| abstract
| - Star Wars Action News (SWAN) is the first and only podcast dedicated to the art of Star Wars collecting. In existence since 2005, it is a weekly podcast produced by a married couple, Marjorie and Arnie Carvalho of Pawnee, Illinois, a small town outside of Springfield. The podcast is available at their website, swactionnews.com or through iTunes. SWAN's first episode was released on August 29, 2005, and subsequent episodes appear every Monday. SWAN's founders, Marjorie and Arnie, are avid Star Wars collectors who even had a Star Wars-themed wedding ceremony. They hoped to bring together the Star Wars collecting community through a this is a asome show lol. discussing the most recent collectibles. The show has several regular segments, the most popular and constant of which is the Hasbro Store Report. In this segment, Marjorie details which of the Star Wars action figures she has found during the week. Collectors from all over the world are also invited to leave voicemails describing their weekly finds, which are then played on air. SWAN's resident store scout, Scott from Tulsa, also gives an update on what he is finding in his area every week. There have also been interviews on the show with various Star Wars personalities such as Samuel L. Jackson and various Star Wars authors including Alan Dean Foster, Donald F. Glut, James Kahn, L. Neil Smith, and Timothy Zahn. The couple also has segments which discuss more high-end collectibles, such as Master Replicas and Gentle Giant items. They often tell humorous collecting stories and provide reviews of the quality or collectibility of particular items. Other notable segments include an ongoing "Collecting 101" series which provides the basics anyone needs to know as a Star Wars collector, "Star Wars Through The Years" where Arnie and Marjorie discuss the evolution of Star Wars collecting and "Collecting in the Outer Rim" where they interviewed Star Wars collectors who live outside the United States. The show also runs frequent contests which enable collectors to receive rare items. In addition to the regular podcast there have been additional shows produced by the SWAN team which include an audio round-table discussion of the current book being read in the Star Wars Action News Book Club as well as a show entitled "Republic Forces Radio Network" which gives weekly reviews of the current episode of the Clone Wars animated television series. Arnie and Marjorie maintain a website which provides background information on all their shows and downloadable versions of older shows, videos, fun stuff (which includes the famous Mas Amedda song) and photo galleries. The website also hosts a discussion forum where listeners of the show can discuss everything in the Star Wars universe and more. The couple also makes frequent public appearances at conventions and other Star Wars-related events.
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