Episode 584: Inheriting the Atom Bomb
Science Faction Podcast
This Week on the Pod: Rain, Parades, Hive Minds, and… Ben’s Brain for Rent? This week’s episode opens with a very rainy round of real-life updates. Ben has been slammed with work and declares—formally, officially, irrevocably—that poetry is better than parades. (He is fully prepared to defend this position.) Meanwhile, Steven reports that the local parade and festival still happened despite the rain, because sometimes community spirit just refuses to check the weather. And Devon? He keeps forgetting that he’s technically a Texan now, which raises several questions about residency,...
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Episode 583: Trickle Down Electronics
Science Faction Podcast
Real Life It’s another week of real life, questionable decisions, and sci-fi tangents. Does Devon Even Like Being on the Show? We ask the question no one dared to before—and yes, Devon does like being here. Just… maybe not for the reasons you think. Ben’s Apology Tour Continues Ben kicks things off with an immediate apology for this podcast. Again. But he makes up for it by diving into Apple TV’s The Big Door Prize ()—a show full of mysteries, midlife crises, and a machine that tells you your true potential. He’s also been watching Zen for Nothing and Piece by Piece, and we learn...
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Episode 582: The Law of Communal Dynamics
Science Faction Podcast
Real Life Time changed again. Why? Didn’t we, as a society, vote on not doing this anymore? Every clock reset feels like an act of collective gaslighting. Ben spent his week teaching classes at the Art-a-thon, where he also led a chaotic round of Werewolves featuring the now-immortal line: “I am a delicious villager.” The kids apparently took that declaration at face value. Steven was also at the Art-a-thon, diving into unfamiliar crafts (the kind that require more glue than dignity). Between Halloween, Disney runs, and too much coffee, his week sounded like a montage of exhaustion...
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Episode 581: Fuzzy Wires, Clear Minds
Science Faction Podcast
Real Life: This week’s episode kicks off with Ben wondering what would happen if idioms were costumes. Imagine showing up to a party literally raining cats and dogs or dressed as the elephant in the room. (We’re not sure if that’s genius or horrifying.) Steven reminds everyone to say it to our faces! — meaning, drop us a comment or suggestion. Seriously. We read them. Sometimes we even respond like civilized humans. Devon went to a Halloween party with the Non-Religious Alliance of East Texas Facebook group (yes, that’s a thing), rocking a DS9 uniform costume that probably had...
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Episode 580: 11 Days VS 32 Years
Science Faction Podcast
Real Life Ben was out this week, which left Devon and Steven to hold court—and as Devon reminded us, there are no kings here anyway. He showed up fresh from an event that apparently involved an axolotl costume (details were scarce, which somehow made it funnier), and immediately launched into a whirlwind of thoughts about upcoming elections, funding cuts to science, and the strange, ongoing collision between South Park and real-world politics. Meanwhile, Steven spent his weekend in the world of The Witcher: The Old World board game with Greg, slaying monsters, collecting trophies, and...
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Episode 579: Beautiful Trash
Science Faction Podcast
It’s another week in real life for the gang — or at least for most of us. Devon’s down sick, so it’s a two-man show featuring Steven and Ben navigating the bizarre crossroads of tech, food, and VR golf. 🏌️ Real Life Ben’s been tethered to the job, but he still managed to escape reality long enough to join a virtual round of — specifically the new — alongside Steven, some friends, and one of our lovely patrons. Turns out, there’s nothing quite like bonding over missed putts in low-poly Japan. Meanwhile, Steven’s week has been aggressively autumnal. Between a pumpkin...
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Episode 578: Fall Is Just Okay (But Demon Lords Are Great)
Science Faction Podcast
Real Life Ben’s decided that fall is… fine. Just okay. Leaves fall, pumpkin spice happens, and he moves on. His energy’s better spent testing out new hands-free necklace cameras—a totally normal sentence—and keeping Orion fed and happy. Meanwhile, Steven dove headfirst into Shadow of the Demon Lord, playing Velmar the Archivist, a character with a flair for ancient lore and possibly poor life decisions. Five hours later, the table survived, the dice were appeased, and Steven was still buzzing from the chaos. Devon, fresh from his cruise survival, gave us tales of ice skating, laser...
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Episode 577: The Robot Pope Is Real
Science Faction Podcast
Real Life Devon’s not here this week—he ditched us for a cruise. Apparently, some doctors say cruises are floating petri dishes with barely any oversight on cleanliness. But not our Devon. He’s braving the high seas while Steven sits at home thinking, “You know what sounds better than hundreds of strangers sneezing near me? Literally anything else.” Meanwhile, Ben went to the Gamer Festival at the Madonna Inn, which looked like an absolute blast. Arcade machines, board games, and maybe too many people in themed t-shirts. He even stumbled across a longplay video of Stargate (Arcade)...
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Episode 576: Our Mass Outpaces Our Structure
Science Faction Podcast
This week’s episode covers everything from Metallica rumors to vehicular combat nostalgia, with some Star Trek overload and a short story about ants the size of Buicks. Real Life First off: is Metallica doing a farewell tour? Nope. , it’s not the end. Devon’s floating the idea of a Metallica Vegas residency though—because nothing says “hard rock” like the Strip buffet scene. Speaking of trips, Devon cruised back to Cozumel and reported in with the most lukewarm Superman review ever: “It was okay.” Much more enthusiasm went to Twisted Metal, which Devon swears is actually good...
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Episode 575: Yogurt, but Make It Sci-Fi
Science Faction Podcast
This week’s episode was a ride through everything from neighborhood drama to yogurt overlords, with plenty of science and sci-fi sprinkled along the way. Real Life Ben kicked things off with Five Nights at Freddy’s—because apparently, jump scares are just how he likes to unwind. From there, he veered into a wild story involving a crossing guard, a flag man, and threats from a community member that had us questioning if this was real life or the start of a low-budget thriller. Devon had politics on his mind (as he often does), and let’s just say it was… cathartic. Steven...
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Devon went full medieval this week with a trip to a Renaissance Fair—this one featuring permanent structures that actually looked “authentic” instead of slapped together by ye olde hot glue. There were swinging rides, wooden horses, and some legit jousting. Unfortunately, the real fantasy was thinking the kids would have fun. Big downer energy.
Steven is gearing up for an Arizona trip but had to make a sudden detour into Best Buy territory after his TV gave up the ghost. On the plus side, Andor continues to be amazing and makes up for any consumer electronics woes. (It really is still that good.)
Ben has seen Labyrinth (have you?), and he's here for the dream logic and David Bowie’s entire vibe. Also thrown into the cinematic blender: The Island and Cliffhanger. We’re now seeking out more films where geological or man-made features are basically the co-stars. Let us know if you have one.
Oh, and Ben also saw the Slate all-electric pickup truck, which looked like something out of Black Mirror. Meanwhile, TVs just… work now? What a time to be alive.
Future or Now
Time for some spicy Star Wars takes.
We got into it over which trilogy was better: the Prequels or the Sequels. Episode IX (The Rise of Skywalker) got roasted—Devon called it "the worst." Ben leaned sequel-side, arguing they’re better than the prequels overall. The breakdown went something like:
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Prequels: bad films, good plots
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Sequels: good films, bad plots
There were also complaints about Starkiller Base, which feels like someone said “What if Death Star, but more?”
But then there’s Andor, which everyone agrees is just pure excellence. So Star Wars can still be good when they let writers write.
Our rankings for maximum judgment:
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Devon’s list: The Phantom Menace, The Force Awakens, Rise of Skywalker, Attack of the Clones, The Last Jedi, Revenge of the Sith
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Ben’s list: Rise of Skywalker, The Phantom Menace, Attack of the Clones, Revenge of the Sith, The Force Awakens, The Last Jedi
Your move, Internet.
📚 Book Club
Next Week:
We’re diving into Ted Chiang’s “The Evolution of Human Science,” which you can find in Stories of Your Life and Others (also included with an Audible subscription, if you’re fancy like that).
This Week:
We read Jorge Luis Borges’ strange and unsettling tale There Are More Things. It’s Borges doing Lovecraft, but with fewer tentacles and more existential dread.
We were all in until the end, where it kinda… fell off a cliff. Still worth the read for the vibes alone. Also relevant: this animated gif of a tesseract, because the story kinda goes there.
New episode drops each week. Subscribe, tell a friend, and go re-rank your Star Wars opinions. We’ll wait.