Stars End: A Foundation Podcast

How time flies!  It's our final Episode on Prelude to Foundation and you're not going to want to miss this one! Our heroes finally, despite their best efforts, find themselves in the sector of Wye.  That's pronounced "why" and The Great and Glorious Az has a bit of fun with that.  Also, "Who" is the Prime Minister, "What" is the neighboring sector, and "I Don't Know" is on third. &n...

It is a little-known fact that each April 1st on Terminus, Hologram Hari Seldon would appear in the Vault and, in the absence of a bona fide Seldon Crisis, would launch into the strangest and most mystifying stand-up routines anyone had ever seen from a hologram in a wheelchair.  Mostly no one was in attendance but there are legends of routines entertaining maintenance workers and assorted ro...

Did you know that sleep podcasts are a thing?  Podcasts that people listen to go to sleep. You can imagine it, can't you?  Someone like Sam Waterston, Tony Shalhoub, or Jane Lynch probably reading poetry in a quiet, soothing voice.  Like, what?  I don't know.  Something in the public domain probably.  Wordsworth? Calm is all nature as a resting wheel.   The kine...

Introducing this episode puts me in mind of Tom Lehrer's Alma , which was inspired by, as he puts it, "the juiciest, spiciest, raciest obituary it has ever been my pleasure to read."  The amount of prime humor that one mathematician can fit into a three-and-a-half-minute sound clip is impressive. Hari Seldon, our protagonal mathematician, isn't nearly so funny.  In fact, he seems to take...

After our break, we're back to reading Prelude to Foundation and things are starting to get weird.  Dors and Hari finally journey to Mycogen as we embark on a Voyage to the Space Amish, with apologies to A. E. Van Vogt. This one has it all!  Dors and Chetter deconstructing Hari's trip to Upperside ad nauseam! Bad bald caps (Boy, does Issac like the word "pate!")!   Rigidly defi...

I think I need to listen to "Flowers in the Dirt" again.  That's the 1989 Paul McCartney album where Sir Paul collaborated with Elvis Costello.  I was hoping that Elvis might bring some of the sharper edges that John Lennon brought the Lennon-McCartney songwriting duo.  No such luck as I recall but maybe 32 years farther on I'll hear something new. What brought that up?  Well w...

Our second conversation about Prelude to Foundation, in which we discuss "Library," "Upperside," and "Rescue." It was 1-degree Fahrenheit when we recorded this episode.  That's -17 Celcius to the rest of the world.  I personally prepared for this episode by running around outside dressed as though I still lived in Florida or on Helicon, maybe.  Then I rearranged all my bookshelves a...

In the criminal justice system, the podcast is represented by two separate, but equally important kinds of seasons.  The odd-numbered seasons, which directly discuss Asimov's Foundation and the even-numbered seasons that talk about the Apple TV+ series. So now we start the interregnum between seasons 1 and 2 of Apple TV's Foundation.  That's our cue to start Stars End season 3.  Tha...

It's the final episode of Season 2 where we wrap up our discussion of Season 1 of Foundation with the First Annual Stars End Hari Awards!  Frankly, a lot of it is the three of us gushing about how good the episodes and the performances were.  But more importantly, you get to find out who won! Best Performance! Favorite Episode!  Favorite Podcast Guest!  All the important Stuff....

Although we're going to continue to refer back to Foundation Season 1 a lot this year, this is the penultimate episode of our official discussion! And we're got quite a lot to say!  This is our first conversation about the season in its entirety!  We're joined by special guest Luigi DiMeglio of the Foundation Era YouTube Channel ! And be on the lookout for questions and polls!  In o...

Haven't watched Episode 10, "The Leap" yet?  We'll be here when you're done. Astoundingly, here we are at the end of Foundation 's Season 1.  We're all about to experience the teevee equivalent of empty nest syndrome. But not yet!  There are two more episodes of Stars End for this season!  There's this one, where we talk about Episode 10 and then there will be one more in about...

You know.  Spoilers and all that. In 1987 the Smiths released an excellent compilation album entitled "Louder than Bombs."  It's the apotheosis of mope rock!  In 2021 "Is it Really So Strange" that we would release a podcast episode called "Louder than Logic?"  Even if none of us is named "Smith? But here's the thing: it fits. Gaal can feel the future in a way that might underm...

If you're a Lee Pace fan, or "stan" as the kids say, or even an "aficionado" like they said back in my day, "The Missing Piece" may be for you!  It's like the last temptation of Brother Day meets Dune with 100% fewer sandworms.  That is to say, it's a lot of loincloths and wandering around in the desert. Damn sand gets in everything! Plus Hari's still incorporeal, Gaal indulges in s...

It's Halloween evening as I write this and the two biggest Sci-Fi franchises have new episodes out.  The premiere of Star Trek Prodigy was last Thursday and the season opener for Doctor Who was this evening.  But I have another venerable old franchise on my mind. Namely Twilight Zone .  "Hey, kids!  You want to see something really scary ?!?" Well, "scary" probably isn't the ri...

There are a lot of things happening in Episode 6, "Death and the Maiden." Beware!  The spoilers are probably even more densely packed than usual.  "The spoiler-space may even be compact," he said mathematically. What a difference a week makes!  We described Episode 5 as a "bridge" episode.  In episode 6, there's stuff going on right and left!  Actually, maybe even in 2, 3,...

If you'd rather not be rudely awakened by some spoilers, you know what to do! We'll be here when you're ready. And speaking of rude awakenings, how about that Gaal Dornick? That whole ordeal didn't seem pleasant at all! What isn't rude is our conversation this week, about Foundation's Episode 5, "Upon Awakening," it's better than being roused by a thunderstorm, a smoke alarm, or a cat licking your...

William Shatner is about to be shot into space.  He may want to stay there when he sees how Lee Pace updates the "Kirk can break a computer just by talking to it" shtick. Spoilers, of course.  If you haven't, go watch the episode.  Or listen first, it's entirely up to you. Things are really starting to cook now and we'll have our usual free-wheeling conversation!  The Cleons ar...

Spoilers, of course.  Go watch the episode.  We'll be here when you get back. We're settling into the weekly groove!  In this episode we'll be talking about "the Mathematician's Ghost," episode 3 of Foundation .  But don't worry!  No mathematicians were harmed in the filming of this episode... for a change.   But we do get some insight into the genetic trinity that ru...

And... here we are!  The moment to which we've been building.  After months of anticipation, we finally have episodes to watch and discuss!  And discuss them we do!   Join us for a no-holds-barred conversation about Foundation : Episode 1 - "The Emperor's Peace" and Episode 2 - "Preparing to Live!" Don't want spoilers?  Run to your favorite streaming device, find Apple TV+...

The naysayers said it would never happen and that our plucky little podcast would never see a second season!  Yet here we are defying the laws of Psychohistory, renewed and ready for the advent of the Apple TV+ series in roughly 24 to 48 hours. That will be our focus for season 2.  We’ve been waiting with bated breath and our patience (or lack thereof) is about to be rewarded!  We’l...

As the Manimal threshold fades into the rear-view mirror, we reach our next milestone, with number 11 we now have as many episodes as Cop Rock!  You know, it takes most shows years to get around to a musical episode, but those guys? Musical episode right out of the gate!  Never fear; Stars End: The Musical is toward the end of our Thousand Year Plan. Right now though, please join us for...

The start of the Apple TV+ series is now less than a month away and we're approaching the end of our discussion of Asimov's original trilogy! Join us for episode ten.  That's 10! Our first round number!  And it's not 10 base-two or 10 base-eight but 10 base-ten!  That makes it the tenest ten! We've finally jumped into Second Foundation!  We'll be talking about the first story,...

With the Threll of the Las Vegas 55-Year Mission winding down and the excitement of the Apple TV+ Foundation series winding up, now is a perfect time to check out our Stars End Podcast!  Whether you're looking for a new decades-old franchise to enjoy, you want to catch up on some of your favorite old SF before enjoying the new teevee series, or if you're just looking for something entertainin...

Hello, again folks!  It's 8/8 (or if you write dates the European way 8/8) and here we are with Episode 8.  We're quite proud, we now officially have just as many episodes as Manimal !  Imagine!  For those of you tracking our milestones, eight is a very round number: It's "10" in base eight, "20" in base four, and "1000" in base two.  Soon, once we're past the Manimal barr...

All the children danced in the street!  "It's here!  It's here!" they cried!  "The seventh episode of Stars End is here!!" It's true! Our seventh episode, "Never let your sense of morals prevent you from doing a podcast" is now available!  Even though we had some technical difficulties (our sound quality isn't up to our usual standards; our apologies) it's a great episode! It's...