Sinopsis
A podcast in which social scientists, philosophers and researchers discuss themes and works of science fiction
Episodios
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[032] Social Science Talks: Warhammer and The Eisenhorn Trilogy, by Dan Abnett
28/04/2017‘In the grim darkness of the far future…’ This month, we try and take on the Warhammer universe by reading the Eisenhorn Trilogy, by Dan Abnett. Does knowledge require […]
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[031] Social Science Talks: 1984, by George Orwell
28/03/2017‘It was a bright cold morning in April, and the clocks were striking thirteen…’ After much pressure, and the election of Donald Trump, we finally get round to covering 1984 […]
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[030] Social Science Talks: His Dark Materials, by Philip Pullman
01/03/2017“I stopped believing there was a power of good and a power of evil that were outside us. And I came to believe that good and evil are names for […]
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[029] Social Science Talks: Babylon 5
27/01/2017The Babylon Project was a dream given form… It’s a new year, and carrying through on a resolution that we’ve had since we started the podcast, we got together to […]
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[028] Social Science Talks: The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, by Douglas Adams
21/12/2016So long, and thanks for all the fish! As we wind down for Christmas, we crank up the improbability drive to a level where it produces, fully formed, and episode […]
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[026] Social Science Talks: The Handmaid’s Tale, by Margaret Atwood
26/10/2016“We were the people who were not in the papers. We lived in the blank white spaces at the edges of print. It gave us more freedom. We lived in […]
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[025] Social Science Talks: Star Trek
21/09/2016Following the 50th Anniversary and the recent film Star Trek: Beyond, we sit down at Social Sci-Fi towers to discuss what we love and hate about the Star Trek franchise. […]
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[024] Social Science Talks: Dune, by Frank Herbert
23/08/2016“The Fremen were supreme in that quality the ancients called “spannungsbogen” — which is the self-imposed delay between desire for a thing and the act of reaching out to grasp […]
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[023] Social Science Interviews: Penny Fielding, on Spies and Genre Fiction
29/07/2016It’s conference season once again, and Matthew got the long train to Edinburgh in order to talk to Professor Penny Fielding about spies and genre fiction. It’s a great follow up […]
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[022] Social Science Talks: Independence Day
30/06/2016After a film night at Social Science Towers, Alex, Matt, Jess and Bleddyn discuss the beginning of the large-scale disaster film, Independence Day. Join us as we discuss 90s pop […]
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[021] Social Science Talks: Utopia, By Thomas More
31/05/2016“We did not ask if he had seen any monsters, for monsters have ceased to be news. There is never any shortage of horrible creatures who prey on human beings, […]
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[20] Social Science Talks: Embassytown, by China Miéville
25/04/2016“Word spread because word will spread. Stories and secrets fight, stories win, shed new secrets, which new stories fight, and on.” This month we discuss Embassytown, by China Miéville. […]
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[019] Social Science Talks: Woman on the Edge of Time, by Marge Piercy
24/03/2016What would you do if your actions would change the course of history? Lydia, Charlotte, Sorana and Jess take the spotlight on the podcast this month in this episode, recorded […]
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[018] Social Science Talks: The Player of Games, by Iain M. Banks
22/02/2016Common misconception that; that fun is relaxing. If it is, you’re not doing it right. Would you like to play a game? This month, we read the Player of Games, […]
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[017] Social Science Talks: Snow Crash, by Neal Stephenson
20/01/2016We are all susceptible to the pull of viral ideas. Like mass hysteria. Or a tune that gets into your head that you keep humming all day until you spread […]
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[016] Social Science Talks: Slaughterhouse Five, by Kurt Vonnegut
22/12/2015I have told my sons that they are not under any circumstances to take part in massacres, and that the news of massacres of enemies is not to fill them […]
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[015] Social Science Interviews: Georg Loefflmann, on Man in the High Castle
24/11/2015It’s been a rough month here at Social Science Towers, and we were unable to record a new episode. Luckily for you, we have an interview with friend of the […]
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[014] Social Science Talks: War of the Worlds, by HG Wells
21/10/2015“No one would have believed in the last years of the nineteenth century that this world was being watched keenly and closely by intelligences greater than man’s and yet as […]
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[013] Social Science Talks: Watchmen, by Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons
18/09/2015Never compromise. Not even in the face of Armageddon. That’s always been the difference between us, Daniel. Today, we deal with Watchmen, because Matt had the bright idea of doing […]
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[012] Social Science Interviews: Georg Loefflmann, on the Pentagon vs. Aliens
07/09/2015It’s conference season, and we dispatched our one-man-army Matt to interview a series of scholars studying science fiction at the British International Studies Association 2015 conference in London. This time […]