Our Opinions Are Correct (Our Opinions Are Correct)

Are we getting toxic messages from speculative fiction about what it means to be alone? We're tackling troubling tropes and eviscerating myths about where loneliness comes from. Later in the episode, we're joined by Peter Pomerantsev, a researcher who studies authoritarianism and propaganda. He’s the author of How to Win an Information War, and he offers us some tantalizing ideas about how to defeat fascist propaganda.

History is on our minds lately. In this episode, we talk to two incredible authors who recreate history in their work. Tananarive Due draws on her own family's experience in her award-winning novel The Reformatory, while Nicola Griffith uncovers the secret history of medieval England in Hild and Menewood. We discuss researching history, and why understanding history is important to building the future. We had an incredible conversation with these two legends.

Why has darkness descended upon the university? We talk about the dark academia aesthetic, from Donna Tartt's "The Secret History" to the show "Dear White People." What defines this aesthetic, and how does it shed light on current traumas within the academy? Also -- why is it so gay? Academic Ana Quiring joins us to discuss all this and more.

Show notes: www.ouropinionsarecorrect.com/shownotes

We’re obsessed with dragons, and for good reason. These gigantic creatures soar through many cultures and genres — and they feel more relevant than ever today. We talk to author Moniquill Blackgoose about why, and discuss her Nebula-award winning novel To Shape A Dragon’s Breath. Then we have a completely non-awkward conversation about dragons and sex.

Shownotes are at: www.ouropinionsarecorrect.com/shownotes

In one of our favorite episodes from 2021, we talked to TV news commentator and author (and scifi fan!) Wajahat Ali about nationalism in science fiction. It's feeling relevant again. We'll be back in your feeds with brand-new episodes starting in two weeks!

Science fiction and fantasy are the perfect genres for exploring what political uprisings might look like in the future, or an alternate present. We discuss Blake’s 7, a subversive 1980s TV series from the UK, and how it offers us a realistic portrait of political revolutionaries — flawed, dangerous, and full of hope. Claire Light (AKA Jadie Jang) also joins us to talk about her new novel, Monkey Around, about shapeshifters during the Occupy movement.

We love escapism, and being able to escape into imaginary worlds is a super important survival strategy in the midst of oppression, pandemics, state-sponsored violence. But what if a story is escapist for some people, but not for others? And how dark can a story get and still be escapist? Let's talk about escaping AND fighting for justice.

Show notes: www.ouropinionsarecorrect.com/shownotes

We're still on hiatus until the new year, so here's one of our favorite episodes from the past. Romance and science fiction have always been closely connected, but lately some of the best SF writing is in the romance genre. We talk to Alyssa Cole, author of the A.I. Who Loved Me, about the love affair between SF and romance.

https://www.ouropinionsarecorrect.com/shownotes/2020/5/7/episode-56-why-science-fiction-needs-romance

Doctor Who is a brand new show this year. Not only is there a lady Doctor, played by Jodie Whittaker, but the show's whole format feels totally different. Three companions! All new monsters! But even more than that, the show has a new, more upbeat attitude. And it's tackling new themes, including the meaning of family and the dangers of capitalism. Join us as we go deep into the time vortex to unravel the meaning of Doctor Who in 2018.

Show notes: www.ouropinionsarecorrect.com/shownotes

For our first-ever live podcast, recorded in March on the JoCo Cruise, we talked to cosmologist Katie Mack about how the universe will end. Will it be heat death or vacuum decay? We also talk about how rarely science fiction deals with the end of the universe, as opposed to the end of our planet or species. Also, why do we think the ultimate apocalypse is so funny, and will we survive it?

Show notes: www.ouropinionsarecorrect.com/shownotes

It's time to talk about the politics of kaiju. With the new Godzilla vs. Kong movie stomping our way soon, we're discussing the long history of giant monsters in pop culture, and the truly strange cinematic backstory of the original King Kong vs. Godzilla flick. What do kaiju represent, and why are they connected to nationalism? And when does a kaiju get to be a protagonist rather than a monster?

Show notes: www.ouropinionsarecorrect.com/shownotes

Science fiction and fantasy are full of stories about the power of knowing someone's true name, from the Doctor on Doctor Who to the wizards in Ursula K. Le Guin's Earthsea. But why are names so important and powerful? And what do they tell us about the characters we love?

Show notes: www.ouropinionsarecorrect.com/shownotes

We've learned so much about the planets outside our solar system in the past ten years, and we're poised to learn even more. What kind of life could live on eyeball Earths, and other types of tidally locked worlds? To find out, we asked Aomawa Shields, astrophysicist and author of the science memoir Life on Other Planets. Plus Aomawa talked to us about why burnout is such a huge problem for Black women in STEM.

Show notes: www.ouropinionsarecorrect.com/shownotes

Fires. Floods. Heat waves. Zoonotic disease. The climate is changing. But are we going to change with it and survive? And how can storytelling help us understand our impact on the planet? We're talking about the disaster movie that is our lives with environmental journalist Maddie Stone. 

Shownotes: www.ouropinionsarecorrect.com/shownotes

Lately the camp-themed Met Gala got us talking about camp again. What is camp? And how is it different in 2019 than in 1969? And most importantly, why is science fiction so deathly terrified of seeming campy? We're going to have a Kiki about this.

Show notes: www.ouropinionsarecorrect.com/shownotes

It's a fun thought experiment: what if the universe is a simulation, and nothing around us is real? But lately, some of the most powerful people in tech (and politics) have been saying they believe this is true. Why would they think that? To understand, we talk to Damien P. Williams at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, and Paris Marx, host of the Tech Won't Save Us podcast. Spoiler alert: anyone who'd trap us in a simulation would have to be a total sociopath.

Afro-futurism is on the rise again, thanks to the popularity of movies like Black Panther, and creators such as Janelle Monae and N.K. Jemisin. But Black-centered futurism has a long history in the U.S., and it's changed a lot over the past century. We sit down with critic and scholar Shawn Taylor, co-founder of TheNerdsOfColor.org, to talk about Afro-futurisms of yesterday and tomorrow.

Show notes: www.ouropinionsarecorrect.com/shownotes

We're sharing the first episode of Annalee's podcast miniseries, Deep Futures, which spotlights six people who are trying to change the world for the better. Here, Annalee talks to science fiction author Malka Older about the future of democracy.

Listen to the whole season here: https://mailchimp.com/presents/podcast/deep-futures/

Suddenly, everything is cute again. Animation, pop music, and the internet are packed with adorable sparklefest feelings. What is behind the new wave of cute aesthetics? We talk about why hard times drive us to comfort content -- and whether the cuteocracy is a protest against dystopia. Plus, can things get TOO cute?

Show notes: www.ouropinionsarecorrect.com/shownotes

This week we're bringing you an episode of Deep Futures, a podcast hosted by Annalee and produced by Campside Media and Mailchimp. In this episode, Annalee talks to chemistry professor Raychelle Burks about forensics -- and how we'll use chemistry to solve murders in the future. You can find more episodes of Deep Futures wherever you get your podcasts!

Lucifer just came to an end after six seasons, and to celebrate we're talking to showrunners Ildy Modrovich and Joe Henderson about all the ways this Satanic procedural was really all about therapy. Are you ready to self-actualize and embrace your true desires? Plus we talk about three of our all-time favorite stories about Satan, which show very different sides of the Prince of Darkness. Warning: spoilers for season six ahead!

Show notes: www.ouropinionsarecorrect.com/shownotes

Loki has been one of the best characters in the Marvel movies for a long time — but what is his new TV show revealing about the God of Mischief? We delve into his character, and the neuroses that drive him. Plus we talk to Maria Konnikova, author of The Confidence Game and The Biggest Bluff, about what real-life con artists are like.

There's nothing quite so dystopian as censorship: the suppression of knowledge, or works of art, that challenge the ruling order. We look at how science fiction, fantasy and horror have been censored. But also, what does science fiction teach us about how to resist censorship? And we talk to Ron Turner, publisher of Last Gasp, about the underground comics scene and his struggles with official censorship.

Show notes: https://www.ouropinionsarecorrect.com/shownotes/

We've been waging a desperate battle against deadly viruses, in both reality and fiction. In this episode, we talk to Sarah Zhang, a staff writer with the Atlantic, about what we've learned from the fight against COVID-19. And we talk about the scariest and weirdest viruses in science fiction.

Show notes: www.ouropinionsarecorrect.com/shownotes

Science fiction has been warning us about fascism for decades — so why haven't we listened? How did Nazis become just another monster in our stories, like werewolves or cyborgs? Plus we talk about the new wave of book censorship with Maggie Tokuda-Hall, co-founder of the new organization Authors Against Book Bans.

Show notes: www.ouropinionsarecorrect.com/shownotes

Everybody obsesses about A.I., nanotech, space travel and robots. But the technologies nobody pays much attention to could have an equally significant impact on our world. Like artificial wombs, smart toilets, new forms of public transportation, and new cleaning machines.

Show notes: https://www.ouropinionsarecorrect.com/shownotes/2019/12/5/episode-46-four-technologies-that-nobody-realizes-will-change-the-future

In this special episode, we answer questions from our wondrous Patreon supporters. We discuss how to write convincing non-human characters, where people will live in 10,000 years, and why Dungeons & Dragons has become so popular. Plus why we love Canada!

Shownotes: https://www.ouropinionsarecorrect.com/shownotes

Science fiction is full of heroic journalists, and the real-life world of journalism is filled with people who have been deeply influenced by ideas from science fiction. In this episode, we talk about the love affair between Superman and muckrakers — and the deep connection between cyberpunk and media criticism. Plus, how did the 1970s movie Network predict memes and cable news?

Show notes: www.ouropinionsarecorrect.com/shownotes

Game of Thrones comes back in a couple of weeks, so we're thinking about the politics of George R.R. Martin's fantasy world. What would a satisfying ending to this show look like? Can our heroes defeat the ice zombies AND solve Westeros' crisis of governance? And how exactly does the Iron Bank function?

Show notes: www.ouropinionsarecorrect.com/shownotes

With Avengers: Infinity War about to hit theaters, we needed to talk about superheroes. What is it about these larger-than-life characters that fascinates us so much? Why can't we eliminate campiness and silliness from superhero epics? And have the ginormous superhero crossovers and shared universes finally gone too far?

Show notes: www.ouropinionsarecorrect.com/shownotes

Fear of robots is on the rise -- in science fiction and the tech industry. What causes this anxiety in real life, and how does science fiction imagine the future of human/robot relationships? Are we going to be raw materials for a future AI civilization, or become robots ourselves? It's possible that our fantasies of robots are getting in the way of understanding the true risks and rewards of new technology.

Tolkien's Lord of the Rings trilogy supercharged the genre of epic fantasy, giving rise to countless stories of heroic quests in settings that looked like Medieval Europe. How do we expand the map of heroic fantasy so it includes everybody who was marginalized, or left out completely, in those tales? Plus we talk to Tolkien scholar Helen Young about the racist backlash against the new TV show Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power.

You can't really be a starship captain without falling in deep romantic, and possibly sexual romances with your ship. From Star Trek to A Long Way to a Small Angry Planet, starship computers take on personalities and even humanoid bodies. Why do we fantasize so much about love affairs with our vessels?

Show notes: www.ouropinionsarecorrect.com/shownotes

JK Rowling has become an anti-trans activist on social media. This news has sent Harry Potter fandom -- always full of queers and trans people -- into mourning. We talk to author/publisher (and longtime Slytherin) Cecilia Tan about how to ignore Rowling and take back Harry Potter.

Shownotes here: www.ouropinionsarecorrect.com/shownotes

Romance and speculative fiction have always been closely connected, ever since the days of the pulps. But nowadays, some of the best science fiction and fantasy writing is happening in the romance genre. We talk Alyssa Cole, author of the Off the Grid series, the Loyal League series and the A.I. Who Loved Me, about the love affair between SF and romance.

Show notes: www.ouropinionsarecorrect.com/shownotes

Gender essentialism is the idea that there is something eternal and innate about people's gender identities, and nothing can change that. Popularized during the 1970s, it affected how science fiction stories represented gender -- and it spawned new academic disciplines devoted to scientific misogyny. We talk about all this, and do a deep dive on the "What Women Want" franchise.

Show notes: www.ouropinionsarecorrect.com/shownotes

In his award-winning novel Interior Chinatown, Charles Yu took a scalpel to television's tropes and stereotypes. Now he explains to us how he managed to turn that book into a brilliant, challenging TV show. Also, contributing host Nivair Gabriel tells us about science in children's books, and what it's like to push for accurate depictions of space in children's publishing. Plus she recommends great books to share with the kids in your life!

The summer entertainment season is upon us! Many of our favorite TV shows are back, and there are a few movies we're excited about as well. Not to mention a flood of truly incredible books by many of our favorite authors. Here's our select guide to the stuff we're most pumped about this summer, and all the latest trends in entertainment.

It's time for some writing advice! We talk about how to raise the stakes in a story without wrecking it. What exactly do we mean by "stakes," anyway, and does raising them always involve some kind of plot twist? Later in the episode we talk to the creators and musicians behind the blog Women of Noise to learn more about the women who rule electronic music, and why there is an overlap between noise music and science fiction.

Shownotes: www.ouropinionsarecorrect.com

We need hope now, more than ever. So it's a good thing that more and more SF creators are trying to write hopeful stories---but what does it mean to be hopeful? Is hope a genre, or just a theme? And what the heck is "hopepunk" anyway? We talk about the books, movies and TV shows that are giving us hope, and what it's like to write a story about striving for a better tomorrow.

Show notes: www.ouropinionsarecorrect.com/shownotes

This week we're bringing you an episode of Deep Futures, a podcast hosted by Annalee and produced by Campside Media and Mailchimp. In this episode, Annalee talks to archaeologist Sarah Parcak about the deep history of Egyptian urbanism and the future of cities. You can find more episodes of Deep Futures wherever you get your podcasts!

Zines are DiY publications that grew to prominence in the early twentieth century scifi fan community, then morphed into a punk subculture in the 70s and 80s ... and now they're back! We talk with two guests who take us deep into the history and future of zines: Lynn Peril, who created the iconic zine Mystery Date in the 1990s, and Lawrence Lindell, author of the new graphic novel Blackward, about queer Oakland teens who organize a Black zine fest.

Show notes: www.ouropinionsarecorrect.com/shownotes

Silicon Valley markets itself as the place where futures are born, and yet tech corporations have no real understanding of where our civilizations are headed. We are wrapping up our Silicon Valley vs. Science Fiction series with some final thoughts on why this might be. Then we talk to AI developer, ethicist, and poet Dr. Joy Buolamwini, founder of the Algorithmic Justice League and author of a new book called Unmasking AI: My Mission to Protect What Is Human in a World of Machines.

Show notes: www.ouropinionsarecorrect.com/shownotes

Transgender people have always been part of science fiction and fantasy, but the past few years have seen a whole new generation of trans creators bursting onto the scene. Why are so many trans people flocking to SF and what kind of stories are they telling? Also, we delve into the controversy over Rapid Onset Gender Dysphoria, and explain why so many people are questioning the science behind this concept. Why can't teenagers shape their own identities without being accused of some mysterious new malady?

Show notes: www.ouropinionsarecorrect.com/shownotes

It's a scary time for LGBTQIA+ folks — and many of us are turning to horror stories that take our real-life terrors and make them even more monstrous. To find out why, we talk to Dr. Chuck Tingle, the author of Camp Damascus and Bury Your Gays, and we geek out about why queers love to be scared. Also, we talk about horror movie soundtracks — and the 1970s prog rock experiment that changed horror movie music forever.

Shownotes: https://www.ouropinionsarecorrect.com/shownotes

Back during the Cold War era, we were awash in stories about nuclear armageddon: either living through it, or trying to prevent it. And now, experts say the threat of nuclear holocaust is the worst it's been in over two decades. So how will pop culture respond? We talk about what a 21st century nuclear-war story might look like. 

Show notes: www.ouropinionsarecorrect.com/shownotes

Many people claim that if you traveled back in time, you could never succeed in changing the past---but our favorite time travelers break that rule. Why is it so fun to rewrite history? To find out, we talk to Keto Shimizu, showrunner of Legends of Tomorrow, and Terry Matalas, showrunner of Star Trek: Picard.

Show notes: www.ouropinionsarecorrect.com/shownotes

The penis isn't what you think it is.  We talk to Emily Willingham, author of Phallacy: Life Lessons From the Animal Penis, about what the incredible diversity of reproductive organs among non-human animals can teach us about our own junk. It turns out the human penis was made for love, not war.

Show notes: www.ouropinionsarecorrect.com/shownotes

Princesses used to be helpless damsels, but these days they're more likely to pick up a sword than wait to be rescued. Why do we love princesses who fight back? Does it have something to do with our hang-ups about femininity? Plus we talk about Charlie Jane's new book Dreams Bigger Than Heartbreak!

What happens when you bring real history into fantastical stories about monsters and magic? We talk about movies, books, and TV where the result is a more compelling, emotional -- and even truthful -- representation than literal history can provide. Plus, we talk to author and historian P. Djèlí Clark about his teaching and writing, especially his latest historical horror novella, Ring Shout.

Show notes: www.ouropinionsarecorrect.com/shownotes

Inspired by The Super Mario Bros Movie, we're talking about a humble class of heroes whose lives are devoted to infrastructure maintenance and repair. There are heating engineer rogues and space janitors and, of course, plumbers. Later in the episode we’ll head down to Antarctica, where our guest Ariel Waldman spent her summer vacation studying the environment and the tiny creatures who live there – including tardigrades, the world’s greatest microscopic animals! 

The Wheel of Time is one of the biggest fantasy shows of all time, and now it's a huge TV show. How does the TV version handle the rigid gender divisions of the books? And how do the show's characters challenge gender stereotypes? To get some answers, we talk to C.L. Clark, Wheel of Time fan and author of The Unbroken.

Science fiction and fantasy are full of wondrous libraries containing everything from powerful artifacts to some dang good reads. How does the idealized view of libraries in speculative fiction compare with the real-life libraries, which are under attack by would-be censors and culture warriors? Also, we talk to award-winning author Ken Liu about his brand new translation of the classic Daoist text, the Dao De Jing.

Shownotes and more info at https://www.ouropinionsarecorrect.com/shownotes

In this episode, we look at Sense8, the globe-spanning show about mentally linked psychics from Lana and Lily Wachowski, and we celebrate its uplifting vision of people coming together and letting go of ego. But one of the most fascinating things about Sense8 is that its vision is fundamentally utopian. Why are utopias so rare in speculative fiction—and what makes them so hard to do well?

Show notes: www.ouropinionsarecorrect.com/shownotes

Star Trek is back in a big way: we've had three live-action TV shows and two animated shows recently, with more stuff on the way. But what does Star Trek mean to us now? And what do we want from Star Trek today? To get deeper into these questions, we did a mind meld with Lower Decks creator Mike McMahan.

Show notes: www.ouropinionsarecorrect.com/shownotes

Science fiction and fantasy are full of portrayals of disabled bodies, some of which are nuanced and positive, and many of which... aren't. Join us as we talk about disability tropes and the realities of disabled life with Elsa Sjunneson, author of the brand new book Being Seen. Plus we answer reader questions from our Patreon!

Why are there so many science fiction stories about hive minds, or vast networks of interconnected brains, thinking together? In this episode, we discuss the pleasure and danger of merging consciousness with another person -- or a whole planet. Plus, we talk to Benjamin Rosenbaum (The Unraveling) and Elly Bangs (Unity) about hiveminds in their new novels!

Show notes: www.ouropinionsarecorrect.com/shownotes

How does Doctor Who remain cool after sixty years? By constantly updating and reinventing itself. We've been loving David Tennant's triumphant return, and we're so pumped for Ncuti Gatwa. But we're wondering... are there lessons from Doctor Who's longevity that could apply to other venerable series and universes? Heck yeah, there are. Allons-y!

Show notes: www.ouropinionsarecorrect.com/shownotes

There's no company as soothing as a good read when the days get shorter and the air gets colder. So here's our annual list of recent books that'll help get you through those nasty winter months. (Or if you're listening to this in the Southern hemisphere, here are some summer beach reads!) The good news? We're lucky to have a wealth of amazing reads right now.

Show notes: www.ouropinionsarecorrect.com/shownotes

Terminator: Dark Fate barely made a dent in the world of pop culture, despite the fact that Terminator 2 changed the course of blockbuster cinema back in 1992. What made this series so electrifying in the twentieth century, and what's different now? Why did the new Star Wars trilogy reboot succeed using the same formula that made Terminator: Dark Fate fail? Also, what are the kinds of robot uprising stories we'd like to see in 2019 and beyond? 

Show notes: www.ouropinionsarecorrect.com/shownotes

We know you just want to curl up by the fire and bask in pop culture of yesteryear this holiday season. But too bad. We're here with special guest Katharine Trendacosta to interrogate the meaning of nostalgia in science fiction. We discuss remakes, reboots, rebranding, historical references, and traumatic memories--and how all of these are shaping the future of the genre. Plus Disney. We have many thoughts on Disney.

As always, you can find show notes, references, and transcripts on www.ouropinionsarecorrect.com/shownotes

Humans have been trying to communicate with non-human animals for thousands of years. We have stories about magical talking animals, and tales of scientists who use technology to turn wild dolphins into friendly co-workers. What do these stories say about us, and what happens when we try to make them come true? Also, science reporter Arielle Duhaime-Ross joins us to talk about their latest podcast, which is all about teaching apes to use sign language. 

Show notes: www.ouropinionsarecorrect.com/shownotes

Plastic was once a symbol of our shiny future, and now it represents our trashed, polluted present. What's the future of this fossil-fueled polymer? We talk about what makes plastic so scary -- in science and fiction. And then we call up William Gibson, who has thought a LOT about plastic, in fiction and real life. 

Show notes: www.ouropinionsarecorrect.com/shownotes

Rich people want to eat you. That's the literal plot in a lot of horror movies, and the subtext of many more. Inspired by The Purge saga, we're talking about movies and TV where class warfare becomes a blood-soaked battleground. From recent standouts Get Out and Crimson Peak, to cult classics Human Centipede and Society, these stories evoke a very real fear, which is that the ultra-rich are predators and everyone else is prey.

Show notes: www.ouropinionsarecorrect.com/shownotes

We've all heard Arthur C. Clarke's third law, which states that sufficiently advanced science is indistinguishable from magic. What did Clarke mean by this, and how are people using his law to take the mystery out of fantasy stories? Plus we look at popular stories where magic is explained by science, including Star Wars and Dune.

We're taking a cozy, autumnal trip back in time to "peak television," when animation was truly feral and we had shows like "Over the Garden Wall." We'll talk about this otherworldly tale of singing frogs, sibling rivalry, and nice witches, as well as the ways that animation has changed since the mid-teens. Plus we talk to Michele Tracy Berger, author of the new horror story collection Doll Seed, about why being experimented on is so damn scary. 

Show notes: www.ouropinionsarecorrect.com/shownotes

There’s been a renaissance of anti-capitalist stories in science fiction and fantasy in the U.S. But these aren't tales of violent revolution or faceless corporations. We discuss Utopia, community, and how group therapy is the opposite of authoritarianism. Also, we’re joined by K.M. Szpara, who talks to us about his steamy forthcoming novel Docile, whose tagline is, “There is no consent under capitalism.”

Show notes: www.ouropinionsarecorrect.com/shownotes

Binge watching. Peak TV. Water-cooler shows. We have many names for it, but they all mean that we've got way too much television. There were 487 scripted shows on the air in 2017, and 2018 is just as packed. In this episode, we talk about the history of peak TV, and what it's done to the way we tell stories. Some TV shows have been Wiki-ized, getting so complex that you need multiple fan wikis to keep up. Others have gotten ultra-bland or egregiously weird just to stand out. Is everything terrible, or is there a silver lining?

Show notes: www.ouropinionsarecorrect.com/shownotes

With the U.S. midterm election coming up, it's time to look at representations of democracy in science fiction. The genre is often skeptical or satirical when it comes to democracy--you can see this in everything from episodes of The Prisoner to the movie Idiocracy. But science fiction is also a testbed for dramatic re-imagingings of this political system, offering a hopeful look at a more egalitarian world. Our guest Malka Older, a human rights worker and author of the novel Infomocracy, talks to us about how to improve democracy with storytelling.

Full show notes and links at www.ouropinionsarecorrect.com.

We're going to ask a few very small questions in this episode, like how to build a planet from scratch -- and then, how to build governments on that planet. What makes an imaginary world feel believable? Annalee explains what they did to research their new novel The Terraformers (coming out 1/31). Expect some gritty details about worldbuilding, moose romance, public transit, and making sure that every revolution has a core of joy.

Show notes: www.ouropinionsarecorrect.com/shownotes

Immigration is a major theme in science fiction, both in subtext and straightforward plot arcs. Creators often tell stories about new arrivals on Earth from other worlds, other dimensions, and other timelines. Poet and performer Baruch Porras-Hernandez joins us to discuss what these stories say about the fears and aspirations of real-life immigrants. Can scifi help people accept neighbors from far away, or are we doomed to live in a world where mutants are exiled to distant islands?

Cities lurk in the background of many futuristic stories, but they can also be characters in them. In this episode, we talk about how cities might evolve, and whether it's inevitable that they'll become cyber-noir dystopias. Also on our minds: Why social scientists are talking about the rise of "global cities," and how Wakanda is one of the few Utopian metropolises on screen. Plus: Sci-fi mapmaker Burrito Justice joins us and explains how he crunched the GIS data to make an accurate map of San Francisco after 100 feet of sea level rise.

Show notes: www.ouropinionsarecorrect.com/shownotes

Virtual reality has been a mainstay of science fiction for a hundred years, but now it's finally a real technology. How does real VR change the stories we tell? Plus we talk to Fivestar, a porn director who's been working on virtual reality porn, to learn the truth about real-life VR sex. Warning: the second half of this episode contains discussions of explicit sexual content.

Show notes: www.ouropinionsarecorrect.com/shownotes

Ten years ago, Silicon Valley promised us smart houses that would light rooms as we walked into them, turn on the music, and do our shopping. And it never happened. We talk about how the smart home has its roots in Charlie Chaplin movies, sewing machines, and home economics classes. Guest Jacqui Cheng, former editor-in-chief of gadget guide Wirecutter, joins us to us to discuss the culture of smart home electronics.

Show notes: www.ouropinionsarecorrect.com/shownotes

Cars have made our lives better in many ways, but they also kill a lot of people and damage the environment. Science fiction has worked hard to help us fall in love with the automobile, to the point where we can't imagine a future without it. Why do most of our favorite stories celebrate cars? And how can we break free from these car-centric narratives?

Show notes: www.ouropinionsarecorrect.com/shownotes

Some science fiction books are still fascinating after 200 years, while others make us wince after just a decade on the shelf. What makes an SF book stay relevant? Hint: it's not the book's ability to predict the future. Your hosts Annalee Newitz and Charlie Jane Anders talk about the themes and ideas that make books last, and offer lots of suggestions for your summer reading lists!

Show notes: www.ouropinionsarecorrect.com/shownotes

People have been paid for labor for at least 5,000 years, but the modern 'workplace' is a pretty recent invention. We look at how science fiction  has dealt with the transformation of labor — plus we talk to Alan Henry, author of the new book Seen, Heard and Paid.

Show notes: www.ouropinionsarecorrect.com/shownotes

We keep telling stories about lost cities. Pop culture is full of tales about great metropolises that disappeared, only to be rediscovered by adventurers. But the reality of ancient abandoned cities is way more complicated and weird. To celebrate the release of Annalee's book Four Lost Cities, we delve into the fantasies and correct the misconceptions about urban places that were lost to time.

Show notes: www.ouropinionsarecorrect.com/shownotes

The Planet of the Apes franchise spans decades and formats: it started as a French novel in 1963, and then jumped the Atlantic to become a long-running series of movies, TV shows, a cartoon, and even videogames. We talk about the politics of the story, and why some versions succeed while others fail. Then we're joined by Josh Friedman, who wrote Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes, and get some interesting backstory on the latest film in the franchise.

Shownotes: https://www.ouropinionsarecorrect.com/shownotes

When someone disrespects you in a subtle way, with plausible deniability, it can do just as much damage as overt bigotry. So we're talking about microaggressions — what they are, and how science fiction explores them but also perpetuates them. And later in the episode, we talk to Stanford professor Evelyn Douek about what's next for content moderation on the internet.

People have a lot of opinions about what it means to have opinions about TV. Who is allowed to criticize TV, and how do you do it well? In this episode, we talk to TV critics Inkoo King (Slate) and Nina Shen Rastogi (Vulture) about what it means to analyze TV in 2019. We're at Peak TV, everything is political, and we are still processing our feelings about Game of Thrones. Also, recaps are dead. Let's talk about TV!

Shownotes: www.ouropinionsarecorrect.com/shownotes

Summer is here—and that means a glorious new flood of movies, TV shows and books. We may actually get to go inside a movie theater again! Here's everything we're looking forward to this season, plus some thoughts about how entertainment has changed after a year in lockdown.

Show notes: www.ouropinionsarecorrect.com/shownotes

Welcome to the new dystopian era. The series Severance, which just finished its second season, is perhaps the best-known of a fresh crop of dark, absurdist stories that tackle the horrors of high-tech oligarchy. We discuss why the imaginary future is mutating before our eyes. Then we are joined by celebrated science journalist Carl Zimmer, author of the new book Airborne. He tells us about the discovery of airborne diseases and toxins, and tells us what's coming next. Don't freak out! It's not all bad.

Show notes: www.ouropinionsarecorrect.com/shownotes

Let's talk about sex! In this episode we explore sci-fi tropes about where sex is going in the future, where it seems that we're doomed to become aromantic hedonists or asexual drones. We also talk about the greatest hits of scifi and fantasy sex. Special guest Lux Alptraum talks about her new book, Faking It, about the lies women tell about sex in real life, and where we see those lies popping up in science fiction too.

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Even when you're making up your own story, you still need to do tons of research. But the good news is, research is super fun. We talk about how to bring a dose of reality to your imaginary people and places. And we also discuss Charlie Jane's brand new book about how to write yourself out of the bad times!

Show notes: www.ouropinionsarecorrect.com/shownotes

Battles and smackdowns are a key part of many science fiction and fantasy stories — but how do you do them right? Do you have an obligation to show the cost of violence? And what does a good fight scene look like? To find out, we talked to authors Fonda Lee and Lauren Beukes. (Note: This episode was recorded Sept. 23 at Rose City Comic Con in Portland, OR.)

Show notes: www.ouropinionsarecorrect.com/shownotes

Nothing is ever permanent in pop culture: people die and come back to life all the time, huge changes get retconned, and Spider-Man is always a young guy who's just starting out. Why are we stuck with the "illusion of change," and what happens when this goes on for several decades? And how do we find a way to move forward?

Show notes: www.ouropinionsarecorrect.com/shownotes

The long-awaited movie of Frank Herbert's Dune is arriving in theaters this weekend. To celebrate, we're resurfacing one of our favorite episodes. Is Dune a white savior fantasy? A subversive eco-parable? To find out, we talk to Haris Durrani, author of an influential essay about Dune.

We're sick of the nerds vs. jocks trope in pop culture. In this episode we unpack how that trope came to be, and how to get beyond high school PE trauma. We talk about science fiction that fetishizes workout routines (Arrow's salmon ladder!?), and portrays nerds as physically weak. Plus, we're joined by trainer Robyn Warren, creator of Geek Girl Strong, who explains how to build exercise into your nerdy life -- and why PE classes need to change.

Show notes here: www.ouropinionsarecorrect.com/shownotes 

Everybody knows that endings are hard, and we all love to complain about the way our favorite TV show or movie ended. But with both Game of Thrones and the Avengers movies coming to an end, this is a perfect time to think about what makes for a good ending. And how the heck do you write one?

Show notes: www.ouropinionsarecorrect.com/shownotes

A lot of science fiction takes place on other worlds, or deep in the future, and yet still contains recognizable nations and national stereotypes. In this episode, we talk about how science fiction stories are used to promote American nationalism -- and to push back against it. Plus, we're joined by author and pundit Wajahat Ali to explore how science fiction deals with the war on terror.

Lately, it feels as though a lot of fantasy books come in two kinds: cozy, or extremely dark. During a scary time in the world, we seek either comforting sweetness, or violent catharsis. To find out more, we talked to Nghi Vo, whose recent books include The City in Glass and The Brides of High Hill. Plus we talk about how to include white characters in a story without centering whiteness.

Fears of nuclear war are in the news again. We revisit a 2019 episode about how science fiction has dealt with atomic weapons, and how twenty-first century writers will represent the dangers of nuclear war. 

Shownotes: https://www.ouropinionsarecorrect.com/shownotes/2019/2/28/episode-26-the-bomb-is-back