Recorded Tomorrow
25 episodes - English - Latest episode: over 3 years ago - ★★★★★ - 3 ratingsA show about the rules, problems, and pitfalls of time travel. Updates monthly.
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Episodes
Recorded Yesterday - Bill &Ted Face the Edit
December 15, 2020 17:30 - 51 minutes - 119 MBGreetings, travelers! Here is nearly an hour of conversation from our Bill & Ted Face the Music episode with Rachel, Scott, and Spiros. I ended up cutting it from the original episode for time - and because a lot of it has nothing to do with Bill or Ted. Actually, some of it has nothing to do with time travel at all! But the conversation was great, and some of it was genuinely mind-blowing. Enjoy!
Episode 19 - Bill & Ted Face the Music
November 17, 2020 17:30 - 56 minutes - 130 MBParty On, Dudes! Now that it's available all over the world, we felt we could finally talk about the third entry in the most excellent time travel trilogy, Bill & Ted Face the Music. We have an absolutely triumphant conversation with returning guests Rachel "Quirky" Schenk & Scott Thomas (both of Infinity Podcast fame), along with quantum physicist and science consultant for the film, Spiros Michalakis. We go deep on the nature of time itself, how traversing it works (both in the film and i...
The Life That I Can Save - A Short Story
October 21, 2020 18:09 - 12 minutes - 28.5 MBAnother short story for your listening pleasure! Transcript below is the first draft of the script, there were some slight changes made during the recording, and a few more during the edit, so it doesn't line up exactly, but it's pretty close. Enjoy! The Life That I Can Save Written & Produced by Jesse Ferguson Cast: Travis, George, Narrator: Jesse Ferguson Darlene: Ariel Ferguson “Have you got eyes on him?” A voice in her ear asks. “I see him,” she says. “He’s on his way to the bar....
Episode 18 - Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure
August 27, 2020 04:52 - 41 minutes - 94.2 MBUPDATE: At the time of this recording, Bill & Ted Face the Music was still scheduled for release on September 1st. It has since been pushed up by a week, to August 28th. This episode is most triumphant! We sit down with Scott Thomas and Rachel "Quirky" Shenk of The Infinity Podcast to discuss one of Jesse's favorite time travel movies: Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure, just in time for the third installment of the series. We talk about what it gets right (almost everything), where it falls ...
Episode 17 - Wait For Me
July 16, 2020 08:33 - 36 minutes - 83 MBWe sit down with Jeeyon Shim and Kevin Kulp to talk about the Kickstarter they just launched, Wait For Me. It's a time-travel journaling game, where the player jumps back and forth through their own life, writing journal entries to their past (and future) selves. As of publication, the kickstarter is still active for a little less than a week, so check it out! WAIT FOR ME Jeeyon Shim Kevin Kulp
BONUS EPISODE - Memento in Chronological Order
July 10, 2020 19:00 - 31 minutes - 71.4 MBThis is the excerpt from our Memento episode where we did our best to describe the plot in chronological order. Thanks again to our guest Greg Downing of Through the Wind Door!
Episode 16 - Memento
June 15, 2020 19:00 - 46 minutes - 106 MBUpdate: I fixed an editing error where a "Future Jesse" line was in the wrong spot, overlapping some other speech. Two big things: First, I want to apologize for the audio quality this episode, especially mine. With everyone being quarantined at home, it's more difficult to find quiet places with good acoustics to record. I think I've got it sorted now, but it was too late to salvage my audio this episode, so I'm sorry in advance. Second, and more important: the completely avoidable death...
Episode 15 - Edge of Tomorrow
April 15, 2020 17:30 - 59 minutes - 136 MBToday we talk about what could be the perfect time loop film, 2004's Edge of Tomorrow with Tom Cruise and Emily Blunt (and, of course, the late Bill Paxton). We're accompanied by returning guest and Psyduck Enthusiast Scott Thomas, along with DJ and Twitch streamer Justin Turner joining us for the first time. We break down the story of the film, how it exemplifies (and often subverts) common time loop tropes, we discuss its brand mismanagement, and the difficulty adapting manga to film. Enjo...
The Party - A Short Story
March 16, 2020 08:47 - 11 minutes - 26.5 MBWe've decided we should put our money where our mouths are, so Jesse has written a short time-travel story. We hope you enjoy it! RECORDED TOMORROW PRESENTS THE PARTY by Jesse Ferguson Alex notes the time and takes a champagne flute from the tray, giving the server a wink as she does. 7:46PM. The server smiles in return and Alex doesn’t mind that she's patronizing her, she's in entirely too good a mood. Because it’s going to work. “Hey, Alex!” Martin, the host, waves at her as he m...
Episode 14 - PRIMER
February 27, 2020 00:44 - 1 hour - 176 MBJesse & Jonathan sit down with a packed panel of film folks to talk about the platonic ideal of smarter-than-you time travel movies: PRIMER. We discuss how it avoids most of the pitfalls we've discussed on our show, and which one it jumps into head-first. We don't all love it, but we all respect it, and we talk about the whys of both. True to form, we also go off on a number of tangents, and chase after that sweet, sweet, Audible money. Guests: Chris Chipman of TheChippaMadeThis Seth Decke...
Episode 13 - Starting Your Story
January 15, 2020 19:00 - 1 hour - 196 MBWe put our money where our mouths are this month! Writer, streamer, podcaster, and game designer Emma Larkins has come to us with the very beginnings of a time travel story, and we apply the principles we've worked out over the last year to help her figure out where to take it, and how to start it. This might be the best episode we've ever done, and we're really proud of it. Find Emma: Twitch: @EmmaLarkins Twitter: @EmmaLarkins @LudologyPod Ludology New Rule: Solid time travel mechan...
BONUS EPISODE - Back to the Future (Film Rescue Show cross-broadcast)
December 15, 2019 19:00 - 1 hour - 221 MBThe folks over at The Film Rescue Show invited Jonathan and Jesse to join them to talk about Back to the Future. We had A LOT of fun with this, and they were gracious enough to let us publish their episode on our feed. So sit back & listen to us pitch a couple ways we'd fix the time travel mechanics of the Back to the Future trilogy. C/W: There's more swearing in this episode than usual, sorry!
Episode 12 - Causal Loops Deep Dive: All You Zombies
November 20, 2019 21:58 - 32 minutes - 75.5 MBJesse sits down with alternate-timeline co-host Kit Ferguson (no relation) & her husband Brad, to go in-depth on causal loops, using the absolute prime example as a model: Robert Heinlein's All You Zombies, along with its film adaptation Predestination. We do our best to explain the plot to Brad (who's never read or seen it), then go deep on causal loops, talking about how to recognize a causal loop, how to use them, when to use them, and when not to (spoiler: it's most of the time). Guests...
Episode 11 - Time Loops
October 16, 2019 06:55 - 1 hour - 142 MBThis episode, we catch Jonathan in a time loop! Scott Thomas (of The Infinity Podcast) helps us break down what makes time loop stories tick, and why we love them. Media references will happen a bit later, we're already late getting this one out. Sorry for the wait, and I appreciate your patience!
Episode 10 - Lessons So Far
September 15, 2019 19:00 - 12 minutes - 29.3 MBHello, travellers, and welcome to Recorded Tomorrow, the show where we break down the rules & pitfalls of using time travel in fiction & games. Jonathan is caught in a temporal rift, so I’ll be navigating the timestream solo today. Rather than try to tackle a deep dive by myself, I thought I’d take this opportunity to recap the lessons we’ve covered so far, & consolidate them all in one place. I’ll go over the rules we’ve established & define all the terms we’ve used. I’ll jump around a bit...
Episode 9 - Modes of Time Travel
August 15, 2019 17:00 - 30 minutes - 70.4 MBGenerally, how time travel works in your story isn't important, because time travel should be a MEANS to tell a good story, rather than BE the story itself. That being said, there are some instances where the how can inform the why, or complicate it. In this episode, Jesse & Jonathan go over the various modes of time travel, how they can impact a story, and the true meaning of time travel. New Rule: Your time travel story should never JUST be a time travel story. Use time travel to tell a m...
Episode 8 - Time Travel in Games
July 15, 2019 19:00 - 40 minutes - 93.1 MBJesse brings on guests Bebo (of Be Bold Games) and Rich Malena-Webber (of Atomic Game Theory) to talk about how time travel is used in games. We dig deep into how videogames use time travel, including one secret time travel mechanic that's been a staple of videogames since the beginning. We also talk about several board games that use time travel in different and interesting ways, and even brainstorm how we could bring time travel into Dungeons & Dragons! New Rule: When using time travel ...
Episode 7 - Avengers: Endgame
May 15, 2019 17:43 - 34 minutes - 79.5 MBWe dig deep into the time travel mechanics of Avengers: Endgame (we also SPOIL THE WHOLE MOVIE, so if you haven't seen it yet, you'll probably want to wait on this episode). We talk about how they could have done things differently, what the consequences of their actions are, and we speculate on how various timelines might resolve. Then we get really nit-picky about the mechanics, discuss various characters at various ages, and the secrets of eternal youth. New Rules: Never time travel on a...
Episode 6 - Paradoxes
April 15, 2019 17:30 - 47 minutes - 105 MBJonathan and Jesse team up with Alex Shaw (School of Movies, New Century Multiverse) to tackle paradoxes. We go over several specific examples, then do our thing and talk tips & pitfalls. (spoilers: If your story runs into a paradox, you're probably doing something wrong) We were really crunched for time getting this ready, so we'll update the references & other pages later this week. Cheers!
Episode 5 - Alternate Theories
March 15, 2019 17:00 - 59 minutes - 137 MBThis episode is two days late, but it's huge, so maybe that makes up for it? We discuss less common theories, including some that don't appear to count as time travel at first glance. Theories Discussed: Multiverse Flashbacks (variation of Fixed Thread) Mental Projection (variation of Variable Thread) Information-Only Suspended Animation (variation of Fixed Thread) New Rule: Don't tie events of the past to events of the future in real time - that ticking clock never works Media Reference...
Episode 4 - Fixed Thread Theory
February 15, 2019 17:00 - 31 minutes - 71.1 MBJonathan and Jesse tackle the second of the two most common time travel theories: Fixed Thread. Unlike Variable thread, this theory presupposes that the timeline is immutable, that traveling back in time is more about getting more done than actually changing anything. This theory suggests that when you travel, you don’t actually change anything in the timeline, you’re just experiencing it from a different point of view. CORRECTION: Jesse incorrectly references the movie Primer in this episo...
Episode 3 - The Outsider Problem
January 15, 2019 17:00 - 26 minutes - 28.4 MBIn this episode, we talk about an oft-overlooked complication to Variable Thread travel: when a traveler changes the past and creates a new thread, they also create another version of themselves. We go over several options for mitigating this, and even touch on the death of the VCR and the hosts' faulty memories. We also discuss the ramifications of traveling forward in time in a Variable Thread story. New Guidelines: For Variable Thread time travel, make sure you address the Outsider Prob...
Episode 2 - Variable Thread
December 15, 2018 17:00 - 25 minutes - 37.9 MBCORRECTION: In the episode, Jesse mentions the movie The Manhattan Project II. This was in error. The film in question was actually called The Philadelphia Experiment II. Unfortunately, this error wasn't discovered until after the episode was published. The Media References section and this page have been updated. Jesse & Jonathan define and discuss what's probably the most common time travel theory: Variable Thread. New Definitions: Variable Thread: A time travel theory wherein a travell...
Episode 1 - The Basics
November 15, 2018 07:30 - 13 minutes - 19.9 MBJesse & Jonathan go over some basic tips & tricks for writing time travel that are always applicable. No matter how time travel works in your stories, keep these rules in mind, or your narrative will suffer. New Guidelines: BE CONSISTENT - No matter what the rules of time travel are in your fiction, you have to know them, and you have to follow those rules. KNOW THE RULES - Even if you have to know all the rules, your characters don't, nor do the audience. They can be mistaken about the r...
Episode 0 - Introductions
November 15, 2018 07:00 - 21 minutes - 30.1 MBThis is the first episode! Jonathan and Jesse greet you, fellow traveler, talk about their love of time travel, and prepare you for the journey to come. Media References: Books: Time Travel: A History, James Gleick How to Live Safely in a Science-Fictional Universe, Charles Yu The Time Machine, Orson Wells Movies: Back to the Future 12 Monkeys Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventures Harry Potter & the Prisoner of Azkaban Games: Assassin's Creed Homework: Look at time-travel stories between W...