A Legitimate Salvage
Hosted by Chip Sudderth, Warren Frey, Kayti Burt, and Jen Burt
Never seen The Expanse before and want to get in on the ground floor? Let some long-time podcasters, pop-culture journalists and Doctor Who fans join you as we visit—or revisit—one of the smartest streaming science fiction shows.
Podcast artwork by Antony Johnston; podcast theme by Shahid Kamal Ahmad.
41 “Babylon’s Ashes”
We did it, everybody. The entire team reunites to celebrate a solid end (for now) to a great series. We check in on family dinners, missing (or not missing) pilots, when it’s time to turn down a job, and our hopes for the video future of the franchise. Chip makes one last Babylon 5 comparison (spoilers for a quarter-decade-old series). And, oh, yeah, we make plans to read some books.
Previous Episodes
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January 13, 2022 Season 6, Episode 540 “Why We Fight”
Just in time for (Chip looks at his calendar) the last episode to air, we check in for the penultimate episode, the calm before the storm, as Chip, Jen, and Warren dread the prospect of life without The Expanse or, worse, life without proper closure to The Expanse. Will we have to—gasp—read the books…?
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January 5, 2022 Season 6, Episode 4
39 “Redoubt”
Yo ho ho, a pirate’s life for Drummer! Manager of the Year Marco Inaros has a series of bad days, James Holden has a series of tough conversations, stuff is happening on Laconia—and we’ve only got TWO episodes left to resolve everything and get to a satisfying TV conclusion…?
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December 29, 2021 Season 6, Episode 3
38 “Force Projection”
“Marco, a narcissist says what?” After unexpectedly invoking the reappearance of two old characters, your hosts engage in a second Cavalcade of Cameos, explore the bro-nemies relationship between Amos and Bobbie, examine Chekhov’s Vegetable, and evaluate whether the season’s heading for a properly impactful conclusion to the series.
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December 24, 2021 Season 6, Episode 2
37 “Azure Dragon”
Over six seasons of protomolecular weirdness, intrasystem politics, and character conflict, it’s possible that The Expanse’s bread and butter has remained “pew pew pew” space combat. “Azure Dragon” returns to the show’s roots. Your hosts think about privateers, piracy, and whether the newest member of the Roci crew is Peaches or Poochie.
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December 17, 2021 Season 6, Episode 1
36 “Strange Dogs”
We’re back, and Warren’s in rare form: “[Marco’s] totally that guy who works for a startup in crypto.” Hear your cohosts come to terms with the shortness of the series, unpack the new Roci team structure, and contemplate the Belters’ monstrous new status quo.
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February 14, 2021 Season 5, Episode 10
35 “Nemesis Games”
The end of the season signals a shift back to ancient protomoleculish weirdness in Season 6, but before that a character walks into an open elevator shaft, Naomi’s story has the best possible payoff and the best sequence of the season, and we celebrate “beautiful purple ribbons of death.” And, yes, The Expanse IS feminist media.
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February 4, 2021 Season 5, Episode 9
34 “Winnipesaukee”
As we gear up for the finale, Episode 9 features some of the most enthusiastic nitpicking your panel has indulged in for quite a while—and we still LIKED this one! But which character do we compare to Dr. Pulaski? What do we think of Marco’s 1980s Thriller look? How about one of the fastest political transitions in TV history? Who coins the regrettable phrases “tready-watery-ish” and “emotional manipulation bellgrande”? Seriously, we liked this one.
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January 30, 2021 Season 5, Episode 8
33 “Hard Vacuum”
Being a discussion of the collective genius of Dominique Tipper and Cara Gee, a rumination of the finer points of Flock of Seagulls hair, a meditation on a fast apocalypse vs. a slow breakdown of society, and an exploration of the intersection of The Expanse and Kim’s Convenience.
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January 20, 2021 Season 5, Episode 7
32 “Oyedeng”
We will mince no words in this podcast description: welcome to our favorite episode of the season.
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January 15, 2021 Season 5, Episodes 5-6
31 “Down and Out” and “Tribes”
Two Expanse episodes for the price of one podcast, as your reviewers get back on track. Have we started caring about Clarissa Mao? Why didn’t Marco go all Khan Noonian Singh on Cyn and Filip? Is there nothing more perfect than Bobbie in armor? And are we getting closer to Holden doing something? Just…something???