Gobbledygeek episode 186, “Godzilla vs. Ray Pier,” is available for listening or download right here, and on iTunes here.

Godzilla, that green, rubbery, nuclear-breathing master of destruction–he’s basically like if Gumby kicked ass, right? His origins were a little different. Close to a decade after America dropped the atom bomb, Japanese filmmaker Ishirô Honda sought to show us, in stark black-and-white, what the bomb may have wrought: a physical manifestation of his nation’s desperation and anxiety. And, yeah, he was green, rubbery, and breathed nuclear fire. Paul and AJ revisit the 1954 original, looking to discover why it remains so potent despite being so crudely made. Oh, and they talk about the new one for a few minutes too. Plus, Cosmos comes to a close and Jack White gets weird on Lazaretto.

Next: There’s this movie? That follows this other movie? About this dragon? Something about that.

(Show notes for “Godzilla vs. Ray Pier.”)