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
Apr 25, 2024 • 1h 21min
S4E16: CIVIL WAR
Ana and Dan have never felt scared like that -- and they've never felt more alive. Our third Alex Garland or Garland-adjacent movie (after Ex Machina and 28 Days Later) prompts some grim assessments about the state of our union (not great!) and the condition of our Fourth Estate (it's not good either!). It's one of the most thought-provoking films in recent memory and we have even more to say... so we're doing a second episode about it for Patrons only and it'll be up next week. There's IR, a lot of IR, in this movie. Oh, and Ana is hyper-fixated. You can subscribe to her free, limited edition Civil War newsletter at civilwars.substack.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Apr 9, 2024 • 1h 11min
S4E14: KLARA AND THE SUN
Ana and Dan get off their oblongs long enough to debate this Very Serious Book about a kind of dim Artificial Friend (ironically, a sun-worshipper!). It is also a sneak entry into our Obama or O'Bummer series, but I'm only going to put one special stamp on the cover at a time! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Apr 1, 2024 • 58min
S4E13: MURDERBOT: ALL SYSTEMS RED
Ana and Dan hack their governor modules and put down their visors to enjoy some Sanctuary Moon without dealing with humans and their annoying real-world emotions. Oh, what's that? Ana and Dan have to deal with each other. The idea was so painful I've dropped to 97 percent efficiency. This is technically part of the AI-des of March, since Murderbot is an artificial intelligence who is not a man. Can a robot be "on the spectrum"? Is terraforming as cut-throat as all that? Is there IR in this novella? I don't care. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Mar 26, 2024 • 1h 12min
S4E12: DUNE UNE (ENCORE)
Dan was in Serbia this week! Enjoy this refresher course in donning your stillsuit slip-fashion. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Mar 18, 2024 • 1h 4min
S4E11: DUNE 2 (LIVE)
Ana and Dan drank the water of life... at Cosmic Coffee in Austin, TX, for our first-ever tiny desk live show. This show has a lot of ambiance (background noise) and even some audience Q&A (none of which are more like comments). We hope you love it as much as we did. Or, you know, can stand it. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Mar 12, 2024 • 1min
We're back!
It was as if thousands of podcast listeners suddenly cried out in terror, and were suddenly silenced. We disappeared from Apple Podcasts, because AI. If you listen via that method, there are now literally dozen of new-to-you episodes to enjoy! Please do enjoy. If you want to avoid missing *any* shows, including our special episodes, consider becoming a Patron! We love you either way. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Mar 11, 2024 • 1h 8min
S4E10: BLADE RUNNER
Ana and Dan will take those noodles to go while they ponder what they'll do about that turtle on its back. The great grand-daddy of scifi noir, Blade Runner's visuals still resonate even if the script clunks more than it sings. There is IR and a critique of capitalism in this movie. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Mar 9, 2024 • 1h 14min
S4E09: EX MACHINA
Ana and Dan open up some Keikaku beers and ask this movie if it knows it's a movie. This gorgeous exploration of power, identity, gender, and self-awareness is a decade old but of the moment, with its sexy AI and Joe Rogan billionaire. It has IR, a critique of capitalism, and Oscar Isaac disco dancing. (This did not get posted last week; technical difficulties -- many apologies.) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Feb 24, 2024 • 58min
S4E08: STARTER VILLAIN
Ana and Dan accede to the superior analysis and portfolio acquisition of cats. We've been meaning to do a Scalzi book for some time -- but which one? Then the decision was taken out of our hands, because talking (typing) cats. There is IR in this book. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Feb 19, 2024 • 1h 6min
S4E07: LEECH
Ana and Dan add some fresh motor oil to their hearts to gear up for this adventure in a post-apocalyptic science fiction gothic mutant medical horror romance set in the distantly future French Alps. Intrigued? You should be! This novel sets a high degree of difficulty for itself and... just about succeeds. Like, succeeds enough to be really interesting! There is a lot of body horror, some IR, and a wealth of critiques of capitalism. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
