Classic science fiction wears its love of colonialism on its sleeve, from heroic explorers to space empires that keep the peace. Why are empires such a major part of the genre, and how do we break free? Plus we talk to Naseem Jamnia about their new book, The Bruising of Qilwa. Show notes: www.ouropinionsarecorrect.com/shownotes...
Fears of nuclear war are in the news again. We revisit a 2019 episode about how science fiction has dealt with atomic weapons, and how twenty-first century writers will represent the dangers of nuclear war. Shownotes: https://www.ouropinionsarecorrect.com/shownotes/2019/2/28/episode-26-the-bomb-is-back
People talk about "pacing" all the time when it comes to storytelling — but what does "pacing" mean? How do you make a story feel like it's moving faster or slower, and why does this matter? And how do you figure out what pace your own story needs to move at? Show notes: www.ouropinionsarecorrect.com/shownotes...
Floods. Sea level rise. Superstorms. Droughts. All over the planet, people are being hit by disasters caused by too much water or not enough, and it's only going to get worse. We talk about why science fiction has been focused on water disasters for over a century, from Princess of Mars to Dune and Mad Max: Fury Road. We're also joined by flood geologist Kyle House, who tells us about ancient floods -- and the recent one that inundated his neighborhood in Arizona. Show notes: www.ouropinionsarec...
It's time to get some therapy, with some help from speculative fiction. In this special live recording from WorldCon, we talk to actor/creator Theo Germaine about fictional therapists (good and evil), and what makes a story therapeutic. Plus, we discuss their recent scary therapy movie They/Them, as well as their role in the show "Work in Progress." Can a story actually heal us? And what happens when stories hurt us instead? Show notes: www.ouropinionsarecorrect.com/shownotes
We hear a lot about redemption arcs, but what about damnation arcs, where characters go darkside? In this episode, we talk about the "villain's journey," or the tropey route followed by characters like Anakin Skywalker on his trip to Darth Vader-hood. But what happens when the script is changed, and characters hover between hero and villain? Neon Yang, author of The Genesis of Misery and the Tensorate series, joins us to talk about how to feels to turn a character bad. Show notes: www.ouropinion...
Recently Charlie Jane came up with a new term for stories she's been enjoying: Sweetweird. What does this mean, and is it a subgenre or an aesthetic? And also, why do we enjoy inventing and debating new genre terms so much? Show notes: www.ouropinionsarecorrect.com/shownotes...
Plastic was once a symbol of our shiny future, and now it represents our trashed, polluted present. What's the future of this fossil-fueled polymer? We talk about what makes plastic so scary -- in science and fiction. And then we call up William Gibson , who has thought a LOT about plastic, in fiction and real life. Show notes: www.ouropinionsarecorrect.com/shownotes...
Musicals transport us to another world through song and dance — but how can we use their otherworldly power to tell stories about robots and monsters? To find out, we talk to playwrights MJ Kaufman and Reina Hardy. Plus Laser from the Doubleclicks tells us about their new musical, Teaching a Robot to Love! Topics discussed: Our formative memories with Xanadu and Can't Stop the Music The roots of musicals in comic opera and burlesque The wonder of director/choreographer Kenny Ortega MJ Kaufman an...
In this special episode, we answer questions from our wondrous Patreon supporters. We discuss how to write convincing non-human characters, where people will live in 10,000 years, and why Dungeons & Dragons has become so popular. Plus why we love Canada! Shownotes: https://www.ouropinionsarecorrect.com/shownotes
People have been paid for labor for at least 5,000 years, but the modern 'workplace' is a pretty recent invention. We look at how science fiction has dealt with the transformation of labor — plus we talk to Alan Henry, author of the new book Seen, Heard and Paid. Show notes: www.ouropinionsarecorrect.com/shownotes
Cars have made our lives better in many ways, but they also kill a lot of people and damage the environment. Science fiction has worked hard to help us fall in love with the automobile, to the point where we can't imagine a future without it. Why do most of our favorite stories celebrate cars? And how can we break free from these car-centric narratives? Show notes: www.ouropinionsarecorrect.com/shownotes
Why has darkness descended upon the university? We talk about the dark academia aesthetic, from Donna Tartt's "The Secret History" to the show "Dear White People." What defines this aesthetic, and how does it shed light on current traumas within the academy? Also -- why is it so gay? Academic Ana Quiring joins us to discuss all this and more. Show notes: www.ouropinionsarecorrect.com/shownotes
With the U.S. Supreme Court poised to overturn Roe v. Wade, a landmark court case that made abortion legal in this country, our future is looking very different. In this encore episode, we talk about the future of reproductive rights -- our hopes and our fears. Show notes: www.ouropinionsarecorrect.com/shownotes
Nothing is ever permanent in pop culture: people die and come back to life all the time, huge changes get retconned, and Spider-Man is always a young guy who's just starting out. Why are we stuck with the "illusion of change," and what happens when this goes on for several decades? And how do we find a way to move forward? Show notes: www.ouropinionsarecorrect.com/shownotes
Paranoia’s back, baby. We talk about two Cold War obsessions — space combat and brainwashing — and how they’ve returned in a big way. Cold War tropes are haunting our science fiction and dominating political discourse in the United States. Why now? Show notes: www.ouropinionsarecorrect.com/shownotes
Princesses used to be helpless damsels, but these days they're more likely to pick up a sword than wait to be rescued. Why do we love princesses who fight back? Does it have something to do with our hang-ups about femininity? Plus we talk about Charlie Jane's new book Dreams Bigger Than Heartbreak! Show notes: www.ouropinionsarecorrect.com/shownotes
Humans have been trying to communicate with non-human animals for thousands of years. We have stories about magical talking animals, and tales of scientists who use technology to turn wild dolphins into friendly co-workers. What do these stories say about us, and what happens when we try to make them come true? Also, science reporter Arielle Duhaime-Ross joins us to talk about their latest podcast, which is all about teaching apes to use sign language. Show notes: www.ouropinionsarecorrect.com/s...
Why is it so hard to imagine money being different in the future? We talk about the problem of money in science fiction, the ancient history of spade coins, and cash that spies on you. Plus, we're joined by guest Stacy Marie Ishmael, managing editor for crypto at Bloomberg News , to talk about where money is headed in the future. Watch out for Bitcoins!
JK Rowling has become an anti-trans activist on social media. This news has sent Harry Potter fandom -- always full of queers and trans people -- into mourning. We talk to author/publisher (and longtime Slytherin) Cecilia Tan about how to ignore Rowling and take back Harry Potter.
Many people claim that if you traveled back in time, you could never succeed in changing the past---but our favorite time travelers break that rule. Why is it so fun to rewrite history? To find out, we talk to Keto Shimizu, showrunner of Legends of Tomorrow , and Terry Matalas, showrunner of Star Trek: Picard . Show notes: www.ouropinionsarecorrect.com/shownotes
Science fiction is full of heroic journalists, and the real-life world of journalism is filled with people who have been deeply influenced by ideas from science fiction. In this episode, we talk about the love affair between Superman and muckrakers — and the deep connection between cyberpunk and media criticism. Plus, how did the 1970s movie Network predict memes and cable news? Show notes: www.ouropinionsarecorrect.com/shownotes...
The Wheel of Time is one of the biggest fantasy shows of all time, and now it's a huge TV show. How does the TV version handle the rigid gender divisions of the books? And how do the show's characters challenge gender stereotypes? To get some answers, we talk to C.L. Clark, Wheel of Time fan and author of The Unbroken. Show notes: www.ouropinionsarecorrect.com/shownotes
The United States is growing more dysfunctional, and it's increasingly obvious that our political systems are designed to fail. Can we continue to exist as a unified country for another fifty years? Or will our future look like the Hunger Games, with an unrecognizable USA? To find out, we asked New York Times columnist Jamelle Bouie. Show notes: www.ouropinionsarecorrect.com/shownotes
This week we're bringing you an episode of Deep Futures, a podcast hosted by Annalee and produced by Campside Media and Mailchimp. In this episode, Annalee talks to United Farm Workers organizer Armando Elenes about unionizing essential workers -- and what he hopes the future holds for farm workers and union labor. You can find more episodes of Deep Futures wherever you get your podcasts!
We're still on hiatus until the new year, so here's one of our favorite episodes from the past. Romance and science fiction have always been closely connected, but lately some of the best SF writing is in the romance genre. We talk to Alyssa Cole, author of the A.I. Who Loved Me, about the love affair between SF and romance. https://www.ouropinionsarecorrect.com/shownotes/2020/5/7/episode-56-why-science-fiction-needs-romance
This week we're bringing you an episode of Deep Futures, a podcast hosted by Annalee and produced by Campside Media and Mailchimp. In this episode, Annalee talks to chemistry professor Raychelle Burks about forensics -- and how we'll use chemistry to solve murders in the future. You can find more episodes of Deep Futures wherever you get your podcasts!
Sometimes the internet feels like a bubbling cauldron of scum, but it can still make us laugh. Joining us to talk about humor in the social media age is comedian Vinny Thomas, whose video bits skewering science fiction and animal biology are wildly popular on Twitter. We talk about internet humor fails, why comedy is always political, and which non-human animals are secretly mocking us. Show notes: www.ouropinionsarecorrect.com/shownotes...
This week we're bringing you an episode of Deep Futures, a podcast hosted by Annalee and produced by Campside Media and Mailchimp. In this episode, Annalee talks to archaeologist Sarah Parcak about the deep history of Egyptian urbanism and the future of cities. You can find more episodes of Deep Futures wherever you get your podcasts!
Social media has become one of the biggest problems of our time, so we decided to re-up one of our favorite episodes from the past. How does science fiction deal with the rise of social networks---and how is this different from the way the real-life news media talks about it? And what does the future look like after social media dies? https://www.ouropinionsarecorrect.com/shownotes/2019/4/25/episode-30-social-media-must-die
