Science Fiction University
31 episodes - English - Latest episode: about 2 months ago -Each episode Driftglass and Blue Gal discuss one work of classic science fiction plus one science fiction movie. The two pieces share a theme, whether it be time travel, unreliable narrators, dystopias, etc. Join the adventure at sciencefictionuniversity.com
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Episodes
Andy Weir's Hopeful, Hard SF
May 28, 2024 21:00 - 47 minutes - 32.5 MBOn this episode of Science Fiction University, we dive into the works of Andy Weir, the author behind the hit novels The Martian and Project Hail Mary. Project Hail Mary, Weir's latest novel takes readers on an epic journey across the cosmos. Like his earlier work, The Martian, PHM showcases Weir's talent for fusing cutting-edge science with an extremely human story of perseverance and hope. We'll analyze how Project Hail Mary embraces the conventions of "hard" science fiction while also de...
The Day The Earth Stood Still
April 30, 2024 22:00 - 1 hour - 54.1 MBWe talk about "The Day the Earth Stood Still" and the 1940 short story that inspired it, sort of. More at https://www.sciencefictionuniversity.com. Support the show: PayPal | https://paypal.me/proleftpodcast Patreon | https://patreon.com/ proleftpod Support the Show.
Episode 25 | 3 Body Problem
April 02, 2024 22:00 - 57 minutes - 39.2 MBWe talk about the new Apple TV series "3 Body Problem," which we highly recommend. We also relate it to lots of other science fiction works. Looking for political content? We were on The Brad Cast on Monday https://bradblog.com/?p=14989 More at sciencefictionuniversity.com. Our podcast YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@ProfessionalLeft Support the show: PayPal | https://paypal.me/proleftpodcast Patreon | https://patreon.com/proleftpod Support the Show.
Ep 24 We drop everything to talk about Dune 2
March 06, 2024 00:00 - 1 hour - 44.9 MBWhat the title says! Support the show at proleftpod.com and thanks! Support the Show.
Ep 23 The Maltese Falcon (Is Not Science Fiction)
February 27, 2024 23:00 - 1 hour - 43.6 MBWe take a short break from Science Fiction to dive into the 1941 film noir masterpiece The Maltese Falcon, comparing and contrasting that Humphrey Bogart classic with two earlier versions, one made in 1931, and a Bette Davis comedy (?) version, "Satan Met a Lady," made in 1936. More at ScienceFictionUniversity.com Support the Show.
Ep 22: How Did You Fall In Love With Science Fiction?
January 30, 2024 22:00 - 51 minutes - 35.4 MBDriftglass and Blue Gal share their stories of falling in love with SF. More at sciencefictionuniversity.com. Support the Show.
Ep 21: Labor Relations and 'The Icicle Works'
November 29, 2023 00:00 - 47 minutes - 32.9 MBWe discuss the very political "The Day the Icicle Works Closed" by Frederick Pohl, and also why science fiction stories often don't stand the test of time. More at sciencefictionuniversity.com. Support the Show.
Ep 20 Time Travel and Netflix's 'Bodies'
October 31, 2023 22:00 - 43 minutes - 29.9 MBThe Netflix series "Bodies" brings up all kinds of connections to time travel in science fiction. We watched the 8 part series in three days -- it's good! Support the Show.
Ep 19 Too Much of a Good Thing / Whither Dune?
September 26, 2023 23:00 - 52 minutes - 36 MBWe discuss tragic heroes and utopias in science fiction, then we turn to the possiblity of future Dune movies. More at sciencefictionuniversity.com. Support the Show.
Ep 18: Fish Stories
August 29, 2023 22:00 - 46 minutes - 31.9 MBAlternate title: 'Mother Nature, USMC'. A subgenre of science fiction in which humans try to bend nature to their will, sometimes with disastrous results. Also, an ocean creature theme. Movies discussed include 1973's 'The Day of the Dolphin' Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home and The Incredible Mr. Limpet (Yes, The Incredible Mr. Limpet). More at sciencefictionuniversity.com. Support the show: PayPal | https://paypal.me/proleftpodcast Patreon | https://patreon.com/proleftpod Our...
Ep 17: Mission Impossible Dead Reckoning Part One and Neuromancer
July 18, 2023 22:00 - 32 minutes - 22.5 MBDriftglass took Blue Gal to see Mission Impossible: Dead Reckoning Part 1 for her birthday. During the movie, Driftglass noticed many plot points that connect this blockbuster to William Gibson's 1984 novel, "Neuromancer." So we did a podcast about it. (No Fair Remembering Stuff returns next week.) More at sciencefictionuniversity.com. Support the show. Patreon or Paypal Support the Show.
Ep 16 Multiverses
July 10, 2023 22:00 - 50 minutes - 34.4 MBMultiversal success and failure. Success? Star Trek TOS episode "Mirror, Mirror," and the 2017 Starz series, "Counterpart." Failure? It pains Driftglass to say it, but Robert Heinlein's "The Number of the Beast" is well-known as a massive fail in the multiverse and just plain science fiction novel genre. And you can hear Patton Oswalt's magnificent Parks and Rec filibuster concerning "multiverses" here. More at sciencefictionuniversity.com. Support the show at https://www.patr...
Ep 15 When Genres Collide!
May 29, 2023 21:00 - 36 minutes - 24.8 MBScience Fiction "versus" Fantasy – When Genres Collide Robert Heinlein’s “Glory Road” Babylon 5: The Technomages. Star Wars John Varley’s Wizard/Demon Trilogy The Dragonriders of Pern Arthur Clarke’s Third Law More at sciencefictionuniversity.com. Support the Show.
Ep 14 Gene Roddenberry and the Good Robot
April 24, 2023 21:00 - 31 minutes - 21.5 MBWe look at a 1970's pilot, "The Questor Tapes," which was a scratchpad for the invention of the TNG character known as Data. More at sciencefictionuniversity.com. Support the Show.
Ep 13 The Forbin Project and A.I.
March 28, 2023 14:00 - 35 minutes - 24.1 MBThe 1970 film, "Colossus: The Forbin Project" and the "uh oh, we shouldn't have done that" genre of science fiction. More at sciencefictionuniversity.com . Support the Show.
Ep 12: The Prisoner
February 28, 2023 17:00 - 40 minutes - 27.6 MBWe discuss our re-watching of Patrick McGoohan in "The Prisoner," perhaps the most influential science fiction single-season show ever. More at sciencefictionuniversity.com Support the Show.
Ep 11 Adapting Stories to the Screen: What Could Possibly Go Wrong?
January 31, 2023 19:00 - 42 minutes - 28.9 MBWe discuss what can go wrong, and right, when adapting a much-loved science fiction story to the big or big-ish screen. Examples include Foundation, Dune, and the more recent Kindred. More at ScienceFictionUniversity.com. Support the show at patreon.com/scifiu. Support the Show.
Ep 10: When Aliens Are Truly Alien
August 16, 2022 23:00 - 48 minutes - 33.6 MBWe discuss Stanley Kubrick's 1968 film, "2001: A Space Odyssey," Andrei Tarkovsky’s 1972 film, “Solaris,” and Denis Villeneuve’s 2016 film, “Arrival.” More at ScienceFictionUniversity.com. Support our ad-free show at our Patreon! Patreon.com/scifiu Support the show
Ep 10: When Aliens Are Truly Alien
August 16, 2022 23:00 - 48 minutes - 33.6 MBWe discuss Stanley Kubrick's 1968 film, "2001: A Space Odyssey," Andrei Tarkovsky’s 1972 film, “Solaris,” and Denis Villeneuve’s 2016 film, “Arrival.” More at ScienceFictionUniversity.com. Support our ad-free show at our Patreon! Patreon.com/scifiu Support the Show.
Ep 9: Attack of the '60's
February 17, 2022 01:00 - 58 minutes - 40.3 MBWe discuss three modern productions with roots in the 1960's: Apple TV's Foundation, Denis Villeneuve's Dune, and For All Mankind (also Apple TV). More at Sciencefictionuniversity.com. And you can support the show at https://www.patreon.com/scifiu Support the Show.
Ep 9: Attack of the '60's
February 17, 2022 01:00 - 58 minutes - 40.3 MBWe discuss three modern productions with roots in the 1960's: Apple TV's Foundation, Denis Villeneuve's Dune, and For All Mankind (also Apple TV). More at Sciencefictionuniversity.com. And you can support the show at https://www.patreon.com/scifiu Support the show (https://www.patreon.com/scifiu)
Ep 8 Save The Timeline, Destroy the Timeline
September 25, 2021 19:00 - 41 minutes - 28.3 MBWe discuss timelines using examples from Loki, Travelers, Star Trek TOS "The City on the Edge of Forever," and 11.22.63 (Honorable mention to “All You Zombies”/”By His Bootstraps”, The End of Eternity) Support the show at sciencefictionuniversity.com or go straight to our Patreon at https://www.patreon.com/scifiu. Support the show (https://www.patreon.com/scifiu)
Ep 8 Save The Timeline, Destroy the Timeline
September 25, 2021 19:00 - 41 minutes - 28.3 MBWe discuss timelines using examples from Loki, Travelers, Star Trek TOS "The City on the Edge of Forever," and 11.22.63 (Honorable mention to “All You Zombies”/”By His Bootstraps”, The End of Eternity) Support the show at sciencefictionuniversity.com or go straight to our Patreon at https://www.patreon.com/scifiu. Support the Show.
Ep 7: While You Were Sleeping: Planet of the Apes, Idiocracy, Groundhog Day
March 04, 2021 19:00 - 41 minutes - 28.6 MBLooking at time travel stories generated by a main character waking from sleep. More at sciencefictionuniversity.com. (Episode contains spoilers and occasional swear words.) Support the Show.
Ep 6 System Failure -- The Outsider, The Night Stalker and The Blob
January 22, 2021 03:00 - 40 minutes - 27.9 MBHBO's 2020 series "The Outsider" meets the cult classics the 1972 made-for-TV movie/pilot for "The Night Stalker" and the 1958 Steve McQueen debut "The Blob." These science fiction stories are connected by a truth-knower untrusted by the authorities. Those authorities are the "system" designed to protect society from danger and crime. And there is a danger in these tales beyond the ability of the system to protect us. More at ScienceFictionUniversity.com Support the Show.
Ep 5 How Westworld Went South
March 26, 2020 00:00 - 54 minutes - 37.3 MB(Spoiler Alert, and we swear a little in this episode.) We've watched the first two episodes of Season 3 of HBO's Westworld and are ready to call it a #fail as narrative science fiction. But it provides a perfect example of WHY stories need a hero, a villain, a writer, and a story. More at sciencefictionuniversity.com. Support the Show.
Ep 4 Neuromancer and 2001: A Space Odyssey
March 21, 2020 19:00 - 38 minutes - 26.3 MBArtificial Intelligences: Driftglass and Blue Gal talk about William Gibson's 1984 novel "Neuromancer," and Stanley Kubrick's 1968 film "2001: A Space Odyssey." SPOILERS as always. Support the show at our Patreon and thanks! Support the Show.
Ep 3 Special Stranger in a Strange Land and HBO's The Watchmen
January 01, 2020 00:00 - 1 hour - 42.9 MBGods Among Us! Driftglass and Blue Gal talk about Valentine Michael Smith in Robert Heinlein's 1961 novel "Stranger in a Strange Land" and Doctor Manhattan in HBO's 2019 series "The Watchmen." Support the show on Patreon! https://www.patreon.com/scifiu Support the Show.
Ep 2 The End of Eternity and Looper
December 07, 2019 00:00 - 53 minutes - 36.5 MBDriftglass and Blue Gal compare and contrast Isaac Asimov's 1955 book "The End of Eternity" with Rian Johnson's 2012 film, "Looper." Support the show (https://www.patreon.com/scifiu)
Ep 2 The End of Eternity and Looper
December 07, 2019 00:00 - 53 minutes - 36.5 MBDriftglass and Blue Gal compare and contrast Isaac Asimov's 1955 book "The End of Eternity" with Rian Johnson's 2012 film, "Looper." Support the Show.
Episode 1: UBIK and Inception
November 30, 2019 00:00 - 52 minutes - 36.4 MBWelcome to Science Fiction University! Our premiere episode concerns Philip K. Dick's 1969 novel UBIK, and Christopher Nolan's 2010 film "Inception." We'd love your feedback at sciencefictionuniversity.com or email the show at [email protected]. Support the Show.