Stars End: A Foundation Podcast
86 episodes - English - Latest episode: 6 days ago - ★★★★★ - 1 ratingWe’re a group of middle-aged guys who loved this series as teenagers. In season one we finished revisiting the original trilogy in anticipation of the TeeVee show.
Now that the show is here we won't just be enjoying it, we'll be bringing you our thoughts and predictions every week!
Hopefully, through this podcast, we'll bring you along for the ride. We want to do our part to bring this series to a new group of fans who are hopefully far more diverse than the three of us.
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Episodes
Stars End S3E12 - Softly Beaming, A Steady Light of Hope... the Stars End Podcast
June 13, 2022 20:22 - 1 hour - 35.4 MBAre you troubled by premonitions of unsavory equations or non-standard beverages? Do you experience feelings of dread from your grandfather's office furniture? Have you or anyone in your family experienced prestidigitation, clairvoyance, astral projection, or sphenopalatine ganglioneuralgia? If the answer is yes, don't wait another minute! The Second Foundation is for YOU! Our courteous and efficient staff is on call 24 hours a day to serve all your psychohistorical prediction needs! I...
Stars End S3E11 - No one outside the podcast has the faintest knowledge of how psychohistory works and not everyone inside does either
June 07, 2022 19:20 - 1 hour - 43.6 MBIf you're read our one piece of fan fiction, "Dors," by our very own Jon Blumenfeld, you've read an origin story of sorts for Dors Venábili. If you like this character like so many do you should check it out; it's excellent. In this episode, we finally get to the chapter of Forward the Foundation featuring... well no, they all feature Hari but this one's named after Dors. It was called "The Consort" when it ran in Asimov's Science Fiction in April of 1993 and to be honest, there's a lot D...
Stars End S3E10 - We Must Keep the Podcast Stable If For No Other Reason Than That We're Here
May 21, 2022 19:40 - 58 minutes - 34.8 MBWell, here we are again with another installment on Asimov's swansong, Forward the Foundation. You might recall that Forward was written as a series of Novellas the first three of which appeared in Asimov's Science Fiction Magazine. The installment we're discussing this time is "Cleon I" which originally appeared in the magazine's 15th-anniversary issue in April 1992 as "Cleon the Emperor." Much like the previous story, it isn't very much about the titular character but it's a lot about H...
Stars End S3E09 - I Suspect You Will Find That No Podcast Is Ever Truly Crucial
May 04, 2022 15:48 - 1 hour - 49 MBHave you been with us for a while? If you have you might remember some jokes back in the long, long ago about the longevity of our podcast. We were pretty stoked (is that what the kids say nowadays?) back in Season 1 Episode 8 when we surpassed the Manimal Threshold for example. Well, on 26 April 2021 our first episode was squirted out into the aether so we have another milestone to celebrate; we've officially been a podcast for over a year. Thirty-two episodes in and we're starting to t...
Stars End S3E08 - The Podcast Makes No Allowance For Unwitting Harm
April 12, 2022 02:54 - 51 minutes - 28.8 MBHow time flies! It's our final Episode on Prelude to Foundation and you're not going to want to miss this one! Our heroes finally, despite their best efforts, find themselves in the sector of Wye. That's pronounced "why" and The Great and Glorious Az has a bit of fun with that. Also, "Who" is the Prime Minister, "What" is the neighboring sector, and "I Don't Know" is on third. And while Raych gets to go to the Zoo, Rachelle eventually finds herself in the penalty box. I'm kidding, most...
Stars End S3E07 - No Sane Podcast Wants to Uphold an Imperial System That Maintains Itself By Fostering Mutual Hatred and Suspicions
April 02, 2022 02:03 - 49 minutes - 27.6 MBIt is a little-known fact that each April 1st on Terminus, Hologram Hari Seldon would appear in the Vault and, in the absence of a bona fide Seldon Crisis, would launch into the strangest and most mystifying stand-up routines anyone had ever seen from a hologram in a wheelchair. Mostly no one was in attendance but there are legends of routines entertaining maintenance workers and assorted rodents alike. Inexplicably, the jokes were mainly concerned with skin caps, luxurious black mustaches...
Stars End S3E06 - The Podcast Was Alone in the Galaxy for Thousands of Years - Millions of Years
March 20, 2022 14:49 - 55 minutes - 31.5 MBDid you know that sleep podcasts are a thing? Podcasts that people listen to go to sleep. You can imagine it, can't you? Someone like Sam Waterston, Tony Shalhoub, or Jane Lynch probably reading poetry in a quiet, soothing voice. Like, what? I don't know. Something in the public domain probably. Wordsworth? Calm is all nature as a resting wheel. The kine are couched upon the dewy grass; The horse alone, seen dimly as I pass, Is cropping audibly his later meal... I'm sleepy ...
Stars End S3E05 - We Have Something Far Better than Religion We Have a Podcast
March 12, 2022 18:26 - 48 minutes - 28.1 MBIntroducing this episode puts me in mind of Tom Lehrer's Alma, which was inspired by, as he puts it, "the juiciest, spiciest, raciest obituary it has ever been my pleasure to read." The amount of prime humor that one mathematician can fit into a three-and-a-half-minute sound clip is impressive. Hari Seldon, our protagonal mathematician, isn't nearly so funny. In fact, he seems to take himself quite seriously. But he does get to participate in the juiciest, spiciest, raciest scene in the ...
Stars End S3E04 - The Podcast as a Whole in its Full Complexity Cannot Be Represented By any Simulation Smaller Than Itself
February 22, 2022 03:18 - 48 minutes - 27.2 MBAfter our break, we're back to reading Prelude to Foundation and things are starting to get weird. Dors and Hari finally journey to Mycogen as we embark on a Voyage to the Space Amish, with apologies to A. E. Van Vogt. This one has it all! Dors and Chetter deconstructing Hari's trip to Upperside ad nauseam! Bad bald caps (Boy, does Issac like the word "pate!")! Rigidly defined gender roles! Lots of complaining! Dors and Hari don't understand their room! More complaining! And Hari dra...
Stars End S3E03 - Your Podcast is Obscure but I Think I Understand
February 03, 2022 05:43 - 1 hour - 37 MBI think I need to listen to "Flowers in the Dirt" again. That's the 1989 Paul McCartney album where Sir Paul collaborated with Elvis Costello. I was hoping that Elvis might bring some of the sharper edges that John Lennon brought the Lennon-McCartney songwriting duo. No such luck as I recall but maybe 32 years farther on I'll hear something new. What brought that up? Well with Hari on the mend from his excursion to Upperside we've decided to take a quick break from Prelude to Foundation...
Stars End S3E02 - The History of Podcasts is Full of Simple Questions That Had Only the Most Complicated of Answers or None At All
January 19, 2022 16:17 - 55 minutes - 31.1 MBOur second conversation about Prelude to Foundation, in which we discuss "Library," "Upperside," and "Rescue." It was 1-degree Fahrenheit when we recorded this episode. That's -17 Celcius to the rest of the world. I personally prepared for this episode by running around outside dressed as though I still lived in Florida or on Helicon, maybe. Then I rearranged all my bookshelves and wondered if I could create a model that would predict the future of the Marvel Universe. In these chapters...
Stars End S3E01 - The More Complex a Podcast the More Likely It is to Become Chaotic
January 06, 2022 15:39 - 1 hour - 35.5 MBIn the criminal justice system, the podcast is represented by two separate, but equally important kinds of seasons. The odd-numbered seasons, which directly discuss Asimov's Foundation and the even-numbered seasons that talk about the Apple TV+ series. So now we start the interregnum between seasons 1 and 2 of Apple TV's Foundation. That's our cue to start Stars End season 3. That's as many seasons as Gilligan's Island or the original Star Trek but far fewer than Law & Order. We're shoo...
Stars End S2 E12 - We Don't Expect to Podcast Forever but We Do Intend to Hang On As Long As Possible
December 21, 2021 14:12 - 41 minutes - 23.4 MBIt's the final episode of Season 2 where we wrap up our discussion of Season 1 of Foundation with the First Annual Stars End Hari Awards! Frankly, a lot of it is the three of us gushing about how good the episodes and the performances were. But more importantly, you get to find out who won! Best Performance! Favorite Episode! Favorite Podcast Guest! All the important Stuff. Not included: unimportant things like "Least Inspirational Quote," which must be "All love is programming." We c...
Stars End S2E11 - We Send Podcasts Out Into Space Hoping Someone Will Answer
December 07, 2021 04:42 - 1 hour - 45 MBAlthough we're going to continue to refer back to Foundation Season 1 a lot this year, this is the penultimate episode of our official discussion! And we're got quite a lot to say! This is our first conversation about the season in its entirety! We're joined by special guest Luigi DiMeglio of the Foundation Era YouTube Channel! And be on the lookout for questions and polls! In our next episode, we'll be hosting StarsEnd's First Annual Hari Awards! And WE want to hear from YOU on all th...
Stars End S2E10 - Under the Genetic Dynasty There is Only Room for One Podcast
November 22, 2021 16:46 - 54 minutes - 30.9 MBHaven't watched Episode 10, "The Leap" yet? We'll be here when you're done. Astoundingly, here we are at the end of Foundation's Season 1. We're all about to experience the teevee equivalent of empty nest syndrome. But not yet! There are two more episodes of Stars End for this season! There's this one, where we talk about Episode 10 and then there will be one more in about two weeks where we give an overview of Foundation's epic first season! Also a special guest! Also also some surp...
Stars End S2E09 - Sometimes Podcasts Shout Louder Than Logic
November 15, 2021 03:52 - 52 minutes - 30.5 MBYou know. Spoilers and all that. In 1987 the Smiths released an excellent compilation album entitled "Louder than Bombs." It's the apotheosis of mope rock! In 2021 "Is it Really So Strange" that we would release a podcast episode called "Louder than Logic?" Even if none of us is named "Smith? But here's the thing: it fits. Gaal can feel the future in a way that might undermine psychohistory! That's Louder than Mathematics! Lewis was able to wish the Invictus back to Terminus! That'...
Stars End S2E08 - Your Lack of Understanding Does Not Obligate Us to Podcast
November 08, 2021 03:31 - 1 hour - 40.3 MBIf you're a Lee Pace fan, or "stan" as the kids say, or even an "aficionado" like they said back in my day, "The Missing Piece" may be for you! It's like the last temptation of Brother Day meets Dune with 100% fewer sandworms. That is to say, it's a lot of loincloths and wandering around in the desert. Damn sand gets in everything! Plus Hari's still incorporeal, Gaal indulges in some casual vandalism, Salvor and Phara go on a trip, and Ethel the Aardvark goes quantity surveying. As usual...
Stars End S2E07 - An Exhortation from one of the Galaxy's Major Podcasts
November 01, 2021 03:02 - 1 hour - 35 MBIt's Halloween evening as I write this and the two biggest Sci-Fi franchises have new episodes out. The premiere of Star Trek Prodigy was last Thursday and the season opener for Doctor Who was this evening. But I have another venerable old franchise on my mind. Namely Twilight Zone. "Hey, kids! You want to see something really scary?!?" Well, "scary" probably isn't the right word for "Mysteries and Martyrs" but I think some of us found it a little unsettling. Still, there are lots of ...
Stars End S2E6 - An Entire Galaxy Pivoting Around the Actions of an Individual Podcast
October 26, 2021 00:00 - 1 hour - 45.8 MBThere are a lot of things happening in Episode 6, "Death and the Maiden." Beware! The spoilers are probably even more densely packed than usual. "The spoiler-space may even be compact," he said mathematically. What a difference a week makes! We described Episode 5 as a "bridge" episode. In episode 6, there's stuff going on right and left! Actually, maybe even in 2, 3, or, 4 dimensions! This cries out for an "Age of Aquarius" joke, but I don't have one. Any help? Politics! Religion!...
Stars End S2E5 - The Seers Condemned this Podcast
October 19, 2021 02:26 - 1 hour - 40.1 MBIf you'd rather not be rudely awakened by some spoilers, you know what to do! We'll be here when you're ready. And speaking of rude awakenings, how about that Gaal Dornick? That whole ordeal didn't seem pleasant at all! What isn't rude is our conversation this week, about Foundation's Episode 5, "Upon Awakening," it's better than being roused by a thunderstorm, a smoke alarm, or a cat licking your face. And this will really shake you out of your slumber! We've got a very special episode f...
Stars End S2E04 - A Podcast Helps with the Pain - it Reduces the Swelling and Bruising
October 10, 2021 20:15 - 48 minutes - 28.1 MBWilliam Shatner is about to be shot into space. He may want to stay there when he sees how Lee Pace updates the "Kirk can break a computer just by talking to it" shtick. Spoilers, of course. If you haven't, go watch the episode. Or listen first, it's entirely up to you. Things are really starting to cook now and we'll have our usual free-wheeling conversation! The Cleons are being asynchronous and there are indeed "Barbarians at the Gate." Well, they're Acacreonians and the gate is al...
Stars End S2E03 - Respect and Enjoy the Podcast
October 04, 2021 20:14 - 48 minutes - 27.9 MBSpoilers, of course. Go watch the episode. We'll be here when you get back. We're settling into the weekly groove! In this episode we'll be talking about "the Mathematician's Ghost," episode 3 of Foundation. But don't worry! No mathematicians were harmed in the filming of this episode... for a change. But we do get some insight into the genetic trinity that rules the Empire, watch as the Foundationers arrive on Terminus, and thrill to a cliffhanger as the Anacreonians have landed on...
Stars End S2E2 - Podcast History is Littered with Charlatans and False Messiahs
September 26, 2021 19:17 - 1 hour - 42.6 MBAnd... here we are! The moment to which we've been building. After months of anticipation, we finally have episodes to watch and discuss! And discuss them we do! Join us for a no-holds-barred conversation about Foundation: Episode 1 - "The Emperor's Peace" and Episode 2 - "Preparing to Live!" Don't want spoilers? Run to your favorite streaming device, find Apple TV+, and watch the episodes! Now! We'll be here when you're ready! Too excited to worry about spoilers? Us too! Dive r...
Stars End S2E02 - Podcast History is Littered with Charlatans and False Messiahs
September 26, 2021 19:17 - 1 hour - 42.6 MBAnd... here we are! The moment to which we've been building. After months of anticipation, we finally have episodes to watch and discuss! And discuss them we do! Join us for a no-holds-barred conversation about Foundation: Episode 1 - "The Emperor's Peace" and Episode 2 - "Preparing to Live!" Don't want spoilers? Run to your favorite streaming device, find Apple TV+, and watch the episodes! Now! We'll be here when you're ready! Too excited to worry about spoilers? Us too! Dive r...
Stars End S2E01 - All Podcasts Lead to Trantor
September 23, 2021 15:08 - 44 minutes - 25.7 MBThe naysayers said it would never happen and that our plucky little podcast would never see a second season! Yet here we are defying the laws of Psychohistory, renewed and ready for the advent of the Apple TV+ series in roughly 24 to 48 hours. That will be our focus for season 2. We’ve been waiting with bated breath and our patience (or lack thereof) is about to be rewarded! We’ll be recording weekly for the duration, unless it turns out that we’re recording weakly... but we’re not going...
Episode 11 - A Podcast Has No End
September 16, 2021 04:48 - 52 minutes - 31 MBAs the Manimal threshold fades into the rear-view mirror, we reach our next milestone, with number 11 we now have as many episodes as Cop Rock! You know, it takes most shows years to get around to a musical episode, but those guys? Musical episode right out of the gate! Never fear; Stars End: The Musical is toward the end of our Thousand Year Plan. Right now though, please join us for Episode 11 - A Podcast Has No End. And podcasts don't, but books and trilogies do. We're at the end of ...
Episode 10 - Finished Podcasts Are For Decadent Minds
August 30, 2021 05:48 - 45 minutes - 26.6 MBThe start of the Apple TV+ series is now less than a month away and we're approaching the end of our discussion of Asimov's original trilogy! Join us for episode ten. That's 10! Our first round number! And it's not 10 base-two or 10 base-eight but 10 base-ten! That makes it the tenest ten! We've finally jumped into Second Foundation! We'll be talking about the first story, "Search by the Mule," known as "Now You See It" when it appeared in Astounding Science Fiction. See the final fat...
Episode 9 - A Podcast is Best and Most Effective When It Does Not Evaporate In Empty Phrases
August 15, 2021 19:17 - 47 minutes - 27.6 MBWith the Threll of the Las Vegas 55-Year Mission winding down and the excitement of the Apple TV+ Foundation series winding up, now is a perfect time to check out our Stars End Podcast! Whether you're looking for a new decades-old franchise to enjoy, you want to catch up on some of your favorite old SF before enjoying the new teevee series, or if you're just looking for something entertaining to listen to at the airport, Stars End can fill that need! We're not even off-brand yet! Please ...
Episode 8 - Its a Dead Hand Against a Living Podcast
August 08, 2021 16:34 - 51 minutes - 29.4 MBHello, again folks! It's 8/8 (or if you write dates the European way 8/8) and here we are with Episode 8. We're quite proud, we now officially have just as many episodes as Manimal! Imagine! For those of you tracking our milestones, eight is a very round number: It's "10" in base eight, "20" in base four, and "1000" in base two. Soon, once we're past the Manimal barrier, we'll quickly approach an actual, genuine round number. In base ten even. Tom Lehrer tells us that "Base eight is j...
Episode 7 - Never let your sense of morals prevent you from doing a podcast
July 19, 2021 14:20 - 1 hour - 19.5 MBAll the children danced in the street! "It's here! It's here!" they cried! "The seventh episode of Stars End is here!!" It's true! Our seventh episode, "Never let your sense of morals prevent you from doing a podcast" is now available! Even though we had some technical difficulties (our sound quality isn't up to our usual standards; our apologies) it's a great episode! It's great in part because it's different! We're honored to welcome Cora Buhlert as our first guest on the podcast! ...
Episode 6 - A Podcast is a Good Weapon but It Can Point Both Ways
June 30, 2021 17:35 - 45 minutes - 28 MBEpisode 6 is now available! This week, Dan starts his tenure as quizmaster, Joseph learns what wasn't covered in his Shakespeare class (way back in 1988) and as always Jon tries to keep us all on track. We also have breaking news! So breaking that we had to add an addendum in post-production! That means Monday. And of course, we start discussing "The General," the first section of Foundation and Empire. This one is almost like Asimov himself was replying to our discussions of the "Grea...
Episode 5 - No podcast has to be true but every podcast has to sound true
June 20, 2021 19:10 - 57 minutes - 38.6 MBIn which we wrap up Foundation with a discussion of “The Merchant Princes.” and get ready to start Foundation and Empire. We’ll also have another Apple TV+ minute for you and another installment of Asimov Trivia! Is this true? It certainly sounds true!
Episode 4 - A Podcast is the Last Refuge of the Incompetent
June 08, 2021 03:11 - 56 minutes - 37.1 MBOur fourth episode, "A Podcast is the Last Refuge of the Incompetent" is now available for your edification. We've run out of Laws of Robotics and have moved on to famous Salvor Hardin aphorisms. That's a bit more on-brand for a Foundation podcast. We talk about "The Traders," part four of Foundation. This story first appeared, with surprisingly little fanfare in the October 1944 issue of Astounding under the title "The Wedge." In addition we have our second Apple Plus Minute and anothe...
Episode 3: A Podcast must protect its own existence as long as such protection does not conflict with the First or Second Episode
May 25, 2021 02:07 - 45 minutes - 105 MBAs foretold! Mayors! Bridles! Saddles! (Oddly, no actual horses) and the ultimate answer to the ultimate cliffhanger! Also show news, we react to the trailer (which you can find here)...and more Asimov trivia! Join us! Please rate and review. Music: "Creative Commons It is Coming" by Alex Mason is licensed under CC Attribution Non-Commercial 4.0 International
Episode 2: A Podcast must obey the orders given it by human beings except where such orders would conflict with the First Episode
May 11, 2021 01:45 - 43 minutes - 99.6 MBWe start discussing the first novel, Foundation, in earnest and get all the way through the first two stories, "The Psychohistorians," and "The Encyclopedists." We also try our hand at doing a new segment, "Asimov Trivia." Please join us. Music: "Creative Commons It is Coming" by Alex Mason is licensed under CC Attribution Non-Commercial 4.0 International
Stars End Episode 1 - A Podcast must not harm a human being or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm
April 27, 2021 00:10 - 38 minutes - 35.9 MBAn introduction to us and this podcast. Music: "Creative Commons It is Coming" by Alex Mason is licensed under CC Attribution Non-Commercial 4.0 International