Swords, Sorcery, and Socialism

We begin Black History Month with an absolute chest punch of a book: The Fifth Season by N. K. Jemisin.  This is a story with a powerful exploration of race, slavery, and representation. Read it. Please. Read it then come listen to our conversation about how cultural myths affect real world acceptance and how cool it is to be a bisexual polyamorous pirate king. patreon.com/swordsandsocialism Email...

We have reached the end of Cyberpunk month and alas, the end of good cyberpunk books as well. We finished up by talking about Snow Crash, by Neal Stephenson. History, religion, psychology, and technology are all brought together in the story of Hiro Protagonist. It's...something. patreon.com/swordsandsocialism Email: SwordsAndSocialismPod@protonmail.com  The Show: @SwordsNSocPod Asha: @Herbo_...

Cyberpunk Month continues with a story about what happens if you Ship of Theseus yourself. Ghost in the Shell is an all time classic of the genre, and much funnier than you expect. patreon.com/swordsandsocialism Email: SwordsAndSocialismPod@protonmail.com  The Show: @SwordsNSocPod Asha: @Herbo_Anarchist Ketho: @StupidPuma69  patreon.com/swordsandsocialism Email: SwordsAndSocialismPod@protonmail.co...

It's a Christmas miracle! We are alive, and we are back to finally kick off Cyberpunk Month. We decided to start with Neuromancer by William Gibson. This novel popularized nearly all of the themes and aesthetics that would typify the genre for decades to come. AI, posting addiction, regular addiction, Japanese influence, killer women with body modification, this story has it all. patreon.com/...

Happy Halloween! Through listener vote, we are finishing off spooky season with the Neil Gaiman classic, Coraline. We talk about Fairy, bravery, and why the scariest parts might not be what you think they are. patreon.com/swordsandsocialism Email: SwordsAndSocialismPod@protonmail.com  The Show: @SwordsNSocPod Darius: @Himbo_Anarchist Ketho: @StupidPuma69  patreon.com/swordsandsocialism Email: Swor...

What do Bernini, Nietzsche, and Hellraiser have in common? They are all influences on the darkest fantasy we have ever (or may ever) cover: Berserk. This story of power, fate, and astronomical violence provided us with possibly our most intellectual conversation to date.  Listen to us talk with special guest Brendan of @tsarpowerpod about the man too angry to die. Content warning: quite a bit of i...

*CONTENT WARNING* There are a few mentions of rape and sexual assault in this episode, one including a minor. Please be aware of this if it's upsetting to you. It's very generalized with no specific details, but is mentioned. Dark Fantasy Month begins with a dive into The Black Company by Glen Cook. A group of morally questionable mercenaries get hired by the epitome of evil, giving us a...

We had an (in-person!) conversation about Michael Moorcock's 1977 essay about the prevalence of reactionary politics in science fiction and fantasy.  We work through his arguments, examples, and get annoyed that he's calling us out, specifically. The lesson: be more critical of the media you valorize. patreon.com/swordsandsocialism Follow the show @SwordsNSocPod Email us at SwordsAndSoci...

The 2nd of the Earthsea Cycle by Ursula K. Le Guin. This is a wonderful story about a young woman learning how to cope with systems of oppression, hope, and how to free yourself. Please read this book if you haven't. patreon.com/swordsandsocialism Follow the show @SwordsNSocPod Email us at SwordsAndSocialismPod@protonmail.com Darius: @Himbo_Anarchist Ketho: @StupidPuma69  patreon.com/swordsan...

It's the first book of season 2! We talked about one of the most famous scifi books of all time,  Michael Crichton's Jurassic Park. Capitalism, Chaos Theory, climate change, and just a tiny hint of racism all mixed together to (somehow) make a really good novel. patreon.com/swordsandsocialism Follow the show @SwordsNSocPod Email us at SwordsAndSocialismPod@protonmail.com Darius: @Himbo_A...

It's a big one! To celebrate our 1 year anniversary and 5,000 downloads, we brought Nicole and Trevor back to talk authors, tropes, and a surprising amount about The Last Airbender. Thank you all so much for listening and sticking with us! patreon.com/swordsandsocialism Follow the show @SwordsNSocPod Email us at SwordsAndSocialismPod@protonmail.com Darius: @Himbo_Anarchist Ketho: @StupidPuma6...

Through popular demand we're back in Pratchett land! It's the 2nd Discworld novel, and our first sequel. More intricately constructed nonsense, luggage high jinks, and why wizards are so murderous. patreon.com/swordsandsocialism Follow the show @SwordsNSocPod Email us at SwordsAndSocialismPod@protonmail.com Darius: @Himbo_Anarchist Ketho: @StupidPuma69  patreon.com/swordsandsocialism Ema...

A teaser of our latest bonus episode about nihilism, the internet, and Chekhov's butt plug  patreon.com/swordsandsocialism Email: SwordsAndSocialismPod@protonmail.com  The Show: @SwordsNSocPod Aurora: @Herbo_Anarchist Ketho: @StupidPuma69

We're back with a "scifi" story by an old school anarchist named William Morris; the 3rd in our series about utopias. The plot is thin, but the politics are heavy in his description of a post-revolution anarchist England. We talk youth liberation, family abolition, and of course, work abolition. Sorry Darius is inside a tin can again, it'll be fixed for the next one! patreon.co...

We are officially diving in to the Lord of the Rings and continuing our discussions about utopia. Is Tolkien's Shire as idyllic as it seems, or is even his best imagined society still plagued by the greatest of pests, landlords? patreon.com/swordsandsocialism Follow the show @SwordsNSocPod Email us at SwordsAndSocialismPod@protonmail.com Darius: @Himbo_Anarchist Ketho: @StupidPuma69  patreon....

We're finally back, and we discussed the scifi "classic" Starship Troopers, by Robert A. Heinlein. Plot is non-existent and abuse is ever-present. Ketho breaks down the worst description of the labor theory of value ever put in fiction while Darius loses his mind from the bottom of the tin can he was recording in. We're back! It's great! patreon.com/swordsandsocialism Foll...

Darius and Ketho are joined by Elias (@aPebbleInTheSky) to talk about the origins of fiction as a genre. We talk about the intertwined nature of Fantasy, Scifi, and Horror, the development of each, and the scientific disenchantment of our world. patreon.com/swordsandsocialism Follow the show @SwordsNSocPod Email us at SwordsAndSocialismPod@protonmail.com Darius: @Himbo_Anarchist Ketho: @StupidPuma...

As a writer and a person, JK Rowling sucks. Today Darius is joined by Nicole and Trevor to talk about a few of the reasons why, and what we should do with her legacy. We also talk about jacked toddlers. Follow Trevor @HistoryofPersia, and Nicole @gi66le_tits (if she ever unlocks again). patreon.com/swordsandsocialism Follow the show @SwordsNSocPod Email us at SwordsAndSocialismPod@protonmail.com D...

Part 2 of our talk about Wheel of Time. We discuss the gender binary of magic, consensual harems, and the Amazon adaption. Please consider supporting Alex's gay bakery/book shop here: https://humva.dev/2022/03/15/books-baking-and-queer-things/ Or listening to Roberto's podcast here: https://historyofsaqartvelo.com/ patreon.com/swordsandsocialism Follow the show @SwordsNSocPod Email us at...

We dip our toes for the first time into Robert Jordan's extensive world.  Special guests Alex and Roberto join Darius to talk about a dualist world and Jordan's take on the existence of free will. (If you're a Ketho fan, too bad. He's not here.) Please consider supporting Alex's gay bakery/book shop here: https://humva.dev/2022/03/15/books-baking-and-queer-things/ Or liste...

To tide everyone over until our next series, we decided to unlock our first bonus episode. This one's about why the new Star Wars properties feel soulless, why copyright laws are bullshit, and how every fantasy story can be solved with a gun. If you enjoy these non-book episodes, you can subscribe to our patreon for $3 and get 1 to 2 bonus episodes a month. Thanks for listening! patreon.com/s...

Our first dive into the works of Philip K Dick. We talk about emptiness, empathy, and how it all comes down to simulacrums of real life. Also, Darius remembers the name of a philosopher. patreon.com/swordsandsocialism Follow the show @SwordsNSocPod Email us at SwordsAndSocialismPod@protonmail.com Darius: @Himbo_Anarchist Ketho: @StupidPuma69  patreon.com/swordsandsocialism Email: SwordsAndSocialis...

The 2nd half of our talk about Watership Down! We discuss rabbit mythology, alienation, and why Hazel is a better Odysseus. patreon.com/swordsandsocialism Follow the show @SwordsNSocPod Email us at SwordsAndSocialismPod@protonmail.com Darius: @Himbo_Anarchist Ketho: @StupidPuma69  patreon.com/swordsandsocialism Email: SwordsAndSocialismPod@protonmail.com  The Show: @SwordsNSocPod Aurora: @Herbo_An...

Time for another classic! Here in part one of our conversation about Richard Adam's "Watership Down" we talk about leadership styles, thinking outside the box, and the existential dread of living while surrounded by the threat of death. patreon.com/swordsandsocialism Follow the show @SwordsNSocPod Email us at SwordsAndSocialismPod@protonmail.com Darius: @Himbo_Anarchist Ketho: @Stup...

Part 2 of our episodes on the foundations of the podcast; we talked about J. R. R. Tolkien's essay "On Fairy Stories".  We discuss his definition of what a fairy story is, why fantasy isn't just for children, and why Darius hates Joss Whedon so much. patreon.com/swordsandsocialism Follow the show @SwordsNSocPod Email us at SwordsAndSocialismPod@protonmail.com Darius: @Himbo_Ana...