Our Opinions Are Correct

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

Science fiction and fantasy are full of portrayals of disabled bodies, some of which are nuanced and positive, and many of which... aren't. Join us as we talk about disability tropes and the realities of disabled life with Elsa Sjunneson, author of the brand new book Being Seen. Plus we answer reader questions from our Patreon! Show notes: www.ouropinionsarecorrect.com/shownotes

All of us live embedded in webs of life known as ecosystems, and that can get pretty creepy -- or astonishingly beautiful. Inspired by the mind-blowing new animated series Scavengers Reign, we're talking about some of the best examples of alien ecosystems in science fiction. Then we dive into some real-life ecosystems on Earth, and reveal two important ways that scientists study environmental changes. Along the way, you'll find out why algae is literally sucking the life out of coastal ecosystems. Plus, shouldn't salt marsh grass have rights? Show notes: www.ouropinionsarecorrect.com/shownotes

How does Doctor Who remain cool after sixty years? By constantly updating and reinventing itself. We've been loving David Tennant's triumphant return, and we're so pumped for Ncuti Gatwa. But we're wondering... are there lessons from Doctor Who's longevity that could apply to other venerable series and universes? Heck yeah, there are. Allons-y! Show notes: www.ouropinionsarecorrect.com/shownotes

There's no company as soothing as a good read when the days get shorter and the air gets colder. So here's our annual list of recent books that'll help get you through those nasty winter months. (Or if you're listening to this in the Southern hemisphere, here are some summer beach reads!) The good news? We're lucky to have a wealth of amazing reads right now. Show notes: www.ouropinionsarecorrect.com/shownotes

Zines are DiY publications that grew to prominence in the early twentieth century scifi fan community, then morphed into a punk subculture in the 70s and 80s ... and now they're back! We talk with two guests who take us deep into the history and future of zines: Lynn Peril, who created the iconic zine Mystery Date in the 1990s, and Lawrence Lindell, author of the new graphic novel Blackward, about queer Oakland teens who organize a Black zine fest. Show notes: www.ouropinionsarecorrect.com/shownotes

Silicon Valley markets itself as the place where futures are born, and yet tech corporations have no real understanding of where our civilizations are headed. We are wrapping up our Silicon Valley vs. Science Fiction series with some final thoughts on why this might be. Then we talk to AI developer, ethicist, and poet Dr. Joy Buolamwini, founder of the Algorithmic Justice League and author of a new book called Unmasking AI: My Mission to Protect What Is Human in a World of Machines. Show notes: www.ouropinionsarecorrect.com/shownotes

Battles and smackdowns are a key part of many science fiction and fantasy stories — but how do you do them right? Do you have an obligation to show the cost of violence? And what does a good fight scene look like? To find out, we talked to authors Fonda Lee and Lauren Beukes. (Note: This episode was recorded Sept. 23 at Rose City Comic Con in Portland, OR.) Show notes: www.ouropinionsarecorrect.com/shownotes

One of the greatest science fiction shows on TV debuted twenty years ago: 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. Show notes: www.ouropinionsarecorrect.com/shownotes

What does it mean to be a creator at a time when creativity is completely commodified? We’ll talk about the status of the author, and how audiences have idealized artists while also celebrating the so-called death of the author and rise of the reader. We’ll talk about how AI converts our minds into apps, and also why the intentional fallacy blew up the literary world in the 1940s! Later in the episode we’re joined by Mary Anne Mohanraj, an author and professor of literature at the University of Illinois at Chicago, who tells us about using AI in the college classroom. Show notes: www.ouropinionsarecorrect.com/shownotes

We've learned so much about the planets outside our solar system in the past ten years, and we're poised to learn even more. What kind of life could live on eyeball Earths, and other types of tidally locked worlds? To find out, we asked Aomawa Shields, astrophysicist and author of the science memoir Life on Other Planets. Plus Aomawa talked to us about why burnout is such a huge problem for Black women in STEM. Show notes: www.ouropinionsarecorrect.com/shownotes

Tech companies love to trumpet about how their products are free speech machines. But how can we have free speech when we don't have freedom? That's what we're asking in today's episode, the latest in our Silicon Valley vs. Science Fiction series. We take a deep dive into 1984, the science fiction novel that started a lot of today's discourse about speech and authoritarianism. And of course, we talk about the company formerly known as Twitter, and much more! Show notes: www.ouropinionsarecorrect.com/shownotes