Tales From The Bridge

On this episode of TFTB Filmclub, our intrepid film watchers go back to the original Star Wars, A New Hope and see where it all began. Before the prequels, Rogue One , and Andor , and Disney.  If you're Gen X, this is where your childhood began, and you have friends everywhere. Enjoy! Let us know if there's a book or film that you want us to review on the podcast! You can always reach us...

In this episode of TFTB Bookclub , we're discussing Faith of Beasts by James S.A. Corey . It's the second installment in the Captives War series, brought to you by the creators of The Expanse. The world is expanding in this space opera, and we're happy to jump in.  Of course, we've got our Science Fiction-Science Fact segment for you, and we're looking at the latest in gen...

As we wrap up our 5th season on Tales From The Bridge we thought we’d share some interview highlights from the past year. We’ve got some fun moments here, and we hope you enjoy. We’ve included excerpts from our conversations with Chris Hadfield , Travis Baldree , Mike Carey , James Rollins , Tade Thompson , Neil Clarke , Hugh Howey , Claire North , Arkady Martine , and the legendary Joe Haldeman ....

Should we have picked Mac & Me, or Mad Max for the letter M? Well, we didn't choose either. We chose Minority Report , the fast paced Spielberg thriller from 2002. We talk about how the film has aged, and how well Spielberg put this tiny masterpiece together. Be sure to stick around to find out Ryan's pick for the letter N! Let us know if there's a book or film that you want us...

On the latest Episode of TFTB Book Club we discuss Tade Thompson’s Rosewater . Our regular listeners will be up to date on his work as he joined us on the Bridge just last episode. In that interview we discussed his work and his process for getting words on paper. Aspiring authors take note! As always, Kevin has some cool Science Fiction – Science Fact for us, and we’re talking tractor beams . Wel...

You’re in for a treat as Tade Thompson joins us on the Bridge. Our regular listeners know that his novel Rosewater , part one of the Wormwood Trilogy , is our current book of the month. We touch on this series, accidental apocalypse (apologies!), his thoughts on A.I., lore-keepers ( Who ?), and... we learn Tade's earliest, amazing career ambition and the limits of responsibility, despite grea...

Tales From The Bridge is now 150 episodes old! From humble beginnings at the start of the pandemic when a local bookclub was forced to go online, to a titan of the Science Fiction literature world! Boldly going where no other sci-fi podcast has gone before… okay, maybe that’s a bridge too far, but it’s been a fun journey nonetheless. It’s been stellar for us (see what I did there?) and we want to...

On the latest episode of TFTB, our film club hosts time travel way back to 2012 to rewatch Looper . Written and directed by Rian Johnson, Looper brought an all star cast together that included Emily Blunt, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, and Bruce Willis.  The concept was that contract Killers or “Loopers” could travel back in time and carry out hits for organized crime bosses in the future. Find out what o...

Every so often we’re able to bring an up-and-coming author on the show. P.A. Cornell is an award-winning speculative fiction author. In 2024, she became the first ever Chilean writer to be nominated for the Nebula Award for her story, Once Upon a Time at The Oakmont . Cornell joins us on the Bridge to chat about her latest book, Shoeshine Boy and Cigarette Girl . We also chat about what else she h...

On this episode of TFTB we dive into a science fiction (science fantasy?) classic; A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle . Featured in the final season of Stranger Things , this beloved YA novel won the Newbery Medal, and was adapted into a 2018 feature film with a mega-cast. The book remains persistently relevant, with it's themes of good vs. evil, individualism vs. conformity, and inn...

Once again on TFTB Film Club , our intrepid viewers inflict a terrible movie upon themselves and then inflict it upon you, our loyal listeners.  The film is Kin (2018) and this is the after-action report you didn’t ask for. Listen at your own risk and take heed. Tell others what you’ve learned here. PS: For you avant-garde film lovers we do recommend Kin Dza Dza  Check out the new TFTB website her...

On this episode of TFTB, we'll discuss Alastair Reynolds' House of Suns . It's acid-trip science fiction, and we had a lot of fun chatting about it. On Science Fiction-Science Fact , we look at some AI news from Davos, namely that Generative AI may develop survival instincts we need to worry about.  We'll also take a look at some of the other content we're reading and watc...

Hugh Howey is back on The Bridge, and you’re going to enjoy this one. Naturally we have the latest on Silo as this acclaimed series heads into its third season. We get a peek at some of Hugh’s upcoming projects, which are pretty exciting. We also have an enlightening conversation on artificial intelligence, and writing vs. authoring . Ai is a pretty divisive topic right now, and a nuanced conversa...

TFTB Film Club is back, and apologies in advance. Our Film Clubbers decided to review the much maligned, Jupiter Ascending from 2015. When this came out, the unfortunate reviewer assigned from The Guardian called this film “… absolute nonsense ” with “… dialogue that would make George Lucas cringe .”  For reasons we can’t truly justify, we’re bringing it back. Come circle the drain with us one mor...

Is the human race redeemable? On this episode of TFTB we dive into our book of the month; The Humans , by Matt Haig . This book serves as a fun introduction to some interesting concepts, and worth a look.  On Science Fiction-Science Fact, we have news on the development of an actual Warp drive for Faster Than Light travel. Hint: We’re closer than you think.  We also talk about what else we’re read...

On the latest episode of TFTB, Mike Carey joins us on the Bridge to talk about his new book, Outlaw Planet. This a very cool sci-fi western and it’s available now.  Some of our eagle-eared listeners will recall that Mike’s space opera, Infinity Gate was our book of the month a couple of episodes back. If you haven’t had a chance to read this series - we highly recommend it.  Let us know if there&a...

On this episode of TFTB, we dig into a science fiction, and cyberpunk classic. Neuromancer was written by William Gibson in 1984, and reading it now will make you appreciate just how far ahead of its time this book was. This series began a sub genre of science fiction that includes The Matrix, Cyberpunk 2077 , Ghost in a Shell, among others.  We’re currently enjoying a golden age in science fictio...

On this episode of TFTB Film club we’re talking all things Interstellar . Directed by Christopher Nolan and boasting an all star cast back in 2014. This is one of those films that was both extremely ambitious, and successful, which is why people are still talking about it. People are also still talking about what Matt Damon did.  Matt Damon! Let us know if there's a book or film that you want...

We’re thrilled to have Claire North back on the program. The last time we spoke with Claire we were talking about her (fantastic) novel The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August . During that conversation , Claire mentioned a space opera that she’d been working on, and now it’s here!  Slow Gods will be available on November 18th, and we’ve got lots to talk about. For those of you familiar with Clair...

This week on TFTB we leave our customary position in orbit, and land on virgin (for us) territory. Romantasy is having a moment, and we've put down our rockets to try and get in touch with our feelings. Or something. Our book of the month is A Fate Inked In Blood by Danielle L Jensen .  We conjured up a couple of subject matter experts to guide us through these mysterious lands of spice and s...

On this episode of TFTB we pay the price for sleeping through the alarms and missing our studio time. Although, it has been suggested that we may have experienced ‘lost time’ and may find an unexpected result in a future x-ray. Until then, we’ve selected a few of our favourite interview moments for your enjoyment.  Please let us know if there is a book or film that you want us to review on the pod...

We’re kicking off our 5th season in style. On this episode of TFTB we sit down with Astronaut and Best Selling Author, Chris Hadfield . Among his many accomplishments he was the first Canadian to command the International Space Station, he was a Test Pilot, an Engineer, and now a tech entrepreneur. All of this experience elevates his latest novel, Final Orbit which is the third book in a series th...

Take a deep dive into Her , the Spike Jonze film from 2013. We chat about the themes, performances, writing, and more. Has the concept of this AI based film become prophetic, or is the idea of AI relationships just not that science fiction anymore? Let us know what you think! Please let us know if there is a book or film that you want us to review on the podcast! You can always reach us on our soc...

On this episode, we welcome Hugo Award winning author, Elizabeth Bear back to the Bridge. We dig into the latest instalment of the White Space novels, Folded Sky . We also get the latest on the long awaited sequel to Karen Memory . It’s called Angel Maker and (as of this recording), is currently available for preorder. Check the link below.  Any opportunity to chat with Elizabeth is just time well...

On this episode we discuss what might happen if the moon turned to cheese. It’s a serious question, and we use John Scalzi’s novel, ‘ When the Moon Hits Your Eye ’ as the foundation for our investigation. Much to learn here. We’ll also look at a unique proposal for interstellar travel on Science Fiction Science Fact, and we’ll chat about the other books and films we’ve been enjoying.  A new inters...