Articles with podcast

Science Fiction and disaster – “The Future as Catastrophe” (Columbia University Press, 2018) – Eva Horn interview

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | RSS

Eva Horn is a researcher who is interested in how various kinds of disasters are presented in literature, television, and film. We talk about her latest book on the subject.

1:28 – Eva talks about how she got into writing on this subject.

6:00 – Eva differentiates between sudden disaster and the more modern slow creeping disaster.

12:00 – Eva talks about Lord Byron’s 1816 apocalyptic poem “Darkness.”

13:40 – Eva also talks about Cormac McCarthy’s novel “The Road.” She has also looked at various blockbuster disaster movies and shows. Elysium is one film she points out as an allegory of inequality.

16:25 – Eva talks about the two movies “Minority Report” and “12 Monkeys.” She talks about the fears of being able to predict the future. She brings up the myths of Oedipus.

20:30 – Eva talks about how the book is divided up.

22:45 – People used to fear a cooling planet.

32:07 – Eva would like to see more popular interest in the old texts that discuss disaster.

33:20 – Eva loves the movie “12 Monkeys” and considers it brilliant.

34:31 – SPOILER ALERT – Eva mentions how the “12 Monkeys” ends.

35:49 – SPOILER DISCUSSION ENDS

37:10 – SPOILER ALERT – Eva discusses the setting of “The Road”

38:58 – SPOILER DISCUSSION ENDS

46:50 – Eva has an academia.edu page and a page on the University of Vienna.

For more of “The Art and Design of Sci-Fi and Fantasy, Mystery and Horror” please follow me on Facebook at crisalvarezwlc, on youtube at Cris Alvarez and on Instagram @crisalvarezscifi

Guests: Eva Horn

Host: Cris Alvarez

Tags: science fiction, 12 Monkeys, The Road, Cormac McCarthy, Oedipus, Sophocles, Lord Byron, Minority Report, Steven Spielberg, Vienna

Science Fiction and religion – “Religion and Technology into the Future” (Lexington Books, 2018) – Sam Gill interview

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | RSS

Professor Sam Gill has studied dance, religion and science fiction for decades. He’s written books on the subject and here we discuss his latest book on religion and artificial intelligence.

1:50 – Sam Gill talks about how he got into writing about science fiction.

2:57 – Sam talks about the book. He wanted to study the obsession with artifical intelligence. He looked at ancient philosophy all the way to modern thought and pop culture.

5:56 – Sam talks about his own interest in dance and the importance of movement, singing, religion with female artifical intelligence. He talks about embracing our fundamental human biology.

8:00 – Sam uses history, philsophy, and biology to provide his thoughts on where artifical intelligence should go.

10:30 – Sam posits that humans don’t learn as much in school as they do through the sharing of movement and physical expression.

13:17 – SPOILER POINT: Sam talks about how he chose movies and shows as examples. He talks about Ex Machina and its ending.

14:24 – SPOILER DISCUSSION ENDS

16:22 – Sam talks about how surprised he was to find historic connections between the first writing on female robots to modern films. He has found a very interesting common thread.

19:41 – SPOILER POINT: He tried to understand the role of violence in these films and tv shows. He talks about Westworld.

21:37 – SPOILER DISCUSSION ENDS

24:00 – Sam has found a small group of philosophers who have talked about the idea of biology being an important part of being human.

32:30 – Sam has studied dance across the world and people always want to teach others the way they dance.

35:25 – His website is sam-gill.com where people can find his writings on dance and science fiction.

 

For more of “The Art and Design of Sci-Fi and Fantasy, Mystery and Horror” please follow me on Facebook at crisalvarezwlc, on youtube at Cris Alvarez and on Instagram @crisalvarezscifi

Links of interest

www.sam-gill.com

 

Guests: Sam Gill

Host: Cris Alvarez

Tags: science fiction, writer, nonfiction, Data, Star Trek, Westworld, Ex Machina, Blade Runner, dance, religion, movement, robots, artifical intelligence, scarlett johansson, movies, tv shows

Stargate actor – Peter Williams interview

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | RSS

Peter Williams is a Jamaican-born Canadian actor best known to sci-fans as Apophis on Stargate SG-1. Peter has done a number of roles in movie and tv and we spoke at Shore Leave 2018 about acting and his interests and insrpirations.

0:48 – Peter talks about how he got into acting. He grew up in Jamaica and emigrated to Canada in 1981.

2:58 – Peter said he got into acting for superficial reasons. To work you have to be in the union and to get into the union you have to have worked. He talks about how he got into the business and he did a lot of comedy to start but he doesn’t consider himself a comedy guy.

4:19 – He was never typecast as Jamaican but he didn’t get the role in Cool Runnings because he wasn’t considered Jamaican enough.

5:22 – He had a degree in geography and archaeology and loved Egyptology so getting on Stargate was fun for him. The budget for the show was stout so it had a lot of quality production people. Most of the set impressed him.

7:00 – He loves studying the Roman Empire and especially the rise and fall of empires. He’s a language nerd too.

10:30 – He vaguely recalled wearing armor in a previous role. He loves costumes and would like to play a centurion or Roman would be fun.

11:28 – He liked Star Trek and Lost in Space. 2001, and he loves Back to the Future. He’s gotten more into sci-fi through thye fandom.

12:45 – He’s into biology, plants and their healing properties. He’s recently seen the rings of Saturn and the moons of Jupiter, and a ring nebula and was fascinated by them.

14:30 – He lives in a small town and people seem to want to hear his opinion as an actor. He’d also like to get into a social consciousness role if he had the chance.

15:23 – He’s on twitter @actualapophis.

Links of interest

https://twitter.com/actualapophis?lang=en

For more of “The Art and Design of Sci-Fi and Fantasy, Mystery and Horror” please follow me on Facebook at crisalvarezwlc, on youtube at Cris Alvarez and on Instagram @crisalvarezscifi

 

Guests: Peter Williams

Host: Cris Alvarez

Tags: science fiction, Stargate, Ancient Rome, Egyptology, Jupiter, Saturn, acting, Cool Runnings, Jamaica, Canada, plant healing