Feature Creep: Built-in Microwave

Ned and Meg discuss a letter, sent to George Orwell from his former teacher Aldous Huxley, in which Huxley both celebrates and criticizes Orwell’s vision of dystopia for being excellent but not quite as good as his own. We sideswipe lady gangs, Halloween costumes, tee shirt designs, and the movie Little Shop of Horrors. Here’s mom: wash your hands, wear a mask!

Ned and Meg chat about the first episode of Star Trek Next Generation (TNG) Episode one, Encounter at Farpoint, aka the one with Q! Ned saw it as a kid and it really made a creepy impression. That leads Meg to complain about M*A*S*H*, the worst entertainment drag on television.

Meg and Ned discuss movies that feature dystopian themes. They don't even come close to exhausting the list of possible movies to discuss but they give it a good try.

Meg and Ned briefly discuss the short story 'I Have no Mouth and I must Scream' by Harlan Ellison. We look at how this relates to our ongoing discussion of designing dystopias.

Ned and Meg discuss Philip K Dick’s novel (the one that inspired Blade Runner the movie) about androids and consider the core tenets of a good dystopia. Part of an ongoing series delving into what makes a dystopia, and how to build the most dystopian dystopia ever.

Meg and Ned continue their discussions about designing dystopias. In this episode we discuss the origin of the concept and introduce some of Sir Thomas More's thoughts on what makes a utopia and possibly why that utopia would probably be a dystopia for many.

This week Meg and Ned discuss the ideas and concepts around designing a dystopia. Why would we talk about such a thing? Because this is an art and design podcast. Also, wash your hands and wear a mask. Turns out we are still in the middle of a pandemic.

Meg loudly complains at Ned about hostas, the Beanie Babies of the plant kingdom, in this week’s short, that is until Ned points out that they’re not entirely ornamental and can be eaten, which changes Meg’s mind about how much she hates them! Wash your hands! Wear a mask!

Ned tells Meg about Louie Mattar’s Fabulous Cadillac Car, now on view at the San Diego Auto Museum! Or, well, it would be if we were allowed to go see anything with other people! That reminds us, wash your hands, wear a damned mask, be nice, mind your own beeswax.

Meg and Ned complain about audio problems in this great time of uncertainty. How are we supposed to get anything done with all this chaos going on? Wash your hands, wear a mask, and stand up for Black lives.