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Unknown Worlds of the Merril Collection episodes
- First Contact pt. 2
This is part 2 of our final episode of the season! Stephen talks with Peter Watts, author of Blindsight and Echopraxia (and much more), about alien intelligence, how vampires work, and the choice to use Creative Commons licensing.
This episode contains spoilers for Blindsight.
Website/blog
Merril Links
The Merril Collection!
Friends of Merril (Facebook & Twitter)Works & artists mentioned
- Master and Commander by Patrick O’Brian (sheepshank)
- Behemoth by Peter Watts
- Cory Doctorow
- John Scalzi
- Neill Blomkamp
- Arthur Jafa
- Spike Lee
- Eyes Wide Shut (1999, dir. Stanley Kubrick)
- The Twenty-One Second God by Peter Watts
- Sunflower cycle by Peter Watts
Host: Stephen Geraghty
Producer: Janet MowatThis episode was recorded in the spring of 2024.
We do not advocate running down the street naked, shooting shotguns.
35 min - First Contact pt. 1
This is part 1 of our final episode of the season! Stephen talks with Peter Watts, author of Blindsight and Echopraxia (and much more), about UFOs, his influences, and the functional utility of consciousness.
This episode contains spoilers for Blindsight.
Website/blog
Merril Links
The Merril Collection!
Friends of Merril (Facebook & Twitter)Works & artists mentioned
- Star Trek: The Original Series
- The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951)
- Neuropath by Scott Bakker
- Larry Niven
- Ray Bradbury
- Solaris by Stanislav Lem
- Solaris (1972; dir. Andrei Tarkovsky)
- Solaris (2002; dir. Steven Soderberg)
- The Creator (2023)
- Charles Stross
- Richard Dawkins (sorry, Janet couldn't find the work mentioned)
- Alien movie series
Host: Stephen Geraghty
Producer: Janet MowatThis episode was recorded in the spring of 2024.
36 min - Humour and SF
Stephen talks with Charles Stross, author of the Laundry Files series (and much more), about humour in speculative fiction, the element of surprise, and what makes him laugh.
Charlie's Diary
MastodonBlueskyMerril Links
The Merril Collection!
Friends of Merril (Facebook & Twitter)Works, games, & artists mentioned
- H.P. Lovecraft
- Laundry Files series by Charles Stross
- New Management series by Charles Stross
- A Colder War by Charles Stross
- Len Deighton
- John Le Carré
- Discworld series by Terry Pratchett
- James Bond series by Ian Fleming
- Adam Hall
- Anthony Price
- Modesty Blaise
- Quentin Tarentino
- Vampire: The Masquerade (game)
- Merchant Princes series by Charles Stross
- Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy series by Douglas Adams
- Gil’s All-Fright Diner by A. Lee Martinez
- J.W. Wells & Co. series by Tom Holt
- Monty Python's Flying Circus
- Call of Cthulu (game)
- The Laundry (game)
- George R.R. Martin
- Dungeons & Dragons (game)
Host: Stephen Geraghty
Producer: Janet MowatThis episode was recorded in the spring of 2024.
33 min - Alternate Futures
Stephen talks with Kenna Alexander, creator of the RPG Coyote & Crow, about alternate futures, creating an Indigenous roleplaying game, and decolonising gaming.
At the time of this interview, Kenna was known by a different name and pronouns. We acknowledge and celebrate her true identity.
Coyote & Crow Games
DiscordYouTubeBlueskyRedditMerril Links
The Merril Collection!
Friends of Merril (Facebook & Twitter)Works, games, & artists mentioned
- Dungeons & Dragons
- Settlers of Catan
- Other Coyote & Crow games and adventures
- Hemlock and Sage by Tali Inlow
- Robert Heinlein
- Isaac Asimov
- Ray Bradbury
Host: Stephen Geraghty
Producer: Janet MowatThis episode was recorded in the spring of 2024.
36 min - Optimistic SF
Stephen talks with author Alyx Dellamonica about optimistic SF, balancing optimism with realism, and their Bounceback book series.
Merril Links
The Merril Collection!
Friends of Merril (Facebook & Twitter)Works & artists mentioned
- Ray Bradbury
- Spider Robinson
- War of the Worlds by H.G. Wells
- Foundation novels by Isaac Asimov
- Star Trek: The Original Series
- Horse Woman by LX Beckett
- Gamechanger & Dealbreaker by LX Beckett
- Annalee Newitz
- Nnedi Okorafor
Host: Stephen Geraghty
Producer: Janet MowatThis episode was recorded in the autumn of 2023.
34 min - Music and SF
Stephen discusses filk, storytelling, community, and the intersections of music and speculative fiction with two legends: 'Decadent' Dave Clement and Steven Brust.
Note: For copyright reasons, we didn't include any songs in this episode. The songs we would have used are 'This Island Earth' (Dandelion Wine) and 'Stars Overhead' (Cats Laughing) from the albums linked below.
Circles in the Grain - Dandelion Wine
Another Way to Travel - Cats LaughingCats Laughing website
Merril Links
The Merril Collection!
Friends of Merril (Facebook & Twitter)Events mentioned
- Keycon
- Filk Ontario
- Festival of the Living Rooms
- Ohio Valley Filk Festival
- Pegasus awards
Select works & artists mentioned
- Beth Friedman
- Vlad Taltos series by Steven Brust
- Khaavren Romances series by Steven Brust
- DC Star Trek comic “Debt of Honor” written by Christopher S. Claremont, illustrated by Adam T. Hughes and Karl C. Story
- The Callahan Touch by Spider Robinson
- Borderland series by Terri Windling
- Adam Stemple
- Emma Bull
- The Gypsy by Megan Lindholme and Steven Brust
- Songs from The Gypsy by Boiled in Lead (album)
- Joe Haldeman
- Lyorn by Steven Brust (released April 2024)
- How Much for Just the Planet? by John M. Ford
- Once More, With Feeling - Buffy the Vampire Slayer s6e7
Host: Stephen Geraghty
Producer: Janet MowatThis episode was recorded in the autumn of 2023.
30 min - Cosy Fantasy
Stephen talks with Yilin Wang and André Geleynse of Tales & Feathers magazine about cosy fiction.
Tales & Feathers magazine
Augur magazineFacebookTwitterInstagramMerril Links
The Merril Collection!
Friends of Merril (Facebook & Twitter)Works & artists mentioned
- Long Way to a Small Angry Planet, Monk & Robot series by Becky Chambers
- John Wiswell
- Game of Thrones series by George R.R. Martin
- The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien
- Diana Wynne Jones
- I Am a Cat by Natsume Sōseki
- My Neighbour Totoro (1988)
- Shadow Life by Hiromi Goto
- Legends & Lattes by Travis Baldree
- Kiki’s Delivery Service (1989)
- Hakumei and Mikochi by Takuto Kashiki
Host: Stephen Geraghty
Producer: Janet MowatThis episode was recorded in the autumn of 2023.
35 min - Apocalypse
New host Stephen talks with Waubgeshig Rice about apocalyptic stories, Indigenous SF, and his books Moon of the Crusted Snow and Moon of the Turning Leaves.
Waub's website
FacebookTwitterInstagramGoodreadsMerril Links
The Merril Collection!
Friends of Merril (Facebook & Twitter)Works & artists mentioned
- Moon of the Crusted Snow, Moon of the Turning Leaves by Waubgeshig Rice
- Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel
- The Chrysalids by John Wyndham
- Mad Max (1979)
- The Last of Us (video game - 2013; TV series - 2023)
- The Marrow Thieves by Cherie Dimaline
- Trickster series by Eden Robinson
- The Road by Cormack McCarthy
Host: Stephen Geraghty
Producer: Janet MowatThis episode was recorded in the autumn of 2023.
47 min - Climate Fiction
In his final episode as host of the podcast, Oliver chats with author Kim Stanley Robinson about Climate Fiction.
KimStanleyRobinson.infoMerril Links
The Merril Collection!
Friends of Merril (Facebook & Twitter)
50 min - Folklore and the Four Winds Storytellers Library
Oliver talks with Norman Perrin about folklore in general, and Norman's unique, privately owned, publicly accessible archive of folklore knowledge he’s run from his Toronto apartment since 1990.
The Four Winds Storytellers Library on FacebookMerril Links
The Merril Collection!
Friends of Merril (Facebook & Twitter)
33 min
About Unknown Worlds of the Merril Collection
From the publisher's feed
In Unknown Worlds of the Merril Collection, host Stephen Geraghty interviews special guests about notable history and new frontiers in the worlds of science fiction, fantasy and horror as found in…
Toronto's Merril Collection, the Western Hemisphere's largest publicly accessible archive of genre materials.
Produced by Janet Mowat. Interviews have been edited for length and content. Opinions are solely those of the speakers, representing neither the Toronto Public Library System nor the Merril Collection of Science Fiction, Speculation & Fantasy.
Produced by Janet Mowat. Interviews have been edited for length and content. Opinions are solely those of the speakers, representing neither the Toronto Public Library System nor the Merril Collection of Science Fiction, Speculation & Fantasy.