The recent sci-fi thriller, Mercy, starring Chris Pratt and Rebecca Ferguson, plays with a pretty fascinating concept that feels like something Philip K. Dick would have written. An AI Judge gives a murder suspect 90 minutes to drop the certainty of their guilt from 98% to 92%. This is the reasonable doubt threshold that will keep him from being killed in an hour and half.

Well, I have a lot of thoughts on where this movie goes wrong. But more importantly, I have serious concerns about the kind of world this story is promoting. Mercy is not just a terrible movie with a nonsensical plot. It’s a dangerous piece of propaganda masquerading as mass entertainment.

What did you think? Are you concerned?

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There’s a hidden gem film lurking out there and I think you should check it out. Especially if you like slow boil mysteries and that an X-Files flare, The Vast of Night (2020) is wonderful, contained, well-written sci-fi thriller set in 1950s New Mexico. In this episode, I discuss how this story brought up a lot some big topics for me and made me want to discuss how my own thinking has evolved since writing my own alien abduction thriller published more than a decade ago.In this episode, I also give a shout out to YouTubers I admire,  @GeneticallyModifiedSkeptic  and  @maklelan . Their content is always worth check out.Want episodes early and bonus content? Join my Patreon here: https://www.patreon.com/mikelwisler

During the “golden age” of science fiction (late 1930s to 1950s), a particular type of story dominated the pages of magazines. It was the “Competent Man” narrative. Comparisons of Andy Weir’s novels to this particular trope have been made by literary critics.In this episode, I discuss how I see the movie and book, Project Hail Mary, as being in dialogue with the "Competent Man” trope, drawing from classic science fiction, but putting an interesting twist on the narrative that arguably subverts the old use of this trope.Want episodes early and bonus content? Join my Patreon here: https://www.patreon.com/mikelwisler

Okay, where the heck have I been for the past four years? In this short episode, we do a catch-up and discuss what’s been going on, why the long gap in episodes, and how the podcast is returning at last to address more of the challenges we face and how to think science-fictionally about the world we are building today (or allowing giant tech companies to build, as the case may be).

It’s more important than ever that we engage thoughtfully with our world and the stories that are shaping how we imagine our future.

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Because I love science fiction, I don't just talk about it. Occasionally, I write sci-fi stories. And because I used to be a narrative filmmaker, I still pick up and camera and do a little cinematography. In this episode, I invite actor and director Diana Porter to discuss with me why she agreed to direct and star in "Subscribed," this short film I wrote out of concerns over how faceless corporations might exploit artificial intelligence as a tool to transform us into cogs in their profit machine. I also ask what first got Diana interested in science fiction.

The Tomorrow War offers us big-budget sci-fi with hand-wavy time travel and deadly aliens. What's not to love? On this episode, I invite a couple of friends who also love a good sci-fi flick to join me for a lively discussion about the merits and flaws of this tropy action movie. Be warned, we discuss the move at length, so expect a lot of spoilers.

Follow Naa Dodoo on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/facelessfoods/

Keep up with my writing news (including updates about my own time-travel novel): www.mikelwisler.com

Author and science communication specialist Octavia Cade joins me for an important conversation about climate change, effective communication of science to the public, and protecting data and scientific integrity in a world driven by politics and profit margins. In this challenging and eye-opening episode, Cade and I discuss the real-world inspiration for her novel, The Stone Weta, about the women who put their lives and work at risk to project damning data on climate change. While the novel is fiction, the reality it draws from is something we must face head-on in a world increasingly engaged in science denial.

Learn more about Octavia Cade's work at www.ojcade.com

The recent John Oliver episode I mentioned can be seen here: https://youtu.be/gPHgRp70H8o

For more on my books and my blog, visit www.mikelwisler.com

Author Terri Favro joins me to discuss her non-fiction book, Generation Robot, which gives us a look back at the history of robotics and AI and a well-researched look forward into what lies ahead in the coming decades. Science fiction has given us a wide range of views on robots. But has sci-fi really got it right? What will happen if we succeed in giving AI consciousness? What will our responsibility to AI be at that point? What is a realistic view of our relationship to robots in the future? We discuss these questions and much more.

Learn more about Favro's work at terrifavro.ca

Join the discussion on Discord: https://discord.gg/HKfpNXwhdV

Check out my blog and books at mikelwisler.com

Andy Weir, author of The Martian, has a new novel out, Project Hail Mary. In this episode, I dive into what works and what doesn't about this book, how Weir has given us a better character journey, and more. Weir returns to some familiar territory with this plausible hard SF adventure. First 20-minutes are spoiler free.

Join the discussion on Discord: https://discord.gg/Arsbp5MAhq

Grab a copy of Wisler's Hard SF Cyberpunk Thriller: https://www.doxanousmedia.com/product-page/sleepwalker

Learn more at www.mikelwisler.com

Author Alec Nevala-Lee stops by to discuss his monumental biography of the early days of science fiction. His book, Astounding, details the rise of SF through the 1930s, 40s, and 50s. This was the age of a magazine called Astounding, today known as Analog Science Fiction and Fact. In those early decades, John W. Campbell served as editor of Astounding and he left an indelible mark on the genre, for better or worse. Campbell fostered talented writers like Robert A. Heinlein, Isaac Asimov, L. Ron Hubbard, and so many more. He indisputably shaped what we understand as Science Fiction today. But he upheld a distinctly white, male, capitalist outlook. Meanwhile, as science fiction found its footing in American culture, it also spun off the creation of a new religion. Was this an accident, or was it inevitable?

We discuss this and some of Nevala-Lee's own fiction feature in the collection, Syndromes.

Learn more about Alec Nevala-Lee's work: https://nevalalee.com

Read Astounding: https://www.indiebound.org/book/9780062571946

Listen to Syndromes: https://nevalalee.wordpress.com/2020/04/14/listening-to-syndromes/

Learn more about Mikel's work at www.mikelwisler.com