The Skiffy and Fanty Show Podcasts

#59. Alien: Covenant (2017) w/ Jeannette Ng — A Shoot the WISB Subcast

/

http://media.blubrry.com/skiffyandfanty/dts.podtrac.com/redirect.mp3/archive.org/download/ShootTheWISB59AlienCovenant/ShootTheWisb59–AlienCovenant.mp3Podcast: Play in new window | DownloadSubscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Android | iHeartRadio | Podchaser | Podcast Index | Email | TuneIn | Deezer | RSSByron, Shelley, and Wagner, oh my! Shaun, David, and Jen, discuss Ridley Scott’s newest edition to the Alien universe, Alien: Covenant, with special guest, Jeannette Ng! The group travel deep into the weeds of the literary and theological references in the film (dragging Shaun along kicking and screaming), Ridley Scott’s ambitious vision, and David’s (not to be confused with the David on the podcast) role as the protagonist of Prometheus and Covenant. It’s a bit of a heavy hitter. We hope you enjoy the episode! Note:  If you have iTunes and like this show, please give us a review on our iTunes page, or feel free to email us with your thoughts about the show! Here’s the episode (show notes are below):

Blog Posts

Book Review: A Man from Planet Earth by Giancarlo Genta

/

Starting in 2014 Springer began publishing books in their Science and Fiction series, a collection “born out of the recognition that scientific discovery and the creation of plausible fictional scenarios are often two sides of the same coin.” Envisioned as “hard” science fiction that is largely written by practicing scientists, the series includes novels, collections of short stories, critical analysis, and covering topics in a relatively non-technical matter, as they could be applied in genre speculation. I’m not one to leap at the chance to read works that promote themselves as hard science fiction. In general I find they are too conservative in their political and social outlook and too focused on technology or engineering rather than science. The science that is present seems dominated by physics and astronomy, and any literary aspects become utterly expendable. Obviously this isn’t always true, and even if not often literary, a hard science fiction story like one in Analog can be entertaining while teaching the reader about something new. As a scientist myself I was excited when I heard about this series from Springer, I think more scientists should develop skills at bridging the science and the fiction universes. I hoped (and still do) that their curated series would tilt towards the type of technically focused science fiction that I could still find entertaining.

The Skiffy and Fanty Show Podcasts

Signal Boost #8: A Conversation about the Importance of Wonder Woman

/

http://media.blubrry.com/skiffyandfanty/dts.podtrac.com/redirect.mp3/archive.org/download/SandFSignalBoost8OnTheImportanceOfTheWonderWomanFilm/Sandf–SignalBoost8–OnTheImportanceOfTheWonderWomanFilm.mp3Podcast: Play in new window | DownloadSubscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Android | iHeartRadio | Podchaser | Podcast Index | Email | TuneIn | Deezer | RSSIn today’s episode of Signal Boost, Shaun and Jen discuss the importance of the new Wonder Woman film succeeding — both for the representation of women in front of and behind the silver screen. Don’t forget to wait for this week’s boosts at the end! We hope you enjoy the episode! Note:  If you have iTunes and like this show, please give us a review on our iTunes page, or feel free to email us with your thoughts about the show! Here’s the episode (show notes are below):

Blog Posts

Guest Post: Growing up in Fandom in the 1970s, by LJ Cohen

/

I’m not sure if this still holds true today, but if you came of age in the 1970s, were a strong early reader who had read through all the books specifically written for children, and you were lucky enough to have a sympathetic librarian, you’d be directed to the science fiction and fantasy shelves. At least that’s my story. The Heinlein juveniles had been published a decade before I was born, but they were the first genre books I read. From there, I found all the Lensman books — written even earlier! I may have only been 10 or 11 when I read these, but even then I was frustrated by the insistence that only one special, fierce woman — to be born in some far future — could be a Lensman. Lenses were objects of power that amplified the qualities within a person. The message I got was that girls, as a rule, didn’t deserve power and couldn’t wield power. That I didn’t deserve power; that I was wasn’t good enough. It angered me that girls weren’t the ones leaping up to explore the stars. Asimov’s Robot books fascinated me, but the only woman portrayed in them — Susan Calvin — was more robotic than the robots.

The Skiffy and Fanty Show Podcasts

326. Joyce Chng (a.k.a. The Werewolf Whisperer — Starfang: Rise of the Clan (An Interview)

/

http://media.blubrry.com/skiffyandfanty/dts.podtrac.com/redirect.mp3/archive.org/download/SandFEpisode326InterviewWJoyceChng/Sandf–Episode326–InterviewWJoyceChng.mp3Podcast: Play in new window | DownloadSubscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Android | iHeartRadio | Podchaser | Podcast Index | Email | TuneIn | Deezer | RSSWerewolves in space, Chinese-diaspora, and merchants, oh my! Joyce Chng joins Jen and Paul to discuss her Space Opera novella, Starfang: Rise of the Clan. We talk about the everything from how Joyce was influenced by Singapore’s maritime traditions, to children on the bridge, to werewolves, of course! And don’t believe Joyce when she tells you she can’t write romance because Starfang proves her wrong! We hope you enjoy the episode! Note:  If you have iTunes and like this show, please give us a review on our iTunes page, or feel free to email us with your thoughts about the show! Here’s the episode (show notes are below):

Blog Posts

Top 10 Posts and Episodes for May 2017

/

Time for another statistics post! Here’s what readers and listeners loved on our blog or podcast throughout May 2017: Top Posts: A Book by its Cover: The Dispatcher by John Scalzi (written by Shaun Duke) Metropolis (1927), Feminism, and Influence by Stina Leicht The 2017 Charity Fundraiser for Human Rights Watch: Make Us Review Batman vs. Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016) for a Good Cause! (PLEASE DONATE!) Book Review: CUCKOO SONG by Frances Hardinge (written by Daniel Haeusser) Breaking News: Peter Jackson to turn The Silmarillion into a 14-movie epic by Mike Martinez Book Review: All Systems Red: The Murderbot Diaries by Martha Wells (written by Paul Weimer) Switching Between Lanes by Stephanie Burgis Ten Post-Apocalyptic Novels Written by Women by Nicolette Stewart Book Review: The Stars are Legion by Kameron Hurley (written by Paul Weimer) Book Review: Children of the Different by S.C. Flynn (written by Daniel Haeusser) Top Episodes: 324. Inclusivity in Fairy Tales — A Discussion w/ Sara Cleto, Brittany Warman, and Shveta Thakrar #55. Attack the Block (2011) — A Shoot the WISB Subcast w/ Tiara W. Signal Boost #6: Sophia Chester (Cosmic Callisto Caprica/Rocket Romance) and Heather Rose Jones (Alpennia Series/Lesbian Historic Motif Project) 313. Looking Back, Moving Forward: Anticipating 2017 Signal Boost #3: A Conversation about Marvel’s Nazi Problem Signal Boost #4: Gideon Marcus (GalacticJourney.org) and Andrew Barton (Tailings of the Golden Age) 323. Betsy Dornbusch (a.k.a. The God Sword) — Enemy (An Interview) Signal Boost #5: A Conversation about CoGeeko Ergo Sum 322. Babylon A.D. (2008) — A Torture Cinema “Adventure” w/ DongWon Song #58. Night Watch (2004) w/ Juan Sanmiguel — A Shoot the WISB Subcast What did you enjoy the most? Let us know in the comments!

Scroll to Top