The Sci Phi Show, has podcast that uses the recent 100th episode of Escape Pod and its podcast of Isaac Asimov’s short story Nightfall |MP3| to talk about the philosophies of science and religion. Have a listen to it, then listen to Episode #36: |MP3| (22 minutes 17 seconds) then click on over to The Sci Phi Show forums and post your own thoughts.
Subscribers to the Sci Phi Show’s podcast can use this feed:
http://feeds.feedburner.com/TheSciPhiShow
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?
DATAJUNKIE, the blog that delivers more high-res scans of vintage SF pulp art than you can shake a keyboard at has paired-up the images from the original magazine publications of Asimov’s The Caves Of Steel with the 1989 BBC Radio 4 audio dramatization. Go check out the lovely images in the DataJunkie post and listen to the acclaimed Science fiction murder mystery …. personally though I’m going to wait. I’d like to listen to the dramatization after I hear the Tantor release of the unabridged novel of The Caves Of Steel, it is coming out this spring!
The Caves Of Steel
By Isaac Asimov; Performed by a full cast
2 MP3 Files – Approx. 90 Minutes [RADIO DRAMA]
Broadcaster: BBC Radio 4
Broadcast: 1989
Adapted by Bert Coules. Starring Ed Bishop, Sam Dastor and Matt Zimmerman.
Click HERE to visit the original post with links to the 2 MP3s.
BBC7’s the 7th Dimension has re-broadcast Isaac Asimov’s classic, The Last Question. It aired last year around this time and has just now aired again (Saturday). No less of interest, and this one is BRAND NEW, is an action-packed novelette by Leigh Brackett. The Last Days of Shandakor was originally published in April 1952 issue of Startling Stories magazine. Here are all the details for both…
The Last Question
By Isaac Asimov; Read by Henry Goodman
Complete broadcast in 1 part – Approx 25 minutes – [UNABRIDGED]
Broadcaster: BBC 7 / 7th Dimension
Broadcast: March 10th 2007
Asimov’s classic “man versus machine” short story. In the not too distant future, technology has advanced to the point where global affairs are managed by a huge computer called Multivac which supposedly can provide the answers to all questions… such as… “Can entropy be reversed?”
The Last Days Of Shandakor
By Leigh Brackett; Read by Nathan Osgood
Broadcast in 2 parts – Approx. 50 minutes [UNABRIDGED?]
Broadcaster: BBC 7 / 7th Dimension
Broadcast: March 10th 2007 and March 17th 2007
This is another new commission for the 7th Dimension.
An epic space adventure written in which Mars is portrayed as a dying planet where desperate Earthmen compete with the last Martians and other alien races for lost knowledge and hidden power. NOTE: This is being broadcast in 2 parts on successive Saturday evenings with repeat broadcasts at Midnight (Sunday).
And remember BBC7 provides the Listen Again service to catch both of these gems for 6 days following the broadcast!
eBay seller “jerryweist” has a very impressive auction of vintage Science Fiction vinyl LPs up as a lot. He’s estimated that the collection of seventeen mid-1970s to early-1980s SF records will sell for between $100 and $200, but right now it has only been bid up to $40.09. If you love vintage Science Fiction audio, you should definitely have a peek before the auction ends:
–Heretics Of Dune – Chapters I and II
By Frank Herbert; Read by Frank Herbert
1984 (unopened)–The Truths Of Dune “Fear Is The Mind Killer”
By Frank Herbert; Read by Frank Herbert
1979 (unopened)–Dune: The Banquet Scene
By Frank Herbert; Read by Frank Herbert
1977–Sandworms Of Dune
By Frank Herbert; Read by Frank Herbert
1978–The Battles Of Dune
By Frank Herbert; Read by Frank Herbert
1979–The Dragonriders Of Pern: The White Dragon
By Anne McCaffery
1978 (unopened)–Robert E. Howard
1975–Burgess Meredith Reads Ray Bradbury
–Robert Silverberg Reads To See The Invisible Man and Passengers
1979–The Mayors from Foundation
by ISAAC ASIMOV
1977 (unopened)–Isaac Asimov – Nightfall
1976 (unopened)–Yonder: Seven Tales of the Space Age
By Poul Anderson
1980 (unopened)–Survival Ship and The Shrine Of Temptation
By Judith Merril 1978 (unopened)–Mimsey Were The Borogoves
By Henry Kuttner; Read by William Shatner
1976–Gwilan’s Harp and Intercom
By Ursula K. Le Guin
1977–City
By Clifford D. Simak
1980–Dying Inside
By Robert Silverberg
1979
Check out these scans:
Tantor Audio has some very exciting Speculative Fiction titles on the horizon! First up, there is a simultaneous release of a new Harry Turtledove Alternate History novel, quite far out is the new Richard K. Morgan audiobook (o0f which we have absolutely no plot info) AND best of all there are THREE Isaac Asimov Mystery/Science Fiction classics coming! There are even more titles too!!!
Beyond the Gap
By Harry Turtledove; Read by William Dufris
12 CDs or 2 MP3-CDs – Approx 15 Hours [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: Tantor Audio
Published: February 2007 (?)
ISBN: 1400103827 (CD), 1400153824 (MP3-CD)
“In this promising first of a new saga, alternate-history maven Turtledove (Ruled Britannia) depicts a Bronze Age society in transition. A growing gap in the glacier that has formed the Raumsdalian Empire’s northern border for millennia allows Count Hamnet Thyssen and Trasamund the jarl, of the nomadic Northern Bizogot, to become the empire’s Lewis and Clark. They and their entourage, which inconveniently includes Hamnet’s unfaithful ex-wife, Gudrid, depart the empire’s capital city, Nidaris, to explore what lies beyond the glacier and search for the fabled Golden Shrine. On the way, a formidable and attractive (if unbathed) Bizogot shaman, Liv, joins the expedition—and Hamnet under the animal hides. If the Raumsdalians and Bizogots don’t always get along, their culture clash is nothing compared to the threat they face on the other side of the glacier: the Rulers, a tribe of imperious, mammoth-riding warriors. A vivid setting and strong characterization bode well for future installments.”
Ascent
By Jed Mercurio; Read by Todd McLaren
7 CDs or 1 MP3-CD – 8 Hours 30 minutes [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: Tantor Audio
Published: March 2007
ISBN: 1400103681 (CD), 1400153689 (MP3-CD)
Yeremin, a Soviet MiG pilot, rises from the privation of a Stalingrad orphanage to the heights of the cosmonaut corps. During the Korean War, as a member of an elite squadron, he shoots down the most American fighter jets—a feat that should make him a national hero, but because the Soviets’ involvement in the war is secret, Yeremin’s victories go unreported. When he is recalled from obscurity to join the race to the Moon, he realizes it is his chance for immortality.
Caves Of Steel
By Isaac Asimov; Read by William Dufris
7 CDs or 1 MP3-CD – 8 hrs 30 min [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: Tantor Audio
Published: May 2007 (?)
ISBN: 1400104211 (CD), 1400154219 (MP3-CD)
A millennium into the future, two advancements have altered the course of human history: the colonization of the galaxy and the creation of the positronic brain. Isaac Asimov’s Robot novels chronicle the unlikely partnership between a New York City detective and a humanoid robot who must learn to work together. Like most people left behind on an over-populated Earth, New York City police detective Elijah Baley had little love for either the arrogant Spacers or their robotic companions. But when a prominent Spacer is murdered under mysterious circumstances, Baley is ordered to the Outer Worlds to help track down the killer. The relationship between Baley and his Spacer superiors, who mistrusted all Earthmen, was strained from the start. Then he learned that they had assigned him a partner: R. Daneel Olivaw. Worst of all was that the “R” stood for robot—and his positronic partner was made in the image and likeness of the murder victim!
The Society Of S
By Susan Hubbard; Read by Joyce Bean
8 Audio CDs or 1 MP3-CD – 10 Hours [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: Tantor Audio
Published: May 2007 (?)
ISBN: 1400104262 (CDs), 140015426X (MP3-CD)
Ariella Montero is seeking the true identities of her mother and father—and of herself. She’s been taught literature, philosophy, science, and history, but she knows almost nothing about the real world and its complexities. Her world is one wherein ghosts and vampires commune with humans; where Edgar Allan Poe and Jack Kerouac are role models; where every time a puzzle seems solved, its last piece changes the entire picture.
The Naked Sun
By Isaac Asimov; Read by William Dufris
7 CDs or 1 MP3-CD – 8 hrs 30 min [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: Tantor Audio
Published: June 2007 (?)
ISBN: 140010422X (CD), 1400154227 (MP3-CD)
A millennium into the future, two advancements have altered the course of human history: the colonization of the Galaxy and the creation of the positronic brain. On the beautiful Outer World planet of Solaria, a handful of human colonists lead a hermit-like existence, their every need attended to by their faithful robot servants. To this strange and provocative planet comes Detective Elijah Baley, sent from the streets of New York with his positronic partner, the robot R. Daneel Olivaw, to solve an incredible murder that has rocked Solaria to its foundations. The victim had been so reclusive that he appeared to his associates only through holographic projection. Yet someone had gotten close enough to bludgeon him to death while robots looked on. Now Baley and Olivaw are faced with two clear impossibilities: Either the Solarian was killed by one of his robots—unthinkable under the laws of Robotics—or he was killed by the woman who loved him so much that she never came into his presence!
The Robots Of Dawn
By Isaac Asimov; Read by William Dufris
13 CDs or 2 MP3-CDs – 15 hrs 30 min [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: Tantor Audio
Published: July 2007 (?)
ISBN: 1400104238 (CD), 1400154235 (MP3-CD)
A puzzling case of roboticide sends New York Detective Elijah Baley on an intense search for a murderer. Armed with his own instincts, his quirky logic, and the immutable Three Laws of Robotics, Baley is determined to solve the case. But can anything prepare a simple Earthman for the psychological complexities of a world where a beautiful woman can easily have fallen in love with an all-too-human robot?
Thirteen
By Richard K. Morgan; Read by Simon Vance
22 CDs or 3 MP3-CDs -Approx. 27 Hours [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: Tantor Audio
Published: July 2007 (�)
ISBN: 1400104319 (CDs), 1400154316 (MP3-CDs)