Episode 71: Books That Will Get You Through the Winter

Episode 3: Books that stand the test of time: Some science fiction books are still fascinating after 200 years, while others make us wince after just a decade on the shelf. What makes an SF book stay relevant? Hint: it's not the book's ability to predict the future. Your hosts Annalee Newitz and... by Our Opinions Are Correct

36 min listen

Episode 27: The future of futurism: Is there a way to predict the future accurately, using data and science? In this episode, we talk to Rose Eveleth, host of the Flash Forward podcast, about the idea of futurism. We explore its history and dark roots in fascism, as well as its... by Our Opinions Are Correct

43 min listen

Episode 26: The Bomb is back: Back during the Cold War era, we were awash in stories about nuclear armageddon: either living through it, or trying to prevent it. And now, experts say the threat of nuclear holocaust is the worst it's been in over two decades. So how will pop... by Our Opinions Are Correct

35 min listen

Episode 2: Propaganda and mind control in science fiction: There's something distinctly science fictional about how Facebook has been used by governments, politicians, and private companies to manipulate people's perceptions--and even affect the outcomes of elections. In this episode, we talk about how... by Our Opinions Are Correct

39 min listen

Episode 4: Crisis on infinite superheroes: With Avengers: Infinity War about to hit theaters, we needed to talk about superheroes. What is it about these larger-than-life characters that fascinates us so much? Why can't we eliminate campiness and silliness from superhero epics? And have the... by Our Opinions Are Correct

36 min listen

Episode 5: Fear of robots: Fear of robots is on the rise -- in science fiction and the tech industry. What causes this anxiety in real life, and how does science fiction imagine the future of human/robot relationships? Are we going to be raw materials for a future AI... by Our Opinions Are Correct

43 min listen

Episode 1: Hope, dread, and Star Trek: Discovery: What went wrong, and what went oh so right with this show? by Our Opinions Are Correct

37 min listen

Episode 37: The history of Afro-futurism: Afro-futurism is on the rise again, thanks to the popularity of movies like Black Panther, and creators such as Janelle Monae and N.K. Jemisin. But Black-centered futurism has a long history in the U.S., and it's changed a lot over the past century.... by Our Opinions Are Correct

41 min listen

Episode 22: Can science fiction still give us hope for the future?: We need hope now, more than ever. So it's a good thing that more and more SF creators are trying to write hopeful stories---but what does it mean to be hopeful? Is hope a genre, or just a theme? And what the heck is "hopepunk" anyway? We talk about... by Our Opinions Are Correct

45 min listen

Episode 6: Animal companions and magical beasts: Special guest Maggie Tokuda-Hall, author of the children's book Also An Octopus, joins us to talk about what happens when animals become characters in science fiction and fantasy. Animals get to speak in fairy tales, Disney movies, and stories of... by Our Opinions Are Correct

42 min listen

Episode 29: Real talk about the end of the universe: For our first-ever live podcast, recorded in March on the , we talked to cosmologist Katie Mack about how the universe will end. Will it be heat death or vacuum decay? We also talk about how rarely science fiction deals with the end of the universe,... by Our Opinions Are Correct

35 min listen

Episode 28: What's the Matter With Westeros?: Game of Thrones comes back in a couple of weeks, so we're thinking about the politics of George R.R. Martin's fantasy world. What would a satisfying ending to this show look like? Can our heroes defeat the ice zombies AND solve Westeros' crisis of... by Our Opinions Are Correct

38 min listen

Episode 20: Why we're excited about Doctor Who again: Doctor Who is a brand new show this year. Not only is there a lady Doctor, played by Jodie Whittaker, but the show's whole format feels totally different. Three companions! All new monsters! But even more than that, the show has a new, more upbeat... by Our Opinions Are Correct

40 min listen

Episode 21: Pop culture nostalgia, or branding your memories: We know you just want to curl up by the fire and bask in pop culture of yesteryear this holiday season. But too bad. We're here with special guest Katharine Trendacosta to interrogate the meaning of nostalgia in science fiction. We discuss remakes,... by Our Opinions Are Correct

38 min listen

Episode 23: Sex, Lies, and Science Fiction: Let's talk about sex! In this episode we explore sci-fi tropes about where sex is going in the future, where it seems that we're doomed to become aromantic hedonists or asexual drones. We also talk about the greatest hits of scifi and fantasy sex.... by Our Opinions Are Correct

50 min listen

Episode 50: The Power of Names: Science fiction and fantasy are full of stories about the power of knowing someone's true name, from the Doctor on Doctor Who to the wizards in Ursula K. Le Guin's Earthsea. But why are names so important and powerful? And what do they tell us about... by Our Opinions Are Correct

39 min listen

Episode 33: Science fiction explains our messed-up economy: We talk to economist Noah Smith about how different theories of economics show up in science fiction -- and how economics is also an exercise in speculative worldbuilding. How do ideas about "rational actors" make their way into space operas, and why... by Our Opinions Are Correct

41 min listen

Episode 43: The Myth of Rugged Individualism: The idea of the "rugged individual" is all over the place in science fiction--especially in the United States. Who is this loner hero, and why are there so many stories about how personal freedom is more important than the public good? We explore the... by Our Opinions Are Correct

37 min listen

Episode 30: Social media must die!: Social media has become one of the biggest problems of our time. How does science fiction deal with the rise of social networks---and how is this different from the way the real-life news media talks about it? And what does the future look like after... by Our Opinions Are Correct

44 min listen

Episode 34: How to Write a Good Ending: Everybody knows that endings are hard, and we all love to complain about the way our favorite TV show or movie ended. But with both Game of Thrones and the Avengers movies coming to an end, this is a perfect time to think about what makes for a good... by Our Opinions Are Correct

40 min listen

Episode 25: Peering into the deep future of humanity: A lot of science fiction takes place in the near future, somewhere in the next century or so. But what about the far future in 10,000 years, or a million? How do writers and creators imagine deep time and make it plausible? We discuss our favorites... by Our Opinions Are Correct

43 min listen

Episode 24: We Have Many Feelings About Steven Universe: We love the show Steven Universe now, more than ever. This cartoon about a magical child has gone through a lot of changes in the past couple of years, and now its cosmic mythos has become a lot more complex—and the theme of identity has only gotten... by Our Opinions Are Correct

29 min listen

Episode 48: How Pulp Magazines Conquered Publishing: The phrase "Pulp Fiction" brings to mind Quentin Tarantino's movie of the same name. But real-life pulp fiction is much stranger, and more colorful, than you ever realized. We talk to pulp historian and author Jess Nevins about the weird and sometimes... by Our Opinions Are Correct

38 min listen

Episode 31: Getting out of the Utopia/dystopia binary: We're living in an age of dystopian stories, while real-life social issues are getting pretty dystopian too. What's the point of telling dark stories in a dark time? Also, we discuss how Utopian stories and dystopian stories are actually quite similar... by Our Opinions Are Correct

41 min listen

Episode 36: The Laws of the Future!: Real-world law is becoming science fictional. We talk about the future of surveillance and digital policing with guest Cyrus Farivar, a journalist who covers law and technology for NBC News. He's also the author of Habeas Data, a book about landmark... by Our Opinions Are Correct

41 min listen

Episode 35: When science fiction gets censored: There's nothing quite so dystopian as censorship: the suppression of knowledge, or works of art, that challenge the ruling order. We look at how science fiction, fantasy and horror have been censored. But also, what does science fiction teach us about... by Our Opinions Are Correct

42 min listen

Episode 52: Comedy, Death, and "The Good Place": We would need an eternity to discuss everything that was great and groundbreaking about "The Good Place," which just aired its series finale. We talk about how this weird afterlife comedy combined the workplace sitcom with weighty questions about... by Our Opinions Are Correct

40 min listen

Episode 45: Worldbuilding For Beginners: Speculative fiction writers talk endlessly about worldbuilding, which sounds like it ought to involve a near-infinite amount of drywall. What is worldbuilding? And why is it so important? Plus we talk to author K. Tempest Bradford about the Writing... by Our Opinions Are Correct

46 min listen

Episode 42: It's time to stop quoting Clarke's Third Law: We've all heard Arthur C. Clarke's third law, which states that sufficiently advanced science is indistinguishable from magic. What did Clarke mean by this, and how are people using his law to take the mystery out of fantasy stories? Plus we look at... by Our Opinions Are Correct

45 min listen

Episode 32: You're doing camp wrong!: Lately the camp-themed Met Gala got us talking about camp again. What is camp? And how is it different in 2019 than in 1969? And most importantly, why is science fiction so deathly terrified of seeming campy? We're going to have a Kiki about this.... by Our Opinions Are Correct

41 min listen

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Episode 71: Books That Will Get You Through the Winter

Episode 71: Books That Will Get You Through the Winter

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