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PODCAST

The Science of Fiction

The Science of Fiction

Each episode of The Science of Fiction picks a theme and discusses the science and non-science in fiction involving that theme, with hilarious results, a selection of tenuously-related music, and a constant stream of guest experts. Expect anything from the mechanics of time travel to advice on how to survive the impending zombie apocalypse!

science & medicine natural sciences

All Episodes

0:54:08

Here Comes The Science Bit

The Science of Fiction ·

2012/05/12

The worst offenders might be shampoo adverts, but egregious pseudo-science is not exactly rare in fiction. Joined by The Science Of Fiction regular Djuke Veldhuis, we take a look at what gets scribbled in beside the bits in the script marked “technobabble”. BBC News: Tackling the trade in human flesh pills io9: Remember when we thought we’d get all our nutrition from pills and bars? Wired: Physicist uses maths to avoid traffic penalty That Mitchell and Webb Look on brushing

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0:55:59

Robots

The Science of Fiction ·

2012/05/05

Minimizing the edit distance from last week's show, Chris Smowton joins us to talk about androids, AI, the uncanny valley, and tiny fire extinguishing robots. Cory Doctorow's I, Robot Cory Doctorow: A Prose By Any Other Name Dr Kathleen Richardson New York Times article quoting Dr Richardson Big Dog Zima Blue and Other Stories Tracklist Stars – Sad Robot Flaming Lips – Yoshimi Battles The Pink Robots, Pt. 1 Kael Alden (Robot Repair) – Where You Belong Robot Guarding the Rubber Band

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0:55:20

Reboot

The Science of Fiction ·

2012/04/28

We take a look at reboots, remakes, re-imaginings, and other almost-synonymous new versions of old works. Are they made to take advantage of new technology; to update the plots for modern audiences; or maybe for no valid reason at all? Needless to say, none of the music featured on this episode was as it was originally recorded: Mark Ronson – Just Karen O, Trent Reznor & Atticus Ross – Immigrant Song The Dears – What I'm Trying To Say Pt. 1 The Jimi Hendrix Experience – All Along The

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0:57:23

Steampunk, Shams and Space Cowboys (with Kat Arney)

The Science of Fiction ·

2012/03/11

Kat Arney—songstress, Naked Scientist, knitter—joins Andy and Will to chat about colliders, steampunk, lab-based literature, quacks and the ’Verse. 230% efficient LEDs The Diamond Age Radium infuser for drinking water Ford Nucleon Experimental Heart and The Honest Look by Jennifer Rohn Charlatan: The Fraudulent Life of John Brinkley by Pope Brock Tracklist Talk In Colour – Nightshifts (free download!) Sunday Driver – Concubine Waltz The Men That Will Not Be Blamed For Nothing – Charlie Dr

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0:56:40

Conspiracy

The Science of Fiction ·

2012/03/04

Fasten your tin-foil hats securely, as Andy and Will delve into the murky world of conspiracy theories. Assassination plots, Martian civilizations, mysterious ionosphere research—and how The Establishment will wipe your memory when you've finished listening. PROOF THAT THE CYDONIA FACE ON MARS IS ARTIFICIAL vs. NASA's takedown; HAARP; Starfish Prime; Strange Sounds in the Sky; Flight of the Navigator; The Forgetting Pill Erases Painful Memories Forever; Obama's birth video; Reptilian Kitten

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0:55:40

Shuffle

The Science of Fiction ·

2012/02/26

Andy and Will take a (pseudo-)random walk around the scientific and/or fictional topics suggested by their music collections, from interdimensional transport using gravity pulses to musical trees via whistling at nuclear missiles. TIGJAM UK 6 inspired the theme. Consellation Games by Leonard Richardson, featuring two free chapters. An Important Correction Thomas Truax plays the Hornicator. It is Psapp who built and played the Bone-a-phone. Tracklist Thomas Truax – Inside The Internet Muse –

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0:55:15

Hybrids (with Djuke Veldhuis)

The Science of Fiction ·

2012/02/19

Djuke, guest star of last season's episode about stress, returns to the show to discuss hybrids, aliens and mutants across fiction and fact (and 16th century Scottish superstition, naturally). Tracklist Helen Arney – Animals (feat. Professor Elemental) Jonathan Coulton – Skullcrusher Mountain The National – Looking for Astronauts Talkdemonic – Mountain Cats Totally Enormous Extinct Dinosaurs – Garden Half-pony, half-monkey monster by Rachel Barenblat Send feedback and

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0:57:41

Errata

The Science of Fiction ·

2012/02/12

Andy and Will correct their past selves’ on-air blunders, and take a look at shakey science in fiction and fact. Tracklist Blood Red Shoes – I Wish I Was Someone Better Noah and the Whale – Tonight's The Kind Of Night Errors – Supertribe Efterklang – Step Aside Psapp – Needle and Thread Nine Inch Nails – III Ghosts 4 )AR=EOa/@%kz3~zDPf by GlitchBot Send feedback and comments to show@scienceoffiction.co.uk.

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0:56:44

Cryptography (with James Grime)

The Science of Fiction ·

2011/12/04

Bond, Neil Stephenson, Turing, and a real live Enigma machine in the studio! Here are some photos: Andy, James, the Enigma machine, its instructions, and a video of James demonstrating the machine during the episode. James Grime is the “resident tamed mathematician” of The Enigma Project. Tracklist Tunng – Code Breaker Massive Attack – Babel Matt Monroe – From Russia With Love Silversun Pickups – There’s No Secrets This Year Enigma by Roland Peschetz Send feedback and

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0:55:31

Mathematics and Mathematicians (with Trevor Wood)

The Science of Fiction ·

2011/11/27

Good Will Hunting, the bat sonar digital switchover, The Hunt for Red October, The Oxford Murders, A Beautiful Mind, Pi, Kevin Bacon, curing the world of Facebook, dinosaurs. Your archivist believes that one host was struggling to remember the details of the Ramanujan-Hardy number on this episode. Tracklist Darwin Deez – Radar Detector Battles – Ice Cream Broken Social Scene – Love and Mathematics De La Soul – Me, Myself and I Jurassic Park themes Maths by David Ebert

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0:58:08

The Music of Fiction

The Science of Fiction ·

2011/11/20

A music-packed episode of some of our favourite music from and about fiction! From concept albums to point-and-click adventures, and Vikram Seth to Rez and Stalwart. Musica comprimida - Compressed Music by Ferrari + caballos + fuerza = cerebro Humano  Send feedback and comments to show@scienceoffiction.co.uk.

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0:54:12

Environment (with Rachel Kennerley)

The Science of Fiction ·

2011/11/13

Floods, custard shortages, beards, raccoons, Command & Conquer, environmental pressures, vulnerability theory and more. Here’s an article about the Minecraft mod Rachel mentioned. Tracklist They Might Be Giants – Flood Imogen Heap – Earth Maps and Atlases – Solid Ground Fever Ray – When I Grow Up Jon Boden – When The Walls Come Tumbling Down Don't forget to recycle! by James Go ahead; make my day by Nora Arias Loftis Send feedback and

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0:58:19

Four Fundamental Forces (with Michael Contario)

The Science of Fiction ·

2011/11/06

…assuming a spherical shark… How the four fundamental forces (gravity, electromagnetism, the strong force and the weak force) crop up in TV shows, comics, films and more! Michael is the host of Burst the Bubble. shot_through_the_heart_-_and_youre_to_blame by Marie Richie Send feedback and comments to show@scienceoffiction.co.uk.

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0:56:48

Biotechnology (with Steve Frenk)

The Science of Fiction ·

2011/10/29

Genetic engineering, stem cell research, and the impact of biotechnology on societies past, present and future, mundane and fantastical. Stress tolerant crops by BASF - The Chemical Company Send feedback and comments to show@scienceoffiction.co.uk.

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0:59:17

Stress (with Djuke Veldhuis)

The Science of Fiction ·

2011/10/22

Televisions in Papua New Guinea; Heinz ketchup varieties; Fight Club; Dell, Apple and freedom from choice. Getting old; toddlers going caving; Star Wars fan-edits; Falling Down; responsible breakdowns; parachuting; American Beauty; living in a cave for a month; factory workers versus CEOs; sleep cycles; ageing, ulcers, chocolate and turkey. Full Metal Jacket; the transitions between cushy modern life and the battlefield; the hippocampus; the boredom of military life; predictability and control;

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0:59:17

Dystopias and Utopias (with Steve Hyde)

The Science of Fiction ·

2011/10/15

Happy birthday Kim; robots; humans are inefficient batteries; squeaky burgers; the end of the world in the late 90s; Demolition Man, Escape From New York; knitting; Equilibrium; hug speakeasies. Being engaged to Zooey Deschanel; The Matrix; The Truman Show; surveillance vs. voyeurism; “other markers are available”; Neuromancer; Ghost in the Shell; cyborg rats. Theremins; 1984 vs. We (and Brave New World); book roulette; reading poets; James Randi; Escape From New York’s special effects;

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0:57:07

Chaos (with Niraj Lal)

The Science of Fiction ·

2011/10/08

Chaos, the weather, and why mathematicians can prove there isn't an answer to everything. Niraj is a PhD student in nanophotonics, and wrote a children's book called Butterfly Flo and the Everything Effect—a story about a butterfly in the Australian bush who learns about chaos theory and how he can change the weather. Kaos - Chaos paiting (ii) by Kristina Alexanderson Send feedback and comments to show@scienceoffiction.co.uk.

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0:57:03

Recap

The Science of Fiction ·

2011/10/01

Andy and Will chat about what they've been reading and watching over the summer. Clock by Dave Stokes Send feedback and comments to show@scienceoffiction.co.uk.

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0:59:53

Memory (with Dr Amy Milton)

The Science of Fiction ·

2011/07/23

Final episode of the series with Dr Amy Milton on the subject of memory, and how to erase it. Original by Carolyn Williams Send feedback and comments to show@scienceoffiction.co.uk.

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1:01:31

Late Victorian Gothic Literature (with Dorée Carrier)

The Science of Fiction ·

2011/07/09

Dorée gives us a glimpse into the troubled minds of Victorian horror writers, and their pathological fears of, well, pathology. Chemists's Shop, Blist Hill Victorian Town, Ironbridge by Calotype46 Send feedback and comments to show@scienceoffiction.co.uk.

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47 results

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