The new Ghostbusters film is released. The world goes crazy for Pokémon. And writer LeSean Thomas talks about the importance of POC characters in fiction. It's Airy Monday, our weekly segment on magic and religion in popular culture! All this and more for the Pagan News Beagle!

The new Ghostbusters debuted last week to largely positive reviews and a moderately sized weekend take-in at the box office. But many are not happy with the positive reception the film's been getting and they're trying as hard as they can to convince others the movie is horrible (even if they haven't seen it).

Back in the 1990s it seemed like everyone was playing Pokémon. While the franchise never really went away it did fade somewhat from public radar in years since but now everyone's talking about it again because of the popular phone game/app Pokémon Go. Interestingly enough, this has led to a lot more people going to church.

When people think of ancient Paganism they're likely to think of one of three cultures: ancient Greece, the old Norse, or ancient Rome. Greece and Rome often get conflated, particularly when it comes to religion, but Rome has its own separate charms. If you're interested in learning more about the society, Tor.com has a list of books about the ancient Romans.

It's probably safe to say that Game of Thrones is the most popular fantasy drama on television. But is it the best? Interestingly, Game of Thrones creator George R.R. Martin thinks there's at least one other notable contender, the Scottish-set time travel romance Outlander, which he says was "robbed" at this year's Emmys.

With so much hardship going on in the real world it can sometimes seem like fiction's just escapist fluff. But in fact, fiction can determine how we view the world around us. At Comics Alliance, LeSean Thomas speaks about his new show Cannon Busters and the importance of featuring people of color in fantasy.