{"podcast":{"title":"Ancient Geeks","slug":"ancient-geeks-7192842","podcast_index_feed_id":7192842,"rss_url":"https://feed.podbean.com/ancientgeeks/feed.xml","website_url":"https://ancientgeeks.podbean.com","image_url":"https://pbcdn1.podbean.com/imglogo/image-logo/20028807/LogoWithText1.png","author":"Ancient Geeks","episode_count":85,"summary":"Two old geeks talk about being young geeks, at a turning point in popular culture. In the 60s, 70s, and 80s, the threads of modern geek culture emerged and wove together. Science fiction, fantasy, comics, movies, TV shows, tabletop games, computer games, ad all their incarnations. The great SF&F writers, Star Trek, Star Wars, monster movies, D&D, Doctor Who, the Marvel and DC superheroes, 2001, Planet of the Apes, UFOs, conventions, Zork, Ultima...What was it like to experience these for the first time? Why did we love them? And how do we feel about them, decades later?","last_synced_at":"2026-09-08T02:20:23.854693+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/ancient-geeks-7192842"},"episode":{"title":"Ancient Geeks episode 77: Steven Spielberg's Duel","slug":"ancient-geeks-episode-77-steven-spielberg-s-duel","published_at":"2026-07-27T12:00:00+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/ancient-geeks-7192842/ancient-geeks-episode-77-steven-spielberg-s-duel","show_page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/ancient-geeks-7192842","url":"https://ancientgeeks.podbean.com/e/ancient-geeks-episode-77-steven-spielbergs-duel/","audio_url":"https://mcdn.podbean.com/mf/web/i8s9ytuuwzij78xy/AGEp77.mp3","summary":"We continue our series about the first movies made by directors who later made the classics of geek cinema. In this episode, we discuss Duel, a TV movie made by a very young Steven Spielberg. Starring Dennis Weaver, it's a deadly cat-and-mouse conflict between an average Joe in a Plymouth Valiant and the driver of the most monstrous of trucks. In this early effort, what elements of Spielberg's style can you see that would later appear in Close Encounters, Raiders Of The Lost Ark, Jurassic Park, and other films? What did we think of this movie, then and now? (The short version: we thought it was terrific.) Terrifying commutes! Impressive camerawork! The lovable snake lady! A demon semi from Hell (maybe)! Chekhov's radiator hose! \"McCloud!\" It's all here. Ancient Geeks is a podcast about two geeks of a certain age re-visiting their youth. We were there when things like science fiction, fantasy, Tolkien, Star Trek, Star Wars, D&D, Marvel and DC comics, Doctor Who, and many, many other threads of modern geek culture were still on the fringes of popular culture. We were geeks before it was chic! For feedback, contact someancientgeeks@gmail.com. You can also find us on Facebook, Reddit, and Bluesky. Also, check out the Ancient Geeks blog on Substack! And if you like what you hear, please tell a friend. Also, we always appreciate a review on the podcast platform of your choice. © 2026 Tom Grant and Steven Taylor","meta_description":"We continue our series about the first movies made by directors who later made the classics of geek cinema. In this episode, we discuss Duel, a TV movie m…","key_points":[],"chapters":[],"topics":[],"duration_seconds":3330,"processing_state":"not_requested","actions":[{"name":"request_transcript","method":"POST","url":"https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/ancient-geeks-7192842/episodes/ancient-geeks-episode-77-steven-spielberg-s-duel/transcription-requests","description":"Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode."},{"name":"read_markdown","method":"GET","url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/ancient-geeks-7192842/ancient-geeks-episode-77-steven-spielberg-s-duel.md","description":"Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource."}]}}