Wizards & Spaceships

The famous introduction to Star Trek lays out the mission of the Starship Enterprise:  to explore strange new worlds; to seek out new life and new civilizations; to boldly go where no man has gone before! Later on, they changed it to be more inclusive—where no one has gone before. But the fundamental problem remains—if no one has gone there, what exactly are all those new civilizations? Could science fiction and fantasy have a colonialism problem? With us to discuss this thorny issue and the sci-fi, fantasy, and horror writers challenging Eurocentric assumptions is Suzan Palumbo, author of Countess and co-founder of the Ignyte Awards.Show notes: Suzan's BlueskySuzan's Instagram2024 Nebula Awards shortlistStelliform PressReading list: “The Butcher of the Forest” by Premee Mohamed“The Tusks of Extinction” by Ray Nayler“Lost Ark Dreaming” by Suyi Davies Okungbowa“Countess” by Suzan Palumbo“The Practice, the Horizon, and the Chain” by Sofia Samatar“The Dragonfly Gambit” by A. D. Sui“Green Fuse Burning” by Tiffany Morris“We Speak Through the Mountain and “Annual Migration of Clouds” by Premee Mohamed“Blackheart Man” by Nalo Hopkinson

Anyone who’s ever written fantasy has faced this problem: You have hit the point of conflict in a story where problems can no longer be worked out with witty retorts or a magic spell. The orcs are at the gates, the peace talks have broken down…that’s right—you’re going to have to write a battle scene. In this episode, we talk to Suzannah Rowntree, author of How to Write a Fantasy Battle: Basic Medieval and Modern Military Tactics for Authors, The Watchers of Outremer Series, and other historical fantasies, about how to get a battle right.Show Notes:Suzannah's Bluesky: suzannahrowntreeSuzannah's Instagram: suzannahsnapsSuzannahrowntree.siteHow to Write a Fantasy Battle: Basic Medieval and Modern Military Tactics for AuthorsWestern Warfare In The Age Of The Crusades, 1000-1300 by John FranceByzantine flamethrowerBattle of Antioch (1098)Battle of Hattin (1187)Seventh CrusadeMedicine in the Crusades: Warfare, Wounds and the Medieval Surgeon by Piers D. MitchellMagistra HersendGodfrey of BouillonThe Rebellion Of Count Hugh Of Jaffa

Happy Halloween! We're talking about WITCHES! A staple of fantasy, horror, and Broadway musicals, witches can be anything from a murderous presence in the woods to the friendly neighbourhood Wiccan who revives your dying African violet. So let's get our witch on!Show Notes:Kiki’s Delivery Service (1989)Spirited Away (2001)VenCo by Cherie DimalineBuffy the Vampire Slayer, "Helpless"Barbie-Yaga Dream HutCool People Who Did Cool Stuff, "Baba Yaga: Everyone's Favorite Witch From Folklore" Part 1 and Part 2Baba Yaga: The greatest 'wicked witch' of all?The Chronicles of Narnia by CS LewisCaliban and the Witch by Silvia FedericiA Wizard’s Guide to Defensive Baking by T. Kingfisher"Love Potion No. 9" by the CloversThe Witch Boy by Molly Knox OstertagSeason of the Witch (2011)Bewitched (1964-1972)The Good Witch (2008)The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina (2018-2020)Charmed (1998-2006)

You guys had so many science questions that our resident scientists couldn't answer them all in just one episode! In this episode, Rob & Jon Mound tackle important questions such as time travel, the mutability or lack thereof of the laws of physics, and dragon taxonomy. Also, why we are not going to Mars.Show Notes: The Forever War, Joe Haldeman The Chronicles of Narnia, C.S. Lewis The Time Machine (1960) Ninefox Gambit, Yoon Ha Lee The Walking Dead World of Warcraft corrupted blood incident Game of Thrones dragons Coelacanth Unusual anal fin offers new insight into evolution Tiktaalik Total Recall (1990) terraforming Mars scene Spaceballs (1987)Keep the conversation going, or ask the Science Bros more questions by joining our Discord or Facebook group!

Suspension of disbelief is a cornerstone of speculative fiction, but as writers and fans, we often find ourselves wondering just how grounded in reality our favourite stories really are. We asked you, our listeners, for questions like:What would happen if I went through a wormhole? Does a Star Trek transporter just kill you and create a new copy of you? What kind of technology can or can’t you use to blow up the world?And then we got biologist Rob Mound and geophysicist Jon Mound to answer the questions you sent. There were so many we had to split it into two parts! In this part, we look at jumping out of a spaceship without a suit (why?), octopus people (yes!), sex in space (obviously!), and more!Show Notes The Core (2003) The Expanse - 5x07 | Naomi's Leap From The Pella A City On Mars, Kelly Weinersmith and Zach Weinersmith Star Trek Voyager "Cathexis" on Memory Alpha Gattaca (1997) When You Nut In Space, It Push You Backwards (NSFW) "There Are Four Lights," scene from Star Trek: The Next Generation Best Served Cold, Joe Abercrombie Gerald Bull The Martian growing poop potatoesKeep the conversation going, or ask the Science Bros more questions by joining our Discord or Facebook group!