Theme: It’s not nice to fool Mother Nature.

Episode Connections
Authors, stories. Murray Leinster, The Lonely Planet. Ursula K. LeGuin, “Vaster Than Empires and More Slow.” Stanislaw Lem, Solaris. Tom Godwin, “The Cold Equations.” Orson Scott Card, Ender’s Game. Jack McDevitt. Robert Heinlein, “They.”
Films. The Happening.
TV episodes, series. That margarine commercial from the 70s. The Office.
Ideas. Colonial expansion on a planetary scale. Links between recorded history and species survival. Erase history, erase humanity and all life on Earth. Genetic code is a form of recorded history. Sentient planets and plants. Can civilization advance if it cannot record its history or accomplishments? Gaia Hypothesis. Animism.
What did we miss? James Tiptree, Jr., “The Last Flight of Dr. Ain.”
Whoa - Hmmm - WTF. We gave it away early … a definite WTF tale.

Previous episode: Ann Warren Griffith, “Captive Audience”
Next episode: Arkady Strugotsky, “Wanderers and Travelers”

Music Credit: "Ouroboros" Kevin MacLeod (Incompetech.com). Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License
Link: Creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

Theme: Paying your debt to Capitalism

Episode Connections
Authors, stories. Ann Warren Griffith, “Zeritsky’s Law.” Henry Cuttner, “Nothing But Ginger Bread Left.” Arthur C. Clarke, “The Ultimate Melody.” Fritz Leiber, “The Girl With the Hungry Eyes.” Frederic Pohl, The Space Merchants. Neal Stephenson, Snow Crash. George Orwell, 1984.
Films. Blade Runner.
Music. Rush, “Subdivisions.”
TV episodes, series. Commercials. The Super Bowl.
Ideas. What if advertising were everywhere? Well … even MORE everywhere. What if it were a crime to ignore or block advertising? Do we live in a Capitalist surveillance society? We are conditioned to consume.
What did we miss? The Truman Show for its ad placement. They Live for its subliminal messages about consumption.
Whoa - Hmmm - WTF. Bill wishes this was a WTF story, but alas. Dan says Hmmm.

Previous episode: Alexander Malec, “10:01 AM”
Next episode: Chris Neville, “The Forest of Zyl”

Music Credit: "Ouroboros" Kevin MacLeod (Incompetech.com). Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License
Link: Creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

Theme: Justice, fast-food style

Episode Connections
Authors, stories. Alexander Malac, Extrapolosis. Harry Harrison, The Stainless Steel Rat series. Daniel H. Wilson, Where’s My Jetpack? Alice Glaser, “The Tunnel Ahead.”
Films. Star Wars. Running Man. Judge Dread. RoboCop. Blade Runner.
TV episodes, series. Firefly. Judge Judy. The People’s Court , Judge Mathis. The Hot Bench.
Ideas. Vehicular homicide. Smart vehicles in surveillance cities. Instant, data-driven justice justice. Science fiction as a collection of (among other things) cautionary tales.
Whoa - Hmmm - WTF. Dan says it falls between Hmmm and Whoa. Bill says no WTF, but plenty of the other two.

Previous episode: Thomas F. Monteleone, “Chicago”
Next episode: Ann Warren Griffith, “Captive Audience”

Music Credit: "Ouroboros" Kevin MacLeod (Incompetech.com). Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License
Link: Creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/