Alienating the Audience

At its height, Terry Pratchett's Discworld series accounted for fully 2% of all book sales in the United Kingdom. Over the course of his life he wrote 59 books, achieved knighthood, and created a beloved and hilarious franchise. What was Pratchett's worldview, and what motivated him to crack jokes about Death and wizards? Guest Marc Burrows wrote the first authorized biography of Pratchett, and just wrapped up a show about him at the Edinburgh Fringe. REFERENCED BOOKS AT: www.mightyheaton.com/goodscifi SUPPORT THE SHOW! www.patreon.com/alienating

Captain Pike commanded the USS Enterprise prior to Kirk, and the prequel series featuring him, Mr. Spock, Nurse Chapel, and their contemporaries goes back to the roots of Star Trek: exploring weird planets with weird things... but with just the right amount of fun. Scottish sci-fi twins Dickie and Stone Lynch return to discuss.

In Charlie Kaufman's weirdest film (and that's saying something) John Cusack discovers a portal that delivers you into John Malkovich's head for a few minutes... so he charges admission. Henrique Couto and Matt Sienkiewicz join to discuss

Vulcans, humans, Klingons, Romulans--everybody in the Star Trek universe can easily interbreed!

Stone and Dickie Lynch rejoin the show to discuss reproduction in the final frontier

The Expanse explores the political and military tension between decadent Earth, militant Mars, and the Belters stuck in between. War correspondent Kristaps Andrejsons joins to discuss

What if JFK survived the assassination attempt, and instead of Vietnam, America invested in a moon base? Bill Oakley is a former writer and showrunner on The Simpsons, and award-winning comedy writer, and the author of "Space: 1969" an Audible Original. He joins, along with Brian Brushwood, to discuss his retro-scifi comedy, and the nature of humor writing. BOOK AT: www.mightyheaton.com/goodscifi Support the show! www.patreon.com/alienating

Characters can selectively wipe memories in Charlie Kaufman's "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind," but in doing so they lose part of themselves. Chloe Effron and Nick Sperdute join to discuss this trippy... romcom? SUPPORT THE SHOW! www.patreon.com/alienating

Are holograms on Star Trek NPC's, sentient, or in some hellish state of limerence in between? Star Trek aficionados Dickie and Stone Lynch return to discuss

James Gunn's "Peacemaker" chronicles a toxic meathead character as he comes to terms with his past, his racist father, and an alien takeover of the planet. He is neither a hero nor antihero. He's something new, and hilarious: a "loserhero" Nick Sperdute and Justin Robert Young join to discuss.

How do clones manifest in science fiction? When are they evil, good, or a portent of science gone too far? Scottish scifi twins Dickie and Stone rejoin to discuss. SUPPORT THE SHOW! www.patreon.com/alienating