Mike, Oren, and Chris explore how science fiction is used to comment on contemporary issues. From dystopian novels to Vietnam War analogies, they share the stories that brought their message home, and deconstruct those that missed their mark.
Download Episode 4 Subscription FeedHave a question for our hosts? Send it to [email protected]
Show Notes:
1984 by George Orwell
Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury
Jennifer Government by Max Barry
The Martian Chronicles by Ray Bradbury
Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand
Bioshock and Bioshock Infinite by 2K Games
The Forever War by Joe Haldeman
Ender’s Game by Orson Scott Card
The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis
Video: Liam Neeson: The Musical (Neeson Season)
Shaman Tales by Nathan Lowell
The Mistborn Trilogy by Brandon Sanderson
Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain
Star Trek: The Next Generation – The High Ground, The Measure of a Man, Symbiosis, The Host
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine – Rejoined
Trope: The Mystical Pregnancy
P.S. Our bills are paid by our wonderful patrons. Could you chip in?
Is it possible to get transcripts of these podcasts? I really love them but would like a written version.
We’d love to be in a position to offer transcripts, unfortunately it’s just not within our means right now. Even paid transcription software produces a jumbled, unreadable mess, and human transcribers simply cost more than we can afford.
One option we’re looking at in the future is asking for volunteers to take what the software spits out and edit it into legibility. Mythcreants would pay for the software use, and anyone who’s really passionate would be able to give the gift of a transcript to all.
Okay, I understand. Thank you, and I think that would be a good idea to do. I’m sure the community would like it
Actually, the Troubles was still raging at the time (it was in 1990) and so this really wasn’t taken well by the UK. The predicted date of Irish unification also was 2024. It wasn’t aired by the BBC before 2007, though some syndicates won’t even now.
There was one TNG episode on drug addiction (the name escapes me). I don’t think they handled it too well however.
If we’re thinking of the same episode, I remember it being fine until the end.
So the set-up was that a group of aliens had been tricked by a different group into thinking they all had a chronic illness and needed meds, sold by that second group, to stay healthy. Our heroes revealed that the “sick” aliens had actually been scammed into taking an addictive drug, and when they thought their “illness” returned after being deprived of their “medicine”, it was just withdrawal symptoms.
So far so good.
Then in the end, they suddenly do this out-of-the-blue PSA about how “drugs are bad, m’kay”, with Wesley going “I don’t UNDERSTAND how ANYONE could do DRUGS!” and his mum is like “I know honey, it’s so hard to understand why anyone would do this to themselves” even though the ep was about a big SCAM, and people who honestly thought they took a necessary medication for chronic illness!