Join us as we discuss the Hugo Award winner for 1959: James Blish's A Case of Conscience. You can find the book on the Internet Archive here.

Host: Christine D. Baker, a historian who lives in Vancouver, BC. You can find her at @klaxoncomms.com‬ on Bluesky or follow what she's reading at her website: https://klaxoncomms.com/reading/

This month's guest is Alana Vincent, a scholar who studies the portrayals of religion in literature, especially in Science Fiction and Fantasy. They are a series editor for Bloomsbury Studies in Popular Fiction and Religious Dynamics. The most recent book in the series, Sang-Keun Yoo's Speculative Orientialsm: Asian Religions in New Wave Science Fiction, came out in September 2025. You can find Alana on Bluesky at @alana-m-vincent.net.

From about 5:38-27:54, Christine is recapping the book, which has A LOT of spoilers. The rest of the episode isn't spoiler free, but that section goes through the plot in detail.

If you'd like to support the podcast on patreon: https://www.patreon.com/cw/HugoHistory

Or, you can buy me a coffee!

Some things mentioned in the episode:

A biography of James Blish: Imprisoned in a tesseract: the life and work of James Blish by David Ketterer.

Jo Walton's rundown of the 1959 Hugo Awards.

Join us as we discuss the Hugo Award winner for 1958: Fritz Lieber's The Big Time: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Big_Time_(novel)

You can find the whole book at The Internet Archive.

Host: Christine D. Baker, a historian who lives in Vancouver, BC. You can find her at @klaxoncomms.com‬ on Bluesky or follow what she's reading at her website: https://klaxoncomms.com/reading/

This month's guest is Nora Spurling of Leaf It To Us, where they take plants out of the background and talk about that fascinating group that's so essential to us as humans. In addition, Nora is also fantastic at literary analysis and a big speculative fiction fan!

From about 2:53-18:41, Christine is recapping the book, which has A LOT of spoilers. The rest of the episode isn't spoiler free, but that section goes through the plot in detail.

Some things mentioned in the episode:

• Nora mentioned Lieber's short stories related to The Big Time: The Mind Spider and Other Stories
• Robert Graves, poet and translator of ancient Greek
• Keftians, which Christine calls a fairly niche historical reference
• Robert Heinlein
• John W. Campbell
• Jungian ideas of gender, mentioned by Nora
• Good Girls, Good Food, Good Fun: The Story of USO Hostesses during World War II by Meghan K. Winchell (2015)
• I think that I (Christine) was wrong, they probably did distribute condoms during WWII: https://hekint.org/2017/01/22/put-a-helmet-on-your-privates-because-theyre-going-to-see-some-action-the-history-of-condoms-in-the-military/
• Hugo Girl Podcast on The Big Time
• Judith Merril

I did eventually go back and find Dave.

Transcript.

Join us as we discuss the third Hugo Award winner: Robert A Heinlein's Double Star, which won in 1956.

Host: Christine D. Baker, a historian who lives in Vancouver, BC. You can find her at @klaxoncomms.com‬ on Bluesky or follow what she's reading at her website: https://klaxoncomms.com/reading/

Hugo History has a patreon!

This month's guest is David Blaeser, a Vancouver-based fiber artist who is reading his way through all the Hugo and Nebula winners. You can find him on instagram.

From about 3:30 to 20:55, Christine is recapping the book, which has A LOT of spoilers. The rest of the episode isn't spoiler free, but that section goes through the plot in detail.

Some things mentioned in the episode:

• Power Trip
• Shrinks: The Untold Story of Psychiatry by Jeffrey Lieberman and Ogi Ogas
• Jo Walton's review of the 1956 Hugos

Transcripts are coming!

Join us as we discuss the second Hugo Award winner: Frank Riley and Mark Clifton's They'd Rather Be Right, which is often called 'the worst book to ever win the Hugo'!!

Host: Christine D. Baker, a historian who lives in Vancouver, BC. You can find her at @klaxoncomms.com‬ on Bluesky or follow what she's reading at her website: https://klaxoncomms.com/reading/

This month's guest is Rob Tomshany, @robtomshany.bsky.social‬, who has near encyclopedic knowledge of 50s and 60s sci fi and fantasy.

From about 2:05 to 9:37, Christine is recapping the book, which has A LOT of spoilers. The rest of the episode isn't spoiler free, but that section goes through the plot in detail.

Some things mentioned in the episode:

• Jo Walton's review of 1955 Hugo winners: https://reactormag.com/hugo-nominees-1955
• 1960s New Wave — Dangerous Vision anthologies edited by Harlan Ellison
• The Hidden Persuaders by Vance Packard
• The Space Merchants by Frederik Pohl
• Stories are Weapons by Annalee Newitz
• Psychological Warfare by Paul Linebarger/Cordwainer Smith
• Turing test
• Arthur C Clark, 2001: A Space Odyssey
• Slan by A.E. Van Vogt
• Judith Merril — intro to story collection of Mike Clifton
• John Campbell — editor of Astounding
• J.B. Rhine — research about telepathy
• Galaxy Magazine
• FNSF (Fantasy & Science Fiction Magazine)
• Robert Heinlein
  • The Moon is a Harsh Mistress
  • Stranger in a Strange Land
• Isaac Asimov
• L Ron Hubbard
  • Dianetics
  • To the Stars
  • Scientology
• Mark Clifton's short stories
  • What Have I Done?
  • 8 Keys to Eden
  • When They Came from Space
  • What Now Little Man
  • Hang Head Vandal
• Ayn Rand, Atlas Shrugged
• The Science Fiction of Mark Clifton, co edited by Martin H. Greenbergand Barry N. Malzberg
• What Have I Done: The Stories of Mark Clifton
• Born Sexy Yesterday (Not Born Again Sexy)

Join us as we discuss the first ever book to win a Hugo Award: Alfred Bester's The Demolished Man: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Demolished_Man

Host: Christine D. Baker, a historian who lives in Vancouver, BC. You can find her at @klaxoncomms.com‬ on Bluesky or follow what she's reading at her website: https://klaxoncomms.com/reading/

This month's guest is Miles Reid-Lobatto of Casual Trek. You can find Miles on Bluesky at @milesreidlobatto.bsky.social and his podcast at @casualtrek.

From about 5:45-19:00, Christine is recapping the book, which has A LOT of spoilers. The rest of the episode isn't spoiler free, but that section goes through the plot in detail.

Some things mentioned in the episode:

• Jo Walton's review of 1953 Hugo winners: https://reactormag.com/hugo-nominees-1953/
• The Star is My Destination by Alfred Bester
• City by Clifford Simak
• More than Human by Theodore Sturgeon
• Kinsey Scale and the DSM