Only Androids and Assets Archives — Page 3 of 10

May 31, 2021May 31, 2021

Playing with Humanity, In Conversation with Daryl Gregory

We are joined by Daryl Gregory (twitter) to discuss his new novella, The Album of Dr. Moreau. We get into animal rights, the nature of consciousness, and the privilege of wealth.

Also by Daryl Gregory and available in late August, Revelator, pre-order now.

Other Works Mentioned

Noise: A Flaw in Human Judgement by Daniel Kahneman, Olivier Sibony, and Cass R. Sunstein

Animal Liberation: The Definitive Classic of the Animal Movement by Peter Singer

By Force Alone and The Escapement by Lavie Tidhar

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May 15, 2021August 26, 2021

Palestine +100, In Conversation with Basma Ghalayini and Ra Page

We are joined by Basma Ghalayini, editor of the collection Palestine +100: Stories from a Century after the Nakba, and Ra Page, the cofounder of publisher Comma Press. Palestine +100 is a collection of stories exploring how Palestine might look 100 years after the Nakba when Palestinians were displaced and the occupation by Israel began.

Comma Press is a not-for-profit publisher specialising in the short story and fiction in translation. It is committed to a spirit of risk-taking, and aims to put the short story at the heart of contemporary narrative culture.

If you are able, please donate to relief efforts in Palestine such as through the Islamic Relief Fund.

Recommended Works

Mortal Engines by Stanislaw Lem

Roadside Picnic By Arkady and Boris Strugatsky; Also listen to our episode on Roadside Picnic

Nabil Farouk an Egyption author known for the Cocktail 2000 and the Future File series.

Paranormal on Netflix adapted from Ahmed Khaled Tawfik’s Ma Waraa Al Tabiaa series

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May 1, 2021May 1, 2021

May Day Ex-Strugatsky-ganza

For May Day we read Soviet era novel, Roadside Picnic, by Arkady and Boris Strugatsky. It’s a bleak look at utopia, the utterly alien nature of aliens, and the insignificance of humans.

We disagree about the end of the novel and leave it up to you, dear listener, to decide the true meaning.

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April 17, 2021April 17, 2021

Currency and Colonization in The Traitor Baru Cormorant

We talk about currency, empire, and colonialism in Seth Dickinson’s The Traitor Baru Cormorant. This is a novel all about economic conquest and effective resistance to empire with a seeming message that there is no effective resistance to empire.

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April 6, 2021April 5, 2021

Lapsis: The Amazon Warehouse but for Walking

Lapsis is a 2020 movie from Noah Hutton that takes on the gig work economy. It is timely and dark. There are many ideas in Lapsis and we picked out labour organizing and monopolies. We cannot recommend you seeing this movie strongly enough.

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March 20, 2021March 20, 2021

A Fiscal Crisis in the Republic

Return guest and guy who has seen Star Wars, Justin, joins us to review Star Wars Clone Wars the Clovis Arc. We dissect the Galactic republic’s monetary policy and why we should nationalize the banks.

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March 9, 2021March 9, 2021

Brokerage and Banditry in Conversation with James D’Amato

Return guest James D’Amato is back to resolve the question of currency on Campaign Skyjacks. So man the rigging and secure lines because we are headed into the sky. Stay till the end for a special insight into the future of 2021, as James draws a luminary to reveal what lays ahead.

Errata

The Traitor Baru Cormorant Seth Dickenson (2015)

James is the president of the One Shot Network and also has some fantastic books. You can find them here.

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February 20, 2021February 20, 2021

The Cost of the Martian Military Industrial Complex

In an experimental episode Marshall and Stephen break down the cost of the destruction of the MCRN Donnager in James S.A. Corey’s The Expanse and what that can tell us about the future of naval warfare and planetary governance.

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February 1, 2021February 1, 2021

Funding the Future with Comradery

Comradery is a worker coop building for the future. It feels like science fiction but it’s fact. We’re super excited about it and invited Ty from Comradery to tell us more about it.

Works Mentioned

A Canticle for Leibowitz – Walter M. Miller Jr.

Consider Phlebas – Ian Banks

Small Gods – Terry Pratchett

Fallout 3 and Fallout New Vegas – Bethesda Softworks

Doctor Faustus – Christopher Marlowe

Co-operative Alternatives

Resonate – Resonate is building a new music economy based on fairness, transparency and cooperation.

Ampled – Ampled allows artists to be directly supported by their community without intermediaries or gatekeepers (and is collectively owned by its artists and workers).

Means TV – Means TV is the world’s first worker-owned, post-capitalist streaming service.

Related Episodes

Our fiftieth episode, we talked with Karl Schroeder. He talks about using technology to build a better world. We were reminded of his work while thinking about Comradery.

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January 17, 2021January 19, 2021

Capital Crossing: New Horizons ft. Kat

Animal Crossing: New Horizons took the world by storm in 2020 and continues to be a cultural touchstone. One question that gets asked over and over is whether Tom Nook is a man of the people or an oppressive capitalist exploiting your labour?

We are joined this week by Kateryna Barnes to discuss the world of Animal Crossing and to hash out if Tom is a welcome ally or an enemy to be destroyed.

Citations

Loading… Volume 13 No 22, Animal Crossing Special Issue edited by Rainforest Scully-Blaker and Emily Flynn-Jones

“Tom Nook, Capitalist or Comrade? On Nook Discourse and the Millennial Housing Crisis” by Emma Vossen