Science Fiction

“It’s trying to thread that needle between the wonder and the splendour in this mythology without being beguiled into actual fascism.” ~Adam Roberts Adam Roberts is a professor of nineteenth century literature, a prolific essayist and critic, and one of our best science fiction writers. Our interview traces a path between two powerful forces in science fiction – the mythic stories of transcendence and self fulfilment that animate much of today’s most popular sci-fi storytelling, and the mundane and ordinary lives that ground our reality. We touch on the shifting perception of science fiction in academia, questions of worldbuilding and the endless argument to define science fiction, the new optimism of hopepunk and solarpunk, HG Wells long fascination with eugenics, the balance between stereotype and archetype in storytelling, and professor Roberts answer to the question of where science fiction began. It’s a great insight into the thinking of a great SF author. 00:00:00 A mistrust of myths 00:01:51 An interview with Adam Roberts 00:04:39 The professor's productivity tips 00:08:11 The nineteenth century and science fiction 00:11:03 Has the academic perception of science fiction shifted? 00:14:29 The worldbuilding question 00:19:16 Why do we keep arguing about the definition of science fiction? 00:23:39 We spend more money on Star Wars than space travel 00:32:12 Melding the literary and the sci-fi 00:42:49 The process of writing science fiction 00:48:03 Translating Joyce and algorithmic writing 00:59:50 Hopepunk and Solarpunk 01:11:22 The Community vs. the Individual 01:18:03 The Heroic and the Quotidian 01:28:02 A segue to Wellsian scholarship 01:35:01 Emmanuel Kant and the Fermi paradox 01:44:24 Tolkien and the English mythos 01:49:47 Stereotype vs Archetype 01:57:14 When does science fiction begin? Become a member of the Science Fiction podcast: https://damiengwalter.com Join the discussion on the Science Fiction community https://www.facebook.com/groups/324897304599197 Read the novels of Adam Roberts https://amzn.to/3LjUfZQ

This episode of the Science Fiction podcast is re-published from an original video essay first published in September 2018. I spent years searching, after I first read the Culture novels of Iain M Banks, for other space opera novels that equalled them. And this is what I discovered. Nothing else in the space opera genre even comes close to the Culture. Nothing. Zip. Nada. As Theodore Sturgeon said, 90% of everything is crap. But as a young reader I wondered why, with all these books marketed as space opera, did none read like the Culture? The answer is – theme. Science fiction tends to obsess over concepts, but almost entirely ignore themes. Scifi is full of big ideas about the nature of reality or the physics of space travel. But scifi that deals with the basic themes of human life is a rare, rare thing. Banks was a genius at weaving high concept scifi stories together with great thematic depth. In this episode I look at the opening chapter of what is, arguably, Banks’ most thematically complex novel – Excession. Read the full novel – Excession by Iain M Banks: https://amzn.to/2p9ZFOf Watch the original video essay - https://youtu.be/vjsYz-Xv5lo Become a member of the Science Fiction podcast - https://damiengwalter.com

Solarpunk is the newest genre of science fiction, a joyous and optimistic vision of a future where humans and our technology live in balance with nature. Solarpunk is an artistic, cultural and political movement that encompasses the arts, architecture, fashion and technology. But optimistic visions of the future are never all that they seem. From HG Wells' The Shape of Things to Come, to Ursula Le Guin's Always Coming Home, one science fiction author's vision of a bright utopia is another's grim dystopia. Can Solarpunk envision a utopia for all? 00:00 Two quotes from Brave New World 01:02 Welcome to the Science Fiction podcast 02:33 Am I trolling the scifi community? 03:49 The pre-history of ****punk 09:33 There is no such thing as Solarpunk 12:15 What is Solarpunk? 20:14 A Solarpunk Manifesto 23:17 Solarpunk is a genre without a story 25:12 Ursula Le Guin : patron saint of Solarpunk 33:13 The moral absolutism of Those Who Walk Away From Omelas 35:53 Science Fiction and the shadow of Utopianism 39:33 Can we ever achieve a utopia? Follow the Science Fiction podcast: https://damiengwalter.com/podcast Join the Science Fiction community: https://www.facebook.com/groups/324897304599197 Follow the full course in Writing the 21st Century Myth : https://damiengwalter.com/advanced-scifi-and-fantasy/ Enroll on Udemy: https://www.udemy.com/course/advanced-science-fiction-fantasy/?referralCode=B7B13C5C3D413999ED95 Subscribe monthly via Skillshare: https://skl.sh/3pO6pPV Read Always Coming Home by Ursula Le Guin: https://amzn.to/3nxHQqS Solarpunk's political manifesto: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hHI61GHNGJM

Discover the prophetic visions and career of Philip K. Dick, the author of Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep. Dive into his nine prophetic visions, including The Exit Door Leads In, Chains of Air, Web of Aether, and The Three Stigmata of Palmer Eldritch. Explore the concept of reality and perception and the influence of tech disruptors on our lives. Uncover the power of narrative and how Dick's science fiction stories shape our society.

We are 21 years into the 21st century. What better time to look at the century we are living in...the century of science fiction. A special double episode of the Science Fiction podcast. Part 1 of 2. 00:00 The science fiction century 03:07 Welcome to new listeners. 04:59 The best scifi and fantasy of the 21st century 06:46 Why science fiction and fantasy? 10:46 21 + 21 = 42 13:16 The first year of the Science Fiction podcast 15:04 Twenty-One : John Scalzi / Star Wars 23:46 A few outliers 26:55 Twenty : Beeple / Blade Runner 2049 32:29 Nineteen : Cixin Liu / Mass Effect 37:18 Eighteen : Jenova Chen / American Gods 42:00 Seventeen : Tamsyn Muir / The Handmaid's Tale 44:40 Sixteen : Christopher Nolan / The Witcher 48:04 Fifteen : N K Jemisin / District 9 49:53 An offer you can refuse 52:48 Fourteen : Charlie Jane Anders / Harry Potter 55:31 Thirteen : Qntm / The Orville 58:31 Twelve : Hwang Dong-hyuk / Interstellar Follow the Science Fiction podcast: https://damiengwalter.com/podcast Join the Science Fiction community: https://www.facebook.com/groups/324897304599197 Follow the full course in Writing the 21st Century Myth : https://damiengwalter.com/advanced-scifi-and-fantasy/ Enroll on Udemy: https://www.udemy.com/course/advanced-science-fiction-fantasy/?referralCode=B7B13C5C3D413999ED95 Subscribe monthly via Skillshare: https://skl.sh/3pO6pPV

There's a question about The Matrix I've been asking myself since the franchise established itself in the collective unconscious of humanity back in the early 00s. What is Sigmund Freud doing in these movies? 00:00 What's Sigmund Freud doing here? 02:21 Welcome the the Science Fiction podcast 04:01 Freud vs Jung 09:05 Good vs Evil 13:00 Carl Jung's little Red Book 16:26 The Jungian tradition in 20th century storytelling 22:21 The Matrix and the archetypes of Carl Jung 35:17 The false god of the Gnostics 37:34 The journey to the Self 39:56 A Jungian myth for the 21st century Watch the original Matrix full movie: https://amzn.to/3GUbPRh Follow the Science Fiction podcast: https://damiengwalter.com/podcast Join the Science Fiction community: https://www.facebook.com/groups/324897304599197 Follow the full course in Writing the 21st Century Myth : https://damiengwalter.com/advanced-scifi-and-fantasy/ Enroll on Udemy: https://www.udemy.com/course/advanced-science-fiction-fantasy/?referralCode=B7B13C5C3D413999ED95 Subscribe monthly via Skillshare: https://skl.sh/3pO6pPV

Science fiction is fighting a doctrinal war. Between those who believe that humankind's future is still the stars, and those - like Kim Stanley Robinson - who believe interstellar travel is a fantasy of religious belief. The science is clear, travel to other stars may well be forever beyond us. So why do we keep telling this story? A response to Kim Stanley Robinson's interview for the Science Fiction Talks club on Clubhouse. Find his full interview here: https://www.clubhouse.com/room/xe65rroG Read The MInistry For The Future: https://amzn.to/3y5YmT3 Follow the Science Fiction podcast: https://damiengwalter.com/podcast Join the Science Fiction community: https://www.facebook.com/groups/324897304599197 Follow the full course in Writing the 21st Century Myth : https://damiengwalter.com Enroll on Udemy: https://www.udemy.com/course/advanced-science-fiction-fantasy/?referralCode=B7B13C5C3D413999ED95 Subscribe monthly via Skillshare: https://skl.sh/3pO6pPV

Rick Deckard is a Replicant. And Rick Deckard is also not the hero of Blade Runner...but is the villain. But the obvious questions about Blade Runner are also the least interesting. Empathy is the core of the Blade Runner story. Why we feel it, who we feel it for, and who we choose to exclude from our empathy. Blade Runner is an empathy test...for the audience...to see if you and I are human. All too often, we fail the test. Watch on YouTube: https://youtu.be/qWpLcC7QaSA Follow the full course in Writing the 21st Century Myth : https://damiengwalter.com Enroll on Udemy: https://www.udemy.com/course/advanced-science-fiction-fantasy/?referralCode=B7B13C5C3D413999ED95 Subscribe monthly via Skillshare: https://skl.sh/3pO6pPV Join the Science Fiction community on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/324897304599197

Stories that last through the ages aren't just great storytelling, they also serve the power structures of their time. Powerful people have always patronised great stories. The epic poem Beowulf, The Divine Comedy of Dante Alighieri, the plays of William Shakespeare, were all supported by powerful patrons. Now the most powerful corporation in the world has decided to patronise a $500 billion production of Isaac Asimov's Foundation saga, a story that represents the values of our technocratic elite better than any other. Follow the full course in Advanced Scifi and Fantasy : https://damiengwalter.com Enroll on Udemy: https://www.udemy.com/course/advanced-science-fiction-fantasy/?referralCode=B7B13C5C3D413999ED95 Subscribe monthly via Skillshare: https://skl.sh/3pO6pPV Join the Science Fiction community on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/324897304599197

If science fiction is a gateway to the psychedelic, then DUNE is a portal to...awakening. Frank Herbert's seminal novel and David Lynch's baroquely weird movie are both powerful works of art on the theme of human awakening. Denis Villeneuve's 2021 adaptation is a masterpiece of worldbuilding. But is it a kick in the third eye for would be seekers of truth? If the 13 year old me could see this Dune afresh, would the sleeper awaken? Discuss this podcast on the Science Fiction community - https://www.facebook.com/groups/324897304599197/ Get the Science Fiction podcast free on your choice of app : https://damiengwalter.com/podcast Join the course in Scifi and Fantasy writing on Udemy: https://www.udemy.com/course/advanced-science-fiction-fantasy/?referralCode=B7B13C5C3D413999ED95 Subscribe monthly via Skillshare: https://skl.sh/3pO6pPV