Journey Through Sci-Fi: A Science Fiction Film Podcast

A little bonus transmission from the JTSF Patreon feed. We've been chatting about Spielberg's Disclosure Day , and because our next main-feed series is all about the history of friendly aliens in sci-fi cinema, this felt like the perfect thing to share. In this spoiler-light extract, we talk Spielberg returning to alien territory, why big first-contact movies feel rarer now, and how Disclosure Day...

We close out our Mad Science series the only way we know how: with a very serious, deeply prestigious and completely unofficial Mad Science Film Awards . After 58 films and more than a century of sci-fi cinema, we look back at the scientists, monsters, labs, experiments and terrible decisions that defined the season. From Frankenstein , Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde and The Invisible Man to The Fly , Re...

This week on Journey Through Sci-Fi , we head into the Star Trek universe to explore one of its most enduring mad science taboos: genetic engineering. From Space Seed and the rise of Khan to Enterprise's Augments arc and Deep Space Nine's shocking Bashir reveal, we trace how Star Trek keeps returning to the dangers of trying to "improve" humanity. Along the way, we get into the Eugenics Wars, crea...

What happens when one of sci-fi's oldest stories is reimagined for a modern audience? In this episode of Journey Through Sci-Fi , we return to the origin of mad science — Mary Shelley's Frankenstein — through two new adaptations: Frankenstein (2025), directed by Guillermo del Toro , and The Bride! (2026), directed by Maggie Gyllenhaal . This isn't just another adaptation. It's a full-circle moment...

In this episode of Journey Through Sci-Fi , we dive into the terrifying idea of mad science controlling the human mind through two modern sci-fi horror films: Get Out (2017) and Possessor (2020) . Jordan Peele's Get Out hides a chilling science-fiction twist beneath its social horror story, revealing a sinister procedure designed to take over another person's body and consciousness . Meanwhile, Br...

Two kidnappings and two grotesque transformations.  Listener discretion advised... This week on Journey Through Sci-Fi , we head into the grisliest corner of our Mad Science season as we explore The Human Centipede (2009) and Tusk (2014) . From Tom Six's clinically cold, torture-era nightmare to Kevin Smith's surreal walrus transformation, both films twist the mad scientist archetype into somethin...

Two Marvel origin stories. Two very different mad scientists. Only one built a cinematic empire. This week, we revisit Hulk (2003) and Iron Man (2008) to explore the science behind the superheroes and why one experiment failed while the other changed blockbuster cinema. Ang Lee's Hulk is a tragic tale of inherited trauma, gamma radiation and fractured identity, a full-blown mad science horror hidi...

This week on Journey Through Sci-Fi, we're heading into murkier, creepier territory as we pair Mimic and Splice - two films that take mad science out of the lab and straight into body-horror nightmare fuel. Directed by Guillermo del Toro and Vincenzo Natali , they arrive from very different moments in sci-fi cinema. Mimic comes out of the late-90s creature-feature era, mixing practical effects wit...

We look back at the biggest sci-fi moments of 2025 — franchise returns, standout TV, Marvel's slump, DC's revival, and the auteur films that kept the genre interesting. From Superman and 28 Years Later to Severance and Alien: Earth, we break down what landed, what didn't, and what comes next for JTSF. Visit our website  https://www.journeythroughscifi.com/ Email Us! Support the podcast on  PATREON...

This week on Journey Through Sci-Fi, we revisit Flubber (1997) and The Nutty Professor (1996) to explore how both films became showcases for the 90s CGI boom. We look at how early digital effects, morphing tech, ILM's rubbery animation, and ambitious makeup and prosthetics reshaped the mad-scientist trope for a family audience. From Eddie Murphy's multi-character transformations to Flubber's bounc...

"Remember, no matter where you go… there you are." This week on Journey Through Sci-Fi , we're looking at two very different visions of genius at work - one saving the world, the other stealing dreams. We discuss The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension (1984) - now say that five times fast - and The City of Lost Children ( La Cité des enfants perdus , 1995) to explore the heroes...

We're back with another Future Frontiers episode, covering all the latest sci-fi hitting screens this month. We chat about Predator: Badlands , Guillermo del Toro's Frankenstein , Yorgos Lanthimos' Bugonia and the upcoming Running Man remake from Edgar Wright - plus we try to decode what on earth Vince Gilligan's mysterious new series Pluribus might be. We also talk about what we've been watching...

"Who's going to believe a talking head? Get a job in a sideshow!" We're diving head-first (literally) into the weird world of Frankenstein's legacy once again, with Re-Animator (1985) and Poor Things (2023). From glowing green serums to brain-swapping brilliance, we explore how both films rewire the Frankenstein formula mixing horror, humour, and the eternal question of whether a mad science creat...

To celebrate the upcoming Predator: Badlands and the big-screen re-release of Prey on November 5th (for a very limited cinema run) we're bringing one of our favourite Patreon episodes to the main feed. In this bonus epsiode we revisit  Prey (2022), and discuss how it re-energised the franchise, why it works as sci-fi horror, and where it fits in the Predator legacy. 🩸 Predator: Badlands lands Nov...

What happens when unlicensed nuclear accelerators meet ancient rituals? This week we look at what happens when mad science collides with the world of ghosts, gods, and monsters. From proton packs in  Ghostbusters (1984) - Oh the nostalgia! - to underground experiments in The Cabin in the Woods (2011) , we explore how science and the supernatural crash together in hilarious and horrifying ways. A p...

As we've just revisited Tron and Tron: Legacy,  you knew we couldn't resist jacking back into the Grid for Tron: Ares . This is a spoiler-free sneak peek of our full Patreon episode, where we talk Jared Leto's turn as Ares, the film's take on AI, and whether that Nine Inch Nails soundtrack hits as hard as promised. Does this long-awaited sequel push the Tron universe forward, or just coast on nost...

What happens when humanity steps inside the machine? This week we're diving back into the grid! In anticipation of Tron: Ares , we revisit both Tron (1982) and Tron: Legacy (2010). Two landmark films that imagined what life might look like inside a computer. From the neon glow of 80s cyberspace to Daft Punk's sleek digital symphony, we explore how these films evolved our ideas about artificial int...

What happens when mad science pushes the human mind and body to their absolute limits? Our latest journey through sci-fi takes us from swirling cosmic vortices to larval mind-control worms. We explore how Ken Russell's Altered States (1980) turns science into body horror and how Shane Carruth's Upstream Colour (2013) transforms trauma into an arthouse mystery about love and memory.  Visit our webs...

Would you kill baby Hitler?  That classic moral dilemma sits at the heart of  The Boys from Brazil (1978), where Gregory Peck's Josef Mengele pursues a chilling plan to revive the Reich. Adapted from Ira Levin's Nazi-hunter thriller, the film blends real history with speculative science fiction in unsettling ways. After that, we tackle Das Experiment (2001), a dramatic take on the Stanford Prison...

We've been on a little break over the summer, but we're back for a brand-new  Future Frontiers episode ! In this episode, we catch up on everything sci-fi we've been watching (and missing) while the Mad Science series has been on pause. We chat about the big blockbusters of the summer that we caught - Superman , Jurassic Park: Rebirth , and Fantastic Four – plus horror highlights Weapons and Toget...

Who knew artificial intelligence could get so emotional? In this bonus compilation, we count down our Top 5 A.I. characters in sci-fi cinema - from HAL 9000 in  2001: A Space Odyssey to Samantha in Her , the replicants of Blade Runner , and the lovable WALL-E . Drawn from our archives, these clips explore how A.I. in film has challenged what it means to be human - sometimes terrifying, sometimes t...

This month's Future Frontiers is stacked with killer creatures, AI dolls gone rogue and one of the most anticipated sequels in sci-fi horror. We preview the biggest upcoming sci-fi movies and TV shows hitting in June and July - from Predator: Killer of Killers and 28 Years Later to M3GAN 2.0 , Ironheart , and the return of Foundation . Plus, we share what we've been watching ( Invincible , The Las...

From sentient tomatoes plotting global domination to meatballs falling from the sky - is it delicious, disgusting… or both? This week on Journey Through Sci-Fi , we're serving up a double helping of food-fuelled madness with Return of the Killer Tomatoes (1988) and Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs (2009). Join us as we chew over the bizarre origins of these culinary sci-fi comedies, explore their...

In this week's episode of our Mad Science series, we slip into our fishnets and fire up the floppy disks as we delve into the horny world of The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975) and Weird Science (1985). From Frank-N-Furter's glitter-soaked lab to an '80s teenage boys pervy fantasy, we explore two more takes on the Frankenstein myth. Expect cult cinema, born-sexy-yesterday tropes, and a lot of tal...

In this month's bonus Future Frontiers episode, we dive into the future of AI-dubbed films, featuring the Swedish sci-fi Watch the Skies hitting cinemas. We also discuss the highly anticipated returns of Andor and The Last of Us , take a closer look at Thunderbolts (what's up with the asterisk in the title?), and unpack Apple's intriguing new Murderbot series, based on Martha Wells' novel (don't l...