Coffee With Kenobi

For other uses, see Coffee and Kenobi.
Blue-exclamation-mark

The subject of this article concerns a fan topic in Star Wars culture.

This article documents a fan podcast that has hosted on the Podcast Stage at Star Wars Celebration.

"Whether you love Star Wars films, animated shows, books, comics, or collectibles, CWK has something for you. This is the podcast you're looking for!"
―Coffee With Kenobi's website description[2]

Coffee With Kenobi is a Star Wars–centric podcast hosted by author Dan Zehr that first debuted in 2013. The podcast strives to be a spoiler-free space for community conversation, often discussing the mythology of the franchise and interviewing Star Wars creators. As of 2024, Coffee With Kenobi has released over 800 episodes.

As of 2023's Celebration Europe, Coffee With Kenobi holds the record for the highest number of Star Wars Celebration panel appearances, having also hosted at 2015's Celebration Anaheim, 2017's Celebration Orlando, 2019's Celebration Chicago, and 2022's Celebration Anaheim.

History

Founding, scope, and content

"We wanted our show to have a coffee shop atmosphere that features myriad opinions and perspectives through a critical lens. […] Our sub heading is Star Wars Discussion, Analysis, and Rhetoric, and this drives our programming on each show. We stay away from rumors, spoilers, and speculation, and try to focus on confirmed news, as well as the plethora of Star Wars themes, concepts, and ideas that exist in the saga."
―Dan Zehr, in a StarWars.com interview on the podcast's behalf[6]

The podcast Coffee with Kenobi's first episode debuted on May 12, 2013.[1] Its original co-founders and hosts were Cory Clubb[1][3] and Dan Zehr; the latter of whom is the co-author of several Star Wars titles[2] such as The Star Wars Book (2020),[7] Star Wars: Character Encyclopedia, Updated and Expanded Edition (2021),[2] Star Wars: I Am Your Father (2022),[8] and Star Wars Encyclopedia: The Comprehensive Guide to the Star Wars Galaxy (2024), as well as a frequent contributor to StarWars.com.[2] Other former contributors to the podcast include Tom Gross, Rob Wainfur, and Melinda Wolf.[3] As of 2024, Coffee With Kenobi has released over 800 episodes[5] and has Zehr as its brand manager and sole host.[2]

Dan Zehr, the co-founder and host of Coffee With Kenobi

Dan Zehr, the co-founder and host of Coffee With Kenobi

In the time since its inception, Coffee With Kenobi has strived to be a space fostering discussion about Star Wars in a spoiler-free environment with an intelligent and humorous tone. The podcast primarily focuses on officially released content, with an increased focus on discussion of fan passion for the franchise.[6] Coffee With Kenobi discusses Star Wars mythology while featuring content in a variety of formats—including reviews, event coverage, and interviews.[2] Several notable Star Wars creators interviewed by the podcast include Ewan McGregor, Hayden Christensen, Dave Filoni, Jon Favreau, Pedro Pascal, Anthony Daniels, James Arnold Taylor, Ashley Eckstein, Stephen J. Sansweet, John Morton, Jim Cummings, Carl Weathers, Joonas Suotamo, Vanessa Marshall, Taylor Gray, Dan Madsen, Charles Soule, Cavan Scott, Claudia Gray, George Mann,[1] Tricia Barr,[6] Catherine Taber,[9] Adam Christopher,[10] Justin Ridge, and Bobby Moynihan.[11] In these, Zehr felt the podcast sought to tailor the topics of the interviews to match the guests they are interacting with.[6]

Over time, Coffee With Kenobi has been covered by several mainstream news outlets such as HuffPost, The Hollywood Reporter, Chicago Tribune, Journal Star, Good Morning America, Vanity Fair, and Entertainment Weekly,[2] as well as StarWars.com. On the podcast's behalf, Zehr was interviewed for the StarWars.com article "Fully Operational Fandom: Podcasting Across the Galaxy, Part 2," by Amy Ratcliffe, published on June 19, 2014. Within, he discussed why they chose podcasting as their medium of choice, the subjects they cover, and their best fan moments.[6]

Star Wars Celebration

"This year we have some records being made. Coffee With Kenobi makes its 5th appearance on the stage (only having missed Celebration Europe 3 back in 2016) which puts it ahead of Full of Sith, Star Wars Minute, RADIO 1138, Skywalking Through Neverland and Fangirls Going Rogue who all tie with 4 appearances out of a possible 6 on the podcast stage since Anaheim in 2015."
―Mark Newbold, not long before 2023's Celebration Europe[12]
Dan Zehr, Coffee With Kenobi's host, with Harrison Ford

Dan Zehr, Coffee With Kenobi's host, with Harrison Ford

Coffee With Kenobi was the first podcast to record a live podcast session on a Star Wars Celebration stage at Celebration Anaheim,[1] held from April 16 to April 19 in 2015.[13] They were joined by John "Dak" Morton for the session.[14] The podcast also participated in the same capacity at Celebration Orlando,[1] held from April 13 to April 16 two years later,[15] marking co-host Cory Clubb's last episode.[4]

Coffee With Kenobi returned for its third time on the Podcast Stage at Celebration Chicago,[1] which ran from April 11 to 15 in 2019,[16] where they were joined by James Arnold Taylor and Catherine Taber.[9] The podcast was also present for Celebration Anaheim[1]—held between May 26 and May 29, 2022,[17] where they were joined by Dan Madsen.[18] Coffee With Kenobi returned again for Celebration Europe,[1] hosted from April 7 to April 10, 2023.[19] For the panel, they were joined by Adam Christopher on the HoloNet News Stage.[10] As of 2023's Celebration Europe, Coffee With Kenobi has the most Celebration appearances of any podcast on the Podcast Stage, later renamed the HoloNet News Stage, having only missed 2016's Celebration Europe.[12]

Sources

Notes and references

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 1.8 Email from Dan Zehr on December 18, 2024 — Used with permission
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 2.7 2.8 Premium-Era-real About Dan Zehr & CWK — Coffee With Kenobi on Coffee With Kenobi (backup link archived on November 24, 2024)
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 Premium-Era-real CWK's Hall of Fame — Coffee With Kenobi on Coffee With Kenobi (backup link archived on November 25, 2024)
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 Premium-Era-real CWK Show #156: Celebration Orlando Podcast Stage LIVE (Podcast) on www.spreaker.com (April 14, 2017) (backup link archived on December 20, 2024)
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 Premium-Era-real Podcast Episodes — Coffee With Kenobi on Coffee With Kenobi (backup link archived on December 20, 2024)
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 6.4 StarWars.com Fully Operational Fandom: Podcasting Across the Galaxy, Part 2 on StarWars.com (backup link)
  7. ↑ PenguinRandomHouse-Logo The Star Wars Book on Penguin Random House's official website (backup link)
  8. ↑ PenguinRandomHouse-Logo Star Wars I Am Your Father on Penguin Random House's official website (backup link)
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 Premium-Era-real CWK Show #272: Celebration Chicago Podcast Stage, featuring James Arnold Taylor & Catherine Taber (Podcast) on www.spreaker.com (April 14, 2019) (backup link archived on December 20, 2024)
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 Premium-Era-real CWK Show #638: Star Wars Celebration Europe Podcast Stage (2023) (Podcast) on www.spreaker.com (April 11, 2023) (backup link archived on December 20, 2024)
  11. ↑ Premium-Era-real Star Wars Producers Confirm the Franchise’s First Openly Gay Onscreen Couple by Laura Bradley on Vanity Fair (October 1, 2019) (backup link archived on November 24, 2024)
  12. ↑ 12.0 12.1 Premium-Era-real Star Wars Celebration Europe: HoloNet News Stage panels revealed by Mark Newbold on Fantha Tracks (March 18, 2023) (backup link archived on March 29, 2023)
  13. ↑ StarWars.com Dave Filoni and More Confirmed for Star Wars Celebration 2015 on StarWars.com (backup link)
  14. ↑ Premium-Era-real CWK Show #86: Celebration Anaheim Podcast Stage LIVE, featuring John "Dak" Morton (Podcast) on www.spreaker.com (backup link archived on December 20, 2024)
  15. ↑ StarWars.com Star Wars Celebration 2017 Set for Orlando on StarWars.com (backup link)
  16. ↑ StarWars.com Star Wars Celebration is Heading to Chicago and The Star Wars Show has the Details on StarWars.com (backup link)
  17. ↑ StarWars.com Star Wars Celebration Anaheim 2022 Dates Changing on StarWars.com (backup link)
  18. ↑ Premium-Era-real CWK Show #531: Star Wars Celebration Anaheim Podcast Stage (2022) (Podcast) on www.spreaker.com (April 17, 2015) (backup link archived on December 20, 2024)
  19. ↑ StarWars.com Plan Ahead with the Star Wars Celebration Europe 2023 Panel Schedule on StarWars.com (backup link)

External links