Sci-fi/Fantasy Writer Elizabeth Bear on Diversity, Mental Health, and Queers in Space
Elizabeth Bear's idealistic, positive future would be a Tea Party Republican's worst nightmare. Her latest book, Machine, explores the possibility fearlessly.
science fiction
The 20 Best Episodes of ‘Star Trek: The Original Series’
A timeless list of thrilling Star Trek episodes that delight, excite, and entertain while exploring the deepest aspects of the human condition and questioning our place in the universe.
Tears in Rain: ‘Blade Runner’ and Philip K. Dick’s Legacy in Film
Blade Runner, and the work of Philip K. Dick, continues to find its way into our cinemas and minds. How did the visions of a paranoid loner become the most relevant science fiction of our time?
Colonial Pandemics and Indigenous Futurism in Louise Erdrich and Gerald Vizenor
From a non-Native perspective, COVID-19 may be experienced as an unexpected and unprecedented catastrophe. Yet from a Native perspective, this current catastrophe links to a longer history that is synonymous with European colonization.
The Top 10 Thought-Provoking Science Fiction Films
Serious science fiction often takes a backseat to the more pulpy, crowdpleasing genre entries. Here are 10 titles far better than any "dogfight in space" adventure.
Pandemics and Trumpian Echoes in Miller’s ‘Blackfish City’
When we can't turn to the federal government for the truth, sometimes we need to turn to fiction. Sam J. Miller's Blackfish City maps a pandemic in a post-United States future.
Novelty and Identity: An Interview With Colin Stetson
Colin Stetson discusses his process for scoring film and artistic satisfaction it gives him. "I get to invent a new array of solutions with novelty and identity. I hope the music has not existed in the particular guise and aesthetic before that."
From the Enterprise to the Discovery: The Decline and Fall of Utopian Technology and the Liberal Dream
Sci-fi TV such as Star Trek and Doctor Who have more in common with Harry Potter’s wand-waving than Gene Roddenberry’s techno-utopian dream.
The 25 Best Space Disco Songs of 1976-1986
With Star Trek: Picard and Space Force in the news, it's time to revisit the best space disco of the original era. These 25 songs feature outer space on the dance floor, from the avant-garde to Star Wars commercialism and beyond.
First As Warning, Then As Threnody: On Cuarón’s ‘Children of Men’
With his prescient film Children of Men, director Alfonso Cuarón hasn’t flipped Hegel onto his head, as Marx and Engels were accused of doing – he’s knocked him off his feet.
Discovering Family, Memory, and Teleportation in Ta-Nehisi Coates’ ‘The Water Dancer’
Ta-Nehisi Coates' debut novel about slavery in America, The Water Dancer, dares us to dance -- and remember.
Joanna Russ, the First Minister of Feminist Science Fiction
Gwyneth Jones's masterly account of the life and times of Joanna Russ serves as a timely reminder of the strides made in visibility and diversity in science fiction literature —and the distance still left to traverse.
