Hugonauts: The Best Sci-Fi Books of All Time

The Machine Stops - A dystopian short story that feels almost too real! (analysis episode)


Listen Later

It is truly unbelievable that this story was written in 1909 - E. M. Forster's dystopian world feels all too real in our increasingly digitally connected and physically isolated real world. 

The story is about ritual & superstition, resistance to change, the dangers of reliance on an all-powerful authority, the origins of knowledge and creativity, and a tumultuous relationship between a mother and son who see the world in very different ways. 

We're joined to talk about the story by actor and writer Kiran Subramaniam, who also joined us to record our full cast, unabridged audiobook of this story! No spoilers here as usual, but we do highly recommend listening to the story as well, whether before or after the analysis & review. It's an incredible story and isn't too long - the audiobook episode is just over an hour. You should see that free audiobook available as our episode 19.  

As always, we also recommend and discuss some similar books if you are looking for more great books to read. This week we recommend 1984 by George Orwell, Brave New World by Aldous Huxley, Welcome to the Monkey House by Kurt Vonnegut, and Foundation by Isaac Asimov.

Or you can watch the show on YouTube here if you prefer video.

Happy reading y'all!

...more
View all episodesView all episodes
Download on the App Store

Hugonauts: The Best Sci-Fi Books of All TimeBy Brent Gaisford, Cody Troyer

  • 4.9
  • 4.9
  • 4.9
  • 4.9
  • 4.9

4.9

58 ratings


More shows like Hugonauts: The Best Sci-Fi Books of All Time

View all
The Bugle by The Bugle

The Bugle

3,726 Listeners

Geek's Guide to the Galaxy - A Science Fiction Podcast by David Barr Kirtley

Geek's Guide to the Galaxy - A Science Fiction Podcast

891 Listeners

Making Sense with Sam Harris by Sam Harris

Making Sense with Sam Harris

26,362 Listeners

The History of Literature by Jacke Wilson / The Podglomerate

The History of Literature

1,078 Listeners

The Gray Area with Sean Illing by Vox

The Gray Area with Sean Illing

10,641 Listeners

Into the Impossible With Brian Keating by Big Bang Productions Inc.

Into the Impossible With Brian Keating

1,030 Listeners

Pod Save America by Crooked Media

Pod Save America

86,414 Listeners

Why Theory by Why Theory

Why Theory

557 Listeners

Behind the Bastards by Cool Zone Media and iHeartPodcasts

Behind the Bastards

15,141 Listeners

Strict Scrutiny by Crooked Media

Strict Scrutiny

5,473 Listeners

The MeidasTouch Podcast by MeidasTouch Network

The MeidasTouch Podcast

33,241 Listeners

The Ezra Klein Show by New York Times Opinion

The Ezra Klein Show

15,228 Listeners

Gone Medieval by History Hit

Gone Medieval

1,685 Listeners

The Weekly Show with Jon Stewart by Comedy Central

The Weekly Show with Jon Stewart

10,114 Listeners

The Lost Sci-Fi Podcast - Vintage Sci-Fi Short Stories by Scott Miller

The Lost Sci-Fi Podcast - Vintage Sci-Fi Short Stories

244 Listeners