The Nerd Degree

Arm the proton/photon/plasma/transphasic torpedoes and stagger from side to side slightly as we celebrate that most quintessential of nerdly transportation methods, the spaceship. Can the nerds make the Kessel Run in less than 12 parsecs, or has the power coupling on their negative axis been polarised? (Not to worry; there’s a course of pills you can take). Join the nerds as they attempt to sort out Apollo’s Viper from Armstrong’s Apollo and the Enterprise from, er, all the other Enterprises.

Hosted by Ben Allan Featuring: Scott Koorey and Andrew Kepple vs Moata Tamaira and Brendon Bennetts

It’s mate against mate as the nerds debate whether Legolas would be prepared to help Gimli move house (mine?) and if Harry’s BFF was Ron or Hermione, or maybe the Sorting Hat. Will friends will be friends, as Freddie Mercury would have us believe, or are we going to end up with one of those complicated Professor X / Magneto situations? Only one team can win, but is it even possible to keep both a championship and a friendship? Surely you’d need some sort of marina. Hosted by Brendon Bennetts Featuring: Andrew Kepple and Moata Tamaira vs Henri Nelis and Centuri Chan

Marcel Proust’s madelines, or the Queen of Hearts’ jam tarts? Icing or frosting? Cake or death? This trip to the nerdy bakery is a wonderland of carbs, gluten, and culinary trickery. We’ll be catering for an ‘unexpected party’ and hankering for some of Sansa Stark’s lemon cakes, so even if you think it’s all a croq(uembouche) we’ll have something tasty for you.

Hosted by Erin Harrington Featuring: Tara Swadi and Ben Allan vs Moata Tamaira and Jeff Clark

This episode is all about lies. Or is it? (It is)

Hosted by Brendon Bennetts Featuring: Moata Tamaira and Ben Allan vs Jeff Clark and Scott Koorey

Andrew Todd serves up an episode all about pizza, any way you slice it, it’s gonna be fascinating.

Featuring: Henri Nelis and Tara Swadi vs Erin Harrington and Jeff Clark

In this episode, Brendon Bennetts will lie in a patch of sunlight until the panellists either pat his tummy, or answers his questions about the history and cultural significance of cats.

Featuring: Karen Healey and Henri Nelis vs Ben Allan and Andrew Kepple

What year is it?! Who’s the president?! (…Wait, really? Goddamn.) Then I’m not too late. I’ve returned from the dystopian future with a warning; the Nerd Degree episode on time travel on March the 1st, 2017 was the beginning of the end for human civilisation. But it’s not too late! I need you to monitor Andrew Todd, Erin Harrington vs Jeff Clark, Moata Tamaira and ensure that The Event never occurs. You’ll know it when you see it. Hosted by Ben Allan.

Once Upon a Time, in a studio far, far away (well, Ferrymead), four little nerds were tempted by the big bad quiz show host to stray from the path of common knowledge into the strange and frightening world of trivia. Will they be eaten alive, or find a question that is just right?

Hosted by Brendon Bennetts Featuring: Andrew Kepple and Andrew Todd vs Karen Healey and Erin Harrington

Minds are our business in THE NERD DEGREE: BRAINS AJAR, an odyssey into what goes on inside your skulls and ours. Join us as we tease, rack, pick, and probably ultimately fry our brains through forcing them to think about themselves. Mind. Blown.

Hosted by Andrew Todd Featuring: Andrew Kepple and Jeff Clark vs Brendon Bennetts and Moata Tamaira

It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single nerd in possession of a good stash of limited edition collectibles, must be in want of a quality comedy podcast. In this warm and fuzzy romantic episode the nerds will slash their way through bromances, pash their way through rom coms, and smash their way through the greatest love stories of our time to find out who will say “I love you”, and who will reply, “I know”. Featuring: Erin Harrington, Brendon Bennetts, Rosie Cann, Karen Healey, and Moata Tamaira

In this episode the nerds finish reviewing 2016 and begin to look ahead to what the future holds. Including the 2016 Fan Fiction Challenge, and a thorough analysis of the possibility of The Running Man coming true. Hosted by Brendon Bennetts Featuring: Karen Healey, Javier Jarquin, Jeff Clark, and Andrew Todd

2016: a phenomenal success or Worst. Year. Ever? Our nerds look at the highs, lows, wins, losses, Civil Wars and Stranger Things that have happened in pop culture and the real world over the past twelve months. Who won? Who lost? Our nerds battle it out to have the last word on the last year. One thing’s for sure, though: no-one is allowed to play the Trump card.

Hosted by Brendon Bennetts Featuring: Karen Healey, Ben Allan, Dan Bain, and Javier Jarquin

In our traditional follow up to our Star Wars special, we examine STARS and WARS, but never STAR WARS.

Featuring: Brendon Bennetts, Andrew Kepple, Henri Nelis, Laura Borrowdale, Dan Bain, and Karen Healey

Do or do not. There is no try. So no pressure there for the nerds to answer all of our mind melting questions about the Star Wars universe. Who can tell their Bith from their Bothans, their Rodians from their Rancors, and their Gungans from their Gundarks (this is a crucial distinction), their Wampas from their Womp Rats, their Mandalorians from their Midichlorians.

Featuring: Brendon Bennetts, Ben Allan, Moata Tamaira, Jennifer O'Sullivan, Jeff Clark, and Centuri Chan

Vampires! Whether you like them creepy and crawly or gorgeous and sparkly, soulless killing machines or tortured wanderers of the night, we’ve got the Nerd Degree for you. Sharpen your stakes as renowned vampire defender Karen Healey leads the nerds through the seductive realm of all things bloodsucker.

Featuring: Moata Tamaira, Brendon Bennetts, Andrew Todd, Laura Borrowdale, and Scott Koorey

In this geography-themed episode the worldly nerds will grab their passports and ask: where be dragons? They may be some latitude given in terms of their answers but whether they’re climbing the Mountains of Madness, plumbing the depths of The Abyss or galloping across the Dothraki Sea, the nerds are Ghana have a good time.

Featuring: Erin Harrington, Ben Allan, Jeff Clark, Emma Cusdin, and Dan Bain

Do you have the guts to face your greatest fears? Can you handle the terror of four nerds bent on scaring up laughs from history’s most frightening pop culture? Do you cower at the dreadful thought of horror trivia too obscure to even comprehend? The Nerd Degree will not be liable for fainting, seizures, or death caused by this show. Audience discretion advised! Featuring: Andrew Todd, Emma Cusdin, Erin Harrington, Andrew Kepple, Jeff Clark, and Ben Allan

Join the nerds as they become tomb raiders (of the lost ark) in an unsanctioned delve into all things archaeological. Can they escape deadly traps, treacherous guides, and pesky official government regulations about who actually owns the valuable antiquities of a sovereign nation to emerge with the fabled Golden Ankh of Comedic Respectability? Is it even possible to recover an ancient treasure without gunning down more people than Liam Neeson? And what’s this tiger been eating down here this whole time, anyway? Finally, all of the fedora action you crave with none of the latterly-associated rubbish MRA stuff. Featuring: Ben Allan, Karen Healey, Andrew Kepple, Erin Harrington, and Jeff Clark

The questions will be far from elementary for our Nerds who must use their little grey cells to piece together the fiendish clues host Laura Borrowdale has prepared for them. Tune in to find out which of these criminally underrated masterminds will prove they are the true detective. Featuring: Andrew Kepple, Ben Allan, Brendon Bennetts, Andrew Todd, and Erin Harrington

Host Jeff Clark comes out of his cell to look at the world of animation - discussing everything from Anime to Animaniacs; My Little Pony to Bojack Horseman; or even that obscure cartoon show “The Simpsons”. These nerds will need to be quick on the draw - you’ll get Disney spells with all of their sketchy details!

Featuring: Erin Harrington, Ben Allan, Andrew Kepple, Andrew Todd, and Justin White

A special bonus episode recorded at the WORD Christchurch Writers & Readers Festival. It’s about life and death (but mostly death). Featuring your host Brendon Bennetts, YA author Karen Healey, alternative mortician Caitlin Doughty, director Andrew Todd, and ITV science correspondent Alok Jha.

From the Four Seasons to One Direction, from Bach to the future, hear two bands of nerds sound off, and find out who gets the fanfare of triumph and who goes home feeling crotchety.

Featuring: Matt Powell, Jeff Clark, Katie Cowan, Brendon Bennetts, Jennifer O'Sullivan, Ben Allan, and the music talents of Michael Bell

Jennifer O'Sullivan just wants to have fun as she chaperones the nerds through the mystery of the Surfer Ghost, Karen’s disturbingly encyclopedic knowledge of teen girl movies, and the electoral showdown between Katniss Everdeen and Joan of Arc.

Featuring: Karen Healey, Laura Borrowdale, Matt Powell, Emma Cusdin, and Ben Allan

Ben Allan leads the Nerds on a journey to the very limits of their knowledge. Find out how far Frodo really travelled, meet the most impressively named polar explorers, and prepare for the ultimate Mars expedition.

Featuring: Andrew Todd, Wiremu Tuhiwai, Laura Borrowdale, and Henri Nelis

Andrew Todd hosts our celebration of 50 years of Star Trek. Our nerds debate the relative merits of the Borg versus the Klingons, speculate as to why Bones was such a dick, and bring a five year old’s Picard fan fiction to life.

Featuring: Henri Nelis, Wiremu Tuhiwai, Karen Healey, and Ben Allan

In this episode the nerds take time to appreciate the little things in life: arguing about sky prawns, the smurfs, and what MODOK really stands for.

Featuring: Jeff Clark, Erin Harrington, Ben Allan, Dan Bain, and Andrew Kepple

Theme music: “Another beek beep beer please” by Rolemusic.

This episode of Nerd Degree is all about size, as we discuss: Godzilla in a bikini, the big sperm paradox, how to kill a dog with time travel, and who would win between King Kong and the BFG.

Featuring: Brendon Bennetts, Jeff Clark, Katie Cowan, Dan Bain, Scott Koorey, and Erin Harrington

In this internet themed episode, our panel of experts speed down the information superhighway, miss the information super turnoff, and end up driving all the way to information super-Ashburton.

Featuring: Brendon Bennetts, Andrew Kepple, Erin Harrington, Kathleen Burns, Andrew Todd, and Ben Allan

Theme music: “Another beek beep beer please” by Rolemusic.

In this episode Brendon challenges our nerds to use all their artifice and intelligence, to explain what is going on with artificial intelligence. Featuring: Erin Harrington, Andrew Todd, Kathleen Burns, Ben Allan, and Andrew Kepple. Theme music: “Another beek beep beer please” by Rolemusic.

In this episode Karen Healey challenges the nerds to decode fan fiction tags, discover the origin of feels, and debate the benefits of telepathy. Featuring: Erin Harrington, Laura Borrowdale, Ben Allan, and Brendon Bennetts

With a spate of movies pitting heroes against one another, Jeff Clark asks the teams: why can’t all the superheroes just get along? Featuring: Brendon Bennetts, Erin Harrington, Ben Allan, and Laura Borrowdale.

Theme music: “Another beek beep beer please” by Rolemusic.

Splice your mainbrace, shiver your timbers and suck a lime to stave off scurvy as the Nerd Degree broadsides easily the most popular category of murderers among small children: pirates. Which team will plunder a king’s ransom in Spanish gold, which team will be detained at His Majesty’s pleasure until they dance the hemp jig at Execution Dock, and what does a bo’sun even do, anyway? We know of a one-eyed man in Tortuga with a mysterious map who may have the answers you seek… Featuring: Ben Allan, Katie Cowan, Andrew Todd, Centuri Chan, and Jeff Clark

Jiminy Cricket! This episode looks at all things creepy crawly, from the microscopic to the world-destroying, all delivered in a breathy, Attenborough whisper. The Nerd Degree: lifting 5000 times its own weight since whenever ago. Featuring: Erin Harrington, Dan Bain, Henri Nelis, Brendon Bennetts, Laura Borrowdale, and Katie Cowan

Jeff Clark took the Nerd Degree gang to the 2015 NZ Skeptics conference. The theme was The Apocalypse, and for some reason they weren’t willing to take some of our more outrageous claims at face value, but it turned out that wasn’t the end of the world.

Theme music: “Another beek beep beer please” by Rolemusic.

In this episode, host Brendon Bennetts studiously avoids anything related to that popular movie about space violence. Instead this episode deals with questions relation to stars, and questions relating to wars, but never BOTH AT THE SAME TIME.

Theme music: “Another beek beep beer please” by Rolemusic.

It is a period of civil war. Nerdy comedians, striking from a hidden base (well, a couple of desks with microphones), have answered their first questions posed by their evil host: Brendon Bennetts. Yup, it’s STAR WARS time. All STAR WARS, all the time. STAR WARS STAR WARS STAR WARS.

Theme music: “Another beek beep beer please” by Rolemusic.

From radioactive spiders to damn dirty apes, nerd culture is a sprawling petting zoo of animal antics. Join Andrew Todd and the Nerd Degree pack, as we examine the killer and cuddly sides of the geek bestiary. Theme music: “Another beek beep beer please” by Rolemusic.

Who rules in Nerd Culture? Guided by Jeff Clark, our panellists consider a range of candidates to decide the supreme Emperor/Khaleesi/Overlord – and whether they’ll use PC or Mac Theme music: “Another beek beep beer please” by Rolemusic

The world of tomorrow is calling! (Will you accept the charges?) This episode, the nerds (featuring special guest Ned the Nerdbot) venture into an exciting future filled with killer A.I., Martian butterflies, and Kevin Costner.

Host Ben Allan leads the teams onto the field to see which team ultimately has what it takes to take out this year’s League Cup Premiership, and tackles the nerd sports pantheon from Ground Quidditch to Battlemech Duelling. Centuri Chan and Henri Nelis vs Scott Koorey and Karen Healey. Announcer: Cameron McLeod.

In our New Zealand Improv Festival special episode, Brendon Bennetts challenges improvisers from Melbourne and Wellington to resolve some of the classic rivalries from science and pop culture. Featuring: Jen O’Sullivan, Dianne Pulham, Rik Brown vs. Jason Geary, Matt Powell, April Seymore

Host Brendon Bennetts challenges the nerds to deal with stories in different languages. From Shakespeare in its original Klingon to International Maritime Signal Flags Erotica

Centuri Chan and Ben Allan vs Erin Harrington and Karen Healey Announcer: Henri Nelis

Host Brendon Bennetts introduces the nerds to big names like Scarbrous Scrotus, Manmeet Colon, Infinite Grover, and Arthurdactylus Conandoylei.

Ben Allan and Karen Healey vs Jeff Clark and Henri Nelis

Announcer: Erin Harrington

Karen Healey and the nerds go where angels fear to tread, into the underworld of humanity’s origin stories, where heroes smash skulls and gods are forever on the prowl. It’s the Myths and Legends episode!

Host: Karen Erin and Jeff vs Cen and Brendon Voice: Andrew

The Soylent Green Party (Brendon Bennetts and Henri Nelis) and the Knights Of The Old Republican Party (Ben Allan and Erin Harrington) debate all the tough issues, from coal-mine monsters to North Korean cartoons to youth death arenas. Moderated by Andrew Todd, with analysis by Karen Healey.

Brendon Bennetts is haunted by ECTO-1 (Jeff Clark and Karen Healey), The Mystery Machine (Matt Powell and Grain of Truth host David Innes), and Cusdin the Friendly Ghost.

(Sorry this episode is up late: Matt vanished and nobody else could solve the mystery of how to upload the file. Turns out Old Man Withers stole the password. Also sorry about the previously-missing final 17 minutes or so of this episode. Hopefully everything is fixed now.)

Team Spleen (Jeff and Cen) face off against Team Bad Blood (Brendon and Jen) under the watchful eye of Dr Erin Harrington and right-hand man Ben Allan, and explore a body of knowledge while trying not to make dicks of themselves.

Journey back in time to when dinosaurs roamed the earth and 6-year-old you gazed at them in wonder. Ben Allan hosts the Thag Simmons Institute for Empirical Research (Matt Powell and Jen O'Sullivan) and the KT Extinction (Scott Koorey and Andrew Todd).

Family is everything. Host: Andrew Todd House Tanner (Derek Flores, Brendon Bennets, and Karen Healey) versus House Cunningham (Kav P, Dan Bain, and Ben Allan) Announcer: Jeff Clark

Bam! Pow! Ba-throom!

Jeff Clark assembles two teams of Earth’s mightiest heroes: The New Worriers (Dan Bain, Brendon Bennetts, and Karen Healey) versus The Social Justice League (Kav P, Matt Powell, and Derek Flores).

Erin and the nerds take on the world of monsters. Team Jekyll (Centuri Chan, Jeff Clark, and Karen Healey) versus Team Hyde (Wiremu “Woody” Tuhiwai, Matt Powell, and Ben Allan) with Brendon Bennetts under the bed.

Brendon Bennetts takes the teams through all things foolish. Featuring Team Hawk (Woody Tuhiwai, Ben Allan, and Karen Healey) versus Team Handsaw (Matt Powell, Jeff Clark, and Centuri Chan) with Erin Harrington in the box.

Guest host Matt Powell, with the help of the severed head of Ben Allan in a jar, takes the nerds through the world of science and science fiction. Featuring Team Live Cat (Jeff Clark, Erin Harrington, Andrew Todd) and Team Dead Cat (Centuri Chan, Derek Flores, and Brendon Bennetts).

Guest hosts Ben Allan and Igor explore the mad, bad, and dangerous to know. Featuring teams from Miskatonic University (Brendon Bennetts, Erin Harrington, and Andrew Todd) and the Kuato Wellness Centre (Centuri Chan, Derek Flores, and Jeff Clark)

Episode 5 Is Alive! Toys For Bots (Dan Bain, Jeff Clark, and Centuri Chan) versus Doctors Without Borders Between Realities (Karen Healey, Ben Allan and Scott Koorey). When will the machines finally take over, and will there be anything left?

Episode 4 of The Nerd Degree takes on time travel, as The Cyberdyne Army (Erin Harrington, Andrew Todd, and Karen Healey) take on The Emmett L Brown Orphanage and Juvenile Correctional Facility (Matt Powell, Derek Flores, and Jennifer O'Sullivan).

Intro music: “Another beek beep beer please” by Rolemusic

Brendon Bennets sits down with Andrew Todd, Matt Powell, Jeff Clark, and newcomer Karen Healey to go over some nerdly highs and lows of 2014.

Our third episode introduces some new players, with Jeff Clark, Scott Koorey, and Centuri Chan playing for the Terminator Salvation Army, and Henri Nelis, Erin Harrington, and Derek Flores playing for the McCallister Foundation. Find out what everyone thinks of the new Star Wars trailer, and learn some valuable parenting tips.

Our second episode, where we discuss celebrity paradoxes, green-skinned love, and chaos. This month: Brendon Bennetts pits Matt Powell, Erin Harrington, and Jeff Clark (playing for the Krueger Foundation) against Centuri Chan, Andrew Todd, and Ben Allan (playing for Once Were Warriors).

Welcome to The Nerd Degree, a brand new panel show recorded live at Orange Studio in Christchurch, New Zealand. This month: Brendon Bennetts hosts Erin Harrington, Ben Allan, and Jeff Clark against Andrew Todd, Centuri Chan, and Matt Powell.