Online Audio – Page 291

Darker Projects completes Autumn a ZOMBIE audio drama

SFFaudio Online Audio

Darker Projects, in association with Infected Books presents David Moody’s vision of apocalyptic horror: Autumn.

In less than twenty-four hours a vicious and virulent disease destroys virtually all of the population. Billions are killed. Thousands die every second. There are no symptoms and no warnings. Within moments of infection each victim suffers a violent and agonizing death. Only a handful of survivors remain. By the end of the first day those survivors wish they were dead. Then the disease strikes again, and all hell breaks loose…

Yep, it’s a zombie audio drama! Cool huh? All six parts of the complete adaptation are available now. I’ve been listening, it’s dark and moody, well paced with good acting and is getting eerier every episode. Check it out for yourself…

Or subscribe via the feed:

http://www.darkerprojects.com/feeds/Autumn.xml

posted by Jesse Willis

NPR talks to author Michael Chabon

SFFaudio OnlineAudio

NPR’s Fresh Air radio show has a fascinating 25 minute interview with author, SF and comic books fan, Michael Chabon. Host Terry Gross talked with Chabon about his newest book The Yiddish Policemen’s Union which is a murder-mystery novel set in an alternate history Alaska in which a flood of European Jews have settled in Alaska. It sounds like a fascinating book (the audiobook is coming out UNABRIDGED from HarperAudio).

Chabon’s novel trades on the fact that a Jewish homeland, other than Israel, was a major possibility immediately after WWII. In the interview Chabon mentions the fact that Uganda, Madagascar, Australia, Suriname and Alaska were all once considered suitable homelands for the Jews of Europe. I myself read a fascinating book last year about the “Fugu Plan” – a very real plan by the Empire of Japan to settle European Jews in, of all places, newly enslaved Manchuria!

To listen to the interview, CLICK HERE, you’ll need a RealAudio or WindowsMedia player.

Also, over on the HarperCollins website for the novel, there’s a flashy, flash animated trailer for The Yiddish Policemen’s Union which features an excerpt from Peter Reigert’s reading of the audiobook.

posted by Jesse Willis

Podible Paradise podcast

Online Audio

Podible Paradise: The Viable Paradise Podcast is a show covering the attendees of the Viable Paradise writer’s workshop, a week-long, residential SF and Fantasy Writing workshop held every fall in Martha’s Vineyard. Interviewees are typically current and former instructors or former students. The subjects talked about mostly revolve around what it’s like to attend and what’s learned there. One caveat, this show is NOT in the standard MP3 format, it is in the less compatible M4A format.

Episode 00: Mur Lafferty |M4A|
Episode 01: Greg Van Eekhout |M4A|
Episode 02: Jennifer Pelland |M4A|
Episode 03: Paul Melko |M4A|
Episode 04: Jim Macdonald and Debra Doyle |M4A|
Episode 05: Cory Doctorow |M4A|
Episode 06: David Thompson, David Barr Kirtley, Lisa Moore, Sharon Mock, Zak Jarvis plus more |M4A|
Episode 07: Sandra McDonald |M4A|

You can subscribe to the feed via this URL:

http://podibleparadise.com//?feed=rss2

posted by Jesse Willis

LibriVox: Anthem by Ayn Rand

SFFaudio Online Audio

First published in 1938, Anthem by philosopher/SF author Ayn Rand is one of the world’s most famous novellas! Anthem depicts a dystopian world that will be familiar to those who’ve read George Orwell’s similiarly-themed 1984 (published a full decade later). Both tales are set far in a future in which “equality” is strictly enforced, and individual thought are banned. In the society of Anthem, even individual names are banned with the protagonist known only as “Equality 7-2521.” His story is written as though it was his forbidden diary. You’ll find the full, fascinating, novella available through LibriVox.org…

And here are Virgil Finlay’s illustrations from the June 1953 issue of Famous Fantastic Mysteries:

Anthem by Ayn Rand - Illustrated by Virgil Finlay

Anthem
By Ayn Rand; Read by Chere Theriot
1 Zipped Folder of MP3 Files – 2 Hours 12 Minutes [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: LibriVox
Completed: May 2nd 2007
“A dystopic SF story taking place at some unspecified future date. Mankind has entered another dark age as a result of what Rand saw as the weaknesses of socialistic thinking and economics. Technological advancement is now carefully planned (when it is allowed to occur, if at all) and the concept of individuality has been eliminated (for example, the word “I” has disappeared from the language). As is common in her work, Rand draws a clear distinction between the “socialist/communal” values of equality and brotherhood and the “productive/capitalist” values of achievement and individuality. The story also parallels Stalinist Russia, which was currently going on at the time as the story was published.”

posted by Jesse Willis

Science Fiction and Politics University Course continues

Online Audio

Professor Courtney Brown‘s course at Emory University is a Political Science course entitled Science Fiction and Politics (Political Science 190). We’ve talked about this course more than once. But, as the new lectures appear in the feed, this podcast gets renewed interest, and thus prompts new posts. So here’s another, this one lists all the currently available lectures (Spring 2007 is now completed at Emory). Brown’s lectures below are from two semesters and feature some incisive political insights found in more than a dozen SF novels.

Lectures available:

01: Introduction and Overview |MP3|
02: Foundation by Isaac Asimov (1 of 2) |MP3|
03: Foundation by Isaac Asimov (2 of 2) |MP3|
04: Foundation And Empire by Isaac Asimov |MP3|
05: Second Foundation by Isaac Asimov |MP3|
06: Brave New World by Aldous Huxley (1 of 2) |MP3|
07: Brave New World by Aldous Huxley (2 of 2) |MP3|
08: The Left Hand Of Darkness by Ursula K. Le Guin (1 of 2) |MP3|
09: The Left Hand Of Darkness by Ursula K. Le Guin (2 of 2) |MP3|
10: The Uplift War by David Brin (1 of 2) |MP3|
11: The Uplift War by David Brin (2 of 2) |MP3|
12: Darwin’s Radio by Greg Bear (1 of 2) |MP3|
13: Darwin’s Radio by Greg Bear (2 of 2) |MP3|
14: How to write your essays |MP3|
15: Ender’s Game by Orson Scott Card (1 of 2) |MP3|
16: Ender’s Game by Orson Scott Card (1 of 2) |MP3|
17: The Forever War by Joe Haldeman (1 of 2)|MP3|
18: The Forever War by Joe Haldeman (2 of 2)|MP3|
19: Do Androids Dream Of Electric Sheep? by Philip K. Dick (1 of 2) |MP3|
20: Do Androids Dream Of Electric Sheep? by Philip K. Dick (2 of 2) |MP3|
21: The Moon Is A Harsh Mistress by Robert A. Heinlein (1 of 3) |MP3|
22: The Moon Is A Harsh Mistress by Robert A. Heinlein (2 of 3) |MP3|
23: The Moon Is A Harsh Mistress by Robert A. Heinlein (3 of 3) |MP3|
24: Neuromancer by William Gibson (1 of 2) |MP3|
25: Neuromancer by William Gibson (2 of 2) |MP3|
26: On free will [based on Isaac Asimov’s Foundation trilogy] (1 of 2) |MP3|
27: On free will [based on Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World] (2 of 2) |MP3|
28: The Dispossessed by Ursula K. Le Guin (1 of 2) |MP3|
29: The Dispossessed by Ursula K. Le Guin (2 of 2) |MP3|
30: Spin by Robert Charles Wilson (1 of 2) |MP3|
31: Spin by Robert Charles Wilson (2 of 2) |MP3|
32: The Gods Themselves by Isaac Asimov (1 of 2) |MP3|
33: The Gods Themselves by Isaac Asimov (1 of 2) |MP3|

You can subscribe to the podcast via this feed:

http://www.courtneybrown.com/classes/scifi/mp3/cb_SciFiPoliticsClass1.xml

Also, Dr. Brown tells me that he’s been getting requests from some of his students for more female Science Fiction authors. He asks if we have any “top-of-the-list suggestions?” He’s been using Hugo and Nebula award winning novels, but we all know that there are plenty of novels out there that haven’t won a Hugo or a Nebula that are still worthy of examination. Can you think of any Dr. Brown should add to his class for next year?

posted by Jesse Willis

Darker Matter MP3s of Douglas Adams

SFFaudio OnlineAudio

A vintage Douglas Adams interview appears in the first three issues of Darker Matter a new online Science Fiction magazine. This exclusive interview comes from some recently rediscovered tapes, recorded in 1979 and never before made public. It’s one of the earliest interviews Adams gave, and offers a glimpse of his life and opinions at a time when the spoils of fame meant being able to get a £20,000 mortgage to buy a flat.” While the full interview is available over the first three issues they are transcribed. The good news is there are two short excerpts in the MP3 format. And Here they are: Excerpts 1 |MP3| Excerpt 2 |MP3|. To read the entire interview visit the Darker Matter site. And to lobby for the full release of the audio visit THIS Darker Matter forum thread and cast your vote.

posted by Jesse Willis