Our Opinions Are Correct

This is our last episode of Our Opinions Are Correct... but please stay subscribed to our feed, because you'll hear from us again. We're sad to be stepping away, but we're proud of seven years of correct opinions. And we're using this moment to think about the state of science fiction and fantasy in the twenty-first century, and what might be coming next. Shownotes: www.ouropinionsarecorrect.com/shownotes

Frankenstein is back, baby. There are two new Frankenstein movies, plus tons of new fiction that plays with Frankenstein tropes. So it's time to talk about why this tale of a creature reanimated from dead body parts continues to haunt and inspire us. We get into Mary Shelley's life, the meaning of the bride, and what the monster has represented to different groups of people over the past 200 years. Plus, we dissect what makes Victor Frankenstein the original bad science daddy.  Shownotes: www.ouropinionsarecorrect.com/shownotes

We love science fiction and fantasy conventions — especially the ones that are run by fans, for fans. But they haven't changed much since the 1970s in many ways, and the world has moved on. So we asked a bunch of convention veterans to imagine how we might reimagine conventions for the 21st century, from panels to volunteering to venues.

Not long ago, everybody was arguing about whether characters need to be "relatable". We get to the bottom of a debate that still makes us intensely grouchy. Plus we talk to one of our favorite writers, C.L. Polk, about how to write excellent descriptions in your fiction -- and it turns out to be all about connecting to a character's POV.

It's time to light a fire and curl up with a cup of cocoa and a terrifying book full of creepy shit -- or escaping from creepy shit. We've got recommendations for what to read this season! Plus, contributing host Bethany Brookshire tells us about Hellbenders, creatures who sound terrifying but are actually just little guys. She takes us down the rabbit hole of extermination campaigns to get rid of predators and pests, and why they don't always work out.

Bruce Lee changed American pop culture forever, and his incredible legacy is more relevant than ever. But how did he go from child actor in Hong Kong to one of the most important action-movie stars of all time? To find out more, we talk to Jeff Chang, author of a new book called Water Mirror Echo: Bruce Lee and the Making of Asian America. Plus contributing host Naseem Jamnia tells us everything science has learned about fungi recenlty — and explains why science fiction has a lot of catching up to do. Show notes: www.ouropinionsarecorrect.com/shownotes

For our summer vacation, we're re-upping the first in our "Silicon Valley vs. Science Fiction" series from 2023, about how Silicon Valley appropriates and misinterprets science fiction. Silicon Valley executives claim to be inspired by SF, but mostly they use it retroactively to justify their products, often missing the more complicated, nuanced ideas embedded in the original stories. In this episode, we tackled the hype cycle around A.I., which borrows liberally from the post-scarcity, post-human visions of Iain M. Banks in his Culture novels. It's time for … the Culture vs. ChatGPT!

Charlie Jane and Annalee are on book tour(s), so we're re-upping one of our favorite episodes from 2023. At that time, we were celebrating the twentieth anniversary of the rebooted version of Battlestar Galactica. This show broke new ground in depicting realistic politics — and a nuanced view of a society of artificial people. How does it hold up? To find out, Charlie Jane went back and watched the entire series — here's what she found.

It's a double book birthday! Annalee has just released Automatic Noodle, a wonderfully cozy book about robots who've survived a devastating war and now just want to run a noodle restaurant. And in 12 days, Charlie Jane is releasing Lessons in Magic and Disaster, about a trans witch who teaches her heartbroken mother how to do magic. In this episode, we're both celebrating our new books and talking about how we poured all of our feelings about the past few years into escapist tales. Show notes: www.ouropinionsarecorrect/shownotes

It's scary out there — so thank goodness we're taking comfort in some wondrous books, TV shows, comics and movies. What makes a story comforting? And why is a dark horror story sometimes better comfort than a sweet gentle comedy? Plus we talk about the first season of Murderbot, which is about using stories to feel better and also made us feel better in real life. Show notes: www.ouropinionsarecorrect/shownotes

We keep hearing about the supply chain lately... but what is it? And how do all these shipping containers moving around the world shape our lives? We talk to Alexis Madrigal, author of the brand new book The Pacific Circuit, about how trade with Asia has changed Oakland. Plus we talk about how science fiction deals with the idea of the supply chain, and what can go wrong with it. Show notes: www.ouropinionsarecorrect.com/shownotes

We've got some good news and some bad news. The good news is that we're talking to Cirocco Dunlap, the showrunner of The Second Best Hospital in the Galaxy, easily one of our favorite shows right now. Season 2 just came out, and we talk to Dunlap about cute body horror, dealing with mental illness, and interspecies romance. Then contributing host Maggie Tokuda-Hall brings us some bad news. She talks to Kelly Jensen, who runs the newsletter Well Sourced, bringing us up to date on all the latest developments in book bans and library censorship in the United States. Show notes: www.ouropinionsarecorrect.com/shownotes

Public health is a vital part of keeping all of us safe — but what does it mean, and where did the concept come from? Special guest host Naseem Jamnia breaks it down for us, and tells us about some fantasy stories that show why public health is a collective concern. Plus we talk to scientist Natsaha O'Brown at Rutgers University about all the discoveries we've made lately about the blood-brain barrier.

It's the end of science as we know it in America. As the U.S. government dismantles science agencies and slashes budgets for health and environmental research, we talk about what it means to politicize science. How is that different from the time-honored tradition of analyzing the politics of science? Then we are joined by contributing host Maddie Stone, an environmental journalist, who tells us about the forgotten history of the videogame SimEarth, where you help an entire planet's ecosystems evolve. Yep, before The Sims, there was SimEarth. Show notes: www.ouropinionsarecorrect/shownotes

It's time to rise up. That's why we're talking about the power of protest, in real life but also in fiction. Indeed, the act of writing science fiction can itself be a protest, and sometimes it's just as powerful as marching in the street. Later in the episode, we're joined by andré carrington, who is the editor of a new anthology of Black speculative fiction called The Black Fantastic. He tells us why fascists are so terrified of books and the pleasures of reading. Show notes: www.ouropinionsarecorrect.com/shownotes

Where did the Internet go wrong, and how do we fix it? To find out more, we talk to entrepreneur and activist Anil Dash about the alternate history of technology. But first, we talk about why Doctor Who is better than ever, and why we're loving the current season  — but where is this venerable TV show headed next? We explore our hopes, dreams and anxieties about our favorite Time Lord.

Why are taxes the secret weapon in so many science fiction and fantasy stories? And why the heck do archaeologists measure the complexity of ancient civilizations partly by looking at their taxation policies? We talk about all this and more, as we recover from tax season. Plus, later in the episode, contributing host Alan Henry will tell us how to survive the harsh new workplace conditions of 2025, particularly if you are a marginalized person. Shownotes: 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

Hip hop group clipping. has  just released a brilliant new cyberpunk-inspired album, Dead Channel Sky, and we're talking to the members about how hip hop and cyberpunk have inspired each other from the beginning. Hope you've got your mirrorshades!  Meanwhile, contributing host Bethany Brookshire takes us on a deep dive into medieval history and shares the startling tale of how three thousand hats ended a war.

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!

We're catching you up on all the movies we've been watching recently, from The Substance to The Wild Robot, and a few themes emerged. One is that there are an awful lot of feminists who are mad about being forced to be and act feminine. And the other is that cute robots might eventually destroy you. Enjoy! Show notes, as always, are here: 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.

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.

From Ringworld to Rama, space is full of mysterious giant objects created by ancient civilizations. Do these gorgeous macrostructures bring poetry to the prosaic genre of space opera? Or do we love them for some other reason? Also, we talk to  archeologist Sarah Parcak about space archeology and what it teaches us about ancient civilizations.

Here's one of our favorite episodes from 2024 — it's about the mass psychology of fascism, plus how to fight book bans. We talk to friend of the pod Maggie Tokuda-Hall from the wondrous organization Authors Against Book Bans. We'll be back in two weeks with another brand new episode! Meanwhile, happy holidays!

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.

The holidays are here once again, and that means one thing: time to stock up on books to help you get cozy and distract yourself from the cold weather (and the state of the world.) Here's our annual roundup of some of our favorite reads — both fiction and non-fiction. Happy reading!

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.

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

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

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

Science fiction is great at helping people get used to strange concepts — or people — and making us see them as more "normal." But what does "normal" mean, and is it always a good thing? Later in the episode, we talk to Rob Cameron, author of the new novel Daydreamer, about writing neurodivergent characters.

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.

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!

Dearest Listeners, you asked us for advice, and now we've got the definitive answers! From writing and relationship questions, to concerns about the best way to alter the timeline, we tackle it all.

We're learning so much about dinosaurs lately — there are incredible new species, discoveries about how they had sex, and more detailed evidence about what happened during their final days on Earth. To find out more, we talk to Riley Black, author of the award-winning book The Last Days of the Dinosaurs. Riley also tells us about being a furry, and dispels some common misconceptions about furries. Shownotes: www.ouropinionsarecorrect.com/shownotes

What is the point of absurdist storytelling in a world that feels absurd? We talk about science fiction that gets silly, satirical, and weird -- and why we need it desperately. From The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy to The Onion, we analyze absurdism as readers and writers. Then we're joined by Victor Manibo, author of the brilliant new novel Escape Velocity, who tells us about how his background in immigration law helped him write an anti-billionaire space opera. 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

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

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.

You are being watched. Pop culture used to be full of vivid warnings about Big Brother watching you. What does it mean that we're now under constant surveillance for real? Plus we talk to Wole Talabi about his new story collection Convergence Problems.

Psyops are used by the military against foreign enemies, but now these dangerous weapons of demoralization and chaos are being used in culture wars between Americans. In this episode, Annalee tells us about their new book Stories Are Weapons, a history of psychological warfare in the U.S. (yes, it includes scifi!) -- and an exploration of the ways people resist psyops and protect their communities from propaganda. Plus we answer questions from you, our beloved listeners!

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

We're talking about the Turing Test, the grandmother of all tests for AI sentience. Joining us are AI researchers Alex Hanna and Emily M. Bender, hosts of the Mystery AI Hype 3000 podcast. We discuss why the Turing Test is so influential in both fiction and reality – and why it is completely wrong. Later in the episode, we'll talk about another thing that humans got wrong when it comes to non-human intelligence: dog breeding.

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

At last, videogame movies have defeated comic book movies. We learn about why from Evan Narcisse, who writes for comic books and videogames, as well as being a journalist and critic. Then we rant about why so many people are obsessed with psychoanalyzing villains, and are flocking to stories that reveal the innermost traumas of bad guys. Why do we keep humanizing awful people? It's a problem. Show notes: www.ouropinionsarecorrect.com/shownotes

The long-awaited Dune sequel is in theaters now — and it's a huge hit. To celebrate, we're resurfacing one of our favorite episodes from the past. 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.

Science fiction and fantasy fans love to argue about canon — both meanings of the word. Which stories in a fictional universe really "happened"? Which stories deserve to be enshrined as the best of the genre? We don't think either of those things is worth yelling about! Also, did you know that tsunamis can happen in lakes, rivers and even creeks? We talk to Aggeliki Barberopoulou with the USC Tsunami Research Center to learn more...

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!

Anne Rice is best-known for her Vampire Chronicles, which began in the 1970s with her novel Interview with the Vampire. But did you know she also wrote bestselling BDSM erotica and two novels about Jesus? In this episode, we do a deep dive into Rice's strange career, including that time she unleashed her fans against Tom Cruise. We also discuss the fantastic new Interview with the Vampire series.  Show notes: www.ouropinionsarecorrect.com/shownotes