How Surveillance Dystopias Came True (with Wole Talabi)
Release Date: 05/16/2024
Hip Hop x Cyberpunk (with clipping.)
Our Opinions Are Correct
Hip hop group clipping. has just released a brilliant new cyberpunk-inspired album, Dead Channel Sky, and we're talking to the members about how hip hop and cyberpunk have inspired each other from the beginning. Hope you've got your mirrorshades! Meanwhile, contributing host Bethany Brookshire takes us on a deep dive into medieval history and shares the startling tale of how three thousand hats ended a war.
info_outline
"Interior Chinatown" Just Became a Very Weird TV Show (with Charles Yu)
Our Opinions Are Correct
In his award-winning novel Interior Chinatown, Charles Yu took a scalpel to television's tropes and stereotypes. Now he explains to us how he managed to turn that book into a brilliant, challenging TV show. Also, contributing host Nivair Gabriel tells us about science in children's books, and what it's like to push for accurate depictions of space in children's publishing. Plus she recommends great books to share with the kids in your life!
info_outline
Forced Feminization and Cute Robots
Our Opinions Are Correct
We're catching you up on all the movies we've been watching recently, from The Substance to The Wild Robot, and a few themes emerged. One is that there are an awful lot of feminists who are mad about being forced to be and act feminine. And the other is that cute robots might eventually destroy you. Enjoy! Show notes, as always, are here: www.ouropinionsarecorrect.com/shownotes
info_outline
No, We Don't Live in a F---ing Simulation!
Our Opinions Are Correct
It's a fun thought experiment: what if the universe is a simulation, and nothing around us is real? But lately, some of the most powerful people in tech (and politics) have been saying they believe this is true. Why would they think that? To understand, we talk to Damien P. Williams at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, and Paris Marx, host of the Tech Won't Save Us podcast. Spoiler alert: anyone who'd trap us in a simulation would have to be a total sociopath.
info_outline
Never Forget Where We Came From (with Tananarive Due and Nicola Griffith)
Our Opinions Are Correct
History is on our minds lately. In this episode, we talk to two incredible authors who recreate history in their work. Tananarive Due draws on her own family's experience in her award-winning novel The Reformatory, while Nicola Griffith uncovers the secret history of medieval England in Hild and Menewood. We discuss researching history, and why understanding history is important to building the future. We had an incredible conversation with these two legends.
info_outline
The Truth About Gigantic Objects in Space (with Sarah Parcak)
Our Opinions Are Correct
From Ringworld to Rama, space is full of mysterious giant objects created by ancient civilizations. Do these gorgeous macrostructures bring poetry to the prosaic genre of space opera? Or do we love them for some other reason? Also, we talk to archeologist Sarah Parcak about space archeology and what it teaches us about ancient civilizations.
info_outline
Encore Episode: Fascism and Book Bans (with Maggie Tokuda-Hall)
Our Opinions Are Correct
Here's one of our favorite episodes from 2024 — it's about the mass psychology of fascism, plus how to fight book bans. We talk to friend of the pod Maggie Tokuda-Hall from the wondrous organization Authors Against Book Bans. We'll be back in two weeks with another brand new episode! Meanwhile, happy holidays! <3
info_outline
Manufacturing loneliness
Our Opinions Are Correct
Are we getting toxic messages from speculative fiction about what it means to be alone? We're tackling troubling tropes and eviscerating myths about where loneliness comes from. Later in the episode, we're joined by Peter Pomerantsev, a researcher who studies authoritarianism and propaganda. He’s the author of How to Win an Information War, and he offers us some tantalizing ideas about how to defeat fascist propaganda.
info_outline
These Books Will Help You Get Through the Cold, Cold Winter
Our Opinions Are Correct
The holidays are here once again, and that means one thing: time to stock up on books to help you get cozy and distract yourself from the cold weather (and the state of the world.) Here's our annual roundup of some of our favorite reads — both fiction and non-fiction. Happy reading!
info_outline
Why Fantasy Is Going To Extremes (With Nghi Vo)
Our Opinions Are Correct
Lately, it feels as though a lot of fantasy books come in two kinds: cozy, or extremely dark. During a scary time in the world, we seek either comforting sweetness, or violent catharsis. To find out more, we talked to Nghi Vo, whose recent books include The City in Glass and The Brides of High Hill. Plus we talk about how to include white characters in a story without centering whiteness.
info_outlineYou are being watched. Pop culture used to be full of vivid warnings about Big Brother watching you. What does it mean that we're now under constant surveillance for real? Plus we talk to Wole Talabi about his new story collection Convergence Problems.