Why is "The Mandalorian" so popular with Star Wars fans, yet the latest films are so divisive? Where does it veer from the traditional beats and themes of Star Wars, and where does it embrace that unique George Lucas flavor? Jack Helmuth and Nick Sperdute join to unpack everyone's favorite bounty hunter.
“The Stepford Wives” (1975) is a satirical horror film about spunky urban wives getting replaced by their husbands with submissive, ornamental robots. Chris and Cristi Moody come on to talk about the unease captured by the movie in a time of gender roles tumult, 1950s conformity, Second Wave Feminism, and parallels to “Get Out.”
Nick and Heaton visit Kashyyyk to work as mall santas for Life Day on the Wooki homeworld. "Silent Night" care of "How it Should have Ended" on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vd79mpzBnJ4
Is the robot in "Ex Machina" a self-aware entity or just a stack of cold, complex algorithms which appear such? If we knew super intelligent A.I. could curse cancer (but also wanted to kill us) would we even attempt to build it? Ashland Viscosi and Jay Mutzafi rejoin to discuss. Topics covered: the Turing Test, "The Chinese Room" thought experiment, and "Mary in the Black and White Room."
Lord Martin Rees is a cosmologist, mathematician, and the Astronomer Royal of the United Kingdom. When he's not busy running the Centre for The Study of Existential Risk at Cambridge University, he's authoring books on science and astrophysics. He joins the show to discuss his latest work, "On the Future: Prospects for Humanity." Click here to see this and other books featured on the podcast!
We beat Hitler. Whew! But what if we hadn't? What if the Nazi regime had prevailed? Science fiction repeatedly approaches the topic, either to guess geopolitics or just to gawk at the horror of it. On today's episode Andrew Young and Josh Jennings join Heaton to talk about "The Man in the High Castle" by Philip K. Dick, "Fatherland" by Robert Harris, and "The Plot Against America" by Philip Roth.
Confronted by an alien probe which can only speak the language of an extinct species, Nick and Heaton must journey back in time to save Earth.
If an asteroid were poised to wipe out all life on Earth, would you still go to work? In Ben Winters' novel, a detective investigates a homicide in the pre-apocalypse, while many of his colleagues think it's pointless. Tim Sandefur returns to discuss "The Last Policeman," existentialism, and finding purpose in life against our inevitable mortality.
The Matrix is actually quite a lot deeper than simulation theory and some cool fight scenes with black trench coats. The Wachowski sisters put a modern, techy spin on Plato's Allegory of the Cave, with ample helpings of Descartes, Hilary Putnam's "Vat in a Brain" and Robert Nozick's "Experience Machine." Andrew Young and Nick Sperdute join Heaton to discuss.
Cormac McCarthy's "The Road" is simultaneously the most beautiful and hideous post-apocalyptic prose ever written. It follows a father and his son as they make their way through hellish wasteland, witnessing the horror of civilization's last wheeze en route. Josh Jennings joins to discuss.
Robin Hanson is an economist and the author of "The Age of Em: Work, Love and Life when Robots Rule the Earth." He joins the show to discuss his theory that in the future the most intelligence and productive people in society will be uploaded to computers and indefinitely duplicated, to supercharge the economy.
How does Star Trek handle gay characters, and what's the balance between representation and tokenism? Andrew Young rejoins the show to discuss homosexuality in the Star Trek universe. (And get into a bunch of digressions involving John Stossel's Emmy, and Cambodia.)
What would happen if you were reincarnated. . . to the exact same life you just lived? What would happen when you were reborn to the exact same life fifteen times in a row? Ashland Viscosi and Nick Sperdute rejoin for another book club episode about "The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August" by Claire North.
"The Black Hole" is Disney's 1979 answer to Star Wars--which didn't work out quite as well. It's a fun romp, involving telepaths, snarky robots, and a spacey Captain Nero. Although it has... some issues. Nick Sperdute and Andrew Young join to discuss on ATA's first inaugural Movie Club!
If you could put together a new series, drawing on characters from across the Star Trek franchise, what would you make? Paul Mattingly and Nick Sperdute join Heaton for a round of Starfleet Draft Picks.
Nick and Heaton must journey to the mysterious "Staten Island" as part of their quest, where they encounter a degenerate lizard man. Cast: Paul Mattingly as the Lizard Man, Andrew Heaton, and Nick Sperdute
Comedian Will Hines joins to discuss the themes and work of Philip K. Dick, the genius (and unstable) mind behind films like "Minority Report" and "Bladerunner," plus a slew of books and short stories.
Nick and Heaton must journey to the Replicant Homeworld in hopes of tracking down their Netflix password. Cast: Nick Sperdute, Andrew Heaton, and Kourtni Beebe as Fuschia Robotski
First, Jennings and Heaton compare their plans to beat the undead in their respective cities of Los Angeles and Wichita. Then, author Daniel Kraus comes on to discuss his new book "The Living Dead," which he co-authored with the late George Romero. Kraus interview at 1:03
It turns out, rumors of Nick's demise have been greatly exaggerated. Cast: Andrew Heaton, Nick Sperdute, and Jared Berman as Joeblobe
Mary Jo Pehl wrote and acted in MST3K, a comedy show which dug up old (terrible) sci fi flicks and then pelted jokes at it. Over the course of its run, MST3K pioneered a new comedic medium, and rose from a local access program, to a Comedy Central hit, to cult classic. Mary Jo joins Heaton to discuss how they put the show together, and the deeper side of the comedy that went into it.
Nick selflessly enters a deadly chamber in order to save the other inhabitants of the apartment from radiation. Cast: Andrew Heaton, Nick Sperdute, Jared Berman as Joeblobe, Kevin Delano as AJ-19
Nick and Heaton travel through an inter-dimensional portal they found, and emerge on a planet strikingly similar to the one from Star Trek: The Final Frontier Cast: Andrew Heaton, Nick Sperdute, and Andrew Young as the Spacehead god
When Nick and Heaton discovered an inter-dimensional doorway in the back of their refrigerator, they're able to step through and visit the winter world of Narnia. And meet one of its talking animal inhabitants. Cast: Andrew Heaton, Nick Sperdute, and Nick Polowy as Mr. Beaver
Heaton realizes he's actually been living inside of a virtual reality program, and must confront his actual reality. Cast: Andrew Heaton and Nick Sperdute
Stuck in lockdown and bored, Heaton and Nick download into a virtual Sim City universe to manage an entire city. Cast: Andrew Heaton, Nick Sperdute, and Andrew Young as Mayor Sinclair St. Lewis
Who had the best character arcs in Star Trek: Voyager, and what were the hardest ethical conundrums the Delta Quadrant lobbed at Captain Janeway? How does her command style compare to Kirk or Picard? Dr. Erin Macdonald and Andrew Young join Heaton to discuss the deeper side of everyone's favorite intrepid-class vessel.
If supervillains are so evil, why are they so captivating? Which crime lord would you serve under if you had to pick one? Former Marvel editor Tom Brennan and comic book aficionados Jeremiah Johnson and Nick Sperdute join Heaton to discuss the underlying mystique and purpose of supervillains. This file corrects for an audio issue in a previous upload.
The comedy sketches with Nick and Heaton at the end of the show will be their own segment from now on: "Interstellar Vagabonding: With Nick & Heaton." In this episode, a detective shows up at the apartment to investigate Nick's untimely death. And he thinks it was murder!
If "Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country" is about the end of the Cold War, what's it's position on the Soviet Union? Tim Sandefur challenges Heaton on the underlying morality of the movie and whether or not it's a commie apologism, leading to a long-form discussion about its merits and underlying purpose.
