Podcast Episodes

Encore Episode: Silicon Valley vs. Science Fiction: ChatGPT

For our summer vacation, we're re-upping the first in our "Silicon Valley vs. Science Fiction" series from 2023, about how Silicon Valley appropriates and misinterprets science fiction. Silicon Valle…

Published on 9 hours ago

Encore Episode: Obsessed with Battlestar Galactica

Season 1

Charlie Jane and Annalee are on book tour(s), so we're re-upping one of our favorite episodes from 2023. At that time, we were celebrating the twentieth anniversary of the rebooted version of Battles…

Published on 2 weeks ago

Robots! Witches! Annalee and Charlie Jane talk about their new books

It's a double book birthday! Annalee has just released Automatic Noodle, a wonderfully cozy book about robots who've survived a devastating war and now just want to run a noodle restaurant. And in 12…

Published on 4 weeks ago

Murderbot and the Stories That Heal Us

Season 1 Episode 181

It's scary out there — so thank goodness we're taking comfort in some wondrous books, TV shows, comics and movies. What makes a story comforting? And why is a dark horror story sometimes better comfo…

Published on 1 month, 1 week ago

The Invisible Chain that Holds Us Together (w/ Alexis Madrigal)

Season 1 Episode 180

We keep hearing about the supply chain lately... but what is it? And how do all these shipping containers moving around the world shape our lives? We talk to Alexis Madrigal, author of the brand new …

Published on 1 month, 3 weeks ago

Cute Body Horror

Season 1 Episode 179

We’ve got some good news and some bad news. The good news is that we’re talking to Cirocco Dunlap, the showrunner of The Second Best Hospital in the Galaxy, easily one of our favorite shows right now…

Published on 2 months, 1 week ago

Public Health Is a Utopian Vision (with Naseem Jamnia and Natasha O'Brown)

Public health is a vital part of keeping all of us safe — but what does it mean, and where did the concept come from? Special guest host Naseem Jamnia breaks it down for us, and tells us about some f…

Published on 2 months, 3 weeks ago

Simulating Earth and Politicizing Science

Season 1 Episode 177

It's the end of science as we know it in America. As the U.S. government dismantles science agencies and slashes budgets for health and environmental research, we talk about what it means to politici…

Published on 3 months ago

The Power of Protest (w/ andré carrington)

Season 1 Episode 176

It's time to rise up. That's why we’re talking about the power of protest, in real life but also in fiction. Indeed, the act of writing science fiction can itself be a protest, and sometimes it’s jus…

Published on 3 months, 2 weeks ago

Too Bad About the Internet (with Anil Dash)

Season 1 Episode 175

Where did the Internet go wrong, and how do we fix it? To find out more, we talk to entrepreneur and activist Anil Dash about the alternate history of technology. But first, we talk about why Doctor …

Published on 4 months ago