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
Jul 23, 2021 • 58min
E32: LOKI (UNLOCKED)
Ana and Dan find their glorious purpose in the MCU's most mischievous entry. To wildly mix franchises, it turns out that red tape is Loki's kryptonite. Is dating your own variant cute or squick? In the contest between chaos and order, which choice is the most selfish? Will Alligator Loki get his own backstory? (PLEASE) There is IR in this series. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Jul 16, 2021 • 54min
E31: BLACK WIDOW // UNLOCKED
Ana and Dan reject their Covid psychological conditioning and head to the *movie theater* to review the first post-pandemic MCU theatrical release. Happy fun times watching Florence Pugh show up her big sis in almost every scene but so many questions! Why was The Red Guardian arrested? Who came up with that sparkly red dust? What exactly is the point of a non-state-actor Red Room program? There is IR in this movie. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Jul 13, 2021 • 51min
MINISODE 101: THE TOMORROW WAR
Ana and Dan make sure they're dead in the future and fling themselves into the Chris Pratt vehicle that the Coronavirus put on your homescreen for this SPECIAL EDITION of Space the Nation. Is it so-bad-it's-good or is it an indictment of late capitalism's culture of disposable entertainment, dumbing us down until we don't notice the plot holes? There is (very bad) IR in this movie. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Jul 9, 2021 • 1h 12min
E30: FRANK HERBERT'S DUNE (UNLOCKED)
Ana and Dan don their stillsuits and enter into the world of Frank Herbert's 1965 novel, one of the most influential science fiction novels of all time: but is it canon, or is it fodder? On the one hand: gorgeous writing, subversive themes. On the other: Hey, did pick up that Baron Harkonnen is the villain? And that he's fat? Enjoy the completely inconsistent pronunciation of all character names and fictional vocabulary. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Jul 2, 2021 • 59min
28 Days Later
Ana and Dan scrutinize Danny Boyle's art-house zombie movie, which Dan could lecture on blindfolded and hands tied behind his back. A debate: Is twenty-eight days long enough that everyone would have given up all hope and regressed to a pure state of nature? How long do you have to be fighting zombies to become like them? There is IR in this movie. all Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Jun 25, 2021 • 47min
E28: Tribble Me This
Ana and Dan beam down to Deep Space Station K7 to examine the intricacies of quadrotriticale-based foreign policy, in both of the Star Trek series where the grain appears: TOS and DS9. Also: I SING. There is IR in these episodes Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Jun 19, 2021 • 59min
E27: THE POWER (Unlocked)
Ana and Dan turn their blinded eyes to the much-heralded gender swap-out parable. Surprise: Ana did not like it as much as Dan's wife did! And, for real: CW for rape. There is IR in this novel. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Jun 17, 2021 • 1h 14min
E26: FOR ALL MANKIND
Ana and Dan talk about Apple TV+’s best show that is not Ted Lasso, and wonder if the showrunners have really grappled with the radical changes they’ve made, maybe women fully participating in the Space Race would be an even bigger deal? That said! Great show. Also discussed: Is FAMK “Mad Men in space” or “West Wing in space”? There is IR in this series. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Jun 5, 2021 • 60min
E25: CHILDREN OF MEN
Ana and Dan dive into one of the least-pleasant best movies of the modern era, a gorgeous and captivating tale of a world slowly winding down into violent nihilism and numb decadence. Except, what if life *isn't* over? There is IR in this movie. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
May 28, 2021 • 1h 1min
E24: KINDRED
A time-travel novel that shares the same premise as "Back to the Future," but is really about the moral gray areas within the institution of slavery. Surprisingly, there is IR in this book. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
