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 has been knee-deep in yard work, prepping and installing artificial grass and fixing up fences. But the real highlight was his trip to Milwaukee for some baseball—and of course, some Alice Cooper trivia because apparently Milwaukee and Alice Cooper are forever linked thanks to Wayne’s World.
Ben gave us an update on Orion. He’s starting to lose his appetite, which is always tough. What do you do when your dog doesn’t want to eat? It’s something a lot of pet owners face, and Ben’s in the thick of it. On a lighter note, he’s been living in a world of Clue. Playing the board game, rewatching Clue: The Movie, and even checking out Cal Poly’s recent stage production where the ending changes each night depending on which solution the cast performs. (Yes, that’s as fun as it sounds)—here’s a behind-the-scenes look
Steven has been getting some gaming in. He had a Shatterpoint rematch with Christina’s husband—this time Steven lost, but it was extremely close. He also got to dive into This Is Not A Test, a post-apocalyptic skirmish game from Worlds End Publishing.
Future or Now
Devon started watching Dark on Netflix. It’s a time travel show, and while the subtitles/dubs can get a little weird, the slow-burn mystery is “pretty good.” Each character has a younger/older actor because of the show’s 33-year cycle, and by Season 3 it’s seriously complex. But the real question: is it a slow burn, or is it just a slog? Devon says it’s not hard to follow, but your memory has to do some heavy lifting.
Devon and Steven circled back to Alien Earth. Their verdict: just alright. Some weird editing choices, decent acting, solid effects. The first episode had promise, but the second one dragged. Jury’s still out.
Ben came in with a much happier update: Star Trek: Strange New Worlds is back with “The Sehlat Who Ate Its Tail.” Yes, Spock had a Sehlat—a giant bear-cat pet—and the episode absolutely nailed it. Even better, Star Trek finally won another Hugo Award for the first time since The Next Generation’s finale. (Lower Decks took home two Hugos!) Here’s the news
And because Ben can’t help himself, he also reminded us that Ryan North (yes, Dinosaur Comics Ryan North) had a hand in B to the F.
Book Club
This week we read “2 B R 0 2 B” by Kurt Vonnegut. It’s a short satirical story set in a future where humanity has solved aging and disease—but keeps population at a strict 40 million. The catch? For every new baby, someone has to voluntarily die. Vonnegut being Vonnegut, it’s absurd, bleak, and a little too close to home. You can read it free on Project Gutenberg or even watch a short film adaptation
Next week we’ll be reading “When It Changed” by Joanna Russ.
It’s the Nebula Award-winning 1972 short story about a colony called Whileaway where all the men died off 30 generations ago. When a ship of men finally arrives, they announce their intentions to “restore balance”—but the women of Whileaway have no interest in being “fixed.” It’s sharp, powerful, and still incredibly relevant. You can read it here or check out this reading on YouTube.