The political economy of speculative fiction
Recorded on June 8, Star Wars correspondent and newly minted PHD Justin comes on the Pod to talk about the latest D+ Series Obi-Wan. We talk about how the Monarchy of Alderan works inside the Galactic Republic/Empire and our predictions for the last two episodes of the run.
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We are looking back on the 1989 classic How to Get Ahead in Advertising. For a deep dive on the intersection of psychology and commerce we are joined by Hugo nominated Blogger and long time friend of the show Olav.
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The TV show version of the Expanse ended months ago. Now get our expanded criticisms on the shows final season and our big picture takes the Expanse Franchise, and what we really think about Basic.
PS The show is entering a new phase, and we will only be doing one episode a month. So you will get one more episode on April and then monthly after that. We appreciate your patience.
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Taking a well worn path to the orchard of problematic Netflix content, the androids and assets team get angry as they lazily pluck the low hanging fruit that is American political discourse. Please enjoy this review of the 2021 sci-fi comedy Don’t Look Up.
Happy New Year… It probably won’t get worse.
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At long last we settle the question… Is DS9 Anime. Specialist and swell guys Tom and Jo Remind us that DS9 is great, that jobs suck, and we exaggerate the value of suffering.
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Marshall and Steve sit down with the brilliant and ever didactic Cat Rambo to discus their newest book You Sexy Thing. Out now.
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In honour of the completion of Season Three of Deep Space Nine. We are covering the space station’s guest appearance on the pilot episode of Star Trek Voyager – “Caretaker”. In this episode, Marshall and Steve talk about how Voyager contrasts with Deep Space Nine and how Voyager un-critically replicates problematic ideas in it’s quest for “fun” and “adventure”.
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Stephen and Marshall get excited talking about the Hugo short listed short stories in part two of our three part series. Today we cover “A Guide for Working Breeds” by Vina Jie-Min Prasad and “Metal Like Blood in the Dark” by T. Kingfisher
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An experimental episode where unpack a perfect trifecta of DS9 Season 3. We nerd out about weird stuff from elevator pricing, to Thor Heyerdahl, and our favorite theocracy the UK. Three times the episode. Three times the weirdness.
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A more serious episode where we talk about climate change, science fictions critical role in shaping the way we think about the future, and how to call people to action. We also focus on the fact that climate change is now a completely political problem. In our view political action is the only path to climate action.
New York 2140 – Kim Stanly Robinson
American War – Omar El Akkad
The Energy of Slaves: Oil and the New Servitude – Andrew Nikiforuk
The Broken Earth Trilogy – N.K. Jemison
The Wandering Earth/ Liúlàng Dìqiú (2019 movie)
Stephen mentions that Chris Kyle (The Devil of Ramadi), a war criminal and mass murderer, reports to have shot people in new Orleans after Hurricane Katrina. This is based on Mr. Kyle’s own claims and is widely disputed.
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