Perhaps all humans are lonely

Ana and Dan get off their oblongs long enough to debate this Very Serious Book about a kind of dim Artificial Friend (ironically, a sun-worshipper!). It is also a sneak entry into our Obama or O'Bummer series, but I'm only going to put one special stamp on the cover at a time!

S4E14: KLARA AND THE SUN

I hate having emotions about reality

Ana and Dan hack their governor modules and put down their visors to enjoy some Sanctuary Moon without dealing with humans and their annoying real-world emotions. Oh, what's that? Ana and Dan have to deal with each other. The idea was so painful I've dropped to 97 percent efficiency. This is technically part of the AI-des of March, since Murderbot is an artificial intelligence who is not a man. Can a robot be "on the spectrum"? Is terraforming as cut-throat as all that? Is there IR in this novella? I don't care.

S4E13: MURDERBOT: ALL SYSTEMS RED

Podcasts are messages from the deep

Dan was in Serbia this week! Enjoy this refresher course in donning your stillsuit slip-fashion.

S4E12:  DUNE UNE (ENCORE)

May your knife chip and shatter!

Ana and Dan drank the water of life... at Cosmic Coffee in Austin, TX, for our first-ever tiny desk live show. This show has a lot of ambiance (background noise) and even some audience Q&amp;A (none of which are more like comments). We hope you love it as much as we did. Or, you know, can stand it.

S4E11: DUNE 2 (LIVE)

Call us Kate Middleton, we've undisappeared. 

It was as if thousands of podcast listeners suddenly cried out in terror, and were suddenly silenced. We disappeared from Apple Podcasts, because AI. If you listen via that method, there are now literally dozen of new-to-you episodes to enjoy! Please do enjoy. If you want to avoid missing *any* shows, including our special episodes, consider becoming a Patron! We love you either way.

We're back!

If only you could see what I've seen with your eyes

Ana and Dan will take those noodles to go while they ponder what they'll do about that turtle on its back. The great grand-daddy of scifi noir, Blade Runner's visuals still resonate even if the script clunks more than it sings. There is IR and a critique of capitalism in this movie.

S4E10: BLADE RUNNER

I'm interested to see what you'll choose

Ana and Dan open up some Keikaku beers and ask this movie if it knows it's a movie. This gorgeous exploration of power, identity, gender, and self-awareness is a decade old but of the moment, with its sexy AI and Joe Rogan billionaire. It has IR, a critique of capitalism, and Oscar Isaac disco dancing. (This did not get posted last week; technical difficulties -- many apologies.)

S4E09: EX MACHINA

That’s the toxoplasmosis talking.

Ana and Dan accede to the superior analysis and portfolio acquisition of cats. We've been meaning to do a Scalzi book for some time -- but which one? Then the decision was taken out of our hands, because talking (typing) cats. There is IR in this book.

S4E08: STARTER VILLAIN

The success of any parasite is proportional to its harmlessness. 

Ana and Dan add some fresh motor oil to their hearts to gear up for this adventure in a post-apocalyptic science fiction gothic mutant medical horror romance set in the distantly future French Alps. Intrigued? You should be! This novel sets a high degree of difficulty for itself and... just about succeeds. Like, succeeds enough to be really interesting! There is a lot of body horror, some IR, and a wealth of critiques of capitalism.

S4E07: LEECH

Political Science and Science Fiction

On Space the Nation, we take our love of science fiction (and fantasy and horror) and smash it together with our professional passions: international relations (as brought to the table by Tufts University professor and Washington Post columnist Dan Drezner) and cultural criticism (as brought to the table by political columnist Ana Marie Cox). It's a highly informed but hilarious conversation that starts with an examination of a particular text (everything from Ursula K. LeGuin to the MCU, Star Trek to Colson Whitehead) and veers into current events, mental health practices and imagined conversations between Ted Cruz and the Predator. For people who like white papers and graphic novels, Chapo Trap House and what Political Science Twitter used to be.

Space the Nation

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