Encore Episode: Silicon Valley vs. Science Fiction: ChatGPT
For our summer vacation, we're re-upping the first in our "Silicon Valley vs. Science Fiction" series from 2023, about how Silicon Valley appropriates and misinterprets science fiction. Silicon Valley executives claim to be inspired by SF, but mostly they use it retroactively to justify their products, often missing the more complicated, nuanced ideas embedded in the original stories. In this episode, we tackled the hype cycle around A.I., which borrows liberally from the post-scarcity, post-human visions of Iain M. Banks in his Culture novels. It’s time for … the Culture vs. ChatGPT!
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Encore Episode: Obsessed with Battlestar Galactica
Charlie Jane and Annalee are on book tour(s), so we're re-upping one of our favorite episodes from 2023. At that time, we were celebrating the twentieth anniversary of the rebooted version of Battlestar Galactica. This show broke new ground in depicting realistic politics — and a nuanced view of a society of artificial people. How does it hold up? To find out, Charlie Jane went back and watched the entire series — here's what she found.
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Robots! Witches! Annalee and Charlie Jane talk about their new books
It's a double book birthday! Annalee has just released Automatic Noodle, a wonderfully cozy book about robots who've survived a devastating war and now just want to run a noodle restaurant. And in 12 days, Charlie Jane is releasing Lessons in Magic and Disaster, about a trans witch who teaches her heartbroken mother how to do magic. In this episode, we're both celebrating our new books and talking about how we poured all of our feelings about the past few years into escapist tales. Show notes: www.ouropinionsarecorrect/shownotes Â
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Murderbot and the Stories That Heal Us
It's scary out there — so thank goodness we're taking comfort in some wondrous books, TV shows, comics and movies. What makes a story comforting? And why is a dark horror story sometimes better comfort than a sweet gentle comedy? Plus we talk about the first season of Murderbot, which is about using stories to feel better and also made us feel better in real life. Show notes: www.ouropinionsarecorrect/shownotes
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The Invisible Chain that Holds Us Together (w/ Alexis Madrigal)
We keep hearing about the supply chain lately... but what is it? And how do all these shipping containers moving around the world shape our lives? We talk to Alexis Madrigal, author of the brand new book The Pacific Circuit, about how trade with Asia has changed Oakland. Plus we talk about how science fiction deals with the idea of the supply chain, and what can go wrong with it. Show notes: www.ouropinionsarecorrect.com/shownotes
Explore the meaning of science fiction, and how it's relevant to real-life science and society. Your hosts are Annalee Newitz, a science journalist who writes science fiction, and Charlie Jane Anders, a science fiction writer who is obsessed with science. Every two weeks, we take deep dives into science fiction books, movies, television, and comics that will expand your mind -- and maybe change your life
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