Synthesized Sunsets

This week we talked with graphic designer and music producer Trevor Waldorf about the Star Wars expanded universe, how to get people reading into adulthood, and fond childhood memories of Internet espionage. 00:40 - What makes Star Wars compelling? 02:56 - Video games and the depth of the Star Wars universe 07:13 - Star Wars movies have to live up to an incredible amount of hype 11:00 - The Clone...

Note: This episode contains spoilers for the film Gattaca and the short story “Real Artists” by Ken Liu. This week we sat down with Ari Schwartz— a composer, harpist, and all-around experimental artist. We talk about Ari’s talent for shitposting as well as whether or not postmodernism has killed sincerity. And, of course, whether or not you would genetically engineer your kids. Find out who! EPISO...

This week we talked with Marnee Chua who is the executive director of the speculative fiction writers’ workshop Clarion West . We talk about the history and goals of Clarion West, but move onto topics including the challenges in adapting books into movies, how it is easy to get a simplified view of other cultures in America, and why books should have different versions. We hope you enjoy! EPISODE...

Note: This episode contains massive spoilers for the Studio Ghibli film Castle in the Sky and the short story “Sandkings” by George R.R. Martin. This week we sat down with Henry Wolff, who has been channeling his passion for Tolkien-style worldbuilding into TTRPGs for much of the past decade. We talk about known world-builders George R. R. Martin, Hayao Miyazaki, and J.R.R. Tolkien, as well as the...

This week we talked with molecular biology student and plant enthusiast Euan McCubbin about what a society would look like without aging, whether old Sci-fi that gets the science wrong is bad, and the challenges that come with writing a superintelligence. All stories (and movie) we cover are listed in the timestamps below and if you wish to avoid spoilers for anything feel free to skip that sectio...

Lots of changes to the podcast coming down the pipe! We now have a permanent co-host: Gordon Anderson . You can find him at Gordon on Substack! This week we sat down with composer and ML researcher Merrick Ohata to talk about the atomization of media, the AI-ification of media, and the benefits of lying to children. While this conversation kinda goes all over the place, we think there are some rea...

Yep, you heard that right— Synthesized Sunsets is starting a podcast! We are still experimenting with the format, so please forgive us for any growing pains. Future episodes will feature my co-host Gordon , as well as better audio quality. Our guest this week is Isaac Olson, who is (fittingly) studying oceanography and science communication at the University of Washington. We will be talking about...