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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

07:47

Vagabonding: Heaton Gets Totally Recalled (Comedy)

Alienating the Audience ·

2020/08/07

Heaton realizes he's actually been living inside of a virtual reality program, and must confront his actual reality. Cast: Andrew Heaton and Nick Sperdute

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18:25

Vagabonding: Hot Detroit! (Comedy)

Alienating the Audience ·

2020/08/07

Stuck in lockdown and bored, Heaton and Nick download into a virtual Sim City universe to manage an entire city. Cast: Andrew Heaton, Nick Sperdute, and Andrew Young as Mayor Sinclair St. Lewis

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01:00:31

Philosophy in the Delta Quadrant – Star Trek: Voyager

Alienating the Audience ·

2020/08/06

Who had the best character arcs in Star Trek: Voyager, and what were the hardest ethical conundrums the Delta Quadrant lobbed at Captain Janeway? How does her command style compare to Kirk or Picard? Dr. Erin Macdonald and Andrew Young join Heaton to discuss the deeper side of everyone's favorite intrepid-class vessel.

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01:03:16

Why We Love Supervillains

Alienating the Audience ·

2020/07/31

If supervillains are so evil, why are they so captivating? Which crime lord would you serve under if you had to pick one? Former Marvel editor Tom Brennan and comic book aficionados Jeremiah Johnson and Nick Sperdute join Heaton to discuss the underlying mystique and purpose of supervillains. This file corrects for an audio issue in a previous upload.

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20:22

Vagabonding: Murder Accusations (Comedy Sketch)

Alienating the Audience ·

2020/07/29

The comedy sketches with Nick and Heaton at the end of the show will be their own segment from now on: "Interstellar Vagabonding: With Nick & Heaton." In this episode, a detective shows up at the apartment to investigate Nick's untimely death. And he thinks it was murder!

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01:04:52

Let's Fight About "The Undiscovered Country"

Alienating the Audience ·

2020/07/23

If "Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country" is about the end of the Cold War, what's it's position on the Soviet Union? Tim Sandefur challenges Heaton on the underlying morality of the movie and whether or not it's a commie apologism, leading to a long-form discussion about its merits and underlying purpose.

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01:12:13

Religion's Two Treatments in Science Fiction

Alienating the Audience ·

2020/07/16

Science fiction has a more complex analysis of religion than either "good" or "bad." Yonatan Huber and Josh Jennings join Heaton to discuss how scifi authors tackle it, and how the nature of religious critique has changed between centuries.

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51:02

V'ger, Sybok, and Whales! Star Trek's...

Alienating the Audience ·

2020/07/09

Today we mount a defense of Star Trek's most underrated films! Tim Sandefur rejoins the program, along with Aeon Skoble, to discuss the franchise's least-appreciated flicks: "The Motion Picture", "The Voyage Home", and "The Final Frontier." Afterwards Nick Sperdute, Andrew Young, and Heaton go on another intergalactic comedy adventure.

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01:34:55

The Mythology of Star Wars

Alienating the Audience ·

2020/07/02

The foundational elements of Star Wars are deeply mythological, influenced by Joseph Campbell's book "The Hero with a Thousand Faces." Professor Ryan Slesinger joins the show to explain the Hero's Journey, archetypes, and the deepest elements of the whole saga.

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01:14:10

Should We Be Worried About the Lack of Aliens?

Alienating the Audience ·

2020/06/25

Fermi's Paradox brings up a troubling issue: if even a small fraction of stars have planets with intelligent life, much of it should be more advanced than us--so why have aliens never come by to say hello? Do civilizations all blow themselves up? Are we next? Josh Jennings joins Heaton to suss out the paradox, and go over possible explanations of alien absence.

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01:27:33

Star Trek Conspiracy Theories include "The...

Alienating the Audience ·

2020/06/18

Picard never left the Nexus. We caught the wrong Khan. Star Trek fandom is full of theories casting doubt on characters and plots as we know them. Brilliant or ridiculous, fan theories at least make us look at the franchise in a different light. John Krikorian of the Trek Profiles podcast and comedian Nick Sperdute join Heaton to discuss.

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01:24:16

We Can Freeze You: How Cryonics Works

Alienating the Audience ·

2020/06/10

From "Futurama" to "Demolition Man," cryonically suspending bodies for future reanimation by tomorrow's scientists is a mainstay of science fiction. Dennis Kowalksi, President of the Cryonics Institute, joins the show to go past the tropes and explain the mechanics, science, and hopes of cryonic freezing.

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01:14:16

Battlestar Galactica & The War On Terror

Alienating the Audience ·

2020/06/04

Battlestar Galactica kicked off just three years after the 9/11 attacks, and tackles everything from theocratic warfare to stem cell research and waterboarding. Comedian Andrew Young joins Heaton to discuss the series, it's relentless tension and fear of being compromised by undetected enemies, and how absolutely badass Saul Tigh is.

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01:04:38

Is Life Worth Living in a Perfect Utopia?

Alienating the Audience ·

2020/05/21

John Varley's novel "Steel Beach" portrays a future brimming with attractive immortals living in amusement parks on the Moon--yet the main character contemplates suicide. Absent strife, can humans find purpose? Tim Sandefur joins Heaton to discuss John Varley, utopianism, and man's search for meaning.

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01:44:01

Turns Out, We're All Probably Martians

Alienating the Audience ·

2020/05/14

Robert Zubrin is the head of the Mars Society and author of "The Case for Mars." He joins Heaton along with special guest co-host Andrew Mayne to discuss how to get to the Red Planet using existing technology, and the implications of finding life once we're there.

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58:05

How to Build a Giant Robot

Alienating the Audience ·

2020/05/07

Today we speak with physicist Stephen Granade about robots! How to build giant arm-swingin' robots, how we can automate them, and where we stand on Mind Machine Interface technology in case we want to pilot said robots ourselves.

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01:01:56

Twenty Years After the Zombie Apocalypse

Alienating the Audience ·

2020/04/30

"The Girl With All the Gifts" is a brilliant spin on otherwise stale zombie tropes. Nick Sperdute and Ashland Viscosi join the program for a spoiler-free discussion about the novel. Plus a refresher on Greek mythology, how John Locke and Thomas Hobbes pertain to Armageddon, and the time Heaton met Meatloaf.

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01:04:04

Deep Space Nine is About Outsiders

Alienating the Audience ·

2020/04/23

Deep Space Nine masterfully tackled complex plot lines, moral ambiguity, and deep themes over its arc. Tom Merritt, host of the Sword & Laser podcast and scifi novelist, joins Heaton to suss out the deeper meaning of Star Trek's finest series.

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01:08:57

Buddhism, Optimism, and Black Mirror

Alienating the Audience ·

2020/04/16

"Black Mirror," a dark television series about the grim potential of technology, explores issues from social media to immortality. Comedian Myq Kaplan joins the show to look at the otherwise bleak satire through the dual lenses of optimism and Buddhism.

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01:24:49

Marry Bop Kill: Star Trek (Live Show)

Alienating the Audience ·

2020/04/12

Nick Sperdute and Josh Jennings join Heaton for a rousing game of "First Officer, Holodeck Buddy, Red Shirt" using Star Trek characters from across the franchise.

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169 results

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