
Space the Nation
On Space the Nation, we take our love of science fiction (and fantasy and horror) and smash it together with our professional passions: international relations (as brought to the table by Tufts University professor and Washington Post columnist Dan Drezner) and cultural criticism (as brought to the table by political columnist Ana Marie Cox). It's a highly informed but hilarious conversation that starts with an examination of a particular text (everything from Ursula K. LeGuin to the MCU, Star Trek to Colson Whitehead) and veers into current events, mental health practices and imagined conversations between Ted Cruz and the Predator. For people who like white papers and graphic novels, Chapo Trap House and what Political Science Twitter used to be. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Latest episodes

Jul 17, 2025 • 1h 12min
SUPERMAN (2025)
Ana and Dan are the real punk rock. We talk Space Lex mugs, corporate hero squads, the carceral logic of pocket universes, and why showing people evacuating with their pets could be James Gunn's greatest contribution to the genre. There is IR in this movie. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Jul 17, 2025 • 1h 16min
SUPERMAN (1978)
Ana and Dan will never ask you to guess what color underwear they have on. We talk about Marlon Brando’s floating green bagel, the moral clarity of a Kansas upbringing, Lex Luthor as the über–rentier class supervillain, and why 1970s journalism might’ve been the last honest institution in cinema. Also: Is this Superman the least traumatized superhero in the American metahuman pantheon? There is IR in this movie. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Jul 1, 2025 • 1h 29min
28 YEARS LATER
Ana and Dan will not rescue you if you're not back by high tide. This is not the economical, revolutionary filmmaking of 28 Days Later; it is also not the clumsy genre exercise of 28 Weeks Later. Unlike 28 Months Later, it does exist. The politics are a little confused, the performances are excellent, and we disagreed about the overall quality. There's most definitely IR in this movie. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Jun 23, 2025 • 1h 12min
ENCORE: 28 DAYS LATER
In this re-release of a patron episode for all listeners, Ana and Dan introduce their infamous 28 Days Later recording with a surprisingly lighthearted (and at times weirdly funny) conversation about personal triggers they’ve encountered while making this podcast—especially in relation to 28 Days Later—and how those flashpoints have, somehow, deepened their friendship.Content warning: Discussion includes sexual assault and, in a way, antisemitism.Original description:Ana and Dan scrutinize Danny Boyle’s art-house zombie movie—one Dan could lecture on blindfolded with his hands tied behind his back. A debate: Is twenty-eight days long enough for society to give up hope and revert to a pure state of nature? How long do you have to be fighting zombies before you become like them? There is IR in this movie. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Jun 23, 2025 • 55min
28 WEEKS LATER
An arthouse hit gets a safer sequel Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Jun 12, 2025 • 1h 7min
THUNDERBOLTS*
Ana and Dan and Bob find their shame rooms and do the podcast from there. We liked this movie! All superhero movies are about trauma, but this one is about Trauma—a darkness leavened by the charm of its stars. There is a bit of IR in this movie. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Jun 2, 2025 • 1h 23min
SINNERS
Ana and Dan will have the pickled garlic, thank you. A wildly inventive and expertly made popcorn movie, with sympathies for a few devils and more lore than you can shake a guitar at. There is IR and an implicit critique of a particular form of capitalism in this movie. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

May 29, 2025 • 55min
ENCORE: ROGUE ONE
From the heady days of May 2022: Dan and Ana would have the pilot give the plans directly to the rebels, but decide to watch the movie anyway. Can you make a great movie entirely premised on a retcon? Does it take extremists to goad rebellions into action? How would Adorno feel about all this? There is IR in this movie. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

May 29, 2025 • 1h 26min
ANDOR S2 E10-12
Ana and Dan hope you’re enjoying the leisurely pace of these episode drops, letting you linger in the all-too-brief glory that was Andor Season 2 even as it starts to fade into memory. There’s a bit of IR in this show. And if you're a patron, don’t miss our video chat on a post-Andor rewatch of Rogue One. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

May 18, 2025 • 1h 24min
ANDOR S2 E7-9
Ana and Dan aren’t too green to podcast in this volatile environment—they’ll be fine.NOTE: Dan repeatedly refers to the "KX" droids as "KY" droids, and I did nothing to stop him. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.