Our Opinions Are Correct

We're going to ask a few very small questions in this episode, like how to build a planet from scratch -- and then, how to build governments on that planet. What makes an imaginary world feel believable? Annalee explains what they did to research their new novel The Terraformers (coming out 1/31). Expect some gritty details about worldbuilding, moose romance, public transit, and making sure that e...

Avatar: The Way of Water has already become one of the most successful movies of all time. This long-awaited sequel gives us a lot to think about — from the ongoing white savior narrative to an unexpectedly disturbing interstellar whaling industry. But when it comes down to how we feel about this movie, we disagree quite a bit. Show notes: www.ouropinionsarecorrect.com/shownotes

Anne Rice is best-known for her Vampire Chronicles, which began in the 1970s with her novel Interview with the Vampire. But did you know she also wrote bestselling BDSM erotica and two novels about Jesus? In this episode, we do a deep dive into Rice's strange career, including that time she unleashed her fans against Tom Cruise. We also discuss the fantastic new Interview with the Vampire series. ...

The winter holidays are coming up, and it's a great time to hide away with a stack of books. Good thing we've got you covered! Here's our roundup of our favorite recent books, including some you probably haven't heard much about yet. Plus we geek out about the themes and common ideas we've been seeing in the books we've read in 2022. Get ready to grow your TBR pile! Show notes: www.ouropinionsarec...

Tolkien's Lord of the Rings trilogy supercharged the genre of epic fantasy, giving rise to countless stories of heroic quests in settings that looked like Medieval Europe. How do we expand the map of heroic fantasy so it includes everybody who was marginalized, or left out completely, in those tales? Plus we talk to Tolkien scholar Helen Young about the racist backlash against the new TV show Lord...

One of the most cherished tropes in science fiction is the idea that technology, science, and civilization are always getting better -- and the future will be wealthier and fancier than the present. Call it the myth of progress. We explore where the myth comes from, and how it influenced scifi authors from HG Wells to NK Jemisin. Plus we're joined by economist Brad De Long, whose new book Slouchin...

Classic science fiction wears its love of colonialism on its sleeve, from heroic explorers to space empires that keep the peace. Why are empires such a major part of the genre, and how do we break free? Plus we talk to Naseem Jamnia about their new book, The Bruising of Qilwa. Show notes: www.ouropinionsarecorrect.com/shownotes  

Fears of nuclear war are in the news again. We revisit a 2019 episode about how science fiction has dealt with atomic weapons, and how twenty-first century writers will represent the dangers of nuclear war.  Shownotes: https://www.ouropinionsarecorrect.com/shownotes/2019/2/28/episode-26-the-bomb-is-back

People talk about "pacing" all the time when it comes to storytelling — but what does "pacing" mean? How do you make a story feel like it's moving faster or slower, and why does this matter? And how do you figure out what pace your own story needs to move at? Show notes: www.ouropinionsarecorrect.com/shownotes  

Floods. Sea level rise. Superstorms. Droughts. All over the planet, people are being hit by disasters caused by too much water or not enough, and it's only going to get worse. We talk about why science fiction has been focused on water disasters for over a century, from Princess of Mars to Dune and Mad Max: Fury Road. We're also joined by flood geologist Kyle House, who tells us about ancient floo...

It's time to get some therapy, with some help from speculative fiction. In this special live recording from WorldCon, we talk to actor/creator Theo Germaine about fictional therapists (good and evil), and what makes a story therapeutic. Plus, we discuss their recent scary therapy movie They/Them, as well as their role in the show "Work in Progress." Can a story actually heal us? And what happens w...

We hear a lot about redemption arcs, but what about damnation arcs, where characters go darkside? In this episode, we talk about the "villain's journey," or the tropey route followed by characters like Anakin Skywalker on his trip to Darth Vader-hood. But what happens when the script is changed, and characters hover between hero and villain? Neon Yang, author of The Genesis of Misery and the Tenso...

Recently Charlie Jane came up with a new term for stories she's been enjoying: Sweetweird. What does this mean, and is it a subgenre or an aesthetic? And also, why do we enjoy inventing and debating new genre terms so much? Show notes: www.ouropinionsarecorrect.com/shownotes  

Plastic was once a symbol of our shiny future, and now it represents our trashed, polluted present. What's the future of this fossil-fueled polymer? We talk about what makes plastic so scary -- in science and fiction. And then we call up   William Gibson , who has thought a LOT about plastic, in fiction and real life.  Show notes: www.ouropinionsarecorrect.com/shownotes

Musicals transport us to another world through song and dance — but how can we use their otherworldly power to tell stories about robots and monsters? To find out, we talk to playwrights MJ Kaufman and Reina Hardy. Plus Laser from the Doubleclicks tells us about their new musical, Teaching a Robot to Love! Topics discussed: Our formative memories with Xanadu and Can't Stop the Music The roots of m...

In this special episode, we answer questions from our wondrous Patreon supporters. We discuss how to write convincing non-human characters, where people will live in 10,000 years, and why Dungeons & Dragons has become so popular. Plus why we love Canada! Shownotes: https://www.ouropinionsarecorrect.com/shownotes

People have been paid for labor for at least 5,000 years, but the modern 'workplace' is a pretty recent invention. We look at how science fiction  has dealt with the transformation of labor — plus we talk to Alan Henry, author of the new book Seen, Heard and Paid. Show notes: www.ouropinionsarecorrect.com/shownotes

Cars have made our lives better in many ways, but they also kill a lot of people and damage the environment. Science fiction has worked hard to help us fall in love with the automobile, to the point where we can't imagine a future without it. Why do most of our favorite stories celebrate cars? And how can we break free from these car-centric narratives? Show notes: www.ouropinionsarecorrect.com/sh...

Why has darkness descended upon the university? We talk about the dark academia aesthetic, from Donna Tartt's "The Secret History" to the show "Dear White People." What defines this aesthetic, and how does it shed light on current traumas within the academy? Also -- why is it so gay? Academic Ana Quiring joins us to discuss all this and more. Show notes: www.ouropinionsarecorrect.com/shownotes

With the U.S. Supreme Court poised to overturn Roe v. Wade, a landmark court case that made abortion legal in this country, our future is looking very different. In this encore episode, we talk about the future of reproductive rights -- our hopes and our fears. Show notes: www.ouropinionsarecorrect.com/shownotes

Nothing is ever permanent in pop culture: people die and come back to life all the time, huge changes get retconned, and Spider-Man is always a young guy who's just starting out. Why are we stuck with the "illusion of change," and what happens when this goes on for several decades? And how do we find a way to move forward? Show notes: www.ouropinionsarecorrect.com/shownotes

Paranoia's back, baby. We talk about two Cold War obsessions — space combat and brainwashing — and how they've returned in a big way. Cold War tropes are haunting our science fiction and dominating political discourse in the United States. Why now? Show notes: www.ouropinionsarecorrect.com/shownotes

Princesses used to be helpless damsels, but these days they're more likely to pick up a sword than wait to be rescued. Why do we love princesses who fight back? Does it have something to do with our hang-ups about femininity? Plus we talk about Charlie Jane's new book Dreams Bigger Than Heartbreak! Show notes: www.ouropinionsarecorrect.com/shownotes

Humans have been trying to communicate with non-human animals for thousands of years. We have stories about magical talking animals, and tales of scientists who use technology to turn wild dolphins into friendly co-workers. What do these stories say about us, and what happens when we try to make them come true? Also, science reporter Arielle Duhaime-Ross joins us to talk about their latest podcast...

Why is it so hard to imagine money being different in the future? We talk about the problem of money in science fiction, the ancient history of spade coins, and cash that spies on you. Plus, we're joined by guest Stacy Marie Ishmael, managing editor for crypto at Bloomberg News , to talk about where money is headed in the future. Watch out for Bitcoins!