In this episode, we speak with Athira Unni, an Independent Scholar who holds a PhD in English from Leeds Beckett University.

In our conversation with Athira, we discuss postcolonial dystopian fiction, with a particular emphasis on South Asian and Caribbean texts. Here, Athira notes how dystopian texts from these regions reflect multiple layers of oppression. She also suggests that something which sets postcolonial dystopias apart from Western dystopian traditions is that they focus on independence, rather than revolution. Our conversation also focuses on social reproductive theory, a framework which Athira examines throughout her work, and how reading utopian and dystopian texts with this theory in mind generates new insights.

You can find out more about Athira and her work here: https://athiraunni.owlstown.net/

You can read Athira's paper, 'Social Reproductive Labor and Uto/Dystopia: An Analysis of Leila, Midnight Robber and Woman World' here.

If you enjoyed this episode, please let us know! You can follow and rate the podcast, leave us a comment, or email us on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠[email protected]

In this episode, we speak with andré carrington, an Associate Professor in the English Department at the University of California, Riverside.

In our conversation with andré, we discuss speculative fiction and the emerging opportunities for Black writers in this genre across a range of literary modes. Here, andré offers unique insights, blending his role as an academic, critic, fan, and literary editor. Here, we question who gets to imagine the future, how they are able to express their imaginings, and what happens as a result of these imaginings.

You can find out more about andré and his work here: https://profiles.ucr.edu/app/home/profile/andrc

You can find andré's Speculative Blackness here: https://www.upress.umn.edu/9780816678969/speculative-blackness/

And you can buy The Black Fantastic here: https://www.loa.org/books/the-black-fantastic-20-afrofuturist-stories-paperback/

If you enjoyed this episode, please let us know! You can follow and rate the podcast, leave us a comment, or email us on ⁠⁠⁠⁠[email protected]

In this episode, we speak with Jordan Carroll, a writer, editor, and scholar who holds a PhD in English Literature from the University of California, Davis.

Our discussion with Jordan primarily centres on his most recent book, Speculative Whiteness: Science Fiction and the Alt-Right (University of Minnesota Press, 2024), which reveals the alt-right’s project to claim science fiction and - by extension - the future. Here, we discuss the relationship between the alt-right and science fiction (and how and why the alt-right might choose to appropriate or misread the genre), science fiction as a colonialist genre, and the nebulous, ever-changing nature of the alt-right in the contemporary moment.

You can find out more about Jordan and his work here: https://jordanscarroll.wordpress.com/

And you can buy Speculative Whiteness here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Speculative-Whiteness-Science-Alt-Right-Forerunners/dp/1517917085

If you enjoyed this episode, please let us know! You can follow and rate the podcast, leave us a comment, or email us on ⁠⁠⁠[email protected]

In this episode, we speak with Eve Smith, a novelist who writes speculative thrillers, mainly about the things that scare her. Her novels have been reviewed in The Guardian, The Times and New Scientist.

Described by Waterstones as ‘an exciting new voice in crime fiction’, Eve’s debut thriller, The Waiting Rooms, set during an antibiotic resistance crisis, was shortlisted for the Bridport Prize First Novel Award. It was followed by Off-Target, about a world where genetic engineering of children is routine.

Her third novel, ONE, set in a climate-ravaged Britain where a one-child policy is enforced, was longlisted for the British Science Fiction Association’s Best Novel Award. Her latest thriller, The Cure, is about the accidental discovery of a cure for ageing which is hijacked by obsessives who will risk anything to cheat death. The Times review said: “Smith’s novel is a commentary on the contemporary... a thought-provoking thriller with much to say about our obsession with looking youthful.”

Eve’s previous job took her to research projects across Asia, Africa and the Americas, and she has an ongoing passion for wild creatures, wild science and far-flung places.

You can find Eve on her website, on X, Instagram, Facebook, Bluesky, and TikTok. You can order The Cure here.

A huge thanks to Eve for coming on to the podcast, and also to her publishers at Orenda Books for reaching out and sending us proof copies of The Cure.

If you enjoyed this episode, please let us know! You can follow and rate the podcast, leave us a comment, or email us on ⁠⁠⁠⁠[email protected]

In this episode, we speak with Ruth Houghton - a Senior Lecturer at Newcastle Law School - and Aoife O'Donoghue - a Professor in Law at Queen's University, Belfast.

Our conversation with Ruth and Aoife covers many topics. We talk about the relationship between law, legal theory, and utopianism, we find out more about Ruth and Aoife's collaborative work, we discuss the Barbie movie, and we cover a broad range of feminist utopias and other utopian works!

You can find out more about Ruth and Aoife's Utopian Reading Group here: https://bsky.app/profile/ruthhoughton.bsky.social/post/3lkpu4ctzbs2x

Read their work on feminist manifestos and global constitutionalism here: https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/global-constitutionalism/article/introduction-to-special-issue-feminist-manifestos-and-global-constitutionalism/D0C5ABABA20BCDD0F7378051047BE3B4

Find their article (together with C. R. G. Murray) on Gerwig's Barbie here: https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=4714697

And find their work on utopias, colonialism and international law here: https://pure.qub.ac.uk/en/publications/utopia-as-no-place-utopias-colonialism-and-international-law

If you enjoyed this episode, please let us know! You can follow and rate the podcast, leave us a comment, or email us on ⁠⁠⁠[email protected]

In this episode, we speak with Nathan Waddell, a Professor in Twentieth Century Literature in the English Literature Department at the University of Birmingham.

We chat with Nathan about how he first came to researching utopianism and how he came to teach and write about dystopias. We ask him about what interests him about dystopias, which brings us to a discussion of 'elegance'. Our discussion eventually changes focus to George Orwell and Nineteen Eighty-Four (1949), a text which Nathan is incredibly familiar with. We talk about how it might be considered 'ground zero' for the dystopian tradition, before thinking about the myths which surround Orwell's classic work.

You can find out more about Nathan and his work here: https://drnjwaddell.co.uk/

You can find his 'Reading Orwell' podcast here (as well as on all good podcasting platforms): https://drnjwaddell.co.uk/reading-orwell

You can find Nathan's inaugural lecture here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AF_cqY0IVuY

And last, you can find out more about A Bright Cold Day: The Wonder of George Orwell, Nathan's upcoming trade book, here: https://oneworld-publications.com/work/a-bright-cold-day/

If you enjoyed this episode, please let us know! You can follow and rate the podcast, leave us a comment, or email us on ⁠⁠[email protected]

In this episode, we speak with Diletta De Cristofaro, an Assistant Professor in the Humanities Department at Northumbria University.

We chat with Diletta about apocalyptic and post-apocalyptic fictions in this interview, paying particular attention to ideas relating to temporality, permacrisis, and key texts such as Emily St John Mandel's Station Eleven (2014). We conclude with a discussion of Diletta's current work, which centres on the cultural politics of the sleep crisis.

You can find out more about Diletta and her work here: https://www.dilettadecristofaro.com/

Diletta's monograph The Contemporary Post-Apocalyptic Novel (2020) can be found here: https://www.bloomsbury.com/uk/contemporary-postapocalyptic-novel-9781350085794/

See 'Station Eleven and Twenty-First-Century-Writing', a special collection published in Open Library of Humanities Journal here: https://olh.openlibhums.org/collections/437/

If you enjoyed this episode, please let us know! You can follow and rate the podcast, leave us a comment, or email us on ⁠[email protected]

Join Matt and Liam for a Christmas special! In this episode, we recap Season 1 of the podcast, talk about some plans for Season 2, and then chat about Christmas in relation to dystopian texts and utopianism.

In this episode, we speak with Heather Alberro, a Lecturer in Sustainability at the University of Manchester.

We chat with Heather about Green Utopianism, a type of utopianism that straddles both the literary and the social-critical, and invites us to ask not only how we can improve the world for humanity, but for non-humans as well. Heather discusses social movements and literary texts alike in this lively interview, as well as her rich publication track record.

You can find out more about Heather and her work here: https://research.manchester.ac.uk/en/persons/heather-alberro

Read Heather's article on H. G. Wells here: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0016328722000544

Read 'Utopian and Dystopian Explorations of Pandemics and Ecological Breakdown', featuring a chapter from Matt, here: https://www.taylorfrancis.com/books/oa-edit/10.4324/9781003345770/utopian-dystopian-explorations-pandemics-ecological-breakdown-heather-alberro-emrah-atasoy-nora-castle-rhiannon-firth-conrad-scott

And find Heather's latest monograph, 'Terrestrial Ecotopias', here: https://www.peterlang.com/document/1436617

If you enjoyed this episode, please let us know! You can follow and rate the podcast, leave us a comment, or email us on [email protected]

In this episode, we interview Dr Sebastian Mitchell, a Senior Lecturer in English Literature at the University of Birmingham.

We chat with Sebastian about the origins of utopia, beginning with Sir Thomas More's text, before discussing how the utopian genre has changed and evolved over time, with particular reference to the ostensible "black hole" of the eighteenth century.

You can find out more about Sebastian and his work here: https://www.birmingham.ac.uk/staff/profiles/english/mitchell-sebastian

If you enjoyed what you listened to, please let us know! You can follow the podcast, rate it, and send us an email, using [email protected].