Episode 605: Pop Culture in Spaaaaaace
Science Faction Podcast
This week’s episode leans a little more literary than usual—less breaking news, more storytelling, and a surprisingly thoughtful mix of sci-fi, horror, and real-world weirdness. Real Life Ben kicks things off by consciously shifting gears—less doomscrolling, more reading. A noble goal, and honestly, one that might save his sanity. That theme carries through the episode more than expected. Steven brings in the tabletop energy with , diving into a recent session with Greg. Not only did he get some solid playtime in, he actually won—a rare enough event to deserve celebration. He breaks...
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Episode 604: Illusions and Enlightenments
Science Faction Podcast
This week’s episode drifts from real-life chaos into full-on simulation theory territory—because apparently that’s just how things go now. Real Life Ben’s week kicks off with a perfect storm: his mom’s in town, the power steering pump dies, and suddenly he’s asking the very real question—is it finally time to go electric? In the middle of all that, he stumbles across 1D Chess (), which somehow takes chess, removes a dimension, and still manages to be confusing. Devon spent the week getting absolutely wrecked by a mystery illness that took out the whole family. Not COVID, not the...
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Episode 603: We Broke the Episode
Science Faction Podcast
Special Note: This episode fought us. Hard. There was some extreme editing required, and yeah—you might notice a slight dip in quality. We hear it too. But we’re owning it, learning from it, and making sure it doesn’t happen again. Appreciate you sticking with us through the chaos. Real Life Ben kicks things off with a classic combo: in-laws, tacos, and just enough drama to keep things interesting. Somewhere in the middle of that, he also put together a wild Spider-Man 3 edit with a Twilight Zone twist—honestly, it’s worth your time: Steven’s house has officially entered a...
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Episode 602: Artemis II and the AI Art Problem
Science Faction Podcast
This week’s episode kicks off exactly how you’d expect: a mix of chaos, parenting wins (and losses), and just enough sci-fi to keep things on-brand. Real Life Devon’s been deep in the thick of family life—birthday parties, Easter egg hunts, and a firm stance on “No Kings in Texas,” which is either a political statement or just a man trying to maintain order in a house full of sugar-fueled children. Either way, it’s survival mode with style. Ben’s living that logistical nightmare we all eventually face: coordinating kids’ events, managing shifting social zones, and navigating...
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Episode 601: Thank You, Flea!
Science Faction Podcast
This week we bounce from toy-filled offices and pirate obsessions into brain-powered computers and philosophical robot chaos—before wrapping things up with a very French film discussion and next week’s Book Club pick. Real Life Devon kicks things off by giving some Texans a tour of his office—which, unsurprisingly, is packed with what can only be described as adult toys. Naturally, this spirals into a broader conversation about how we’re all just kids with slightly more expensive hobbies. No shame there. Ben brings us into the world of VR with Walkabout Mini Golf’s Hollywood course...
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Episode 600: Almost Shakespearean
Science Faction Podcast
This week we bounce from the eternal debate over pie superiority (and some truly questionable anti-pie opinions) into sci-fi revivals, strange travel stories, and the art of a good ending—before closing things out with a genuinely unsettling short story that may or may not leave you side-eyeing your bathroom forever. Real Life We kick things off with the most important topic we’ve ever covered: pie. Favorites, non-favorites, and a few takes that might genuinely damage friendships. No spoilers—but some of us have very strong opinions. Ben brings a little sci-fi hope (and caution) with...
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Episode 599: Devon Sold a Guitar for THIS?
Science Faction Podcast
Real Life This week’s episode begins the way many of our weeks began: confused, slightly annoyed, and one hour short on sleep thanks to the time change. Ben kicks things off by voicing what everyone is feeling — daylight saving time is rough. Losing an hour never gets easier, and the collective fog hangs over the whole episode like a mild but persistent headache. Devon isn’t exactly escaping the chaos either. Between a hockey game down in Louisiana and spring break activities with the kids, his schedule is all over the place. Add the time shift on top of that and it’s a miracle anyone...
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Episode 598: The Twenty Year Window
Science Faction Podcast
This week we bounce from weddings with questionable video evidence to universal vaccines, rogue dubstep artists named after shingles shots, and a time-loop story that left us… conflicted. Let’s get into it. Real Life Ben officiated a wedding. It was beautiful. It was meaningful. It was legally binding. There may or may not be video proof. Somewhere, there’s a phone with 3% battery and a shaky clip of vows. Or maybe not. Either way, two people are married and that’s what counts. If you’re going to officiate a wedding, here’s the lesson: double-check the recording situation. Memory...
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Episode 597: Yautja, Genetics and You
Science Faction Podcast
) and Tyler Elliott (), both of whom absolutely delivered. Tight pacing, sharp jokes, and the kind of live energy that reminds you comedy hits different when you’re in the room instead of watching clips online. Steven, meanwhile, has been locked into A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms and is fully endorsing it. Strong characters, grounded storytelling, and that classic slow-burn worldbuilding that rewards patience. On the tabletop side, his MCC game took a brutal turn when a player character died — goodbye Plank the Plantient. A true legend. A photosynthetic casualty. The kind of loss that...
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Episode 596: The First Law and the Worst Lies
Science Faction Podcast
This week we bounce from haunted literary labyrinths and gonzo chaos in Real Life, into falling space junk, AI hype experiments, and surprisingly clever cows in Future or Now — before wrapping up with Isaac Asimov’s Liar! and a discussion about robot ethics, emotional harm, and the danger of well-intentioned lies. Real Life Steven is deep into , and yeah — “trip” is the correct word. The book continues to be less of a story and more of a psychological maze that actively messes with your sense of reality while you read it. Not a casual bedtime book. More like a “stare at the...
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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) on YouTube (22K views after three years!) and got into Broom Service, a trick-taking board game where witches zoom around delivering potions. Rules here if you’re curious.
Steven, instead of heading to Gamer Fest, ran a Mutant Crawl Classics session. Mutants, post-apocalyptic chaos, dice rolling—it was all there. When he wasn’t GMing, he was kit-bashing his own mini robot out of spare parts. Award-winning, five-star author and robot builder? Yeah, he’s got range.
Normally, this is where we’d slide into our Future or Now segment—but with Devon off the grid (and possibly fighting buffet lines instead of time-travel paradoxes), we skipped it this week. Don’t worry, it’ll be back once he’s done living the boat life.
We also touched on:
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A correction about Star Trek: Khan (there are 9 episodes, not 3—we messed that up).
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Parking Garage Rally Circuit, a Sega Saturn-inspired rally racer on Steam. It’s got ska, it’s got cars, and the holophonic audio makes you feel like you’re back in 1994. Check it out here.
- Rick and Morty Season 8, and the eternal question: which episode was the best?
Book Club
This week:
We read Robert Silverberg’s 1971 short story “Good News from the Vatican.” It’s all about the election of the first robot pope, and yes, it’s as wild as it sounds. You can find it in Universe 1 or snag it here on Kindle
Next week:
We’re tackling Terry Bisson’s “They’re Made Out of Meat”—a classic piece of weird short fiction that asks: what if humans are just slabs of meat trying to talk? Read it here or watch this short adaptation.