This week on the podcast, Patrick and Tracy welcome Mary Robinette Kowal, author of The Martian Contingency.

About The Martian Contingency: Years after a meteorite strike obliterated Washington, D.C.?triggering an extinction-level global warming event?Earth’s survivors have started an international effort to establish homes on space stations and the Moon.

The next step – Mars.

Elma York, the Lady Astronaut, lands on the Red Planet, optimistic about preparing for the first true wave of inhabitants. The mission objective is more than just building the infrastructure of a habitat – they are trying to preserve the many cultures and nuances of life on Earth without importing the hate.

But from the moment she arrives, something is off.

Disturbing signs hint at a hidden disaster during the First Mars Expedition that never made it into the official transcript. As Elma and her crew try to investigate, they face a wall of silence and obfuscation. Their attempts to build a thriving Martian community grind to a halt.

What you don’t know CAN harm you. And if the truth doesn’t come to light, the ripple effects could leave humanity stranded on a dying Earth…

About Mary Robinette Kowal: Mary Robinette Kowal is the USA TODAY bestselling author of the Hugo, Nebula, and Locus award winning alternate history novel The Calculating Stars. This title is the first book in the Lady Astronaut series, which continued in 2025 with its fourth installment, The Martian Contingency. She is also the author of The Glamourist Histories series, Ghost Talkers, The Spare Man, and has received the Astounding Award for Best New Writer, four Hugo awards, the Nebula and Locus awards. Her stories appear in Asimov’s, Uncanny, and several Year’s Best anthologies. Mary Robinette has also worked as a professional puppeteer, is a member of the award-winning podcast Writing Excuses, and performs as a voice actor (SAG/AFTRA), recording fiction for authors including Seanan McGuire, Cory Doctorow, and Neal Stephenson. She lives in Denver with her husband Robert, their dog Guppy, and their “talking” cat Elsie. Visit her online at maryrobinettekowal.com.

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© 2025 Patrick Hester

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