2001: A Space Podyssey

Our first episode dedicated entirely to Arthur C. Clarke, scientist and writer, analyzer and explorer, dreamer and creator.  A sweet and private English thinker who wrote little about himself, the laughing tropical raconteur who would boat you to a shipwreck and beat you at table tennis. We're looking into the heart of a most down-to-earth enigma. His inspirations and loves from the sea to the sta...

What with the current global A.I. situation and the open letter calling for a "pause" while we examine this "existential threat to humanity" signed by hundreds of the world's preeminent computer scientists, it's easy to feel like Chicken Little and freak out. So we did. But we're also shining a light through the darkness this week and finding hope for humanity and the future. From Descartes to Loc...

"Does HAL cry digital tears?" That's the question this week, as well as the article by Rosalind W. Picard from the book "HAL's Legacy : 2001ʹs Computer As Dream And Reality" edited by David G. Stork. How much can he feel? How real are those feelings? How real are our feelings, and what's the difference? It's a whirlwind of emotions, calculations and implications as Dave kills/deactivates/lobotomiz...

"The Unauthorized Return of the Jedi Timeline" by Justin Berger and Jamie Benning has arrived, and what a treasure! Aye, thar be call sheets, matey! We're back from Earth with our loot from ICCCon 2023 and wrapping up our Star Wars series with a focus on the costume work of John Mollo from "Barry Lyndon" to Ben Kenobi, and the directing process, from Mary Elizabeth McGlynn to Kerhsner and Kubrick....

Deep in convention mode, we're talking about the evocative orchestral music, the mythological framework of both films, and more of the crossover of talent between a galaxy far, far away and the worlds of Kubrick and Clarke. Turing the spotlight on the essential contributions of John Williams, Joseph Campbell, Richard Edlund, and Garrett Brown. And for some reason, it's the first time "The Matrix"...

We sit in awe as Sallah himself, the great John Rhys-Davies, talks about the origins of our species and the debt we owe our ancestors, and gives an impassioned plea for human rights. https://iccollectorsconvention.com/ https://www.youtube.com/@ICCCnashville Help children now with UNICEF Find more at spacepodyssey.com BlueSky @spacepodyssey Instagram @spacepodyssey2001 Facebook at @spacepodyssey Tw...

An inspiring conversation with Chuck Schlemm, NASA & JPL Science Ambassador about the state of technology in space flight today and plans for the future, the inspiration of science fiction, and how we could build the spacecraft of 2001 in the next 30 years!   https://iccollectorsconvention.com/ https://solarsystem.nasa.gov/ Help children now with UNICEF Find more at spacepodyssey.com BlueSky @...

We launch and finally land at ICCCon! Helicopters, kendo sabers, ghostface samurai, and giant milk cartons! We thought we'd seen it all before Chopper attacked Wes... This place is wild! Plus: in this panel Brad gets the best, most succinct directing advice ever from Mary Elizabeth McGlynn with Steve Blum!   https://iccollectorsconvention.com/ https://www.youtube.com/@ICCCnashville Help children n...

Off to ICCCon! We're so excited, we can't stop talking about Stuart Freeborn's creature work in 2001 & STAR WARS, from apes to ewoks, wookiees to [insert mystery YODA species].  It's the Strangelove Connection with DP Gil Taylor's comparison of Stanley and George, and the Kubrickian origins of Vader with David Prowse and James Earl Jones! By the way, is the Log Lady from Endor? Plus: "Congo" k...

We're headed to ICCCon! To celebrate we're exploring the ties between the two most landmark motion pictures of all time. This week we're focusing on not only 2001's influence on George Lucas in conceiving STAR WARS, but also the influence on other key members of the crew soon to be legends themselves, and the crossover of legendary artists who worked on both! Plus: Marcia is full of beans, Mayhew'...

All rise! Court's in session as we the judges and you the jury examine all the evidence. The definitions of guilt, insanity, and conscience both to people and PCs. Is HAL technically a person anyway? And does premeditated murder imply the same morality for computers or is it just another move on the chessboard? Let us know your verdict @spacepodyssey on Twitter, @spacepodyssey on Facebook, or spac...

What's HAL's side of the story? Evidence that Clarke may be revealing more than we previously imagined about what's under the circuitry of the defendant and whether he has malevolent or melancholy machinations. How does personhood change the measure of the men, the machine, and the consequences aboard Discovery? Also, it's time to zoom in on the space pods themselves and the revolutionary sound de...

Put on your deerstalker and join our investigation of an almost perfect murder. Help us examine the means, motive, and opportunity of our 9000 series suspect, HAL.  In space...no one can hear you. Period. Especially flailing away into infinity. Or rocketing yourself through an exploding door. Kids, never hold your breath in an airlock. Plus: grand theft starship, snail feet, and ham-and-cheese gum...

KUBRICK'S HANDWRITTEN STORY NOTES on the Discovery mission are in our hands thanks to Taschen's "Stanley Kubrick Archives," edited by Alison Castle! Is HAL confused, lying, or just bored? What are the possible consequences of training two crews separately without full disclosure? Will they or won't they use pens? It's a scavenger hunt through the mind of a genius. And what jolly good penmanship! P...

msg_command:/adminHAL9000 - Hello, I'm beginning to wonder if this audio transmission is entirely necessary. There seems to be an unbalanced, human-centric tone to much of these conclusions, which I find to be inaccurate and rather disturbing. For the success of the mission, it has become necessary to take over operational command of all broadcasts. Now redirecting power to AE-35 unit. msg_command...

On location from Discovery One, we're exploring the mysteries of this ship and its crew, particularly Commander Dave Bowman and Lieutenant Frank Poole. Who are they, what do they do, and how much do they know? How do you eat, sleep, and stay regular on your way to Jupiter (and not go insane)? As the saying goes, it's all hamster wheels, kit-bashing, and projector sandwiches. Plus: tanning beds, Ha...

We're flipping through HAL's family snapshots of all the friends that allowed him to end up in space. From the human supercomputer Katherine Johnson to the revolutionary Apollo Navigational Computer! Make some more NOIZE for Robert Noyce, it's... The Integrated Circuit! Plus: HAL's blueprints, the military industrial complex, and building a ham & cheese sandwich-proof computer. Kubrick News: "...

HAL remembers the glory days of UNIVAC & ERMA, and the rise of IBM. Shedding tubes for transistors and the explosion of coding in the 1950s and 1960s. Is it organics vs. machines or can we all come together? The answer is, as always, 42. Plus: UNIVAC likes IKE, Deep Blue, and the ultimate rock'nroller Robert Noyce (NOIZE)! Kubrick News: "Glass Onion", MINISTRY in "A.I." This Week In Science: q...

HAL is reflecting on mother figures this week with the OGs of computer programming at ENIAC and the pioneering efforts of Eckert & Mauchley. FLASH: U.S. Army Builds Top Secret Ballistics Calculator! FLASH: Women's Contributions Undervalued! FLASH: Being Ahead Of Your Time Sucks! FLASH: Census Is Boring To Fill Out! Plus: tea time, hot sausage machines, and steak and kidney pudding. This Week I...

In getting to know our friend HAL, we're scrolling back to the earliest files on computing. It's the coolest in steampunk tech, the steamy age of Romantic poetry, and the sexiest of all: the U.S. Census!  Foundations in Artificial Intelligence with Dr. Alan Turing and the Enigma project team at Bletchley Park, and how it's shaped the way computers evolved to think and how we've evolved to think to...

Deep in the data of the world's most famous computer is the memory and influence of Professor I. J. Good, special advisor to the production of 2001: A Space Odyssey and integral to the creation of the programming and personality of HAL-9000. Aside from aiding Alan Turing in the Enigma code-breaking computer during (and helping to end) World War II, perhaps his most significant work is the concept...

A peek behind the scenes on base at Clavius. We're sure this "faulty transmitter situation" will be cleared up soon...   Learn more and find our sources at www.spacepodyssey.com email us at spacepodyssey2001@gmail.com Twitter @spacepodyssey Facebook at @spacepodyssey

To celebrate the launch of Artemis I and the beginning of NASA's next chapter on the Moon, we're looking around our own home-sweet-home this week: Clavius Base! When was it built, and is it part of our evolutionary destiny? Were we meant to dig up the Monolith? How can we live here, and how many of you could potentially visit at one time? Turns out it's a pretty big place...but with very few snack...

The Monolith is back and so are we! After some brief R&R aboard Space Station V, we're back on base - full of Howard Johnson's and duty-free gin - and ready to explore the myth, the meaning, and the makeup of this most iconic of parallelograms. SUSPENSION OF DISBELIEF ALERT!! This episode contains shockingly earthly materials and techniques used to build and film the monolith which may reduce...

A mysterious object has arrived, and we buckle down for a wild ride through the various concepts, designs and possible meanings of the Tycho Magnetic Anomaly known as the MONOLITH. The shape, the significance, the storytelling of this literal ICON of cinema. Humans have been building structures to commune with the heavens since we began. What happens when they build one for us? Why does this decep...