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PODCAST

Alienating the Audience

Andrew Heaton and an army of nerds plunge deep, deep into films, books, and TV shows to ask: what"s science fiction really about? What is The Twilight Zone really exploring? What are the underlying themes of Star Trek? What is the worldview of Star Wars? Also sometimes Heaton performs comedy on other planets.

fiction science fiction

All Episodes

58:37

The Future of Humanity Involves Gene Upgrades and...

Alienating the Audience ·

2020/12/03

Lord Martin Rees is a cosmologist, mathematician, and the Astronomer Royal of the United Kingdom. When he's not busy running the Centre for The Study of Existential Risk at Cambridge University, he's authoring books on science and astrophysics. He joins the show to discuss his latest work, "On the Future: Prospects for Humanity." Click here to see this and other books featured on the podcast!

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01:28:21

The Alternate History Where Nazis Won

Alienating the Audience ·

2020/11/19

We beat Hitler. Whew! But what if we hadn't? What if the Nazi regime had prevailed? Science fiction repeatedly approaches the topic, either to guess geopolitics or just to gawk at the horror of it. On today's episode Andrew Young and Josh Jennings join Heaton to talk about "The Man in the High Castle" by Philip K. Dick, "Fatherland" by Robert Harris, and "The Plot Against America" by Philip Roth.

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22:53

Vagabonding: The Voyage Home (for Ska)

Alienating the Audience ·

2020/11/17

Confronted by an alien probe which can only speak the language of an extinct species, Nick and Heaton must journey back in time to save Earth.

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50:59

The Last Policeman

Alienating the Audience ·

2020/11/12

If an asteroid were poised to wipe out all life on Earth, would you still go to work? In Ben Winters' novel, a detective investigates a homicide in the pre-apocalypse, while many of his colleagues think it's pointless. Tim Sandefur returns to discuss "The Last Policeman," existentialism, and finding purpose in life against our inevitable mortality.

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01:09:59

The Philosophy of "The Matrix"

Alienating the Audience ·

2020/11/05

The Matrix is actually quite a lot deeper than simulation theory and some cool fight scenes with black trench coats. The Wachowski sisters put a modern, techy spin on Plato's Allegory of the Cave, with ample helpings of Descartes, Hilary Putnam's "Vat in a Brain" and Robert Nozick's "Experience Machine." Andrew Young and Nick Sperdute join Heaton to discuss.

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01:34:17

"The Road" is the Ultimate Dystopia

Alienating the Audience ·

2020/10/22

Cormac McCarthy's "The Road" is simultaneously the most beautiful and hideous post-apocalyptic prose ever written. It follows a father and his son as they make their way through hellish wasteland, witnessing the horror of civilization's last wheeze en route. Josh Jennings joins to discuss.

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38:15

A Million Steve Jobs and the Future of AI

Alienating the Audience ·

2020/10/15

Robin Hanson is an economist and the author of "The Age of Em: Work, Love and Life when Robots Rule the Earth." He joins the show to discuss his theory that in the future the most intelligence and productive people in society will be uploaded to computers and indefinitely duplicated, to supercharge the economy.

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01:08:29

Gays in Starfleet

Alienating the Audience ·

2020/10/08

How does Star Trek handle gay characters, and what's the balance between representation and tokenism? Andrew Young rejoins the show to discuss homosexuality in the Star Trek universe. (And get into a bunch of digressions involving John Stossel's Emmy, and Cambodia.)

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01:00:44

The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August

Alienating the Audience ·

2020/10/01

What would happen if you were reincarnated. . . to the exact same life you just lived? What would happen when you were reborn to the exact same life fifteen times in a row? Ashland Viscosi and Nick Sperdute rejoin for another book club episode about "The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August" by Claire North.

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49:48

The Black Hole - Movie Club

Alienating the Audience ·

2020/09/17

"The Black Hole" is Disney's 1979 answer to Star Wars--which didn't work out quite as well. It's a fun romp, involving telepaths, snarky robots, and a spacey Captain Nero. Although it has... some issues. Nick Sperdute and Andrew Young join to discuss on ATA's first inaugural Movie Club!

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01:06:52

Assemble Your Own Star Trek Series

Alienating the Audience ·

2020/09/10

If you could put together a new series, drawing on characters from across the Star Trek franchise, what would you make? Paul Mattingly and Nick Sperdute join Heaton for a round of Starfleet Draft Picks.

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21:49

Vagabonding: The Lizard Man of Staten Island

Alienating the Audience ·

2020/09/07

Nick and Heaton must journey to the mysterious "Staten Island" as part of their quest, where they encounter a degenerate lizard man. Cast: Paul Mattingly as the Lizard Man, Andrew Heaton, and Nick Sperdute

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01:04:44

Philip K. Dick Is About Broken People (And Robots)

Alienating the Audience ·

2020/09/03

Comedian Will Hines joins to discuss the themes and work of Philip K. Dick, the genius (and unstable) mind behind films like "Minority Report" and "Bladerunner," plus a slew of books and short stories.

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17:16

Vagabonding: Return to the Fembot Homeworld

Alienating the Audience ·

2020/08/28

Nick and Heaton must journey to the Replicant Homeworld in hopes of tracking down their Netflix password. Cast: Nick Sperdute, Andrew Heaton, and Kourtni Beebe as Fuschia Robotski

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01:26:50

How to Survive the Zombie Apocalypse

Alienating the Audience ·

2020/08/27

First, Jennings and Heaton compare their plans to beat the undead in their respective cities of Los Angeles and Wichita. Then, author Daniel Kraus comes on to discuss his new book "The Living Dead," which he co-authored with the late George Romero. Kraus interview at 1:03

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10:17

Vagabonding: The Return of Nick

Alienating the Audience ·

2020/08/13

It turns out, rumors of Nick's demise have been greatly exaggerated. Cast: Andrew Heaton, Nick Sperdute, and Jared Berman as Joeblobe

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01:05:58

How They Made Mystery Science Theater 3000

Alienating the Audience ·

2020/08/11

Mary Jo Pehl wrote and acted in MST3K, a comedy show which dug up old (terrible) sci fi flicks and then pelted jokes at it. Over the course of its run, MST3K pioneered a new comedic medium, and rose from a local access program, to a Comedy Central hit, to cult classic. Mary Jo joins Heaton to discuss how they put the show together, and the deeper side of the comedy that went into it.

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13:37

Vagabonding: The Wrath of Nick (Comedy)

Alienating the Audience ·

2020/08/07

Nick selflessly enters a deadly chamber in order to save the other inhabitants of the apartment from radiation. Cast: Andrew Heaton, Nick Sperdute, Jared Berman as Joeblobe, Kevin Delano as AJ-19

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15:11

Vagabonding: Nick and Heaton meet the Spacehead god...

Alienating the Audience ·

2020/08/07

Nick and Heaton travel through an inter-dimensional portal they found, and emerge on a planet strikingly similar to the one from Star Trek: The Final Frontier Cast: Andrew Heaton, Nick Sperdute, and Andrew Young as the Spacehead god

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17:23

Vagabonding: Nick and Heaton go to Narnia

Alienating the Audience ·

2020/08/07

When Nick and Heaton discovered an inter-dimensional doorway in the back of their refrigerator, they're able to step through and visit the winter world of Narnia. And meet one of its talking animal inhabitants. Cast: Andrew Heaton, Nick Sperdute, and Nick Polowy as Mr. Beaver

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169 results

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