Anthony Ha joins us to discuss the first half of the book The Best of Kim Stanley Robinson. Stories discussed: “Venice Drowned” (10:53), “Ridge Running” (19:25), “Before I Wake” (26:55), “Black Air” (34:18), “The Lucky Strike” (44:23), “A Sensitive Dependence on Initial Conditions” (55:29), “Arthur Sternbach Brings the Curveball to Mars” (1:09:15), “The Blind Geometer” (1:17:30), “Our Town” (1:25:25), “Escape from Kathmandu” (1:28:54), “Remaking History” (1:44:05).

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David P. Silverman, author of Fighting God: An Atheist Manifesto for a Religious World, joins us to discuss his new science fiction novella Darkshiner. Topics discussed: David's childhood, Star Trek and Trekkies, science fiction conventions, Douglas Adams, atheism among sci-fi fans, persuasion vs. coercion, the idea behind Darkshiner, fiction like Darkshiner, AI collaboration, human editors, scientific accuracy, character names, cover blurbs, Babylon 5, the current state of sci-fi TV, church tax breaks, Atheists for Liberty, Dungeons & Dragons, setting aside differences. Ad-free episodes are available to our paid supporters over at patreon.com/geeks.

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Tom Gerencer and Rajan Khanna join us to discuss Roger Zelazny’s classic novel Roadmarks, about a magical highway that runs through time and space. Ad-free episodes are available to our paid supporters over at patreon.com/geeks.

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Washington Post columnist Megan McArdle joins us to discuss her favorite science fiction and her new podcast Reasonably Optimistic. Topics discussed: Robert Heinlein and libertarianism, working in book publishing, Lord of the Rings and Rendezvous with Rama, Peter Suderman and video games, Dungeons & Dragons and Call of Cthulhu, Megan’s science fiction novel, the state of book publishing, explaining science fiction to women, Dune and artificial intelligence, Megan’s podcast and optimism. Ad-free episodes are available to our paid supporters over at patreon.com/geeks.

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Andrea Kail, Matthew Kressel, and Tom Gerencer join us to discuss the Stephen King movie adaptations The Running Man, The Long Walk, The Dead Zone, and The Mist. Time stamps: The Running Man (17:44), The Long Walk (47:14), The Dead Zone (1:10:45), The Mist (1:30:20). Ad-free episodes are available to our paid supporters over at patreon.com/geeks.

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Mercurio D. Rivera joins us to discuss the last nine stories from the book The Best of Larry Niven. Stories discussed: “Flatlander” (2:06), “The Borderland of Sol” (17:15), “The Magic Goes Away” (31:40), “A Teardrop Falls” (44:00), “The Return of William Proxmire” (49:43), “Limits” (57:45), “Smut Talk” (1:07:21), “The Missing Mass” (1:12:35), “Cautionary Tales” (1:21:30). Ad-free episodes are available to our paid supporters over at patreon.com/geeks.

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Andrea Kail, Matthew Kressel, and Tom Gerencer join us to discuss the Jean-Claude Van Damme movies Timecop, Universal Soldier, Cyborg, and Replicant. Time stamps: Timecop (15:21), Universal Soldier (41:27), Cyborg (1:01:35), Replicant (1:19:53). Ad-free episodes are available to our paid supporters over at patreon.com/geeks.

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Andrea Kail, Matthew Kressel, and Anthony Ha join us to discuss Season 1 of the FX series Alien: Earth, a prequel to the classic films Alien and Aliens. Ad-free episodes are available to our paid supporters over at patreon.com/geeks.

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Anthony Ha joins us to discuss the last six stories from the book The Best of Greg Egan. Stories discussed: "Crystal Nights" (1:27), "Zero for Conduct" (19:18), "Uncanny Valley" (37:31), "Bit Players" (52:11), "3-adica" (1:05:17), "Instantiation" (1:19:51). Ad-free episodes are available to our paid supporters over at patreon.com/geeks.

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Anthony Ha joins us to discuss six more stories from the book The Best of Greg Egan. Stories discussed: “Silver Fire” (1:30), “Reasons to be Cheerful” (16:42), “Oceanic” (28:10), “Oracle” (44:19), “Singleton” (1:04:54), “Dark Integers” (1:16:32). Ad-free episodes are available to our paid supporters over at patreon.com/geeks.

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