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It’s the 20th anniversary of Blindsight! David and Rachel sit down in Rachel’s living room with marine biologist, critically acclaimed author, and enemy-of-the-state Peter Watts to drink two bottles of wine and talk about theories of consciousness, cigar-shaped harbour seals, the climate collapse, and why dystopian sci-fi authors are in fact childishly optimistic. Additional audio engineering by Rick Innis. Show Notes: RiftersThe Collapse Is Coming. Will Humanity Adapt?The Sheep Look Up, John BrunnerThe Limits To GrowthPhilosophical ZombieConsciousness and its function, David M. RosenthalMichael Timothy BennettErik Hoel Mirror TestThe Hidden SpringArthur Jafa Continue the conversation on the Wizards & Spaceships Discord or on Facebook!

The podcast is part of the oral tradition, and joining us to talk about ancient epics, living texts in dead languages, Babylonian Pride parades, and how all of this relates to sci-fi, fantasy, and horror is writer, translator, and cultural historian Sophus Helle. Show notes: Sophus’ websiteElectronic Babylonian LibraryBabylonian Myths, Sophus HelleCritical Antiquities, including Human: Babylonian Reflections on Labour, Sophus HelleBeowulf: The Monsters and the Critics, J.R.R. TolkienBeowulf: A New Translation, Maria Dahvana Headley The Complete Mahabharata (online)The Mahabharata (Penguin Classics)Ovid's Metamorphoses: A New Translation, C. Luke SoucyQuery, Zilla NovikovThe Ur-Pisode: The Queer Heart of the Epic of Gilgamesh, ft. Julian Gunn Continue the conversation on the Wizards & Spaceships Discord or on Facebook!

A contract with one of the five big publishing companies means placement in bookstores and libraries, reviews in major publications, award nominations, and a huge advance—even a chance to get on the bestsellers list. But is this actually the case? Joining us to talk about how the sausage gets made is Jeremy Szal, author of the Common Trilogy. Show Notes:Jeremy’s websiteFollow him on:BlueskyInstagramTikTok“Everything is random in publishing. Success is random. Bestsellers are random. So that is why we are the Random House!” Are there more libraries or McDonald’s?Author (and professional chef) Rohan O’Duill trying out one of the recipes from the Sad Bastard Cookbook Continue the conversation on the Wizards & Spaceships Discord or on Facebook!

So you've trashed the world. An EMP or a nuclear bomb or a plague of zombies have taken out civic infrastructure—now it's your chance to show off your survival skills. Fortunately, there's an incredible resurgence of Indigenous post-apocalyptic fiction that offers alternative visions to surviving collapse. In this episode, we talk to author, educator in Plant Medicine & Midwifery, and hippy prepper Daphne Singingtree about how to survive and thrive after the end. We're nominated for an Aurora Award for Best Fan-Related Work! Check out the ballot (and consider casting a vote for us) at the Canadian Science Fiction and Fantasy Association. Show Notes Daphne's websiteDaphne's socialsZaniyan1632, Eric FlintEmberverse, SM Stirling A Paradise Built In Hell, Rebecca SolnitBraiding Sweetgrass, Robin Wall KimmererMoon of the Crusted Snow and Moon of the Turning Leaves, Waubgeshig RiceThe Marrow Thieves and Hunting By Stars, Cherie DimalineFuture Home of the Living God, Louise ErdrichTrail of Lightning, Rebecca RoanhorseThis Place: 150 Years RetoldBlood Quantum (2019)Night Raiders (2021)The Last of Us Season 1, Episode 3, "Long Long Time." [Check out Rachel's guest appearance on Two Old Farts where we talk about it!]The Hunger GamesCascade, Rachel A. RosenStar Trek: TNG: "The Inner Light" TerminatorYears Of Rice and Salt and The Ministry For the Future, Kim Stanley Robinson

Welcome to our new season! To celebrate, we’re kicking it up a notch by holding an all-star roundtable of some truly incredible writers. Vajra Chandrasekera, Samantha Mills, and Gregory A. Wilson join us to discuss didactic genre fiction. Is it a skill problem? Is it a media literacy problem? Can you hammer home a message without alienating (sorry/not sorry) your audience? We're nominated for an Aurora Award for Best Fan-Related Work! Check out the ballot (and consider casting a vote for us) at the Canadian Science Fiction and Fantasy Association. Show Notes: Vajra's websiteSamantha's websiteGregory's websiteGuillermo del Toro's Frankenstein (and Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein)Dante’s InfernoKatabasis, R.F. KuangRabbit Test, Samantha MillsA Sound of Thunder, Ray BradburyDune, Frank HerbertThe Witcher, Andrzej SapkowskiLe Roman de SilenceFrom the Notebooks of Doctor Brain, Minister FaustThe Time Machine, H.G. WellsIsland of Doctor Moreau, H.G. WellsStar Trek TOS: Let That Be Your Last BattlefieldOne star review of Pride and PrejudiceWorld Bank literacy statsGrendel, John Gardner

Genre fiction is full of strong, independent women, badass heroines, brave Final Girls, and virginal princesses. Frankly, we’re getting a little sick of it? For our season finale, with us to discuss difficult women is the queen of messy, complicated, and antiheroic female protagonists herself, the legendary Silvia Moreno-Garcia! Show NotesSilvia's websiteSilvia's Instagram and ThreadsSignal To Noise by Silvia Moreno-Garcia (find out why Rachel is correct and all of the Goodreads reviewers are wrong)Velvet Was the Night by Silvia Moreno-GarciaCountess by Susan PalumboUnknown Number: The High School Catfish Rachel’s Problematic Faves Bellis Coldwine (The Scar by China Miéville)Baru Cormorant (The Traitor Baru Cormorant by Seth Dickson)Essun (The Broken Earth by N.K. Jemisin)Catra (She-Ra and the Princesses of Power by Nate Stevenson) David’s Problematic Faves Morgan Le Fay (Le Morte d'Arthur by Sir Thomas Malory)Cersei Lannister (A Song Of Ice and Fire by George R.R. Martin)Jadis (The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis) Silvia’s Problematic Faves Eleanor and Theodora (The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson)Constance and Merricat (We Have Always Lived In the Castle by Shirley Jackson)Everything by Tanith LeeRebecca and Rachel (Rebecca and My Cousin Rachel by Daphne du Maurier)Emma Bovary (Madame Bovary by Gustave Flaubert) Are they genre? Nah, but we still love them Cass Neary novels by Elizabeth HandGone Girl by Gillian FlynnWuthering Heights by Emily BrontëThe Talented Mr. Ripley by Patricia HighsmithLolita by Vladimir NabokovWashington Square by Henry JamesAnna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy

We are celebrating the 100th anniversary of Amazing Stories Magazine. It started way back in March or April, of 1926, depending on who you ask. With us to talk about the magazine's past, present, and maybe even the next hundred years, are its publishers and editors: Steve Davidson, Kermit Woodall and Lloyd Penney. Show notes: Amazing Stories Magazine onlineWikipedia's entryGalactic CentralSF Encyclopedia

Charles R. Saunders was a Halifax journalist and, with his Imaro novels, the founder of the "sword and soul" genre and a Black Canadian literary icon. When he died in obscurity in 2020, journalist Jon Tattrie joined fans worldwide to uncover where he was buried, commemorate his life, and bring him the prominence he deserved. For Black History Month, we're joined by Jon to tell us about Charles' remarkable career and his new biography, To Leave a Warrior Behind: The Life and Stories of Charles R. Saunders, the Man Who Rewrote Fantasy. Show Notes: To Leave a Warrior Behind: The Life and Stories of Charles R. Saunders, the Man Who Rewrote Fantasy by Jon TattrieWrite Now with Jon TattrieThe New Moon’s Arms by Nalo HopkinsonThe Broken Earth by N.K. JemisinThe Practice, the Horizon, and the Chain by Sofia SamatarInterview With the Vampire (2022-)BladeStar Man’s Son by Andre NortonSkin of the Sea by Natasha BowenAnnaka by Andre FentonDark Fantasy zineJaycen Wise URAEUSMshindo I. KuumbaCharles in the CSFFA hall of fame Charles R. Saunders' select biography: Imaro (1981) Second Edition (2006) Third Edition (2014)The Quest for Cush (1984) Second Edition (2008)The Trail of Bohu (1985) Second Edition (2009)The Naama War (2009)Nyumbani Tales (2017)Dossouye (2008)Dossouye: The Dancers of Mulukau (2012) Other novels Damballa (2011)Abengoni: First Calling (2014), fantasy novel Non-fiction Sweat and Soul: The Saga of Black Boxers from the Halifax Forum to Caesars Palace (1990)Spirit of Africville (1992)Share & Care: The Story of the Nova Scotia Home for Colored Children (1994)Black & Bluenose: The Contemporary History of a Community (2002)

Magazines and journals have been a foundational part of sci-fi, fantasy, and horror since the very beginning and provide us with the stories, art, and critical analysis that keep the genre vibrant. These collaborations are a labour of love and the lifeblood of the literary scene. With us to talk about the work of editing and producing them are two rising stars in the field, Josh Wilson, editor of The Fabulist, and Alexandra Pierce, editor of Speculative Insight. Show Notes: The FabulistThe Fabulist on BlueskyThe Fabulist on InstagramSpeculative InsightSpeculative Insight on BlueskySpeculative Insight on InstagramLetters to TiptreeLuminescent ThreadsRadon JournalClarkesworldkhōréōTrollbreath

The famous introduction to Star Trek lays out the mission of the Starship Enterprise:  to explore strange new worlds; to seek out new life and new civilizations; to boldly go where no man has gone before! Later on, they changed it to be more inclusive—where no one has gone before. But the fundamental problem remains—if no one has gone there, what exactly are all those new civilizations? Could science fiction and fantasy have a colonialism problem? With us to discuss this thorny issue and the sci-fi, fantasy, and horror writers challenging Eurocentric assumptions is Suzan Palumbo, author of Countess and co-founder of the Ignyte Awards. Show notes: Suzan's BlueskySuzan's Instagram2024 Nebula Awards shortlistStelliform PressReading list: “The Butcher of the Forest” by Premee Mohamed“The Tusks of Extinction” by Ray Nayler“Lost Ark Dreaming” by Suyi Davies Okungbowa“Countess” by Suzan Palumbo“The Practice, the Horizon, and the Chain” by Sofia Samatar“The Dragonfly Gambit” by A. D. Sui“Green Fuse Burning” by Tiffany Morris“We Speak Through the Mountain and “Annual Migration of Clouds” by Premee Mohamed“Blackheart Man” by Nalo Hopkinson

Anyone who’s ever written fantasy has faced this problem: You have hit the point of conflict in a story where problems can no longer be worked out with witty retorts or a magic spell. The orcs are at the gates, the peace talks have broken down…that’s right—you’re going to have to write a battle scene. In this episode, we talk to Suzannah Rowntree, author of How to Write a Fantasy Battle: Basic Medieval and Modern Military Tactics for Authors, The Watchers of Outremer Series, and other historical fantasies, about how to get a battle right. Show Notes: Suzannah's Bluesky: suzannahrowntreeSuzannah's Instagram: suzannahsnapsSuzannahrowntree.siteHow to Write a Fantasy Battle: Basic Medieval and Modern Military Tactics for AuthorsWestern Warfare In The Age Of The Crusades, 1000-1300 by John FranceByzantine flamethrowerBattle of Antioch (1098)Battle of Hattin (1187)Seventh CrusadeMedicine in the Crusades: Warfare, Wounds and the Medieval Surgeon by Piers D. MitchellMagistra HersendGodfrey of BouillonThe Rebellion Of Count Hugh Of Jaffa

Happy Halloween! We're talking about WITCHES! A staple of fantasy, horror, and Broadway musicals, witches can be anything from a murderous presence in the woods to the friendly neighbourhood Wiccan who revives your dying African violet. So let's get our witch on! Show Notes: Kiki’s Delivery Service (1989)Spirited Away (2001)VenCo by Cherie DimalineBuffy the Vampire Slayer, "Helpless"Barbie-Yaga Dream HutCool People Who Did Cool Stuff, "Baba Yaga: Everyone's Favorite Witch From Folklore" Part 1 and Part 2Baba Yaga: The greatest 'wicked witch' of all?The Chronicles of Narnia by CS LewisCaliban and the Witch by Silvia FedericiA Wizard’s Guide to Defensive Baking by T. Kingfisher"Love Potion No. 9" by the CloversThe Witch Boy by Molly Knox OstertagSeason of the Witch (2011)Bewitched (1964-1972)The Good Witch (2008)The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina (2018-2020)Charmed (1998-2006)

You guys had so many science questions that our resident scientists couldn't answer them all in just one episode! In this episode, Rob & Jon Mound tackle important questions such as time travel, the mutability or lack thereof of the laws of physics, and dragon taxonomy. Also, why we are not going to Mars. Show Notes: The Forever War, Joe Haldeman The Chronicles of Narnia, C.S. Lewis The Time Machine (1960) Ninefox Gambit, Yoon Ha Lee The Walking Dead World of Warcraft corrupted blood incident Game of Thrones dragons Coelacanth Unusual anal fin offers new insight into evolution Tiktaalik Total Recall (1990) terraforming Mars scene Spaceballs (1987) Keep the conversation going, or ask the Science Bros more questions by joining our Discord or Facebook group!

Suspension of disbelief is a cornerstone of speculative fiction, but as writers and fans, we often find ourselves wondering just how grounded in reality our favourite stories really are. We asked you, our listeners, for questions like: What would happen if I went through a wormhole? Does a Star Trek transporter just kill you and create a new copy of you? What kind of technology can or can’t you use to blow up the world? And then we got biologist Rob Mound and geophysicist Jon Mound to answer the questions you sent. There were so many we had to split it into two parts! In this part, we look at jumping out of a spaceship without a suit (why?), octopus people (yes!), sex in space (obviously!), and more! Show Notes The Core (2003) The Expanse - 5x07 | Naomi's Leap From The Pella A City On Mars, Kelly Weinersmith and Zach Weinersmith Star Trek Voyager "Cathexis" on Memory Alpha Gattaca (1997) When You Nut In Space, It Push You Backwards (NSFW) "There Are Four Lights," scene from Star Trek: The Next Generation Best Served Cold, Joe Abercrombie Gerald Bull The Martian growing poop potatoes Keep the conversation going, or ask the Science Bros more questions by joining our Discord or Facebook group!

Sci-fi and fantasy has always had an optimistic current, whether it’s utopian space-age cities or noble chosen ones vanquishing a dark lord. In recent years, with the popularity of romantasy and cozy fantasy, it’s easier than ever to immerse yourself in a more hopeful world. But what if instead we made you feel bad? In this wide-ranging conversation with multitalented author and editor Nick Mamatas, we talk about crushing your joy, corporate greed in the publishing and music production industries, and why the 80s and 90s were objectively the best time for music. Show Notes: Alex Rowland’s original hopepunk post.Buy 120 MurdersNick’s BlueskyPerfect Crime PartyDark Yonder Issue 1Nick’s website that never gets updatedThat Slayer meme Have you bought Blight yet? If you like dark things, you should! Buy it from your favourite online retailerBuy direct from the publisher "Do You Love the Colour Of the Sky?" in Trollbreath Magazine