Social Science Talks Science Fiction » Podcasts

‘In the grim darkness of the far future…’   This month, we try and take on the Warhammer universe by reading the Eisenhorn Trilogy, by Dan Abnett. Does knowledge require being tempted by what you are studying? Is the rule of awesome a good enough setting for a universe? And where are the women? Join us as we discuss Eisenhorn, the Warhammer universe more widely, and whether shared universes are an interesting way of world building. https://ia902703.us.archive.org/29/items/socialsciencetalks/40k.mp3 Contributors: Charlotte Botfield John Wood Matthew Campbell Alex HoseasonFiled under: Podcasts, Uncategorized Tagged: Podcast

‘It was a bright cold morning in April, and the clocks were striking thirteen…’ After much pressure, and the election of Donald Trump, we finally get round to covering 1984 by George Orwell. How does the book hold up today? Do we use the word Orwellian too much? And is there something distinctively English about Orwell’s writing? It’s a book that has come up a lot recently, so join us as we desperately try to stay on topic and fail miserably. https://ia902703.us.archive.org/29/items/socialsciencetalks/1984Edited.mp3 Contributors: Danielle Young Matthew Campbell Alex Hoseason Jim ChisolmFiled under: Podcasts Tagged: Podcast

“I stopped believing there was a power of good and a power of evil that were outside us. And I came to believe that good and evil are names for what people do, not for what they are.” This month, we revisit our childhood memories of Philip Pullman’s His Dark Materials trilogy. What is a daemon? How can animals have wheels? Join us as we discuss its criticism of the church, authority, and whether Ms. Coulter is the most interesting character in the series. https://ia902703.us.archive.org/29/items/socialsciencetalks/DarkMaterials.mp3 Contributors Charlotte Botfield Matthew Campbell Alex HoseasonFiled under: Podcasts, Uncategorized Tagged: Podcast

The Babylon Project was a dream given form… It’s a new year, and carrying through on a resolution that we’ve had since we started the podcast, we got together to discuss Babylon 5. Join us as we discuss handwaving in sci-fi, the necessity of ambition, and how it holds up. https://ia902703.us.archive.org/29/items/socialsciencetalks/Bab_5.mp3   Contributors Matthew Campbell John Wood Alex HoseasonFiled under: Podcasts, Uncategorized Tagged: Podcast

So long, and thanks for all the fish! As we wind down for Christmas, we crank up the improbability drive to a level where it produces, fully formed, and episode on the Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy. Join us as Charlotte has to continue her quest to find a happy science fiction novel, Danielle contemplates her place in the universe, and we drop far too many references. https://ia902703.us.archive.org/29/items/socialsciencetalks/HhgttgEdited.mp3 Contributors Charlotte Botfield Alex Hoseason Danielle Young Matthew CampbellFiled under: Podcasts, Uncategorized Tagged: Podcast

“We were the people who were not in the papers. We lived in the blank white spaces at the edges of print. It gave us more freedom. We lived in the gaps between the stories.” Margaret Atwood’s 1985 novel, The Handmaid’s Tale, is a landmark work of speculative fiction that deals directly with questions of women’s agency in a fervently religious society. Dealing directly with womens’ role in reproduction and providing for society, Atwood’s novel gives us shocking insights into a society rendered infertile by pollution. Join Lydia, Jess and Matthew as they discuss the novel, its characters, and its relationship to politics today. https://ia902703.us.archive.org/29/items/socialsciencetalks/HMT.mp3 Contributors Jess Shahan Lydia Cole Matthew CampbellFiled under: Podcasts Tagged: Podcast

Following the 50th Anniversary and the recent film Star Trek: Beyond, we sit down at Social Sci-Fi towers to discuss what we love and hate about the Star Trek franchise. Does Star Trek today present the same humanistic ideas as Gene Roddenberry did back in the day? Join us as we discuss the best captain, space racism and the gendered nature of naval vessels.   https://ia902703.us.archive.org/29/items/socialsciencetalks/StarTrek.mp3 Contributors Jess Shahan Matthew Campbell Yvonne Rinkart Alex HoseasonFiled under: Podcasts, Uncategorized Tagged: Podcast

“The Fremen were supreme in that quality the ancients called “spannungsbogen” — which is the self-imposed delay between desire for a thing and the act of reaching out to grasp that thing.”     For our 24th episode, join us as we discuss Frank Herbert’s Dune; a key touchstone for science fiction, from sandworms to psychoactive drugs and ecology. What is desert power? Is the planet of Arrakis the most interesting character? And how does Dune reflect ecological ideas?   https://ia902703.us.archive.org/29/items/socialsciencetalks/DuneTablet.mp3   Contributors John Wood Philip Conway Matthew Campbell Alex Hoseason

It’s conference season once again, and Matthew got the long train to Edinburgh in order to talk to Professor Penny Fielding about spies and genre fiction. It’s a great follow up to our past episode on Agent Carter, so if you haven’t heard that yet – check it out! https://ia902703.us.archive.org/29/items/socialsciencetalks/PennyFielding.mp3   Contributors: Matthew Campbell Professor Penny Fielding

After a film night at Social Science Towers, Alex, Matt, Jess and Bleddyn discuss the beginning of the large-scale disaster film, Independence Day. Join us as we discuss 90s pop culture, how to judge the quality of an explosion and whether it really is the Jeff Goldblumiest film ever made.   https://ia802703.us.archive.org/29/items/socialsciencetalks/22IndependenceDay.mp3   Contributors: Alex Hoseason Matthew Campbell Jess Shahan Bleddyn Bowen  

“We did not ask if he had seen any monsters, for monsters have ceased to be news. There is never any shortage of horrible creatures who prey on human beings, snatch away their food, or devour whole populations; but examples of wise social planning are not so easy to find.” 500 Years after it was first published, Utopia remains an important example of a counterfactual narrative that invites us to examine what society might be like, or might become, if organised under different principles. Join us as we discuss property, Marxism, Christianity and whether Thomas More holds a 500-year old record for the best puns in science fiction. Utopia was recently dramatised for BBC Radio 4; you can listen to it here. https://ia902703.us.archive.org/29/items/socialsciencetalks/Utopia.mp3   Participants Alex Hoseason Matthew Campbell Matthew Rees Yvonne RinkartFiled under: Podcasts, Uncategorized Tagged: Podcast

“Word spread because word will spread. Stories and secrets fight, stories win, shed new secrets, which new stories fight, and on.”   This month we discuss Embassytown, by China Miéville. Set in a far outpost of the Empire of Bremen, Embassytown exists in an ecosystem governed by the enigmatic Hosts, who can only say what is. However, changes in the status quo take us on an adventure through the philosophy of language, the Fall, social engineering and a dangerous addiction. Join us as Matt makes a word, Kat gets metaphorical, and new contributor Phil argues that Alex should get over his hatred of plots.   https://ia902703.us.archive.org/29/items/socialsciencetalks/Embassytown.mp3   Contributors Alex Hoseason Matthew Campbell Katharina Hone Philip Conway

What would you do if your actions would change the course of history? Lydia, Charlotte, Sorana and Jess take the spotlight on the podcast this month in this episode, recorded for International Womens’ Day. They discuss Marge Piercy’s Woman on the Edge of Time, a classic of feminist science fiction which centres on the actions of Connie, whose confrontation with the future has radical consequences. https://ia902703.us.archive.org/29/items/socialsciencetalks/WomanOnTheEdgeOfTime.mp3 Contributors: Charlotte Botfield Jess Shahan Lydia Cole Sorana Jude

Common misconception that; that fun is relaxing. If it is, you’re not doing it right. Would you like to play a game? This month, we read the Player of Games, by Iain M. Banks, and follow one of the Culture’s Master-game-players to a gaming competition that has little, if any, relationship to play. On the way we discuss our relationship to games, how Yvonne manages to teach using games, and whether victory is important. https://ia802703.us.archive.org/29/items/socialsciencetalks/PlayerOfGamesEdited.mp3 Participants Alex ‘Failstate’ Hoseason Matthew ‘Blood Bowl’ Campbell Yvonne ‘Papers Please’ Rinkart John ‘Probably playing XCOM’ Wood

We are all susceptible to the pull of viral ideas. Like mass hysteria. Or a tune that gets into your head that you keep humming all day until you spread it to someone else. Jokes. Urban legends. Crackpot religions. Marxism. No matter how smart we get, there is always this deep irrational part that makes us potential hosts for self-replicating information. This month, we dive deep into Snow Crash, by Neal Stephenson. One of the quintessential cyberpunk novels, it follows the hacker Hiro Protagonist as he navigates the complex relationship between the real and virtual worlds on the trail of a conspiracy that threatens the metaverse. We discuss how the novel navigates the divide between the two, how we ‘exist’ online (and why Alex’s parents haven’t quite figured it out yet), and how mobility defines social standing. https://ia902703.us.archive.org/29/items/socialsciencetalks/SnowCrash.mp3 Participants Alex Hoseason Matthew Campbell Sorana Jude John Wood

I have told my sons that they are not under any circumstances to take part in massacres, and that the news of massacres of enemies is not to fill them with satisfaction or glee. I have also told them not to work for companies which make massacre machinery, and to express contempt for people who think we need machinery like that.   This month, we discuss Slaughterhouse Five by Kurt Vonnegut. Chosen by Alex, the book attempts to deliver on the idea of a non-linear narrative and was provoked by the bombing of Dresden in World War II. Join us as we try to figure out if Billy Pilgrim is the author, argue over whether it is an anti-war book and discuss whether the Tralfamadorians are real or not.   https://ia902703.us.archive.org/29/items/socialsciencetalks/SlaughterhouseFive.mp3   Participants Alex Hoseason Matthew Campbell Gillian McFadyen Dyfan Powel

It’s been a rough month here at Social Science Towers, and we were unable to record a new episode. Luckily for you, we have an interview with friend of the podcast Georg Loefflmann instead. We found Georg walking around a hotel in Sicily, and managed to coax him into chatting a little about Man in the High Castle by Phillip K. Dick, which has recently been made into a series by Amazon Studios. https://ia902703.us.archive.org/29/items/socialsciencetalks/ManInTheHighCastle.mp3Filed under: Interviews, Podcasts Tagged: Podcast

“No one would have believed in the last years of the nineteenth century that this world was being watched keenly and closely by intelligences greater than man’s and yet as mortal as his own; that as men busied themselves about their various concerns they were scrutinised and studied, perhaps almost as narrowly as a man with a microscope might scrutinise the transient creatures that swarm and multiply in a drop of water.” Bleddyn chose War of the Worlds for this month, and we decided to deal with the book rather than the musical, which was his original idea. What ARE the chances of anything coming from Mars? How is the novel symptomatic of colonialism? And whatever happened to the Torpedo Ram? Join us as we discuss these questions and more. https://ia902703.us.archive.org/29/items/socialsciencetalks/WarOfTheWorldsFull.mp3 Contributors Matthew Campbell Alex Hoseason Charlotte Botfield Bleddyn BowenFiled under: Podcasts Tagged: Podcast

Never compromise. Not even in the face of Armageddon. That’s always been the difference between us, Daniel. Today, we deal with Watchmen, because Matt had the bright idea of doing a graphic novel on an audio-only podcast. We talk over whether we consider the characters heroes, inevitability in the story, and whether Dr. Manhattan is God. Also Able Archer, and Sarah’s adventures through the medium of graphic novels. https://ia902703.us.archive.org/29/items/socialsciencetalks/Watchmen.mp3 Contributors Matthew Campbell Alex Hoseason Bleddyn Bowen Sarah JamalFiled under: Podcasts Tagged: Podcast

It’s conference season, and we dispatched our one-man-army Matt to interview a series of scholars studying science fiction at the British International Studies Association 2015 conference in London. This time it’s Dr. Georg Loefflmann, on the Pentagon vs. Aliens. https://ia902703.us.archive.org/29/items/socialsciencetalks/Georg_Lofflman_Pentagon.mp3 Contributors Matthew Campbell Dr. Georg LoefflmannFiled under: Podcasts Tagged: Podcast