From hyperdrives to the Vulcan salute, science fiction and fantasy have provided the abundance of worlds and characters that comprise our pop culture. But can these genres inform or reflect our thinking about international relations?

In this episode, Professor Jackson joins us to discuss the ways that pop culture intersects with international relations, including how Star Trek reflected the discussion on Vietnam in the ‘60s (05:36) and how the Star Wars universe takes place in a morally ordered reality (08:45).

Learn how Battlestar Galactica sparked conversations on terrorism (15:29) and how Ursula Le Guin’s books encourage readers to reflect on society and themselves (18:36). Also, consider the kinds of topics that future science fiction writers might need to grapple with based on today’s world (21:12).

We ask Jackson about the ways he would change the study of international affairs in our “Take Five” segment (11:00), and we learn why it’s important for international affairs scholars to read and take part in conversations in other languages.