which has recently been reborn on Earwolf. 

Matt and Matt recorded 34 episodes of James Bonding between 2012 and 2016, but now they’re back with a new weekly format, and I was beyond excited to be able sit across from these two gifted comedians as they affectionately riffed on all things 007. The timing was such that we spent a good chunk of the podcast honoring the late Sir Roger Moore, but we get into plenty of other areas as well. (A heads-up to regular listeners: a special cameo from a certain dead author that I prayed would happen in my presence does, in fact, come to pass; I'm sorry Matt Gourley missed it.)

Matt & Matt were a huge factor in my learning to not take Bond so seriously, and I’m grateful for their return and #blessed to be a small part of it. You can listen below or on iTunes.

Artwork by Kyle Steed.