Alienating the Audience

Star Trek’s Feringi are intergalactic traders, merchants, entrepreneurs, and feckless shysters. How did they get to be space capitalists when the Federation outgrew the concept of money altogether? Sean Finnerty joins to discuss Feringinar, the Rules of Acquisition, and the economy of the 24th century.  

In "Subservience" Megan Fox plays a robot servant who goes off the rails, seduces her owner, and tries to kill his wife. Henrique Couto joins to discuss the ethical implications of cheating on your spouse with a robot, how we ought to treat robots even if they don't really have consciousness, and whether or not we'd buy robot servants in general.

Fresh after seeing “Alien: Romulus,” Dickie Lynch and Heaton discuss Ripley Scott’s “Alien” franchise: the creepy aesthetics of H. R. Geiger, the deepest fears of the movie, the alien seeding of “Prometheus,” and the most recent installment as a best-of.  

Brian Brushwood, a science fiction aficionado, joins Andrew Heaton to dissect the themes of 'A Canticle for Leibowitz.' They explore the intersection of post-apocalyptic narratives with Catholicism and the absurdities of preserving knowledge after a nuclear disaster. The conversation delves into ethical dilemmas, anti-intellectualism, and the cyclical nature of sin, highlighting the struggles of characters in a dystopian world. Brushwood's insights provoke thought about humanity's moral compass amidst chaos, questioning the essence of existence and resurrection.

How has A. I. been portrayed through history in science fiction, and what's it going to look like as it keeps getting better? Stone Lynch and J. C. Campbell join to discuss.

Anthony Burgess wrote his dystopian novel “A Clockwork Orange” in 1962, but two different versions appeared on either side of the Atlantic. The American version stops at chapter twenty, whereas the British version has an extra twenty-first chapter, which totally changes the book. Brian Brushwood joins to discuss. 

The universe is really, really big. Like huge. Really really really huge. Prompting science fiction to come up with workarounds so everyone isn't stuck on the same boring 'ol planet. Dickie Lynch rejoins to discuss.

Drew Magary’s book “The Postmortal” explores a scenario in which a vaccine is made for aging. Whatever age you take it at, you are paused there indefinitely. How does that effect marriage, retirement, and society as a whole? Josh Jennings and Ashland Viscosi return to discuss.

Madeline Miller's "Circe" novelizes the mysterious character from the Odyssey who turns men into swine, but also helps Odysseus get home. The book shows the feckless, narcissistic nature of the Greek pantheon, what is the true nature of self, and the divine patriarchy. Alexandra August and Isabella Reinhardt join to discuss.

Sandra Newman, author of the official sequel to '1984' focusing on Winston's paramour, Julia, discusses the unique feminist perspective in her book. The hosts debate the continuation's worth for Orwell fans, exploring characters' approaches to the dystopian world and societal horrors. They compare Julia and O'Brien's portrayals, analyze characters' complexities, and delve into feminist perspectives in literature and science fiction.