382. Black Lives Matter: Announcements, Octavia Butler, and Tochi Onyebuchi (Reading Rangers)
https://media.blubrry.com/skiffyandfanty/dts.podtrac.com/redirect.mp3/archive.org/download/sand-f-382-black-lives-matter/SandF_382_BlackLivesMatter.mp3Podcast: Play in new window | DownloadSubscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Android | Email | TuneIn | Deezer | RSS #BlackLivesMatter, Black Lives Matter, BLACK LIVES MATTER, oh my! Jen and Shaun return (sorta) to the Reading Rangers format to discuss our latest announcement about the direction of the show for the remainder of 2020 AND to examine Octavia Butler’s “Bloodchild” and Tochi Onyebuchi’s Tor.com essay, “I Have No Mouth, and I Must Scream.” This one is jam packed with content, from our views on what is going on around us to its connections to Onyebuchi’s essay to an in-depth discussion of the themes and social commentary in Butler’s story! You won’t want to miss this one. Thanks for listening. We hope you enjoy the episode!
Book Review: Do Not Go Quietly: an Anthology of Victory in Defiance edited by Jason Sizemore and Lesley
What are you fighting for? Your space? More space? Your territory? More territory? Your reputation? A better reputation? A better outcome? The best possible outcome? — Bianca Lynn Springgs “Plot Twist” from Do Not Go Quietly: An Anthology of Victory in Defiance Bianca Lynne Spriggs’ volume-closing poem “Plot Twist” challenges the reader with these provocative questions and many more, and had I been doing editors Jason Sizemore’s and Lesley Connor’s job, I would have been sorely tempted to put it first rather than last. However, since this poem’s challenges are as good a return to the real world we’re all stuck in as they are a microcosm of the themes this collection explores, I can absolutely see why they chose otherwise. Which is to say that Sizemore and Connor earned every nickle they could ever conceivably be paid for producing Do Not Go Quietly: An Anthology of Victory in Defiance.
Signal Boost #29: A Conversation about Exciting News!
http://media.blubrry.com/skiffyandfanty/dts.podtrac.com/redirect.mp3/archive.org/download/SandFSignalBoost29ExcitingNews/Sandf–SignalBoost29–ExcitingNews.mp3Podcast: Play in new window | DownloadSubscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Android | iHeartRadio | Podchaser | Podcast Index | Email | TuneIn | Deezer | RSSOn today’s Signal Boosts, Shaun and Jen share some exciting news about the Skiffy and Fanty website, our RSS feeds, the future of our funding sources, and our 2017 Reader/Listener Survey! Even though we’re pissed about what Patreon just did, our patron support has allowed us to do some really big things that will help us grow and provide you more control over what you listen to. It’s pretty gosh darn amazing. And please make sure you go take the survey so we can get even more awesome than we are now! And then we get to our VERY IMPORTANT mini-boosts! 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):
Book review: Firebrand, by A.J. Hartley
I hate, hate, hate coming into a series in the middle (which means no, I haven’t read the first novel in this series, Steeplejack, but I sure plan to soon!), but I have a good personal track record with author A.J. Hartley, so I knew that if anyone could write a good middle book that still stands on its own it would be he. My assumption, in this case, proved absolutely correct, in case you’re wondering. Firebrand is the second volume in Hartley’s steampunk-flavored, young adult series “Alternative Detective”, and takes place a few months after the events in the first novel, which took a young woman from “steeplejack” (a person who works up high on the roofs and sides of very tall buildings, mostly cleaning chimneys but also doing repairs and maintenance and other sundry jobs) to amateur detective, and landed her in the very informal employ of a member of her city-state’s Parliament. As this novel opens, Anglet Sutonga is now enjoying an unaccustomed level of financial security and autonomy, but her sense of duty and survival instincts don’t let her get too comfortable, so as the novel opens, she is chasing an infamous cat burglar over the rooftops of Bar-Selehm, which leads her into a whole new mystery of linked and nested conspiracies, exploitation, human trafficking, treason and, of course, murder.
Signal Boost #3: A Conversation about Marvel's Nazi Problem
http://media.blubrry.com/skiffyandfanty/dts.podtrac.com/redirect.mp3/archive.org/download/SandFSignalBoost3MarvelsNaziProblem/Sandf–SignalBoost3–MarvelsNaziProblem.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 introduce their whole new format: Conversations! Today, we discuss Marvel’s Nazi Problem: how Marvel has betrayed the character of Captain America, how upsetting this is in today’s political climate, and what we’re going to do about it. In addition, during our mini-boosts, we each share two things that we’re excited about. We hope you’ll enjoy them, too. 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):
280. The Wonders and Politics of Steampunk w/ Cherie Priest, Beth Cato, and Jaymee Goh
http://media.blubrry.com/skiffyandfanty/dts.podtrac.com/redirect.mp3/archive.org/download/SandFEpisode280TheWondersOfSteampunk/Sandf–Episode280–TheWondersOfSteampunk.mp3Podcast: Play in new window | DownloadSubscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Android | iHeartRadio | Podchaser | Podcast Index | Email | TuneIn | Deezer | RSSMachines, empire, and whitewashing, oh my! In this special edition of our discussion feature, Shaun and Rachael talk to authors Cherie Priest, Beth Cato, and Jaymee Goh about the wonders and politics of steampunk. We cover whitewashing on covers, the subversive qualities of steampunk, and the trials and tribulations of writing the genre in a world heavily influenced by empire. In our last moments, we have some fun by talking about steampunk films and video games. In the end, we only scratched the surface! 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): Episode 280 — Download (MP3) Show Notes: