Our Opinions Are Correct

Tech companies love to trumpet about how their products are free speech machines. But how can we have free speech when we don't have freedom? That's what we're asking in today's episode, the latest in our Silicon Valley vs. Science Fiction series. We take a deep dive into 1984, the science fiction novel that started a lot of today's discourse about speech and authoritarianism. And of course, we talk about the company formerly known as Twitter, and much more! Show notes: www.ouropinionsarecorrect.com/shownotes

People have been paid for labor for at least 5,000 years, but the modern 'workplace' is a pretty recent invention. We look at how science fiction has dealt with the transformation of labor — plus we talk to Alan Henry, author of the new book Seen, Heard and Paid. Show notes: www.ouropinionsarecorrect.com/shownotes

We've all been feeling like something is wrong with the timeline. In this episode, we ask what alternate history, fake history, and secondary world history can teach us about the present. Does exploring the past in fiction help us learn from history or are we doomed to repeat it? History-obsessed authors Connie Willis (Blackout, Doomsday Book) and R.F. Kuang (The Poppy War) offer their thoughts too. Show notes: www.ouropinionsarecorrect.com/shownotes

It's time for our state of the galaxy address. We'll be talking about how humans figured out that we are living in a galaxy, and how science fiction represents other galaxies. We're also joined by Molly Peeples, an astronomer with the Space Telescope Science Institute and Johns Hopkins University, who studies where galaxies come from, and what they're actually made of. Show notes: www.ouropinionsarecorrect.com/shownotes

One science fiction author has influenced the leaders of the tech industry more than any other: Ayn Rand, who preached radical selfishness in Atlas Shrugged and the Fountainhead. How has Rand's vision shaped the technology we use today? To find out more, we talk to philosopher Matt Zwolinski and author Matt Ruff. Show notes: www.ouropinionsarecorrect.com/shownotes

Sometimes, a story is set in a place that isn't just a location. It's a character. How do places come alive? We discuss hauntings, homelands, and what it means to write a landscape that is more than backdrop. Joining us is Jesscia Johns, author of Bad Cree, to talk about how place figures into her novel about a monster who stalks Treaty 8 territory in Alberta, Canada. Show notes: www.ouropinionsarecorrect.com/shownotes

Star Trek is back in a big way: we've had three live-action TV shows and two animated shows recently, with more stuff on the way. But what does Star Trek mean to us now? And what do we want from Star Trek today? To get deeper into these questions, we did a mind meld with Lower Decks creator Mike McMahan. Show notes: www.ouropinionsarecorrect.com/shownotes

Summer is almost here, and there's no shortage of amazing books, movies and TV shows to read by the pool. (Or wherever you consume your entertainment. We don't judge.) How can you make sense of all these options? We have you covered. Here's our totally correct guide to all the best science fiction and fantasy to check out! Show notes: www.ouropinionsarecorrect.com/shownotes

Ten years ago, Silicon Valley promised us smart houses that would light rooms as we walked into them, turn on the music, and do our shopping. And it never happened. We talk about how the smart home has its roots in Charlie Chaplin movies, sewing machines, and home economics classes. Guest Jacqui Cheng, former editor-in-chief of gadget guide Wirecutter, joins us to us to discuss the culture of smart home electronics. Show notes: www.ouropinionsarecorrect.com/shownotes

Games are packed with astounding worldbuilding, and Dungeons & Dragons is perhaps the worldbuildiest of all. We take a deep dive into the game's transformation from from a Satanic threat in the 1980s, to a wholesome, cozy world that has inspired a swashbuckling new movie and adorable novels like Travis Baldree's Legends & Lattes. And then we're going to talk about worldbuilding in Charlie Jane's Unstoppable trilogy. The third and final book, Promises Stronger than Darkness, came out this month! Show notes: www.ouropinionsarecorrect.com/shownotes