The Tangent Space Podcast

Tangent Space faces reality in this one folks. Or as close of an encounter as we can get. Which of us has seen a UFO in real life? Why would Brandon only be convinced aliens exist if they demonstrated their power? Does John want to join a UFO cult? Find out answers to these questions as we shill for alien sponsorship! We discuss the big questions, wondering if we are alone, if anyone would even believe if aliens showed up, and how to pronounce "fata morgana." We also watch some UFO videos (links below!) and start down the path of alien conspiracies. Join us, little green friends!

Find us at tangentspacepodcast.com, on Twitter as @thetangentspace, or email us at [email protected]. Tell your friends!

Links:

Lots in the news recently about the US UFO report, for instance: the NY Times

The Roswell Incident

Read about the doctor that discovered hand washing and their tragic story: at NPR and Grunge

Estimates for how many people can keep a secret

Want to join a UFO religion ("religion")? Not recommended, but here's a list on Wikipedia

Speaking of, HBO had a docu-series on Heaven's Gate

The Great Filter

How many might be listening to us out there?

There are lots of videos on YouTube of the declassified Navy videos, we watched this one (careful of that rabbit hole!)

Fata Morgana

Optical phenomena

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It's like they made a TV show for Tangent Space: sci-fi with androids, some post-apocalyptic faraway planet, monsters, gibberish science...that's right, we discuss HBO's Raised by Wolves! Oh, and longtime Tangent Space personality Ridley Scott is involved (in the show, not with us), of course, so you know we couldn't pass this one up after we've discussed Prometheus and Alien: Covenant extensively. It's a throwback to the very first episodes! There's a lot to talk about here with ancient religion, a cross over with Star Wars (hi, Darth Vader), giant snake worm things, and that bonkers season finale. Come have a listen...

Find us at tangentspacepodcast.com, on Twitter as @thetangentspace, or email us at [email protected]. Tell your friends!

Links:

Catch up on previous Ridley Scott discussions with Episode 1: Prometheus and Episode 2: Covenant (wow, that was a long time ago now)

Raised by Wolves on HBO

There's an official podcast (if you must listen to another podcast) that you can find everywhere, including on YouTube (here's a link to the first episode)

We mention Futurama's Godfellas episode, which won the first Writers Guild of America Award for animation; here's a clip

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Just two men watching boys (and grownups) wearing masks and punching people. We discuss two very entertaining and pertinent shows, The Boys on Amazon and Watchmen on HBO, which we highly recommend. We cover a lot of stuff in this one, from masks and being anonymous, to policing, race, privilege and encryption. It's not all serious of course, as Brandon reveals his love for Wonder Woman and his distrust of tall people. Meanwhile John continues throwing shade at J.J. (Abrams) and wonders about Lube Man (answer in the Links!).

Find us at tangentspacepodcast.com, on Twitter as @thetangentspace, or email us at [email protected]. Tell your friends!

Links:

Superman vs. Aliens - SMBC Theater (and Superman is a Dick)

Empirical evidence that nice people don’t always finish last | Ars Technica

Martin Scorsese: I Said Marvel Movies Aren’t Cinema. Let Me Explain... and the many responses online

Watchmen: the TV show official podcast, Wikipedia links for the comic series and HBO TV series

The Boys: Wikipedia links for the comic series and Amazon TV series

The Tulsa Massacre has been coming more to the mainstream (after 100 years), here is a recent article in The New York Times

There were hints to Lube Man in the extra materials, called the Peteypedia, on the last entry.

‘Watchmen’ Actually Answered Its Most Pressing Question: Who Was Lube Man?

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We're hard at work on the next episode, but wanted to remind everyone in the US to vote! Rather than just record ourselves saying "Vote!" and loop it, we present to you a special preview from our upcoming episode on the anti-superhero shows Watchmen and The Boys. Or more like a random tangent that may get buried in editing. Consider this fair warning to catch up on watching before the episode comes out.

Get it while it's hot! And vote! (And if you can't vote, pray and/or sacrifice to your favorite god.)

Find us at tangentspacepodcast.com, on Twitter as @thetangentspace, or email us at [email protected]. Tell your friends!

Check out our podcasting host, Pinecast. Start your own podcast for free, no credit card required, forever. If you decide to upgrade, use coupon code r-400845 for 40% off for 4 months, and support The Tangent Space Podcast.

Many stars, many wars, but only one podcast episode. We take a meandering look at the religion/fandom/industry/empire that is Star Wars. Somehow we remain mostly spoiler free, though we jump between all the movies (even the unmentionable ones) and even a little of the games. John throws some shade on J. J. (Abrams) while Brandon falls for the wookies and their trees and champions robot rights. We coin (discover?) the term "robophobe."

Ducrossy folks, most ducrossy.

Links:

The character Brandon mentions from the game Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic II: The Sith Lords is Kreia (or read on the Wookieepedia)

SMBC vegan comic

Asimov's Laws

The op-ed John mentions, Why do people believe in hell? in the NY Times

There is a mod for Knights of the Old Republic II to restore the droid planet, or read about it here

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Nothing like a timely movie discussion, but at least we made it in under a year since the movie was out! We discuss Ad Astra, the recent movie with Brad Pitt and his space dad, Tommy Lee Jones. Lots of space in this movie dear listeners: space action, space psychology, space family drama, space monkeys! Also, moon pirates. It is most certainly not all fun and games, as the movie explores what it means to dedicate yourself to science, the exploration of other life, and the role of family. While the movie is quiet and contemplative, we'll make up for it with our yapping. Skip to about 7 or 8 minutes in to avoid overall plot spoilers, though we still discuss parts of the plot throughout.

Correction: we were a bit optimistic of the ethics in science, but alas primates are still used in research. Some laws to reduce experimental usage are progressing and great apes are banned in many countries, but not the US.

Links:

Ad Astra on Wikipedia and on IMDb

To find out about the largest effort to find extraterrestrial life, see the SETI Institute

We referenced an SMBC comic about maximizing happiness (and if you want to go down the Wikipedia hole)

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Roads? Where we're going we don't need no stinking roads. That's right, Tangent Space travels in time, and we're bringing you with us! We discuss some theories of time travel, our favorite time travel movies, and whether or not it is really possible. We may even invent the first podcast time travel machine, you'll just have to listen to find out.

Links:

IMDb links to some time travel movies:

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Tangent Space gets annihilated! We discuss the recent-ish movie Annihilation from Alex Garland based on the book by Jeff VanderMeer. Mysteries abound: aliens? doppelgangers? what does it all mean? And WTF is "refracted DNA"??? John has read all the books and Brandon has theories, so come join us in a romp through the Shimmer to Area X.

Links:

A different ending for Annihilation

VanderMeer's reaction to the film

If you are looking for similar books, see this list of influences for the novel

Wikipedia on the Southern Reach trilogy provides a link to the official website(???)

Bonus link: How many hobbits does it take to kill a mammoth?

Check out our podcasting host, Pinecast. Start your own podcast for free, no credit card required, forever. If you decide to upgrade, use coupon code r-400845 for 40% off for 4 months, and support The Tangent Space Podcast.

Dune! One of the most famous and acclaimed sci-fi novels finally gets the Tangent Space treatment. From the sprawling and crazy later books to the David Lynch movie and the film that almost was from Jodorowsky, we have a lot to talk about in this episode. We're talking battle pugs (yes, seriously), riding the sandworm with Toto blasting, sex ninjas, and seeing the future while tripping out on spice. Come with us as we walk arithmetically on the sand and praise Shai-Hulud!

Links (from the only podcast to link to a thesis in the show notes):

Want to see what we were going on about? See this video clip of Captain Picard (aka Patrick Stewart) with pug.

We didn't find much online of feminist readings of Dune (send any links our way!), but found this fascinating thesis on gender, technology, and cyborgs in Dune by Carrie Lynn Evans.

Article mentioned on The Outline: The Only Good Online Fandom Left is Dune

Herbert's influences were diverse and a topic of discussion all on their own, for instance this article from the LA Review of Books on the The Secret History of Dune.

The above article was posted on Hacker News, with an interesting discussion and further reading there.

Jodorowsky's Dune

David Lynch's Dune

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Join us as we debate the joys and pitfalls of being immortal and whether anyone would really want to live forever. Speaking of forever, sorry this episode languished a bit in editing and posting. It has been so long this show notes writer is having difficulties remembering what we discussed. Elves, lobsters, memory, being trapped in a computer, AI...consider it a surprise and enjoy the extended episode!

Links:

After we recorded this episode, an article in the NY Times looked at the morality and purpose of mortality in religion and philosophy.

Check out our podcasting host, Pinecast. Start your own podcast for free, no credit card required, forever. If you decide to upgrade, use coupon code r-400845 for 40% off for 4 months, and support The Tangent Space Podcast.