Solarpunk is the newest genre of science fiction, a joyous and optimistic vision of a future where humans and our technology live in balance with nature. Solarpunk is an artistic, cultural and political movement that encompasses the arts, architecture, fashion and technology.

But optimistic visions of the future are never all that they seem. From HG Wells' The Shape of Things to Come, to Ursula Le Guin's Always Coming Home, one science fiction author's vision of a bright utopia is another's grim dystopia. Can Solarpunk envision a utopia for all?

00:00 Two quotes from Brave New World

01:02 Welcome to the Science Fiction podcast

02:33 Am I trolling the scifi community?

03:49 The pre-history of ****punk

09:33 There is no such thing as Solarpunk

12:15 What is Solarpunk?

20:14 A Solarpunk Manifesto

23:17 Solarpunk is a genre without a story

25:12 Ursula Le Guin : patron saint of Solarpunk

33:13 The moral absolutism of Those Who Walk Away From Omelas

35:53 Science Fiction and the shadow of Utopianism

39:33 Can we ever achieve a utopia?

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Solarpunk's political manifesto: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hHI61GHNGJM