Wizards & Spaceships

Wizards & Spaceships

By Rachel A. Rosen & David L. ClinkTV & FilmArtsFictionScience Fiction
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Wizards & Spaceships episodes

  • Postcolonialism in SFFH, ft. Suzan Palumbo

    The famous introduction to Star Trek lays out the mission of the Starship Enterprise:  to explore strange new worlds; to seek out new life and new civilizations; to boldly go where no man has gone before! Later on, they changed it to be more inclusive—where no one has gone before. But the fundamental problem remains—if no one has gone there, what exactly are all those new civilizations? Could science fiction and fantasy have a colonialism problem? With us to discuss this thorny issue and the sci-fi, fantasy, and horror writers challenging Eurocentric assumptions is Suzan Palumbo, author of Countess and co-founder of the Ignyte Awards.

    • Show notes:
    • Suzan's Bluesky
    • Suzan's Instagram
    • 2024 Nebula Awards shortlist
    • Stelliform Press

    • Reading list:
    • “The Butcher of the Forest” by Premee Mohamed
    • “The Tusks of Extinction” by Ray Nayler
    • “Lost Ark Dreaming” by Suyi Davies Okungbowa
    • “Countess” by Suzan Palumbo
    • “The Practice, the Horizon, and the Chain” by Sofia Samatar
    • “The Dragonfly Gambit” by A. D. Sui
    • “Green Fuse Burning” by Tiffany Morris
    • “We Speak Through the Mountain and “Annual Migration of Clouds” by Premee Mohamed
    • “Blackheart Man” by Nalo Hopkinson


    34 min
  • How to Write a Kick-Ass Fantasy Battle ft. Suzannah Rowntree

    Anyone who’s ever written fantasy has faced this problem: You have hit the point of conflict in a story where problems can no longer be worked out with witty retorts or a magic spell. The orcs are at the gates, the peace talks have broken down…that’s right—you’re going to have to write a battle scene. In this episode, we talk to Suzannah Rowntree, author of How to Write a Fantasy Battle: Basic Medieval and Modern Military Tactics for Authors, The Watchers of Outremer Series, and other historical fantasies, about how to get a battle right.

    Show Notes:

    • Suzannah's Bluesky: suzannahrowntree
    • Suzannah's Instagram: suzannahsnaps
    • Suzannahrowntree.site
    • How to Write a Fantasy Battle: Basic Medieval and Modern Military Tactics for Authors
    • Western Warfare In The Age Of The Crusades, 1000-1300 by John France
    • Byzantine flamethrower
    • Battle of Antioch (1098)
    • Battle of Hattin (1187)
    • Seventh Crusade
    • Medicine in the Crusades: Warfare, Wounds and the Medieval Surgeon by Piers D. Mitchell
    • Magistra Hersend
    • Godfrey of Bouillon
    • The Rebellion Of Count Hugh Of Jaffa


    39 min
  • WITCHES!

    Happy Halloween! We're talking about WITCHES! A staple of fantasy, horror, and Broadway musicals, witches can be anything from a murderous presence in the woods to the friendly neighbourhood Wiccan who revives your dying African violet. So let's get our witch on!

    Show Notes:

    • Kiki’s Delivery Service (1989)
    • Spirited Away (2001)
    • VenCo by Cherie Dimaline
    • Buffy the Vampire Slayer, "Helpless"
    • Barbie-Yaga Dream Hut
    • Cool People Who Did Cool Stuff, "Baba Yaga: Everyone's Favorite Witch From Folklore" Part 1 and Part 2
    • Baba Yaga: The greatest 'wicked witch' of all?
    • The Chronicles of Narnia by CS Lewis
    • Caliban and the Witch by Silvia Federici
    • A Wizard’s Guide to Defensive Baking by T. Kingfisher
    • "Love Potion No. 9" by the Clovers
    • The Witch Boy by Molly Knox Ostertag
    • Season of the Witch (2011)
    • Bewitched (1964-1972)
    • The Good Witch (2008)
    • The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina (2018-2020)
    • Charmed (1998-2006)


    48 min
  • The Science Bros Answer Your Science Questions, Part 2, ft. Rob & Jon Mound

    You guys had so many science questions that our resident scientists couldn't answer them all in just one episode! In this episode, Rob & Jon Mound tackle important questions such as time travel, the mutability or lack thereof of the laws of physics, and dragon taxonomy. Also, why we are not going to Mars.

    • Show Notes:
    • The Forever War, Joe Haldeman
    • The Chronicles of Narnia, C.S. Lewis
    • The Time Machine (1960)
    • Ninefox Gambit, Yoon Ha Lee
    • The Walking Dead
    • World of Warcraft corrupted blood incident
    • Game of Thrones dragons
    • Coelacanth
    • Unusual anal fin offers new insight into evolution
    • Tiktaalik
    • Total Recall (1990) terraforming Mars scene
    • Spaceballs (1987)

    Keep the conversation going, or ask the Science Bros more questions by joining our Discord or Facebook group!

    49 min
  • The Science Bros Answer Your Science Questions, Part 1, ft. Rob & Jon Mound

    Suspension of disbelief is a cornerstone of speculative fiction, but as writers and fans, we often find ourselves wondering just how grounded in reality our favourite stories really are. We asked you, our listeners, for questions like:

    • What would happen if I went through a wormhole?
    • Does a Star Trek transporter just kill you and create a new copy of you?
    • What kind of technology can or can’t you use to blow up the world?

    And then we got biologist Rob Mound and geophysicist Jon Mound to answer the questions you sent. There were so many we had to split it into two parts! In this part, we look at jumping out of a spaceship without a suit (why?), octopus people (yes!), sex in space (obviously!), and more!

    • Show Notes
    • The Core (2003)
    • The Expanse - 5x07 | Naomi's Leap From The Pella
    • A City On Mars, Kelly Weinersmith and Zach Weinersmith
    • Star Trek Voyager "Cathexis" on Memory Alpha
    • Gattaca (1997)
    • When You Nut In Space, It Push You Backwards (NSFW)
    • "There Are Four Lights," scene from Star Trek: The Next Generation
    • Best Served Cold, Joe Abercrombie
    • Gerald Bull
    • The Martian growing poop potatoes

    Keep the conversation going, or ask the Science Bros more questions by joining our Discord or Facebook group!

    1 hr 2 min
  • Against Hopepunk ft. Nick Mamatas

    Sci-fi and fantasy has always had an optimistic current, whether it’s utopian space-age cities or noble chosen ones vanquishing a dark lord. In recent years, with the popularity of romantasy and cozy fantasy, it’s easier than ever to immerse yourself in a more hopeful world.

    But what if instead we made you feel bad?

    In this wide-ranging conversation with multitalented author and editor Nick Mamatas, we talk about crushing your joy, corporate greed in the publishing and music production industries, and why the 80s and 90s were objectively the best time for music.

    Show Notes:

    • Alex Rowland’s original hopepunk post.
    • Buy 120 Murders
    • Nick’s Bluesky
    • Perfect Crime Party
    • Dark Yonder Issue 1
    • Nick’s website that never gets updated
    • That Slayer meme

    Have you bought Blight yet? If you like dark things, you should!

    • Buy it from your favourite online retailer
    • Buy direct from the publisher

    "Do You Love the Colour Of the Sky?" in Trollbreath Magazine

    46 min
  • The Ur-Pisode: The Queer Heart of The Epic of Gilgamesh, ft. Julian Gunn

    For 4000 years, The Epic of Gilgamesh has influenced mythology, theology, and literature, and its rediscovery in the 1850s is itself an epic tale of war, theft, and Hobby Lobby. A meditation on love and death, rage and grief, civilization and nature, starring two problematic queer frat boys, it is the foundation of so many of our stories. In this episode, we talk to poet, artist, and essayist Julian Gunn about the story that started it all.

    Show Notes:

    • Gilgamesh, A King, At Uruk (Star Trek: The Next Generation, "Darmok")
    • What makes the world’s first bar joke funny? No one knows.
    • @radiantfracture on instagram
    • Julian's blog
    • Julian's games
    • Victoria Festival of Authors
    • The Epic of Gilgamesh, translated by Maureen Kovacs
    • The Epic of Gilgamesh, translated by Andrew George
    • The Epic of Gilgamesh, translated by Sophus Helle

    If you haven't had enough problematic gays raging against the gods by the end of this episode, you might enjoy Rachel's new novel, Blight! Buy it from your favourite online bookstore or directly from the publisher.

    Also, voting for the Aurora Awards opens June 7th! You can vote for us. Or other people. But please vote for us.

    55 min
  • Blight, ft. Rachel A. Rosen

    Break out the cake, balloons, and gigantic bone tentacles, it's season 2 of Wizards & Spaceships! Rachel has a new book out, Blight, the sequel to her first novel, Cascade. In this episode, you get a behind-the-scenes look at the newest instalment in the Sleep of Reason series.


    And did you know that tomorrow is Rachel's birthday? Why not celebrate by buying one or more of her books?


    • Pre-order Blight (The Sleep of Reason Book 2):


    • Amazon






    • Other online bookstores






    • Direct from the publisher



    • Buy Cascade (The Sleep of Reason Book 2)Buy (or download the free ebook) The Sad Bastard Cookbook: Food You Can Make So You Don't DieBuy Instant Classic (That No One Will Read)Aurora Awards 2025 BallotWant to stay informed? Here's how to find Rachel all over social media:


    • Newsletter






    • Blog






    • Bluesky






    • Mastodon






    • Instagram






    • Facebook






    • Threads






    • Goodreads




    50 min
  • Transhumanism and AI ft. Robert J. Sawyer
    It's been an entire year of Wizards & Spaceships! Thank you for coming along with us on this wild and magical space ride.
    You can't turn on the news or doomscroll social media without hearing about how AI will revolutionize everything. Unfortunately, the worst people in the world seem to be in charge of it. In this episode, we talk to sci-fi legend Robert J. Sawyer about what AI and transhumanism really mean for humanity and our planet and how we can stand up to corporate hype and greed.
    Show notes:
      • Robert's website


          • Robert's Bluesky


              • AI's environmental problems


                  • AI's thirst for electricity


                    • 1 hr 1 min
                  • TTRPG Design ft. Jesse Pohlman
                    There’s a huge crossover between tabletop role-playing game players, genre fans, and genre writers, and many of us fell in love with genre fiction by playing D&D in the basement. In this episode, we're joined by author and game designer Jesse Pohlman to talk about the considerations that go into building your own TTPRG.
                    Show notes:
                      • Jesse’s website


                          • Jesse’s Bluesky


                              • Blight cover reveal


                                • 37 min

                              About Wizards & Spaceships

                              From the publisher's feed

                              Welcome to Wizards and Spaceships, the only podcast that’s about wizards and also about spaceships. Well, probably not, but it does involve wizards, spaceships, and the things we love (and complain…