Geek's Guide to the Galaxy - A Science Fiction Podcast
Media & Entertainment Podcasts
** Ad-free episodes are available to our paid supporters over at patreon.com/geeks ** Host David Barr Kirtley, author of the book Save Me Plz and Other Stories, talks geek culture with guests such as Neil Gaiman, George R. R. Martin, Richard Dawkins, Simon Pegg, Bill Nye, Margaret Atwood, Neil deGrasse Tyson, and Ursula K. Le Guin. Geek’s Guide to the Galaxy has appeared on recommended podcast lists from NPR, The Guardian, Wired, The A.V. Club, BBC America, CBC Radio, WVXU, io9, Omni, The Strand, Library Journal, and Popular Mechanics. CBC Radio writes, "You may not think a podcast about science fiction and fantasy would be the place to go for political insight, but -- it is. Geek's Guide to the Galaxy manages to be more insightful about politics than many pundits." View a complete list of guests and topics at geeksguideshow.com/episodes/. Listen to the show on YouTube at youtube.com/@geeksguidetothegalaxy to easily skip ahead to our discussion of a particular movie or story.
Location:
United States
Description:
** Ad-free episodes are available to our paid supporters over at patreon.com/geeks ** Host David Barr Kirtley, author of the book Save Me Plz and Other Stories, talks geek culture with guests such as Neil Gaiman, George R. R. Martin, Richard Dawkins, Simon Pegg, Bill Nye, Margaret Atwood, Neil deGrasse Tyson, and Ursula K. Le Guin. Geek’s Guide to the Galaxy has appeared on recommended podcast lists from NPR, The Guardian, Wired, The A.V. Club, BBC America, CBC Radio, WVXU, io9, Omni, The Strand, Library Journal, and Popular Mechanics. CBC Radio writes, "You may not think a podcast about science fiction and fantasy would be the place to go for political insight, but -- it is. Geek's Guide to the Galaxy manages to be more insightful about politics than many pundits." View a complete list of guests and topics at geeksguideshow.com/episodes/. Listen to the show on YouTube at youtube.com/@geeksguidetothegalaxy to easily skip ahead to our discussion of a particular movie or story.
Language:
English
Website:
http://geeksguideshow.com
Email:
davekirtley@sff.net
Episodes
604. The Best of Greg Egan Part 2 Review (with Anthony Ha)
10/8/2025
Anthony Ha joins us to discuss six more stories from the book The Best of Greg Egan. Stories discussed: “Silver Fire” (1:30), “Reasons to be Cheerful” (16:42), “Oceanic” (28:10), “Oracle” (44:19), “Singleton” (1:04:54), “Dark Integers” (1:16:32). Ad-free episodes are available to our paid supporters over at patreon.com/geeks. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Duration:01:43:52
603. The History of Sword & Sorcery (with Philip Gelatt and Morgan Galen King)
9/26/2025
Philip Gelatt and Morgan Galen King, creators of The Spine of Night, join us to discuss the book Flame and Crimson: A History of Sword and Sorcery by Brian Murphy. Ad-free episodes are available to our paid supporters over at patreon.com/geeks. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Duration:01:30:58
602. The Best of Larry Niven Part 2 Review (with Mercurio D. Rivera)
9/10/2025
Mercurio D. Rivera joins us to discuss nine more stories from the book The Best of Larry Niven, edited by Jonathan Strahan. Stories discussed: “Inconstant Moon” (1:34), “Rammer” (18:42), “Cloak of Anarchy” (27:42), “The Fourth Profession” (38:22), “Flash Crowd” (47:59), “The Defenseless Dead” (59:37), “Flight of the Horse” (1:15:55), “The Hole Man” (1:22:29), “Night on Mispec Moor” (1:28:32). Ad-free episodes are available to our paid supporters over at patreon.com/geeks. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Duration:01:41:44
601. Fantastic Fiction at KGB (with Matthew Kressel)
8/28/2025
Matthew Kressel joins us to discuss Fantastic Fiction at KGB, a monthly science fiction reading series in New York City. Ad-free episodes are available to our paid supporters over at patreon.com/geeks. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Duration:01:43:10
600. Steph Grossman, co-host of The Basement Girls
8/20/2025
In this special 600th episode David Barr Kirtley interviews his wife Steph Grossman, short story writer and co-host of the Basement Girls horror podcast. Ad-free episodes are available to our paid supporters over at patreon.com/geeks. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Duration:01:38:30
599. The Clarion Writers' Workshop (with Tom Gerencer)
8/9/2025
Tom Gerencer joins us to discuss the book Storyteller: Writing Lessons and More from 27 Years of the Clarion Writers’ Workshop by Kate Wilhelm. Ad-free episodes are available to our paid supporters over at patreon.com/geeks. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Duration:01:30:11
598. The Story of Elden Ring (with Matt London)
7/28/2025
Matt London joins us to discuss narrative design, George R. R. Martin, and the new book Grace Given: The Mythology of Elden Ring by George Truscott. Ad-free episodes are available to our paid supporters over at patreon.com/geeks. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Duration:01:30:14
597. Matthew Kressel, author of Histories Within Us and Space Trucker Jess
7/11/2025
Matthew Kressel joins us to discuss his short story collection Histories Within Us and his new novel Space Trucker Jess. Ad-free episodes are available to our paid supporters over at patreon.com/geeks. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Duration:01:29:40
597. God Emperor of Dune by Frank Herbert Review
6/25/2025
Andrea Kail, Matthew Kressel, and Rajan Khanna join us to discuss God Emperor of Dune by Frank Herbert, the fourth book in the Dune series. Ad-free episodes are available to our paid supporters over at patreon.com/geeks Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Duration:01:46:26
595. The Business of Science Fiction (with Tom Gerencer)
6/9/2025
Tom Gerencer joins us to discuss the book The Business of Science Fiction by Mike Resnick and Barry Malzberg. Ad-free episodes are available to our paid supporters over at patreon.com/geeks. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Duration:01:11:47
594. Andor Season 2 Review
5/26/2025
Andrea Kail, Erin Lindsey, and Matt London join us to discuss Season 2 of the Disney+ series Andor, a sequel to the movie Rogue One: A Star Wars Story. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Duration:01:26:36
593. Roger Zelazny's Writing Advice (with Warren Lapine)
5/18/2025
Warren Lapine joins us to discuss editing the new book On Writing Science Fiction and Fantasy by Roger Zelazny. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Duration:01:08:55
592. The Best of Greg Egan Part 1 (with Anthony Ha)
5/8/2025
Anthony Ha joins us to discuss the first eight stories in the book The Best of Greg Egan, part of the SF Masterworks series of science fiction classics. Stories discussed: Learning to Be Me (20:42), Axiomatic (44:03), Appropriate Love (50:10), Into Darkness (1:00:30), Unstable Orbits in the Space of Lies (1:14:47), Closer (1:26:42), Chaff (1:38:50), Luminous (1:52:12). Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Duration:02:24:07
591. Harlan Ellison's Greatest Hits Part 3 (with Tom Gerencer)
4/23/2025
Tom Gerencer joins us to discuss the book The Top of the Volcano: The Award-Winning Stories of Harlan Ellison, which contains 11 stories not included in Harlan Ellison’s Greatest Hits. Stories discussed: A Boy and His Dog (1:39), The Region Between (37:12), Basilisk (48:29), Adrift Just Off the Islets of Langerhans: Latitude 38° 54' N, Longitude 77° 00' 13" W (53:57), Croatoan (1:05:55), Count the Clock that Tells the Time (1:16:45), With Virgil Oddum at the East Pole (1:32:30), Soft Monkey (1:41:43), The Function of Dream Sleep (1:47:38), The Man Who Rowed Christopher Columbus Ashore (2:01:01), The Human Operators (2:11:50). Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Duration:02:39:59
590. The Best of Larry Niven Part 1 (with Mercurio D. Rivera)
4/4/2025
Mercurio D. Rivera joins us to discuss the first nine stories in the short story collection The Best of Larry Niven, edited by Jonathan Strahan. Stories discussed: "Becalmed in Hell" (4:55), "Bordered in Black" (18:15), "Neutron Star" (26:55), "The Soft Weapon" (38:40), "The Jigsaw Man" (57:20), "The Deadlier Weapon" (1:03:40), "All the Myriad Ways" (1:09:16), "Not Long Before the End" (1:20:44), "Man of Steel, Woman of Kleenex" (1:29:28). Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Duration:01:48:40
589. Dune Prophecy Season 1 Review (with Andrea Kail, Matthew Kressel, Rajan Khanna)
3/22/2025
Andrea Kail, Matthew Kressel, and Rajan Khanna join us to discuss Season 1 of the HBO series Dune: Prophecy, a prequel set 10,000 years before the events of Frank Herbert’s Dune. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Duration:01:37:16
588. The Urth of the New Sun by Gene Wolfe Book Club (with James Wynn, Craig Brewer)
3/11/2025
James Wynn and Craig Brewer, hosts of the ReReading Wolfe podcast, join us to discuss Gene Wolfe’s classic novel The Urth of the New Sun, a sequel to The Book of the New Sun. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Duration:01:27:33
587. Movie Review: Dark City, Strange Days, The Thirteenth Floor, Looker, Alphaville
2/23/2025
Andrea Kail, Matthew Kressel, and Tom Gerencer join us to discuss the science fiction noir movies Dark City, Strange Days, The Thirteenth Floor, Looker, and Alphaville. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Duration:01:51:20
586. Harlan Ellison's Greatest Hits Part 2 (with Tom Gerencer)
2/5/2025
Tom Gerencer joins us to discuss the second half of the new short story collection Harlan Ellison’s Greatest Hits, edited by J. Michael Straczynski. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Duration:01:58:04
585. Philip Gelatt, writer of The Europa Report and The Spine of Night
1/2/2025
Philip Gelatt joins us to discuss writing the hard science fiction film The Europa Report and the animated sword & sorcery film The Spine of Night. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Duration:01:05:22