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Our Opinions Are Correct
Our Opinions Are Correct
Our Opinions Are Correct

Explore the meaning of science fiction, and how it's relevant to real-life science and society. Your hosts are Annalee Newitz, a science... more

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Episodes

Why Fantasy Is Going To Extremes (With Nghi Vo)

Lately, it feels as though a lot of fantasy books come in two kinds: cozy, or extremely dark. During a... more

14 Nov 2024 · 50 minutes
10 Years After "Over the Garden Wall"

We're taking a cozy, autumnal trip back in time to "peak television," when animation was truly feral and we had... more

31 Oct 2024 · 48 minutes
Every Town Deserves a Library (with Ken Liu)

Science fiction and fantasy are full of wondrous libraries containing everything from powerful artifacts to some dang good reads. How... more

17 Oct 2024 · 47 minutes
How to Raise the Stakes without Ruining Your Story

It's time for some writing advice! We talk about how to raise the stakes in a story without wrecking it.... more

03 Oct 2024 · 50 minutes
Science Fiction is a normalization machine (with Rob Cameron)

Science fiction is great at helping people get used to strange concepts — or people — and making us see... more

19 Sep 2024 · 48 minutes
When Fiction Becomes a Microaggression (with Evelyn Douek)

When someone disrespects you in a subtle way, with plausible deniability, it can do just as much damage as overt... more

05 Sep 2024 · 47 minutes
Encore Episode: Nationalism is science fiction, with Wajahat Ali

In one of our favorite episodes from 2021, we talked to TV news commentator and author (and scifi fan!) Wajahat... more

22 Aug 2024 · 42 minutes
Our Advice Is Correct

Dearest Listeners, you asked us for advice, and now we've got the definitive answers! From writing and relationship questions, to... more

08 Aug 2024 · 37 minutes
Dinosaurs and Furries, with Riley Black

We're learning so much about dinosaurs lately — there are incredible new species, discoveries about how they had sex, and... more

25 Jul 2024 · 57 minutes
Immigration law in space, with Victor Manibo

What is the point of absurdist storytelling in a world that feels absurd? We talk about science fiction that gets... more

11 Jul 2024 · 44 minutes
Secrets of the Planet of the Apes with Josh Friedman

The Planet of the Apes franchise spans decades and formats: it started as a French novel in 1963, and then... more

27 Jun 2024 · 54 minutes
Romancing the Dragon, with Moniquill Blackgoose

We’re obsessed with dragons, and for good reason. These gigantic creatures soar through many cultures and genres — and they... more

13 Jun 2024 · 47 minutes
Summer Entertainment Guide: What to Watch and Read this Summer!

The summer entertainment season is upon us! Many of our favorite TV shows are back, and there are a few... more

29 May 2024 · 55 minutes
How Surveillance Dystopias Came True (with Wole Talabi)

You are being watched. Pop culture used to be full of vivid warnings about Big Brother watching you. What does... more

16 May 2024 · 1 hour, 5 minutes
How to turn a story into a deadly weapon

Psyops are used by the military against foreign enemies, but now these dangerous weapons of demoralization and chaos are being... more

02 May 2024 · 53 minutes
Fascism and Book Bans (with Maggie Tokuda-Hall)

Science fiction has been warning us about fascism for decades — so why haven't we listened? How did Nazis become... more

18 Apr 2024 · 56 minutes
The Turing Test is bullsh*t (w/Alex Hanna and Emily M. Bender)

We're talking about the Turing Test, the grandmother of all tests for AI sentience. Joining us are AI researchers Alex... more

04 Apr 2024 · 48 minutes
Queer Horror! (with Dr. Chuck Tingle)

It's a scary time for LGBTQIA+ folks — and many of us are turning to horror stories that take our... more

21 Mar 2024 · 50 minutes
Videogame movies are officially better than comic book movies

At last, videogame movies have defeated comic book movies. We learn about why from Evan Narcisse, who writes for comic... more

07 Mar 2024 · 52 minutes
Encore Episode: Let's Obsess Over the Politics of Dune!

The long-awaited Dune sequel is in theaters now — and it's a huge hit. To celebrate, we're resurfacing one... more

04 Mar 2024 · 44 minutes
We Don't Give a F*ck About Canon

Science fiction and fantasy fans love to argue about canon — both meanings of the word. Which stories in a... more

22 Feb 2024 · 45 minutes
The world's humblest heroes, from plumbers to tardigrades

Inspired by The Super Mario Bros Movie, we're talking about a humble class of heroes whose lives are devoted to... more

08 Feb 2024 · 46 minutes
Encore Episode: The Incredibly Strange Career of Anne Rice

Anne Rice is best-known for her Vampire Chronicles, which began in the 1970s with her novel Interview with the Vampire.... more

25 Jan 2024 · 1 hour, 9 minutes
Encore Episode: Science Fiction Keeps Trying To "Fix" Disabled People with Elsa Sjunneson

Science fiction and fantasy are full of portrayals of disabled bodies, some of which are nuanced and positive, and many... more

11 Jan 2024 · 45 minutes
Alien ecosystems and the algae menace

All of us live embedded in webs of life known as ecosystems, and that can get pretty creepy... more

28 Dec 2023 · 50 minutes
How Doctor Who Stood the Test of Time

How does Doctor Who remain cool after sixty years? By constantly updating and reinventing itself. We've been loving David Tennant's... more

14 Dec 2023 · 52 minutes
Episode 142: Books That'll Get You Through The Winter Months

There's no company as soothing as a good read when the days get shorter and the air gets colder. So... more

30 Nov 2023 · 43 minutes
Episode 141: The Rise and Fall and Rise of Zines

Zines are DiY publications that grew to prominence in the early twentieth century scifi fan community, then morphed into a... more

16 Nov 2023 · 52 minutes
Episode 140: Silicon Valley is doomed to misunderstand the future, with Dr. Joy Buolamwini

Silicon Valley markets itself as the place where futures are born, and yet tech corporations have no real understanding of... more

02 Nov 2023 · 51 minutes
Episode 139: How To Write About Violence (with Fonda Lee and Lauren Beukes)

Battles and smackdowns are a key part of many science fiction and fantasy stories — but how do you do... more

19 Oct 2023 · 39 minutes
Episode 138: Battlestar Galactica, 20 Years Later

One of the greatest science fiction shows on TV debuted twenty years ago: the rebooted version of Battlestar Galactica. This... more

05 Oct 2023 · 52 minutes
Episode 137: The Creativity Fallacy

What does it mean to be a creator at a time when creativity is completely commodified? We’ll talk about the... more

21 Sep 2023 · 49 minutes
Episode 136: Who Wants to Live on an Eyeball Earth? With Aomawa Shields

We've learned so much about the planets outside our solar system in the past ten years, and we're poised to... more

07 Sep 2023 · 50 minutes
Episode 135: The Myth of Free Speech

Tech companies love to trumpet about how their products are free speech machines. But how can we have free speech... more

24 Aug 2023 · 41 minutes
Encore Episode: Work Is Not Your Friend, with Alan Henry

People have been paid for labor for at least 5,000 years, but the modern 'workplace' is a pretty recent invention.... more

10 Aug 2023 · 55 minutes
Encore Episode: We're in the wrong timeline, with Connie Willis and R.F. Kuang

We've all been feeling like something is wrong with the timeline. In this episode, we ask what alternate history, fake... more

27 Jul 2023 · 41 minutes
The State of the Galaxy

It's time for our state of the galaxy address. We’ll be talking about how humans figured out that we are... more

13 Jul 2023 · 48 minutes
Silicon Valley vs. Science Fiction: Ayn Rand

One science fiction author has influenced the leaders of the tech industry more than any other: Ayn Rand, who preached... more

29 Jun 2023 · 53 minutes
A Sense of Place with Jessica Johns

Sometimes, a story is set in a place that isn't just a location. It's a character. How do places come... more

15 Jun 2023 · 54 minutes
The State of Star Trek, with Mike McMahan

Star Trek is back in a big way: we've had three live-action TV shows and two animated shows recently, with... more

01 Jun 2023 · 59 minutes
Episode 130: What to Watch and Read This Summer!

Summer is almost here, and there's no shortage of amazing books, movies and TV shows to read by the pool.... more

18 May 2023 · 45 minutes
Silicon Valley vs. Science Fiction: Smart Home Nightmares

Ten years ago, Silicon Valley promised us smart houses that would light rooms as we walked into them, turn on... more

04 May 2023 · 51 minutes
Dungeons & Dragons Gets Cozy

Games are packed with astounding worldbuilding, and Dungeons & Dragons is perhaps the worldbuildiest of all. We take a deep... more

20 Apr 2023 · 48 minutes
Silicon Valley vs. Science Fiction: "Difficult Geniuses"

When tech whizkids are caught behaving badly, they're just being "brilliant jerks." And the figure of the charismatic-but-bratty genius inventor... more

06 Apr 2023 · 41 minutes
It's a Great Time to Read (and Write) Short Stories!

If you haven't read any short stories in a while, it's a great time to get back into them. A... more

23 Mar 2023 · 45 minutes
Silicon Valley vs. Science Fiction: ChatGPT

This is the first in a series of monthly episodes we’ll be doing about how Silicon Valley appropriates... more

09 Mar 2023 · 55 minutes
Encore Episode: Four Technologies That Nobody Realizes Will Change the Future

Everybody obsesses about A.I., nanotech, space travel and robots. But the technologies nobody pays much attention to could have an... more

23 Feb 2023 · 42 minutes
Encore Episode: Gender Essentialism

Gender essentialism is the idea that there is something eternal and innate about people's gender identities, and nothing... more

09 Feb 2023 · 48 minutes
How To Build A Planet

We're going to ask a few very small questions in this episode, like how to build a planet from scratch... more

26 Jan 2023 · 42 minutes
Why We Disagree About Avatar

Avatar: The Way of Water has already become one of the most successful movies... more

12 Jan 2023 · 46 minutes
Our Opinions Are Correct
Silicon Valley vs. Science Fiction: ChatGPT
Our Opinions Are Correct
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Listen now on

Apple Podcasts
Spotify
Overcast
Podcast Addict
Pocket Casts
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Description

This is the first in a series of monthly episodes we’ll be doing about how Silicon Valley appropriates and misinterprets... more