Theme: What does it mean to be human?

Episode Connections
Authors, stories. Roger Zelanzny, Chronicles of Amber. Neil Gaiman, Sandman. The Bible. Isaac Asimov, Bicentennial Man. Jack Williamson, “With Folded Hands.”
Films. Bicentennial Man. AI. Blade Runner. I, Robot. Finch.
TV episodes, series. Star Trek: The Next Generation.
Ideas. Literary sci fi. Mythological connections. Logic is once again the defining characteristic of humankind, even in a post-human world. In that context, the story asks … what does it mean to be human? What role does emotion play in defining humanity?
Whoa - Hmmm - WTF. Bill says it is designed to be a Hmmm tale. Dan agrees.

Previous episode: Ray Bradbury, “There Will Come Soft Rains”
Next episode: Thomas F. Monteleone, “Chicago”

Music Credit: "Ouroboros" Kevin MacLeod (Incompetech.com). Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License
Link: Creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

Theme: Our house … is a very, very, very smart house

Episode Connections
Authors, stories. Sara Teasdale, “There Will Come Soft Rains.” Dean Koontz, The Demon Seed. Alan Weisman, The World Without Us. James Tiptree Jr., “The Last Flight of Dr. Ain.” McSweeney’s.com. Fritz Lieber, “A Pale of Air.” Larry Niven, “Inconstant Moon.”
Films. The Demon Seed. I, Robot. Back to the Future. Mad Max. Planet of the Apes. Winnie the Pooh.
TV episodes, series. Ray Bradbury Theater. The Jetsons. The Jeffersons. Life After People. Little House on the Prairie.
Ideas. An automated house that survives a nuclear holocaust. Lots of human routines. Housing automations always fit around human routines, which makes sense. Hues lights. Alexa. Smart thermostats. But the story is really a post-WWII anti-war story rather than one about automated houses. The story puts human ingenuity at odds with human weakness as a warlike species. Once we are gone, nature reclaims the spaces we occupied. What will be the last thing left to represent us when we are gone? The Teasdale poem from which the story gets its title was a post-WWI offering that was published during the 1918 Flu Pandemic. Kitchens are often the center of the house these days. Everyone needs an incinerator in their home. Bill Williamson’s trash rockets … the wave of the future. Vinyl is nostalgia now. But not 8-track tapes. We have now explored a lot of apocalyptic visions with a variety of causes.
Whoa - Hmmm - WTF. Dan says it is definitely a Hmmm story to begin with, but maybe a little bit a Hmmm - wtf. As in WTF did you humans do? Bill says it is a bit of Whoa because there are no humans.

Previous episode: James Tiptree Jr., “The Last Flight of Dr. Ain”
Next episode: Roger Zelazny, “For a Breath I Tarry”

Music Credit: "Ouroboros" Kevin MacLeod (Incompetech.com). Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License
Link: Creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

Theme: A plague of humans.

Episode Connections
Authors, stories. Lynn Margulis, the Gaia Hypothesis. Stephen King, The Stand. Richard Matheson, I Am Legend. Richard Preston, The Hot Zone. Albert Robina, The War in the Twentieth Century. Aldo’s Huxley, Brave New World. H.G. Wells, “The Stolen Bacillus.” Nicholas Christakis, Apollo’s Arrow.
Films. The Matrix. Resident Evil films. The Omega Man. The Last Man On Earth. I Am Legend. 12 Monkeys. The Andromeda Strain. Outbreak.
Games. Plague Incorporated. The Goliath Virus.
Ideas. More post-apocalyptic sci fi. Male pseudonyms for female authors. Environmental degradation is an essential element of the background setting for the story. At the core of the story are military efforts to weaponize diseases. Dr. Ain seeks to reboot planet Earth by killing off humans and other higher order primates, thus leaving things to the other animals. Maybe bears. The Gaia Hypothesis. Humans as a threat to life on Earth. On the possibility of weaponized diseases. CoVid 19 and conspiracy theories. We love to make light of apocalypse by virus. Look up Biosafety Level IV. We do not always understand the vectors that spread viruses until it is too late. Our economic connections make us vulnerable to disaster. Monkey Pox. SARS. HIV. And more. We have been writing stories about such things for over 100 years, although the maladies evolve over the years. We also have a lot of stories that anthropomorphize the Earth. Human patterns during crises such as pandemics and plagues. Fear is a mechanism for controlling people. And we have a long history of weaponizing fear and disease. The suicide pact between Alice Sheldon and her husband. Parallels to contemporary events. The continuing arc of disaster stories on TBD. Who gets to join our post-apocalyptic island society? There is a lot of utopic fiction. This one balances that with some apocalyptic vision.
Whoa - Hmmm - WTF. Dan says Hmmm. A very plausible hmmm. Bill wishes that it could be a WTF story, but it is just too real.

Previous episode: Larry Niven, “Inconstant Moon”
Next episode: Ray Bradbury, “There Will Come Soft Rains”

Music Credit: "Ouroboros" Kevin MacLeod (Incompetech.com). Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License
Link: Creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

Theme: It’s the end of the world as we know it, and I feel … angst.

Episode Connections
Authors, stories. Larry Niven, Ringworld series. Fritz Lieber, “A Pail of Air.” Arthur C. Clarke, “Rescue Party,” and “The Star.” Jerry Pournelle. Ursula K. LeGuin.
Films. Finch. Castaway. Solar Flare. Sunshine. Sharknado. The World’s End. Knowing. Apollo 19.
TV episodes, series. The Land of the Lost. Star Trek: The Animated Series. The Outer Limits. The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson.
Music. Nickel Creek, “The 21st of May.”
Ideas. More post-apocalyptic sci fi. What would happen to the Earth if the Sun went nova? What would you do if you had only one night left to live? Would people figure it out if the world were really about to end? And what if everyone didn’t die right away … what then? Which is worse … dying in a catastrophe or living through it? The science in “Inconstant Moon” is much more plausible than what we saw in “A Pail of Air.” There are not a lot of stories like this one. Our sun cannot go nova, but we have not seen a lot of speculative fiction about problems with the sun, regardless. But we do LOVE a good disaster movie. Even better when we combine catastrophes. Doomsday stories often explore the psychology of living and dying. The story is set long before social media, so the events are not subject to broadcast. How might the story be different today? Ships (the coffee shop in the story) was a real place. How often does someone claim that the world is about to end? Prophecy. Nostradamus. Heaven’s Gate. There is a lot of profit in being a prophet. Recent events have spawned the prepper movement. Let’s stockpile weapons and food and water. Y2K. Media builds much more hype around doomsday scenarios today. EMP … the new apocalypse. Niven contextualizes the story in contemporary details. Niven calls this a love story in a sci-fi context.
Whoa - Hmmm - WTF. Dan says it falls between Hmmm & Whoa. Bills suggests it is a rising and falling Whoa, like a roller coaster.

Previous episode: Fritz Lieber, “A Pail of Air”
Next episode: James Tiptree Jr., “The Last Flight of Dr. Ain”

Music Credit: "Ouroboros" Kevin MacLeod (Incompetech.com). Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License
Link: Creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

Theme: I can see my breath. I can scoop mine with a bucket. Now that’s COLD!

Episode Connections
Authors, stories. Fritz Lieber, Newhon series. James M. Ward & Rob Kuntz, Deities & Demigods (TSR, AD&D). Stephen King, “The Jaunt.” Jerome Bixby, The Holes Around Mars. Hal Clement, Mission of Gravity. Tom Godwin, “The Cold Equations.”
Films. Snowpiercer. The Day After Tomorrow. The Colony. Mad Max.
TV episodes, series. None this time.
Ideas. Post-apocalyptic sci fi. Surviving the apocalypse in a blanket fort. Did they have duct tape in 1951? The Earth was pulled away from the Sun. Not all science fiction stands up to scientific scrutiny. Many early sci fi stories are built around pseudoscience. Science feels more like magic in some of those stories. Sci fi inspired fantasy authors to have laws of magic. So, Lieber gets some science wrong. “Fire and pure oxygen don’t play real well together.” Sometimes sci fi just constitutes a good yarn. The “Life is good” postulate in sci fi … there is always hope. Pousse cafe, layered digestif - recipe at . This is an early post-apocalyptic sci fi story. Oddly optimistic. Extremely cold realms have come to equate with space. alien landscapes, and post-apocalyptic lit. Nuclear winter. Climate change. Rising temperatures … we need more sci fi stories about blazing heat. Assless leather chaps are never a good fashion choice. TBD is key to surviving an apocalypse.
Whoa - Hmmm - WTF. Dan says … none of these apply well to “A Pail of Air.” It is less science fiction than fictional science. Bill says it is a head scratcher. Worth reading, but not great science.

Previous episode: R.A. Lafferty, “Encased in Ancient Rind”
Next episode: Larry Niven, “Inconstant Moon”

Music Credit: "Ouroboros" Kevin MacLeod (Incompetech.com). Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License
Link: Creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

Theme: Does more life bring greater wisdom?

Episode Connections
Authors, stories. Neil Gaiman, Sandman series. Phillip K. Dick. Samuel R. Delaney & Marilyn Hacker, Quark series. J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings. Stephen R. Donaldson, The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant. Jerome Bixby, “Old Testament.” Clifford Simak, “Desertion.” J.G. Ballard, “Voices of Time.” Jason Key. R.A. Lafferty, Not to Mention Camels. Jonathan Strahan, The Best of R.A. Lafferty.
Films. The Day After Tomorrow.
TV episodes, series. None this time.
Ideas. Post-apocalyptic sci fi. Repetition of geological eras from ancient times. Evolution & adaptation. Apocalypse … hold the zombies. Complacency and despair in the face of cataclysmic change. Human minds sometimes acclimate to adapt. Free speech, knowledge, and oppression. Social & intellectual regression. The story features an absence of technological innovation in the face of change. Does wisdom come with time and longevity? Ents, elves, & other long-lived races from literature. Investing in Pokemon plush toys. Natural v. unnatural longevity in fiction. Reflection only brings wisdom with perspective. Atmospheric pollution. The canonization of stories.
Whoa - Hmmm - WTF. Bill says he began in a state of WTF, but that fades to Hmmm on further reading. Lafferty hits you between the ears. “Ancient Rind” is strategically weird. Dan followed a similar path.

Previous episode: Alice Glaser, “The Tunnel Ahead,” Kurt Vonnegut, “2BR02B”
Next episode: Fritz Lieber, “A Pail of Air”

Music Credit: "Ouroboros" Kevin MacLeod (Incompetech.com). Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License
Link: Creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

Theme: If you can’t control yourselves, someone’s gonna have to do it for you
Time: 44:23

Episode Connections
Authors, stories. Kurt Vonnegut, Cat’s Cradle, Slaughterhouse 5. Paul Ehrlich, Population Bomb, Population Explosion. Stephen Emmott, Ten Billion. Dr. Danny Dorling, Population 10 Billion. Harry Harrison, Make Room, Make Room. John Brunner, Stand On Zanzibar. Isaac Asimov, Caves of Steel.
Films. The Tunnel. 2BR02B. What Happened to Monday? Soylent Green. Avengers: Infinity War, Avengers: End Game. Inferno. Logan’s Run.
TV episodes, series. Star Trek, “The Mark of Gideon.” Love, Death, & Robots, “The Swarm.” “The Parasite.”
Ideas. Over/population & sci fi are a common combo, post/apocalyptic sci fi in particular. What are the social consequences of population explosion? Government strategies for population control. Solutions often mean extreme policies rather than responsible action. How many people does it take to feel like we have too many? Stories that feature overpopulation are almost always set in cities. Could people (such as the wealthy) rig population control systems for their own benefit? Population burden has been a conversation for decades at least, centuries even. Stories about population control always involve monitoring systems. Population is a conspicuously absent topic from mainstream lit and cinema. Americans are particularly uncomfortable talking about population control. Advocates of population control are often portrayed as villains. Sci fi is rife with races that consume and ravage resources. Those races are not usually us. Dr. Lynn Margulis - humans are ambulatory weeds. People think they have both right and responsibility to have big families. No one ever thinks their kid will be a serial killer or a human leach. Supply chain, toilet paper, and quality of life.
Whoa - Hmmm - WTF. The scale is less applicable … a little hmmm, a little wtf.

Previous episode: Stephen King, “The Jaunt”
Next episode: R.A. Lafferty, “Encased in Ancient Rind”

Music Credit: "Ouroboros" Kevin MacLeod (Incompetech.com). Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License
Link: Creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

Theme: x
Time: 34:19

Episode Connections
Authors, stories. Alfred Bester, The Stars My Destination. Clive Barker, “Hellraiser.” Dan Simmons, Hyperion. Robert Jordan, The Wheel of Time series. Fred T. Jane, To Venus in Five Seconds.
Films. The Langoliers. Back to the Future. Galaxy Quest. Stargate. Contact. The Fly (both versions).
TV episodes, series. Star Trek.
Ideas. What is teleportation, really? Teleportation v. matter transportation. Scientists / inventors in sci fi. Energy crisis as impetus for teleportation research. Testing the process on criminals. What other applications are there for teleportation technology? Joy and fear about scientific advancement. Emotions change when novel technologies become mundane. Remember when pagers were cool? Authors add context to create exigence. Romanticizing the lone inventor. King posits that human consciousness is separate from the body. Sensory deprivation tanks. Anesthesia. What is more horrific - physical or psychological trauma? Faster-than-light travel. Psychological effects of travel through time & space are often ignored. Reimagining modes of transport is SO sci fi. However, we frown on using humans for radical experiments.
Whoa - Hmmm - WTF. Bill - A smidge of hmmm, and a bit of whoa, and a bit of wtf. But it does not register big on any of them. Dan says … the little flaws take a bit away

Previous episode: Dean Koontz, “Altarboy”
Next episode: Alice Glaser, “The Tunnel Ahead,” Kurt Vonnegut, “2BR02B”

Music Credit: "Ouroboros" Kevin MacLeod (Incompetech.com). Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License
Link: Creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/