Space the Nation
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.
Episodes
Mentioned books
Sep 20, 2022 • 58min
S2E33: MOONFALL REDUX
Ana and Dan skipped town and left you this. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Sep 2, 2022 • 1h 9min
E31: What We Did on Our Summer Vacation
Ana and Dan discuss all the fun stuff they read or watched during their personal sci-fi summers! Discussed: Moon Knight, Spiderhead, She-Hulk, Sandman and more! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Aug 22, 2022 • 54min
S2E30: PREY
Ana and Dan eat the orange flowers and disappear into the woods to examine this extremely worthy prequel to Predator. Did Naru really want to be a hunter? Did Taabe really have to die? Can Sarii get an Oscar or what? There is IR in this movie Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Aug 15, 2022 • 60min
S2E29: PREDATOR
Ana and Dan needlessly cut themselves across their chests and enter into the damp, bloody world of the original Predator. How many 80s action movie actors can fit into one movie? A Predator-number of actors! Surprisingly fresh and unusually economical, the film that spawned an IP armageddon is better than you remember. There is IR in this movie. NOTE: Due to reasons, the audio for this episode is not great. We apologize and it is NOT Karen's fault. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Aug 8, 2022 • 1h 4min
S2E28: HIGHLANDER
Ana and Dan both entered the podcast, but did they both leave? THERE CAN ONLY BE ONE! A heady mix of exuberant scene-eating and saturnine scowls, it is impossible not to respect a movie with a metallurgist heroine. Once you make Sean Connery an Egyptian, you can do anything. Come for the swords, stay for the wind-blown drapes. There is IR in this movie. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Aug 1, 2022 • 1h 6min
S2S27: THEY LIVE
John Carpenter has some things to say about Reagan's American, and he's going to say them loudly and repeatedly in a film that somehow transcends its didacticism. It's a fun, loopy ride grounded by the great Keith David and not ruined by Roddy Piper. There is a critique capitalism in this movie! (And a fair amount of IR!) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Jul 25, 2022 • 51min
S2S26: THE TERMINATOR
Cyborgs don't feel pain, but Ana and Dan do. A surprisingly great movie born of an Italian Fever Dream (not to be confused with a Mexican Writing Binge). Relive the best and worst of the 80s, from permed hair to intrusive diegetic synth music! PHONE BOOKS! Should Kyle Reese work on his pick-up lines? Making pipe bombs: ultimate date night? WHAT HAPPENED TO PUGSLEY??? There is IR in this movie. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Jul 18, 2022 • 55min
S2E25: THOR: LOVE & THUNDER
Ana and Dan pull over a basket of grapes and get started with Taika Waititi's second entry into the MCU, the 80s romcom to Ragnorok's 70's space opera. It's an aggressively silly movie with some real dark parts: Christian Bale and Chris Hemsworth should not be able to exist in the same space-time continuum! Yet, somehow it works. There is IR in this movie. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Jul 11, 2022 • 59min
S2E24: TOP GUN: MAVERICK
Ana and Dan don't need helmets, are you kidding???? We decided that this movie counts as science fiction because LOOK AT TOM CRUISE. JUST LOOK AT HIM. What technology is keeping him from aging? Also, this movie has FIFTH GENERATION FIGHTERS and, given how much the plot owes to Star Wars, we should probably tell you that they ARE NOT X-wings. There is IR (some pretty terrible IR) in this movie. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Jul 4, 2022 • 1h 4min
S2E23: FIREFLY
Ana and Dan don their fancy hats and get ready to take on the lament of the lonesome space cowboy in the two Firefly episodes featuring Dan-favorite Christina Hendricks. Is the series randy or Randian? Could the dialog get any quippier? How did Fox fuck this series up so badly? And, lastly, does it make sense to export horses for terraformed moons? There is IR in this show. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
