The Sci Phi Show, has a very cool interview with Courtney Brown, who is rightly famous on this site for his excellent Science Fiction and Politics university course (it is podcast).
Download the interview direct |MP3| or subscribe to The Sci Phi Show podcast feed via this url:
http://feeds.feedburner.com/TheSciPhiShow
Eifelheim
By Michael Flynn; Read by Anthony Heald
2 MP3-CDs – 17.5 Hours [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: Blackstone Audio
Published: 2007
ISBN: 1433206129
Themes: / Science Fiction / Philosophy / Religion / Catholicism / Aliens / Physics / First Contact / Black Death /
“Eifelheim” is a novel that’s not in a hurry. It’s a multiple course meal that offers helpings of philosophy, science, and religion at a leisurely pace that’s refreshing in today’s hurry-up climate. It was also a Hugo nominee for Best Novel of 2007.
The novel takes place in two times. In “Now”, two live-in scientists discuss and compare their findings on seemingly different subjects. One of them is investigating the absence of people in Eifelheim, a German town whose population disappeared during the 14th century. According to calculations of population patterns, this is a mathematical anomaly. The other scientist, a physicist, is trying to figure out why the speed of light is slowing down. That these two things are related is part of the story.
In the 14th century, a parish priest named Father Deitrich, who is dealing with the beginnings of the Black Death in his area, experiences first contact with an alien race that appears in his town of Eifelheim. Father Deitrich is a smart, compassionate priest, and, as he considers the aliens God’s children, he befriends them and cares for them as he can.
The focus occasionally switches back to the two scientists from “now”, who have conversations that shed light on the happenings in Eifelheim in the past. The main charm of this novel for me was the realistic portrayal of this honorable priest, and his culture. It portrays a medieval religion that was considered the source of all knowledge, and as such, the priest’s logical reasoning makes for compelling listening. To readers who enjoy philosophy and speculative science, and the history of both, it would be hard to find a modern novel more interesting.
Author Michael Flynn provides historical and physics notes at the end of the novel, and thanks should go out to Blackstone Audio for including them here in the audiobook. Narrator Anthony Heald does a tremendous job with the narration. He’s an excellent match with the material, handling accents and characters with unobtrusive skill. Choices he made with the alien voices were particularly effective.
Posted by Scott D. Danielson
BBC Radio 3 has an intriguing program available through their Listen Again service. A three part series about the consequences of the existence of alien life…
The Essay – Life, But Not As We Know It
3 Radio Broadcasts – Approx. 45 Minutes [DOCUMENTARY]
BROADCASTER: BBC Radio 3
BROADCAST: July 16th, 18th and 19th 2007
A biologist, a writer and a philosopher each explore their fascination with the notion of extraterrestrial intelligence and what such a discovery could mean for the future of humanity.
Part 1 – “Biologist Jack Cohen on why the discovery of aliens would change our view of biology, evolution and organised religion.”
Part 2 – “Writer Andrew Crumey delves into our literary past to discover a fascination with alien life dating back to the middle ages and beyond.”
Part 3 – “Philosopher Nick Bostrom explains why he believes that the discovery of aliens would be a disaster for the future of humanity and lead to the end of civilisation as we know it.”
All three parts are available HERE via the BBC Radio 3 Listen Again service for the next few days or so.
The Sci Phi Show, has a special show about Australian SF author Greg Egan. Have a listen|MP3|. Another recent show |MP3| featured an exclusive interview with none other than Orson Scott Card!
Subscribers to The Sci Phi Show are also able to hear a vintage talk by Douglas Adams. Grab the podcast feed via this url:
http://feeds.feedburner.com/TheSciPhiShow
The Sci Phi Show, has a Rudy Rucker flash fiction story which first appeared in the January 2006 issue of Nature. The tale’s called Panpsychism Proved. Jason, the show’s host, uses the story to talk about the philosophical idea of panpsychism (the idea that the entirety of the universe is “mind”). Have a listen|MP3|, then go on over to The Sci Phi Show forums and post your thoughts – they won’t post themselves …. or will they?
To subscribe to The Sci Phi Show’s podcast feed use this link:
http://feeds.feedburner.com/TheSciPhiShow
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