Washington Post columnist Megan McArdle joins us to discuss her favorite science fiction and her new podcast Reasonably Optimistic . Topics discussed: Robert Heinlein and Libertarianism, Working in Book Publishing, Lord of the Rings and Rendezvous with Rama , Peter Suderman and Video Games, Dungeons & Dragons and Call of Cthulhu , Megan’s Science Fiction Novel, The State of Book Publishing, Explaining Science Fiction to Women, Dune and Artificial Intelligence, Megan’s Podcast and Optimism. A...
Jan 08, 2026•1 hr 3 min
Andrea Kail, Matthew Kressel, and Tom Gerencer join us to discuss the Stephen King movie adaptations The Running Man , The Long Walk , The Dead Zone , and The Mist . Time stamps: The Running Man (17:44), The Long Walk (47:14), The Dead Zone (1:10:45), The Mist (1:30:20). Ad-free episodes are available to our paid supporters over at patreon.com/geeks. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices...
Dec 23, 2025•2 hr 5 min
Mercurio D. Rivera joins us to discuss the last nine stories from the book The Best of Larry Niven . Stories discussed: “Flatlander” (2:06), “The Borderland of Sol” (17:15), “The Magic Goes Away” (31:40), “A Teardrop Falls” (44:00), “The Return of William Proxmire” (49:43), “Limits” (57:45), “Smut Talk” (1:07:21), “The Missing Mass” (1:12:35), “Cautionary Tales” (1:21:30). Ad-free episodes are available to our paid supporters over at patreon.com/geeks. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit meg...
Dec 15, 2025•1 hr 41 min
Andrea Kail, Matthew Kressel, and Tom Gerencer join us to discuss the Jean-Claude Van Damme movies Timecop , Universal Soldier , Cyborg , and Replicant . Time stamps: Timecop (15:21), Universal Soldier (41:27), Cyborg (1:01:35), Replicant (1:19:53). Ad-free episodes are available to our paid supporters over at patreon.com/geeks. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices...
Nov 25, 2025•2 hr 2 min
Andrea Kail, Matthew Kressel, and Anthony Ha join us to discuss Season 1 of the FX series Alien: Earth , a prequel to the classic films Alien and Aliens . Ad-free episodes are available to our paid supporters over at patreon.com/geeks. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Nov 12, 2025•1 hr 52 min
Anthony Ha joins us to discuss the last six stories from the book The Best of Greg Egan . Stories discussed: "Crystal Nights" (1:27), "Zero for Conduct" (19:18), "Uncanny Valley" (37:31), "Bit Players" (52:11), "3-adica" (1:05:17), "Instantiation" (1:19:51). Ad-free episodes are available to our paid supporters over at patreon.com/geeks. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Oct 27, 2025•1 hr 54 min
Anthony Ha joins us to discuss six more stories from the book The Best of Greg Egan . Stories discussed: “Silver Fire” (1:30), “Reasons to be Cheerful” (16:42), “Oceanic” (28:10), “Oracle” (44:19), “Singleton” (1:04:54), “Dark Integers” (1:16:32). Ad-free episodes are available to our paid supporters over at patreon.com/geeks. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Oct 08, 2025•1 hr 44 min
Philip Gelatt and Morgan Galen King, creators of The Spine of Night , join us to discuss the book Flame and Crimson: A History of Sword and Sorcery by Brian Murphy. Ad-free episodes are available to our paid supporters over at patreon.com/geeks. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Sep 26, 2025•1 hr 31 min
Mercurio D. Rivera joins us to discuss nine more stories from the book The Best of Larry Niven . Stories discussed: “Inconstant Moon” (1:34), “Rammer” (18:42), “Cloak of Anarchy” (27:42), “The Fourth Profession” (38:22), “Flash Crowd” (47:59), “The Defenseless Dead” (59:37), “Flight of the Horse” (1:15:55), “The Hole Man” (1:22:29), “Night on Mispec Moor” (1:28:32). Ad-free episodes are available to our paid supporters over at patreon.com/geeks. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone....
Sep 10, 2025•1 hr 42 min
Matthew Kressel joins us to discuss Fantastic Fiction at KGB, a monthly science fiction reading series in New York City. Support the Fantastic Fiction at KGB fundraiser over at www.gofundme.com/f/fantastic-fiction-reading-series-at-the-kgb-bar. Ad-free episodes are available to our paid supporters over at patreon.com/geeks. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Aug 28, 2025•1 hr 43 min
In this special 600th episode David Barr Kirtley interviews his wife Steph Grossman, short story writer and co-host of the Basement Girls horror podcast. Ad-free episodes are available to our paid supporters over at patreon.com/geeks. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Aug 20, 2025•1 hr 39 min
Tom Gerencer joins us to discuss the book Storyteller: Writing Lessons and More from 27 Years of the Clarion Writers’ Workshop by Kate Wilhelm. Ad-free episodes are available to our paid supporters over at patreon.com/geeks. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Aug 10, 2025•1 hr 30 min
Matt London joins us to discuss narrative design, George R. R. Martin, and the new book Grace Given: The Mythology of Elden Ring by George Truscott. Ad-free episodes are available to our paid supporters over at patreon.com/geeks. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Jul 28, 2025•1 hr 29 min
Matthew Kressel joins us to discuss his short story collection Histories Within Us and his new novel Space Trucker Jess . Ad-free episodes are available to our paid supporters over at patreon.com/geeks. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Jul 11, 2025•1 hr 29 min
Andrea Kail, Matthew Kressel, and Rajan Khanna join us to discuss God Emperor of Dune by Frank Herbert, the fourth book in the Dune series. Ad-free episodes are available to our paid supporters over at patreon.com/geeks. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Jun 25, 2025•1 hr 46 min
Tom Gerencer joins us to discuss the book The Business of Science Fiction by Mike Resnick and Barry N. Malzberg. Ad-free episodes are available to our paid supporters over at patreon.com/geeks. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Jun 09, 2025•1 hr 11 min
Andrea Kail, Erin Lindsey, and Matt London join us to discuss Season 2 of the Disney+ series Andor , a prequel to the movie Rogue One: A Star Wars Story . Ad-free episodes are available to our paid supporters over at patreon.com/geeks. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
May 26, 2025•1 hr 27 min
Warren Lapine joins us to discuss editing the book On Writing Science Fiction and Fantasy by Roger Zelazny. Ad-free episodes are available to our paid supporters over at patreon.com/geeks. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
May 18, 2025•1 hr 9 min
Anthony Ha joins us to discuss the first eight stories in the book The Best of Greg Egan , part of the SF Masterworks series of science fiction classics. Stories discussed: "Learning to Be Me" (20:42), "Axiomatic" (44:03), "Appropriate Love" (50:10), "Into Darkness" (1:00:30), "Unstable Orbits in the Space of Lies" (1:14:47), "Closer" (1:26:42), "Chaff" (1:38:50), "Luminous" (1:52:12). Ad-free episodes are available to our paid supporters over at patreon.com/geeks. Learn more about your ad choic...
May 08, 2025•2 hr 24 min
Tom Gerencer joins us to discuss the book The Top of the Volcano: The Award-Winning Stories of Harlan Ellison , which contains 11 stories not included in Harlan Ellison’s Greatest Hits . Stories discussed: "A Boy and His Dog" (1:39), "The Region Between" (37:12), "Basilisk" (48:29), "Adrift Just Off the Islets of Langerhans: Latitude 38° 54' N, Longitude 77° 00' 13" W" (53:57), "Croatoan" (1:05:55), "Count the Clock that Tells the Time" (1:16:45), "With Virgil Oddum at the East Pole" (1:32:30), ...
Apr 23, 2025•2 hr 40 min
Mercurio D. Rivera joins us to discuss the first nine stories in the book The Best of Larry Niven , edited by Jonathan Strahan. Stories discussed: "Becalmed in Hell" (5:10), "Bordered in Black" (17:54), "Neutron Star" (26:35), "The Soft Weapon" (38:16), "The Jigsaw Man" (56:27), "The Deadlier Weapon" (1:02:55), "All the Myriad Ways" (1:08:16), "Not Long Before the End" (1:19:48), "Man of Steel, Woman of Kleenex" (1:28:01). Ad-free episodes are available to our paid supporters over at patreon.com...
Apr 04, 2025•1 hr 49 min
Andrea Kail, Matthew Kressel, and Rajan Khanna join us to discuss Season 1 of the HBO series Dune: Prophecy , a prequel set 10,000 years before the events of Frank Herbert’s Dune . Ad-free episodes are available to our paid supporters over at patreon.com/geeks. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Mar 22, 2025•1 hr 37 min
James Wynn and Craig Brewer, hosts of the ReReading Wolfe podcast, join us to discuss Gene Wolfe’s classic novel The Urth of the New Sun , a sequel to The Book of the New Sun . Ad-free episodes are available to our paid supporters over at patreon.com/geeks. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Mar 11, 2025•1 hr 28 min
Andrea Kail, Matthew Kressel, and Tom Gerencer join us to discuss the science fiction noir movies Dark City , Strange Days , The Thirteenth Floor , Looker , and Alphaville . Time stamps: Dark City (3:25), Strange Days (28:55), The Thirteenth Floor (48:19), Looker (1:00:43), Alphaville (1:16:19). Ad-free episodes are available to our paid supporters over at patreon.com/geeks. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices...
Feb 23, 2025•1 hr 51 min
Tom Gerencer joins us to discuss the second half of book Harlan Ellison’s Greatest Hits . Stories discussed: "On the Downhill Side" (2:34), "Paladin of the Lost Hour" (12:00), "The Beast That Shouted Love at the Heart of the World" (30:08), "I'm Looking for Kadak" (39:10), "How Interesting: A Tiny Man" (48:42), "Djinn, No Chaser" (59:36), "How's the Nightlife on Cissalda?" (1:09:06), "From A to Z, in the Chocolate Alphabet" (1:17:32), "Eidolons" (1:26:13), "All the Lies that are My Life" (1:32:3...
Feb 05, 2025•1 hr 58 min
Philip Gelatt joins us to discuss writing the hard science fiction film The Europa Report and the animated sword & sorcery film The Spine of Night . Ad-free episodes are available to our paid supporters over at patreon.com/geeks. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Jan 02, 2025•1 hr 5 min
J.T. Petty joins us to discuss serving as executive producer on the new Amazon series Secret Level , a collection of animated shorts set in the worlds of popular video games. Ad-free episodes are available to our paid supporters over at patreon.com/geeks. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Dec 22, 2024•59 min
Tom Gerencer joins us to discuss the first half of the book Harlan Ellison’s Greatest Hits , edited by J. Michael Straczynski. Stories discussed: "'Repent Harlequin,' Said the Ticktockman" (13:08), "I Have No Mouth, and I Must Scream" (26:00), "The Deathbird" (37:17), "Chatting with Anubis" (47:39), "The Whimper of Whipped Dogs" (51:29), "Jefty is Five" (59:10), "Pretty Maggie Moneyeyes" (1:11:39), "Shatterday" (1:26:56), "Mefisto in Onyx" (1:32:48). Ad-free episodes are available to our paid su...
Dec 15, 2024•1 hr 57 min
James Wynn and Craig Brewer, hosts of the ReReading Wolfe podcast, join us to discuss Gene Wolfe’s classic novel The Fifth Head of Cerberus , about two planets that may or may not be inhabited by shapeshifting aliens. Ad-free episodes are available to our paid supporters over at patreon.com/geeks. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Nov 30, 2024•1 hr 32 min
Andrea Kail, Matthew Kressel, and Tom Gerencer join us to discuss the movies Gattaca , The Truman Show , Simone , In Time , and Anon , all of which were written by Andrew Niccol. Time stamps: Gattaca (11:57), The Truman Show (45:09), Simone (1:03:13), In Time (1:18:08), Anon (1:25:59). Ad-free episodes are available to our paid supporters over at patreon.com/geeks. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices...
Nov 19, 2024•1 hr 57 min
