No one knows what the future will bring, but science fiction authors are willing to take a stab at imagining it. We take our own stab at imagining them imagining it. Find out why the genre of science fiction is more than a trippy ride through a bizarre, hi-tech world, but a way to assess and vote on our possible shared future.
Also, an astronomer learns how many rejection slips it takes before becoming a published science fiction author… what author Bruce Sterling wants to get off his chest… and what the joke about the neutron walking into a bar to ask the price of beer has in common with H.G. Wells, Ursula K. Le Guin, and Ridley Scott.
Oh, and the price of beer?
Bartender: “For you, no charge.”
Guests:
- Ed Finn – Director of the Center for Science and the Imagination at Arizona State University
- Andrew Fraknoi – Chair of the astronomy department at Foothill College. His story, “The Cave in Arsia Mons”, is in “Building Red”, here. His list of astronomically correct science fiction is here.
- Bruce Sterling – Science fiction author, journalist, and editor
- Brian Malow – Science comedian, science communication officer, North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences, Raleigh
Segments:
Part 1: Ed Finn / Value of SciFi
Part 2: Andrew Fraknoi / Writing SciFi
Part 3: Bruce Sterling / Elements of SciFi
Part 4: Brian Malow / Science Comedy
originally aired May 16, 2016
