If This Goes On (Don't Panic): Science Fiction, Fantasy & Progressive Politics

Episode 28. In this episode, Diane and Alan chat with with author, poet, translator, professor and editor Kazim Ali about his Choose Your Own Adventure novel: Citidal of Whispers.

They also discuss Choose Your Own Adventure history, writing branching story lines, D&D, and how to get involved in social causes.

In this panel recorded at the Writer's Conduit Conference in 2022, we discuss topics like: Why is SFF good at discussing social norms, is it a moral imperative for writers to resist norms, and how do you write effective arguments. Panel guests include: Alan Bailey (Moderator), Oghenechovwe Donald Ekpeki, Arula Ratnakar, Diane Morrison, and Abriana Tuller.

In our 4th Spec Fic Partisan audio column Rick addresses Charlie Jane Ander's Sweetweird Manifesto. If you're not sure what that is, you can find it here. Rick also discusses microgenres and why they are actually a good thing, especially for indie and small press authors. This episode is a bit fuzzier than usual, apologies.

Episode 27. In this episode, Diane and Alan chat with author Matthew Kressel and Author/Editor/Publisher Catherine Lundoff. They discuss Matt's new novel Queen of Static, expectations when marketing books, and greening your office. They also announce that audio columns will be released seperately as their own mini-episodes for future episodes.

Episode 26. In this episode, Diane and Alan chat with author Andrew Dana Hudson. They discuss Andrew's book Our Shared Storm: A Novel of Five Climate Futures, climate change, and Solarpunk.

Alan also reviews 3 books including:

The year's Best African Speculative Fiction 2021 by Oghenechevwe Donald Eckpeki published by Jembefola Press 2021

The Withered King by Ricardo Victoria by Artemesia Publishing 2019

Missing Signal by Seb Doubinsky published by Meerkat Press 2018

Episode 24. In this episode, Cat and Alan chat with author Cadwell Turnbull. They discuss Cadwell's novel No Gods, No Monsters, the inspiration for his monsters, and why it's important to keep questioning yourself.

Alan also chats with Oghenechovwe Donald Ekpeki about what it's like trying to get into a US MFA program from Nigeria.

Episode 23. In this episode, Diane and Alan chat with Co-editor-in-Chiefs, Justine Norton-Kertson and Briana Castagnozzi, of Solapunk Magazine about starting a new magazine, government, falconing, music, and Solar Punk.

Rick's column focuses on evil corporations, escapism in fiction, and how it all relates to Raytheon and the 2021 Hugo awards.

Episode 22. Happy Holidays, our December episode is early! In the last episode of 2021 Diane and our newest co-host, Graeme Barber, talk to Brian Bauman of United Paizos Workers about how the RPG company, Paizos, came to be unionized. They discuss what it's like to organize a union, the importance organizing, and, to lighten things up, Pathfinder 2.0.

This month Graeme kicks off a new audio column about world-building.